Sunday, May 29, 2011

Rafer Alston Hired as a High School Basketball Coach

Former NBA point guard Rafer Alston is now the Athletics Director and Head Coach of the basketball team at Christian Life Center Academy in Texas.


Just one year ago, he was playing with the Miami Heat with Dwyane Wade on a playoff-bound team. Since them, he was suspended by the team for the rest of last season, played in China, and is now coaching high schoolers. (Meanwhile, the Heat picked up LeBron James and Chris Bosh and are in the Finals right now.)


As happy as I am for Rafer for his new job, it makes me sad that he isn't still in the league because he still has the talent level to play on the highest level.


Now, people can refer to Rafer Alston as three things: Streetball Legend, NBA Star, and High School Basketball Coach.


Being a high school sophmore, I wish I went to that school.


For more information, CLICK HERE.


Have any thoughts on Rafer Alston's new coaching job? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

Mix of the Week #2: Monta Ellis - Run That (Redd6412)

This is the second addition of "Mix of the Week." Get used to it because I'm going to be doing this every week from now on.

This week's mix is of Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis. I like this mix because it really gets me pumped up and the music syncs really well with the clips in it.

It was made by Redd6412 and the song is "Run That" by Rhymefest. Enjoy!



Check out Redd6412's channel on YouTube to see more of his videos.

Have any thoughts on Monta Ellis and/or this mix? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Friday, May 27, 2011

NBA: 2011 Finals Matchup is Set, Rematch of 2006 Finals

The matchup for the 2011 NBA Finals is set. The Dallas Mavericks are up against the Miami Heat for the title. This should be a good series, considering that both teams have a strong desire and determination to win it all.



Mavs:


Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion, and Peja Stojakovic have each played more that 10 seasons in the NBA, picking up All-Star honors along the way but no championships.

Caron Butler is injured, but the 2-time All-Star might be back for the series. Jason Terry, who has played in the league since 1999 and has been with the Mavs since 2004, had the Larry O'Brien trophy tattooed on his arm before this season started. Point guard JJ Barea has also been playing well this postseason.


They also have many other veterans who are hungry for a championship including Brendan Haywood (a respectable center who can really contribute), Tyson Chandler (who was named to the All-Defensive 2nd Team this season), Brian Cardinal (he doesn't get a lot of playing time, but I'm sure he'd love a championship), and DeShawn Stevenson (a great role player who can contribute without scoring and is my favorite active NBA player).

Heat:

LeBron James has been arguably the best player in the league for years now, but has been highly criticized for not winning a championship yet. Chris Bosh is a 6-time All-Star who left the Raptors to try to win a title with Miami. Dwyane Wade has already won a championship, but has made it clear that he wants more.

James Jones, who won the 3-Point Shootout this season, lit up the Celtics this postseason for 25 points one game. Can he pull off a big performance like that in the Finals? Joel Anthony has started at center for the Heat for the last 7 games and has played a key role in Miami's postseason success. Mike Bibby's best years are behind him, but he has started every game of the playoffs for the Heat at point guard. Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers have also helped Miami out this postseason.


Stats and Comparisons: I shall now analyze this year's Finals matchup from a historical and statistical standpoint.


-When matched up against each other in the Finals in 2006 (neither team has been in the Finals any other time), the Heat beat the Mavs 4 games to 2.


-This postseason, the Mavs have averaged higher team averages in points, assists, and steals while the Heat have higher averages in rebounds and blocks. The Mavericks also have higher percentages than the Heat in free throws, 3-pointers, and field goals.


-The Heat had 3 players (Bosh, Wade, and James) selected as All-Stars this season, while the Mavericks had 1 player (Nowitzki).


-Miami has 6 players players who have been All-Stars (Howard, Ilgauskas, Magloire, James, Wade, & Bosh), while Dallas has 5 players (Kidd, Nowitzki, Stojakovic, Marion, & Butler)


-The Heat had a better regular season record than the Mavs.


-The Heat and the Mavs each have the same postseason record this season (12-3).


-Both coaches have never coached any championships.


-This season, the Mavericks beat the Heat in both of their regular season meetings.


-The Heat have never won a championship without Shaquille O'Neal, Antoine Walker, Jason Williams, Alonzo Mourning, Derek Anderson, Earl Barron, Michael Doleac, Shandon Anderson, Jason Kapono, Gary Payton, Wayne Simien, Dorell Wright, or Jason Posey on their roster. Their only player left from the Miami Heat's only championship run is Dwyane Wade.


I've analyzed the history and statistics of both teams and I have came to a conclusion about which team I think will win.


Here is my prediction: The Mavericks will beat the Heat in 6 games.


Have any thoughts on the Finals this season? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Video: Kobe Byrant's Post Game Meltdown (FunnyorDie)

FunnyorDie just uploaded a video which is basically a fake montage of Kobe Bryant's press conferences after each game of the Western Conference Semifinals, in which they got swept by the Mavs 4-0. It gets funnier as you watch it, check it out.



What did you think of this video? Was it funny or stupid? Have any thoughts on the Lakers getting swept my the Mavs (I know that's old news) or the Mavericks being on pace to go to the Finals? Leave a comment and I'll be sure to read it.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

IBL: Albany Legends Sweep Their Last Home Series of the Season

The Albany Legends made their last home game of the season a memorable one. In the act of sweeping the USA All-Stars, who are now 0-15, they scored 158 points in the game alone, their highest point total in one game all season.

Although the Legends were actually losing after the first quarter, they pulled away during the next 3 quarters and won 158-112. The Legends are now 12-3 and are currently in first place in the International Division of the IBL.

After the game, I took pictures with some of the players. Damone Morris actually recognized me and mentioned my blog (THIS blog!) and remembered that I created his Wikipedia page. It was pretty awesome. If your reading this, Damone Wade (Oops, looks like I'm getting you mixed up with a certain NBA All-Star), I wish you the best of luck for the rest of the season.

Oh, and by the way, Damone Morris mentioning my blog when we took our picture together marked the first time anybody has ever mentioned my blog to me in public. (As you probably can infer, this blog is a bit under-the-radar and isn't very well-known.)

If you have any thoughts on the Legends this season or my encounter with Dwyane Morris (Oops, I did it again) after the game, leave a comment and I'll be sure to read it.

Mix of the Week #1: Walt Williams Rockets Mix [Patrys15]

This is a new thing that I'm trying out. Every week I will post a mix that I found on Youtube that I thought was good. This week will be a Walt Williams Rockets Mix made by BigPatrys15.

Enjoy, and make sure you watch until the end to see Walt Williams punch Shawn Bradley in the face. And the song is "Feelin' It" by Jay-Z.



Check out Patrys15's channel on Youtube and make sure to subscribe. He makes a lot of other great mixes.

Have any comments on Walt Williams or any suggestions for next week's mix? Leave a comment below and I'll be sure to read it.

Monday, May 16, 2011

BBall Book Review: Resilence by Alonzo Mourning

I just finished reading Alonzo Mourning's autobiography that was published in 2008, titled Resilence, that he wrote with Dan Wetzel.

I found this book in a bargain bin at Big Lots! for 3 dollars and now I know why. I give this book 2 stars out of 5.

What I didn't like about this book was that the majority of this book was him preaching about God, trying to inspire people, his kidney problems, and his recovery. Not enough of it was actually about his basketball career.

Also, he seems to look down on a lot of other players and displays a self-righteous attitude towards himself. He says that "attitude-wise, (Derrick Coleman) was the exact opposite of Michael Jordan." He also calls out Rasheed Wallace's work ethic and implies that he doesn't take enough care of his body and doesn't play with enough passion.

But Mourning gives his most blatant diss of all to his former teammate Kenyon Martin. He calls him "immature" twice in the book. He also wrote that K-Mart didn't always practice hard and that in an altercation, Mourning "excused him."

Also, Mourning spends way too much time talking about his faith in God in the book. Multiple sets of pages are spent preaching about his beliefs and his mind-state.

In conclusion, I would recommend this book to religious kidney-transplant survivors and Alonzo Mourning fans. I would not necessarily recommend this book to basketball fans.

Have any thoughts that you would like to share on Alonzo Mourning or his autobiography? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.