I Have A New-Found Respect For NBA Players. God Damn!

[8SD8-retired_member]

I'm sure you cats know Kenny 'The Jet' Smith from TNT, and formerly of the Houston Rockets.

Kenny was never a super-star, but he played in the NBA. As of today, that shit says a lot to me. It's not that I thought guys could actually make it and be straight garbage, but...

Well, a friend of mine gave me a video he recorded back in 1998 of Kenny Smith, God Shamgod(Cat from NY, that played for Providence, with the slick handles), and Joe Wolf, formerly of the Orlando Magic. These dudes were working out, right? Now, peep ... Shamgod was always known for having a broke jumper, and Joe Wolf's GAME was broke(At least on the pro-level) and Kenny Smith could always dial it in from long distance, but...

On this video, I see God Shammgod knocking down jumpers like they were lay-ups. Sure, it was a work-out, but this dude would knock down 15, miss on or two, hit another 15, miss one or two, knock own another 15. I'm like, what in the fuck am I seeing? I've never seen that kind of shooting in my life.

Joe Wolf? This big gawky White boy was firing away from deep like it was breathing. I mean jumper after jumper after motherfucking jumper. I'm wondering how did that dude suck in the NBA, at all.

If you think this is nothing because it's not in a game, then get a ball, go outside, and try to knock down fifteen 15-foot jumpers in a row.

But, that's not even the best of it...

Kenny Smith. Kenny Fucking Smith...

This is my fucking word...

...The Jet knocked down 20 three's. Missed one. Knocked down TWENTY-FIVE!! Missed two. Knocked down like 11. Missed one. Knocked down 24....

You get my point.

They played this game where you started at the top of the key, and you could only use two dribbles. All three of those guys were draining jumpers like it was nothing...

I thought to myself, 'None of these guys were superstars, and they're hitting shots like it's throwing a rock into a ocean. The NBA must be a motherfucker. GOD-DAMN! HOW GOOD WAS JORDAN, REALLY ... IF THESE DUDES LOOK LIKE JORDAN RIGHT NOW?!?!"

To any of you cats that tried to make it pro, and never made it, I understand completely now. These dudes are FAR better than people give them credit for.

 

[RoomService]

so very true look @ NFL players Big Brock couldn't even make it on the practice squad. but now he's the UFC Champ

 

[D-TOWN REP]

Yep, a NBA scrub will go and dominate any rec you and your boys play at...

 

[TimRock]

i've seen shamgod play live numerous times. his speed and handle were his best abilities.

 

[shaddyvillethug]

shamgod<

 

[stizz3000]

thats funny...I went a celtics game last year wit my girl and all she sayin to me was why dont they put the white guy in.....STORY



during warmups we watched as Brian Scalabrine hit jumper after jumper after halfcourt shot etc.. IT WAS KINDA AMAZING DUDE LOOKED LIKE A WHITE JORDAN OUT THERE DURING WARMUPS. During the game???

not so much

 

[8SD8-retired_member]

i've seen shamgod play live numerous times. his speed and handle were his best abilities.

That dude must have had NO confidence in his jumper...

...because just working out, dude looked like Reggie Miller.

Well, they did say the mental aspect of the game is very important.

 

[RoomService]

who the fuck 1 starred this post.

 

[UNSEEN]

Practice Is Different From Game Time Though..but The Critics And Fans Have No Idea These Players Work Hard..most Nba Cats(non Superstars) Could Score 70 Points In A Regular Picc Up Game..

 

[BGLR1212000]

It's always easier to hit jumpers in a pickup game.

 

[NinjaspiT]

Practice Is Different From Game Time ...

bingo.

 

[SupaStar69]

Kenny Smith was a star when he played. If he wasn't he woudn't be doing on that show.

 

[4ce of n8ur]

That dude must have had NO confidence in his jumper...

...because just working out, dude looked like Reggie Miller.

Well, they did say the mental aspect of the game is very important.

it is about confidence and context. ALL NBA niggas can shoot - especially guards.

also you underestimate defense. in the nba, especially for guards - especially at the one - you worried about not being able to get a shot off because of size - it's different just shooting in the gym - perfect conditions. it's different when chris bosh lunging at you, full reach, while you trying to shoot a J and you know you already 0 for 6 from the field. context is everything.

babe ruth said - I didn't hit a whole bunch of homers. i hit the same homer over and over again. it's about being about to produce the same result regardless of context. i paraphrased the babe ruth quote.

i seen this analysis of AI crossing a nigga and shooting a J - to give perspective of how a smaller guard has to compensate in order to score over taller players - and it was from his height/angle - he crossed the nigga - pulled up and was like 37 inches off the floor - fading back (AI fades back on almost all his jump shots) and the defender jumped - hands up to contest the shot and AI could NOT SEE THE BASKET - like it was not in his field of view - this nigga AI shooting of radar - he knows where the basket it/should be - he been doing it so long it's like a fucking science.

niggas don't remember AI dropping like 80-100 pts in the rucker in the late 90s-2000. he averaged like 60 a game one time. if you seen AI the nigga is not six feet. I'm eye to eye with the nigga and I'm 5'10" maybe 5"10 and 1/2 if a nigga get a yoga session in.

don't sleep - professional athletes are all freaks of nature AND WORK ETHIC.

 

[blooo]

thats funny...I went a celtics game last year wit my girl and all she sayin to me was why dont they put the white guy in.....STORY



during warmups we watched as Brian Scalabrine hit jumper after jumper after halfcourt shot etc.. IT WAS KINDA AMAZING DUDE LOOKED LIKE A WHITE JORDAN OUT THERE DURING WARMUPS. During the game???

not so much

I wonder why they keep him every year though. They even dropped bill walker to the NBDL but left scalabrine. And kenny smith could shoot the 3 point very well.

 

[D-TOWN REP]

[flash]http://www.youtube.com/v/_rD424rjpyQ[/flash]

>>>>>>

 

[concepts25]

Yep, a NBA scrub will go and dominate any rec you and your boys play at...

word dudes don't understand how good pro athletes really are. they play against other pros so it's an even playing level.

I remember when i was in 9th grade i went to basketball camp. there was this dude who played at USC. He wasn't a starter , dude barely even got on the floor during the tourney. He was like 6'11". He doesn't play in the league now nor in the NBDL , basically he didn't make it. I swear to god dude hit like 15 threes in a row from all different spots around the arc missed one and did it again.

another story...

... my cousin went to high school with tobey bailey. (People who watched college basketball in the 90's should know that name) He said tobey used to never go out in high school. LIKE NEVER , he said all tobey would do was work on his game, day and night. my cousin used to drive by tobey's house friday nights on the way to a party. he would see tobey practicing , then he would drive by his house again on the way back from the party and tobey would STILL be out there hooping. When it was all said and done tobey bailey played like 2 years on the suns. He played overseas for a number of years but fact of the matter is that in order to make it you have to be really really REALLY good. Being really really good don't cut it.

 

[Spectrum]

it is about confidence and context. ALL NBA niggas can shoot - especially guards.

also you underestimate defense. in the nba, especially for guards - especially at the one - you worried about not being able to get a shot off because of size - it's different just shooting in the gym - perfect conditions. it's different when chris bosh lunging at you, full reach, while you trying to shoot a J and you know you already 0 for 6 from the field. context is everything.

babe ruth said - I didn't hit a whole bunch of homers. i hit the same homer over and over again. it's about being about to produce the same result regardless of context. i paraphrased the babe ruth quote.

i seen this analysis of AI crossing a nigga and shooting a J - to give perspective of how a smaller guard has to compensate in order to score over taller players - and it was from his height/angle - he crossed the nigga - pulled up and was like 37 inches off the floor - fading back (AI fades back on almost all his jump shots) and the defender jumped - hands up to contest the shot and AI could NOT SEE THE BASKET - like it was not in his field of view - this nigga AI shooting of radar - he knows where the basket it/should be - he been doing it so long it's like a fucking science.

niggas don't remember AI dropping like 80-100 pts in the rucker in the late 90s-2000. he averaged like 60 a game one time. if you seen AI the nigga is not six feet. I'm eye to eye with the nigga and I'm 5'10" maybe 5"10 and 1/2 if a nigga get a yoga session in.

don't sleep - professional athletes are all freaks of nature AND WORK ETHIC.

 

[vandamation]

My perfect example of this FACT is Mark Jackson. Now, in an NBA Game, you would THINK that this guy can't dunk......Well, when he used to come to I.S.8(one of the BEST HOOP SHOT IN NYC..located in Jamaica,Queens),he used to put on a show...Backwards,360's,alleyoops,drop-step DUNKs...The whole BIT, so I know EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.

 

[Spectrum]

My perfect example of this FACT is Mark Jackson. Now, in an NBA Game, you would THINK that this guy can't dunk......Well, when he used to come to I.S.8(one of the BEST HOOP SHOT IN NYC..located in Jamaica,Queens),he used to put on a show...Backwards,360's,alleyoops,drop-step DUNKs...The whole BIT, so I know EXACTLY WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.

yall killin me @ mark jackson doing a 360

i used to have season tickets way back in the day to the pistons...so i know how it goes...you would see the bench warmer during warmups knock out 10-15 straight 18 footers like it was nothing...

 

[DiamondDeuce]

yall killin me @ mark jackson doing a 360

i used to have season tickets way back in the day to the pistons...so i know how it goes...you would see the bench warmer during warmups knock out 10-15 straight 18 footers like it was nothing...

I have mad respect for "most" pro-athletes games. But being good in warm-ups and practice..
Seeing a dude hit jumpers during warmups is just like watching a skills challenge...thats it!


Is like watching the 100meter relay on the track. Sure the top 10 fastest men in the world are fast...no denying it. But lets see if they can run a 9.75 doing KICKOFF RETURNS during an actual game

 

[8SD8-retired_member]

word dudes don't understand how good pro athletes really are. they play against other pros so it's an even playing level.

I remember when i was in 9th grade i went to basketball camp. there was this dude who played at USC. He wasn't a starter , dude barely even got on the floor during the tourney. He was like 6'11". He doesn't play in the league now nor in the NBDL , basically he didn't make it. I swear to god dude hit like 15 threes in a row from all different spots around the arc missed one and did it again.

another story...

... my cousin went to high school with tobey bailey. (People who watched college basketball in the 90's should know that name) He said tobey used to never go out in high school. LIKE NEVER , he said all tobey would do was work on his game, day and night. my cousin used to drive by tobey's house friday nights on the way to a party. he would see tobey practicing , then he would drive by his house again on the way back from the party and tobey would STILL be out there hooping. When it was all said and done tobey bailey played like 2 years on the suns. He played overseas for a number of years but fact of the matter is that in order to make it you have to be really really REALLY good. Being really really good don't cut it.

Damn, dude...

That's a little dis-heartning, lol. To think someone sacrificed their social life, and still didn't make it.

That's just proof that you have to be a freak, in one way or another, to make it at that level. All the hard-work in the world won't get you there if you don't have a natural talent that set's you apart...

 

[DiamondDeuce]

Damn, dude...

That's a little dis-heartning, lol. To think someone sacrificed their social life, and still didn't make it.

That's just proof that you have to be a freak, in one way or another, to make it at the level. All the hard-work in the world won't get you there if you don't have a natural talent that set's you apart...

I really don't think it is disheartening... the dude was VERY GOOD AT HIS JOB. Not everyone is going to make it to the NBA Allstar team. Dude played in the NBA from 1998-2000. He has played in Europe and even signed a deal in FEB 2008.

Dude has had a long career doing what HE LOVES TO DO and getting paid for it. He made some good money upfront on the NBA contracts... plus he has gotten to see a great deal of the WORLD...and I'm sure whenever he decides to retire he should have great contacts to start his 2nd career.

This DUDE's sacrificed seems to have paid off in my opinion.

 

[JLeague21]

[flash]http://www.youtube.com/v/_rD424rjpyQ[/flash]

>>>>>>

I wonder what the score ended up being, cause that was a hell of pickup game

 

[BigDaddyBuk]

i always tell people, bench riders in the NBA were the superstars of their highschool or college days.

the NBA is just that damn tough.

 

[8SD8-retired_member]

I really don't think it is disheartening... the dude was VERY GOOD AT HIS JOB. Not everyone is going to make it to the NBA Allstar team. Dude played in the NBA from 1998-2000. He has played in Europe and even signed a deal in FEB 2008.

Dude has had a long career doing what HE LOVES TO DO and getting paid for it. He made some good money upfront on the NBA contracts... plus he has gotten to see a great deal of the WORLD...and I'm sure whenever he decides to retire he should have great contacts to start his 2nd career.

This DUDE's sacrificed seems to have paid off in my opinion.

I feel what you're saying...

...I just figured a dude THAT dedicated would be one of the NBA's better players. How much more dedicated can you be than having no life?

However, he did manage to do something with it, so I'm sure he's not losing any sleep at night. But, to think someone that dedicated didn't have a long NBA career is kind of crazy, to me...

 

[LurkMode]

That's real talk. I played with many folks who played relatively big time high school basketball, moved on to Div. 1 schools, and played professionally (overseas, CBA, NBDL, etc) and the talent differences are huge. I don't think people really have an appreciation for how good Div. 1 basketball players are compared to your run of the mill pick-up player. Then you start talking about pros and it's a whole other level.

Best player I ever played against casually was Dion Glover (HS Bball player of the year and a guard at GA Tech) and that dude didn't make it in the NBA at all.

 

[DiamondDeuce]

I feel what you're saying...

...I just figured a dude THAT dedicated would be one of the NBA's better players. How much more dedicated can you be than having no life?

However, he did manage to do something with it, so I'm sure he's not losing any sleep at night. But, to think someone that dedicated didn't have a long NBA career is kind of crazy, to me...

I feel you but keep this in perspective. When I was in highschool I knew a few students that HAD NO SOCIAL life because they were hitting the books!!! A few them are now Doctors. They making good money but they aint DR. PHIL. .... yeh feel me. Would you be disheartened at the same type of sacrifices they the dedicated students made...as opposed to Toby Bailey?

For Bailey to have played in the NBA...and STILL be making a living playing ball is a BIG success story.... just not as magical a story as say Kobe Bryant.

 

[LurkMode]

[flash]http://www.youtube.com/v/_rD424rjpyQ[/flash]

>>>>>>

Who all is in this video? I got MJ, Reggie Miller, Rodman, Howard, and what looks like an overweight swole Chris WEbber (can't be right). but I can't make out the rest.

I'm pretty good but I know those folks would make me look like an untalented scrub.

 

[cbeezy]

believe me fellas..... it takes a lot of hard work. but CONFIDENCE IS EVERYTHING. i'm in europe right now hoopin and the guys that don't worry about missin shots and keep playin aggressive are the ones that play the best. you never see kobe gettin down after he misses 3 in a row cause he always believes he's gonna knock down the next 4 or 5. alot of guys can hoop but the confidence is what separates good from great.

 

[BMG]

[flash]http://www.youtube.com/v/_rD424rjpyQ[/flash]

>>>>>>

this was on the set of space jam inside of an inflateable gym

that next season jordan and the bulls had one of the greatest runs in nba history

 

[concepts25]

I really don't think it is disheartening... the dude was VERY GOOD AT HIS JOB. Not everyone is going to make it to the NBA Allstar team. Dude played in the NBA from 1998-2000. He has played in Europe and even signed a deal in FEB 2008.

Dude has had a long career doing what HE LOVES TO DO and getting paid for it. He made some good money upfront on the NBA contracts... plus he has gotten to see a great deal of the WORLD...and I'm sure whenever he decides to retire he should have great contacts to start his 2nd career.

This DUDE's sacrificed seems to have paid off in my opinion.

I agree with you, dude wasn't able to live the dream but he still made a living and reached his goal of being in the NBA. He's gonna be set for life, all his hard work paid off. my whole point was just that it's not promised. Most people don't win the genetic lotto like lebron and shaq.

I feel what you're saying...

...I just figured a dude THAT dedicated would be one of the NBA's better players. How much more dedicated can you be than having no life?

However, he did manage to do something with it, so I'm sure he's not losing any sleep at night. But, to think someone that dedicated didn't have a long NBA career is kind of crazy, to me...

It happens all the time , in fact more often than not that's what happens. Even if you end up being one of those freaks of nature it's still not promised. Another story when I was in high school there was this dude named evan burns. you can look him up he was like a national top 5 player coming out of high school. Best player in LA the whole nine even thought about jumping str8 to the NBA. He was the first player I ever saw get head level with the rim on a dunk. He went to fairfax high in LA their rival is westchester. Westchester's team was led by trevor ariza and fairfax had evan burns. Evan Burns used to serve , he was always CLEARLY the best player on the court. He was just one of those perfect storm natural talents. He never passed the SAT though and everyone used to talk about how he was a pothead too. He played one year at san diego state and killed , i think he got drafted in the second round in like 04. Couldn't get it together and last I heard he was working at a park in inglewood. Meanwhile people are talking about trevor ariza as a possible 6th man of the year. It's a crap shoot you could have all the talent in the world and still not make it, but to even be good enough to get in the door you gotta sacrifice a bunch.

 

[RunawaySlave]

Said it back then when it was happening and I will say it now:

Shammgod left Providence too early. Had he stayed on and completed his college HOOP education, he would've had a long and frutiful NBA career


Kenny Smith may have never made an NBA All Star team, but he was a FIRST TEAM NCAA All American and an intergral part of Houston's 2 NBA titles. He basically didn't achieve NBA stardom because he played for that fag Fratello

Also, don't sleep on Mark Jackson, will never forget him posterizing Scottie Pippen in 1988 (or maybe 89) on a critical 4th quarter basket. And he did it the same way Kevin Johnson posterized Hakeem in the playoffs


Don't forget, the NBA is like the land of Giants. A cat like Ray Allen is this little dude on your screen, but in person, towers over everyone in the room. You watch these games on television and see a cat like Nate Robinson and think he's just this little dude that can jump. But if you see the dude in person, you will see that at 5'8" this is a big dude compared to the average 5'8" man.

 

[LennyNero1972]

Exactly. We may talk shit about them as observers, but the reality is, there is a reason why they are on TV worldwide and we aren't. Only the top 1% of the top 1% are successful in pro sports, it's just thaat simple. At the airport I worked with so many washed out athletes it was ridiculous.

 

[Spectrum]

Don't forget, the NBA is like the land of Giants. A cat like Ray Allen is this little dude on your screen, but in person, towers over everyone in the room. You watch these games on television and see a cat like Nate Robinson and think he's just this little dude that can jump. But if you see the dude in person, you will see that at 5'8" this is a big dude compared to the average 5'8" man.

yeah man.i remember when I was a kid and went to an Isaiah Thomas basketball camp and him and Joe Dumars came out and played with us...and Dumars was built a like a fucking truck...dude's legs were huge...

 

[THE DRIZZY]

Yep, a NBA scrub will go and dominate any rec you and your boys play at...

So true.