Fred you are wrong.

[postdiction]

Fred,

Listening to a recent podcast and you said that NYC is "mecca" of basketball. I have a lot of respect for your basketball knowledge and I even agree with your BG>KH assessments.

However, NYC is NOT the mecca of basketball, Chicago is. You are selling our fair town short.

Just of the top of my head, I can think of a team of only Chicago players that would win an NBA championship.

PG - Rose/Shannon Brown
SG - D. Wade/Q. Richardson
SF - AI2/Corey Maggette
PF - Julian Wright
C - Nazr Mohammed/Curry

and it isn't going to stop. Next year's #2 pick in the NBA draft most likely will be:
Evan turner

Chicago/Illinois produces more elite basketball talent than NYC/NY

So Chicago is the mecca of basketball in my opnion please feel free to add to the list or disagree with me.

thanks,

postdiction

 

[pinkizdead]

i dont believe who produces the most basketball players/caliber of talent is central to the issue of what is the mecca of basketball. i believe the argument has more to do with the cultural roots of basketball.

 

[mlewinth]

Now this is a great thread title! ......I think that Fred's statement is Special person (take that Sarah Palin!). New York is the largest city in the county. Does that alone make it the best city to play basketball in? How many championships has the Knicks franchise won? Two! That is not the mecca of basketball and that alone wont sway LeBron to go anywhere!

 

[RC_Skinny22]

I think it´s not about the NBA championships. Then it would be Boston right?

But think about....where is the NBA Draft? Where is the NBA store?

In a basketball magazine here there was a dvd couple of years ago. It was a Nike Battlegrounds.

There was New York coached by Ben Gordon playing against Chicago coached by Andre Iguodala. It describes the rivalary between these two citys very well and I love this DVD. You know it, too?

Anyway they called Chicago the second city. Honestly I think there is a little truth in it. It´s not about the NBA, more about streetball. Everyone knows the Ruckerpark. But I don´t know a single court in Chicago.

 

[theCHI_Life84]

MJ was born in NY

 

[theCHI_Life84]

NY: http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi?country=US&state=NY

CHI: http://www.basketball-reference.com/friv/birthplaces.cgi?country=US&state=IL

your player-production argument alone is flawed


and its not just about the knicks, basketball just has a bigger culture in NY. chicago just doesnt have the same legend and history in basketball the way NY does, not until MJ came along.

 

[postdiction]

Anyway they called Chicago the second city. Honestly I think there is a little truth in it. It´s not about the NBA, more about streetball. Everyone knows the Ruckerpark. But I don´t know a single court in Chicago.

Saying basketball is about "streetball" is like saying eating quality food is eating cheetos, ho hos and SPAM.

It is NOT about streetball. Streetball is a bastardized version of basketball.

It is about which city has the highest quality of high school basketball and to play the highest quality of basketball you need the highest quality of basketball players.

Saying NYC is the mecca of basketball is like saying the US produces the best cars in the world. It may have been true at some point but, it has not been true for a long time and now is just a myth being perpetuated despite the facts.

 

[postdiction]

NYC does not get credit for MJ. It doesn't matter where the player was born its about where they played ball. MJ barely lived in NY he grew up in NC and played ball in NC.

NC gets credit for MJ.


That list that you put up is flawed, it claims Greg Oden was born in NY? Most reasonable people would say Oden is from Indiana.

It also say Mello is from NY? Most people would say Mello is from Baltimore.

Many other examples.

 

[pinkizdead]

really this whole mecca of basketball thing is over hyped. who cares? it's like saying, i want to play for the celtics because i love the organization's culture.

 

[houheffna]

MJ was born in NY

MJ was born in Brooklyn right?

 

[theCHI_Life84]

postdiction wrote:

NYC does not get credit for MJ. It doesn't matter where the player was born its about where they played ball. MJ barely lived in NY he grew up in NC and played ball in NC.

NC gets credit for MJ.


That list that you put up is flawed, it claims Greg Oden was born in NY? Most reasonable people would say Oden is from Indiana.

It also say Mello is from NY? Most people would say Mello is from Baltimore.

Many other examples.

wikipedia says that both greg oden and carmelo anthony were born in NY. so, thats two sources that have actual names compared to your source of "most reasonable people." show me where it says otherwise, then you can claim whatever you want.

pink is right, the "mecca" of basketball is mostly hype, since the knicks have been a joke for years. but i do recall several players talking about how different it is to play at the garden, like youre on a stage in front of a packed house, you feel like youve finally made it, etc etc. the venue itself has its own legend, and could possibly be one of the most widely known stadiums in the world. maybe its no longer quite a "mecca" anymore because the crappy seasons, but it is still what it is.

just because the colosseum in rome doesnt run gladiator shows anymore doesnt make it anything less than what it used to be. am i making sense?

MJ was born in Brooklyn right?

looks like the list says brooklyn, yes. unless postdiction has a better source.

 

[postdiction]

wikipedia says that both greg oden and carmelo anthony were born in NY. so, thats two sources that have actual names compared to your source of "most reasonable people." show me where it says otherwise, then you can claim whatever you want.

Sorry I didn't explain my self properly.

I am not disputing where these players were born. What I am saying is it doesn't matter where they were born instead it matters where you lived most of your life, where you played basketball.

MJ was born in NY was there for about a minute but played ball in NC so NC claims MJ
Oden born in NY played ball in Indiana and is considered a great Indiana HS player
Mello born in NY grew up and played HS basketball in Baltimore

That is why your list is flawed.

 

[theCHI_Life84]

all i gave was a list of where guys were born. what youre looking for is a list of where guys grew up. obviously these are two different things. but just because mj played ball in NC while growing up doesnt change the fact that he is from NY. but nonetheless, it could arguably go either way.

imo there is no clear cut "mecca" of basketball. lots of great players come out of california (countless from ucla) but how come CA never gets mentioned? and youre right that there are plenty of players that come out of chicago too.

the knicks are one of the oldest franchises in the league, maybe that contributes to it being some sort of mecca? im not familiar with the nba of the the 40s and 50s. how good were they then?

 

[Kush77]

mlewinth wrote:

.I think that Fred's statement is Special person (take that Sarah Palin!).

Did you have this post written on your hand?

 

[clonetrooper264]

houheffna wrote:

MJ was born in NY

MJ was born in Brooklyn right?

Yes he was.

As for the whole thing about Chicago being better than NYC, I think that's debatable. NY produces a LOT of basketball players. Not just streetballers who play at Rucker Park, but real legit NBA caliber players. People know all about basketball in NYC. I'd love to play against some of the people in NYC, they can ball. That's not to say people in Chicago can't, but NYC gets a lot more publicity if nothing else. And as someone else said, everyone knows places like Rucker Park and the Cage, but no one knows a single court in Chicago. That in itself says something.

 

[Fred]

postdiction wrote:

Fred,

Listening to a recent podcast and you said that NYC is "mecca" of basketball. I have a lot of respect for your basketball knowledge and I even agree with your BG>KH assessments.

However, NYC is NOT the mecca of basketball, Chicago is. You are selling our fair town short.

Just of the top of my head, I can think of a team of only Chicago players that would win an NBA championship.

PG - Rose/Shannon Brown
SG - D. Wade/Q. Richardson
SF - AI2/Corey Maggette
PF - Julian Wright
C - Nazr Mohammed/Curry

and it isn't going to stop. Next year's #2 pick in the NBA draft most likely will be:
Evan turner

Chicago/Illinois produces more elite basketball talent than NYC/NY

So Chicago is the mecca of basketball in my opnion please feel free to add to the list or disagree with me.

thanks,

postdiction

LeBron James called New York Basketball "Mecca", not me. It's referred to in this article:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-basketball-mecca-new-york-knicks-land-a-king

Here's another one:
http://dimemag.com/2008/05/is-nyc-still-the-basketball-mecca/

Here's another:
http://basketball.about.com/od/teamsandconferences/p/msg.htm

I'm just repeating the mantra. NY has a reputation of being the best basketball town...I'm not saying that it's justified or correct, but that's what the general reputation is. Bulls fans and ticket holders have been extremely loyal throughout the post-Jordan hell, but I don't think this town is that basketball crazy. The Bulls are a distant 4th in popularity...the Hawks may have even passed them up. In terms of popularity, I'd rank it:

1. Bears
2. Cubs
3. Sox
4. Bulls
5. Hawks

I don't meet a ton of people who can talk about the Bulls with a high degree of knowledge. I meet a lot who are drones, who don't really watch the games, but just get the scores and general info from the nightly news. The diehards chat here, but we are relatively few when compared to the diehards who follow the Bears, Cubs, and Sox.

 

[Fred]

postdiction wrote:

Fred,

Listening to a recent podcast and you said that NYC is "mecca" of basketball. I have a lot of respect for your basketball knowledge and I even agree with your BG>KH assessments.

However, NYC is NOT the mecca of basketball, Chicago is. You are selling our fair town short.

Just of the top of my head, I can think of a team of only Chicago players that would win an NBA championship.

PG - Rose/Shannon Brown
SG - D. Wade/Q. Richardson
SF - AI2/Corey Maggette
PF - Julian Wright
C - Nazr Mohammed/Curry

and it isn't going to stop. Next year's #2 pick in the NBA draft most likely will be:
Evan turner

Chicago/Illinois produces more elite basketball talent than NYC/NY

So Chicago is the mecca of basketball in my opnion please feel free to add to the list or disagree with me.

thanks,

postdiction

BTW, I absolutely love, love, love, love, love, love Evan Turner, broken back and all. He's averaging almost 20 points and 10 rebounds in the best conference in college basketball. I'd love to see him somehow fall into our laps. He's going to be one of the best 20 players in the NBA in 5 years.

BTW2, I'm shocked that Mark didn't start a post with this title before.