I had a weekend of Madness and was live blogging 3 games over the weekend. I also was hanging out in the Score Live Blog with D.J Bennett making some new basketball friends. I was unable to watch the complete version of the Raptors and Clippers. However the result is not a shock. The Clippers truly suck. I mean as bad as it has been in Toronto, it is nothing in comparison to the Clippers. Raptor fans had high expectations and that may be why it hurts a little more. Clipper fans, if there truly is such a thing, have been use to failure. They might have had hope with Baron Davis and Marcus Camby. However hope in Clip Nation is like a moth to a flame it doesn't last long. The same can be said for the Raptors win on Sunday. The one thing folks may remember is a steal and a dunk but Jose Calderon. In his entire time as a Raptor I can not recall Jose throwing down a dunk. I am thinking it will be a rare event that you can tell you grand kids you saw it. Raptors will have till Wednesday to enjoy a win. Bucks will come in still very much alive in a playoff race and Charlie V will be twittering away from the ACC. The sad reality of things is the Raptors have been reduced to the roll of a spoiler. They will be playing a lot of teams fighting for the right to get demolished by the Boston Celtics.
James Harden Off My Draft Board
I kept hearing Raptor fans talking up James Harden and that he was the guy for the Raptors. After watching to less than impressive performances in the NCAA tournament from him for ASU. I am not convinced. What people do in the NCAA Tournament means a lot to me and scouts tend to look at it close as well. What do you do when the lights are the brightest? How do you perform under the glare of them? The answer for James Harden is not so hot. If the Raptors are some how lucky enough to hit the lotto and get in the top 3. The guy that I would like to see is Haseem Thabeet. The big guy from UConn is a defensive beast and has drawn comparisons to Mutumbo. Not the old Mutumbo you see now, the you finger wagging shoot blocking force. If not so lucky and Raptors slot in around where they are suppose to select which would be 7th currently I believe. The guy that I think might make sense as much as I hate the school is Gerald Henderson. The Duke product is a slashing scoring guy that sticks out in a Duke system that is not exactly designed for a player with his skill set. Yet he still funds ways to be very effective in it. Those are some early draft thoughts from me. There is lots of time before the draft to break down the entire draft class. But those are some thoughts on 3 guys that should be hearing their name called in June.
Nathan Jawai Back From His D-League Mission
I was surprised to see Nathan Jawai in a suit at the ACC on Sunday. He had a nice run in the D-League and put up a some decent numbers. What I also learn about Nate is as nice as he is the big guy has a temper on the floor. It was not an uncommon thing to see technical foul and Nathan Jawai in an NBDL boxscore. I welcome that kind of aggression and anger to this squad. Raptors need much more of it. Pops Mensah-Bonsu and Nathan Jawai are two of the bigs the Raptors should have moving forward. Both bring some defense and rebounding which have been sorely lacking on this basketball team. Jawai still has a long way to go. However he does have an impressive skill set and showed it much more in the D-League than he had with the Raptors. That was the point of his trip to Idaho in the first place. But he is heading back to Idaho and was in town for some tests and should be back with Stampede by mid-week according to Doug Smith in the Star.
He has averaged in 10 games:
12.2 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in an average of 25 minutes on the floor.
It will be a key summer for Nathan to take all that he has learned this season and apply it this off-season. I have not given up on the big man and think he can come back next season and hopefully have an impact. Upon further review it seems Nathan may be sticking around as Andrea Bargnani missed yesterday with a heel injury. Jawai may stick around for the end of the season and get some time as Raps reality sets in as a playoffs math is almost done.
Sorry for the lack of production on behalf of the Dino Blogger over the weekend. I am always working hard though know that. Sometimes it takes awhile to see that as I do a lot of work behind the scenes in getting guests for the Dino Nation Blog and setting up things that hopeful will add to you enjoyment of this blog and keep you coming back for more. In what has been a very tough season I am grateful for all of you that keep coming back. It is always good motivation to keep working hard and grinding it out. Raptor fans are first rate and have a ton of passion, love and support for this team and hopefully this blog as well.
Brent Petway was a star with the Michigan Wolverines and he can flat of sky. It was a great thrill as a fan of the Michigan Wolverines to get a chance to talk basketball and dunking with him. The Dino Blogger can only dream of what it is like to dunk a basketball. This guy does it very well. He also is trying make his way to the NBA with D-League Idaho Stampede. He is in his second year in Idaho and he talks with us about a number of things from dunking, his thoughts on how his old school is doing and thoughts on newest team mate Nathan Jawai. One of the things we talk about is a YouTube Video in which he throws down a challenge to "Superman" Dwight Howard. Check it out.
So what ever happened with that challenge? Did Dwight ever answer it?
Brent Petway-" Nah he never did. But I think next year we are going to actually be able to do that, the winner of the D-League contest against the winner of the NBA contest I think, I am not sure. But next year it might actually materialize."
If it did that could mean that Brent could end of facing Lebron James. James of course made it known that he plans on entering the contest next year in Dallas in front of what could be over 100,000 people according to what Mark Cuban the Mavs owner is said to be hoping for. I asked Brent about the chance of a James vs Petway dunk off.
Brent Petway-" Yeah, that would be really fun. Any of those guys really. It would be a good little show off."
Brent was in the Finals and lost in this year's D-League dunk off. He was the defending champion of the event. He had a chance to check out the NBA version and I asked him for his thoughts on that.
Brent Petway-" It was actually pretty good. We had are D-League dunk contest the night before and that was great. I watched the NBA one and Dwight came with some stuff and Nate Robinson I liked the nice little kryptonite thing he had. It was a nice little contest they had. It was fun to see Nate get up and jumper over Dwight that was a good little dunk right there."
I had my 2 cents on the dunk contest this year and I was not as big a fan of it. However Brent knowing what it takes to do all those things likely has a much different prospective. Speaking of which I asked him about who some of his idols were as far as dunking goes. Growing up in Georgia he was a big fan as a kid of the "Human Hi-Light Reel" Dominique Wilkins and remembers his battles with Michael Jordan. Brent earned his own nick name of "Air Georgia" and he was also a fan of "Air Canada" Vince Carter as one of the guys he liked to watch. He credits Carter with putting the dunk contest back on the map. Which as much as Raptors fans may hate Vince now is 100% correct. Vince Carter really brought life back to the dunk contest after it had been gone for a few years and gave it a new life for guys like Dwight Howard, Josh Smith and guys like Brent.
I mentioned that Brent is a former member of the Michigan Wolverines here is a little visual reminder of him and his skills as a dunker back then.
Michigan is a huge sports school and part of the Big Ten of course. They have the crazy fans and basketball has always been a big deal at the U of M going back to Glen Rice and a National Title to the Fab Five era. So I wondered what the differences were from life as a Wolverine to life as a member of the Stampede. Here is what Brent had to say about that.
Brent Petway-" The Major difference is probably the fans definitely, because in college the fans are much more hardcore when it comes the fans. Alumni and students when you walk around the campus everyone pretty much knows you. As opposed to in the D-League people might not even know who you are unless you have a Stampede shirt on or something. Unless they were season ticket holders or something like that."
So which is better being known or having ability to go around with out getting noticed?
Brent Petway- "I don't know it goes both ways. When your known you have to sign a whole bunch of autographs and stuff when I was in the city when I was at Michigan. So sometimes when you are out you just want have fun and chill. Then there are other time when you are doing community relations and things where you are expecting to do those things. So it can go both ways."
One of the things that we in Canada do not have is the pride people have for the schools they attend. A lot of times here in Canada many of us will graduate from a college or university and may never set foot on campus again or follow the sports teams and programs. In United States it is a totally different story. If you are a Wolverine, Longhorn, Tarheel or whoever it is a lifetime thing. So I was pretty sure Brent would still be keeping tabs on the U of M. I asked him if had been following the Wolverines this year and what his thoughts were on how the program was doing and where it was heading.
Brent Petway-" It has been fun to watch. I have been keeping up with them as much as I can. On Sportscenter, catching there games when they come on and I still have a couple people in Detroit that I talk to now and then that are keeping me updated. They are fun to watch and they were ranked for a bit. Now they are on the bubble and hopefully they can get off that bubble and get in."
Toronto has a player on that U of M squad Jevohn Sheppard, and I asked Brent about how he got along with him?
Brent Petaway-" Yeah, Jevohn is a good guy I was there with him for 2 years. He has a little sky to his game as well, he can get up a little bit. He is a good guy to be around and he is having a good year as well"
Brent I am sure was happy to learn that the Wolverines were winners today on the road at Minnesota.Holding on for a hard fought come from behind victory 67-64. Still a week till we find out if it is the Tournament or the NIT for the Wolverines but this are going the right way. So, I think Brent would be cool with me saying Go Blue.
We have spent a lot of time talking about dunking which Brent is one of the best you will find at any level of basketball. However what else is he working on to take his game to that next level to get to the NBA?
Brent Petway- " I have just been working on what I can to get up there where big Nate(Jawai) is. Trying to be not just a dunker and I am trying to work on my outside game. There is a lot of stuff I am working on. Hoping that I get up there(To NBA ) and be one of those rotation players hopefully."
I asked Brent what his thoughts were about his new team mate from Australia in Nathan Jawai.
Brent Petway-" He is a good player. He came down here and he wanted play right away. He is a joy to be around and he always has a smile on his face. He loves to play the game, he likes to pass the ball, so he is always tell us to cut when he gets the ball. So I think he is going to be a great fit"
One of the things in the various things we having being doing about the D-League that I personally come back to is the challenge it must be for everyone to adapt to the ever changing rosters. There is constant player movement. I asked Brent about the challenge of that as a player.
Brent Petway-" Yeah it is really tough. Cause you have guys from the NBA coming down here. You'll have teammates leave and go overseas. So it is real tough just trying to keep the team chemistry. That is a big thing for the program to have a chemistry with your teammates. But it is just being a professional and you have to keep playing ball and let the chips fall where the may."
The Stampede are currently in a dog fight leading their Division and have Utah who they will play again on Monday and Bakersfield close to them in the standings. I asked Brent for his thoughts on what lies ahead for the Stampede?
Brent Petway-" It has been going well. I think we have like 14 games to go. We got a team right on our heels in Utah. They are playing good ball and we have them a couple more times. So hopefully we can keep doing what we have been doing and stay in first place and have some momentum heading into the playoffs."
Brent was really great to talk with. He also said that Pops Mensah-Bonsu is a good player and should help up here in Toronto. He is a guy who Bent said is very athletic. He knows a bit about him even back from his college days at George Washington. Brent had a friend from back home in Georgia who was his teammate on that squad at GW. Pops was pretty nice in his debut last night against the Heat. As for Brent he continues to work hard with the Stampede and is hopefully of making it to the NBA. He is also hopefully of doing what former Raptor Jamario Moon did and get a chance to shine on All Star Saturday night. He said to me he thinks if he ever gets that chance he will definitely try to turn some heads. Here is more evidence to why he could be right.
All the best to Brent with the rest of his season. Here is hoping he can make his way to the NBA. It was a great deal of fun to have him as a guest and I would welcome him back any time.
The Dino Nation Blog has been hard at work and touching based with our friends in Idaho. Today we had a chance to talk with Joel Abelson assistant coach of Idaho Stampede. He has worked with such NBA stars as Jermaine O'Neal, Baron Davis, Paul Pierce, Al Harrington, and Chauncey Billups, in working with Joe Abunassar with Impact Basketball in Vegas. He has also worked with the Charlotte Bobcats as well. He is now working with Toronto second round pick Nathan Jawai who joined the Stampede last week. He also chips in with a scouting report on Pops Mensah-Bonsu. We also talk about the current and future of NBDL league and prospects for the defending champion Stampede.
That is the kick off to our Stampede weekend. By time Sunday rolls a round you will also hear from Brent Petway who is a member of the Stampede in his second year with the club and a former Michigan Wolverine. He is a guy that is one of the best dunkers you are going to find. He once challenged Dwight Howard to a D-League vs NBA dunk off. We talk about Wolverine, Dunking and his career. We also ask him about his new team member Nathan Jawai. That will be the cap off for Stampede weekend as the Dino Nation Blog talks with Nathan Jawai. Both guys were on cell phones and quality was a little bit off. So these will be it written form. Hopefully you will enjoy it all. The Stampede organization has been really great to work with and the Dino Nation Blog has been happy to form a relationship with the Raptors affiliate in the D-League. Stampede will not be in action till Monday night and will have an update on how the make out but the Raptors will be hosting that Heat and Jazz before that. Stampede are fighting for first place and are looking to defend their D-League title. That is a lot more exciting than waiting for the draft lottery.
I had mentioned a feature we were going to be doing for the Dino Nation Blog. It was and is a feature series on the Idaho Stampede. It is said in life you have to be good to be lucky and lucky to be good. I say this because on the day of the first interview that is part of this feature, Nathan Jawai was assigned the Stampede about an hour prior to the interview I had scheduled to start this feature series. So it took the scheduled conversation with Steve Brandes the President of the Idaho Stampede to a few different places than I had planned. But it makes the conversation all the more interesting for you. We talk about Nathan as well as getting to know the Idaho Stampede, which no doubt many Raptor fans will be doing to follow Nathan's progress. His first game should be on Friday. Jim Kelly of the Raptors scouting staff will be in Idaho to help the Stampede be aware of what the Raptors are looking for Nate to work on in his time with them. There is also talk of the D-League as a whole, that actually just announced they will be expanding to Portland,Maine. It was a very interesting conversation that I hope you will enjoy.
Thanks to Jinny Giery the Head of Public Relations and Game Operations for helping put all of this together. Dino Nation Blog is going to continue on as planned with the feature on the Stampede and as we do keep taps on Big Nate and his progress. Nathan has also been special to this blog as I did a lot of work in the summer getting to learn his story and have had Aaron Fearne his coach and mentor as a guest several times. It should be fun and the Dino Nation Blog looks forward helping you get to know our D-League cousins so to speak. In the interview it was mentioned about how you can watch D-League games online. Some thing Raptors Fans have become experts at. So I will provide a link tomorrow so if you care to watch Nate play you can. You can find the links for D-League games on the their website
You can expect more on the Stampede in future editions of the blog. They are leading their division and the defending champions. Given the Raptors season and how it has gone I can only say...Go Stampede. Go Idaho and Go Big Nate. Obvious, I still love the Raptors as well but it has been a hard season to love them for Raptors fans.
If you ever have a question or concern or request. You can always contact the Dino Nation Blog @t Dinoblogger@gmail.com
I am always willing to talk with folks for interviews etc. I currently am doing 2 regular radio appearances weekly. But I am always willing to do more stuff large or small. Whatever it is you would like to discuss I will be happy to reply.
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