All about Basketball (and Martell Webster)

This post, a pathetic pandering to stay on google's radar when searching for Martell Webster, will be all about the roundball.

First, Reggie Millers stateliness needs to be addressed. Sitting in a pub, watching Miller Time drop 39 on Kobe and the Lakers ... wow. Just a beautiful thing. Threes, lay-ups, mid-range Js ... Reggie was on. The exasperation on Caron Butler's face alone ... just priceless. Just couldn't stick with the old man. Also enjoyable was watching the rapist fume (the Laker's no-name coach benched him for the first seven minutes of the fourth quarter in a tight game).

Watching the game made me proud - I don't know exactly of what, but I did have a big smile for the rest of the day. Maybe it was the familiarity of it all - knowing that if he gets fouled, Reggie will run back to the bench and liberally apply the talcum powder. Thank you, Reggie, for making a stranger in a strange land feel at home.

In other news, spring sprung a couple weeks ago. After about a month and a half of sub-freezing temperature, the thermostat shot up to 70 degrees for a couple days, the better part of one I spent with Mr. Miller, watching the game on Sky Sports replay. Saturday morning NBA basketball at Mr. Pickwick's could become a staple.

Second: here is an email from a certain Bobby Jones lover you all might know...from what he writes, it looks like Martell has "the aura."

I watched the McDonald's all-star game last night to check out the new blue-chippers. Number one: Martell Webster is a star. The guy is a can't miss type of talent, just an incredible skill set for a kid coming out of prep school. He's the total package, you could see all of the other players on his team completely deferring to him throughout the game. Everyone in the building (including ESPN, as MW had the most face time of anybody and was interviewed at halftime) recognized that this guy is a stud. He made comments regarding discussions with Romar and that he was looking forward to "giving 100% to try to earn a good spot." However, my personal inclination is that he is 50-50 at this point and I'm really making an effort not to get my hopes too high (he also mentioned that playing for the SuperSonics would be a dream come true).

As is common knowledge, Nate is gone, but it seems like B Roy is leaning towards returning. Let's just dream for a second . . . Ryan Applebee running the point, penetrating, dishing to an armada of shooters and finshers, and knocking down the open shot from anywhere . . . Martell at the 2 just basically destroying people in whatever way he chooses . . . B Roy on the wing doing everything that the team needs: rebounding on both ends of the floor, playing suffocating man D, and floating around on O casually being unguardable (should be an All-America season) . . . the ever-improving Hard Workin Bobby Jones at one forward combining with B Roy to form the heart and soul of the squad . . . and Jensen at the other forward (sharing a lot of minutes with Jon Brockman. The only player in the McD's game playing hard-nosed D on every possession, blocking out and rebounding like hell. The guy actually made the finals in the dunk contest; white fella's got a little bit of sauce to his game) providing a lot of underrated play. That starting lineup combined with High-Flying Joel Smith, and the myriad of others coming in will provide the Dawgs with depth, explosiveness on both ends of the floor, senior leadership, an improved inside presence, athletes at every position, and dominating perimeter play. Toss in the tenaciousness of a Romar coached team and it could be magic . . .

While he is spot-on, I would also like to add a couple things. If something happens to Mr. Appleby, in a pinch - B-Roy can easily play a point forward. Also, having the ball in Martell's hands is never a bad thing - kind of like the system Cleveland runs for LeBron.

In addition, I expect Artem Wallace (who is white) to play a lot like Mike Jensen did two years ago. He's 6-foot-8, 240, nimble feet, can step outside, and is surprisingly explosive. He may end up stealing a lot of minutes as a freshman. And if there is one thing Seattle loves, it is undersized centers.

And finally, it is a good thing for Jon Brockman to be playing with Martell. Jon will just put his hard hat on and get his double-double every night - he doesn't need (or probably want) the spotlight. Just a perfect Romar recruit.