Vote for the Best Dunker in the Country

After weeks of dunk contests, ten semifinalists have been selected from among amateur dunkers across the U.S., and it is now up to the fans to select which four dunkers will go on to compete in the first-ever Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown at NBA All-Star 2010 in Dallas, Texas. The ten finalists include the top competitor from each of the 8 cities we visited, and the top 2 online competitors chosen by Lebron James. It is now up to the fans to decide who is the best. Voting ends August 24, 2009.

To vote fans can visit NBA.com/dunk to watch dunks from each of the ten semifinalists and vote on who they think should be flown to NBA All-Star in February to compete for the chance to be crowned the Sprite Slam Dunk Showdown Champion. The winner will receive a grand prize of $10,000 and will attend the Sprite Slam Dunk contest during NBA All-Star Saturday Night on Feb. 13, 2010.

Video: Shaq Fights ‘The Big Show’ on WWE

This just completely made my day. Shaquille O’Neal doesn’t run into guys his own size very often. WWE’s “The Big Show” this past Monday night is just about the only guy i’ve seen stand toe to toe with Shaq and almost look him right in the eye. I’ve got to admit that Shaq is doing some pretty decent acting. Not only the acting but he through a decent body check to Big Show as well. Maybe Shaq should take this up full time when he retires from the hardwood?

(H/T to SlamOnline for the Video)

Video of the Day: Top 10 NBA Dunks of All-time

Nothing gets my adrenaline pumping this early in the morning better than watching a video of some crazy dunks. How about ten of them? Actually let’s make that ten of the best dunks ever performed during an NBA game. Damnit, that may be too much for me. I may need to watch it in slow motion or i’ll have a heart attack.

Personally, i’ve always believed that the Michael Jordan dunk on Patrick Ewing is the greatest in game dunk because he didn’t have the momentum of a fast break to help him explode. He just finished shedding two guys on the baseline and still somehow musters the energy and explosive leaping power to jump over big Pat, while catching his forearm on the rim with the dunk. Ummm….yeah. ‘Get off me’.

Nonetheless I think this is a pretty good compilation I came across today:

Is Adding Some Vinsanity Enough for the Magic to Win?

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, Fanhuddle.com as a NY Knicks correspondent, hoopsworld4.wordpress.com, and Helium.com.

If the Orlando Magic were in a high stakes game of poker this offseason, they have thrown all of their chips into the pot, because they have done everything from blockbuster trades to signing free agents in an effort to get back to the Finals and win the franchise it’s first NBA title.

Only a handful of NBA teams realistically have a chance at winning the NBA Championship. The rest are either stuck in mediocrity or are drastically trying to dump salaries to have a chance in the Lebron/Wade/Bosh sweepstakes in 2010. After a truly magical ’09 season, the Magic have proven to have what it takes to make it to the final round of the NBA Playoffs. Their offseason is definitely sending a message to the rest of the league that they want to win.

In one of the biggest moves this offseason, the Magic made a bold statement and brought some “Vinsanity” to the Sunshine State. Orlando traded the original “Skip to My Lou”, Rafer Alston, impressive swingman Courtney Lee, and forward Tony “Bat Man” Battie to New Jersey for Vince Carter and improving 2nd year player Ryan Anderson from Cal. While injuries have undoubtedly hampered his career and many members of the media have made jokes about Carter’s aging body by calling him “Half Man, Quarter Amazing”, he remains one of the greatest players in the last decade. He is an 8 time All Star, 2 time All NBA selection, Olympic gold medalist and Slam Dunk champion in 2000, 1999 Rookie of the Year, and has a career 24 point per game scoring average. He holds many single season and career records for both the Toronto Raptors and New Jersey Nets. In addition to a great resume, he also possesses the necessary playoff experience and veteran leadership to help lead a relatively young squad. Carter has been relatively injury free the past 4 seasons while averaging 23.5 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists while shooting 80% from the foul line and 37% from 3 point land. Orlando gets a much more athletic and dynamic player by replacing the departed Hedo Turkoglu with Carter.

The Magic also decided to match the Rockets offer sheet to Martin “The Polish Hammer” Gortat who proved to be a valuable backup to Dwight Howard, who is rapidly becoming the NBA’s best big man. In free agency they also added the underrated, 4th year forward Brandon Bass(8 points, 5 rebounds) from Dallas and defensive specialist Matt Barnes(10 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists) who had a breakout season offensively playing for Phoenix in ’09.

Orlando also gets back from injury their All Star point guard Jameer Nelson who averaged an impressive 16.7 points, 5.6 assists, 50% from the field, 88% from the line, and 45% from 3pt land.

If all this spending doesn’t work, you at least have to admire the Magic management for trying to win now. On paper, adding a dynamic player of Carter’s immense talents, even if he has lost a half of a step, appears to be an upgrade over Turkoglu. From top to bottom, Orlando may have the best lineup in the league. In my opinion, the race in the improving Eastern Conference will be a three team race between Orlando, Boston, and Cleveland. Bringing “Vinsanity” back to his home state just might inspire him to be the piece that makes Orlando the favorite to win their first title.

Here is a little reminder of the type of player Orlando is getting (Thanks to Maxamillion711):

‘Skool’ 4 Ballerz: The Difference between a Ball Hog and a Scorer

Each week in The Hoop Doctors “Skool for Ballers” we will bring you tips, analysis, or drills on various aspects of the game to help guide your training to be the best damn baller you can be! Don’t forget, being a GREAT baller takes as much work off the court as it does on!

It’s podcast time people! The University of North Florida All-Time Leading Scorer, Coach Koran Godwin in this edition of ‘Skool’ 4 Ballerz talks about his new book “Everyone Hates a Ball Hog but They All Love a Scorer” and what it takes shed the ball hog label to become the ultimate scorer. This is definitely worth a listen if you want to become a great scorer.

If you enjoyed this podcast and can’t wait to listen to the next podcast from Coach Godwin on The Hoop Doctors ‘Skool’ 4 Ballerz, you can subscribe to his podcast feed by clicking here.

Coach Koran Godwin is the founder of JumpStartHoops.com, a basketball instructional website. He is the All-Time Leading Scorer at the University of North Florida and author of the book “Everyone Hates a Ball Hog but they Love a Scorer: The Complete Guide to Scoring Points On and Off the Basketball Court.” The Hoop Doctors are big fans of Coach Godwin, as we consider him to be one of the leading basketball minds when it comes to taking that step from being just an average player, to becoming the leading scorer. Everyone wants to be the big man on campus, well if you follow the directions of Coach Godwin, we are sure you’ll get there.

Stephon Marbury Crying Video is Just Plain Loco

If Shaquille O’Neal is considered the new standard for professional athletes to emulate in their desire to use social media to make a brand/market/name for themselves, then i’d have to say that Stephon Marbury is the polar opposite of Shaquille O’Neal. Yes, Marbury these days seems more and more like the ‘Bizarro World’ Shaquille O’Neal.

In the last week we have seen some strange quotes, videos, and acts of insanity from the formerly talented NBA point guard, Stephon Marbury. But this one takes the cake. If I had to pick one moment of the recent Stephon Marbury broadcasts that sums up his new ‘outreach program’, i’d have to say that this just about does it.

Clearly this man needs help:

Boston Celtics Big Man Kendrick Perkins Got Married

**To see the rest of the pics from Kendrick Perkins wedding, visit Loy’s Place, a Celtics Green Blog.

Was Vince Carter’s 2000 Dunk Contest Performance The Best Ever?

If you are strictly talking about the greatest dunk competition ever, than you certainly have to identify one of the epic battles between Michael Jordan and Dominique Wilkins in the 80′s. There just simply wasn’t ever a heavyweight dunk battle of that proportion in the NBA before or after the fact.

But if you are trying to identify the greatest dunk contest performance by a player, you may first consider the year little Spud Webb won at only 5’7″ tall. But in doing so, you’d have overlooked certainly the greatest individual dunk performance in the contest history. Vince Carter in 2000 was on another planet. Sure people love to hate on Vince Carter. But you can’t deny his leaping ability or the ferocity of his dunks in that 2000 dunk contest.

Should the Heat Buy Some Candy or Go on a Booze Cruise?

Allen Moll is an avid NBA and College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen is a regular columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com, Bleacherreport.com, Fanhuddle.com as a NY Knicks correspondent, hoopsworld4.wordpress.com, and Helium.com.

The Miami Heat are coming off of an impressive 43-39 season in 08′-09′ considering where they finished in the previous season, an NBA worst 15-67. That horrific season gave them one of the pieces to rebuild around NBA superstar Dwayne Wade, in forward Michael Beasley with the number 2 overall pick in the draft. Although the Heat made the playoffs as the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference, their biggest concern is how to keep Wade in South Beach after this upcoming season when he can opt out of the last year of his contract and become a free agent along with other franchise players like Lebron James and Chris Bosh.

If the Heat can surround the top 5 talent with enough of a supporting cast to once again become a contender in the East, they will be the front runner to retain Wade with a long term deal. The two ways they can accomplish this is through free agency or a blockbuster trade. The two rumored options include signing free agent Lamar Odom, also known as “Candyman”, for his penchant for eating candy during practices and games and his clothing line, or packaging players in a trade for Utah big man Carlos Boozer. D. Wade seems to be in favor of both moves.

Coming off of winning his first NBA title with the Lakers, Odom has inexplicably not had many free agent offers. After initially declining the Lakers original 4 year $36 million offer, the Heat have reportedly shown some interest in the 10 year veteran who averaged 11 points and 8 rebounds off the bench last season. He played so well for Miami in the 03′-04′ season, which was Wade’s rookie season, that they rewarded him with a 6 year deal, which he just finished last season. Wade became not only teammates but good friends since that season. Odom was then sent to the Lakers in the deal which brought Shaquille O’Neal to Miami. Both Wade and former Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant have been publicly recruiting Odom to rejoin their squads.

If Miami cannot resign Odom, the Heat and Wade are reportedly very interested in acquiring US Olympian and 2 time All-Star, Carlos Boozer by trade. Boozer has one year remaining on his deal worth $12.6 million. Utah would undoubtedly want rising 2nd year star, Michael Beasley, or starter Udonis Haslem, in any proposed deal. The Heat could offer any of it’s four centers under contract since resigning Jamaal Magloire and Joel Anthony to go along with Jermaine O’Neal and Mark Blount. Boozer is a career 17 points and 10 rebound performer over 7 NBA seasons. He averaged a career high 21.1 points in 07′-08′, and won a gold medal for the USA in the 2008 Olympics, before an injury plagued last season. He is regarded as one of the best power forwards in the game today. It seems like a good fit since Boozer still maintains a home in Miami in the offseason.

The Heat are also stacked at the small forward position which could ultimately lead to the end of Beasley’s career in Miami if either player is acquired. The Heat added Robert Dozier who played at Memphis in college, in the NBA draft to go along with James Jones, Dorell Wright, and Diawara at small forward. This was part of the reason why Miami chose not to match Cleveland’s offer sheet to Jamario Moon. Although Beasley led the nation in rebounding in college at Kansas State in 07′, at 12,4 per game, he is probably better suited to play small forward since he only averaged 5.4 rebounds to go along with 13.9 points during his rookie season in the NBA.

While most team’s focus has been on changing their team’s makeup to win an NBA title, the Miami Heat should keep in mind their NBA worst record two season’s ago and be sure to get allot of input from Mr. Wade if they want to keep the “Flash” in Miami past next season.

Photo from Episode One of Shaq’s New Reality Show

By now most of you must have heard about Shaquille O’Neal’s new reality TV show he is filming over the summer break. If you haven’t heard about it, it will be called “Shaq Vs.”

Each week in ‘Shaq Vs’ the big fella will be challenging stars of other professional sports to a one on one match, against himself, in their particular sport of excellence. O’Neal figures the differing sport training will provide him with the type of versatility and stimulation he needs to train over the summer and stay in shape.

The first “Shaq Vs.” episode was shot this week and for the premiere episode Shaq challenged NFL QB Ben Roethlisberger in some sort of football match. While there are no spoilers being leaked for you yet on who won the game, word is Shaq is calling himself “The Big Field General” throughout the episode and we have the following picture for you from filming, enjoy folks:

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