B-ballers,
What it do? By now
you should already be appreciating my man Bigg Dogg’s commentary pertaining to
our inaugural preseason b-ball tournament.
He and Mr. Blue will be handling the game-by-game commentary for this
season’s b-ball expressions. Your
MannofStat will be coming at you from time to time, on the Rap Session tip. So let’s do this the way it’s supposed to be
done. Aight?
Last season’s top coach has been establishing his b-ball
pedigree since his kinship to the legendary “Team Dynasty” in 2006. Low key like a baritone, J-Rock coached last
season’s tournament champs (Runnin Rebels) to a respectable 12-2 record. As I write these words, I find it to be
poetic justice for a “Team Dynasty” alumnus to have coached a team, skilled
enough to tie our postseason scoring record (94 pts) – set back on
4/25/06. That’s what’s up!
The topic of his chip chasing Runnin Rebels and Team
Dynasty, inflames the already heated b-ball passion within the coach/wing
nightmare.
“Team Dynasty
consisted of the best players, but we still had to show and prove on the
court. Last season, I had the luxury of
coaching great players. But hell;
witness Lebron James. Talent alone
doesn’t get this job done. You still
gotta compete.”
J-Rock’s fiery passion for this game, transitioned into a
discussion about the 2001 NBA finals.
This is a painful memory for me, because his Lakers handled my Sixers in
5 games (4 straight wins after game 1).
Three of the Lakers’ wins came at the expense of my hometown crowd. SMH.
“I love a good fight,
even if I lose. It’s the answer to the
game. Like Allen Iverson in the NBA
finals, Philly took game 1, at Staples, but sometimes one blow is enough to
inspire that competitive spirit.
Everybody can’t win. Someone has
to lose to Goliath.”
Okay Playa, Despite the fact my Sixers’ 30 year championship
rut is a sensitive subject for me; I continued our rap session without
pause. I quickly changed the subject by
asking if he could put together another championship squad.
“No doubt. The talent pool on the row is filled with men
who are willing to put forth the effort it takes to win. The improvement amongst players and the
mental part of the game is there.”
Now, the ballers on the row pat the rock all year long, but
they decided to put some numbers to this year’s off-season feats. The top coach decided to lace up his kicks
and accumulate some numbers of his own.
Na mean? He put forth an
impressive preseason showing. I had to
ask if this preseason tournament awakened his desire to play.
“Pretty much. Drop a couple of treys; take em’ to the rack
with the left; And 1!! I’m good (Laughs).
I don’t know, I this its time to hang it up.”
When asked how he deals with the tension and negativity that
surrounds our current living status, he leaves us with this jewel:
“Yoga; plain and
simple. At the end of the day, it’s the
challenge of overcoming that negativity that drives me. So, I accept this challenge, because without
it I couldn’t grow. It’s life. You gotta appreciate the negative with the
positive.”
That’s real talk coming from a baller who wants to finish as
a winner, on and off the court. On that
note, I’ll leave you with the high-powered And 1 slogan: “Before
you start, you better know how to finish.” Ya heard?
Much Love,
MannofStat, RAP SESSION
Copyright © 2013 by Leroy Elwood Mann
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