Basketball, football and baseball rule the playgrounds of Compton, but a different sport is quietly finding its way onto local fields.

That sport is cricket, and Alonzo "Lonzo" Williams admits he knew very little about it until recently.

Around the world, especially in India, England, Pakistan and the Caribbean, top cricket players are treated like NBA and NFL superstars are treated here.

Now the game is growing in the United States, and youth cricket is making its way to the Hub City.

One of the driving forces is Williams' longtime friend Mustafa Khan, a leader behind the Southern California Junior Cricket Academy, known as the SCJCA.

Williams says his first reaction was skepticism, but the more he thought about it, the smarter the move looked.

Thousands of kids chase the same dream of the NBA, NFL or MLB, while almost none have been exposed to cricket at all.

Sometimes the biggest opportunity is the one the crowd hasn't found yet.

Even young players who never go pro can gain discipline, teamwork, friendships, travel and cultural experiences they never imagined.

Williams recently heard from Nickeya Hannah, the academy's new administrative director and acting president, who wants more families to know what the program offers.

The Compton Entertainment Chamber of Commerce and this publication plan to share the SCJCA's newsletters and help spread word of its activities.

Williams compares the moment to the early days of hip-hop, when plenty of people dismissed it as a fad before it changed music and business worldwide.

Had he never given hip-hop a chance, he says, his life might have taken a completely different direction.

His challenge to parents and grandparents is to ask questions, attend a practice, learn the rules and encourage a child to give the game a shot.

Business owners and supporters can help too, since youth programs need equipment, facilities, volunteers and funding to grow.

The next international cricket star might be a kid from right down the street.