Triumph over Tragedy

Respect

"Ignorant and mad young...wanted to be the one..."

Raekwon - Can It Be All So Simple

I covered the Sixers/Celtics game last week for an interview with Kevin Garnett, and two things dawned on me...KG is one of the best players in the league, and Rasheed Wallace is back wearing number 30 again.

Back to the Basics

Watching 'Sheed play for the C's was interesting. The main reason why is because I'm not a Boston fan, however I had a feeling of joy watching him play. Wallace has been one of my favorite players since his days at Simon Gratz H.S.

His passion, intelligence, and dexterity make him a tough opponent. He has worn #30 for years, and it wasn't until a trade from Portland to Atlanta that he switched up, and then again while a member of the Detroit Pistons. The more things change the more they stay the same, and seeing that number in a Celtics jersey made me think of Len Bias.

Bias was drafted by Boston in 1986, and a few days later he died from drug use. He was one of the best players in college basketball history and had he suited up and played, 30 would have been his jersey of choice.

After the game I caught up with Head Coach Doc Rivers, and Rasheed Wallace...here is the final score on our conversation:

AG: Len Bias would have worn the number 30 had he played with the Celtics, your thoughts coach?

Doc Rivers: I didn't know that...with Rasheed picking that same number...I don't think that was intended, but it is interesting, and its great, and we're all for that.

AG: Talk about 'Sheed and what he brings to the team:

Doc Rivers: He's great for our team...you can see that. He gives us fight, he gives us energy, he's been terrific!

AG: Talk about Len Bias:

Wallace: He would have worn 30, and I remember watching him play down in the ACC with Maryland...smashing Carolina, smashing [Georgia] Tech...you know its unfortunate what happened to him. I think he would have been, definitely a trend setter as far as power forwards go in this league, you know he would have set that bar, and its unfortunate what happened.

AG: Talk about the number:

Wallace: Definitely it's cool to share the number, but I don't think about it like that...I think about it more from my point of view, wearing it in high school, where it all started at.

Photo: Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Standing Tall

Power

Strength

Courage

"Shooting air balls at the basket...what you call money, I pay more in taxes..."

Jay-Z - Oh My God

Pennsylvania is a well known football state, much like Florida, Texas, and Ohio, however the Keystone state is also home to some of the best basketball athletes to play the game. Names like Dawn Staley, Wilt Chamberlain, and Kobe Bryant come to mind, but one of the most known unknown great basketball players is none other than Richard Hamilton.

Native Son

I interviewed Rip Hamilton last summer for GAME TIME, during his annual Rip City community event in his hometown Coatesville, PA. Prior to that trip to the small coal mining city, I had only been there once. My friend and fraternity brother Jordan "JJ" Jackson lived there and attended Coatesville High School, and as I drove through the town, I was surprised at how different it was than I thought. I expected rural farm land, with a quaint boondocks feel, but what I saw was a town ravaged by the collapse of the industrial revolution. 

I am not a fan of Coatesville, Pennsylvania. I am however appreciative of the people that have lived there, that have navigated their way out, and have made a better life for themselves. This is no suburb of Philadelphia, this town is unlike anything I've seen, and I travel a lot. In essence, people grow up tough there, and if you see toughness and strength in Rip Hamilton's game, then you can only guess where he got it from.

The other day, Jordan Jackson visited the site, and posed the question about Hamilton playing less minutes with the Pistons, while coming off the bench. He made a point that Iverson's days are numbered in the Motor City, and that Rip is a proven scorer and winner within the NBA. He wanted my opinion, so here it is:

Rip is one of my favorite players within the spectrum of all sports and competition. He is a leader, and I believe that leaders are born, not made, therefore he is a legit athlete that has done nothing but win, and lead by example. I first noticed him during one of his many classic high school battles against his best friend Kobe Bryant. At 6'7", and approximately 190lbs, the lithe guard plays with an easy Sunday morning flow, almost lulling the defense to sleep as he creates baskets for himself and teammates. He's a shooter, but unlike most players of his caliber, Rip can put the ball on the floor, further putting the defense on the alter, at his mercy. 

For his size and ability, he is a special player. Imagine if he were never traded from the Wizards? That team could have been built around him, with Caron Butler, and Jamison? He has the basketball version of the Midas touch, because he has won, and proven himself on every level. He was the #2 high school player in Pennsylvania behind Kobe...won the NCAA Championship with UCONN, and earned a ring in Detroit. 

At 29...30 next month, he is still in his prime, so the Pistons need to figure out what they want to do. I believe the curse of Carmelo Anthony is haunting this team, and for those who need me to spell it out...the Pistons didn't draft Anthony in 2003 because they felt they were a team coming into their own with a championship on the horizon...that didn't need an established player like 'Melo...instead they choose Darko Milicic with the 2nd overall pick and the rest is history...and while the Pistons won it all in 2004, things haven't been the same since. 

This team is in such a state of discord that will not be fixed anytime soon. Things will get worse, before they get better, and that is so unfortunate for Richard Hamilton. However his saving grace is that he was born and raised in Coatesville, and because of that fact, he can handle this and a lot more.

Photos:  Doug Pensinger/Allsport

By Any Means Necessary...

The calm before the storm

Rip and AG. in Coatesville, PA

"Rejoice O young man in thy youth..."

Ecclesiastes

Thirteen years ago I was really concerned about Nike Air Force 1 sneakers and the various colors I could acquire via my shopping downtown Brooklyn. I focused on basketball...both playing and watching the game that I fell in love with around the same time I was infatuated with Hip Hop music.

From boys to men

Its remarkable how I have matured, yet remained the kid at heart, as I have incorporated my love of sports and sneakers into a one of a kind journalism career. NEVER in a million years would I have imagined that those days and nights spent playing on courts until the lights went out would pay off in the way of my becoming a respected member of the media. The thing that my mind’s eye couldn’t see was the professional career of Kobe Bryant and Richard Hamilton.

Growing up in Philadelphia it was obvious that Rasheed Wallace was going to play in the NBA. He starred at the legendary Simon Gratz H.S. and had a promising future at the University of North Carolina. Besides he is from North Philadelphia and as my uncle always says, if you can grow up here, then you can live anywhere. I didn’t know Wallace, or Hamilton, but I did know Kobe and his family, and yes while he was born in Philly, he moved overseas, and when he came back, he resided in the outskirts of the city. Needless to say, when it comes to Southeastern Pennsylvania the only thing that mattered in basketball, was what is known as “the PUB”, which is the Philadelphia Public League. Two people shattered that line of thinking and it was the two most feared guards in the entire state, Richard “Rip” Hamilton, and Kobe Bean Bryant.

I didn’t meet Rip until 2001 at the NBA Store in New York City. I was on my lunch break as I would tend to venture into the NBA themed store to window shop. One day Hamilton was there and he was with a mutual friend. After an introduction, we talked about “home”...his Coatesville, to my Philly. I have not only admired him for his all around versatile game, but also his ability to put his hometown on the map and represent where he is from, when most would turn their back on a town of 11,000.

Fast forward to the present day and the more things change the more they stay the same, as I recently had an opportunity to catch up with Rip Hamilton at his annual Rip City event in the little industrial town of Coatesville, PA.

Here is the score on our courtside conversation:

You love your hometown so much. Can you explain what that is all about?

"This is where I'm from and the kids come out [to my annual event] they all have a good time...the community helps me out...with security, all the security is pretty much home grown, and everybody just helps everybody and its a good thing. When I think of Coatesville...I think of family...I mean my whole family is here. My mom, my dad, my grandmom, my grandpop, all my aunts, uncles, friends, everything. Coatesville is loyalty, and hard work. That's what inspires me to keep on going on the basketball court. I know where I come from, I know what it means to struggle, and when you know that...you try everything possible to never get back to that situation, but to keep rising to the occasion. I love my town and I love my city. I have it tattooed on my stomach and on my arm. Its more than basketball for me. I'm the one that made it out, but I want to be the stepping stone for everybody else. I want everybody else to look at me and say if Rip did it, I can do it. I hung out at the same places that they hung out, so me coming around all the time, lets them know that I'm just like them."

Talk about your friendship and rivalry with Kobe Bryant:

"We played on the same AAU team...we've been roommates on AAU trips, roommates at the McDonald's game, and Magic Johnson Roundball Classic. We played against each other since the 10th grade...we were the number one, and number two best players in the state, so we have always had that rivalry. I remember this article in the Daily Local and it said, if you don't come and watch these two kids play now...the next time you will see them play you'll be paying $100 a ticket! And that's crazy, because as a kid you're like...what do they see? I'm just trying to get to college, and they were right. And then I had the opportunity to play against him in the Finals, and to win, it felt good to me...because he beat me [in high school]. When I was in college I told him, I was about to come to the league and stuff like that, and I just won a national championship...and I was like man you can have that high school championship, that don't mean nothing...I have a college [championship]. And he was like 'you know what Rip...by the end of this year I'm going to have me a championship. I'm like 'yeah right, but I'm up on you...so when he was winning those championships he was like 'yeah, now what, now what, so when we had an opportunity to play him in the Finals...it was the best thing ever because now I got a chance to throw one in his face and actually to beat him at that high level...it was the best thing about it."

When you played for the Washington Wizards, you met Senator Obama:

"Actually my uncle Wes knew him. So when I was out there playing, he said that the Senator would come over the house and eat, and hang out after a game. So he came over and we talked, and watched TV, talked about basketball...and Wes was like 'that's going to be the first black President...and I was like 'for real? So then I was like okay...and then I was watching TV when he was running, and I was like 'he looks familiar but it didn't register yet, and then one of my guys Henry he was like remember when he came to the house...he is going to be the next President."

You played for UCONN and as of last season your team has the most players in the league:

"We still have the most guys! We're a fraternity, we have the best group of guys!" 

The Fresh Prince

Straight outta Compton

Tayshaun Prince is not one for the spotlight

"As I leave, believe I'm stompin', but when I come back boy...I'm coming straight outta Compton..."

Ice Cube - Straight Outta Compton

I began playing basketball when I was about 10 years of age. It was the third of many sports that I learned, however it was exactly what I needed, as the game has enabled my dreams to come true, both on the court and off. There were two things that I wanted to change in my youth...for starters, I was really short, and I'm sure it was worse in my mind, but I measured at a miniscule 5'5" my freshman year of high school. The other thing that I wrestled with was that I was really skinny, a major problem when suiting up in my JV basketball uniform. I'll never forget what Mimi Crespo said in her boricqua accent, after one of my home games..."good game Ant...DAG you're skinny!"

Everything as I knew it in my world had crash landed. Not only did she and I attend the same school, but she also lived around the corner from my house, which meant I had someone attractive to walk home everyday. Needless to say, nothing but a good friendship ever blossomed from that, so I turned the negative of my resemblance to a stick figure, into a positive by looking up to the skinny ball players of the NBA and NCAA. Naturally I emulated Eddie Jones, as he was the most electrifying and scrawny guy on the Temple Owls, and my other hero was Reggie Miller because he was just as frail as I was, and he had an awkward form on his jump shot...to say I could relate is an understatement.

I went to Temple University because of Eddie Jones, as my mother wouldn't let me apply for the school that Miller attended...UCLA. (I was 17 and still a minor) Fast forward to 2000, as I was a college junior with my sights set on the corporate world...that is after the season was over. My team went to the Elite 8 losing to the eventual champion Michigan State, but it was the play of Kentucky sophomore Tayshaun Prince that had my radar turning. His height, natural ability to score, and really good defense gave me an inkling that he would become a good to decent pro. At a lithe 6'9" (206 centimeters), he reminded me that the smallest guy on the court can not only win, but also excel.

In the midst of the recent Detroit Pistons playoff run, we had a brief minute to talk. I saw him as he just walked out of the locker room...so I asked if I could interview him on the walk to the team bus? He hesitated for a minute, and then said it was cool. He is not the most loquacious, yet when he does speak, its good to listen. The similarities between he and I didn't stop at our weight or lack thereof...he too was raised in a Christian home, doesn't like to go out much, has a college degree, and and is very close with his family.

Here is the final score on our court side conversation:

Talk about your collegiate experience playing under Tubby Smith:

"Its crazy because 4 years of college has a lot to do with being more prepared, being mature about not playing that much, when your name is called...being ready, you know those types of things. More experienced guys are going to be ready for those types of situations. For me it was a great achievement on my part for the simple fact that, I went from not playing that much throughout my whole rookie year and then being able to respond like I did, shows a lot of maturity and patience."

What stands out about last summer with Team USA?

"I just wanted to contribute in any way that I could. I know I'm a versatile guy that can play several positions and I know that intrigues them, [USA coaches] and by having me on the team...I'm a smart player that can recognize different situations, so when the summer comes, those are the things I can help the team with. Last summer I sat out that one game [with an injury] just for the simple fact that...I could have played, but we didn't want to take any risks. The guys were playing great, so I just took a game off to heal, so it wasn't a situation where I was out a really long time."

Who did you look up to when you were younger?

"I looked up to Magic you know...growing up in LA watching the Lakers. It was his versatility. He played the point guard position, directing and getting his teammates into certain spots, and I evaluated how he played. And that gave me understanding when I started to play the game. I started to realize how the game was played and it helped me to mature. I''m 6'9" and can handle the basketball, and do different things, and just watching him helped to show me my value as a player and what I can bring to a basketball team. By watching Magic and experiencing that, gave me an opportunity to see what I could do when I went out to play with my team."

Watch the video below for more on Tayshaun Prince: