photo: sculu.com

The Dunk! The Ram! The Slam! The Bong! Whatever you want to call it, it’s an art form, birthed on the playground, that has revolutionized the way the game is played. And few players excelled at it with the stealth and sizzle of Isaiah “JR” Rider. Read More »

photo: nbaloud.com

Toward the end of the summer, I hit up my man Miles Rawls, the commissioner of DC’s renowned George Goodman League. We talked about the summer highlights from Barry Farms, the seasoned vets and young boys on the come up, the standout performances, etc.

When I asked him if he’d been in touch with Agent Zero, who has come down to the Goodman League on the regular since arriving from Golden State, and is a crowd favorite due to his down to earth demeanor and strong playground love, Miles’ voice jumped an octave. Read More »

photo: slamonline.com

Basketball, broken down to its simplest compound, is about scoring more buckets than the team you’re playing against. The Semi-Automatic refers to players who leave bodies in their wake with their innate ability to get buckets. And few players can truly say that they are, or ever were, on the same level as the man known as “Mao Santa”, aka “The Holy Hand.” Read More »

photo of the unc’s dean dome: peterkrogh.com

The North Carolina Tar Heels. The legacy of this esteemed college basketball program conjures up words like prestige, championships, class and dominance, along with Hall of Fame names like Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Dean Smith. They’ve won 27 ACC regular season titles, 17 ACC tourney titles, competed in 18 Final Fours and captured five National Championships.

The question that begs to be answered is how did the program ascend to such rarefied heights. Read More »

If you can’t feel this… Read More »

photo: orangehoops.org

The Dish aka The Assist. It’s my favorite part of the game because it’s the most philanthropic. While most casual observers appreciate the dudes that can get buckets, my informal education as a New York City playground point guard stipulated that I acknowledge, comprehend and cherish the brilliance of the pass that led to the basket, as well as players with an innate ability to make others better.

And very few players mastered the dish like the 6′1″ Sherman Douglas, who will go down in history as one of the best Alley-Oop practicioners the game has ever seen. Read More »

photo of washington huskies sophomore isaiah thomas: seattlepi.com

In case you suffer from that bizarre disease known as ECBB (East Coast Basketball Bias) and refuse to stay up late to catch the action on the left coast, you probably missed one of the most electrifying first-year college players last season, the Washington Huskies 5′8″ point guard, Isaiah Thomas. Read More »

photo: sheepy712.files.wordpress.com

The scam went down like this. A skinny kid named Reggie would be tossing up jumpers at the John Adams Elementary School and other playgrounds in Riverside, California. His older sister, Cheryl, would be at the other end of the court, tossing up bricks. Sometimes, she would wind up and heave the ball over the backboard and into the chain link fence.

Reggie would approach a couple of kids and the convo normally went down like this -

“You guys want to play two-on-two? I’m waiting for my man to show up. Or I can just play you with my sister down there.” Read More »