Wow! Go figure! I went to Good Counsel HS.

Rockville, Maryland. I got to East Carolina University, though.

Hey man, I see you go to Towson. I'm from right around there.

Thank you , sir. Satch and I will both sleep better now.

The boys did look good last night -- even remembered how to rebound. I hope your optimism is rewarded.

By the way, as a Spanish major, are you familiar with a Brazilian author named Rachel de Queiroz? I used to use one of her short stories in my HS English classes. "Metonymy, or The Husband's Revenge" (intriguing title, isn't it?) is one of my all-time favorite stories for a couple of reasons, especially what may be the best "trick ending" ever.

Should have definitely been Satch thank you. I mean its definitely difficult to imagine winning it all, I agree completely. It will interesting to see if they can win a round or two though, they have been playing quite well lately you know?

Luis. Luis, Luis. You've got Mr. Sanders's nickname off by a letter.

Sorry I officially (and publicly) wrote off "our" team last week. I just don't foresee it happening this year -- especially when they made no roster moves at the deadline.

hey luis. just something i wrote up. i originally had the article stretching further into the lives of the 2 players like bill russel also being drafted onto the same team with his teammate. however i got kinda of lost and the lin craze made it easy to end with the underdog theme. actually i lost the 2nd part of the write, reread the first part and saw 'something special' and thought i'd just finish it up there. anyway hope you get some amusement out of it.

Rough beginnings: JaJuan Johnson and Bill Russell


Over 50 years have passed since Bill Russell was drafted. What could this hall of fame player possibly have in common with the freshman player Jajuan Johnson?

The early years:
Many readers will be shocked to hear that Bill Russell was not naturally suited to play basketball. While in jr. high school Russell failed to make the basketball team. Russell truly could not grasp the game of basketball. Not until his sophomore year did Russell make the squad. It is said that he was rarely on the court and shared a jersey with another player. In his junior and senior year at McClymonds High School Russell started to mold into a better basketball player . As he still lacked the fundamentals and ability as a ball handler Russel focused on the other end of the floor leading to a very unorthodox style of defense. "To play good defense... it was told back then that you had to stay flatfooted at all times to react quickly. When I started to jump to make defensive plays and to block shots, I was initially corrected, but I stuck with it, and it paid off."

Jajuan Johnson did not start playing the game of basketball until the 7th grade. Failing to match the development of his peers Johnson Played on the B team freshman year and on Jr. varsity his sophomore year. "...pretty much all I could do then was... you know... run the floor and block shots."

Recruitment:
Upon graduation Bill Russell hadn't received any letters from colleges pertaining to recruitment. Russel worked hard to excel academically in order to graduate ahead of his class. Doing so enabled him to participate in an exhibition basketball team that would tour the Pacific Northwest. During this tour Russel caught the attention of Hal DeJulio, a representative from the University of San Francisco. Dejulio was less than impressed by Russell's inability to contribute on the offensive end and what he called "atrocious fundamentals". However Dejulio did feel that Russell had a great instinct for the game especially in clutch situations. Dejulio would convince Russell to play for USF while attending school on a scholarship.

While attending Franklin Central High School in Indianapolis, Indiana Johnson had not played on the varsity squad until junior year so it goes without saying that he was not high on any recruiters radar. Johnson would have a change of fortune do to a highly publicized AAU game. Johnson was dealt the impossible task of guarding the towing and massive Greg Oden. Greg Oden delivered an impressive performance while dominating the smaller player Johnson. A local college basketball coach Matt Painter saw Johnson in a brighter light. “He never backed down,’’ Painter said. “JaJuan always showed flashes, a blocked shot or a dunk. It really showed his promise. You knew he had a chance to be special..."

Bill Russell, John Havlice, and Larry Bird are considered by many to be the greatest Celtics of all time. Not one of these guys were ever seen as having unfathomable athletic talent. What they may have lacked in physical gifts they made up for it in hard work and a boundless will to succeed. One thing for sure nothing was gifted to these men.

I have supplied you, the reader with a glimpse of what Jujuan Johnson and surprisingly Bill Russell endured as young athletes. Jujuan Johnson although an underdog has the fighters spirit and that drive that won't allow him to quite. Tebow's exposure was immense. Lin is Lin-fectious. As a Celtics fan maybe I am just searching for my piece of hope. Sports fans all across the globe have learned to believe in the underdog. I for one believe Johnson will one day be revered as Celtic Great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmiP10nXGOU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2Yj-NHT090&feature=related

hey luis, how would you like the trade if shumpert was left with nyk and boston demanded the 2012 pick (via dallas) and boston gave the lakers avery bradley to smooth out the deal? i would have to think the trade would be worth it then. the lakers can have kobe run the ball and they wouldn't have to worry about young pg's running rampant the way they have while matching up against fisher and blake, had they received avery bradley. bradley's defensive ability has been on display and other teams have had to notice. maybe they were just watching dwight howard and they notice how bradley completely shut down orlando's backcourt through strong defense.
i still think this is a trade that helps everyone involved. although boston looses rondo they pick up 2 players who can seriously help the current weak points in boston right now.
either way boston will have to go into complete rebuilding mode at the end of the season and quality big men are the hardest to some by through the draft. now it's time for boston fan's to admit they aren't going to get dwight howard(deron, dirk, and dwight, the the 3big d's of dallas. sound about right?) that's were chandler comes in. many see chandler as a role player and this may be true but he'll surely help boston much more than a rookie big would for the season if they try to go that route through the draft. however many restless boston fan's are only concerned about now. i would say to them not to underestimate landry fields and tyson chandler. everyone said i was crazy when i would talk about my idea of boston trading ray allen and the 2011 1st rounder for danillo gallinari and timofey mosgov when they first went to denver. although gallinari had shown some potential he was mainly seen as a draft bust because he was relatively unknown in the u.s and was drafted 6th overall. mosgov was completely seen as a bust and was more famous for being posterized by griffin more so anything else. but i wasn't like most people as i saw something in gallinari and with mozgov's tiny contract it wasn't much risk to pick up the 7footer.(7'1") at the time people called me crazy yet before danilo's injury this season the denver nuggets were a very dominant team.
i don't mean to say i am nostradamus or anything but i do feel people get so caught in big names that they overlook very capable players that do all the little things.
maybe chandler and fields don't carry big names but what they are capable of doing would create a huge positive effect for boston this season.

hey luis i was wondering what you thought of my trade idea