JAY-Z // CARMELO ANTHONY // DIANA TAURASI // TIM DUNCAN

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TYREKE EVANS, DERRICK ROSE & O.J. MAYO PRESEASON WORKOUT www.dimemag.com / #59 / OCTOBER 2010

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Issue #59 October 2010

Contents 48 54 60 66

RISE & GRIND Two years ago, undrafted Anthony Morrow was a nobody on the NBA landscape, his chances at playing pro ball reduced to a single offer in a faraway country. Today, Morrow has carved a niche as an impact player in the NBA, and was a hot commodity in the 2010 free agency bonanza. How did he do it? Te man with the game' s purest jumper recalls his journey. THE G.O.A.T. Tirteen years. Tirteen All-NBA seasons. Four championships. Tree Finals MVPs. Two league MVPs. One team. One city. Te numbers tell us this much about Tim Duncan: Nobody has ever done it quite like him. What don' t we know about the greatest power forward of all-time? Everything else. CAPTAIN AMERICA Kevin Durant has always been a big-stage performer. He just needs the stage. So when no members of the Redeem Team suited up for Team USA at the World Championship this summer, Durant took full advantage of his opportunity to become basketball' s leading man. Now going into his fourth NBA season, the 21-year-old occupies rarified air as perhaps the best player on the planet. DIME 2010-11 FANTASY BASKETBALL PREVIEW With the fantasy basketball season right around the corner, we give you every advantage possible to come out a champ.

60

Kevin Durant

4

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GATORADE AD

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Photo. Kelly Turso

Issue #59 October 2010

Contents 13 14 15 18

HOOPLA TWITTER TANGLED WEB BALLER'S BLUEPRINT

18 ± J.J. Redick 20 ± Jonny Flynn

22

STREET SEEN

± Oneness

24

WHATÕS MY NAME?

24 ± Hikeem Stewart 25 ± Rene Castro 26 ± Tyler Lewis 27 ± Jay Treatt 28 ± Kyle McAlarney 29 ± Majic Dorsey

30

Q&A

30± Carmelo Anthony 32 ± Diana Taurasi

31

10 SENSE

± George Hill

33

THE LIFE

± Zelley Bespoke

34

BUSINESS

± How To Avoid Blowin' Money Fast

35

BEATS & RHYMES

± Shawn Chrystopher

36 42

SUMMER 2010 HIGH SCHOOL HOOP

± Rodney Purvis

44

DIME TRAINING

± Tyreke Evans, Derrick Rose & O.J. Mayo

74

STYLES UPON STYLES

48

Anthony Morrow 6

Issue #59 October 2010

www.dimemag.com

Editor & Publisher

Josh Gotthelf ± [email protected] Director of Content

Patrick Cassidy ± [email protected] Associate Editors

Austin Burton ± [email protected] Aron Phillips ± [email protected] Operations Manager

FROM THE DRIVEWAY TO THE NBA

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The one and only 60" tempered-

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With a sturdy 55-gallon base,

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37% truer rebound, it' s built to last.

Contributing Photographers

Keith Allison Roy Chambers John Gentry, Jr. Dorothy Hong Jonathan Mannion Quang Joe Staley Al Strott Kelly Turso Zach Wolfe Contributing Writers

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Editor' s Letter It sucks being late to the party. In the new sports media, everybody is trying to be Babe Ruth ± calling your shot has become just as important as actually knocking it out of the park. So when you do miss on a can' t-miss star, or you sleep on a slept-on contender, the ensuing game of catch-up can get out of hand. Perfect example: Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder. Although big things were expected of Durant last season ± you might recall Dime' s ª Summer Blockbusterº cover detailing KD' s breakout at Team USA training camp in July ' 09 ± the same couldn' t be said for his team, which appeared destined for the Lottery. But following a 50-win campaign and a surprise playoff appearance, EVERYBODY jumped on the Thunder bandwagon this summer, and the KD bandwagon also picked up a gang of new passengers. The hype threatened to hit Level Red as we were putting the finishing touches on this issue, when Durant won MVP at the FIBA World Championship and led Team USA to its first Worlds gold medal since Shaq, Reign Man and Reggie led the way in 1994. And yet, Durant is still under the radar in some ways. In Aron Phillips' cover story on the NBA' s reigning scoring champ (ª Captain America,º p. 60), Durant talks about his low public profile. During the World Championship, the visibly low attendance numbers in Turkey and seeming lack of interest stateside hinted that KD is still not quite in that Kobe/ LeBron class as a ticket-selling mainstream celebrity. Of course, Durant doesn' t care. From the first time we ever worked with him ± when his star was just beginning to shine at Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) high school ± Durant has been team-first, me-third. The story has been told 100 times about how he respectfully declined to pose for the Dime #32 cover as a University of Texas freshman unless his teammates were in every shot (he got his way). And while we did eventually get KD to appear on two solo covers since he' s been in the League, to this day it' s still tough to get him to brag on himself. In an era where athletes almost have to be self-promoters, Durant is old-school. Sure, he is active on Twitter (what 21-year-old isn' t?), and he throws dual birthday parties with hip-hop superstar Wale, and he' s shot a TV commercial where he' s rapping and rocking a throwback Africa chain with Hammer pants, but really, he' s about as low-key as it gets. His sole motivation is truly to be the best in the game; forget the fame. That' s why, for now, Durant remains the pro' s pro. The industry darling. The J Dilla of the hoop game. Those in the know can' t stop talking about how great he is ± the list of players who gladly sing KD' s praises in this issue is a virtual All-NBA ballot ± while the rest are just starting to catch on. So you can understand if the late-comers take it overboard. But if you were hoping the hype would settle down once the season begins, well, apologies in advance. Because once the games get going and KD is turning his two-week preview from Turkey into an 82-game main event, you won' t be able to get the name out of your head.

± Dime 10

Photo. Dorothy Hong

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LETTERS To basketball fans both hardcore and casual, LeBron James was the biggest story of the offseason. As his free agency drama played out in front of an audience of millions, it drew emotional responses during and after ª Te Decisionº was made. When the dust settled, two camps emerged: (1) Tose who believe LeBron did the smart and humble thing by ensuring himself a chance at multiple NBA championships at the expense of personal stats, and (2) Tose who believe LeBron tarnished his chance of ever being considered the greatest player of all-time, while taking the easy way out to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. All summer, neither side budged. Around the time Dime #58 dropped, we asked our DimeMag.com readers:

How does LeBron going to Miami affect his legacy? DIFFICULT. His numbers are off the charts. But to be that good and not have a championship (rightly) raises eyebrows. He needs to win at least 2 rings to attain undisputed top-10 all-time status, whereas 1 ring with the Cavs would have meant more. He now looks weak, but everyone knows he is the best all-around talent in the NBA. There has never been a player like him, and I feel James will usher in the era of the ª conglomerate,º whereby stars will take less money to team up with other star players. In a weird way, he has forged a new legacy that cannot be compared. Out of high school, he IMMEDIATELY took over, got all the individual accolades, and has done what legends of yesteryear did: Team up with great players. The difference is, he didn' t wait until he was ª washed up.º LBJ has always been his own man, as witnessed by the business model he uses to negotiate contracts, and the way he promotes his brand. He can challenge Bird as best SF of all-time, but the number one spot may be beyond him now.

± Geoff HIS LEGACY IS FOREVER TARNISHED now. If he wants to be truly great, he should have won the ring on his own, not by joining his enemies. He basically joined the nWo, with Wade and Bosh being Hall and Nash. He pulled a Hulk Hogan heel turn. I think LBJ' s just too immature to win on his own, so this was the easy way out.

± Mike Mihalow A LEGACY DOESNÕ T START UNTIL you' ve left

the game. You can post numbers and get rings to make that legacy more mythical and story-worthy, but as of right now there is no legacy. If making bad decisions kills this so-called legacy, then we wouldn' t be

talking about so many great players of the past. Sports fans love to love, but they also love to hate. Just like with Kobe, fans will be back in LBJ' s pocket once he fills those rings. When he says, ª I' m done,º then let' s open up the legacy forum.

± North LEBRON WILL WIN most likely three or four championships. If this is about legacy then he will be remembered as a great player ± not top 10 greatest ± but a great player. He will go into the Hall of Fame and so forth, which I suppose is fi ne with him. But at least we can put to rest the Jordan comparisons and anything that has to do with the greatest that has laced them up. I never personally felt LeBron had the heart, will, work ethic or selfishness to be Jordan or Kobe-like. But hey, we always need guys to be good: greatness and competitive nature is a born quality. Good luck to the Heat. Sadly, good-bye to basketball parity and competition. What happened to wanting to beat a guy because he was as good as you? Or what happened to changing a city because they built themselves around you? What happened to standing for something, other than a sign of the times? I' m left wondering, what is still original?

± Ross WHAT LEGACY? LeBron hasn' t done any-

thing besides market himself successfully. No rings and a couple MVPs. Last I checked, people played this game to win, and he hasn' t done that yet. So until he does as far as I' m concerned LeBron has no legacy outside of clever marketing ploys and a shoe deal.

± Zpear

12

NO ONE HAS EVER SAID Ò NOÓ TO LEBRON ever since he was a kid, so when they do he gets them fired or has them taken off the team. LeBron gets what he wants. If he listened to his ª advisersº he would have went to New York to improve his marketing and expand the brand of ª LeBron James.º If he listened to the mother of his children, he would have stayed in Cleveland. If he wanted to prove that he is a douchebag and a traitor to the city and team that would do absolutely anything to make him stay, then he would go to Miami to take the easy way out. He knew that the only way for him to be seen as the next Michael Jordan was to team up with Bosh on Wade' s team to get easier championships. Would Jordan, Bird and Magic do that? Hell no! So yeah, LeBron' s legacy will be of a ring chaser and of a douchebag who left his home state in shambles.

± kdeezy LEBRONÕ S LEGACY WILL BE ALRIGHT . This will be both his and Wade' s team. People will forget after 2 years about how he left Cleveland, because that has nothing to do with basketball. He will still get 1 more league MVP and maybe even 3 Finals MVPs after he becomes the #1 option 4 years down the line because Wade is #1 right now. I want to see how LeBron carries that weight at age 31 and if he' s able to adjust his game like Kobe and Jordan did once they hit 30. I also see Wade and LeBron as Top-10 when it' s all said and done. If LeBron has more rings than Magic, does he pass Magic in the Top-5 because his stats will be similar and he played with 2 Hall of Famers also?

± Sporty-j

Dime’s (500) Days of Summer

36

INSIDE CARMELO’S NEW JORDAN BRAND COMMERCIAL KENTUCKY’S HOTTEST SNEAKER SHOP

THE FEMALE KOBE BRYANT

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Photo. Nike

TWITTER

Just like we can hardly remember a world without the Internet, it’s weird to think that not too long ago, zero NBA players were on Twitter. Now it seems every player in the League is on, which also means every basketball media outlet is tweeting just trying to stay in the loop. Every day in the Dime office we’re laughing or shaking our heads at some NBA-related tweets, so we decided to compile some of the best of the last month:

@KingJames

@DwightHoward

an @MrJonBrockman

Don’t think for one min that I haven’t been taking mental notes of everyone taking shots at me this summer. And I mean everyone!

The Heat ain’t the only team in the NBA and they not gonna determine nothing.

So apparently someone on my flight was unaware of the unwritten law that “you can’t fart on a plane because everyone shares the SAME AIR!!!”

@MrEdLover

@G_Monroe10

@blakegriffin

Rap needs a D-League…

ed … some Some things shouldn’t be tweeted ppl just can’t understand that … #smh

Is it just me or is the media just trying to create drama between Rex Ryan and Tom Brady?

@The_Nightmare13

@Globies

@thekidet

Have u ever worked out sooo hard that you feel sick afterwards?

enerals … Jan Ja 5, We play the Washington Generals sinc the 2011. They will celebrate 40 years since last time they beat us.

At my agent’s birthday. The country club doesn’t allow jeans and MJ wears jeans anyways #kingpin

Matt_Bar @Matt_Barnes22

@ghostC5M

@BLKICE3

MESSAGE to all door men at clubs. Yall aint shit, enjoy ur little piece of power! They say I can’t get in cause I’m dressed like a thug

People think Duke sucks and hate them because they win all the time and because they scared of Coach K hahaha …

I just want a girl who gon cook, clean, wanna have a family, be at all my games, travel with me, not extra out, down 2 earth. And one who lik someone like me for me. Cuz I’m a lot al with, my mouth is crazy (pause) … to deal I ll spoil u though th P.S., I’ll

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TANGLED WEB

It was a long offseason¼

Video

Basketball

www.devour.com Around 25 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute. That means it would take you approximately 1700 years to watch all those millions of videos ± so good luck trying to find something worth watching on your lunch break. Thankfully, Devour is here to help. Sifting throw all the noise to find the best videos out there, they post a well-curated collection (in HD) every day. As they put it, ª Fewer cute kittens, fewer skateboarding nutshots, fewer tween heart throbs, and lots more awesome.º

www.lostlettermen.com While websites are often created with multiple goals in mind, Lost Lettermen was launched in March 2009 to answer one simple question: Where Are They Now? Complete with an IMDB-like record of over 150,000 former college basketball (and football) players, Lost Lettermen keeps you posted on the current whereabouts for everyone from Ed Cota to Harold Miner.

Lifestyle

Design

Music

Kicks

www.designyoutrust.com Have you ever watched a movie just to clear your mind? How about gone to an art museum or gallery for inspiration? After visiting Design You Trust, you will never have to leave your desk again. DYT is one of the world' s best design blogs, and is updated hourly to meet all your needs. From fashion and photography to creative advertisements and architectural inspirations, everything you see is hand-picked and curated from around the globe.

www.thewildernessdowntown.com Sometimes you just have to take our word for it. The Wilderness Downtown is an interactive short film written and directed by Chris Milk, featuring the song ª We Used To Waitº from Arcade Fire. Think of it as the most personal music video you' ve ever seen. Built in HTML5, the site simply prompts you to enter the address of the home where you grew up and takes you on a journey from there.

www.brassmonki.com There are plenty of people that customize sneakers, but there are only an elite few that are actually really good at it. Daniel Reese, a.k.a. Brass Monki, is one of those people. The 22-year-old from just outside Liverpool, England, launched the site last year to simply serve as an outlet for his passion of sneakers, design and pop culture. In no time, it' s transformed into a full-time career. So for those of you with money to spend and looking for that 1-of1, it' s as easy as submitting a commission enquiry. For those of you just looking to admire, you' ll be amazed.

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www.madburyclub.com ª Congrats. We don' t know how you got here, but we' re glad that you did.º These are the first words you read after you' ve arrived at The Madbury Club. And although the whole site seems steeped in exclusivity, once you' ve arrived, you' re part of the family. They put it best: ª We' re not an online magazine. And we' re not a blog. The Madbury Club very carefully curates a blend of content different than any other site you' ve grown accustom to reading. Basically while everyone else was content doing the same thing, we' ve swerved to the left to do something we feel is special. We hope you' ll feel the same way.º And trust us, you will.

! ! " #$

% & '# ( ! ) % *+

, - + , .) A//0 % ( 1'

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BALLERÕ S BLUEPRINT Jack Jensen Keith Allison

INTERVIEW. PHOTOS.

How To Succeed When Te Haters Want You To Fail J.J. Redick' s been busy lately. After helping the Orlando Magic return to the Eastern Conference Finals for a second consecutive season, the fifth-year pro entered the 2010 free agency circus as a desired commodity ± albeit on restricted status. In addition to tying the marriage knot and traipsing around Europe for nearly a month, the 26-year-old found time to sign an offer sheet with the Chicago Bulls worth $19 million over three years. And even with all of the frenzy surrounding Orlando' s instate rival in South Beach, it seemed the Magic knew what they had shelved in their backup two spot all along. After averaging 9.6 points on 44 percent shooting from the field last season, the Magic decided to match the Bulls' offer to retain J.J.

J.J. REDICK

6-4, 190 Lbs., G, Orlando Magic

Despite all this, it seems J.J. Redick continues to be scrutinized for simply being J.J. Redick. Even with his transformation from one of the most loved/hated college players of all-time at Duke, to one of the most productive bench players in the League, he' s been doubted. The Redick of old was tossed aside as one-dimensional ± billed solely as a threat from deep. Yet anyone who has watched him through an unbiased eye the past few years, would find it hard to look past his positive progression. Make no mistake about it, Redick is much more than just a shooter these days and he' s done everything on the court to dispel that myth. And in the face of all the hype following him from the grounds of Cameron Indoor to the NBA, he' s transformed his game into something worthy of his Lottery selection and a starting spot in the League. Luckily for Redick, he' s not too worried about the doubters anymore; but he' ll let his game speak the loudest.

How have you taken the transition from being a superstar to now more of a role player in the NBA? Dime:

J.J. Redick: Well, I think for the majority of NBA players you are complementary pieces, and it took a couple years for me to embrace that. I think that the biggest thing for me was just the amount of work that I had to put in ± both in the off-season and during the season. And after my sec-

ond year, there was a point in time where I just said to myself, this is what I want to do with my life and this is what I want my profession to be. I don' t want to be one of those guys that gets picked in the Lottery and is out of the League after three or four years. So, I just put an incredible amount of work in and I don' t think anything good is ever accomplished without work. And I know I' m stealing someone' s quote when I say that, but I really do believe that. You have to work for things.

So you' ve just adapted and changed your game to what the Magic needed out of you? Dime:

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JJ: Yeah, it' s (been) a big adjustment. I mean you go from college, where most guys that end up playing in the NBA from college were genuinely the man on their team playing 35-40 minutes a night and taking a lot of shots. And I was kind of the extreme to that in college. And there was an adjustment period, because in the NBA, if you' re not one of the top three or four guys on your team, generally you' re going to get the same amount of minutes and the same amount of shots every night. There' s a little fluctuation, there' s a little deviation of that, but if you' re one of the role players ± a guy that maybe comes off

the bench like myself ± you just have to roll with that. And it took about two and half years. It was towards the end of my third season with the Magic that I kind of adjusted to that and also embraced that. Dime: So then what do you say to people outside

of Florida and NBA League Pass subscriptions that think you' re still just a guy who shoots threes?

would say something, I would get a little worked up and angry. But I mean, I' ve been playing this game for a long time and I' ve heard everything, so there' s nothing that really gets me going anymore. My motivation just comes from something within. You know, I' ve read where LeBron said that ª he' s taking notesº and that everybody say-

JJ: (Laughs) I think when you carry a tag, that tag' s going to stick with you your whole life. When I was a freshman in high school people said, ª Well, all he can do is shoot.º And then when I was a senior in high school it was, ª Oh, he' s a well-rounded offensive player.º When I was a freshman in college it was, ª All he can do is shoot,º and by the time I was a senior, ª Oh, he can score off the dribble.º Then I got here (Orlando) and the same thing happened. I defi nitely have limitations. I' m not an iso-player and that' s fine. I don' t want to be an iso-player. But I think there are a lot of things I can do on the court to help a team win. And I' m gonna be completely honest, I think one of those things is just the intangibles that I bring. I' m a guy that' s easy to play with. I' m also a guy that plays hard every night and I' m a guy that' s super competitive. I know that whatever situation I' m in, I' m going to help the team. Dime:

But at the end of the day, shooting is still your bread and butter. Is that where you ultimately see your legacy resting with? JJ: Oh absolutely, and I' m fine with that. I' ll embrace that now. I mean, I think there were times where you know I would get offended if someone said that. And honestly, at this point, I' m just happy to have a job (laughs). I' m happy to be on a winning team. My legacy doesn' t matter to me. I would like people to remember me as someone that won and that was competitive. I mean, that' s what is important to me. Dime:

You' re also a player that has had to endure a gauntlet of doubters, haters and naysayers from college to the pros. What has been your method in dealing with those kinds of people and press? JJ: I think that Duke provided me with a great training ground for doubters and for haters, whatever you want to call them. I think it gave me a chance to develop thick skin. And where in high school if someone

19

ing these things about him are providing motivation and fuel. See, I don' t necessarily believe that because I think LeBron is already motivated to be a great player. You know, some guys are motivated by other things, I think some of us are just motivated by wanting to get better and wanting to win.

BALLERÕ S BLUEPRINT Sean Sweeney NBAE/Getty Images

INTERVIEW. PHOTO.

How To Execute Te Between-Te-Legs Crossover Water bug. Did you ever wonder why that term came to describe the shiftiest players in the game? Nothing about Allen Iverson ever screamed water bug. But just as some of the world' s most aquatic insects skim around the water, many of the NBA' s best little guys are equally adept at sniping their way towards the hoop. Forgive us for using the term, however ill fated it may turn out to be, but Jonny Flynn is a water bug by NBA standards. Small, but tough. Rugged attitude with a compact body. Flynn, even at just 6-0, willingly accepts the contact he finds whenever he gets into the lane. Because his offensive game is centered on getting to the rim and finishing amongst the giants, he' s developed that toughness every day of his life. It' s his meal money.

JONNY FLYNN

6-0, 185 lbs., G, Minnesota Timberwolves

All of the best point guards in the game have certain moves they know they can turn to when they need a hoop. Steve Nash has his pull-up jumper. Deron Williams will bust out a crossover and then a step-back jump shot. Tony Parker has that irritating floater. Flynn wasn' t the tallest cat growing up in upstate New York, so he too had to figure out ways to get his shot off. And eventually the former Syracuse star turned into a devastating creator off the dribble. Here, we asked Flynn to talk about breaking down a defense with his go-to move ± the between-the-legs crossover. Just a little something he' s been perfecting ever since his days growing in Niagara Falls.

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Dime: So how does this move work? Jonny Flynn: The ball starts off in my left hand coming down, and I' m looking at them, looking at them. I see him leaning back, leaning back. I go right, put it between my legs, catch it with my right hand and cross it back over. Dime: Okay, so we figure someone like you can get it off pretty easily,

but what happens when you' ve got a great defender guarding you? JF: When you have the ball in your left hand and you are coming down, when you go between the legs, you have to really shift your body. You have to move your body like you are really going to explode to the right. You have to really make that defender think you are going to explode right. Whether you are really bursting out and then crossing over, or you have enough power to just get a little bit into it, you have to really sell it like you are going right. That' s what makes the move. Dime: But those types of defenders must play you differently, right? Are you weaker going to one side? JF: I think good defenders don' t try to force you one way. They want to play you straight up because a good defender is thinking, ª I don' t want this guy to have any advantage going left or going right or whatever his weak hand is. I still don' t want him to have any advantage on me.º So I think for the most part a good defender will play me straight up.

gest part. Ask any good point guard ± CP, D-Will, Rondo, Jason Kidd, any good point guard in this league ± they are going to say the key to being effective is how you change speeds and your ability to go slow jogging, looking around and probing while also cutting on a dime, splitting and breaking off fast. The ability to stop and go in this league as a point guard is essential to being good. Dime:

Since it' s your go-to move, you have to save it for the right times. When do you try to use it? JF: It' s really a move that you can get off no matter what, but it' s so much better when you are at the top of the key and you are just walking him down. You know, walking him down and he knows he is by himself. He has his teammates saying, ª I got you left, I got you left,º and ª I got you over here.º And he knows he' s on an island. But to just do that move when you are coming down like that and he knows he is by himself and in the spotlight like that, that' s when it' s the best time to do that move.

Dime:

A lot of players have these moves that just come naturally to them. It' s like they woke up with a nice spin move or a smooth jumper. Was that the case with you? Where did you get this move? JF: That move, I promise you is from Niagara Falls, N.Y. Every good player in the city had that move. Every good player that ever came out of that city always had that. That' s just a move that we had in the city. If you were good, then you had to have that move in your repertoire. I promise you. It' s funny that you said that because that' s the reason why I got that move. That' s funny. Dime:

Really? So it' s like a city thing where you come from? Was there anyone in particular who taught you that? JF: My man Paul Harris, my teammate at Syracuse. He' s from Niagara Falls too. That crossover is better than anyone. Him and Timmy Hardaway, they have the best between-the-legs crossovers that I have ever seen. I really tried to model mine after his because he used to go on the AAU circuit when we were in high school and hit everybody with that move. They would know it was coming and he would still hit them with the move. So I tried to really model mine after Paul Harris. Dime:

It' s funny that you mentioned Hardaway. He was a master at hesitating and slowing down just before he hit his defender with the move. Do you try to do the same thing? JF: I started learning about changing speeds during my junior year in high school. One of the guys that was a mentor to me who had gone away to college, he came back that summer and started talking about changing speeds. I' m like, ª What is he talking about? Changing speeds?º I didn' t understand what he was talking about. It was like a foreign language to me, so I started learning about it. To this day, that' s the big-

21

Dime:

Getting by your defender is one thing, but you still have to finish. What' s the most important thing to learn once you do beat your man? Finding contact? Te floater? JF: I think learning the fl oater. In this league, it' s almost impossible to get all the way to the rim. You have seven footers, there are athletes out there now, so it' s almost impossible to get to the rim. To get that little floater in the paint about eight to 10 feet from the rim, to develop that shot and be good at it, it' s what all of these great point guards have. Look at Tony Parker, CP has a good floater, Nash has good floaters as well ± they all have that shot. So you have to get that. That' s definitely one thing I have been working on this summer is getting that shot into my game so I can be effective.

STREET SEEN WORDS.

Aron Phillips Joe Staley

PHOTOS.

Oneness Unlike most sneaker/streetwear boutique owners, the idea of having his own shop was never really a lifelong dream for Joe Staley. While the co-owner of Oneness, alongside his partner Steve Coffman, had an affinity for sneaker collecting, he kind of stumbled into the game. ª One of the best ways to fuel (fund) my addiction was to resell to my friends,º says Staley. ª Once I recognized there was a considerably sized demographic of people who didn' t know how to get their hands on ` the good stuff,' we put our plan into motion.º It' s safe to say that plan is doing alright. After opening up a spot on the main street between downtown Lexington and the campus of the University of Kentucky, Oneness prides themselves on being a very community based shop. With over 30,000 college kids and 300,000 residents trying to get fresh, they have to stock up. And they do. Carrying the latest kicks from Nike Sportswear, Jordan Brand and adidas Originals, as well as gear from Te Hundreds, Crooks & Castles and Acapulco Gold, you can understand why all who pass through the Bluegrass State stop through to check out the shop commonly referred to as, ª Te Stoop.º And if that' s not a good enough reason, Oneness also boats a pair of John Wall' s game-worn Wildcat edition of the Nike Air Max LeBron VII.

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JOE STALEY AGE: 30 FROM: Pittsburgh, PA JOB: Owner, Oneness WEARING: shirt by Nike Sportswear, jeans by The Hundreds, sunglasses by Oakley, shoes by Nike SB

STEVE COFFMAN

DJ WARREN PEACE

AGE: 31

AGE: 22

FROM: Danville, KY

FROM: Lexington, KY

JOB: Owner, Oneness

JOB: DJ

WEARING: jacket by Crooks & Castles, jeans by Levi' s, watch by Invicta, cap by New Era, shoes by Nike

WEARING: shirt by American Apparel, jacket by HUF, jeans by Levi' s, watch by Nooka, cap by New Era, shoes by PROKeds

ONENESS á 287 South Limestone Street, Suite #150 á Lexington, KY 40508 á 859.276.2316

www.oneness287.com | www.twitter.com/oneness287

DJ KYM

COREY ROBERTS

NEMO

AGE: 20

AGE: 21

AGE: 21

FROM: Lexington, KY

FROM: Belpre, Ohio

FROM: Lexington, KY

JOB: DJ / Producer

JOB: Manager, Foot Locker

JOB: Artist / Producer

WEARING: shirt by UNDRCRWN, jeans by

WEARING: shirt by Grapes, pants by Polo

WEARING: jersey by Champion, jeans by

Levi' s, watch by Casio G-Shock, shoes by Jordan Brand

Ralph Lauren, watch by Nooka, cap by New Era, shoes by Gourmet

Levi' s, pouch by Grapes, cap by New Era, shoes by Nike Sportswear

23

WHATÕ S MY NAME? WORDS.

Sean Sweeney Al Strott

PHOTO.

Hikeem Stewart When a college coach offers to name his daughters after you if you enroll in his school, you know you can play. Rainier Beach High School senior Hikeem Stewart, the latest to come dashing out of Seattle, Wash., and into the NCAA' s gaze, calls it the craziest thing he' d seen in a hectic recruiting process that he was able to slow down only by verbally committing to the University of Washington in September. Not only was Stewart facing a storm of late-to-the-game college recruiters making up for lost time, but did so while donning the Vikings' blue and orange, a school now synonymous with basketball. Their alumni list includes Doug Christie, Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson and Terrence Williams. Someday, maybe Stewart' s name will be added. But for now, the 6-2-combo guard ± who averaged 13.5 points, 8.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds last season ± is content as a summer apprentice for the established pros. ª I think it' s a blessing,º says Stewart. ª In the summer, we get to work out with (NBA) people because Jamal comes back, Nate comes back, Terrence Williams. We have so many good players that it makes it really fun during the summer because they all come back and work on different stuff.º While Seattle is as low-key a major city as you will find in this country ± it may best be known for such American necessities as Starbucks and Jimi Hendrix ± it isn' t sleepy. Amazingly, the Emerald City might have become, almost overnight, the best feeding ground for major college hoop programs. Hikeem' s older twin brothers, Lodrick and Rodrick, were also highly-touted players at Rainier Beach, winning two state championships together in 2002 and 2003. Lodrick played at USC while Rodrick won a national championship at Kansas. Both now play overseas.

How many other high school seniors get to test themselves against Brandon Roy one night and then Nate Robinson the next? ª (The pros) look at those guys as their little brothers,º says Bethea. ª They look forward to coming back and talking and working with those guys.º

ª I remember those guys getting thousands of letters, boxes of letters coming to the house,º recalls Hikeem, whose twin brother Kadeem also plays for Rainier Beach. ª They always said pick the right school that best fits you.º

Unlike most of his peers, Stewart blossomed late, hijacking the Northwest hoops scene in the past year with spectacular no-look passes and athletic rim finishes. He has the DNA, both from his family and from being raised amongst a Seattle basketball explosion. Stewart' s work ethic and maturity are there as well, from his father' s constant prodding and all of those summers in the yard against his brothers. Now, it' s about putting it all together.

Growing up behind his siblings, Hikeem endured years of backyard beatings and credits them for being so tough on him. Because of that, he knows exactly what it takes. In fact, the entire household is under watchful eyes. Anthony ª Bullº Stewart, the patriarch of the Stewart clan, runs his own fitness center. A former world champion power lifter, Bull doesn' t allow his sons to be lazy. Chores have to be done and grade reports must be submitted before any plans are made for the weekend.

ª I think all of the hard work I' ve put in is starting to pay off now,º says Stewart. ª I think I had to work harder than most other players my age. A lot of players have been ranked since eighth grade and seventh grade.º Still, his coach wants him to win a ring before he graduates.

ª Hikeem has no choice but to follow the line,º says Rainier Beach head coach Mike Bethea.

ª What I told him, I said the jury is still out on you until you win the state championship,º says Bethea. ª That' s what all of the other great guards have done here.º

ª You can' t bring home any C' s,º says Hikeem, who has a 3.5 GPA. ª You have to work hard at everything that you do. (My father) has always been like that, just trying to get the best out of us.º

ª I think everybody' s ultimate goal is to get to the NBA,º says Stewart. ª But, I want to be successful in college at that level because I know college is going to be real fun trying to be the best player possible.º

This summer, Hikeem played in the Jamal Crawford Seattle Summer Pro-Am, held in his own high school gym. Talk about an education:

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WHATÕ S MY NAME? WORDS. PHOTO.

Lucas Shapiro Roy Chambers

Rene Castro How many players have hit buzzer-beaters in the Boston Garden? Te first people that come to mind are John Havlicek, Larry Bird and Paul Pierce. And while kids from all over the world dream of hitting a game-winning shot on the parquet floor of the Garden, Rene Castro got to realize that dream two seasons ago as a high school freshman. feat considering he was the only freshman who had been moved up from JV for the state tournament. After scoring 10 points in the last three minutes of the game, Milton still trailed. So with 15 seconds remaining, Castro demanded the ball, took it to the top of the key and nailed a pull-up jump shot with 8.5 seconds left on the clock. Milton ended up winning the game, 69-68. It was that shot that propelled Castro and his squad to the Division II MIAA State Finals, a game where they took the crown against Hoosac Valley. This was, however, only the beginning for Castro. After his stunning performance, he transferred to Beaver Country Day, the alma mater of another great guard, former Kentucky star Wayne Turner and repeated his freshman year. ª I remember the first time I saw him, says Brendan Hall, co-editor of the high school section of ESPNBoston.com. ª I had covered the previous game for the Globe and stuck around to watch D-II. Here' s this scrawny kid in a JV uniform, feeling no pain out there, with some serious stones. That game-winning shot was testament to that. ª I thought he had a high ceiling then, and it' s clear now that he' s pushed himself very hard.º Because of his hard work, Castro earned himself a spot on the region' s renowned AAU team, BABC. But after his team lost only a few games all Spring and were invited to the AAU Nationals in Florida, Castro realized he could not join his teammates because he had to visit his ailing grandfather in Mexico. On the morning that he returned to Massachusetts, Castro received a voicemail from his coach, Leo Papile. BABC had gone deep in the playoffs while he was gone, but they needed his help. Castro quickly boarded a plane at 6:00 a.m. to Orlando and instantly began playing once he arrived. Coming off the bench for his team, Castro brought great energy and BABC eventually went on to win the U16 Nationals with Castro as a major contributor.

Soccer rules everything in Central America, so typically when you have parents from Honduras, soccer will be your priority growing up. However, it should not have been that big of a surprise that Rene chose basketball. After all, his uncle, Eddie Cannedy, was at one point in time the best player in Honduras. ª I chose basketball over soccer because in basketball, you can take over a game single-handedly,º says Castro. And take over games is exactly what he does. Despite being undersized at the shooting guard position listed at 6-2 and 190 pounds, he has a knack for scoring the ball.

ª I think one of the things Castro proved this summer was that he can play at a high level,º says Adam Finkelstein, founder of New England Recruiting Report. ª We all knew what he could do in New England, but we weren' t sure how his playmaking ability would translate to the national level. After his performance in Orlando, it is clear that he is capable of playing against the best talent in the country.º

ª I don' t have his size, but I play like Brandon Roy,º says Castro. ª I' m not the fastest guy, but I know how to score, make plays and be a leader.º

Finkelstein is not the only one who has noticed that Castro can play at a high level, the sophomore has already received a scholarship offer from Boston College. With three years left of prep basketball to play, expect to see a lot more offers pile up in the future.

Speaking of leadership, there is not a better example of it than Castro' s memorable performance at the Garden in 2009. With Milton High School trailing Woburn in the second half, Castro went into the fourth quarter with a killer' s mentality ± an amazing

25

WHATÕ S MY NAME?

PHOTO.

WORDS. Jason Jordan Chris Paul Elite Camp

Tyler Lewis Tyler Lewis trots around inside the gym at Statesville (N.C.) Christian School on a muggy afternoon in late August reeling off dribbling maneuvers that are so original and inventive, he' d undoubtedly earn a nickname on the AND 1 Mixtape Tour. As he approaches the three-point line, he whips a crossover to his left, starts to cross back to the right, then freezes abruptly and pulls up for a deep three. Swish¼ Then he does it again. And again. And after that, two more times. All exactly like the first one. No one cheers. No one slaps him a high-five or hits him with a chest bump or even wishes him well. That' s because no one is here. ª It' s almost like people haven' t been seeing what I' ve been doing anyway,º says Lewis, a junior at Forsyth Country Day in Lewisville, N.C. ª So this isn' t much different.º Don' t misread the truthful sarcasm. It' s not that Lewis is trying to be the guest of honor at his own pity party, it' s just that when you average 18 points, 10 assists and four rebounds for an entire summer, while playing against the top players in the country, it' s hard not to feel a bit jaded when the eyes of ª expertsº are wide shut. When you think of Lewis' breakout games, two immediately come to mind. The first was against the CP3 All-Stars (N.C.), a team full of D-I guards, where Lewis dropped 33 points and nine assists in a win. The second was a 28-point, five-assist performance against Team Takeover (Canada) and Myck Kabongo, arguably the top point guard in the Class of 2011. ª There were a lot of examples like that,º says Lewis' father, Rick Lewis. ª It doesn' t bother us too much anymore, but some of the stuff was just outrageous.º Like how Rivals.com doesn' t rank Lewis among the Top 150 players in his own class, whereas Dime/HighSchoolHoop ranks the 5-10 point guard No. 22 in the National Top 50, which disregards class.

Colleges seem to concur. North Carolina State, Charlotte, Davidson, Iowa State, Seton Hall, Stanford, North Carolina, Wake Forest, Virginia and South Carolina are all pursuing Lewis, who wants to decide by the end of his junior year.

Lewis' high school coach Craig Dawson went through the same process with rankings and recruiting after starring at Kinston (N.C.) High School before playing at Wake Forest from 1999-2002. He concedes that ª it' s insane not to have Tyler in the Top 150.º

ª When the time feels right I' ll decide,º says Lewis. ª If that time is before the end of my junior year, then I' ll go ahead and get it out of the way. I' ve played against most of the guys ranked higher than me and in most cases I won the matchup. I want to be the top point guard in the country, and I' ll know when I' m there. I don' t need anyone else to tell me that or write that. I don' t need the attention.º

ª That' s just insane!º says Dawson. ª But at the same time, Tyler will definitely use something like that as motivation. People' s perceptions are gonna be just that. Some will think he' s too small or whatever, but plenty of people know the truth, and that' s what he needs to focus on. Plenty of people know what a great player he is.º

Therein lies the mystery that is Tyler Lewis. While he' s not an attention seeker, Lewis does have a flashy and showy style of play. Think Orlando Magic point guard Jason Williams, a.k.a. ª White Chocolate,º during his playing days with the Sacramento Kings in the late 1990s.

Rodney Purvis certainly knows. Purvis, a combo guard who is widely regarded as the top player in the Class of 2013, said Lewis was one of the ª toughestº defensive assignments in the country. And he should known, as Purvis runs with CP3 All-Stars and spent some time checking Lewis during his 33-point outburst.

ª I patterned my game after him,º says Lewis of Williams. ª It' s more like a mentality. I have no fear on the court. If there' s a difficult move, I' m gonna try it. If there' s a fancy pass that I feel I can get there, I' m gonna throw it. It' s just who I am. I never worry about making a mistake.º

ª Tyler is a great player, but an even better point guard,º says Purvis. ª He can score whenever he needs to for his team and he always knows where and when to get his teammates the ball. He' s definitely a top-three point guard in his class. No question.º

No matter who' s not watching.

26

WHATÕ S MY NAME? WORDS. PHOTO.

Austin Burton Delaware State University

Jay Threatt Jay Treatt likes to run. But when he began his first season at Delaware State University under head coach Greg Jackson, he found out he' d be playing in a slowed-down flex offense. Not one to argue X' s and O' s, Treatt came up with a compromise: Create his own running game. ª Getting steals, that' s how I get out on fast breaks,º says Threatt, who last season led all Division I players with 2.8 steals per game, to go with 7.9 points and 4.2 assists. ª Sometimes I just sit back and watch how somebody is bringing the ball up the court and time his dribble. A lot of dudes get lazy, and if they think I' m not playing D, I' ll get ' em.º Threatt had three steals in the Hornets' season opener, and in the next game, tortured (Division II) Wilmington' s backcourt for nine steals. Over the course of the year he had 10 games with at least four thefts, including a 15-point, 4-assist, 4-steal stat line against South Carolina State in the season finale. Going into his junior year, the 5-11 Threatt is trying to become the first player to lead the country in steals in back-to-back years since the stat was initially recorded in 1985. ª I was just everywhere,º Threatt recalls about the 9-steal effort. ª After that first game when I had three, I told myself, ` I can do this every night.' º Growing up in Richmond, Va., about an hour north of Hampton, Va., Threatt as a kid watched Allen Iverson grow from a playground phenom into a high school superstar. Threatt says he picked up some of A.I.' s style, namely studying how he played passing lanes. Today, Jay compares himself to Rajon Rondo. Even if you discount the Iverson influence, it still shouldn' t be a surprise that Threatt makes his mark on defense. A natural athlete who played cornerback on the football field and shortstop on the baseball diamond, Jay' s cousin is former NBA point guard Sedale Threatt ± who ranks in the League' s all-time Top 100 in career steals ± and his close-knit group of friends back home that includes Eric Maynor (Oklahoma City Thunder) and Ed Davis (Toronto Raptors) is mentored by four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace, who graduated from Virginia Union and owns a gym in Richmond.

went 17-12 and fi nished second in the MEAC. Threatt played through a series of injuries ± fractured finger, dislocated shoulder, sprained ankle, bone bruise in his foot ± and believes his team can challenge for a conference title when he' s healthy.

ª He' s like our big brother,º Threatt says of Big Ben. ª We' re all real close. He' s been guiding us since, like, elementary school, when he was in college.º

This season, his body will have to hold up while carrying a bigger offensive load. The Hornets' top two scorers from last year have graduated, leaving Threatt as the leading returning scorer.

After winning a state championship at Highland Springs High School his senior year, Threatt signed with George Mason University. But in the summer between graduation and the start of college, he was arrested in connection with a carjacking. The charges against Threatt were eventually dropped (ª The judge saw I didn' t have anything to do with it,º he says), but Threatt believes the incident hurt his reputation at George Mason. Plus, the two assistants who had recruited him took jobs at other schools by the time Threatt arrived on campus, leaving him to deal with coaches with whom he hadn' t built a relationship. Threatt played just three minutes per game as a freshman.

ª I' m typically a pass-first point guard, but this year I' ve got to score big-time,º Threatt says. ª Last year I was more of a facilitator, but I can change my game to whatever my team needs me to do.º Scoring more points naturally creates more buzz around a player, but Threatt is also in a position to make history on the defensive end. He already joins Jason Kidd, Bonzi Wells and Shawnta Rogers on the list of players to lead D-1 in steals, but if he pulls it off again, he' ll be in a class by himself. ª When I got here, I wanted to make defense my strong point,º Threatt says. ª Being at a smaller school, I wanted to stand out any way I can.º

He transferred to Delaware State, and after sitting out the ' 08-09 season, was the starting point guard on last year' s squad that

27

WHATÕ S MY NAME?

PHOTO.

WORDS. Trevor Kapp NBA Development League

Kyle McAlarney Te first one came from about three feet beyond the three-point line. Te second, five feet. Te third, eight. The capacity crowd at the Lahaina Civic Center for the Maui Invitational was on its feet, even though the game had long been out of reach. Bill Raftery was laughing out of amazement. The only comment an equally awestruck Jay Bilas could muster up was, ª He shoots from every logo on the floor.º When it was over, Notre Dame' s Kyle McAlarney drilled 10 threes en route to 39 points against the eventual national champion North Carolina Tar Heels. ª All we could do was congratulate him,º says North Carolina coach Roy Williams, who has witnessed a few decent aerial attacks throughout his 22-year coaching career. ª It was the finest display of shooting I' ve ever seen.º A year later, the 5-11 McAlarney was not rubbing tight off a curl at the Garden or drilling a three in front of Jack at the Staples Center ± which you might' ve expected had you seen his performance in Hawaii. McAlarney, a Staten Island, N.Y., native, was making his professional debut for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants against the Erie BayHawks in a nearly empty gym in late November. He would shoot just 1-of-6, finishing with two points and two assists. ª Players are better, guys are tough,º McAlarney says of the D-League. ª Everyone' s trying to make it and feed their families. There' s no sympathy out there.º McAlarney, 23, averaged 10.5 points while shooting 48 percent from three in 23 games with the Mad Ants last year, but was dealt midseason to the Springfield Armor. There, he switched from shooting guard to point ± a change he said was necessary if he hopes to play at the next level. ª He really stabilized our offense,º says Armor coach Dee Brown. ª Kyle did an excellent job getting the ball to the right people. He' s very receptive, and you respect the guy immediately.

McAlarney returned his junior year to have his best season. He was a First Team All-Big East selection and set the school record with 108 threes. Perhaps what was most impressive was he did this while constantly being verbally harassed on the road.

ª He worked as hard as anybody before and after practice,º continues Brown. ª He got hurt in the last part of the season ± he got a concussion and was still trying to play. The kid' s tough as nails. When you' re always getting doubted, you get tough skin.º

ª Having to face that in the public eye was really something at a young age that' s tough to do,º he says. ª I was embarrassed and ashamed for my family. You can' t try and break the rules and get away with it.º

While McAlarney has always faced challenges on the court from bigger and quicker opponents, his greatest obstacle occurred when he was arrested for possession of marijuana during a traffi c stop in South Bend, Ind., his sophomore year. He was suspended not just from basketball, but also from school for second semester.

Whether McAlarney has what it takes to be a factor in the NBA remains to be seen. He will be the first to tell you he has to improve his point guard skills and needs to work on guarding quicker opponents. McAlarney isn' t sure where he' ll be playing in the Fall, but hasn' t ruled out a return to the D-League.

Though it would' ve been easy for him to give up ± many schools would' ve only suspended him for a few games ± McAlarney returned to Staten Island to use the hardwood as his remedy.

ª It' s a dream I' m going after as hard as I can with no regrets,º he says. ª Hopefully I can look back one day and say I gave it my best shot.º

ª Everywhere you go in Staten Island, it' s basketball, basketball, basketball,º he says. ª And I knew there was a point in time where I would come back to school, so all I did was work out. I just went headfirst into basketball.º

ª Does he have NBA talent? Yes he does,º says Brown. ª It' s up to him to keep working hard and keep enhancing his talent.º

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WHATÕ S MY NAME? WORDS. PHOTO.

Jonathan Marshall NBA Development League

Majic Dorsey Daryl Dorsey got the nickname ª Majicº from legendary streetball emcee Duke Tango after leaving defenders confused with his dribbling at a game in Washington, D.C. Just like magic though, Dorsey' s life could have disappeared in the blink of an eye. Growing up in Baltimore, Md., Dorsey experienced harsh surroundings. At the age of five, his father was sentenced to life in prison after a murder charge, and his mother was constantly in and out of jail.

Things didn' t go as planned. Dorsey signed with St. John' s, but had to sit out the first half of the season because of gear he received from playing on the AND 1 Mixtape Tour. He then transferred to LSU after Mike Jarvis was fired, yet still not wanting to sit out, moved on to Division II school Southern Indiana. Four days before his first game though, rival Kentucky Wesleyan cried foul on his eligibility. The NCAA ruled that he had to wait half the season, and Dorsey left school to start his pro career.

ª When I was in Baltimore, you had no choice but to live the street life,º says Dorsey. ª It' s like an everyday thing. Seeing people selling drugs, you know just robbing people and stuff like that, it just became natural. The only thing that kept me good is that I played basketball.º

ª I' m fine with it because I can' t look at the past,º says Dorsey. ª But at the same time I do regret not staying at LSU, because the year after I would have been sitting out at LSU, that' s the year they went to the Final Four.º

Dorsey found stability living with his aunt and playing middle school ball for Darron Wheeler, who took him in as a son. Attending B-More' s famed Dunbar High School, the 6-1, 185-pound guard starred on the court as well as the gridiron. In addition to averaging 25 points and eight assists per game in leading Dunbar to the Maryland 2A State Championship in 1999, he set the Dunbar single-game record with 624 total yards and Maryland state record with six touchdowns in one game.

Dorsey started his professional career with the Las Vegas Rattlers of the American Basketball Association in 2004, earning Rookie of the Year honors. He won MVP honors and the title the following year with the Rome Gladiators of the World Basketball Association, before landing in the D-League with the Fort Worth Flyers in 2005. This past season for the Reno Bighorns, Dorsey averaged 6.7 points and 2.3 assists per game before his season ended prematurely in January because of injury. He plans to play for Reno again this year.

But Dorsey' s dreams were in danger of fading after getting caught up with a jealous ex-girlfriend. At 17, he was accused of murdering Shey Mario Allen after the two argued over a woman they dated at different times. Dorsey maintains that while he was walking home from playing ball at nearby Morgan State, Allen hit him from behind. Thinking someone was trying to rob him, Dorsey ran home and heard gun shots when he arrived. To this day, he doesn' t know who shot Allen.

During his time in Florida, Dorsey also developed a brotherly relationship with former NFL quarterback Daunte Culpepper through mutual friend Larry Tucker, who helps Dorsey with business ventures. After workouts with the Heat, Magic and Grizzlies this summer, Tucker feels he is ready.

ª I thought my life was over with,º says Dorsey. ª Two nights before I got out of jail my aunt was like, ` Look, sit down and pray.' I was the type that never prayed. For some reason, I started actually praying. I prayed for a good twenty minutes.º

ª Besides being a terrific ball-handler and flat out scorer, he' s a true point guard,º says Tucker. ª He' s going to manage the game, but if need be, he can score in bundles. He played in all the Pro-Ams. They have good players, DeShawn Stevenson, Vince Carter and (Tracy) McGrady. His game is NBA ready.º

His prayers were answered the next day when Warren Brown (father of Jada Pinkett Smith and top lawyer in Baltimore) visited him and said he would represent him for free. Five and a half weeks later, Dorsey was released and made a promise to never look back.

At 29 years of age, he still has time to work his ª Majicº to get to the NBA. Even if his call-up doesn' t come, he is already an inspiration.

After finishing up his high school career at Baltimore' s Gwynn Lake Prep, where he averaged 35 points and six assists as a senior, Dorsey took the JUCO route at Brevard Community College in Cocoa, Fla. He finished his sophomore year averaging 28.5 points per game (second in the nation) and with major programs knocking on his door.

ª They always tell me to stay patient,º says Dorsey. ª You gonna get your change because you belong there. I feel like I have already been a success at life because of where I came from. As long as I' m playing professional basketball and not living the way I used to live, I' m okay.º

29

Q&A INTERVIEW. PHOTO.

Jack Jensen Zach Wolfe

Right Above It Carmelo Anthony was everywhere this summer. Yes, he traveled to the World Basketball Festival, to Colorado for Camp Melo and back to New York to marry his longtime girlfriend LaLa Vasquez. But the young superstar' s presence was felt far beyond his public appearances. Amidst mass speculation that he was all but gone from the Mile High City as this issue went to press, ' Melo was still mum on his current situation. And with every media outlet from Denver to Hoboken chomping at the bit for any sound bite on the 26-yearold wavering in his position, he was understandably weary of any new interview that came crawling. Yet, as Carmelo arrived in Los Angeles to film the next Jordan Brand commercial for his seventh signature shoe, the Melo M7, it was all smiles and full steam ahead from his camp; something we' ve come to expect from JB and company. When I finally did catch up with ' Melo in mid-August, we were patiently waiting around at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California. To debut his new signature shoe, the creative team over at Wieden + Kennedy aimed to deliver a fi lm experience unlike any of Anthony' s previous advertising work. For starters, the Trojans' floor had been transformed into that of Denver' s Pepsi Center; which was in turn being occupied by nine other Carmelo Anthony look-alikes. The campaign' s central tag centered around the theme of ª Be Everything,º and by the looks of it, his new work was trying to be everything it could. So with his new shoe set to drop in November, and a whole lot of what ifs surrounding him in the Rockies, ' Melo definitely had a lot on his mind.

prepared differently going into this next season? CA: Well, my main thing was just getting stronger but toning up a little bit. You know, slimming down but getting stronger at the same time. I think that' s what I' ve been doing since early June.

Dime: How' d it feel to walk out of the tunnel and see nine other Carmelo

Anthony look-alikes standing there? Carmelo Anthony: Confusing (laughs). It was confusing, but I think at the end of the day, the final product will be awesome.

Dime: Te Nuggets presumably have a healthier George Karl back on the sidelines and added Al Harrington to the mix over the summer. Does that move make the team stronger?

Dime: How involved were you with the commercial' s final concept and creation?

Q&A CA: Yeah. I mean, despite all the stuff that' s been going on with free agency and you know guys going here, guys going there, I think Al Harrington was a great pick up to what we already have.

CA: Well, I was there from Day 1. You know, we' ve been dabbling with some concepts and I think this one was the best one. As far as where I' m trying to go at it, you know this is my first commercial that I' ve had in two years. You know, me getting my own commercial back, I wanted to be a little bit creative with this¼ I think that in this commercial, it' s more of just, ª Be Everything.º I' m playing all ten guys on the court. Offense and defense, I' m playing both teams' coaches, I' m a photographer in the stands, I' m a fan, I' m a celebrity on the sidelines, so that' s a lot of [stuff] going on and into the commercial.

Dime: So then what do you think the Nuggets still need to address? CA: Well, I just think everyone needs to get healthy. You know, I think it' s easy for [people] to say, ª Oh, we need to do this, we need to do thatº when we got guys banged up¼ I think that even last year, we were banged up. Our big men were banged up: Nene got hurt, Kenyon [Martin] was playing on a messed up knee, Birdman [Chris Andersen] was [hurt]. So I think we just needed to get everybody a 100 percent healthy.

Dime: Along with commercial shoots, you' ve really had a busy summer. How' s the offseason been going for you? CA: Well, it' s been cool. I mean as far as traveling goes, I think that' s every summer. I' ve just had some obligations that I had to take care of. But other than that, my summer' s been good. You know, I' ve been in the gym for about two months now. Actually, I feel better than ever right now as far as where I' m at in my conditioning. Dime:

Dime: And at 26, you' re a leader of this team. How do you get these guys ready to play with the same passion and intensity that was evident in the Western Conference Finals run two years ago?

CA: Yeah, I think last year in the playoffs I think it was kind of a wake up call for us, especially coming off of the Western Conference [Finals appearance]. So I think that guys are hungrier right now, guys want it more. You know guys see where my mindset is at as a leader on that team and they' re ready to follow my lead.

Now that you' ve been in the League for seven years, how have you

30

10 SENSE Daniel Marks John Gentry, Jr.

INTERVIEW. PHOTO.

George Hill First-Round Pick, Heir Apparent, 24 Considering Tony Parker has three NBA championships, one Finals MVP and three All-Star selections on his resume, the San Antonio Spurs would need a real good reason to let constant trade rumors surrounding Parker drag on throughout the summer ± a better reason than just Parker' s 2011 expiring contract. George Hill is that reason. Once an underthe-radar first-round draft pick (26th) in 2008, Hill is now one of the Spurs' most important players. The 6-3 guard out of IUPUI averaged 12.4 points in his second year in the League, and after a breakout playoff series against Dallas, has been gaining notoriety as the Spurs' point guard of the future ± which could make Parker expendable. Four-time NBA championship coach Gregg Popovich anointed Hill his ª favorite playerº before last season, and Hill has provided a glimpse of what Pop was talking about with his tough defense and improving offense. We caught up with Hill during the offseason to talk Spurs, soccer and shutting guys down:

1

(On making the NBA) It feels good, one of your goals is accomplished. But still I always strive to get better, continue improving my game. There are always people who could be coming through my back door and taking my job. I have to always get better cause if you are happy just being here, you will get passed by.

2

San Antonio is one of the best organizations in the NBA. Pop is the head honcho of the team, and it' s a very family-oriented team. You get there the fi rst day and Pop says that these aren' t just your teammates, it' s your family, and that' s what' s so great about it. The fans are amazing also.

hearing that. It makes me want to work even harder for him and be his favorite player ever.

7

I believe things happen for a reason. For some reason, something in my mind led me to choose (IUPUI), and I kept at it because it had to be something special that led me there.

3

I haven' t been focused on all the rumors with Tony. He' s my teammate and a great teammate. The organization will do the best thing they can for the team, so Tony may be here or maybe not. Wherever he is, I totally support him.

8

(On his high school soccer career) It helped my hand-eye coordination a lot. I also wanted to have great feet, which goalies have. The hand-eye coordination was the biggest thing though, and it translated to the defensive part of basketball.

4

I like guarding the best players and being able to play against the best players. I always want to be able to compete, and it' s something you have to want to do in terms of playing defense. If you don' t put your mind to it, you won' t be a good defender.

9 10

I' m at about fi ve percent (body fat) now. I always try to be in the best shape possible. I lift a lot, have a strong core, and try to be the best I can physically and mentally.

5

I' d rather hold my man to under 10 than score 30 myself. Defense wins championships. You can put the ball in the basket all you want, but if you can' t stop anyone, the game is over.

In my rookie year Pop wasn' t sure if I was ready to play in the playoffs, but this year I wanted to show people, including my coach, that I could play on a big level and produce. Playing well in the playoffs is something I always dreamed about, and that (Dallas) series showed I can do it.

6

I was very surprised (Popovich) called me his favorite player on the whole team. It means a lot to hear that. I' m striving to achieve what some of his other players have achieved after

31

Q&A Aron Phillips NBAE/Getty Images

INTERVIEW. PHOTO.

All I Do Is Win When it comes to women' s basketball, it doesn' t get any better than Diana Taurasi. She wins, she scores and she' s the fiercest competitor out there. Basically, she' s the female equivalent of Kobe Bryant. Averaging 22.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and a career-high 4.7 assists per game (including a 30-point, 10-assist performance on August 1), Taurasi led the WNBA in scoring for a record fourth season, while also managing to become the fastest player in league history to record 4,500 points, 1,000 rebounds and 900 assists for her career (224 games). So while Taurasi' s quest to become just the third team in WNBA history to repeat as champions began in late August, we got up with ª Deeº to talk about her legacy, her lifestyle and getting buckets.

something to fall back on. I' m probably comparable to those guys who have their hands in a lot of plays. Dime: Who' s the toughest player to guard in the WNBA? DT: Probably Angel McCoughtry (Atlanta Dream). She' s very athletic and can do a lot of different things on the court.

Dime: In your career, what' s meant the most to you: Your NCAA Championships, WNBA titles or Olympic gold medals? Diana Taurasi: All of them are special. It' s hard to put any one over the other because each is with a different team, in a different season and different path to get there. Obviously, the gold medals are pretty special because you' re representing your entire country. Not just a school or one franchise but the entire United States.

Dime: What' s the biggest difference between playing in the U.S. and playing overseas? DT: Obviously the court is different, and the style of play is different. But at the end of the day, basketball is basketball no matter where you play. And all the leagues are so integrated that you see a lot of the same players during the WNBA season as you do overseas.

Dime: Growing up, where did you think basketball would take you?

Dime: What do you do when you' re not playing ball?

DT: I never really thought about it. I just played because I loved the game. To this point, I' ve been fortunate enough to have a really good career and do a lot of things that if I didn' t play basketball I wouldn' t have been able to do.

DT: I just hang out, try to get some rest. Listen to some music. Nothing too fancy or exciting. Dime: What' s in the rotation on your iPod? DT: I haven' t updated it in a while, but right now I have some Mr Hudson. I' m kind of an old school rock person: Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Nirvana and Stone Temple Pilots.

Q&A Dime: Do you consider yourself the best player in the world? DT: I let other people make that judgment. I really just go out there and play hard and try to get better every year. So that' s up for debate I guess.

Dime: What' s one thing DT: I love to iron.

Dime: What' s the most points you' ve ever scored, any level, in a game? DT: I scored 61 in a game in high school my freshman year. I think we won in double overtime.

most people don' t know about you?

Dime: Do you ever hoop with men? DT: I played all my life against men growing up: in high school, college, pickup with guys in training camp. Obviously they are usually bigger, stronger, more athletic, but if you know basketball you don' t have any problems with it.

Dime: You' ve basically won everything there is to win. What gets you motivated every day?

DT: I just love to play the game. I' m trying to get better every day. As soon as you get satisfied with the last win or the last championship your career will be over real quick. And basketball is the ultimate team game. Being around my teammates and coaches every day really motivates me.

Dime: Are you a fan of the NBA? DT: Well, I grew up in L.A. so I' m a huge Lakers fan. I was a bit torn in last year' s Western Conference Finals because I had to pull a bit for my Suns guys: Steve [Nash], Grant [Hill], J-Rich. But at the end of the day, L.A. is home and I' m a diehard Lakers fan.

Dime: Who do you compare your game to? DT: I try to do a little bit of everything on the court. I don' t want to be one dimensional. If one thing isn' t working, I like to have

Dime: When will the UConn women lose DT: When Coach Auriemma retires.

32

a game?

THE LIFE WORDS.

Jeff Chen

Zelley Bespoke In today' s fashion world, customization reigns supreme. In a room with everyone rocking fresh kicks, it' s the one person with the custom design that claims sneaker royalty. So just when it seemed no one knew where to take the game next, Alistair Zelley, owner of Zelley Bespoke out of Norwich, England, is offering the sneaker king' s crown. ª As jewelers, all day we play with jewelry,º says Zelley, whose family name has been recognized for over 100 years as one of the leading jewelers England has to offer. ª One day in the workshop I was messing around with some silver and shoelaces and it just went from there.º

year, Zelley is still tapping into other countries outside of Europe to share his luxury items. ª It' s not just a pair of laces to go in sneakers,º says Zelley. ª It' s a piece of handcrafted jewelry that has been dedicated hours and hours upon.

The ª thereº he' s referring to is his company' s newest service ± creating a custom range of precious metal laces. After noticing a serious lack of inspiration in the lace market, Zelley created the world' s first commercial collection of shoelaces featuring precious metal aglets (tips). The deal includes custom engraving and a precious jewel of choice, which of course is hallmarked for authentication.

ª We use a basic sales pitch. If you' re into shoes, we have the ultimate, full-on and extravagant accessory to your kicks that absolutely no one else will have. We can guarantee that because no one else is making what we make.º And because their precious metal laces are a one-piece product, the aglets are part of the actual lace and are not removable. But don' t worry, Zelley Bespoke' s commitment to you is for life. If the laces you buy become worn or you wish to change the color of the laces to better suit a new pair of kicks, simply request a refi tting through their bespoke service free of charge. This will cover your shipping both ways, polishing of the precious metal, the cost of the new laces and the refitting process itself.

For people feeling a little extravagant and looking to upgrade their sneaker game to that next level, you can choose Zelley' s lowest tier of sterling silver laces at a price of £60 (about $92). If that doesn' t satisfy your fancy, an upgrade for £2,600 (about $4,000) to the platinum diamonds for that premium look definitely will. ª There isn' t a huge market of people looking to buy $4,000 diamond laces,º says Zelley, ª but we' re lucky that we' re jewelers and have an extensive list of clients who are fairly wealthy and like their accessories to stand out from the crowd.º

Right before we went to press, Zelley also just announced a new addition to complement your laces ± custom lace locks. If you want that extra little accent, you can choose from the Zelley branded range (£45) or have three initials hand-engraved into the lace lock (£60) for a one of a kind, personalized finish.

The Zelley Bespoke laces are a fascinating and extraordinary product that only true sneakerheads and fashion connoisseurs can appreciate. As a service that' s only been out for less than a

For more information on Zelley Bespoke or to order a pair of your own, visit www.zelleybespoke.com.

33

BUSINESS WORDS.

Jonathan Marshall

How To Avoid BlowinÕ Money Fast Marc Brown never knew the countless miles he drove taking Kobe Bryant, Richard Hamilton, Ron Artest and Tim Tomas to AAU games back in the day would lead to his future career. But after the carpools ended, and his riders started collecting checks in the League, Brown has now become a financial advisor to over twenty NBA players. After starting college at Howard University and spending time in the Marine Corps, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Kinesiology from Edinboro University in Edinboro, Pa. But his dreams of being in sports medicine quickly changed while interning at a couple small sports leagues and companies. It was there he saw a void in financial literacy with athletes. ª Initially I thought I was going to be a sports doctor,º says Brown. ª Then that turned into a sports agent, sports management, sports marketing. All that type of stuff. I then found out about the financial side, and I realized I always wanted to educate.º While some startups struggle to get off the ground, Brown did not have any trouble getting clients. Because for him, basketball is a family affair. He is the father of Destiny Brown (Dime #56), a top hoops talent in the Class of 2012; Malik Allen (Villanova/Magic) and John Allen (Seton Hall) are his cousins; and Rip Hamilton is his daughter' s godfather. Despite what you may think, the role of a financial advisor is not to broker deals, but that does not lessen their roles. For every Magic Johnson, who is now offering ª 32 Ways to Be a Champion in Business,º there are the horror stories. From the ª I' ve got my family to feedº fi les (see Latrell Sprewell) to the more recent troubles of former Celtic star Antoine Walker, more and more players are realizing that extra guidance is needed.

ª I' ve had a client where the first check they received, they called me and said, ` Marc, who is this FICA guy?' That shows you the education we have to do. They are getting this $450,000 check, and this is the first check they have received in their life. Now they' re a millionaire and they really don' t understand.º

ª We' re really their second eye,º says Brown. ª We budget their money in most cases because we want to create wealth and leave a legacy. A lot of top-tier athletes are about eight years behind developmentally. If you' re a top-tier athlete, you' ve been catered to since about fifth grade, maybe seventh. So the realization of what a dollar means is jaded.º Under policy, Brown says he must keep the names of his clients confidential, but Hamilton agreed to give him permission to use his name in this story. And while most of his clients come from referrals, he does not accept new business until talking with confidant William Wesley, more commonly known as basketball powerbroker ª World Wide Wes.º As one can imagine, dealing with an athlete' s money is nerve-wracking and continuous involvement is necessary.

Brown is the fi rst to tell you he is not the most liked among entourages. He knows his job is to keep players on the straight and narrow, even if it means advising them to cut off friends who freeload. But the reward from his work makes it worth any of the headaches he incurs along the way. ª It' s a good feeling,º says Brown. ª When I see a player' s kid go to college, I' m saying it' s because we put away this money. It' s knowing you made a difference in generations. It' s the next wave, and they are going to look back and say, ` Hey, dad or granddad really did his stuff.º

Marc BrownÕ s TOP 5 TIPS For Financial Security 1. Make sure you have a qualified financial advisor. 2. Always have checks and balances. You need to have a team. 3. Stay away from off-the-wall investments (i.e. businesses, restaurants, etc.). 4. Monitor family wisely when it comes to their finances. 5. Your future and career take priority over everything else, because that floats the rest of the ship. Don' t take for granted the position you' re in.

ª Some clients want to talk to you every month,º says Brown. ª You have people that you meet with once a quarter, but the younger clients we interact with more frequently and you like to go over their stuff face-to-face. When you handle someone' s money, I would say it' s the most personal stuff.º Brown says he has not dealt with any horror stories while working for Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Beaver, Pa., but does remember an example that showed him how crucial his role is.

34

BEATS & RHYMES Jeff Chen Quang

INTERVIEW. PHOTO.

Shawn Chrystopher Upon first glance, you might think that Shawn Chrystopher is your typical Cali swag rapper. But once you get to know him, you realize he' s anything but. A die-hard basketball fanatic, the Inglewood native graduated from high school in 2003 at the age of 16, earning himself a full ride to the University of Southern California. When he' s not too busy writing, performing or producing his own music, you can find him hanging with his boys C.J. Miles (Jazz) or Nick Young (Wizards), or blogging about hoops on his website (www.HonourRoleStudent.com). With a bunch of projects currently in the works, we got up with Shawn Chrys to put people in the know: Dime: As an L.A. kid, I assume you grew up a Lakers Shawn Chrystopher: That' s an understatement. Dime:

fan.

After winning two in a row, what are your thoughts on next

season? SC: We' re going to be a better team than we were last year, which is a scary thought for the rest of the League. Adding Matt Barnes and Steve Blake makes our bench better and our team defense as a whole. Plus, Kobe is getting his necessary rest so we have a really, really good shot at winning again this year. Dime: And of course, Ron Artest is staying out of trouble by staying in the studio. SC: You know that song ª Championsº is actually a dope song. I was nervous when I first saw it on the blogs, but once I clicked it, I was like, ª This song is really good.º Ron can rap on as many songs as he wants to as long as he keeps locking down on defense and grabbing rebounds. Dime: College is not for everybody, but why' d you drop out of USC? SC: It was horrible! (laughs) Don' t get me wrong, I came out of there with great friends, like lifelong friends, but it really wasn' t for me. I didn' t really fit in. I had my full scholarship to attend, but none of the kids were really like me, so I decided to leave and pursue my music career.

they' re saying in their rhymes. It becomes unbelievable. So I' m just going to be who I am and talk about my reality.

Dime: We' ve heard you' re good friends with Nick Young, who also went to USC. When did you two link up?

Dime: Who has influenced your reality the most? SC: I love artists that are themselves, so defi nitely Tupac, Kanye West and Pharrell. Pharrell was a huge inspiration as he was the fi rst dude who I saw that was completely the opposite of ª hip-hop,º but was still accepted by hip-hop. It was awesome to see him wearing trucker hats and riding BMX bikes while making beats for Jay-Z. The rest of hip-hop was still wearing baggy clothes and long chains, and Pharrell was on the same exact BMX I had at the time.

SC: Yeah. We got a real similar thing going on. We both came up from around the same L.A. area, attended USC and are up on the main stage. But neither of us are at the top yet. There are people who love the NBA and watch the NBA all day and every day, but could walk by Nick in the mall and not recognize him. I know with the right opportunity to perform, Nick will shine and become a superstar. And that' s how I feel about my career too.

Dime: Is it a coincidence that your favorite rappers also go by their government names?

Dime: For those that don' t know, tell us a little bit about your career. SC: I' m a rapper, songwriter and producer that' s just trying to change the perception of West Coast music. A large amount of the world still thinks that we live in this Death Row gangster era, where everyone who raps out here is a Crip or a Blood. So I' m just trying to change that stigma one song at a time.

SC: I never thought of that, but from Day One, I wanted to be who I am and just do me. When I' m 40 years old, I don' t want to be called by some moniker I went by. I want to be able to speak to kids at schools and be introduced as Shawn or Mr. Chrystopher and not ª Lil' something.º

Dime: How so? SC: By making songs off of human instances. People get tired of hearing stories that are fictional. A rapper' s first album may have raps filled with what they used to do, but once they become a millionaire, everyone knows they aren' t still doing the same stuff

Dime: So what' s on tap this Fall? SC: A college tour, songwriting for other major artists, producing beats and then finishing up my new album, ª You And Only You.º That will be releasing on October 19.

35

SUMMER 10 WORDS.

Aron Phillips

DimeÕ s (500) Days of Summer Everyone always asks us if the summer is slow for Dime. Not even close. From Miami to L.A., San Francisco to Atlanta, it might be about that time to consider getting our own jet. So with NBA training camps right around the corner, take a minute to reflect on all the places we' ve been for work this summer.

WORLD BASKETBALL FESTIVAL (NEW YORK, N.Y.)

Four days. One city. Three iconic locations. Five countries represented. If there was one place to be this summer, it was here. With Nike, Jordan Brand and Converse all coming together for the biggest event in the history of Nike, Inc., there was a new chapter written in the Mecca of basketball. Things kicked off on Thursday night at Radio City Music Hall with the USA Basketball Showcase in front of a packed house. But despite just being an intra-squad scrimmage, the atmosphere was closer to an NBA All-Star Game. Even LeBron, D-Wade, ' Melo, CP3 and Amar' e were sitting courtside to take it all in. While the highlight from the action came from Rudy Gay ± who almost snapped his shoulder off cocking his arm back on a dunk ± everyone came out to see Jay-Z. Hov ran through a medley of stuff from Reasonable Doubt, and hit all the new classics like ª Run This Town,º ª Public Service Announcement,º ª 99 Problems,º ª On To The Next One,º and of course closed it out with ª Empire State of Mind.º The next two days were spent almost exclusively at the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem for a star-studded schedule. Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony got it started at the Jordan Breakfast Club on Friday morning, and while those three were giving instruction and playing ball with a group of lucky kids,

there was a surprise appearance by none other than Michael Jordan himself. The next day, it was Kobe Bryant who showed up unexpectedly during the Chain Link Fundamentals clinic, as he ran through each one of the stations on the court. Even LeBron James emerged from the shadows during an offsite Converse Open Gym. After that, the action went global with games featuring high school stars from China, Puerto Rico and New York, as well as a senior national team scrimmage between Brazil and PR and an outdoor practice by France. But at the end of the day, it was NYC' s finest that shined the brightest, as high school All-Star squads from Harlem, Brooklyn, Queens and The Bronx competed in the Battle of the Boroughs, and the EBC' s playground stars put on an aerial display. Over at Madison Square Garden, Sunday afternoon' s exhibition games ± featuring the United States vs. France and Puerto Rico vs. China ± closed out an amazing weekend. With an impressive crowd that included Tony Parker, Eva Longoria, Joakim Noah, Ronny Turiaf, John Wall and Spike Lee, the inaugural World Basketball Festival came to a resounding close.

36

NIKE 3-ON-3 TOURNAMENT

(LOS ANGELES, CALIF.)

What would you do if you woke up one morning and saw 50 basketball hoops had taken over your block? If you’re like us, you’d send out an e-mail blast and alert all your friends. This summer, Nike took over L.A. LIVE once again in Downtown Los Angeles to hold the city’s largest organized basketball tournament ever. After the inaugural tourney drew over 500 teams, this year’s field more than doubled that, as 1,072 teams played more than 5,000 games in 48 hours. But just like last year, the highlight of the weekend was the dunk contest on Nike Center Court – a competition that could go down as one of the greatest dunk contests ever. Competing against the likes of Werm, Golden Child, Jus Fly, Young Money and James White, the contest was won by 5-9 Terry “T-Dub” Cournoyea, posting a perfect score on his final dunk: a 540-degree windmill.

CONVERSE OPEN GYM

(ATLANTA, GA., BOSTON, MASS., CHICAGO, ILL., MIAMI, FLA. & PHILADELPHIA, PA.) Converse Open gym continued to grow this summer. In addition to holding Open Gyms in Atlanta, Chicago and Philly, Converse launched a new market in Boston and re-opened in Miami. Presenting kids between the ages of 12-18 with a free place to play ball, each session also featured a DJ spinning throughout the day, a barber shop with free hair cuts and photo booths for keepsakes to take home.

This summer alone, the program has seen over 5,000 total participants, with Atlanta setting a single-day attendance record with 633 kids this August. Be sure to look out for upcoming Open Gyms in your city this fall.

CHAIN LINK FUNDAMENTALS (NEW YORK, N.Y.)

This summer was a very exciting one for the growth of Chain Link Fundamentals as a dynamic basketball presence in New York City. A not-for-profit basketball clinic program that provides free instruction and training for inner-city youth, the goal of Chain Link is to be the ultimate basketball teaching complement. And as the focal point of the grassroots basketball initiatives of the World Basketball Festival, new Chain Link director Eric Newman and his all-star group of coaches found themselves in an ideal situation to take this up-and-coming program to new heights.

Chain Link had participants this summer from all five boroughs, as well as youth from Long Island, Westchester and even a few from overseas who happened to be in the city. While building a strong presence in NYC, Chain Link also ran clinics as part of House of Hoops store openings in Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago and Westbury, N.Y. The opportunity to travel the country and spread their message at a grassroots level is something that will prove to be very valuable to the program as it continues to grow moving towards 2011.

37

BOOST MOBILE ELITE 24

NIKE TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

(VENICE BEACH, CALIF.)

(NEW YORK, N.Y.)

For the past four years, the Boost Mobile Elite 24 has been able to bring in two-dozen of the country’s best high school ballers – no matter the grade level – to its annual all-star event at Rucker Park in Harlem. But for its fifth installment this past August, the event’s promoters wanted to give it a little West Coast makeover; deciding instead to host the festivities at the legendary outdoor courts in Venice Beach.

If you thought the World Basketball Festival was the end of summer hoops in New York City, you’re crazy. A week after WBF wrapped up, the 2010 Nike Tournament Of Champions went down as the summer league champs from the Entertainer’s Basketball Classic (Certified), Hoops in the Sun (Bingo’s All-Stars), Dyckman (Takes No Prisoners) and West 4th (Money Inc.) all battled it out at Gauchos Gym in The Bronx.

The Elite 24 kicked off its four-day event with a midnight run between its 24 high school participants and some NBA alumni at HAX in L.A. Players from Tyreke Evans and DeMar DeRozan, to honorary game coaches John Wall and Brandon Jennings, were all on hand for the late night burn. From there, the players were shuttled between a smattering of scrimmages, media appearances and practice sessions until the event really got rocking Friday night.

In the first semifinal game, Bingo’s All-Stars defeated Takes No Prisoners 81-62 behind 21 points from Corey “Homicide” Williams and 19 points from Antawn “Anti-Freeze” Dobie. In the second game, Certified destroyed Money Inc. 73-46 behind 17 points from Kenny Satterfield and 11 points from Kareem Reid. The championship game was everything you could have asked for, as Dobie, the Nike Player of the Summer, took home the MVP award as Bingo’s All-Stars squeaked out their first TOC crown despite Andre Barrett’s 26 points and three-pointer with 3.5 seconds left to cut Bingo’s lead to 82-81.

For the evening preceding the main event, the crowd on hand was treated with the Under Armour Slam Dunk and Skills Competitions. While eventual skills winner Bradley Beal started the night off with a full-court display, it was the dunk contest that had the place on its feet. In particular, the favorite to take the crown coming in, Deuce Bello, seemed unfazed by the cameras and any apparent pressure. Bello displayed three dunks on the night, each of which had the judges and crowd reeling. A between-the-legs slam, off-the-glass to himself between-thelegs and the fan-favorite, windmill over a sitting Quincy Miller, was more than enough to seal the win for Bello.

While the main event of the day was the TOC championship game, there was also the conclusion of the Battle of the Boroughs high school tournament that began at WBF. In an overtime thriller, Queens (who was down by as many as 14 points) defeated the Bronx, 76-74.

On Saturday’s game day, the players were able to enjoy some SoCal sunshine, as all 24 hoopers looked to prove something on the court. Right out of the gates, LeBryan Nash started the game off with a breakaway cram. And from there, the game ran similar to that of the previous night: a lot of uncontested dunks and oohs from the crowd. When it was all said and done, the Raymond Lewis guest squad, led by co-MVPs Kyle Wiltjer and Myck Kabongo, trumped the Marques Johnson home squad, led by co-MVPs James McAdoo and Austin Rivers, by a final score of 131-128. – Jack Jensen

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RED BULL 2ON2 REVOLUTION

(BOSTON, MASS., NEW YORK, N.Y., PHILADELPHIA, PA. BALTIMORE, MD. & WASHINGTON, D.C.) There’s nowhere to hide in 2-on-2. No taking a possession off, no masking defensive deficiencies, no flat-footed standing in the corner waiting for wide-open jumpers. Even more than 1-on-1, the nature of 2-on-2 tests your entire game, putting every element on display and demanding the best from both teammates. So when the Red Bull 2on2 Revolution made its debut this summer, it became clear what Rob Base meant when he said it takes two to make a thing go right.

NBA veteran Bo Kimble played in Philly and didn’t win a game. ExProvidence College star Dwight Brewington played in Boston and lost. Omar Strong, Baltimore’s best-kept secret (ask Carmelo), was unable to win the chip in Charm City. Rising playground legends Andrew “SpongeBob” Washington and Omar Weaver played on different teams in Washington, D.C., and also left the park checkless. Instead, over the course of five East Coast cities – Boston, New York, Philly, Baltimore and D.C. – Revolution winners proved to be teams that were two-strong, versatile, tough and had a chemistry built from years of playing together. Rob Adams and Jared Hite, who won the Boston tournament under the name “Game Time,” were such a squad. “We grew up together and know each other, playing with each other in inter-city leagues,” said Adams. “So we feed off of it.” Boston was the natural starting point for the Red Bull tour, considering Rajon Rondo was the face of the operation. The tournament was played under “Rajon Rondo Rules” – a unique scoring system that awards extra points for dunking on somebody, getting a steal, breaking somebody’s ankles or pinning a shot against the backboard – to highlight the style of the Boston Celtics’ All-Star.

“It definitely changes the game,” said D.C. baller Andre Colon. “If you love the game and you’re willing to try something new, it lets you show your other strong points, like playing defense. You don’t get points for that in the NBA.” One well-known star that did win his city was Kenny Satterfield. The NYC playground icon and former NBA point guard joined forces with 6-10 Nakiea Miller, who played college ball at Iona, to win the New York tournament. As word of the Red Bull tour spread, teams began traveling from one stop to the next to take multiple cracks at the grand prize in each city – $2,000 cash, plus headphones from Skullcandy, Kicker iPod docks and Power Balance bands. The Philadelphia winners “E2” (Ellis Gindraw and Ed Breswell) traveled to Baltimore and advanced to the quarterfinals, where they lost to B-More champs “No Mercy” (Tyrone “Redz” Hill and DeSean White). Then in D.C., No Mercy made the trip and won a second city title, knocking off E2 in the finals. By the final stop of the tour, teams from Baltimore, Philly and New York were all battling D.C.’s finest. Calling the on-court action were announcers Boobie Smooth of Rucker Park fame (Boston, NYC, Philly, Baltimore) and Barry Farms staple Miles Rawls (D.C.). Local sneaker boutiques in each city -- Bodega (Boston), Vault (NYC), Abakus Takeout (Philly), Shop Gentei (Baltimore) and MAJOR (D.C.) -- created original t-shirts for every player. – Austin Burton

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CONVERSE BAND OF BALLERS

PROFILE: SHANE “SLAM” WISE

(ATLANTA, GA.)

(WARRENSBURG, MO.)

Bringing together Converse’s love of music, basketball and the city of Atlanta, seven teams battled it out 3-on-3 in the second edition of Converse Band of Ballers. The teams included returning champs Jim Jones and The Jones Family (with surprise guest Cam’ron, God Shammgod & Adrian “A-Butta” Walton), Jermaine Dupri and the So So Def Family, The Black Lips, Of Montreal, Steel Train, Bad News (Jay Electronica, Donnis & Sean Price) and Southern Hospitality (OJ Da Juiceman, Pill & Shawty Lo). In a gym small enough to make all the fans feel like they were a part of the action, in the end the returning champs turned in a repeat performance.

After much success the past couple summers on the playground basketball circuit, Burger King decided it was time for a new challenge. So after setting up the BK Next Best Move tour to find “game-changers” on the court during a five-month, 41-city national tour, it’s ironic that the $10,000 winner, Shane “Slam” Wise, comes from just outside Kansas City, Mo. (the last stop on the tour). Wise, who hails from Warrensburg, Mo., was in a devastating car crash 18 months ago that turned his whole world upside down. As an ballplayer who makes a living off of dunking, he’s lucky that he even entered the contest at all. “A friend told me about the contest because he believed that the dunk I had been working on was the move that could win the contest,” says the 6-4, 230-pound Wise. “It’s so amazing to be crowned the winner because Burger King has given me the opportunity to show off my dunk to the world and what I truly feel is the best basketball move out there.”

So what move is he talking about? Wise, who’s now 24 years old, says that the dunk he pulled off to win the contest is the hardest dunk he’s ever thrown down. In fact, no one has made it since legendary French dunker Dali Tommalah did in 1996. As Wise puts it, many people consider it an “impossible dunk,” owing to the fact that you have to put the ball under the leg that you jump off of.

KOBE BRYANT X ASTON MARTIN SHOE LAUNCH (LOS ANGELES, CALIF.)

“It’s called ‘The Cradle Tommalah,’” says Wise. “You jump off your left leg, and then in order to get higher you have to drive your right knee as high as you can. Then in mid-air you have to kick you left leg up in the air with the ball in my right hand. I cupped it, put it under my left leg from my right hand to my left hand, and then dunked the ball with my left hand – and I never dunk with my left. It took me like 50 tries and a couple months to actually make it.”

The launch of the Kobe Bryant x Aston Martin Pack was more than your usual sneaker drop where people wait in line for hours, buy their kicks and go home. This release impressed even the most veteran sneakerheads. After more than 3,500 people entered to win one of the 200 spots allotted to purchase the pack – which featured special Aston Martin-inspired colorways of the Zoom Kobe V and Nike Hyperdunk – everyone that took part in the “I Got This!” experience was in for a treat.

Right after filming his video for BK, Wise had knee surgery and has been rehabbing ever since. But once he’s ready to come back, he’s going to come back hard.

After having their picture taken with the same Aston Martin DB9 from Kobe’s infamous commercial, everyone walked the “purple carpet,” where they were photographed paparazzistyle with the one of the shoes. Once inside, winners could finally purchase the pack and were treated to free t-shirt customization, designing their own tees with various Kobe and Aston Martin graphics.

“I have tryouts for a lot of streetball teams already lined up, but I’m thinking of going to New York next summer and staying a while,” says Wise. “I want to go to Rucker Park and play in the EBC, train my butt off and get to top shape. My main goal is just to keep my name out there.”

But while everyone came for the shoes, the most amazing part of the experience happened at the very end as each winner was able to jump over a moving Aston Martin – just like Kobe. Lining up in front of a green screen and jumping over the virtual car speeding at them, each participant go to re-live the celebrated moment and have their video live on YouTube for posterity’s sake.

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UNDER ARMOUR SHOE LAUNCH

(NEW YORK, N.Y.)

“We’re ready.” That’s all we needed to hear when Under Armour introduced their brand new basketball footwear collection in the penthouse of the Cooper Square Hotel in New York City this August. With the brand’s body and soul, Brandon Jennings, in the house to showcase the new kicks, all of his on-court accolades and success came down to one moment of truth: “All we gotta do now is sell shoes.” But once you check them out, you’ll realize that they shouldn’t have any problem doing that. This season, Jennings will be wearing the Under Armour Micro G Black Ice, while the brand will be releasing three other models as well: the Micro G Blur, Micro G Lite and Micro G Fly. All four versions will be available at retail on October 23.

NBA ELITE 11 LAUNCH PARTY

(NEW YORK, N.Y.)

After EA Sports changed the name of their long running NBA franchise from NBA Live to NBA Elite, you knew that they were going to have to feature one of the game’s best players on the cover to live up to the hype. Well, they delivered. At an exclusive launch party in NYC during the week of the NBA Draft, they announced that Kevin Durant will be the cover athlete for NBA Elite 11. And KD, in his humble way, couldn’t have been more psyched.

“I’ve always been a fan of EA Sports,” says Durant, who’s only the third player in EA Sports history to be featured both on the cover of an NCAA and an NBA licensed product. “This has been an exciting year for me and the team, and capping it off with being on the cover of NBA Elite 11 is cool.”

HOUSE OF HOOPS

While at the event, we got a chance to get up with KD, as well as Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Wesley Johnson and Ed Davis and J.Cole, and compete against them in Elite and the new NBA JAM.

(SEATTLE, WASH., SAN FRANCISCO, CALIF., WESTBURY, N.Y. AND CHICAGO, ILL.) Until House of Hoops came along, the only way you were going to get your hands on some player exclusives was eBay or if you had an in with an equipment manager on a team. Thankfully, after initially starting with stores in just New York, L.A. and Chicago, Foot Locker and Nike Basketball have been opening stores across the country.

From Brandon Roy in Seattle to Stephen Curry in the Bay, Kenny Anderson in Long Island to Carlos Boozer in the Chi, House of Hoops opened their doors in four new cities with the help of some of the NBA’s finest this summer. Plus, on any given day, you could have walked into the store and found Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Tyreke Evans or Carmelo Anthony making a special guest appearance.

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NEVER NERVOUS PURVIS Words. Jason Jordan | Photo. adidas

Try as he may, Rodney Purvis has the darnedest time blocking out other people’s expectations of him. Still, when you’ve been dubbed “Te Next Big Ting” since you were 13, the microscope is impossible to jukeout, even if Purvis is one of the craftiest guards in the country. Four at AAU Nationals. Such accolades have given way to lofty predictions.

“It’s hard to please everyone,” says Purvis. “That’s why I’m not big on attention.”

“Purvis could help a major D-I college team this coming season,” says one Division I assistant coach speaking under condition of anonymity. “He’s that good.”

He’s well aware that such an early anointment is as much a curse as it is a gift, often times more of the former, and on some level that worries him.

When told about the coach’s bold statement, Purvis’ eyes widen and he says, “Wow, that’s a big compliment, but I’ve still got a lot to learn…At least he didn’t compare me to John (Wall).” By now, most have cooled on the comparisons to Wall, but their similarities have more to do with commonality.

“There are a lot of guys that got a lot of attention from a young age that just didn’t live up to it,” says Purvis, a rising sophomore at Upper Room Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.). “That messes with me a little bit, but in a good way. I use it as motivation because I want to be the best. No one has higher expectations for me than me.”

Both guards are around 6-4 with tight handles, speed, freakish athletic ability and their schools are just a 15-minute walk from each other. But as for his actual game, Purvis is more comparable to Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade than he is to Wall.

Well, almost no one.

Back in March, Washington Wizards point guard John Wall, the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, told Dime that Purvis “has a chance to be even better than me.” The quote shook Purvis up.

“I’m happy people are starting to let that go a little,” says Purvis of being compared to Wall. “It was starting to get nerve-wracking to be honest. You can’t compare me to the No. 1 Draft pick. That’s just not fair.”

Here he was headed into his most important AAU season, with the pressure of being widely regarded as the top player in the Class of 2013, and now Wall, a friend of his, heightened Purvis’ hype from unfair to unreal.

Be that as it may, nearly every major college in the country agrees that Purvis has Wall-like potential. North Carolina, Texas, Duke, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Memphis, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, Maryland, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Virginia Commonwealth are all in hot pursuit of Purvis, who grew up a Tar Heel fan.

“When I read what he said, I was just like, ‘Wow!’” says Purvis. “It got me hyped. It was late at night, but I went straight to the gym and worked out. How can you not after reading that? It got me even more ready to play AAU.”

He parlayed the momentum into one of the most productive summers of any player in the country, pulling double-duty between the 15’s and 17’s for the CP3 All-Stars (N.C.).

“Coming up, my whole family liked North Carolina,” says Purvis. “I always said I’d want to play for them. But now that I’m getting older I know that I’ve got to look at it in a more mature way. I’ve got to do what’s best for me. So I don’t look at it like I used to anymore. It’s whatever situation is best for me.”

As impressive as his numbers were (25 points, six assists and seven rebounds per game for the 15’s; 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists per game for the 17’s), the expansion of his allaround game was by far the most telling.

With that, Purvis will be front and center for Duke’s “Countdown to Craziness” season kickoff in mid-October.

“His game has grown so much this summer,” says Purvis’ stepfather and CP3 All-Stars coach Tony Edwards. “Defensively he took it upon himself to always check the top guard on the other team, which was big for us. His leadership and his communication are two things that have grown a great deal. He keeps getting better and that’s the reason he’s been successful.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” says Purvis. “It should be fun, and that’s all I’m trying to do with the whole process right now. It’s not really stressful to me because I’m so young; I haven’t really given it much thought. I’m starting to now. But my thing is always to get better first. If I get better everyday, every week, every month, everything else will take care of itself.”

Purvis led the CP3 15’s to titles in the Super Showcase and the Boo Williams Invitational, while also helping the 17’s reach the Final

Unreal expectations and all.

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43

NO REST

FOR THE WEARY WORDS. JACK JENSEN PHOTOS. GEOFF SCOONES & JACK JENSEN

To see RobÕ s workouts come to life, go to www.youtube.com/DimeMagazine.

FOR NEARLY EIGHT YEARS NOW, Rob McClanaghan has been pushing the NBAÕ s rising stars to strengthen their skills and elevate their games, attracting players like Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans and Kevin Durant to faithfully follow the young trainer all-across the country and take part in his unique workouts. And from Chicago to Los Angeles this past offseason, McClanaghan has been in the gym doing what he does best: Making players better. What has separated Rob from the pack is his ability to adapt and tweak different workouts for a wide range of players and skill levels. From big men like JaVale McGee to explosive point guards like Russell Westbrook, he needs to have a diverse training regimen available. It' s also his personable nature and engaging methods that have kept players coming back in droves. Rose himself has been working out with McClanaghan since before he even entered college.

stay loyal and stay with him. And every year I' ve improved on something; so why not continue to go back?º When Rob did travel to the West Coast this past summer, you could find him working out guys in-between two small Southern California high schools in Santa Monica and Hollywood. And despite battling above 90-degree heat at times outside and his players' hectic off-court schedules, McClanaghan managed to have an incredibly productive offseason. We got up with him in L.A. for two separate workouts ± one with Rose, Evans and O.J. Mayo, and the other with Evans, McGee and Jarron Collins. This is what ensued.

ª I' m loyal,º says Rose. ª I' m not going to workout with him all these years and then try to get another trainer somewhere else. I' m gonna

44

WARM-UP To start every workout, McClanaghan has his guys go through a dynamic warm-up to loosen their muscles. First, the players run through a series of butt kicks, high knees, karaoke, lunge walks, leg swings and lateral lunges Ð up and down the court once each. Then the guys go through a full-court three-man weave with the basketball for six progressions Ð looking to finish at the rim each time down the floor.

SHOOTING After sufficiently warming up, McClanaghanÕ s guys then run through a gauntlet of shooting drills. While theyÕr e shooting, Rob constantly identifies strengths and weaknesses to make form changes accordingly; making sure his guys hold their follow through, use their legs and snap their wrists at the peak of their shooting motions. And in-between each playerÕ s turn, they must run to the opposite end line and back before their next rep begins. Ò I try to make sure the guys are taking their shots and doing these reps while theyÕr e tired,Ó says McClanaghan. Ò I donÕt want the guys just shooting the ball with full legs or shooting the ball with no sweat. I make sure every single rep that we do, theyÕr e a little tired Ð just like they would be in a game.Ó

SHOOTING PROGRESSIONS:

To begin his shooting progressions, Rob first starts off with a simple jab step, one dribble then shot. The players then advance and continue after ten made baskets. And with each new addition to the drill, the intensity level is increased.

1. JAB STEP, ONE DRIBBLE, STEP-BACK SHOT 2. JAB STEP, TWO DRIBBLES, STEP-BACK SHOT 3. JAB STEP, TWO DRIBBLES, SPIN, FLOATER 4. JAB STEP, PUMP FAKE, ONE DRIBBLE, SHOT

45

DRIBBLING

To keep their handles on point, McClanaghan runs his guys through a series of one-ball and twoball drills. For each two-ball drill, the player must react to RobÕ s directions as he shouts them out (i.e. Ò front leftÓ or Ò back rightÓ ) and move to that spot on the floor. The players do these drills in sets of one-to-two minutes at a time and then rotate. Ò He always keeps you on your heels,Ó says Rose. Ò Rob always makes sure you go hard first of all (and) he makes sure youÕ re dedicated.Ó

EXPLOSIVE SLIDES: In addition to the ball-handling sets, ª Explosive Slidesº is another drill that McClanaghan uses to increase reaction speed and lateral quickness. In this drill, his players start above the three-point arc in a defensive stance and shuffle back and forth for three reps. Upon completing the third rep, the player explodes toward the rim, receives the ball and then finishes with a powerful dunk. They go through four reps of this.

DUNKING A trademark of a McClanaghan workout, as well as a favorite amongst his athletes, is his above the rim training. In each progression, the guys Ð who start on the baseline Ð run toward the wing and either receive the ball from Rob or touch the three-point line and run back towards the hoop. And for each dunk drill Ð alley-oops and triple threat while exploding towards the bucket Ð every player goes through three sets of three-to-four reps apiece. After making a dynamic move to ward off a defender, the player must go hard to the rack and finish with authority. All soft lay-ups and dunks are greeted with Ò Are you kidding me?Ó groans from Rob and anyone else in attendance.

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ª He just keeps pushing you and he keeps goingº ± JaVale McGee CONDITIONING Beyond constantly running from end line to end line in-between drills, McClanaghan ends his workouts with some additional conditioning to keep his guys sharp. Immediately after completing their running, the players then shoot a series of free throws, harping even further on the point that they should learn to shoot and make shots when theyÕr e tired. Ò He just keeps pushing you and he keeps going,Ó says McGee. Ò It seems like (his workouts are) longer than 45 minutes to an hour, but you get a lot done in that time.Ó

To see RobÕ s workouts come to life, go to www.youtube.com/DimeMagazine.

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& 48

TWO YEARS AGO, undrafted Anthony Morrow was a nobody on the NBA landscape, his chances at playing pro ball reduced to a single offer in a faraway country. Today, Morrow has carved a niche as an impact player in the NBA, and was a hot commodity in the 2010 free agency bonanza. How did he do it? The man with the game’s purest jumper recalls his journey.

Words. Beckley Mason Photos. Kelly Turso

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A

nthony Morrow pulls his ludicrously wiry frame out of bed each morning and christens the new day with his favorite tweet: Rise and grind.

This phrase is Morrow' s mantra, a three-word reminder scrawled across his gaunt stomach. It also explains how, according to New Jersey Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks, Anthony Morrow became the highest priority free agent (after dreams of the Big Three collapsed) for a team in desperate need of a scoring punch and outside shooting. Morrow provides plenty of both. At 6-5, the skinny 24-year-old shooting guard just may be the best shooter in the NBA. As former Golden State teammate Stephen Jackson says, ªIf he's not the best shooter in the game, he' s really close to it. There's not too many like this kid.º Captain Jack speaks the truth. As an undrafted rookie on the 2008-09 Warriors, Morrow became the first rook ever to lead the league in three-point field goal percentage (47 percent). He followed that up last season with another blistering, season long hot-streak ± finishing the year at 46 percent from behind the arc.

God created light. On the second day, Anthony Morrow shot the lights out.º Pouring in 37 points on 15-of-20 shooting in your first NBA start and setting an NBA Summer League record with 47 will lead to hero-worship like that. Morrow' s new Nets deal ± his first multimillion dollar contract (three years, $12 million) ± is just the next step in his improbable journey from the player that every NBA team passed over twice leaving him with only one overseas offer ($80,000 for one year in scenic Ukraine), to one of the most feared marksmen in the League. ª I always had big dreams and little goals,º says Morrow. ª Obviously I wanted to be in the NBA, but I didn' t want to be like a lot of other guys and force-feed my thought process like, ` I gotta make it, I gotta make it, I gotta make it.' Because I felt like if I did everything the right way, I would make the most out of my opportunities.º Eschewing a focus on the final outcome, Morrow embraced the mental aspect of the game and concentrated on the process of self-improve-

The one thing that is absolutely necessary for all elite shooters is confidence ¼ confidence that if the last one didn' t go down, the next one undoubtedly will. Where does Morrow' s quiet swagger come from? After an up-and-down four years at Georgia Tech, in which he was twice named All-ACC Honorable Mention but battled injury late in his career, Morrow struggled to make a name for himself nationally. At best, he was an afterthought heading into the 2008 NBA Draft. His wiry frame (he' s now hilariously listed at 210 pounds) and relatively plodding feet made it hard to see how his game would translate to the NBA. But A-Mo had worked. And he knew it. He remembered when he not only put in time with Georgia Tech' s coaching staff to play the role of spot-up shooter, but also got in the gym on his own time to develop the rest of his game. His dedication nearly broke him, as extra reps earned him a stress fracture in his lower back.

If you love this game, if you want to be the best you can be and max out your potential, then itÕ s on you to get in the gym and really work on things that youÕ re not good at. If you' ve never seen it, Anthony Morrow' s jump shot is an almost inhuman act of perfection. Swish after net-snapping swish, his liquid whip follow-through sends the ball in a high, soft arc towards its target. The same way every single time. Morrow' s release is so consistently perfect, his misses seem like an eerie glitch in reality. Among NBA junkies and the stubbornly fatalistic yet loyal Warriors fandom, his yen for lighting up the scoreboard with a colorful array of spot-up threes, shot fake pull-ups and delicate floaters has made him something of a cult-hero. His ª insiders know this kid can ballº status is confirmed by AnthonyMorrowFacts.com, a site devoted to Chuck Norris-esque quips about Morrow like, ª Morrow' s jumper is so pure you have to cut it with baking soda,º and ª On the first day,

ment. His self-awareness ± in both games and training ± and mental toughness help explain how a player who lacks physical tools like premier strength or quickness has nonetheless (and quite quickly) muscled out a comfortable niche for himself within the NBA.

Rise & grind.

M

ost unheralded, undrafted players make an NBA team with hustle and athleticism, crashing the boards and dominating defensively. In tryouts, the task is clear for hungry grunts: These players can never over-rebound or run the floor too hard. But shooters like Morrow are a different breed. Every player can maximize their effort level, but even Ray Allen has rough shooting nights. 50

He remembered when his high school coach would open the gym for him before school, during lunch and after school so he could rain jump shot after jump shot. And he remembered growing up in Charlotte, N.C., and seeing his mom put in years of hard work, ingraining in him an instinctual pride in his work ethic. ªI watched her work as hard as she could while I was growing up,º says Morrow, ª doing jobs she didn' t really want to do, didn't lo ve doing.º It was through his mother, Angela, who worked at the DMV for most of his childhood, that Anthony gained the drive necessary to realize his ªb ig dreams.º As his high school coach at Charlotte Latin, Jerry Faulkner, put it, ª His mom did a great job teaching him that work ethic, but Anthony did

it because Anthony wanted to. It' s an internal drive that he has¼t he guy who made Anthony Morrow a success is Anthony Morrow.º One of his coaches at Georgia Tech, Pete Zaharis, uncannily mimicked Faulkner' s stories of Anthony' s fanatical work rate: ª He' s going to get in the gym any time during the day whether there' s a coach there working out with him or not, and he's going to work. ªH e had that inner drive and that preparedness, and he knows that no one is going to out work him,º continues Zaharis. ª And I think it's that inner belief that carries him. We'll go through drills with him and shoot 25 threes and he' ll consistently make 23, 24 ± even when he' s tired ± because he has that focus.º

Rise & grind.

M

orrow' s effectiveness as a pro reveals what the dozens of scouts who passed over him in June of 2008 didn' t realize: Morrow possesses an elite skill, and that as a professional, he would make his deadly shot his quickness.

While the college floor is cramped by zone defenses and a closer three-point line, the deeper arc in the NBA ± and greater amount players who can connect from that distance ± gives everyone more room to operate. Morrow says that he' s learned that he has to ª play off his shot,º utilizing the added space with a devastating array of shot fakes and one or two dribble pull-ups to counter the desperate closeouts of opponents fearful of his assassin's stroke. His offensive motto is ª efficiency and consistency,º he explains. Even though people may call him ª Ammo,º he's a shooter, not a gunner. ªI feel like anyone can go out and take 30 shots and get 30 points,º says Morrow. ª I think in the NBA, anyone can do that. But I want to stand out and still be a winner and play the right way.º It' s a distinction that is indicative of his intelligent approach to basketball. It' s also how he quietly had the best plus-minus of any Warrior last season (+12.64), despite being a below average one-on-one defender. He finds ways to contribute all over the court, shockingly ranking as one of the top offensive rebounding shooting guards in the League. His attention to detail (he' s also a game film junkie) earned him plenty of fans amongst his Warriors teammates. Before he forced his way out of the Bay, Stephen Jackson served as Morrow's first mentor in the NBA.

ªN obody respected his game,º says Jackson, ªs o he had that little chip on his shoulder the same way I came in [to the League] with a chip on my shoulder.º At first glance, it seems like an unlikely alliance. Morrow rarely gets too rowdy on and off the court, while Jackson on the other hand, has a mixed reputation as one of the League' s most skilled, yet volatile, ballers. But Morrow credits Jackson with inspiring a milestone in his young career. As Morrow began heating up in his first NBA start, he vividly remembers Jackson encouraging him to be aggressive: ª Go post up again. If you got it going, we're going to keep going to you.º ª That right there was the turning point,º says 51

Morrow. ª A veteran guy with a ring and a lot of respect around the League told me I had what it takes and it really boosted my confidence.º ª I wanted to give him that confidence, that drive to go out there and play the game and not worry about making mistakes,º says Jackson. ª It' s real important [to have a mentor]. I know me personally, I wouldn' t have made it without guys like Steve Smith, David Robinson and Tim Duncan in San Antonio. Those guys really taught me how to be a professional, to respect the game and play the right way. Anthony Morrow, I look at him as a brother.º What happened next is the stuff of YouTube lore. Morrow turned NBA veteran Cuttino Mobley

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into a mangled chalk outline with a relaxed display of post-up isolations and catch-and-shoot daggers. And although Jackson left the next season, the two still text everyday. While playing with the Warriors, Morrow also strengthened his bond with former high school rival Stephen Curry. The two guards share more than a hometown ± Curry is one of the only players in the League that can keep up with Morrow' s shooting. Unsurprisingly, the two competed in hundreds of competitions over the course of last season.

Rise & grind.

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reed from the clutches of the Warriors, who could not afford to keep Morrow with its ownership in flux and contract albatrosses on the books, Morrow has become a vital piece of a team with a bright future.

ª We shot against each other every single day in practice,º says Morrow with a chuckle, wanting this to get back to Steph. ªW e would shoot against each other on game day¼ I would say I probably won more of the competitions overall.º

One of nine Nets new to this season' s roster, Morrow looks forward to canning threes off of kick-outs from soon-to-be All-Star Brook Lopez and penetrators like Devin Harris, Jordan Farmar and Terrence Williams. Assistant GM Bobby Marks said he expects Morrow to give the Nets instant offense, something they haven' t had in a long time. And as the young squad establishes an identity under new head coach Avery Johnson, Marks sees Anthony as the perfect character leader.

It was also Morrow who, revealing his sense of humor, first dubbed Curry ª Middle Schoolº because Curry still looks like that sixth grader in an eighth grade game that's shooting moon balls from his knees but somehow still kills it.

ª He' s a guy who has fought the battle to get into the League and crack the rotation at Golden State,º says Marks. ª He' s already tasted that, and I don' t think he' s a guy who wants to go back.º

ª He' s a funny guy,º says Curry. ª A great teammate. He keeps the locker room energetic and is a guy you can talk to. He' s a real person who cares about his teammates.º

Morrow agrees. He' s putting in characteristically focused, obsessive work this summer on his ball-handling and dribble moves, as well as plyometric and strength drills designed to get him in what he calls ªb asketball shape.º

But even with an attitude coaches dream of, it's hard to be a winner when you exist within the surreal nightmare that is the Golden State Warriors' franchise. After balling his way into 30 efficient minutes of run per night, Morrow suddenly found himself riding the pine for stretches of last year' s befuddling season. Midway through the year, Don Nelson's notoriously whimsical rotations no longer called for Morrow' s gifts, and he began losing minutes to recently arrived D-Leaguers. Although he can' t hide the bitterness in his voice to this day, Anthony tries to stay positive about the experience. ªT hat was kind of tough because I felt like I was doing everything I was supposed to do to get playing time,º says Morrow. ª And I was. But at the time it just wasn' t what it was. It was another mental thing that I think made me stronger and continues to keep that chip on my shoulder.º But instead of adversity, Morrow saw opportunity: ª I wanted to be known around the League as one of those guys that didn' t complain, didn' t throw fits, but came in ready to work hard every day.º Soon, his tenacity would pay off.

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ª I' m doing it every day,º says Morrow. ª When the time comes you' ll see. I can' t control playing time, things like that, but if you love this game, if you want to be the best you can be and max out your potential, then it' s on you to get in the gym and really work on things that you' re not good at.º While Morrow enjoys the luxury and security his talents have bestowed upon his family, he remains excited about the opportunity to improve each day. ª Being able to feel like I' m getting better everyday, learning from people' s mistakes and people' s successes ± it' s just stuff like that,º says Morrow. ªW hen you're working your dream job and you can have that experience, it' s the best feeling in the world.º Don' t expect this dream to end any time soon. With a high demand skill that will only improve with age, expect Morrow to be torching NBA nets for years to come. And you can bet he' ll be in the gym every day, addicted to the grind.

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Words. Austin Burton Photos. Jonathan Mannion

Thirteen years. Thirteen All-NBA seasons. Four championships. Three Finals MVPs. Two league MVPs. One team. One city. The numbers tell us this much about Tim Duncan: Nobody has ever done it quite like him. What don’t we know about the greatest power forward of all-time? Everything else.

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ain becomes art. Novelists, rappers, painters, singers É the suffering of one has long birthed testimonies that resonate with millions. The ones who are really good at it, who turn pain into production into profit, go on to become living legends, and then, icons in immortality. Is basketball an art? Or is it just a game? Are the stakes of winning and losing at the professional level too high to allow for artistry? Does one become a better basketball player through suffering, struggle and pain? These are the kinds of questions I want to ask Tim Duncan.

But he' s tough. And because Duncan is so tough to figure out ± treating interviewers to the same poker face with which he' s played each of his 1,100-plus pro games ± and because there' s no flexing after dunks and no trace of playground in his style, he' s earned the scarlet letter in athlete marketing and media hype: Boring.

And maybe he' d have great answers. Or maybe ± because he' s been blessed with 6 feet and 11 inches of height, 260 pounds of lean muscle, the footwork and body control of a dancer, or because he won the first of his four NBA championships in just his second year in the League, or because it all seems so easy for him ± Duncan will reveal that he doesn' t really know suffering and struggle in his chosen sport.

ª That' s garbage,º says Robinson. ª He does have a personality. But he' s no-nonsense. You know what he has? He has a dogged determination, and the team has taken that on. But it' s a lowkey kind of determination, where you don' t talk about it, you just go do it. Tim prepares himself for the season physically and emotionally, and I think all the other guys know they' ve got to be as prepared as him.º

But I haven' t asked those questions, because Tim Duncan is perpetually unavailable. Not that he' s hard to find: His work schedule is posted for public view and readily accessible to fantasy owners, gamblers and stalkers alike. Rather, Duncan makes himself unavailable for voluntary probing into his mind. One rule of interviewing is that you want your subject warmedup and loose before throwing your deep, thought-provoking darts ± but Duncan rarely leaves the comforts of frigidity. The most successful ª thinking-man' sº ballplayer of his era has spent the better part of 13 years in the public eye keeping his life a closed book.

Somewhere along the way, in trying to solve the Duncan puzzle for this story, I figured out this much: Tim Duncan is not boring. He just isn' t interested in being interesting. ª What would I do if I weren' t playing basketball?º Duncan repeats a reporter' s question during a media scrum at All-Star Weekend. He sighs. He may have heard this question 30 times before. He' s not intrigued. ª I don' t even know what I' d be doing.º After some light-hearted prodding by another reporter, Duncan finally admits: ª I would not be a reporter.º

ª He didn' t really say much to me when I was a rookie,º recalls Tony Parker, the San Antonio Spurs point guard who has since won three championships with Duncan and formed arguably the League' s best point guard/big man tandem. ª Tim is a quiet guy most of the time, but after you get to know him he' s a great guy and a great teammate. He' s a great leader.º

Over the years, I' ve pined for Duncan to appear on a Dime cover. Before the conversation got too far, the b-word would surface and things went downhill from there. Beyond the question of whether TD would sell the front page, could I create a story about him that wouldn' t put readers to sleep? I still don' t know. (Let me know if you stay awake.)

And yet, from a media standpoint, Duncan might be the most difficult player in the NBA. Nowhere near the unnamed disrespectful, mean-spirited, miserable athletes that sportswriters share barstool stories about, Duncan really is a nice guy. He has been the face of the NBA' s signature squeakyclean franchise for more than a decade. The quintessential AllWorld Nice Guy, Hall of Fame center David Robinson, will stick up for his former teammate any day.

The challenge would be getting something good from a Duncan interview. I' d run into him at All-Star Weekends, at New York Knicks games, at adidas events, but never in a setting for a proper sit-down, soul-searching attempt. At Knicks games, during the pre-game media time, Duncan was always cloaked in the no-fly zone of the trainer' s room. One of those times I approached a Spurs media relations employee and pitched one of my great ideas for a Duncan cover story: I wanted Duncan,

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who has a Psychology degree from Wake Forest University, to break down the psychological mindset of different types of athletes. The champion. The leader. The follower. The loser. Would I be able to get 20 minutes on the phone with Duncan?

Friday the 13th, catching sprinters from behind and taking them out while he' s walking with the same ol' slow bop. ª Am I a better player than I was five years ago?º Duncan repeats the question. (He does that often.) ª I' m a different player. Am I better? I don' t know. I' d argue with myself. ª You always try to stand pat with the things you' re comfortable with, and improve the things you' re not,º he says. ª I' m probably a better shooter than I was five years ago. But then, I' m not as athletic as I was five years ago. So where do you draw the line? What do you compare? I don' t know.º

The man practically laughed in my face. ª Tim hasn' t done a 20-minute phone interview in 12 years.º

Duncan should be more famous than he is. He is one of the standard-bearers of the NBA. In the recognized post-Jordan era of 1998 (MJ' s Chicago retirement) until now, Duncan' s rivals can be counted on one finger; maybe two. He has been the anchor of four NBA championship teams in San Antonio, winning three Finals MVPs, two league MVPs, 12 AllStar nods, and 13 AllNBA and All-Defensive Team honors. He has averaged 21.1 points, 11.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks for his career, ranking in the top seven all-time in each category in the playoffs.

He' s 34 years old now, and conventional wisdom says he doesn' t have much time left to play at an elite level. Duncan' s 17.9 points per game last season were a career-low, as were his 10.1 rebounds per game and 1.5 blocks. He still led the Spurs to the playoffs ± the team has never seen the Lottery during Duncan' s tenure, and has only been knocked out in the first round once when he was active ± but they were swept in the second round by the Phoenix Suns, usually one of the San Antonio' s perennial victims.

While Kobe has been through ups and downs from Lottery seasons to off-court drama, and Shaq has gained and lost dozens of pounds while playing on a handful of teams and burning bridges in his wake, Duncan is the model of consistency. Every year it' s the same thing: Same team, same 50-plus wins, same championship threat, same 20-and-10-and-2. Only death is more dependable, because some people skip out on their taxes. But no opponent can avoid Tim Duncan.

Over the summer, trade rumors surrounded Parker, who will be a free agent in 2011, and the Spurs have made moves to feature a younger core that includes Brazilian frontcourt prospect Tiago Splitter. Duncan is still the glue holding everything together, but time is running out on his run. ª He' s been their best player,º says New Orleans power forward David West, a two-time All-Star. ª He' s the guy they' ve built around, the guy they function around. He' s where it starts, and teams know that. We all get older, but as long as he' s still putting up 20-and-10 and they' re still winning, you can' t say he' s slowing down or anything.º

ª He' s just so patient. He never rushes,º says Orlando' s Dwight Howard, the best center in the League. ª He takes what the defense gives him and he' s always under control. That' s one thing that as you get older in basketball, you start to learn. I guess it' s just like with life: the older you get in life, the wiser and stronger you become. And that' s why he' s the best power forward to ever play the game.º

Duncan, of course, shrugs it off. ª As long as we' re winning games, it doesn' t matter who gets credit for what,º he says. ª One person doesn' t win games, it' s a bunch of guys playing well. You do your part as much as you can, and it is what it is.º

ª He' s timeless. He' s like a fine wine,º says Chicago Bulls' All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer. ª Honestly, he' s one of those guys that as he gets older, he gets better. More efficient, almost like less energy, but still the same efficiency. Guaranteed 20 and 10.º

And that is ¼ what, exactly? Duncan secured the title ª Best Power Forward of All-Timeº years ago. Should he get a fifth championship and perhaps a fourth Finals MVP before he' s done, does he challenge Wilt and Kareem and Russell as arguably the greatest big man, period, the game has ever seen?

As our athletes get quicker, faster and more athletic, Duncan is the tortoise from the old fable. He' s like Jason Voorhees in

ª The only person in the League that slowed me down was a 57

HE’ST HEG UYT HEY’VE BUILTA ROUND,T HEG UY THEYF UNCTIONA ROUND. HE’SW HEREI TS TARTS, ANDT EAMSK NOWT HAT.

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brotha named Father Time,º Shaquille O' Neal told the New Orleans Times-Picayune in September. ª But no big man is ever going to do what I and Tim Duncan have done in our careers. It was time for 10 consecutive years that either me or Tim was in the NBA Finals. It was broken two years, but there will never be another big guy to do that.º

about this one. ª Umm ¼ I think it' s an osmosis thing. I' ve been there for a lot of years now, and the team is somewhat built around me. So I guess you could say that.º

In putting together this story, my latest attempts to reach out to Duncan weren' t answered before press time. Before that, the last time I tried to get inside the mind of Tim Duncan was during another All-Star Weekend, at an adidas event where Duncan and Howard, the new three-stripes marquee name, were in attendance showing off new product. The two sat for group interviews. Naturally, Dwight' s oversized personality drew most of the attention. I zeroed in on Duncan and tried again.

They traded Wilt, though. They traded Kareem, traded Moses ¼ they traded Shaq three times. Russell got traded on Draft Day 1956, before they knew what they had. They traded KG, C-Webb, Barkley, Artis, Elvin, Pau, Dikembe and Big Ben. While big men win championships in the NBA ± or at least they make up the foundations on which championship wishes are built ± so many of the game' s giants have at one point or another been deemed expendable by their teams.

You told me once that you grew up a fan of the Lakers and Magic Johnson. Do you think team leaders have to be like a Magic, like a Michael Jordan?

Not Duncan. This summer Kobe Bryant said he was ª 99.99 percent sureº he' ll retire as a member of the L.A. Lakers. Duncan is the only player in the League who can point-oh-one-up Kobe. He will 100 percent retire with the Spurs. And then he' ll have a statue made in his likeness to stand outside San Antonio' s AT&T Center, throwing hook shots or dropping finger rolls or hitting bankers or whatever pose the sculptor suggests, long after Duncan has faded away from the spotlight. The ultimate steady rock of the NBA, now carved out of a chunk of stone. Fitting.

ª No, because I' m not built like them and I' d consider myself a leader,º Duncan says. ª I' m built different ± I would guess. I' m a different type of leader. I try to lead by example, try to be the best player I can on the floor. I' m not a big locker-room speech guy. I don' t do that stuff. I think what I do is effective.º The event' s MC announces there are 30 seconds left for interviews. As I try to think of one last gem, Duncan looks like he' s ready for a nap. Soon, the MC starts counting:

Will we see much of you when you retire? TEN! ª I don' t know,º Duncan says. ª Right now it seems very unlikely, but maybe.º

NINE! The contingent of Chinese reporters (Duncan is very popular in China) have shut off their recorders, content with what they have.

ª When you leave something, you always wonder the hands you' re leaving it in,º says Robinson, the cornerstone of the Spurs for eight years before Duncan arrived as the No. 1 pick in the 1997 NBA Draft. ª You wonder if it' s going to be secure. There' s nobody better I could have left this team to than Tim. He' s phenomenal. The team has kind of taken on his personality.º

SIX! FIVE!

More than any team in the League has done for any superstar, the Spurs have converted to Duncan-ism. Parker and Manu Ginobili have built potential Hall of Fame careers by keeping their noses clean, mastering the fundamentals, producing winning (if not always exciting) basketball and, like No. 21, working the referees. Bruce Bowen went from an NBA journeyman to a starter on three title teams by following the Duncan model. Notorious wild card Stephen Jackson, who won a ring with the Spurs in ' 03, names Duncan as the player who had the most influence on him during his San Antonio stint. Even the coach acts like Duncan. Gregg Popovich' s unintentionally hilarious mid-game interviews on national TV have the same clipped, uneasy feel of some of Duncan' s interviews. Not surprisingly, Popovich has often said he' ll probably retire the same day Duncan walks away from the game.

It' s just Tim and myself now. One question won' t break down a dozen-years wall, but there could be time for a breakthrough. THREE! TWO! I' m looking at him; he' s looking at me. The great icebreaker is floating in the air somewhere. I can' t find it. He won' t help me. Time' s up.

ª The thing about Tim,º says Bowen, who retired in 2009, ª is that we wouldn' t have had success without him. With certain players on certain teams, they just define the team.º I relay the words of Robinson and Bowen to Duncan. Tell him that two of his most accomplished teammates credit him with being the foundation of the franchise. ª What does that mean to me?º Duncan is genuinely thinking

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Kevin Durant has always been a big-stage performer. He just needs the stage. So when no members of the Redeem Team suited up for Team USA at the World Championship this summer, Durant took full advantage of his opportunity to become basketball' s leading man. Now going into his fourth NBA season, the 21-year-old occupies rarified air as perhaps the best player on the planet.

WORDS. ARON PHILLIPS PHOTOS. DOROTHY HONG

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K

evin Durant averages more points per game than his 11-letter name is worth in Scrabble. (That' s 30.1 compared with 19 for those of you breaking out your tiles at home.) But this isn' t a game. At 21 years old and with only three years in the League under his belt, the NBA' s reigning scoring champ is already a top-5 player in the NBA, and en route to becoming one of the best ever.

From pickup games to All-Star Games, from workouts to shootouts, everyone I talked to for this story gave me a reason why they stop what they' re doing when the Thunder happen to be on TV, or Durant is tearing through SportsCenter highlights. And although he wouldn' t say it outright, one player even hinted that Durant was the primary reason he subscribed to NBA League Pass.

Despite LeBron James being the only player to receive more MVP votes than him last year, the mild-mannered Durant still jokes about walking through NBA cities and people not recognizing him.

This summer, everything changed. After leading the Thunder to Game 6 in a surprisingly competitive first-round playoff series against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers, Durant became the face of USA Basketball, and there was nowhere left to hide. When you' re the leading scorer for Team USA in the World Championships, basketball fans from Angola to Slovenia tune in. And although Durant won' t technically say he' s a superstar just yet, he gets dangerously close to finally admitting it after I ask him what he thinks other people consider him.

ª The main thing we' re trying to do is let people know who we play for,º says the 6-10 Durant. ª I walk down the street and I' m tall, somebody asks me who I play for and I say, ` Oklahoma City.' They say, ` College?' So I say, ` No, we' re the Thunder. Used to be the Sonics.' ª Even with Twitter and Facebook, people still don' t know where Oklahoma City is,º continues Durant. ª I just try and do my best to show people who we are and another part of that is how we perform on the court. I' m sure we' ll get more TV games next year, and be on TNT, ESPN and wherever. If we continue to just get better as a group, then people will start to recognize who we are.º

ª Up-and-coming superstar?º says Durant with a laugh. ª I don' t really get into that. You know, that' s one thing I really don' t worry about. I don' t consider myself a superstar yet, hopefully I get to that status, but right now I' m just trying to get there.º ª He' s very humble,º says Durant' s teammate Serge Ibaka. ª He knows he' s a big star, but he wants to be humble. He wants to be different and not like every other star. He knows he is a star. Everybody does. I know he' s a superstar. But he' s humble and that' s why I like him.º

And as the most exciting player to enter the NBA since LeBron in 2003, KD shouldn' t have that problem much longer. While his list of firsts this past season included All-Star, All-NBA First Team and playoff berths, without fail, Durant' s name is the first one mentioned when you ask the NBA' s elite who they tune in to watch when they' re not playing.

Even one of his new teammates on Team USA, who plays with arguably the best player on the planet in Kobe Bryant, sees it: ª It' s definitely an honor and asset to play on the same team with a guy so talented but yet so humble,º adds two-time NBA Champion Lamar Odom. ª And I' ve played with the best.º

He' s a natural-born leader in the same sense as Steve Nash. Guys want to be around him, they want to play with him and they want to be associated with him. He' s the general of the NBA' s youth. It' s kind of crazy that at only 25 years old, LeBron is almost the old guard at this point with guys like ' Melo, CP and Wade in his clique. KD is the new kid on the block and seems to have captured the imagination and the allegiance of younger players. We saw it on full display in Turkey as his teammates followed his lead and clearly looked to him every time it got tough as Durant led his squad to hard-fought gold.

To put Durant' s humility in perspective, all you have to do is look at his summer. While LeBron had an hour-long special on ESPN to announce his move to South Beach, Durant signed a five-year, $86 million extension and simply tweeted about it: Extension for 5 more years wit the #thunder....God is Great, me and my family came a long way...I love yall man forreal, this a blessing!

So in a League where 450 players all have NBA-sized egos and are all fighting for the same dollars, it' s extremely rare to hear anyone get the praise that Durant does from his peers. Make no mistake, Kevin Durant is your favorite player' s favorite player.

ª Look,º Durant told The Fayetteville Observer this July, ª LeBron James is the biggest name in all of all sports. Nothing he ever does is going to happen quietly, plain and simple. You can' t blame him for what happened and how he made his decision. Me, I' m a little different. No one really made a big deal about my deal. I' m not sure many people really cared where I was going.º

ª I' m a big fan of his,º says three-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony. ª You know, when he was in high school, when he was in college, I' ve always been a fan of his ± so that goes without even saying.º

Even Durant can' t truly think that is true. Slated to make just over $6 million this season in the last year of his rookie deal, Durant will be making less than teammates Nick Collison ($6,750,000) and Morris Peterson ($6,665,000). And if KD truly feels that people weren' t anxiously awaiting to see if he' d stay long-term in the small market of Oklahoma City, or test the waters like so many marquee free agents did this summer, he' s simply out of his mind.

ª He' s a 7-2 guard,º says two-time All-Star Baron Davis. ª He has great handles, works hard, plays to win and has improved every year. He is going to dominate for a long time. Sign him up for the Hall of Fame now.º When you' re writing a story on Durant, everyone comes out of the woodwork. It' s like when Jay-Z works on a new album ± everyone wants to guest on a track. So while sometimes it' s difficult to get in touch with NBA players during the offseason, a sacrosanct time normally spent with their family away from the media spotlight, guys were hitting us up to talk about KD. And there' s no one that knows Durant better than the people around him.

This past season, in addition to averaging 30.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 block per game ± all while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 90.0 percent from the free-throw line ± Durant scored 30-plus points on 47 occasions, and 25-plus for 29 consecutive games. To put

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that in perspective, no active player in the NBA has had more consecutive games with at least 25 points in their career than Durant, and it' s the longest streak since Michael Jordan' s 40game outburst in the 1986-87 season (coincidently also his third year in the League).

down. After three NBA seasons, Durant is just 33 points shy of 6,000 for his career. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who played 21 seasons and until he was 41 years old, holds the all-time record with 38,387. While it' s hard to predict what Durant will do over the next 10 years, even conservative estimates have the NBA' s youngest scoring champion chasing history.

This summer, Durant' s 28-point barrage propelled the Americans to their first World Championship gold medal finish since 1994, finishing a perfect 9-0 run in Turkey. Averaging 22.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 55.6 percent from the field, 45.6 percent from three and 91.2 percent from the foul line, Durant was named MVP of the whole tournament.

ª That' s amazing,º says second-year guard Jonny Flynn. ª To ever average that in the NBA is definitely a great career accomplishment for anybody. And when you' re 21 years old, that makes it even more special. It' s just amazing how he can really fill up the basket.º

All you have to do is ask his Team USA teammate Andre Iguodala to get a glimpse of Durant' s perceived ceiling.

ª I think he' s a great young player,º adds two-time All-Star Carlos Boozer. ª The way he was able to score last season, average 30 points a game and have that streak of 25 points a game, it was something that in our era we haven' t seen done.º

ª Kevin Durant will be the NBA' s all-time leading scorer when it' s all said and done,º Iguodala emphatically told CSN Philadelphia this August. ª He loves the game and has a knack for putting the ball in the basket.º ª His ability to score, it' s something that' s very uncanny,º adds three-time All-Star Chris Paul. ª You know what I mean? Not just threes and twos and getting to the foul line and stuff like that. But it' s going to be interesting.º

ª These are my new shoes They' re good shoes. They won' t make you rich like me, they won' t make you rebound like me, they definitely won' t make you handsome like me. They' ll only make you have shoes like me. That' s it.º

For those of you trying to do the math, here' s how it breaks

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While the words above come from Charles Barkley' s legendary Nike commercial, luckily for Durant' s sake, he' s found guys willing to take the risk. In late July, Durant put it out there on Twitter that he was looking for a group of guys, specifically Anthony Morrow, Terrence Williams and Nate Robinson, to wear his signature shoe this coming season. Immediately thereafter, Morrow and Williams ± who are both older than Durant ± responded in the affirmative. ª I felt honored,º says New Jersey Nets third-year guard Morrow. ª For a guy that' s considered a superstar, to acknowledge me and the hard work I' ve put in, I felt honored.º ª It meant a lot because someone of his status showed me ± a kid trying to make it ± love to the whole world asking me to wear his shoes,º says second-year forward Williams. ª And I' m all for the KD movement. Some guys will say no (to wearing signature shoes) if they' re in the NBA, but me personally, I believe he' s at the top of the NBA, so to me it' s definitely an honor.º After all, five-time NBA All-Star Amar' e Stoudemire had already made the Nike KD II his sneaker of choice for the second-half of last season. ª It' s an unbelievable feeling,º says Durant. ª Like I said to my friend, it' s like when guys would wear Jordan' s shoes, and now guys wear Kobe' s shoes. And to see a player really admire how your shoes are made and feel, it feels good. I can' t really explain it, but it' s a nice feeling. Hopefully guys will continue to wear my shoes more and more.º

For as much that has been written about Durant' s childhood growing up outside of Washington, D.C., to really get to know him you have to travel 1,500 miles from his hometown to Austin, Texas. Sure, the consensus National Player of the Year only spent one season in burnt orange, but it was there he realized for the first time that he might have a chance to play in the NBA. ª As soon as I got to college, people started talking, saying I had an opportunity to be in the League,º says Durant. ª But I never really listened to ' em. I didn' t want to get too happy about something because you never know if it' s gonna happen. You see a lot of high school AllAmericans that aren' t in the NBA right now. Once you step foot in college, all that' s out the window, and I just wanted to get better from there.º As the first college athlete ever to grace the cover of Dime, you could say we were on to something back in April of 2007. And if there' s anyone that can attest to the character of a guy who wouldn' t do the photo shoot without his teammates, it' s incoming NBA rookies Damion James and Dexter Pittman, who were freshmen alongside Durant back in 2006. ª He' s a great dude,º says James. ª Great dude, man. Down to earth and loves his family. We play against each other every summer, and he just loves to be around the family.º

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ª On the court, he' s the hardest worker you' ll ever meet,º adds Pittman. ª Off the court, he' s a hard worker too. He' s a great big brother. Matter of fact, that' s who I was texting right now. He was just telling me to make sure I stay focused in Miami and all that. He' s a great guy. Everyone loves to be around him.º

praise of a Hall of Fame coach with an Olympic gold medal and four National Championships under his belt. ª He obviously makes you look better as a coach,º says Team USA head coach Mike Krzyzewski. ª Durant is a no position player who' s pure. He has no negative intangibles. He has all positive intangibles. He has unique skills, coupled with a great attitude. Durant is one of a kind.º

While it' s hard to believe, had Durant stayed at Texas all four years, he would have just graduated this summer. And even as he captained the Thunder to a 27-game improvement during last season, he still found time to mentor other Longhorns along the way ± most notably incoming rookie Avery Bradley ± who says he and Durant are very close.

Added Krzyzewski after they took gold at the World Championships, ª He was on a pretty high floor already, but he went close to being in the penthouse.º

ª He' s cool,º says Bradley. ª He' s probably the nicest and coolest person you' ll ever meet. Really hard worker, I mean, he' s just a good guy and does things the right way. It just shows the

Even though Durant won' t call himself a superstar just yet, he knows exactly what he wants to be when his days in the NBA are over: ª One of the best ever.º

“HE KNOWS HE’S A BIG STAR, BUT HE WANTS TO BE HUMBLE. HE WANTS TO BE DIFFERENT AND NOT LIKE EVERY OTHER STAR.”

- Serge Ibaka.

people that are like that, those are the real successful people, and that' s why he' s so successful.º

ª I got so much room to improve my skills,º says Durant, ª my game is not finished yet. I think that' s the best thing. My ceiling' s high, so it' s all about me improving. And it' s not going to just happen. That' s one thing I know, it' s not going to just happen. So I just gotta keep growing as an individual. You know I gotta put that work in. So that' s what it is.º

With everyone I spoke to about Durant, there was a recurring theme: Players know why he' s as good as he is; it' s no secret. A true student of the game, even Durant joked at one point that if there was Twitter when he was growing up, he would have followed just about everybody in the League. ª No matter who it was, from Scot Pollard to Michael Jordan, I' d follow anybody,º says Durant. ª I' d really just like to see what guys went through as far as how they handle themselves off the court.º And it' s a mentality such as this that shows you why the NBA' s elite continue to be his biggest admirers. ª I' ve seen KD grow as a player and I am a little bit older than him,º says fifth-year forward Rudy Gay. ª I' ve seen him progress as a player and get a lot better. It' s good to see him having so much success right now.º ª First of all, he' s grown into being a great player,º adds six-time All-Star Dwyane Wade. ª And I think this summer' s good for him to be able to grow into a great leader. You know, leading the charge of this young team that a lot of people have a lot of questions about. This is going to be great for his leadership going forward, especially for what he' s been doing in OKC.º And if the words of his peers aren' t enough, how about the

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Words. Jason Hahn, The Fantasy Doctor

TOP 101 Here is the projected Top 101 fantasy basketball players in 2010-11 (based on a nine-category, head-to-head perspective).

1

Kevin Durant

Among the many things he did differently from a certain NBA superstar-gone-South-Beach this offseason, KD managed to elevate his fantasy (and reallife) status rather than stifl e it. He was essentially tied for Fantasy Player of the Year honors in 2009-10, and after putting up insane stats last season (48 percent from the field, 90 percent from the line, around 30/8/3 and a combo of 4.0 threes/ steals/block per game) it' s easy to write the kid' s name in at No. 1 on your draft cheat sheets. Oh, and get this: Durant will be 22 years old when the season starts. Yeah, he still has some serious growing to do. Hide your kids, hide your wife.

2

LeBron James

Whatever James endured this summer is the equivalent of a few scuffs on his fantasy basketball sneakers. While he' s no longer a consensus No. 1 fantasy pick, he still has a fighting chance to steal that honor this season. How? By spending less energy on scoring and focusing more on the other things. While it' s tempting to assume that this makes him a near-lock to average a triple-double, it' ll be diffi cult for him to dish out that many more assists than he did last season since he won' t have the ball in his hands nearly as often as he did in Cleveland. Is 23/9/9 out of the question? Nope, but don' t bank on it. Regardless, this is Take-My-Talents James we' re talking about here, the baddest all-around fantasy player in the land, and he' s still only 25 years old. Be confident drafting him at No. 2 this fall ± go ahead and speak in the third person while you do it.

3

Chris Paul

He has his health back (for now) and his talented backup has been shipped out of town in exchange for a skilled swingman, which gives him another weapon to pass to. Things are looking up for CP3 in New Orleans, no matter how much he actually wants to stay there. If you deem him worthy of the No. 2 overall spot on this list, it' s tough to blame you. After all, when healthy and firing on all pistons, Paul puts up gaudy numbers on a nightly basis. The main reason why it' s easier to leave him until No. 3 is his health, which is far less reliable than James' . If, however, you can stomach the injury risk and are drawn to building your fantasy team on the foundation of a monster point guard, pick him a spot earlier than this and don' t look back.

4

Dirk Nowitzki

He' s been as steady a fantasy basketball player as you can ask for, but that doesn' t mean it makes it any more appealing to take him here. Does Nowitzki belong at No. 4 overall? Absolutely. Does he hurt you anywhere? Nope ± take a look at his stats from last season, or any of his last 10 seasons for that matter, and try to point out a glaring weakness. You' ll have an easier time finding Jennifer Aniston a husband. Diggler' s one of the most efficient fantasy players out there, but the funny thing is that his consistency almost lulls fantasy owners numb to his great value. He' s the wisest pick here, but if you just can' t stand the boredom that' s included in this package of fantasy goodness, feel free to take a risk on someone

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who offers more excitement. Just be prepared to slap yourself on the forehead for taking that risk this early in the draft if it doesn' t pan out.

5

Danny Granger

I' m not looking at the screen as I type this. When healthy, Granger is an outright stud: he scores the ball well, hits boatloads of threes and gives you an enjoyable mix of steals and blocks. The major knocks on his fantasy value are his field-goal percentage (which is vulnerable to his trigger-happiness from beyond the arc) and his health. Granger has missed 35 games in his last two seasons and is a regular guest on injury reports. Still, with Troy Murphy out of Indiana and a capable point guard at the helm for the Pacers, there' s more than enough reason to be optimistic about his fantasy value this season. Let' s just hope his body has enough time to rest after the World Championships are over.

6

Kobe Bryant

The day of Kobe' s decline is nearing, but don' t overreact. He' ll start the season with a whole summer' s worth of rest for his ailing body and it' s hard to think that the Black Mamba' s not feeling juiced up about defending his throne to the death from the threats posed by a galling trio joining forces in Miami, and Shaquille O' Neal in Celtic green. There were unmistakable signs of wear and tear last season, so it' s understandable if Bryant drops further than this in most drafts. It' s just hard to believe that he' ll average anything less than 26/5/5 until we actually see it.

7

Pau Gasol

He finally broke through the doubledouble barrier last season, and with Andrew Bynum apparently a lock to miss 20+ games every season for the rest of his life and Kobe losing the slightest step, the Spaniard should continue to run wild in L.A. He could be set to shoulder a bigger load on offense for the Lakers, too. Solid centers are hard to come by in fantasy basketball, and getting one this early is a huge blessing.

8

Deron Williams

He' s a walking, dribbling doubledouble. The only real concerns for Williams are his vulnerability to dings and dents, and the loss of his pick-and-roll buddy Carlos Boozer. It' ll be interesting to see how he meshes with Al Jefferson and commands the floor with Paul Millsap playing more minutes, but the Jazz are still his team and he should have no trouble leading it well.

9

Stephen Curry

If you didn' t pay attention you probably didn' t see that Curry finished as a top 12 fantasy player last season. Instead of hitting the dreaded rookie wall, he kicked things into an even higher gear as the year wore on, averaging about 22/6/8 along with 2.0 steals and 2.7 threes per game after the All-Star break, all while shooting 47 percent from the field and 90 percent from the line. He' s still on the wild Warriors, Mad Nellie is still the team' s coach, and with the likes of Anthony Morrow, C.J. Watson and Corey Maggette out of town, it' s clear that the keys to the offense in Oakland are all Curry' s. And if he doesn' t make a sophomore leap and his stats remain stagnant? He' s still be worth a first-round pick.

10

Dwyane Wade

After producing two monster seasons with nauseating rosters, it' s logical to knock him down your draft lists a few spots now that he has a lot more help. The name of the game this season will be effi ciency for Wade, who has James around to handle the ball more (fewer turnovers) and an overall team that will relieve tons of pressure from him (higher fi eld-goal percentage, lower injury risk). It' s safe to say most of his numbers will be weighed down a bit this season, but he' ll still be an all-around asset to your fantasy squad. If you want to make the case that he goes higher than this, you won' t find much resistance here ± No. 10 just seems more prudent.

11. David Lee 12. Gerald Wallace 13. Amar'e Stoudemire 14. Steve Nash 15. Brook Lopez 16. Dwight Howard 17. Josh Smith 18. Jason Kidd 19. Carmelo Anthony 20. Chauncey Billups 21. Joe Johnson 22. Al Horford 23. Chris Bosh 24. Andre Iguodala 25. Rajon Rondo 26. Al Jefferson 27. Brandon Roy 28. Nene 29. Carlos Boozer 30. Tim Duncan 31. Danilo Gallinari 32. Mo Williams 33. Monta Ellis 34. Andrea Bargnani 35. Stephen Jackson 36. Tyreke Evans 37. David West 38. Paul Pierce 39. Raymond Felton 40. Manu Ginobili 41. Marcus Camby 42. Darren Collison 43. Marc Gasol 44. Hedo Turkoglu 45. Zach Randolph 46. Jason Richardson 47. Rudy Gay 48. Antawn Jamison 49. Baron Davis 50. Aaron Brooks 51. Kevin Love 52. Kevin Martin 53. Russell Westbrook 54. Joakim Noah 55. Anthony Randolph 56. Troy Murphy 67

57. Jeff Green 58. Derrick Rose 59. O.J. Mayo 60. Trevor Ariza 61. Marcus Thornton 62. Andray Blatche 63. Devin Harris 64. John Wall 65. Kevin Garnett 66. Jamal Crawford 67. Gilbert Arenas 68. Paul Millsap 69. Eric Gordon 70. Rashard Lewis 71. LaMarcus Aldridge 72. Luol Deng 73. Ray Allen 74. Chris Kaman 75. Andrei Kirilenko 76. Anthony Morrow 77. John Salmons 78. Andre Miller 79. Blake Griffin 80. Caron Butler 81. Brandon Jennings 82. Jason Terry 83. Luis Scola 84. J.J. Hickson 85. Elton Brand 86. Andrew Bogut 87. Yao Ming 88. George Hill 89. Reggie Williams 90. Robin Lopez 91. Rodney Stuckey 92. Roy Hibbert 93. Andrew Bynum 94. Vince Carter 95. Mike Miller 96. J.R. Smith 97. Jameer Nelson 98. DeMarcus Cousins 99. Channing Frye 100. Jrue Holiday 101. Samuel Dalembert

TOP 10 SLEEPERS Sleepers l are an iimportant b but d dangerous part off any preparations i ffor ffantasy b basketball k b ll d drafts. f After all, what fun is it strictly adhering to the automated or expert-based rankings you're spoon-fed? Not only is taking that route lame, it can also blind you to players whose true value is hidden from lists too-heavily based on numbers or past performances. The hazard is getting caught up in the self or media generated hype for your sleeper picks and moving too early to grab them. All that said, here is a list of the Top 10 sleepers that you should keep an eye out for in the latter rounds of your drafts (with target rounds in 12-team leagues in brackets), in no particular order. Included here are what I'd call "true" sleepers -- players who are really flying under the radar this summer and have a good shot at outperforming their currently perceived values. This means that you won't find the likes of Anthony Randolph, J.J. Hickson, Hedo Turkoglu, Raymond Felton, Leandro Barbosa, Andrei Kirilenko or Rodrigue Beaubois (whose appeal took a dip when he broke his foot) here, since they're among the fantasy players whose sleeper statuses have nearly caught up to them, making them borderline non-sleepers this fall. Get your rose-colored glasses and read on.

1

Linas Kleiza (G/F ±

Raptors) Forgot about him? You' re not alone. Kleiza played ball in Greece last season but is making his NBA return in Toronto, where he' s set to command sufficient minutes in a shallow Raptors frontcourt. He did plenty with around 25 minutes a game for Denver in 2007-08, and it' s not difficult to imagine that he' ll leave his mark on fantasy leagues again this season with his versatility. [Target: Rounds 11+]

2

Robin Lopez (F/C ±

Suns) Let' s table the discussion about why his parents chose to christen their two sons with gender-ambiguous names ± this half of the Lopez Bros. is in line for a breakthrough season. He was hindered last year by injuries but made significant contributions whenever he did play, averaging 11/6 and 1.1 blocks, along with 60 percent from the field and 74 percent from

the free-throw line in 24:30 per game as a starter. His tough defense guarantees him a spot as the starting center for the Suns and he could be this season' s version of a mini-Marc Gasol. [Target: Rounds 9-10]

3

Shaun Livingston

(PG ± Bobcats) It might take some therapy to get images of his gruesome knee injury out of our minds, but don' t let that deter you from evaluating his true fantasy value this season. Livingston had himself a fine run in Washington last season, averaging 16/4/6 and shooting 64 percent from the field and 88 percent from the line in the last nine games of 2009-10. Now he finds himself in Charlotte, where he' ll compete with D.J. Augustin for minutes at the PG spot. Coach Larry Brown seemed to loathe Augustin last year, basically nailing his shorts to the bench for much of the season, so there' s good reason to think that Livingston could end up winning the starting gig and the lion' s share of minutes there ± so long as his body is up for it. [Target: Rounds 12+]

4

Jeff Teague (PG ±

Hawks) This is a classic case of schadenfreude ± ª glee at another' s misfortune,º according to Webster' s. Mike Bibby' s value is dropping faster than prices for anything with the number 23 in it in Cleveland. Take a look at the Hawks' depth chart and who' s next in line? Teague, who showed flashes of promise last season (24/5/15 in the final regular-season game) and played well during the Summer League. He' s set to earn a timeshare at point guard in Atlanta. [Target: Rounds 12+]

5

Anthony Morrow

(G/F ± Nets) Morrow was known as one of the streakiest players in fantasy land while he was on the Warriors, making him an everappealing waiver-wire pickup throughout the past couple seasons. However, with Courtney Lee out of New Jersey, Morrow will see more consistent court time, something that was hard to come by under coach Don Nelson in Oakland. He should

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be a steady source of threes and absent from waiver wires in all but the shallowest leagues this season. [Target: Rounds 7-8]

6

Reggie Williams

(G/F ± Warriors) This dude was a straight-up beast for flashes of his 24-game stay with the Warriors last season, and he helped many fantasy owners who were savvy enough to pick him up. He' s back for the Warriors in 2010-11, this time with a contract and a shallower roster. While he still has to compete for minutes, Williams' performance last year should earn him plenty of minutes this season, along with the right to be drafted in most leagues this fall. [Target: Rounds 8-10]

7

JaVale McGee (F/C ±

Wizards) There' s always been a good deal of hype about McGee, whose athleticism makes him easy to like ± and overrate. Nevertheless, the starting center job in Washington should be all his this season, making him a solid source of blocks (he averaged 1.7 blocks while playing just a shade more than 16 minutes a game in 2009-10). He' s still a bit unpolished, which could limit his minutes and effectiveness for stretches of the season, but the alluring potential is there. [Target: Rounds 10+]

8

Chase Budinger

(G/F ± Rockets) The red top and facial hair make it easy to compare him to Brian Scalabrine, but make no mistake ± Budinger can play. He only averaged around 20 minutes a game last season but still showed that he can put up great all-around numbers. In four games as a starter, Budinger averaged 17/6/3 along with 2.5 threes, 53 percent from the fi eld and 88 percent from the line. With Trevor Ariza out of town, the second-year forward should benefit from a timeshare with Shane Battier at the SF spot and could benefit from the post presence Yao Ming brings to the floor. If you still can' t get over the comparison, think of Budinger as Scalabrine 9.0. [Target: Rounds 13+]

9

Amir Johnson (PF ±

Raptors) The competition at PF for the Raptors is pretty weak (unless you' re bullish about Ed Davis' development this season), which means Johnson should receive plenty of playing time this year. He' s always shown promise but has never gotten quite enough minutes to capitalize. This season should be a different story. He' s an inconsistent rebounder and shot-blocker, but at just 23 years old, getting more playing time will only help his development. And if Andrea Bargnani moves over to PF, Johnson will probably get center eligibility, which only helps his value. [Target: Rounds 13+]

10

Darko Milicic

(F/C ± Timberwolves) If reading his name here makes you angry, I and most other fantasy owners are with you. But before you rip this page out and set it ablaze, let' s take a sober look at Milicic' s situation this season: no Al Jefferson, a starting job at center and a $20 million investment from the living tragicomedy that is David Kahn. The Human Cigar, who' s always been a good shot-blocker, could be in line for around 30 minutes a game in 2010-11, which means he could feasibly approach 11/7 along with around 1+ steals and 1.5+ blocks per game. You could do a lot worse than picking a center with Milicic' s (dare I say it) potential for relevance this season. That said, if you still refuse to consider drafting him out of spite, I fi nd it hard to blame you. [Target: Rounds 13+]

10 BOLD PREDICTIONS What fun is it to stay fully grounded in reality? This is, after all, "fantasy" basketball. Though it's usually wise to keep the reins away from your imagination when you're drafting and managing your teams, it doesn't hurt to at least ponder extreme possibilities to test the ceilings and floors of certain players. Below is the result of this exercise, in the form of 10 bold predictions. This list isn't necessarily what I think will happen it's just a rundown of uber-pessimistic and optimistic scenarios that could become reality when all is said and done this year.

1

LeBron James will average a tripledouble and be the No. 1 fantasy player

This is a sexy proposition, and one that has certainly crossed the mind of every fantasy basketball fan out there. The reasoning is simple: better teammates mean freedom for James to focus less on scoring and morph into the Magic Johnson-esque player he was always meant to be, which means more rebounds and assists. If he plays with as much intensity as he showed in Cleveland (save for those mysteriously forgettable playoff games) and plays as many minutes, this is even easier to imagine. With an apparent vendetta to make all his critics eat crow this season, you have to figure James is coming into this season with plenty of egomaniacal motivation to fuel and propel him into the history books.

2

Gilbert Arenas will regain top 40 status

Not many players have burned fantasy owners as badly as Hibachi has. The dude used to be a fantasy stud until his knee and brain both imploded. Though John Wall' s addition to the Wizards is widely seen as a negative for Arenas' value, there' s a brighter side to his newfound job as starting SG: he won' t have to handle the ball as often (fewer assists but fewer turnovers), which will free him up to take better shots (higher field-goal percentage) and grow into the ultimate spot-up shooter (more threes). Besides, it' s not like the Wizards are rife with offensive weapons this season. With affections for Agent Zero so low, it seems like a prime opportunity for him to surprise everyone and turn in one of his best seasons in a long time.

3

Elton Brand will work himself back into all fantasy starting lineups

He' s been thoroughly disappointing since he joined the Sixers, thanks mostly to an inability to regain his athleticism. But coach Doug Collins seems intent on helping Brand return to being the player he once was, and with Samuel Dalembert out of town, the opening for a return to form has never been wider. Brand still shoots the ball well and offers a solid mix of steals and blocks, and with a starting gig and plenty of minutes set to fall into his lap, he' s in for a step in the right direction.

4

Derrick Rose will average 1.5+ threes and 1+ steals a game

The biggest knock on Rose' s fantasy value has always been his inability to hit threes or steal balls, relegating him to nothing more than a better version of Tony Parker ± and in fantasy terms, that' s not a compliment. But with reports that Rose has worked hard on his three-point shooting and defense this summer, along

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with the pick-and-roll game he' ll have with Carlos Boozer, fantasy owners have reason to be optimistic that 2010-11 is the season when he' ll finally turn the corner into true fantasy stardom.

5

Yao Ming, Greg Oden and Andrew Bynum will combine to miss 82+ games

These are three of the best centers in fantasy basketball ± when healthy. The rub is, of course, that these are also three of the unhealthiest players in the NBA. The hope that these three guys will suddenly become portraits of health this season is fool' s gold at best. Adding their DNPs over the last two seasons, Yao, Oden and Bynum have averaged a combined 89 missed games per season. Go ahead ± cross your fingers, make offerings to various fantasy basketball gods and think happy thoughts as you draft them. Just make sure you don' t bank on them to anchor a center spot on your fantasy squads for too long.

6

Darren Collison will finish the season as a top eight fantasy point guard

This kid made serious waves in fantasy leagues last season when CP3 went down. He averaged around 19/4/9 along with a three and 1.4 steals per game in 37 games as a starter. True, he also averaged 4.1 turnovers during those games, but after a full season and some more maturity under his belt, that number will shrink. He' s no longer stuck behind Paul and is set to take full control of the Pacers as their starting point guard, which is all kinds of mouth-watering for fantasy owners. While it' s tough to see him replicating those lines in New Orleans on a consistent basis, numbers in the neighborhood of 17/4/8 along with plenty of threes, steals and rock-solid shooting percentages, not to mention a high ceiling, could put Collison in some high-and-mighty fantasy company.

7

Mario Chalmers will be a stud

The script that the Miami Heat have written has everything in place for Chalmers to duplicate what Rajon Rondo has done in Boston ± grow into a role as the young point guard on a team with three big-time stars. He' s already shown that he' s adequate at hitting threes and racking up steals in limited minutes, and with a roster that can finally instill some confidence and finish more plays, Chalmers has a real shot at surprising fantasy leagues this season. He won' t bear nearly as much pressure as he did in his first two seasons in the League, and will find himself being asked to pass the ball off to his skilled teammates and hit the open shots they create ± a recipe for a potentially dazzling fantasy feast.

8

Jeremy Lin will be the waiver-wire yo-yo of the year

Lin' s story has read like something of a fairy tale so far, and now he fi nds himself playing for a coach that loves to find ways to make seemingly irrelevant players very relevant ± in front of his hometown nonetheless. Add to this the dearth of guards on the Warriors' roster and the opportunity for the kid from Harvard to shine is there. He' s overcome some big odds so far, and with the help of Don Nelson (who might be drawn to the idea of ending his career with crowd-pleasing distributions of minutes) the table is set for Lin to go on some hot streaks and put up usable fantasy numbers throughout the season.

9

Steve Nash will bow out of the Top 20

There are a few things working against the 36-year-old Nash this season: his age, Hedo Turkoglu and Amar' e Stoudemire' s absence. The first threat is obvious, and while he' s done a good job of escaping time' s awful grip up until now, it' s difficult to see him pulling off this magic for much longer. It seems like the Suns' coaching staff know this, too ± just look at his minutes, which have been in steady decline for the past five seasons. Turkoglu' s arrival is great for his own fantasy value, since he seems to be a near-perfect cog for the Suns' system, but he' s also set to cut into the ball-handling duties that have been unquestionably Nash' s up until now, which could prevent the perennial first-rounder from being the double-double machine we' ve become so accustomed to. The cherry on top of this cloud of pessimism is the absence of Stoudemire. Nash no longer has one of the best finishers in the league at his disposal, which will be another downer for his assists. His stellar shooting should remain intact, but it appears that the good times are nearing an end for the likable point guard.

10

Tyreke Evans will disappoint you

Some fantasy owners will write Evans in as a Top 15 fantasy player in this year' s drafts, but that' s madness. Here' s what we know: he put up great overall stats in his rookie season, but showed that he doesn' t accumulate a ton of threes or steals, which makes it hard to overlook his propensity for turning the ball over. Also, DeMarcus Cousins, who is the Kings' next big project, will be granted plenty of attention from the team' s coaching staff, which could mean fewer shots for Evans. And even if you don' t think any of this is really going to weigh Evans down, ask yourself this: Does he really have much more room to grow before he hits his fantasy-basketball ceiling? If you think that' s a ludicrous proposition, just look at the

likes of Derrick Rose, whose second-year fantasy value didn' t really budge much from his solid rookie campaign, mostly because he wasn' t able to dish out more assists or hit more threes. Evans is a safe bet to be one of the 40 best fantasy assets this season, but anything beyond that is wishful thinking.

With trade murmurs plaguing the Pistons, Villanueva could find himself with more consistent minutes if he' s dealt to a team with an open forward spot or if Tayshaun Prince is dealt away. Regardless, the frontcourt in Detroit is shallow enough to give Villanueva opportunities to make up for his fat contract.

Michael Beasley

CATEGORY SPECIALISTS If you're in the latter half of your draft and can't see your team's flaws, you're either in a shallow league, pulling off one helluva draft, or aren't paying enough attention to your categorical strengths and weaknesses. Most of us, however, will notice the categories that appear to be dragging our teams down. While some of these areas are easier to make up for in the later rounds than others, there are plenty of lower-rung fantasy players who can help fill in the gaps. Here's an overview of some

(F ± Timberwolves) He' s not the most appealing fantasy player, thanks to a mostly one-dimensional game, but what fantasy owners can count on from Beasley is points. In his fi rst two years in the NBA, he' s averaged 14.3 points in 27:18 per game. He' ll have to compete for minutes with Kevin Love and Wesley Johnson, but it' s not difficult to imagine that Beasley will see playing time around that neighborhood this season, and 14 or 15 points from a player you can probably nab in the last four rounds of your drafts isn' t shabby.

Leandro Barbosa (G ±

Raptors) Provided he remains healthy this season, Barbosa should continue being the scoring machine he was in Phoenix. He' s shown that all it takes is around 25 minutes for him to slap 14 points on the scoreboard, and his main competition for minutes is the still-unproven DeMar DeRozan.

who will be found in the later rounds of

Threes

your drafts and can help you out in the

Mike Miller (G/F ±

players (listed in no particular order)

specified areas.

Points George Hill (G ±

Spurs) Hill proved himself to be a great all-around fantasy asset last season, especially as a fill-in for Tony Parker ± he averaged 15.3 points in 43 games in the Spurs' starting lineup. While his spot in the rotation this season is a bit difficult to gauge, what we can safely bank on is the fact that Hill figures to be groomed to eventually take over the Spurs' backcourt. It' s possible that Hill will nab the starting SG job, with Manu Ginobili taking his familiar sixth-man role. With Parker and Ginobili liable to rack up a handful of DNPs, Hill seems poised to put on a strong encore showing and will help shore up your squad' s points in a hurry.

Heat) It' s clear that he was brought on board to be the Heat' s sharpshooter, and on a team with two of the best drivers in the League, not to mention a big man that draws attention down low, Miller appears set to deliver 2+ threes per game for his fantasy owners. There are worse ways to go than to spend a late-round pick on a player who has a good shot at being a topfive three-point maker and, consequently, a steady starter for your fantasy crew this season.

J.R. Smith (G/F ±

Charlie Villanueva

Nuggets) Since he landed in Denver four seasons ago, Smith hasn' t averaged fewer than 2.1 threes per game. The fact that he has never played more than 28 minutes a game during that time makes that feat even more impressive. He isn' t the most consistent player, but he' s capable of easily hitting 9+ threes in any given week. Getting a top-10 three-point maker in round 10? Sounds good to me.

(F ± Pistons) His clunker last season guarantees that he' ll be left to the late rounds of most drafts, and rightfully so. Nevertheless, Villanueva is a versatile big man who has an easy time putting up 15+ points when given around 30 minutes of playing time.

(F/C ± Suns) After averaging just 0.2 threes per game in 2008-09, Frye unleashed 2.1 threes per game last season in Phoenix. The bad news is that he' ll probably come off the bench for the Suns this season. The

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Channing Frye

good news is that he' ll be available in the last four rounds of most drafts and makes for a good stopgap player should you find yourself matched up against an opponent' s fantasy squad that' s strong in threes.

Raja Bell (SG ±

Jazz) He only played six games last season, but Bell is back in Utah, where he' ll find himself with an opportunity to surge back into fantasy relevance. He' s always been a good three-point shooter and is set to take the role that Korver left behind. With a strong low-post presence in Al Jefferson and a very capable distributor in Deron Williams, Bell could be set to knock down a ton of triples in 2010-11.

Rebounds Drew Gooden (F/C ±

Bucks) He had a surprisingly solid run for the Clippers last season and appears set to be the starting power forward in Milwaukee this season. In his eightyear career, Gooden has averaged 7.9 rebounds in 27:41 per game. With Andrew Bogut still hindered by his arm, Gooden shouldn' t have much trouble finding that kind of playing time for the Bucks this season and should be able to notch around 8-9 rebounds per game on a nightly basis.

Emeka Okafor

(C ± Hornets) The man has his fl aws but no one can argue with his strengths, especially his rebounding. Okafor has averaged 10.3 rebounds in his six-year career and not much more needs to be said here, besides the fact that he' ll fall to rounds 10-11 of most drafts, making him a supremely cheap source of rebounds.

Assists

Andrei Kirilenko (F ±

Jose Calderon (PG ±

Raptors) Calderon' s stock plummeted last season, but that doesn' t mean he' s a complete waste of a fantasy draft pick. While his once-strong free-throw shooting appears to have died from a mysterious disease, he remains a decent source of assists (6.6 per game in his fi ve-year career), especially given his projected availability in rounds 9-11.

Mike Conley (PG ±

Grizzlies) He just can' t seem to break through, can he? He still has his starting gig in Memphis, which means that he should be good for around fi ve assists per game. That' s not too shabby considering his probable availability in the last two rounds of most drafts.

Beno Udrih (PG ±

Kings) Udrih started and fi nished last season strong and averaged 6.0 assists in 41 games as a starter. While his performance might' ve been a bit of a fluke, taking a gamble with one of your last three picks on Udrih could be a steal for your team, especially if he cements his starting job.

Tony Parker (PG ±

Spurs) It might be surprising to see Parker' s name absent from the list of the Top 101 fantasy players this season, but his stats just don' t offer enough to make him worth anything more than a ninthor tenth-round pick, at best. Given that draft position, his 5.5+ assists are a bargain.

Tony Allen (G/F ±

Grizzlies) In his six-year career, Allen has averaged a steal while only playing 18:23 per game. Now that he' s out of Boston and on a Grizzlies squad that might enable him to play closer to 25+ minutes per game, this could be the season when Allen asserts himself as a consistent fantasy asset, albeit a mildly appealing one. He' ll be available in the last round but might be able to offer 1.5 steals per game for the owner that is willing to roll the dice on him.

Blocks Chris Andersen (F/C ±

Nuggets) The Birdman is known for three things: his tats, his hair and his blocking ability. In his last two seasons with the Nuggets, Andersen has averaged 2.2 blocks in just 21:27 per game. But there' s good news and bad news here. The good news is that Kenyon Martin is expected to miss a lot of time this season, which opens up minutes for Andersen. The bad news is that Andersen, who had surgery on his left ring finger and his right knee this summer, stands a chance of missing the start of the season. He might require some patience, but his crazy blocking numbers can' t be denied.

JaVale McGee (F/C ±

Steals

DeJuan Blair (F/C ±

Spurs) In 23 outings as a starter, Blair grabbed 8.4 rebounds in fewer than 24 minutes per game. He' s nowhere near ready to take the torch from Tim Duncan, but with a center spot that is far from solidified, Blair should earn more minutes and be an even better source of rebounding this season.

Heat) During his first two seasons in the League, Chalmers has averaged 1.6 steals in 28:36 per game. He' s set to start games as the Heat' s point guard of choice, so there' s no reason to expect that his minutes or steals should shift much from those figures. Not bad for someone who can be had in the final round.

Andris Biedrins (C ±

Ronnie Brewer (SG ±

Warriors) After enduring a painfully forgettable season, Biedrins is returning to a team that has brought on another solid rebounder in David Lee. While that doesn' t exactly bode well for his chances at a comeback season, it' s worth looking at the flip side: Biedrins is a solid rebounder himself (8.2 rebounds in about 24 minutes during his six years in the NBA) and if he can stay healthy this year, he could affect Lee' s numbers more than Lee affects his.

Jazz) AK-47 appears on track to start the season healthier than he' s been in quite some time. With Carlos Boozer out of Utah, Kirilenko should receive plenty of playing time at both forward spots, and as a perennial threat to average 1.5 steals, he should come as a cheap source of those (and blocks) in rounds 8-10.

Mario Chalmers (PG ±

Bulls) He seemed to vanish into thin air in 200910, thanks in part to a nagging hamstring injury that took him out of the latter portion of the season. But Brewer has a fresh start in Chicago and seems poised to start at SG. He' s averaged 1.5 steals in 26:11 per game in his young four-year NBA career, and a backcourt of Brewer and the potentially-defensively-improved Derrick Rose could cause more than a few opposing point guards to fumble the ball every now and then.

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Wizards) Despite playing just 16:06 per game last season, McGee managed to average 1.7 blocks (a whopping 5.0 blocks per 48 minutes), putting him at No. 12 on the list of shot-blockers in 2009-10. With a starting job in hand, McGee should have no problem duplicating that performance at worst, and improving to around three blocks per game at best. He should be available around rounds 10-11, but don' t be surprised to see optimistic owners snatch him up earlier than that.

Greg Oden (C ±

Trail Blazers) In the 21 games he played last season, the man o' glass averaged 2.3 blocks per game, third best in the NBA behind Dwight Howard and Andrew Bogut. There' s no question that Oden is a fantasy stud when he' s on the floor ± the question is how early are you willing to take him, if at all? Rounds 10-11 sound reasonable.

Serge Ibaka (C ±

Thunder) The kid from Congo averaged 1.3 blocks

in just 18:06 per game in 2009-10, and appears set to seriously compete for the starting-center job in Oklahoma City this season ± especially with Nenad Krstic throwing haymakers and chairs. This makes him something of a sleeper and a very appealing late-round source of blocks.

HOW TO BUILD THE PERFECT FANTASY TEAM Do your homework There' s no such thing as an offseason for fantasy basketball owners. The summer brings more than enough nuggets of potentially juicy information to chew on, especially from a fantasy perspective. Beyond the obvious ± Summer League/preseason games, free agency moves, trades ± there are subtle quotes and updates that hit the wires and lend themselves to fantasy-related spin. These can be anything from a coach' s mention of his rotations, to reports that a player is working on a certain aspect of his game. While everything seen and heard during the offseason should be taken with a healthy pinch of salt (paging everyone who had their summer fling with Anthony Randolph last year), it only helps your chances if you keep up-to-date by reading various basketball resources ± fantasy-related or not. So bookmark those websites and blogs, update your RSS readers and follow those Twitter accounts.

Understand the system Head-to-head, rotisserie, fantasy points, categories, keeper, auction ± these simple words can determine whether Dwight Howard goes at No. 5 or No. 20 overall in your drafts, among other things. Make sure you know the scoring system and settings your fantasy league will use, especially if there are aspects that are more exotic than usual.

Be like Santa Make your own home-brewed draft-day cheat sheet and rank fantasy players from the nicest to the naughtiest. There are many ways to go about this, but the wisest is to come up with your own list, compare it to other rankings on the Internet and adjust accordingly. Just be sure you understand the assumptions of those other lists ± scoring system, number of categories, etc. Some may not specify these, so do your best to look at them with a discerning eye. If you' re not a big believer in the wisdom of crowds, you probably don' t see the point of spending time looking at what other people think, and that' s fi ne. Just know

that you might be missing out on some keen insights and indicators of what' s to come. Keep in mind that lists from purported ª expertsº aren' t the only ones out there. There are rankings based on the average pick positions from mock and non-mock drafts, and those are helpful. Exposing yourself to as many perspectives as you can is a good exercise ± just don' t lose your own perspectives in the midst of it all. Generating your own list kills two birds with one stone: it helps you to have a set of rankings on hand that actually reflects how players should be valued in your specific league, and it helps you to avoid being the guy who catches the draftday jitters, constantly burning the clock to its last seconds and fumbling your sixthround pick with Vince Carter.

Strategery If you' re in a roto league, the goal of your draft is relatively straightforward: build the team that has the best chance to compete in all counted categories. In a head-to-head league, drafting is a bit more open to interpretation. There are two main schools of thought here: 1) Draft a team that' s strong across the board, or 2) Disregard (or ª puntº ) a category or two and stack up on the other stats. While it may seem counterintuitive, going the acrossthe-board route is actually easier than punting. Why? Because punting categories takes commitment, discipline and a more detail-oriented eye. If, for instance, you' re in a head-to-head draft and decide to take Dwight Howard at No. 8 overall and go the punting route, you' re committing yourself to losing the free-throw percentage battle. When you get to the second round and fi nd yourself with the decision to choose between Rajon Rondo and Chauncey Billups, who do you take? If you said Rondo ± who shot 62 percent from the charity stripe last season ± you' re getting it. On the other hand, if you' re drafting David Lee ± a center-eligible player who rebounds like a monster, but blocks and shoots the ball like a stud guard ± you can try your hand at punting blocks. Also, while it' s not quite like punting, you can choose to focus on rare categories right out of the gates. Typically, fantasy owners who employ this tactic will greedily grab players who rack up steals and blocks. This is an appealing way to go, since getting an early leg up on these categories ensures you' ll at least be competitive in those two categories each week. However, it doesn' t give you much control over the other categories, especially since players who usually block the ball well tend to have different strengths (field-goal percentage, rebounds) than players who are skilled thieves (free-throw percentage, assists, threes). Yoked statistics can simplify the drafting process, but if you' re diligently targeting two categories that are

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yoked to different sets of stats, you could be on the verge of defeating your own recipe for success. Pick your poison, but do it carefully.

Play it by ear Regardless of which strategy you employ, you' re going to have to hold off on your selection until you know which pick you have (unless you' re in an auction draft), and sometimes after the first two or three rounds are in the books. While it' s easy to stick to the script that your draft preparations have laid out, you' ll eventually reach the point where you' ll have to stray; whether it' s because other owners are drafting in a completely unexpected fashion, your gut is telling you that you made a mistake in evaluating certain players, or your eye' s strongly drawn to a sexy sleeper that you initially listed to be taken later. Don' t be strangled by your pre-draft plans. If you are, you' ll likely walk away from the draft with more than a few regrets. Also, while it' s unwise to be without a starting center by the 12th round, don' t cave in to that natural urge to pick a PG, SG, SF, PF and a C with your fi rst fi ve picks. If the opportunities fall into place for that, great. But it' s okay if you don' t fill every one of those five spots right away. (Just know that quality point guards and centers are much harder to find down the line than quality SGs/SFs/PFs.) If you don' t really care about positions, there' s always the option of drafting the best player available for whatever strategy you' ve chosen, regardless of position needs. Chances are you' ll fill in every spot eventually, though you' ll likely have surpluses at certain spots that you' ll need to use as trading chips after the draft is done. (By the way, if you want to keep track of your fantasy squad' s round-byround strengths and weaknesses, don' t be afraid to open up a spreadsheet and update it with each player you pick, along with the averages you' ll expect from them this season.)

Follow through So you' ve prepped like a pro and drafted like a disciplined punter or a suave Renaissance man ± now what? As with shooting a basketball, the follow through is as important as any other step of the process here. Don' t get discouraged if you think you had a bad draft, or too bold if you think you had a good one. The first few weeks should serve as a litmus test and you' ll start to see how your draft actually measured up. Among the keys to post-draft success are watching actual NBA games (you' d be surprised by how much you learn), closely monitoring the waiver wire, keeping track of team' s weekly schedules (and making roster adjustments based on that information), eyeballing which categories next week' s opponent looks strong in, and not shying away from

making trades. While having a solid draft helps, the best teams are usually built and maintained throughout the season via savvy pickups and deals. It' s always easier to sit back and accept your team' s strengths and weaknesses than to fight for every tenth of a percent or half of a steal, but the road to your league' s championship isn' t paved with ª easy.º There' s always another trade to make, waiver-wire gem to pick up or lineup to tweak. To quote the words of an interesting man, ª Stay thirsty, my friends.º

PLAYERS I JUST DON’T LIKE I like to think of myself as an easy-going, friendly individual, but that doesn't mean I like everyone - especially when it comes to fantasy basketball. Below is the result of my unrestrained indulgence in this resentful side of me: a quick list of some fantasy players that are overhyped, inconvenient and just plain unappealing.

Danny Granger Anytime you spend a first-round pick on a player whose name you need to constantly watch for on daily injury reports, it' s a bad sign. Granger is always on the verge of missing games because of some kind of health issue, and for a player that is otherwise worth a top-six pick, that' s a big downer. Add to this his increasing affection for shooting the three-ball, which weighs down his fieldgoal percentage, and there' s just too much to not like about taking this guy with your first pick. I pity the owner who is forced to do it.

Derrick Rose I dislike fantasy players whose real-life values blind fantasy owners to their statistical weaknesses. For Rose, this boils down to two things: threes and steals. Last season he averaged 0.9 threes and steals ± combined. He' s still an appealing player, thanks to his solid field-goal percentage and mix of points, rebounds and assists, but that' s pedestrian stuff. There' s word that he' s working hard on his defense and three-point shooting, but it' s hard to put much stock in that until we actually see it. (Remember how Dwight Howard was supposedly set to make progress on his free-throw shooting and offensive arsenal 19 seasons ago?) His name alone convinces some owners that he' s a Top 25 fantasy player ± the numbers show that he' s nothing more than a Top 75 player. For now.

Rudy Gay When you think of him, what comes to mind? Don' t worry, I' ll wait. Take your

time. Nothing? Exactly. While Gay' s a solid across-the-board contributor, he doesn' t do a single thing particularly well. This isn' t usually a problem to complain about, but for a guy who will go in the fourth round of many drafts, it' s not cool. This isn' t even to mention his stagnancy for the past three seasons, which suggests that he' s already hit his head on his fantasy ceiling.

Dirk Nowitzki It' s strange to say that picking Dirk at No. 4 overall is a tough decision, given his justifiable value there, but it is ± because he' s boring. His efficiency and all-around strengths are immediately visible when you look at his averages, but his consistency and lack of anything truly eye-popping (something you naturally want from your first pick) makes him a souped-up version of what Gay is. I pray to the fantasy deities that I won' t get the fourth pick in any of my fantasy leagues this season.

Dwight Howard He' s probably the most divisive fantasy player alive today. Some value him as an obvious first-round pick, while others see him as a late second-round pick at best. We know that he rebounds and blocks like a monster, and hits a ridiculous majority of his shots (i.e., dunks) from the floor. What we also know is that he single-handedly tanks his fantasy team' s free-throw percentage and turns the ball over like he gets paid a sweet commission for it. Seeing how rebounds are the second most common statistic after points, it makes Howard' s fantasy appeal even smaller. Oh, and this isn' t even to mention his increasing issues with foul trouble and the consequential decline in his minutes and rebounds per game. If he falls to me in the latter half of the second round, I' d consider him ± anything earlier than that and I'll leave him to be someone else' s headache to build around.

Carmelo Anthony If you' re among the fantasy owners who are outraged every time you don' t see ' Melo ranked as a Top 12 fantasy player in ninecategory leagues, I wish I could add you to a list of ª Fantasy Owners I Just Don' t Like.º Anthony looked like he was finally going to muscle his way into elite status at the start of last season, but then he sputtered out a bit and fell back into what he does: score and do a bit of some other stuff, but not nearly enough to make him worth a pick in the first round. Sure, he scores well, accumulates a decent number of steals and shoots the ball well, but he also struggles to hit a single three per game and almost matches his assists with turnovers. He' s the poster child for overrated fantasy players.

Tony Parker Speaking of overrated, here comes Mr.

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Longoria, a point guard who doesn' t hit many threes or rack up many steals. While he' s capable of averaging close to 20 points per game, Parker struggles to maintain an average of 6+ assists per game. He had a solid 2008-09 campaign but it was more of a flash in the pan than an indicator of his true abilities. Add to this bitter mix the fact that George Hill has developed into a player worthy of cutting into Parker' s minutes and there' s plenty to dislike here. If you see an owner draft him anywhere north of the ninth round, send him my condolences.

Tyrus Thomas Ah, Tyrus the Tease. He' s got freakish athletic ability and the potential to be a steals/blocks beast in the same vein as Josh Smith, but he never quite capitalizes on the supposed promise he has yet to truly tap. Whether it' s another injury or a coach preventing him from playing more than 25 minutes a game, Thomas is always too erratic and unreliable to be considered a sleeper, and has a past that' s too marred with disappointment to be considered a breakout candidate. If he falls to me in the last four rounds of the draft, I' ll take him ± anything earlier than that seems like a fool' s hope.

Andrew Bynum He' s a cross between ª The Shiningº and ª Groundhog Dayº for fantasy owners ± a limping nightmare for your team' s hopes and dreams, on repeat. I can' t stand watching him play, let alone read post-game recaps for Lakers games, for fear of yet another report of a serious injury for Bynum. He can be had in the second half of fantasy drafts and he' ll end up starting for your team, which is fine and dandy until he falls to the court clutching his knee ± a gain.

J.R. Smith He can hit upwards of 14 threes in a good week, but he can also accumulate less than half that number in a bad week, not to mention a fickle field-goal percentage. You might as well flip a coin when deciding whether to start him this week or not. You' ll probably bench Smith after a bad week ± just in time for that game when he knocks down 10 threes. Then you' ll insert him back into your lineup for the next week, only to see him hobble by with half that number of threes ± for the full week. If I want a hitor-miss weekly drama, I' d rather watch my ª Lostº DVDs.

Photos. Kelly Turso

STILL LIFE

As summer came to a close, we took one last trip to the beach before training camp...

74 Jordan Take Flight, Jordan Winterized Spizike, Jordan Flight School, Jordan 6 Rings & Jordan SC-1 by Jordan Brand

Zoom Hyperfuse by Nike

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Star Player Evo by Converse

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TS Heat Check by adidas

Slam Dunk Mid & Jump Shot by PONY

Everybody High Toxic, Everybody High Card & Chuck Naval by Alife

ZigTech Slash by Reebok

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Star Player EV Hi & Star Player EV Ox by Converse

Campus 80s Suede, Campus II Suede & MEGA Torsion RSP by adidas Originals

BD Doom by Li-Ning

Sabotage Mid, Downtime & Storm Mid by AND 1

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Micro G Black Ice by Under Armour

Chicago Bulls Two Tone Team Logo Fitted & NBA Satin Jacket by Mitchell & Ness

Sick Kicks Tee & To The Moon Tee by Jordan Brand

Diddybeats by Monster // Chrome Slider Case for iPhone 3GS and iPhone 3G, Neoprene Sleeve Plus for 15Ó MacBook Pro & Nylon Compact Backpack for 15Ó MacBook Pro by Incase

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The Association Derrick Rose Jersey by adidas

Shooter, Free & Baller by POINT 3

81 Red Bull 2on2 Revolution Collection by Bodega, Vault, Shop Gentei, MAJOR & Abakus Takeout

WE REMINISCE

Kobe Bryant Drops 81 Points On January 22, 2006. This is the actual Nike Air Zoom Kobe 1 he did it in. (Photographed at The Ball Room)

Photo. Dorothy Hong

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