A couple of years ago, I received an And 1 mixtape video for Christmas. A lot of you may know that the And 1 mixtape videos are about playground basketball legends from all over the country. As I watched hundreds of streetballers throw down alley opps and perform their cross-overs to perfection, one player stood out the most — Hugh "Baby Shaq" Jones.
Jones is from Washington, D.C. and currently plays for the Maryland Nighthawks of the PBL. Jones is a 6'3, 230-pound beast who got his nickname "Baby Shaq" in school when teammates said he would grab every rebound that came off the glass. He was the MVP of the Goodman League, the most competitive amateur basketball league in all of D.C.
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But, what makes him NBA material? Well, Jones' natural position is forward, but at only 6'3, you might say he is not tall enough to play that position in the NBA. That doesn't really matter. Jones has ball handling skills that go unmatched even in the NBA, he is extremely quick, and he has a 50-inch vertical!! 50 inches!!
If you're still not impressed, hear this. This is what Shaquille O'Neal himself said after watching Jones play, "This guy deserves to be in the league."
This is coming from Shaq himself, who is possibly the most dominant big man to ever play the game of basketball. Jones has also been in a Gatorade commercial that featured Dwayne Wade, Vince Carter and Ben Wallace. You can see it on Youtube, type in Hugh Jones, and he's the guy that says, "You're in our house now, all-stars."
The NBA is full of untalented, washed out scrubs, who have no talent whatsoever, and have only made it because of their size. Well, hopefully someone can see this guy ball. He should be playing for an NBA team, not the Maryland Nighthawks. His skills should be displayed in an NBA gym, not a gym that is two minutes away from where I live.
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6 months ago
I actually watch streetball and play it. If you think a 6'2 260 lb SF with the skills of Hugh Jones will make it to the league, then you must also be campaigning for Main Event a 6'6 245 lb C, come on give me a break. These guys would get ran by superstars in the D League; not to mention that their not even the best indepedent basketball franchise (The Legendary Harlem Gloebtrotters).
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