The fourth ever Boost Mobile Elite 24 HS All-American game comes to Rucker Park again this Friday, August 21. Harrison Barnes, Kyrie Irving, Doron Lamb, Tobias Harris, Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, on and on will rock out on the court while Brandon Jennings, Rajon Rondo, Tyreke Evans, Ron Naclerio, Tiny Morton and more will man the sidelines. The Dunk Contest will jump off at 5:30pm; game time is 7pm (broadcast on ESPNU Saturday @ 7pm). Entry is free; take the D train to 155th St.

Over ten former Elite 24 participants are now playing in the NBA, so understand the level of comp. I’ve had a lot of fun announcing the game since it’s inaugural year in 2006, and was recently asked by ESPN to list my ten favorite nicknames I’ve come up in the first three years (that I can remember at least!)

Lance Stephenson aka “Born Ready”: Lance was killing at EBC, Kingdome, and other men’s tournaments before he even stepped into the gym at Lincoln HS. Born Ready was the best way I could describe his game, simple as that!

“Make’em Fall” John Wall a.k.a. “Ammo”: Make’em Fall came naturally because the kid has supreme handle, but I called him Ammo, as in ammunition, once I realized he could pass, dunk, play D, shoot, etc. He’s a fully loaded offensive weapon!

Brandon Jennings a.k.a. “Doo Be Doo” a.k.a. “The Take Over”: When I saw BJ beating everyone down the floor every possession in 2006 and just outpacing his opponents, the Roy Ayers song, “Running Away” came to mind, where in the chorus they sing, “Do Be Doo, Doo, run run!” It made sense in the movie Gunnin’ For the #1 Spot when you got to see the tune with his highlights. In 2007, EJ Da Mayor and I were announcing together, and while BJ was amassing his 20+ assists, EJ nicknamed him “The Take Over” which was even better!

Kyle Singler a.k.a. “Wireless” a.k.a. “Shampoo” a.k.a. “The Wig”: hahaha! I had a lot of fun with nicknaming Kyle. He was skinny and wirey with a big mop of hair up top, so the names came naturally.

Tyreke Evans a.k.a. “Reke Havoc”: Tyreke’s game in 2007 was totally demonstative of a dude who wreaks havoc on the court, so I played with the pronunciation of the word to come up with this one. He had come to Rucker Park with the nickname “Too Easy” however that reminded me of Baron Davis’ moniker, and I always try to be as original as possible.

Kevin Love a.k.a. “Kevlar”: Kev Love or K Love would’ve been too obvious a choice, but I liked the phonetix of it. When I saw his style of rebounding, outlet, and tough low post play, I thought of kevlar which is a bulletproof material I first learned about in ‘94 when Nike used it on the toe re-inforcement for their Air Resistance tennis shoe!

Malik Wyans a.k.a. “Lik Lik So Unique”: Malik won me over during the Elite 24 scrimmage the day before. I had never heard of him, but I can tell a ballplayer when I see one, and having played high school in Philly myself for two years at Lower Merion, I’m well aware of the pedigree that city produces. At Rucker, he wound up gaining the favor of the crowd, too. I don’t know how I came up with his nickname, it was just in the flow of the game.

Jerryd Bayless a.k.a. “Pay Up”: This kid had attacked the rim like he had something to prove in 2006. Bayless sounded like Payless, the bargain store, to me, so I played around with the words and came up with Pay Up, and would scream it out everytime he made a lay up (it rhymes, see)!

BJ Mullens a.k.a. “That ‘70s Show”: Haha! Gotta credit EJ Da Mayor for this one, he screamed it on the mic and everyone in the park started rolling! I was laughing right along, it was great. I don’t watch TV so I don’t always get those jokes right away, but BJ just looked retro without even trying—haha!

Dion Waiters a.k.a. “Fresh Pepper”: He didn’t have an MVP game, but he was out there trying and when he’d score it’d remind me of when a waiter asks you, “Would you like fresh pepper with that?” so I just shortened it. I wonder if he liked it?