Under the moonlight here, the Riverwalk bustles with coaches, administrators and players in town for the men’s college basketball Final Four.
William Wesley strolls through this world — his world — with a confident gait, his head high and a nod for almost everyone he passes. It takes only a few steps to assess his influence.
Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim and St. Joseph’s Coach Phil Martelli offer him a seat at their dinner table. A few steps away, assistant coaches from the America East to the Southeastern Conference reverently shake his hand. Wesley rubs the belly of Leon Rose, the agent for LeBron James, and whispers in the ear of a prominent ticket peddler.
All the players here — those in the game and those who run it — know and love William Wesley. They call him Wes, or Uncle Wes, or World Wide Wes.
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“I don’t have any clue what he does or how financially he benefits from this,” Boeheim said. “I don’t know. But he’s just there. He’s around. He knows all the pro guys, their agents, the sneaker people, the coaches, general managers, media people. There’s no one he doesn’t know.”