Catching Up With The News

Is this the secret to rebounding? Find out which former NBL player may think so.

If you happened to have had a weekend like me where you did not really have a chance to scratch yourself, here are all the links to get you up to speed as you enjoy your first cuppa come Monday morning.

- The Australian Boomers remain undefeated at the Stankovic Cup in China. Just hours ago they defeated the African powers of Angola, 70-60, to go 3-0 in the touney to date.

The Boomers play China tomorrow in the final for the Cup.

For more details click here for a write up and video footage of the game.

- Basketball Australia's CEO Larry Sengstock is confident teams in Sydney and Brisbane are only a season away.

- Former Gold Coast Blaze import and part time rapper Luke Whitehead, has been arrested in Louisville, Kentucky on several drug charges.

- New Cairns Taipans import Skip "don't call me Pat" Mills should suit up for the Snakes when they take on the Melbourne Tigers Monday.

- Former Newcastle Falcon sharp shooter Michael Johnson is about to "dream" with the Singapore Slingers. Remember them? And Bob Turner, CEO of the Slingers believes they are getting closer to a good product.

- It has been a tough weekend for my former team, the Townsville Crocodiles. Playing the undermanned Melbourne Tigers in back to back games over the weekend, the Crocs came up lame on both occasions.

Game 1 was a 90-81 scoreline with Luke Kendall torching the net for 14 first quarter points and a game high 27.

Game 2 was more of the same but the Melbourne Tigers got solid contributions from many. They had everyone trouble the scorekeeper with five reaching double figures. The final score was 92-79.

- The Adelaide 36ers have won their 3 game series against the Perth Wildcats over in the west. Adelaide won the third game to take the series 2-1.

You can get the scoop on this series from Perth journo Shane Hope, Monday morning right here, and I'm sure Adelaide scribe Boti Nagy will have something to say as well.

- Watch this You Tube footage and see if you can be as creative as Shaq while playing Scrabble.

LeBron Getting Dunked On - "Dunkgate"

Jordan Crawford sends one down on "The King", LeBron James during a scrimmage.

Below is the footage that has caused a stir for some time.

Also check out this interview with Lebron. He addresses playing with Shaquille O'Neal, playing in Cleveland after this season and Nike's no video tape policy.

Shaq Hosts WWE

Stevie Wonder saw this one coming, but it is worth it. Shaq has WWE skillz.

Newley & The Rockets Plus Emus Win

Last time Rolan Roberts dunked in Australia, it did not end well.

*If you're wondering what former Townsville Croc turned European superstar Brad Newley is up to, click here.

I like Newley's thought process of trying to get to the next level in Europe before cracking the Houston Rockets roster.

Newley has been progressing nicely in Europe but he does need to take the next step over there if the NBA is to become a reality. In saying that, if Newls goes out and has a great Summer League, all is forgotten and his NBA dream becomes a reality, sooner rather than later.

Could we see a Newley/Joe Ingles match up sometime during the Summer League play.

*The Australian Emus (u/19 national team) opened their World Championship campaign in new Zealand with a 88-77 win over Canada.

Cody Ellis has continued with his great form to lead the team with 25pts and 6rebs. Washington St recruit Brock Motum went for 22 and 8 against the Canadians.

For a full boxscore click here. Next up for the Emus is European powerhouse Spain.

*The Townsville Crocodiles have caught a few people off guard (especially this guru) with the signing of import Rolan Roberts.

Roberts has been playing mainly in the France Pro B league since leaving the shores of Australia after a dunking mishap during the All-Star Game.

*It is now all official, Phill Jones is a member of the Cairns Taipan.

*Flamboyant NBA player Ron Artest has expressed his thoughts too much on Twitter?

Comedian Aries Spears Picks On Shaq and Sir Charles

News, Notes & New Logo

Less than twenty fours hours until we know whether Australia has once again contributed to the product we know as the NBA.

Pat Mills will be the first Aussie name we hear tomorrow. My gut is telling me if Mills goes in the first round it will be at nineteen to the Atlanta Hawks. If the Hawks roll with someone else, Mills will slip into the second round.

Joe Ingles has been very solid while on his NBA workout tour over the past six weeks. Although Eurocamp was not his best showing, Ingles has done enough to be called in the second round.

I'm trying to find out if there is any truth to the rumour that Mills and Ingles are hosting a joint Draft Party. The menu will be two items deep, vegemite sandwiches and Foster's.

Other Aussies you may hear about on the day are Aron Baynes (WSU) and Luke Nevill (Utah).

Both are interior players who will find themselves on a Summer League roster but have they done enough to sneak into the second round? I'm saying no but I still believe Nevill will find a home in the NBA.

Not since the 1997 draft has Australia had multiple players select in a draft.

News

- Big news. Shaquille O'Neil has been traded to the Cleveland LeBrons. Will the Cavs regain their old nickname back now with O'Neil relocating?

- Toronto Raptor Nathan Jawai headlines the Australian Boomers team.

As weak as the Boomers team is looking, the Chinese team will be undermanned as well. Both of their NBA players Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian will be missing during these two games against the Aussies.

Los Angles Lakers guard Sun Yue will suit up against the green and gold.

China to win 2-0 thanks to their three little helpers at home.

- The NBL is to remain as the NBL.

- Larry Sengstock hinted about the television deal on "The OT". It seems we are only days away from hearing a formal announcement.

- Hope your sitting down when you read this announcement. Glen Saville signs with the Wollongong Hawks.

- This is past rumour status if you ask me. Dave Thomas to play for the Sheep Shaggers (New Zealand Breakers).

- Ever wondered what happened to former NBA player Sam Vincent? He is coaching the Jamacian national team.

- Rogers, Cattalini and Wagstaff sign with the Perth Wildcats.

- NBA aspirant Joe Ingles is just waiting for his name to be called, now.

- Phill Jones named MVP of the NZNBL.

- Q&A with Marty Clarke.

Smashing Good Time

For the people that missed it, Orlando Magic centre Dwight Howard put a halt to today's Eastern Conference Final for a short period of time. Howard beasted the backboard on a dunk which resulted in the shot clock collapsing.

Check out Howard's work but I have dug up some old footage of other assaults on the glass.



Shaq shows Howard how to really do a number on the backboard.



I will always remember this Jerome Lane finish. It was 1988 and I would stay up late at night to catch Al Michael's and his Sports Machine Highlights.



And who could forget Chocolate Thunder, Darryl Dawkins.



This is no average high schooler folks. Minnesota Timberwolves rookie Kevin Love smashes a backboard on a break away dunk.

Shaq Has Teammates Support In Prank Battle

Shaq Gets Pranked

Links Everywhere

Larry Abney won something in Holland or did he just buy a trophy with his Taipans money?

Sorry about the laziness over the past few days people, but I'm in San Diego just taking in the sights and sounds of sunny southern California with my family before I head home.

As there are many fine golf courses down here, I thought it would be appropriate to dedicate a links edition.

Although it is the lazy way out of blogging, there is plenty happening in the world of hoops that is holding my attention.

Hope the same can be said for you. Enjoy!

- A hot topic here in the USA over the past few days has been where will Mike Dunlap end up when his coaching merry-go-round stops. The wait is now over people. He has signed on as the assistant coach at Oregon for a lazy $400k.

I will go on record and say that the players of Oregon better get ready for the individual workouts they are about to become part of.

Dunlap is the best I have worked out for in this area. Players can do nothing but improve. He is that good I would send my own kids his way...just to see if he can break them down.

- Australian basketball will have a presence at the Final Four in Detroit this weekend. Both Aron Baynes of Washington St and Luke Nevill of Utah will play in the Hersey's College All-Star Game on Friday (Saturday Down Under).

- "The only thing that Shaq likes better than speaking his mind is giving nicknames to big guys who get dunked on. If Robin Lopez doesn’t push back, he could end up like “Ericka Dampier” or Andrew Bogut, who is “Ericka Dampier with a beard.” Maybe Lopez can be “Ericka Dampier with stupid looking hair.” Courtesy of Dime Mag.

Get to get the full story behind this Shaq quote chick here.

- This article is for all my Australian friends that think I'm a little one eyed towards Gonzaga and their success. Read for yourself, it is a great place to play.

- Former Canberra Cannon boss Ron Harvey honoured by the International Olympic Committee.

- Boti Nagy fills us in on what is going on around the traps.

- Boomers can be found in Vegas over the off season.

- Luke Schenscher is looking at overseas option.

- Julian Khazzouh loves to surf. Who would have thought?

- Former Kings import Jerome Beasley given second chance in Holland after setting fire to the wrong thing.

Just couldn't go past this footage!

News & Notes

"Hold me back boys. I'm pissed JR has not called me yet." - Andrew Bogut

While I've been entrenched in the NCAA Tournament over the past four days, I have now had some time to catch up on some news from back home.

- First, the Townsville Crocodiles have re-signed Head Coach Trevor Gleeson for another three years.

This is a good move by the Crocs as Gleeson has started to really put his blue print on the franchise. He has been here for three years now, so the players are really beginning to understand what he is about and expecting from them.

Gleeson has coached his team to the playoffs in each of his first three years in the far north. This is good enough to be a franchise best as far as streaks go for playoff appearances for the Crocs.

I look forward to having another year under Trevor.

- I have noticed NBA superstar Andrew Bogut had a crack at me about not calling him since I have been in the States.

As he mentioned we did Twitter during his Utah Utes loss to Arizona.

My excuse for not calling him is, I know he is rehabbing his back (that is more important than talking to an old frail has been) and licking his wounds as his Utes are done and my Zags are still alive.

I certainly have his number on speed dial, don't worry about that. Let's just see if he wants to talk to me at the crack of dawn, right after my three young kids have woken me early in the morning.

- "This month alone the Wildcats will conduct 100 school clinics across WA." This quote comes from Perth Wildcats CEO Nick Marvin, and is courtesy of The West Australian.

I'm sure the Wildcats have a good presences in the community but I do believe that this figure (100 clinics) is a little inflated.

That is an average of three a day and I know (I have school age kids) school only goes for five days per week.

I would love to hear from Nick Marvin to see how he goes about conducting 100 clinics in such a short time. That is some great time management.

- The big news story in the States at the moment is not on the court, but off. The Shaq vs LeBron pregame show is dominating sport talk shows.

Shaq believes he has LeBron covered in the pre game hype game. Let's watch this one carefully. I can tell you the Shaq had nothing tonight before the Nuggets game but maybe he is just waiting for LeBron to return serve.

You decide who is the current winner!






My boy DJ Rod is trying to help out Shaq with some ideas via Twitter, and Shaq responded.

This is how their correspondence went.

"DJ Rod@THE_REAL_SHAQ you put your fingers up like horns and charge at your team mates who have towels - like bullfighting."

Then Shaq replied with this!

"@DJ_Rod ok ok I like I like"

I'm sure Rod will not sleep tonight thinking of other things to get Shaq to try.

- A couple of older articles that talk about the new NBL league.

First, Andrew Bogut shares his thoughts and then Melbourne journo Grantley Bernard talks about taking the top job.

- Time is ticking again for the Wollongong Hawks.

Emery Atkinson & Episode 26, What's The Link?

The latest installment of "The OT" is ready for your ears.

In this edition we catch up with championship winning guard Joe Ingles of the South Dragons. He talks about where he thinks he will be next year.

Also we talk to Wollongong Hawks captain Matt Campbell. Mr Everything in the "Steel City" at the moment, Campbell explains how you can help him save the Hawks.

DJ Rod and I talk a little NCAA and the Player Points System within the NBL.

Take a listen and tell us what you think.

Next time you hear from me I will be in the Valley of the Sun stalking Shaq and taking in the NCAA tourney live.

"The OT" & Some Random News

I could not let this picture go unnoticed. It is none other than Greg Vanderjagt and Chris Goulding. WOW is all I can say, but click on your favourite Spartan to get the latest podcast from "The OT"..

Episode 25 (or episode Dave Simmons, he beat out Matt Earp) of "The OT" was a little late off the production line but it is still full of whole hearted hoop news. Plus you will get to hear who predicted the NBL Finals will go the distance of five games.

Also in this episode DJ Rod, introduces a new section which allows punters to ask questions. This could become interesting.

We touch on the Chris Anstey/Melbourne Tigers situation after Game 3, the NBL awards that have already been decided and the last chance to get your banner noticed. You have a chance to win a 22' monitor thanks to http://www.itstore.com.au/

News

- Are the Melbourne Tigers bad sports? Yes, says Scott Derwin.

- In case you have been hiding out, the Tigers squared the NBL Finals series at 2-2 tonight.

recap boxscore

- Could this be the beginning of State of Origin basketball? Sign me up.

- Former teammate Aaron Trahair is a basketball development officer over in the west.

- If you are tall and want to play basketball, Albury Bandits are the team for you.

- Drew Williamson to suit up for the Southern District Spartans.

- Kareem is not impressed with Shaq.

- I guess the SEABL conference is about to begin play. They have a tipping comp with prizes up for grabs.

- NBA D-League announces an unusual playoff format. Let me know what you think of the idea. While on the D-League, read about their Top 10 proud moments this year.

- Little known Aussie Matt Schmechtig was announced as Player of the Week in the American Midwest Conference.

- Is Jesse Wagstaff the next great Aussie to come out of Metro St? Check out his stats to date.

- Another name to remember may just be Tim Coenraad. Coenraad has just been named to his third All Conference Team in four years.

Brock Motum & Getting My Nerd On

Brock Motum is heading to Washington State University.

Continuing with my scouting report on individual players from the U/20 Men's National Championships, I turn my focus to Washington State Cougar bound lefty Brock Motum.

Motum who is from Queensland is an 18yo, 205cm (6'9) power forward who must have felt a little unlucky not to have been named MVP of this national tournament. Teammate and St Mary's bound PG Jorden Page was awarded the highest individual honour of the week.

Cougar fans, get any thought of Aron Baynes out of your head. Motum is a wafer thin power forward with skill. He is not a banger but has talent that can be developed into something.

Unlucky not to average a double double at the U/20's (20pts,9rebs), but take note he produced these stats while averaging just over twenty minutes of court time.

His play was efficent (67% from the field, 60% from deep and 84% from the charity strip) and never seemed to force the issue on offense at all. He was a monster on the offensive boards and from the games (3 of 6) I saw, he turned a high percentage of these into points.

During the Championship Game he showed the ability to step out and knock down the three (3/3) with confidence.

An interesting stat that leapt out at me was the lack of shot blocking. The stats show zero for the week and now that I think about it, I did not remember a one. Unusual for a guy that was a tree amongst weeds on most nights.

What I liked about Motum's play at the defensive end was his ability to use his length (not sure what his wingspan is, but I guess it is over 7') at the top of a full court zone press. He averaged over 1 theft per game but it was his disruption due to his length he caused in the backcourt.

Motum showed me good poise and feel for the game but I would have liked to have seen some type of solid post game.

I know it is hard to criticize someone that put up numbers as he has done, but remember he is going to play in the tough Pac-10 Conference. This Aussie tournament does not resemble anything defensively that the young fella will face from Ben Howland and the UCLA Bruins.

I was trying to think of someone to compare him to in the USA and I had to go all the way back to Brad Lohaus of Iowa Hawkeye and Milwaukee Buck/Boston Celtic fame. (By the way, both are redheads.)

Motum has the tools to play in the Pac-10, but I will keep an eye out to see how he handles the physical play he will face on the interior.

I just feel the mid-major level would have allowed him to play minutes early in his career as his body continues to develop and mature.

All the best to Motum as he heads over to play in one of the premier conferences. That is of course until you play the Zags. I know the student section will come with something for this guy to remember his trip to Spokane by.

- Yesterday I started to educate myself with this new cyber tool that is known as Twitter. (I'm becoming a networking fool!) What really suckered me in though, was the ability I now have to "track" the likes of Shaq, Steve Nash and Kyle Korver (do not laugh).

Shaq was recently in Orlando to play the Magic and through Twitter anyone who could find him received tickets to his game that night.

("I'm n the mia on the beach whoever touches me gets 2 ticket u have 30 min" said SHAQ.)

Well, I could not sign up quick enough as I'm going on a family holiday to Phoenix. People who know me well, know that I love the free stuff.

Thanks to Twitter, if you here of a skinny white Aussie male stalking Shaq, you know I have found him. He just better have the tickets, otherwise, well....I'll have to revert to buying some.

Hoops News

- Melbourne Tigers level up the series at 1-1. boxscore

- Little did we know CJ Bruton was right thinking New Zealand is part of Europe. CJ and this journo must have went to the same geography class in the USA.

- "Stormin" Norm Taylor still playing the game he loves. Can anyone else not remember Taylor suiting up for the Razorbacks?

- Hey big spender or loser?

- Corey "Homicide" Williams wants to be a Croc for life.

Calvin Talford Edition of "The OT" & News Links

Early in the week we strayed from the norm and launched a Grand Final Edition on our weekly podcast show. This means you the listener gets twice the fun this week as we also did our tradition weekly edition of "The OT" as well.

Times flies when you have fun so this made it episode #24 or as we like to say now, episode Calvin Talford. The one time high flyer for the Hobart Devils graced us with his presences and #24 on his back.

In this edition we talk about all the weekly issues surrounding the sport. Also as captain of the Crocs I get to vote on the end of season awards so I reveal who got my vote in all categories.

Happy listening and remember to e-mail (jronfire31@yahoo.com) me who your all time favourite #25 was so we can dedicate the next edition to a former blast from the past.

News Links

- Adelaide 36ers guard Aaron Bruce wins the NBL's Rookie of the Year award.

If you have listened to the podcast you will have heard Bruce received my votes for this award. In fact I also had Perth's Stephen Weigh second and Cairns' Kerry Williams third. Plain and simple, it was slim pickings this year.

Early pick for next year, St Mary's Lucas Walker.

- "We had him (Robert Rose) in mind when we got (Donta Smith)," Brian Goorjian said last night. (Courtesy of The Herald Sun.)

Was Goorj thinking of bringing Rob Rose in instead of Donta Smith? Click on the link above to see what he was talking about.

- Cairns Taipans former coach Mark Beecroft moves into the front office as their general manager.

- Victoria and South Aussie teams have been finalised for Brett Wheeler's charity game.

- Surprise, surprise, Brian Goorjian asks for more defense.

- Wollongong's ABA team is now gone.

What is happening to sport in this once rich sporting region?

- Shaq and former coach Stan Van Gundy exchange words.

- March Madness has hit us square between the eyes. Here is a full slate of news regarding your favourite conference's tourney schedule. Plus here are some coaches to watch as well.

Remember This Name - Jason Cadee

POD- Jason Cadee

The Under 20 National Championship was at the semi final stage tonight and I think we witnessed a boil over with New South Wales taking care of Victoria, convincingly.

I have yet to look at any boxscores because I did not want to be influenced by numbers. I'm doing this write up on what I saw from just sitting in the stands. I believe I have a good feel and understanding of the game.

What I witnessed tonight was one of the best displays of point guard play I have seen for quite some time at this level. NSW PG Jason Cadee controlled this game as if he was a seasoned pro.

His feel and understanding for the game is well beyond his years (17yo) and I see a bright future ahead for this Bankstown junior.

Whether it was finding an open teammate or making a play himself, Cadee come up trumps tonight. Victoria came out with a game plan to physically disrupt his rhythm but he kept his composer all game and cashed in with double figure foul shot attempts.

NSW ran a whole lot of pick and roll with Cadee and Colorado bound Shane Harris-Tunks and the Vics had no answer for this.

Cadee either knocked down the three, found his way into the paint to finish or feed Harris-Tunks (Liverpool junior) for the easy finish.

While on Harris-Tunks. He did his ankle tonight and will be doubtful for the final tomorrow but he showed me enough to have me thinking he will get some minutes early in his career at Colorado.

He finished well around the rim and even showed some range on a few jumpers. He actually sprained his ankle when he came down awkwardly from a turn around jumper.

Now back to the man of the hour, Cadee.

He played all 40 minutes under constant pressure but never shied away from the PG responsibilities. He was always looking to make things happen for his team.

I know I have praised and hyped the young fellow up but he did show me a lot of savvy and poise that kids of this age usually do not have.

Tomorrow night will be another test for Cadee as Queensland will get after him with the lightening fast Jorden Page.

I'm already looking forward to this game and the battle of the point guards.

Could this be the beginning of a matchup that will continue into the Pro ranks in years to come?

boxscores

Qld vs WA (click on the results tab on left side of page)

NSW vs Vic (as above)

NBL News

- Hawks are not dead, just yet. Find out more here.

- Rillie Hungry For More (sportal)

- Caporn Wins Praise (sportal)

- Townsville import Corey Williams escapes censure at antics (adelaide advertiser)

- Cats to rebuild from scratch (the west australian)

- Breakers' tagert Anstey as Tiger to tame (tvnz) That was the headline in New Zealand but I believe it should say "target". Also, I'm hearing Anstey has hurt his knee during practice today. More on this when it becomes available to my sources.

- Townsville Crocs star given reprimand (townsville bulletin)

- Jawai makes his point (cairns post)



Shaq being...Shaq (thanks to AB for the find)

Global Coverage & News From Home

Can you help Mookie identify these Aussies?

While I have been busy draining some threes against our northern rivals, the Cairns Taipans, it has been impossible for me to keep up with everything that has been happening in our great sport.

To bring you up to speed, let's take a look at what other bloggers have found interesting.

- Mookie my man over at A Stern Warning is all over the NBA.

First he takes a look at the Los Angles Lakers and centre Andrew Bynum's injury that occurred today. How much will this hurt the Lakers chances of another title run.

Then he finds a ripper interview of Shaquille O'Neil with Stephen A Smith. As usual Shaq holds court and talks about himself and Kobe's relationship and how it's all "about the marketing baby".

Finally, there are a group of Aussie puntas (above) that Mookie is trying to track down. They have become stars on American TV. Let us know if you know any of these guys.

- The Basketball Professor takes a look at who will be filling the NBA All-Star benches.

- NBA Mate brings us up to speed with what is happening with the new Ch10 sports channel. Could it be possible we will see multiple games per week?

- With the NBA AllStar game not to far away from hitting Phoenix, The Sport Count us with their nine worst ever All Stars.

- "I was scared, man," said Nathan Jawai, the Raptors' seldom used forward. "I thought I was going to get fined [for being late]."

Click here to find out why Jawai felt he was going to be lighter in the pocket.

- After being stuck in Moscow for a few days early in the week, Brad Newley made it back to Greece as his team beat POAK.

- Here is a full menu of college scores from games played today. Check out how your favourite Aussie went today.

Now to NBL News

- Where have the Breakers gone? The local media is starting to ask questions about their team.

- "It was as hot as hell out there," Adelaide coach Scott Ninnis said.

Is Ninnis talking about the one time during the week he got out of his air conditioned office and tried to exercise? Find out here.

- Looking for the boxscores from the past weekend's action, click here.

- And yes, here is the ladder.

NBL & Overseas News

Is Shaq's recent good form hurting the Suns? Find out below.

Just finished recording the latest (and maybe best) installment of "The OT". So, while DJ Rod has it in the chop shop, catch up on the day's news.

- "I don't think there's certainly anyone we fear coming in here," Adelaide 36ers coach Scott Ninnis told the ABC. Adelaide have the Perth Wildcats coming to town this week.

- "If we played that game a month ago, we lose," Melbourne Tigers Chris Anstey said. "We made a couple of errors down the stretch, but we stuck with it."

You can read the rest of this article courtesy of the Herald Sun, right here.

- "Teams have probably figured us out a little bit, so it's up to us to make the adjustments," says New Zealand Breakers forward Tony Ronaldson. "We've got some counters and things to counter the way they play us now, but we just haven't been executing those too well."

Thanks to News 3 in New Zealand you can read the rest of this article or check out the video footage and see what the Breakers practice facility looks like.

- "Teams of the past that we have had probably would have failed at that and used some excuses, but the guys played outstanding in that last quarter."

Townsville Crocodiles coach Trevor Gleeson talking to the Townsville Bulletin about the Crocs recent win over Wollongong.

- "A lot of mouths to feed,” Steve Nash said. “I’m willing to just feed and feed. But then they get mad at me because they want me to be aggressive. They want me to make big shots down the stretch, so they need me to shoot periodically during the game." Courtesy of Yahoo Sports.

Is the resurgence of Shaquille O'Neal to blame for the Phoenix Suns poor form?

- Former NBA player Jannero Pargo has changed address in Europe, while Stephon Marbury will not budge on his buyout with the Knicks.

- If you been following the progress on Brandon Jenning's experience in Europe you may want to read this. A great read about what really happened.

For those who do not know Jennings, he will be a lottery pick in the NBA Draft his season. He decided not to go to college, but take his game to Europe as this experience would prepare him better for the NBA.

The jury is out on this philosophy.

Josh Smith right over Steve Nash.

Vlade Honoured - JR Got Payback

Divac never assisted on an autograph to a young punta.


Vlade Divac was recently honoured by being inducted into the Humanitarian Hall of Fame.

It is quiet obvious that Divac has been very active in helping out in many communities worldwide. Congrats to Vlade and all those other Serbian players that have helped those kids that are less fortunate than most.

When my Serbian friend passed on the article link (above) he reminded me how good a person Vlade is. This happened to open an old wound that had just healed from personal experience with Vlade Divac.

It was back in 1990 when I was on a "Pro Ball" tour of the States. You know the ones, where you play games against high schools, go to Disneyland and the highlight was going to an NBA game.

Well, we finally made it to the NBA game in Los Angles. Now this skinny kid from Toowoomba was dead set pumped to see the Lakers and the Sonics at the Forum.

Our touring party found our "nose bleed" seats right before tipoff. I'm thinking to myself, "this may be on of those once in a life time opportunities." So I start perusing the Forum for a better seat. Bang, I found one in the third row.

I work those stairs like a Jane Fonda workout to get there before some Hollywood celeb decides to join the game at halftime. Any amount of time spent in that seat gave me a chance to see "Big Game" James Worthy finish the fast break like only he could.

Low and behold the punt worked out out for the entire game. Third row for the majority of an NBA game at the Forum, I'll take it. I just had to settle for sitting behind "Marvelous" Marvin Hagler instead of Jack Nicholson.

Wow, my night had reached all my expectations but I thought I would try and hunt down some autographs after the game. Bushing my tour group, I high-tailed it to the back entrance to where the players would exit for home.

It seemed like an eternity before any movement came from the exit. First, the Sonics team bus left. The "Glove" (Gary Payton) seemed to be looking me straight in the eyes as they left for their hotel. I could only dream of him and me one day talking trash on the same court.

The first Laker to come out of the tunnel was my man Vlade Divac. I had my Hoop magazine open to his page ready for him to sign. Once he was in ear shot I said, "excuse me Sir, would you mind signing this please?"

"Not today", he murmured in his European accent as he began to dart up (light a cigarette).

Well, talk about shattering a young punta's dreams.

Fast forward to Belgrade, Yugoslavia 2002. The Boomers are playing the host nation from Yugoslavia.

The Serbs are loaded. All their NBA players (Divac, Stojakovic, Pavlovic, Jaric, Radmanovic and the great Euro player Bodiroga) were on deck in preparation for the World Championships later that month. (side note - They won the Gold at the 2002 World Champs.)

Everyone around the world that had an interest in this game could not have predicted what was going to happen next.

We boat raced the home team out of their own gym in front off 15 000 silent and dumb founded fans.

(Just as well you asked, JR could not be contained. The Serbs had no answer to the step back threes I was raining on them. I finished with a game high 23, I believe.)

The final buzzer went off and both teams went along and did the traditional shake of the hands after the game.

I was shaking all kinds of hands as I was rather excited about beating a team full of NBA and European stars.

But the moment had come. It was Vlade who was next in line and all my mind could do was go back to that night in Los Angles. My mind was working overtime. What should I do? This is the guy that dogged me for an autograph twelve years ago.

I just walked straight by him like he was never there. The puzzled look on his face showed he had no idea as to what just happened. But deep down I had just executed the best possible payback.

Maybe a little childish on my behalf, but I learnt a lesson that night while I was standing in that Los Angles winter night breeze.

Never brush a fan who is seeking an autograph.

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Who is Len Bias? Watch and learn.

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