Corey Antoine Maggette was born November 12, 1979, in Melrose Park, Illinois — a working-class suburb on Chicago’s western edge. His father was Jimmie Maggette. His mother Marguerite was one of five sisters in a family revolving around their father, Reverend Willie Dugan, a Baptist minister. The sisters lived within a short drive of each other — an extended clan bound by church, meals, and proximity.
There was a Christmas when money was tight. Corey’s brother Jimmie declined his own gifts so Corey could have what he needed. A small act of sacrifice in a modest home that crystallized the family’s values: you share what you have, you look out for the people beside you.
Corey found basketball at the Boys & Girls Club at twelve. The dream started there — not on a manicured AAU circuit, but in a community center where kids shot on bent rims. That origin never left him. When he made the NBA, he started Flight 50 Basketball Camp, initially inviting fifty kids.
At Fenwick High School in Oak Park: 23 PPG/10 RPG as a senior. State quarterfinals. Two-time All-State. McDonald’s All-American. Parade All-American. Also competed in the long jump.
The recruiting decision came down to Georgetown and Duke. John Thompson sold him like a father figure. But Coach K had a shared geography. ‘He’s from the South Side of Chicago, so right there you knew it was some type of connection being a fellow Chicagoan.’ The Chicago kid chose the Chicago coach.