ah always the next great hope for the Juggler. year after year after year. would be funny if it wasn't sad.
Simmons is a stud. Very athletic for his size. of course he is another 4 and how many 4s and 5s can the Sixers take on? not to mention it's a guards league anymore. gotta love the process.
sadder is 30+ years of mediocre basketball.
he's a point forward. and it's all about assets and maximizing your chances of acquiring star players. we know this.
they currently have 1.5 NBA level assets (Okafor and Noel). so Hinkie has gotten less than one NBA level player per year. i guess those analytics haven't quite kicked in yet.
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,315
ah always the next great hope for the Juggler. year after year after year. would be funny if it wasn't sad.
Simmons is a stud. Very athletic for his size. of course he is another 4 and how many 4s and 5s can the Sixers take on? not to mention it's a guards league anymore. gotta love the process.
sadder is 30+ years of mediocre basketball.
he's a point forward. and it's all about assets and maximizing your chances of acquiring star players. we know this.
they currently have 1.5 NBA level assets (Okafor and Noel). so Hinkie has gotten less than one NBA level player per year. i guess those analytics haven't quite kicked in yet.
ah, yes. yours is a convenient and lazy argument to make at the moment. many, like the eskins, cataldis fords and hayes' of the philly old guard sports scene make the same one about as frequently as you do.
as frustrating as it is, patience is key.
can't wait to see simmons go up against tougher competition!
ah always the next great hope for the Juggler. year after year after year. would be funny if it wasn't sad.
Simmons is a stud. Very athletic for his size. of course he is another 4 and how many 4s and 5s can the Sixers take on? not to mention it's a guards league anymore. gotta love the process.
sadder is 30+ years of mediocre basketball.
he's a point forward. and it's all about assets and maximizing your chances of acquiring star players. we know this.
they currently have 1.5 NBA level assets (Okafor and Noel). so Hinkie has gotten less than one NBA level player per year. i guess those analytics haven't quite kicked in yet.
ah, yes. yours is a convenient and lazy argument to make at the moment. many, like the eskins, cataldis fords and hayes' of the philly old guard sports scene make the same one about as frequently as you do.
as frustrating as it is, patience is key.
can't wait to see simmons go up against tougher competition!
yes pointing out the fact that they are the1st team in the history of the fucking league to start 0-12 (and counting) 2 years in a row is considered lazy. my god i wish i was in a business where such utter failure is not only a plan but a plan that some saps like you are fully buying into. 22 losses in a row and counting. patience is overrated. this team is so far from mediocre it is going to take years just to get to mediocrity let alone a so-called championship caliber team that the process was supposed to bring. keep the faith, 2025 is right around the corner my friend.
Post edited by pjhawks on
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,315
ah always the next great hope for the Juggler. year after year after year. would be funny if it wasn't sad.
Simmons is a stud. Very athletic for his size. of course he is another 4 and how many 4s and 5s can the Sixers take on? not to mention it's a guards league anymore. gotta love the process.
sadder is 30+ years of mediocre basketball.
he's a point forward. and it's all about assets and maximizing your chances of acquiring star players. we know this.
they currently have 1.5 NBA level assets (Okafor and Noel). so Hinkie has gotten less than one NBA level player per year. i guess those analytics haven't quite kicked in yet.
ah, yes. yours is a convenient and lazy argument to make at the moment. many, like the eskins, cataldis fords and hayes' of the philly old guard sports scene make the same one about as frequently as you do.
as frustrating as it is, patience is key.
can't wait to see simmons go up against tougher competition!
yes pointing out the fact that they are the1st team in the history of the fucking league to start 0-12 (and counting) 2 years in a row is considered lazy. my god i wish i was in a business where such utter failure is not only a plan but a plan that some saps like you are fully buying into. 22 losses in a row and counting. patience is overrated. this team is so far from mediocre it is going to take years just to get to mediocrity let alone a so-called championship caliber team that the process was supposed to bring. keep the faith, 2025 is right around the corner my friend.
Maybe their first win will come against the Lakers?
That's almost a lose lose game cuz you want LA to win a little more, but not too much since their pick is top 3 protected. Haha....can we fast forward to the lottery please? Jeez
Brett Brown actually lost that Miami game. That hacka Whiteside was a terrible call when they were playing well up by 8 with 6 to go. Ran no plays down the stretch.
Alright, alright, alright!
Tom O. "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
-The Writer
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,315
Brett Brown actually lost that Miami game. That hacka Whiteside was a terrible call when they were playing well up by 8 with 6 to go. Ran no plays down the stretch.
it was almost as if the whole team and coaching staff were so surprised they had a lead that late and totally froze.
that lakers game is looming large, well as large as it gets for a winless team. assuming they continuing losing, they'll enter that one tied for the record to start the season...
Maybe their first win will come against the Lakers?
That's almost a lose lose game cuz you want LA to win a little more, but not too much since their pick is top 3 protected. Haha....can we fast forward to the lottery please? Jeez
true.
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
I was following on twitter while in bed but it seemed that Okafor didn't see the ball in the last 3 minutes and that he was actually on the bench for a little down the stretch while he dominated KAT.
Alright, alright, alright!
Tom O. "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
-The Writer
I was following on twitter while in bed but it seemed that Okafor didn't see the ball in the last 3 minutes and that he was actually on the bench for a little down the stretch while he dominated KAT.
i was switching back and forth and watched about the last 6 minutes. yea they went to jerami grant like 3 straight times down the court and McConnell missed an easy layup to tie with about a minute left. i actually laughed when McConnell missed too because I saw him do that about 10 times in the past two years at Arizona. Again only saw the last 6 minutes or so but Wiggins looked pretty darn good.
Watch, with the 76ers LUCK, Simmons will end up wearing the same colors he's wearing now. That way the 76ers will be screwed twice in next year's draft.
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,315
Watch, with the 76ers LUCK, Simmons will end up wearing the same colors he's wearing now. That way the 76ers will be screwed twice in next year's draft.
Watch, with the 76ers LUCK, Simmons will end up wearing the same colors he's wearing now. That way the 76ers will be screwed twice in next year's draft.
Doomsday scenario.
Yes, that would be.
But, with the way the Lakers are playing?
Now 0-16
0
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,315
Watch, with the 76ers LUCK, Simmons will end up wearing the same colors he's wearing now. That way the 76ers will be screwed twice in next year's draft.
Doomsday scenario.
Yes, that would be.
But, with the way the Lakers are playing?
Now 0-16
Thought they were gonna hold on tonight. Oh well...
Watch, with the 76ers LUCK, Simmons will end up wearing the same colors he's wearing now. That way the 76ers will be screwed twice in next year's draft.
Doomsday scenario.
Yes, that would be.
But, with the way the Lakers are playing?
Now 0-16
Thought they were gonna hold on tonight. Oh well...
i was gonna bump this thread up when they were up by 10, luckily i didn't. Also thought they were gonna win their first game, probably should of. Only a few more losses away from the record. i think they're gonna beat the Lakers for their first win.
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
27 losses in a row sets a professional sports record.
Okafur? Wtf?
this team isn't as bad as their record indicates are they?
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
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g under p
Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,122
On another music board a member there started a thread called PHILLY DEAD. He basically saying how many are enjoying how all four Philly teams are bad and in the dumps. I told I don't enjoy any city except NY that would be ok. I've been there when in the 70's the Patriots were horrible, but the Bruins they Orr, Espo etc, the Celtics were competitive with Hondo, Big Red etc, and well the Sox just broke hearts.
However to have all four in the dumps is tough real tough and I can understand the despair ESPECIALLY if one is still living in the city. I'm far removed now living in South Florida than the days of my youth in BEANTOWN.
PEACE
*We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
tied the record for most losses at the beginning of the season. Nerleans injured i think they have a good shot at breaking the record. Although they are playing the Lakers next.
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
On another music board a member there started a thread called PHILLY DEAD. He basically saying how many are enjoying how all four Philly teams are bad and in the dumps. I told I don't enjoy any city except NY that would be ok. I've been there when in the 70's the Patriots were horrible, but the Bruins they Orr, Espo etc, the Celtics were competitive with Hondo, Big Red etc, and well the Sox just broke hearts.
However to have all four in the dumps is tough real tough and I can understand the despair ESPECIALLY if one is still living in the city. I'm far removed now living in South Florida than the days of my youth in BEANTOWN.
PEACE
Flyers are probably the best philly team right now at about .500
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
tied the record for most losses at the beginning of the season. Nerleans injured i think they have a good shot at breaking the record. Although they are playing the Lakers next.
Kobe's last game in Philly. Kobe has always come across as kind of a dick but I hope the Sixers fans give me a nice ovation Tuesday. One of the top 20 players of all time deserves that.
As for Okafor's behavior I can only imagine what I would have been like at 19 as a millionaire. i was a mess and had no money. I have to think it had to be really late at night to be able to get to 108 mph on the Ben Franklin Bridge.
So close. Covington makes a huge difference and Stauskas is just sad. I'm sure having a couple seasoned vets could help Jah with some off the court stuff. I wonder it that guy he hit is waiting to press charges.
Alright, alright, alright!
Tom O. "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
-The Writer
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The Juggler
Behind that bush over there. Posts: 47,315
Game of the year tonight. No, fuck that-- game of the century. This is what it's all about. Right here. Right now.
Also: for old time sakes, LM Sucks. Hope Kobe goes 3 for 15 in his final game here.
Maybe their first win will come against the Lakers?
That's almost a lose lose game cuz you want LA to win a little more, but not too much since their pick is top 3 protected. Haha....can we fast forward to the lottery please? Jeez
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
VIC 07
EV LA1 08
Seattle1 09, Seattle2 09, Salt Lake 09, LA4 09
Columbus 10
EV LA 11
Vancouver 11
Missoula 12
Portland 13, Spokane 13
St. Paul 14, Denver 14
When the 76ers were preparing for the 1995 draft, head coach and general manager John Lucas invited college stars to St. Joseph's University for private workouts, and there they found a skinny, young player against whom they were matched one-on-one.
"Is he on your team?" one player asked Lucas after his workout, which ended badly for the prospective draftee.
"No, son," Lucas said. "He's a junior in high school."
When the 76ers were preparing for the 1995 draft, head coach and general manager John Lucas invited college stars to St. Joseph's University for private workouts, and there they found a skinny, young player against whom they were matched one-on-one.
"Is he on your team?" one player asked Lucas after his workout, which ended badly for the prospective draftee.
"No, son," Lucas said. "He's a junior in high school."
As Kobe Bryant returns to Philadelphia to play basketball on Tuesday night, apparently for the last time, he comes back as a 37-year-old at the end of a Hall of Fame career. He is in his 19th professional season and, with a tweak of time, all of those seasons could have been spent in a Sixers uniform.
It is a career that contained seven appearances in the NBA Finals, five championships, two scoring titles, a Most Valuable Player award and 15 selections to the All-Star Game. Bryant became symbolic of the revival of the Los Angeles Lakers, carrying on the tradition of Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. Just as easily, he could have been the player who picked up the banner for Billy Cunningham, Julius Erving and Maurice Cheeks.
Unfortunately, for that latter narrative, the calendar pages fell the wrong way. Lucas, who was prepared to take Bryant with the first pick in the 1996 NBA draft rather than Allen Iverson, was fired before he got the chance. The Sixers were sold in April and the new management under Pat Croce brought in another general manager and, ultimately, another coach.
Had Harold Katz waited another year to sell and stayed with Lucas, who had two seasons remaining on his contract, things would have fallen much differently.
John Lucas came home from a disappointing road trip in the spring of 1995 - the Sixers of that era rarely had any other kind - and his wife told him there was a high school player he needed to see. Their daughter, Tarvia, attended Lower Merion High School and that is where Debbie Lucas made her discovery.
She had purchased tickets for the District 1 semifinal game between Lower Merion and Coatesville at the Palestra, a game in which Bryant would be matched up against sophomore Richard "Rip" Hamilton of Coatesville.
In the cinder-block corridors of the Palestra before the game, Lucas saw Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, the former La Salle star and NBA forward against whom Lucas had played.
"What are you doing here?" Lucas said.
"My son plays for Lower Merion," Bryant said. "What are you doing here?"
"My wife wants me to see some kid named Kobe," Lucas said.
"That's my son," Bryant said.
Lucas saw what the rest of the basketball world was seeing, including all the college coaches who were forming a line to recruit Kobe. Lucas didn't recruit him, but after the high school season was over, he invited Bryant to some informal workouts with the Sixers.
"Back then, the rules were nowhere near what they are now," Lucas said. "When I was in Cleveland, I tried that with LeBron James and they suspended me two games."
Bryant began to work out with Lucas after the Sixers finished their regular practices and he found himself paired up individually against some of the players. Bryant went at it one day with Vernon Maxwell, almost 30 years old and a seven-year NBA veteran.
"They were playing to 10, and it got to 9-9 and it was so rough, I thought they were going to fight with each other," Lucas said. "I said to myself, 'I want somebody who's going to fight at 9-9.' "
Lucas used Bryant as the litmus test that summer for players he might take with the third pick in the 1995 draft. According to Lucas, Antonio McDyess, a 6-foot-9 power forward who was taken by the Clippers with the second pick, was the only one who beat Bryant, and that included Jerry Stackhouse, the eventual pick, and a number of others.
"I based my draft on that. Kobe played them all one-on-one," Lucas said. "That summer, he trained with the team and went through the entire program. He got up every morning and worked out with us at 6 a.m."
Back at Lower Merion for his senior season, Bryant and the Aces won the state championship and it was clear that Bryant would be heading straight into the NBA draft. It was a talented draft class that included Iverson, Marcus Camby, Shareef Abdul-Rahim, Stephon Marbury and Ray Allen. Bryant, who wouldn't turn 18 until August, was projected to be taken near the middle of the round - except by John Lucas.
"There was no question in my mind, he was the best player," Lucas said. "He wasn't only the most skilled, but I never had anybody work at that level. I heard him tell kids something at a camp once, years later. He said, 'Some people want to be the gazelles that are able to run alongside the lions. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I never wanted to be a gazelle.' "
Bryant became a lion in Los Angeles instead. It could have been here. Time and place didn't match up, though. It just missed.
"I think Philadelphia has always had a love-hate relationship with Kobe," Lucas said. "But he would have been up there on Mount Rushmore in Philly, with Hal Greer and Wilt and Doc. He should be up there."
When the 76ers were preparing for the 1995 draft, head coach and general manager John Lucas invited college stars to St. Joseph's University for private workouts, and there they found a skinny, young player against whom they were matched one-on-one.
"Is he on your team?" one player asked Lucas after his workout, which ended badly for the prospective draftee.
"No, son," Lucas said. "He's a junior in high school."
When the 76ers were preparing for the 1995 draft, head coach and general manager John Lucas invited college stars to St. Joseph's University for private workouts, and there they found a skinny, young player against whom they were matched one-on-one.
"Is he on your team?" one player asked Lucas after his workout, which ended badly for the prospective draftee.
"No, son," Lucas said. "He's a junior in high school."
As Kobe Bryant returns to Philadelphia to play basketball on Tuesday night, apparently for the last time, he comes back as a 37-year-old at the end of a Hall of Fame career. He is in his 19th professional season and, with a tweak of time, all of those seasons could have been spent in a Sixers uniform.
It is a career that contained seven appearances in the NBA Finals, five championships, two scoring titles, a Most Valuable Player award and 15 selections to the All-Star Game. Bryant became symbolic of the revival of the Los Angeles Lakers, carrying on the tradition of Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. Just as easily, he could have been the player who picked up the banner for Billy Cunningham, Julius Erving and Maurice Cheeks.
Unfortunately, for that latter narrative, the calendar pages fell the wrong way. Lucas, who was prepared to take Bryant with the first pick in the 1996 NBA draft rather than Allen Iverson, was fired before he got the chance. The Sixers were sold in April and the new management under Pat Croce brought in another general manager and, ultimately, another coach.
Had Harold Katz waited another year to sell and stayed with Lucas, who had two seasons remaining on his contract, things would have fallen much differently.
John Lucas came home from a disappointing road trip in the spring of 1995 - the Sixers of that era rarely had any other kind - and his wife told him there was a high school player he needed to see. Their daughter, Tarvia, attended Lower Merion High School and that is where Debbie Lucas made her discovery.
She had purchased tickets for the District 1 semifinal game between Lower Merion and Coatesville at the Palestra, a game in which Bryant would be matched up against sophomore Richard "Rip" Hamilton of Coatesville.
In the cinder-block corridors of the Palestra before the game, Lucas saw Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, the former La Salle star and NBA forward against whom Lucas had played.
"What are you doing here?" Lucas said.
"My son plays for Lower Merion," Bryant said. "What are you doing here?"
"My wife wants me to see some kid named Kobe," Lucas said.
"That's my son," Bryant said.
Lucas saw what the rest of the basketball world was seeing, including all the college coaches who were forming a line to recruit Kobe. Lucas didn't recruit him, but after the high school season was over, he invited Bryant to some informal workouts with the Sixers.
"Back then, the rules were nowhere near what they are now," Lucas said. "When I was in Cleveland, I tried that with LeBron James and they suspended me two games."
Bryant began to work out with Lucas after the Sixers finished their regular practices and he found himself paired up individually against some of the players. Bryant went at it one day with Vernon Maxwell, almost 30 years old and a seven-year NBA veteran.
"They were playing to 10, and it got to 9-9 and it was so rough, I thought they were going to fight with each other," Lucas said. "I said to myself, 'I want somebody who's going to fight at 9-9.' "
Lucas used Bryant as the litmus test that summer for players he might take with the third pick in the 1995 draft. According to Lucas, Antonio McDyess, a 6-foot-9 power forward who was taken by the Clippers with the second pick, was the only one who beat Bryant, and that included Jerry Stackhouse, the eventual pick, and a number of others.
"I based my draft on that. Kobe played them all one-on-one," Lucas said. "That summer, he trained with the team and went through the entire program. He got up every morning and worked out with us at 6 a.m."
Back at Lower Merion for his senior season, Bryant and the Aces won the state championship and it was clear that Bryant would be heading straight into the NBA draft. It was a talented draft class that included Iverson, Marcus Camby, Shareef Abdul-Rahim, Stephon Marbury and Ray Allen. Bryant, who wouldn't turn 18 until August, was projected to be taken near the middle of the round - except by John Lucas.
"There was no question in my mind, he was the best player," Lucas said. "He wasn't only the most skilled, but I never had anybody work at that level. I heard him tell kids something at a camp once, years later. He said, 'Some people want to be the gazelles that are able to run alongside the lions. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I never wanted to be a gazelle.' "
Bryant became a lion in Los Angeles instead. It could have been here. Time and place didn't match up, though. It just missed.
"I think Philadelphia has always had a love-hate relationship with Kobe," Lucas said. "But he would have been up there on Mount Rushmore in Philly, with Hal Greer and Wilt and Doc. He should be up there."
Comments
as frustrating as it is, patience is key.
can't wait to see simmons go up against tougher competition!
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
Tom O.
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
-The Writer
that lakers game is looming large, well as large as it gets for a winless team. assuming they continuing losing, they'll enter that one tied for the record to start the season...
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
Tom O.
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
-The Writer
Watch, with the 76ers LUCK, Simmons will end up wearing the same colors he's wearing now. That way the 76ers will be screwed twice in next year's draft.
But, with the way the Lakers are playing?
Now 0-16
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
Okafur? Wtf?
this team isn't as bad as their record indicates are they?
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
However to have all four in the dumps is tough real tough and I can understand the despair ESPECIALLY if one is still living in the city. I'm far removed now living in South Florida than the days of my youth in BEANTOWN.
PEACE
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
As for Okafor's behavior I can only imagine what I would have been like at 19 as a millionaire. i was a mess and had no money. I have to think it had to be really late at night to be able to get to 108 mph on the Ben Franklin Bridge.
Tom O.
"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"
-The Writer
Also: for old time sakes, LM Sucks. Hope Kobe goes 3 for 15 in his final game here.
Go Sixers.
Lakers SUCK!!
#can'tbewinningifyouwantsimmons>LOL!!
now let's get those lakers some wins.
8/28/98- Camden, NJ
10/31/09- Philly
5/21/10- NYC
9/2/12- Philly, PA
7/19/13- Wrigley
10/19/13- Brooklyn, NY
10/21/13- Philly, PA
10/22/13- Philly, PA
10/27/13- Baltimore, MD
Tres Mts.- 3/23/11- Philly
Eddie Vedder- 6/25/11- Philly
were you "savoring" your time with Kobe?
Vegas 93, Vegas 98, Vegas 00 (10 year show), Vegas 03, Vegas 06
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POSTED: Tuesday, December 1, 2015, 3:01 AM
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When the 76ers were preparing for the 1995 draft, head coach and general manager John Lucas invited college stars to St. Joseph's University for private workouts, and there they found a skinny, young player against whom they were matched one-on-one.
"Is he on your team?" one player asked Lucas after his workout, which ended badly for the prospective draftee.
"No, son," Lucas said. "He's a junior in high school."
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http://www.philly.com/philly/sports/sixers/20151201_How_Kobe_almost_landed_in_Philly.html
How Kobe almost landed in Philly
When the 76ers were preparing for the 1995 draft, head coach and general manager John Lucas invited college stars to St. Joseph's University for private workouts, and there they found a skinny, young player against whom they were matched one-on-one.
"Is he on your team?" one player asked Lucas after his workout, which ended badly for the prospective draftee.
"No, son," Lucas said. "He's a junior in high school."
As Kobe Bryant returns to Philadelphia to play basketball on Tuesday night, apparently for the last time, he comes back as a 37-year-old at the end of a Hall of Fame career. He is in his 19th professional season and, with a tweak of time, all of those seasons could have been spent in a Sixers uniform.
It is a career that contained seven appearances in the NBA Finals, five championships, two scoring titles, a Most Valuable Player award and 15 selections to the All-Star Game. Bryant became symbolic of the revival of the Los Angeles Lakers, carrying on the tradition of Jerry West, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson. Just as easily, he could have been the player who picked up the banner for Billy Cunningham, Julius Erving and Maurice Cheeks.
Unfortunately, for that latter narrative, the calendar pages fell the wrong way. Lucas, who was prepared to take Bryant with the first pick in the 1996 NBA draft rather than Allen Iverson, was fired before he got the chance. The Sixers were sold in April and the new management under Pat Croce brought in another general manager and, ultimately, another coach.
Had Harold Katz waited another year to sell and stayed with Lucas, who had two seasons remaining on his contract, things would have fallen much differently.
John Lucas came home from a disappointing road trip in the spring of 1995 - the Sixers of that era rarely had any other kind - and his wife told him there was a high school player he needed to see. Their daughter, Tarvia, attended Lower Merion High School and that is where Debbie Lucas made her discovery.
She had purchased tickets for the District 1 semifinal game between Lower Merion and Coatesville at the Palestra, a game in which Bryant would be matched up against sophomore Richard "Rip" Hamilton of Coatesville.
In the cinder-block corridors of the Palestra before the game, Lucas saw Joe "Jellybean" Bryant, the former La Salle star and NBA forward against whom Lucas had played.
"What are you doing here?" Lucas said.
"My son plays for Lower Merion," Bryant said. "What are you doing here?"
"My wife wants me to see some kid named Kobe," Lucas said.
"That's my son," Bryant said.
Lucas saw what the rest of the basketball world was seeing, including all the college coaches who were forming a line to recruit Kobe. Lucas didn't recruit him, but after the high school season was over, he invited Bryant to some informal workouts with the Sixers.
"Back then, the rules were nowhere near what they are now," Lucas said. "When I was in Cleveland, I tried that with LeBron James and they suspended me two games."
Bryant began to work out with Lucas after the Sixers finished their regular practices and he found himself paired up individually against some of the players. Bryant went at it one day with Vernon Maxwell, almost 30 years old and a seven-year NBA veteran.
"They were playing to 10, and it got to 9-9 and it was so rough, I thought they were going to fight with each other," Lucas said. "I said to myself, 'I want somebody who's going to fight at 9-9.' "
Lucas used Bryant as the litmus test that summer for players he might take with the third pick in the 1995 draft. According to Lucas, Antonio McDyess, a 6-foot-9 power forward who was taken by the Clippers with the second pick, was the only one who beat Bryant, and that included Jerry Stackhouse, the eventual pick, and a number of others.
"I based my draft on that. Kobe played them all one-on-one," Lucas said. "That summer, he trained with the team and went through the entire program. He got up every morning and worked out with us at 6 a.m."
Back at Lower Merion for his senior season, Bryant and the Aces won the state championship and it was clear that Bryant would be heading straight into the NBA draft. It was a talented draft class that included Iverson, Marcus Camby, Shareef Abdul-Rahim, Stephon Marbury and Ray Allen. Bryant, who wouldn't turn 18 until August, was projected to be taken near the middle of the round - except by John Lucas.
"There was no question in my mind, he was the best player," Lucas said. "He wasn't only the most skilled, but I never had anybody work at that level. I heard him tell kids something at a camp once, years later. He said, 'Some people want to be the gazelles that are able to run alongside the lions. And there's nothing wrong with that. But I never wanted to be a gazelle.' "
Bryant became a lion in Los Angeles instead. It could have been here. Time and place didn't match up, though. It just missed.
"I think Philadelphia has always had a love-hate relationship with Kobe," Lucas said. "But he would have been up there on Mount Rushmore in Philly, with Hal Greer and Wilt and Doc. He should be up there."
bford@phillynews.com
@bobfordsports
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