On the Shoulders Of A Giant

Little boys dream big. By the time Dikembe Mutombo turned 9, he knew he wanted to be a doctor. He would work hard, study abroad and return to Congo to help his countrymen. Then the son of a schoolmaster grew up. And up. And up, to 2.2 m. Mutombo naturally spent plenty of time on the basketball court as a youth, but he arrived at Georgetown University on an academic scholarship and with instructions from his father to return home with an education. He disobeyed. During Mutombo's second year at college, legendary coach John Thompson asked him to play basketball —...