True Story

"I'm going through it...mom dukes too..."

Jay-Z - This Can't Be Life

There is a phrase that I heed whenever times are more difficult than usual...and it simply states that life's not fair.

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Basketball is my catharsis, and while I don't participate on an organized team anymore, attending games, and writing about it, helps fill the void from not playing. It is now within certain athletes that I can see myself, which allows for a vicarious euphoria that I once had as a shooting guard.

All-Star Weekend is currently taking place in Texas, and while last night's so-called dunk contest failed to entertain, the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge proved what I had been told a few weeks ago in a conversation with Caron Butler after a Wizards win over the Kings.

Sacramento's Tyreke Evans walked into this weekend's setting a heavy favorite for Rookie of the Year honors, and by halftime on Friday, he had closed the door on any doubts about his basketball prowess. The last thing I want to do is crown him, and make predictions...however the things he is able to do on the court is greater than his follow neophytes.

I covered Evans during his prep days at American Christian and while I liked his strength, and IQ, I didn't think his jump shot or play to the crowd style was the makings for an elite player. Let this serve as an official record that I was wrong. He's matured, and his time in this league is now. I'm not jumping on the bandwagon...I just feel that I didn't appreciate him as much as I should have...nevertheless I do now, and I stand corrected.

I started to notice a change last season during his freshman campaign in Memphis...however I saw him play numerous times, and I think it was the accessibility to him that pulled the wool over my eyes. The same scenario played itself out when I watched Kobe Bryant go from Philadelphia's main line, to the Los Angeles Lakers. I knew he was good, and I respected his talent...but I had no idea that he would become the best guard in the world.

These are interesting times for me, as I move ahead with things going on in my life...and running parallel to that are my responsibilities as a journalist...documenting the happenings of others.

Hugo earned the MVP award leading the first year players to a 140-128 win over the sophomores...and he did it with the same heart, flair, and toughness that he always had as a child growing up on the painful, unforgiving, basketball courts of Chester, Pennsylvania.

Game recognizes game, and Evans is looking very familiar.

Photo: Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images