The Inquisitr » basketball

Hampton Basketball Player Theo Smalling Shot, Dies Of Wound

AHN — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:28:17 +0000

Hampton, VA (AHN) – Hampton University basketball player Theo Smalling died Monday as a result of a gunshot wound sustained Saturday in a parking lot outside a nightclub. He was 22.

The Hampton Police Department referred to the shooting as an accident.

Smalling, the Pirates starting forward and team captain, was inside a car in the parking lot of Fusions Nightclub on West Mercury Boulevard with Dominique Devon Smith, 21, when the incident occurred.

According to the police, Smith allegedly “mishandled a firearm and accidentally shot” Smalling in the abdomen early Saturday, a day after his 22nd birthday.

The wounded player was picked up by an ambulance after the police received a call following the shooting.

Apart from a misdemeanor charge of reckless handling of a firearm, Smith could also face additional charges since Smalling did not survive his injuries.

A statement on the University’s Web site called Smalling a victim of a “senseless accident.”

The former Bloomingdale High basketball star registered over 70 starts for the Div. I Hampton University in 91 contests.

For his career, he averaged 3.3 points and 5.2 boards per contest for the Pirates.

Video: Shannon Brown dunk on Mikki Moore

Kim LaCapria — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:13:53 +0000

The Lakers’ Shannon Brown pulled off an impressive play on the Warriors’ Mikki Moore during last night’s game.

A fan shouted down from the stands to Moore “you got dunked on!”

Moore replied, “it happens.”

NBA Star Baron Davis makes preventative legal threats over stolen laptop

Paul Short — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 17:37:30 +0000

NBA star, Baron Davis, had his laptop stolen recently. The laptop contained a bunch of ’sensitive’ images and other media that Davis doesn’t want getting into the wrong hands. Like, you know, nekked pics showing up on some gossip site.

So what was this preventative action? Why, sending a threatening letter to online news outlets and blogs before they even have any of the files. Basically, Lawyers representing Davis are saying “don’t even THINK about even considering acquiring anything off that laptop or we’ll pummel you with litigation.”

How do we know this? William Bastone of the famed Smoking Gun website recieved the following letter from Davis’ attorneys. Of course, it’s marked as Confidential and Not For Publication. Ahem, yeah. You can click on the pic for the larger, more readable version.

Celebs lose a laptop or device with stuff on it they want kept private – we can understand how disturbing that can be since it’s happened to a lot of us normal folk too. But sending bloggers and news outlets threatening letters before they even have possession of the files, or maybe even before anyone knew about them… priceless.

Now we want them. Tip the Inquisitr using our contact form if you happen to know where we can get these tawdry temptations.

Read the whole silliness over at The Smoking Gun.

Tony Parker deserts French legion for Spurs medical

Paul Montgomery — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 15:17:50 +0000

The San Antonio Spurs are taking no chances with Tony Parker’s troublesome ankle, calling him back mid-tournament from duties with the French national team after the point guard injured both his right thigh and ankle in a game with Austria.

Parker reluctantly boarded a trans-Atlantic flight for the Spurs medical staff to give him a full examination, after he ended up on crutches when he collided with an Austrian player in a qualifier for the European championships on July 23. A subsequent MRI exam, while negative, was apparently not good enough for the Spurs organisation, who it must be said have the small matter of a $66 million investment over six years into Parker.

The French national team put out a statement containing some comments from Parker. “Honestly, I don’t understand this decision, because of all the tests done with the French doctors and the Spurs,” he said.

“I am obligated to follow what my club wants me to do, but I hope to come back as soon as possible to participate in the qualification with the French national team.”

Parker has had previous injuries to the same ankle. He will return in time for the start of a six-team tournament that will decide the last qualifying team for next September’s Eurobasket event in Poland.

Shawn Marion heading to the Dallas Mavericks

Duncan Riley — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 05:04:14 +0000

The Dallas Mavericks will acquire forward Shawn Marion in a trade deal with the Toronto Raptors, according to multiple reports.

The trade is believed to be not official yet, but is said to be happening. Unconfirmed reports say Marion agreed to a five-year, $40 million contract. The Raptors needed to trade Marion due to salary cap issues caused by their signing of Hedo Turkoglu from the Orlando Magic.

Several other players are reportedly part of the deal ESPN reported, including the Raptors’ Kris Humphries and Quincy Douby, the Mavericks’ Jerry Stackhouse, Devean George and Antoine Wright and the Grizzlies’ Greg Buckner. The Grizzlies will be getting Stackhouse, Douby and cash, sources said. George and Wright will end up in Toronto, according to the same sources. Humphries and Buckner are on their way to Dallas.

Marion will join Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki and Josh Howard at the Mavericks, giving the team four former All-Stars, and one seriously loud mouthed owner.

Rasheed Wallace heading to the Celtics

Duncan Riley — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 02:34:27 +0000

Former Pistons star forward Rasheed Wallace is reported to have agreed to play with the Boston Celtics.

According to reports, Wallace is expected to sign a two-year contract for the mid-level exception. The deal wont be formal until Wednesday, the first day NBA free agents can sign.

34 year old Wallace has played 1,009 games over 14 seasons with Washington, Portland, Atlanta and Detroit for an average of 15.0 points and 6.9 boards. In his last season with the Pistons, Wallace averaged 12 points and 7.4 rebounds in 66 games.

Trevor Ariza out, Ron Artest in for LA Lakers?

Paul Montgomery — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 06:46:47 +0000

The Los Angeles Lakers have continued their rivalry with the Cleveland Cavaliers off the court in the NBA off-season, with 2009 ring-winner Trevor Ariza on the way out of LA, maybe to Cleveland, and Ron Artest possibly the subject of a tug-of-war between the two franchises as he leaves the Houston Rockets.

Ariza, who averaged 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds and shot 50% from three-point range in the 2009 NBA playoffs, is reported to be unhappy with the base-level deal the Lakers are offering him as a free agent. While the Portland Trailblazers and Toronto Raptors are the only two NBA teams who are in a position to offer him more, Ariza is reported to be so annoyed with the Lakers that he would be willing to switch teams for the same money, with Cleveland itself one team that has showed interest in him.

Meanwhile, the Rockets’ Artest was reported to have met with Cavaliers star LeBron James at the BET Awards recently, fueling the Cavs’ interest in Artest to shore up their defensive weaknesses that saw them bundled out before reaching the 2009 finals against the Lakers. Houston TV is reporting that Houston is only offering Artest a one-year deal and Artest’s agent has confirmed that his player would talk with James or LA’s Kobe Bryant if approached.

Could we see a new trio of stars at either the Cavs or Lakers, like the Boston Celtics had in 2008 for their championship?

8th Grader’s unbelievable basketball shot

Kim LaCapria — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:07:26 +0000

This kid kicks your honor student’s ass.

In a video that’s quickly making the web rounds, a stunning three-quarter court flip shot is pulled off by Brecksville-Broadview Heights Middle School student Aaron Shutway (some sources say it’s “Aaron Shumway”).

The kid makes the lucky shot from about 60 feet away, across a crowded court full of kids. Then he gets swarmed. Someone’s getting to second base tonight!

Aaron Brooks’ Amazing Alley-Oop (video)

Duncan Riley — Mon, 11 May 2009 00:48:47 +0000

Aaron Brooks rubbed insult to injury in the Rocket’s 99-87 defeat of the LA Lakers Sunday (May 10) with an amazing Alley-Oop at the end of the third quarter.

With less than a second left in the quarter, Ron Artest threw an alley-oop from behind midcourt. Brooks, a relatively short 6′ 4″, caught the pass and put it in off the backboard just ahead of the buzzer.

As they say, it’s not the size that counts, but what you do with the ball…or something like that. Here’s the Aaron Brooks Alley-Oop video:

CollegeHumor delivers a champagne basketball prank

Duncan Riley — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 01:59:31 +0000

The guys at CollegeHumor are never short of a clever idea, but they may have finally topped themselves with a new prank on one of their own.

Streeter from CollegeHumor is perhaps best remembered as the victim of a prank at Yankee Stadium a while back with a fake marriage proposal ruining his relationship with his girlfriend. Streeter has been waiting for revenge on co-worker and friend Amir ever since, and decided to do it at a Maryland basketball game.

Streeter arranged to have Amir selected for the half time half court shot for $500,000, with a twist: Amir would be blindfolded. What Amir didn’t know was that Streeter had arranged with the crowd to cheer as if he’d landed the shot even when he missed, so in front of 18,000 people, Amir thinks he’s won the cool, hard cash.

Here the video showing the prank.

Watch Prank War 7: The Half Million Dollar Shot and more funny videos on CollegeHumor

College Junior Enters NBA Draft. The Catch: He Has No Basketball Playing Experience

Duncan Riley — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:56:02 +0000

Zach Feinstein is the dark horse in this years NBA Draft, the dark horse because he’s managed to register himself despite having no serious basketball playing experience.

Zach explains:

“The short story is that I, Zachary Feinstein, have declared for the 2008 NBA Draft. As a 5′8″ 130 pound Caucasian, I am the perfect candidate for professional basketball. Also, I do not play basketball.

You see, I am not currently on my college’s basketball team (Division 3 just for reference) nor did I try out to be. I was at no point on my high school’s basketball team nor did I try out to be. I was at no point on my middle school’s basketball team nor did I try out to be. The last time I was on a basketball team was before Bill Clinton got caught with his pants down.

So there you have it, I, Zach Feinstein, am in the 2008 NBA Draft.”

His credentials check out as well: he’s is definitely on the draft list. More details on his site here, including how he managed to pull it off.