This week Sports Illustrated did a nice story on And1, the folks who bring us those mix tapes. If you get a chance take a look at it.

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2005/images/06...ge0613_all.jpg

Ah yes. The New Age-Harlem Globetrotters.

"How many violations can I commit during one dribble?- let me count the ways"- Shakespeare.

I think some of the stuff they can do with a basketball is pretty wild. Unbelievable handles even if there is tons of violations. The story talks about one of the first And 1 players who supposedly did alot of his moves without traveling, carrying or double dribbles. I've never really watched more than about 5 minutes of this stuff but can anyone confirm?

Dan,

Thanks for the update. I think I'll pick up a copy and check it out and send it to my son.

Now, basketball wise, And-1 is pathetic, but entertainment wise, they are as I have said before, the new Globetrotters IMO. Guess they are making some waves if SI has them on the cover.

Because my son was at the right age, we began to watch the weekly ESPN And-1 Mix Tape tour programs <cringe>. I tried to explain to my son that it was basic garbage but to take away some of the entertainment value. This was one of my main beefs with the NBA in that with the And-1 guys, you know they are going to do a lot of illegal stuff and it not be called, whereas, with the NBA, you would expect them to call these violations.

After watching the show for 2 years, it became interesting to see who would get bumped from the traveling crew each week and who would make it until the end to get a contract as one of the regulars. We loved the "Professor". Little white guy who looks like a little professor-geek type, but can do it all. He ended up making the team and it was pretty interesting to see who got cut and who didn't. Basically, if you entertained in the game, you had a good chance of staying. If you didn't, bye-bye. There is no pretense, it's all about entertainment.

The personalities are worth the price of admission, and a couple of the guys have made it to the NBA too. Some of the guys in the beginning were real playground legends, but I'm not so sure now.

Anyway, what I wouldn't give for the NBA to invite the "Helicoptor" to the NBA dunk contest! He'd win it hands down.

If you like running and gunning, and dunking from anywhere on the court, then And-1 might be a good alternative to watching the tired Harlem Globtrotters.

goose

Well if anyone ever gets a chance to go to one of the actual games that the And 1 guys play on tour, then you would agree with me when I say that they are very entertaining and a lot of fun. The crowd is always involved and out of their seats. I can remember last year as a birthday gift, I went to Phillips Arena in ATL and saw them perform. I almost witnessed the nastiest dunk ever(aside from Vinsanity's slam over the 7'2" guy) when Spida tried to windmill from the FREE THROW LINE over either "Go Get It" or "Prime Objective". Crazy.

Now I know the majority of the things they do are illegal, but they are still fun to watch. Some of the guys like "50" and "Hot Sauce" come to GA Tech all the time to work on their games. But once they step on the court in there with us college folk, they get it handed to them just like the next man....

Can you give a link to the article, newspaper, magazine?

As far as I know Rafer Alston is the only AND1 player to make it in the NBA. In the early days he was known as "Skip to my lou."
I'm glad that this "show" isn't getting bashed on here. It is what it is; entertainment.
If you think about it we could benefit from seeing these illegal moves since they show them repeatedly. Recognition in a real game could come quickly and the correct call could be made.

It's not in the public domain so we gotta be careful here.

But if you google "and1 sports illustrated teamxbox" without the quotes you should get a hit to an article at news.teamxbox.com

The article itself has been removed but it is still in the google cache. If you know how to get to that you can read the article.

I've seen it occasionally when it's on the TV in my health club. I find it about as entertaining as the XFL was. IMHO, I don't know that there is much to learn from watching it. Their moves are so illegal that you'd have to be blind to not see them. :(

Z

They're more entertaining than the Globies tired old act- even though I gotta say that the Globies are still great for young kids that have never seen them before. As you said, AND1 <b>is</b> entertaining- which is their <i>raison d'etre</i> anyway.

Zebraman, you are right. The moves on AND1 are VERY illegal. However, just like headbands, rubberbands, sagging shorts, crossover/carryover dribbles, pulling up on the rim and trash-talking these are things that current players see and try to copy to some extent. I would rather see it, see it again in slow motion and be entertained instead of seeing it for the first time during a game at a camp.

If a basketball and hoop are used in any form or fashion an opportunity exists for me to learn something that can help my officiating. That is just my opinion.

I have the pleasure of working one of those games in the next month --- anyone ever "worked" one before?

You don't "work" AND1 games. You direct traffic. Forget about any real basketball rules actually being relevant.

Saw one in Chi. Don't call anything!!!! :)

Mostly concentrate on fouls and out of bounds. Only cll the violations if they are ultra-blatant.

I can assure you with 100 percent authority that within a short time, many of the moves these And-1 guys perform will find their way into the game. It's just the natural progression of the game.

Over the years, the playground is usually light years ahead of the purist game, but these moves or techniques usually end up in the game sooner or later.

I'm not saying that the illegal stuff will survive, but some of the ball handling will surely make it.

Turning back the clock, I can remember a quote from one of my early heros, Pete Maravich. Pete was called for a travel during one of his LSU displays of theatrics, and turning to the ref said, "How can you call that a travel? You've never seen that move before!" I would tend to agree with that. If you get stuck, or only choose to work the whitewashed games and never venture out into the real world, you will surely be surprised when someone performs some type of dribble that you have not seen, but is common place on the asphalt.

I particularly like the one where the dribbler or one holding the ball, bounces the ball off the defenders forehead, and then proceeds to blow by him. Priceless, if you know what I mean.

goose