High School

Player’s coach of the year: Me!

CHN — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 16:58:34 -0400

By Sam Rubenstein
In High School teaching, which as we’ve established, is like coaching, it’s supposed to be all about the players. My job is to put them in a position where they can succeed. With the NCAA tourney coming to a close Monday night, on the same day that my 9th graders will perform scenes from The Odyssey for a big final project, I am sweating a whole war machine’s worth of bullets.
I drew up “gameplans”, meaning activities and lessons to get them ready, and some of them are getting it, but I’m nervous about the group. This is why coaches look like they’ve been sleeping under a train car full of hobos. You should see the bags under my eyes these days. John Chaney is a pretty boy compared to me. But the important question to ask is “Mr. Rubenstein, what type of coach are you?” Why, I’m glad you asked.
There are the Bobby Knight types who are just rude, terrible people, but they know what’s best for your child. Okay, maybe they’re not bad people, neither is Bobby. They sure do yell a lot and fly off the handle for the littest things though. I’m too new to this to be a Calhoun type, although I would love to be able to say things like “Yeah there’s a lot of rules, maybe they got broken. Whaddyagonnado?” The kids have mastered that philosophy. Jim Calhoun would fit right in with the 9th and 10th graders.
There are other teachers at my school who are the fast talking hotshot coaches, in the Pitino-Calipari mold, who work their corrupt magic somehow. I am jealous of them. Sure they both fell short in the tourney, but that’s what one-and-done elimination is. In my world now it’s called high stakes testing. Cruel, unfair, stressful, the way of the world. More importantly, they gettin’ monnnnneeeeee!!!
I have a lot of respect for Tom Izzo, but I’ve seen his pre-game speeches on TV, and that’s just not my style. I wish. Roy Williams is too folksy daggumit, Coach K has too many motivational slogans, Boeheim is too grumpy. I take more of an NBA coach approach to teaching, which is to be a player’s coach.
The key to everything is knowing your students, like knowing your players. I have the LeBron of students in my freshman English class. She’s so smart, has such a good attitude, that I am lucky to able to work with her. I give her every chance to get away with stuff if she wants to, not that she would. She doesn’t need coaching, she just needs to be given a stage to dominate and be reminded not to get too cocky. I also have a Chris Paul in the room, just like LeBron but shorter and usually dressed in flourescent colors. Which one is the best? It’s a debate, although LeBron can do more and has achieved more so far. I thank the education Gods for placing the two of them in my classroom.
There are quieter, humble types of superstars, like the Tim Duncan of my class, a quiet Brazilian girl who claims she has trouble with some of the language, but then she will raise her hand and blow me away with thoughts much deeper than my own. Tim Duncan is complemented by Amar’e, a student who radiates brilliance, but let’s just say she has some “lapses.”
I have closet geniuses who could be the superstars if they so chose, but they just are not built that way. Rasheed Wallaces. Sheed did his best work when he was coached by Rick Adelman and Larry Brown, and if I fall somewhere in the middle between those two, that would be great, because I have no idea how to reach the Rasheeds. Just let them be? Hahahahahahahaha! Oh man… the sheer destruction that would ensue…
Is there a Stephen Jackson/Ron Artest/token violent and insane student in my class? Indeed. He also happens to be a part of the closet genius crew. We went on a field trip to the museum to do science experiments on Friday, learning about DNA in caviar. He raised his hand and asked “Can you buy caviar with foodstamps?” He also told me he missed class because he got into a fight with a cop after he called the cop a “B— a$$ n—-” and the cop had the nerve to grab him!
You’ll be pleased to know there is a Steph 2008-09 in the class. He was away from the school on suspension for 7 weeks and things were going smoothly. Now he’s back, and he’s dragging people down with him. But this is not the NBA where you can throw $20 million at a problem to make it go away. Imagine if D’Antoni was forced to keep Steph involved the whole time. Mikey D, I envy you.
There is a group of kids in the “Can’t stay out of trouble” mode, the ones who make the news for all the wrong reasons. Let’s not even go there, it’s too depressing. Liars!
Others I have to encourage. You know how coaches never say “I can’t believe that scrub dared to take the shot.” I never allow them to lose confidence, and I keep including them, staying as balanced as possible. It’s working out pretty well.
Some are no-shows, DNPs if you will. Yeah, they won’t be in the “NBA” much longer if they keep this up.
My main dude is the quiet funny kid in the back. He’s lazy, he makes funny faces, he makes me laugh. He’s 15 years old and he said to me “Hey man, you’re harshing my mellow.” I guess you could say he’s a class clown, but he’s also really quiet. He’s one of those quirky cult figures that NBA diehards love so much.
There is a Kobe in the class. Oh boy… this is a 14 year old boy with a deep voice, awkwardly tall for his age, and he is absolutely brilliant. I wrote a question on a test “How does Odysseus change over the course of his journey?” and he wrote “Odysseus has acquired a sense of ruthlessness from his desperation.” I’m telling you, this kid is a genius. I am also telling you that I have never had to beg and plead and scream and whine and beg and plead and scream and whine and threaten and praise and want to strangle a person more in my life.
Add it all up, and you’ve got a “team” that finally made it to the big dance. As their coach, I put them in position to do their job on Monday. There’s nothing else I can do for them, other than to be overcome with nervous energy.
AND SO IN CONCLUSION… “Coaching” is a lot more than stalking kids with text messages, accepting bribes from boosters, and writing frantically on dry erase boards. Although as you can see in the picture above, my dry erase game is getting tighter. Big games for Roy Williams, Tom Izzo, and Mr. Rubenstein tomorrow. NERVOUS!!!

Jrue Holywood Story

CHN — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 17:51:16 -0400

Photos by Dan Monick
Originally published in SLAM 116
After finishing his high school career, Jrue Holiday went Hollywood, enrolling in UCLA. Fans of UCLA shouldn’t get too used to him, though; his combination of speed and smarts will have him in the NBA in no time. —Tzvi Twersky

SLAM 128: On Sale Now!

CHN — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:20:52 -0400

by Ben Osborne
This issue has been teased in various places, on here an elsewhere, but today, finally, is the official unveiling. As always, I’m excited to share it with our readers, most of whom should be able to buy it this weekend in NYC and next week everywhere else.
As far as explaining why we did this dope, original split cover, I don’t think I could say it better than I did in my “6th Man” Editor’s Letter from the issue, so I’m going to reprint that below and then I’ll close with some of the details about availability.
Here’s my letter, word for word:
>>Something for Everyone…
Everyone interested in who their favorite sport’s future stars are, that is. As far as content in our magazine, there is no disputing that SLAM is always looking ahead. We featured Ricky Rubio when few people had ever even heard of him. We put the spotlight on Lance Stephenson before he’d finished his freshman year of high school, and our Punks section brings you the nation’s best prep players on a monthly basis (such as Brandon Jennings about one year ago). You get the point.
So what made us flip the usual script of putting future stars in the mag while the NBA’s top dogs grace the cover? A dash of daring combined with two unique opportunities and the understanding that Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade aren’t going anywhere. The daring comes from our willingness to try something different. Is it just stars who sell SLAM, or have we reached the point in this, our 15th year, where basketball-loving magazine buyers can trust that even if they don’t instantly realize the face(s) on our illustrious front page, the players must be dope because we say they are? The SLAM staff is obviously counting on the latter.
The opportunities came from two once-this-season meetings. The first, which jump-started the entire conversation regarding this cover, was knowing that Brandon’s Lottomattica Roma team was meeting Ricky’s DKV Joventut in Spain last December 11. Sure, we figured every hoop journalist worth their salt would be hounding these great prospects that week, but it couldn’t hurt to ask for some time, right? Well, either no one asked or these guys chose us, because they graciously gave us more than two hours of their time.
Once we had the big international cover locked up, we decided to cover our bases with a look at the two most compelling prep guards in America. Sure enough, just 10 days after Ricky and Brandon were in the same city at the same time, John Wall and Lance were in the same city at the same time. We reached out to those guys, dispatched Kelly Kline (see below) for her second big job in two weeks, and arguably the coolest split cover in SLAM history was born. We sat on them for a minute while Kobe and DWade did their thing, but with high school All-American games here and Draft buzz increasing, the time had come. The future is now.<<

Hopefully my letter answers the “why these guys?” or “why now?” questions people might have. Want more of that? Check out Ricky-Lang cover story writer Lang Whitaker’s extra video content here, and get John-Lance cover story writer Aggrey Sam’s take on his piece here.
Not that I expect too many questions after people have really looked at these covers…I’m expecting more of the “Damn, you guys are good”-type comments.
As for availability, all newsstands in the US will have both covers. That is still the biggest part of our business and we want you all to have a choice. Overseas outlets will most likely just have Ricky-Brandon (for obvious reasons), and subscribers will get Ricky-Brandon as there wasn’t a regional split that made sense. The best solution for people who want both covers? Go to simbackissues.com, click on SLAM and buy ‘em both.

Links: SLAM 128 Cover Shoot Video

CHN — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:20:19 -0400

by Lang Whitaker
You might remember the day in December when, apropos of nothing, I popped up in Barcelona to file game notes from the match between Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings? Well, as is often the case with SLAM, there was a little more going on than meets the eye. I was actually in Barcelona because we did a cover shoot the evening before with the two best point guards in the world who aren’t in the NBA: Ricky Rubio and Brandon Jennings.
The most amazing thing — by far — to me about this cover was that SLAM was the only media outlet not only at the game, but also the only outlet that cared enough about basketball to even ask about doing a photo shoot with Ricky and Brandon. We asked Ricky and Brandon if they’d give us the time, and surprisingly, they both agreed to, rather graciously. We obviously don’t have the limitless resources of SI or ESPN, but when this came together I hopped on a flight to Barcelona to be in the casa for it.
We shot this in a studio in the shadow of La Sagrada Familia, the perpetually under construction cathedral in Barcelona. Brandon was in town with Roma, and he showed up in a taxi. Ricky’s parents brought him (Ricky didn’t have his driver’s license yet but was taking lessons). They’d never met before, and Ricky’s English is good enough that they were able to talk and hang out. We were at the studio ntil after 11:00 p.m., doing the photos and the interviews. And Ricky’s parents are so nice — when they heard we hadn’t bought tickets to see Ricky and Brandon play yet on for the following night, they demanded we go with them and sit with them.
The point I tried to make in the story was that as basketball fans, we’re living in a totally new world. Because for the first time ever, if you wanted to see the two best NBA point guard prospects in the world, you couldn’t do it on ESPN or CBS. You needed YouTube and a Euroleague subscription and Google alerts. Brandon changed the game for US players, and Ricky’s changing it for European players.
Obviously, the cover line says Ricky and Brandon are ready to rock the NBA. And they both are. I can promise you that. I know whenever we mentioned either of them in a post, a lot of you guys start saying there’s no way these kids will make it, they’re not that good, etc. To which I say, you are wrong. I respect your right to have an opinion, but you’re not correct if you think Ricky and Brandon won’t be NBA stars.
We’ll find out soon enough. Brandon is definitely in the Draft this year. (When I asked him if he was going to enter the Draft, he not only said yes immediately but he also mentioned the date of the Draft off the top of his head.)
But is Ricky going to be in the Draft this year? Well, I don’t have a concrete answer for you. When I asked Ricky if he was going to be in the Draft, he said this:
SLAM: Do you want to play in the NBA next year, or I mean what’s your…?
RR: At the moment I only thinking Euro[pe]—
SLAM: Next year, yeah.
RR: ACB. So I don’t thinking NBA. Yeah, I think—
SLAM: Eventually—
RR: I watch NBA. I think NBA. But no, at the moment, no.
Since then, I’ve heard many rumors. I’ve heard that Ricky’s contract buyout is so big (the number I heard was about $10 million) that he might not be able to buy it out and would have to wait until the contract expires next summer. I’ve heard a rumor that his team in Spain, DKV Joventut, could use the cash and would be willing to take less to let Ricky out of his deal. And I’ve heard most recently that negotiations are underway as I type this to get Ricky out of his contract.
I don’t know where the truth resides in this equation, but I will say this: I would not be surprised to see Ricky and Brandon both in the NBA next season. In the meantime, if you want to see them or hear from them, pick up the new SLAM, on newsstands everywhere next week. Copies are on the way to the Rubios as I type this, and Brandon got his copy yesterday and sent me an email that said, “Thanks for writing a great story, for the new SLAM on Me and Ricky. The COVER is HOT.”
Agreed. Here’s a little video I shot at the shoot, and it includes a few clips of each guy doing his thing. You can see it on YouTube here.
And we don’t stop…

McDonald’s All-American Live Blog

CHN — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:00:17 -0400

by Ben Osborne
What’s up everyone? Greetings from Rick Ross Country. It is hot down here, but it feels pretty good after the hella long winter we’ve had in NYC. I missed the Slam dunk contest Monday night, and apparently missed quite a show from Avery Bradley (note: covered by Farmer Jones in SLAM 128…on sale and unveiled here Friday!). Came into town yesterday and attended media day. Missed a sad day in the office as KING, a mag I helped start, folded. I don’t know too many details yet but I’m very sorry for all the great and talented people that worked on the mag; I’ll holler at all you guys when I’m back in New York.
Anyway, the media time was cool. Very relaxed atmosphere, and despite this grump’s uninformed blasting of virtually all things high-school basketball in the Herald, I’m betting he didn’t talk to any of the kids. As always, I found every player I spoke to pleasant and good for quotes…what was I asking them about? Primarily one of the wildest SLAM cover stories ever, but you’re going to have to wait a five weeks to see that. The kid I was happiest to meet was Xavier Henry, our esteemed diarist. Ryan has raved about him all year but I had never met him. My mag work was pretty focused on the aforementioned cover story; web-wise I was all set to write the breaking news of Lance Stephenson’s college announcement, but as you might have read here yesterday, said announcement never came. Lance and his pops are saying they want to take their time, which is what they’ve told SLAM as well, though I have to believe the Coach Cal-to-Kentucky move is a big factor. Coach Cal’s defection could have all sorts of domino effects, recruiting wise, including our man Xavier maybe reconsidering Kansas, which would make Lance and Kansas reconsider each other. In any event, the most newsworthy event that might have come out of media day didn’t happen. Instead it was just a nice chance to meet most of the best high school players in the country and listen to all sorts of speculation about the Calipari business. As Ryan pointed out to me, Andy Katz’ take on Cal is probably as good as anyone’s. My only gripe is the confusion his recruits are facing. As long as they can get released from Memphis and go where they please, it’s all good.
That’s enough of that. It’s now about 7 pm and the girls All-Americans are playing up their game. The East currently leads, 48-45, with DeNesha Stallworth having 11 points.
I’ll be back with a girls’ final and then I’ll get cranking on the boys game shortly after the 8 pm tip. Thanks for stopping by…
At the 12-minute timeout of the girls game they did a video presentation on Kelsey Bone, the McDonald’s Player of the Year. She’s a legit center out of the Houston area with nice back-to-the-basket moves and is by far the best uncommitted girls player in the country. She was scheduled to announce her college choice tonight, during the game. Well, they just made it public—Kelsey Bone will be attending South Carolina. I like it; always nice when a girl picks somewhere other than UConn or Tennessee.
Alonzo Mourning, a big part of this game and this community, is in the building. Looking dignified as always. West girls now up 67-63 with 1:03 left, and even if you have cable you probably aren’t watching this one—it’s on ESPNU and I’m not sure I know a single person that gets that channel.
With West leading 69-66 and seconds left, East’s Kelly Fairs is fouled shooting a three! She makes first two FTs, but misses third. West gets rebound, and it’s a wrap. West wins, 69-68. Co-MVPs: from West, Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (in SLAM 128!), and from East, Skylar Diggins (in SLAM 126; even when it comes to High School girls’ hoops, we can pick ‘em!). TRP had 10 points and 10 rebounds while Diggins was game leading scorer with 18 points.
30 minutes to boys tip-off…
BTW, I’m in third row behind baseline. Very close, which is great, but somewhat blocked by basket stanchion. Missing parts of some nice pay-up line dunks. You guys probably know this, but game is at BankUnited Center on campus of University of Miami as opposed to the Heat’s American Airlines Arena downtown. Really nice facility, tasteful U green and orange. But only holds 8000 and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get filled tonight. I’m mostly going to blame Miami sports fans, who probably don’t know how to support a game like this cause there’s no bandwagon to be riding. Any chance eboy is here? I gotta email him and see. Might be the first SLAM ed to meet that cat in person.
Serious band from Miami Norland HS in the building. They’re accompanying the team intros, led off by U of Florida signeee Boynton. Announcer is still saying players such as DeMarcus Cousins are attending “Memphis.” Shouldn’t all Memphis commits be announced as “undecided”?
There’s a guy in the stands who looks like a 350-pound Joe Dumars, which is funny because, with all due respect, sometimes Joe looks like he’s heading in that direction. Five minutes to tip…

The Jordan Rules

CHN — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:10:58 -0400

The McDonald’s All-American game is a terrific event on a lot of levels, but almost annually, it misses one or two kids who, by any reasonable measure, should absolutely be included among the 24 best high school players in the nation. Sometimes politics is involved; other times, the McD’s committee’s illogical insistence on not allowing “fifth-year” players is the cause. In other cases, though, the issue is out of Ronald’s hands, and it’s for the latter reason that Jordan Hamilton won’t be (or wasn’t, depending on when you’re reading this) on the floor in Miami Wednesday night.
If you’ve seen SLAM 127, you might’ve caught a piece I did on Hamilton, the Compton (CA) Dominguez senior wing who is widely considered one of the top 10 players in the country. Hamilton didn’t make the McDonald’s roster because he didn’t play a game all season. And Hamilton didn’t play a game all season because the California Interscholastic Federation declared him ineligible.
I have some strong opinions on this topic, opinions based on experience with other state high school governing bodies, opinions that one might describe as “cynical” in regard to just how much of a sh*t, if any, such governing bodies actually give about the best interests of the student-athletes they supposedly exists to protect.
But this isn’t about me, so I’ll keep those opinions to myself.
However, in the process of reporting Jordan’s story for the magazine, I spoke at length to his father, Greg. I’ve never met Greg, but I know what he told me, and I know what I’ve read about him (including his work with juvenile offenders, specifically through the community non-profit he and his wife started in L.A.). Of Jordan’s somewhat tumultuous high school career, I know what I’ve read in the L.A. Times, and what I’ve learned from homie Justin Walsh’s hustling to get the story out (make sure you check the video). I could write and say more, but I’m going to let Greg Hamilton tell the story instead.
What I will do, real quick, is commend Greg, and especially Jordan (one of the most polite and personable kids I’ve spoken to in a decade of covering prep hoops), for being willing to tell their story — which, at this point, doesn’t really benefit them beyond getting what they see as the truth out for public consumption — and for having the patience to deal with everything they’ve dealt with. Beyond that? Let’s just say I’m looking forward to seeing Hamilton play at the Jordan Classic at the Garden in a few weeks, and I plan on rooting hard for him next season when he suits up in burnt orange.
*
Greg Hamilton:
In eighth grade, we were notified by a couple of Jordan’s teachers that we should probably have him tested [for learning disabilities], because he was struggling. We did what we could as parents, but I figured, he’s just not concentrating. I’m a disciplinarian, I’m like, “Come on man, you need to focus.” He was getting up in class, speaking out of turn. My wife was actually going to school and sitting in classes with him.
The L.A. Unified School District does not have a retention policy — it’s social promotion, because the school district cannot accommodate the amount of kids who would have to be held back. So, going into 9th grade, I talked with his coaches, and there were many promises made — “We’ll work with him, we’ll monitor him.”
Well, we saw that Jordan was struggling again, so we wrote a letter to the administration at Dorsey High School to try and get him tested. We couldn’t get any assistance from anyone, even after submitting a letter. And in 9th grade, he failed miserably.
So I went in, and we got him a tutor going into 10th grade, but the same things were still going on. We requested assistance, were at the school just about every day. The tutor began to work with him, help him get organized, and he started doing homework, but the tutor said, “Something ain’t right.” And he barely got by for basketball season. Eventually, we just couldn’t afford the tutor anymore, and he began to drop again.
Going into 11th grade, we had a tutor working with him again, and he was doing a little bit better, but we were still putting in requests, talking to the school counselor. She began to work with us, telling us how we could get Jordan caught up. After basketball season, things began to look promising athletically, but he still had problems academically. I said, “This isn’t working.”
Finally, we got a letter from a school psychologist, saying, “I apologize that your son wasn’t tested since 2004.” She said he would be the first one tested going into senior year.
When the coach got wind — and he couldn’t help get wind, I was there every day, and I got a little bit obnoxious — a dean told me, “Get your son out of this school, because they’re not going to assist him.” For him to say that about the top player at his high school? But they knew what his academic situation was. After he heard what happened with dean, the coach said, “What can I do to assist you?” Well, it was a little late for that. He tells me he wants to help me now?
Finally, in the spring of 2007, we checked him out of Dorsey, and we were looking for a school. Jordan’s young for his grade — he started high school at 13 — so staying back wouldn’t have been a problem. Anyway, we were trying to figure out what high school he’d fit with, and we began to review, ask around. And then I decided to send him to Dominguez. I talked to Russell Otis, the Dominguez coach, and told him what we were doing, some of the problems we were having. He said, “No problem.” We got in touch with the IEP coordinator, the special-ed coordinator, and they began to get the ball rolling.
Next thing you know, the following semester, we were finally able to have Jordan assessed, and we were told, “Your son struggles in the area of attention, I think you should have son assessed by a doctor.” So we met with a physician and a psychologist. Finally, last year, he was diagnosed with ADHD — Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
So here are, we’ve got a list of athletes who have AD/HD, and how it can be managed with medication — who wants to put their child on medication? But he needed help. We were laughing one day, watching something on the NBA channel with LeBron James running around, and Carmelo saying “Give him his calm-down pills!” So who knows?

His teachers were aware that Jordan had a learning disability, and they began to deal with him on a personal level. The kid passed his exit exam for English — he already had his math score — and his grades began to accelerate. We’ve been able to dial down the medication a lot. He passed his SAT exam. All this stuff transpired because he got the assistance that he needed.
So now, he’s been diagnosed, but what’s haunting him is that 9th grade year. It’s 2008, and he’s being penalized for 2004.
Anyway, I had left my home for a year to move to Compton, to live over there for a year while he was in school. I didn’t know that could be a problem. But then we had to deal with the CIF.

First of all, my number-one concern was not the CIF, my number one concern was the NCAA. Jordan was already short of core classes, in order to graduate high school. Our concern was that the NCAA would allow him an extra year, because I knew he wasn’t mature enough to go to college yet. Thankfully, with the info we sent to the NCAA, they allowed him to go back for a fifth year. So I’m thinking, “The CIF, c’mon — if the NCAA okays it, the CIF should be a no-brainer.
We had all the documentation from the NCAA, and we went before the CIF Southern Section last fall, and they denied his hardship application for another year of eligibility. They denied him because there had been eight consecutive semesters in high school, so his high school “clock” had stopped.
So we had to appeal. We gave them all this information, that there was a hardship — all this falls under their guidelines — and we sat in there and we began to talk about this appeal process, and before we could get seated, the guy said something about residence. My attorney said, “We’re not dealing with residence. You never said you were questioning his residence.” Because of moving to Compton.
This was December. We got the answer a couple days later. He denied our appeal, and listen to what he said — they denied our appeal based on his concern that this move had been for athletic purposes only, not academics. I’m saying, “Wait a minute, this kid is the CIF player of the year, first-team All-State, MVP of their conference, and you mean to tell me this was athletics? Why would he need to move for athletics?”
The day after that, he knew we were going to appeal to the state board, so he sends a letter to the state that Jordan’s residency is in question. [In February, a few weeks after we spoke, Jordan's final eligibility appeal was denied by the CIF.]
Now I know people say, “He’s going to Texas, full ride, what are you complaining for?” Well, that’s easy for you and me to say. This guy has denied my son the opportunity to play his senior year, and to play in the McDonald’s All-American Game. That’s the penalty that’s coming out of this, because we chose to do the right thing. We chose, as parents, to follow the system, so we’re getting penalized.
This kid took a lot of ridicule — from me. I work in the probation department, and I see a lot of parents who are in denial about their kids. I didn’t want to be in denial. But I’m telling you, my son has matured. He’s really humbled now. I would always tell people, “He’s like 18 going on 16.” But off the court, what you see, what you hear, that’s just the kind of kid he is. He’s a good kid.
For his senior project, he wants to go and talk to 9th grade classes, tell them how important it is that you understand your learning curve, academic dedication, and how not to fall behind. He talked to the counselors, and they were so elated to hear that.

Video: Marcus Jordan at Nike Extravaganza

CHN — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 11:36:49 -0400

Words by Justin Walsh
“I’m standing on a stage
Of fear and self-doubt
It’s a hollow play
But they’ll clap anyway”
That’s how it must feel, your blood like seeds from the tree of life. Your father, Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Your father, legend to the hardwood, coated in shine, laden with sweat, speckled with blood. Your father, the savior to our souls, our dreams have been wrought with the release over Ehlo. You play a bad game, possibly a dreadful one. You garner claps, you’re serenaded with the love of a father’s acts and therein lies the fork in the road — you can either ride the coattails of a father so mythical, act a shadow to his steps… Or you can forge a different path, shrug off the clichés and do work.
“With my lightnin’ bolts a glowin’
I can see where I am goin’
With my lightnin’ bolts a glowin’
I can see where I am”
“Who am I?” One might ask in his position. We start with the basics. His airness was a murderous righty. Right hand dominance? Sod that, let’s give the world a lefty. Coming out of high school Air Jordan was a tremendous athlete, raw in fundamentals, but his wrists were coated with callous upon callous from a long relationship with the rims he met each day, his calves were simply the base for his perverse way of treating opponents — Shock & Awe. We wont bother with what’s already been done — let’s go the Will Ferrell route a la Step Brothers: “…Here to f*ck sh*t up.” Marcus’ game is nuanced with a grinding curl from a simple pick, a quick hesitation dribble and he’s gone to the rim — a high leaner off the glass, two points. He adds to his repertoire with moves, jumpers and footwork like a family setting up a game of Jenga. Soon enough, a defender will make a wrong move, pull the wrong block, and the entire game will come crashing down on the defender like an avalanche to a snowboarder. It was bound to happen, it was inevitable. The analysts simply leaned back in their fold outs, seated directly behind the table with all the computers and the score man and waited for for all hell to break loose.

“Fill up the gates but block the flow
Tilt back the head before they blow
Sit back again enjoy the show
My life’s a movie now”
His life is fodder for celluloid, calories for the bottomless pit of hunger so aptly named keyboards. He’s the son of Michael Jordan for god’s sake. It must be like a tedious cake walk in circles for him, marching to the beat of a record he’s probably heard ten too many times, hoping to win himself something, longing not to have to go back to his pops to do it for him with his wallet. It’s known that it used to bother him, probably similar to a kid poking you with a stick over and over again, waiting for confirmation that you’re still alive. But long ago he went through the five stages of being the son of the G.O.A.T. and accepted that it’s probably not realistic to think he would make it to the level that his father got to in this beautiful, ironic game. Hellbent on making it on his own accord, he went to work. He has faced many bumps along the way, similar to his older brother Jeffrey’s — Jeff had problems getting recruited, later became a walk on freshman on the team at Illinois. Marcus has had more offers (Toledo, Arizona State, Oklahoma, Stanford, Butler, Davidson, Marquette and a few others), but recruiting analysts for the major names (Rivals, Scout, ESPN) are hesitant to bring praise to the young lefty. Their rationale is admirable, albeit unfair: nobody wants to over-hype the G.O.A.T’s offspring and set him up for failure.

“I don’t believe that anything is wrong
Close my eyes and I will be strong
By tomorrow I will have moved on
I don’t believe that anything is wrong”
Marcus isn’t the outcome of nepotism, he isn’t the product of a mass marketed hype machine, clothed in the rags and riches of outside interests. He wears the shoe of his surname, the shirt of his surname, and so on and so forth. Must be like two people tugging at opposite limbs, slowly tearing ligaments and dislocating joints — on one hand he’s embraced that he’s the son of the Omega of hoops. On the other hand, he strives to make a name for himself, if at all possible. Marcus or bust, if you will.
“Tick tock the clock is getting faster
Can’t sit back
And watch the world move backwards
He’s got to be moving forwards
He’s got to be moving faster”
At Whitney Young, Marcus made his name. He led his team to the state final this year. He did him, and by the end of the game, Waukegan was defeated, 69-66. Marcus Jordan fashioned himself some points, 19 in all, ending his HS basketball career with a title; somewhat reminiscent of another Jordan’s career ending title for the Bulls (Those Wizards’ years were a bad dream, we’ve since been awakened to find ourselves in the 90’s still), as a clutch performer. Marcus didn’t sink a jumper to end it. He sunk four shots from 15 feet, all worth 1 point apiece, in the final 0:26 of the game. Just like everything else in his life, the same, but different. And when the buzzer was sound, the title a lock… Among the fans clapping, screaming and chanting, was a 6-6 statuesque figure with rings clamped on his fingers, tears rolling down his face with pride for his son. The reporters asked Michael about it afterward — “Crying?” Jordan said, “I’m not crying. Not for me, anyway.”

“A rendezvous for the new revolutionist
This new revolution is
Whatever it is”
Just like the lyrics said, a rendezvous for the revolutionist. This revolution is whatever it is. Marcus is his own destiny, whatever it is.
Note: all lyrics from various songs by The Arcade Fire.

Class Act

CHN — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:39:55 -0400

Photos by Jeffrey McCullough
Originally published in SLAM 120
Can he make it in Europe? Should he have made the move to skip college? Will this start a trend among top high school players? All of these are valid questions. One that isn’t so valid: Does Brandon Jennings have game and style all his own? Well, that one’s pretty simple. — Adam Fleischer

Video: Derrick Favors Mix

CHN — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 15:49:49 -0400

Words by Justin Walsh
Derrick Favors – Naismith Trophy Award Winner as the top boys basketball player in the country. Derrick Favors – Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Georgia. Derrick Favors – 3rd pick in the 2010 Mock Draft by Draft Express.
Derrick is an enigma, wrapped in a codex. He’s been compared to a mix of Chris Bosh and Elton Brand with a dash of Kevin Garnett. He’s bigger than the state of Georgia, his image is blocked by the U.S. Government on Satellite photography, he’s got metal muscle-laden arms a la Jax in Mortal Kombat. OK, maybe that last part was embellished.
All jokes aside, Derrick Favors has the state of Georgia on his back, with the expectations of ACC Freshman of the year stuffed in the pockets of his jeans, the demands of having every NBA scout and ESPN analyst stamping him with a possible No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft next year, effectively assuring that anything less—even if that means just a few slots lower than they project—will be a failure.
Favors doesn’t worry about all that. When asked about the outrageously high expectations, opponents asking for autographs after games and being plastered in more magazines than Octomom, he simply stated, “I’m kind of just used to it now. I treat it as if it’s another part of the game.”
Nights of 38 points and 15 boards are just another part of the game. Boosting rival HS teams’ revenues simply by being on their schedule is just another part of the game. Being the savior of a state’s future in basketball is just another part of the game.

Basketbull All-Star Game Recap

CHN — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:48:41 -0400

by Sammy Newman-Beck
With some of the top colleges heading into the final rounds of the NCAA Tournament, high school hoopers all over the country have been watching, some of whom plan on attending these universities next year to play. While most of these kids finished their respective high school seasons, one basketball program (Basketbull, LLC) set up a talent showcase and All-Star game this past weekend at Springfield College in Springfield, MA—also known as the birthplace of basketball.
The Russell Athletics sponsored event which featured two different All-Star games, a dunk contest and a 3-point competition drew talented players including diaper dandies who will next year attend schools like the University of Connecticut, Notre Dame, Drexel and UPenn, to name a few. Basketbull extended an invite so I, as SLAM’s New England rep, checked out the scene.
1st Game- Public School Game North vs. South
North Teams Notable Players:
Thomas Knight (Dirigo HS, Maine) 6-9 — headed to Notre Dame
Luis Montes (Brockton HS, Brockton Mass) 6-4 — Marianopolis Prep
Ike Azotam (O’Bryant HS Boston, Mass) 6-7 — Marianopolis Prep
South Teams Notable Players:
Daryl McCoy (Hartford Public, Hartford CT) 6-7 — Drexel
Anthony Ireland (Crosby HS, CT) 5-10 — Undecided
Steven Samuels (Windsor HS, Windsor CT) 6-4 — Undecided
The Public School game featured some of the best non-prep products from Massachusetts and Connecticut. Primarily consisting of players searching for Division II and lower Division I scholarships, this game was close to the end. While these games were closed to Division I college coaches, Division II and III coaches were out in full force. Coaches from these schools (and more) were repped: Adelphi, American International College, St. Anslem’s College, Brandeis University, Williams College and Springfield College. While the game was close it was the play of Windsor HS (CT) Steven Samuels (19 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds) that made the difference for the South team who won 111-99. Samuels is currently receiving interest from Fresno State and UC-Santa Barbara. Leading the North team was little-known big man Ike Azotam (Boston, MA) with 14 points and 6 rebounds.
Between the Public School game and the Prep School game, a 3-point contest and an emphatic dunk competition ensued…
3-Point Winner: Scott Tavares-Taylor (5-10, Tilton School — U-Mass Lowell)
Dunk Winner: Kyle Casey (6-7, Brimmer and May — Harvard)
**On a side note the dunk contest was one of the most impressive displays of athleticism I have seen on a high school level. Casey, who won the dunk contest proceeded to in his first dunk jump over 6-9 big man Ben Crenca. With his second dunk he pulled 10 kids ages 8 and under from the stands and swiftly leaped them to catch an alley-oop. This kids athleticism is outstanding… Harvard must be extremely happy!**
2nd Game- Prep School Game East vs. West
After the fun-filled contests the second, and somewhat more publicized, the prep school game took place. While it didn’t receive the quite the same attention, the talent was actually more impressive. The game boasted the likes of Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel (UConn — pictured), Brian Fitzpatrick (UPenn), Kyle Casey (Harvard) and a bunch of undecided mid-major level players like South Kent’s Rashad Wright, Worcester Academy’s Austin Carroll and Winchendon Prep’s Preye Preboye.
With this game having some bigger players and more athletic ballers, it was more exciting than the previous game. Surprisingly though, it was the play of less heralded Sam Martin (Yale) and Marianopolis Prep’s Chris Flores (Undecided) who won the game for Team West. Despite a second half onslaught by Team East’s Jamaal Coombs-McDaniel and the solid play of Brian Fitzpatrick, Team West played a more team oriented game and came out with the win 107-100. Martin finished with 21 points and 5 assists for the West, while Coombs-McDaniel led the East with 16 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists.
Overall the Basketbull LLC put together a great event for local high school seniors. Giving these kids (especially the ones still without scholarships) some exposure and providing a fun atmosphere was well appreciated by those in attendance. For more info on Basketbull visit Basketbull.org.