HLBT Daily: Spurs Healthy, Update on my Beloved Knicks

According to insidehoops.com, the Knicks have (finally) officially waived Mo Taylor - a move in the right direction toward "prominence in the East." Mo is an offensive talent, though the Knicks have plenty of those. What the Knicks need more of are guys who play tough defense. Maurice Taylor playing defense is just a hypothetical situation. It will never actually happen. The Knicks do not need him and his $9 mil a year salary doing more of what they already have and none of what they yearn for.

The Nets signed Jay Williams (the one who nearly killed himself in a motorcycle accident) to a non-guaranteed contract. Basically, that means he will be in Jersey for training camp and if he looks good, they'll give him a guaranteed contract. Jay told the New York Daily News, “I’d like to be closer to the Jay in 2002, but that Jay had a 42-inch vertical. I can tell you that I am a lot smarter. I can shoot the ball a lot better than in 2002. I can run a team a lot better than that. I don’t know if I have the same vertical to come down the court and dunk on Yao Ming, but you are going to get a better, more sound player than I was then.” Jay was a great talent - he had a triple double his rookie season against the Nets - and I hope that after a three year playing hiatus, he can return to the level he was at before the accident.

There has been a theme in Golden State since Don Nelson took over: Baron Davis is too fat to play in Nellie's system. Nelson explained, “lighter than his lowest playing weight would be good for me." I don't get the feeling that Baron is the type of guy to be okay with a coach telling the world that he is overweight, though Baron has such reverence for Nellie, he has not yet fired back. The Warriors should be very fun to watch next year, especially with a healthy Baron Davis at the helm.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson is having a hip replacement operation next Tuesday. The Lakers open training camp next Tuesday. According to the Contra Costa Times, "There was no timetable listed for Jackson's return, but [Lakers spokesman John Black] said he expects the 61-year-old coach to be back on the job before the NBA season begins Oct. 31." I don't know why Phil would wait this long to have the surgery. Even if he wanted to wait it out with hope that it would eventually feel better, you'd figure that he would understand that surgery would be inevitable at least a month or two before training camp opened. New acquisitions Vladimir Radmanovic and Maurice Evans should be key contributors next season, and it would have been a big help for them to familiarize themselves with Phil before the start of the season. Not a great decision to wait until the very same day your team opens its training camp, Phil.

Tony Parker, after breaking his right index finger in the World Basketball Championship, claims to be back to full health. "I'm fully healed, 100 per cent, the bone is back to normal," Parker explained. "The doctors told me I can go as hard as we can and practice normally." Technically, the second part of the quote doesn't make sense, but basically expect more of the same from Tony next season. Tim Duncan also says that his foot has healed, and that he has "no pain whatsoever." If Tim Duncan's plantar fasciitis is a non-issue, then the Spurs should win the championship. Yes, instead of Dallas, Phoenix, Detroit, or New York (echem).

Glen Grunwald, last seen doing a heinous job as GM of the Toronto Raptors, was recently brought in by longtime friend Isiah Thomas to be Vice President of Basketball Operations of the Knicks. "Glen is a skilled NBA executive whose expertise will be a great asset to the New York Knicks," Thomas said in a statement. "... I consider him to be a quality evaluator of talent and a skilled communicator."

I was hard on Glen because, well, the Raptors weren't looking too hot when he left. Glen did have a few successful seasons in Toronto, however. After a 16-66 season, Grunwald helped bring the franchise to the playoffs for three consecutive seasons. “I’m looking forward to joining the New York Knicks organization and working with Isiah towards improving the team and returning it to prominence in the East,” he said. Glen, I will be forever grateful if you can turn the Knicks into contenders. Sitting here thinking about it, there would not be a word that could describe my excitement if the Knicks were to even contend in the second round of the playoffs.

HLBT Daily: Rockets, Magic Future of NBA?

Shaquille O'neal recently obliterated any speculation that he will be teaming with the free-throw king himself, Rick Barry. Spewing verbal diarreah, Shaq explains to ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, "Rick Barry's résumé is not good enough to even come into my office to be qualified for a job. I will shoot negative-30 percent before I shoot underhanded." Who does this ABA & NBA champion, career 90% free throw shooter think he is anyway? I mean seriously, what could a career 53% free throw shooter learn from him? Snap back to reality, Shaq.

Jerry Colangelo is still not letting the U.S. loss to Greece go. "I believe we would beat Greece 99 out of 100 times," Colangelo said. "But it doesn't matter because we lost. We're focusing on what happened and why from a standpoint of how to make sure it doesn't happen again. [Greece] had a game plan and executed it. We weren't able to contend with it, and they beat us." The second part of that quote somewhat contradicts the first, as how can you make sure it doesn't happen again if you left the game saying that you would win 99% of the time? I'm not sure that it is realistic to give the U.S. a 100% chance of winning every single game at the next Olympics...

"At the prestigious New York City Basketball Hall of Fame dinner Thursday night at a packed New York Athletic Club celebrating the induction of ex-Knick Mark Jackson and ex-Knicks coach Rick Pitino, Peter Vecsey informs us that the Knicks shamelessly did not buy a single $2,000 table. The savvy Nets, on the other hand, bought one, not counting the five bought by a minority owner. New Knicks public relations head Jonathan Supranowitz, scout Dick McGuire and assistant coach Herb Williams were there as guests of the NBA." Well said by the New York Post. Describing the Knicks (owner James Dolan, specifically) as being shamelessly cheap (and dumb) and the Nets as being comparatively savvy. It doesn't get much more accurate than that.

Maybe Dolan is just saving up in case he loses the case against Larry Brown. The official hearing is today. Larry is asking for the rest of his salary ($41 million) - he already received $9 million of the original $50 million he was signed for - plus $12.5 million to cover attorney fees. If Larry's lawyer is asking for $12.5 mil, he damn well better win him this case.

The Wizards will be sporting alternate gold and black away unis next season. I am part of the anti-alternate uniform movement, though as long as they don't wear colored jerseys at home - Toronto Raptors style - I can deal.

Dwight Howard has some hefty expectations for the 2006-07 Orlando Magic. "I think our team has the chance to go all the way. We got all the tools. I think this year we can go all the way... to the championship." I have said that the Magic is one of the teams I expect to make a huge turnaround next year and win a lot of games. A championship is out of reach for the inexperienced team next season, but the pieces are there. The trio of Dwight Howard, Darko Milicic - who will continue to dramatically improve, and Jameer Nelson forms a solid foundation. Jonathon Clay "J.J." Redick and Hidayet "Hedo" Turkoglu are invaluable because they can shoot, and though every team needs a few guys like J.J. and Hedo, most NBA squads are devoid of any player that even resembles a designated marksman. Off the bench, the Magic have the all important athletic energy guys such as Keyon Dooling and Trevor Ariza. Maybe the Magic will be championship contenders in a couple of years, though not this upcoming season.

The Houston Rockets, already semi-contenders in my eyes, just signed Bonzi Wells to a two year deal. They got him for relatively nothing - two years, $5 million - with a player option for the second year. And why was Bonzi still on the free agent market so late in the game? He initially turned down Sacramento's five year, $36 million deal, as he felt the offer was disrespectful and that he could find a better deal somewhere else. Bonzi reportedly told his agent to find him a $50 million deal. Wells' agent, Merle Scott of BDA Sports, said, ""This isn't about the money, this is about being in the right place." I will believe this if Bonzi takes his second year player option; until then, just your standard agent line.
The addition of Bonzi is especially valuable to the Rockets. Their main problem has been that they did not have any swingmen, outside of some guy named... Mcgrady (it's been so long since I last saw him play - hope his back is feeling better) who could create their own shots. Bonzi can do just that. A starting lineup of Yao, Juwan Howard, Shane Battier, Tracy Mcgrady, and Rafer Alston with Bonzi, Steve Novak, Chuck Hayes, Luther Head, Dikembe Mutombo, and Kirk Snyder off the bench should prove to be a winning combination.

HLBT Daily: Show Me the Money!

Former Detroit Piston and current Best Damn Sports Show... Period host John Salley is the new commissioner of the ABA. Disaster waiting to happen...? John Salley is exceptionally funny (suggestion to TNT: get him in the studio with Ernie, Kenny, and Chuck), though I never thought of him as a business man. Not to say that he isn't - I will keep an eye on how he is doing. It is the ABA after all - I'm not sure that it is possible to do an unusually good or bad job. I wish him luck.

Al Harrington is ecstatic that he is back in Indiana. Or maybe it is just that he is no longer an Atlanta Hawk. “Rebuilding here (in Indiana) is still competing for a championship,” he said. “Not like rebuilding in Atlanta and other places where you go to winning 10 games … they (the Pacers) want to bring in a lot of good guys so that they can still compete, and compete at a high level.” I have heard about this 'Indiana rebuilding' talk before; I don't exactly know where it comes from. Almost like Al said, the Pacers should make the playoffs this year. By definition, rebuilding teams do not make the playoffs in order to get a lottery pick in the next draft.

The Knicks and Maurice Taylor are very close to cutting ties. Mo and his $9.8 million salary have proven to be burdensome to the organization. Not only does he eat up cap space, but at 6'9," 265 lbs., he commands quite a bit of room sitting on the bench. The Knicks and Mo's people are reportedly negotiating a buy-out. There is word that Jalen Rose is next in line to be bought out.

Speaking of NBA salaries, I found this quote from English newspaper, This is Local London, to be interesting. "Basketball player Luol Deng became one of the highest-paid sports stars in the world when he signed a new five-year, £41.6million deal with the Chicago Bulls. The 21-year-old's meteoric success means he will now earn £160,000 a week - reputedly £60,000 a week more than Britain's biggest footballer, Beckham."
The writer is almost certainly only referring to the players' team contracts, excluding endorsement deals. If Jim Paxson shelled out $41.6 million for Luol Deng, I would have no problem with this article. The problem is, when converted to American currency, it comes to $79.1 million over five years, or roughly $16 million per year. Other players in the neighborhood of $16 mil a year: Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, Tracy McGrady. Something is not adding up here...
If you are looking to scoff at just how ridiculous some NBA salaries are, always a fun activity to partake in, Jalen Rose and Brian Grant also rake in roughly $16 mil every season. Here is a link to more player salaries. The list does not appear to be perfect, though overall it is pretty accurate.

Last, but not least (money-wise), Larry Brown is asking for $62.5 million from the Knicks. That is $12.5 million more than he would have made had he stuck with the Knicks for all five years of his contract. $12.5 million for an attorney and any emotional harm his Knick experience may have caused him? Either Larry is a big softy or he's got one hell of an attorney.

Lebron made an appearance on the Late Show last Friday. I embedded the video at the end of the post so that you can see:

• Lebron call M.J. Black Jesus
• Lebron comment on the World Basketball Championship
• "Defensive Wizard" David Letterman
• Letterman basically tie Lebron in a shooting contest

For what it's worth: "In a Q & A with the L.A. Daily News, Kwame Brown said that Phil Jackson set a goal for him this year; to average 15 and 10."~ dimemag.com. I do not foresee this coming to fruition. Kwame is as mentally ready as David Letterman is physically ready to be successful in the NBA.



Lebron also recently made an appearance on Oprah:

• See Lebron call M.J. Black Jesus (again)
• Get a quick review of Lebron's success
  
• Meet Lebron's girlfriend
• Hear Oprah guarantee Lebron multiple NBA championships

Watch out for Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant has the type of talent that comes around only once every few years. At 6'10," his natural position is guard. In terms of his physical tools, think Rudy Gay. In terms of his mental approach to the game, he spends nearly all of his downtime trying to improve - at this point his shooting range extends out to 30 feet. When Kevin steps on the court, he plays with the type of abandon that you'd expect from a sub 6'0" New York City guard.

Texas coach Rick Barnes, who Durant will be playing for this college season, agrees. "Anyone who has been around Kevin and watched him over the years realizes that he is special. What you love about being around him is that he wants to continue to get better. He has a great understanding of the game. Kevin would tell you that what separates good ones from great ones is winning. He could care less about numbers and statistics. He's a bottom line guy who wants to win. When you have the chance to coach a player of that ability, he has to have more than just god-given talent. He also should have the mental side of it and the emotional make-up. Kevin has that, so you know he's going to make people around him better."

A distant second in the 2006 rankings, Kevin had one flaw that was preventing him from battling Greg Oden for the top spot. Durant was paper thin, as can be seen in the picture, above. The photo was taken only six months ago. However, six months was all Kevin needed to bulk his previously gaunt 190 pound frame up to a relatively copious 227 pounds.

"I still look skinny," Durant admits. "But I'm much stronger and can take bumps now, play in the post and play better post defense." K.D. likes being compared to K.G. - check out the background of his myspace page - so post defense will be important if he plans on being "the next Garnett." As of now, it looks like a Tracy Mcgrady comparison would be more accurate, however.

Kevin gives a lot of credit to Texas strength and conditioning coach, Todd Wright. "I didn't know if I'd ever gain weight or not," he explains. "...I don't think I would have been able to do this so quickly anywhere else."

Wright is equally complimentary of Kevin. "He moves insane for a guy 6-9. It's just not right. Some of the stuff he does is unreal... He's the best I've ever seen. I hate to put that on the kid, but it's the truth. I've never seen anyone like him."

Barring any unexpected setbacks, Kevin should receive the Big-12 Conference Player of the Year award after his (only) season at Texas, become a top five pick in the 2007 NBA draft, and make the NBA all-star team within his first four seasons in the league.

HLBT Daily

More like HLBT weekly at this point, but I'll stick to the traditional title, with hope that I will be able to post more often in future weeks... This post should satiate your craving for basketball news for a while.


Dime Mag explains, "Juan Dixon improved his vertical over the summer, and has been dunking on cats in pickup games at the Blazers facility." Juan Dixon is one of my favorite players, if for no other reason than because he plays his heart out. I like to see any positive bit of news about the guy for this reason. In the right situation, Juan could average 16-17 ppg in 28 mpg.

Don Nelson is the coach of the Golden State Warriors. This should definitely be an upgrade from former Stanford coach Mike Montgomery, who failed to garner the respect of his players. Nelly plans on bringing his "alternative" brand of basketball, endemic of all Don Nelson teams, to Golden State. This is the same guy who had 7'6" Manute Bol stand 20 feet from the hoop and shoot 3's, after all. Don offers, "I'm going to need (Troy) Murphy to play some center for us. If he can make some adjustments, he'll have his best year. And it will allow me to play Dunleavy at the "4,'' because he basically struggles at small forward. He can function offensively better against the "4s'' in the league."
Offensively? Maybe... but defensively? The comment gives you an idea of Nelly's strategy. I just hope nobody starts calling Baron Davis Baron Avis (as in, "Where's the D?!"). I heard more than enough "Irk Nowitzki"s when Nelson was in Dallas.
Baron is excited, to say the least, about playing for his new coach. “Look at Steve Nash. Look at what he did with Tim Hardaway. He gave those guys the opportunity to be who they needed to be out on the floor. I want to play for Coach so bad because I know that once we get on the court, it’s going to be wide open. What better situation can a point guard ask for? When I hit the court, I’m going to be the hardest-working dude on the court.”

Also, speaking of the Golden State Warriors, they just signed Dajuan Wagner. I wrote a long article about the problems that Dajuan had been facing for the past few years, and I wish him well.

I was hearing great things about Shawn Kemp - about how he is motivated and back in shape, and that he even had a workout scheduled with Chicago...
...
He no showed.

Gerald Green, who I have said will be a very good player soon, has reportedly packed on some muscle and is now up to 215 lbs. Also, he says he can do 100 straight push-ups an increase from last year of 89.

I would like to say that I am now officially backed by Raymond Felton. I have been saying that the Bobcats should be a good team next year. Felton says, "Can we make the playoffs? Definitely." Yes, he is a Charlotte Bobcat. No, it is not surprising that he thinks that his team is good (especially since he predicted a playoff birth last season). But he is with me none the less.

Steve Nash was techincally beaten in a game of horse by some dude from Salt Lake City, though I debated reporting this at all since it was kind of... B.S. It seemed to be played with some strange Canadian rules (either that or the announcer had no business running the event). But if you would like to see... Steve Nash beaten by a no-name at a game of Canadian rules horse, played to 3 (or M-V-P).

Lebron on Letterman tonight. Should be good.

HLBT Daily: Happy Birthday, Yao... Fairwell, Ime.

Today is Yao Ming's birthday, and word is he has sprouted up another 3 inches since last season and is still growing (joke).

There is a good chance that Yao was taller (as a roughly 6'5") 6th grader than you are now. That should be of no surprise, however. You were not a result of the Chinese government breeding its two tallest specimens, from a selection of over one-billion no less, and you were not fed growth hormones until you reached giant status... theoretically, anyway.

At the ripe yet mature age of 26, the big fella has decided to dedicate himself to something other than basketball. Yao has joined an anti-shark's fin soup consumption movement. The soup is a delicacy in China, however many believe it should no longer be served. According to the Taipei Times, "The popularity of shark fin soup is blamed by environmentalists for drastically reducing shark numbers worldwide, and is thought directly responsible for putting four species on the endangered list."

From what I have heard, Yao's mother played an integral part in every Chinese rebellion since the 60's. Maybe it's genetic, but it is nice to see Yao stand up for what he believes in.

One of Yao's teammates did not get the message in time. An article on bangkokpost.com reads, "US basketball player Tracy McGrady was criticized by wildlife campaigners Tuesday for eating shark's fin soup during a visit to Hong Kong." Let's hope for Houston's sake that this will not cause any tension within the Rockets' organization. Yao seems to be pretty serious about this.
Barring any shark's fin soup protests/soup related scuffles with teammates/violent shark's fin soup aficionado attacks/other off-court issues, the 26 year old should have a fruitful upcoming NBA season.

At first I was saddened when I read that the Knicks waived Ime Udoka. Ime was the (lone?) no-maintenance player on the Knick roster last year. He always played hard and his mouth never caused any trouble - making him a minority among NBA players, let alone New York Knickerbockers.

Hopefully at least one NBA exec is aware of how Ime can benefit a team and will sign him shortly. If not, there is always the option of playing overseas. Good luck, Ime, whatever you choose to do.

HLBT Daily: Watch it, Freddy

John Lucas recently had some very good things to say about Steve Francis. "He's different, different, different. He's changed. I've seen the maturity click in. I've seen a different passion for basketball. He's not a young colt learning his way anymore. These next four years will be the prime years of his basketball career.

"Steve is as gifted an athlete as LeBron or Kobe, any of them. Every year he doesn't make the All-Star Game is an embarrassment. We're trying to get him to slow down and see the game. I've really challenged him in front of his peers. He never answered back. He did the work. Normally, it would have been, 'I don't have to hear this (stuff) from Luke.' Now, he's just worked hard to put it all together."

It seems so long ago that Steve Francis was averaging 21, 7, and 6. Whatever has been going on inside Steve's head lately has prevented him from playing at that level. Hopefully with comments like these from John Lucas, who works with a lot of NBA players in the offseason, Francis has gotten the mentality that he needs to be a good player again. Athletically, he's still got it, though he won't have it for much longer. Francis is 29 years old - the beginning of the end of his prime.

Isiah Thomas is also optimistic, offering “My whole goal is to get him back to the point (when) he was an All-Star. He was one of the top 10 players in this league. I don’t see any reason he can’t get back there.”

I came across this video on youtube... found it to be entertaining so of course I will share it with you all.

HLBT Daily: Signings Galore

Upon the signing of Casey Jacobsen, the Houston Rockets immediately became title contenders (I couldn't resist...). Seriously though, with a healthy T-mac and the acquisitoin of Shane Battier, the Rockets could make the western conference semis next year (I avoided starting the sentence off with a "Realistically speaking," because a healthy T-mac is not necessarily realistic). The team was starving for a good defender, let alone good perimeter defender, and the Rockets got their man in Shane. Rafer Alston will also have a better year next year, as he plays well when the games actually matter. Last year, the Rockets lost their chance of making the playoffs early in the season, and Rafer wasn't as into it as he would otherwise be. And don't forget about Houston's favorite Chinese guy. You know, the tall one.

The Cavs signed David Wesley. He should be a good locker room influence as well as insurance at shooting guard (though they are a year late - Larry Hughes is not likely to miss 3/4 of the season again).

The Nuggets will sign Reggie Evans to add to their already crowded frontcourt. It is my belief, though, that it is impossible for Reggie to hurt a team. He's a lunchpail kinda guy who works his tail off and seems like a very nice person on top of it (so long as you can get past the whole "grabbing" Chris Kaman incident...). Just a side note - I recently read that Kenyon Martin says his knee feels great and that George Karl has told reporters that Kenyon is the best player on the court at practice.

Sofoklis Schortsianitis, who had a bit of a coming out party in the World Championship, should be in the NBA shortly - L.A. specifically. The Clippers own his rights, as he was their second round draft pick in 2003. "Baby Shaq," as he is called, also has a relatively inexpensive buyout clause with his current team overseas, reportedly at $500,000.

I have been intrigued by this guy since I first heard about him in 2002. He has supposedly been playing pro ball since he was 14 (he is now 21), and the guy is absolutely gigantic at 6'9" 300+ lbs. His jersey for the Greek team was skin tight, almost as if they did not have anything in his size of 17XL (I was unable to get confirmation that 17XL is his official jersey size).

From what I saw in the World Championship, he is just what the NBA wants in that he is a gifted athlete that needs some guidance. He moves exceptionally well, kind of like the other "Baby Shaq" at LSU, but can also jump a little bit. One of his best assets, however, is he seems to have soft hands. Sofoklis's albatross has always been his foul trouble, so that will most likely be the key to his NBA success, if and when he migrates to the States. Yao Ming certainly thinks he will be joined soon by the big fella, saying, "I hope good luck for [Sofoklis] the rest of his career, especially when he comes over to play in the NBA."


Basketball news has been hard to come by the past few days, so that is all for now.

HLBT Daily

After beating Team USA in the semi-finals of the WCOB (101-95) on September 1st, Greece was walloped by a Pau-less Spanish team in the finals (70-47... 47 points for a full game is disgusting to even think about). Do not let it trick you; this does not mean that Team USA was really that much worse than Spain or Greece. Greece was possessed against team USA and was completely burned out for Spain. The Spanish players also had more motivation. They were pumped up to win for Pau, who was the rock of that team.

Looking back, USA was the best team in the tournament, it just happened to run into the Greek Gods in the semi-final - not the Greek national team. This is not to say that Team USA did all they could in the game against Greece. The Americans actually played worse than a lot of analysts were giving them credit for. The difference is the way they played would have gotten them the W in most other games. Team USA went on to win the bronze in the consolation game against Argentina, 96-81. Manu only took 6 shots in the game and had 10 points.

USA was not the only team to receive some bad news on 9/1. Gasol broke his foot with 1:30 left in Spain's semi-final against Argentina. As of yesterday, he will need surgery and will likely miss three months. The Memphis Grizzlies, as all NBA teams, start camp soon. Not only will Pau miss all of camp, but should also miss the first month of the season. The Grizz, who open against the Knicks, put the latter in a position to win its first game and start the season off on a good note. Knicks in 2006-'07!

Conspiracy theorist Gilbert Arenas feels that something shady went down with the selection of Team USA. "They said it was a tryout, but they already had their team selected," he explained.
Not one to stick to the politically correct, relationship friendly script, Gilbert continued, "I’m going to be the silent assassin. I can’t wait to play the Suns and Portland . . . against D’Antoni, I’m going to score 100 in two games." If Arizona plays Duke this year, I could see Gilbert showing up to the game with a big "Coach K Sucks!" sign. Also, is it just me, or did Arenas just kiss the 2008 Olympics goodbye? Keep in mind they choose from the same group of players that they chose from this year, Gilbert included. He says he'd still like to play in '08. Hopefully the coaching staff will have a good, competitive sense of humor about it.

Bruce Bowen has some animosity towards Team USA as well - Krzyzewski specifically. He reportedly felt that Coach K had no idea of the type of D he could play. When he asked Coach K to guard Carlos Arroyo in Team USA's game against Puerto Rico, in which Arroyo was eating Bowen's teammates alive, he felt that Coach K immediately dismissed the thought of him being able to defend the crafty point guard. Bowen suggested he consult USA assistant coach and Phoenix Suns head coach Mike D'Antoni, as he was very familiar with Bowen's talent as a defender. D'antoni had seen Bowen defend athletic forward Shawn Marion, tricky and versatile forward Boris Diaw, spot up shooter Raja Bell and, league MVP point guard Steve Nash all in the same game. Bowen did not make the final cut, he feels, because Coach K was absolutely clueless about his strenghts.

I'm Back from Vacation & the Elite 24 Basketball Classic @ Rucker Park Recap

Last night, I was at Rucker Park with a press pass to scout the Elite 24 Basketball Classic. My article is now posted at nbadraft.net. Please go check it out!

If you do not click the link above, this is what the recap looks like:
"Though the final score of the inaugural Elite 24 Hoops Classic at Rucker Park came to 141-139 in favor of the Blue Team, the defense did not leave spectators pondering, “Where you at?” Despite co-sponsorship of the event by Boost Mobile and Rise Magazine, the inflated score was more a consequence of the talent pool (the game was being hyped as “featuring the 24 best high school basketball players in the nation, regardless of graduating class and regardless of sneaker affiliation”), NBA length game time of four twelve minute quarters, and the compulsory run and gun style that comes standard with every basketball all-star game. Had there not been such strong winds blowing through the music filled Harlem evening air, complements of DJ Envy, the score of 280 total points could have easily reached 300.

In the first half the White Team, coached by Ben Gordon and Lincoln H.S. (Brooklyn) coach Dwayne “Tiny” Morton, failed to recognize that the wind hindered its outside shooting. The White Team, or the Goat Squad in honor of Rucker Park Legend Earl “The Goat” Manigault, threw up plenty of bricks and airballs before deciding that the time had come to scratch deep 3-pointers from the game plan. However, once the players started going to work inside of twenty feet, it was a delight to watch.

Kyle Singler (2007 – Undecided), sporting a ‘dew that inspired hype man Bobbito Garcia, a.k.a. DJ Cucumber Slice to confidently tell the crowd, “he could get a lot of hair endorsements someday,” played a solid game, showing his well rounded offensive arsenal. J.J. Hickson (2007 – considering Florida, NC State, & Tennessee) was a workhorse all night in the paint. Chris Allen (2007 – Michigan State) was a crowd pleaser, showing off his athleticism throughout the game. Although he may have missed as many dunks as he made, it is easy to cut the guy some slack when you take into consideration the type of acrobatic moves he was trying to pull off.

Highly ranked Kevin Love (2007 – UCLA) and Donte Green (2007 – Syracuse) both had moderately productive but quiet nights. Neither did anything wrong, yet did not stand out as other top ranked players did.

Stealing the show for the White Team was Brandon Jennings (2008 – attends Oak Hill). The Compton native played with enough flair for Bobbito to question whether or not the former has some New York blood in him. He ran his team so well it would have made Jason Kidd proud. Ironically, Kidd, who brought his family with him to the game, was Co-coach of the opposing Blue Team.

The Blue Team, a.k.a. the Skip to my Lou Squad in honor of Rucker Park legend and current Houston Rocket Rafer Alston, was coached by the aforementioned Kidd as well as Benjamin Cardozo H.S. (Queens) coach Ron Naclerio. Naclerio and J-Kidd’s crew held a slight yet consistent advantage over the opposition for most of the game. Overall, the Blue Team was probably a bit more talented. The White Team was banking on the services of O.J. Mayo (2007 – Undecided), Bill Walker (2007 – high interest in Kansas State), and Corey Fisher (2007 – Villanova), though all three pulled out of the game. ‘Fill-in’ Dexter Strickland (2009 – attends St. Patrick’s, NJ) played very well while the other ‘fill-in,’ Erving Walker (2008 – attends Christ the King, Queens) struggled at times but overall held his own.

Mike Beasley (2007 – Kansas State) on the other hand more than held his own. “I should call him The Veteran,” Bobbito Explains. “He’s twenty years ahead of his time.” Though Bobbito failed to address him by this name at any other point during the game, he exclaimed “Be easy Mike Beasley!” enough to make up for it and then some. The point is Mike Beasley looked like a man among boys, seemingly doing what he wanted at will. He made the game look like child’s play, putting his spectacular versatility, athleticism, and mouth on display. Beasley was not all talk though, as he hit threes, threw down a few nasty dunks, displayed an array of midrange fade-aways and leaners, and swatted away a few shots. If Beasley did not talk enough while on the court, he made sure to keep his mouth running while subbed out, though seemingly all in good fun.

Helping Beasley bring Blue the victory were Jerryd Bayless (2007 – Arizona), Deandre Jordan (2007 – Texas A&M), Cole Aldrich (2007 – Kansas), and New York’s current phenom Lance Stephenson (2009 – attends Lincoln, Brooklyn). Bayless, wearing tights to help him adapt from the Arizona desert to the end-of-summer New York night, showed off his incredible athletic ability multiple times throughout the event. Bayless could be seen with his head at the rim on more than one occasion. It's impressive enough to see Lebron James with his head at the rim, but Bayless is under 6'3" - more than five inches shorter. Deandre Jordan’s length and body control helped him block two shots and get one dunk in the first minute of play. It was more of the same, though to a lesser degree, for the rest of the game. Cole Aldrich had five thunderous dunks by halftime. It got to the point where Bobbito asked him to do something else because we already knew he could dunk. Lance Stephenson had a whisper quiet first half, until suddenly he put on a show two minutes before the end of the half. Play was sloppy, and Lance picked up a couple of steals and a few hoops. A few hoops not counting his ¾ court shot that hit nothing but the bottom of the net a second after the halftime buzzer had sounded, that is. The Brooklynite proceeded to do a rendition of the Chicken Noodle Soup, a dance created in Harlem. Harlem always makin’ it, Brooklyn always takin’ it, as they say.

Highly ranked Tyreke Evans (2008 – attends American Christian School, PA), Anthony Randolph (2007 – Undecided), and Devin Ebanks (recently reclassified to 2008 – attends St. Thomas More) did not quite live up to the hype. Tyreke broke a few ankles, however rarely converted on the plays. Rather than finishing a lay-up or dishing to a teammate for an easy hoop after a nice move, he often missed close shots or threw the ball away. Anthony Randolph had his flashes of brilliance, i.e. when he brought the ball up the court and threw an alley-oop to Cole Aldrich from 30-35 feet out. However this is the same type of play that got Anthony in trouble. It was apparent that he possesses above average ball handling ability for someone who stands 6’10” tall, though he was prone to over dribbling and actually tried to go coast-to-coast on more than one occasion. The ball was taken away almost every time. Ebanks did not see much play in the first half, though when he saw more action in the second half he did not do much to capitalize. It was not a bad effort, though he did nothing to stand out and earn his high ranking.

Although the score was close, the game was never really in question. The White Team did revert to fouling in the last 30 seconds, though it was inconsequential to the final outcome of the game.

Awards:

Doing his best Steve Nash impression, Brandon Jennings dished his way to 15 assists and White Team co-MVP. Bobbito Garcia made it apparent that Jennings was MVP in his heart as well, as he actually asked the Compton native to come live with him in New York. DJ Cucumber Slice also quipped, “There is a spot in the EBC for you.”

Beneficiary of more than a couple of Jennings feeds was other co-MVP J.J. Hickson. The strong bodied big man made his bones in the paint, finishing with 34 points, 8 boards.

Blue Team co-MVPs were Mike Beasley, who truly made the game look too easy, and Jerryd Bayless, who wowed the crowd all night with his aerial assault. Beasley finished with 26 points, 9 rebs while Jerryd “Pay up” Bayless racked up 16 points.

Despite the absence of O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker, 155^th and Frederick Douglas Boulevard in Harlem was the place to be on the night of September 1^st. Just ask the many celebrities who chose to enjoy the festivities with the New York crowd, such as Steve Nash, Jason (and Joumana) Kidd, Ben Gordon, Kenyon Martin, Smush Parker, and the Beastie Boys.

For highlights, make sure to tune into Bobbito’s show Summerball on the MSG Network on Monday, September 11^th at 9:00."