photo of kemba walker pop-locking on john wall: si.com

It’s no secret that UCONN’s luminous junior point guard, Bronx native Kemba Walker, aka “EZ-Pass” aka “The Prince of Zamunda”, is one of our favorite players to watch. He graced the cover of Bounce Mag in the fall of ‘07, during his senior year at Harlem’s Rice High School. This was after he led Rice to the State Championship and the New York Gauchos summer AAU squad to numerous tournament titles and a #1 national ranking.

The cover photo featured him skating on somebody outdoors, on the asphalt, under the lights at the renowned Dyckman League.

We all know what’s happened since then. Read More »

photo: sfgate.com

Last night, Golden State’s Monta Ellis continued his torrid opening season stretch by posting 39 points, eight assists and nine rebounds in the Warriors’ 115-109 victory over Memphis. He scored 17 of his teams final 21 points, exploding and elbowing his way onto the start-of-season landscape that seemed solely reserved for Kevin Durant, LeBron, D-Wade, Kobe, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo and the phenomenal rookies John Wall and Blake Griffin. Read More »

photo of tyreke evans and brandon jennings: slamdunkcentral.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 the Dish, aka The Assist, is 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.

photo of steph curry: davidsonnews.com

Honestly, I’m at a loss to recall any season where three rookies, all young point guards not far removed from their high school proms, exploding onto the scene in such immediate, brilliant fashion. Read More »

Sherrod Wright – Pick 9 in Mock Playground Draft

While watching former St. Anthony’s standout Tyshawn Taylor, (first playground experience was with Dyckman/Jim Couch Foundation in the Holcombe Rucker Memorial League) start as a freshman at Kansas, I grouped him as a player who could excel as an All-Surface Performer. He possesses the killer speed and sudden stops to dead defender’s legs, the bungees to go over the 6′8″ or better big man, and the jumper to deal with the uneven elements that the outdoor game brings. Combine that with the killer disposition to recover from the back-and-forth, one-on-one challenge the playground presents, and you get a player who has the ability to excel on the All-Surface level (Grassroots/High School, College and Playground).

Playground ability is a gift that many players who are NBA pros don’t possess. The list down below presents 10 that are All-Surface types. They have the ability to play in the NBA and come through on the asphalt to produce the “spillout” that we all love to talk about. A few names are surprising. Read More »