6 Things We Learned About Brian Scalabrine Since He Joined Twitter

By
Jesse Dorsey
(Featured Columnist) on January 21, 2013

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It was nearly nationwide news when Kobe Bryant finally ended up creating and actually using a Twitter account, but Brian Scalabrine's Twitter birth hasn't been nearly as hyped, which makes no sense.

When Kobe tweets, we get fun little looks into the life of a guy who is one of the most private superstars in the NBA. When Scalabrine tweets, it's another outlet for him to interact with his legions of fans, and dole out a joke or two.

He's exactly as you would expect him to be—having fun with his fans, interacting as much as he can and being altogether goofy while not specifically meaning to.

All that, plus you get a look at the highlights of his career from time to time, which is definitely a nice thing.

Of course, we get to see when and where he's going to be on television or the radio, because we all know very well that no amount of Scalabrine is too much Scalabrine.

He Can't Twitter

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Christian Petersen/Getty Images

If you're not used to Twitter, it's a pretty confusing website to use, at least initially.

What with all the retweets and mentions going on, it's difficult just to figure out who is talking to who and what's going on in general.

Of course, Scal had a bit of trouble going in, tweeting at the wrong dude after an insult was thrown his way.

Oh well, no harm, no foul I suppose. Just like the NBA, his Twitter game will get better with practice.

Despite His Roots, He's a Boston Boy

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Elsa/Getty Images

Scalabrine was born in Southern California, grew up there and ended up going to USC and dominating the NCAA throughout his college years.

However, it seems that spending a good chunk of his career in Boston, and then being employed by Comcast SportNet New England, has turned him into a bit of a transported east coaster.

I suppose a west coast dude can go east and be comfortable. Maybe he could have settled the Biggy Smalls-Tupac rivalry.

But USC Still Has His Heart

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Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images

Of course, he may be a transplant as far as appreciation for the region goes, but you can't take his heart away from his home, or his alma mater for that matter.

Scalabrine was terrific playing at USC, leading them back to the NCAA Tournament by the time his senior year came around.

That's why it's not surprising to learn a few things about his desire to go back, if they would have any desire to have him back.

I can't imagine Scalabrine would end up being a negative influence on the Trojans. Get him in at USC and Bill Walton in at UCLA and we could have ourselves a heightened rivalry going on.

The Mamba Mantra Will Never Die

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Harry How/Getty Images

In case you've been completely ignoring the Brian Scalabrine phenomenon over the past decade, he was jokingly named the "White Mamba" sometime after Kobe Bryant dubbed himself the Black Mamba. It was funny and ended up sticking around rather than naturally running its course.

Well, it continues to stick around in Scal's tweets, even as he started off his tweeting career with a very similar first hashtag to Kobe.

At the very least, Scalabrine has a sense of humor about his assumed identity.

You know what, as long as people are laughing, he might as well keep having fun with it. Who am I to play the spoiler?

Dude's Got Jokes

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Rob Carr/Getty Images

There's a reason why Scalabrine has become such a cult hero in the NBA world. Quite frankly, he's a naturally funny guy.

NESN uses him as an analyst, and he's a fine analyst in his own right, but he's also quick with a joke or a ribbing if anyone ever needs to be ribbed.

Twitter has only fueled his ability to show his humor, most of which can be described as delightfully immature.

Immature as they may be, I'd be lying if they didn't force a giggle out of me.

His Caricature Has Overshadowed His Career

At some point throughout his career, Brian Scalabrine became a caricature of his former self. People began looking at his off-kilter look for a basketball player and deciding that it would be funny to cheer on the goofy-looking white dude on the bench.

What it did, however, was overshadow the things he's actually accomplished in his career. There was a time when he was a productive player and not just a 12th man at the end of a good team's bench.

In fact, I remember this shot going in and going absolutely crazy when it fell. It wasn't because the goofy white dude hit it—it was because it was such a terrific shot. Just check it out in his official career highlights video.

He's not a legendary player, but he also isn't the silly goober at the end of the bench that he's made out to be.

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