Elena Delle Donne "The Best Women's Player You May Not Know"

Women's college basketball is as star studded and star player, publicized as its ever been with names such as UConn's recently graduated star, Mya Moore , Baylor's Brittany Griner, Notre Dame's Skylar Diggins and several more but the name you need to know if you don't already is, Elena Delle Donne of Delaware University!!!!
    She isn't an over night hype though. Actually she has been putting out phenomenal play on every stage for a while now. Let's go back a little. Elena Delle Donne played high school basketball at Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, Delaware where she led her team to three straight state championship titles and was ranked #1 overall high school  by Scout.com. She was the first and only player thus far to score over 2000 points in their high school career at that school and also set a high school national record with 80 consecutive free throws made. Approaching the end of her prep career, Elena was the most recruited player in the nation since Candace Parker and received a basketball scholarship to UConn, womens college basketballs most powerful program in recent years. Due to not wanting to separate from her family, namely her sister that is blind and deaf as a result of cerebral palsy, she elected to leave summer school at UConn and attend the University of Delaware, right there at home. In her freshman season, Elena averaged a ridiculous 26.7 points per (3rd ppg nationwide) , including 54 pts on February 10, 2010.Needless to say she won the CAA's Player of the Year and Rookie of the year in the same year. No men had ever won both awards in one season.
    In her sophomore season, she began suffering from flu like symptoms to the point where in she even asked to be taken out of a game. Following that situation, test were run and doctors found that Elena suffered from Lyme's disease. She still managed to help her team to the conference tournament finals and to the NIT Tournament.
She was named to the 2011 USA Basketball team for the World University Games in China where she led the team to the Gold Medal with a 6-0 record and averages of 15.7 ppg, 8.5 rebounds, and 3 assist per game.
 Now in her Junior season, she is lighting it up leading the nation in scoring with 27.9 per game currently. Bottom line....she is for real. She's a versatile 6'5 player that plays just as hard on both ends. If you didn't know, now you know. Elena Delle Donne is a lady baller to watch out for.....

Check her out!
Video Here:
http://youtu.be/ERAzZvYp_TE

"Seminole Cooking" Florida State's Killer Instinct

Is it just me, or do the Florida State Seminoles have it in for HWY 15-501 in N.C.? Well it sure does seem like it seeing that with in 7 days they upset the two, top 10 ranked power houses that reside on the connecting hwy in Durham-Chapel Hill. Yeah, believe it. The Seminoles destroyed the Tarheels by 33 on a Saturday, then turned right around and ripped the Blue Devils heart out on a last second 3-point shot on the following Saturday. Its safe to say that they are a little more than just a solid team, they're dangerous. They're fast, they can defend and can shoot the rock. Between Michael Snaer who hit two buzzer beaters in their game @ Duke(halftime and regulation) and Deividas Dulkes who went for 33pts against UNC, the Florida State Seminoles are packed with firing power enough to make a run for the ACC regular season. Its not a fluke, they are legit. NCAA tournament bound, thats my prediction anyway.... Make sure you keep a close eye on this squad!

Nike LeBron 9 "Summit Lake Hornets"

The Nike LeBron 9s have a huge variety of color ways and special editions, and the "Summit Lake Hornets" editions are no exceptions. Most of the upper is laced with the Charlotte Hornet purple accented by aqua on the inner lining, out line of the Nike Swoosh, and the midsole with specs of white. These are custom detailed, sporting the embroidered aqua hornet on the high area of the back of the shoe. Great color way. great detail......HOT SHOE!

Spring Time Anyone??? I can already hear the bees buzzing!!!

"A Deal" is an Understatement

So, the other day I was in a Raleigh N.C. store, Fashion Ave, a small chain, clothing store that has a better shoe section than clothes by far. I was actually their with a friend as he looked for a pair of J's with some Carolina blue on them for his son to wear on his little league basketball team when I walked over to their always offered, "buy one get one half off" and "buy one get one free" section, in which you can sometimes find some sweet models and color ways at great deals. Well on this particular day, they had a section on the floor that had some out dated, generic, hideous stuff in it, accompanied by a sign that read $1. Now most everything below this sign was probably only worth that but I noticed a pair with in the group that  stood out. A kids size 3.5 Nike Air Hurache 2k4 in the White/Bar/Army Olive/ Pine Green colorway, a rare Hurache 2k4 with the Air Max system that I owned in a blue/white and red colorway. Just so happens, my 5 year old son wears a 3 so I picked up the shoe and looked under the bottom and it had a sales price of $40 which I thought was not that bad, but with them sitting in the $1 section, though I was sure they had placed them there by mistake, I asked "how much are these?" The sales associate said $1. So because of how quick she answered I figured she assumed I had one of the other generic kicks in my hand so I said, "No I mean these Nike's right here", as I held them up in my hand. She said, "yeah, $1". So immediately I took this pair of Nike Air Max Hurache 2K4's, which they had just that one pair of in which my son can wear,  directly to the counter. My total? $1.07!!! SWEEEET! The best deal I've ever had on a pair of kicks. How do you top that? I guess a free pair.
Later

My boy is a lil 6yr old baller. I may let him wear them in his last game of his mighty might league season. He'll get some buckets in these!!!!

The color way of the 2k4 that I owned a few yrs back

Follow Me.....www.twitter.com/hoopz777

#3 UNC Gets Smashed by Florida State

Let me just start by saying.....I haven't seen a beating like this since Roy Jones vs. James Toney back in the day!!! Florida State manhandled the Tarheels like paper dolls today from the start. What happened you might ask? Well lets start the explanation with two words.....Deividas Dulkes!!! The senior guard came out on fire scoring 16 of his 32 in the first half as the seminoles led 36-38 at halftime. After halftime it seemed as if the Tarheels fell completely asleep and the Seminoles caught fire even the more! FSU were the aggressor in every way, looking as if they were top ranked at the same time UNC possibly played the most uninspired ball that I've seen from a top 5 team this year. Something is going on with this Tarheel team though. You can see it in their body language. Is it in the locker room? Do they lack on the floor leadership? Or are the rumors of bad chemistry and communication between coach Williams and players actually true?? Is this the beginning of trouble in Chapel Hill? ACC play will tell the story....

Follow Me..... www.twitter.com/hoopz777

Classic Hoops Cinema: He Got Game -1998 produced by Spike Lee

One of the most true to life basketball prep star basketball movies of all time, "He Got Game" gave you an authentic, good and bad of hoop dreams. Directed by Spike Lee, "He Got Game" broke the mold in the basketball movie trend. The movie's star studded cast which included Denzel Washington, Rasario Dawson, Ray Allen and many more were excellent in their respective roles in this movie. The main character, Jesus Shuttlesworth, played by NBA all-star Ray Allen, is faced with the ups and downs of a inner city, superstar bluechip, bball player who is raising his younger sister due to his father being imprisoned for the accidental murder of their mother. The thing is, more than just Jesus Shuttlesworth basketball career is riding on his career decisionOn, top of seeing Ray's shooting routine in slow motion, the story line is pretty intriguing. The hype, the struggle, the money, the lies, the women, the scandals and the privileges of being in that position is under the microscope for all to see the inside scoop of a young phenom's life. If you haven't seen this movie, get your paws on it asap!

Check Out The Trailer Here!! :
http://youtu.be/njLUPZr4DeU                                                                           






           
    The Beautiful Rasario Dawson with Jesus S.

By the way....This movie had a ridiculous shoe game as well! Look at the joints they featured back in 98'

Nike Air Uptempo "Pippen's"

Nike Air Foamposite One's "Penny's"

Denzel cops the New J's upon being released from prison temporarily, permanently on condition.

Gotta check out this film!!!!!

Follow Me:

www.twitter.com/hoopz777

I Be On That Kryptanite!!!! Soon 2 B Released Lime Nike Air Foamposite One

Just when you thought it was over.....the new color way of the Nike Air Foamposite One coming to a sneaker set to be released March 17, 2012. Electrolime!!!! So complementary for its "out of this world" design. These are must haves for sure.....my kind of sneaker!

The Star Studded "Kobe System" Commercial

 
    Nike and Kobe have a new commercial as a part of the Kobe system promo for the new Nike Kobe VII  that's star studded from top to bottom including Serena Williams,  Tony Robbins, Kanye, Jerry Rice, and Aziz Ansari. What an, oh so, hot concept for Nike , marketing/promotion team! Here's one of the few new "Kobe System" commercials.....ENJOY

Video Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDDrXXROm3I&

Jordan's Boys Getting Some Shine in "Heir Jordan Intro" Video

Interesting.... Mike's boys are at the helm of a new promo by  Jordan Brand, Heir Jordan. I'm not quite sure yet what direction they're going with this, as far as the possibilities of Marcus and Jeffery special editions, or a isolated line or whatever but something is to come from this. Check it out the video and see what u think!

Heir Jordan Video:
http://youtu.be/Uq2NR0vRNp0

The Lady Fighting Irish Take Down The Mighty Women UConn Huskies

It was an epic battle women's basketball super power, UConn and Skylar Diggins and her Notre Dame Fight Irish Saturday night. The two top ranking teams battled it out on both ends, scrapping for every loose ball and rebound. With every blow that UConn swung at the Irish, Notre Dame ducked and countered. After being down 61-57 with a little under four minutes to go, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish fought back with tenacious defense to tie the score and send the game into overtime. In overtime, UConn did not hit a field goal in the final 3:49 of the game. UConn had an uncharacteristic 27 turnovers, which makes it hard to pull out a victory against any ball club. Skylar Diggins, on top of playing unbelievable defense, scored 22 points for Notre Dame, 16 in the second half and overtime. Do the Fighting Irish have UConn's #? Last spring the heavily favored, UConn Lady Huskies were upset in the NCAA tournament by .......Notre Dame! Takeover? Shift in power? The Fighting Irish have a little more to prove, like winning the ships, but  we could be witnessing the new power in women's college basketball!


.......OK BAYLOR FANS DON'T BLOW A FUSE.

FOLLOW ME!
www.twitter.com/hoopz777

Trouble in K'ville! Duke Goes Down To Unranked Temple

It looked bad, I mean real bad. Duke seemed more timid on defense and offense than Temple from the start in the Owls 78-73 win over the Dukie's. The Blue Devils looked three steps slower with the way they were getting beat off of the dribble and about four years younger with the careless turnovers. So what's the issue with the Devils? Well this wasn't an isolated issue but it was the same problems that they've run into numerous times this year. The consistent inability to defend against the drive, man to man, lack of on the floor leadership, and only one player who can create anything off of the dribble. Can a floor leader emerge mid season? Can they begin to defend the drive better at this point in the season? Are these things that can be corrected? Well they better hope so because league pay begins this weekend. Remember though people....if it can be changed "the world's greatest coach" can fix it!!!

AAU Basketball1, Friend or Foe?

The AAU Basketball movement is as huge as ever today in America. For those who are unaware of exactly what AAU basketball is, let me explain...in my terms. From 3rd-6th grade teams, its a very competitive travel basketball program that gives the, slightly better than recreation, basketball player the opportunity to engage in weekend tournaments against talents from various cities/ states. Around 7th grade it gets a little hairy. Its some recruiting, gifts, $, huge sponsorships, more showcasing less good team basketball. That's the rap on AAU from the consensus. Many think very little of AAU basketball today. A lot of it is self inflicted, speaking of the people involved.  The recruiting process for these ball clubs is a worst tug of war than college recruiting. Politics with the big name shoe sponsorships henge upon the hype around the names on certain ball clubs. The kids are often times pampered, hyped and crowned "GREAT"which results in a lot of these becoming spoiled, overrated, and less coachable than they should be. Their is not a lot of skill development and basketball theory being taught in the organization as the original stages of AAU basketball. Many are concerned with the emphasis from players and recruiters being put on AAU and taken from high school basketball. Some standout players have actually missed entire high school seasons, substituting them for AAU squads. Its promoting individual exposure only, is the tag that's being placed on AAU.  There are programs that still have the integrity that AAU basketball was intended to have at the outset, zooming in on the qualities that the amateur athlete should posses. Work ethic, team work and leadership skills can still be found in some programs around the country but not many. The AAU officials say they don't like the bad rap and want to correct it but there are a lot of perks to give up to clean up the set. A parent/player would be at a disadvantage with out the exposure that it brings, as far as the college recruiting process because thats the focal point for recruiters, college and pro. The moral of this story is, can't live with it, can't live without it. It just needs the integrity and morals restored.

www.twitter.com/hoopz777

Under Armour Signs De'Andre Jordan of the L.A. Clippers

De'Andre Jordan has snatched the attention of the NBA world with his high flying act and aggressive play last year and so for this season and just recently, he signed a multi-year deal with Under Armour. They have obviously seen the great potential and marketability of De'Andre Jordan and chose to sign him on to the Under Armour NBA roster which includes Kemba Walker, Brandon Jennings, Greivis Vasquez, and Derrick Williams. These new signings should make for some pretty promising sneaker releases for the Under Armour brand as it makes huge strides toward making an indention on the basketball sneaker scene. I personally like their products as far as feel and performance. I just recently purchase a pair for my 10yr old son to play in and his AAU squad that I coach will be wearing them this season as well. They are very light, posses a sturdy base and have great ankle and arch support. They don't look to bad either. Let's wait and see what they can come up with for De'Andre, the high flying big man with the high flying squad!