I arrived at the Drew at about 10am which was when they opened the gym. By the time I got there there were already over 100 people waiting outside the gym to get in. The entire gym was already full to capacity as they weren't letting anymore people in.
I figured my best chance was to wait by the parking lot to catch the players coming in. This was my view for the next three hours in the warm sunlight.
Luckily I didn't strike out as Demar Derozan signed a photo for me coming in.
Next up was Ron Artest aka Metta World Peace.
He was a surprise guest as he was unannounced but luckily I had my entire collection of basketball photos with me. I thought i'd never get this photo signed especially since Metta just signed with the NY Knicks. Initially Metta denied me since he was running late to the game. However he got stuck in line at the players entrance as security initially wouldn't let him in. While he was waiting I asked him again and he finally broke down and signed a photo for me.
I ended up missing out on KD as he signed inside after the game for a few fans as he was leaving the gym. Again that was my fault for not waking up early. People were actually camping out to get inside the gym as early as 7am. I miss the good old days when the Drew wasn't as high publicized like it is now when ESPN is covering the event. It was so much easier to get inside the gym without having to wake up early for the games.
I did however manage to get Shabazz Muhammad's autograph on a floorboard. He went as a spectator to watch KD play for LAUNFD vs Money Gang. He was nice enough to inscribe "Go Wolves."
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