Shooting the rock with Barack
Chris Duhon smiled at the thought. A red phone in his apartment that is a direct line from the White House. When it blinks, the message is clear:
Get to Washington. Official business with the president.
Oh, and don’t forget your sneakers.
“I know he’s talked about putting a basketball goal up there,” Duhon said of the West Wing, “so that would definitely be an honor.”
Duhon has had the privilege before. He’s pals with fellow Dukie Reggie Love (shown with Obama and Duhon in the photo wearing Duhon's No. 21 Bulls jersey in green), who is Obama’s “body man” (a.k.a. personal assistant), and when the Illinois senator was home during his campaign for president, Duhon got the call to run some ball with the People’s Candidate.
“There are secret service and guys who work his campaign,” Duhon said. “From what I hear they do it all the time, whenever they get the opportunity they go out and play.”
Duhon has played with Obama at the East Bank Club in Chicago, where Obama played pickup on election day to pass the nerve-wracking time. Plenty has been written about Obama’s basketball skills – from talk of his three-point prowess during a visit with troops in Kuwait to a pickup game with S.L. Price of Sports Illustrated – but no one judges with a more critical eye than a pro.
So, I asked Duhon, can he hang?
“Yeah, I mean, not if we turned the notch up on him,” Duhon said with a laugh. “He wouldn’t be able to handle it . . . “He looks like a player, he talks like a player, that’s his biggest attribute, he knows what he’s talking about. He’s a great passer and he understands the game. For his age, he’s not bad.”
Duhon said he voted for Obama (absentee ballot in Illinois) and said it was somewhat surreal to see the same man he got to know on a personal level through basketball make history by becoming the first African-American man to win the office of the presidency.
“To have the opportunity to see him outside of him running as president, it’s an opportunity not many people get,” Duhon said. “It’s something I’ll be able to tell my kids.”
So what did Obama’s victory mean to Duhon?
“It just means that you can do anything,” Duhon said. “I know you always hear that. If you’re an African American you tell your kids that, I was always told that. But realistically, for us to break this barrier and have the first black president, the sky’s the limit for everybody.”
Duhon’s not the only Knick who was caught up in the Obamanon. We already knew about Stephon Marbury being on the list of donors to the Obama campaign. Quentin Richardson and I chatted a bit about Obama, as well (though he’s from Chicago, he laughed about not having the hook-ups Duhon has into those pick-up games. Would be funny to see Obama nail a three and give the Q-Rich double-fist sign and flash three fingers).
But Malik Rose seemed the most affected by the Obama victory. He hung a shirt in his locker with a caricature of Obama dunking over John McCain. Rose voted absentee in Texas (a state won by McCain) and said he was “still processing everything” after Tuesday night’s results.
Rose said he was “hoping and praying” that Obama would win the election, but wasn’t sure the country was ready to support a black president.
“Deep down I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think that, they’re not going to let that happen - quotes around they,” Rose said. “But it happened . . . It’s just shocking to me and I’m very, very proud.”
They?
I didn’t need to ask. Malik is the social conscience of this team and, after two years of getting to know him through non-basketball conversations, a quality human being. I can allow him a moment of candor, especially after he allowed me to ask him his thoughts about the election of “the first half-white president in American history.”
It drew a laugh.
I told Rose about Duhon's court time with the president-elect and asked him if he could ever imagine joining in. Malik smiled and said, "Nah, I'll watch . . . The Secret Service would take me out the way I play."
* *
Few other items of note off Wednesday's Bobcats-Knicks game:
* - Patrick Ewing Jr. was in the house. He says he's still "weighing his options" after being cut from the Knicks and that he holds no grudges. But Dad was a little ticked off.
“Yeah, he was," Pat admitted. "He thought that no matter what the situation was, whatever management thought there was, that I pretty much played my way onto a spot on the team. But you’ve got to take it as it comes and he’s cool with it now.”
The D-League draft is Friday. See if the Knicks' affiliate, Reno, grabs him up. They'd love to get him there playing under Jay Humphries, who will employ the D'Antoni system.
* - Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer made this observation in his blog Wednesday afternoon regarding the Al Harrington trade talks:
If the Bobcats have any role in Harrington changing teams, it would likely be as a facilitator in some three-team deal. The Knicks are particularly interested in acquiring Harrington, and you can see how he'd fit in Mke D'Antoni's uptempo offense.
Taking it a step further, the Bobcats could use a big -- Larry Brown has coached Eddy Curry and Emeka Okafor is more of a power forward and definitely not a go-to player on the block -- and perhaps the Knicks could get the Bobcats involved in a three-way along with Golden State to make something happen with Harrington.
Harrington's contract, which is very close to Curry's in price, comes off the books by 2010.
Stay tuned.
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Comments (18)
If they had drafted either of the Lopez twins or Hibbert over Gallinari, Knicks could have been a better and deeper team.
Knix don't need Al Harrington. He's just another retread forward with flaws. He is not a good rebounder and is very inconsistent. They need a young center.
DTR
I cannot imagine LB voluntarily acquiring Curry to be on the Bobcats.
LB hated Curry almost as much as D'Antoni does so what are you smokin lol
Pass it
The grass is always greener on the other side. If the Knicks had drafted Lopez or Hibbert, you would say he sucks and if the Knicks had only drafted somebody else.
Obama has some old school skills, the way he takes it to the rim reminds me of the way they played ball in the 70s.
I agree with KBY, if he were making closer to the league minimum or he was nearing the end of his contract, maybe. Brown is running out of stops, I doubt he wants to hang his future on that tub of lard.
The Knicks again had their moments last night but their lack of focus almost did them in again. The longer they hold on to the ball the worse their percentage gets. Quick passes not only keeps the defense on their heels, it also gives the Knicks less time to think about the shot, that's usually when missing gets into their heads.
Nate had a great first half and didn't go off the script when his shot stopped falling. Lee looks flat footed out there and doesn't seem to have the hops he used to. Don't know if its physical or mental.
Zach is increasing his trade value by showing that while he may not be an ideal fit for a D'Antoni offense, his willingness to adapt his game and successfully so far, should make him a valuable trading chip. He has really surprised me this season.
Crawford made some timely shots and he wasn't dribble happy as he can be at times. Like Zach, he has to cut down on the turnovers. Chandler continues to impress and the fact that he is only 21 tells me that this kid can be an elite player in a couple of years if he makes a serious commitment to keep working on his game and does not rely only on his athleticism to see him through. Duhon is showing that he is a PG to help the Knicks transition hopefully to an elite PG in a couple
of seasons. Yes Marbury is better, I don't think it was ever about his skills with D'Antoni but the
toxic effect he has on team chemistry.
Quentin Richardson, wow. He started strong this season but he seems to rest on his laurels as soon as they are handed to him. The Knicks should show him film of his shooting stroke. There is no consistency in the way he shoots, just a casual flick of the wrist. He shoots the ball like guys in a rec league. He played some good D at times but combine the poor shooting with the 6 TOs and you have a liability on the court. I sure as %#%% don't want to see him start if this is what we are going to be getting from him this season. Still don't know how he can still be considered a starter in this league,
even on the Knicks.
Overall its the same deal with NY, lack of mental toughness. Like Coach D said, they fall apart with almost every setback. That's why
his fast paced offense should be good for NY in the long run, less time to dwell on the last miss shot or two and more focus on keeping the offense moving and carrying it over to the defense.
Harrington's no stud, but anything that rids the Knicks of Curry and is off the books by 2010 is good medicine in my book. Besides the fact a solid Y player could out-rebound him, Curry will never be able to play this system. We can only hope LB or GS are so gullible.
Harrington for Curry is a steal for the Knicks (which says how far Curry has fallen). Sean Williams for Mardy is an absolute steal for the Knicks. If Philadelphia doesn't come together (they took a beating yesterday) I would monitor the Andre Miller situation and give them whoever they wanted on our roster for him. Looks like Brook Lopez will end up being a better player than Danillo, but we haven't even seen Danillo play yet, unless that is point, we never will get to see him play much.
Last night: if you doubted who was the better player between Nate and Duhon no need to doubt it now. The team plays better with Nate. Crawford was effective as a spot up shooter. Unfortunately that is not really his game. We need to find one, Crawford for Redd anyone? He also doesn't get to the line (anyone doubt that now) which is why it is hard to rely on him to carry the offense. We lose that game badly if not for Nate because we couldn't score. Nate going off allowed things to open up for Zach and Chandler.
Again a win against a team without a Center and a bad team last year. This might be a year where if we want to make the playoffs, we have to beat up on the bad teams and stay compettive against the good ones.
i like the idea of a trade
of harrington for curry
harrington fits the knick's style
because he has an inside and outside game
anything that rids the knicks of curry
has got to be a plus
while you at it
get rid of "big snacks" too...lol
bty
i think that lil nate should
start at PG
i really am not feeling duhon
he is a back up PG at best
While it is true that Miami and Charlotte are bad teams, it still feels good to be at .500. The slippage at the end shows up the lack of a true "go to" guy, a leader, at this point. Will someone step up? I hope so, but that may not be the case. I'm actually wondering if Nate shows the most potential in this area. I know his emotional approach can lead to erratic play, but he has fire! I don't know that we've seen what maturity may bring to his game.
This will continue to be an uneven journey. Stay tuned!
I know this has nothing to do with your post Alan, but why is Marc Berman so determined to run D'Antoni out of town?
Is he afraid that once Marbury is gone, he'll have no inside track on the team?
I can't imagine he has any respect among the other writers from The Post, let alone writers from rival papers.
If we trade Marbury, can Berman be part of the package?
@PhilipC - I have decided this: This Post is a sensationalized rag. That type of periodical thrives on controversy. Reading and commenting on Berman etc. feeds their revenue and publicity. Therefore, I have made a very early New Years Resolution: I will not waste my time reading and reacting to such drivel.
Excuse me. THE Post!
How about this ...
Knicks get: Al Harrington, Nazr Mohammed
Short term contracts.
Bobcats get: Eddy Curry, Marcus Williams
D.J. Augusin is their PG of the future and Curry might play better next to a defender like Emeka Okafor. Williams gives them a young backup PG too.
Warriors get: Raymond Felton, Malik Rose
Felton could be a good fit in Don Nelson's system and Rose is an expiring contract.
But the point is that LB doesn't like Curry.
And I don't know what team would take a chance right now on a guy who showed up to camp out of shape and who hasn't played a minute yet this season.
To get under the cap, they'll have to trade Randolph. So hopefully he'll keep putting up big number games like last night.
Sergio, I love that trade proposal. Did u run it through the trade machine (digital crack pipe) ?
alan,
thanks for the duhon/obama story, i found it very entertaining
i thought duhon played a nice game last night.
positive thoughts: if the knicks could pull out a victory against washington friday in their fifth game of the year, it will be the furthest into a season that they are at or above .500 since 2004.
it's sad that this actually excites me and will have me watching intently.