Evenard M. Panes
Spennies
Sports InsiderFrom Playground Legend to NBA Star.
January 8th 2008 10:50
When watching street basketball, such as the guys from And1, a common utterance from gobsmacked audiences is: ‘why aren’t these cats playing, pro?’ That is a good question.
Believe it or not, a lot of the stuff that streetballers are able to manufacture on court, the pros
can’t replicate. Even so, players that have honed their skills on the concrete courts of the city don’t usually make good pros. For every Connie Hawkins, there is a Lloyd Daniels.
However, there is one streetball god who is bucking the trend: Rafer ‘Skip to My Lou’ Alston, who plies his trade with the Houston Rockets.
Do you readers know as to why the And1 Mix Tape Tour is so popular now? Look no further than Skip. It was his underground streetball videos that made the And1 heads sit up and take notice. He is the reason why streetball has reached the mainstream.
Making the leap from playground to the bright lights of the NBA wasn’t a seamless transition, with the street skills that Skip was so famous for disappearing. Alston initially had little to no impact on the league with the Milwaukee Bucks. After being traded to the Miami Heat, Alston began to flourish and was seen to be capable of running a team (let’s not talk about his time in Toronto though).
Now, with Houston, Skip was bought in by Jeff Van Gundy who has a history of dealing with supposedly, surly players and bringing the best out of them. For a long while, Alston was seen as expendable for the Rockets, but is now an integral part of the team.
How did ‘Skip to My Lou’, become Rafer Alston, NBA starter? Well, it was a lot of hard work and breaking down his game back to the basics. After an offseason where he improved his offensive skills, the work has now finally paid off after a hairy beginning shooting at just 37 percent from the field.
One of the biggest problems with Skip was his tendency to gun it from long range, but now has settled into a smarter player, driving the ball and scoring at a higher rate.
"I think Rafer's really done a nice job in the last week and a half, two weeks doing that," coach Rick Adelman said. "I think he has a mindset because of the opportunities there. The way teams are trying to defend us, it's going to be open. If we set a good screen for him, or any of the guards, if they're going to put two guys on Yao, there's no one to help, and he can attack the basket. We have to do it that way. We have to attack." (Feigen, Houston Chronicle, 2008)
Once upon a time, you wouldn’t dare give Skip the ball during the closing minutes of a tight contest. Now, he is a proven game winner, as evidenced by his performance against the Orlando Magic last week with a last gasp basket.
Today’s video is the mix tapes that made Rafer such a cult basketball personality.
Believe it or not, a lot of the stuff that streetballers are able to manufacture on court, the pros
Skip to My Lou, skipping to the basket. (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
However, there is one streetball god who is bucking the trend: Rafer ‘Skip to My Lou’ Alston, who plies his trade with the Houston Rockets.
Do you readers know as to why the And1 Mix Tape Tour is so popular now? Look no further than Skip. It was his underground streetball videos that made the And1 heads sit up and take notice. He is the reason why streetball has reached the mainstream.
Making the leap from playground to the bright lights of the NBA wasn’t a seamless transition, with the street skills that Skip was so famous for disappearing. Alston initially had little to no impact on the league with the Milwaukee Bucks. After being traded to the Miami Heat, Alston began to flourish and was seen to be capable of running a team (let’s not talk about his time in Toronto though).
Now, with Houston, Skip was bought in by Jeff Van Gundy who has a history of dealing with supposedly, surly players and bringing the best out of them. For a long while, Alston was seen as expendable for the Rockets, but is now an integral part of the team.
How did ‘Skip to My Lou’, become Rafer Alston, NBA starter? Well, it was a lot of hard work and breaking down his game back to the basics. After an offseason where he improved his offensive skills, the work has now finally paid off after a hairy beginning shooting at just 37 percent from the field.
One of the biggest problems with Skip was his tendency to gun it from long range, but now has settled into a smarter player, driving the ball and scoring at a higher rate.
"I think Rafer's really done a nice job in the last week and a half, two weeks doing that," coach Rick Adelman said. "I think he has a mindset because of the opportunities there. The way teams are trying to defend us, it's going to be open. If we set a good screen for him, or any of the guards, if they're going to put two guys on Yao, there's no one to help, and he can attack the basket. We have to do it that way. We have to attack." (Feigen, Houston Chronicle, 2008)
Once upon a time, you wouldn’t dare give Skip the ball during the closing minutes of a tight contest. Now, he is a proven game winner, as evidenced by his performance against the Orlando Magic last week with a last gasp basket.
Today’s video is the mix tapes that made Rafer such a cult basketball personality.
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