Jameer Nelson Shows the Magic Some Brotherly Love

If anyone had any doubts about Jameer Nelson’s injured shoulder, he proved them wrong last week by making an appearance at a Phillies home game vs the Diamondbacks,and throwing out the first pitch. Many of his Magic teammates were along to witness their point guard’s appearance and even took in some pregame batting practice and watched the game from a luxury box at the stadium.

That wasn’t the only reason that the former St. Joe’s product and National Player of the Year in ’04, was back in his hometown. He annually runs his own training camp with his Magic teammates like Vince Carter, Matt Barnes, Rashard Lewis and Philly natives and current players like Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Mo Speights, Kyle Lowery(Philly native and former Villanova pg), and Dionte Christmas(Temple). Since making it out of the crime infested Philadelphia suburb of Chester, Nelson has been a model teammate while in the NBA.

Nelson also spoke to his former Chester High coach, Fred Pickett, whom with he won 2 PA State Championships, about getting a Chester AAU basketball program under way. The Chester area has produced many Division 1 and NBA caliber talents like Tyreke Evans with the Sacramento Kings, Nasir Robinson at Pitt, Darren Govens at St. Joe’s, and Nelson with the Magic.

Most teams encourage players to work on their game during the offseason but very few actually follow through. They savor the time off and rest their aching knees and other ailments from the rigors and pounding of an NBA season. Nelson is one of the few who organize a training camp of their own to improve and get acclimated with new teammates.

The Magic need a healthy Nelson, who averaged 16.7 points and 5.4 assists and named to the All-Star Team before the injury, to compete in an ever improving Eastern Conference and get back to the Finals.

College Freshmen to NBA Rookies-Who Will Make the Best Pros?

 

 

The former high school basketball recruiting class of 2008 has become one of the best groups of talented players in recent history. Many of these highly touted recruits have more than lived up to the hype and gone on to become superstars in the NCAA ranks. While a few stayed to enjoy the college atmosphere for another season, most have used their freshman seasons as a springboard to NBA stardom. If you are like me, when you watched the NBA draft almost a month ago, you noticed that many NBA teams go young by drafting players with only one or two seasons of college experience. As results from the Las Vegas Summer League filter in show, this move is apparently a good one. Although we won’t truly know for a number of years, here is a look at some of the higher draft picks Summer league progress from the Class of 2008:

 

Tyreke Evans – The highly touted guard from Chester, Pa was on the cover of several basketball magazines from age 14. He was guided by his support squad of mainly family friends touted “Team Tyreke”, to steer clear of the gang violence and criminal activity of his notorious hometown. He followed another former native of Chester and current member of the Magic, Jameer Nelson, to the college ranks at the University of Memphis. Tyreke was spectacular averaging 17.1ppg, 5.4 rebounds, and 4 assists which earned him the #4 pick of the Sacramento Kings. Las Vegas Summer League results have been impressive with Evans averaging 24 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists.

 

Brandon Jennings – When the #1 prospect from the 08′ class made a daring move to forego a college basketball career and play in Europe for one season, many where quick to criticize. After averaging less than 10 points in limited action in Italy, the Bucks made him the #10 pick in this year’s draft. He hasn’t disappointed averaging 15 points, 8 assists, and shooting 50% from the 3pt line.

 

Demar Derozan – The 6’7 swingman from Compton HS in California has loads of NBA potential. The #3 prospect from the 08′ class was thrust into Youtube fame with his dazzling above the rim skills as a freshman in HS by averaging more than 26 ppg. After mixed results in college at USC during his lone regular season, Demar showed flashes of his potential leading his team deep into the NCAA Tournament earning him the #9 pick of the Raptors. He could be the eventual replacement if Chris Bosh leaves via free agency in 2010. Results this Summer have been good averaging 15 points and 5 rebounds.

 

B J Mullens – Many NBA executives passed on drafting the skilled 7 footer and #9 prospect in the 08′ class from Canal Winchester, Ohio in the first round. After a tremendous HS career that included many dominating performances scoring more than 50 points being posted all over the Internet, he was destined to be the next great center at Ohio State. Although deemed a bit of a disappointment and amid recruiting violations, he was drafted #24 by Dallas and immediately traded to OKC Thunder to be part of an ever improving nucleus of young players. Summer results show he will need more time to develop averaging only 7 points and 3 rebounds.