obviously i'll have something to say about this...

Maybe he just meant Africans. Sorry Hakeem and Dikembe -- we'll just import the white guys.

 

If the teams keep going to China, Brazil and Europe for talent, who is to say that Rhoden might not have a point?

 

I gotta say I'm with you on both points you've made in this thread G-B.
Anyone think that this almost could have been a typo and meant MLB? Would make a ton more sense than the NBA which is what 80% AA?

And as for Whitlock being more well-known than Stringer before this it's not even close. Obviously I follow sports... I knew full-well who Whitlock was before this and had never heard of Stringer. To the point that the followers of women's hoops would know her, wouldn't those same people probably be ESPN viewers and would have come across Whitlock at some point as well? I think the PTI, Sports Reporters, Page 2 viewers/ readers far exceeds those who would follow women's college basketball and not watch/read any of those shows/sites.

 

Oz

Do you honestly think I said to myself, "Self, if you write this column, you'll get on CNN, Oprah, MSNBC"?

I don't follow politics, so I don't watch CNN, MSNBC or Fox News very often. I don't watch Oprah much. I'm banned from ESPN. On the day I wrote my column, as far as I knew, ESPN was the only network seriously covering Imus/Rutgers. I had no visions of appearing on ESPN.

 

please restate your question. i'm unclear what you're asking.

 

There are currently 59 players from outside the U.S. in the NBA. Four of the six players named to the all-rookie team are African-American, including the rookie of the year. Nine of the top 10 draft prospects for 2007 are African-American.

There are high profile foreign players in the league, from Nowitski to Yao to Nash to Parker and Ginobili. It doesn't automatically mean the NBA is going to be flooded in the next 18 years with players from foreign countries. It means the best players will come here.

And some of the best players in the NBA (LeBron James, Dewyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Tim Duncan et al.) are African-Americans. They will be succeeded by Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Randy Foye, Rudy Gay, LaMarcus Aldridge and others. And the game will go on.

 

Two quick thoughts.

1) Since Mr. Wojo doesn't bother to quote Mr. Rhoden (And New York Times columnist William Rhoden suggested the possibility of the NBA being almost African-American free by 2025.) it's impossible to know what he meant. Did he mean MLB? Did he mean there'd be more African-Italians or African-Mexicans? Who knows.

2) I read Ms. Stringer's quote to mean that, prior to hitching his wagon to the Imus/CNN/Oprah star, not many people knew who Jason Whitlock was. Which, apart from sports fans and other sportswriters, is mostly true. "...your one moment of [fame]. Because other than that, who knows Jason Whitlock?"

 

Because basketball is a significant part of African American culture and will always be for the foreseeable future. The NBA can push for foreign guys all they want--they'e just doing that to try and open new markets and make more money anyway. The teams will ALWAYS go for the most talented players first. And by and large, the most talented players still come from right here in the good old U.S. of A.

Rhoden should be more concerned about an African-American free MLB by 2025 than the NBA.

As for the column in general... one has to wonder if Wojo--whose stuff I like--would have quoted the comments about Stringer regarding Whitlock had Big J-Dub still been cashing checks from the World Wide Leader.

 

Again Jason, look at my previous thread. Like I said when the numbers of African American journalists are better, this line of questioning will end. Finally.

 

Boobie, I trust Wojo completely that he'd get what Rhoden said right. I think he put it in the column because it is a statement that would make you think "Wow, he said that?"

BTW, if we say there are 15 players per squad, the 59 foreign players make up 13.1% of the league right now. Which leave 86.9% for Americans.

 

And this is the man whose insights are on the right side of what African Americans should strive for.

 

J-Dub, if you ever were to refer to yourself as "Self," relying on that old cliche, I'd have to stop defending you.