Kendrick ain’t the only kid from Compton TSS has love for. If you refer to the 12 NBA Young Guns To Watch (If There’s A Season) post, you’ll notice a fundamentally sound yet capable of the flash, sharp-witted point guard by the name of Brandon Jennings holding court in Milwaukee. Read the rest of this entry »

Sally Ferreira

Childish Gambino: “I Don’t Hate Backpackers” [The Urban Daily]

Louisville Football Coach Blames Call of Duty For Team’s Loss [The Big Lead]

Site to Resell MP3′s Has Critics [NYT] Read the rest of this entry »

Graphic: Dimplez

As the NBA lockout passes its 25th hour, TSS faithful (writers and loyal visitors alike) continue to hold a candlelight vigil outside league offices every night. We refuse to believe the owners and players can f*ck this up to the point an entire season is cancelled. So you know what we did? We write as if there will be one. Read the rest of this entry »

Brandon Jennings takes the Under Armour cameras back to L.A. with him for the latest “Under The Armour” video. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo: Jose3030

The NBA lockout drones on. But basketball, in and of itself, cannot be stopped by petty squabbles. Two notable street leagues, the Drew League and the Goodman League, joined up last night to hold a pickup game between some of their NBA regulars. Read the rest of this entry »

David Stern’s on vacation. NBA player representatives are mad about that. The lockout continues on. But Brandon Jennings is at work. Read the rest of this entry »

Nya Lee

The Top 10 Highest Grossing Films Of Summer (So Far) [Film Drunk]

‘Police Academy’ Star Bubba Smith Dies [Variety]

What Did Stringer Bell Do Wrong? [Quora]

Top Five Greatest Rap Hook Singers [West Coast Sound] Read the rest of this entry »

Call me a lot of things when it comes to being a NBA fan. A Miami Heat bandwagoner? That’s fair. A LeBron James stan? I’d say so. A Boston Celtics hater? With every fiber of my being. However, when I noted Derrick Rose was playing at a MVP-level in November, I meant it. Read the rest of this entry »

Slam and other media outlets are reporting that the 2011 Dunk Contest field is as follows: JaVale McGee, Brandon Jennings, Serge Ibaka, and as everyone hoped, Blake Griffin. It’s an interesting field and one where I’m not quite what to expected, but it’s certainly different. Read the rest of this entry »

Tierra

Montana Fishburne Seeks Inpatient Professional Help [TMZ]

The 15 Most Disturbing Documentaries of All Time [Complex]

10 Ways the NFL Can Punish Reggie Bush Properly [The BVX]

Ines Sainz Is Always Welcome In Our Locker Room [TSJ] Read the rest of this entry »

More highlight footage from the Boost Mobile Elite 24’s secret midnight run and the short clip features Tyreke Evans spinning, John Wall jumping, Brandon Jennings passing and DeMar DeRozan dunking. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m telling you now that the biggest obstacle in becoming the next Michael Jordan is height these days. Because the athleticism these little guys are displaying in 2010 is pretty uncanny. John Wall has yet to play a NBA game but he’s already making pro highlights. In a scrimmage at the Boost Mobile Elite 24 midnight run in Los Angeles last night, the #1 pick got jiggy wit’ it from a lob tossed from Brandon Jennings. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s time for the NBA playoffs and it couldn’t have come at a better time.  Baseball’s just warming up & a few months from warranting paying attention to it.  Only thing popping off with football is the draft & spring practices in college.  Hockey’s playoffs have begun, but you can’t even find those games on TV if you wanted to.  The Lakers appear to be in prime position to repeat, but there are capable teams in both conferences standing in the wings & waiting to take it off their hands.  Which makes the NBA playoffs the hot ticket, the intensity picks as the O’Brien trophy is the ultimate prize. Read the rest of this entry »

Jazlyn

Malcolm McLaren: Hip-Hop Pioneer [The Cutout Bin]

Jim Carrey: Elin Nordegren Was ‘Willing Participant’ In Tiger Woods’ Affairs [NY Daily News]

Testing the Mickey Rourke Hypothesis [Uproxx]

R.I.P. Big Proof: The Heart of the City [XXL]

Nicki Minaj Performing @ Spring Bling [RTNY]

Welcome Home Peedi Peedi! [57th Ave.] Read the rest of this entry »

l

Latavious Williams, a nationwide top 20 high school player according to Rivals.com, was in a rut last year. The Mississippi project signed a letter of intent to play for Josh Pastner at Memphis. Then NCAA academic eligibility issues arose over questionable credits accrued during an extra year in prep school. His situation meant that, despite his desire to play in college, he wouldn’t be able to suit up well into the season at the earliest. This came as a cause of concern as he planned to hit the ground running, then hit the pros ASAP. Ultimately, it lead to his family and agent exploring other avenues towards the NBA.

According to SLAM, Williams eyed six figure deals from teams throughout Europe and China. At that point, you’d think his choice was simple. Why wait around for the NCAA when you could bag a hefty deal across the pond?  Contract talks went sour and the exact opposite happened. Without any other viable options, Williams became the first high school player ever selected in the NBDL draft after wowing scouts at a workout session. Now, he has a shot at getting into the league after a year with the Tulsa 66ers. Arguably, that goal wasn’t in reach had he braved the NCAA or elsewhere.

I think it’s a good move considering the circumstances and helps promote the often overlooked D-League. The NBDL, while frowned upon, has produced success stories like Kelenna Azubuike and Matt Barnes. More & more players are using it as a way to establish professional careers every year as each team is affiliated with an NBA counterpart. It may not be as large or organized as minor league baseball, where there are leagues set up for rookies and high school draftees. Nevertheless, it’s a great opportunity for a prospect like Latavious to mature, expand his skill set at a semi pro level and cultivate his raw athletic ability all while staying in the USA.

He’s not setting the world on fire averaging 5 points, 6 boards and a block in 16 minutes per game. But he’s getting into the mindset of a pro ball player in a 50 + game season. He could have been more underdeveloped with a late start had he braved the NCAA. Moreover, even the NCAA’s best coaching staffs have a penchant to worry about getting wins and keeping their jobs rather than bettering talent on their roster (Duke anyone?). With that said, the NCAA is still the most tried and tested route to the NBA and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon, especially with the NBA’s arbitrary age eligibility rule.

Additionally, one has to wonder if going overseas will become a viable second option for future high school standouts. Brandon Jennings, last year’s top high school player, made waves when he signed to Pallacanestro Virtus Roma in Italy because he failed to pass Arizona’s entrance exam. He gained $3 Million USD last year between his contract and endorsement deal with Under Armour. Meanwhile NBDL players usually make between $12,000 to $24,000 a year. It’s not like he played against bums out there either as he put up less than stellar numbers. People seem to forget that the number of international players, especially those from Europe, are steadily growing in the NBA. Even more are capable but get held back by the fine print of their deals. So even though Jennings struggled he used that experience to become a runaway pick for rookie of the year in Milwaukee.

We can’t quite call the Latavious Experiment a success yet as it’s still in progress. But from the looks of things he’s eager to learn and bonding well with his teammates all while playing at an level of competition above college ball. Scouts are keeping an eye on him despite his off-putting size at 6’8” and 205 lbs. Most importantly, he has a shot at being picked based on his capability to be an athletic 4 with some range to boot. I’m not holding my breath for a NBDL renaissance via 18 and 19-year-olds as long as the NCAA and Europe are around. Then again, if Latavious makes the draft board in June, I wouldn’t be surprised if more high schoolers traveled the same trail he blazed for them.