Castro posing for upcoming show America's Next Sports Star
Four months ago, we featured Courtney Castro as one of New York’s best-kept secrets. Since then, he’s lit up tournaments like Hoops In The Sun, Rodney Park, and the upstart Lower Manhattan Classic. Castro has taken his game to the pro-level and even explored the Hollywood scene. He’s no longer a secret!
The first episode of America’s Next Sports Star airs today, Tuesday November 3rd at 6:00 pm EST on the Versus Network. America’s Next Sports Star is a reality series hosted by Craig Hodges that highlights the best unsigned basketball prospects in the country.
David Stern’s vision for the NBA becoming an international staple has led to the creation of Ene•bé•a, a Spanish-language website of nba.com that informs Latinos about the league in depth with interviews, scores, and stats. For the past few years, the NBA has reached out to the Spanish speaking community by providing broadcasts in their language. The NBA’s Noche Latina acknowledges NBA fans and players of Hispanic origin, providing them with translations of jerseys from teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs. This year the NBA has stepped up, attempting to create an Ene•bé•a television and internet campaign that will inform Latinos about current events happening in the NBA. Hopefully this is the beginning of a campaign that unites Spanish and English speaking fans and players across the globe.
To learn more about NBA Spanish initiatives, check out Ene•bé•a. MediaPost also has a wonderful article about the Ene•bé•a.
The careers of many young athletes begin when they are old enough to walk,often under pressure from parents and coaches. Millions of kids reach for the dream of super-stardom, but few achieve it. Most children know how expensive college can be and many parents find it nearly impossible to pay for tuition, fees, room and board without a scholarship. Striking a balance between competitive sports and having funis hard for children because their future livelihood depends on how well they do in the game of basketball.
The road from urban-America to a college basketball scholarship is full of many obstacles. The biggest challenge for an athlete is coping with the fact that their chances of getting the athletic scholarship are very slim. For example, according to NCAA statistics, only 10 percent (one in 10) of all African-American male students in Division 1 universities are athletes. In other words, most college-age African-Americans do not receive an athletic scholarship which indicates that 90 percent (nine out of 10) of them used their academic preparation in order to get into college. However, the image in the minds of many people is that African-American males use their physical abilities to go to college. This mis-perception is grounded in the skin color profiles that people observe when they watch big-time revenue producing college sports on television.
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Shortly after graduating from the University of Oregon, Marshall Cho journeyed to New York City on a Teach for America assignment. And it was here, in the Basketball Mecca, where Cho (a former varsity hoops captain in high school) had a roundball revelation. While coaching 8th grade kids at his appointed middle school in the Bronx that winter, he discovered that the game was more than mere Xs-and-Os — it was a vehicle for forging relationships and creating wholesome connections with ballplayers whose backgrounds starkly contrast your own.
Marshall eventually followed his wife to Africa, who was there completing some philanthropic work. To sate his hoops addiction, he erected a hoop in his backyard and kids from his ‘hood visited in droves, galvanized by the pebbled ball’s pitter-patter on the dirt court. Many showed up daily, eager to learn, most of them playing without shoes. This prompted Cho into action, and well, he didn’t stop. Over the next three years, he worked collaboratively with Hoops4Hope, Basketball Without Borders, and constructed courts in Xai Xai and Maputo, Mozambique.
Hit the jump to learn more about Marshall’s philanthropic efforts in Africa. Read More »
As a child, I awaited for February to come. It meant one thing: Air Jordans. It was that time of the year that Mike released another roman numeral to succeed the last. You knew a commercial would come; you would only guess what type of theme he would use. Would it be funny? Maybe it would be one of inspiration, highlighting his magnificent career. All I knew was once All-Star weekend came around, I had to beg for a pair to be the coolest at school. The sad part was my parents couldn’t afford them, so I had to see years and years of releases pass me by.
Tommy Baker is a popular topic for BOUNCE Online readers. His ball handling skills are impeccable, he’s broken almost every Guinness World Record involving a basketball, and his charisma puts a smile on everyone’s face. Witness highlights from his memorable career in this Youtube clip.
Straight outta Compton… Richmond (CA) is no Compton…it’s worse and not getting better anytime soon! According to CQ Press City Crime Rankings 2008-2009, Richmond hones the sixth highest crime rate (out of 215 cities in the US) for cities with populations of 100,000 to 499,000. The competition on the blacktop must be tough!
Through hard work, determination, and a focus that hails from the playgrounds, Clyde Harvey Weems, has earned his stripes on the concrete. Although born in Akron (Ohio), he has been raised as a product of the tough city of Richmond (California).
Photo: Arron Andrews @ Sandlot Studios
At 32 years old, he shares his experiences from college to a coast-to-coast journey that puts the rags to riches success stories to shame. Read More »