played with a pro

[Galoot67]

The other day i was playin 21 with three other dudes at the Ymca. This other guy was 6'9, not really muscle or fat just big. He was nasty. He would dribble by me like lightening, I couldnt guard him, he would just pull back from three and bang everything. On the other hand my i was on top of my game. For being 6'7 from a small town i can handle myself in the guard position. My range from the three is very good. I practice my shot alot. Anyways i was banging threes on this dude, and i got by him maybe twice by accident. He asked me if i played anywhere. I was shocked. I was like um no. Then i said what about you? It turns out he is a professional over seas in Germany. I was like so that explains it. I always wanted to know what it was like to play against/with a pro. Its was out of this world. He was huge and so fast it amazed me. So freikin quick. I cant imagine what MJ or Kobe is like on the court. Any of you bro's ever play against someone at this dudes level?

[dirtybrit55]

play with ex-pros and current pros who play in the Euro leagues when I am home in England over the summer. Real good competition. I played with Terrance Morris who was a first round draft pick out of Maryland this year.

[allsaucedup]

i played d-1 college ball at houston so i have played against a few i also played in a league in australia for 2 seasons go payed well for that. i am 6'8" and played the 4 spot in college then played 2 and 3 in australia. still play agianst some pros at a couple of gyms in houston during the summer (fonde reck center and westside tennis club) alot of the rockets play pickball there. you want to see quick try staying infront of steve francis

[Homer 8]

i played pro ball in ireland but the standard is not to be compared with the rest of europe i came up against guys playing internationals who were just amazing it was unreal. never played against nba players in comp just john stockton in a mess at a camp here also mario ellise of the spurs played here for a season

[Rsox1]

to be honest i follow basketball in many european countries as well as the united states, and let me tell you something almost anyone can be a pro in europe. There are literally 250 leagues through out europe all with 3 to 4 levels ( almost like minor league baseball). I saw a guy who was only alright in high school, ie 12 points 5 assists, and even more mediocre at a division 3 college 7 points 4 assists get picked up. The problem for American's is that most foreign teams are only allowed two american's per team, this prevents American's from ruling the european basketball world. I once saw a pro irish team called the waterford crystals play and holy cross an ok mid major team beat them 112-40 and this was in the middle of the season for the irish team and just an pre-season exhibition with mostly bench players playing for HC. The team was soooooooo bad and they were actually pro's, a decent high school team could have beat them easily , so when someone says they are a pro in europe don't just assume they are good, they may just not be that bad.

[Stoobs67]

to be honest i follow basketball in many european countries as well as the united states, and let me tell you something almost anyone can be a pro in europe. There are literally 250 leagues through out europe all with 3 to 4 levels ( almost like minor league baseball). I saw a guy who was only alright in high school, ie 12 points 5 assists, and even more mediocre at a division 3 college 7 points 4 assists get picked up. The problem for American's is that most foreign teams are only allowed two american's per team, this prevents American's from ruling the european basketball world. I once saw a pro irish team called the waterford crystals play and holy cross an ok mid major team beat them 112-40 and this was in the middle of the season for the irish team and just an pre-season exhibition with mostly bench players playing for HC. The team was soooooooo bad and they were actually pro's, a decent high school team could have beat them easily , so when someone says they are a pro in europe don't just assume they are good, they may just not be that bad.

I hear ya, I actually knew a couple other kids that played over seas and they were good but nothing like this dude. Pro or not the guy I played against was at a level ill probably never see.

[Galoot67]

I hear ya, I actually knew a couple other kids that played over seas and they were good but nothing like this dude. Pro or not the guy I played against was at a level ill probably never see.

I was signed in under another name from a while back, whoops. I was wondering why i had no post count.

[Homer 8]

thats very true the standard in europe is sh.it hands up i played against holy cross last season with tolka rovers and beat them by 40 points they need some new gaurds. and there big guy cant do shi.t he's 7'6 and missed a wide open jam thats impossible but he is from europe (england).
waterford aint a good team at all but when they played the junior and senior irsh team were away so the really only played there junior mens against them with the exception of one or two.
and you have to remember aswell for an irish player his dream is to play in the states so most of the decent players are there already except for the injured and forgoten like myself

[Rsox1]

the 7 foot 7 kid your talking about is my best friend his name is neil, and actaully he is a very very good player. he has just had debilitating back problems, he has gotten that taken care of now and is dominating summer camps, because his agent is a moron and snet the draft note too late declare him from the draft he could go but jim bryant, kobe's dad who is a coach said that he would have been a first rounder with his body holding up like it is now, if you pm me i will send you a copy of the tape to show u the diffence, and by the way he still scored 20 and 12 with 4 blocks on you guys =) i was there, good luck with the upcoming season though

[Fame]

I've played against numerous NBA players, college players, and high school phenoms. I went to St. Johns University, and although i wasnt a D-1 bball player, i played a lot of ball there, open rec nights, and local street courts...ex. johnies like Mullen and Jackson were regulars (no joke, mullin used to pull up from 2 steps in front of half court 5/6 times a game, and hit 99% of his shots)...My team played a bunch of the sju guys at jewel park one time (artest was the best one there, barkely wasnt there, it was just him and some big men), and we held out own, but they killed us on the boards....the thing i notice is their strength and range. I've played w/ a lot of high caliber players, but the nba players are just so strong. they dont have to be fancy, they just use muscle and form (ron artest is the best example of this)...i've changed my game recently and said 'f the funky moves, im just going hard and strong' and i kill guys now, i dont care if its not pretty lol.....but those guys can shoot from anywhere...put them in section 222 row J in the garden and they are hitting 8out of 10 shots

[Homer 8]

i kinda tot that he had back probs cos befor and after the game ur phsyio seemed to be doing alot of work on it. i aint putting the kid down he got game but was a little bit unsteady thats all. what role did u play. what did u think of our 1 gaurd he is only 16 and is shi.t quick he just needs to grow a bit he's off to missipi him and his girlfriend who is also the top junior womens player in the country.

[Rsox1]

you guys are a good team and if I remeber correctly you had a good record in your league. The problem is and i know this is going to cause a ton of problems in this forum and I hope it doesn't get me thrown off, but i have to be honest, and being honest is going to tell you I would be shocked if a european team ever beats a good college team, and the reason is miost european teams have no black players. I have played ball my whole life and let me tell you 75% of the good players I have played against have been black, and the one white kid has been babied by the aau and camps his whole life. Black people were built to play the game, I can never explain it, I have argued with black teammates, but the fact is and always will be black people will almost alwyas be better at basketball, I don't have any scientific proof just the fact that I belive 8 out of ten allstars this year were black, thats what i think is holding back the european game, they have good fundamentals, but no where near the althectic ability.

[Fame]

um..u do realize the US took 6TH PLACE at the world championships dont you? And yes, there are many euro teams that can dominate college teams with ease, no question.

[Rsox1]

You must be kidding, that team was nothing but an all star team of pre maddona's that do not take the game seriously they are there for the free trip. I will take any top 15 team against any euro team there is and i would be willing to bet 8 out of ten times the college team wins, those all star teams practice for months together just so they can win one game against the US. Most of these playersw think just like Iverson "practice who needs practice"

[allsaucedup]

the 7 foot 7 kid your talking about is my best friend his name is neil, and actaully he is a very very good player. he has just had debilitating back problems, he has gotten that taken care of now and is dominating summer camps, because his agent is a moron and snet the draft note too late declare him from the draft he could go but jim bryant, kobe's dad who is a coach said that he would have been a first rounder with his body holding up like it is now, if you pm me i will send you a copy of the tape to show u the diffence, and by the way he still scored 20 and 12 with 4 blocks on you guys =) i was there, good luck with the upcoming season though

Kobe Bryant's dad is not jim bryant his name is Joe Bryant his nickname was jellybean

[Rsox1]

excuse me wrong first name my name is jim lol

[Harvey Balboner]

In high school i played against Kevin Garnett & Shamond Williams, and a few washed up nba's on a touring team in a state tournament all star team.

KG was a freak.

[PIMPOLOGY101]

I have played against people like Chris Bosh, held him to 3 points, Lebron James, Admire Stoudaimere, T.J Ford, Daniel Ewing, I worked out with Emeka Okafor we had the same Personnel Trainer. I played against all these guys in AAU bball and T.J Ford and Daniel Ewing were on my team out of Houston.

[Bob Balco]

Ya.....welll.....i banged Sue Bird then dunked on her.

[Olympic_Caliber]

I played with Rashard Lewis ( Seattle SuperSonics) and Nudi Ebi ( Minesota Timberwolves). I went to school with both of them in Houston because I switched schools once in highschool.

[AustrianOAK14]

you went to school with both of them i think ther elike 6t years apart bro

[BigGreen]

When I was just getting into high school, guys like Wayne Turner and Chris Herren were just on their way out (Pitino called Turner the best one-on-one player he's ever seen on a basketball court and Herren was probably one of the most talented players ever to squander natural ability...had a book written about him when he was a junior in HS) and I was amazed by their ability.

The thing that always struck me the most, however, was playing with or against an elite big man. My high school team had a 6'11" center, but he was very much the stereotypical goon. He went on to play D1 ball, but was some aloof all of his career. Playing against NBA caliber big men (played with Matt Bonner for a bit as well as Randall Jackson), however, I'm just amazed at how they're able to move like the 5'10" players on most high school teams. I mean, you look at them and every part of you just wants to assume they're somewhat slow and clumsy, but they move in the most amazing way. Blows me away.

[Rhino58]

I play every so often with Hanik Milligan, he plays for the chargers though.

[AustrianOAK14]

i played against jared jeffries boy is ****ing real skinny i bet he cant even bench 165

[cutmass]

here in fresno i've played with quite a few the central valley in california is i think one of the best places to play ball at. ive played with chris herren(nba), tremain folks, melvin ely(nba), chris jeffries,(nba) deshawn stevenson(nba) chris hernandez(staring pg at stanford) tyron jackson(asu) plus much more that have gone somewhere or are gonna go somewhere the valley is the **** when it comes to b-ball.

[***xxx***]

thats funny, how come that usa lost world championship against european teams and olypia too? and yes, nba stars were playing in the world championship...still they got there ass whipped

[***xxx***]

ah, I just read that u had an nba allstar team at Athens and still got ur ass whipped - so no more poor excuses...

[***xxx***]

Dream team collapse in nightmare

Lawrence Donegan in Athens
Monday August 16, 2004
The Guardian

So much for the pre-game suggestion by one of the numerous American assistant coaches that his players need to be "scared" into believing that winning the Olympic basketball gold medal would be hard. Never mind a scare; this was an humiliation.
In what can justifiably be described as the greatest shock in international basketball history, Puerto Rico beat the United States by 92 points to 73 in the Helliniko indoor arena last night.

This is the measure of it. A squad of 12 NBA players, including LeBron James, a $100m-a-year Nike marketing machine and 11 other stars, was played off the court by a squad captained by a 40-year-old has-been with a dodgy knee.This is another: the US captain Allan Iverson makes more from his annual shoe contract with Reebok than the entire Puerto Rican team have made in their careers. Or, again, the US team is spending the duration of the Olympics in $1,000-a-night suites in the Queen Mary. The Puerto Ricans are shacked up in the athletes' village.

Of course, money does not measure the men. But rarely has it been made to look so foolish. Out-passed and out-shot from the start, the US team was down by 22 points at half-time. They rallied in the third quarter, reducing the deficit to nine points but by the end the Puerto Ricans were making uncontested lay-ups.

Throughout the match the contrast between the cluelessness of the US and the sound, simple play of the Puerto Ricans was staggering. The half-time score of 49-27 in the underdogs' favour did them a disservice. Carlos Arrroyo, a 6ft 1in point guard, ran rings around his opposite number, Stephon Marbury of the New York Knicks. In the first half alone Arroyo scored nine points to Marbury's two.

The officials statistics listed him with two assists but that hardly reflected his influence on the game. This was the man who two years ago was deemed expendable by the worst team in the NBA, the Denver Nuggets, and let go.

What does Arroyo's performance last night say about the judgment of some of those who hold sway in the NBA? And what does it say about his chance of making a real name for himself next year when he gets a second chance with the NBA's Utah Jazz.

It goes without saying that the coach Larry Brown's team were presumptive favourites for the Olympic gold, and not just because the country hosts the NBA, the best league in the world. The US record against other nations in Olympic tournaments prior to last night was hilariously lop-sided; games won 109; games lost two. Since 1992, when the original Dream Team swanned into Barcelona to win gold, it was 24-0.

To the untrained eye that superiority seemed obvious last night, even during the warm-up, when the US team ran out on to the court to join their under-sized opponents, like a troupe of Gullivers ambling into the VIP room of a Lilliputian nightclub.

However, knowledgeable observers were sceptical, unconvinced that James, Iverson and colleagues will be able to rouse themselves for a tournament they were expected to cruise through. The scepticism was not unfounded.

For one thing the US finished a poor sixth at last year's basketball world championships in Indianapolis. For another they endured a mortifying warm-up to the Olympic tournament, losing by 17 points to Italy a couple of weeks ago. Brown and his players reassured the American media that everything would be fine when the games became serious. Yet, in truth, the Italian botch job and last night's defeat should have been no surprise to anyone who cared to look at what has happened to US basketball in recent years.

To make it on to highlight reels shown on American sports TV's most watched programme, ESPN's Sportcenter, an athlete has to come out with flashy plays which are risky in the context of a close-fought game like last night's. Longer term, this obsession with showboating over fundamentals met its inevitable conclusion at the Helliniko arena.

"Can't defend, can't pass and can't shoot" is no mantra to take on to a basketball court no matter who the opponent. And, when opponents are having the night of their lives, watch out. Needless to say the hyper-critical American media will have a field day with this result, even though the Americans could still qualify for the quarter-finals if they are in the top four of their six-man team.

If they want scapegoats, how about Brown, anointed the doyen of the coaching fraternity after guiding his Detroit Pistons team to the NBA championship earlier this summer? Despite his recent record he sent out a team that could not hold on to the ball. Bereft, the NBA superstars resorted to the individualism that has made them all rich. Last night's Sportcenter's highlight reel will have been a short one indeed

http://sport.guardian.co.uk/olympics...283990,00.html

[Harvey Balboner]

ah, I just read that u had an nba allstar team at Athens and still got ur ass whipped - so no more poor excuses...

That wasn't exactly the US' best players, most of the ones originally invited dropped out for injuries or personal reasons.

[cutmass]

ah, I just read that u had an nba allstar team at Athens and still got ur ass whipped - so no more poor excuses...

how ****en stupid can u be. that wasnt close to being the the nba elite team playin in the olympics i should ****en slap u silly if everyone of the best players in the nba were on that team it would have been usa all the way hands down. i dont know how many people would argue with that. u must not know ball

[***xxx***]

so u never come with ur best athletes to the olympics or world championship even in ur own country. now that makes sense it s nothing bad about losing, only bitching and poor excuses are bad. just accept the loss and make it better enxt time

[cutmass]

ur an idiot all those guys wish they can play in the nba and if u really knew basketball u would know that 8 out of those 10 or 11 players wouldnt even be on that team if everyone that should have played wanted to play

[***xxx***]

and ur ignoratn thats all but don t whine, the US is gonna beat Argentinia the next time...or Puerto Rico

[cutmass]

anyways im sure ull find nobody on here that agrees with u. but have fun cheering for ur international squads.

[clampitt]

so u never come with ur best athletes to the olympics or world championship even in ur own country. now that makes sense it s nothing bad about losing, only bitching and poor excuses are bad. just accept the loss and make it better enxt time

thats right. Our players make all the big bucks playing in the season...and see no need to play in the olympics or what not. But america should still win it; ****..they could win it with a college team. UNC??.


the reason they didnt, was because they had a bunch of selfish 1 on 1 players trying to act like they knew how to play ball. While you had a team like ARGENTINA, that probably has been playing with eachother more than 6 months; living in the same fricken house and doing everything as a team. TEAM BALL.

i say the team that wins the NBA finals...has to play in the world championships.


ON a side note: OUR baseball team is comprised of college kids and minor leaguers. How sad is that.

[cutmass]

its not even that the real stars some didnt wanna lose there vacation and some didnt wanna risk terroist attacks. the team that was out there was real young and inexperienced it was kinda like the nba just wanted them to get some international experience. imagin jason kidd, allen iverson, lebron james, kevin garnett, tim duncan, vince carter, steve nash, kobe bryant, shaq, tracy mcgrady just to name a few those dudes alone could carry the usa to last summers olympic gold.

[itsjinx]

The other day i was playin 21 with three other dudes at the Ymca. This other guy was 6'9, not really muscle or fat just big. He was nasty. He would dribble by me like lightening, I couldnt guard him, he would just pull back from three and bang everything. On the other hand my i was on top of my game. For being 6'7 from a small town i can handle myself in the guard position. My range from the three is very good. I practice my shot alot. Anyways i was banging threes on this dude, and i got by him maybe twice by accident. He asked me if i played anywhere. I was shocked. I was like um no. Then i said what about you? It turns out he is a professional over seas in Germany. I was like so that explains it. I always wanted to know what it was like to play against/with a pro. Its was out of this world. He was huge and so fast it amazed me. So freikin quick. I cant imagine what MJ or Kobe is like on the court. Any of you bro's ever play against someone at this dudes level?

I played against Jordan one time. I drilled him 21 to 11. He sucks. JUST KIDDING. that would be a sweet story to tell though!