Nod to the KNICKS...

So I was a little rough on my Knicks a little while back and deservingly so, but the same way I posted a lot of heat directed their way due to the slow start, here is the post where I give some props.  It seemed like right after I voiced my displeasure on the lackadaisical play from my knickerbockers; they stepped their game up and proceeded to reel off five straight wins before falling to the hawks the day after Thxgvn.  I’m going to give the boys a mulligan on that lost because honestly who wants to play anything the day after all that turkey? plus I love the way they rebounded the next game in Detroit to keep their road streak alive and extended to 5games the best they have done in a decade (kinda sad I know.)  Ill take these steps in the right direction which to other spoiled fan bases such as the Yankees or Lakers may be taken for granted, but when your team has been down for this long any streak is better than none.  GO NY GO!!

Keys to the Gym: Kemba Walker

It’s rare these days to turn on the telly and get inspired by what you see, but that is exactly what happened when I tuned into the Maui Invitational this year.  Every year this prestigious tournament held in the paradise called Hawaii always provides a great showcase for a new star in college b-ball to shine and this year Kemba Walker of UCONN's star shined throughout the gym.  The Bronx native put on a performance for the ages putting his unranked, young Connecticut team on his back and leading them to a championship many didn’t think was feasible.  With three teams in the top ten in attendances at the invitational, it seemed like a long shot UCONN would do anything more than just compete and play hard, but that is why College basketball is the special sport that it is.  Early season ranking don’t mean much when you have a star like Walker who can step up to the challenge night after night and shoulder the load through such a tough tourney.  The performance put on this week in Hawaii will be entrenched in the minds of Pro scouts, locals, fellow college b-ball players for a long while.  I can’t say that I’m surprised that a Bronx boy (my hometown) that also attended Rice High School (my former H.S) played out of his mind and did something epic.  When you mix those two ingredients in life it’s hard to fail and turning a gym in Maui into your own personal playground is second nature ;).  So thanks Kemba…not only for the MVP performance but for inspiring a new section in this blog, because now ill be giving out keys to the gym weekly and with his nation leading thirty points per game it’s not far fetched to think "He'll be back."(Arnold voice)

On the Road Again

They say that you can tell the true character of a team when it faces adversity on the road, and if that's the case this weekend in Eastern Connecticut my team exhibited that and much more.  This would be our first road trip and for the returning players this tournament was a chance at some redemption.  A year ago this time we headed out to Conn for the same tourney and came back with a 3rd place finish.  All the seniors realized that this visit had to be nothing less than a championship and we did just that!! And it feels great, coming back to campus this time I had a sense of leaving something behind and going back to get it.  The first game was fairly easy and we didn’t want to overlook our opponent but we all wanted another shot at Eastern Conn who beat us a year prior and won the game before ours to advance to the championship.  Getting that first win was good but we all knew that we couldn’t just coast to a win in the championship game versus the host team and arguably our first real test of the year.  The game didn’t disappoint they played as hard as we thought they would and also got a little help from the home court refs which we also thought would be the case, but a good team trying to become great not only welcomes pitfalls they adjust and pulls themselves out of eventual holes.  We controlled most of the game but miscommunications on defense let eastern creep back in the game and take a lead with five minute left to play.  Then our All-American (Marv BiLL) did what All-Americans are suppose to do and took over the remainder of the game, that coupled with stops on defense propelled us to victory and the rest as they say is history.  One championship down TWO to GO!! Stay tuned....

LaST 1st GamE

As I sit in this van with my team on the way to our first game of the year I can't help but reminisce on how my college b-ball journey began and it has been quite the experience. Truthfully these last four years have been a blur and I can't vividly remember my first games in the past years but I've got a feeling this is a game ill remember, must be due to the fact that this is my last first game to start my last year of collegiate basketball. The feelings a bit surreal because this has been a heck of a ride and I'm still on it and excited to kick this year off against a formidable opponent in Yeshiva. Its going to be productive year filled with highs and lows and I'm going to soak this moment and season up because its truly been a pleasure...stay tuned for the next post/my season entry this vans parking and its game time!

New Year, same old Knicks?

With the Knicks dropping their fifth straight lost to the Houston Rockets it begs the question if this is going to be another lost season? Ten games into the new season and they stand at 3-7 and seemingly headed down the wrong path instead of the team Knick fans expected to contend for a playoff spot. It’s early, and with so many new faces added to the team you want to give these guys the benefit of the doubt and time to gel but this "New" team seems to have all the familiar symptoms of the losing ways that have haunted this city for a decade. Blowing double digit leads after halftime, not executing down the stretch are just a couple things that plague this years team and if the ship doesn’t get righted it’s going to sink. Is it too early to start the trade talk? NO WAY! There have already been talks about the Knicks interest peaking about the availability of one Steve Nash & who can forget the “Melo” sweepstakes. One things for sure the Knickerbockers could really use a wish right now (Hayley Williams voice.)

The New Team You Love2Hate!!

So the Miami Heat is America’s new team to watch fail and this basketball soap opera stars America’s new fav villain Lebron James. What better way to start the show than with what everybody would love to see, the Heat start the season with a loss. Now that we have got the fact that this team will not be going 82-0 this year out the way lets get to some facts about why this team won’t win it all. Although it is still young yet in the season and we will see this team start gelling very soon, will this still be enough to win a championship? I say NO due to the gaping holes on the way this team was assembled. The glaring reason is the inadequacies of one third of the "Big Three" Chris Bosh...as this season goes on we are going see that this guy wasn’t worth the big money and is a second tier star in this league. His weak play at the Power forward spot will really be exposed in the playoffs where he has little to no experience, but that’s another post for another day. Trust me we will get back to that point when spring gets here. Let’s get to the real stars on this team though because if you were expecting big numbers or strong play from Bosh then you were expecting too much anyway. The bulk of the expectations are on the shoulders of two of the best wings this league has to offer in D-wade and Bron Bron, heat fans are expecting nothing less than a title with good reason but realistically they may have to hold off on those plans for a year or two. Why is that you may ask? Well the truth is there’s no easy answer to tell you why two top five players won’t be able to power their way to a finals birth but its like anything else in life, two men cant beat an army. I could go on and on how both players cant shoot and when defenses (Celtics in particular)key in on this weakness they wont be able to just play bruiser ball to get wins in a series. That’s too easy of an answer and I don’t like the easy way out so I will tell you that the way this team was constructed is a recipe for disaster and built to crumble. Along with the play they are going to get from an overpaid, weak, small and old frontcourt. The Heat forgot to add what every team that has ever won a title has had, a hard nose or dynamic point guard. We all know that Lebron is gifted enough to play point guard but lets be honest this is the NBA people, championship point guards aren’t made their bred. Even "King James" doesn’t have enough on the job experience with this position to lead a checker board team to raising a championship banner. "Magic" had Kareem and I know we love to liken LBJ's game to Earvin or even "The Big O" who also shared Kareem’s talents for a run but Mr. Skyhook isn’t in south beach and this team’s fate is headed for classic let down instead of a Chip.