Carlos Boozer grew up watching tapes of Karl Malone, a big man with a soft touch.

He also learned the game by studying a tough baller who had his way in recreation leagues. His name: Carlos Boozer Sr.

The old man could touch the clouds with his jumper.

"When I was a kid," Boozer said, "I tried to emulate him."

The elder Boozer didn't give him much of a choice. During workouts he'd hold up a broom, forcing his teenage son to clear it with a rainbow arc.