Harrison Barnes is a great high school basketball talent. He's also a smart kid, genius maybe. Maybe he'll be the next great college player. Maybe he'll be the next Kobe or Lebron.
One thing he certainly is already is master showman. Witness the spectacle that was his college selection process Friday. The Ames, Iowa, prep phenom chose North Carolina as his new home for a year until he flees to the land of million-dollar contracts.
The foot-7 swingman, widely regarded as the top player in the Class of 2010, stretched out the announcement, touting a draft boardesque selection of school logos and ticking off the merits of each school - until he dialed up Roy Williams and crew at Chapel Hill - via a Skype video call, no less - to tell them he was the next great seeker of the Michael Jordan throne. Let's just hope coach Williams doesn't make the same mistake Dean Smith did with Jordan and leave him off the Sports Illustrated cover photo.
Barnes was also considering Duke, Kansas, Oklahoma, UCLA and Iowa State, his hometown school. He made his announcement Friday before hundreds of students in the gym at Ames High School and via a live video feed watched by thousands.
Barnes led Ames to a 26-0 record and a state title last winter, but he's made a name for himself nationally with impressive performances on the summer circuit.
Writing a post about something absurd or off-the-wall or inappropriate that Charles Barkley says is almost the blog equivalent of breathing air: It takes almost no effort or thought and happens almost every second of every day.
Case in point: Sir Charles decided to goof on Sammy Sosa's recent skin rejuvenation project that has him looking like something out of the "Thriller" video. So, during the TNT NBA show Thursday night, Barkley, who proclaimed, "I know you want to get in the Hall of Fame, but going white ain't the way to do it!," eventually took to transforming himself into a white man - a process slowed significantly by the continued flapping of his jaw while the makeup person efforted away.
No, on the grand scale, this isn't up there with any Northwestern blackface screwup. But has the Round Mound of Rebound stepped over the line? Nevermind the discussion of whether he'll be able to eat fried chicken and chitluns after he's white. Or is this just another case of Charles being Charles?
NBA Hall-of-Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar revealed Tuesday morning the he battling a rare form of leukemia.
Abdul-Jabbar, who was diagnosed last December with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, is going public now to spread the message of treatment and show that it's a disease that doesn't need to be fatal:
"I have chronic myeloid leukemia," Abdul-Jabbar told CNN. "I think it's possible for someone in my position to help save lives.
Abdul-Jabbar, long an involved member in the community, has bee active in raising cancer awareness in the African-American community after dealing with a family history of colorectal cancer, for which he has the gene, he says.
He told CNN his specialist said the cancer diagnosis did not have to be a death sentence, as long as he followed a proper treatment regimen. Abdul-Jabbar wouldn't reveal his prognosis, but he did say he is managing his disease and that having CML "doesn't impact my life too significantly."
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the average person's chance of getting CML is less than 1 in 500. The cancer society says CML is slightly more common in men than women, and it accounts for 10 percent to 15 percent of all leukemias or blood cancers.
The ACS estimates just over 5,000 people will be diagnosed with CML this year, and that 470 will die from it. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society estimates the five-year survival rate for CML of 44.4 percent.
Aside from basketball greatness, Abdul-Jabbar also played the pivotal role of pilot Roger Murdoch in "Airplane."
Marcus Jordan, son of basketball legend Michael Jordan, will be wearing Nike shoes when he suits up as a freshman for the University of Central Florida basketball team this season. His teammates, meanwhile, will be donning Adidas.
Michael Jordan's name has become synonymous with the brand of shoe he hawked throughout his NBA career.
"It's a level of importance with the Jordan Brand and my family," Marcus Jordan said Thursday at a team media event. "It's no disrespect to Adidas. I have a high level of respect for adidas, but I'm going to be wearing Jordan shoes. I'm wearing the Adidas uniform and all my other UCF gear is Adidas, but the shoes are going to be Jordan Brand."
Fanhouse is reporting that Adidas was not happy about the decision, but "didn't press the issue because they feared a backlash."
Marcus Jordan, a 6-3 guard who graduated from basketball powerhouse Whitney Young last year, is the second oldest of Michael Jordan's three children.
During his Hall of Fame induction speech, Michael Jordan said his children carry a "heavy burden" and that he'd never want to switch places with them.
The Cult of the Air Jordan is a passionate one. Since the first release of Michal Jordan's iconic shoe line in 1985, Nike has managed to develop a dedication of follower that borders on frenzy - do a Google search for "Air Jordan" and gaze at the 33,000,000+ links for proof if you have a few spare minutes.
Each year a new high top is rolled out to the delight of the fashion-aware ballers, hipsters, trendsters and collectors - mostly long gone are the days when you could get jacked up for you Mikes, even thought they still command a mighty price.
Nike's Jumpman23 site is, yes, above all a marketing/advertising push for you to fork over your hard-earned dollars for a tennis shoe. But at least they do it in a cool way. Not least of the interesting features is this new timeline feature that takes you through the years of Air Jordan with interesting videos, photos and facts about the man who could fly.
In yet another case of knowing when to hold 'em, a Las Vegas court has pushed back a status check to Oct. 29 for former NBA all-star Antoine Walker, amid talk of possible repayment in an $822,500 casino gambling debt case.
Prosecutor Bernie Zadrowski said Wednesday he's been talking with Walker's lawyer, Jonathan Powell, about settling the criminal case.
Chicago native Walker, a brush with crime enthusiast, faces three felony bad check charges for gambling debts at three Las Vegas casinos. He did not have to appear at a Wednesday hearing.
Walker was arrested in July at a Lake Tahoe hotel.
Walker was a three-time all-star for the Boston Celtics and won a championship with the Miami Heat in 2006. He last played for the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2008.
Miami Heat guard and Robbins native Dwyane Wade is mindful of where he came from and the people who helped him get where he is now.
Plus, to hear him tell it, he really loves Chicago.
So, he's strapping on his altruistic sneakers and driving hard to make his city a better place.
The four-time NBA All-Star, 2006 NBA Finals MVP and Olympic gold medal-winner is in town this weekend for a four day fundraiser that will raise money for his Wade's World Foundation and other Chicago charitable organizations.
"There's been a lot of people in my life that have helped me," he said.
"All of my coaches, from my high school coach to my college coach, they
all helped me get to a point where I was very confident in my abilities
and very confident in myself.
"Having people believe in you at a young age goes a long, long way."
Wade recently purchased a downtown condo and says that all of the memories forged here make it his unquestioned home.
"Chicago, as I get older, I appreciate it more and more," Wade said.
"For what it did for me, even though a lot of things looked dark. If it
wasn't for my upbringing in Chicago, I don't know if I'd be the person
that I am today. I've been through what the kids here go through and
we're trying to shed some light on it."
It may be an understatement to say it's been a busy summer for Bulls guard Derrick Rose. In the midst of controversy, the 2009 NBA Rookie of the Year is looking to avoid a sophomore slump by waking up early every morning to hit the gym.
The negative press surrounding Rose didn't stop 2K Sports from making him the face of their new lead-up demo to the NBA 2K10 video game -- "NBA 2K10 Draft Combine."
With "Draft Combine" you experience the same thing the players do as they get ready to make the transition from college to the pros -- from the scrimmages to the drills, workouts and game situations.
And while it's not the cover of the main game (that honor went to Kobe Bryant) it still has to be encouraging for Rose to see companies looking to him to represent their product.
We caught up with Rose recently to ask him a few questions about "Draft Combine" and what he's been up to:
The Luvabulls had better watch out. Bulls rookie James Johnson showed his dance moves at a recent NBA rookie photo shoot. Let's just hope these moves translate to the floor.
And, that he has breakdancing insurance in his contract.
Why does any discussion of NBA basketball - specifically, the Bulls - still start and end with the words: Michael Jordan? Because the greatest player ever - no disrespect, Wilt - still has game.
Just check out the video above with a 46-year-old, puffy Jordan sporting some truly baggy jeans facing up Chris "The Ghetto Bird" Young, dropping fadeaway after fadeaway over the 6-foot-4, 180-pound 34-year-old.
And if that weren't enough, he starts off with a flat-footed reverse slam from under the basket, a feat Slamball star Young can't do facing forward.
Of course, Jordan talks trash the entire time, asking Young to tell him which side he wants to defend, then knocking down shots from right there. "How many times you gotta see it," you can here a teammate ask from the side.
You can just smell the edge - Jordan's laughing and joshing, but he wants to beat this guy and wants him to know he got beat.
So, does this set us up for another comeback? Can the Bulls line up his Airness, maybe just leave him on the bench til the fourth quarter or the final 5 minutes of a game? OK, maybe we're not there. But it's pretty clear Jordan still has skills you can only dream about and clearly still has the competitive fire that made him the greatest.
A voracious consumer of all things sports and all things blog, Koster keeps his eyes on the biggest stories in sports while sacrificing any chance at a social life. Waste your entire day with him On Our Twitter .
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