WATCH: Allen Iverson Delivers Powerful Speech To Top HS Recruits

The first edition of the Allen Iverson Roundball Classic, expected to be an annual showcase for top HS seniors, is slated for tonight in AI’s hometown of Hampton, VA. The players, though, arrived a couple of days early to partake in some off-the-court festivities. On Thursday, that included a dinner banquet with The Answer himself, who took the podium to give the highly touted recruits some advice on how to handle things as they move up the ranks in their respective careers.

“You do what your heart tells you to do, but sometimes your heart get[s] in the way,” Iverson told the players. “It’s gonna be hard.”

He went on to tell the players that he plans to stay in touch with every single one of them moving forward.

“I’m going to give you my number. I’m going to be hard on you. I’m going to critique you.” He added, “I want ya’ll to know that ya’ll can depend on me forever man, until I’m in the dirt.”

Check out the video above for a behind the scenes look into Day 2 of the Allen Iverson Roudball Classic. For AI’s speech, skip to 9:55.