Da Move, the biggest basketball freestyle show in Italy, is out now with a brand new Showreel, with new features, exploring some new freestyle worlds. Read More »

Maybe the best French streetball player of all time (don’t forget Mo’ Sonko) signed a contract with CB Murcia this week. Everybody remembers Sy beating cats like Erron Maxey and Junie Sanders to get the crown at L.A. in the Nike Battleground King of the World. Since that day, Amara has played in France and in the D-League, searching a spot in the League. Read More »

SEEDS Academy scrimmage on my last day in Senegal. This was one of many woop-woops I witnessed!

On Jan. 13, I left NYC for an unforgettable journey to the motherland. The SEEDS Foundation invited me to coach clinics in four Senegalese cities over a three-day weekend as part of its GROW THE GAME program to not only help kids learn how to play ball but more importantly to inspire them to choose education as a route to self-empowerment. The academic achievement of the youth there is staggering; something to the tune of 20% go to high school, 5% go to college, and as a result, 40% of the adult population is illiterate. Factor in malnutrition of children under 5, lack of gross national product to export (i.e.: no oil or diamond trade), and you basically have one of the least developed countries in the world. It’s not as poor as Zimbabwe or Somalia, but in comparison, I’ve been to the most down-trodden favelas of Brazil and would definitely say that Senegal was on another level of poverty. About a third of the population lives on less than $1.25 US dollars a day.

In 2003, SEEDS founder Amadou Gallo Fall (currently VP of NBA Africa and a former scout for the Dallas Mavs) took his own money and created the SEEDS Academy, a non-profit center where teenagers with b-ball promise could receive a better education, as well as a chance at life. Its best-known graduate to date has been Mouhamed Sene, who played in the NBA, but the bigger success story is the number of kids who have finished at the school with standardized test scores over the Senegalese national average, having gone on to colleges in the United States, some even on scholarship, both academic and athletic.

Indeed, Senegal’s greatest natural resource is its people. Read More »

On January 9th, 2010, Nike and Brand Jordan sponsored Elementos, produced by Project 2050, in Rio De Janiero, Brazil. There was a b-ball tournament, dunk contest, b-boy circle, live graf, fusbol action, skateboarding, and no doubt miggety me on the wheels towards the end of the day spinning some soul and rhythms for the heads. Check out this clip from LUB TV of some of the action!

Shout out to Dom Filo, president of LUB and OG Rio DJ first responsible for playing US soul/funk to the crowd there dating back to 1970!

Ladies and gents, boys and girls, children of all ages, Summer 2010 is almost here. If you’re like me, you’re fighting the cold winds of the winter and doing nothing but praying that they subside and the summer begins, when you can take all the extra clothing off and actually enjoy the weather. This is dedicated to all the tournaments in NYC–all the way from the Boogie Down Bronx through Queens and Brooklyn ’til you land in Lower Manhattan and make your final destination a trek up the FDR going from East to West Harlem! Read More »

2009 Nike Iolani Classic Slam Dunk Contest

If you didn’t know, H-Town has been representing the hoops circuit for a minute! Yeah, yeah everybody talks about the South being athletic, and every baller has more hops than his or her East Coast, West Coast, or Midwest counterparts. Check out these highlights of high school players….if this is the hardwood, you can imagine what these cats would do on the playground! Read More »

Kobe Bryant would not fit in the high top Nike Basketball generation in the late 80’s and early 90’s if he walked in any court with the Nike Zoom Kobe V. Today Kobe is considered a genius for creating one of the lowest cut basketball shoes to date. It seems as though low cut basketball shoes make no sense to the average consumer because you have to buy braces and aftermarket accessories for protection, a problem easily resolved by purchasing a higher shoe. Kobe thought outside of the box, a trait that Nike has held for years. Soccer players wear low cut shoes and are in danger to sprain their ankle constantly, yet they are just fine. Kobe looked at another sport he loved and applied aspects to his signature shoe that would be a success on the hardwood. He wanted a light, comfortable shoe; I’m all for it, I don’t want my shoes to feel like two bricks if I’m running on a court for hours. Playing in a 10.6-ounce shoe that utilizes Nike’s cutting edge technology and materials is a treat to your body. It is the lightest basketball shoe to date. Kobe introduced Nike to a new market: the low top consumer. Hypermaxes and Hyperize’s already dominate the market in high/mid cut shoes, yet Kobe helped Nike lock up the market all around. The man is thinking like an engineer and marketing guru. Add Flywire into that equation and it seem like Kobe engineers bridges. Eat your heart out Billy Hoyle.