In his first appearance as a Catholic Knight, he broke the Alabama High School Athletic Association's record for blocked shots in the first half against Horseshoe Bend.

In his sophomore season in high school he posted averages of 20 points, 15 rebounds and 9 blocks per game.

He later attended St. Jude Catholic High School in Montgomery, where he transferred to in 1999, and he sat out the 1999–2000 basketball season.

In his last year of high school basketball he averaged 29 points, 16 rebounds and 12 blocks, and was widely regarded as one of the best prospects of his class.

[1] He drew interest from many high-profile college programs such as Arkansas, Duke, Kentucky, Michigan and North Carolina,[2] but after graduating he signed up to the 2001 NBA draft and was selected as a 47th pick overall by the Denver Nuggets (he was however the 46th player to be selected, as the Minnesota Timberwolves forfeited their 29th overall pick).