T HE KIN

N G LEADS THE PLAYER

R S’ R EV
VOLU
U TION
N

LEBRON
JAMES

www.dimemag.com / #58 / AUG/SEPT 2010

• 2010 adidas America, Inc. The NBA and individual NBA member team identifications are the intellectual property of NBA Properties, Inc. and the respective NBA member teams. • 2010 NBA Properties, Inc. All rights reserved.

2
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 Issue #58 August/September 2010

Contents
RAISING ARIZONA
42 After a surprising freshman year, once little-known recruit Derrick Williams is now the face of the Arizona Wildcats program.
But as he tries to resurrect UA, the question remains: Is the projected 2011 Lottery pick ready for the new level of attention?

MISSISSIPPI BURNING
48 On the surface, there' s one noticeable difference ever since Monta Ellis won the NBA' s Most Improved Player Award following the
2006±07 sea son: his ink. Seemingly overnight, the League' s fastest rising star went under the needle for the first time. And again.
And again.

LITTLE BROTHER
54 No matter how you look at it, it has to be hard when your older brother is a two-time NBA champion, three-time NBA All-Star
and former NBA Rookie of the Year. But if there' s anyone that makes it look easy, it' s Marc Gasol.

THE WORLD IS YOURS

58 2010 was the season and summer of LeBron James. After winning his second straight NBA Most Valuable Player trophy, LeBron
became the trophy in the biggest, richest, most controversial free-agent pursuit in sports history. Now settled into his new home in
Miami, the King has to prove his worth all over again.

58
LeBron James 4

Photo. David Alvarez

GATORADE AD

5
 Photo. Bethany Gilbert

Issue #58 August/September 2010

Contents
14 HOOPLA

16 YouTube REVIEWS

17 TANGLED WEB

18 TWITTER REVIEWS

19 SNEAKER STORE
± SNYX Sneaker Studio

20 BALLER© S BLUEPRINT
20 ± Rudy Gay
21 ± Serge Ibaka

22 STREET SEEN
± Shop.412

24 WHAT'S MY NAME?
24 ± Durand Scott
25 ± Jeffery Taylor
26 ± Maurice Harkless
27 ± Mike Gansey
28 ± Jonathan Wallace
29 ± Rotnei Clarke

30 Q&A
± Carlos Boozer

32 PEOPLE©S COURT
± SPAir Garden

34 THE LIFE
± FEIT

36 BUYER©S GUIDE
± Sunglasses

38 BEATS & RHYMES

± Stalley

39 10 SENSE
± Ersan Ilyasova

40 BUSINESS
± Sport Science

44

66
72
DIME TRAINING
± Trevor Ariza

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PREVIEW

STYLES UPON STYLES 48 6

Monta Ellis
 Dime Training With Trevor Ariza

Issue #58 August/September 2010

www.dimemag.com

Editor & Publisher

Josh Gotthelf ± joshg@dimemag.com

Director of Content
Patrick Cassidy ± pat@dimemag.com
44
Associate Publisher
Justin Leonard ± justin@dimemag.com

Associate Editors
Austin Burton ± austin@dimemag.com
Aron Phillips ± aron@dimemag.com

Operations Manager
Holly Smith ± holly@dimemag.com

Art Direction
thundercut ± www.thundercut.com

Designers
Andy Scheiderich, Daniel Weise

Contributing Photographers
David Alvarez
Evan Brockett
Nick Ferrari
Bethany Gilbert
Dorothy Hong
Joe Murphy
Outlier Entertainment
Jeffery Salter

Contributing Writers
Jeff Chen
E.G.
Jack Jensen

Dime Interns
Adam Flomenbaum, Camron Ghorbi,
Rey Jefferson, Daniel Marks, Sean Sweeney

Dime NY Office
212-629-5066

Worldwide Newsstand Distributor

Curtis Circulation Company, LLC.

Newsstand Consultant
Howard White & Associates

DIME®, THE GAME. THE PLAYER. THE LIFE.®

and THE BASKETBALL LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE®
are registered trademarks of
Dime Magazine Publishing Company, Inc.

For new subscriptions, subscription problems

and/or address changes please go to
www.dimemag.com, call (877) 805-8651 or
email dimcs@magserv.com

PRINTED IN THE USA

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9
 LETTERS
In this post-age limit era of NCAA and NBA basketball, John Wall is
about as much of a ª sure thingº as you' re going to get in a draft prospect.
He went to Kentucky as the top-ranked high school player in the country,
then completed a near-sweep of national Freshman of the Year awards
on his way to an Elite Eight berth. While Wall was seen as a safe pick for
the Washington Wizards at No. 1 overall, many of his counterparts in the
ª one-and-doneº era are just as risky for NBA teams as their preps-to-pros
ancestors. Five years after the League imposed its age limit and created the
one-and-done trend, is the game better off for it? Around the time Wall' s
Dime #57 cover dropped, we asked our DimeMag.com readers:

How do you feel about the one-and-done rule?

IT IS LAME. It' s a shame. And it' s a sham.
Who really believes that playing one year
of college ball will make that much of an
impact on players? This rule was imple-
mented for two reasons: (1) To allow the
NCAA to get some good freshman talent,
potentially getting more exposure, and
$$$, and (2) To allow the NBA to curtail
costs further down the road as some
HS ball players will have one less year
of NBA experience when they negotiate
their contracts when they are about 30
years old. This is a discriminatory act IMO,
age discrimination. A person can fight in
a war at 18, but can' t play in the NBA.
That is terrible.
± Joe' s Momma
I THINK the one-and-done rule is stupid. If
players want to come to the League out of
high school then let them. It is up to the
owners to decide whether they want to
take a chance on a high school player or
not. If they really thought it was a liability
they wouldn' t sign these guys in the first
place. And why one year anyway? Why not
two or three or just mandate that NBA
players have to have a full four years in
college before being eligible. It' s a stupid
arbitrary rule that doesn' t exist in any
other sport primarily because colleges
make so much money off of great basket-
ball players via the NCAA tournament that
they don' t want to let it go.
± karizmatic
THE MONEY is very enticing for first-round
draft picks. It is very difficult to turn down
millions of dollars. However, as Black men,
specifically those who came from the
slums or poverty, the value of a basketball
scholarship and ª freeº education is equally
enticing. Personally, I would stay in school
and get my degree before going to the pros
if I were in that situation. However, top
players like Shaq proved that you can go
back to school and earn a degree. A long
NBA career is not guaranteed. Anything
can happen. It is better to have multiple
backup plans and options rather than sim-
ply relying on one thing. We have to learn
how to delay gratification.
± L.A. WILSON
EASY solution. Remove the age limit but
only for the D-League. So you can go from
high school to the D-League if you want.
You' re still getting paid, technically in the
League, and other teams can scout you.
Declare for the Draft when you' re 19 and
problem solved. Or just let them come
straight from high school. For every bust
there is a decent high school kid who' s
ready for the L. This will drastically cut
down the one-and-dones and end this
whole debate.
± Stunnaboy09
I THINK THAT the NBA should utilize the
D-League a little more. Allowing pros-
pects to play in the D-League gives
everyone a better idea of playing in the
NBA, gives the kids pay (albeit a low sal-
ary) and raises the level of awareness,
competition, and marketability of the
D-League instantly. It' s called a develop-
ment league for a reason, right? Also, the
NBA scores financially because they can
keep paying D-League players the
same low wages while at the same time
raising the income from increased market
and in turn can reduce the pressure on
NBA teams to pay for their D-League
squads. The only loser in that scenario
is the NCAA.
± samk
I' M A SUPPORTER of age limits before you
come to the NBA. I' d honestly prefer two
years before you can come into the League.
Yeah, there are a few people that suffer
from missing out on NBA money ' cause
they' re just that good, but there are a lot
more people that come out before they' re
ready or come out just ' cause they can
jump and touch the fucking ceiling and
somebody hopes that maybe they can
develop some actual skill as well. People
are being greedy and not thinking of
ramifications. Let these players develop
in college where people can actually take
the time to work with them.
± Mr. TKO
BS. You can work at McDonald' s when you
are 18, you should be allowed to put a ball
in a hoop.
± Loc
I THINK IT' S just ridiculous. It was okay 10
years ago when athletes actually wanted
to go to college. Nowadays nobody cares,
the college game is simply being destroyed
as well as the NBA. As mentioned there
are no more pure skill athletes, just ath-
letes at every position. There are no more
college dynasties, there are no more leg-
endary coaches. Why? Because nobody
stays to build a dynasty with their team
in college. The NBA is no longer a man' s
game, it really isn' t.
± Samuel Fulton
IT' S GOOD to see players like Brandon Jen-
nings pimp the system. This is America.
Rights are being withheld with that stu-
pid rule which is only in place because
95% of elite high school players are
African-American.
± Chris

10
11
Editor' s Letter
Te uniform didn' t really matter. Truth be told,
wherever LeBron James had decided to take his tal-
ents and conclude the NBA' s biggest one-man free
agent pursuit of all-time, we were going to put him
on this month' s Dime cover. It was, as they say in
the business, fuckin' obvious.
Like everything else LeBron has done in his career as the phe-
nom of basketball phenoms, the events of this summer were
unprecedented. Never before had a superstar so young (25), so
marketable (7th on Forbes' list of top-earning athletes), and so
close to his prime (coming off back-to-back league MVPs) put
himself on the market with so many teams (six) getting a legiti-
mate shot at him. And somehow, thanks to his decision and ª The
Decision,º the LeBron story still managed to exceed the hype
leading up to it.
Miami. It should have made sense all along. They had the cap
space, the location, and as we would learn was most important,
the superstars: Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Pat Riley. By linking
up with his 2003 Draft classmates and the man who owns seven
NBA championship rings, LeBron set himself up to win the crown
that goes with being called King.
By all accounts, LeBron is after two things: To become the best
basketball player of all-time, and to become the richest athlete
of all-time. In his Dime #31 cover story (Feb. 2007) he said, ª I
want to expand. I don' t want to be known just in the U.S. That' s
not enough for me. I' m very focused on globalizing the LeBron
James brand.º
12
Two years later, in Dime #47: ª When I first got to the NBA, I was
happy to be in the NBA and excited to put on an NBA uniform and
everything. Not saying I still don' t, but now ¼ I want to become
the best player of all-time. I want to be the best player on the
court every time I go out on the court.º
Depending on whom you ask, LeBron-to-Miami may be a step
backwards from those goals. From the moment he sent Cleveland
reeling and South Beach celebrating on July 8, media critics have
suggested that LeBron is hurting his off-court brand as well as
his on-court legacy by becoming one of a powerful trio instead
of going solo. In the meantime, LeBron has become one thing
no salesman wants to become: controversial. He exceeded Tiger
Woods as the most polarizing figure in sports ± going into his
eighth pro season as more villain than hero for the first time.
ª I don' t think people look for me to make as many mistakes or fail
like they used to early in my career,º LeBron said in that ' 07 story.
ª I think early on they were looking to see if I was going to live up to
the hype. Now that I' ve exceeded everybody' s expectations, they
don' t know what to write, they don' t know how to turn it into
more hoopla. I' ve just quieted noise by playing well.º
The noise is back. Louder than ever. And like he did before, LeBron
can only quiet it on the court.
± Austin Burton,
Associate Editor
Photo. David Alvarez
 TM

13
 SNYX Sneaker Studio

19

INSIDE
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
PREVIEW

THE SEASON© S HOTTEST

SUNGLASSES

HOW TO SHOOT THE

FADEAWAY JUMPER 14
 TM

15
 YouTube REVIEWS

Meet the new Big Tree. Call them ª Miami Triceº or the ª Super-Friendsº or whatever you want, but
the story of the summer was Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh forming like Voltron to make
the Miami Heat an instant championship contender for the better part of the next decade. Here is some
of their best work from this past season:

DWYANE WADE MIX 2010

From: imadden87
Of course you have to start with D-Wade sending Anderson Varejao
heels-over-head for the best dunk of the ' 09-10 season. LeBron had
the best view in the house of that moment, which surely stuck in
his mind when the idea of joining D-Wade in Miami came up. Then
at the 30-second mark, Wade makes O.J. Mayo stumble all the way
out of the screen on a step-back move. If there' s one thing you
learn from this mix, it' s that NOBODY splits a double-team better
than Flash. Many a poster on this clip comes after Wade left two (or
three) guys in the dust.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EA0GMrrl7s
Time: 2:49

LEBRON JAMES 2010 MVP MIX - FOREVER

From: king1sharma
As much as newly-bitter Cleveland fans may try to deny it, LBJ was
the best they' ve ever had. And this was probably his best season
ever. Averaging 29.7 points, 7.3 boards, 8.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.0
blocks, LeBron won his second straight MVP award easily and led
the Cavs to 61 wins in the regular season. You want defense? Plenty
of catch-from-behind swats, but the best is at 1:12 when he gets a
hand on Kevin Durant' s attempted game-winner to preserve an-
other W. Passing? Check what he does 1:45 into the clip. Ironically,
perhaps the most incredible play of LBJ' s season didn' t even count;
when LeBron caught an alley-oop against the Knicks post-whistle
and finished with a backwards jackknife dunk after ducking his
head to avoid the rim.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VT5k33WhvHI
Time: 5:55

CHRIS BOSH 09-10 MIX

From: LONGER01
Then there' s that other guy. Bosh was a beast this season, putting
up 24.0 points on 51 percent shooting from the floor and pulling
down 10.8 rebounds, but you may have missed it because his To-
ronto Raptors missed the playoffs. Now that he' s in Miami and un-
der a bigger spotlight, Bosh' s numbers might drop, but he' s going to
be the guy who makes the Heat truly dangerous. If you think Bosh
isn' t as clutch as his two new teammates, check out 45 seconds
into this clip, where he hits a game-winning and-one in Philly, and
about 10 seconds later, when he ices Atlanta with a step-back J for
the win. And if you think Bosh is soft, go to the 1:15 mark when he
smashes a dunk and screams on Gerald Wallace, whose toughness
nobody questions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3oNEREzM3U
Time: 4:36

16

During the offseason there' s a lot more time to check things out¼
Basketball
www.therookiewall.com
Even though Dime #57 was the issue that
featured our NBA Draft Preview, don' t
think that after June 24 we were done
looking at prospects. In fact, there' s no
better time to be forecasting for the 2011
NBA Draft than now. The Rookie Wall is a
website dedicated to the newest players in
the NBA, providing in-depth articles, mock
drafts, and exclusive interviews with the
League' s future stars. Trust us ± add it to
the rotation.
Kicks
www.theshoebuff.com
While most of us wish that we could wear
sneakers to any event or setting, there are
some times when they' re just not allowed.
So rather than getting turned away at the
door from the club when you' re with your
girl, take a look at The Shoe Buff and move
your kick game to the next level. As the
definitive online resource for men' s con-
temporary shoes, this site has you covered
as soon as you step off the court.
Lifestyle
www.marcustroy.com
ª Blogging ain' t easy, but somebody' s got
to do it.º Everyone that uses the Internet
to stay up on the latest styles and trends
from around the world should take Marcus
Troy' s words to heart. And in reality, they
should really thank him. While many jour-
nalists carve out a niche under large media
umbrellas, the Montreal fashion blogger
just does him. So rather than taking story
assignments, Troy' s site is much more of a
personal diary. From footwear to gadgets
to people, his travels and passions are on
full display. Think Being John Malkovich, but
for Karl Lagerfeld.
Music
www.missinfo.tv
Whenever something happens in the world
of rap/hip-hop, Minya Oh (a.k.a. Miss Info)
knows about it before it even happens.
So after working as a hip-hop journalist,
contributing to almost every important
music magazine out there, she brought her
ª Celebrity Dramaº gossip report to HOT 97.
But for those of you looking to keep up on
the hottest tracks and news online, her
site deserves a bookmark.
17
TANGLED WEB
Girls
www.supersexycpr.com
When one of our boys sent this site over,
we couldn' t help but check it out. I mean,
who doesn' t want to see ª the Super Sexy
way to learn CPR and Abdominal Thrusts?º
Turns out the microsite was created by the
folks at Fortnight Lingerie and a Toronto
advertising agency by the name of Red
Urban. And if you' re reading, job well
done. An online viral phenomenon, Super
Sexy CPR garnered over 2.3 million views
within a few days of its launch.
Basketball / Fashion
www.kobeyourself.com
This site is kind of amazing. Remember
Kobe' s infamous photo shoot with the
Los Angeles Times Magazine? Well, now you
can see what you' d look like in all white.
Results may vary.
 TWITTER REVIEWS

More than headbands, arm sleeves and girlfriends with reality-TV resumes, Twitter has taken the NBA by storm
unlike any other societal trend. Basketball players are all over Twitter; which briefly threatened to make the
media irrelevant, until every NBA beat writer, columnist and magazine (@DimeMag) hit Twitter even harder.
Now it seems every few minutes in the Dime office we’re laughing or shaking our heads at these NBA-related
tweets, so we decided to compile some of the best of the last month:

@boogiecousins @cdouglasroberts @Thirty2zero

Why is it called a hamburger when there is I jus heard the Mel Gibson audio. I can’t LeBron will start his own team in the state
no ham in it? stop laughing. It’s not funny that he’s racist of Akron. Obama and Stern have approved
& abusive but he sounds like the the expansion of NBA and USA.
Ultimate Warrior!!! Akron Kings

@KDthunderup @nate_robinson @CV31

Now everybody wanna play for the heat This is how u can tell some one dnt like So does anyone know the FIBA rules when
and the Lakers? Let’s go back to being u, if u sneeze & that person dnt say bless u, it comes to tweeting at halftime?
competitive and going at these peoples! #theyneedjesus lol so I said bless me lol

@TheRealTWill @jrich23 @EMaynor3

If you work for the nets stop monitoring Go play some summer soccer
er so I can ge
get I wanna be in a relationship but I want
my twitter it won’t get you know where in my flopping game up for the
he season! lol everything to be perfect!!!!! Am I askin for
this life time, god bless to much????

J_Flynn
@J_Flynn @dmorey @iambigbaby11
i h out of a movie....plane
I’m in a scene right At Michael Buble concert with my wife. When I was little, I thought being famous
delayed. A group of about 15 college She owes me an MMA event now. I would be fun!! But right now I hate it!! Ayo
researchers. Restless kids. Yorkie barking want to go home. Let me go home. Who baby!! Just at this moment!!
lol #classic knew a cover band could sell out the
Toyota Center?

18
 SNEAKER SPOT

WORDS. Aron Phillips

SNYX Sneaker Studio

Not to get into the whole nature versus nurture debate, but many people believe that you' re the product
of your environment. So for Andrew Park, co-owner of SNYX Sneaker Studio in Chicago, you can under-
stand how he fell in love with sneakers.

ª Growing up as a kid in Chicago in the ' 80s and ' 90s, it was all MJ,º
says Park. ª So obviously Jordans played a big role in my life. I
may have ` officially' been a little late into the sneaker game, but
I would have to argue that growing up I was a sneakerhead ± I
just didn' t know it.º

While a lot of stores these days try and do too much with their
product selection, SNYX keeps it very simple, carrying kicks and
gear almost exclusively from Nike, Nike Sportswear, Jordan Brand
and New Era. And with new deliveries every week, it benefits
people to stop by frequently, because a lot of their kicks sell
out quick.

With a pool table in the front, and a long black counter in the
back akin to a bar, instead of providing drinks, SNYX has been
serving up some of the freshest sneakers in town since they
opened their doors in 2004. So it' s no surprise that ballers such
as Wilson Chandler, Ramon Sessions, Tony Allen, Sherron Col-
lins and Luther Head make SNYX a go-to destination whenever
they' re in Chi-City.
ª I' m not looking to change the world, but if I can challenge some-
one to try a new sneaker out ± and they end up liking it ± that' s
me doing my job,º says Park. ª We want to create loyal customers
that will come to us because they know we will treat them right.
It sounds like basic business ethics, but you would be surprised,
there' s a lot of naughty people out there.º

SNYX SNEAKER STUDIO  3952B W. Madison Street  Chicago, IL 60624

773.826.6980  www.snyxchicago.com

19
 BALLER' S BLUEPRINT

INTERVIEW. Sean Sweeney

PHOTO. NBA/Getty Images

How To Shoot Te Fadeaway Jumper

This summer, Rudy Gay inked a five-year,
$81.6 million contract to stay with the
Memphis Grizzlies. The deal was both a
symbol that the once-laughingstock fran-
chise is willing to spend money to become
a winner ± Rudy just led them to a 40-win
season after three straight years in the 20' s
± and a confirmation that Rudy is expected
to lead that next-level step.

In his fourth pro season, Gay averaged

19.6 points, including a 41-point effort at
Miami in December and four other games
where he dropped 30 or more. One tool
Rudy used to get buckets was his fadeaway
jumper, something he' s been developing
recently and has become a big part of his
repertoire. On an offseason visit to New
York City, Rudy broke down his new favor-
ite move:

RUDY GAY 6-9, 230 lbs., SF, Memphis Grizzlies

ª I can' t name my go-to move. I can' t let

everybody know, but I do like the fadeaway.

ª When I was growing up, I watched MJ

use it. For the most part, I watched him a
lot. And KG. A lot of guys perfected it, and
when you grow up watching those guys,
you want to do what they do. It worked for
me so I kept doing it.

ª I get a lot of post-ups. With my fadeaway,

I try to make sure the defense can' t figure
out which way I' m going. It kind of frees
me up for my shot. I' m 6-9, so guys will
play me a little bit differently to try to stop
me from going to the basket. Whenever I
feel like that' s happening, I just set them
up for the fadeaway.

ª We played against Philadelphia this past

year. (Editor' s note: On Nov. 20, Gay put up
33 points on the Sixers.) I hit a fadeaway on
one side of the court and they gave me the
ball and my teammates were telling me to
go right back to that spot. I said, ` No, no.
Forget about it.' So I went to the opposite
side of the court and shot the same shot.
I just told them, ` I told you so.' It wasn' t
going to matter where I was, I was going
to hit it.º

20
INTERVIEW. Sean Sweeney
Numbers may have gotten Serge Ibaka into
the NBA, but the key to his early success
can' t be recorded with a tape-measure, a
scale or a calculator.
Standing 6-10, a ripped 235 pounds, born
in 1989, with a vertical leap somewhere
in the 40' s and a 7-4 wingspan, Ibaka was
going to get drafted even if he couldn' t tell
a pick-and-roll from a dinner roll. After
the Oklahoma City Thunder (then-Seattle
Supersonics) took the Congo native in the
first round in 2008, Ibaka spent another year
playing in Europe before making his NBA
debut last season. From there, he earned
a spot in the rotation for OKC' s eventual
playoff team by becoming an Energy Guy.
How To Be An Energy Guy
In its most simple form, an Energy Guy
on the basketball court is charged with
changing the complexion of a game with-
out having to dominate the ball. For Ibaka,
it was blocking seven shots in Game 2 of
the Thunder' s fi rst-round playoff series
against the Lakers. Or forcing Tim Duncan
into crucial missed shots and turnovers
down the stretch of a March game against
San Antonio. It' s having a cult-like fol-
lowing among OKC fans, who give him
nicknames like ª The Sergeon,º ª Dr. Nastyº
and ª Chewblocka.º Ibaka averaged 6.3
points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in
18 minutes a night as an NBA rookie,
but he makes his money beyond the
stat sheet:
SERGE IBAKA 6-10, 235 lbs., PF/C, Oklahoma City Tunder
21
SERGE: ª The first thing Coach (Scott)
Brooks calls on me for is my energy. My
game is energy. I am an energy player.
That' s what everybody knows. That' s what
he asks of me. When I come off the bench,
I am supposed to bring some energy to my
team. I' m supposed to change the game.
That' s my job.
ª Every time when I am called, I just try
to give 100 percent energy. That' s why I
am in the NBA. That' s why I play for the
Oklahoma City Thunder. I understand my
job. It is easy if you understand your job
and you keep your focus on your job. We
are a good team because everybody under-
stands their job. We all bring good things
(to the table).
ª Everyone has energy, but it' s all about
what you do with it. That' s what I learned
in the playoffs. In Game 2 in L.A. when I
had the seven blocked shots, that was a
game where my energy helped us a lot.
ª I know I can score and I know I can shoot
the ball, but I am more focused on what I
need to do defensively for my team to win.
We are a team where everybody can shoot
the ball. We have Kevin Durant. We have
Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green, Thabo
Sefolosha, Nenad Krstic, Nick Collison. We
have James Harden. Everybody can shoot
the ball. So I just stay more focused on
what I need to do to help my team win.
That' s why I try to bring more energy and
try to block every shot. I try to give some
enthusiasm when I am called.
ª For next season, I want to improve my
defense first. That' s my business and that' s
what I know my team needs. Everybody
knows that' s my business, my defense.
So that' s why I try to be better for next
year, next season. I need to work on my
offensive game, too. Whether I expand my
role all depends on my work and what I
do this summer to bring something dif-
ferent into training camp. If you do your
work well and do everything that the
coach wants you to do, he will give you a
better position.º
 STREET SEEN

WORDS. Aron Phillips

PHOTOS. Jordan Beckham & Christian Kinkela

Shop.412
Situated in the cultural South Side of Pittsburgh, Shop.412 keeps the Steel City on lock
when it comes to getting your game right. Run by brothers Aaron & Christian Kinkela, who
grew up in the suburbs of the blue-collar town, you could say the shop has always been a
lifelong dream. ª We always wanted to be involved in something that was bigger than sitting
at a desk working for someone else' s Range Rover payment,º says Christian. ª We were always
eager to bring new and exciting things to our amazing city, showing the rest of the world
that Pittsburgh is more than a Primanti Bros. sandwich and the Steelers.º And right they are.
Carrying footwear from Nike, New Balance, PRO-Keds, Gourmet and Clae, as well
as clothing from 10.Deep, UNDFTD, No Mas, Te Hundreds and Penfield, stopping
through is well worth the trip. You can even challenge someone to a game of ping pong on
their brand-new table, Wii on the 42-inch LCD, or simply grab a shot of espresso. ª It is
home in here,º says Christian, ª for both ourselves and our customers.º

22
CLAY PENN CHAD CALCAGNO DJ NUGGET
AGE: 24 AGE: 20 AGE: 29
FROM: Pittsburgh, PA FROM: Pittsburgh, PA FROM: Pittsburgh, PA
JOB: Skateboarder JOB: Student / Video Production JOB: DJ
WEARING: shirt by American Apparel, WEARING: shirt by Mishka, jeans by H&M, WEARING: shirt by Mishka, jeans by
jeans by H&M, cap by New Era, glasses by backpack by Incase, sunglasses by SUPER, PEGLEG, cap by New Era, glasses by
Dolce&Gabbana, shoes by Nike SB shoes by Vans Paul Smith, watch by Nixon, shoes by
Converse

Shop.412 ´ 420 South 27th Street ´ Pittsburgh, PA 15203 ´ 412.586.7507

www.shopfouronetwo.blogspot.com

DAVE CLARTY GREG SCELP RAMONE R. COLEMAN II

AGE: 25 AGE: 24 AGE: 24
FROM: Boston, MA FROM: Pittsburgh, PA FROM: Pittsburgh, PA
JOB: Graphic Designer JOB: Skateboarder JOB: Lifeguard
WEARING: shirt by H&M, jeans by Levi' s, WEARING: white t-shirt, jeans by WEARING: shirt by Faded Glory, hoodie
shoes by Vans Christian Dior, hat by Supreme, shoes by by H&M, jeans Levi' s 501, cap by New Era,
Nike SB shoes by Alife

23
 WHAT' S MY NAME?

WORDS. Camron Ghorbi

PHOTO. J.C. Ridley

Durand Scott
Please forgive Durand Scott if he cares more about winning than personal statistics. As a graduate of
a Harlem basketball powerhouse, Scott and his teammates were expected to contend for a championship
each and every year in the ultracompetitive NYC hoops scene. Coming from Rice High School,
winning is all he' s ever focused on.

ª I' ll never forget it,º says Scott about his time at Rice. ª I never
wanted to let my teammates or my coach down. They' re like
my family.º

After winning a state championship and tournament MVP honors

his senior year, Scott was expectedly recruited by some of the
most prestigious collegiate programs across the nation ± UConn,
Pittsburgh and UCLA among them. But no ankle-breaking cross-
over or step-back three-pointer, of which he had many during
his years at Rice, was more revealing of Durand Scott than his
decision to attend the University of Miami (Fla.).

ª It wasn' t just about basketball,º says the 6-3 point guard. ª I knew
I wasn' t going to play for the rest of my life, so I wanted to go
somewhere where I could start a lifestyle and enjoy my life out-
side of basketball.º

As a kid growing up in the Bronx, Scott spent a lot of time on and

off the court with a self-titled clique named F4L (Family 4 Life).
College ballers like Darryl ª Truckº Bryant (West Virginia), Kemba
Walker (UConn) and Chris Fouch (Drexel) include themselves
in that group. Transitioning from the familiarity of home to the
unknown of Coral Gables might seem like an impossible task, but
for Durand Scott, life came easy in the Sunshine State.
ª It wasn' t really hard,º says Scott. ª I' m a friendly guy, I like to get
to know people, so it was pretty easy for me to make friends,
mingle with people and enjoy myself.º
On the court, Scott was quick to recognize his place as an incom-
ing freshman. Cognizant of his own experiences while leading
Rice to a championship the year before, Scott left the vocal leader-
ship roles to the seniors while he set an example on game days.
ª Coming in as a freshman, I let them lead the team,º says Scott. ª I
got more comfortable at Miami within the year, and realized my
team needed me more than I knew.º
As a Big East fan growing up in New York, Scott didn' t ever pay too
much attention to the ACC. In fact, Scott admits he didn' t really
know anything about the conference in which he now shines.
But the opportunity to face arguably the two most historic pro-
grams in college basketball ± North Carolina and Duke ± had
him excited.
ª I looked up to those teams and always wanted to play against
them, wanted to do well against them,º says the 20-year-old.
ª When it was time to play them, I was ready to shine, and I think
I did pretty well.º
ª Pretty wellº might be the understatement of the year, coming from
perhaps the ACC' s most impressive young star. In the Hurricanes'
two games against the eventual national champion Blue Devils,
Scott averaged 24.0 points, including a breathtaking performance
in a three-point loss at Cameron Indoor in the semifinals of the
ACC Tournament. In the team' s sole match-up at North Carolina,
Scott went off for 29 points, keeping his team in it until the
very end.
Scott, who slashed defenses all season en route to a spot on
the All-ACC Rookie Team, has a style that oozes his NYC roots.
On a team full of spot-up shooters and run-of-the-mill big men,
Scott' s slashing abilities made the difference for a young Hur-
ricanes team.
ª Growing up in New York, most of the game was trying to get it to
the basket,º says Scott. ª You hardly see someone shoot the ball.
I inherit that style from New York, but I don' t try and make that
the only part of my game. I just go out there and try and play
hard, and whatever the defense gives me, that' s exactly what
I' m going to take.º
Teaming up with sophomore guard and Brooklyn native Malcolm
Grant, Scott had the Hurricanes playing a fast-paced style of ball
that had fans in Coral Gables excited about the program' s future
by season' s end. Scott promised himself to be in the gym every
day of the offseason, and his June appearance at Chris Paul' s Elite
Guard camp shows that everyone should be taking notice of the
Hurricanes' rising star.
ª Everyday I hear little things, ` he can' t do this, he can' t do that.'
I' m at the point right now where I' m working on every part of
my game,º says Scott. ª Basically, I want to prove people wrong,
go out there and play my game, have fun, and hope everything
works out for me as well as my team.º

24
 WHAT' S MY NAME?

WORDS. Daniel Marks

PHOTO. Vanderbilt University

Jeffery Taylor
When most people think of Sweden, basketball isn' t usually what comes to mind. No, most tend to focus
on hockey, IKEA and gorgeous blondes when thinking of the Scandinavian country. However, with
Jeffery Taylor' s emergence as a college basketball star out of Vanderbilt this past season, Sweden hoops just
might get some more notice.

Taylor is a 6-7, 210-pound athletic specimen going into his junior On the other end of the fl oor, Jeff is equally as talented. His
year at Vanderbilt University. And his path to Nashville has been strength and athleticism allow him to get to the rim when he puts
a long one, as he went from Norrkoping, Sweden to Hobbs, N.M., his mind to it. He has an ability to draw fouls at will, evidenced by
before landing in Tennessee. Jeff grew up in Sweden, where his the fact that he took 189 free throws this past season, good enough
father, former NBA player Jeff Taylor Sr., for seventh in the SEC in that category.
played professional basketball at the If he can knock down his mid-range
end of his career. When he was 17, he jumper ± which Taylor calls ª essentialº
moved to New Mexico to live with his ± with consistency, he will be hard to
grandparents in hopes of furthering stop on offense. For example, Taylor's
his basketball career. While the move full arsenal was on display during an
was tough on Taylor, it paid off. outing against Tennessee in early Feb-
ruary when he scored a career-high 26
ª The move was really hard,º says Tay- points, including 12 from the foul line,
lor. ª I had to adjust to a new culture, and hit a couple of 18-footers as well.
and leave my parents and friends. The
language wasn't a big deal, I knew Eng- ª I just played the way I'm capable of
lish growing up. Even though it was playing that game,º says Taylor, de-
hard, moving definitely helped me get scribing his performance that night.
recruited though as a lot more schools ª I hit my jump shots, scored in general
began to notice me than they would and played defense. I'm a very capable
have had I stayed in Sweden.º shooter and people saw it that night.º

Jeff was right when saying the move Even though Taylor is already con-
helped top programs take notice of sidered one of the top players in the
his abilities. He was rated a four-star SEC, and was named Second Team
recruit by Rivals.com, and had interest All-Conference this past year, he feels
from UCLA, Texas, Kentucky, Arizona he has a lot of room for improvement.
and Gonzaga before signing with In what was considered a weak NBA
the Commodores. Draft, Taylor probably could have been
a first-round pick this year, but decided
Since arriving on campus in the Fall to return to school. Taylor cites improv-
of 2008, Taylor has been the starting ing his ball-handling, becoming a more
small forward for Coach Kevin Stall- consistent shooter and maturing an-
ings. This is no small feat, considering other year as the reasons he will be
Stallings usually doesn© t start fresh- wearing the black and gold next year.
men right away. But in his two seasons
in Nashville, Taylor has not missed a The decision to come back puts Taylor
game, making a big impact on both into the spotlight at Memorial Gym-
ends of the court. nasium, as he will be the team's go-to
guy this season with the departure of
This past season, the small forward Jermaine Beal to graduation and A.J.
averaged 13.3 points, 5.2 rebounds Ogilvy to the Draft. Taylor says he is
and led the team in total steals with prepared for the role, and believes his
36. The steals number is a telling sign of the kind of player Jeff transition to a leadership role will be a seamless one.
is, as the defensive part of his game is what immediately stands
out about him. He is one of the best perimeter defenders in the ª I feel I'm definitely ready to be the leader on this team,º says Tay-
SEC, and is always assigned to lockdown the opposing team's lor. ª I've watched Beal and A.J. the past two years, and seen how
top scorer. they carry themselves, so I know what it takes to be a leader.º

ª It's a challenge guarding the other team's best guy,º says Taylor. Taylor's decision to return has Vandy primed for another success-
ª You have to use your skills to your advantage on the defensive ful season. It also has him primed for the 2011 NBA Lottery, and
end, and that's where my lateral quickness and athleticism come Sweden primed to be known for a sport other than hockey.
into play.º

25
 WHAT' S MY NAME?

WORDS. E.G.
PHOTO. Big Apple Basketball

Maurice Harkless
You can' t blame Maurice Harkless for the way he plays the game of basketball. It' s just him.

ª Sometimes I think he makes the game look

easy, but he' s playing hard,º says Nate Blue,
Harkless' mentor.

Since he surfaced on the basketball scene

three years ago as a freshman at Forest Hills
High School in Queens, N.Y., the 6-6 swing-
man has dealt with accusations that he
doesn' t play hard because of his laid-back
demeanor and effortless style.

ª People can say what they want about him,

but I guarantee you he' s one of the best
small forwards in the country,º says one
high-major college coach.

Any doubts regarding Harkless' ability was

put to rest at The Rumble in the Bronx AAU
tournament this past June. After the rising
senior turned in a stellar performance at
the tournament, Harkless' status as one
of the best small forwards in the country
was secure.

ª I really wanted to show people that I am

one of the best players in the country,º says
Harkless. ª I know I can play basketball at
a high level and I think I showed that at
the Rumble in the Bronx. Now I just have to
continue playing that way going into my last high school year.º
Harkless can play all five positions on the court pretty well, which
causes matchup problems for most defenders on the high school
level. He can shoot the ball over guards and use his quickness and
handle to get around big men.
ª Maurice is a late bloomer,º says Blue. ª He has all the skills to be a
very good college player. He definitely fits the mold of a Rudy Gay,
Trevor Ariza type.º
New Heights AAU program, which boasted Class of 2010 standouts
Jayvaughn Pinkston (Villanova) and Devon Collier (Oregon State),
Harkless was often the best player on the court despite his team
coming up short in a close loss.
Last December, Harkless committed to UConn, but with the
program drawing some unwanted attention from the NCAA
recently, he decided to re-open his recruitment. So far St.
John' s, Maryland, Memphis and Arizona are among those
on his list.

As a junior last season, Harkless averaged 17 points and 11 rebounds
per game while leading Forest Hills to an 11-3 record in New York
City' s vaunted Public School Athletic League (PSAL). During the off-
season, he also shined at the Nike IS8 summer tournament and in
camps around the country, and announced that he' ll be transferring
to South Kent Prep in Connecticut this upcoming school year.
ª I can always get better,º says Harkless. ª The most important thing
for me right now is to get stronger physically and put the right
amount of weight on my body.º
ª I think he needs to be more vocal out there on the court,º adds Blue.
ª If he adds that to his game and thinks the game some more, it will
be over for the competition.º
ª UConn can still be my destination,º says Harkless. ª I just want to
take more visits to other schools and see what else is out there.º
Before that, he' s got to adjust to the new setting at South Kent,
one of the nation' s top prep school programs that has recently
produced Isaiah Thomas (Washington), Kevin Parrom (Arizona),
Omari Lawrence (Kansas State), Jack McClinton (Miami), and NBA
alums Dorell Wright (Golden State Warriors) and Andray Blatche
(Washington Wizards).
ª I think the move will help me mature off the court a lot,º says
Harkless. ª It' s kind of like a college life because I' ll be on my own
and it will allow me to get away from the distractions of the city
a little bit.

In the Nike IS8, Harkless went up against some of the best play- ª I know I can play, and to some extent I do feel underrated, so I' ll
ers in the Empire State and stood out. In one game against the just have to keep showing people what I can do.º

26

WORDS. Sean Sweeney
PHOTO. NBA Development League
Admit it. Te only reason you know the name Mike Gansey is because of March Madness. West Virginia' s
2005 and 2006 tournament runs were as miraculous as they were memorable.
Realistically, there' s nothing wrong with that. Gansey was the
leader of those Mountaineer teams: intelligent but baby-faced,
shooter but non-athletic, country boy hustler, or so the stereo-
types read. If Kevin Pittsnogle was the pizzazz, the name to go
with the game, than Gansey had to be the rock.
But since then, you might describe his journey with the proverbial
punch line, Hell and back. Except WVU' s finest didn' t readily seek
out the depths of Satan. It came and found him.
There was the Draft Night that wasn' t, going unpicked in the 2006
NBA Draft. Then a bout with a staph infection ravaged his body,
leaving him 40 pounds underweight,
eating his NBA dreams. Chalk it up to
science; something had to bring him
back down from the sky.
So forgive yourself for not taking Gan-
sey seriously. Most college legends
nowadays who are unworthy enough
± by NBA standards ± to stumble
around campus for a few years, never
manage a bit of pub the rest of their
careers. Anonymity.
But Gansey? He just finished up time
in Erie, Pa., averaging 18.4 points and
8.2 rebounds during his time in the
D-League playing for the Erie Bay-
Hawks.
ª Playing with Mike makes the game tre-
mendously easy,º says Blake Ahearn,
his Erie teammate and fellow NBA-
hopeful. ª One, he' s unselfish and two,
he knows how to play the game. He' s
very skilled.
ª He' s really not outstanding in one, but really good in a lot
of areas.º
Well, Gansey was outstanding enough to be invited to the NBA' s
Summer League in Las Vegas this year, and enough of a standout
to help represent the minor leagues with the D-League Select
team. That squad went just 1-4, but Gansey worked himself into
the starting lineup.
ª You can just play as hard as you can,º says Gansey. ª Once you get
that opportunity on the court, you just got to do the best you can.
There are scouts here everywhere, so you have to play the best
you can when you are out there to show what you can do.º
During the team' s third game of the week, Gansey came off the
bench to connect for 17 points, netting five three-pointers dur-
ing a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Despite the team' s struggles,
Gansey proved he' s still a viable threat, scoring at least 15 points
27
WHAT' S MY NAME?
Mike Gansey
in all but one game while shooting 49 percent, including 11-for-
20 from deep.
ª Mike can definitely shoot the ball,º says Ahearn. ª There is no doubt
about that. But, it is one of those stereotypes. When you see a
white guy, you automatically think shooter. Mike can do a lot more
than just that. He had plenty of double-digit rebound games and
he is good slashing to the basket. He' s athletic.º
For Gansey, losing those stereotypes was difficult. It didn' t help
that he vanished from the American basketball scene upon finish-
ing his eligibility in Morgantown.
After getting cut in Miami' s training
camp in 2006, Gansey spent two years
in Italy, putting in work for Fabriano
Basket in the country' s second highest
division. Yet, he felt the league wasn' t
the right fit for him and had left him
on the fringes of his NBA dream.
Coming back to the States, he ended
up in the D-League with the Idaho
Stampede in an up-tempo system that
didn' t fit his game. Coming off the pine
for all but one game, Gansey failed to
impress, struggling to fit in.
ª I played 20 minutes a game, but 20
minutes a game felt like 30,º says Gan-
sey of the pace. ª I thought I played well
in the minutes I had.º
He was eventually traded to Erie and
promised more court time for a squad
close to his hometown, Olmsted Falls,
Ohio. Teaming with Ahearn, they
formed the nucleus of a BayHawks
team that played above its head the rest of the season.
Consider Ahearn a fan.
ª Mike will be able to play as long as he wants, wherever he wants,
because you can never have too many guys who know how to play
the game of basketball, are skilled and can understand the game,º
says Ahearn. ª I think a lot of NBA teams need guys like that.º
All Gansey wants is an opportunity to show and prove.
ª For myself, I just want to play well whether that is making shots
or playing defense,º says Gansey. ª I am just trying to take it day by
day, and game by game, and try to give the best effort I can.º
Gansey may never reach his 2006 celebrity ever again. Back then
he was affectionately called the ª Kamikaze Man.º Now, he' s just
Mike. Hopefully, that' s good enough.
 WHAT' S MY NAME?

WORDS. Camron Ghorbi

PHOTO. NBA Development League

Jonathan Wallace
For fringe talent in the college ranks, pursuing childhood dreams of playing professional basketball often
arrives at a crossroads come graduation time. Just recently, players intent on achieving those dreams have
been given the opportunity to shine in a new-and-improved NBA Development League. Often times,
however, shipping overseas to the lands of the unknown is a crucial stepping-stone in a rocky path towards
the NBA. For Jonathan Wallace, moving away from home was never the issue.

ª Basketball is something I' ve been uphill battle. But I took it in stride, and
doing since I was three years old, so I think I learned a lot.º
it' s hard to just put the game down,º
says Wallace. ª Especially when you After a championship in Oldenburg,
know you have the talent and ability Wallace made the move back state-
to play at the highest level.º side with an opportunity to play in the
D-League. Taken in the second round
Choosing Georgetown wasn' t a partic- of the 2009 D-League Draft, Wallace
ularly difficult decision either. When earned a spot with the Rio Grande
John Thompson III was the coach at Valley Vipers, a Houston Rockets affili-
Princeton University, he caught wind ate. And in his first season with the
of a 6-2 guard ripping up high school Vipers, Wallace won another champi-
competition in Huntsville, Ala. And onship, averaging over 13 points per
when Thompson took over the spot game in the playoffs en route to a
vacated by his father as head coach D-League title.
of the Hoyas, he made sure to bring
Wallace along for the ride. ª Playing in a totally new system again,
it was a whole new set of challenges,º
ª You think of Georgetown, you think says Wallace. ª Playing in an NBA sys-
of the rich history the program has tem I wasn' t really accustomed to
± both academically and athletically,º playing in, to take that head on and
says Wallace. ª It was amazing.º get a championship in one year, it felt
pretty good.º
Amazing might be the most befitting
word to describe Wallace' s collegiate Perhaps more important than the
run. Starting every single game for Vipers' recent championship run is
the Hoyas in his four years on cam- the team' s affiliation with the Rock-
pus, Wallace helped lead the team ets. More so than nearly any other NBA
to a Final Four berth as a junior and team, the Rockets have made sure to
two straight Big East regular season pay attention to their rising ª minor
championships. But after going undrafted in the 2008 NBA Draft, leagueº talent. After enjoying the windfalls of promoting Aaron
Wallace was faced with a rare opportunity, the kind of decision Brooks, the team keeps a keen eye on the Viper squad, which
full of potential for regret; ship overseas to continue his play- can only benefit NBA hopefuls like Wallace.
ing career, or follow through on his admission to Georgetown' s
prestigious law program. In the end, Wallace chose locker room ª It' s a reassurance to know that what you' re doing is not just in
over library. vain,º says Wallace of the Rockets connection. ª Guys watching
and evaluating you daily, calling you to check up, make sure you
ª It was very difficult,º says Wallace. ª Graduating from law school stay on strict regimen.º
is something I really wanted to do and I will do. I had to make a
calculated decision.º Just this past summer, Wallace was chosen to compete in the
Vegas Summer League on the D-League Select team and averaged
Wallace packed his bags and moved to his new home in Ljubljana, over nine points per game on a roster loaded with some of the
Slovenia to play with the Euroleague club Union Olimpija. After D-League' s best talent. And after an eventful beginning to his
one season, he made the move to Oldenburg, Germany for a sea- professional basketball career, Wallace knows what he needs to
son in the German Bundesliga. Not surprisingly, Wallace looks do to succeed at the next level.
back at the monumental life transition and is content with his
decision to continue pursuing his dream. ª At this point, I' ve gotten a little taste of everything,º says Wal-
lace. ª It' s a matter of combining it all, running an NBA-level team
ª The game is played a little differently, a little more physical over- to the point where a coach doesn' t have much input when it' s
seas,º says the 24-year-old. ª That was a challenge in itself. Playing time to play. If I can bring the total package together, I think I' ll
as a rookie in a European system for the fi rst time, it was an be in good shape.º

28
 WHAT' S MY NAME?

WORDS. Austin Burton

PHOTO. University of Arkansas

Rotnei Clarke
Every NBA team needs a shooter. Rotnei Clarke knows this, but even though he is one of the deadliest
long-range snipers in college basketball, the Arkansas junior also knows he© ll have to rely on more than his
outside shot to get a realistic shot at the League.

Clarke averaged 15.1 points while hitting 42 percent from three-

point territory last season, and his 100 threes tied for ninth-best in
the country. But that was while he played two-guard. And stand-
ing just six feet tall, that' s not the profile of an NBA player.

ª I used to pattern myself off of J.J. Redick, but right now I' m
watching a lot of what Steve Nash does,º says Clarke. ª I know if
I want to have a shot at the next level, wherever that may be, at
my height I definitely have to make myself into more of a pure
point guard.º

Lack of height isn' t the only hurdle of perception Clarke faces on

a regular basis. His game was honed in tiny Verdigris, Oklahoma
(ª It' s not even really a town,º Rotnei says), so despite owning
the state high school career scoring record and averaging 40.9
points per night as a senior, Clarke wasn' t a big name on the
mainstream high school scene.

ª I wasn' t too caught up in where I was ranked, whether people

thought I was underrated or overrated, but I love being able to
prove people wrong,º Clarke says. ª I was known as just some
short White guy who played at a small school and never played
tough competition.º

Clarke started as a freshman at Arkansas, averaging 12.2 points.

But as a sophomore he broke out in a big way. In the season
opener against Alcorn State, Clarke dropped 51 points, sticking
13-of-17 threes to go with five assists and two steals.

ª It' s kind of a weird thing,º Clarke remembers. ª I walked in (the

locker room) after warm-ups and said, ` I' m kind of feeling it
tonight.' I was messing around and said I might hit seven or eight
threes. It was a different feeling. I had a peace about everything;
everything felt real smooth. It kind of felt like everything was
out there in slow-motion.º

The next game wasn' t so smooth: Rick Pitino' s Louisville defense

had scouted Clarke and held him to 16 points in a blowout loss.
Clarke recovered to drop 26 points on Morgan State two games
later, then gave East Tennessee State 32 points and 10 threes.
Clarke also had a 24-point effort against Texas, and hit five threes
on his way to 17 points against Florida, but struggled in the latter
part of the season due to nagging injuries and fatigue.
Clarke has always been a shooter ± ª I think God blessed me with
a talent to shoot the basketball,º he says ± but his goal is to
evolve and not be pigeon-holed as a pure gunner. He says he' s
spending this offseason working on creating his own shot and
getting to the basket more often, where he can take advantage
of his career 86-percent free-throw clip. And he wants to prove
he can play point guard.
ª He can pass the ball,º says Damon Jones, Arkansas' Director of
Basketball Operations. ª When we first saw tapes of him in high
school, obviously we were really impressed with his shooting, but
we could see he' s a complete basketball player. He' s unselfish. It
sounds weird to say that because he was scoring 40 and 50 points
a game, but he was passing.º
Clarke also wants to win. Last season the Razorbacks finished
14-18 overall, 7-9 in the SEC. Far cry from the program' s glory days
when Nolan Richardson, Scotty Thurman and Corliss Williamson
led ª 40 Minutes of Hell,º winning a national championship in 1994.
Fourth-year coach John Pelphrey is trying to rebuild Arkansas to
its past glory.
ª We know there' s a lot of history here,º Clarke says. ª There have
been some unbelievable players to come out of here. They' ve won
a national championship here. It' s a legacy that we want to be able
to go back to. We want to put Arkansas back on the map.º

29
 Q&A

INTERVIEW. Jack Jensen

PHOTO. Jeffery Salter

Bull Market
Life' s not about the destination; it' s the journey that' s important. It' s something that I think I' ve heard
from every clichéd graduation speaker and encouraging family friend in my life. It' s also a phrase that
most of us casually toss aside. But for Carlos Boozer, it' s something that he' s taken an exception to embrac-
ing in his own basketball journey. And his path has been one of success just as much as trial and error.

It' s a road that has led him from Juneau, Alaska, to a national
championship at Duke, to the NBA in Cleveland, Utah and now
the Chicago Bulls. Along that path, he has amassed an Olympic
gold medal, two All-Star appearances and an inside game that is
rivaled by only few. In his eighth year in the League last season,
Boozer was able to pour in 19.6 points and 10.8 rebounds a game
for the Jazz ± who also advanced to the second round of the
playoffs. In short, he' s been a beast since entering the League as
a second-round pick in 2002.

As this summer' s free agency circus ran the media ± and every
team under the cap ± into a frenzy, Boozer quietly waited out the
South Beach storm and signed with Chicago in early July. With a
horde of teams capable of snagging the 6-9, 266-pound forward,
Boozer felt the Bulls presented him with the best opportunity.

ª They want to win. They want to win for a long time,º he says.
ª They have the championship pedigree there and they have the
DNA in place with the talent. All we have to do is go work and
compete every night and prove that we' re worthy of being called

Q&A
a contender. And it' s something that you have to earn.

ª I think we' re a young, hungry team, full of guys that don' t have
a championship and we want one. It' s not an easy road to take,
but we' re willing to take that road.º

And for a guy who' s been accustomed to the road his whole life,
that shouldn' t be a problem.

DIME: So why Chicago? Why was it the best fit for you?

CARLOS BOOZER: Just everything was encompassing. I think the
talent was obviously there; they have a bunch of young talent. I
know with D-Rose and Joakim [Noah] and Luol Deng, and then
you add me to the mix with the young guys that they got. Then
the Draft last season and with a new coach that won a champion-
ship in ' 08 with the Celtics (Tom Thibodeau), it just seemed like
the right fit. You know, I think [it' s] a team that' s really going to
get back to that championship level. They have [the plan] in place
just to get it done, they just need to put some more pieces into the
puzzle and I' m looking forward to being a part of that puzzle.
DIME: What' s your relationship with the city like? Are you pretty familiar
with it?
CB: A little bit. I' ve been there a couple times here and there try-
ing to find a place [to live] and it' s awesome. I' m going tell you,
they' re huge on sports¼ They love their sports in Chicago. I' ve
been there a short period of time, but that' s the overwhelming
feeling. They support their teams. They come out. A lot of the
same fans you' ll see at the baseball and football games will be at
the basketball games too. It' s great to be a part of a sports town¼
they' re super loyal.
DIME: Why was now the best time to leave Utah?
CB: Ah, I was a free agent number one (laughs). And number two,
obviously I grew up (as a player) in Utah and had a great time
out there with Coach Sloan and with my teammates. I definitely
miss a lot of things about Utah ± and I had great teammates and
coaches, and the city embraced me ± so it was great to be a part
of it. But at this time, this was the best opportunity for me this
summer and I look forward to it.
DIME: What are your thoughts on the whole free agency stampede this
summer?
CB: Obviously there was a lot being speculated upon on where
everybody was going to go. But everybody is in place ± well not
everybody, but most the big players have already signed with
their teams ± and it' s going to be fun to see what happens next

30
Q&A
season ' cause I think Miami' s going to have a very good team.
It' s going to be interesting to see what New York is able to pull
off. Not necessarily next season, but maybe with trades and (free
agency) next summer with some of the guys that may be up-and-
coming. But Joe Johnson being able to stay in Atlanta, it' s going
to be interesting to see what happens the rest of the way. ' Cause
you know, I think the East has gotten loaded up this summer. The
West will obviously still be good, but the East has gotten better
± especially the top of the East. And you look at the teams like
the Bulls, Miami, Boston, Orlando and Atlanta; all teams that are
still going to be really good, or improved ± are going to be much
improved. So it' s going to be an interesting race this season.
DIME: So then is Miami the team to beat in the East?
CB: No. I would say, listen: Boston represented the East last year
and I think until somebody beats them in the playoffs, they' re
going to be the team to beat. You know, I think two years ago with
Orlando representing the East and then last year with Boston¼
In my opinion, those four or five teams that I just talked about,
will be in competition for that top spot. I think Boston, us, Miami,
the Hawks (and Orlando) will be right there in the mix for that
top spot. But who gets it, we' ll have to wait and see.
DIME: During the summer you' re very involved with your foundation. Tell
me a little about it and what you' ve been trying to accomplish.
31
CB: Yeah, it' s the Boozer' s Buddies Foundation. It' s to raise money
for those kids that have sickle cell anemia, so it can cure them or
get them medicine to help the disease. My son had it and we gave
him a bone marrow transplant two years back and it cured him
of it. So what we try to do, we try to raise money through camps
and various charity events that we do, to help out those families
that can' t afford to take care of their kid or their family member
with either the medicines or even the bone marrow transplant
procedures themselves.
DIME: What' s the best part of being associated with something this impor-
tant to so many people?
CB: Just seeing their family member get better. I think the best
thing about it is being able to help somebody that may not be
able to stay in a hospital (financially) or pay for their hospital
bills. Just different things like that are really rewarding because
you' re able to see the difference right away. Whether the child
can stay in a hospital and get the medicine that he/she needs or
whether the bone marrow transplant is able to get done so they
can be completely healthy. All those things are rewarding to us¼
We' re going on like our third year. Doing really well. I think it' s a
great thing for us to do.
I think if you' re able to help, you should, right?
 PEOPLE' S COURT
SPAir Garden
Every kid growing up has dreams. Te difference with Patrick Bremer is that he went out and made
them happen. Now, he has his own mini Madison Square Garden sitting right in his backyard in
Rieste, Germany.
ª I still like driving through the neighborhood and seeing where
the love for the game of basketball takes part,º says Bremer
about his tiny (population of 3,000) hometown. ª Personally, I got
the gift of my dreams to come true. I talked about this thing for
many years.º
Bremer always had the average mobile Huffy Sports hoop to shoot
on in his backyard, but eventually he transformed that hoop into
the SPAir Garden ± one of the most unique playing experiences
in all of Germany. And until you see it, there' s no way that you
would believe it even exists.
Before he could showcase the fi nished product last October,
Bremer says he spent two months drawing the court lines and
painting both the paint and the half-court circle. And the sten-
ciling was all done with a three-millimeter pencil, with Bremer
spending entire weekends on his stomach.
Eventually, that old Huffy hoop was replaced by steel baskets ±
yes, the same steel used in skyscrapers ± and paving stone for the
floor. Altogether, the process took him around four months.
32
WORDS. Sean Sweeney
ª I didn' t have to look for backboards and rims very long,º says
Bremer. ª A chipboard wouldn' t match. I needed a transparent
one. So I ordered two toughened glass backboards and the best
rim I could get.º
As you can see, the court now sports the same rim and backboards
as some of Europe' s highest professional leagues. The Air Jordan
designs? Those were easy to pick. Bremer says Michael Jordan
has inspired his entire life.
ª It was an indescribable feeling to take the first shot,º says Bremer.
ª Since building the ground to hanging up the rims, it had taken
nearly one year, a lot of free time and of course, some bucks.º
Bremer estimates that he spent around 6,400 Euros, which is
roughly a little over $8,000.
So where to from here? Bremer is a constant presence in his
country' s streetball scene and plans to start hosting tournaments
in the future. But for now, his personal Garden is a perfect after-
breakfast activity.
33
 THE LIFE

WORDS. Camron Ghorbi

FEIT
Joining forces with his older brother Tull, Josh Price began designing footwear with two key factors in
mind: value and quality. In 2005, FEIT was born as the brainchild of two brothers set on changing the
footwear landscape forever.

ª Once my brother Tull started making shoes, my attitude changed,º

says Price. ª I developed a vested interest beyond looking good.
I wanted to see what was out there, what was new and what
was possible.º

Growing up in Australia, Price was always interested in shoes.

He had his own personal favorites ± skate shoes, Converse
One Stars, Nike Air Maxes among them ± but Tull' s passion for
designing footwear helped spark a new type of interest in his
younger brother. Never the type to enshrine his most limited
pairs in his closet, Josh opted for practicality over reverence in his
shoe ideology.

ª I wasn' t a collector to the extent that a lot of sneakerheads are,º

says Price. ª I kinda wear all my shoes to death, rather than keep
them fresh.º

Staying true to their philosophy, the Price brothers decided that any-
one interested in FEIT shoes should have a say in how they looked.
The company launched an online pre-order process, which has
become integral to successful product development. After viewing
pictures of initial samples posted by the company, customers that
order during the pre-order period get discounted prices and free
shipping. Recently, the company' s business practice switched to
online only.

ª This system is mutually beneficial,º says Price. ª We get an accurate

idea of what people want and can make to order. It also allows us
to further develop a direct relationship with our customers.º

In a market so thoroughly dominated by a few major corpora-

tions, FEIT doesn' t have it easy. And as a company located in the
Land Down Under, FEIT' s difficulties are only intensified by the
physical divide. According to Price, however, those challenges
help inspire innovation.

ª It' s not easy competing against the enormous multinational

corporations whose weekly marketing budgets dwarf our entire
turnover,º says Price. ª It forces us to be creative and find ways in
which we can remain viable, competitive and unique.º

An equally important aspect to FEIT' s business model is a practice

they call ª maximum capacity.º Unhappy with the rampant waste
levels in the clothing industry, the Price brothers set a production
limit depending on capital and material availability.

ª If there is only enough llama leather to make 30 pairs of our

Superclean shoe, we will only make 30 pairs,º says Price. ª This
helps us be much more efficient, and enables us to deliver to our
customers in good time.º

34
 With such an intricate and personal design process, it should
come as no surprise that FEIT shoes are fairly expensive. All of
the shoe designs range in price between $250 and $300, includ-
ing the Superclean Low ($251.74) and the Moc Mid Grey ($281.74).
As the two most popular designs, they were both sold out at
press time.

As pioneers in the footwear industry, the Price brothers have

established the invaluable asset of a personal relationship with
its customer base. With only three full-time employees, FEIT
works with factories across the globe with one goal in mind:
deliver a high-quality product at a good price.

ª We are fortunate to have a high percentage of loyal customers,º

says Price. ª At the end of the day, we are a small, family business
who couldn' t function without the great people we work with.º

For more information on FEIT or to order a pair of your own, visit www.feitdirect.com.

35
 BUYER' S GUIDE

CURATED. Aron Phillips

Sunglasses
Whether you' re rocking these on the beach or sitting courtside, you never can have too many
pairs of sunglasses. We take a moment to put you in the know with the season' s hottest styles.

9five
Major: Smoke, $56.00
(Grey Frame & Grey Gradient Lens)
www.9fivesite.com Cassius
CORBU Edition X, $169.00
(Mustard Frame & Dark Green Gradient Lens)
www.cassiuseyewear.com

Durkl
Main Event, $124.99
(Black Frame & Grey Lens)
www.durkl.com

han
Grand Danois, 120.00
(Mahogany Frame & Sun Lens)
www.hankjobenhavn.com

Dita
TARGA, $275.00
(Black Frame with 18k Gold & Dark Brown Gradient Lens)
www.dita.com

36
 Knockaround
Black Gold, $14.00
(Blac
(Black Frame
a e & Go
Gold
d Lens)
e s)
www.knockaround.com

Ray-Ban
RB 8301, $179.00
(Black Frame & Grey Lens)
www.ray-ban.com

Shwood
Canby: Zebrawood, $95.00
(Zebrawood Frame & Mirrored Grey Lens)
www.shwoodshop.com

Oakley x Staple Design

Frogskin, $150.00
(Pigeon Smoke Grey Frame & Rose Tint Lens)
www.oakley.com / www.thereedspace.com
Mosley Tribes
Sandoval, $165.00
(Coronado Frame & Brown Lens)
www.mosleytribes.com

SUPER SABRE
People, $167.00 Heartbreaker, $105.00
(Blonde Frame) (Striped Frame & Black Lens)
www.retrosuperfuture.com www.sabre.fm

37
 BEATS & RHYMES

WORDS. Jeff Chen

PHOTO. Evan Brockett

Stalley
Meet Stalley ± a rising emcee who went from playing against LeBron James in high school to accepting a
hoops scholarship from the University of Michigan to being a phone call away from a beat or verse from
Ski Beatz, Jay Electronica or Mos Def. And for one of hip-hop' s fastest rising stars, it never hurts to see
Dame Dash co-sign the Ohio native on the court and in the studio. With a bunch of projects currently in
the works, we got up with Stalley to put people in the know:

DIME: For those who aren' t familiar, who is Stalley?

Stalley: Me? I' m just, you know, an everyday dude that' s from a
small town called Massillon in Ohio. It' s all blue-collar there. It
was built on steel factories and the railroad industry, so I' m just
one of the many real everyday people who come from that city.

DIME: But you' re an artist too. How would you describe your sound?
Stalley: My sound' s pretty much what I just described ± it' s just
me. I speak from my experiences, my trials and tribulations, my
good and my bad. I just focus on making people understand who
I am and where I came from, so the music that I put out is just
a representation of the hardworking Midwestern man. I' ve been
called the Bruce Springsteen of hip-hop.

DIME: Bruce Springsteen of hip-hop?

Stalley: (laughs) Most people don' t know this, but back in high
school playing ball, every home game we came out to ª Born To
Runº by Bruce Springsteen. That was when I really started to
admire his material, look into his work and study his music.

DIME: Speaking of high school ball, coming from Ohio, did you ever
play against LeBron?
Stalley: One time. We were both ranked in the state and they just
came in and pretty much blew us out. Our coach used to tell us
LeBron could play in college right away. Of course we were all
like, ª Yeah, whatever coach.º But once he got on the court, he
was the real deal.
DIME: How did you feel about ª Te Decision?º
Stalley: It hurt. It' s tough to accept because he had the chance to
be the ideal story as a local kid who won the Cavs a champion-
ship after being drafted No. 1 by the home team. That' s not gonna
happen anymore, but I understand his decision. I tell people that
he' s still from Ohio, still represents who we are and what we
do in Ohio, and no matter where LeBron wins a ring, he' s still a
kid representing Akron. And that championship will come back
home with him to Ohio.
DIME: Tey say rappers want to be ballers and ballers want to be rappers.
Which is easier?
Stalley: Tough question to answer, but I would probably say bas-
ketball is easier because it' s a team sport compared to being a
solo artist. All the pressure is on me to make quality music, to
put on a good performance and to accurately represent myself
and my brand. They both take the same hard work and dedica-
tion though. To stay sharp and on top of your game, you gotta
get up and write lyrics or shoot 500 jumpers or run wind sprints,
because that' s how you perfect your craft.
DIME: Having done both, are you happy you chose the music route?
Stalley: I am, because I don' t think I chose it, but rather music
chose me. I' ve played basketball since I was six years old, and
then when I got hurt, it meant God had something else in store
for me.

DIME: I take it you' re an all-Ohio sports fan.
Stalley: Oh yeah. I' m a fan of Ohio State, the Cavs, Browns
and Indians.
DIME: So how did you end up accepting a basketball scholarship to rival
Michigan?
Stalley: (laughs) That' s a long story.
DIME: Who' s your hoop game comparable to?
Stalley: I' m that guy that' s gonna come off screens and hit jump-
ers. When I used to play pickup ball with Earl Boykins and his
dad, they would say my game was like ' Melo' s because I was fast
in spurts from here to there.
DIME: So what' s in store for the music world in the next couple
months?
Stalley: I' ve been working real hard to create my own particular
sound and only two people have been able to perfect that sound
for me ± Ski Beatz and my friend Rashard. The first thing we' re
working on is I.T.M. (Intelligent Trunk Music), and that will release
in September. I call it I.T.M. because people say I' m lyrical and
have great concepts like a real emcee, but at the same time, I
come from the Midwest where people like to ride around in old
school muscle cars and bump their systems. I' m basically combin-
ing those two sounds into one so people can rattle their trunks
and beat the streets up, but when they actually listen they' ll be
like, ª Oh, this kid can spit for real too.º

38
 10 SENSE

WORDS. Aron Phillips

PHOTO. FIBA

Ersan Ilyasova
Second-Round Pick, Turkish National Team, 23

Selected by Milwaukee with the 36th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, Ersan Ilyasova (pronounced
air-san ee-lee-a-SO-va) didn' t know what he was getting himself into when he entered the League. After
spending the entire 2005-06 season with the Tulsa 66ers in the D-League, he appeared in 66 games
(14 starts) with Milwaukee the following season, but played under 15 minutes a night. Opting to head
back overseas, Ilyasova spent the next two seasons playing for FC Barcelona before giving the NBA
another shot.

Last summer, the 6-10, 235-pound forward agreed to a multi-year

contract with the Bucks, and quickly became one of their most
important players. Averaging 10.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per
game for the playoff-bound Bucks, Ilyasova knew that things
were different this time around.

ª When I came back to the Bucks this season after playing overseas,
it was a new team, new organization,º says Ilyasova. ª Everything
had changed. The players, the coaches, everybody.º

Flanked by rookie point guard Brandon Jennings and All-Star-

caliber big man Andrew Bogut, the kid they call ª Turk Nowitzkiº
excelled. Here, Ersan talks about his season and what' s next:

1 Growing up, I really enjoyed watching Michael Jordan. He

was definitely my favorite.

2 Every kid who plays basketball in Turkey dreams of the

playing in the NBA. When I was younger, [Hedo] Turkoglu
was in the NBA and I watched him a lot. Playing on the national
team with him, I' d talk to him about it a lot.

3 The basketball scene in Turkey is really popular. They

have the Turkish league and a lot of guys play in other
European countries too. People love basketball. With the national
team, we' ve done a really good job preparing for the World
Championships in Turkey.

4 I' d say I play like [Dirk] Nowitzki. I' m the type of player that
plays aggressive. I try to do it differently though, and there
are some things that Nowitzki doesn' t do that I do like penetrate.
really get the opportunity to play much with the Bucks, but it was
great to be there and play basketball.

8
I try to be myself though and just continue to develop. My goal
is to make it to the All-Star Game. In European basketball, the rules are really different. The
three-point shot is shorter than it is in the NBA, and the

5 I just try to bring energy defensively and do whatever it

takes to win as many games as we can. If we play good
game is much more physical. In the NBA, the game is much more
tactical.

9
defense, we can continue to be a playoff team.
Last season, I hung out with some of the international guys

6 We' re definitely a really young team. Last season, there were

seven or eight guys in their first year with the Bucks. We
became a really good team though and built good relationships.
like Carlos [Delfi no] and [Roko] Ukic, as well as Andrew
[Bogut] and all those guys. We all hang out together and see each
other off the court.

10
Everyone understands each other.
So far, the toughest player to guard has been Kevin

7 My first year with the Bucks I was not 100 percent healthy. I
was coming off an injury, and it was important to get playing
time, so I played with the Tulsa 66ers in the D-League. I didn' t
Garnett. He' s really big and has lots of skill in and around
the basket. The only thing you can do is eliminate his touches
and don' t let him receive the ball where he wants it.

39
 BUSINESS

WORDS. Jack Jensen

PHOTOS. BASE Productions

Sport Science
For a guy who has been willingly choked out by a professional MMA fighter and annihilated at
the hands of Detroit Lions' rookie Ndamukong Suh, John Brenkus is a surprisingly chipper guy. It might
be due in part to the lifetime Washington, D.C. area sports fan being rewarded with the crown jewel
of the 2010 NBA Draft, John Wall, this summer. More lasting however, is that Brenkus' creation,
ª Sport Science,º has gone from an imaginary flicker in its master' s mind, to a full-fledged national hit
on both ESPN and Fox Sports Net.

Brenkus, who presides as the show' s co-creator and co-executive
producer, as well as its host, developed ª Sport Scienceº under
the umbrella of BASE Productions in Los Angeles, Calif. What
Brenkus and his crew aim to do is to better understand and
showcase what makes the world' s best athletes so elite. And
since its inception in 2007, the segment has already garnered
NBA athlete attention from the likes of Amar' e Stoudemire,
Stephon Marbury and even Wall himself. Combining the best
athletes on the planet, along with the best scientific machin-
ery and minds available, Brenkus has created a show truly
unlike any other.
Talking pressure gauges and heart monitors with him is one thing,
but basketball for Brenkus has always been a source for true pas-
sionate dialogue. With a love for both the Bullets of old and the
Wizards of new, he also grew up with an almost fanatical obses-
sion with former Maryland great Len Bias.
ª Len Bias was defi nitely my hero growing up basketball-wise,º
remembers Brenkus. ª He was the guy that on the playground I
was always pretending to be. For me, I feel like I grew up in the
golden era of college basketball and that' s what really hooked
me in the game.º

ª As sports fans, we always ask ourselves, ` what are those questions
we love to debate around the water cooler?' You know, what are
the things that we' re just curious about?º says Brenkus. ª Is this
guy better than this guy? How good is this guy? What' s his reac-
tion time, his strength, his power, his whatever? And we like to
really sort of jump into the argument of the questions that we
want to see answered and really put them to the ultimate test.º
Washington, D.C. hasn' t had too much to be excited about lately
in terms of basketball performance. But nowadays, Brenkus is
more than elated knowing that Wall will be running the show in
his hometown this season. And in one of the show' s most well-
received segments, the production team had the Wizards' newest
gem in the house to determine how his athleticism stacked up
to the competition.

40
 ª We wanted to know how good is this kid?º
says Brenkus. ª And as it turns out, he' s
really, really good.º

While on the air, Brenkus and BASE Pro-

ductions have earned nothing but praise
from their fans and peers alike. With over
200 completed experiments, showings on
two networks and three Emmys to boast,
there really are no signs of slowing in the
Sport Science laboratories. Couple that
with Brenkus' book, The Perfection Point, due
out later this year, and that makes for one
busy, busy dude ± something he wouldn' t
have any other way.

ª It' s very exciting and very gratifying to be

able to just expose people to a new way
of looking at sports,º says Brenkus. ª My
favorite segment is always the last one
that we' ve finished.º

41
RAISING ARIZONA
Words. Austin Burton
Photo. University of Arizona
LOOKING AT DERRICK WILLIAMS Ð ALL 6-8, 235 POUNDS OF HIM Ð AND CONSIDERING THAT
HE PUT UP ALL-PAC-10 NUMBERS AS A FRESHMAN DESPITE GETTING HACKED MORE THAN
ALMOST ANY PLAYER IN THE CONFERENCE, IT HARDLY SEEMS LIKE HEÕ D HAVE TO COMBAT
A PERCEPTION THAT HEÕ S SOFT.
But that' s how it was for Williams when
he was growing up in La Mirada, Calif., a
suburb near Los Angeles that in 2008 was
ranked 34th in CNN/Money magazine' s
ª Best Places to Live.º In other words, he' s
not straight outta Compton.
ª I dealt with stereotypes,º says Williams,
who averaged 15.7 points and 7.1 re-
bounds at Arizona, winning Pac-10 Fresh-
man of the Year and making the Sporting
News national All-Freshman Team. ª When
you' re from Los Angeles, Harlem, Boston,
some place like that, people suspect you
play harder. So when they' d announce
before a game that I' m from La Mirada,
people suspect you' re not as tough.º
Williams also didn' t have a lot of pre-
mature hype behind him. He wasn' t a
Top-100 recruit at La Mirada High School,
where he originally signed a letter of in-
tent to attend USC. But as that program
sunk deeper into NCAA trouble, Wil-
liams was released from his letter and
signed with first-year Arizona coach
Sean Miller.
Last year was a rebuilding year for Arizo-
na, as Miller was the first full-time hire to
replace retired legend Lute Olson and the
team had lost stars Chase Budinger and
Jordan Hill to the NBA. Point guard Nic
Wise was the only senior on the roster.
ª We had an opportunity for Derrick to
come in right away and play, and our
style of play was a good fit for him,º says
Miller, who came to Arizona from Xavier.
ª You could see it early on in practice. He' s
skilled and has a big body, and he' s ea-
ger to learn. It was just a matter of when
it would all click for him. At that point I
don' t think any of us really anticipated
the impact he' d have as a freshman, but
we knew he would have a very good ca-
reer here.º
In the third game of the season, against
Wisconsin at the Maui Classic on ESPN,
Williams had his breakout performance.
He put up 25 points and eight rebounds,
getting to the free-throw line a school-
record 21 times and making 13. Though
he' d be considered undersized for an
NBA power forward, Williams ate up the
physical Wisconsin front line, whose only
option was to foul. Three games later he
scored 28 against UNLV, making 8-of-12 at
the line, beginning a run where he scored
in double-figures in 25 of the remaining
26 games on the schedule.
Though he mostly plays the four at Ari-
zona, Williams has the skill set to play
small forward and the strength to play
center depending on the lineup. He de-
veloped guard skills in the early stages of
his career, before a growth spurt took him
42
from 6-feet to 6-6 during his freshman
year of high school.
ª I was more of a passer and shooter, then
all of a sudden I started growing, so they
started using me as a three or a four,º
Williams says. ª Now when bigger guys
are guarding me, I can take advantage
of them.º
Before last season, Williams was buried
under the press clippings for high-profile
freshmen like John Wall, DeMarcus Cous-
ins, Derrick Favors and Lance Stephenson,
but emerged as one of the most productive
first-year players in the country. Williams
finished seventh in the Pac-10 in scoring,
sixth in rebounding and fourth in field-
goal percentage (57.4 percent). He shot 232
free throws, surpassed only by the con-
ference' s leading scorer, Stanford senior
Landry Fields.
ª One of the best parts of my game is getting
to the line,º Williams says. ª Even in high
school, I was able to get to the line a lot. I
shot like 11 free throws a game. Some of
it is footwork, stuff like that, but I guess I
just have a knack for getting fouled.º
ª He has great hands,º says Miller. ª No mat-
ter where you throw him the ball he can
catch it. He' s quick and has the ability to
jump. And he' s 230-plus pounds. He' s not
 "WHEN YOUÕ RE FROM
LOS ANGELES, HARLEM,
BOSTON, SOME PLACE
LIKE THAT, PEOPLE
SUSPECT YOU
PLAY HARDER."
a thin player that tries to avoid contact.
People bounce off of him. He' s at ease
with the defense surrounding him, so
when he can catch and function in traffic
like that, he' s going to get fouled a lot. It' s
just one of the gifts he has as a player.º

During an up-and-down regular season,

Arizona went 16-14, then lost to UCLA in
the opening round of the Pac-10 Tourna-
ment. That snapped Arizona' s streak of 25
straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.

As the program moves forward in estab-

lishing a new identity, Williams is one of
the anchors. Going into his sophomore
year, he is the marquee guy for the Wild-
cats, his face all over the UA basketball
website and on season-preview magazines
throughout the region. He is projected as
a Top-10 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. Not
far removed from arriving in Tucson as a
little-known underdog, is he ready for the
new level of attention?

ª Last year I wasn' t necessarily a leader, but

when things got hard, me and Nic would
be the people that would be looked at,º Wil-
liams says. ª Without Nic, I have to develop
more into a leader now and set an example
in practice of what Coach wants us to do.
My teammates will look to me as a leader.
I have to be more vocal.

ª It' s tough sometimes, but it' s good for me

growing up not only as a basketball player,
but being a leader outside of basketball.
Ultimately, it' s gonna be my team.º

43
 DONT SWEAT
THE TECHNIQUE WORDS. JACK JENSEN
PHOTOS. OUTLIER ENTERTAINMENT

The summer of 2009 was a big one for Trevor Ariza. After helping secure the Lakers their
16th championship, the then 24-year-old forward signed a five-year deal with the consequen-
tially Lottery-bound Houston Rockets. With all of those variables, it' d be understandably easy
for a player to get complacent. That' s why when Ariza came home to Los Angeles this past
offseason looking to prove something in the gym, it was worth taking note.

Five days a week, Ariza and his personal trainer, Tony Bland, are
in a gym putting up shots and putting in work. Splitting time
between Los Angeles and San Diego, the duo always travels with
a small contingency of friends to ensure Ariza will have constant
competition. And unlike many other NBA stars, Trevor prefers to
workout with his high school buddies and family members rather
than the bevy of League players that live around L.A. It' s in that
comfortable atmosphere that he works to strengthen his game.
Jump shots from deep, baby J' s around the basket, two-on-one
transition drills; Bland puts Ariza through a gauntlet of activities
to test his mental toughness just as much as the physical part.
How does Trevor Ariza stay hungry for more? Our curiosity
took us to the Hangar Athletic Xchange (HAX) in Los Angeles to
catch a glimpse of the Rockets' rising NBA star putting Houston' s
money to good use.

44

To see Trevor' s workout come to life,
go to www.youtube.com/DimeMagazine.
WARM-UP SHOOTING
Before anything else, Trevor starts every workout
in the gym with 250 made baskets around the
rim. He starts in very close to the basket, making
sure to keep proper form and a high arching
follow-through on his shot. ª It just gives me a
rhythm,º says Ariza. As he backs out, his shooting
mechanics stay the same; all that changes is the
45
power in his legs and the arc on the ball. ª You
know Trevor' s a shooter, so you always want to
keep your main weapon tight,º says Bland. ª 250
makes from all of his game spots. Just for his
[shot] maintenance.º
Start in around the basket. Begin with one-hand
shots in close proximity to the hoop and slowly
work in your off-hand. After 10-20 makes at each
distance, take a step back. Pick different spots
around the floor ± the corner, the elbow, the
dotted circle, etc. ± as you move. Aim to make 250
shots in total.
STRETCHING
Unlike a traditional stretch and flex session before
a workout, Ariza instead chooses to stretch
throughout his time at the gym. Opting to warm
his muscles before stretching, to ensure a better
full stretch.
To reach maximum explosiveness and decrease
the risk of injury, thoroughly stretch out
everything from your hamstrings to your triceps.
 TRANSITION TRAINING

Trevor makes an offensive living in the NBA as a long and lengthy slasher who is expected to get to
the rim. Although he relies on his jump shot to carry a good portion of his scoring load, his game works
best in the thick of transition.

LIVE MOVE: To simulate a more game-like transition

drill, Ariza runs at game speed with constant contact from
his workout team. ª Live Moveº can be started from anywhere
on the court. From the half line, the corner three or the top
of the arc, for example.

Start with the ball from the three-quarter-court line, running

alongside the wing spot on the floor. Player is met at half-court
by the first of three defenders. After successfully burning the
first defender, the player must break a double-team in order
to score.

ª Trevor runs the wing and we' ll kick it up to him early,º says
Bland. ª Now it' s him against two defenders; so he' ll have to
attack two defenders. He has to eliminate his man ± which
we' re never really worried about ± he' s good enough to always
eliminate the first guy, but the second guy is who we' re wor-
ried about. You know, finishing over the second guy.º
ONE-ON-ONE: One-on-one drill started from the top of
the three-point arc. Offensive player gets three dribbles to either
score or be stopped by the defender. When defense successfully
stops the offensive player, switch positions.

KOBE BRYANTS: Shooting drill performed with one-on-

one defender. Catch and shoot situation that requires no dribbling.
Designed for player to release shot at highest point, while avoid-
ing the defender' s outstretched hand.

PIN-DOWNS: Drill can be started from any spot on the

court. Curl off of player screen with hands up, looking for the ball.
Catch in triple-threat position and pivot for the jump shot or put
the ball on the hardwood looking to get to the cup.

ª We work some offense-specific stuff,º says Bland. ª Some things

that [Trevor' s] going to run in his offense [in Houston]. He runs
a lot of pin-downs in his offense where he' s in the corner. They
run a split-offense: a guy comes to set a pick, he comes off of that
pick attacking ± he' s always in an attack position ready to score.
You know Trevor' s done a great job with that the past couple of
years. When he gets the ball, always putting himself in a position
to score the ball.º

46
 FREE THROWS: In-between each and every activity,
Ariza will shoot free-throws. Nearing the end of his workout,
fatigue sets in. By constantly shooting free throws, he learns
to adapt to the fatigue and make shots when he' s tired. After
10 made baskets, be sure to hydrate before next activity.

CONDITIONING

ª I don' t do things the traditional way,º says

Bland. ª I don' t have him running line drills and
17' s. Be realistic, these NBA guys don' t want
to do that. I mean they will, because it' s their job,
but they don' t want to.

I' ll do things with the ball, like just making

him take a lot of shots in a certain amount of time.
Along with honing his shot, he' s also going to
get tired.

ª When we do regular conditioning, we' ll do it on

the football field,º continues Bland. ª We' ll go play
football, we' ll play baseball, we' ll play things to
where you don' t feel like it' s work; you' re having
fun. You know, Trevor thinks he' s a football player
anyway, so that' s a lot of fun when we get on
the football field and he' s able to run somebody
down or run a bomb-pass down. Which is sprints,
but it' s also fun.º To see Trevor' s workout come to life, go to
www.youtube.com/DimeMagazine.

47
 Words · Aron Phillips
Photos · Bethany Gilbert

Mississippi
Burning
Only five players scored more points per game than Monta Ellis last season, and
four of them graced the All-NBA First Team (the other made the Second). So aside
from Durant, LeBron, ’Melo, Kobe and D-Wade, there was no one burning up nets
around the League more frequently than the kid rightfully given the nickname
“The Mississippi Bullet.”

BUT WHEN we got up with the 24-year-old at his home just out-
side of Jackson, Miss., Ellis didn’t want to talk about his personal
success. Sure, the 6-3, 180-pound guard averaged a ridiculous 25.5
points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.2 steals per game while playing
over 40 minutes a night, but there was only one number that stuck
out in his mind once the season ended: 26. You know, the number of
games that the Golden State Warriors won all year.
“I’m looking forward to the season,” says Ellis. “We’ve made some
great draft choices, acquired a lot of great guys, and lost a lot of great
guys too. I just want to get back to winning and having fun. And I think
that with this team and supporting cast that we have around us, it will
be our year to get back to the playoffs.”
On the surface, there’s one noticeable difference ever since
Ellis won the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award following the
2006–07 season: his ink. Seemingly overnight, the League’s fast-
est rising star went under the needle for the first time. And again.
And again.
OPPOSITE
“Mississippi” – I got this in the Summer of 2008. The star is
where I’m from. And personally, I’m very proud of where I
come from. Everybody has their own way of doing things and
thinking; I just live my life to the fullest and remind myself
that I’ve overcome so much. I know what I’m doing this for,
and what I’ve had to overcome, and I want to make sure that I
don’t make a mistake again.
“John 3:16” – Under my right arm, I have John 3:16. When I read
that, I think it’s me. I think he so loved the world that he gave
me this. Everything. It was rough for me in the beginning, and
you have to remind yourself of that.

48
49
“MY FIRST one I actually got on the road in Sacramento,” says
Ellis, “and the guy who used to do tattoos for Matt Barnes hooked
me up. It’s a cross with a scroll wrapped around it with the names
of my mom, dad and both my brothers on my right arm forearm. I
got that in 2007.
“I always wanted them, but it was one of those things that if I
was under my momma’s roof, I couldn’t have one,” continues Ellis.
“They’re addictive though. If you get one, you’ll get two or three. And if
you’re gonna get two or three, you’re gonna get four. And then there’s
no telling how many you’ll end up with.”
Last time he counted, he had 20 – but that was three years ago.
And even since our photo shoot this summer, he’s had more work
done, getting his whole life story on his back and a portrait of his
wife and son on his left leg.
“I have a guy that I deal with,” says Ellis. “I used to get them from a
guy named Ricky in California, but my recent tattoos, I’d say the last
10 that I got, they’re from a guy in Atlanta named Tattoo Randy.
“When I find one person, I normally try to stick with him,” contin-
ues Ellis. “Ricky had a shop, but when I’d go in there were too many
people and it’d take much longer. With Randy from Atlanta, I will just
fly him and have him stay a week. It’s more convenient.”
To see behind the scenes footage of Monta’s shoot,
go to www.youtube.com/DimeMagazine.
50
OPPOSITE
“Good & Bad Angel” – I got a good angel on my right shoulder
and a bad angel on my left. Everyone pretty much has a good
side and a bad side. Sometimes you try too much to think
about it. Really it’s just about a thought that came into my
head. My good side is my right side, so I put the evil side on
the left.
“Heart” – On my hand, I have my wife’s name, Juanika, in a
heart with a stem on top and a stem on the bottom with little
roses and flowers surrounding it. I got that in 2008. We’re
getting married in the end of July. It’s been a while. We’ve
been dating going on five years.
“Georgetown” – Going down my right arm, Georgetown is the
community that I stayed in growing up. I’ve been there all my
life. Around it, there are just a bunch of flowers and designs
to fill in the spaces. I want it to look like one big ’ol tattoo.
“Circle Boyz” – Me, my brother and four of my cousins all got
’em. Horseshoe Circle was the street that my grandparents
stayed on. But we didn’t want the word “Horseshoe” on our
arms, so we just put “Circle Boyz” instead.
“Psalm 23:4” – On my right leg, I have Psalm 23:4. Why?
Exactly what it says: “Even though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
ABOVE
“Family First” – I got that during the season in April. And over
my heart is a picture of my son, Monta Jr.
51
ABOVE
“Faith” – My whole back will be covered with everything I’ve
been through in my whole life, but this is where it starts. I
was a man walking through faith and overcoming everything.
Once it’s done completely, you can understand it. The hands
with the birds, they’re really being released. I’m out the cage,
and ain’t nothing nobody can do to stop me.

RIGHT
“Mary” – I got that one in the Summer of 2008 because my
mom and my grandma are both named Mary. My grandma’s
name is Mary Lee Ellis and my mom’s name is Rosemary.
I kind of just put both those together.

OPPOSITE
“Ellis Family” – For me, it’s all about my family. As for the
fire, it just took the design and made it hotter. You know, but
that’s for the bad angel. But there ain’t no real meaning.

52
INK

53
LITTLE BROTHER
Words. Aron Phillips
Photos. Joe Murphy & FIBA
No matter how you look at it, it has to be hard when your
older brother is a two-time NBA champion, three-time NBA
All-Star and former NBA Rookie of the Year. It has to be
even harder when you not only have to live in that shadow,
but you have to battle him four times a year in the grueling
Western Conference. But if there' s anyone that makes it
look easy, it' s Marc Gasol.
With his older brother Pau sitting out the World Championship
this summer, the 7-1, 265-pound center will be ª The Manº for the
Spanish National Team ± while in the past he' s only been ª The
Bro.º After finishing an impressive sophomore season for the
Memphis Grizzlies, where he averaged 14.6 points, 9.3 rebounds,
2.4 assists, 1.6 blocks and 1.0 steal per game, Gasol has become
one of the elite big men in the world. And to think he was the
48th overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.
So while Zach Randolph was an All-Star, and Rudy Gay re-upped
for five years and $82 million, the future success of the Grizzlies
rests on their big man' s shoulders. Good thing he' s up for the
challenge.
*** *** ***
Dime: Unlike most European prospects, you played high school
basketball in the U.S ± and in Memphis at that. Do you feel that helped
you prepare for the NBA and the Grizzlies?
Marc Gasol: Well, at that time, I was completely different. I was just
a big kid that didn' t know what he wanted to do. I knew I had skill,
but I was not mentally ready to pursue a path to the NBA.
Dime: You have one of the most refined post-games in the entire
League. Clearly you could have gone to college in the U.S., but how do
you feel playing ball in Europe helped your game?
54
MG: I had a chance to be on a professional team (FC Barcelona) in the
city where I'm from, and the year before they won the Euroleague,
Spanish League and the Liga ACB. It was the Triple Crown. I felt that
I couldn' t give up that opportunity to play for a great coach, work
on my body and my skills and to get back home.
Dime: What' s the biggest difference between players in Barcelona
and here?
MG: We are more stylish in Europe and there is an inherent
passion where the whole city is into it. Here, it is a show. It' s
just different. The players mature a little earlier in Europe, and
overall, there are not as many players which makes for a different
experience.
Dime: Even though you weren' t in the NBA at the time, explain what
it felt like to be traded for your brother? Where were you when you
found out?
MG: I was happy for him. He wanted to go to another team and
the potential to be on the Lakers, a great franchise with a great
history, it was a dream come true. I was at the grocery store with
my girlfriend and Juan Carlos Navarro gave me a call and told
me Pau was getting traded. I asked where, and he said, ª To the
Lakers.º And when I asked for who, he said, ª You.º
Dime: Who would win in a game of one-on-one between you and Pau?
55
Spain - 2008

Spain - 2009

56
MG: It' s tough. We always get in a fight when we play, and we' re
pretty tight. I' d say it' s really even now. When we play every
summer on the national team, we both get into it. The problem
is, we know each other' s moves.
Dime: How good is this Memphis Grizzlies basketball team?
MG: It' s getting a lot better and just going to keep getting better.
If we do what the coaching staff tells us, to keep working really
hard, we' re moving in the right direction. With some time and
hard work, it will eventually pay off.
Dime: With a team full of big names, you' ve become kind of the
lynchpin for this young Grizzlies team. How did that transformation
take place?
MG: I wouldn' t say I' m the lynchpin, but I think everybody has
been successful. O.J. [Mayo], Rudy [Gay], Zach Randolph, Mike
Conley, the whole team is maturing. You have to give the bench
credit too. Everybody, especially the coaching staff and the front
office, is trying to get us back to the winning side and get the
fans back in the gym.
Dime: After a very strong rookie year, what did you work on
last offseason?
I really don' t compare myself to anybody.
I don' t see my game from the outside.
MG: Overall, I worked on a lot of stuff I felt like I needed to work
on, but mostly my body. I wanted to be on the court with my
teammates for a longer period of time and be an athletic guy who
could guard the pick-and-roll and play the four too. You always
try to get better, and a player has to be honest with himself.
Nobody knows himself better than himself. When summer
comes, I know what I need to do.
Dime: Pretty soon you' ll be averaging a double-double. How good can
Marc Gasol be?
MG: Well, I don' t believe if a guy averages 14 and 9 or 18 and
10 makes any difference. To me, it' s about how he' s going to
help his team win. It' s more than his numbers. I' ll always do
whatever it takes.
Dime: Growing up, who was your favorite player?
MG: I' d probably have to say Shaq and Tim Duncan. Those were
the two that I enjoyed watching the most. For Shaq, just the
way he played and how much fun he had on the court, and Tim
Duncan is the greatest skilled player of all-time. That' s things I
look for. And you can say Pau too.
Dime: Who would you compare your game to now?
MG: That I don' t know. I really don' t compare myself to anybody.
I don' t see my game from the outside. As a team, I' d compare
us to another young team trying to get back up there like an
Oklahoma City. I' d compare ourselves to them as we' re trying
to be where they' re at right now.
Dime: You'r e one of the most efficient players in the League, finishing the
season in the top-4 for field goal percentage. How do you get it done?
MG: It' s simple. I just always try to get the best shot possible
when I' m out there and kick it out if someone else has the better
shot. If I feel it' s my turn, I' m gonna take it.
57
Dime: What have you learned from your brother Pau through the
years?
MG: Probably the most important thing he' s taught me is to be
patient with everything. He' s always said that even with results,
things might not come right away; and sometimes you have to
keep working at it and believing. In the end, you' re going to see
them with time and work and patience.
Dime: Do you think you' ve always been in his shadow?
MG: Depends on the way you look at it. He' s been well-known in
Spain for quite some time. People can think whatever they want
to think. Some people are not gonna like you, even though I have
the same goals and am working towards those goals. Always. I
don' t have to prove anything to anybody. I' ve always been happy
with the way that everything has turned out for me. I never felt
that I was inferior to him. In fact, I always felt I had a better
shot than him.
Dime: A former teammate of yours in Spain and your brother in
Memphis, Juan Carlos Navarro made the All-Rookie Second Team and
then bounced back to Spain. Why do you think he left?
MG: Navarro left because he had a wife and two kids. Pau and
him are best friends, so when he got traded to L.A., he took the
buyout to play once again for his hometown team in Barcelona.
I know it' s hard to try and understand from the American point
of view, but to play in Europe is a great option for us because
it' s home and we can still have great success. Trust me, there' s
really great basketball over there.
Dime: How long do you see yourself playing in the NBA? Is going back
to Spain an option?
MG: It' s always an option. Not right now, but I have one more
year on this deal and we' ll see after that. To be honest though, I
haven' t really thought about it. We' ll see when the time comes.
Right now, I' m focusing on my day-to-day life and working on
short-term goals. And everything will take care of itself after
that.
Dime: Lastly, what' s something that most people don' t know about
you?
MG: That I' m a great fisherman and that I like to sail the ocean.
And just so we' re clear, a true fisherman will never tell their spot.
And that' s all I can tell you.
58
Words. Austin Burton
Ph t
Photos. D id Al
David Alvarez
2010 was the season and summer of LeBron James. After winning
his second straight NBA Most Valuable Player trophy, LeBron became
the trophy in the biggest, richest, most controversial free-agent
pursuit in sports history. Now settled into his new home in Miami,
the King has to prove his worth all over again.
“The guys that last in this business are the guys who fly straight. Low-key, quiet. But the guys
who want it all ... chicas, champagne, flash ... they don’t last.” – Frank Lopez (Scarface)
LeBron James can’t do low-key.
Not when he has had a 10-story banner overlooking Cleveland,
Ohio, for most of the past seven years like G.O.A.T. Almighty.
Not when his opening a Twitter account became an actual As-
sociated Press news story, and by the end of Day 1 he had over
200,000 followers. Not when he has been bestowed monikers
like “King” and “Chosen One.” Not when he has lived up to
the hype.
Low-key? Never. Even when LeBron doesn’t speak a word, his
life is too loud to be quiet.
So when it came time for LeBron to decide his NBA future –
and, in many ways, the future of the NBA – it had to be done
big and unique and, yes, with a dose of self-aggrandizement.
Once upon a time, Michael Jordan announced his un-retire-
ment in a two-word press release: “I’m back.” But MJ came
from a different era, a time when big-time personalities could
get away with small-time acts. Today, with LeBron assuming
Mike’s throne as the NBA’s marquee player/pitchman, the
public demands more than a press release. And as much
as the ESPN special “The Decision” was criticized after the
fact, know this: Approximately 10 million people watched
it unfold.
59
“I’m going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Mi-
ami Heat.”
One NBA city resurrected, another seriously damaged. When
LeBron secured the final link in the chain of events bringing
he, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh together as teammates, it,
as promised, changed the landscape of the League. In Miami,
a former expansion franchise just four years removed from a
championship – but two years removed from a 15-67 season
– became the front-runner to win at least three or four cham-
pionships over the next six years. In Cleveland, another former
expansion franchise fresh off back-to-back 60-win seasons
suffered a concussive blow that sent national TV appearances,
millions of ticket sales and merchandising dollars, and imagi-
nary championship trophies dancing off into the darkness like
sugar plums gone bad.
As for the rest of the League? Kobe Bryant’s Lakers became Mu-
hammad Ali in Zaire, the old champ charged with taking down
the young powerhouse. Dwight Howard’s Magic became the
middle child in the state of Florida between ’Canes football and
Heat basketball. Paul Pierce’s Celtics watched their championship
window become a little smaller. And the Toronto Raptors, Bosh’s
former team, cemented their reputation as an NBA pit stop, an
internship for any true star who lands there.
 Not to mention the Knicks, Bulls, Nets and Clippers, franchises
that worked for years to clear up enough salary-cap space to
potentially entice LeBron. They were given summer makeovers,
too: Amar’e Stoudemire in New York, Carlos Boozer in Chicago,
a patchwork of fledgling woulda-been-a-great-supporting cast
talent in L.A. and Jersey.
“I think I was attracted to a lot of cities,” LeBron said on ESPN
shortly after choosing Miami. “And that’s why I brought the
six teams in that I felt like I was attracted to the most. ... I was
attracted to all those cities. That’s why I had that process.
“But it ultimately came down to where I feel like I could win
the most and also where I was going to be happy for the most
part with my friends and my family.”
It’s not so hard to figure out why LeBron left Cleveland. Even if
the organization had consistently put a championship-caliber
roster around him (which they didn’t) and the city was seen as
a big market (which it isn’t), we’re still talking about a 25-year-
old who has never lived anywhere else. Born in Northeast Ohio,
raised in Northeast Ohio, became famous in Northeast Ohio ...
never left Northeast Ohio. If he were a younger brother choos-
ing a college, or a college buddy weighing job offers – and not
the homegrown talent carrying the local sports team – we’d
encourage him to spread his wings, to see the world. But that
same selfishness that causes fans to pressure high school ball-
players into staying home out of “loyalty” caused Clevelanders,
post-Decision, to burn No. 23 jerseys in the street and throw
“LeBron’s only loyalty should
have been to winning.”
rocks at the “We Are All Witnesses” banner in the two days
before it was discarded like a wedding photo at a divorcee’s
home.
The emotional reaction from the Midwest overshadowed the
question that really defines what LeBron was looking for: Why
didn’t he pick New York? For years, well before other teams
could devise a plan to clear cap space and before other free
agents in the 2010 class became a factor, it was assumed LeB-
ron would eventually leave Cleveland for the Big Apple. It was
an offer too good to refuse: The exposure, the endorsements,
the fast life, the bright lights. From the first time LeBron said
the words “global icon,” Photoshoppers were putting him in
a Knicks uniform.
In New York, he would have all that Frank Lopez warned Tony
Montana about ... chicas, champagne, flash ... as the unques-
tioned leader of a storied franchise in the city that defines
America. He’d be bigger than Derek Jeter, Miguel Cotto and Joe
Namath combined.
But in Miami, LeBron can also have it all, and more. He’s got his
chica (and his two kids), he’ll get his champagne (Heat locker
room, post-inevitable championship), and he gets Flash ... b.k.a.
Dwyane Wade, the best teammate LeBron has ever had. And
he’ll live in Miami, the city without snow and overcrowding, in
a mansion for which he reportedly paid $49.5 million a couple
of weeks after signing a six-year, $110 million contract. LeBron
got it all, without giving it all up. He’s set himself up to last in
this business. He played the system and won.
60
And oh, how they hate him for it.
* “The Championship of Me became the Championship of Flee, because
LeBron James doesn’t believe he can be the centerpiece of a title team.
He needed Dwyane Wade, a closer, far more than Wade needed him. Yes,
he’s ruined everything.”
* “All it showed was James can’t handle being a number one and win-
ning a chip, he gives up his status as one of the best players in the NBA
and of all time because he chose the easy way out. He isn’t mentally
strong and isn’t a fierce competitor, he just wants to hang with his
boys in South Beach. That’s fine but now you will never be viewed as
one of the best.”
The first quote came from NBA columnist Adrian Wojnarowski
of Yahoo! Sports. The second came from “Claw,” a reader com-
menting on DimeMag.com. They represent two of the more
concise and lucid reactions from media and fans worldwide, as
well as what seems to be the majority opinion regarding The
Decision: That LeBron took the easy way out. That he signed up
to be D-Wade’s sidekick. That he effectively ended any chance
of being put in the same category as Jordan, Magic and Bird.
And he betrayed his hometown fan base in the process.
That perception has stuck because we’ve been stupidly trained
to believe our basketball heroes actually won championships
“on their own.” The reality is that Jordan, Kobe, Russell, Duncan,
Bird and Magic regularly had Hall of Fame-caliber teammates.
LeBron never had a Pippen, a (prime) Shaq, a Cousy, a Ginobili,
a McHale, a Kareem. He never even had a Worthy, a Parish,
an Admiral, a Havlicek, a Gasol, or a Rodman. And coming
off another postseason disappointment – his Cavaliers losing
in last year’s conference semifinals despite LeBron averaging
26.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.3 blocks
per game in the six-game series against Boston – the biggest
thing on LeBron’s mind going into free agency was how he
could win multiple championships. Like an owner who will
trade a player when he loses a step, or fans who will boo a
player who’s missing shots, LeBron’s only loyalty should have
been to winning.
“I think championships are championships,” LeBron said on TV
the night he announced his decision. “And you can’t look at it
as saying, ‘Well, if I would have did it somewhere else it would
have been sweeter.’ Because it’s a championship. And a lot of
people don’t get there. When you get to that point and you
win a championship you can’t say, ‘Wow, I wish I would have
did it somewhere else.’ That makes no sense because you put
a lot of hard work into it to get to that point.”
But then, a couple more shots. As the Heat were building a
roster of affordable veteran role players and second-round
draft picks over the summer to complement their superstar
triumvirate, Michael Jordan – owner of the division-rival Char-
lotte Bobcats – spoke:
“There’s no way, with hindsight,” Jordan told reporters at a char-
ity golf retreat, “I would’ve ever called up Larry, called up Magic
and said, ‘Hey, look, let’s get together and play on one team.’
 In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys.”
And then Kevin Durant, the newest superstar to join LeBron
and Kobe on the League’s V.I.P. list, had his say via Twitter:
“Now everybody wanna play for the Heat and the Lakers?” Du-
rant wrote. “Let’s go back to being competitive and going at
these peoples!”
To the staunch or wavering LeBron critic, that was the knockout
combo. Durant set him up, Jordan sat him down. Two accredited
experts in the field of competitiveness questioned LeBron’s
competitiveness. And it will be months – not until the new NBA
season arrives and LeBron gets on the court with Wade and
Bosh to show he hasn’t suddenly become a role player – before
LeBron has a chance to try getting back on his feet.
*** *** ***
Once the initial emotional responses filtered in – all dwarfed
by Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert’s comically bitter open letter
to Cleveland fans – and the “Why?” made more sense, the next
question was: “How did this happen?” And not in the way you’d
wonder how the toast got toasted, but a period of serious inves-
tigative NBA reporting unseen since Tim Donaghy’s heyday.
With accusations of collusion between James, Wade and Bosh,
and unethical recruiting practices by Miami Heat president
Pat Riley afoot, editors were dying to slap a “-Gate” suffix on
whatever had gone down to bring three kings to South Beach.
But all that surfaced was a story of LeBron, Dwyane and Chris,
three close friends who entered the League in 2003 and happen
61
to play basketball for millions of dollars, deciding they wanted
to play together.
“I have no problem with it at all,” says future Hall of Fame player
and ESPN announcer Mark Jackson. “I think ultimately when
you talk about me as a player, there have been times when
you play in charity games where you have friends where you
always entertain the idea of playing with each other and trying
to team up. That’s gone on forever.”
Just never as publicly, and never on such a big scale. Even the
star-studded trios that preceded this new Miami group – the
Boston “Big Three” of Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, and
the Lakers’ core of Kobe, Pau Gasol and Ron Artest – were
largely formed through more traditional avenues, like lopsided
trades between chummy front-office suits. Never before had
three free agents, all of them superstars in the League in their
primes, took it upon themselves to decide their destiny and
form like Voltron.
For LeBron, D-Wade and Bosh, this was a union designed to
win titles. For the rest of the NBA, it was a power move that
reminded players what they can do together. In the same off-
season that LeBron altered attitudes among his peers, Chris
Paul, Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire began report-
edly warming up to the idea of forming a Big Three in New York
in 2011. The waterfall effect also impacts high school stars,
who now more than ever form alliances on the AAU/camp
circuit and pick colleges as an unofficial package deal. What
Brandon Jennings did for rising stars blocked by the NBA’s
age minimum, LeBron and his teammates did for free agents
waiting for opportunity to knock.
62
63
64
“The way we approach the game, the
same demeanor, the same grit, the same
swagger to our game will not change.”
“I think it’s going to change the landscape of the game,” Pistons
guard Ben Gordon told CBS Sports. “I think you’re going to see
more guys trying to team up, trying to do what those guys did.
I think it’s going to ultimately be good for the game. It’s going
to put a lot of pressure on teams to get better, and on a lot
of players to step their games up. I think in the long run, it’ll
have a positive impact.
“It’s going to change the game as we know it,” Gordon said. “I
think the move ’Bron made, he’s getting a lot of slack for it now
from some people, but I thought it was pretty impressive for
him to be able to kind of put his ego aside and realize, ‘OK, I
can’t do this by myself. Let me team up and try and win. Let me
take a pay cut.’ These are things that nobody probably thought
he would’ve done. But it really shows where his priorities are
at as far as trying to win.”
*** *** ***
Here is where great power is met by great responsibility.
Although LeBron joined a team that is stacked for the next
six years at least, the pressure to win has grown heavier than
any roster he previously carried. While some say he was run-
ning out of excuses in Cleveland seven years into his career,
as of today, there are officially zero excuses. This Miami team
– especially this man wearing No. 6 and bearing the burden
of every loss on his shoulders – has to win now and win big.
Anything less will be a failure for a team that is so stacked on
paper, the two-time defending champion Lakers have become
an underdog.
“We’re going to be wearing a bulls-eye. But that’s what you play
for,” Wade said at his annual charity event in Miami. “We enjoy
the bulls-eye. Plus, there’s going to be times when we lose 2-3
games in a row, and it seems like the world has crashed down.
You all are going to make it seem like the World Trade is com-
ing down again, but it’s not going to be nothing but a couple
basketball games.”
LeBron, the closest thing (alongside Wade) the NBA had seen
to a one-man show for the last half-decade, now must find
his role. Which doesn’t make him a role player; more like the
new kid in school looking for his spot at the lunchroom table.
As the Heat roster was being filled out at press time, there
was talk of LeBron possibly starting at point guard instead of
his usual small forward position. There is speculation on how
many shots he’ll get, or if he’s now more likely to average a
triple-double, or how much better he can be defensively if
he’s not committed to carrying an offensive load with insuf-
ficient help.
65
– LeBron James
“I think the only things that may change is the points per game.
You know, what also may change is the minutes per game,”
James said. “But the way you see me and D-Wade approach
the game every night and having that never-die attitude will
not change. The way we play on both ends of the court will
not change, we’ll just be united now.
“Like I said, we don’t have to have the pressure of going out,
scoring 30 every night, or shooting a high percentage or logging
long minutes and worrying about our team suffering because of
that at times,” James said. “So the way we approach the game,
the same demeanor, the same grit, the same swagger to our
game will not change. And that’s the same thing with Chris
also. His game won’t change either. We’re just going to raise
each other’s intensity up.”
Things changed this summer. Even if you don't buy into the
idea that LeBron James has done irreparable damage to his
image, his legacy and his name-brand, you have to admit he
at least caused a shift in his public perception. The gallant
warrior who grabbed the sword from that Cavaliers logo and
went to battle like Leonidas in 300 still lives inside of LeBron,
but that’s not whom many choose to see anymore.
Some see an opportunist. Some see a frustrated lone wolf who
opted to join a strong pack. Some see the most talented basket-
ball player in the world, no longer impressed with the pursuit of
being known as the greatest individual player of all-time. Some
see a front-running loser. Some see a humble winner.
Step back, though, and consider his side. No athlete has faced
the situation LeBron faced this summer – whether it was his
own creation or not – with so much on the line for himself
and his sport. It was the most-watched job search of our time,
and to expect a 25-year-old to make a decision that would
please everyone, even a decision with which he would never
feel a slight tug of regret like a nagging hamstring, was too
much to ask.
And if LeBron is not totally happy yet, he is at least content
with what he now has: The power and the responsibility, the
consequences and the possibilities.
“One thing my mother told me when I was going through this
process, and what ultimately helped me make my decision, is
you have to do what’s best for you and what’s going to make
you happy at the end of the day,” LeBron said on that night
when all eyes were on him. “Because no one can live with the
consequences or anything that comes with your decision be-
sides you. And once I heard that from my mother, the person
that I always look to for guidance, it was easy.”
WORLD
CHAMPIONSHIP
PREVIEW:
10 TEAMS TO
WATCH
AS WE SENT THIS ISSUE TO PRINT, the World Basketball
Festival was only days away from taking over New York City.
An unprecedented event put on by Nike, Jordan Brand, Converse
and USA Basketball, the four-day celebration of the sport and
culture of hoops is also a preview of sorts of this summer’s
FIBA World Championship in Turkey (Aug. 28-Sept. 12), as five
international squads – China, Brazil, Puerto Rico, France and
Team USA – scrimmage and play exhibition games at Madison
Square Garden, Rucker Park, and right in the middle of
Radio City Music Hall.
Those five, plus five more, made our list of 10 teams to
watch at the World Championship:

66
67
ARGENTINA
Best Player: Luis Scola
Rising Star: Patricio Garino
X-Factor: Juan Manual Fernandez
Although Argentina is ranked No. 1 in the world by FIBA,
it looks like their heyday being led by Manu Ginobili,
Andres Nocioni and Carlos Delfino is over. But the future
looks bright. Fernandez, who stars at Temple University,
just turned 20 years old, while Garino is a 17-year-old
sensation who is seen as a superstar in the making.

68
FRANCE
Best Player: Boris Diaw
Rising Star: Rodrigue Beaubois
X-Factor: Mickael Pietrus
Despite not having Tony Parker, France is an athletic
group who can get out and run. They have a history of
underachieving in major FIBA tournaments, though, finishing
fifth in last year’s European Championship, 8th
in the ‘07 Euro tourney, and not qualifying for the last
two Olympics.
SPAIN
Best Player: Marc Gasol
Rising Star: Ricky Rubio
X-Factor: Juan Carlos Navarro
Even without Pau Gasol in the lineup, Spain could make a
gold-medal run in Turkey. Marc Gasol is coming off an NBA
season where he put up 14.6 points and 9.3 rebounds, and
Rubio guided FC Barcelona to a Euroleague championship.

GREECE
Best Player: Vasileios Spanoulis
Rising Star: Nikos Kalathis
X-Factor: Sofoklis Schortsanitis
They don’t have any current NBA players, but United States
fans know better than anybody not to sleep on Team
Greece. They upset the U.S. and won silver at the last World
Championship, then won bronze at last year’s European
Championship. Schortsanitis, a.k.a. “Baby Shaq,” can be a
beast in the paint if he’s in shape and motivated.
SERBIA
Best Player: Nenad Krstic
Rising Star: Milenko Tepic
X-Factor: Uros Tripkovic
The last time Serbia played at the Worlds (2002), they won
the whole thing, and they won silver at last year’s European
Championship. Currently ranked 5th in the world by FIBA,
they have to be considered a medal threat.

CHINA
Best Player: Yi Jianlian
Rising Star: Li Xiaoxu
X-Factor: Sun Yue

With Yao Ming out of action, it’s up to skilled yet

unproven Yi to carry the squad. Guard play will be crucial
for the Chinese, as well as a big showing from 20-year-
old Li Xiaoxu, who has already been playing pro ball for
five years.

69
 PUERTO RICO
Best Player: Carlos Arroyo
Rising Star: J.J. Barea
X-Factor: Renaldo Balkman
Team PR is solid in the backcourt, but aside from NBA
veteran Balkman, weak up front. The two best players
-- Arroyo and Barea -- play the same position, while
sharpshooter David Cortes logs minutes at small forward
despite standing only 6-foot-3.

TURKEY UNITED STATES

Best Player: Hedo Turkoglu
Rising Star: Ersan Ilyasova
X-Factor: Semih Erden
The host country is currently ranked 18th in the world, but
with the home crowd behind them and some legit talent on
the roster, don’t be surprised if Turkey pulls off some upsets
and grabs a medal. Turkoglu should be in a good mood after
his wish was granted and the Toronto Raptors traded him to
Phoenix in the offseason.
Best Player: Kevin Durant
Rising Star: Derrick Rose
X-Factor: Brook Lopez
As usual, Team USA has the most talented roster top-
to-bottom, but this is a completely different squad than the
group that won gold at the ‘08 Olympics. Durant
will lead the way, but he, like many of his teammates, doesn’t
have very much experience at big-time international events.

70
BRAZIL
Best Player: Leandro Barbosa
Rising Star: Tiago Splitter
X-Factor: Anderson Varejao
Barbosa leads the way with his speed and scorer’s
mentality, but Brazil also has a crew of rugged big men in
Varejao, Nene and incoming Spurs rookie Tiago Splitter.

71
STILL LIFE Photos. Nick Ferrari

72
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 Xx

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Jordan CP3 Tribute & Jordan Flight 9 by Jordan Brand
75
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STYLES UPON STYLES

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RD1 Mid by DC Shoes // Royal Evo Perf Hi by PUMA //
Taido by éS x Mad Decent Romero 2 by Emerica x Toy Machine // Verte Jameson 2 by etnies

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SICKS by Converse Everybody Mono Low Volley by Alife
 Go Hard Pullover Hoody by LRG // Patchwork Crackle Tracky Jacket by Jordan Brand // Antique “A” Zip-Up Hoody by Alife

The Pump T-Shirt by Reebok // In A 79

Box T-Shirt by Jordan Brand // Into The Wild T-Shirt by durkl // Antique “A” T-Shirt by Alife
 80
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 WE REMINISCE

Pau Gasol wins the MVP at

the 2006 FIBA World Championship

Photo. FIBA

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