D-League Team in Toronto?

by Frankie Anetzberger…

Bryan Colangelo has flirted with idea of brining a D-League team to Southern Ontario. He would like to have one handy to keep an eye on young talented players. This idea probably had something to do with Jamario Moon, who made his way through the D-League. Moon actually made more of an impact in the Continental Basketball Association than he did in the D-League. But what would intrigue Colangelo to do this? There are only so many Jamario Moon’s around and bringing a D-League team to Toronto may not be the answer.

The Developmental League was founded in 2001 with all of the teams located in the southeastern part of the United States. Since then, most teams have been located in the western part of the United States. Unlike the NBA, players are eligible for the D-League at eighteen years old. In the NBA, you must be at least nineteen years of age to be eligible. Each D-League team is allowed twelve players, 10 D-League players and 2 possible NBA players. NBA teams may call up D-League players throughout the year by means of a Ten-Day Contract. This agreement is specifically made for players called up from the D-League. The NBA team will assign a player a ten-day contract which lasts at least ten days or three games, which ever comes first. A team can sign a player to a ten-day contract only twice. After the second time, the team must sign the player for the rest of the year at the minimum NBA salary.

The league has had its flaws. None of the original nine teams are still around and teams are liable to fold anytime during the year. Most of the successful teams are based around successful NBA franchises. For example, the Los Angeles D-Fenders are the D-League affiliate for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Austin Toros are owned by the San Antonio Spurs and are in no position of being folded.

Bryan Colangelo is looking to bring a D-League team to Toronto so he can keep an eye on players. First of all, I don’t think Colangelo has enough power to just flop a D-League team in Toronto. Secondly, I don’t think a D-League team in Toronto would be successful. If Colangelo wanted team that he could keep an eye on, he should try an ABA or CBA team. Jamario Moon gets credited by making his name in the D-League but he really made his name in the CBA. He put all of his best numbers in the CBA and played the most in that league.

Toronto has enough trouble getting their NBA running like they should; I think a D-League team would just be another thing to worry about for Bryan Colangelo.

Cleveland’s King May Be Short Term

By Frankie Anetzberger…

As Cleveland gears up for another season, the organization faces one large question. Will Lebron be a long term player for them? With his contract ending at the conclusion of the 2010 season, will Lebron re-sign or even take his player option for the 2011 season? Rumor has Lebron signing with the Brooklyn Nets, a team that is expected to be created conveniently when Lebron’s contract ends.

Rapper Jay-Z plans to buy the New Jersey Nets at the end of the 2010 season and re-locate them to Brooklyn, his hometown. Lebron has made it clear he is good friends with Jay-Z and has been seen wearing New York hats several times.

The city of Cleveland thrives off of Lebron. His presence is like no other and can only be compared to Michael Jordan in Chicago. The hometown kid has a lot of fans worried however. The Cavaliers haven’t been a team of much success until Lebron came. You can’t question his commitment to the team right now, but can you see him in Cleveland five years from now? I personally can’t. Right now Lebron makes about 14 million dollars a year. It is nothing compared to his Nike contract and only ranks 27th in the NBA.

Lebron is looking to be the first billionaire athlete. If he were to sign with Brooklyn, he would more than likely make something in the range of 20-25 million. But moving from Cleveland to New York would make a huge difference as far as fans go. He would be moving from about 500,000 people to about 8 million people. Although the borough of Brooklyn has 2.5 million, the entire city would be behind Lebron.

The Knicks will always be New York’s basketball team, but many fans would support the Nets in Brooklyn, especially with Lebron on the team. The combination of Lebron and Jay-Z would attract many people. Lebron has said his favorite city is New York and his favorite borough is Brooklyn. He even rated Brooklyn higher then his hometown of Akron, Ohio. His love for the city and his friendship with Jay-Z could land Lebron in Brooklyn for the 2010-2011 season. I know I’ll be a fan!

Jamario Moon – From Goodwater to Toronto

by Frankie Anetzberger…

This is my first article for T.O Sports and I am excited for the opportunity. Maybe you have heard of me (probably not). I have my own sports blog called The Anetzberger Verdict, www.anetzberger.wordpress.com, and I also write for Jamario Moon’s official website, www.apollo33.com. Here’s the history on your boy J-MOON aka Apollo 33!

Goodwater Alabama, home to two stop lights and NBA sophomore Jamario Moon. The twenty-eight year old rookie has made it so far. From the dirt basketball court he played on when he was a kid, to the polished hardwood court he plays on now for the Toronto Raptors, Jamario Moon gives adversity a whole new meaning. The NBA has had its Cinderella stories and journeys of different players making their way to the league, but none have had to overcome as many obstacles as Moon. Let me bring you back to Goodwater for your personal tour though the journey of Mr. Jamario Moon.

1998

As the book Sole Influence tells us, the start of bad things to come began when Coach Joel Hopkins, basketball coach at Mount Zion Christian Academy gave Moon a call. Zion was the high school of current NBA star Tracy McGrady. As a high school junior, Moon was satisfied playing for Coosa Central High School but received a great offer from Zion. Jamario gave it a shot and flew to North Carolina with his mom and grandmother. They toured the campus and were given information any student and parent would like to hear. Moon stayed for a couple extra days when his mother and grandmother chose to fly back home. Moon was shown the apartment building he would live in if he chose to stay. Joel Hopkins told Moon that he would make him a lot of money if he decided to stay. He said that Moon was the best talent he had seen since Tracy McGrady. He assured Moon that grades wouldn’t be an issue and his transcript wouldn’t matter at all. Jamario gave it a shot and stayed for a couple weeks. Moon recalled never seeing a book at his time at Mt. Zion. One night he and one of his teammates were determined to leave and escape their locked down apartment. They made a run for the closest McDonald’s and used the pay phone inside. They both called home and decided to leave Mt. Zion.

1999

Jamario was battling out high school rival Gerald Wallace in the state championship between his Coosa Central High School and Wallace’s Childersburg High. After defeating Childersburg High in the state championship Jamario was getting an earful of bad information. Jamario was the biggest thing to hit Alabama basketball. The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook listed Jamario as a member of the Honorable Mention High School All-America Team. Everyone thought he was going to be the one to make it. Jamario kept hearing that he could go straight to the NBA out of high school. Don’t worry about school, don’t worry about grades, just keep playing basketball. This was the bad news that would surround him until he graduated. School was never a big thing with Jamario. Not paying attention in school is one of the reasons it took Jamario so long to get recognized by professional scouts.

2000

Jamario was accepted to Mississippi State but was declined due to poor grades. He also got denied by Compton University for the same reason. He wound up going to Meridian Community College in Mississippi. He played twelve games for the eagles and averaged 20.8 points per game and 8.7 rebounds. After the twelve games he was sent packing again due to poor grades. After being released he worked on his game with his summer coach Kerry Kirby leading up to the summer of 2001. He was told to enter the draft by scouts and he did. He worked out with the Milwaukee Bucks that summer and was planning on being drafted by them. The Bucks told Moon that they would probably select him at their 52nd pick. They saw his talent in their work outs with him and were starting to think that Moon might be taken earlier then their pick. They thought wrong and decided to select Andre Hutson, a forward from Michigan State. This would be the beginning of Moon’s long minor-league career including a stint with the Harlem Globetrotters.

2001-2005

Jamario decided to stay close to home in the NBA’s Developmental League and signed with the Mobile Revelers. After several games with them he was released. During this 4 year span, Moon played with the Huntsville Flight (D-League), Rockford Lightning CBA (Continental Basketball Association), and the Kentucky Colonels ABA (American Basketball Association). During 2004 Moon had a stint with the Harlem Globetrotters. During his time with the Globetrotters Moon learned one of the most important things in his career. The Globetrotters told Moon that he would only stay on the team if he performed great. That’s what the whole point of being on the Globetrotters, to give the fans a great show. They told him, “You’ve got to be upbeat every night. You’ve got to smile. You’ve got perform. You got to give them the show.” He had to finish every dunk with style or he would be cut from the team. When people ask Moon how high he can jump he says “I just jump as high as they throw the ball.” His first semi-successful trip came in Rome, Georgia for the Rome Gladiators of the WBA (World Basketball Association). He arrived in 2005 and averaged 13.4 points per game and the Gladiators won the WBA Championship. From their Jamario would find his way to Albany, NY where he would spend the next three years in the CBA. The Albany Patroons had just rejoined the league after taking a 13 year break. He joined the team with 30 of the remaining 45 games left and made an immediate impact. He averaged 18.4 points per game and 6.6 rebounds per game. He led the Patroons into the playoffs where they placed second in the CBA’s weird playoff system.

2006

After the Patroons season closed out Jamario joined the Fort Worth Flyers of the NBA’s D-League. He only played three games and averaged 3.3 points per and 2.0 rebounds.

After that short period he followed up with another short stint with a Mexican team, Fuerza Regia. He rejoined the Patroons for the 2006-2007 season for his best year with the “Pats”. He averaged 18.8 points coming off the bench. Yes you heard me right, off the bench. His coach, and former NBA player, Micheal Ray Richardson chose to have Moon come in late first quarter to early second quarter. Not that Moon didn’t have the talent to start, he just didn’t. Moon led the Patroons to the championship series where they would lose to the Yakama Sun Kings. After the conclusion of the CBA season, Moon chose to play for the Gary Steelheads in the USBL (United States Basketball League). Moon averaged 15.3 PPG, 3.3 APG, 2.0 SPG, and 3.0 BPG.

Later in that summer of 2007 Moon was invited to participate in the Toronto Raptors free agent camp in June. He made his way past that and was invited to the Raptors pre-season in Europe. Stops included Italy and Spain as Moon got his first minutes in a game versus the Celtics. He played 12 minutes and had four points and three rebounds.

Jamario would end up making his first NBA team in a struggling seven years of trying. Being on the team was relief enough but got his first real playing time in a game versus Philadelphia. He was left in during the end of the game and had the responsibility of guarding Philly all-star, Andre Iguodala. He made a crucial block on Andre late in the game to close up a 105-103 win for the Raps. Coach Sam Mitchell would later put Moon in starting line up for a game versus Chicago. It was surreal for Jamario who idolized Chicago star, Scottie Pippen and to play in the arena he played in. He did his idol justice and had 12 points in 22 minutes including six rebounds and a block. He remained in the starting line up for the remainder of the year. He was the Raptors priceless story of the year. Starting in community college, into the minor leagues, and finally making an NBA squad, Jamario often said, “If I’m dreaming, don’t pinch me”. Jamario if now looking forward to having Jermaine O’Neal on the team and is really looking forward to the next season. Hopefully the “story” continues for Jamario this season and he remains the starting small forward.