Alston grew up in Jamaica, Queens, New York and was a standout streetball basketball player, known for his nontraditional moves which made him particularly adept at getting past defenders while dribbling the ball. He was the inspiration in many ways for the AND1 Mixtape Tour—a low-quality, jerky 1999 videotape of Alston\'s extreme playground moves, featuring helter-skelter crossover and other fast dribble moves faking out defenders, attracted a great deal of attention among players and basketball fans. His trademark skipping dribble when bringing the ball down the court earned him the nickname, Skip to My Lou.Lou.\n', '

He also played under famous high school coach Ron Naclerio at Benjamin Cardozo High School in Queens, New York. Naclerio is credited with circulating the Alston tape and getting it in the hands of AND1 staff.\n', '

Alston played college basketball for three seasons: one each at Ventura College (1994–95), Fresno City College (1996–97), and Fresno State (1997–98). Alston was red-shirted at Fresno City College for the 1995–96 season.\n', '

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