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 from the minute he stepped onto Georgia Tech’s campus in ‘82-’83, until his eventual retirement from the NBA in ‘98, William Mark Price did the thing with pure excellence. Ask any seasoned playground vet with a street pedigree or one of the winningest coaches of all time and they’ll tell you the same.
In the early to mid ’80s, I began paying serious attention to what head coach Bobby Cremins – an exuberant, white-haired, passionate native New Yorker in his 30’s – was building in Atlanta at the Georgia Institute of Technology. A 7-foot Brooklyn cat named John Salley, who tore it up at Canarsie High School, was doing his thing out there along with a guard from Harlem named Bruce Dalrymple. I couldn’t resist the New York flavors and watched those teams every chance I could. And each time, I walked away more and more impressed with a kid from Enid, Oklahoma, who stood a shade under six-foot. Read More »
Over the summer, many were convinced that Steph had finally gone off the deep end, thanks to his internet contributions via Starbury TV. Whether he was eating vaseline, dancing around the crib shirtless or hilariously repeating to his driver,” Don’t worry about it! It ain’t nothin’ but the Devil!” after getting into a car accident, the talk of Steph in recent months has centered more around his mental stability than hoops skills. Read More »
Found this clip titled “The Original Shamgod From Coney Island (Hajji ‘91) on youtube and really enjoyed peeping the vintage pick-up run (plus a young Stephon Marbury is spotted on the sideline, maybe he had next?).
Wow! That’s all I really have to say at this point. Kentucky’s freshman sensation, John Wall, is beyond special. He’s a once in a generation type of talent. Read More »
The Turning The Hearts Summer League Celebrity Game will be kicking off this Saturday at 5 PM in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania at the East Stroudsburg University Gym. Rucker Park’s Hannibal will be emceeing the event, and Coney Island’s Stephon Marbury will be host a clinic today and suiting up on Saturday. Other game entrants include: Kareem Reid (Bounce #11 cover subject), John Salmons, Demarr Johnson, and Rasaul Butler, with Darryl Dawkns patrolling the sidelines.
The league’s ‘09 All-Star Game will follow at 7 PM.
At the conclusion of the greatest opening round playoff series the NBA has ever seen, folks couldn’t help but marvel at the exploits of Ben “Madison Square” Gordon, Ray “Jesus Shuttlesworth” Allen, Rajon “Better Call Us The Big 4″ Rondo, Paul “The Truth” Pierce and the dramatic unfolding of a spectacle that Hollywood script writers would have had trouble fathoming.
But the one element that surpassed all others was the placement of a once in a generation talent, a 20-year-old point guard who earned Rookie of the Year honors, in the epicenter of the hoops universe. And although the Bulls succumbed to the Celtics in the series finale, the play of Derrick Martell Rose – which was consistently succulent throughout the entire year – made even the most exacting aficianado nod in sincere appreciation. Read More »
With 99.9% of the things recently written and said about the man in the mainstream media being negative, it’s time someone showed Mr. Marbury some love. And if the playground culture that nourished his dazzling game can’t nurture him when all else are hating, who will? Read More »
No burn, DNP, and then sent home. It’s funny how one line can sum up the year for Brook-nam’s Jamaal Tinsley and Stephon Marbury. While both still get fat pockets and eat shrimp and spaghetti, the focus now is on Steph’s younger cousin, Sebastian Telfair, who gets some burn, does play, and has a team. But, are there bigger and better things for Bassy? I think he needs the playground style to reboot his game. In my “45 Degrees of Blackness Column,” I highlighted 6 guards that could use a change to get their games going and/or help a team to a higher caliber of play. See the article: “ The Devin Harris Effect.” While Telfair isn’t listed as a potential All-Star in the blog, I feel he has enough “playground” in him to excel and challenge Chris Duhon. Bassy, in a high-screen and roll offense with the green light, could be dangerous. Sebastian is still young and this might be the situation for all his speed and handle to flourish. Check Dime magazine’s Andrew Katz’s blog: “Is Sebastian Telfair a bust?” at Dimemag.com” for some more opinion on his career.
