Benjamin Hochman | Post-Dispatch

Sports columnist

“At 19,” the father said, “I shot somebody.”

It would be the first of four times Karriem Thomas went to prison. The most recent time was in 2013, when the Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with the New York Police Department, busted him for drug trafficking .

His younger of two sons was 5.

“It’s part of my journey,” said Karriem, who is now 46. “And it’s part of Mel’s journey.”

Mel is “Magic Mel.” Well, Mel is Jermel Thomas, the New York City high school senior — rated as the nation’s 14th-best senior point guard by 247 Sports — who will attend St. Louis U. next season. But the Internet knows him as Magic Mel, a wizardly dribbler and passer who’s so famous from social media videos, he’s been featured in a Gatorade commercial an

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