Four blocks from the Gauchos Gym on Gerard Avenue in the Bronx — the court where Kemba Walker, Kenny Anderson, and Rod Strickland all cut their teeth — Andre Sweet learned to play basketball the New York way: physical, positionless, and with a chip on your shoulder. Born on June 21, 1982, Sweet grew up in the Bronx surrounded by the richest grassroots basketball culture in America. By middle school he was running with the New York Gauchos, the AAU powerhouse that has produced more Division I talent per square block than any program in the country.
At Rice High School in Harlem — the Catholic school on 124th Street and Lenox Avenue that would later produce Kemba Walker before closing its doors in 2011 — Sweet played under coach Maurice Hicks alongside a murderer's row of future D-I guards: Andre Barrett, who would sign with Seton Hall; Kyle Cuffe, headed to St. John's; and Kenny Satterfield, bound for Cincinnati. They had known each other since elementary school, grown up together in the Gauchos system, and now they were winning everything in sight. Rice captured city and state championships in 1998 and 1999, and Sweet was the backbone — a 6-foot-6 forward who could rebound, block shots, and finish at the rim with either hand.
As a senior in 1999–2000, Sweet averaged 18.3 points and 12.1 rebounds per game while shooting 52 percent from the field and 77 percent from the free throw line. He added 3.0 blocks and 3.0 assists per game — the kind of stat line that screams versatility. He earned first team All-City honors and played in showcase events including the Capital Classic and the Bob Gibbons All-Star Game, rubbing shoulders with the best prep talent in the country.
When Duke came calling, it must have felt like validation from another universe. Sweet signed his national letter of intent on May 1, 2000, joining Chris Duhon — the Morgan Wootten National Player of the Year from Slidell, Louisiana — as the two-man recruiting class. Duhon was the headliner. Sweet was the project, a raw, athletic forward from the Bronx who Coach K believed could develop into a versatile weapon. He left his neighborhood, his Gauchos family, and his childhood best friend Andre Barrett behind. Durham was a long way from Gerard Avenue.