all photos: jamd.com

HEART! DESIRE! BELIEF! PERSISTENCE!

It’s the intangibles that can’t be taught that transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. And in the case of Juan Dixon, it was those qualities that propelled him from a childhood rife with disappointment and tragedy into one of the most beloved, and respected, players in the modern history of the college game. Read More »

photo: jamd.com

March Madness is unequivocally my favorite time of year. For the next few weeks, we’ll examine some of the greatest performers who used the NCAA Tournament as their own personal playground.

Carmelo Kiyan Anthony, though most often associated with his hometown of West Baltimore, Maryland, was introduced to the game on the asphalt of New York City. His father, Carmelo Iriate, was a playground baller who, before moving to the Big Apple, grew up on the west coast of Puerto Rico. Melo was born in 1984 and, for the first eight years of his life, lived in Brooklyn’s Red Hook Projects. Read More »