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Troy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 01:07 am: | 
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OK it may be late and I probably should go to bed. But I jut wanted to be to first to go on record: Black's will lose their dominance (percentage of players) in the coming years. I see less than 50% Black players in 20 years based upon the following trends.
1 - Rap artist is the prefered ticket out of the ghetto for young Black men today.
2 - The NBA will expand upon efforts to pull non-Black players from the far reaches of the Earth.
3 - Fewer Black boys will have the grades to attend a University (The NBA farm system) and be drafted.
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ABM
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 02:16 am: |
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Troy,
And to that I express a resounding...HALLELUJAH!
That would be GREAT! There are TOO many young Black men living this fallacious NBA fantasy.
Look here, there are 30 NBA teams and each time has a roster of 12 players (not counting 2-3 injury reserve players). So, at the very most there are 360 - 400 NBA players, Black/White/Other.
Yet we have MILLIONS of Black boys fantasizing about something that they will never have even a remote chance of achieving. That is an ENORMOUS waste of physical/mental/emotional energies that could be applied in much more fruitful endeavors.
Honestly, I hope your predictions come sooner rather than later. Because that would provide a clear/sobering message to young Black men throughout the country that it is time to stop focusing so much on ballin' on the court and instead 'ball' in the classrooms, laboratories, libraries and business suites.
That is my wish.
HOWEVER...
I don't think Black will disappear from the NBA for this basic reason: The Black sports star - next to maybe the Black rapper - is the most stylish/compelling entertainer on earth.
White foks LOVE Black athletes. And Pro Basketball has grown in popularity MOSTLY via the gleam and showmanship of its Black greatest athletes.
Sure, Yao Ming is an interesting novelty. And the European athletes can ball. But they have the flare/personality of bedposts. And If the NBA becomes mostly White/Asian, its ratings/gate receipts would plummet inside of 10 years.
A perfect example of my argument is the National Hockey League. Pro Hockey is almost exclusively White American/Canadian/European and it has the worst gate receipts and rating of any of the big 4 team sports.
Conversely, the NFL is +70% African American and Pro Football is the most popular/lucrative team sport.
And I also think the Brothahs will eventually figure out the deal and they will construct systems/ways of re-asserting their B-Ball ascendancy.
Really, once Brothahs re-learn how to make a mid-range jumpshoot (which is what separated Michael Jordan from most of his contemporaries) and a correct bounce pass (which is what made Magic/Isaiah/Stockton/Byrd great), the European/Asian assault on the NBA will quickly become null and void. |
Troy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 08:30 am: |
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..time will tell.
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Chris Hayden
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 11:57 am: |
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Troy:
At one time Jews dominated basketball. At one time Irish dominated baseball. At one time you had white heavyweight champions, or at least some who could be serious contenders.
All things must pass. Another thing that will contribute to this is if black living standards rise. |
Cynique
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 12:40 pm: |
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A basketball player making it to the NBA is like a new author getting a book published by a big-time publishing house. Changes are slim.
Whatever. I personally think it will be a loong while before black gladiators disappear from the basketball arena. This is their natural venue. Why would they stop doing what they're good at and what pays them astronomical salaries. The players will get younger and younger, but they will still be black. Athletes of other races have more viable alternatives. |
Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 10:54 pm: |
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Cynique, put your right hand up in a fist....I'm giving you dap girl. I agree with you, we ain't going nowhere from that hardwood. I'm not going to address Troys 3 points because I think he doesn't believe those himself  . Troy, I know you know that's loose groung you're standing on. Oh Soot, he I go: 1 - Rap artist is the prefered ticket out of the ghetto for young Black men today.
Rap may be the prefered ticket but the bus is big enough to carry them all. The implied premise that time somehow narrows slots is invalid. In fact there will be more teams therefore more players. A little side note: Rapping is reminiscent to singing, one learns fairly quickly if he/she can't do it, it's a skill. Basketball on the other hand, although it too takes skills, one is continually progressing, therefore the dream stays alive....longer.
2 - The NBA will expand upon efforts to pull non-Black players from the far reaches of the Earth.
The teams MAY search far and wide but hell, they've been doing that! Like my girl Cynique said' this is our natural venue. We wakeup, go outside and play ball, allll daaaay loooong. Just as soccer is a "natural" sport in south America and other "far reaches of the world" we play ball. And think about it, to tighten your game a player has to mix it up with others of the same potential to hone his/her skills. That being the case, it could be argued that it takes 10 thousand decent/good players to make one, so it's going to take some time to come up with all these "replacements". And the fact is we are getting stronger, faster, AND smarter. Someone mentioned the Great White Hope (good one), how far have they reached looking for him huh and for how long, THERE IT IS! Oh I forgot, they do have Rocky
They've even tried the laboratory....can anyone say Mark Aquire(sp)
3 - Fewer Black boys will have the grades to attend a University (The NBA farm system) and be drafted.
Shame on you Troy, I can see the smirk on your face. Do I even have to address this one. First of all it's an insult, to suggest that we are digressing in the arena of education. Yes, there may be more crime, more drugs, more dropout, but those of our black youth that ain't going to that party are moving onward and upwards, AMEN. For arguement sake lets say we couldn't get into college. On any given night if you turn on SportsCenter, you'll probably see Labron James( Did Not Go To College), who's arguably one of the NBA's brightest stars. Switch the channel and oops, there's Tracy Mcgrady ( ditto....brightest stars). Need I say Ricky Davis now at Boston. Don't forget about the point gaurd for S A spurs, yep he's 19, and there's more! And if all else fails they will simply change the rules. So Troy, like I said, that stand your on is verda verda shaky ......You should take that money you swiped from Big Tony after that shootout and invest it in a NBA team, 20 years from now all the teams will be totally black!......I might have to adjust that a little.....just a little!
I don't know Cynique, we are starting to agree way to much 
Carey
Carey |
Cynique
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Tuesday, January 20, 2004 - 11:49 pm: |
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Well, Carey, you what they say about great minds running along the same path. Heh-heh. |
Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 04:46 am: |
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ABM, you are a very good .....lets say smoozer. You were riding along with Troy then bam, here's why that opinion doesn't hold water..... Hey.....come over here...come on, I don't want anyone to hear this..............pull my finger. ha hahaha you kill me man. If I had your gift of gab, I'd be dangerous!
Troy, were you serious or was you just trying to rile the natives?
Look at me, here it is past 4am and I'm still up laughing at this screen. Oh well, some of us have to work this morning.........and some DON'T....dang, that must be me ** BIG SMILE**
btw, where is JTF? You've been a bad boy, she doesn't come out and play and it's all because of YOU(LOL).
These old bones of mine do not like laying in one position too long, it's a *&%*! being old. I know I know, Tuff T*#%^ but somebodies got to suck it. But why me
Carey |
ABM
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 01:42 pm: |
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First, I guess I should address Troy’s suggestion that "Rap" may supplant NBA as the choice African American pathway to fame/fortune.
I agree to some degree that may occur.
I think that those who are tall (and some not-so-tall) and can ball are going to still ‘fire the rock’. However, for those who aren’t especially tall and are basketball-challenged, aren’t greatly skilled at other sports and have dropped out of high school; rap may be perceived as perhaps the only way a playah can ‘play’ (legally that is).
And now, back to the 'merits' of the NBA...
As I originally stated, I don’t think the fantasy of the great Black Athlete will dwindle anytime soon. Which is in some ways unfortunate.
As Chris alluded to, as other ethnic groups progressed and broadened their opportunities, their participation in professional athletic waned. We Blacks, however, still cling longingly to fantasies about a star-studded life that none save a VERY select (& happy) few will ever have the chance to enjoy.
Our desire to burnish the grand mantle of the great Black athlete is understandable. There is nothing more visually stunning than witnessing a finely-tuned Black body perform at the very peak of human capability. And some of our most profound/indelible Civil Rights victories have been won on sporting tracks, fields and courts.
But if we Blacks are ever to assume our rightful place as American’s, we will have to begin to understand that, for ALL of our benefit, it is less important to applaud someone with a great jumpshot than it is to laud/support someone who has mastered Differential Equations (And if you have attended college and DON'T know what "Differential Equations" are you are (regrettably) making my point.).
Yes, Jews, Italians and Irish Americans no longer have to concern themselves with playing pro football or baseball...because now they OWN THE TEAMS. And when we understand that THAT is how the American system works, there will be many more of us ‘ballin’ than have ever ‘balled’ before.
And Cynique, the one distinction I would make between scoring a prime publishing deal and playing pro-ball is that even if the book deal falls thru, many of the skills/relationships one acquires pursuing the book deal can be applied in almost countless other arenas throughout one’s entire lifetime.
But history has proven that for all but a select few, those who expend maximum amounts of their energies/time pursuing "Hoop Dreams", are rudely awaken to ‘nightmares’.
PS: Carey, don’t worry ‘bout JustTheFacts. ‘Cause I got her right where she wants me.<<wink!>> |
Cynnara Collins
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, January 21, 2004 - 10:32 pm: |
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Nuh-Uh!
I don't agree with Troy. Black people will always dominate basketball and every other sport.
Watch.
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Troy
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 24, 2004 - 03:09 pm: |
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Carey you are right. The post was not made because I firmly believed what I said, which is why I prefaced it with the "...may be late and I probably should go to bed" statement.
Maybe it was just wishful thinking...
ABM did bring this topic to another level and I wholeheartedly agree with him. Dare I say I even agree with Chris in that "...Another thing that will contribute to this is if black living standards rise." that would have been an excellent point #4 for the start of this thread.
Cynnara: Black people will not always dominate basketball or every other sport. History dictates otherwise. Those who work the hardest to achieve in a given sport will dominate. Right now it is obvious that we, as a people, work very hard to achieve on the basketball court. (I won't elaborate why or I'll run the risk of agreeing with Chris twice in the same post - and I can't go out like that).
I guess if we are lucky we won't dominate (read: need to dominate) basketball. There are more lucrative opportunities, for more people, in other areas -- lets try to assert our dominance in medicine, the sciences, teaching, etc.
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Carey
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 24, 2004 - 09:07 pm: |
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Troy, somebody gotta do-it, there's a mighty big piece of out there. Why not reach out like an octopus and reach in all directions.Besides, who says that as ones skill increases, the others decrease? Think about it now, some are just simply not going to be scientist, for that matter, some don't even want to be. Think about it, we are forever trying to pick happiness for another. That's like trying to pick YOUR DAUGHTER'S BOYFRIENDS, in a different kind of way. AND you know that ain't going to work .......or you'll soon find out and it won't be long ...och. |
JustTheFacts
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, January 24, 2004 - 11:11 pm: |
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Carey, I've been around but just reading and not posting. And, it's going to take more than ABM to run me away.
I was flipping through an old Esquire (?) magazine and there was an article on this topic. It addressed all of the players in the NBA who are from abroad and from all the photos, not one of the faces was black. Don't know if this is by design or not. Given those who are involved in the legal system, the NBA maybe wanting to change it's look/image. |
Cynique
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 01:15 am: |
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The thing is, is that it doesn't take any money to be a good basketball player. You don't need any special training or special equipment or a special place to practice. All you need are some skilz and some mental toughness. Whites will continue to "infiltrate" the NBA because white fans are the ones who buy the tickets to games, and a good white player is a box-office draw. But there will always be a strong black presence in the sport. |
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