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Is There Such a Thing as a Perfect 10?
Starting Early
Justin never so much as hit the rim in the first five basketball games of his life, as a 6-year-old. Timid and undersized, Justin tended to run away from the ball, not toward it. "He was scared," said Hull, 31. "He hated it."
For inspiration, Howard bought Justin a basketball DVD featuring flashy players, and the father quickly realized that his son learned visually. Justin mimicked the players by dribbling through his legs in the living room of their two-story Baltimore house, and Howard rushed out to buy more DVDs.
 Justin Jenifer, one of the country's most-talented 10-year-old basketball players, has become hotly pursued by aggressive AAU teams, high school coaches and shoe companies. (Preston Keres - The Washington Post)
VIDEO | Justin's Got Game
About This Series
During the year, The Washington Post will examine youth basketball in the United States. The lure of multimillion dollar contracts and the growth of college basketball have raised the stakes for young players, their parents, coaches and backers. Along the way, the nature of the game has been altered for thousands of kids.
THE PLAYER CHASEDecember 31: After a six-month investigation, The Washington Post has found that it is now common for college programs to make tax-deductible donations, usually through a booster, to AAU programs in an effort to land recruits.
July 14: Kene Obi still waits for clearance to play his first high school basketball game.
 July 6: Renardo Sidney has developed into a blue-chip recruit despite never having played in a high school basketball game.
 July 4: Being one of the country's best 10-year-old basketball players used to be worth a shelf-full of plastic trophies. Not anymore. Just ask Justin Jenifer.
Photos: Banking on a Prodigy
Video: Justin's Got Game
March 26: Jericho Christian Academy seeks a higher profile by using the lure of basketball, but it is a path that often comes at a price.
March 12: Stoneridge Preparatory School demonstrates how entire prep basketball squads are increasingly transferring together.
 March 5: The NCAA Clearinghouse certifies player's transcripts and grades without doing background checks on the validity of those documents.
THE PLAYER CHASE: THE EUROPEAN MODEL
To better understand the demise of U.S. basketball, reporter Michael Lee went to three countries whose teams have beaten the Americans to examine their player development system.
Dec. 18: Youth players who compete for Serbian club teams face unique economic and social pressures.
 Dec. 17: The European system for developing world-class basketball players can be a model for the U.S.
Graphic: Three basketball powers.
LIVE ONLINEThe Post's Eli Saslow was online to discuss Nigerian basketball players. Read the transcript.
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The DVD collection swelled -- Howard quickly amassed more than 70 -- and Justin's skill set expanded with it. By 7, Justin scored most of his team's points. By 8, he scored most of the points in leagues designated for 9- and 10-year-olds. Opposing coaches and parents buzzed about the diminutive point guard. More adults came to Justin's games to see for themselves.
Justin's confidence skyrocketed. He appeared briefly last year in a commercial with NBA all-star and Baltimore native Carmelo Anthony, and that three-second spot made him a celebrity at Arlington Baptist School in Baltimore, where he just finished fourth grade. Once reserved, Justin belted out songs from "Beauty and the Beast" in the classroom. He boasted to friends that he would play in the National Basketball Association -- or, if that fell through, at least become an NBA coach. "I don't care how hard it is," Justin said. "I know I will do it."
Howard, 32, calls his son a "young" 10-year-old, and family friends sometimes mistake Justin for 7 or 8. His silliness is revealed through big, curious eyes and a smile so big his cheeks inflate like a balloon. Justin once invited his entire team over for a sleepover and suggested that all eight boys sleep on one single bed -- even though Justin's room has two.
Justin decorated the walls of his room with posters of a half-dozen NBA players, and he decorates his body like they do. Only the tattoos of goblins and monsters that he places on his arms wash off a day or two later.
"Basketball kind of brought him out of his shell and made him silly, which is great," said Ken Gibson, who coaches Justin on an 11-year-old team. "But it's also a little scary, cause if his basketball slips, it's like, 'Well, does everything else slip, too?' "
Howard and Kisha often remind themselves that phenomenal talent, at 10, remains tenuous and fleeting. The uncontrollable terrifies them. Justin must grow taller than his 5-foot-10 father, Howard said, and the family's genes hold little promise. Recently, Kisha told Howard she is 5-2.
"Oh no. No. Don't tell me that," Howard said. "You've got to be at least 5-2 and a half, right?
"I always tell Justin: 'Get to 6-2 and we're good. We're good,' " Howard said. "But if he stops growing way early and everybody else keeps shooting up? Then that's it, man. That's a wrap. We might as well go try badminton or something."
Investing Young
On a Monday afternoon in April, Howard hung a stopwatch around his neck and walked Justin into the football stadium at Woodlawn High School in Baltimore for what had become their regular workout. He told Justin to take a sip of water and a deep breath. Then he told his son to run up and down 240 rows of stairs in the bleachers -- in 100 seconds or less.
Justin widened his eyes in playful disbelief, shook his head and took off. As his footsteps echoed on the metal bleachers, Howard looked at his stopwatch and hollered updates: "Hurry. Seven seconds left. Five. Four. Boy, you better go!"