Victor Page

Victor Page (born February 19, 1975 [ [http://web.archive.org/web/19991013042428/www.nba.com/draft97/profile/victor_page.html 1997 NBA Draft Profile] ] ) is a basketball player who once played for the Georgetown University Hoyas and Sioux Falls Skyforce; he is also notorious for his troubles with self-control and with D.C. street life.

Early years

Page grew up on Birney Place in Southeast D.C.. By the time Page graduated high school, his father had died of pneumonia and his mother of AIDS. Page was a standout player at McKinley Tech High School, where he led the team to win the DC Championship during his senior year. He was named Washington Post All Met Basketball Player of the Year. That same year, however, Page was arrested for weapon and cocaine possession

Basketball career

Victor Page (jersey #44) was a member of the 1995-96 Hoyas team that advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship and in 1996-97 he led the Big East in scoring. After that season, Page entered the 1997 NBA Draft, but tumbled from a possible first-round pick to not being drafted at all. Page blames an evening of drinking and carousing, which caused him to miss the next morning's predraft camp, as cementing the image of him among NBA scouts as a player too wild to worth risking a draft pick.

Page went 11th in the CBA draft; he briefly ascended to the NBA in September 1997 for the Minnesota Timberwolves' training camp roster, but was cut a few weeks later when he lied to team officials about getting into a fight. He returned to the CBA to play for the Sioux Falls Skyforce. Page remains one of the greatest players in Skyforce history; he left the team in 2001 as its all-time leading scorer (since passed). His jersey, #20, was retired in 2004. His Skyforce years were nevertheless marred with violence and instability. He is perhaps best known for "The Christmas Day Massacre," an incident on December 25, 1997, when midgame he took a broom from behind the basket and chased and jabbed an opposing player with it.

Page later signed with the Fargo-Moorhead Beez, another CBA team, in 2002 and helped them to the CBA Playoffs.Fact|date=February 2007 The Beez competed against the Dakota Wizards in a best-of-5 series in the conference finals.Fact|date=February 2007 An errant Page inbounds pass in Game 2 contributed to the Beez' loss.Fact|date=February 2007 Minor riots ensued in old town Fargo. The franchise folded in the offseason.Fact|date=February 2007

Page also toured with the DC-based Street Basketball Association and played in the European leagues. Trouble followed Page to Europe and his short stint with the Rome team Pallacanestro Virtus Roma ended on March 17, 1998 with "la Notte di Terrore", yet another mid-game brawl. The fight quickly spread to the stands and during the melee 12 fans were injured, including 2 small Italian children.

Recent Years

In 2003, Victor Page suffered his greatest setback when he was shot in the right eye while in his childhood neighborhood. Page lost the eye completely and now wears an eyepatch. Page claims to know the assailant, but has never revealed his identity to police. In 2004, Page was arrested for another weapons offense and plead guilty to a lesser charge to receive probation. Also that year, his cousin Jerome Stroud killed two teenagers; prosecutors at Stroud's trial suggested that the shootings were in retaliation for the shooting of Page.

Page still keeps a membership at the Georgetown University gym. He has recently become a public speaker at several schools and organizations such as Urban League. Independent filmmaker Derrick D. Price is working on a documentary about Page's life. The Buzz about the film continues to mount amongst his fans.Fact|date=July 2007 Page now resides in Silver Spring, Maryland with his girlfriend and their two cats.

ources

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/24/sports/ncaabasketball/24page.html "Without Bad Luck, He'd Have No Luck at All"] , "New York Times", John Branch, p. 24, March 24, 2006 (requires registration)
*Victor Page at [http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/v_page.htm Georgetown Basketball History]