Basketball Hall of Fame

The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame today announced the list of Hall of Fame players and coaches who will serve as presenters for the Enshrinement Ceremony of the Class of 2009, to be staged this Friday, September 11, 2009 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

* Presenting Coach C. Vivian Stringer will be Hall of Fame Coach John Chaney

* Presenting Coach Jerry Sloan will be Hall of Fame player Charles Barkley

* Presenting John Stockton will be Hall of Fame player Isiah Thomas

* Presenting David Robinson will be Hall of Fame Coach Larry Brown and Hall of Fame player George Gervin

* Presenting Michael Jordan will be Hall of Fame player David Thompson

As tradition suggests, the incoming class for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony was asked to select a previous inductee to accompany and present the new member of the Basketball Hall of Fame to his or her peers. The choice is solely the decision of the incoming Hall of Famer. The enshrinement ceremony for the Basketball Hall of Fame will be celebrated this Friday, September 11, 2009 at the Springfield Symphony Hall with coverage beginning at 6:30pm (ET) on ESPN. (Check local listings).

World B Free Streetball

K1X had a chance to interview one of the greatest streetball and NBA legends of all-time, World B. Free. 

I know that you used to announce that you would draw a foul before you actually did it, then went to the basket and somehow got the whistle from the ref. You have to teach me that one!

(laughs) Well first of all you need a 44 inch vertical leap. And then you have to have that streetball game. So before I went to the basket I would give my defender a series of fakes and hesitation moves. If he was staying away from me I would shoot it right in his face. If he would bite on the fakes I would blow right by him. That‘s where my in between game would kick in. I could protect the basketball with my body while I was in the air.

Your Brownsville streetball roots must have helped you as well.

Right. When we played out in Brooklyn there was a pole on our basket. And you had to know how to avoid that pole. I ran into it a couple of times and I realized that up to this day that pole did not move. You had to learn how to control your body while you were in the air and when you were landing. That was definitely helpful for me.

Can you take us back to Brownsville and tell us how you grew up there and how that made you the person that you are today?

Brownsville is a world of its own, as you know. You‘ve been out there, too. It‘s a place that either made you or broke you. So either you were going to be someone or you wasn‘t.

I always followed a couple of guys that were older than me. And they didn‘t let me play basketball until I was in 11th or 12th grade. A lot of the guys who got out there were a lot younger than I was. I didn‘t have that great skills at that time but I had great elevation with my jumpshot. So the older guys would always teach me more about the game, beat me up, pound me on the court. They would treat me like a rookie and I would learn from that. And as I got better and better I started to teach that to the younger kids.

In Brownsville you had just one basket and the ball had no rills, it was bald as my head right now. And I was just in there, I just loved the game. It was great. You had to come out in the snow and rain and we did that. That‘s what it was all about.

What was the New York streetball scene in general like back then?

Back then, when you lost a basketball game that was it. It was all over. You might not play again until ten at night. The court was so crowded and everybody wanted to show their stuff. There were people coming from all over. We were in Brooklyn, so people from the Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Staton Island came to Browsville, to a court that we called Sixty-Six Park back then, because that‘s where legends were made. And everyone wanted to go to that park to be somebody. They had the Rucker Pros up in Harlem but we had Sixty-Six Park.

Tell us who played in that park.

We had guys like Jim McMillan, Doc played there, too. We also had guys like Connie Hawkins, Nate “Tiny“ Archibald. We had some of the best players to ever play this game.

What other tournaments were there in the city besides Rucker and Sixty Six Park?

There was a tournament at St. Johns Recreation Centre that was big. But you could basically go to every basketball court in Brooklyn at that time and find that the court was full. It‘s not the same anymore. When you drive by the parks you won‘t see that many kids out there anymore.

What is your take on the whole commercialization of streetball? All the interest that the sport gathers from sponsors and the media these days.

The NBA and streetball are two totally different games. The players on the streetball courts have their own unique set of talents. But the level of attention they receive now helps some of them to get into the league. And that‘s a good thing.

What about your own quote “passes don‘t get paid“.

Uhh, I got that from Fred Carter. When I was a rookie he came to me ‘Rook, let me tell you something. In this league, passes don‘t get paid. Passes do not get paid.‘ And that stuck with me as soon as I stepped on the basketball court. It wasn‘t my own theory though. I got it from a veteran. There could be five guys open and he would still not pass it to you. (laughs)

How confident were you as a player?

As a player? Very confident. I knew that I could get my shot over anybody on the basketball court because of my jumping ability and I had ballhandling skills. I could go either left hand or right hand. I was very confident in my offensive game.

STATS: World B. Free

Position: Guard

Height: 6-2 Weight: 185 lbs.

Born: December 9, 1953 in Atlanta, Georgia

High School: Canarsie in Brooklyn, New York

College: Guilford College

Drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2nd round (5th pick, 23rd overall) of the 1975 NBA draft.

Career Average: 30,4 Minutes, 20,3 Points, 3,7 Assists

Best Season (1979-80): 30,2 Points, 4,2 Assists, 3,5 Rebounds, 47,4 % FG

All Star: 1979/80

2nd in the NBA in Scoring: 1978/79; 1979/80

Teams: Philadelphia 76ers (1975-78; 1986-87), San Diego Clippers (1978-80) Golden State Warriors (1980-82), Cleveland Cavaliers (1982-1986), Houston Rockets (1987-88)

John Wall is a Baller

John Wall is the number 1 basketball prep star in the country.  He’s a 6 foot 3, 185 pound athletic guard that plays high school basketball for Word of God Christian Academy in North Carolina.

The baller has officially visited the basketball schools of the Memphis Tigers, Kansas Jayhawks and the Oregon Ducks.

However, because Baylor University hired Dwon Clifton, brother of John Wall’s AAU basketball coach, many people believe that John Wall will verbally committ to Baylor in the near future.

Mark Edwards Blog at Streetball.com

Mark Edwards aka “The Watcher” is an Official Streetball.com Team member and part of the Streetball.com family, the company announced.  Mr. Edwards is one of the most influential people in the history of Streetball.

Mr. Edwards launched the career of Hot Sauce in streetball tournaments and in the movies like Crossover.  He currently manages Grayson Boucher aka THE PROFESSOR…which by itself makes him a major force in streetball,  but,  just for record he listed just a few of the projects he’s worked on in his official blog at Streetball.

Go to Mark Edwards Official Blog at Streetball.com

Grayson Boucher aka The Professor Photo Gallery

While being signed to And 1 Grayson has also ventured off into other things as well. He played for the Salem Stampede in the IBL (Intercontinental Basketball League) for the 2006 season and is currently playing for the Atlanta Krunk in the CBA( Continental Basketball Association) for this season.

He also started a career in acting, starring as the lead role in the movie ‘Ball Don’t Lie‘ set to be released later this year. He also had a small roll in the comedy ‘Semi-Pro’ starring Will Ferrell, which will be in theaters february 29th. Grayson ‘the Professor’ Boucher is looking to expand his acting career and professional basketball career while also being contracted under And 1 and playing in all the tour events.

Grayson Boucher aka The Professor

Grayson Boucher stars in Ball Don’t Lie, an urban coming of age story that follows Sticky, played by the famous streetball and basketball player, Grayson Boucher aka “The Professor,” who overcomes his troubled past through his passion for the game. Based on the popular novel, Ball Don’t Lie features Ludacris, Rosanna Arquette, and Nick Cannon. Part of the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.

The streetball and basketball movie, Ball Don’t Lie was directed by Brin Hill and written by Matt de la Pena and Hill.

Brandon Jennings Chooses Europe Over Arizona

Brandon Jennings is exepected to sign with a European Agent instead of playing one year at Arizona and then entering the 2009 NBA Draft.

Brandon Jennings played High School Hoops at Oak Hill Academy

NBA Madness in Korea

Streetball and Basketball reach audiences around the world, especially in Korea.

You can often find people at basketball courts in Seoul wearing NBA jerseys or trying to emulate the moves of their favorite players. Many Koreans watch NBA games on television, while some study NBA highlights and statistics on the Internet.

Korean streetball and basketball fans are expected to flock to NBA Madness Korea, an event designed to promote basketball by featuring a variety of guests, shows and interactive activities from Friday through Sunday at Yongsan iPark Mall in Seoul.

NBA Madness Asia Tour 2008

Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar is scheduled to meet fans and put on a basketball clinic to teach skills and share tips on how to become a better player.

Dallas Mavericks Dancers will perform, and Hugo, the New Orleans Hornets’ mascot, will interact with the crowd.

There will also be a series of contests for fans, including a skills challenge, where participants can win prizes with their passing abilities and free-throw shooting, in addition to a slam dunk contest, 3-point shootout and a series of other games.

NBA Madness will offer clinics for children, video games and a chance for fans to compare themselves to life-sized cutouts of NBA players.

This week’s event is part of an NBA Madness Asia Tour that will make its way through the region this summer.

The tour began with a stop in Manila, Philippines, from June 13-July 13.

It will also travel to three cities ― Kaohsiung, Taichung and Taipei ― in Taiwan from Aug. 15-31 as well as Tokyo from Aug. 29-31, Singapore from Sept. 5-7 and Hong Kong from Sept. 12-14.

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