Sports

2 Years After Snub, Curry is All-Star Man of the Moment

Published

9 years ago

February 13, 2015

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, right, talks to Stephen Curry during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the New York Knicks on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Stephen Curry will take on his teammate and team up with his father, then finally take the floor as the leading vote-getter for the All-Star game.

The Golden State Warriors’ guard might be the man of the weekend, and even he can’t believe how quickly it’s happened after he was an All-Star snub just two years ago.

“I remember where I was the night I didn’t hear my name called and thought that was a real possibility,” he said. “I was in Chicago sitting in the hotel room watching the announcements and obviously (David) Lee was a representative, so happy for him, but in two short years obviously where it is now, it’s unreal.”

Curry rebounded from not getting chosen in 2013, when he had the highest scoring average among players not picked, by being a first-time selection last year. He finished more than 42,000 votes ahead of LeBron James to be the top vote-getter this season, and he heads to the break as a leading candidate for the MVP award.

The Warriors have the NBA’s best record and will be well-represented on Sunday. Steve Kerr will coach the Western Conference, and he tabbed Curry’s backcourt mate, Klay Thompson, to start in place of the injured Kobe Bryant.

The night before, Curry and Thompson are part of an elite field for the All-Star Saturday 3-point contest. Curry will also team up with his father, Dell, a former NBA player, and the WNBA’s Sue Bird in the shooting stars competition.

He says there is more pressure to beat his teammate than there is to not lose with his dad.

“The Currys have never won a 3-point contest, so I think that’s probably the more pressure,” he said.

Even if he loses them all, it’s a big weekend for Curry. His career-high performance of 54 points in February 2013 came at Madison Square Garden, site of Sunday’s game, not long after the last All-Star game that went on without him.

Hard to imagine him missing another one any time soon.

“Just to be on a winning team, best record in the West and have the vision that we have for this team this year,” Curry said, “and then all the other stuff that comes from that when it comes to personal accolades and acknowledgements and all that stuff, kind of try to keep it in perspective because it is crazy.

“In two years, that’s a lot that’s happened.”

Here are other things to watch during All-Star weekend:

ONE CITY, TWO ARENAS: The Friday and Saturday events go to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, while the Knicks’ Madison Square Garden hosts the All-Star game Sunday. The teams may be rivals on the court, but Commissioner Adam Silver insists it was easy to get them to share the festivities.

“I wish there was some smoke filled-room story in Moscow that I could tell you, but in fact both organizations were incredibly cooperative,” Silver said.

MICHELE’S MOMENT: Michele Roberts will hold her first All-Star press conference since being chosen last year as the NBA Players Association’s executive director, the first woman to head a North American team sport’s union. Her weekend won’t be all business — she’s bringing back the popular Player Association’s party that’s been on hiatus for a few years.

CELEBRITY COACHES: Knicks All-Star Carmelo Anthony and director Spike Lee will serve as coaches in Friday’s celebrity game. Anthony plans to be a laid-back one.

“All celebrities feel like they think they know how to play basketball. Some of them are pretty good, so just a matter of putting them out there and throwing the ball out there and telling them to go,” Anthony said. “They’re going to do their own thing anyway.”

What about Lee, the Knicks’ most passionate celebrity fan?

“Oh, Spike is going to be into it,” Anthony said. “Spike’ll be loud, Spike will be really coaching.”

MISSING MEN: All the stars aren’t healthy enough to be All-Stars. The West roster is missing the injured Bryant, Blake Griffin and Anthony Davis, all of whom had been voted by fans as starters.

HELPING HAND: Visiting New York and have any questions? Tweet them to the State Farm assist center — @SFNBA — that’s set up at the NBA House and use #Allstarassist, then wait for an answer.

___

Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney

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Rajah Caruth: Young Trailblazer of NASCAR

Imagine you’re only 22 years old and already making a name for yourself in NASCAR, one of the most thrilling sports in the US. That is the life of Rajah Kirby Caruth, an American professional stock car racing driver.

Published

3 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Rajah Kirby Caruth, an American professional stock car racing driver. (File Photo)

By Tamara Shiloh

Born June 11, 2002, in Washington, DC, he was drawn to the sport as a child after seeing the Disney Pixar film “Cars.”

Caruth dreamed of tooling around the track like the main character in “Cars,” Lightning McQueen. His enthusiasm grew when his parents surprised him with a trip to the NASCAR Cup Series race at Richmond Raceway when he was 12.

In 2018, while keeping busy with school, sports and a summer job, Caruth and his family held fundraisers so that he could buy an iRacing simulator. Then, at age 16, he traded a real driver’s license to race virtually in the eNASCAR Ignite Series, which led to him being recruited by the NASCAR Drive for Diversity Program.

His first big opportunity came in 2019 when he competed in a “Legends” car at Charlotte Motor Speedway in the Bojangles’ Southern Shootout and recorded two top-third in the semi-pro points.

People began to recognize Caruth’s talents. In 2020, he stepped up to the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series and became the first African American to win at Greenville-Pickens Speedway in a late model race. The next year, he won at Tri-County Motor Speedway and picked up his fourth overall late model victory.

Then, he became the first person of color to win at the South Carolina track.

In 2021, Caruth announced he would compete full-time in the ARCA Menards Series East for Rev Racing, where he finished third in the standings, including a series of top-five finishes. He made his NASCAR Xfinity Series debut on a bigger stage as well.

Then, in 2022, thing really took off. A new chapter found Caruth at NASCAR’s unofficial Triple A league with GMS Racing, where he drives full-time for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, with a sponsorship from The Wendell Scott Foundation. After a few setbacks, he broke into the top 10 several times, finishing at a career-high 6th at Darlington Raceway.

Fast-forward to 2024, and Caruth’s took the third major step in his career. He is now driving full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Spire Motorsports and has been making the news for putting on stellar performances. Oh, and he won at Las Vegas: his first career victory.

From an impressionable young racing fan to a professional NASCAR driver, Caruth is charting a new path, creating history, and inspiring people to always remember that if you have the talent, the drive, and most of all, the heart, anything can be achieved.

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Salesian Coach Knew Angel Jackson Could Play in WNBA

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson. “If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said. That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Published

7 hours ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Angel Jackson. Photo courtesy of Jackston State.

The Richmond Standard

Back in 2019, Salesian Girls Basketball Head Coach Stephen Pezzola made a bold prediction about one of his players, Angel Jackson.

“If she keeps putting in the work like she did for us, she could be in the WNBA,” the coach said.

That turned out to be very true. Last month, the Las Vegas Aces selected Jackson with the 36th overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. She is the second player from an Historically Black College or University, or HCBU, to be selected in the draft in 20 years.

Jackson’s success came as little surprise to Pezzola, who last year led the Pride to their 8th North Coast Section championship since he took over the program in 2008-2009. In 2019, Pezzola commended Jackson as “a very coachable kid” from the time she arrived at Salesian.

Tomekia Reed, her coach at Jackson State, shared similar sentiments, noting Jackson worked “very hard” to reach this moment.

“She came into our program doing great things and never looked back,” Reed told the Clarion Ledger. “She has trusted our leadership as we were able to develop her into an amazing player. I have watched her improve tremendously over the years.”

The 6’-6” Jackson played three seasons at the University of Southern California before transferring to Jackson State. She was ranked 10th in the NCAA in blocked shots and averaged 10 points per game in her final college season.

She finished her collegiate career with 1,047 points and was twice named Southwestern Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.

As the 36th pick, Jackson was the final pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. In a television interview, Jackson said she didn’t expect to be picked, and called the moment “surreal.”

“It made me feel so appreciative that HBCU is getting back on the map again,” she said.

All she could do in that moment was cry.

“I called my mom immediately, and she started crying,” Jackson said. “It was the best moment you can feel as a young lady.”

There’s no stopping Jackson now. “The sky is the limit,” she said.

Her high school coach agrees.

“I knew that Angel could do it,” Coach Pezzola told the Richmond Standard this week. “We are so proud of Angel and what she has accomplished. It was an honor and joy to coach Angel at Salesian.”

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Oakland WNBA Player to be Inducted Into Hall of Fame

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February. Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Photo Courtesy of Alexis Gray Lawson.

By Post staff

The Multi-Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame (MESHOF) announced that it will induct Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, a former WNBA player and Oakland Technical High School graduate at its inaugural Curt Flood Platinum Award Ceremony in February.

Gray-Lawson’s Platinum Award is part of the Hall of Fame’s 24th Annual Bay Area induction and award ceremony, where four other retired professional athletes will be honored.

The banquet and ceremony will be held from 5:45 to 10 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the George P. Scotlan Convention Center at Oakland’s Marriott Civic Center Hotel.

“I am truly honored to receive this incredible nomination,” said Dr. Alexis Gray-Lawson, who, along with college teammate Devanei Hampton, lead Oakland Tech to its second consecutive state title in 2005. “It took a village to raise me and get me here, and I truly am excited to continue the legacy.”

Gray-Lawson, a “second team” Parade All-American and an All-State honoree, as a senior in ’05, was chosen for the California Interscholastic Federation sportsmanship award. She only lost one game throughout her four-year career in high school. Her jersey was retired at Oakland Tech and placed in the National High School Hall of Fame as a four-time All-City recipient, averaging 17.2 points per game during her career.

Gray-Lawson received scholarships in volleyball, softball, and basketball before deciding to travel up College Avenue to the University of California, Berkeley. There, she played in more basketball games (143) than any other player in Golden Bears’ history. She finished her career as the Bears all-time 3-point leader (211), and she is ranked third in scoring with 1,982 points.

An All-Pac 10 and honorable mention All-American in 2010, Gray-Lawson also was the top player at 5’8” or under for the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award. Later that year, she was a third-round pick of the Washington Mystics in 2010 and played with the Phoenix Mercury of the Women’s National Basketball Association in 2011 and 2012. She also played professionally overseas in Turkey and Israel.

Other inductees are Clifford Ray (Basketball); Lee Lacy (Baseball); Spencer Haywood (Basketball); and Mohinder Singh Gil (Track & Field).

Organizers say the event promises to be a “historic and celebratory evening,” and iconic personalities from across the professional sports industry and its various disciplines will attend.

The no-host cocktail hour begins at 5:45 p.m.; dinner at 6:45 p.m.; and the ceremony at 7:45 p.m. All times are prompt. General tickets are $250.00; Seniors (65 and older) $150.00, and students $50. This includes dinner and the ceremony. Tables of 10 are available as well, and early purchase is recommended.

MESHOF is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring athletes from all corners of the globe who have made significant contributions to the world of sports and broadening the public’s understanding of the contributions people of color have made to professional sports; and to provide educational life skills and mentorship opportunities for deserving youth. Proceeds will help maintain the City of Oakland’s Curt Flood Field, Oakland Parks & Recreation, and MESHOF’s after school and mental health initiatives.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.multiethnicsportshof.com. For additional information, please contact: Arif Khatlib @ afrosportshall@aol.com or India Alston @ india@beamcreativehouse.com