FadeAway Magazine Issue 01

I N ISSUE 01

in association with

The UK’s Biggest Basketball Magazine

The UK’s Biggest Basketball Magazine

LEBRON james

Basketball’s Biggest Star!

POPS Totty To Toronto

+ Midnight

£2.50 ISSUE 01 SUMMER 2009 .COM 13

COVER PHOTO: Finlay Mackay

ISSUE#01 SUMMER 2009

Madness TEAM GB STREETBALL JERRY West CHIPMUNK

EDITORIAL

Fadeaway Magazine Response Studios 369B High Road Leyton London E10 5NA E: info@fadeawaymag.co.uk W: fadeawaymag.co.uk T: 020 8558 3501 Editor Greg Tanner greg@gregtanner.co.uk

WORDS & Photo By: GREG TANNER

Creative Director Jake Green info@jakegreen.co.uk Design & Art Director Harry Adams dirtyharry@bigsmokelive.com

Contributing Writer Ali Raymond

“Our national team is the best it’s ever been - and will be competing with the big boys at Eurobasket this Sept”

Contributing Photographers & Illustrator: Rinchen Ato, Kieran Halil, James Pearson-Howes, Kevin Joseph, Finlay Mackay, Adrian Nettleship, Greg Tanner.

Phil Knott NIKO 09

THE TIP OFF W hat’s up everyone. Welcome to Fadeaway.

These are exciting times for basketball in Britain. Our national team is the best it’s ever been - and will be competing with the big boys at Eurobasket this September. We’ve got guys doing it in the NBA...the League has moved its European HQ to London... and the 2012 Olympics is set to give the sport a huge boost.

So what better time than now to launch a new basketball magazine. We’re going to try to bring you the best basketball stories from across the globe - be it the NBA, Euroleague, streetball... whatever - but with a British perspective. In this issue we hear from Tottenham’s Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who’s currently killing it with the Toronto Raptors.

Award-winning director Kolton Lee tells us why he hopes his British b-ball movie Freestyle can emulate the crossover appeal of White Men Can’t Jump. And former England junior and NCAA standout Charlotte Baldrey-Chourio explains how problems with her eyes forced her off the court and into the courtroom. All that plus a whole lot more. What YOU guys reading this think is of prime importance to us. So if you have feedback, a story idea or anything else you’d like to share, please feel free to holla at us at info@ fadeawaymag.co.uk. Finally, big shout to Jake Green for making this magazine happen. With any luck, this could be the start of something big!

Printers Printed by Cambrian using vegetable based inks. www.cambrian-printers.co.uk Published by: Big Smoke Projects Ltd 2009 © Est: 2001.

ISSN: 2041-2134 Printed on Recycled Paper.

Distribution by: W.W.M.D. Stocked in Borders and distributed at all the major basketball events.

This publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or part, without the express written permission of the publishers.

Disclaimer: No part of Fade Away Magazine may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.

Keep ballin’ Greg Tanner

07

CONTENTS

26

REGULARS 10 | FACE OFF

Fadeaway’s editor explains how he fell in love with the game.

12 | OVERTIME

The latest from the world of hoops, including why Jay-Z’s Nets finally look set to move to Brooklyn... and the Bulls are coming to town.

46 | FADE TO BLACK

We show you some explosive Adidas trainers that will be available this summer to wear everyday or save for the court. Some multi coloured Moltens and the most exclusive Nike Hyperlite… Sick.

FEATURES 16 | MIDNIGHT MADNESS

Britain’s biggest summer basketball initiative turns ten this year. After rocking Wembley last August, what’s in store this time around?

18 | 15 MINUTES OF FAME

32 22

Six months after beating an NBA star made him an overnight sensation, Stuart Tanner looks back on the craziest month of his life.

20 | LEGEND OF THE LOGO

The NBA logo is one of the most recognisable in the world. But do you know who the mystery figure is?

22 | FOCUS MODE

How a debilitating eye condition forced one of Britain’s brightest young talents to go from baller to barrister.

26 | KING JAMES

LeBron James is taking his game to a whole new level. Dare we say it, but is he the closest thing we’ve seen yet to the “next Jordan”?

32 | POPS GETS HIS PROPS

It’s been a long and winding road to the NBA for Tottenham’s finest, Pops Mensah-Bonsu. But, after taking the league by storm this season, he insists he’s there to stay.

BALLER

Photos By: Kieran Halil, James Pearson Howes, John Hooper, FadeAway & Mansoor Ahmed/Fiba

24 | FREESTYLE MOVIE

Ex-baller turned award-winning director Kolton Lee gives us the lowdown on his upcoming movie Freestyle. But how will Britain’s first ever basketball film compare with classics like White Men Can’t Jump?

44 | CHIPMUNK

UK Urban’s man-of-theminute tells us why he isn’t trying to tell kids how to live their lives...and how Fabolous and Lil Wayne influenced him more than Biggie or Tupac ever did.

14 | STREET 2 ELITE

East London baller Mike Baptiste tells us how he hopes his events can keep kids out of trouble.

38 | THE COME-UP: TEAM GB

Qualifying for Eurobasket proved we ain’t no joke.

Now the boys have a chance to show we’re one of Europe’s elite teams.

42 | REAL TALK

Forget the NBA, college or Euroleague... playground ballin’ is the game in its purest form.

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ISSUE#01

FACE OFF

GREG TANNER WORDS By: FadeAway Photo By: Jake Green

“I never meant for Streetball. co.uk to be anything more than a hobby... before I knew it, the site was getting 100,000 visitors a month”

TANMAN TALKS From websites to TV shows, Greg Tanner has been covering basketball for 10 years. Fadeaway caught up with him.

FA: How did you get into basketball?

GT: In 1994 a friend got me and my brother into watching ITV’s Saturday lunchtime NBA Jam programme. I’d never really been into sport previously, only skateboarding, but this basketball thing was so fast and high-energy. I used to love watching Gary Payton throw alley-oops to Shawn Kemp...[laughs]...that was the coolest shit I’d ever seen! Shortly afterwards I watched White Men Can’t Jump and then Above The Rim and I was well and truly hooked.

Then a double basketball court opened at a nearby park. It drew kids from all over the area, and pretty soon we were all friends and spending every waking moment playing ball there.

FA: Did you play for any teams?

GT: Hell no! For me, basketball was just about having fun. It was about playing in the park with friends. I never wanted to play proper,

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structured basketball. I had no dreams of making it as a pro or anything like that.

FA: So how did you get into the media side of basketball?

GT: In 2000, I set up a basketball website - Streetball.co.uk. I never meant for it to be anything more than a hobby, but pretty quickly it became very well known. Before I knew it, the site was getting 100,000 visitors a month, and I was being interviewed for newspaper and magazine articles and getting to work with companies like And1 and Nike. In late 2006 I was approached about producing and presenting a weekly basketball magazine show for UKTV. I did, and had a blast doing it.

Last year, I teamed up with another guy to launch Basketball247.co.uk - covering all aspects of global basketball. I also produced and presented two b-ball documentaries for Channel 4, which was pretty cool.

FA: Sounds like you’ve been busy!

What have been the highlights for you during all this time?

GT: Wow - there are so many. The early Streetball.co.uk days were madness. Getting to interview Michael Jordan was pretty sweet, obviously!

I’ve been lucky enough to get to travel quite a lot for basketball too. I’ve covered streetball events from Paris to Munich, reported on the Euroleague finals in Athens and Madrid. I took a bunch of guys to do a show in Tel Aviv in 2006...now THAT was a crazy trip! The most recent highlight was all the insanity around my brother beating Devin Harris in a one-on-one (search Stuart Tanner on YouTube in case you’ve been living in a cave). It got 3 million views in like 2 days and we had virtually every newspaper, website and TV station on earth calling.

Some people even turned up at my mum’s house unannounced trying to get an interview with Stuart. Shit - even the Jay Leno show called.

FA: What’s your take on the current state of British basketball?

GT: In terms of domestic leagues, it’s in a bit of a sorry state at the moment - but there’s massive potential. We’ve got London 2012 coming. That’s going to mean new facilities being built and more hype about the game. Team GB is the strongest it’s ever been - to the point where other European teams are actually starting to worry about us - and Sport England this year increased the funding for the national team. We have a great opportunity to use the Olympics as a springboard to really launch basketball in this country.

But if we don’t make the most of it, we’ve blown it, as we’ll never get a chance like this again.

O v erti m E

NEWS

Olympic DREAMS z Remember that “if you build it, they will come” thing from Field of Dreams?

Well, here’s hoping that building THIS - the basketball arena for the London Olympics - will draw Brits to the sport like nothing else ever has before. With seats for 12,000 spectators, it’s set to be the third largest venue on the Olympic Park. And whilst it won’t be there forever (it’s a temporary structure which will be dismantled and recycled following the Games), the British basketball community are crossing their fingers that its legacy will last far longer. The basketball hype that having Team USA playing here will bring will give the sport the most exposure it’s ever enjoyed on these shores.

If Team GB is competitive too (which it may well be), it could be just the catalyst we need to make the game we love take off here in the UK.

BROOKLYN

TAR HEELS TAKE TITLE’

BALLIN’

z The University

EAGLES FLY HIGH z The Newcastle Eagles

in 2011. The owners - including hip-hop god, Jay-Z - had hoped to be there this year, but were met with various setbacks including the ongoing economic crisis and legal opposition following an environmental review. But the team’s CEO, Brett Yormark, reckons they can overcome the problems to move into their planned $1 billion arena for the 2011-2012 season. “We’ve pre-sold 20 percent of our suites,” he told Bloomberg TV. “We feel very confident about the financing. We feel very confident about just the project in general, and once we get through this final piece of litigation, we’ll be in the accelerated mode to break ground and get ready to open.”

Brooklyn has not had a major professional sports team since baseball’s Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1957.

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Photos By: Phil Knott, ODA,

z The New Jersey Nets look set to move to Brooklyn

have capped an extremely successful season by winning the BBL Play-offs for the fourth time in five years. The victory saw them pick up their third piece of silverware of the 08-09 campaign, having already won the League (the first team to do it back-to-back since the London Leopards in 1998) as well as the BBL Trophy.After seeing off the Everton Tigers in an intense Play-off final, Eagles Head Coach Fab Flournoy said: “I’m proud of my team... we are happy to end on such a high, giving our fantastic fans the win they deserved for their great support.”

of North Carolina has won the 2009 college basketball championship.

Unfazed by Michigan State’s home crowd of 72,922 (a record for the tournament) the Tar Heels came out blazing - hitting six of their first seven shots. Michigan State didn’t help their cause by turning the ball over 14 times in the first half! Ty Lawson top-scored with 21 to give Carolina the 89 - 72 win, and hand coach Roy Williams his second national championship in five years. Wayne Ellington was named the tournament MVP. He had 20 points and 9 rebounds against Villanova in the Final Four. Then his 17 first-half points in the final (7-for-9 shooting, including 3-for-3 from downtown), left Michigan all but out of the game at the break. The 6’ 4” guard said he didn’t regret coming back to Carolina for another year rather than jumping to the NBA. “(Coming back) is the best decision that I ever made in my life,” he said. “To experience this with my teammates and to be here, national champions, it is all worth it.”

Hot Like Molten Lava! z Win a Molten leather basketball worth £60.

Just email us at info@fadeawaymag.co.uk with your name, age, postcode and the answer to this simple question: Q: What colour are the basketballs on pages 46/47 our fashion page...

A: Black and Gold B: Red, Blue and Black C: Yellow, Green and Black D: I don’t know I’m colour blind, but please can I have a basketball anyway, l don’t mind what colour.

y Bashp Com

SUMMER JAM

BULLS COMING

TO TOWN

z Going off-court for a sec, and ballers

z Brit star Luol Deng and his

Chicago Bulls will take on the Utah Jazz at the O2 on October 6th. The game is part of the NBA Europe Live tour - which is making its third stop in the capital in as many years. Two Londoners could potentially feature in the match up. Deng’s team mate Ben Gordon was born in Hammersmith – although he may well be with another team come the autumn.

Either way, the Bulls will have their work cut out for them - the Jazz roster includes Team USA stars and 2008 Olympic gold medallists Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer.

But Luol is looking forward to the opportunity. “It has always been my dream to play for the Bulls in London,” he says. “They were the team I supported as a kid growing up and I am looking forward to playing in front of my hometown family and friends.”

Tickets are on sale now at www.theo2.co.uk or by calling 0844 856 0202.

looking for something to bang on their iPod while they’re in the gym this summer should head over to Stylah.tv and download the south London spitter’s latest mixtape. Featuring a tonne of lyrically disgusting tunes, the whole thing is FREE! It’s also hosted by gangster legend, Dave Courtney (if you don’t know, Google him).

So go cop it, or we’ll send Dave and the boys round...OK, son?

LBJ GETS MVP...

So, call us psychic...just days before this magazine went to print (but a few weeks after we’d written our cover story feature), LeBron was, as we predicted, crowned MVP. Now, time to go buy a lottery ticket.

z Bashy has a massive video

on rotation in which he gets kidnapped. Name that track and email the answer to info@ fadeawaymag.co.uk to win an exclusive Bish Bash Bosh tee-shirt (modeled here by the man himself) oh yea and a copy of his brand new album. Also if you sign up to Bashy’s website and become a member you could win a trip to New York.

GET YOUR GARMS RIGHT z Europe’s hottest basketball brand is coming to the UK this

summer. k1x have been holding it down for over 15 years producing sick threads and creps - and are huge in countries such as France and Germany. These guys are ballers for real.

They were the only sports brand willing to sponsor a post-Detroit brawl Ron Artest! And having been a guest of k1x on two separate trips to Munich, Fadeaway’s Greg Tanner can testify that they certainly know how to party. This summer they’re coming with a line inspired by NBA funkmaster World B Free – a 1970’s scoring machine who introduced the League to the 360 dunk.

Keep an eye out for their stuff in stores soon.

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Open Court

S t r eet 2 E lite

STREET 2 ELITE

Basketball kept a young Mike Baptiste off the streets and out of jail.

Now he’s hoping his events can do the same for today’s generation.

“AS

a young kid out there today, there are a lot of people telling you ‘don’t do this, don’t do that’...but very few people actually offering you something you CAN do,” says 26-yearold Mike Baptiste. He’s trying to be one of those “few people”.

Having grown up in Leytonstone, east London, Mike knows the trouble that having nothing to do can get you in. “A lot of my friends got into selling drugs, carrying guns and all that. “Across the road from where I lived was a place called the Beaumont Estate. The amount of stuff that used to go on there was crazy.

Kids were sticking up Securicor vans, there were kidnappings, stabbings. I’d end up reading about people from my school doing all this stuff in the local Guardian.”

But ballin’ kept Mike on the straight and narrow. “I was travelling to Whitechapel all the time for training - and I had games - so I was never around to get involved with all that. And when I was at home, I was too tired!” “Plus, the offer of a scholarship to play ball in America made me focus on getting good grades at school. My coach, Joe White, also played a big part in motivating me.” Mike never took the scholarship, but basketball remained a big part of his life...and in recent years, he’s tried make it a big part of young people’s lives too. In 2007 he put on his first event. Entitled Shoot A Ball, Not A Gun it was run in connection with the Met’s anti-gun crime Operation Trident campaign. Despite being a rookie in the event-mangement game, it was a success - bringing together some of Britain’s best ballers, and putting on a great show for the young spectators at the National Sports Centre at Crystal Palace. Since

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then, Mike has expanded his events portfolio to include a tournament called Street 2 Elite.“I try to pick not only the best, but also the hardest working players,” he says. “And I try to bring everyone in...give everybody a fair shot. Just because you play for a team doesn’t mean you’re better than someone that doesn’t. That’s why we hold open trials.”

As well as a sense of fairness, Mike clearly possesses the gift of the gab too! He’s managed to attract hardto-come-by sponsorship from the likes of Adidas, New Era and Nutrament. “I just tell them the truth,” he explains.

“I tell sponsors what I want - and what I can do for them. I just constantly try to find ways I can market their products because realistically, that’s the bottom line for them.” Mike’s also managed to convince big acts like N-Dubz and Kano to perform at previous events.

“You’d be surprised who you can get hold of through MySpace and stuff like that!” he says. “And when they hear your event is for a good cause, they’re often quite keen to get involved anyway.”London’s fastest-rising urban star, Chipmunk, is set to perform at the next Street 2 Elite event. Check www.street2elite.co.uk for all the details and to support the cause. If you missed out on Street 2 Elite on the 23rd May... Don’t worry we didn’t...

We have a Tee-Shirt to give away to the person who emails us the answer to this simple question.

Q: What is the name of the ex-baller who runs Street 2 Elite and Shoot A Ball Not A Gun? A: Mike Christiansen B: Michael Jordan C: Mike Baptiste

“Kids were sticking up Securicor vans, there were kidnappings, stabbings. I’d end up reading about people from my school doing all this stuff in the local Guardian”

Photo By: Kevin Joseph Words By: Greg Tanner

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Open Court

M idni g h t M adness

MIDNIGHT MADNESS

From a dusty gym in Willesden to Wembley Arena, Midnight Madness has come along way. As Britain’s biggest summer basketball initiative celebrates its 10th anniversary, Fadeaway speaks to the man behind it all.

In

1999, former player Nhamo Shire hit on an idea to get kids off the streets on a Friday night. Sick of the stabbings and gun crime which blighted his northwest London community, he organised a through-the-night basketball session at Willesden Sports Centre. He called it “Midnight Madness”.

It started small - with only a handful of people turning up the first week. But word quickly spread. In a country with precious few opportunities to get a decent run, it began drawing ballers from all corners of London...and beyond. “A lot of people were saying I was crazy - no-way would anybody come out and play ball all night long,” he says.

“But I knew, from playing myself, that if given the opportunity we’d ball all night. Once I started seeing players from all over come through and find this hard-to-reach little gym in NW10 in the middle of the night, I knew we were doing the right thing.” Since then, Nike and various other sponsors have become involved - and Midnight Madness has evolved into by far the biggest thing on the British basketball calendar.

No longer a casual weekly run, MM is now a nationwide competition. Each summer it takes its show on the road - putting on events the length and breadth of the UK, looking for Britain’s best ballers. On offer is the chance to play in a huge grand final in London, where players compete for a place on an elite Midnight Madness team which travels to America to take on the best one of their cities has to offer. Nhamo says it’s all about offering ballers chances and opportunities they simply don’t get anywhere else.“We don’t discriminate on where you’ve played, who you are, who you know - none of that. At MM, you can just come down, get on court and prove yourself. “We give players great exposure. We have hundreds of coaches from the US, Europe and up and down the UK who contact us for the ‘who’s who’ amongst UK players. Over the years we’ve been able to help get players seen by NCAA colleges, prep schools, European academies and even pro teams...leading through to scholarships and - in some cases - pro contracts.

“We’ve also taken players - who have never been out of the country before in their lives - all over the world on our travelling teams. NY, LA, Chicago, Miami, Paris, Milan - it’s been crazy!”

It is fair to say that there is nothing in British basketball on the scale of Midnight Madness finals night. In years past, Crystal Palace has been rammed with thousands of hyped up fans - treated to some amazing basketball, plus performances from the likes of Chris Brown. And last year a new high was reached as MM took over Wembley Arena - with Busta Rhymes doing a half hour set.

“We’re now at that point where we know A LOT of people only tune into UK basketball one time during the year, and that’s to be a part of our Finals Night experience.

“We put a lot of work in, year-round, to ensure the basketball AND the additional bits....the music, dancers and of course, our dunk competition...are the best of the best - so everyone goes home happy.“So far, every year, we’ve done it. People come up to us afterwards in total disbelief at what they just saw. Anyone who was at the Wembley dunk competition will testify to that.”

So what are the plans for this summer, as Midnight Madness turns 10? “This year, we’re really trying to get back into the core of basketball. After Wembley, it’s easy to look around and say ‘what else is there to do? We’ve done it all’. MM is not about the floss, it’s about the opportunity.

“So this year we’re aiming to deliver the types of basketball opportunities that we really feel the UK ballers need. It’s about building a legacy. Paving the way for players to really use MM to help them not only get recognised in their own areas, but really support them in their ongoing efforts to make it through to the next level. “Luol and Pops have shown what UK kids can do if given the chance. We’re trying to be that chance.”

“A lot of people were saying I was crazy...but I knew that if given the opportunity, we’d ball all night”

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Photo By: Getty Images Words By: Greg Tanner

17

1 5 M I NUTE S O F F A M E

STUART TANNER

How a two minute game of one-on-one at a court in Stockwell led to Stuart Tanner becoming a global sensation...as well as the most-searched-for thing on Google for a day!

H Words By: Stuart Tanner

“I swear down, nearly every news channel and newspaper from the UK called me up”

Special Guest Editor Blak Twang waiting for a Saucy Kipper...

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aving trekked to south London to watch the Heat and Nets players open a court in Stockwell, I was pissed to find the only guy I went to see - Dwyane Wade - hadn’t even shown up. After realising that he and Vince Carter - the two superstars of their teams - weren’t coming, me and my boys quickly lost interest.

Anyway, the NBA players put on a coaching clinic for the local kids, and as it was winding down they were getting their photos taken with everyone and anyone who turned up on the day. My brother turned to me and asked:”do you want me to take a picture of you and Devin?” referring to the Nets’ guard Devin Harris. I’ve never been a fan of asking people for their autograph or a photo or whatever, so I responded: “ Nah, I want to play a ones!”

A grin appeared across my brother’s face, who then turned to Devin and asked him. Devin looked me up and down, blatantly thinking I was some scrub, and agreed to it.

The rest you might of seen on YouTube. Later that day, I went to see my mum with my brother - and told her I’d just embarrassed one of the best players in the world. She didn’t seem interested at all. I think she was more concerned with what colour to paint the dining room (which she was having re-done)! Anyway, Greg uploaded the two minute clip to YouTube (and his website - basketball247.co.uk) and a day later one of my friends contacted me on Facebook and said “30,000 plus views, damn that’s crazy!!” The next morning, I got up and checked the clip...I couldn’t believe it - two and a half million views!!! I refreshed the page about five times because I thought there was a mistake. The next day would be the most surreal 24 hours of my life.

It started off with me being inundated with calls on my mobile phone…I swear down, nearly every news channel / paper from the UK belled me! ITV national news said they were sending some guys out to interview me at my local court in a couple of hours and would hopefully have it on TV by the lunchtime news. While sorting out all my stuff for the interview I got a call from my mum saying that Reuters were looking to talk to me.

She was like “don’t mess this up - it’s world news!” Photographers and journalists were turning up to my mum’s house unannounced, trying to get in contact with me. I headed down to my local courts with my boy Jimmy and did an interview with ITN and then Reuters. Setanta sports then sent a cab to pick me up and take me to central London to do a live interview on TV. When I arrived at their offices, a man greeted me and my friend Marlon and said “ Oh wow, I didn’t know you were bringing Devin as well”!!! WTF??!!

We so should have acted like he WAS Devin and done the interview, that would have been jokes!! Over the next couple of days, I did a few more interviews on the radio and for newspapers. The Times even ran it as an advert on television. It was kinda of nuts, sitting there watching a film or something then my snap on Devin popping up...I started laughing every time. Friends rang from America, Germany, New Zealand and Australia to say I had gone out on national television news. And one of my closest friends, who was in South America, rang me and said he was sitting in a sports bar having a drink...looked up at the TV and saw me. He thought someone had spiked his drink or something. Anyway that was pretty much it. I got the serious hook up, garms-wise, from the guys at K1x - so mad love for that - and a nice cheque from the Times advert.

Jay Leno’s people hollered at me, but nothing ever came from that,.

They thought I’d been signed up to the League or something! I got loads of love - and a bit of hate - but I think the most shocking thing to come out of this was that the NBA show on Channel 5 didn’t even mention it!

How can this one-on-one make the world news...and a British programme dedicated to the NBA not even report the story? They were there filming at the court that day! I saw an interview that James from Basketball 24/7 did at the All-Star Game in Phoenix, with Devin saying he wants a re-match pretty soon. Haa haa - hopefully he will come over for the 2012 Olympics, even if he’s not on the squad. I know once he has the ball I cant stop him at all..but if he gets caught slippin’ on defence again, I will expose him!

L E G EN D O F T H E L O G O

J E RR Y W E S T

It’s one of the most recognisable sports logos on the planet, yet many have no clue who the mystery man is. Let us enlighten you...

S

ome of the most famous brand logos are pretty abstract. Adidas have the three stripes, Nike the swoosh and Audi the four interlocked rings. They mean virtually nothing about the actual product.

The NBA logo, however, is less hard to figure out.

It’s about a basketball league and...shock horror...features the outline of a basketball player. This one requires no pretentious explanation. However, most people assume the silhouette is just a generic player - one drawn off the top of the head by some graphic designer. They don’t realise it’s actually modelled on one of the greatest ever to play the game - Jerry West. Known as Mr Clutch for his ability to come up with the big plays at the most crucial times, West’s lists of achievements are just ridiculous. To name but a few - he was the third player in league history to reach 25,000 points, an All-Star every year of his career and led Los Angeles to the NBA Finals nine times.

In 1969, the NBA commissioned designer Alan Siegel to fashion a new logo. The league’s boss at the time, Walter Kennedy told Siegel he wanted the NBA to have “a visual alliance with Major League Baseball” who, the year before, had launched their now famous logo featuring the silhouette of a player swinging a bat.“So we used the white silhouette to create that visual harmony with baseball’s red, white and blue logo,” Siegel later explained.

At the time, Jerry West was in his prime and one of the

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most recognisable players in the league. Siegel adapted a photograph of him in action, mid-dribble, and in 1971 the NBA adopted the design as their official logo. Not that the choice of West hasn’t been considered controversial over the years. Wilt Chamberlain was easily the most dominant player of that era - winning 7 scoring titles and 4 MVPs. There was also the small matter of the 100 points he dropped on the New York Knicks IN ONE GAME in 1962!

So why wasn’t he chosen? Many think race has something to do with it. I’m more inclined to believe it’s to do with the fact that whilst Wilt The Stilt was famously sleeping with thousands of women (he claimed he’d had 20,000 in his 1991 biography!), West was a hard working, no-nonsense family man. Even back then the NBA was hot on that stuff - trying to market itself with a clean-cut, family-friendly image. It’s now nearly forty years since West became the “face” of the NBA, and whilst it remains one of the most famous sports logos on earth, some say it’s time for a change.The “short shorts” which are clearly visible now look very dated, and there’s a whole generation of young fans who’ve never even heard of Jerry West - let alone know that he’s the guy on the logo. I say don’t change the logo, change people’s perceptions. Educate them about its history, so they can fully appreciate it - and the fact that it’s served the NBA so well for so long. I hope I’ve gone some way to achieving that here.

Words By: Greg Tanner illustratION: niko 09

“So we used the white silhouette to create that visual harmony with baseball’s red, white and blue logo”

FOCUS MODE

C h a r l o tte B A L D R E Y

Five years ago, Charlotte BaldreyChourio was arguably the best British female baller out there.

Where’d she go?

We Photo By: FadeAway Words By: Greg Tanner

“I woke up one morning and there was something wrong with my left eye.

I couldn’t see properly”

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weren’t meant to be doing this photoshoot today. Charlotte was due to take an exam at the end of the week and was too busy studying.

But when she accidentally split her contact lens, all that changed. I know...why would tearing a lens stop you from revising or doing a test, right? Well, these are no ordinary lenses - as Charlotte has no ordinary sight problem.“I have Keratoconus,” she tells me. “I’m not sure of the spelling though!” A quick google brings up the following description: “A degenerative disorder of the eye in which structural changes within the cornea cause it to thin and change to a more conical shape than its normal gradual curve. Keratoconus can cause substantial distortion of vision, with multiple images, streaking and sensitivity to light all often reported by the patient.

Indeed it was this condition that brought Charlotte’s pro basketball career to a premature end, but helped bring her future clearly into focus. Let’s rewind five years. It’s 2004 and Charlotte is on a full scholarship at NCAA Division 1 college Hofstra, in New York. She’s there having previously done two years at Tallahassee in Florida. 5’ 10”, athletic and a fierce defender, she’s dedicated her life to ball...and there is no plan B. “I always wanted to be a basketball player. Playing ball was all I used to do when I was younger and I geared everything towards it. I really felt like I was going to make it.” However, even then, Charlotte’s eyesight was starting to fail. “I woke up one morning and there was something wrong with my left eye. I couldn’t see properly. “It took two years to get it properly diagnosed and I had to keep going back and forth getting loads of different lenses.” After graduating, Charlotte signed with Caceres - a pro team in Spain. Fearing it would scupper her chances of a spot, she didn’t declare her eye condition. But it wasn’t long before team staff began cottoning on, and she could no longer hide it.

“They kept me on for a while, but I knew I didn’t have a choice - I had to come home.” Charlotte left the team and ended up back in London. “I was heartbroken. Basketball was something I’d pursued for so long. It had paid for my schooling, taken me around the world.

But it was clear I was not going to be able to make a proper living out of it.” But Char is an all-or-nothing type girl.

Unwavering determination and dedication had taken her far in basketball. Now she just had to apply that same mentality to something else. “When I was younger, I thought being a barrister might be cool, so I began studying law.” Despite have to go through two lens transplant operations since beginning her studies, Charlotte is well on the way to achieving her goal. “I’m now on the last stage of the Bar Vocational Course. I’ll finish in July next year. After that, I have to do a year’s tutelage and then I’m qualified.” But after giving all to ball, does she miss the sport that once ruled her life? “I find it difficult just to play mess-around games now. It’s a shame, I put so much into it...but, at the same time, I did get so much out of it. I’ll always love basketball.”

B I G S C REEN B A L L I N ’

FREESTYLE MOVIE

As far as we here at Fadeaway are aware, there’s never been a British basketball movie. Director Kolton Lee is about to change all that...

Words By: Greg Tanner Photo By: JOHN HOOPER

“Agencies [said] ‘oh yeah, Joey plays basketball’.

But in reality, Joey had played a bit at school, but hadn’t actually touched a basketball for five or six years”

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On

Directing Freestyle is bringing back plenty of memories for Kolton Lee. A former pro-baller, injury forced him to give up his hoop dreams a long time ago.“I was 21 and had just broken into the England team when I suffered a serious knee injury. “I’m 6’ 6” and pretty slim - so my game was based on speed and agility. So when I got injured, it really messed up my game and I knew it was all over, really.” Unable to be involved actively on the court, Kolton turned his back on basketball completely - moving into sports journalism and eventually into TV and film. But his latest venture has brought him back to the game he once loved.

Freestyle is the tale of an intelligent, privatelyeducated girl, whose middle class family dream of her studying law at Oxford. But her life is turned upside-down when she falls for bad-boy streetballer, Leon. He begins teaching her to freestyle, and persuades her to enter a local competition with a £15,000 prize. Despite basketball being very much a minority sport here in Britain, Kolton is confident the storyline is strong enough to draw audiences in. “Lovers from two different sides of the class divide is a universal story. We’re just setting it in a different - and completely new - context. And there are going to be some incredible basketball and freestyle action sequences in there.” When looking for people to play the lead roles, Kolton had some pretty tough criteria. They needed to be able to play ball, freestyle, dance and act.

“Originally, we tried the traditional route of going to agencies to find actors. They’d say ‘oh yeah, Joey plays basketball’. But in reality, Joey had played a bit at school, but hadn’t actually touched a basketball for five or six years.“So we decided to cast the net a bit wider and held open auditions. We saw about 300 people and were very impressed.” Kolton has a lot of hard work ahead of him though. His tiny budget of £100,000 only allows for three weeks of shooting and four months of post-production, which in film industry terms is nothing. Producers Revolver are aiming for an October cinema release, meaning the pressure is really on. But how did he get a basketball film funded in the first place, given how little attention the sport attracts here? “I think the success of films like Kidulthood and Adulthood really helped,” he explains.Those films - portraying the gritty realities of London’s teenage street life - had massive commercial success in relation to their cost.

“People who traditionally thought ‘we don’t make these types of films’ started to pay attention... we’re aiming for a very similar target audience.”

Kolton names White Men Can’t Jump as his favourite basketball movie - and hopes Freestyle can emulate its appeal. “The whole relationship between Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes’ characters in that film was brilliant. I think Freestyle is similar - even if you don’t like basketball, the story will attract you.

“If you do like basketball, you’ll love it!”

LEBRON JAMES

HAIL

THE

KING WORDS By: GREG TANNER PhotoS By: Finlay Mackay

The Cleveland Cavaliers have finished the regular season with the best record in the NBA - and LeBron James looks like a lock for the MVP. The best player on the best team, it seems on a rigged ballot can stop th ly 24-year-old from winning the most prestigious of individue awards. But what is yet to al seen is whether he can leadbe the Cavs to a ‘chip in this - his sixth season as a pro.

And what is still debatable whether he is even the bestis player in the game right now.f

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LEBRON JAMES

I’m

going to start by saying this - LeBron James is the most physically gifted baller on earth.

Possibly of all time. Sure there have been guys stronger, there have been guys faster and there have been guys more agile. But no one has had a combination of attributes quite like King James.

At 6’ 8” he has the height of a power forward - and his 250 pound frame looks more like that of an NFL linebacker than a small forward. Logic tells you that he should be a low-post banger. But he is so much more. Yes, there have been versatile bigs who’ve broken the mould before.

Dirk Nowitzki is a 3-point-shooting 7-footer. Kevin Garnett can move like a guy 6 inches shorter, and Magic Johnson was a 6’ 9” point guard. But LeBron is on some next level shit. Can Dirk take the physical contact that LBJ can to finish with the foul? Can KG shoot from beyond the arc like him? Could Magic catch alley-oops above the square? No, no and no.

Simple. LeBron is virtually unguardable.

The opposing defence is geared entirely towards stopping him...and his supporting Cavaliers cast ain’t exactly the greatest... yet he pretty much does whatever he wants. He handles the rock like a PG and has great range on his shot. But he’s at his scariest when at speed.

Flying down the court faster than should be physically possible for a guy his size, defenders trying to stop him look like flies - quite literally bouncing off him as he goes to the hole. And once he picks up his dribble and prepares for take-off, it’s over. His 44 inch vertical allows him to finish over anyone and everyone. And if he is hit mid-air, he has the strength and body-control to absorb the contact, compose himself and get the shot off. That’s why he leads the league in “and1” plays.

And let’s not forget his defence. The smart money is on him finishing second only to Dwight Howard in the Defensive Player of The Year voting. A video on YouTube half-jokingly claims he leads the league in the unofficial statistic of “chase-downs” - catching up with opponents on the fast break and erasing their shot. I’m inclined to believe this! Anyone going to the rack with LeBron hot on their heels needs to throw a serious pump fake or wait for help to arrive - otherwise that shit is getting sent into the bleachers or pinned against the glass. Just ask Jason Richardson..This season, LeBron has been an animal - and there can be no argument, in my mind, for anyone else to win MVP. Numberswise, he was strong - finishing second in scoring (28.4ppg), 8th in steals (1.69) and 9th in assists (7.2).f

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“Anyone going to the rack with LeBron hot on their heels needs to throw a serious pump fake or wait for help to arrive otherwise that shit is getting sent into the bleachers or pinned against the glass.

Just ask Jason Richardson”

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LEBRON JAMES

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sets him slightly apart from the young pretender. Although the Lakers came second in the regular season standings, bare in mind they finished just 1 game behind the Cavs - in what many would say is a far tougher Western Conference.

And finally, yes - Kobe’s numbers were slightly lower than LeBron’s. But don’t forget that he was playing on what is arguably the deepest roster in the L. All this LeBron v Kobe hype will come to a head if the pair meet in the finals this summer...a scenario I think is more than likely to happen. The Celtics are nowhere near the team they were last year - especially with Garnett injured - leaving the Cavs as favourites in the east.

Conversely, the Lakers are stronger than they were last June. Just as the Lakers v Celtics was the perfect finals match-up last year, a Cavs v Lakers final this time around would be David Stern’s wet dream. The best team versus the second best team. The MVP pitted against the best player in the league. The up-andcoming star taking on the “been-there, done-that” vet. The youngster trying to win his first ring and the three-time champ looking to redeem himself after last year’s sweep...and prove he can do it without Shaq. There’s no doubt LeBron James is a future Hall-of-Famer. The way he’s going on, he may even retire as the greatest of all time (yes, I went there!). But the greats are remembered for their winning. If LBJ scoops his first ring this summer, it’ll be a huge boost to his already meteoric rise.

“Yes, there have been versatile bigs who’ve broken the mould before…But LeBron is on some next level shit”

Photos By: Mansoor Ahmed

He also led the NBA’s “Efficiency” category. That said, Dwyane Wade’s individual stats were slightly better (30.2 points, 2.19 steals and 7.5 assists) But what sets LeBron apart from Wade is the stat in the “W” column. LBJ led the Cavs in scoring, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks (a feat only achieved by three other players in NBA history) - taking them to the best record in the league (23 wins more than Miami).

And it’s not as if he’s surrounded by superstars. Sure, Mo Williams just scraped an All-Star place this year, but LeBron’s supporting cast is weaker than that of, say, Kobe Bryant.

So what does the man himself think about all the MVP hype? “I’m so much of a team guy that it’s hard for me to look at the MVP trophy,” is his oh-sopredictable answer. “I try to be the best player for our team - so every night we go out there and try to win basketball games. I feel like with team success, individual accolades take care of themselves.” Whatever. But whilst the vast majority of experts are in agreement about LBJ being the most VALUABLE player in the league, whether he is actually the BEST player is less clear cut. Kobe Bryant is, in my opinion at least, still top dog. He’s the most clutch performer in the league. If I had the choice of Kobe or LeBron taking the last shot, I’d take number 24 over number 23. And whilst LeBron beats him in terms of physical attributes, Kobe has a killer instinct which I think

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P ops M ensa h - B ons u

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FEATURE

POPS GETS HIS PROPS

After a couple of years of flirting with the NBA, London’s Pops Mensah-Bonsu has finally been able to prove himself in the big league. He says he’s there to stay.

Photo By: The Canadian Press/Chris Young

Words By: Greg Tanner

F

or years now, Luol Deng has dominated British basketball coverage. But this season, Pops Mensah-Bonsu is the big story.

It’s about time too, for his path to the NBA has been a long and winding one. First, some history. Pops grew up in Tottenham - in the (hench!) shadow of his older brother Kojo. An absolute animal of a baller - Kojo did his thing as a pro overseas during the season, and wowed British crowds at the annual Rough And Ready tournament in Brixton during the summer.

He proved to be an inspiration.

“It was him, basically...I just wanted to be like him,” says Pops.“He started playing in the early nineties and went to America. But I didn’t take basketball that seriously at first. I was also into football and athletics.” However, east London coaching legend Joe White (R.I.P.) got Pops to see the light.

“Joe was the biggest influence for me,” he says of his former Hackney White Heat mentor. “When he died [in 2002], it made me take basketball much more seriously.” With his potential obvious from early on, Pops headed across the pond to play high school ball in New Jersey, before going to NCAA Division 1 George Washington University.

Despite being thousands of miles away from his hometown, he never forgot Joe. “Every game I played, I wore an armband with his name and number on it. I used to write his name on my ankle tape too”. The 6’ 9” forward had a strong career at GW, where he became known as an athletic monster. However, despite an impressive record, he failed to get drafted - almost certainly due to concerns about a knee injury he sustained in his final year.f 33

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Joventut is based in Badalona - less than 15 miles from the centre of Barcelona. “I loved it there. I loved the lifestyle. Every person I told I was living in Barcelona said it was one of their favourite cities!” And in terms of basketball, Spain’s ACB is widely acknowledged as being the strongest league outside of the NBA...and Joventut one of its best teams - featuring teenage prodigy Ricky Rubio. “I was excited about playing with Ricky,” Pops says.“He’s such a talented player, and I think his style of play and mine would have complimented each other.”

Plus, Pops was getting to play in the prestigious Euroleague tournament - watched by millions of fans across the globe. And for a few weeks, he was killing - taking the Euroleague’s Week 2 MVP award, averaging nearly 19 and 12, and making pretty much every highlight reel going.

But then, another road-block. “I’d had a nagging shoulder injury for a while. There was pain if I got hit or went for a rebound, but I could play through it. But it got to a point where I couldn’t take it.” Three Spanish doctors told Pops it was tendonitis, but he knew it was something more than that, and flew to Alabama to see a specialist who diagnosed a torn ligament. “I had two options, surgery or rehab,” Pops says. “I was committed to the team, so chose to rehab so I could get back playing with them as soon as possible”.

But it didn’t work out, and when Pops was released by Joventut in December, it looked like his season was done. However, a few months later Pops found himself back in the D-League... and dominating. In his eight games with the Austin Toros (the San Antonio Spurs’ affiliate team), he averaged 26.6 points, 13 rebounds and 2.5 blocks.

MONSTER stats! When injury hit the Spurs, Pops was offered a 10 day contract with them. It was his chance to prove what he could do in the NBA, and he seized it - racking up 11 points and 6 boards in just 12 minutes of play in his second game for them.f

Photo By: Kieran Halil

“Pops became a fan favourite.

Suddenly, everyone was talking about the guy with the long name... and sales of Toronto #44 jerseys leapt.”

“Not getting drafted was a big disappointment,” he says. “Coming from Tottenham, I wanted to do something no one else from there had done before, and I felt a bit like I’d let myself and my family down. “But I knew the NBA was within my reach.” With that in mind, Pops ground it out at summer workout camps to earn a two year deal with the Dallas Mavericks.“When I got the opportunity with the Mavs, I just focused on working hard and playing with a lot of determination.”

However, playing back-up to that season’s MVP, Dirk Nowitzki, and fellow forward Josh Howard (himself in All-Star form that year) meant he was never going to get a proper chance to shine.

“I definitely felt like I could have got more playing time if I’d been at certain other teams.” Bumped down to the Mavs’ Development League team, the Fort Worth Flyers, Pops’ NBA dream appeared to be fading... until an awe-inspiring performance in the NBA D-League All-Star game in Las Vegas. “I’d never really played in a game like that before,” he says. “There was a lot of talent in the D-League that year, and I just wanted to prove to everyone what I could do. “It was a big deal to me, and definitely helped my confidence”. His 30-point, 7-rebound effort during the NBA’s showpiece weekend propelled him back into the spotlight. But, alas, not back into the NBA... at least, not on a permanent basis. “It was a disappointment not to get back into the league properly. I’m a competitive player and a competitive person. But I knew my time would come”. The following year, Pops had a decent season at Italy’s Bennetton Treviso - and in the summer afterwards, had more NBA interest.

However, Spanish team DKV Juventut made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.

“I’m not in basketball for the money, but I couldn’t really turn down what they were offering. I thought it would give me some security in case I wanted to try to get back to the D-League or the NBA the next year”. Even without the big money, this seemed like a good look. Firstly, the location was great.

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“I definitely feel confident about being in the NBA for a good while to come”

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The stats were impressive - but even more so was the way he got them four dunks in that game alone, including an And1 on Cleveland Cavaliers centre Zydrunas Ilgauskas (one of the better bigs in the east) that made all the highlight shows that night. North London’s finest had arrived - and just days later he was snapped up by the Toronto Raptors, where he took it to a whole new level - dropping a career high 21 on Indiana in just his fourth game with the club. With his ferocious rebounding, limitless hustle and energy - not to mention thunderous dunks - Pops became a fan favourite.

Suddenly, everyone was talking about the guy with the long name... and sales of Toronto #44 jerseys leapt.

Slam Magazine claimed: “He has got to be one of the best athletes among post players in the League.

Every time he goes to rebound, he nearly decapitates his head on the rim. Why the league slept on him is anyone’s guess. There aren’t many tall athletes like him wandering the earth.”

Meanwhile The Bleacher Report raved: “Just seeing how much his presence alone is changing the Raptors’ image has been impressive. It’s as if the fans have been dying of thirst in the Mojave Desert and Pops’s energy and athleticism is the cool, refreshing water from an oasis. Fans just needed a guy

like him on this team.” Add to all that regular TV interviews and features, and Pops Mensah-Bonsu has been one of the most surprising NBA success stories of the second half of the season.

“Playing in Toronto is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for years,” Pops says. “It’s given me a chance to show what I can do. The fact that the fans have embraced me in such a short time is a blessing. They like how hard I play, which is a plus.” It’s not just the fans and the sports writers who are loving Pops. “What can I say, he has a great game - he has nice highlights too”, says four-time all-star Shawn Marion.

“He’s given us second chance points on the offensive end. He’s hustled, he’s rebounded, he’s run the floor...it’s good to have that injection of energy and that breath of fresh air into the locker room and the line-up,” enthuses team mate Tony Parker (not to be confused with he of Eva Longoria fame). Finally, after three years of hard graft, trying to prove he belonged in the NBA, Pops has made it. And although the Raptors failed to make the playoffs this year, things are looking bright for Tottenham’s top baller. “I would love to be back in Toronto next season, but we’ll have to see what happens in the off-season. I have a few options, but I definitely feel confident about being in the NBA for a good while to come”.

Photos By: Ron Turenne/NBAE

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I n t erna t iona L

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TEAM GB

The

UP

COME Once the laughing stock of world basketball, Team GB is now the strongest it’s ever been - and has some top European nations shook.

Words By: Greg Tanner PHOTOS By: Mansoor Ahmed

“I

think Britain can be a great team, everyone knows the names.

They are one of the favourites this year.” That endorsement came not from some deluded British fan, or a Team GB press release trying to get some hype, but from Rudy Fernandez - NBA player and one of the stars of Spain’s national team. That’s the Spanish national team that won the last World Championship...and took Olympic silver in Beijing after pushing the U.S.A. pretty hard in the final.“Everybody around Europe speaks about Great Britain as a favourite,” according to Fernandez. Oh how far we’ve come. Just three years ago, the idea that Britain could be a contender would have been unthinkable. Laughable even. The team was made up of a handful of BBL players, a few well-past-their-prime veterans and a couple of guys playing in Europe. Fast forward to September 2009 and we’ll be competing in the prestigious Eurobasket competition for the first time in history. So what’s behind the turnaround? The easy answer would be to say Luol Deng ..and sure, having a bona fide NBA star on the roster has been a huge help. But the real, unsung heros have been British Basketball’s management team and head coach Chris Finch.

Behind the scenes, the guys at BB have worked wonders to secure money for the national team programme - with UK Sport ultimately increasing basketball funding by 135% in preparation for London 2012. On the court, meanwhile, Chris Finch has been on a recruiting mission of epic proportions managing to secure commitments from the very best British passport holders, no matter where they’re playing their club basketball. Now, thanks to Finch, Team GB features not only the likes of Deng (Chicago Bulls), but also Pops Mensah-Bonsu (Toronto Raptors) and Robert Archibald (Unicaja Malaga).

Don’t be surprised if there are a few more NBA names on the roster come this summer. “The commitment Chris has shown has been unparalleled and he deserves a lot of credit for our success,” says Mensah-Bonsu. “I think he has seen something that nobody else saw...and has built a programme from nothing to taking us to where we are in Europe.” It’s just as well Finch has done such a great job, as Britain’s hopes of playing in our own Olympic Games rest firmly on his shoulders. I know what you’re thinking: “As host nation, aren’t we guaranteed a place at London 2012?” Usually, the answer would be yes. But we were so weak when London was awarded the games that the world basketball governing body (FIBA) stepped in and said “hell no!”.

Fearing the competition would be devalued, FIBA insisted that if we want to play Olympic ball, we’d have to demonstrate that we’re competitive in European basketball.f

“We’ll have to have our best players [at Eurobasket]... but I think we can move on to next round. It won’t be easy, but I believe we could catch a few people by surprise”

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“I think Britain can be a great team.

TheY are one of the favourites this year”

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TEAM GB

Well, last summer, under Chris Finch’s guidance, Team GB beat the Czech Republic, Bosnia and Herzegovina and - perhaps most impressively - basketball-crazed nation Israel.

I’d say that makes us pretty competitive. Qualifying for Eurobasket was one thing. Actually competing against the likes of Spain and Serbia in the tournament for real will be quite another. “It’s the same thing as every summer, we have a lot to prove” Finch told Fadeaway.

“We’ll have to have our best players there, and play our best basketball, but I think we can move on to next round.

It won’t be easy, but I believe we could catch a few people by surprise.”

There’s still hope that those “best players” will include Deng’s Chicago team mate Ben Gordon, who holds a British passport. He’s indicated he wants to play for GB, but at the end of this NBA season he will be out of contract and a free agent. Unless he’s signed a long-term deal with another team in the League, there’s no way he’ll be playing for us. Finch rates the odds of him appearing in a GB vest this

summer as “50/50”. Gordon would instantly boost our offensive firepower.

He’d also help balance the team a bit more - we currently have a very strong frontcourt compared to the guards. Chris Finch is philosophical about the whole matter. He wants Gordon to be a part of the team, but claims “we can’t control his free-agency, so we’re trying not to worry about it too much. We try to focus on what we CAN control.” One thing he can control is GB’s preparation ahead of Eurobasket. Before heading to Poland in September, the team will get to test its mettle against some of Europe’s top nations in three tournaments this summer. “It’ll be tough, but that’s the best way to prepare,” says Finch. Three of their games will take place at London’s O2 arena. When GB played there in September, 7,500 fans turned out to see them beat the Czech Republic.

“That was a great game and great atmosphere...and it really set us up well for the next two home games,” says Finch. “This will be the first competitive exercise for us. We have to focus 100% www.gameongb.com on ourselves.”

Real Talk

STREETBALL

code of the STREETS

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WORDS By: GREG TANNER PhotoS By: Rinchen Ato

Eight years ago, I was asked to define streetball in an interview. I said it was “basketball in its purest form”. I must have hit the nail on the head, as the phrase has been ripped off and repeated all over the internet ever since. I still stand by that description. Here’s why...

F

orget the razzmatazz of an NBA game. Or the buzz around a college arena during March Madness. For me, there is nothing sweeter than the sound of ball on blacktop, under a blue sky on a summer’s day. Streetball is basketball stripped back to its essence. Forgive me if I’m getting too poetic here, but even the fact that it’s played outdoors, in the open air, gives it a “back to basics” or “back to nature” feel.

I’ve sat yards from thousands of crazy Greek fans, going wild as their team won a tight Euroleague final in Athens - but the feeling didn’t even come close to being at the now legendary Brighton Summer Jam in 2002, or the Quai 54 final in Paris back in 2006. To see a street court packed so full of spectators that people start climbing trees to get a view of the action is something else. To watch a player cross his defender over and jam it on a big man - and then to be involved in the ensuing court invasion - is an experience I would recommend for all basketball fans. There are those who think streetball is just about doing tricks and showboating. Who believe streetballers have a “look good first, win second” mentality. Bollocks, I say. Sure, there scrubs out there who miss a lay-up after putting the ball through a defender’s legs and still think they’re the man.

But true disciples know the deal. Winning is still everything. Furthermore, the very fact players aren’t being paid means winning means even more. They’re not out on the court for a pay-cheque...they’re playing for pride. They’re playing for their rep. They’re playing for the love of the game. Despite what you may have heard, the rules of the game are the same.

However, the way it’s played is quite different. On the playground, ballers have to rely on their creativity, skills and instincts to create opportunities rather than work within the constraints of a pre-designed, well-rehearsed set-play. This spontaneity is the vital difference that gives streetball its magic. But it can also expose people horribly. There are guys who work well within a structured team environment - who know their role and do it well.

But put them on the blacktop, where all that planned shit counts for nothing, and they’re lost. On the flipside, you have dudes out there with crazy talent who never managed to fit into “the system”. But on the streetball court - free from the straight-jacket of coaches and set-offeneses - they are legends. Away from the lights, cameras, glitz and glamour of the big leagues, streetball lives - allowing thousands to play out their very own Hoops Dreams on playgrounds across the globe.

“They’re not out on the court for a pay-cheque... they’re playing for pride. They’re playing for their rep.

They’re playing for the love of the game”

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MUSIC

CHIPMUNK

“I don’t think I should be a spokesman for young people’s problems ‘cos I go through young people’s problems myself”

AT THE BUZZER

With his cheeky swagger and catchy “Chip Diddy Chip” ringing in everyone’s head, Tottenham resident Chipmunk has the cool kids “going nuts”.

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“Yeah, yeah. I remember basketball, but only in PE lessons. Ha!” He’s clear though on whether the government is providing enough opportunities for kids to play the game. “Everyone just sits on the fence. You can’t just blame the government.

Blame yourself. Everyone is given the same opportunity.” When asked about his influences, Chip doesn’t bow to the pressure that dictates ‘all new artists should quote hip-hop classics from the 90’s as credible answers’...instead citing a new generation of rappers. “I’m not gonna lie and say I grew up listening to Biggie and Tupac - ‘cos I didn’t. I’m not from that era. I’m more from the whole Jay-Z, Fabolous, Wayne, Santana, Joe Budden time.”

Those influences have helped Chip to polish his popular style - which has seen him support heavyweights Lil Wayne and Dipset on their UK tour dates. So far, Chip has resisted signing to a major - instead releasing his much-anticipated debut “I Am Chipmunk” (due September) on the independent Alwayz Recording. It’s a project that, understandably, excites the MC. “Boi, the only thing I could probably compare it to is having a baby.

Everyone says that when you have your first child it’s the best feeling. So I feel like I’m gonna have my first child.” With the shelf-life of new artists getting shorter, Chipmunk recognises the importance of remaining focussed. “The younger you start, the longer your life cycle.

You just gotta stay on top of your game - like don’t take note of what everyone else is doing.” His elevation to the top has been rapid. Now we eagerly wait and see if he truly has enough game to WORDS By: stay there.

Ali Raymond Photo By: James Pearson Howes

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earning his craft in community centres around Finsbury, Jahmaal Noel Fyffe (aka Chipmunk) came of age at a period when garage was returning to the underground and a new musical expression - Grime - was exploding into the commercial sector. At 16, he’d already released three mixtapes (Whatever The Weather Vol 1 and 2 and League of My Own), successfully following a blueprint laid down by an older generation of artists like Wiley, Kano, Lethal B and Dizzee, who’d already proved that crossing over to the mainstream was possible for a select few. But having won a MOBO & UMA award for best newcomer, many fans argue that Chip is very different from his peers because he’s blown quicker - topping charts and gaining fame in a matter of minutes. He’s now in heavy rotation on MTV and with top DJ’s across the country, including Westwood. But the overnight fame hasn’t seemed to faze him. “To me it means work,” he says “When I first started the commercial side, I really didn’t see all of this coming - so everything is a bonus.”But with increased fame comes greater artistic responsibility - and although Chip has previously been vocal on the perils of “on road” lifestyle, he’s reluctant to be named a spokesman for the youth. “I don’t think I should be allocated as a spokesman ‘cos I go about myself. I just live my life and live positive. I don’t think I should be a spokesman for young people’s problems ‘cos I go through young people’s problems myself.” Words that illustrate the pressures on young shoulders. “I think kids do follow their favourite artists. But in terms of encouragement, I think don’t be a fake...just be yourself.

“In terms of why do people do this, why do people carry this, I can’t answer for them...

I can just do. I think if you choose a lifestyle, make sure it’s a positive one.” Hip-Hop culture and basketball have an inseparable relationship - and Chip has experience in both, although admits he’s never been much of a baller.

F A D E T O B LA C K

FASHION

3 Here are some explosive Adidas and Nike trainers that will be available this summer plus some sexy multi coloured Moltens.

EXPLOSIVE EDGE

PhotoS By: ADRIAN NETTLESHIP /RESPONSE

2 1. Adidas Thrillrahna: Grey, Black and White. www.adidas.com 2. Adidas Thrillrahna: Black, Red and White. www.adidas.com 3. Adidas NBA Mad Speed: White, Purple and Gold. www.adidas.com

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COMPETITION !

Write a Rap to win an Adidas Basketball Kit! Just email your name, age, postcode and your Adidas Rap stating why you like adidas sooo much to info@fadeawaymag.co.uk.

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F A D E T O B LA C K

FASHION

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1. Nike Hyperlite: White and Metallic Gold. www.nike.com 2. Nike Hyperlite: Black, White and Varsity Red. www.nike.com 3/4/5. Molten Indoor/Outdoor Rubber Basketball: New Red / Brand New Two-Tone Blue / New Red & Black.

All available at www.moltensports.co.uk

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