Acie Earl, A.J. Guyton, Frank Williams, Howard Nathan, Roger Phegley, Derek Grimm, Al Smith and David Booth all played in the NBA. But before they took to the court in "the league," they first had to prove they could play in Peoria.
"Peoria is just a rich stomping ground, just breeding basketball players," Bucks guard Shaun Livingston, who joins that distinguished list of Peoria natives who have made it to the world's marquee circuit, said. "We just grew up watching all those guys come out of the playground."
Peoria's prized patch of real estate that has served as a hoops talent incubator is the legendary Carver Recreation Center.
"I started out watching my dad," Livingston remembers. "I would go to the courts with my dad. I was always around basketball."
Livingston's next challenge was making the cut for a local high school team, no easy task in that town.
"It was definitely tough, depending on where you go," Livingston said. "All throughout Peoria is good hoops. There were some good private school teams and public league, good hoops.
"We just played all the time, during P.E., after school, we just played."
Livingston played at Richwoods for two years, and then transferred to Central where his team won the Illinois state championship in 2003 and 2004. He was named to the McDonald's All American team in 2004, was co-MVP of the McDonald's All American Game and played with the nation's elite young stars. But for Livingston, the ultimate proving ground was still in his own backyard.
"Even when I started being known on the national scene, I used to come back home and play at Carver and once I started playing there, I knew I could play anywhere," Livingston said.
Livingston committed to play college basketball at Duke but decided to skip college and enter the NBA draft where the Clippers selected him with the 4th overall pick. Livingston had confidence that his Peoria pedigree was equal to any seasoning he could have experienced in the ACC.
"I was already at a high I.Q. when I came into the league," Livingston said. "I had to learn how to play the NBA game, but as far as how to play, I knew how to play."
Former NBA player David Booth, who is now a scout for the Memphis Grizzlies, also credits Peoria for his advanced education in the school of hardwood.
"95 percent of what I do is what I did there," Booth told ESPN.com. "It's all about handling the pressure, on and off the court."
Livingston, one of the rare players who successfully made the jump from high school to the NBA, says there is a lot of basketball talent in Peoria that will remain untapped. Certain players, who have the game to go to the next level, may not have the grades, the off-the-court discipline or the right connections to advance past the playground.
"It's always been like that," Livingston said. "You've got that everywhere. One bad step or not enough exposure. They don't get the right opportunities."
At the tender age of 26, Livingston is already a well-traveled NBA veteran. He suffered a devastating knee injury while playing with the Clippers in 2007, which sidelined him for 16 months. Since then he has played for Miami, Oklahoma City, Washington and Charlotte before being traded to the Bucks last June. When he returns to Peoria these days, he finds himself answering many questions about basketball and life from the kids at his alma mater, roaming the same halls he did just a short time ago.
"You grow up playing, you see guys and they all watch the NBA," Livingston said. "They watch Kobe, LeBron. They see me play. They know it's possible. I got a chance to watch them in one of the tournament games and I got a chance to talk to them."
Livingston's alma mater won the state title last month, again, for the third time in the last nine years. In a state dominated in its perception by the Second City, its seventh largest city, with a population of just over 115,000 continues to turn out big time basketball talent.
"It just shows in Peoria, we just don't stop, " Livingston said. "I'm from Peoria. I bleed Peoria. I'm definitely proud to say that's my hometown."
