A Reflection On The Career Of Allen Iverson

The last few days have been rough for me as a basketball fan. Its always a hard day when the guy you grew up wanting to be just like on a basketball court retires but that day has finally came for me. Sources are reporting that the 11 time all-star and 4 time scoring champion Allen Iverson will finally retire from the game of basketball after all of these years. Some people love him and some people hate him but AI is one of the greatest point guards to ever step on the hardwood and the proof is in the pudding on and off the court.

A New Era

Allen Iverson was different but he brought in a whole new culture to basketball as the NBA was preparing for the Post-Jordan era. The Doo-rags, Tattoos and fitted caps where all authentic to who Allen was as a person he was himself and never changed that throughout the course of his entire career. This sometimes benefited him and hurt him but he was always entreating  in the process. The Hip-Hop era in the NBA was really brought to the forefront when Allen Iverson was a marquee player in the league. His influence was and is still huge to this day.

As the NBA was preparing for the post-MJ era it was looking for a new face of the league and although it had Kobe Bryant the real hero or the guy who many people that come from a background of low income and poverty could relate to was Allen Iverson. He brought the hood to the hardwood and was proud of who he was that's why in that era of  hip-hop culture Allen Iverson Sixers jerseys were popular because of who he was as a person and the kind of player he was on the court. Iverson's jersey along with his Reebok "The Questions" Sneaker were wildly successful and still are to this day. Recently Reebok has re released the popular shoe and it has seen a great response from the sneaker world and shoe lovers worldwide. Iverson is To Reebok what Jordan is to the Air Jordan brand.

Little Big Man

Allen Iverson is listed generously at 6 feet tall and 165 pounds and is the greatest undersized guard of all-time along with Isiah Thomas. I once heard someone say the following about AI "Take Michael Jordan's greatest moves and speed them up and you have Allen Iverson". Allen Iverson played the game fearlessly and it demands respect. Taking on guys who are a foot taller and 100 pounds heavier then him Iverson played the game his way and that was with no fear and if need be at the rim. This attitude allowed him to score 24,369 points with a 26.7 scoring average on his career. Iverson made big baskets and made a living putting the Sixers on his back.

We all know Iverson is one of the greatest performers ever but very few people know that he is 2nd all-time in playoff scoring average in the history of the NBA only behind Michael Jordan averaging 29.7 points per game. He put Philly on his back in the most important games.Iverson played with heart and would make bigger guys look like they shouldn't be on the same floor. Like take for example in a playoff series against the Toronto Raptors and the much bigger more athletic Vince Carter in 2001. Iverson had 2 games of 50+ points with his 54 points in game 2 and 52 points in game 5. Allen was little no doubt about that but he was also something else- The MVP of the league.

The Problems

A.I's career comes with a lot of glory but a lot of problems as well, many of them self-inflicted. Allen was never a "pure point guard" but many basketball purists knocked him for that over the years calling him selfish and not a team player. There was the infamous "Practice" press conference in which he looked like a complete buffoon and totally selfish. Allen had his fans but equally had his detractors.

Then there was his relationship with head coach Larry Brown. For many years they couldn't see eye to eye because Allen hated practice. When they finally found some common ground they helped turn the Sixers into a playoff team and eventually reached the finals in 2001 with an eventual loss to the Shaq & Kobe Lakers. Some say had Allen not been so hard headed that his career would have looked better but Allen was Allen and he wasn't changing for nobody.

The Decline

Allen Iverson's scoring average was 26.7 points per game in the regular season. The end of his career kept that number from being higher with his stops in Denver, Detroit and Memphis. Seeing Allen anywhere but Philly was weird and all the seasons he had averaging less then 20 points hurt his average but he just didn't fit in on any of those teams.

It was sad to see how no NBA franchise in the latter part of Iverson's career wanted to give him a shot. Some of that is due in part to AI's ego not wanting to come off the bench and declined numerous offers in China and D-League where he could have proven himself to NBA GM's. No matter how you spin it the end of his career is just sad, you never want to see a guy of his stature go out that way.

The Legacy

Allen Iverson's career left much to be desired in terms of his championship success. He never captured an NBA title and its a down right travesty but nobody will ever say that he didn't deserve it. Iverson is a 1st ballot hall of famer whether you like him or not its not even a question. The only Point guard that is better then him at his size is maybe Isiah Thomas but besides that A.I is the best undersized point guard to ever play the game of basketball.

Tru School Of Kicks: Dee Brown Reebok Omni Pumps

From 1990-2002 Dee Brown played basketball in the NBA for the Boston Celtics, Toronto Raptors and Orlando Magic. He had an OK career as a role player 11 points per game and just under 4 assists. People won't remember him much for what he did in his tenure for those 3 teams but more for what he did during all-star weekend 1991 in Charlotte.

During the Slam Dunk contest Dee Brown was looking to seal the 1991 Slam Dunk Contest with a “Cherry on the sundae” if you will. He looked at the rim took 3 hard dribbles toward the basket proceeded by 2 long steps and exploded upward while covering his eyes in mid air and jammed the basketball with his left hand. The dunk sealed the dunk contest crown for the Jacksonville native and landed him a sneaker commercial and endorsement with Reebok. The omni pumps were one of the most iconic shoes of the 1990's and any kid who grew up in that era of basketball vividly remembers them. That dunk was a cultural revolution, no shoe has ever been able to pump up so Reebok had its own signature swag if you will. Dee Brown proved you don't have to be Lebron or MJ to get your own sneaker.

On June 14^th Reebok decided to re release the Dee Brown Omni Pumps arguably the brands most iconic basketball sneaker ever. The sneaker is priced at 115$ so if you were one of those kids who grew up in the 90's and couldn't afford them here is your chance. If your like me who was born in the mid 90's and have never ever physically seen the pair shoes but salivate at them chance to get them here is your chance. I'm going basketball shoe shopping pretty soon for my post graduation pair of kicks my dad promised me so if I see these it's a must buy.

Miami Madness

March madness can mean many things when speaking about the city of Miami, you have the Ultra Music festival, South Beach and everything else. These days though when you link March Madness to Miami you must refer that term over to the 2 Elites in basketball right now.

Today was just another classic case of the Rich getting richer in the world of sports. The Miami Heat and University of Miami are elites in the basketball world at this present moment and raised that elite status today.

UM is having an amazing season nobody saw coming and captured it's first ever ACC Tournament Championship today with a 87-77 win over the UNC Tarheels. Shane Larkin once again put the whole country on notice that he is one of the premier guards in this country with his uncanny ability to penetrate and find open shooters. Now with a regular season and tournament tittle in ACC play “THE U” turns its attention to the big dance which starts Friday in Austin vs. Pacific.

The Miami Heat seem to be breaking records with regularity these days as they captured their 22^nd straight victory today over Rudy Gay and the Toronto Raptors. The win tied them with 2007-2008 Houston Rockets for the 2^nd longest winning streak in NBA history. The Record is 33.

Will the Canes win the NCAA Tittle? Will the Heat break the longest winning streak in NBA History? Only time will tell but Basketball seems to be the 2^nd most important thing in this town right now..........Ultra is still going on at the moment

Throwback Thursday: Vince Carter 2000 Dunk Contest

Just wanted to wish everybody a Happy Throwback Thursday it's been awhile since I did this but the time was right. With All-Star Weekend coming up next Saturday many people have begin the yearly talks of greatest Dunks ofAll-time mainly Michael Jordans Free Throw Line dunk in his bout with Dominique Wilkins at Chicago Stadium 25 years ago but today We will flashback to the One man spectacle known as “Half man Half man Amazing” Vince Carter in 2000 at the arena in Oakland.

When I was little I used to play NBA Live 2005 a lot and in Dunk Contest mode when your dunk was on point the sideline would go crazy with NBA players jumping up and down with Camcorders. I always wondered when I was younger if that really happened and where EA Sports got that from. When you watch this Dunk Contest you know where that comes from.

The term “Set the tone” seemed appropriate when speaking about Vince Carters reverse 360 dunk which may be the best dunk in the history of the contest. The way he just seemed to hang in the air for so many seconds, spin around, Cock the ball back and throw it down with so much authority all in one motion was beyond ridiculous.

We all knew something special was in the works that night in Oakland. Vince added to his legend on his 3^rd dunk where then Toronto Teammate Tracy Mcgrady threw him an alley where Vinsanity then proceeded to put the ball between his legs and then Jam it home like the rim owed him Money. Kenny Smith as we all Know shouted through the TNT airwaves “ITS OVER” We were watching History. Vince obviously won the Contest by a landslide.

This years Dunk Contest features Eric Bledsoe, James White, Kenneth Fareid, Terrence Ross, Gerald Green and Jeremy Evans. If any of these guys give us top 10 material thats anywhere near Vince or Jordan level we are in for a treat this year. I'm looking at my guy Bledsoe to give us something to talk about this year.

Watch the video down below to relive the Vin-Sanity of the dunk contest in 2000!

Throwback Thursday: Muggsy Bouges

@MuggsyBogues

Today is thrusday and here at Tru School Sports I have a new segment called “Throwback Thursday” where I look at and reflect on some of the the players, trends, and Arenas back in the day. Today we will look at Former Charlotte Hornets Point guard Muggsy Bouges. Anybody who knows Muggsy knows he beat the odds as the shortest player in NBA history at 5’3,he looked like a skittle running in a Hornets uniform around the atheltic specimans known as NBA players. He was taking by the Washington Bullets with the 12th pick in the 1987 NBA draft. After a season of not cracking the Bullets rotation he was left un protected in the 1988 expansion draft where he would be selected by the expansion Charlotte Hornets where he would be made the starting point guard. He would go on to become the shortest player in NBA history to average a double-double in the 1993-94 season averaging 10.8 points and 10.1 assists. The Hornets would make the playoffs three times in the Muggsy, Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning. Muggsy and the hornets never made the NBA finals and won a championship but during his time in the queen city the Hornets were always among the leagues best. He would go on and play the rest of his career with the Toronto Raptors and Golden State Warriors. He lasted 14 years in the league, Not bad for a guy who was too short, not strong enough and had an inconsistent jumpshot. These were the words of many experts and critics of Tyrone Bouges but Muggsy was fearless he wasn’t even afraid to guard the likes of a Michael Jordan or a Patrick ewing. Muggsy even made former Atlanta hawks Shooting guard Steve Smith change his position saying “he made me change my position from a point guard to shooting guard saying I wont play point guard for long”. Muggsy played with heart hustle and unmatched tenacity and his supreme confidence allowed him to be successful to the point where he made a player change his position. Next time you are playing the game of basketball and someone tells you “ your too small” or “your too short” think about Muggsy Bouges and try to emulate his defensive intensity and effort. Muggsy himself even said philosophicly “your never too small to ball”. So Muggsy Bouges i salute you!