Yardbarker: Luke Jackson

My Adventures in Italy: Entry 5

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 15:48:08 -0500

*Im going to put my older blogs I started from facebook, myspace and my other blog site up here everyday until the latest one. I'm converting all of them in order (I'm up to six entry's thus far) so everybody can catch up.*

Welcome to my new and improve blog site. I say improve because I tied a lot of things together to make it easier for you and definitely to make it easier for me to write and share with everybody. I also started up a google profile and linked different videos and clips I had on youtube. Videos ranging from me playing basketball to helping the kids out (you know bobby love the kids) for community service, I’m even on wikipedia.com too. I’m still working on getting all my even better videos uploaded, so I will keep you posted on that. The reason I decided to just my own site was because I was getting so many compliments and suggestions on what to do with my writings. So I took some time out to figure how this make your own blog site thing worked (started off a little confusing but figured it out soon enough). If u didn’t know, I was posting my blogs on facebook and myspace for everybody to read and comment upon. So now everybody is together and united as one like we should be, I don’t discriminate here on my site. Make sure you subscribe as a follower so you can stay up to date when I post new entries too.

Ok, this is pretty much how my regular routine is going to work when I write my knowledge. When I write an entry I’m going to give updates on my experience in Italy (good and bad) then when I’m done with that I might drop some additional kind of knowledge that might be on my mind. I call this section, “I may possibly be wrong, but I know more than you”. If for some reason you think I’m totally wrong or have a point to make or whatever it is, you can gladly leave a comment (like you have been on facebook and myspace) at the end and let it can be heard for everybody to view. I know I can be stubborn at times (we all do it, were human right?) but I do want to know what everybody else thinks too because it is your opinion and your entitled to it even how ridiculous it make sound.

We had out first game of the season on Sunday (October 11) on the road against Basket Club Ferrara. Just so you know, each team in our league is allowed 4 Americans on their rosters (there are loop holes though to get around that). So this week the American we played against that I kind of know is Luke Jackson. He went to Oregon and was a senior when I was a freshman in college. He was the man and definitely had the best team in our conference (that year) too. But when they played us at the “Bank” for the conclusion of the regular season (for us it was because we were still weak so no tournament), I shut his ass down and we won on “senior night”. Anyways, we lost by like 5 or 6 points (we were up 7 points with like 6 minutes left too) off the ref’s making inconsistent calls on both sides but hurting us more at the end.

In the second quarter when the other team was on a fast break, Luke had the ball on the left side of the court with a defender in front of him but drove to the rim anyway to score. I was trailing the play and was timing to block his shot because that’s what I do best. On a side note real quick, I was beating dudes shots from the back (no homo) way before Lebron and Dwayne Wade was doing it too. Back to the play, of course I blocked him then Luke under cut me and I landed on the right side of my face, collarbone, shoulder and chest. It was a quick but harmful fall, here is the link (It was the #6 play). I tried to continue to play but I soon realized after 3-4 minutes I needed to lie down and rethink my life priorities in the back while getting looked at by the trainer. Once I got in the back, they iced everything trying to rid the pain that was killing me, it even hurt to take deep breathes. I waited till halftime, walked out to shoot a little so see if I could return (I could shoot but it did hurt still so I didn’t know how productive I could be, I definitely couldn’t rebound). I should have just called it a day but the score was tied and knew it nothing wasn’t broken and said **** it. I played better than I expected, I ended with 13 points and made some important plays in the 2nd half to keep my team in it for a while. Once the game ended, knowing them bums got away with a win because I wasn’t 100 percent leaves me uneasy so much. Taking the next 2-3 days off to rest this collarbone bruised/contusion (pretty sure that’s what it is) and go from there for Saturday’s game at home.

So my good friend told me the other day that portion of my blog was featured in the Seattle Times husky men’s basketball section. This was in result of an interview I did for a different website montlakemadness.com. I was mentioning my blog for husky basketball fans to check out and view. Here is the link of the Seattle Times article. I was surprised and at the same time proud to find out that my spoken wisdom has made it pass the boarders of this site (facebook and myspace too) for others to gain knowledge of. But what I wasn’t expecting to see was the dim-witted comments left by people afterwards. Let me start off by saying (again) that everybody is entitled to have his or her own opinion. Just make sure you have read my entire blog or done the required research needed before you respond so brainless for others to read. There was just a snippet given for them to read right there on that site. It’s obvious that tell that they didn’t read my entire blog, which shows how unintelligent but yet lazy they are because all they had to do was click on the link that was provided right there on the site.

Then if they did read it, I just feel sorry for them for not seeing the point I was just trying to make in my blog. Obviously these people are only able to see things presented to them on the surface and aren’t capable to see the deeper implications of my point of view in my blog. Yeah everybody, I really think being a student-athlete is a direct comparison to being a slave (you can’t be serious). I’m about to give you the link to the comments but let me advise you though. Make sure you click the link and read it. If not, then you would doing the same lazy thing they did when reading the excerpt from my blog on the Seattle times website. I don’t want the same uninformed mistake to happen again when it comes to not reading someone’s entire statement.

One person went as far as questioning my intelligence because I sounded so ridiculous with my similarities comparing certain characteristic in a student-athlete life in college to slavery. First of all, I never said it was “slavery” but gave points on how sometimes it does resembled the acts being carried out in certain ways, that was it. Let me offer a different example and then maybe they will comprehend this time around, pay attention now. While living in Italy on many different occasions, I feel I’m incarcerated because I have so much alone time to myself in my apartment. I get bored and often catch myself staring at the walls like I’m in prison. Now, I’m not saying living in Italy is just like living in prison because it’s not. I can go wherever I want when I want. Unlike a person in prison who doesn’t control what they do on an everyday basis, let alone what time they can eat and go to bed. If a person in the military wants to make a comparison to something they did or saw or heard about while being there. I cannot say that it isn’t a legit comparison or say that isn’t true. I never been in the military and don’t know what they go through either.

Another site said I called my experience at Washington slavery. Now I’m so confused here, when did I make that comment? I never even put that sentence together in my blog. Unless I actually said it verbatim (this is what happened to me in college), when I gave a scenario or a circumstance in my last blog entry, some of it may come from a personal experience. It could of came from a friend I know that plays another sport at my college. It may come from a friend that plays a sport at a different college. It might even get it from a person that played sports in college 5 years ago. For the future, if I compare certain points in a student-athlete experience and put them side by side with a theory. I wish people didn’t go on a limb saying I totally think one thing or the other. Me saying, “Sounds like modern-day slavery if you ask me ” was having a little bit of sense of humor but still trying to make a point at the same time. Maybe that is my fault for not making that clearer, next time I will do a even better job. I thought the overall tone of my blogs have a sense of humor to it (that’s what people tell me and I think at least). I know this; if I did feel like I was in slavery I wouldn’t stay there that’s for sure. Other than that little mishap, it was still a good article just like the Seattle times, here’s the link to that one.

My experience in college was absolutely fantastic. I wouldn’t trade it in for anything in the world; it made me the person I am today. I was just giving a point of view from a person that went to college and played sports there and known many that have done the same. For those that commented on the Seattle times blog board, if you never played college sports, how can you say what physical and mental demands are needed to perform on and off the court? How do you know the pressures student-athletes face in college? How do you know if a past college athlete doesn’t have anything to show from college besides the memories and past injuries that will affect them more as they get older? What if student-athletes (for whatever reason) didn’t get to graduate from college? Those memories and injuries don’t get you a job or pays the bills after college. Believe it or not a lot of past college athletes don’t have anything to show once they leave college, I was blessed that I did graduate. I have seen and heard good and bad situations from college athletes. I’m sorry, but all of them aren’t success stories. Then again, all people look at are the perks athletes receive anyway because that’s all they notice and care about usually. Funny thing, I did touch on that in was my last entry as well, so hopefully people go back and read it this time and not a snippet from another site. I’m not being snobbish, more like trying to shed light on the situation some college athletes do go through and enlighten people that don’t know how it is. If you don’t know something fully or never been in that position then it isn’t good to assume you do. Remember when you judge another, you don’t define them; you define yourself.

Old Clippers in New Uniforms

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:23:15 -0500

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP Quinton Ross, sitting between his new, slightly higher profile, teammates. Browse more photos » Let me start by saying that this list won't be comprehensive. I saw Dan Dickau's name in a Suns' box score, wanted to mention it, and then decided I should expand it to talk about other guys that are out there. But NBA careers can be long, and the Clip...

Video: Terrence Jones @ Center Stage Tournament

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:35:21 -0500

Words by Justin Walsh The great state of Oregon, home to Nike, Kevin Love and the punctuated A. C. Green (not to mention the pale gunslingers Kyle Singler and Luke Jackson) has a new star waiting in the wings — Jefferson High School’s own Terrence Jones. He’s a point-forward with a nice stroke from behind the trifecta line and also plays effectively with his back to the basket or from the top of the key. His skill-set has garnered both hope and worry. The hope being that Terrence could...

NBA Summer League Recap - It's a Wrap

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:21:19 -0500

9 hours short of two weeks and 2690.3 miles later, I'm finally back at home. That was one hell of a trip. I'm wrapping it all up for you right here, right now. Vegas Las Vegas is like no other place on Earth. I didn't really get out at all, but I still got my tastes of it. On the way back from the Whole Foods -- yes, I ate at Whole Foods every day -- I was driving through the hotel parking lot when two guys flagged me down from a passing car....

Fastbreak: Former Ducks to Play on NBA Summer League Teams

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:01:43 -0500

Former Oregon men's basketball standouts Malik Hairston, Luke Jackson, Maarty Leuenen and Bryce Taylor have or will participate in the 2009 NBA Summer League schedule. The Orlando Pro Summer League runs July 6-10 at RDV Sportsplex in Maitland, Fla., while the Las Vegas Pro Summer League is a scheduled for July 10-19 at Thomas & Mack Center and COX Pavilion on the campus of UNLV.

Hal Greer: Productive, Consistent and Durable

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 01:47:00 -0500

This article originally appeared in the January 2006 issue of Hoop.

Star Guard on a Team for the Ages

Hal Greer made the All-NBA Second Team seven straight years but never was selected to the All-NBA First Team. That’s what happens when you play during the same era as Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, but Greer--a 10-time All-Star who was honored as one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players--accomplished something that neither Robertson nor West did: being the leading playoff scorer on a team that defeated Bill Russell’s Boston Celtics in the playoffs and went on to win an NBA championship.

Russell’s Celtics won eight straight titles and 11 in 13 seasons, but many observers still maintain that the greatest single season team in NBA history is the 1966-67 Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers beat Boston 4-1 in the Eastern Division finals and then defeated the Rick Barry-Nate Thurmond San Francisco Warriors in the NBA Finals. Greer produced 27.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg and 5.3 apg in the playoffs, while his teammate Wilt Chamberlain posted these mind-boggling numbers: 21.7 ppg, 29.1 rpg and 9.0 apg. Hall of Famer and Top 50 selection Billy Cunningham, the sixth man on the 1967 championship team, says, “Hal Greer was such a smart player. In his mind he had a book about every player he played against and what he had to do to make sure that he got free to get shots. He was probably as fine a screener as a guard as anybody. The thing about it was he knew that if he set a good screen then he would be open because he would force a switch and he would end up being matched up with a bigger, slower player that he knew he could easily beat to get whatever shot he wanted.”

Remember the old shoe commercial with playground legend Lamar Mundane? The voiceover said that Mundane would shoot as soon as he crossed midcourt and the fans would yell, “Layup!” That would be a good way to describe Hal Greer’s top of the key jump shot; Sixers coach Alex Hannum said that Greer made that shot at a 70% clip and gave Greer the green light to launch from that range whenever he was open. Greer’s jump shot was so fluid and so deadly that he shot his free throws that way, connecting on better than 80% of his career attempts. Cunningham offers high praise for Greer’s jump shot: “It was as good as anybody’s who ever played the game. I think the beauty of Hal Greer’s game is that he knew where he was most effective and he never shot the ball from an area where he was not completely confident and comfortable. He never went outside of 18-20 feet maximum, but he was deadly and he had the ability to get to that spot.”

The Winding Road from West Virginia to Syracuse to Philadelphia

Greer was born in Huntington, West Virginia on June 26, 1936 and when he signed with Marshall he became the first black athlete to play for a major college in that state. In 1955-56, his first varsity season, Greer shot a blistering 60.1% from the field, averaging 15.5 ppg and 6.7 ppg as Marshall won the Mid-American Conference title, earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament. Greer improved his numbers in the next two seasons (18.9 ppg and 13.8 rpg in 1956-57 and 23.6 ppg and 11.7 rpg in 1957-58) but Marshall finished second in the MAC to Miami (Oh.) both years, which meant no trips to the NCAA Tournament since at that time only the conference champion could earn an NCAA bid. The 6-2, 175 pound Greer played guard, forward and even center, battling on the boards with behemoths like 6-8, 240 pound Miami center (and future NBA All-Star) Wayne Embry.

The Syracuse Nationals selected Greer in the second round of the 1958 NBA draft. Initially, established stars Dolph Schayes, Red Kerr and George Yardley shouldered most of the offensive load. By 1961-62 Greer was clearly Syracuse’s top player. He averaged a team-high 22.8 ppg, finishing 13th in the league (1619 points; leaders were ranked by totals—not averages—until 1969-70) in one of the toughest individual scoring races ever; Chamberlain set the all-time single season record with 50.4 ppg (4029 points) and five other players averaged over 30 ppg. Greer’s .819 free throw shooting placed him ninth in the NBA.

Greer made the All-NBA Second team for the first time in 1962-63, placing ninth in scoring (1562 points; 19.5 ppg) and fifth in free throw shooting (.834). In 1963-64 the Nationals moved to Philadelphia and were renamed the 76ers. Schayes served as player-coach, but only played in 24 games. Greer ranked seventh in scoring (1865 points; 23.3 ppg), third in free throw shooting (.829) and seventh in assists (374; 4.7 apg). Despite his consistently excellent play, Greer’s team lost in the first round of the playoffs for the third straight season.

The Nationals replaced Philadelphia’s original NBA team, the Warriors, which had moved to San Francisco the year before, taking Chamberlain with them. Bringing Chamberlain back to Philadelphia via a midseason trade in 1964-65 transformed the 76ers into a title contender. Chamberlain and rookie power forward Luke Jackson provided the interior strength that the team had been missing. Greer again ranked among the league leaders in scoring, assists and free throw percentage.

The 76ers battled the Celtics in a memorable seven game Eastern Division finals. The Celtics were clinging to a 110-109 lead with just seconds left when Russell’s inbounds pass hit one of the wires holding up the backboard, a turnover that gave the 76ers one last chance. Greer tried to inbound the ball to smooth shooting forward Chet Walker, but John Havlicek’s steal preserved the Celtics’ win—a play immortalized by Celtics’ announcer Johnny Most’s raspy exclamation, “Havlicek stole the ball! It’s all over!”

Philadelphia had the NBA’s best record in 1965-66, 55-25. Greer ranked sixth in scoring (1819 points; 22.7 ppg), tenth in free throw percentage (.804) and tenth in assists (384; 4.8 apg). The much anticipated Eastern Division finals rematch with Boston proved to be a very anti-climactic 4-1 Celtics victory. Schayes won Coach of the Year honors, but the disappointing playoff run cost him his job. The 76ers hired Hannum, Chamberlain’s coach with the Warriors, with one goal in mind—beat the hated Celtics.

The 1966-67 Sixers finished with a 68-13 record, the best in NBA history at that time (a mark since broken by the Chamberlain-West 1971-72 Lakers and the Jordan-Pippen Bulls in 1995-96 and 1996-97). Greer averaged 22.1 ppg (ranking sixth in the NBA with 1765 points), 5.3 rpg and 3.8 apg. The 76ers rolled to the championship, winning 11 of 15 postseason games. Cunningham recalls, “We had a team whose only goal was to win a championship, especially considering how close the team came in 1965. It was a very focused team and a very unselfish team—and that’s the way Hal Greer played. Hal Greer never forced things or did things that would not be beneficial to the team.”

In 1967-68 the 76ers had the best record in the league for the third straight year, 62-20. Greer won the 1968 All-Star Game MVP after scoring 19 points in one quarter, a record that stood until Glen Rice had a 20 point quarter in the 1997 All-Star Game. Greer posted the highest regular season scoring average of his career (24.1 ppg), just trailing Chamberlain (24.3 ppg) for the team lead. Cunningham broke his wrist in the first round playoff series versus New York, but the 76ers beat the Knicks and took a 3-1 lead over the Celtics in the Eastern Division finals. The Celtics rallied to win three straight, eliminated the Sixers 100-96 in Philadelphia in game seven and went on to win the championship.

From the Sublime to the 1972-73 76ers

Hannum resigned after the 1968 season and coached the Oakland Oaks to the 1968-69 ABA championship. General Manager Jack Ramsay took over as coach. Chamberlain and Sixers management feuded during the summer of 1968 until the team traded him to the Los Angeles Lakers. Jackson replaced Chamberlain at center but suffered the first of a series of injuries that derailed his career. In 1968-69, Cunningham took over the role of leading scorer, Greer averaged 23.1 ppg, making the All-NBA Second Team for final time, and the Sixers managed to post the second best record in the league, 55-27. Any thoughts of the 76ers being legitimate title contenders evaporated after Boston trounced Philadelphia 4-1 in the Eastern Division semifinals. Russell concluded his NBA career with a Finals victory over Chamberlain’s Lakers.

The 76ers slipped in the standings the next two years but still qualified for the playoffs. Greer made his last All-Star appearance in 1970 and by 1971-72 the Sixers slumped to 30-52. Then Cunningham jumped to the ABA before the 1972-73 season and Philadelphia collapsed, posting the worst record in NBA history, 9-73. That turned out to be Greer’s last season and, while it was hardly a fitting conclusion to his fine career, just the fact that he was still in the league was remarkable: at the time of Greer’s retirement he had played more games than anyone in NBA history (1122) and he ranked behind only Chamberlain, Robertson, West and Elgin Baylor on the regular season career scoring list. Greer’s 21,586 points are still the 76ers’ franchise record. Greer never made the All-NBA First Team, but he firmly established himself as one of the greatest guards in NBA history.

Washington Wizards Game Day/Night: A Tepid History With The Miami Heat

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:17:27 -0500

Downtown Miami - flickr/anonymonk For the longest time the Miami Heat had the number of the Washington Wizards. Remember the Wizards when Gilbert Arenas was playing and the team was winning? Yea, those Wizards. Well, when it comes to last year....sorry suckers. SWEEP! Game time soon....quick ...

The Portland Trailblazers sign G/F Luke Jackson

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 05:18:36 -0500

The Trailblazers have signed Luke Jackson to a 1-year contract. The Blazers are hoping that a return to Oregon where Jackson was a star for the Ducks will jumpstart his NBA career. Jackson played in 14 games (1 start) for the Heat last season and he averaged 16.3 minutes, 5.6 points, 2.4 rebounds [...]

Rumors and Free Agent Updates - Lots of Guard Rumors Edition

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:50:22 -0500

At the beginning of the off season, Sam Cassell was planning to return to the Celtics this season as a player/ assistant coach in training and then join Doc's staff next season. With the resigning of House and Allen and Danny's expectations that Pruitt will contribute more this season, it seems that Sam will need to find employment elsewhere. After signing Giddens, the team has 2 spots left. Hopefully one goes to Bill Walker and the other would go to either a veteran back up small for...

The Frederic Weis All (Forgettable & Forgotten) First-Rounders

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:42:49 -0500

As we stand on the precipice of the 2008 NBA Draft, I care surprisingly little. The thing that intrigues me most is not who will be taken first overall or what draft-day trades will be consummated. What interests me is those who will be selected with one of those high picks, showered with praise and "upside potential" to the Nth degree, staked to a hearty contract all only to disappear with nary a whimper from our collective NBA consciousness. The real fun as I investigated the first round selections of past drafts was stumbling upon those names that makes your eyebrows crinkle and ask: "Who?" Sometimes the names themselves are not entirely unfamiliar, but, with all of them, the memory of their NBA career is ever-challenging to recall. These are not necessarily busts, although some fit the description. But, for all, to be selected so high, and leave such a small imprint, was surely a disappointment to the teams that selected them. So, who are those players and names from the past decade? Who was taken in the coveted top half of round one? Who were those prospects to whom NBA teams saddled hopes of upgrading their roster if not becoming a pillar of their organization? Who are these now forgotten ones? Let's take a walk down memory (or amnesia) lane. Here are a few of the eyebrow-raisers this somewhat-educated NBA fan had trouble pulling out from the cranial archives (either by name, NBA career, or, most often, both). 1997: Olivier Saint-Jean (#11 to Sacramento, San Jose St.) If you were like us, the name Olivier Saint-Jean conjured up visions of absolutely nothing. Until, of course, one realizes that Saint-Jean is Tariq Abdul-Wahad. Finckle is Einhorn. Einhorn is Finckle! Yes, Tariq cast away his native France in favor of an Islamic conversion in 1997. Among this list, Saint-Jean Abdul-Wahad, although nothing to write home about, was far from the laughingstock of the bunch. 1998: Bryce Drew (#16 to Houston, Valparaiso) Like I said, some of these guys names you might remember. Anyone my age cannot forget Drew nailing that improbable three to beat Ole Miss in the 1998 NCAA Tourney. Watch that video again and listen to the commentary. I'd forgotten the lead up to that final play, which makes the last few minutes of that game all the more amazing. Forgotten could also be the word I'd use to describe Drew's NBA career. Bryce somehow started 41 games for 00-01 Bulls and ended his six-year stint with a 4.4 ppg average. OK, now watch that play again. How about the inbounds pass??!! 1999: Frederic Weis (#15 to New York, France) Our post namesake and inspiration. Sometimes Wikipedia really is all you need. My favorite line: "He was drafted by the New York Knicks with the 15th pick in the first round of the 1999 NBA Draft but did not sign with them and never played in the NBA. His selection is widely regarded as a major draft blunder that contributed to the several mediocre seasons that followed for the Knicks." You don't say? 2000: Jerome Moiso (#11 to Boston, UCLA) Ask me where Jerome Moiso played college ball, and I'd immediately be able to respond with UCLA. His NBA career? Can't say I ever remember seeing the guy play. Ever. Which sounds about right if you look at the rundown. Marcus Fizer should also get a HT for being so dominant in college and almost succeeding in leaving no delible imprint on the part of my brain that recalls NBA players in uniform. 2001: Kirk Haston (#16 to Charlotte, Indiana) Hmmmm...slow, 6'9 white guy from Indiana. Don't care how nice a touch he has on his jumper, you might not want to take a pass, Charlotte. Apparently, some lessons are never fully learned. 2002: Nikoloz Tskitishvili (#5 to Denver, Italy) This person went #5 overall in the draft. #5. Overall. Wait, who is this person? 2003: Michael Sweetney (#9 to New York, Georgetown) Since he was drafted by the Knicks, I have a soft spot for Sweetney. He seemed like a real good guy who just couldn't keep himself away from the buffet table. Plus, it was just awesome when Walt Clyde would say "...with the sweet stuff" after Michael jammed one home. But a #9 pick? Really? Georgetown has been one of my favorite college teams since I went to hoops camp there at age 10. I watched a lot of Hoyas basketball. How could one look at Sweetney and deem him worthy of a top 10 first-round pick? Ahhh, yes. It was the New York Knicks. A team that makes many things possible that could seemingly not be accomplished by any other franchise. By the way, David West went 18th and Josh Howard 29th in 2003. Sure neither of those fellas could've helped the Knicks. Nah, not a bit. 2004: Luke Jackson (#10 to Cleveland, Oregon) Another guy I loved in college. Sweet stroke. Luke had that long-haired Pacific Northwest laid-back vibe going with Ridnour. But Cleveland might want to reference our comments on the 2001 draft and Charlotte's selection. That said, Jackson appears to be improving a bit with age. Still, it was shocking to look back and see his name next to the #10 pick. 2005: Fran Vazquez/Yaroslav Korlev (Picks #11 and #12 to Orlando and the Clip Joint, Spain/Moscow) Never heard of these guys? Neither had we. Vazquez is under contract with the basketball version of FC Barcelona - through the 2008-2009 season. He was drafted in 2005. This whole existing contract thing supposedly came as a surprise to the Magic. If we ever hear the name Fran Vazquez associated with any sort of accomplishment in the NBA, that will be our surprise. Korolev was waived by the Clippers in October of 2007. And getting waived by the Clippers is quite an accomplishment. 2006: Patrick O'Bryant (#9 to Golden State, Bradley) Personally, drafting a seven-footer out of Bradley with a top 10 pick just doesn't sound right. Sure, it's way too early to make any sort of judgment about a 22 year-old kid, but when was the last time you heard anything about this dude? Yea, me neither. Maybe it's that east coast bias at work? 2007: Spencer Hawes (#10 to Sacramento, Washington) This guy just reeks of a future Frederic Weis forgotten All-Star. We won't judge...yet. But there was a lot of hype around this guy this time last year. He did play in 71 games and average 13 minutes per contest. So, we'll give him some time before officially naming him a member of this squad. We're anxious to see who becomes the early favorite to join this illustrious class of forgettable and forgotten. Guess we'll have to wait until tomorrow. Pins and needles!

Fantasy Basketball: Ranking the Three Spot

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 03:17:09 -0500

There is not much debate about who is the best small forward in the fantasy basketball universe. Most would pick LeBron James as the number one option at his position. But, who is number two on the list? There are several candidates to choose from for that spot, including: Carmelo Anthony, Caron Butler, Rudy Gay, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion, Paul Pierce, and Josh Smith. A fairly strong case could be made for each one of these players. Let us look at and analyze a couple match ups of some of the...

Shannon Brown Could Be Cavs Next Big Loss

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:06:11 -0500

The Cavs show a lack of ability when it comes to talent evaluation and consistently giving young players a chance. The Cavs have lost players like Jason Kapono, Luke Jackson and others due to their inabilities. Shannon Brown is set to become the next athletic, talented player to be run out of town to try and contribute somewhere else where he can get an opportunity.