The school that the Logo himself put on the map was so surprisingly dominant that they reached consecutive Sweet 16’s, including an appearance in the Elite Eight in ‘05. Surprising, because they held a 46-22 record during those two seasons.
And they were led by even two more surprising candidates: Mike Gansey and Kevin Pittsnogle. Read More »
When it came down to providing college basketball highlights, Chris Porter basically owned SportsCenter from 1998-2000. With his signature ‘fro and freakish athleticism, the All-American from Auburn dazzled crowds around the SEC with his arsenal of dunks. Along with point guard Doc Robinson, Auburn was one of the most electric teams in the entire country. Read More »
Chosen 26th in the 2003 NBA Draft out of Westbury Christian in Houston, the slim and lanky Ebi was projected by many as next Kevin Garnett. Minnesota selected Ebi with its only first-round draft pick during a three-year span due to contract violations with Joe Smith and the League’s salary cap limit. Read More »
There was a reason why Hova would name drop Nick Van Exel’s name in a verse. Nick the Quick was everything you wanted out of a small guard: a smooth south paw stroke, crafty dribble moves, great court vision and money in the clutch. And best of all, everything he did, he did it with style. Read More »
There are certain players that you always wonder what could have been. But because of poor decisions, bad luck or both – they never reached their NBA potential. Jay Williams, Eddie Griffin and Michael Ray Richardson are just a few names that come to mind. Probably the biggest example of someone who had a chance to be special but fell well short of his potential is Isaiah “J.R.” Rider. Read More »
Before all the Jeff Capel, Willie Warren and Griffin brothers hype surrounding the University of Oklahoma, a 6-1, buck-seventy pound point guard ran Soonerville. Hollis Price, originally out of New Orleans, was the star of Norman throughout his four years on campus. Read More »
In June of 2003, the Detroit Pistons made a decision that forever changed the face and future of the Denver Nuggets. By selecting Darko Milicic with the No. 2 pick, it allowed Denver to finally secure a franchise player in Carmelo Anthony with the next selection.
Since that evening in the Garden, the Nuggets have only gotten better. Business the prior season though, pre-Melo, was anything but exciting for the city of Denver. The 2002-2003 squad, which featured a younger Juwan Howard, ultimately rotated through 21 players and 65 losses. The Nuggets finished the year with 17 wins and found themselves 43 games behind the division-leading and eventual NBA Champions, San Antonio Spurs. Read More »
Because of the tradition, discipline and high standard of play they have at UNC, it’s not very often a highly-touted player from there becomes a complete train wreck in the NBA. But that’s exactly what happened to Joe Forte. Despite being a consensus first team all-american and a first round pick, his short two-year NBA career was filled with disappointment and controversy. Forte could go down as the biggest bust to ever come out of Carolina. Read More »
Almost is probably the best word to describe the career of Darius Rice. If you remember, Rice was one of the most celebrated preps in the country back in 2000. The nephew of the football legend Jerry Rice, Darius has always been on NBA GM’s radars ever since he graduated from the University of Miami in ’04. Although he has been close several times to earning a contract, it’s now 2009 and D-Rice is still not in the league. Read More »
Nobody who followed basketball in the ‘90s could ever forget the name Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. Some may remember him as the high scoring, diminutive guard with the silky-smooth shooting touch. But chances are, most just associate him as the guy who refused to stand during the national anthem in 1996. At that time, he was possibly the most controversial and hated athlete in all of sports. Read More »