Scottie Pippen Was Born September

Scottie Pippen was born September 25, 1965 in Hamburg, Arkansas (Scottie pp). The son of a paper mill worker, he was the youngest of twelve children and had aspirations to be a great basketball star, however, it is his senior year before he starts for his high school team (Montville Pp). Pippen just wasn't tall enough! After graduation, no college wanted him, so he ended up accepting a grant at a small Arkansas school to act as manager (Montville Pp).

Then he began to grow and early in his freshman year, joined the team and by the end of the season showed star status (Montville Pp). He grew a little more, yet received little notice from pros during his senior season, however at one NBA tryout camp, he played well, and then anther camp, he played even better and then another, he played best (Montville Pp). Pippen was drafted fifth in the entire country, and found himself Michael Jordan's teammate with the Chicago Bulls

Growing up in Hamburg, population 3, 394, Pippen was not particularly exceptional, just another kid trying to get through high school (Montville Pp).

He was 6-foot 1 1/2 inches as a high school senior, starting at point guard, and according to coach, Donald Wayne, "nothing tremendous, but good...Not flashy, but consistent" (Montville Pp). It was Wayne who helped Pippen get into college by contacting his old coach at Henderson State in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, Don Dyer, who had since moved to University of Central Arkansas in Conway (Montville Pp). Wayne said he thought Pippen would be a good manager under a work-study program, and because Pippen's parents and siblings did seem to run sort of large, maybe he'd grow (Montville Pp). Dyer took a chance and by the end of his senior season, Pippen stood at 6-foot 7 inches (Montville Pp). Says Arch Jones, then assistant basketball coach UCA, "He was able to take the skills he had learned when he was smaller and use them when he was bigger" (Montville Pp).

Central Arkansas is an NAIA school, a small college, and it had never sent a basketball player to the pros, and moreover the team did not help, falling a basket or two short every year in that last local tournament, missing the NAIA finals and national exposure in Kansas City (Montville Pp). Dyer called San Antonio and Dallas, no one was interested Pippen, at least not until the NBA tryout camp in Chicago (Montville Pp). There had been some talk from superscout Marty Blake about a kid from Central Arkansas and Jerry Krause had listened and Sexton, the agent had been sent a newspaper clipping, but both were impressed when they saw him play (Montville Pp).

Pippen climbed the draft ladder daily in camps in Portsmouth, Virginia, Hawaii and finally Chicago (Montville Pp).