Moderator: mods
Dat heeft niet alleen Ginobili aangetoond...maartoe schreef:Onzin. Ginobili is een prima speler die aantoont dat je tegenwoordig geen Amerikaan meer hoeft te zijn om een rol van betekenis in de NBA te kunnen spelen. Hij is geen superster, maar een zeer goede speler.
En die Chinese center. ;)maartoe schreef:Is idd een Canadees. Ginobili is idd niet de enige. Denk ook maar aan oa de door jou genoemde Nash en Nowitzki, maar tevens Stojakovic, Parker, Gasol en vele anderen zijn de dragende spelers van hun teams. Er zijn er velen en dat blijkt ook steeds meer en meer uit de draft-keuze. De spelers van buiten de VS worden steeds populairder bij de NBA teams.
Thomas schreef:Maar zo komt een topper als LeBron James dus bij de Cavaliers terecht.
De Bulls waren het jaar voordat Jordan kwam ook maar 27-55 en in zijn eerste jaar 38-44, daarna 30-52, daarna 40-42 en in '87-'88 voor het eerst winnend met 50-32. LeBron en Cleveland hebben de tijd.Steef schreef:Alleen LeBron kan de league redden, maar dan moet-ie wel weg uit Cleveland.
http://www.nba.comOrder of selection for NBA Draft 2005
ROUND 1
NO. TEAM SELECTION
1 Milwaukee Bucks
2 Atlanta Hawks
3 Portland Trail Blazers
4 New Orleans Hornets
5 Charlotte Bobcats
6 Utah Jazz
7 Toronto Raptors
8 New York Knicks
9 Golden State Warriors
10 LA Lakers
11 Orlando Magic
12 LA Clippers
13 Cleveland Cavaliers To Charlotte via Phoenix
14 Minnesota Timberwolves
15 New Jersey Nets
16 Philadelphia 76ers To Toronto via Denver and New Jersey
17 Indiana Pacers
18 Boston Celtics
19 Memphis Grizzlies
20 Washington Wizards To Denver via Orlando
21 Chicago Bulls To Phoenix
22 Denver Nuggets
23 Sacramento Kings
24 Houston Rockets
25 Seattle SuperSonics
26 Detroit Pistons
27 Dallas Mavericks To Utah
28 San Antonio Spurs
29 Miami Heat
30 Phoenix Suns To New York via San Antonio
ROUND 2
NO. TEAM SELECTION
31 Atlanta Hawks
32 Charlotte Bobcats To LA Clippers
33 New Orleans Hornets
34 Utah Jazz
35 Portland Trail Blazers
36 Milwaukee Bucks
37 New York Knicks To LA Lakers via Atlanta and Charlotte
38 Toronto Raptors Pick may be conveyed to Orlando
39 LA Lakers
40 Golden State Warriors
41 Orlando Magic Pick may be conveyed to Toronto
42 LA Clippers To Orlando or to Toronto via Orlando or to Golden State via New Jersey
43 New Jersey Nets
44 Cleveland Cavaliers To Orlando
45 Philadelphia 76ers To Detroit
46 Indiana Pacers
47 Minnesota Timberwolves
48 Memphis Grizzlies To Seattle
49 Washington Wizards
50 Boston Celtics
51 Chicago Bulls To Utah via Houston
52 Denver Nuggets
53 Sacramento Kings To Boston
54 Houston Rockets To New York
55 Seattle SuperSonics
56 Detroit Pistons
57 Dallas Mavericks To Phoenix via New Orleans
58 Miami Heat To Toronto
59 San Antonio Spurs To Atlanta
60 Phoenix Suns To Utah
http://www.basketballsite.nl/Vrouwenteams Den Helder de dupe
Het vrouwenteam en de meisjesjuniorenploeg van Cape Holland/Den Helder worden het slachtoffer van bezuinigingen die de Stichting Basketball Support (SBS) Den Helder, de overkoepelende organisatie van de vier Helderse eredivisieformaties, heeft afgekondigd. De speelsters krijgen komend seizoen geen geld meer en ook voor de coaches geeft de stichting niet langer geld voor salarissen uit.
,,Wij zijn geconfronteerd met een tegenvaller van 95.000 euro, doordat de gemeente afspraken niet nakomt. Het is onze verantwoordelijkheid om daar actie op te ondernemen en deze maatregel is daar een voorbeeld van'', licht penningmeester Hans van Leeuwen toe. Van Leeuwen is woordvoerder omdat stichtingsvoorzitter Jan Dop op vakantie is.
Het besluit houdt in dat de damesploeg, de afgelopen twee seizoenen landskampioen, en het belofteteam geen nieuwe speelsters kunnen aantrekken. Ook betaalde krachten in de technische staf en begeleiding kunnen niet langer of slechts vrijwillig worden ingezet.
,,We zijn vreselijk geschrokken. Dit betekent dat je het gevaar loopt speelsters, en zelfs kaderleden, te verliezen'', reageert Jan Kooij. Hij is voorzitter van BV Den Helder, de aan de stichting gelieerde dames- en meisjesvereniging, licentiehouder van de 'gedupeerde' eredivisieteams.
,,We zitten nu in een vervelende situatie, hebben al twee opties op buitenlandse speelsters moeten laten lopen. De clubkas van BV Den Helder is niet leeg, ons opleidingsinstituut staat als een huis. Maar we hebben op dit moment niet genoeg geld om met onze eredivisieteams te blijven spelen. Vandaar dat we de noodklok luiden en ook met de gemeente in gesprek gaan om te kijken of die iets voor ons, amateurs, kan betekenen.''
http://sports.espn.go.comA night at Rucker
NEW YORK -- Walking into the playground at just after 2 p.m. Monday afternoon, things looked normal … and not so normal. There were swarms of kids riding the swings, chasing each other around. But there were also a couple large trailer trucks, a satellite dish, and a stage set up.
That's what happens when SportsCenter comes to town on its "50 States in 50 Days" tour.
But this isn't any old playground. In fact, Harlem's Holcombe Rucker Playground might be the most famous playground in America.
If you're a basketball fan, and you haven't heard of Rucker Park … well, you better go back to school.
A quick refresher course: Holcombe Rucker, a local playground director, started a basketball tournament in 1947 at a playground on 7th Avenue between 128th and 129th streets. In 1965, he moved the tournament to another location, at 155th Street and 8th Avenue (the former site of the Polo Grounds, which served as the home to baseball's Giants, Yankees and Mets, and football's Giants and Jets). And over the years, the league grew in prominence to the point when NBA superstars like Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving were coming to compete against local streetball legends like Earl "The Goat" Manigault and Pee Wee Kirkland.
The current level of competition at Rucker isn't quite what it used to be in those days. But people still flock to the court to watch the action. In many ways, even more so than Madison Square Garden, it is the mecca of New York City basketball.
The court itself appears pretty standard for a playground -- except for the breakaway rims and the small blue scoreboard. Most of its surface is green. The paint is painted red. There are several rows of beat-up bleachers on all four sides, and a tall black fence behind them, with several trees surrounding it and the Polo Grounds projects lurking across the street.
A little after 4 p.m. Monday, a couple people were trying to clean off the court with a scraper and a leafblower -- it had drizzled a bit earlier in the day. The head of security was barking instructions at his staff of a couple-dozen members collected in the bleachers. And several fans were already lined up outside the fence, waiting to get in.
Monday night was the opening night of the Entertainers Basketball Classic playoffs. The EBC is the prominent league at Rucker Park now. The original Rucker League lost its luster when the pros stopped coming regularly in the late '70s and early '80s, fearing they'd get injured and jeopardize their big-money contracts.
Greg Marius started the EBC in 1982, as a series of games between rap groups. But over the years it has evolved, where all the teams are sponsored by entertainment and film companies, but stocked mostly with local streetballers, who compete over a nine-week season from mid-June to mid-August. The Terror Squad, sponsored by rapper Fat Joe, has won the championship the past three seasons.
The special treat is when NBA stars do show up to play -- and that does still happen from time to time. Allen Iverson, Stephon Marbury, Kevin Garnett and Kobe Bryant are just a few current superstars who have come and competed here. Gilbert Arenas and Trevor Ariza are two NBAers who played at Rucker earlier this summer.
It's been a bit of a down year at Rucker in terms of star power -- but that hasn't stopped the crowds from coming. Richard Brown, a 20-year-old from the Bronx, was the first in line Monday afternoon -- he said he arrived at the park around noon. And Ling Pei, another early arrival, came all the way from Beijing; he's a huge basketball fan, and is in New York City on vacation. "I just had to come to Rucker," Pei said.
Clearly, the word has gotten out, even worldwide.
Corporate sponsorships may have helped. There are lots of advertising banners hung around the court during EBC games now, and the games are televised on NBA TV. Marius has been criticized by some for turning Rucker too commercial. But he disagrees.
"We still keep it gritty," Marius said. "The game's still the same."
The highest-profile player slated to suit up for the first game Monday evening was Joe Forte, the former North Carolina star who had a brief NBA stint with the Celtics and Sonics. A few minutes before tip-off, he was finishing putting on his uniform, out by some park benches near the handball court.
Not exactly an NBA locker room.
Forte hopes to get back to the NBA. But in the meantime, he's enjoyed his second summer playing at Rucker.
"You've got to bring your 'A' game out here," Forte said. "Or else the fans will get on you. But that's what Rucker's all about."
On the opposite end of the court, by the far bleachers, two Rucker legends were chatting -- one past, one present. Kirkland, one of Rucker's all-time greats, was drafted by the Bulls in 1969 but never played in the NBA. Corey "Homicide" Williams, last year's EBC Rucker MVP, is still seeking an NBA opportunity after spending some time in camp with Denver last year.
Playing at Rucker has given Williams the confidence that he could succeed in the NBA.
"It's the No. 1 tournament in New York City," Williams said. "It's a chance to match up with legitimate pros … I love the competition."
Kirkland is trying to help Williams and other young streetballers. It's been his mission since he spent several years in prison for drugs and tax fraud. In fact, he said he placed a call earlier Monday to another Rucker legend currently playing in the NBA, Rafer "Skip to my Lou" Alston, trying to see if he can help Homicide get a shot.
"Homicide is not just a potential NBA player," Kirkland said. "He's a potential NBA superstar."
As for the current crop of NBA superstars, Kirkland is very appreciate of those who have come back to play at his home court.
"There are still pros that keep it real," Kirkland said. "They come back from the heart. They could ruin their careers. But they still want to show these people that they really care."
As usual, Monday night's games got off to a bit of a late start. But the crowd -- which had grown to fill most of the bleacher space (the place fits about 1,500 people) -- didn't seem to mind too much. There was music pumping through the P.A. system, plus the three MCs who call the action -- literally -- on the court.
The first game pitted Black Wall Street against Certified, Forte's squad. Black Wall Street was the favorite, but Certified led most of the game, thanks in large part to an assortment of crowd-wowing jumpers and dunks from Forte, nicknamed "Something's Out There." He also got some help from "Lights Out," aka Chudney Gray, a former point guard at St. John's.
(By the way, almost every player at Rucker has a nickname, courtesy of the MCs. The MCs also offer plenty of "colorful" commentary throughout the game. A couple of my favorites from Monday night were: "What's he shooting from way out there for? Authorization has been declined," and "How do you explain it to your girlfriend when you get dunked on like that?")
Unfortunately for Forte and Certified, a dagger of a 3-pointer by James "Speedy" Williams with four seconds left in the second overtime sent Black Wall Street to the semifinals.
Game 2 pitted Don Diva vs. Full Service/Ruff Ryders. Don Diva is led by Homicide (he got the nickname, he said, because "I destroy everything in front of me") and another streetball legend, dazzling ballhandler Larry "The Bone Collector" Williams. But Homicide and company were off their games, and ended up getting dominated. With the score 80-53, the crowd filing out, and bench players already wearing their backpacks, the game was finally called with 25 seconds left.
Not the best ending, to be sure. But not to worry.
Hoops fans have other games to keep them flocking to Rucker Park
