Continuing Ed

SLAM 128: On Sale Now!

CHN — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 11:21:16 -0700

by Ben Osborne
This issue has been teased in various places, on here an elsewhere, but today, finally, is the official unveiling. As always, I’m excited to share it with our readers, most of whom should be able to buy it this weekend in NYC and next week everywhere else.
As far as explaining why we did this dope, original split cover, I don’t think I could say it better than I did in my “6th Man” Editor’s Letter from the issue, so I’m going to reprint that below and then I’ll close with some of the details about availability.
Here’s my letter, word for word:
>>Something for Everyone…
Everyone interested in who their favorite sport’s future stars are, that is. As far as content in our magazine, there is no disputing that SLAM is always looking ahead. We featured Ricky Rubio when few people had ever even heard of him. We put the spotlight on Lance Stephenson before he’d finished his freshman year of high school, and our Punks section brings you the nation’s best prep players on a monthly basis (such as Brandon Jennings about one year ago). You get the point.
So what made us flip the usual script of putting future stars in the mag while the NBA’s top dogs grace the cover? A dash of daring combined with two unique opportunities and the understanding that Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade aren’t going anywhere. The daring comes from our willingness to try something different. Is it just stars who sell SLAM, or have we reached the point in this, our 15th year, where basketball-loving magazine buyers can trust that even if they don’t instantly realize the face(s) on our illustrious front page, the players must be dope because we say they are? The SLAM staff is obviously counting on the latter.
The opportunities came from two once-this-season meetings. The first, which jump-started the entire conversation regarding this cover, was knowing that Brandon’s Lottomattica Roma team was meeting Ricky’s DKV Joventut in Spain last December 11. Sure, we figured every hoop journalist worth their salt would be hounding these great prospects that week, but it couldn’t hurt to ask for some time, right? Well, either no one asked or these guys chose us, because they graciously gave us more than two hours of their time.
Once we had the big international cover locked up, we decided to cover our bases with a look at the two most compelling prep guards in America. Sure enough, just 10 days after Ricky and Brandon were in the same city at the same time, John Wall and Lance were in the same city at the same time. We reached out to those guys, dispatched Kelly Kline (see below) for her second big job in two weeks, and arguably the coolest split cover in SLAM history was born. We sat on them for a minute while Kobe and DWade did their thing, but with high school All-American games here and Draft buzz increasing, the time had come. The future is now.<<

Hopefully my letter answers the “why these guys?” or “why now?” questions people might have. Want more of that? Check out Ricky-Lang cover story writer Lang Whitaker’s extra video content here, and get John-Lance cover story writer Aggrey Sam’s take on his piece here.
Not that I expect too many questions after people have really looked at these covers…I’m expecting more of the “Damn, you guys are good”-type comments.
As for availability, all newsstands in the US will have both covers. That is still the biggest part of our business and we want you all to have a choice. Overseas outlets will most likely just have Ricky-Brandon (for obvious reasons), and subscribers will get Ricky-Brandon as there wasn’t a regional split that made sense. The best solution for people who want both covers? Go to simbackissues.com, click on SLAM and buy ‘em both.

McDonald’s All-American Live Blog

CHN — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 16:00:41 -0700

by Ben Osborne
What’s up everyone? Greetings from Rick Ross Country. It is hot down here, but it feels pretty good after the hella long winter we’ve had in NYC. I missed the Slam dunk contest Monday night, and apparently missed quite a show from Avery Bradley (note: covered by Farmer Jones in SLAM 128…on sale and unveiled here Friday!). Came into town yesterday and attended media day. Missed a sad day in the office as KING, a mag I helped start, folded. I don’t know too many details yet but I’m very sorry for all the great and talented people that worked on the mag; I’ll holler at all you guys when I’m back in New York.
Anyway, the media time was cool. Very relaxed atmosphere, and despite this grump’s uninformed blasting of virtually all things high-school basketball in the Herald, I’m betting he didn’t talk to any of the kids. As always, I found every player I spoke to pleasant and good for quotes…what was I asking them about? Primarily one of the wildest SLAM cover stories ever, but you’re going to have to wait a five weeks to see that. The kid I was happiest to meet was Xavier Henry, our esteemed diarist. Ryan has raved about him all year but I had never met him. My mag work was pretty focused on the aforementioned cover story; web-wise I was all set to write the breaking news of Lance Stephenson’s college announcement, but as you might have read here yesterday, said announcement never came. Lance and his pops are saying they want to take their time, which is what they’ve told SLAM as well, though I have to believe the Coach Cal-to-Kentucky move is a big factor. Coach Cal’s defection could have all sorts of domino effects, recruiting wise, including our man Xavier maybe reconsidering Kansas, which would make Lance and Kansas reconsider each other. In any event, the most newsworthy event that might have come out of media day didn’t happen. Instead it was just a nice chance to meet most of the best high school players in the country and listen to all sorts of speculation about the Calipari business. As Ryan pointed out to me, Andy Katz’ take on Cal is probably as good as anyone’s. My only gripe is the confusion his recruits are facing. As long as they can get released from Memphis and go where they please, it’s all good.
That’s enough of that. It’s now about 7 pm and the girls All-Americans are playing up their game. The East currently leads, 48-45, with DeNesha Stallworth having 11 points.
I’ll be back with a girls’ final and then I’ll get cranking on the boys game shortly after the 8 pm tip. Thanks for stopping by…
At the 12-minute timeout of the girls game they did a video presentation on Kelsey Bone, the McDonald’s Player of the Year. She’s a legit center out of the Houston area with nice back-to-the-basket moves and is by far the best uncommitted girls player in the country. She was scheduled to announce her college choice tonight, during the game. Well, they just made it public—Kelsey Bone will be attending South Carolina. I like it; always nice when a girl picks somewhere other than UConn or Tennessee.
Alonzo Mourning, a big part of this game and this community, is in the building. Looking dignified as always. West girls now up 67-63 with 1:03 left, and even if you have cable you probably aren’t watching this one—it’s on ESPNU and I’m not sure I know a single person that gets that channel.
With West leading 69-66 and seconds left, East’s Kelly Fairs is fouled shooting a three! She makes first two FTs, but misses third. West gets rebound, and it’s a wrap. West wins, 69-68. Co-MVPs: from West, Tierra Ruffin-Pratt (in SLAM 128!), and from East, Skylar Diggins (in SLAM 126; even when it comes to High School girls’ hoops, we can pick ‘em!). TRP had 10 points and 10 rebounds while Diggins was game leading scorer with 18 points.
30 minutes to boys tip-off…
BTW, I’m in third row behind baseline. Very close, which is great, but somewhat blocked by basket stanchion. Missing parts of some nice pay-up line dunks. You guys probably know this, but game is at BankUnited Center on campus of University of Miami as opposed to the Heat’s American Airlines Arena downtown. Really nice facility, tasteful U green and orange. But only holds 8000 and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get filled tonight. I’m mostly going to blame Miami sports fans, who probably don’t know how to support a game like this cause there’s no bandwagon to be riding. Any chance eboy is here? I gotta email him and see. Might be the first SLAM ed to meet that cat in person.
Serious band from Miami Norland HS in the building. They’re accompanying the team intros, led off by U of Florida signeee Boynton. Announcer is still saying players such as DeMarcus Cousins are attending “Memphis.” Shouldn’t all Memphis commits be announced as “undecided”?
There’s a guy in the stands who looks like a 350-pound Joe Dumars, which is funny because, with all due respect, sometimes Joe looks like he’s heading in that direction. Five minutes to tip…

World Wide

CHN — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:28:41 -0700

by Ben Osborne
Back in the ’70s and early ’80s, when, in general, the NBA’s dress code could best be described as “flashy” and “funky,” one player still managed to stand out: World B. Free. A personal favorite of mine from his latter days with the Cavaliers, his charisma and flair made the Brooklyn-born streetballer one of the League’s most colorful personalities.
A 6-2, 185-pound scoring guard who was born in 1953 and attended Canarsie High in BK before small Guilford College in NC, Free would go on to put up nearly 18,000 points over a 13-year career spent with the Sixers, Clippers, Warriors, Cavs and Rockets. Free was a deserving All-Star in ‘79-80, when he averaged 30.2 points, 4.2 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals for the San Diego Clippers. But even as one of the NBA’s top scorers, he was the type of player who was more than just the sum of his stats. His rim-rattling dunks, scorer’s mentality and opinionated persona put the man born Lloyd B. Free in a, well, world of his own.
These days, besides working for the Philadelphia 76ers, Free is a recently signed endorser of K1X. As the German-based, street-friendly hoop brand put it in a recent press releats, “For K1X, basketball should always come with a little extra mustard. So teaming up with World B Free for the possibly illest hoop collabo ever was a no-brainer. With a main ingredient like World B Free and K1X to add some spice, it’s no wonder our exclusive 09 summer line got game like winner-stays.”
The line includes clothes and footwear, both of which you’ll be seeing even more of on the site and in the mag in coming months.
But our friends at K1X didn’t just hit us with a press release—they gave us a great q+a too. Enjoy.
K1X: Can you take us back to Brownsville and tell us how you grew up there and how that made you the person that you are today?
FREE: Brownsville is a world of its own, as you know. You’ve been out there, too. It’s a place that either made you or broke you. So either you were going to be someone or you wasn’t. I always followed a couple of guys that were older than me. And they didn’t let me play basketball until I was in 11th or 12th grade. A lot of the guys who got out there were a lot younger than I was. I didn’t have that great skills at that time but I had great elevation with my jumpshot. So the older guys would always teach me more about the game, beat me up, pound me on the court. They would treat me like a rookie and I would learn from that. And as I got better and better I started to teach that to the younger kids.
In Brownsville you had just one basket and the ball had no frills, it was bald as my head right now. And I was just in there, I just loved the game. It was great. You had to come out in the snow and rain and we did that. That‘s what it was all about.
K1X: What was the New York streetball scene in general like back then?
FREE: Back then, when you lost a basketball game that was it. It was all over. You might not play again until 10 at night. The court was so crowded and everybody wanted to show their stuff. There were people coming from all over. We were in Brooklyn, so people from the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Staten Island came to Brownsville, to a court that we called Sixty-Six Park back then, because that’s where legends were made. And everyone wanted to go to that park to be somebody. They had the Rucker Pros up in Harlem but we had Sixty-Six Park.
K1X: Tell us who played in that park.
FREE: We had guys like Jim McMillan, Doc played there, too. We also had guys like Connie Hawkins, Nate “Tiny“ Archibald. We had some of the best players to ever play this game.
K1X: What other tournaments were there in the city besides Rucker and Sixty Six Park?
FREE: There was a tournament at St. John’s Recreation Center that was big. But you could basically go to every basketball court in Brooklyn at that time and find that the court was full. It’s not the same anymore. When you drive by the parks you won’t see that many kids out there anymore.
K1X: You are not the biggest basketball player when it comes to height. Tell us how you changed your shot to overcome that.
FREE: My thing was that I had a 44″ vertical leap and I was very strong. I used to shoot straight in front of my face when I brought the ball up. But I realized that that shot got blocked every time. So I started to put the ball up to the side of my head and combined with my vertical I could shoot over the defenders.
K1X: I heard you also started shooting over a ladder.
FREE: Yeah, I did that to create a higher arc for my shot. I actually did a lot of those things because the guys back then were pretty much jumping out of the building. So if you didn‘t want your shot to be smacked all the way to the other end of the court you better come up with something. That’s a lesson you learned for the rest of your life.
K1X: You’ve probably told the story a million times but we need to hear it again: Where does “World” come from?
FREE: That name comes from a guy by the name of Herb Smith. This is a guy who is also from Brownsville who introduces everybody who he thinks will come into the NBA, in his mind. So he will give you a nickname. He named guys like Julius “Dr. J” Erving, Connie “The Hawk“ Hawkins, Phil “The Thrill” Sellers. He called me “All World” one time because I was doing 360 slam dunks in games. And I remember, it was in a league game, about two seconds on the clock and I stopped, bounced, did a whole 360 and dunked the ball. And Herb just yelled “All World.” That rang around the whole gym and every since then I was called “All World.” And that was just in junior high.
K1X: What made you change your name legally as well?
FREE: “Lloyd B Free” was the name given to me by my father. So I just changed the Lloyd to “World.” I said to myself that if I should make it professionally in the league with this name that was given to me I would go ahead and wish that the world could be free one day.
K1X: But there was a lot of turmoil going on at that time after the war in Vietnam and the Cold War. Was there something philosophical about that name? Were you like a hippie?
FREE: No, no, no. What I was was a person that wanted good for everybody. My mom and dad raised me to be kind to everyone, no matter what color or race you are. And at that time I was just hoping that the world could be free. So if people would speak about me they could keep it in their head that the world be free.
K1X: What is your take on the whole commercialization of streetball? You know, all the interest that the sport gathers from sponsors and the media these days.
FREE: The NBA and streetball are two totally different games. The players on the streetball courts have their own unique set of talents. But the level of attention they receive now helps some of them to get into the league. And that‘s a good thing.
K1X: You were playing professionally in a time where it was hard not to get in trouble sometimes. Teammates smoking and drinking in the locker room. But today you are teaching the kids not to do those things. Did you, back then, sometimes feel that you were on the wrong side of the track?
FREE: Let me put it this way. Temptation was there. But with me coming from Brownsville and playing only my first and second season in the league I was a nobody basically. So when I looked at all the guys I was strong enough to know that it wasn‘t for me. I said to myself ‘I‘m going to make it.‘ and I went 13 years in the NBA.
K1X: While you played actively, the league was very different from today. People would go outside for a smoke break in between games. Tell us about that era.
FREE: Yes, you are right. When I was a rookie with the Philadelphia 76ers they had beers in the locker room, they were actually smoking cigarettes in the locker room. It was a totally different time back then. But when I was a rookie I played with some of the greatest players who ever played this game, eventhough some of them were already in their thirties. And they did the things they did and I could never understand that. But they were no doubt dedicated to the game.
K1X: You played with some of the most interesting characters to ever play the game. Just let me know what goes through your mind when you hear the different names…Let’s start with Julius.
FREE: Julius Erving was a special basketball player. If you wanted your kid to look up to one person for what that person did on a basketball court that person would be Julius Erving.
K1X: Darryl Dawkins.
FREE: The Character. And also one of the best friends I’ve had in the basketball world. Great guy, great individual. He was a man to himself because he was the first one I knew who could put somebody on “Lovetron.” You’ve never heard of that before in basketball. That was until Darryl Dawkins came in right out of high school making up names. A great guy.
K1X: How about Charles Barkley?
FREE: He was a different character. Charles Barkley was the beast of the east. If it wasn’t his way it was no way.
K1X: And everybody was scared of him.
FREE: Yeah, he would bully you.
K1X: Talk about the layup lines back when you were with the 76ers.
FREE: Man, you are talking about something very special right there. I mean, people got mad when they missed the Sixers warmup. They rather missed the game than miss the layup line. The World would go first. After that Darryl Dawkins with a Chocolate Thunder Dunk. Boom. And then Doc soaring in from the free throw line. Boom. Then I would throw it of the glass and finish with a tomahawk. That layup line was our trademark when we came to the building. We had some guys that could do unbelievable dunks. The layup line alone was a dunk show.
K1X: How do you think the best five players of your era would fare against the best five guys of today‘s era?
FREE: I believe that the best five players from my era would wear today’s guys out. And I’m not just saying that because I was part of that era. I believe that we were more physical, that we were more skilled in our profession and in what we did on the basketball court. Nowadays they hype the game a little bit different. I’m not saying there is no talent out there. There is a lot of talent, I just think that the skill factor is a little bit different.
K1X: You were one of the players who brought the slam dunk to the NBA. Who took that torch from you? And who do you enjoy watching today when it comes to aerial assaults?
FREE: In my active days it was Julius, of course, and Michael Jordan. I also liked Connie Hawkins, but also the little guys like Spud Webb, coming out there and doing the incredible at 5-7. I watched a lot of different players and everybody put something different into their dunks.
K1X: You played in the League with Mike, so you brought several generations together. You were there for the generation of the Ervings and then you were there for the generation of the Jordans. How was MJ as a player?
FREE: As you can imagine, he was one of the greatest players to ever play the game. In his first four years in the League Michael and I went head to head. In his book, Come Fly with Me, he was asked who he respected the most in the League for doing to him what he had done to the other guy, and he said World B Free. That was an honor for me. I just knew that he was something special once I saw him. The same was true with Magic Johnson. I was playing when Magic came into the League, broke him in his first game. And I knew right then that he was going to be something really special.
K1X: I was going to ask you about that. Magic was the most hyped Rookie coming into the league that year and in his first game you dropped 46 on him. Did you think that all the hype was for nothing?
FREE: No, no. I didn’t think like that. I was still a young buck at that time. When people are looking somewhere they are not looking somewhere else. So I wanted to catch their attention. I was the underdog at that moment…and that’s when I’m dangerous.
K1X: Who was the best player you went up against? You mentioned that MJ listed you as one of the toughest players he went up against. What about you?
FREE: George “Iceman” Gervin. He was one of the best players I ever played against. When this man was rolling, and this was like every game, he could get 50 on you in a half—and not even break a sweat. And that’s why they call him “The Iceman.” I asked him about that and he just said “World, I just scored 60 on you, and I’m not even sweating.” [Laughs]
K1X: What about your own quote, “passes don’t get paid”?
FREE: Uhh, I got that from Fred Carter. When I was a rookie he came to me and said, “Rook, let me tell you something: In this League, passes don’t get paid. Passes do not get paid.” And that stuck with me as soon as I stepped on the basketball court. It wasn’t my own theory, though. I got it from a veteran. There could be five guys open and he would still not pass it to you. [Laughs]
K1X: How confident were you as a player?
FREE: As a player? Very confident. I knew that I could get my shot over anybody on the basketball court because of my jumping ability and I had ballhandling skills. I could go either left hand or right hand. I was very confident in my offensive game.
K1X: When you look back at your NBA career you were an All Star and you were one of the big stars of the NBA. Do you have any regrets? Do you think you have been conceived by the fans and the media in the way that you should have been?
FREE: I don’t have any regrets. If I had to do it all over again, believe me, I would do it just the same way because I know that what I did helped guys like Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson and Magic Johnson become who they are, even though they would never say it. The reason why I say that is when I shot the ball 20 times a game, I was called a gunner. Today players like the three guys I mentioned can shoot the ball 30 or even 40 times per game and will be called a great player because you average 25 points. It allowed them to step out of that shadow of being called a gunner for taking that many shots. I helped that and I feel good about that.
K1X: You say you don‘t have any regrets about your basketball career. Do you know what I would regret? The fact that I didn’t play 20 years later and make $20 million a year.
FREE: [Laughs] But you know what? You can say all that and it’s all good. To put your mind there would be just wrong when you are a real basketball player. I would have to be really selfish. When George Mikan and Bob Cousy played the game they made like $25. So who am I to demand that more money than they made?
K1X: How do you feel about your place in basketball history. I read that you were a little disappointed that the Cavaliers have not retired your number.
FREE: Yeah, because the franchise was family and when I got to Cleveland there were like 16, literally 16, people in the stands. And by the time I left my teammates and I had helped turn that into a basketball place once again. And for being a big part of that success you might think about retiring my number. It was a good place for me, though.
K1X: Tell us about what you’re doing with the 76ers these days.
FREE: I’m the 76ers’ Players Development Coach. That includes teaching these young guys, who suddenly make a lot of money, how to react in certain situations. They have people coming into their lives now, women coming into their lives. And I help them deal with all those things. So if the players don’t want to talk to the regular coaches, they can come talk to me.
I’m also very involved in the community. I’m working on several projects right now as the Community Relations Leader for the Sixers. That includes going to high schools as well as colleges and talking to kids there about drug awareness and also the different ways to succeed in life.
K1X: You look like you are still in shape. Do you still play ball or maybe hit the streetball scene?
FREE: I shoot with the team. I broke my foot last year but I’m getting back there. I’ve been playing with the guys before and I was beating them up. [Laughs] They said, “Come on World, you keep playing that old men’s game!” And I said, “No, that’s the game! You will have to just learn it. So when you get fouled out there you won’t even recognize you got fouled.”
K1X: Who is your favourite player in the game today?
FREE: I do like Allen Iverson and I also like Andre Iguodala a lot. He is starting to get there now.
K1X:I see you got the Sixers flavor in there.
FREE: Yeah. It’s great to be around these guys every day, and having gotten to witness AI up close. The real special thing to me with the players today is the kind of respect that they show me. Nobody turns their nose up to me, not even the biggest star in the League. And that means more than money to me.
K1X: As the player with maybe the greatest name in the history of the NBA, who do you think has the best nickname in the league today?
FREE: I like Allen’s nickname, “The Answer.” When he first came into the League they asked him what he was called. He said, “Some call me Bubba Chuck. Some of my friends call me The Answer because when I’m on the court I will answer every bell that rings.” And ever since then, for 13 years, he has been up there. So I like that name very much.
K1X: You mentioned the other day that you played with Joe “Jelly Bean” Bryant and that Kobe used to join that team at practice sessions. Can you tell us a little bit about young Kobe?
FREE: At that time Kobe was a freshman in high school and he was playing against our guys as we had a pick up game going. I knew Kobe because I watched him play at Lower Merion High School. So I knew that he had game. But what I didn’t know was how good he had become from playing in Italy where he played against a lot of guys who were older than he was. And he also played with his father every day. And his father used to beat him up on the basketball court. Kobe would drive past him and Joe just kept hacking his son and fouling him. And I was like, “Man, that’s a foul!” But Kobe just kept playing. I knew that Kobe was going to become something really special because he didn’t whine or cry about nothing. And the guys on our team knew as well. He’d wear them out. I think Vernon Maxwell was the only guy Kobe didn’t light up.
K1X: Tell me why style is important in basketball. What do style and basketball have to do with each other?
FREE: See, it’s just like a great one-on-one basketball player. You’re talking about the Michael Jordans, the Magic Johnsons, the Larry Birds, the World B Frees of this world. What we do is we come out on the court and we play with a special style. And when you play like that you’re likley to celebrate your style off court, too. And that’s why it’s important what you wear. So when you come out on the court or out on the street, people will see that’s what seperates us from the others.
K1X: Would you say that Allen Iverson is like the World B Free of this era because he brought a whole new kind of style to the game and made it his own?
FREE: I would say that Allen Iverson would be a good second World B Free for what he has done in basketball—other than the thug life. He is an icon for young people. His clothes and the way he wears them, and also his wearing braids early on. He has his own type of style.
K1X: How many shoes do you have at home?
FREE: [Thinks] I would say more than a thousand pairs of shoes.
K1X: Man, how much space does that take?
FREE: Well it does take up a lot of space. I have one of these clean houses and a closet where you just push a button and it goes round and round until you get to the style you like. A good friend of mine made this one for me and he did a really good job.
K1X: You played in the NBA from the mid-’70s all the way to the late ’80s and you were always leading the League with your style. What kind of reactions did you receive for your whole World B Free style?
FREE: I was always a trendsetter. When I saw someone wearing stuff that I liked I always tried to do it a little bit different. If someone wore his socks either high or low I would wear mine in between. I never wanted to be the same as the next person. I wanted to be World B Free. So I wanted the people to say, “Wow, when World B Free wears something then it has to be something different.” That’s what I wanted the people to know about World B Free.
K1X: You guys were wearing your gold chains during the games and everything. Tell me your honest opinion about the NBA dress code.
FREE: My opinion on that doesn’t really mean anything. But I believe right now that the players should wear suits and ties. When you are a professional and you go out to the public you dress accordingly. When you get home from the game and you wanna get comfortable you can relax. But when you are doing your profession you should pay attention to the fact that there‘s kids looking up to you.
K1X: What was your reaction when you were approached by K1X several years ago to create whole line based around “World B Free”? What were you thinking?
FREE: When they first came to me I was elated by it. I’ve had companies come at me before, big guns too. But I never really felt it. Then my son told me one day ‘Dad it would cool to have your own line. You should go ahead and do something like that.’ And a year later K1X approached me about the possibility a second time after first bringing up the ideas at the All-Star Game in Philly back in 2002. You know, God is good in all kinds of ways. I think it’s a great thing because, like I said, I’m a stylish guy, a trendetter. And I only try to wear the best. And this is what K1X has put out for me, the best.

SLAM Classic: Scoop Jackson on Ricky Davis

CHN — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:17:47 -0700

by Ben Osborne
The Steph-KG post I did the other day was fun. This might be more so. Few stories in our history had more of a cult following than Scoop’s totally unique piece on Ricky Davis, titled “The Price of Fame,” that ran in SLAM #69. Moved by yet another email asking where it is, this time by a fellow media member, as well as some recent comments from folks who miss reading Scoop’s work in SLAM (as I do) , we decided it was time to finally run it in its entirety on Slamonline. I’ve run it with the original paragraph breaks, as well as indicated original line breaks (as in, first lines after a break that Scoop/we inserted for effect) with BOLD type. Enjoy.
words Scoop Jackson portrait Ian Londin

You’ve seen him before. You just don’t know it. Different look. Same game. Same image. Same misconceptions. Same birthplace. Same person. The sequel. Think. The points. The style. The demeanor. The hops. The range. The fire. The ice. The life. The talent. You’ve seen this man before. But it wasn’t him.
Isaiah. Not Thomas—check the spelling. Rider. JR. Think not? Look again. With mind, not eyes. Everything fits. Down to the headbands. One hell red, one baby blue. One left, one centered. The game. Their games. Erratic. Unpredictable. Fearless. Ghetto. Beautiful. Often, unstoppable.
Both: Dark skin. Deep eyes. Hard to figure out. Harder to explain. Easy to love. Madison Avenue? Never. The block. Forever. Always. Til’ death or separation. At birth they must have been. Too similar. Maybe reloaded is better than the original. More complete. More focused. More appreciative. Maybe. Part II learned from Part I’s existence. Analogy. Removed. Maybe, Ricky Davis has something to live for. Maybe, JR Rider didn’t.
ATL. ASW. Packed. Thick like Chunky. Crunchy. Crunky. Ts and Ps. Faux.
T and A. Real. He chills. Marquis. Marriott. He sits in the lobby stretched out. 6-7, 195. Uncut. Rasheed Wallace jersey. IFE. AF1s, too. He reps. Fam’s all here. Always are. No sleep. Three days. Eight rooms. Action. No lights. No cameras. Game day. No play. Not upset. “Should I be playing in the All-Star Game this year?” he re-asks the question tossed at him. “No. Not really.” Breakout season. 22, 5 and 5. Per. Hummin’. No Hummer. Human highlights. Humbleness. “Next year.” His words. “I plan on playing in L.A.” Plan. Mission. Voted or chose. “I want to prove that this year is not a fluke.”
Out of nowhere. He came. It seems. Drafted. Lockout year. Faded. From Charlotte to Miami to here. Slohio. Emergence. Overcome pain. Injuries. Plural. Three years. Congruent. “I broke my right foot in the summer of my second year in the League and it’s been slowing me down ever since…” This season. This campaign. First time. Healthy. Hoopin’. Outta control. Gaining fans. Collecting enemies. HDGAF. But still, he feels it.
To prove yourself. And win. Simultaneous. “It ain’t easy.” An admittance. Losses pile. Play shines. Coaches fired. Season gone. Another one. The
I on this team. Has to be that. Wagner. Miles. Z. Him. The one they point the finger at, the one they blame. To prove himself and win at the same time. Ain’t easy! He shakes his head. “I don’t know why they don’t talk about the fact that we have like only 10 wins, instead of just focusing on Ricky Davis.” Burden. Heavy. The price of fame. Unpaid.
Hate. Omnipresent odiousness. Ill will. Apparent between animus and abhorrence. Amoral. A baptism. Sinking in. Through skin. Cruel words. “Undisciplined.” “Unruly.” “Unworthy.” ESPN. Spotlight. Tim Legler: “Not the guy you want to be following.” Sean Elliott: “Loads of talent, but…” “Runs off, goes nuts.” “Lack of discipline.” An NBA assistant coach. Nameless: “He can’t shoot for shit and you can’t tell him anything.” An NBA superstar. Famous: “You wanna find him? Barhop.” Abomination. Aversion. Anarchy. Acceptance? No time soon. He knows.
“They just don’t know what type of person I am. It doesn’t bother me though, not at all. It makes me work harder. I look at it like if I have to change, I’ll change. If the bad rap and the perception of me is hurting my career, then I’ll change.” The politics of the game. Brotha can’t be true to self. Pain ain’t love. “The politics sometimes bothers me, I ain’t gonna lie, sometimes it bothers me a lot. But I gotta learn to deal with it. Or else it will drive me crazy.”
The process. Learning. That’s what he calls it. But he’s not been given time to learn. The machine needs another clone. Immediately. He ain’t it. He don’t fit. He won’t acquit. The machine lacks patience. Lacks understanding. Has fear. Doesn’t consider background. The life before this. Constant movement. Vegas. Germany. Chicago. Iowa. All before 14. Stability? Please. Straight from the block. Survivor of the block. Unchained talent trying to leave the block. But not leave it behind. Not like that. High school? Davenport, Iowa. Less than one percent like him. Stay true or lose yourself like Rabbit. Therefore. Ethnicity. Embraced. Embedded. Emancipated. Exoneration? Unexpected.
Environment. Product of. The opposite. Excuses. Excuses. Wants none. Gets less. Critics say. Look at Amare Stoudemire’s life: Death. Jail. Six schools. Four years. Had nothing. Look at Baron Davis: Crip-Blood wars. He chose. He escaped. Look at Rafer Alston: Concrete raised. No fam. KG. GP. P-Double. All adapted. Adopted. League acceptance. Why can’t he? Ricky D? Be them? Why thug? Why rebel? Braids. Unshaved. Grime. Calling out teammates. Another AI. Mo’ gully. Bob Ryan: “I don’t understand why [these people] can’t change.” Fact: He, Ricky, shouldn’t have to answer. Then again. Whose world is this? To get past, to stay sane, he raises above. Grips family. And tells himself this: “I can play. I can win.” Repeatedly. Daily. Therapy.
“When you come into the League as a young guy, you have to fit into a system that the NBA guys are used to. Most rookies and young players don’t know it. It can make us look crazy, like we’re cocky, crazy or talking back. But in reality, it’s not like that. We’re just playing. We play the way we know.”—Tyree Ricardo Davis
Shot. After shot. After shock. Some miss. Most don’t. Each. Release. Teach. Points. Increase. Solo. On his own time. Also. Game time. This will happen. Away from everyone. No one will see. Offseason. Summer ’03. Workout. Diet. Six packs. Not beer. Chisel. Cut. Weights lifted. Miles run. Not Darius. Lifestyle change. “I’m trying to lead the League in scoring next year.” The promise. Imperfections, perfected. Weaknesses, vanished. Results. Fall ’03. Out of JR’s shadow. Into new uniforms. All for one reason: LeBron.
Trade. Rumors? He hears, he knows. Pays no mind. Stackhouse motto: “As long as checks can get cashed in 52 states, it don’t matter.” Davis, understands this. Five years, three places: Charlotte, Miami, Cleveland. Sound familiar? Stability? Please. Irregular. Can’t control it. Six years left. Contract up. Won’t get comfortable. Knows the game. Show business. Five percent show, 95 percent business. Cut throat. Only wants to play. Preferably Cleveland. One GM’s leftover. Another GM’s entrée.
The 50 Cent of the game. No, the Chino XL. Flashes of brilliance. Nothing to show for it. The outsider. Don Cheadle. Jeffrey Wright. Luis Guzman. Performances, remembered. Player, not. The flushes. Twelve highlights. So far. Steve Nash. Victim. ESPN’s Play of the Year. Midseason. “Yeah, buddy.” The reminiscence. “I didn’t expect it to go down like that. I didn’t expect me to go up that high. Different times. Different take offs. Different heights. I guess.” The contest? No show. No invite. Conspiracy. “They said I couldn’t get in because I had more than three years’ experience. They know. I thought it was pretty weak anyway.” That smile. “Plus, I only like to dunk on people now. I like when people jump.”
Moms. Clad. Burberry plaid. Proud. Pop’s also around. Military. Retired. Sister, Marie. Fine. Off-limits. Brothers. Three. One brother, EB. Younger. 15. Ballin’. Part III. Revolutions. Walks like, moves like, runs like, rolls like, tires like, grabs shorts like, braids hair like. Supposed to attend St. Vincent-St. Mary High. Akron. You know the one. Practiced with Bron in the fall. Technicalities prevented. D1 game. Needs role model. Looks up to. Who but he? The legacy. Like Steph (and Jamel) to Bassy, Kobe to JC (John Cox); but closer.
“Irresponsible?” Often heard. This is what they don’t know. Or care to learn. “I know my brother watches everything I do, doing everything I do now. He’s
following me. This is why I have to show a good image. I don’t want to mess up his chances. I have to lead him the right way. I have to show him right from wrong. I have to do that because I’m the one that’s here now and my life isn’t all about me. He could easily fall into a trap. And I can’t let that happen.”
These words sink. Ricky looks. Finds his brother. Eye contact. He knows the words he just spoke are real. He knows that regardless of what the media, other coaches or other players say about him, he is not about to not be his brother’s hero. Jaron to Kareem. He knows he will not go out like that. This is what he lives for. Word to God.
Locker room. Ethnic. Many hues. Beats bumping. Lovely sight. Mood somber. Another loss. Damn.
It’s late. AM. Plane flight. Return home. No sleep. Every player goes home. Practice in the morning. In a few hours. Ricky stops off. Has to. Store’s open. Obligation. Priorities. His niece. Jax. Just turned 3. Asleep. Don’t matter. Special order cake and ice cream. From Uncle Ricky. When she wakes up. The type of person he really is.
The papers. Next day. Ride Ricky. More hate. Despite 23, 8 and 8. The blame game. All eyes on him. The Cavs can’t win. Neither can he. The cloud gets dark. Hovers. Follows him. He can’t shake it. He doesn’t even try. He holds a benefaction inside. No one knows. That of his best friend. The one who took him in. Rescued. Saved. His mentor.
“When Ricky first came into the League, he really didn’t know anyone,” his sister tells of his professional introduction at age 19. “The one person that really showed him everything, took him under his wing, showed him love, was Bobby Phills. He really misses him.”
How different would Ricky Davis’ life be had there not been that loss? Not the loss of another game, but one of a special individual’s life? If Bobby was still here to co-sign on Ricky’s character and activities? As opposed to the perceptions. To oppose the perceptions. Talk to him on the phone when the heat gets hot. Make him understand why the world looks at him as it does. Like Malik Sealy to Kevin Garnett, it’s not easy when an NBA player befriends another and then is taken away by more than a trade. It becomes difficult to trust others, to lean on grown men. Fear of the worst follows them. Their circles get closed. Nothing new enters. They live for them now. Those that are gone. “This one’s for you, dawg,” gets said a lot. Heard less. Basketball becomes a business, an outlet. Smiles evaporate. Sadness escalates. Numbers get written onto socks. Mementos get hung up in cribs and lockers. Index fingers directed toward the skies. Simple memories turn into life-long lessons. This has become his life, regardless of the outcome. Imagine what Ricky Davis must really be going through right now. Imagine the pride Bobby Phills is feeling.
Story told. Incomplete though. Missing? One lyric. Hip-hop classic. Speaks his life. MC? Namesake. Ricky D. No eye patch, no deportation. Just words: “La-di da-di. We like to party. We don’t cause trouble, we don’t bother nobody.” Replace “we” with “he.” Still don’t get it? He don’t bother nobody!
Anyway. One question remains: Rider? Will his career end up the same? One answer: No. Difference? Never take talent for granted, never let the hood take him under. Burned up cellies and weed busts. Dysfunctional play and organizational disruption. A path he won’t follow. But on the court? The continuance. The sequel. Same image. Same misconceptions. Same story. Different ending. Just watch. And believe.

DWade shoe giveaway!!!

CHN — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 09:05:15 -0700

by Ben Osborne
SLAM 127 is on sale everywhere (in the US at least) by now and subscription copies have gone out too…time for a-a reminder to those of you who do not have it to go get it! and b-a dope contest related to the issue.
As always, our friends at Converse (what up Paul!) have come up big in an effort to deliver DWade goodies to his real fans. Check out all that we have in store for deserving readers…
-Two signed Wade 3 shoes (right foot only; pictured below the cover). As you can see in the image, it’s got a really nice silver signature on one of Dwyane’s great shoes.
-10 pairs of Wade Slashes (any size, any of the three colorways shown in this post). As in, whoever wins will get to tell me their size and what colorway they want and Converse will send us a pair specifically for the winners.
How do you win? I wish I could make sure only owners of the issue entered, but we don’t get down like that. Technically this is a “no-purchase-necessary” giveaway (like always) and anyone on here can win. So here’s what I came up with…to me, while Kobe and LeBron have been typically amazing (don’t want to sound like I’m taking their greatness for granted, but in a way you could say their seasons were expected), Dwyane has been the individual story of the season. I’m not ashamed at all to say I didn’t see it coming. Yes, I know what he did in the Finals. Yes, I saw the gold-medal game. Yes, I stated vehemently that the Heat would win 45 games (in Eboy’s preview, in some Lang comments, and in NOYZ all season; shoot, Lang and I have a bet on it). Shit, I wrote one fo the first national features on Dwyane before he left Marquette, so it’s not like he hasn’t been on my radar for a long time. But still…30-5-8-2-1? At 6-4? After two straight severely shortened seasons? Leading a young, short, mediocre team to the brink of home-court advantage in the first-round of the Playoffs? Remarkable. Given all that, my question is: When did YOU see Dwyane in his current light, which is Top Three Current Players and a MVP candidate, if not favorite? At Robbins High? Marquette? Rookie year? The Finals? If you’re like me, the true answer might be like March 9 of this year! If you really saw it coming a long time ago, cool. But I’m not necassarily going to give the prizes to those who can claim the longest lead time on seeing DWade turn out like this. As always, I’m looking for creativity, passion and good reasoning.
That’s it. Just do your thing in the comment section by explaining when you knew Dwyane could be this good. In my opinion, the two signed shoes are the cooler of the prize options, so they’ll go to places 1 and 2. Places 3-12 will win their own pair of Wade Slashes (from top, the colors are black-silver, white-black-red, and white-blue).
We’ll let this percolate this week and then pick winners Friday.
Thanks for playing!

Remember Them Days

CHN — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 10:46:05 -0700

by Ben Osborne
I don’t think Beanie Sigel gave a shit about Steph and KG, but I sure did. I had been a fan of Steph’s since I met him when he was a sixth grader, and I rooted for KG since he declared for the Draft. And then they were together! A promising first season. A very exciting second season. And in the middle of it all, SLAM hired yours truly as an editorial intern…
This cover, which remains one of my all-time favorites in SLAM history, is the one that was being completed on my first days in the office (those of you with serious SLAM collections will notice I’m nowhere to be found on this masthead but show up as “Editorial Assistant” in SLAM 22/Rafer Alston).
It was meant to be. SLAM had a bright future. These two great teammates had a bright future. And if I was looking for signs, maybe I figured I had a bright future if I could be lucky enough to be starting work at a publication cool enough to do this cover. Well, SLAM is still going strong…with a dope website that was only a dream back then, to boot. And if you’re on this site you probably think being Ed. of SLAM is a cool gig, so I guess I did okay. But Steph and KG? Steph got paid but has had more than his share of issues. KG has become a media darling and an NBA champion. But together? Not so much.

The rest of the history has been told and retold a million times, so I’m going to skip all that. But I did just want to share that last Friday night, when most bball fans were probably watching college hoops, I was watching Steph and KG together again in Celtics uniforms for the same game (and a hell of a game it was; road wins at San Anton don’t come easy) and tripping off what a long trip it’s been.
I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that this hasn’t really been talked about too much—SLAM’s editorial tastes tend to be different than most other media outlets. And I’ll be the first to admit that Steph is hardly setting the world on fire. His gamelog, not to mention just watching him play, shows a man whose jumpshot has been way off. But he can still handle, he can still pass, and he’s still got a body that gives many opposing guards fits. As for KG, he’s just rounding back into form for the homestretch.
We’ll probably have a photographer at the last game of the NBA Finals, looking for potential cover images, and if it’s the C’s we will definitely be looking to get these guys back in this pose. Truth is, they didn’t rule the world back then…but win a title together and maybe they will.