1) Lenny only completed his junior year of high school. He was already 19 when his senior year would have began. There was a technicality involved. In the school system he was in, if a person were 19 and still in HS, they had to fill out paper work and get an approval in order to play basketball. Lenny failed to do this on time, so they wouldn't allow him to play his senior year. He spent his senior year in Michigan with some unsavory character doing who knows what. So, he had last played organized ball in his junior year in HS before the draft.
He should have enrolled in a prep school and played one year of prep school ball. But, as was indicated, Lenny wasn't up to that task.
2) When they say he was rated ahead of LeBron James and Anthony, they are referring to their rating as HS juniors, and this rating was based mostly on potential. I honestly can't imagine Lenny Cooke being rated above LeBron at any point, under any conditions, but one could probably find a rating service that would say just about anything. By the time the 2002 draft rolled around, Lenny's stock had plummeted.
His work ethic was called into question, he had stopped growing and was only 6'6" which is on the small side for a small forward in the NBA. He also had the rap of being uncoachable because he had played so little organized basketball. He needed a college coach to break him of his street habits, and rebuild his game from the ground up.
In the end, Lenny was the playground legend type, who excelled at 'one-on one'. This is apparent in the clips they show of him going against LeBron in Las Vegas at the 5-star camp.
3) I have no idea
IMO, Lenny lacked for a good mentor, someone he trusted and who had his best interest's in mind. He probably did need a year or two of college hoops before he would be NBA ready. His downfall were the people whispering in his ear how great he was and how rich he would become AND his NYC, inner city background.
I'm a civilian, I'm not a trout
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