My 2011 All-Watch Team

How pointless is it to create an NBA lineup in your mind comprised only of the players you most enjoy watching? POINTLESS ENOUGH TO HAPPEN RIGHT HERE.

2010-11 Early Season All-Watch List:

PG: Chris Paul

SG: Eric Gordon

SF: Nicolas Batum

PF: Nene Blake Griffin

C: Pau Gasol

6th Man: Kevin Love

Meditations with Akeem Scott

Meditation 3.

Meditations With Akeem Scott

Meditation 2.

Come Party With Akeem Scott

Akeem Scott is too awesome to not have a club in NY dedicate a night to his birthday:

I think the long awaited Akeem Scott film just got an intro scene.

Meditations with Akeem Scott

Meditation 1.

Akeem Scott is still talking to me

My most recent interview with Akeem Scott is up over at Latinbasket.com. Treat yourself.

AKEEM SCOTT MAKES JAMAICAN NATIONAL TEAM

I don't break the DeceptivelyQuick silence for much these days. Akeem Scott earning a spot on Jamaica's national basketball team is the type of event that demands my attention. I caught up with Keem shortly after he made the roster. Read the Q&A below to find out how he is like Eli Manning and learn about the country LOVODKA. He also has one of the best twitter accounts on the planet, follow him here.

Congratulations, how does it feel?

first i would like to thank everybody who supported me in this journey, God, n Jamaica. it feels great to know i will be representing a NATION of beautiful people!

What do you see as your role with this team? Are you running the point or focused more on scoring?

my role with the team is playing the point guard position, no scoring for me, i will save that for when i get back to overseas. i'm the Eli manning for Jamaican basketball, set the table for the other plays and watch them score and go to work!! having a good team, is each player accepting his/her role on the team. I feel everybody on Team Jam ROCK is doing that.

Are you the new guy fitting in with a bunch of Team Jamaica veterans or was the entire roster assembled recently?

im a new guy, but there are several new guys as well. there's bout 5 vets that is here, but they all are very cool to be around and has embrace me, my style and showmanship!!

Where does Team Jamaica train?

Team Jamaica trains in the Orlando Magics gym and facilities .. pretty cool right!!, just think... me and Dwight Howard run on the same floor and lift the same weights! he just get paid a lil MORE!! lmao

Will you be playing in the Centrobasket tournament coming up in July? How are you and your team preparing for that?

Team Jamaica will be playing in the Centrobasket Championship Tourney in july! me and my team has had two a days everyday under head coach Sam Vincent also retired NBA player! practice 8am to 11am then other practice 2-3 45 .. hardwork should get us at least TOP 4 in this tourney!

USA. Finland. Jamaica. You get to take one thing from each place on to a desert island with you. What makes the cut?

if i could take 1 thing from each place USA finland and Jamaica on to a desert island. i would take my Girl from the USA. from Finland i would Take FINLANDIA, thats vodka for who dont know!! and from Jamaica " the MUSIC!!" then i will call my very own country "LOVODKA" "Love n Vodka" trust me that island wouldnt be deserted any MORE!! lol

*****

Thanks to Keem for answering my questions. He is currently in the Dominican Republic preparing for the Centrobasket Championship Tournament, which runs from July 5th to July 11th. The top four teams from this tournament will qualify for the 2011 FIBA Americas Championship. Of course we'll be providing updates as the tournament progresses.

My twitter.

Are you still showing up around here?

I appreciate it. Really. In case you didn't know I'm writing mostly over at Bust a Bucket.

Terrence Jones to Kentucky

Aaaaaaand scene. The long Terrence Jones decision making process has come to an end. I think. Jones has filled out financial aid paperwork for the University of Kentucky.

If Jones' refusal to sign a letter of intent has frustrated or confused you, get over it. Top recruits like Jones can still play in the programs they want without ever signing one. By not entering into a contract with a school the player has more flexibility should things not work out. A handy thing if, for example, Calipari ditches Kentucky for the NBA.

Coaches won't tolerate this move from most players but will certainly make exceptions for superstars. Its sort of surprising that it hasn't become common practice yet. Terrence Jones may already have created a legacy for himself in college hoops.

The Terrence Jones Saga. Its a saga now.

After taking more time than any other top recruit to decide, Terrence Jones announced that he would play for the University of Washington. If only it were that simple.

As reported by Percy Allen of the Seattle Times, who has covered the Jones Saga better than anyone, Jones didn't actually sign a letter of intent. After making his announcement he reportedly had a conversation with John Calipari, a man that would be the best car salesman in the history of the planet if he didn't like basketball.

Drama.

Terrence Jones to UW

We finally know where Terrence Jones will be heading for college hoops: the University of Washington.

Over 25,000 people watched Jones make his announcement live over the internet. His long decision making process did wonders for churning up the public interest. Jones said the delay was because he really hadn't made up his mind.

Jones teared up while reminiscing on his time at Jefferson High. This was the latest example of how strongly Jones values his teammates and those close to him, a value that was the main reason I predicted Jones would ultimately head to UW. There he can be in an impressive program, stay close to home and family, build real connections with teammates (as opposed to a more stepping stone environment like Kentucky), and have his friend Terrence Ross as a teammate. Not to mention he seems like the perfect player to fill the role of the departing Quincy Pondexter. It seems a great "get" for UW and a great fit for Jones.

Not insignificant is that three other Jefferson players are also going Division I. (Holy crap.) As previously mentioned, Terrence Ross is headed to UW along with Jones. Stephen Madison is going to the University of Idaho. AJ Johnson is off to play for Texas Southern. Talent factory.

Latest rumors on Terrence Jones & Terrence Ross

Kendall Marshall, a point-guard bound for UNC, predicted that both Terrence Jones and Terrence Ross will be heading to the University of Washington.

Meanwhile, Jones isn't narrowing his list of schools but expanding it. He plans on visiting Kansas later in the month.

Ross had said he will make his decision after visiting Kentucky, Oklahoma, and Washington.

University of Oregon's Awesome Coaching Search

Not long ago I wrote an entry on the University of Oregon's search for a new basketball coach. Throwing a ton of money at names that you don't have a chance to get is a poor strategy.

I wasn't the only one who thinks so. ESPN's Dana O'Neil has written a more detailed and ESPNy column on how bad Oregon has done with their coaching search. Read the whole thing if you're interested. Here's an excerpt:

Universities don't want to look bad for swinging and missing, and no coach wants to be viewed as the second or third choice.

Trouble is, the ego cover-up often backfires.

Look at Oregon.

The school may not have interviewed that long list of candidates, but the school is perceived as striking out more than Ryan Howard.

The most unfortunate part could be that Oregon's hubris-fueled botched coach search may end up costing them Terrence Jones, an in-state super recruit that is surprisingly seriously interested in being a Duck. He is giving Oregon every opportunity to hire a coach before he decides on a school, but time is running out.

Akeem Scott Playoff Update

Akeem Scott's LrNMKY team was unable to earn a victory against KTP and were bounced from the playoffs. Akeem notched 16 points in the loss. For the series Spider-Keem averaged 19.3 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2.7 steals per game.

We're sad to see Keem gone from the playoffs but are looking forward to more Akeem Scott in the future. His strong play this season and newly granted Jamaican citizenship mean that we are likely to see the PC back on the court soon enough.

In the mean time we look forward to more videos, music, and whatever else Keem puts out into the universe in the near future. And oh yeah, the film is coming along nicely.

Akeem Scott, PLAYOFFS

The playoffs have gotten underway in Finland and the P.C. is on a quest for his second consecutive league championship. As you can see from the Eurobasket graphic above Akeem's LrNMKY squad is down 0-2 in the series to KTP.

In the first game, LrNMKY didn't have much of a chance against a KTP team that was on fire. Akeem did play well with 17, 4, 4, and 3 steals.

In the second game KTP's shooting came back down to Earth. LrNMKY seemed to be on the verge of evening the series behind Akeem's 25, 9, 9, and 2 steals. Unfortunately, KTP's shot at the buzzer lifted them to an 80-78 victory.

One blowout and one heart breaker aren't the ideal way to start off the playoffs. Stay tuned to see if LrNMKY can overcome the rough start.

Terrence Jones really considering University of Oregon?

We've known that the University of Oregon was one of several schools on the short list of possible destinations for Portland-product and super recruit Terrence Jones.

There were logical reasons not to get too excited over that.

First of all, the competition for Jones is fierce. Schools like Kentucky, Kansas, and UCLA want him. Then there was the fact that Ducks basketball hasn't exactly been impressing lately. Then they fired their coach. What star player would want such a situation?

It turns out Terrence Jones might. This could be me getting way too excited by the slightest prospect of keeping Jones in the state of Oregon, but this quote happened:

During the ESPN broadcast, analyst Jay Williams said Jones will wait until Oregon fills its coaching vacancy before choosing a college.

Whaaaaaaat?!

Whoever Oregon's new coach turns out to be, having a five-star recruit fall into his lap would be a great way to get his tenure started. If I'm the University of Oregon (which would be weird because I'm a human and the University of Oregon is an academic institution) I'd be trying to get that little snippet some more attention.

This could create a fairly unique situation where a potential recruit is used to attract a coach. Whether Jones ends up at the University of Oregon or not, it would be interesting if the mere possibility of his enrollment could help Oregon get the coach they want. Of course, if Jones did choose Oregon and the Ducks did get the coach they want...

University of Oregon still getting it wrong

Inspired by the multiple text messages I received today about the University of Oregon supposedly offering Tubby Smith a couple million dollars a year to coach Ducks basketball.

First things first, Tubby is one of those coaches that gets linked to job after job after job. During the tournament he was reportedly close to signing a deal with Auburn. In January he was linked to University of Alabama job. When Lute Olsen retired it was Arizona. This has been the story since he came to Minnesota. When a coach's name is bigger than his current program everyone just sort of expects him to leave as soon as he has the chance. That isn't to say that Tubby won't dump Goldy for greener (like money, ha!) pastures, or that there is no merit to the Oregon rumors. I'm just saying his name comes up a lot.

As for the University of Oregon, their high profile coaching search could end up being the latest thing to bite their sports department in the ass.

First of all, the only good thing about this job for a big name coach is the money. Keep in mind that a top-tier coach will have to walk away from a most likely cozy current situation to take this job. University of Oregon sports isn't exactly in a good place right now. The basketball team has been underachieving for a while. Football players are getting arrested. The Attorney General is looking into Belotti's shady severance pay. The program lacks the kind of historical tradition that might appeal to some coaches. Not to mention a coach may have less control of the program than they enjoy currently. That Nike money can be a double-edged sword when you have a hands on mega-booster like Phil Knight.

Considering all of the above there is only one reason an elite coach would take this job: money. But how sustainable is a program lead by a person that values dollars so much more than anything else? Is that the type of coach that stays long enough to build a real program? Am I the only one that thinks bringing a potentially morally questionable coach into an already morally questionable sports department is a bad idea?

Additionally, Oregon's strategy of throwing big money to get a big name to take a bad job doesn't seem likely to pay off. We may be seeing some negative effects already. Big money and big names mean big media coverage. Every time a name is linked to the job, only to be followed by reports that said name rejected the deal, the job gets less desirable to subsequent names on the list. Would you leave a comfortable situation for a higher-paying but less comfortable situation, after everyone knows a handful of your peers have turned down a similar offer?

If Oregon doesn't get a top name soon the Ducks sports department could become even more of a joke. They could become the place that is so awful they can't get a coach even when they offer the world.

The Ducks aren't exactly masters of subtly (which reminds me, please chill out with the football uniforms), but I can't help but think they should have at least tried to keep a low-profile this time. They could have acknowledged that they don't have the type of situation an elite coach wants to walk into. They could have recognized that throwing around cash and getting rejected might come back to bite them. They could have understood that their job is most appealing to up and coming coaches (who would probably hang around long enough to build a respectable program) or respected coaches looking to get back into the game. (Steve Lavin might not take the job, but considering the circumstances he seems like a much more likely candidate than Tom Izzo.)

Oregon didn't do any of those things. They went for the glitz instead. Now they could end up paying the price. Again.

Akeem Scott, Finland Playoffs, and RELEASE THE KRAKEN!

Akeem Scott's team is on fire riding a five game win streak into the playoffs. Spider-Keem is doing his part posting averages of 16, 4, and 3.

How does one prepare for Finnish playoff basketball? The answer can be found in the newly released third trailer from the upcoming blockbuster epic motion picture event DeceptivelyQuick: The Film: The Legend of Akeem Scott. This preview not only will get you pumped for the upcoming basketball action, but also leaks some long anticipated details about the plot from the upcoming film. I think you will find that it is pretty self-explanatory. Savor the flavor below.

TRAILER 2 - DeceptivelyQuick: The Film: The Legend of Akeem Scott

With blockbuster movie season quickly approaching we at DeceptivelyQuickFilmsAndCatering have decided to release the latest trailer for our upcoming SyFy Original epic: DeceptivelyQuick: The Film: The Legend of Akeem Scott. Enjoy!

The timing of this trailer release coincides with more good news for Scott and his team LrNMKY. The People's Champ recently defeated his former team Honka inflicting pain to the tune of 17 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, and 4 steals. With the victory LrNMKY moves ahead of Honka in the standings.

And in case you missed the first trailer, check it out below:

Crotchety? Oh, Dwight Jaynes will show YOU crotchety

I value Dwight's contributions to Blazers coverage considerably. I do. Sometimes though, I get the urge to poke fun at him.

For example, Dwight recently shut the comments down on his blog. It is his site after all. That didn't stop me from getting some entertainment from his justification:

I can’t think of a blog that hasn’t done this at some point or another. I often wondered why but now I don’t.

See, I try to stay away from the old people jokes. Dwight makes it hard. He can't think of a single blog that hasn't shut the comments down? Dwight, sir, either the only blog you have ever read is your own or your memory has evaporated. If the latter is true then I will very much miss your anecdotes about the good old days. Let us continue enjoying Dwight's words:

We’re going to shut down the comments for a while. And there are several reasons. First off, there are getting to be so many of them that moderating them has become a nightmare. I just don’t have the time for it. That’s the No. 1 reason.

So we're going to shut the comments down. Yeah Dwight, so many dangerous comments, so little time. Hard to maintain the safety of the intersphere.

Dwight's need to monitor the comments on his site so closely got me curious to learn what type of venom you crazy internet creatures were attacking his posts with. It must be bad to demand Dwight's constant moderating. I skimmed through the last post that allowed commenting and didn't notice anything shocking.

Well, there were a couple comments from another Blazers blogger bringing up reasonable fact-based counterpoints to Dwight's post. But I'm sure that was just a coincidence. Moving on to reason No. 2:

But also, they’ve become a place for silly or sometimes nasty arguments to take place. I hate being the venue for such things. And after a while, I think we all may just need a break.

Dwight hates silly. So much for crawling out of that grouchy old guy persona. As for the nastiness, I haven't seen much of that. I mean, there's dumb immature stuff, but this is the internet. Anyways, Dwight has mentioned having several reasons for shutting down the comments, I'm sure he'll cover his better reasons next:

So, sorry about this, you’re going to have to do without them for a while. If you have a problem with me, drop me an email. The address is right on this page.

Wait, what? Did Dwight forget to list his other reasons? At least he apologized... for not letting you voice your opinion about his thoughts (?) I guess. If you have a problem with him though, feel free to email him. But Dwight, what if we want to say good things? What if we want to use your post as a starting point for a conversation with both you and other readers? Should we start a separate blog dedicated to commenting on your blog? So many questions.

Let me recap. Dwight removed the ability of readers to comment on his blog. He had several logical reasons for this that totally didn't have anything to do with people raising legitimate counterpoints to his posts. These several reasons were:

1) There were too many comments
2) They were too silly and/or nasty
3) ?
4) ?

Some people were just made for the internet, you know?

Keem Scott Watch: Citizenship, Woman Advice, Spider-Keem, Victory

Things are going well for Akeem Scott right now.

First, Keem was recently granted Jamaican citizenship. This is big since teams in Europe cap the amount of American players that can be on the roster. Akeem's Jamaican passport means that he can now play professionally in Europe without counting against the USA quota, making him more attractive for any team. It also opens to door to Akeem representing Jamaica as a nation. I vote for him to reunite the bobsled team.

Second, the man has been giving out his own brand of woman advice via his twitter. Warning: reading these to a significant other may result in some backlash. Especially is she's my significant other. (In other Akeem Scott twitter news, this is one of the funniest things I've ever read.)

Third, Scott had a strong 25 point performance in his team's recent victory. He even went Spider-Keem (or NASA ON THAT ASS depending on which Akeem Scott reference you prefer) on some unsuspecting Finnish guy who was just trying to mind his business:

Worth noting (to me) is that the player getting dunked on appears to have a DNP in the box score. A merciful mistake.

Akeem Scott: Baller, Rapper, Psychic

Keem Scott made something of a bold Olympic prediction before Team USA faced off against Finland in the hockey semi-finals:



He took some old fashioned Facebook heat for the prediction. He is living in Finland, after all. But in true P.C. fashion it didn't end there.



Or there.

Also, U-S-A! U-S-A!

Juan Dixon's wife is hot and defending Juan Dixon

I'm not totally sure the woman in that photo is Juan's wife Robyn, but it's the only picture of Dixon with a woman that wasn't taken in a club so I'm rolling with it.

Anyways, while we have yet to hear from Juan himself on his recent positive steroid test, his wife is defending him in the press:

The player "took an over-the-counter supplement and had no idea it had any type of steroid in it. It's not like he was injecting steroids," Robyn Dixon, his wife, said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun. Juan Dixon has remained in the Spanish city of Malaga and could not immediately be reached for comment.

"Playing seven years in the NBA and not having this issue, you don't think there's a problem with any of this stuff that's sold over the counter," she said.

Did you know that Juan once went in front of Congress to speak about the awfulness of performance enhancing drugs? True story! Dixon's urine (gross) is set to be tested again Monday and hopefully this will all get sorted out.

Because Juan seems like an honest guy and because he weighs (maybe) 165 pounds I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on this. Plus his wife says he's innocent, and attractive women don't lie.

Has Portland decided to move on without Koponen?

Hippo let us know that some of Koponen's people were saying The Finnagler will be in the NBA next season, Trailblazers or not.

Today ESPN's Chris Sheridan reported some rumors that "not" may be more likely. If Portland's attempt to nab Brendan Haywood is any indication, they aren't placing a ton of value on Koponen's rights these days:

"Portland is the team out there seeking a big man, but they are not offering a lot. I am told the best offer they make for Brendan Haywood was Steve Blake and the rights to Petteri Koponen. I'm sure they could get Diop for less, but he is owed nearly $21 milion over the next three years, so I don't see Portland or anyone else having much interest."

Obviously that happened before Haywood was included in Washington's deal to the Mavericks. That is a pretty weak offer on Portland's end, to the point where it looks like they weren't really serious. I'm not sure any NBA team would give up a solid defensive center for Steve Blake's expiring contract and the un-NBA tested Koponen. Still, if there is truth the rumor, it could mean Portland has decided Petteri's greatest value will be realized in a trade as opposed to in their uniform. If that's the case this blog may just explode.

Juan Dixon busted for Performance Enhancing Drugs. For Serious!

Uplifting story, debonair dresser, current Blazers draftee Joel Freeland teammate, and former Portland Trailblazer Juan Dixon has reportedly tested positive for a type of steroid and was suspended indefinitely from playing with his Spanish League team CB Malaga. Really. I guess Dixon was just obsessed with bulking up to 170 pounds or something. Nobody has managed to get a comment from anyone on the matter yet.

(Deadspin, Baltimore Sun)

Akeem Scott Buzzer Beater

The P.C.'s last game didn't go so well as his team lost 102-87, but Keem did play well with 24 points and 5 rebounds. He also hit a pretty cool shot at the buzzer, see below:

(As always, thanks to Hippo for the tip.)

Welcome back to Finland, Mr. Akeem Scott

Is it just us or is the entire Universe is buzzing over Akeem Scott's return to Finland? The People's Champ made a victorious starting debut for LrNMKY with 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists in 24 minutes. Next up is a team with a pretty awesome name.

There's more! Here's a video with the latest Spider-keem highlights and some excerpts from Scott's recent interview in Finland. He's going to start rapping in Finnish soon, I can feel it. Maybe a Stig Dogg collaboration? Theres no end to the possibilities.

Photo: Lauri Heino

Akeem Scott signs with Lappeenranta, back to Finland!

As hinted at yesterday, Akeem Scott has signed with a Finnish team and is headed back to the Koponen motherland.

Akeem will soon be joining Lappeenranta, a team that sells sweet t-shirts you can't buy and has a cool logo (of course) that reminds me of ice cream. Here's what Hippo had to say on the team:

Helll yeah. Lappeenranta, Finnish champions '05 and '06 and FIBA EuroChallenge participant 2007/08. Maryland swingman Landon Milbourne's dad Andre Foreman played with them in those championship years.

Good luck for Keem!

We caught up with Scott and he was nice enough to fill us in a little more on his new opportunity:

Q: What excites you about this opportunity?

what excites me the most is, knowing there is a chance for me to be a TWO TIME CHAMPION in THREE YEARS of being a pro. a lot of Americans come over to prove themselves by having great stats!! after being away from the game for some time, i know it is more Important be a CHAMPION, than to be a leader in certain Statistical categories !! the other thing that excites me is knowing another CITY in FINLAND, gets to know who AKEEM SCOTT is! every city i been to in FINLAND shows me much love and respect because the way I BATTLE for their city to be the best in FINLAND!! and i will do the same here!!

Q: What have you missed most about Finland?

what i miss most is the FANS!! 50percent of the fans in finland LOVE ME and the other 50 percent HATE me! but all 100 percent enjoy WATCHING ME!! i enjoy the good screams and the LOUD BOOOOOssss!!
THE LEAGUE is UP for GRABS, with so many big names back like COREY SMITH, RAY NIXON , the big THREE at PYRINTO and a FEW OTHERS, I think this season is in for a VERY LONG RIDE in Short amount of TIME!!

This is obviously big news in the DeceptivelyQuick Universe, and yes, the Akeem Scott Watch is back on. You can follow Keem directly via his twitter account: @keemscott.

BIG HUGE AKEEM SCOTT ANNOUNCEMENT

Coming....tomorrow.

Until then enjoy the first trailer for the DeceptivelyQuick/Akeem Scott major-motion picture.