López's father, who played amateur baseball in the Dominican Republic, and his family immigrated to the U.S. when he was 14. López played high school basketball at Rice High School in New York City, where he followed New York high school player Dean Meminger in becoming one of the most highly touted recruits in U.S. high school history.[1] The 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) guard made many All-American lists in 1994, earning Player of the Year honors from Gatorade, USA Today, Parade, and many others.
College career
López appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated before he had played his first college game. He also appeared with Jim Brown and Jackie Joyner-Kersee at a televised town meeting on race and sports along with then-president Bill Clinton. López was the only Latino onstage during the discussion.[2]
López and Allen Iverson were the two most lauded recruits coming out of prep that year, and both went on to play in the Big East.
López finished his freshman season for the St. John's Red Storm with a 17.8-point-per-game scoring average. He earned a spot on the All-Big East Rookie Team and All-Big East Third Team. His numbers dipped slightly the next two years, bottoming out at 15.9 ppg as a junior. As a senior he averaged 17.6 ppg and garnered All-Big East First Team honors. He finished his career with 1,927 points, placing him fourth all-time in St. John's history behind former players Chris Mullin, Malik Sealy, and D'Angelo Harrison and sixth in Big East history with 1,222 conference points, while also ranking seventh all time in steals, 14th in assists, and 20th in rebounds. He once held the St. John's record for most three-pointers made in a single season (60) and in a career (148), but was surpassed by D'Angelo Harrison.[3]
^"Clinton Needles Sports World For Not Hiring Minorities". CNN. April 15, 1998. The meeting, broadcast live on ESPN, was the second of Clinton's three planned nationally televised town meetings on race. The forum's makeup angered Latino activists who complained that too few Hispanics were represented. Felipe Lopez, a basketball star at St. John's University, was the only Hispanic on the panel.