Brandon Ingram heard a deafening roar every time he touched the ball. The cheers built in anticipation of another one of his thunderous dunks or high-arcing 3-pointers.

Ingram resisted fueling the frenetic fan atmosphere that followed him through four years at Kinston High in North Carolina. When he got five points from setting the school record for most scored in a game (46), Ingram refused to keep shooting so he could keep his teammates involved.

“When he got close, we wanted to give him the ball,” recalled Darnell Dunn, who played with Ingram through four years at Kinston. “But he wasn’t too worried about it.”

This contradicts conventional wisdom about supposedly entitled NBA prospects. With Ingram perhaps becoming the heir apparent to Kobe Bryant as the Lakers’ expected No.2 pick in Thursday’s draft, it does not appear Ingram seems intent on reaching Bryant’s career-high 81-point game or his career-capping 60-point performance.

After all, Ingram did not seem worried when he needed only three more points in another game to set the school record. With the Vikings coasting toward another double-digit victory, Ingram agreed with his high school coach’s decision to sit him for the final four minutes.

“‘I can have my name as the scoring leader there,’” Kinston coach Perry Tyndall recalled Ingram saying. “But that’s not the driving force behind what I want to do.”

Instead, Ingram’s father sees a broader driving force in his son as he inches toward the beginning of his NBA career. As Donald Ingram put it, “he just wants to be the best at everything.”

Scouts, executives and those close to Ingram hesitate to attach any long-term projections on his NBA career after he was named ACC Freshman of the Year during his lone season at Duke. Still, they gush about his outside shooting (41 percent), perimeter defense and positional versatility. Those close to Ingram also downplay the concerns about his 190-pound playing weight.

They focus, instead, on what made Ingram tick as he guided Kinston to four state championships, learned in various AAU programs and excelled at Duke. Nothing captured that more than Ingram’s apathy toward setting a school record. It illustrated how he can both master individual greatness and prioritize team needs.

“I’ve never seen any other athlete like him,” said Mykel Hart, another one of Ingram’s high school teammates. “He’s very humble. He never puts himself above anyone. Instead, he’s just worried about staying in the gym everyday. It works for him.”

FORMING HIS FOUNDATION

To his father’s delight, 5-year-old Brandon Ingram often arrived at the Teachers Memorial Recreation Center eagerly studying how older children played basketball. To his father’s annoyance, Ingram often sneaked onto the court and started shooting baskets during stoppages in play.

“Sometimes I’d get on him,” said Donald Ingram, who served as the rec center director. “I’d say, ‘Brandon go on the other end and get some shots up instead.’”

Forgive the younger Ingram, who described himself as “self-driven.” He just wanted to learn as much as he could. He also wanted to find a safe haven, while living in a poverty-stricken city that saw jobs lost overseas.

At age 10, he often arrived at the rec center after school to play against high school players during pickup scrimmages. He then lingered until closing time to sharpen his shot in individual workouts. At age 11, he peppered his father about the rulebook, hopeful that his experience as an official could give him extra insight on how to avoid and draw fouls. At age 12, he joined the Anthony Atkinson All-Stars AAU team in Wilson, N.C., to accelerate his development and increase his exposure.

There, Atkinson saw two distinguishable qualities that Ingram never compromised. He sought self-improvement. He did not allow that pursuit to cloud his affection for those around him.

When his AAU team lost the 2012 national championship game on a controversial no-call at the end, Ingram did not spend the long bus ride home complaining about not going to the foul line.

Instead, Atkinson recalled Ingram telling him, “Coach, I’m going to get better next year. We’re going to win a national championship.”

He then spent the next year fine-tuning his game. In the 2013 national title game, Ingram helped his team overcome a 20-point deficit by scoring 30 points in the fourth quarter and making key defensive stops.

“It did not matter who we were playing,” Atkinson said. “If Brandon Ingram showed up in the gym, it was a wrap. He can take over a game anytime.”

Yet, Ingram only took over a game when he felt the team needed it. When Atkinson called plays from the sideline, Ingram resisted any temptation to run what he already planned. He then ensured his teammates followed through on Atkinson’s instructions.

“It was amazing how disciplined he was to embrace what was going on with the team and make sure we did what the coach wanted,” Atkinson said. “That might be little stuff. But it makes a big difference.”

Those around Ingram also argued it made a big difference on how he handled his time when he joined Jerry Stackhouse’s Atlanta-based AAU team beginning in 2013.

The benefits seemed obvious. Ingram recently shared that Stackhouse, another former Kinston High star who enjoyed an 18-year NBA career, “developed a lot of toughness in me.” The league’s increased parity further tested and validated Ingram’s ascension as a top prospect.

Yet, Ingram didn’t let his AAU tournaments compromise friendships with his high school teammates.

“It was important to him to stay here and be with his longtime friends and brothers and keep the bond,” Dunn said. “He was going to go on to bigger and better things. But he stayed with us and he let it all come to him.”

HANDLING CHALLENGES

That approach factored into Kinston winning four state championships. Questions emerged, however, as to whether Ingram should have become more selfish when he went through a three-game slide at Duke.

When Ingram failed to crack double figures in marquee nonconference matchups against Kentucky, VCU and Georgetown, Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski moved him out of the starting lineup. Krzyzewski also reportedly challenged Ingram, asking “Where’s that hungry kid I recruited?”

Tyndall encouraged Ingram to stay positive. Donald Ingram stressed to his son, “don’t be afraid of anybody.” Ingram kept his mind relaxed by immersing himself in the gym and enjoying a new hobby.

Ingram soon began drawing portraits of NBA stars such as Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul. Ingram also drew images that are now permanently tattooed on his shoulders. On the right side, Ingram has a tattoo that shows hands in prayer in honor of his deceased family members, including his grandmother, Ida Mae, and great aunt, Leatha Smith. On his left shoulder, a message reads, “Small City, Big Dreams.”

Those dreams soon became reality.

Ingram reclaimed his starting spot. He finished sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring (16.3). He typically defended the opposing team’s best offensive player. When senior forward Amile Jefferson suffered a season-ending foot injury in December, Ingram excelled at multiple positions.

“He plays with a lot of poise,” Bryant said during Ingram’s freshman season. “He can shoot the long ball. He can go left and finish. He can go right and finish.”

Can Ingram add muscle, though?

After his pre-draft workout with the Lakers two weeks ago, Ingram shared he has gone from 169 pounds to 195 pounds within the last year. He hopes to weigh 210 pounds by the 2016-17 NBA season through both a calorie-heavy diet and intensive weight training.

Yet, NBA TV analyst and former Duke standout Grant Hill cited Durant, Reggie Miller, Tayshaun Prince, and Kevin Garnett as players who thrived professionally despite lacking a heavier physical frame. One NBA executive, who requested anonymity, said Ingram’s strength limitations will not become as exposed since he will neither assume primary ball-handling duties nor defend post players inside.

Those around him insist a more important quality will determine his NBA future.

“If he continues to work hard, he’ll be successful in the NBA,” Donald Ingram said. “If he stops working at this point, then it’s going to be harder on him to be that type of success.”

What type of success will that be?

No one knows for sure, though one NBA scout predicted Ingram will become the fourth option on a young Lakers’ team. But as he showed on nights he flew tantalizingly close to his high school’s scoring record, he would likely be O.K. with that.