For years, he contentedly stood in the shadows. Unlike his more celebrated teamates at the time, he didn’t walk through the b-ball corridors with a fancy nickname or a respected pedigree backed up by a blue blooded institution and some fawning media.
Far away from the bright lights, he morphed from a good high school player into an incredible college performer. And when the spotlight and eyes of the world finally cast their admiring gaze upon him in the pros, he’d completed his metamorphisis from role player to one of the finest all-around talents and greatest defensive players the world ever witnessed.
And through the entire journey from the hoops backwoods to the crescendo of the sport, he never stopped being “Boopie” to those who knew him way back when. Read More »
Wayman Lawrence Tisdale was drawn to basketball by watching his older brother Weldon. Initially, the sport was not welcomed in the Tisdale household as his father, the accomplished Reverand L.L. Tisdale, preferred football. But Wayman’s mother Deborah would not allow her sons to strap on helmets and shoulder pads, regardless of the fanaticism surrounding the game in their home state of Oklahoma.
Wayman, and his older brother William, began playing in their backyard, using a garbage can as their first hoop. Eventually, they outgrew tossing a ball into the trash can, migrating a few blocks away to the asphalt courts at the Immaculate Conception Church schoolyard. Read More »
Christopher Paul Mullin was a simple, neighborhood guy from Troy Avenue in the Flatlands section of Brooklyn. The love affair with hoops was a multi-generational thing that began in the driveway of the family’s small row house. Read More »
Watching the slam dunk festivities this weekend had me reminiscing on, in my humble opinion, one of the greatest in-game slams I’ve ever seen. So I decided to bring this one back, on the re-mix tip, with some added highlight videos for your viewing pleasure.
He personified the New York Knickerbockers in the early ’90s – fearless, blue collar, hungry, relentless and very good, yet a few inches short of great. Still cherised and appreciated, his deficiencies were accepted. There was never any doubt that he played with every ounce of blood and nerve sinew, as if each time on the court could be his last. What can you say about a man that turned his life around and always tried his best? You give him respect! Read More »
“Simple and plain, give me the lane, I’ll throw it down your throat like Barkley!” - Chuck D’s lyrics from the Public Enemy classic, Rebel Without A Pause.
To young fans, Charles Barkley is simply a former player. He’s better known as the affable television personality that always has something funny to say on the TNT show, Inside the NBA.
But for those who watched ball in the ’80s and ’90s, he was an awe inspiring, revolutionary talent that turned the establishment on its ear. He was an unstoppable, undersized, 6′4″ power forward who owned the low post, an explosive leaper and ferocious rebounder who could dribble, pass, score and pump gallons of fear through the hearts of even the most accomplished big men. Read More »
With March Madness only a month away, I’m already fiendin’ like Gator in Jungle Fever (”Look Mama, I made this dance up for you.”) So as the current college crop prepares their playground swag for the big dance, I needed to quench my thirst and take a look back, with some added video highlights for your viewing pleasure.
They hijacked the world, took it by storm and forever altered the landscape of the college game. The Fab Five signaled the merging of hip hop sensibilities and hoops, from fashion to swagger to attitude. They took the anti-establishment mystique much further than their Hoya Paranoia predecessors of Patrick Ewing and Big John Thompson in the early to mid ’80s. In addition, they did something that had never been done before: five 18-year-old freshman starters that led their school to the national championship game.Read More »
During this holiday season, I’ll be dipping into the archives to offer up some updated goodies in the form of some of the most delectable “The Playground Gave Us…” joints from ‘08.
“People say I’m the American nightmare. I say I’m the American Dream.”
It’s a shame that most people’s enduring memory of Spree will center around the altercation and choking incident of his Golden State coach, P.J. Carlesimo.
For basketball purists, though, the lasting image of the man does not center around his unfortunate mistakes. Strictly isolating his on-court exploits, Spree was lightning in a bottle. He was simply a dynamic human dynamite stick from the first tick of the clock to the last. Read More »
It’s a shame that most people’s enduring memory of Spree will center around the altercation and choking incident of his Golden State coach, P.J. Carlesimo.
For basketball purists, though, the lasting image of the man does not center around his unfortunate mistakes. Strictly isolating his on-court exploits, Spree was lightning in a bottle. He was simply a dynamic human dynamite stick from the first tick of the clock to the last. Read More »
