The Weekend Warrior made one of the shortest road trips of his life, heading from his palacious castle in Arlington to the Verizon Center (the “Phone Booth”) to see the Virginia Tech/Navy and gwu/maryland basketball games.  He was accompanied by DuffHokie and Nickles, who have been part of various articles along the way on here.  Here are some of the highlights:

• It was nice being able to go to a game without use of a car - just walked to the Metro, took a train on the Orange (Bowl) Line, and pow, at the arena.  On the way, we loaded up our socks with airplane bottles.  The trick is to wear big, wintery socks (or soccer socks).  Just stick an airplane bottle on each side of each sock down around the lower calf region, but above the ankles.  Assuming you aren’t wear spandex (and I pray that you are not), your pants hide the bottles from over-molesting security guards.  Plus, it is still comfortable to walk.  Never say TechHoops.com didn’t teach you anything (like how to use a double negative).  Helps you save on those outrageous beer prices at the game. 
• While waiting for a second train at Metro Center, some dude on the other side of the tracks was basically putting on a dance show for his friends on my side of the tracks.  Except he couldn’t dance.  It was like watching a bad 80s dance video, and even worse, it lasted about as long as one.  I was completely creeped out.  Clue to this guy: you are not invisible, we can all see what an idiot you are.
• On my way in I ran into TechHoops.com regular ‘vatechhokies50′.  It was nice to finally meet you!
• Early in the game, they put the three of us on the Jumbotron for at least 20 seconds.  It actually got pretty awkward after a while.  We screamed and yelled at first, but then eventually relaxed and sat back down.  But they kept us on… and on… and on.  Finally, I figured I better come up with something to keep the crowd entertained, so I figured out how to make a ‘VT’ with my fingers after some trial and error.  I felt like we were on a reality show we were up on the screen so long.
• [Added per DuffHokie's request] Watching the timeout shooting contestants was like watching Paris Hilton do long division - it wasn’t pretty.  It looked like these guys had never touched a basketball before, similar to how it looked like the Dr. Pepper passing contestants at the ACC Championship game had never thrown a football before.  Seriously, can they not have a screening process for these things?  I almost think the guy dancing at the Metro station would have done better.
• At some point late in the game they announced the “McDonald’s Winning Row”.  Guess what - it was our row!  That’s right, female dogs, we won!  Now you may be asking yourself: What does a McDonald’s winning row get?  I’ll tell you what: a coupon for a free filet-o-fish and a Southern style chicken sandwich.  That’s it.  Two lousy items they cannot sell because no one wants them.  They wouldn’t even give us extra coupons.  Are you [blanking] kidding me???  They pay all this money to the Verizon Center to have this prize, and then this is all they give out.  Let’s just say the boos started raining down on the poor event staff girl that handed them out.

After our game, I got to really focus on what I came to do: make fun of maryland fans.  I know, I know, Hokies Respect and ACC Sportsmanship and all that crap.  But come on, md fans are known as easily the worst and most obnoxious in the ACC.  Yet all we did is give them the business.  Why?  We own them and they know it. 

Since joining the ACC, VT is 3-0 against the twerps in football and 4-2 in basketball (including 3 in a row).  We have won 3 ACC football titles and gotten a first round bye in the ACC Tournament 3 of 4 years (they have 0 football titles in that span and just 1 ACC Tournament bye).

During the maryland game, a chorus of “Boooooooi-se, Boooooooi-se” was common on twerp free throws from our section (maryland is headed to the Smurf Turf for their bowl game in Boise, Idaho).  On others we would chant, “NIT, NIT!”  We made fun of anything and everything about them.  And what did they do?  Not one thing.  They had to just sit there and take it because we are their daddies and they know it.  I did get enough evil eyes to fill a sack, though.  But I have to admit, it was fun bullying the bullies.

One final note to the Verizon Center people: having alcohol sales until the final 15 minutes of the second half of the second game is probably a bad idea.  I think this is what led to getting lost inside a restaurant after the game.  Their alcohol policy meant you basically had 4 hours of drinking time.  That is not a good thing, especially when you are wearing 2 stockings overflowing with gifts of Wild Turkey!

Well, no one ever said it was easy to be a Virginia Tech hoops fan. Just when the pain of feeling like you had been kicked in the nuts was beginning to ease – i.e. the xavier game – the wisconsin badgers came to town. No sooner did the badgers’ Trevon Hughes connect on his double clutch, off balance one hander in the lane with 0.9 seconds remaining, Hokie fans everywhere had to be wondering what we had done to tick off the basketball gods to this point. I’m now hearing rumblings within the Hokie Nation that this basketball season is a lost cause. This is utterly ridiculous.

Let’s all take a deep breath and lighten up here. While wins over sharp-shooting Big Ten power wisconsin and a xavier squad one year removed from an elite 8 appearance would certainly look nice on the resume’, there are no – repeat no – must win games in November or December. As Coach Greenberg said after Monday’s game, “No one gets eliminated December 1, and no one makes the tournament December 1.� Greenberg figures to get plenty of cracks at top-50 wins during ACC play alone this season. Look at it this way, even with all of the Hokies’ futility last season against out of conference and top-50 teams, if Tech could have squeaked out one more league win (such as reversing the loss to last place n.c. state for example) and with a 10-6 ACC record, compared to 9-7, there is no damn way we wouldn’t have gotten a bid.

The Hokies have seven non- conference games left this season (six before the ACC opener at duke). With the exception of the georgia game, Tech will be favored in each of the six. Win them all, and the Hokies will be at 10-3, their best mark going into conference play since 1995-96, when the A-10 member Hokies were in the top-25 virtually all season. Not bad position to be in. The key is to remain focused, avoid losses to bottom-150 RPI teams, get J.T. Thompson back into the rotation, then let’s take some more cracks at those marquee wins.

I have to give a shout out to A.D. for his remarkable career-high 30 point effort Monday night, which included 6 of 9 shooting from three point range. His clutch shooting down the stretch was nothing short of astounding and pretty much single-handedly got the Hokies back into the game, with Jeff Allen saddled with foul trouble the entire game.

Speaking of Allen, there were some very curious calls against the Dunking Donut, starting with a touch foul just seconds after the opening tip. I have to say that I was very impressed with Big Jeff’s ability to keep his cool after each of these calls, especially considering last season’s ref-bumping incident at georgia tech. Expect to see Allen on the other end of these calls, and on the free throw line even more, as he continues to mature.

Another encouraging note from the wisconsin game had to be the continued fast paced development of freshman Victor “Don’t Call Me V.D.� Davila. The Hokies’ other Puerto Rico native scored 13 points in 25 minutes and continued to impress with his footwork and quick moves around the rim. Victor is showing an ability to get the ball up on the glass quickly around the opposing big men. Personally, I can’t wait to see Coach Greenberg go with a front line of Thompson, Allen, and Davila.

Niemo used to work with a chick from fairfield university, and since we don’t know the first thing about the school, we decided to shoot her an email to get some more information about Virginia Tech’s first round opponent in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.

Speaking of work, here is how you can get out of work tomorrow to watch the game at 11 AM EST:

1. Block off your calendar from 11-1 with a “Coaching Luncheon” (you can be the coach or the coachee depending on your title).
2. Have another Hokie in the office do the same.
3. Call around to the local sports bars and see which bars have “the u”, ESPNU - DirecTv Channel 614. There’s a good chance they will have no idea said channel even existed, so just tell them the channel number and have them check it. We actually did a drive-by to verify they got it. Our place even has a buffet, which means 2 hours of stuffin’.
4. Come 11 AM tomorrow, duck out and enjoy the game! Warning: make sure you set your Bear Fight spread VERY high unless you don’t plan on going back to work.

OK, enough of that, let’s get back to the fairfield interview. Thanks to Lanie (former female co-worker of Niemo’s) and Scott (her friend), two real, live stag alums, for participating!

1. Niemo: Tell me about fairfield university - good party scene or suitcase college?

Lanie and Scott: Great party scene at the beach! Clam Jam/Spam Jam… well known in the NE.

[Niemo: Guess it is near a beach. 'Spam Jam'? Hmm. I wonder if it was 'BYOS' - Bring Ya Own Spam! And what's up with "the NE"??? Boy, those chowda heads are really letting 3 Super Bowls, 2 World Series, and a NBA title go to their heads. Just like "the ohio state".]

2. Niemo: How many times per day would you hear, or make, a ‘fu’ joke?

Lanie and Scott: Multiple times a day. I (SM) even had an FU logo on my speedo for swim team and the women’s team had it on their chests.

[Niemo: LOL, that's pretty solid... minus the Speedo, that is. Apparently Lanie has a picture of Scott in said Speedo but isn't coughing it up. Hmm, I wonder what she is still doing with that picture after all these years???]

3. Niemo: How many basketball games did you attend as a student?

Scott: 15

[Niemo: I guess Lanie was tied up at Spam Jam and couldn't make any.]

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Stop laughing, there really is a blog about mount st. mary’s university basketball.  And Raff from thefanblog.blogspot.com was nice enough to answer some questions about the mount st. mary’s mountaineers (or “the mount” for short).

Raff also interviewed me and here is a link to that interview: Niemo interviewed by the Fan Blog

Bio about Raff: Raff is a sports fan. He’s been a fan of Mt. St. Mary’s basketball since he was seven years old and he fell through the bleachers in the Old Memorial Gymnasium during the final two seconds of one of the most incredible finishes in the history of the South Atlantic Division II regional finals, in a game versus Elizabeth City State. A graduate of Syracuse University, his venom for the Hokies comes from those many years in the 90’s when the footbal rivalry was intense and of course for the way the Tech administration handled the ACC departure. He blogs regularly about the Mount, Syracuse and anything else he feels like writing about at thefanblog.blogspot.com.

Q&A:

1. Niemo: Tell me about mt. st. mary’s university.  What is the school like?  Good party scene or suitcase college?

Raff: I was never a full-time student there, although I did take a few classes. So I can’t really clue you in on the party scene. The school is the sixth smallest in Division I, so there is a true sense of community there - and the Mount Maniac student section seems to have a good time at games. I’m guessing that there are worse places to be on a Saturday night than on campus.

2. Niemo: The mount is a Catholic university.  Do the ladies wear those sexy, naughty, Catholic-school-girl skirts?

Raff: This isn’t Southern Seminary or anything. And I take my 9-year-old daughter to the games with me - so I’m usually more worried about what she has on, then what the students are wearing. At least that is what I tell my wife.

[Note to Niemo's gf if she's reading this - Daddy likes the Catholic-school-girl skirts!]

3. Niemo: mount st. mary’s won the Northeast Conference (NEC) last year and won the “extra” NCAA Tournament game before being waxed by unc in the first round.  What are expectations for the mountaineers this season?

Raff: Expectations are as high as they’ve ever been with the program at this level. Truly last year’s run came a year ahead of schedule. There was just one senior who got considerable minutes last year, and only two scholarship seniors on the roster this year. The heart of last year’s team were underclassmen. A tough non-conference schedule, as is always the case with the mid-majors, could leave them with a few welts but they should be stronger come conference play and the all-important NEC tournament. Just about every publication has picked the Mount to win the NEC this year and with good reason. But the players seem to realize that without three wins at the start of March, there is no hope to play in the Big Dance.

Click ‘Read more’ for the rest of the interview…

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Your Virginia Tech Hokies tip off the 2008-09 men’s hoops campaign against gardner-webb (yeah, the same team that stunned kentucky in Rupp Arena last season) Friday night. Not since the 1995-96 season have Hokie fans looked forward to the start of a basketball season with such anticipation. Those were back in the Atlantic 10 days. Who can remember the days of trying to see who could score tickets for the umass visit to Cassell – or fordham or duquense for that matter?

The ACC looks to be very competitive this year. Carolina is the consensus pre-season pick to win the league and appear to be head and shoulders above the rest with all five starters returning from last year’s final four team. Of course a lot will depend on how long tyler hansbrough is out of the lineup with his stress fracture-like injury that they are saying is not a stress fracture. In addition, wake also returns all five starters in addition to bringing in what most consider the nation’s best recruiting class. The Hokies, duke, and miami return four starters. With clemson, n.c. state, and fsu returning a lot of experience as well the race should be very interesting to see who goes dancing in March.

How does the Balla see things playing out in the ACC this year you ask? Like everyone else with a pulse, I like unc to win the regular season. They will be followed by wake, duke, Virginia Tech, miami, and clemson rounding out the top six. The bottom half of the league is totally up for grabs with these teams competing for NIT and CBI invites so who really cares. Everyone but projected basement dweller uva has a shot at post season play.

The Hokies return virtually every key component from last season with the exception of the human highlight film and defensive stopper Deron Washington. So what will this year’s team look like? Here’s what I think:

Most likely to have a break out season – Dorenzo Hudson. After debuting last season at the semester break with a double digit effort at wake, Dorenzo quickly hit the wall and his biggest highlight the rest of the way was puking on the floor during Tech’s win at maryland. Hudson has all the tools to be a big time player in the ACC.

Most likely to replace Deron on YouTube – J.T. Thompson. Assuming J.T. is not out of the lineup long with what could be a sports hernia according to Coach Greenberg. J.T. showed flashes of brilliance last season as a freshman and threw down absolutely mean dunks against duke and george washington.

Most likely to step up and become the defensive stopper – Terrell Bell. With long arms to go with his 6’-6� frame, Bell has what it takes to become a great defender and check the opponent’s go-to guy a la Washington last year and Jamon Gordon before that.

Most likely to hit multiple game winning shots – Malcolm Delaney. With other teams likely to be keying on A.D. Vassallo, look for Delaney to emerge this season as a deadly clutch shooter. A.D. is not a bad option either or big Jeff Allen down low for that matter.

How will the Hokies fare overall you ask? You heard it here first – they will finish in the top four in the ACC this year and not only will they make the NCAA Tourney, they’ll be a Sweet 16 team, book it.

This week I spoke to ESPN College Gameday Analyst Jay Bilas on behalf of the TechHoops.com team to preview the upcoming season. You can listen to the conversation by clicking the play button below, but we’ve also included a transcript if you can’t listen at work.

TechHoops.com: Where do you think the Hokies will finish in the ACC this year?

Jay Bilas: I think Virginia Tech will finish in the top half of the ACC, but last year I didn’t think they would finish anywhere near the top half and they did. So, a lot depends on how some of their younger players matured over the summer. They relied on a lot of young players last year, and those young players certainly treated them well. It was really a good year for Virginia Tech when not a lot of people expected it. So, this year people are expecting more and it’s going to require guys like Jeff Allen to take a big jump and play even better because he’s a known commodity now and people are going to come after Virginia Tech even harder than they did last year.

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The Hokies on Fire picked what they thought were the top 10 slogans for this year’s Hokies on Fire Blackout shirt. They are now available to choose from at www.hokiesonfire.com.

The winner will be announced on November 5th at the Hokies on Fire Pep Rally! He/she will receive $150 and we have an amazing surprise for them as well. Come to the pep rally and you might find out. The facebook event is: www.tinyurl.com/hofpeprally.

Look for the shirts to be on sale starting November 13th for a relatively cheap price.

Here is the list of the top 10 slogan ideas to choose from.
1) Welcome to BlackOUTsburg
2) If you can’t take the heat get out of the Cassell
3) Lights out in BLACKsburg
4) Hokie Triple Threat: The Cassell, The Soldiers, The Guards
5) Hope you’ve got Night Vision
6) Are you afraid of the dark
7) A blackout to remember
8 ) Cross our moat and step into the dark
9) Lets rock the Cassell with a knight full of Hokies
10) Blackout or Backout

Once the students decide on the “best slogan,� we will quickly start the design process to ensure that the shirts hit the stores on November 13th.

Also, we might combine two slogans depending on how well some are received by the students. If you’d like to assist us with the design process, please e-mail hokiesonfire@vt.edu.

Lastly, we are starting a “Cheers of the game� section at Tech Hoops. This is where we all will be able to coordinate cheers and unite as fans to better the atmosphere. Be sure to check here before each game to see what cheers are going to take place!

We are one step closer to making VT home of the best home-court advantage in the country. We still need your help! Make sure you tell your friends to vote at www.hokiesonfire.com!
Let’s Go!!!

The Student Government is proud to announce the continuation of their Hokies on Fire program. The game this year will be a blackout against clemson on January 29^th, 2009.

I am calling out to the student body to help transform Cassell Coliseum into the best home-court arena in the country.

On December 1st, Virginia Tech plays wisconsin. This is the only televised (ESPN2) college basketball game scheduled that day, which means that everyone will be watching. The student section is expected to come out stronger than ever and truly “Protect the Cassell�. Coach Greenberg wants Cassell Coliseum to be covered in Orange, so make sure you wear your favorite orange shirt to the game!

We have gathered slogan and cheer ideas from students. The best slogan will win $150 plus other prizes to be named later. I’m working on getting a basketball signed by Coach Greenberg and the players. On top of that, I’m trying to get the winner a dinner with the team.

Currently, Virginia Tech is known as a football school – we need to unite to prove that VT is much more than just a one sport school. Our basketball team is on the rise; Seth Greenberg is building something special here in Blacksburg. He can’t do it alone – he needs your help.

With your help, we will transform Cassell into the best arena in the country, and clemson will soon be afraid of the dark.

Before anything, you have to go to www.hokiesonfire.com and enter slogan ideas. Who knows, you must just be the lucky winner and be featured at our pep rally on November 5^th!

Lets GO!!!

This weekend the Weekend Warrior headed down to seminole country to watch the Hokies meet the noles in football, and to check out the Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center (pictured), where the Hokies will conclude their basketball regular season slate with a game against the noles on Sunday, March 8th.

If you have seen the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, you basically have the story of my trip to florida state this weekend. And it didn’t get much better after I got there. I would rank it down there with the 1994 Gator Bowl trip as “worst… trip… ever!” Here’s the rundown…

Thursday

Severe head cold starts setting in during the afternoon. This is great since I have a 7 AM flight on Friday.

Friday

5:30 AM - Adios, VA, sunny Florida here we come!

6:10 AM - Through the security line in record time and at my gate, nothing is stopping me now! Also, nothing is stopping my sinuses from getting worse.

7:00 AM - On the plane and pulling back from the gate! I should be at the pool all oiled up sipping bourbon-coladas by noon!

—and here marks the end of the fun part of my weekend—

7:01 AM - The pilot informs us that Atlanta has shut down all incoming traffic due to low visibility and light rain. We will be sitting on the tarmac for at least a half hour until the tower updates us. Considering we are supposed to land at 9 and my connection to Tallahassee leaves at 10, I’m concerned but not panicking yet.

7:35 AM - The pilot updates us by telling us that we will have to sit for another hour with 8:30 as the likely take off time. Considering this puts us in the ATL after my connection is supposed to leave, this seems to be a problem. But, being the optimist I am, I assume my next flight is being delayed also by this “low visibility and light rain”.

7:50 AM - I have now blown through (pun intended) the three Kleenex I brought with me with no end in sight. This is not good.

8:20 AM - I have begun using the air sick bag as a tissue. Not sure if I’m bleeding from my sinuses or paper cuts.

8:35 AM - Finally we are off the ground and headed to the Dirty South!

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You may be wondering what classifies as a “basketball” movie.  Well, I’m being pretty liberal here.  Let’s count anything that focuses on a basketball player, a team, or just has a lot of basketball in it.  It can be a comedy, drama, or documentary.  Pretty much, everything is fair game.  So without further adieu, let’s get to the list.

The Top Shelf Six Pack

1. Hoosiers (1986) - Based on a true story - Plot: A small town team with just six or seven players battles for the Indiana state title (there’s only one division) - The gold standard for basketball movies.  It is also one of my Top 10 favorite movies of all-time in any category, maybe even Top 5.   Based on a true story in a basketball-mad state about maybe the greatest Cinderella/David beating Goliath team of all time.  Sure it is sappy, but it is also extremely uplifting.  The musical score is great and the acting is superb.   And Coach Normal Dale (Gene Hackman) is a Bobby Knight you can actually love.  Basketball scenes are well done.  Rewatchability: 10 - Seriously, if it is on, I’m watching it.  Or at least seeing where in the movie it is.
2. Hoop Dreams (1994) - Documentary - Plot: A filmmaker follows around two high school basketball players, one of which is a phenom, for four years, detailing their lives, too - Believe me, this movie is close to #1.  The thing that drops it down is that because it is a documentary, it is slow at times and very long.  But the concept of following a high school phenom and a slightly above average player around for all four years of high school was brilliant.  This was reality long before Survivor and all the other reality TV shows came along.  The real life drama that these two kids, and their families, face in Chicago is spellbinding.  And there’s a stunning twist during their senior seasons.  Random drinking game: take a drink every time someone says “downstate”.  You won’t make it to the end of the movie if you do.  Real basketball footage.  Rewatchability: 6 - I have watched it twice since I saw it in the theater.  It is worth watching every four of five years and laughing at the clothes from the late 80s/early 90s and remembering the story.  But it is slow.
3. He Got Game (1998) - Drama - A Spike Lee Joint (guys get that) - Plot: A high school phenom (Ray Allen) goes through the recruiting process with eveyone telling him where to go, including his dad (Denzel Washington) who was let out of jail just to lure him to go to a state official’s alma mater - I walked out of this movie thinking to myself, “Man, I wish I had practiced basketball every day so I could have gone on college recruiting trips.”  (I’m referring to the three-some scene)  The story is very good and draws you in.  Of course Denzel Washington’s acting is brilliant but Ray Allen puts forth an amazing performance, too.  The movie is a nice look at how everybody wants something from a talented star.  Not much in the way of actual “basketball” action, yet the whole movie is about life off the court.  Rewatchability: 8 - Like I said, the story really draws you in and makes you root for Jesus and his dad.
4. White Men Can’t Jump (1992) - Comedy - Plot: Two basketball players (Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes) hustle games for money and drop a thousand one-liners - By far the funniest basketball movie of all time.  I still use quotes from this movie: “It’s too easy!”  Coincidentally, Woody is in the least funny bball movie, too, Semi-Pro.  This movie will have you laughing the entire time and the basketball scenes are decent.  Would be #3 but He Got Game has more plot and a greater message.  Rewatchability: 10 - I’ll watch it any time it is on.
5. Above the Rim (1994) - Drama - Plot: A high school kid wants to overcome the streets and make it to play for Georgetown - I’m biased to this movie because I’m in the crowd in the final scene.  I think you can see my hat.  Anyway, this movie is a cross between He Got Game (even though it came first) and Hoop Dreams.  It is sombering watching Tupac, who actually does a good job in this movie.  Basketball scenes are average, but the story keeps you hooked.  Rewatchability: 5 - I haven’t seen it on TV too much lately.  I need to dial it up on Netflix.
6. Finding Forrester (2000) - Drama - Plot: A really smart and really good high school basketball player befriends a reclusive writer as he adjusts to an uppity school - This is the least “basketball-ish” of these six movies.  But since it is based on a basketball player, I’m counting it.  Quality acting with Sean Connery and a good supporting cast.  And what’s funnier that hearing Connery, in an English accent, say, “You’re the man now, dog!”  Rewatchability: 4 - Haven’t watched it again since I first saw it.  Hmm… should I add it to Netflix?

Six Pack of One-Timers (see them once)

• Blue Chips (1994) - Drama/Comedy - Plot: College coach becomes corrupt to win - How can a movie with Nick Nolte, Shaq, Larry Bird, Bobby Knight, Penny Hardaway, and Dick Vitale stink?  Not sure, but this movie found a way.  But watching Shaq play a college freshman is pretty entertaining, as is bribing a recruit with a tractor.  And the basketball scenes are great since they have a NBA all-star team on one college team.
• Teen Wolf (1985) - Comedy - Plot: A high school kid adjusts to being part wolf - Classic “what were the writers smoking” 80s comedy.  A wolf playing high school basketball is more believable than Michael J. Fox as a basketball player, yet somehow this movie works.  Funny and entertaining.  You just have to put on your 80s glasses and remember: it doesn’t have to make sense. 
• Rebound: The Legend of Earl “The Goat” Manigault (1996) - Based on a true story - Plot: A high school can’t-miss prospect misses because of drug abuse - This is NOT the Martin Lawrence movie.  It is a very sad story, and because it is mostly true, really gives a good lesson.  But the acting is poor, budget is low, and basketball scenes aren’t very good.  Read up on The Goat.  The legends about him, if true, are incredible.
• Through the Fire (2005) - Documentary - Plot: Sebastian Telfair, a high school point guard, has to figure out if he wants to go to college or the NBA - Read the book, The Jump, instead.  It is 100 times better.  This movie is a like a Subway sandwich: no meat.  But still worth trying to get through once.
• Coach Carter (2005) - Based on a true story - Plot: A strict disciplinarian coach whips an urban LA team into shape - See my Glory Road comments below and wash, rinse, repeat.  At least this movie has Samuel L. Jackson and isn’t “hurrah for everything”.
• Baseketball (1998) - Comedy - Plot: Two losers invent a sport to get chicks and not suck - I think it is pretty darn funny, especially the taunting.  But it isn’t really a baseketball movie, so it is down here.

Disappointments

• Basketball Diaries (1995) - Leonardo DiCaprio gives a great performance and I knew this movie wasn’t really about basketball, but it still stunk overall.  The one or two basketball scenes are awful and the rest of the movie is just about drunks and JO’ing.
• Semi-Pro (2008) - Will Ferrell, but not funny.  He’s forcing things now.  He’s the new Adam Sandler.   Needs to go back to being a supporting star, not the main guy.