I stopped into Nike’s 6th Annual High School Holiday Hoops festival at Dematha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland this weekend to check out some of the top talents and teams in the nation. If you want to get a firm grasp of the star wattage on the court, all you had to do was scan the stands to see the dozens of college coaches in attendance.
When you have legendary scout Tom Konchalski and Hall of Fame Coach Larry Brown, who is beginning his tenure at S.M.U., in the house, along with Indiana’s Tom Crean, V.C.U.’s bright young coaching star Shaka Smart, N.C. State’s Mark Gottfried and Ohio State’s Thad Matta, among many others, it’s pretty safe to assume that the players they’re all evaluating have the type of potential to leave lasting legacies on their programs.
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<h3>Gary Payton, aka The Glove, Is One Of The Greatest Point Guards To Ever Play. It’s A Shame That More People Don’t Recognize It.</h3>
We currently live in what is possibly the greatest point guard era of all time. One quick glance around the modern NBA – from the ageless wonders like Steve Nash and Jason Kidd, to Chris Paul, Tony Parker and Deron Williams, who are widely recognized as the position’s current Gold Standard, to the young, revolutionary athletic marvels like Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo and Russell Westbrook, and on through to the emerging young bloods like Kyrie Irving, Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, Mike Conley Jr. and Ricky Rubio – will inform us of the current renaissance underway at one of the most physically and mentally demanding positions in all of sport.
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<h3>With the Dwight Howard and Steve Nash in Los Angeles, James Harden and Jeremy Lin in Houston and Rookie Anthony Davis in New Orleans, The NBA’s Off Season of Change Provides an Exciting and Refreshing Opening to the 2012-2013 Campaign. But One Thing Remains The Same. The West Still Belongs to Tim Duncan and Kevin Durant.</h3>
Here are some of my thoughts and opinions on each division, every franchise and the players and scenarios that will make this season one of the best ever. With all of that being said, I’m reminded of the wise words spouted by one of the street corner philosophers of my youth, that, “Opinions are like Hynie’s. Everybody’s got one, and most of ‘em stink.”
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<h3>With the Nets and Joe Johnson now in Brooklyn, Sugar Ray Allen in Miami, Jason Kidd in Madison Square Garden and Jason Terry in Boston , The NBA’s Off Season of Change Provides an Exciting and Refreshing Opening to the 2012-2013 Campaign. But One Thing Remains The Same. The League Still Belongs to LeBron James.</h3>
As the East Coast bids farewell to the remnants of Hurricane Sandy while the Heat, Celtics, Lakers and Mavs tip the new season off, I’m excited about the sunshine and clear blue skies of what lies ahead in the NBA.
Here are some of my thoughts and opinions on each division, every franchise and the players and scenarios that will make this season one of the best ever. With all of that being said, I’m reminded of the wise words spouted by one of the street corner philosophers of my youth, that, “Opinions are like Hynie’s. Everybody’s got one, and most of ‘em stink.”
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[h3]With Last Year’s Fiasco in Dallas Behind Him, The Versatile Talent Needs To Remind Everyone That He’s Much More Than Mere Tabloid Fodder[/h3]
It seems hard to fathom that a mere 18 months ago, Lamar Odom finished the 2011 season by playing in all 82 games for the Los Angeles Lakers while walking away with the league’s coveted Sixth Man Award.
After last year’s ruinous 50-game train wreck with the Dallas Mavericks, where the once feared, multitalented weapon put up numbers that Mike Sweetney, Charles Shackleford and Kwame Brown were snickering at, Odom finds himself at the precipice of either an improbable comeback, or on the last legs of his career.
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<h3>When The Leg Injuries Prematurely Abbreviated A Certain Hall Of Fame Career, Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway May Have Stopped Playing, But He Never Stopped Ballin’</h3>
I remember hearing the whispers in the late 1980’s, when he was a teenager in high school. It was during a conversation with a random guy at a summer basketball tournament. I was watching the vaunted Riverside Church Hawks team from New York City, featuring prep phenoms Kenny Anderson and Malik Sealy, playing against a strong New Jersey Roadrunners team quarterbacked by Bobby Hurley.
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<h3>Moses Malone Did More Than Help Doctor J Win His Only Title And Facilitate The Transition from Hakeem To The Dream. He Also Re-Wrote The Ten Commandments of Basketball.</h3>
My previous column touched on the endearing relationship that Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon had with his mentor, the inimitable NBA legend Moses Malone, and how that friendship accelerated Hakeem’s transition from a raw prospect into one of the most devastating and delicious weapons the game has ever seen.
So naturally, I’ve spent the past week meditating on Moses. I find myself disappointed that his contributions to our beloved game, and his historical significance, like many of the game’s former titans, are mere footnotes, if even that, for many young kids whose interest in hoops was sparked by guys like an Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady or Vince Carter.
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<h3>Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon Continues To Inspire Others and Impact Today’s Game</h3>
I recently read a New York Times story that discussed New York Knicks coach Mike Woodson’s friendship with former NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon, and how Olajuwon is at the team’s practice facility this week tutoring Carmelo, Tyson Chandler and Amar’e Stoudemire on the nuances of his mesmerizing and devastating offensive weaponry. As a long suffering Knicks fan, that one story was enough to make my entire offseason feel like Christmas eve.
Hakeem was always among my favorite players ever, whose effectiveness on both ends of the floor was a joy to watch and cherish. What I love about Hakeem’s journey, and what I tell young players who place a stupefying emphasis on meaningless sixth grade rankings, is that he’s proof positive that one’s journey to greatness is a marathon, not a sprint.
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<h3>Let’s Take A Minute to Honor Those Who Lost Their Lives on September 11th</h3>
Our beloved game of basketball belongs to everybody, not just the legends and great players known around the world. It’s a game that celebrates excellence, cherishes effort and rewards determination. It also has the ability to heal, to soothe, comfort and uplift. Today, it’s the smiles, laughter and great memories, accompanied by the soundtrack of shrieking whistles, bouncing balls and trash-talk that keep me grounded as I wage a brief battle with sadness.
On this day, I’m more somber, reflective and heart-broken than on most others. This year was going to be different, I promised myself. I wouldn’t have to excuse myself in the midst of whatever I was doing to take a short walk, breathe some fresh air and fight back the tears that inevitably come.
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<h3>As a Player And Now a Media Personality, Charles Barkley Continues To Dazzle Audiences In His Own Unique Way</h3>
I’ve spent the past few weeks reflecting on the splendor of some my favorite players from the 1992 Dream Team. In addition to Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, there was another player on the greatest hoops team of all time that would leave me stuttering and stammering at his rare skills, like the Champ in Eddie Murphy’s classic movie, Harlem Nights.
To younger audiences, Charles Barkley is the affable, insightful and inimitable television personality on the TNT’s hilarious and excellent Inside the NBA studio show, who also lends his unique brand of humor and knowledge to CBS during the NCAA Tournament. They might even know that he was a pretty decent basketball player in his day.
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<h3>Overshadowed by Magic, Jordan, Barkley and Bird, Chris Mullin Was Among My Favorite Members of the Dream Team</h3>
Recently, I’ve spent a lot of time meditating on the greatest basketball team ever assembled, the 1992 Dream Team that captivated the world’s attention at the Olympics in Barcelona, Spain.
With this summer being the 20th anniversary of that team, accompanied by the brilliant play of LeBron, Kobe, KD and Melo for the current incarnation of Team USA, the fascinating documentary film chronicling the experience of the ’92 squad and Jack McCallum’s terrific book, Dream Team: How Magic, Michael, Larry, Charles and the Greatest Team of All Time Conquered the World and Changed the Game of Basketball Forever, it’s been a wonderful time to reminisce on what we know to be the crescendo of hoops excellence.
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