The origin of Allen Iverson’s legendary crossover is totally unexpected

The crossover is the movement that more than any other has characterized the career of Allen Iverson.

And in case anyone doesn’t remember.

During a recent interview with GQ, Iverson revealed from whom he learned this movement. It is not an established NBA player from the past but a former teammate of his at Georgetown, Dean Berry, who played very little in his college days and never turned pro.

This kid Dean Berry played with me. He was a walk-on (a student doesn’t get a scholarship as an athlete, ed) and he didn’t even have his last name printed on the back of his uniform. But he was super fast and executed the crossover perfectly.

The anecdote has been told several times. Iverson had great difficulty marking Berry’s crossovers during games and so he often stayed with his partner to study this movement and make it his own. Certainly the extra practice came in handy for Iverson. Interestingly, Berry had learned this from watching videos of Tim Hardaway, Isiah Thomas, and John Stockton at length.

Even for him appreciable end result, as can be seen in this video where the similarity to Iverson’s movements is striking.

Latest posts by Roberto Caporilli (see all)

Read more :   Simone Fontecchio ready for second year in NBA: "Utah, give me confidence and you won't regret it"
Scroll to Top