Andrew links to S.L. Price's Sports Illustrated account of playing basketball with Barack Obama. By the time Price took him on, though, Obama was already a presidential candidate. For real fake insights, what you want is Marshall Poe's recollections of playing against Obama in the late 1980s.
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Hoops With Obama
28 Dec 2007 10:02 am
Comments (12)
Matt, didn't you post about Edwards' hoop skills awhile back? Not that you pretended to gain any real insight from it.
High School Basketball Veterans For Truth
Obama claims in a different page of the SI piece:
That was big. Sixteen [years old]: I still remember the day that it first happened, one of those magical days when you're just in a zone. ... I was on the single-A team, and at the end of practice I was just raining down threes
Obama's high school basketball days well predate the three-point line, which was introduced in the NBA in 1979 and college ball in 1980.
If he'll lie about raining down threes, what else will he lie about?
Meanwhile, Edwards is beating current NBA players at HORSE, and offering a plan for universal healthcare to boot.
This article is also linked in this week's SI power rankings.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/luke_winn/12/27/power.rankings/2.html
My fellow Tar Heels may appreciate the image hotlinked on the word "famous" in reference to former Duke player and current Obama staffer Reggie Love.
>Obama's high school basketball days well predate the three-point line, which was introduced in the NBA in 1979 and college ball in 1980.
He's JUST LIKE AL GORE!!!
I remember asking new guys whether they had played high school ball. If they hadn’t, they got passed over and had to play on the “side court.” The “center court” was for good players only. In hindsight, that was cruel. But we didn’t want to play with just anyone....
The game was full of what you might mildly call “personalities,” and fights of various sorts often broke out (usually over bad calls). Lots of yelling and anger. Barack participated, as did pretty much everyone...
Boy, that sounds like the least fun ever.
Interesting tidbit I gleaned from reading both articles: between the late 80's and the mid 2000's, Barack Obama has shrunk from "about 6'4"" to 6'1 1/2". If Obama is hiding some kind of progressive, debilitating shrinking disease I think that calls into question whether he has the honesty and good health to bring real change to Washington.
Obama's high school basketball days well predate the three-point line, which was introduced in the NBA in 1979 and college ball in 1980."
The NBA introduced the 3-point line after absorbing the remnants of the ABA. The ABA pioneered 3-point line. In Indianapolis, home of the 3-time ABA champion Pacers, it was not uncommon to see a three point line at a gym.
That said, I seriously doubt that Hawaii high school basketball had adopted a three-point line by 1978. Obama may have been raining long jumpers, but they were only worth two points.
Interesting tidbit I gleaned from reading both articles: between the late 80's and the mid 2000's, Barack Obama has shrunk from "about 6'4"" to 6'1 1/2".
But both articles used nominal heights.
I've been to the mac... I don't remember seeing any play that exclusive. 6' 4'' would have been pretty tall on those courts. I'm guessing that's 'relative' height.
See? He should choose former NJ Senator Bill Bradley as his running-mate.
Petey's advocacy of John Edwards' presidential run has now reached such levels of irrationality that I can only conclude he's truly and literally fallen in love with the man.
There is nothing irrational about Petey's manlove for John Edwards.
Obama is clearly sharing a composite of his basketball glory with the SI reporter. He didn't reign down threes, hit a half court shot and dunk for the first time at the end of the same practice.
Does anyone here remember the first time they dunked? I certainly don't even though it happened much more recently than 1978.
You might find more insight into your preferred candidate here:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/print?id=2869868&type=story
Comments closed January 11, 2008.
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Heads in the Sand
Sixty Minutes had a fake basketball insight last Sunday when their new bald, black reporter (don't know his name) played a game of one-on-one with mega-preacher Joel Osteen. The WSJ also had a little b-ball insight when, seemingly bereft of material in its article about Goldman Sachs's CFO, it wrote about his enthusiasm for basketball which he played in college.
Posted by Fred | December 28, 2007 10:12 AM