Yardbarker: Casey Jacobsen

A Silent Sensei

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:36:04 -0500

by Casey Jacobsen When I committed to play college basketball at Stanford in 1999, I did so because I thought it was the perfect fit for me. Not only was it an amazing academic institution, their basketball program had been transformed into a respected contender for a national championship, year in and year out. Stanford also had a promising group of underclassmen to help live up to the new expectations. All-American forward Mark Madsen was one of only two returning seniors on the team, but w...

True Professionals

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:57:33 -0500

by Casey Jacobsen One of the things I love most about the game of basketball is that it is a team game — it’s not just about you. It’s about getting all five guys on the court, regardless of where they are from or what God they worship, to come together for a common goal: To win. You can’t accomplish that goal with just one good player (for example, the 2008 Cleveland Cavaliers). Sure, you must have a star — a player who can take over the game on offense or defense during importan...

(Too Much?) Power to Influence

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:54:38 -0500

by Casey Jacobsen When I was a boy, all I wanted to do was play sports with my friends in my suburban neighborhood of Glendora, CA. I was tall, but not huge. I wasn’t fast, but not slow either. I could jump well, but that was by “white boy” standards. And although I come from family with basketball history (my father and two older brothers played college basketball), no one in their right mind would have predicted that I would make it to the NBA when they saw me at 13. Even after two years of...

Guarding MJ and LeBron

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 13:16:35 -0500

by Casey Jacobsen This is the story of the first time I met Michael Jordan and LeBron James. I didn’t meet them both on the same day, but the stories of my first encounters with these two basketball idols are eerily similar. Just like every kid who ever picked up a basketball in the 1980s, I was obsessed with Michael Jordan. According to me, he was already the greatest player of all time and he hadn’t even won his first championship with the Bulls yet. I would practice for hours in my backyar...

Best of the (basketball) net: Multiculti multimedia edition

Sat, 05 Sep 2009 22:33:16 -0500

For this week’s edition of “Best of the (Basketball) Net,” Ball in Europe goes multimedia with a collection of videos, podcasts, mix “tapes” and a bit of – gasp! – actual writing about the game we love. Casey Jacobsen clearly and simply enumerates the differences between playing ball in “The NBA vs. Europe” once and for [...]

The NBA vs. Europe

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:17:11 -0500

by Casey Jacobsen If I had a dollar for each time someone asked me what the differences are between the NBA and European basketball (FIBA), I could retire right now at the young age of 28. It’s a good question, and one that can’t be answered in few words. Some background: European basketball has been steadily improving for the past 30 years. Long before there was a Dirk Nowitzki, there was a Drazen Petrovic and an Arvydas Sabonis. Each year (or two), there were more European basketball playe...

Allow Me to Introduce Myself

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:20:41 -0500

NBA vet; father; husband; world traveler; tongue twister; teetotaler… Casey Jacobsen is a man of many hats. Casey will be playing with Brose Baskets in Bamberg, Germany for the ‘09-10 season, and he’ll be blogging with SLAMonline from across the pond. You may know him as a former high school and college All-American, but we bet you didn’t know this… — Ed. by Casey Jacobsen Breaking News: There are a lot of blogs on the internet! Wikipedia tells me that ther...

What was your first Spurstalk post?

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 21:52:38 -0500

Or for you older people, SR or whatever was before that? Mine was on why Casey Jacobsen would be a good pick in the 2002 draft. Truth is I didn't know **** about the guy, I just wanted to fit in. My first Spurstalk post was a SpursWoman happy birthday message. :toast

Rumors and Free Agent Updates - Injuries and Rookie Signings Edition

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:57:08 -0500

The Warriors got some bad news as they learned that their point guard Monta Ellis will be out at least 3 months after undergoing surgery to repair a torn deltoid ligament in his left ankle. Ellis injured his ankle last Thursday playing pick-up ball in his native Mississippi and had the surgery on Wednesday. The Warriors have had a rough start to the off season, losing Baron Davis to the Clippers and it appears that they are having an even rougher end to the offseason with the injury to Monta ...

Rumors and Free Agent Updates - Kobe is a Jerk Edition

Sun, 10 Aug 2008 09:07:02 -0500

With the ACL injury to Jason Smith, the Sixers will be looking for someone to fill in as a back up center and power forward since his season is pretty much over before it starts. The Sixers can offer just a minimum contract and word is that former Sixer (and Celtic) Theo Ratliff is high on their list to contact. Ratliff played in only 2 games in his year with the Celtics and he and his expiring contract were sent to Minnesota in the deal that brought KG to the Celtics. The Wolves cut him and ...

The Memphis Grizzlies renounce rights to two players

Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:45:17 -0500

The Grizzlies have renounced the rights to Casey Jacobsen and Andre Brown which will save them some money against the salary cap. 27-year old shooting guard Casey Jacobsen didn’t have his best season last year for the Grizzlies. He played in 53 games (0 starts) last season and he averaged 10.3 minutes, 2.0 [...]