Playing at the Next Level

Devon Jefferson



Even though OJ Mayo and Taj Gibson are the players garnering all of the attention at USC, the player with the most potential to make a major impact at the next level is Freshman Davon Jefferson.

Mayo and Gibson are both projected 1st rounders, but neither has the upside that Jefferson posses. At 6’9 Jefferson is a freak athlete with the length, quickness and speed to dominate the opposition. He plays with an explosive style, always attacking the rim and trying to dunk on anyone in sight. Jefferson is still very raw and needs to work on his mid range jumper, but with some schooling from the USC coaching staff, you can expect to hear the name Davon Jefferson for many years to come.


Tyler Hansbrough




I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but for anyone who thinks that Tyler Hansbrough has any chance of playing at the NBA Level, I am really sorry. I don’t even know why there was a discussion about ‘Psych T’ even considering a jump to the NBA following his sophomore season.

Hansbrough, whose averaging 21 and 9 thus far this season, is able to dominate at the college level because he is physically more advanced than other college players. Unfortunately, this formula does not translate at the next level. Hansbrough is so limited athletically, has no shooting stroke from the outside, and lacks the speed and quickness to match up with the NBA 4’s.

With Hansbrough’s exceptional worth ethic, you can expect him to become an All-Star somewhere overseas. Great kid!


Gerald Henderson and Russell Westbrook




It’s pretty clear thus far this season, who was working on their games over the summer. Two players that have made tremendous strides and will soon begin to receive the recognition they deserve are Gerald Henderson (Duke) and Russell Westbrook (UCLA).

Both players are among the most athletically gifted in college basketball and are major reasons why their teams are having early season success.

Henderson still needs to expand his range and improve his handle, while Westbrook’s biggest challenge will be transitioning to a true point guard, rather than just a scorer. With that being said, both players should be 1st round selections in the 2009 NBA Draft.

Marko Jaric has Officially Struck Gold!

With a 2-10 record and quite possibly the worst lineup in the NBA this season, the Minnesota Timberwolves are a team in utter disarray. However, there is one member of the T-Wolves who is holding his head higher than ever before.

Since arriving in the NBA, Marko Jaric, has struggled to make any real contribution on the court, but he is scoring like a champ off of it. Reports are surfacing around a blossoming romance involving Jaric and Victoria Secret model Adriana Lima. (Yes, you read that right.)

Lima, a known virgin by choice seems to really be selling her self short. Could you picture that double date, with Giselle and Tom Brady?

I’m baffled.

Chris Rock said it best: “Since when did they start selling Bentley’s for half off.”

The Most Amusing Team that you’ve Never Heard of

The Atlanta Krunk

Led by first year Head Coach Kenny Anderson, the Atlanta Krunk are becoming quite an attraction in the CBA. Among the notables: Former URI point guard and brother of the most beloved NYC ball player, Zach Marbury; Former UConn Huskie Taliek Brown; Grayson Boucher AKA ‘The Professor’ and the GM is Vincent Smith (Kenny’s brother).

The team is owned by former rap stars Freedom Williams and Spyder D. (No clue who they are)

In case you were wondering, the Krunk are 3-2 on the season…

The Scariest Man in Sports

I’m not sure how many people have had the privilege of catching a Kansas State game thus far this season, but it is surely a treat. Forget the star studded lineup that features freshmen Bill Walker and Michael Beasley, the real entertainment takes place on the sidelines.

Having had the opportunity to coach under Bob Huggins, first year Head Coach Frank Martin certainly learned a thing or two. Crazy, lunatic, mad-man, the list of adjectives goes on and on. All you really need to do is watch a Kansas State game and you will see exactly what I am talking about. If a player makes a mistake, oh boy, Martin not only yanks the player, but looks like he is ready to slaughter the kid. The guy makes Bob Knight look like Joe Torre.

While coaching at Miami High School, Martin was fired, along with the school’s athletic director for committing violations of FHSAA rules against recruiting. The school was also forced to return the 1998 state championship trophy. (Via Fanhouse)

It wouldn’t shock me in the slightest if the Martin-Kansas State relationship ends in a similar fashion. Something will go down. Martin has earned the reputation of being a phenomenal recruiter, which is really astonishing, considering his antics on the sidelines.

With Kansas State coming to NYC on Dec 4th as the under card to the Memphis vs. USC match-up, this has provided me with even more incentive to make sure I am at the Garden. Stay tuned…

It’s Rock Bottom in New York

After a tumultuous road trip that resulted in four straight humiliating losses, the Knicks returned home to face the Golden State Warriors. With the heat burning in New York, a midst swirling rumors around who will be the successor to Isiah Thomas, the Knicks had an opportunity to get back on track and quiet all the commotion that had been surrounding them. Unfortunately, instead of showing the type of fight and grit that is needed to win in the NBA, the Knicks went out and embarrassed themselves.

Therefore, rather than following my intended plan which was to provide analysis on tonight’s match-up, lets pin point the problem:


Isiah Thomas: With the Knicks 2-3 on the season and about to engulf on a 4 game West Coast swing, did it really make sense to bench Stephon Marbury? Nobody in their right mind truly believes that Mardy Collins deserves to be starting over Marbury. By making this decision, you’ve managed to humiliate your star and in the same process, create an enormous distraction for the entire team. The end result: 5 straight losses.

Obviously Isiah deserves to be fired more than any executive in the NBA. He’s been given every opportunity to succeed, from an unlimited checkbook, to ultimate decision making power and head coaching responsibilities. However, the Knicks would still be foolish to make a head coaching change at this point in the season. All that would do is concede this entire season and send the wrong message to the players that the towel is being thrown in, just 10 games into the year. The Knicks certainly are not title contenders, but there is still enough talent to become a .500 team.

It didn’t take long for the “Fire Isiah” chants to begin and you can be sure that they won’t be letting up anytime soon.


Mardy Collins: The easiest way for me to describe how Mardy Collins looks playing in an NBA game, is to have you remember back to your Little League days. Everybody had someone on their team, who only got into the game because the league required each player to get in for a minimum of two innings. The player was usually stuck in left field and looked so lost that his parents were embarrassed watching him humiliate himself out there. This is honestly how I feel about Mardy Collins, only there is no league requirement.

In tonight’s game, Collins had his full arsenal on display. He managed to commit 4 turnovers and go 0-2 in just 17 minutes of action. He looked misplaced, confused and without a real purpose of being on the court.

Now that Collins is back in a reserve role, can we officially concede what an utter failure the Mardy Collins era was? The man simply doesn’t belong on an NBA roster, period.


Zach Randolph: I officially have my new least favorite player in the NBA. If there was ever a time that proved how meaningless statistics can sometimes be, it was tonight’s Knicks vs. Warriors game. Had I not watched the entire debacle that took place and instead settled for checking the box score to gauge tonight’s results, I might have been fooled into believing that Randolph played well.

Randolph suffers from a severe case of holding the ball for way too long. The moment the ball touched Randolph’s hands the entire offensive flow would come to a sudden halt. It really didn’t matter if there were 3 guys surrounding Randolph, because quite frankly, he couldn’t care less. Instead he hit the defense with multiple, meaningless jab steps, which resulted in deeply contested jumpers, or he would over dribble, until the ball was stolen.

The real moment that had me screaming like a lunatic and contemplating a late trip to the Garden occurred following one of Randolph’s 7 turnovers (all stats aren’t insignificant). After Randolph was stripped of the ball on offense, he decided not to get back down the court and play defense. Now, I have seen players fail to get back on defense because they are mad at a missed foul call, or maybe they got dinged up, but Zach just said screw it.

The guy is a joke.


Quentin Richardson: Let me start off by saying that there haven’t been too many instances of the two hands to the side of the head, that Q is known for. As much as I would like to applaud Q for his attempts at leadership and his serious demeanor on the court, is just holds no clout when it is coming from a guy that is playing horrendous. It’s like when Malik Rose has a quote in the newspaper, does anyone really care? You simply can’t be a leader on a team, when you have no real value on the court.

Tonight was another atrocious performance out of Q and he really is starting to become a detriment to the Knicks. He can’t hit from long range and he very rarely displays his post game that originally put him on the map.

Has anyone seen D-Miles?


Fred Jones: Why is he in the rotation?


Eddy Curry: Anyone who didn’t think that Eddy Curry was going to be negatively affected by the acquisition of Zach Randolph is foolish. They are both bruisers that clog the paint and need too consistently be fed the rock to find a comfort level. Unfortunately, this rotating style on offense has taken Eddy out of his game and diminished some of the fire he displayed last season.

With that being said, there is no excuse for the lack of rebound production that Eddy Curry is giving the Knicks. Get tough!!!


Stephon Marbury: Say what you want about the guy, but he is still your best player. To steal a poker term, the Knicks are ‘pot committed’ to Stephon as their point guard for this season. If they are going to have any hope of steering this ship in the right direction, they are going to need Steph to play up to his capability.

Steph was the only Knick that came out to compete tonight. He handled the boos throughout the entire first quarter, I guess as well as possible. All it takes is a few buckets to silence the crowd and a few wins to get them back on your side.


At 2-8 things can’t get much worse for the Knicks. The next stretch certainly doesn’t get any easier with Detroit, Chicago and Utah on deck and the temperature rising in New York. One thing is for sure, if the Knicks are going to have any chance to start winning, everyone is going to have to elevate their current level of play.

A Day in the Life of Steve Nash

Steve Nash is one of the most remarkable athletes in the world. He is consistently praised for all of his abilities on the basketball court, but like all of the greats, it is his preparation that has vaulted Nash to the current level he is at today:

Life is Good: Lil Romeo

When the discussion comes up about who is currently living the American dream, you would be hard pressed to exclude Lil Romeo from that conversation. Everybody loves to talk about Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, Leonardo DiCaprio etc (for good reason), but life really doesn’t get much better than that of Master P’s son.

At only 18 years old, Romeo has quite a resume. Among the accomplishments: Rapper, CEO of a clothing line, actor and a feature on MTV cribs. It’s now time to add to one more feat to that list: college basketball player. Yesterday, Romeo signed a national letter of intent to attend USC in the fall, on a full ride.

The 5’9 point guard (although he’s listed at 6’0) averaged 13.9 points and 5.6 assists as a Junior at Beverly Hills High School, not exactly a basketball powerhouse.

Having seen him play on multiple occasions, we are talking about a legitimate Division 2 or 3 prospect, certainly not USC worthy. Romeo is set to join close friend Demar Derozan who also committed to USC and is one of the top 5 prospects in the Sr. class.

If they added Romeo as a package deal to get DeRozan, it’s worth the scholarship.

Throw It Back: Josh Smith

Clearly everything has worked out quite nicely for Josh Smith, since becoming the 17th pick of his hometown Atlanta Hawks straight from High School. But could you imagine if he had gone to Indiana for a year? Instead of riding pine in the league, Smith would have dominated the Big Ten for one season and been a top 5 pick. Not to mention the amount of action Smith would have got as "the man" in Bloomington.

Smith’s athletic ability is off the charts. When he finally expands his offensive arsenal and develops an outside jumper, Smith is going to be a force in the league.

The frontline for the Atlanta Celtics HS AAU team: Josh Smith, Dwight Howard and Randolph Morris. Not many high school teams can compete with that.

The Mess in New York

Where Marbury spent his day off on Tuesday?

While the Knicks were in Phoenix taking on the Suns, Stephon Marbury spent the day in Brooklyn, mourning the death of his mentor, Robert Williams aka Mr. Lou.

Williams coached every great player to come through the Surfside Gardens in Coney Island, including Stephon and his brothers (Don, Eric, Norman, Zach), Sebastian Telfair, Quincy Douby, Chris Taft and Jamel Thomas.

“My dad passed away at 3 o’clock, and Stephon was here by dinnertime,” said Robert Williams Jr., 40, Mr. Williams’s son.

Earl Smith, one of Mr. Williams’s former players who is now a personal assistant to Spike Lee, said Mr. Marbury was in the Williams apartment “crying like a baby.”

"People don't know," Sebastian Telfair said. "But that's why Stephon left, to go to Mr. Lou. I wish I had the flexibility and the leverage to do the same, to be there for him and his family at this time."

“Madison Square Garden, that's the Garden for the professionals," Telfair said. "Our Garden is the Garden for street-ball players." Mr. Lou coached Telfair as well as Telfair's older brother and younger brother in the 36 years he held court there.

When asked how many hours he spent at Coney Island's Garden, Telfair grew puzzled by the small increment of time.

"Hours? Hours ... there's a decade's worth of hours there," he said. "He was there for all of it. He taught us everything, everything. I wouldn't be here, none of us could have done it without him."

Perhaps this is what Steph meant when he said that he had permission to leave.

(Via NY Times, Star Tribune)


Steph not exactly welcomed back with open arms

According to Yahoo Sports, while Steph was away from the Knicks, Isiah Thomas took a vote to see how the other players would react when Steph rejoined the team. It was unanimous, every Knick voted against allowing Steph to play upon his return.

Isiah apparently didn’t care too much about what the Knick players thought, as Steph came off the bench to play 34 minutes in the loss to the Clippers. Isiah also showed Steph the proper way to play defense:

“I’ve played with people I don’t like. I’ve won with people I don’t like,” Thomas said.

“We’re a professional basketball team. My job is to try and win the basketball game. “However I feel about a person, that doesn’t matter. We’re tying to win. Whatever happened in the past is in the past.”

Throughout his entire basketball career Steph has always alienated himself from each and every teammate he’s played with. He’s not the type of guy you will see being embraced by teammates when he does something well, because most people that play with Steph don’t like him. He’s never running to pick someone up, slapping a teammate five, or even smiling for that matter. It’s leadership at its finest.


Is Isiah Thomas on his way out?

The always reliable Peter Vescey is reporting that Isiah Thomas’s tenure in New York is very close to coming to an end.

"Even with James Dolan still in charge, I was fairly convinced Thomas' termination was going to happen Wednesday night following the Knicks' loss to the Clippers in LA - their fifth in seven games -or yesterday.

I continue to believe it could occur before tonight's game with the Kings in Sacramento (a halfway suitable replacement must be unearthed), and I'm not the only one.

The same source who tipped me off the Knicks had decided to buy out Larry Brown called to say Thomas had informed him Dolan was coming out west (a team official branded it inaccurate) to see him and sensed he was in severe job jeopardy.

Then again, that just might be wishful thinking. A couple Knick players and at least one staff member get the distinct impression Thomas wants to be fired and is going to extremes (I offer for evidence the bizarrely stained, even for Isiah, Stephon Marbury misadventure) to give Dolan no other choice."

Is anyone surprised? Please happen already. LET THE JB ERA BEGIN!!!

What ever happened to Khalid El-Amin?

Following a successful college career that included a Big East Freshman of the Year award, a Big East All-First Team selection and winning a National Championship, Khalid El-Amin’s basketball career has taken him all across the world.

Bypassing his senior season, El-Amin was hoping to sneak into the first round of the 2000 NBA Draft, but unfortunately that never panned out. As the last of 3 powerhouse 2nd round selections (the other two - AJ Guyton, Jake Voskuhl), the Chicago Bulls drafted El-Amin 34th overall (Michael Redd was still on the draft board).

El-Amin played just one season with the Bulls, before signing on with the Dallas Mavericks in 2001. His stay in Dallas didn’t last long, as he never even made it through the pre-season. El-Amin ended up playing the 2001 season in the CBA for the Dakota Wizards and Gary Steelheads.

Realizing that his most realistic chance to make a quality living on the basketball court was overseas, El-Amin packed up his things and headed to Europe. Despite another very brief stop in the NBA with the Miami Heat, El-Amin has been playing internationally ever since:

2002 (Jan.) – Strasbourg, France: SIG - 12.8 points and 4.9 assist

2002 (Nov.) – 2003 – Ramat Gan, Israel: Maccabi Ironi - 19.7 points and 4.9 assists

2003 (Aug.) – 2005 - Istanbul, Turkey: Besiktas … 1st season - 20.9 points and 5.2 assists. Two consecutive Turkish League MVPs.

2005 (June) - 2006 - Mariupol, Ukraine: Azovmash - 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assist. Azovmash won the 2006 Ukranian Championship. El-Amin won the MVP of both regular season and playoffs.

Currently = Turkey: BC Turk Telekom Ankara

Not that I ever thought Khalid El-Amin would turn into a legitimate pro player, but it’s quite interesting to see where the former UConn product landed. His husky frame, limited defensive skills and sub par jump shot were too much to overcome.

Should it come as a surprise that El-Amin's family owns a restaurant?

The Heat's New Addition

Following another embarrassing loss, this time to the Charlotte Bobcats, Pat Riley talked about a potential new lineup that includes:

"Me? Play. I guarantee you I should suit up. I'd play better than some of them right now," Riley said Tuesday night. "I guarantee it. I swear to God. With an old hip and 62-years-old and I can't see, I'll play better than some of my guys tonight. Come on, they were pretty bad."

Everyone saw a slow start coming with Dwayne Wade still recovering from shoulder and knee surgeries, but 1-6. Good thing, they had the Knicks in the early part of the schedule.

The Saga Continues

Having been such an avid Stephon Marbury supporter for the past 12 years, I am following this story as closely as most girls follow Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton escapades. Instead of refreshing TMZ.com or Perezhilton, I am all over the sports news wire.

The latest news surrounding Steph’s whereabouts:

Knicks point guard Stephon Marbury contacted The Post late this afternoon and in two text messages said he got permission from Isiah Thomas to leave the team in Phoenix this morning.

Marbury had bolted in a huff, flying for home amid an apparent feud with Thomas over his starting role, leaving his future as a Knick in serious doubt.

Marbury landed in New York about 4 p.m. and said in the message to The Post, "I have one thing to say, and that's I got permission to leave. I would never leave my team on my own. What I’m telling you is that I got permission to leave from Isiah. He said I could go home. God bless. Peace be with you."

Marbury added he was not expecting to join the team in Los Angeles tomorrow night.

"No, I'm not coming to LA as of now," he said.

Read more...

After hearing the Knicks pre-game interview with Isiah Thomas, he indicated that a similar warning has been issued to other members of the Knicks roster, naming Crawford and Curry, about picking up their level of play. Isiah went on to say that when Steph returns, which he would like to see happen, Marbury needs to sharpen up his leadership and defense, in order to retain his starting point guard duties.

With that said, I am still completely bemused at the way the Knicks have handled their star. Marbury certainly doesn’t deserve any of this, just 5 games into the season.

• As far as finding one positive spin to this whole Marbury mess that’s resulted in Mardy Collins becoming the Knicks starting point guard. There is one player that should benefit immensely with Stephon out and that is Jamal Crawford.
  
  It seems like Jamal is always playing second fiddle to Steph and he never gets to display his real skills with Stephon on the court. Jamal gets most of his shots up when the team needs someone to bail them out at the end of the shot clock, or off penetration. Without Steph, Jamal will see plenty of opportunities to become more of a focal point offensively and create scoring chances for both himself and others.
  

Isiah's New Fall Guy

With growing speculation around Stephon Marbury’s diminishing role within the Knicks organization, the news finally made its way to Starbury. After arriving with the team Monday in Phoenix, Marbury was a no-show at this morning’s practice.

Frankly, I don’t blame him…

After reporting the news earlier this morning, I tried to come up with one reason why the Knicks would create another distraction just 5 games into this season. Granted Stephon made a costly turnover Sunday against the Heat and he is certainly no longer the focal point of the offense, but why now? Is there a better option that I don’t know about?

If Marbury does not return, the Knicks will be led by 2^nd year point guard Mardy Collins and 3^rd year guard Nate Robinson. Not exactly a lethal combination. Collins has very limited offensive skills and despite receiving much praise for his defense, it is adequate at best. Collins struggles just to get the ball up the court, without being forced to turn his back to the defender guarding him. As for his jumper, the range doesn’t extend beyond the foul line. Nate is best served playing the role of spark plug off the bench. He brings tremendous energy and can excite the crowd the moment he checks into the game. Make no mistake about it; Nate Robinson and Mardy Collins are not starting point guards in the NBA.

Put aside all the crazy behavior and Steph is still a top 10 talent for point guards in the NBA. If Isiah was a quality coach, he would maximize Steph’s talents, knowing that Marbury is the best option to lead the Knicks this season.

This is another case of Isiah Thomas putting blame elsewhere, rather than squarely on top of his own shoulders. Every year there is someone new that takes the blame for the mess Isiah created. Lenny Wilkins, Larry Brown, Keith Van Horn, Tim Thomas and many more have all taken the fall for Isiah’s failures in New York.

It’s another sad day in the Knicks organization since James Dolan handed Isiah Thomas the reigns. One could only hope that this disastrous combo will come to an end very soon and that this time the right person is taking the fall.

Is Stephon Marbury on his way out of NY?

The New York Daily News is reporting that Knicks management is discussing ways to either reduce the role of Stephon Marbury, or severe ties with him completely. With Steph set to earn $42M over the next two years and his trade value at an all time low (not that it was ever high), the options for the Knicks are limited.

Following his trade to NY, I don’t think anybody envisioned Steph’s tenure with the Knicks would go as poorly as it has. Having grown up in Coney Island and followed by many New Yorkers since a very young age, Steph’s return home was a perfect match. This was supposed to not only resurrect Steph’s career, but return the buzz back to the Garden. Unfortunately, the past four years have been brutal and it appears the Knicks have had enough of this failed experiment.

One would have hoped that after 10 years of playing in the league, Steph would finally get it. Blessed with every skill a basketball player could dream of, the one major problem has always resided inside the enormous dome above Steph’s neck.

It’s become especially draining for Steph’s most loyal supporters, as his immature antics never seem to end. From the towel on the head, to the decision not to shoot during certain games and the insane interviews, it’s one thing after the next.

There isn’t a player in this league that has played alongside Steph that would be sad to see him go. In fact, there probably isn’t a coach or fan either.

It looks like this Italy experiment could be coming sooner than Steph expected…

The World’s Most Eligible Bachelor-ette

Michael and Juanita Jordan have reached a financial settlement, which will result in a major payday for the former Mrs. Michael Jordan. Juanita is set to receive $168 million, which equates to 1/3 of MJ’s fortune. The final package also includes the couple’s Chicago estate and custody of their 3 children.

Now with a serious bank account of her own, Juanita is reportedly bouncing back strong. Having taken a page out of ‘Stella’s’ book, Juanita is being linked to a banker 20 years younger than herself… That’s respectable.

As for MJ, well, now he doesn’t have to worry about getting caught anymore. Any ideas who will be the next Mrs. MJ?

(Via Times Online)

The NBA's Most Marketable

MSNBC released their list of the Top 10 most marketable NBA players and as expected King James was #1. In order:

1) LeBron James
2) Dwayne Wade
3) Kevin Garnett
4) Shaquille O’Neal
5) Kobe Bryant
6) Yao Ming
7) Tony Parker
8) Kevin Durant
9) Yi Jianlian
10) Eduardo Najera

- All of China will be watching tonight as Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian meet for the first time. The NBA is hosting a viewing party in Beijing to help generate additional buzz for the match-up. Something tells me the Rockets vs. Bucks wont be as big in the US.

The Future

If you don’t know everyone on this cover, you will very soon.


Featured on the new issue of Punks (Slam) magazine are the four best high school guards in the nation. From the left: Brandon Jennings, Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Lance Stephenson.

All four participated in this summer’s Elite 24 and none of them disappointed. Jennings and Holiday will continue their battles next season, with both of them heading to the Pac-10 at Arizona and UCLA respectively. Evans hasn’t declared his college intentions, but he has narrowed his choices down to Louisville, Texas, Memphis, Seton Hall and UConn. Stephenson still has another two years left of high school ball and hasn’t given any real indications of where he will be playing in college. The one thing that we do know about Lance’s recruitment process is that it is being handled by his father; Lance Stephenson Sr. The approach is rather unconventional, yet equally effective: If they are interested, they will call you…
(Via Slam)

For more in-depth coverage on:
Lance Stephenson
Tyreke Evans
Brandon Jennings

Lamar Odom's Going Strong!

He’s yet to lace up on the court this season, but that doesn’t mean Lamar Odom isn’t having a good time. Last night, LO was out celebrating his 28th birthday at club Ritual in LA and the bubbly was flowing:

I’m not quite sure if I agree with his choice of wardrobe, but From Courtside is a big Kendra fan.

Around the League

What’s up with the New Orleans Hornets?
Franchise records were being shattered last night in LA, as Peja Stojakovich connected on 10 3’s and Chris Paul dished out 21 assists. The N.O. Hornets haven’t exactly been around for all that long, but they are throwing up some big numbers on their way to a 4 – 0 start. With Peja finally showing up and CP continuing to emerge as the best young point guard in the NBA, the Hornets could be a team worth keeping on eye out for.


Warriors Falls to 0-4
I’m sure Golden State management is real happy that they met Don Nelson’s pay raise demands.

Congratulations to Jason Collins
I wanted to take a moment to congratulate Jason Collins on finally scoring his first bucket of the season. It took roughly 82 minutes, spanning 4 games, but after a ferocious put back in the 3^rd quarter Collins was able to get in the stat sheet. Great job Twin.

Do the Chicago Bulls realize the season started?
The Bulls haven’t exactly come out guns blazing to start this season, with last night being no different. Once again, Chicago looked atrocious, as the Brand-less Clippers tore them up. With Kobe reportedly checking out MJ’s Chicago crib, it might not be long before John Paxson realizes that any package is worth the best player in the NBA.


My Favorite New Stat
Much like they’ve been doing in Hockey for many years, the NBA added the +/- stat to the box score (nba.com). This is the best way to measure a player’s true value on the court by checking out how the team compares when he’s on the floor vs. sitting on the bench. My Bad Kevin Durant!


Raptor Fans Need to Take It Easy
Fans from Toronto have been all over me because I left the Raptors on the outside of my playoff predictions for this season. Perhaps after getting throttled last night in Milwaukee, they’ve realized that their beloved Raptors are still a few years away and Bryan Colangelo didn’t make the necessary moves this off-season.


Fire/Ice
Desmond Mason – 32 minutes, 10-10 FG, +20, and 21 points.
Chris Bosh – 16 minutes, 0-4 FG, -11, and 1 point.


It’s been a while in NY
If the Knicks win against Orlando on Friday, they’ll improve to 2 games over .500 for the first time since January, 1st 2005.

College Basketball's Most Lethal Combo!

If you don’t know about the Kansas State Wildcats basketball program, you will very soon. Kansas State rolled the dice last year when they gave Bob Huggins another head coaching opportunity, following his tumultuous tenure in Cincinnati. At the time KSU needed to make a splash, so they decided to bring in one of the games’ best recruiters.

In April, when Huggins hometown West Virginia Mountaineers came calling, he was on the first flight out of Manhattan, Kansas. Even though Huggins lasted just one season with the Wildcats, he left behind two studs that are going to tear it up this season in Bill Walker and Michael Beasley.

Despite playing in the shadow of the more heralded OJ Mayo in high school, Bill Walker was just as dominant. After enrolling at Kansas State last year, Walker played in just 6 games before suffering a season ending ACL injury. Prior to the injury, Walker was able to dominate ball games because of his off the charts athleticism. As a 3-time MVP of the ABCD Camp All-Star Game, Walker was feared by opponents because of his attacking, in your face style of play.

Beasley is already being talked about as this season’s Kevin Durant. If high school players were still able to skip college and go directly to the NBA, this article would not be written. Beasley is an inside/outside scoring machine that presents a match-up nightmare. He has always excelled against the best competition as evidenced by his McDonald’s All American MVP award.

In Kansas State’s first game, the dynamic duo combined for 54 points and 20 rebounds in just 53 minutes. Granted it was an exhibition against Division II Fort Hayes State, but this should be a sign of things to come. Beasley also went off for 42 and 12 against Marquette in a scrimmage just a week ago.

With a healthy Bill Walker and Michael Beasley, it doesn’t take Bob Huggins to lead this talented team.

Throw It Back: Ronnie Fields

Since unveiling the From Courtside High School All-American Team, I received quite a few emails asking about Ronnie Fields. After surfing through youtube highlights for the “Throw It Back” player of the week, I came across this documentary.

For those that don’t know:
As high school teammates Kevin Garnett and Ronnie Fields dominated the Chicago hoops circuit. It was only a matter of time before they were lacing up in the NBA, but unfortunately only one story went according to plan.

As a high school senior, Fields was a man among boys averaging 32.4 points, 12.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 4.5 blocked shots, four steals and 4.5 dunks. But it was his 48-inch vertical and unreal dunks that helped Fields become a Chicago basketball legend.

During his senior year, Fields had a bad car accident that left him with a broken neck. Then he failed to qualify academically, derailing his college career at DePaul. The story never got any better and instead of earning millions of dollars in the NBA, Fields has collected $1,000 checks from the CBA and USBL. He’s also spent time overseas in Venezuela, Turkey, Lebanon and Greece. It’s a far cry from what many people envisioned.

Dim the lights and turn the volume up, it’s quite a piece (2 parts):





Could you imagine watching this in high school?

Around The League

With a full slate of games around the league, let's breakdown Friday night's action:

High's:

• The Electricity in Boston – With the World Series just wrapping up and the Patriots-Colts showdown set for Sunday, I was worried the Celtics might be overshadowed. Absolutely Not.
• Chris Kaman Dominating – 26 and 18 in the win. Just a thought, but could you imagine Kaman rolling up to Rucker Park?
• Atlanta’s Big 3 – Young, Athletic, and Talented. The Celtics aren’t the only team in the league with a Big 3. Keep a close eye on Marvin Williams, Joe Johnson, and Josh Smith.
• D-Wade commercials – Does anyone else get chills from the new D-Wade Converse commercial?
• Andrew Bynum’s double-double ­– After lobbying to have Bynum shipped out of town, do you think Kobe roots for him to play well?
• From Courtside’s 5 “Ready To Break Out Players”
  

Low's:

• Kevin Garnett’s First Shot - I think it clipped the bottom of the backboard.
• LeBron’s mouthpiece – I’m not sure if LeBron’s rocking a mouthpiece to prevent biting his nails, but watching him dangle a clear mouthpiece all night is painful.
• Arenas backing up his predictions – In case you don’t follow hoops as closely as some of us, here’s an excerpt from Arenas’s blog:
  "On November 2nd, we're going to go into that building, we're opening up Boston. Right now I'm telling the Boston fans: You guys are going to lose. It's not going to be a victory for Boston."
  Boston won by 20…
• Wizards from deep – 0 – 16 from 3... Perhaps part of the reason for the lopsided loss.
• The Bulls home opener – At 0-2, someone might want to tell John Paxon that a Luol Deng package might be worth Kobe Bryant.
• Sacramento Kings first half – Is Orien Greene really your starting point guard? I guess that explains 23 first half points.
• Stephon Marbury riding pine in crunch time – It appears Steph has a new role for the Knicks and it consists of rooting his teammates on down the stretch. Impressive.
  

Arenas talks what else, Kobe Bryant!

There are two trends developing in the NBA and they went head on this morning:

1. Gilbert Arenas has a comment for everything. I’m not sure when it happened, but something clearly triggered inside of “Agent Zero” that has given him confidence to say whatever pops into his head.
2. Every other NBA conversation is going to surround Kobe Bryant getting traded.

Sports Illustrated sat down with Gilbert Arenas and as always Arenas didn’t hold back...

When asked about Bryant’s decision to demand a trade out of LA, Arenas said:
"One, you want to get traded because you don't like your team, you don't think your team's good enough. But any team you go to, they're going to have to get rid of a whole bunch of players for you, which basically puts you back in the same situation -- just in a different city. I don't know how a player doesn't see that.”

"I've never seen [Michael] Jordan act like that. I didn't even see AI [Allen Iverson], when he was going through them bad days, you know? They were always talking about trading him, and he was like, 'If they trade me, they trade me; if they don't, they don't; but this is my city.' And I don't understand how Kobe doesn't feel that about L.A. -- it's his city.''

You know when you start blasting Kobe by mentioning MJ; you’re hitting him where it hurts. This should set the stage for an interesting match up when the teams go head-to-head February 3rd.

Arenas didn’t stop there. He went on to toot his own horn a few times, the most amusing of which: "Nobody realizes how valuable I really am to teams.”

It’s an interview that is certainly worth the read…

Entire article

Gilbert Arenas Makes It Look Effortless

Down 3, 7 seconds on the clock, no problem. Coach Eddie Jordan gave the team a pretty simple strategy. Clear the court and let Agent Zero go to work. That’s exactly how it went down last night in the final seconds of regulation against the Pacers:



Indiana went on to win the game, but it had me thinking about something. Does Gilbert Arenas ever look tired? Does the guy even sweat?

Try putting a Wizards game on in the 4th quarter and ask one of your friends to guess what quarter the game is in, judging from looking at Gilbert Arenas. I bet 9 out of 10 times, they would assume the game had just begun. He has a unique way of making everything look so effortless, so smooth.