Dean Berry: Inventor of the Modern Crossover
Most people don’t know that Allen Iverson didn’t invent the crossover, Dean Berry taught it to him!
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Confident, cocky even, Iverson gives off the aura of a man who knows what he’s doing, but that wasn’t always the case. A freshman at Georgetown University, young Iverson hadn’t acquired crossover move. He then met Dean Berry, a walk on guard for Georgetown. During practice, Iverson noted that Dean had an unstoppable cross; Even when he knew it was coming he couldn’t stop it. Iverson himself had never had to develop moves to get to the basket, he was so fast he just beat the competition by flat out speed.
Sometimes Dean and Iverson would stay after practice and play one on one for hours. Eventually, Iverson asked Dean how he could get by anyone at any time. It sparked a friendship that resulted in Iverson’s pro career. Without Dean, Iverson would never have learned a move to get to the basketball and would have been stuck trying to out run bigger and bigger opponents. Iverson’s career has lengthened to a whopping 13 years because of how well he mastered the crossover.
