As the ball bounces…NBA Tips off
Opening week of the NBA has everyone pumped. Most of the talk has been about the “Big 3″ and the collision course through the East with the Celtics and towards an NBA Final with the defending champ Lakers.
I think the most exciting part of the new season is the clash of the stars.
We watch and wonder if it will be for the last time as we see former All-Stars who once played at such a high level continue to play for what could be for their last time. Guys like Shaq, Rip Hamilton, Grant Hill, Vince Carter – once superstars and now playing out the string for their last year or last few years.
You have the guys on the back-side of their careers who are still upper echelon players like Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Dirk, Paul Pierce and Steve Nash. Future Hall of Famers that still excel but you see them age and humanize before your eyes and in some cases you are wondering what it will be like one day without them.
Then you have guys in their prime like Kobe,Wade, Chris Paul, ‘Melo. Guys who in many way define the NBA of today, that are battling for Hall of Fame status and are the barometer for the success of the league itself.
Then you have the emergence of the next generation of stars in the league and the excitement of the rookie class. The cast of 25-year old (or younger) Superstars like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans guys who will challenge for MVP’s and who try and lead their teams to titles. All who have established some creditability to be in the conversation of the great players but need to show consistency and elevate their game.
Finally you have the new kids on the block, Blake Griffin, John Wall, Wesley Johnson, Evan Turner and Demarcus Cousins who we are anxious to see their transition to the NBA and wonder who will be the future of the NBA.
The importance of this year with the potential for a lock-out looming is bringing to a head the transition of the league from both a personnel standpoint and from an organization perspective as the NBA embarks on tough changes ahead towards fiscal stability.
Fellow fans – enjoy this season, it will be fun and the game as we know it may change forever right before our eyes.
Five-Star Campers: A young LeBron dreamed of being teammates with Jordan
A young LeBron dreamed of being teammates with Jordan
Posted Nov 12 2009 8:32PM
MIAMI (AP) — A day after he cut off questions about becoming a free agent next year, LeBron James raised the idea of playing with Michael Jordan.
With the Cleveland Cavaliers’ star facing the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade for the first time this season Thursday, the focus was on the possibility they might join forces. Both can opt out of their contracts next year.
“In a fantasy world, there are a lot of guys in the NBA you would love to see how could you be on the same team and see how you match up with the rest of the NBA,” James said before the game. “Not just myself, everybody in the league has visualized playing with somebody, even guys who are not in the league anymore. I visualized playing alongside Michael Jordan when I was a kid. Everyone has that vision.”
Jordan was at Thursday night’s game and sat next to Heat president Pat Riley.
As for Wade, James said he makes the Heat a potential postseason force.
“Any time you’ve got a guy who can take the game over in the fourth quarter like Dwyane Wade can, they are a contender,” James said.
The two shared a warm embrace just before tip-off.
On Wednesday, Wade said the pair have talked about going to the same team. Later that day, James told reporters he wouldn’t talk any more about free agency until after this season.
“It never became stressful to me,” the reigning NBA MVP said Thursday. “How many ways can I answer the free-agent question? It got to a point where I can’t answer it any other way, so it didn’t make any sense for me to keep talking about it.”
Five-Star Campers Flood D-League Draft!
There were no shortage of Five-Star campers taken in the NBA’s 2009 Development League draft. The sixteen-team, D-Leauge, which is entering its ninth season is truly becoming a minor league for the NBA. The number of callups to the NBA has grown from 8 in 2001-2002 to 24 in 2008-2009 seasons. There has been 143 callups in the eight year history of the league. Many of the D-Leagues alumni attended the Five-Star Camp.
There were 25 Five-Star campers taken in the 2009 NBA D-League draft. 5 played in the Five-Star Hoop Classic.
First Round
7th pick Reno Bighorns Desmon Farmer
11th pick Dakota Wizards Curtis Withers
14th pick Springfield Armor JamesOn Curry
15th Idaho Stampede Sundiata Gaines
Both 8th pick to the Maine Red Claws, Paul Harris and 12th pick to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Antonio Anderson participated in the Five-Star Hoop Classic.
Second Round
3rd pick Springfield Armor Major Wingate
8th pick Iowa Energy Pat Carroll
12th pick Utah Flash Orien Greene
16th pick Albuquerque Thunderbirds Chad Toppert
Third Round
7th pick Reno Big Horns Chris Lowe
10th pick Ft Wayne Mad Ants Jamelle Cornley
15th pick Idaho Stampede Delonte Holland
Fourth Round
3rd pick Springfield Armor Craig Austrie
4th pick Sioux Falls Sky Force Leemire Goldwire
11th pick Austin Toros Ira Bowman
15th pick Erie Bay Hawks Derrick Mercer
Hoop Classic participants in the 4th round were 2nd pick TJ Cummings to the Idaho Stampede and 9th pick to the Maine Red Claws, Gary Ervin.
Fifth Round
1st pick Albuquerque Thunderbirds Shagari Alleyne
3rd pick LA D-Fenders Chris Moore
6th pick Austin Toros David McClure
8th pick Maine Red Claws Scooter McFadgon
15th pick Idaho Stampede J.C. Mathis
Sixth Round
2nd pick Idaho Stampede Mike Gansey
4th pick Sioux Falls Skyforce Nate Miles
Seventh Round
12th pick Rio Grande Valley Vipers Rashad Woods
Eight Round
8th pick Iowa Energy Marcus Walker
13th pick Bakersfield Jam Stephen McDowell
Lawrence McKenzie played in the Five-Star Hoop Classic and was selected 4th in the eight round by the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
Notes:
NCSA speaker Jay Straight was selected 11th in the 5th round by the Dakota Wizards.
The non-scholarship Ivy League and Yale’s Travis Pinick was picked 14th in the eight round.
–Written by Shay Berry and researched by Leigh Klein
Long Time Five-Star Coach Steve Evans Leads LeMoyne Past Syracuse!
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Christopher Johnson and Laurence Ekperigin hooted and hollered as they skipped off Jim Boeheim Court, huge smiles creasing their faces and seemingly as stunned as the Orange at what had just transpired.
Johnson scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half, including a 3-pointer with 8.3 seconds remaining, and Division II Le Moyne stunned No. 25 Syracuse 82-79 in an exhibition game Tuesday night.
“We’ve got an experienced group,” Le Moyne head coach Steve Evans said. “Did we ever think that a day like this would happen? Probably not. But we put together a game plan. We didn’t want to play Syracuse’s way. We wanted to play our way. It was just one of those days for Le Moyne basketball. The kids will remember this forever.”
Wes Johnson, who led Syracuse with 34 points, hit a 3 from the left corner to put Syracuse ahead 79-78 with 22 seconds left.
Then Christopher Johnson responded with his sixth 3-pointer of the game, which came from the left side after Syracuse’s Kris Joseph backed off defensively.
“We were sort of out of whack a little bit,” Christopher Johnson said. “Everyone was rushing. But as soon as I caught the ball, I saw an opening and I just let it fly. Luckily, it went in.”
After Wes Johnson missed a 3, Can Ozkaner added a free throw with 1.3 seconds left for Le Moyne and Syracuse had its first preseason exhibition loss since a setback against the Harlem Globetrotters six years ago.
“Le Moyne really outplayed us from the beginning of the game to the end,” Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said. “They [the Orange] are very, very young mentally. They really have got to grow up. We couldn’t stop them on the dribble. That’s something we’ve been looking at in practice.”
Ekperigin had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Damani Corbin had 11 points and five assists and Kevin Roth added 10 points for Le Moyne, which outscored Syracuse 42-30 in the paint.
Andy Rautins had 13 points and Rick Jackson finished with 10 points and eight rebounds for the Orange, who led 47-37 early in the second half.
But the Dolphins, who play across town, never let down. Three 3s by Christopher Johnson helped narrow the gap and a three-point play by Ekperigin gave Le Moyne a 56-55 lead with 8:41 remaining.
The Dolphins, who repeatedly took advantage of Syracuse’s man-to-man defense with drives and back-door cuts, went up 76-71 after Ekperigin converted a lob from Corbin with 57.9 seconds left and held on.
“It’s very disappointing,” said Wes Johnson, in his first season after transferring from Iowa State. “Hopefully, we can learn from this and move in the right direction.”
“It’s just embarrassing the way we played,” said Rautins, born and raised in Syracuse. “It’s embarrassing to ourselves and our fans. It wasn’t luck that they won. They came out and beat us fair and square.”
Evans said he wasn’t really looking forward to reading and watching the news on Wednesday.
“I feel bad that the story tomorrow will be, ‘What’s wrong with Syracuse basketball?’ I don’t think there’s anything wrong,” he said. “They’ve got tremendous players. It’s an exhibition game. They’re young. They’re going to be terrific.”
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press
Five-Star Camp Rocks Toronto’s HoopDome!
There was a lot of Orange in Toronto for Halloween weekend!
Five-Star Basketball Camp and Toronto’s HoopDome teamed up for a great weekend camp. HoopDome President Ted Badner did a great job hosting the first (and not the last) Five-Star Camp in Toronto. HoopDome is Canada’s premier basketball facility. This weekend’s camp featured all twelve of Five-Star’s famous teaching stations, two Station-13′s and three thirty-two minute games. The competition was strong and featured a number of University level players. We’ve known that they can play in Toronto for a long time…but it seems as though there are more high level players than ever.
6’11″ Stefan Nastic from Thornhill Secondary in Toronto displayed the ability to play at the highest level…We were most impressed with his agility and ability to use both hands around the basket. His perimeter game is as good as any big-man out there! Stefan has a high basketball IQ and really knows how to play. He is a member of the Serbian 18 and Under National team and will compete this summer in the European Championship. Stef is being recruited by many high-major schools. He is a top student and has tremendous parental guidance. He is trained by Vlad Mateuski who coaches a very successful Toronto club program and was a Five-Star staff member this weekend. Stefan is a member of the Class of 2010 but is considering a 5th year…
Stefan Cvrkalj, a 6’4″, 12th grade, shooting guard from Blue Vale Collegiate in Waterloo, Ontario displayed a lot of ability to play college basketball in the United States. Stefan is a lights-out shooter both off the dribble and the catch. He is also a high level student. Ivy, Patriot and top D-3′s should be recruiting this wing player that adds toughness and a high basketball IQ to a lethal shooting stroke!
We liked combo guard Alex Abou-Akl. Alex is a 6’1″ quick and aggressive guard. He attends St. John de Brebeuf in Vaughn, Ontario.
6’8″ Mike Grasic is a 12th grader from Aloysius Gonzaga College in Toronto. He is big, tough and can rebound. He has good agility and is quite skilled for a big. With continued work and improvement there may be a place in college basketball for him.
6’7″ Vlad Velici, a 12th grader from Woodbridge Collegiate impressed us with his rebounding ability. He plays bigger than 6’7″, played hard and really competed. Does all the little things and dirty work.
6’4″ 10th grader, Adam Djukic from Oakwood Collegiate in Toronto was the best young player in the Camp. Adam is a wing player that has good size, solid shooter and plays hard and competes. With continued skill improvement, he will be one of the top players in his class in Canada. We hope to see him this summer at Five-Star competing against top rising juniors from the States. Division I schools should put him on the recruiting list and follow his progress!! The kid can play.
6’0″ 8th grader, Tyronn King from St. Margaret’s P.S. in Scarborough, Ontario impressed us all weekend. Tyronn is a poised, silky smooth wing player. He combines good athletic ability with solid skills. Ty makes the right decisions on most possessions. Tyronn was the best player in the 8th and 9th grades and with continued committment to shooting and skill development he will compete as another quality guard out of Toronto! In addition, Tyronn was one of our favorite campers with his positive attitude and confident way.
Have to give a shout-out to Irv Mintz. Irv graced us with his presence sporting the orange Five-Star sweatshirt! Irv worked Five-Star at Fordham a few years ago. Irv’s son Jared is a junior playing at Lafayette College.
Special thanks to all the campers that participated in the inaugural event and a tremendous teaching staff featuring Allen Tonner, Patrick Dooc, Nate Philippe, Fred Grannum, Patrick Brown and Vlad Mateudski!
Stay tuned for more Five-Star events at HoopDome in Toronto this Spring and Summer!!
