nba pick的八卦，YOUTUBE和Yahoo名人娛樂都在討論

【三對三超實用戰術：西班牙擋拆(Spain Pick & Roll)】
前陣子有人私訊問我說，他平常不常打全場比賽，能不能介紹一些三對三可以用到的戰術？

本來覺得這跟我介紹NBA戰術的宗旨不太一樣，後來轉念一想很多戰術其實不需要使用到場上五個人，找一些適當運用三名球員的戰術，就可以寫一篇很有趣的主題了，比如我今天要介紹的「西班牙擋拆」。

西班牙擋拆，名稱由來是源自西班牙國家隊所使用的戰術，引進NBA後收到良好的效果，幾乎每隊都能看見西班牙擋拆的戰術。其中，原本就在進攻當中使用大量擋拆的火箭隊，更是活用戰術的各種變化。

西班牙擋拆，在原本的擋拆當中，加入一名射手攪局。戰術的關鍵在於這位多出來的射手，他的任務是在發動擋拆的同時，去設立一個掩護，阻擋掉擋拆防守者，掩護之後再拉到外圍去。

由於加入了一位攪局者，原本兩個人擬定好防守擋拆的策略就會被打亂，本來要保護禁區的人，被一個掩護拖延，禁區往往就大開，進攻切入者或著擋拆長人就有更好的機會執行原本擋拆的任務。

除此之外，由於擋拆是由外而內進攻，射手設立掩護之後，卻是由禁區跑到三分線，因此，他的防守者如果協防禁區，射手很容易就有外線空擋的機會。
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由於要實行西班牙擋拆只需要有三名球員：1.持球切入者 2.擋拆長人 3.射手。因此，我認為適當的運用在三對三當中，可以收到很好的效果，還能學習到NBA的戰術。
@標記你的球友，一起到球場上練習吧

談到歷史被低估的雙能衛，有著一招屁股後頂神功的『外星人』Sam Cassell，這還有人認識嗎？

🔥以前真的很喜歡『#灰狼三劍客』！哪怕時間很短，但這陣容很狂很迷人。

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⚠這個五月與不少同樣熱愛NBA，且非常會寫文的年輕作者們一同玩球員背號接力，我自己是分配到『#19號』這個數字。

老實講19號的選擇不多，近十年來根本無代表性選手，但拉到二十年就有兩位人物值得讓大家認識，一個是3D悍將Raja Bell，另一個則為怪咖雙能衛Sam Cassell。

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原本我想寫Raja Bell，因為19號就是他的招牌號碼，不像Cassell是生涯後期才用此號碼，但因為前幾天看到太陽達人前輩 Your Phoenix Suns, Working Hard, Playing Harder. 大寫了Bell專欄，所以我也就不獻醜了🤣

那就把對象換為Sam Cassell吧！畢竟他也是以前我們常在打球的人會想偷學他招的怪咖雙能衛，絕對是一名被低估的頂級好手。

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這麼說不太好，但講真話，Sam Cassell大家對他第一印象就是長得不太好看，且實在非常像『#外星人』，而不要懷疑，正因為如此，Cassell當年在休士頓火箭扮演奇兵時，撇除大心臟的關鍵發揮，他的長相更是讓他一炮而紅。

94與95年火箭能夠完成二連霸，Cassell功不可沒，有著難以取代的價值，即便只是菜鳥和二年級生，他就是很會跟對手打爛仗，且心臟異常大顆，一些你覺得他不敢出手的球，他就是投給你看，且還真TMD的投得進，所以當時對他印象超深，會讓人懷疑他到底是哪個單位派來的.....

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當時有個玩笑話，說休士頓火箭飛去火星把『外星人』Sam Cassell納入旗下，每當一些關鍵時刻，他就會發功露出真身，94年冠軍賽G3對尼克 #一分鐘狂飆9分打傻紐約客一戰成名後，95年他也持續這樣扮演各隊程咬金，老實講，火箭沒他可能無法連霸。

為何這樣講？95年火箭雖季中找來『#滑翔翼』Clyde Drexler來與『#美夢』Hakeem Olajuwon去重溫大學連線的風采，但傷病與磨合問題讓他們打得跌跌撞撞。

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火箭顯然完全沒有衛冕軍的樣子，賽季收尾只以47勝35敗排在西區第六，感覺想連霸的難度很高，不過也沒什麼人敢小看他們，畢竟有歐天王與滑翔翼兩大巨星能撐場。

但沒想到最扮演殺手的卻是『外星人』Sam Cassell，雖然發揮不穩定，但這小子就是敢打，總教練Rudy Tomjanovich也豪賭信任他，從第二輪開始，Cassell幾乎 #每個系列戰都會爆一兩場，別小看這一兩場，有時就是左右了戰局與士氣，尤其他們又是以下犯上的戲碼。

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因此從生涯前兩年就能看出Sam Cassell是一個大場面的球員，心臟出奇的大，只是很可惜，他的職業生涯並沒因此順遂，直到他加盟密爾瓦基公鹿，遇到了伯樂George Karl才開始站穩腳步。

不過這裡就先不講他『#公鹿三劍客』的時期了，因為在那時Cassell都還是身穿10號球衣，就直接從他改為19號的明尼蘇達灰狼那簡短講起。

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2004年的灰狼對我個人來講很迷人，如果追蹤我比較久的球迷可能會知道，我以前很喜歡『#鎖喉手』Latrell Sprewell，他與Kevin Garnett再加Sam Cassell，在當時實在是很有魅力與話題的三劍客組合，三個都有狂人因子，且還有扶不起的『#糖果人』Michael Olowokandi(在灰狼證明自己是水貨)。

『#狼王』KG當然是有著一夫當關的全面宰制力，乍看之下無疑是球隊的領袖，但實際上那時有認真看比賽的人都清楚，Cassell則是全隊的推進器，有沒有他差別很大。

速度沒很快、不夠壯，身材也沒優勢，Cassell #不論動態或靜態都沒有很好(跟聯盟許多天賦異稟的人比)，但他就是有著屬於自己的獨特的進攻節奏感，且有一手精準的中距離，且最酷的是，Cassell屁股後頂背框進攻能力一流，是很會 #打低位 的控球後衛。

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此招牌進攻靠得就是Cassell非常快的出手能力以及流暢的腳步運用，總是能抓到些微的時間差完成出手，這無疑是他的特殊才華與技術展現，很能在亂軍中找到得分契機。

且不僅自身進攻能力很出色，Cassell雖非傳統控衛，但他的傳導能力也不俗，在灰狼時期不僅把球隊節奏控制得很好，他與KG的 #擋拆合作 更是攻城掠地的武器之一。

有著頂尖盤球能力的他，配上中距離與低位武器，他是相當不好守的控衛，一旦他與KG執行擋拆，往往人都會被他帶走，促使他與KG的Pick and pop在那時屢試不爽。

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🏀2004年Sam Cassell在攻防效率的淨值來到+9.8，這數字排在聯盟第三高(第一名為Tim Duncan的+11.4)，而Cassell還比該年的年度MVP隊友Kevin Garnett還高。

說明了Cassell對於灰狼團隊運作與加分的重要性有多大！是實際上球隊的操盤手，後場不可缺少的指揮官，這特點不只在灰狼，其實早在公鹿時期就很明顯。

但Cassell始終擠不進明星賽的領域中，直到這04年才完成他心頭大願，終於得到了這遲來的肯定，也讓他當時忍不住說牢騷了幾句：

＂我早該進入明星賽了！＂
＂聯盟一直沒尊重我＂
＂我這幾年的表現說明一切＂
＂但直到今年我才得到重視＂
＂我就是聯盟頂尖的後衛＂

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🏀Cassell講此大話確實是有資格的，從2001到2004這四年間，聯盟能至少兩年以上繳出18分6助攻的控衛球員就這些：Steve Francis(3個賽季)、Stephon Marbury(4個賽季)、Gary Payton(3個賽季)與Sam Cassell(3個賽季)，Cassell是裡面入選最少明星賽的球員。

然而好景不常，Cassell好不容易終於受到肯定，卻遺憾地在季後賽遭遇 #臀部撕裂，這不僅間接毀了灰狼季後賽旅程，隔年Cassell也無法順利擺脫這傷勢，導致狼群失去指揮官而瞬間崩盤。

從05年這個例子，更加說明了Sam Cassell他具備著被低估的影響力，即使天賦不到好，天花板被視為不高，但他就是很有自己的一套，能帶領球隊走在贏球的軌道上。

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因此如果去盤點千囍年後十年內的一些經典又被低估的雙能衛好手，那這名單怎能沒有『外星人』Sam Cassell！他必定是號人物。

🏀尤其他那招牌的『#屁股後頂神功』，在我那瘋狂打球的年代裡，可是許多人都要學一下的招術之一，絕對能算是 #平民版本 的後衛背框教學，不得不說，直到今日，Cassell都有著讓人懷念的存在感！

🏀還有『Big Ball Dance』這張狂的慶祝動作(左上圖)也是Sam Cassell創造的，是聯盟禁止使用的動作之一以前Kobe Bryant也有秀過，用起來格外霸氣十足，但回看Cassell的怎覺得有點猥褻？！只能說人帥真好，是吧😂

－－－－－－－－－－－－－

⚠最後這波寫文活動是由 Bomb Shell 震撼彈 & Fansis 分析侍 所發起與邀約，感謝他們年輕人的熱血企劃。

也很榮幸能與以下許多比我出色有才華的作家們一起共襄盛舉，#其實我是一個不太會主動跟人認識的人，我怕被人認為裝熟，所以這次能藉此更認識這麼多好寫手，真的是蠻高興的，尤其很多年紀都好小，感覺好像看到以前熱血的自己。

Jerry Bryant
小枚的20秒短暫停
礦區鮪魚
庫奇籃球手扎
Fansis 分析侍
曼菲斯灰熊的叢林
Grey的MLB閒聊
LUN's NBA News
Nba 迷因
黑熊的籃球國度
Mr.JAZZ的鹽湖城日常報告
中壢小跑車
雷霆迷看 NBA
史上最廢插畫家 TWI Sports
小牛迷天地
DNBA

希望大家也能支持其他出色的作家，有些人都有專門專注在特定的球隊，都相當專業，喜歡那支球隊可就別錯過了。

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✏️ HBK

"พูดง่าย... แต่ทำยาก?"

คุณคิดว่าการเดินไปหยิบไม้จิ้มฟัน 1 อัน มายกวันละ 50 ครั้ง
จะทำให้กล้ามเนื้อแขนของคุณแข็งแรงขึ้นมาได้ไหม?
คงจะไม่...

แล้วคุณคิดว่าการเอาข้อสอบคณิตศาสตร์ของเด็กอนุบาล 1 มาทำวันละ 50 ข้อ จะทำให้คุณเป็นคนที่ฉลาดปราดเปรื่องขึ้นมาได้หรือเปล่า?
ก็คงจะไม่อีกเช่นกัน...

รู้ไหมว่าทำไม...
ก็เพราะมัน “ง่ายเกินไป” ยังไงล่ะ!
กฎของธรรมชาตินั้นมีอยู่ว่า อะไรที่ให้ความสะดวกสบายกับคุณมากเกินไป
จะไม่มีวันทำให้คุณเติบโต และอะไรที่ไม่ทำให้คุณรู้สึกเจ็บปวดเลยแม้แต่น้อย ก็จะไม่มีทางทำให้คุณแข็งแกร่งขึ้นมาได้เลย... แม้แต่นิดเดียว

เหตุการณ์หรือกิจกรรมใดที่มีความสะดวกสบายและความง่ายอยู่มาก
ก็ยิ่งมีบทเรียน ปัญญา และการเติบโตแฝงอยู่ในนั้นน้อย
แต่เหตุการณ์หรือกิจกรรมใดที่มีความเจ็บปวด ความยากลำบาก
และความท้าทายอยู่มาก ก็ยิ่งมีบทเรียน ปัญญา และการเติบโตแฝงอยู่ในนั้นอย่างมากมายเช่นเดียวกัน หากผู้ที่เผชิญเหตุการณ์นั้นยอมเปิดใจที่จะเรียนรู้

ในทุกๆความท้าทายที่จะทำให้เกิดการพัฒนา มักมีคำว่า “พูดง่าย แต่ทำยาก” หรือ “การเริ่มทำลำบากกว่าที่คิด!” ลอยมาให้ได้ยินอยู่เสมอ แต่ความจริงก็คือ “ถ้าสิ่งนั้นสามารถทำได้สะดวกเหมือนที่คิด หรือทำให้สัมฤทธิ์ได้ง่ายเหมือนที่พูด ก็อย่าเสียเวลาไปทำมันเลย เพราะมันจะไม่มีวันทำให้คุณเติบโตและได้เรียนรู้อย่างแท้จริง”

สิ่งดีๆล้วนต้องใช้เวลาในการสร้าง ปลูก ปรุง และดูแล ไม่ว่าสิ่งนั้นจะเป็นบ้าน อาหาร ต้นไม้ สมอง หรือจิตใจ อะไรที่ได้มาสะดวกรวดเร็วก็เหมือนบะหมี่กึ่งสำเร็จรูปที่สามารถต้มแล้วกินได้ทันที แต่หากกินไปเป็นปีก็อาจขาดสารอาหารตายได้

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“ยาก” สิดี เพราะทุกอย่างในโลกนี้ที่สามารถทำให้คุณเติบโตและพัฒนาอย่างแท้จริง ไม่มีอะไรที่ “ง่าย” เลย ดังนั้น คนที่ประสบความสำเร็จทุกคนจึงไม่ใช่คนที่ชอบความ “ง่าย” และรักความ “สบาย” แต่พวกเขาคือคนที่ชอบความ “ท้าทาย” และมีชีวิตอยู่เพื่อทำให้ “สิ่งที่ดูเหมือนเป็นไปไม่ได้” กลายมาเป็น “ความจริง”

หากคุณเลือกจะยกไม้จิ้มฟันต่อไป ก็ไม่มีใครว่าอะไร แต่ได้โปรดอย่าพร่ำบ่นว่ากล้ามเนื้อไม่แข็งแรงขึ้น เพราะมันจะทำให้คุณและคนรอบข้างเป็นทุกข์โดยใช่เหตุ กลายเป็นว่ากล้ามเนื้อก็อ่อนแอ และจิตใจก็ยิ่งย่ำแย่จากความเครียดอีก

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ไม่มีใครเคยบอกว่า “การพัฒนาตัวเองเป็นเรื่องง่าย” แต่สิ่งที่ทุกคนบอกก็คือ “ผลของมันจะคุ้มค่าอย่างแน่นอน”

ฉะนั้น หากคุณเลือกที่จะพัฒนาและเติบโต ก็อย่าลืมว่า “ความท้าทายคือสิ่งที่สร้างคน แต่ความง่ายดายคือสิ่งที่ทำลายคน” ความท้าทายถือเป็นสิ่งประเสริฐ เพราะคนเราย่อมไม่เห็นคุณค่าของสิ่งที่ได้มาง่ายเกินไป

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โปรดจำกฎของธรรมชาติง่ายๆไว้ว่า:
"หากไร้แรงต้าน ก็ไร้การเติบโต..."

-ขุนเขา สินธุเสน เขจรบุตร
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" easy to say... but hard to do?"

Do you think walking to pick up 1 toothpick up 50 times a day
Can it strengthen your arm muscles?
Probably not...

So do you think taking 50 Kindergarten 1 math exams a day will make you a smart person?
Probably not again either...

Do you know why...
Because it's "too easy" anyway!
The law of nature exists what gives you too much comfort.
Will never make you grow and anything that doesn't hurt you at all will never make you stronger... even a little bit

What events or activities are very comfortable and ease?
The less lessons, wisdom and growth lurks in it.
But what event or activity has pain, difficulties
And more challenges, the more lessons, wisdom, and growth lurks in it. If those who face the event open their hearts to learn.

In every challenge that will cause development, there is always a word " easy to say but difficult to do " or " starting to do harder than you think!" always float to hear. But the truth is " if that can be as convenient as you think? Make Bronze as easy as you say. Don't waste your time doing it, for it will never make you grow and truly learn "

All good things take time to build, plant, cook and take care. Whether it's home, food, tree, brain or mind. Anything that comes convenient, fast is like instant noodles that can be boiled and eat immediately. But if you eat for a year, it may be malnourished

Until Buddha enlightenment that bill gates will build Microsoft Company, the Beatles will make the first album for sale until Michael Jordan becomes an NBA Basketball player than j.k. rolling will finish writing Harry Potter. You think it's easy. Or...

" hard " is good because everything in this world that can make you grow and truly develop. Nothing is " easy " at all. So every successful person is not the " easy " and love " comfortable " but they are the ones. Love the " challenge " and live to make the " impossible " become " truth

If you choose to lift your toothpick, no one says anything. But please don't complain that muscles are not stronger because it will make you and those around you suffer. It turns out that muscles are weak and the mind is worse from stress.

Remember, people will have the most chronic suffering if what we want in life does not go accordance with our own thoughts and actions.
No one ever said "Self-development is easy but what everyone says is that" its results will definitely be worth it

Therefore, if you choose to develop and grow, don't forget that "challenge is what creates people, but ease is what destroys people" challenges are good because people don't see the value of what comes too easily.

The way we take effort and patience to get the change that we wish to make our minds strong, happy, proud, confident and give us the ability to complete things in life more...

Please remember the rules of nature simply:
" without strength, no growth..."

- khao sinthusen charason
From the book "brain karma"
www.dmgbooks.com/site/#!/%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87/p/42337967/category=2368469Translated

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Stream all my songs online for free on Spotify!
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I love getting mail! Send me some :)
Jason Chen
P.O. Box 2113
Arcadia, CA 91077

CREDITS:

Director/Writer/Editor: Ross Ching
Executive Producer: Jason Chen, Jon Chang
Producer: Don Le
Singer/Songwriter: Jason Chen
Love Interest: Chachi Gonzales
1st AD: Dennis Chang
Director of Photography: Gabriel Lewis (Planit Pictures)
1st AC: Michael Skor
Gaffer: Jeff Chassler
Key Grip: Rocky Romines
Best Boy Grip: Steven Bryant
Best Boy Electric: Eric Palma
Hair/Makeup: Amy Cooper
BTS Video / Editor: Jeanna Ross
BTS Photos: Steven Lam

Wardrobe: Roxy Flores
Wardrobe Assistant: Raquel Flores
Jewelry: Jackie Jones
Art Director: Avery Ota
Rubik's Cube Solver: Thi Nguyen
Key PA: Justin Vancho
PA/Art Wrangler: Sam Puefua
PA: Disa Wolf
PA: Alex Nauta

MUSIC:
Written by Jason Chen, Adien Lewis
Produced by Smash Hitta
Mixed/Mastered by Travis Graham

Special Thanks:
Clinton Ray, Dominique Gonzales, Myron Marten, World of Dance, AMA Fashion PR, Roxy Flores, David Lim (The Hall), Nino Palma, Melly Lee, Gear Monkey, Planit Pictures,
Michael Saijo (www.msaijo.com)

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LYRICS:
(Verse 1)
Been thinking about all the days you were
Right by my side
Been thinking about how you never
Left me behind
And all of the things that you said to
Help me ease my mind
And I don't know where I'd be
Without you in my life

(Prechorus 1)
Now I just
Wanna tell you how much
I appreciate your love

(Chorus)
So I'll be there when you call
Pick you up when you fall
And if you ever get lonely
I'll be there in a heartbeat

This song is for you
For everything we've been through
It's been so long overdue
I just wanna say
Thank You

(Verse 2)
Been trav'ling this road for so long
We're still going strong
Cuz without you here I'd be nothing
Nothing at all
Even when times were bad you believed in me
And now I'm standing tall
And I just wanna thank you
For sticking through it all

[Prechorus 2]
Now I just
Wanna show you how much
I appreciate your love

[Chorus]

I know it's not easy
but you were there from the start

I'll take the kindness you've shown me
share the love, and the strength
(Pay it forward) Be all we can be

[Chorus]

Copyright Music Never Sleeps, Inc. 2013

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I love getting mail! send me some =)

PO Box 2113
Arcadia, CA 91077

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Allen Iverson's eighth career 40-point game had a nice little unexpected bonus -- a victory for the Philadelphia 76ers.

Iverson scored 41 points, upstaging Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, as the 76ers defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, 105-90, for their fourth win in five games.

In two-plus seasons, Iverson had seven previous games with 40 or more points and the 76ers lost them all. On February 12, the NBA scoring leader had a league season-high 46 points in a 98-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

"When I score 40 points, we've lost," Iverson said. "Tonight, we won, and I guess I finally got the monkey off my back. I didn't know what I had until I came out of the game at the end and looked up at the scoreboard. I saw what I had and said, `I hope it doesn't come back to haunt me.'"

Working primarily against Philadelphia native Bryant, Iverson shot 17-of-36 from the field. He scored between nine and 12 points in every period and added a season-high 10 assists and five rebounds.

"I wanted to get off to a good start," Iverson said. "Some earlier shots were going off the rim, then all of a sudden, my shots began to drop. My teammates began to get the ball to me, they did a good job as always of getting me the ball in the right spot, and I was able to make the big shots at the end."

"The little kid was phenomenal," Sixers coach Larry Brown said. "I had to take him out at the beginning just to calm him down because he was really wired. Yeah, he took a lot of shots, but for the most part, his selection was good."

With 55 seconds left, he exited to a thunderous ovation and a chant of "Beat LA" from the First Union Center crowd that recalled the rivalry between these teams from a generation ago.

O'Neal and Bryant scored 23 points each for the Lakers, who fell to 1-3 on their six-game road trip. Los Angeles has lost its last three meetings with Philadelphia, with Iverson averaging 34.3 points. The 76ers had not beaten the Lakers three straight times since the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons, when the teams met in consecutive NBA Finals.

"This team has come a long way," Brown said. "I hope we can keep a level head, where they can expect to play well against the good teams, as well as playing well against teams with records worse than theirs."

Lakers forward Dennis Rodman missed his fourth straight game due to an excused absence for personal reasons. With the mercurial Rodman in the lineup, Los Angeles is 9-0. Without him, it is just 8-9.

"We'll welcome him with open arms when he comes back," Lakers coach Kurt Rambis said. "But I have no idea when he's coming back."

"He's obviously a factor," O'Neal said. "He has personal problems, whatever that means, nobody really knows. I don't think about it. I know the organization will do what they have to do."

O'Neal was saddled by foul trouble, eventually fouling out with just four rebounds midway through the final period. He also missed 5-of-12 free throws and committed five turnovers.

Iverson thoroughly outplayed O'Neal and Bryant in the third quarter, when the Sixers took control. After a 3-pointer by Glen Rice -- his first basket of the game -- gave the Lakers a 56-54 lead, Iverson made a jumper and 3-pointer and set up two baskets during a 12-2 burst that gave Philadelphia a 66-58 lead with 5:50 remaining.

Iverson buried a 22-footer to trigger a 6-0 spurt. Tyrone Hill and Aaron Mckie made free throws before Iverson fed Theo Ratliff for a dunk and a 74-62 bulge with 2:02 left in the period.

"For the most part, we did what we wanted to do," Lakers coach Kurt Rambis said. "We forced him (Iverson) to take a lot of outside shots. Unfortunately for us, he made a lot of them."

"Coach Brown noticed that we didn't defend the pick-and-roll very well, so he let Allen run the pick-and-roll and they did a very good job of setting screens and getting him open," Bryant said.

O'Neal and Bryant combined for no baskets in the third quarter as the Lakers shot just 17 percent (3-of-18). Iverson scored 11 in the period, which ended with Philadelphia holding a 76-67 lead.

Iverson had a jumper and 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter before a 3-pointer by Rice and a dunk by Robert Horry pulled Los Angeles within 83-77 with 9:44 to go. Iverson made a pair of free throws and a technical foul shot on O'Neal. Matt Geiger hit a jumper and two free throws off O'Neal's fifth foul as the Sixers rebuilt the lead to 90-77 with 6:33 left.

For those who were there at McDonough Gymnasium on August 4, 1994, few will forget the arrival of a 6-0 freshman guard who needed no introduction. The rumors of Allen Iverson's arrival to the Kenner Summer League were true, and by game's end, Iverson had scored 40 points. By the Sunday afternoon final, before an overflow crowd inside the gym and a crowd of those outside who could not get in, Iverson finished a combined 99 point effort in three days against some of the best collegiate talent in the city. This, of course, from a player that had not played organized basketball in over a year.

The Allen Iverson years had begun.

A brief profile can't do justice to tell the story of one of the greatest pure athletes ever to attend Georgetown, a man without peer in his talent over two years at the collegiate level. Just a year before his Kenner debut, few would have imagined Allen Iverson ever playing college basketball.

Iverson was not only a 31 point a game guard for Bethel HS, but a football player of tremendous skill. As a quarterback and defensive back his sophomore season, he produced nearly 1,600 yards offense and 13 INT's. By his junior year, he accounted for 2,204 yards, 21 touchdowns by rush or interception, and 14 touchdown passes. In a region which has produced NFL quarterbacks such as Michael Vick and Aaron Brooks, there are those who will still say "Bubbachuck" Iverson was better than both of them. Schools such as Arkansas, Kentucky, Duke, and three dozen other top programs across two sports were vying for perhaps the greatest two-sport star the Tidewater had ever produced.

When he led Bethel to the state title, someone asked what it was like to win the title. "I'm going to get one in basketball now," which he did. In late February, 1993, en route to the state title he had promised, Iverson was one of a large group of Bethel teammates at a Hampton bowling alley when a fight broke out between students from rival schools trading racial insults. Three people were hurt in the aftermath. Despite conflicting testimony from eyewitnesses and no clear evidence linking him to the crime, Iverson was one of four black students arrested.

Racial tensions were heightened when the prosecutors passed on a misdemeanor assault charge and charged Iverson with three counts of felony "maiming by mob", which carried a 20 year prison sentence. Despite video evidence which did not place Iverson in the crowd at the time of the fight, he was convicted in a racially charged case.

The 20 year sentence was later reduced to five, and Iverson was granted clemency by Gov. Douglas Wilder three months later, sending Iverson to a detention program at an alternative high school. (The original charges were thrown out by the Virginia court of appeals in 1995.)

In the spring of 1994, with Iverson still in detention, his mother approached John Thompson with a plea to help her son get to college and start a new chapter of his life. Though Thompson had passed on a number of troubled players in the past, he offered Iverson a scholarship in April of that season, contingent upon his completion of high school and his legal release, which was granted 48 hours before his Kenner debut.

By his debut in a Georgetown uniform in November 1994, Iverson had been the subject of intense national media attention. In the Hoyas' annual exhibition with Fort Hood, Iverson scored 36 points, five assists, and three steals in 23 minutes. Local columnists were in awe.

"Hang his number up in the rafters," wrote Tom Knott of the Washington Times. "He's better than most of the point guards in the NBA right now."

"I saw Lew Alcindor, Austin Carr, Moses Malone, Alonzo Mourning, Albert King, Ralph Sampson and Patrick Ewing play in high school," said the Post's Thomas Boswell. "Now, I have two memories on my first impression top shelf. The man who became Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Allen Iverson."

Iverson opened the 1994-95 season in Memphis, TN in a 97-79 loss to defending NCAA champion Arkansas, scoring 19 points. Six days later, he scored 31 in a nationally televised game with DePaul, followed by 30 four days later against Providence, leading the team in scoring 22 times that season. His only game under double figures for the season (and his career) was a game where he played only ten minutes in a loss at Villanova, a game Georgetown coach John Thompson threatened to forfeit when a group of Villanova students paraded through the Spectrum in black and white-striped prison garb, with a sign comparing Iverson to O.J. Simpson.

"You accept certain ribbing, but there is a line," Thompson said after the game. "I can condone any Christian university sitting and watching that happen...If that happens [again], I going to walk. It that simple." Such fan behavior was not seen thereafter.

Later in the season, with President Bill Clinton in attendance, Iverson scored 26 as the Hoyas routed Villanova, 77-52. He followed it up with 21 to beat Syracuse, 28 versus St. John's, 31 in a Big East tournament opener with Miami (a game that saw Iverson outscore the entire Hurricane team at the end of the first half), and 27 versus Connecticut in the semis. In the NCAA regional, he scored 24 in the loss, but held Jeff McInnis to 1 for 8 shooting. By season's end, Allen Iverson had been named Big East Player of the Week nine times, Rookie of the Year, a second team all-conference selection, and honorable mention All-America recipient. Having led the Hoyas in points and steals en route to the school's first NCAA regional appearance since 1989, Iverson was already a star. By 1996, he would become nothing less than a sensation.

The leaser of a talented team that featured four future NBA stars, Allen Iverson dominated the 1995-96 season as no Hoya has done before or since. Adept at the crossover dribble that became his NBA trademark, lightning quick to the basket, and able to score on opponents at will, Iverson was largely unstoppable. Even more impressive was an effort to improve his shooting touch, for despite averaging 20.4 points as a freshman in 1994-95 (2nd all time for a Georgetown rookie), Iverson only shot 39 percent from the field, 23 percent from three, and 19 percent from three in Big East play. For his sophomore season, his field shooting increased to 48 percent, his three point mark to 36 percent. The results were striking.

In the pre-season NIT versus Temple, Iverson shot 50 percent for 24 points and a career high 10 rebounds. After a 23 point effort against Georgia Tech, he scored a career high 40 against Arizona, one of two 40+ point games that season. In Big East play, Iverson could ring up points with ease, such as the game where he scored 21 points in only 20 minutes against Rutgers.

In the final three months of the season, Iverson led the team in 21 of the team's 25 games: 40 against Seton Hall, 39 against St. John's, 34 against Providence. He scored 30 in a wild win over Memphis, and followed it up two nights later with 26 in an upset of #3 Connecticut. For the game, Iverson totalled 26 points, 8 steals, and 6 assists, including a soaring dunk past Ray Allen and the Huskies. It was the highest ranked team any Georgetown team had defeated since 1988. His best performance of the season might have been a 37 point, 8 rebound, and three steal effort against #6 ranked Villanova, playing only 27 minutes. The 106-68 win represents the sixth largest margin of victory and the largest margin ever by a Georgetown team against a top 10 opponent.

Iverson was capable of an off game; unfortunately, two came at particularly inopportune times for the Hoyas' hopes for a national title. Entering the 1996 Big East Final with a #1 seed on the line, Iverson shot 4 for 15 and the Hoyas lost by one, 76-75. As a result of the loss, Georgetown was seeded #2 behind top ranked UMass, and in the regional final between the two teams Iverson struggled with a 6 for 21 effort in the loss. For the season, though, his statistics were astonishing: his 926 points broke the then-record by 124 points. He set new single season marks in field goals, field goal attempts, three pointers, three point attempts, steals, minutes, and scoring average (25.0), the latter of which ranked 7th in the nation that season. The Big East's defensive player of the year, he was named a consensus All-American amidst numerous other awards.

If he could somehow have stayed four years, Iverson undoubtedly would have shredded the Georgetown record books. But whatever hopes existed for Iverson to resist the lure of the NBA were short lived, particularly with the news that one of his sisters had fallen ill. Seeing the opportunity to take care of his family's medical needs, Iverson announced for the NBA draft soon after the end of his sophomore season, becoming the first Georgetown player in the Thompson era to do so. The compact that had bound so many great Hoya players to a four year commitment--from Ewing to Williams, Mourning to Mutombo--had now been broken.

The first pick in the 1996 NBA draft, Iverson signed a $3.9 million contract with the Philadelphia 76ers and a ten year, $50 million deal with Reebok. His effort on the court is well known and respected, but for all the media portrayals of Iverson as the anti-hero, an icon of a "Hip Hop Nation" that ran counter to the NBA's carefully constructed marketing image, or as a symbol of all that is allegedly wrong in professional basketball, he remains remarkably well-grounded.

Married for six years and the father of two, Iverson is fiercely loyal to his teammates and to his childhood friends. He considered it an honor to play for the U.S. Olympic team in 2004 when other NBA stars passed on the offer, and maintains a number of charity events to benefit his local community. In comparison to his NBA career, his years at Georgetown were largely free of the intense media and personal scrutiny, providing at least two years where he could grow as a person as well as a basketball player.

His arrival and exit at Georgetown is still a source of debate in some circles, but his performance on the court is not. Allen Iverson found a home, even briefly, at the Hilltop, and remains one of its brightest stars. "In my heart, I know I'm a basketball player," Iverson said following his 2006 NBA trade, "being that I know I can play with the best of them."

From that first Kenner League game on 1994, no one has doubted it since.