Editing Dave Bing (section)

== Early life ==
Bing was born November 24, 1943, in Washington, D.C., to mother Juanita, a housekeeper, and father Hasker, a [[bricklayer]] and [[deacon]] for the local [[Baptist Church|Baptist]] church. He was the second child of four living in a two-bedroom, one-story house in the northeast part of town.<ref>Sharp, p. 15-18</ref> In his childhood, Bing received the nickname "Duke" from his father, because, according to Bing, he always "wanted to be top dog."<ref name="nba" /> He suffered a traumatic eye injury at age five, when, while playing with an improvised [[hobby horse]] he constructed with two sticks nailed together; Bing tripped and accidentally poked his left eye with a rusty nail. The family could not afford emergency surgery, leaving the eye to heal on its own and diminishing his vision thereafter.<ref>Sharp, p. 19-21</ref>  Bing's father also suffered a severe head injury during the boy's childhood. While working a construction site, a brick fell four stories onto his head, causing a brain clot. The episode led young Bing to promise himself that he would never work in such a profession.<ref name="nba">{{cite web|url=http://www.nba.com/history/players/bing_bio.html|title=NBA.com: Dave Bing Bio|work=[[National Basketball Association]]|access-date=December 12, 2012}}</ref>

In athletics, Bing played basketball, but older children often told him he was too small for the game.<ref name="nba" />  However, he played well, triumphing over such older and bigger children as future [[Motown]] musician [[Marvin Gaye]], who, after not performing well on the court, chose to sing on the sidelines. Bing and Gaye forged a friendship, which continued later in life. Despite his basketball play, Bing, a fan of the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] and [[Jackie Robinson]], focused primarily on [[baseball]], the neighborhood's preferred game.<ref>Sharp, p. 21-23</ref>

Despite his fuzzy vision, he excelled in baseball at [[Spingarn High School]],<ref name="nba" /> where he enrolled in 1958.<ref name="jock">{{cite web|url=http://www.jockbio.com/Classic/Bing/Dave_Bing_bio.html|title=Dave Bing Motor City Mayor|year=2009|work=JockBio|publisher=Black Book Partners|access-date=December 12, 2012|archive-date=November 25, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141125111015/http://www.jockbio.com/Classic/Bing/Dave_Bing_bio.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Nevertheless, the school's head basketball coach William Roundtree encouraged him to revisit basketball. Roundtree became a fatherly figure to Bing, who decided to join the team. He developed into a double-digits per game scorer, noted for his [[Jump shot (basketball)|jump shot]] and knack for driving to the basket.<ref name="jock" /> He continued also to compete in baseball into his senior year, but was forced to choose between it and basketball when a scheduling conflict between two tournaments arose.<ref name="nba" /> Though he felt he was better at baseball, Bing opted for basketball, believing it gave him a greater chance at a full-ride college scholarship,<ref>Sharp, p. 21-22</ref> well aware of the path taken by [[Los Angeles Lakers]] forward [[Elgin Baylor]], a Spingarn alum.<ref name="jock" /> At the tournament, Bing led his team to victory and earned MVP honors.<ref name="nba" /> All in all, in high school, Bing was a three-year letter winner, all–Inter High, all-Metro, and all-East member. In 1962, he was featured in [[Parade (magazine)|''Parade'' magazine]] and made the All-American Team.