photo of UTEP’s Randy Culpepper: elpasotimes.com

Let’s be real. How many people, other than us true connoisseurs, were really up on Joe Dumars while he was killing it at McNesse State? Or John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone or Dennis Rodman during their college days?

In today’s Deep Cover Chronicles, we’ll take a quick peek at some of the young fellas who are leaving bodies in their wake, despite some minimal coverage by the national media. But in the days and weeks ahead, with the glare of March Madness upon them, they’ll get an opportunity to show the world their superfluous stylistics. Cue the music! Read More »

photo: comportal.villanova.edu

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 in the mid ’90s – when Georgetown’s Allen Iverson, UCONN’s Ray Allen, Wake Forest’s Tim Duncan, St. John’s Felipe Lopez, Syracuse’s Lawrence Moten aka “Poetry in Motion”, UMASS’s Marcus Camby and quite possibly the greatest college hoops team of all time, the ‘96 Kentucky Wildcats aka “The Untouchables” had a monopoly on the headlines – Villanova’s Kerry Kittles left behind a remarkable body of work that easily establishes him as one of the Big East Conference’s greatest players ever. Read More »

photo: a.espncdn.com

Let’s be real. How many people, other than us true connoisseurs, were really up on Joe Dumars while he was killing it at McNesse State? Or John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone or Dennis Rodman during their college days?

In the Deep Cover Chronicles, we’ll take a quick peek at some of the young fellas who are leaving bodies in their wake, despite some minimal coverage by the national media. I’m not saying that these guys are headed for the accomplishments of the above named legends. But you should know who they are now, before the world eventually jumps on the bandwagon.

Now before some of ya’ll get upset, let’s be clear that we’re not simply just talking about players toiling away in obscurity, like a Pippen at Central Arkansas.

We’re talking about players who are not household names, regardless of what conference they play in, whose teams are treated like wet food stamps by prime time broadcasts, who the average fan could not pick out of a lineup that includes Bin Laden, Rush Limbaugh, Alf, Billy Crystal, Max Julien, Tatoo and Mr. Rourke from Fantasy Island, Shirley from What’s Happenin’, the bat from There’s a Bat in my House, Butterbean, Don Cornelius and Oprah.

Today’s feature: Mr. Darington Hobson from the University of New Mexico. (cue music) Read More »

During his two electrifying seasons at Georgetown in ‘94-’95 and ‘95-’96, Allen Iverson was not merely the fearless, mercurial, quicksilver dynamo who earned two league Defensive Player of the Year awards and All-Big East selections while leading the league in scoring. He also brought some supreme Machine Gun Funk. Cue the music. Read More »

In the 1995 ACC Tournament, Washington, D.C.’s Randolph Childress brought that playground “Machine Gun Funk” with him, clearing the way for Wake Forest to earn a championship. Cue the music. Read More »

An old adage says, “After the rain, comes sun.” And if it weren’t for a destructive tropical storm in 1989, the intense ray of sun that has warmed and nourished the hoops landscape over the previous seventeen years might have remained hidden under a cloak of obscurity.

When Hurrican Hugo completed its wrath on the U.S. Virgin Islands in ‘89, one of the fortunate consequences of its terror was flinging Tim Duncan into the welcoming arms of basketball. Read More »

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 few players running the point will ever, in my eyes, match the understated brilliance of Maurice Edward Cheeks. Read More »

photo: seattle university

Let’s be real. How many people, other than us true connoisseurs, were really up on Joe Dumars while he was killing it at McNesse State? Or John Stockton, Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone or Dennis Rodman during their college days?

In the Deep Cover Chronicles, we’ll take a quick peek at some of the young fellas who are leaving bodies in their wake, despite some minimal coverage by the national media. I’m not saying that these guys are headed for the accomplishments of the above named legends. But you should know who they are now, before the world eventually jumps on the bandwagon.

Now before some of ya’ll get upset, let’s be clear that we’re not simply just talking about players toiling away in obscurity, like a Pippen at Central Arkansas.

We’re talking about players who are not household names, regardless of what conference they play in, whose teams are treated like wet food stamps by prime time broadcasts, who the average fan could not pick out of a lineup that includes Bin Laden, Rush Limbaugh, Alf, Billy Crystal, Max Julien, Tatoo and Mr. Rourke from Fantasy Island, Shirley from What’s Happenin’, the bat from There’s a Bat in my House, Butterbean, Don Cornelius and Oprah.

Today’s feature: Mr. Charles Garcia from Seattle University. (cue music) Read More »