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Bucks Return to Respectability with Surprise Playoff Trip

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Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd call a play against the Philadelphia 76er's  during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, April. 13, 2015 in Philadelphia. Bucks won 107-97.(AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr.)

Milwaukee Bucks coach Jason Kidd call a play against the Philadelphia 76er’s during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, April. 13, 2015 in Philadelphia. Bucks won 107-97. (AP Photo/H. Rumph Jr.)

 

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Chicago native Jabari Parker has a good idea of how challenging it might be for Milwaukee to face his hometown Bulls in the first round of the NBA playoffs, even if he’s just a rookie.

The Bucks might stand an even better chance against their Central Division rivals if their star forward wasn’t hurt.

What Milwaukee has done this year to return to respectability is noteworthy for the personnel changes made during the course of the season and just how far the franchise has had to climb to get back to the playoffs.

“Man, it was special. That’s something that I wanted to accomplish regardless of any individual accolades,” Parker said this week about watching his Bucks teammates clinch a postseason berth.
A left knee injury in December ended a promising rookie year for Parker, the second overall pick in the 2014 draft.
“I had a little hand in that,” he said about the playoff push. “I say that I accomplished one of my goals so far.”
Few — if any — NBA prognosticators thought that playoff basketball would return to Milwaukee this year. Not after a disastrous 15-67 campaign in 2013-14.
But a season of change has brought about surprising success. The new ownership group that took over the team in April in 2014 is impressed.

“The goal of the owners (was) hoping to be on the north side of 30, and we thought it was more realistic that it might take a year or two,” said New York financial firm executive Jamie Dinan, who joined the ownership group last fall. “The team has really amazed us. The players’ energy, and what they’ve done, has blown us away.”

Parker was drafted in late June. Jason Kidd was hired as coach soon afterward.

Adversity struck in December, starting with the loss of Parker on Dec. 15 in Phoenix. The team was 13-12 when Parker, who was averaging 12.3 points, got hurt.

Rim-protecting center Larry Sanders played his last game on Dec. 23. He sat out because of personal reasons and then a suspension for violating the league’s drug policy. The Bucks waived him on Feb. 21 after reaching a buyout agreement.

The team dealt guard Brandon Knight to Phoenix at the trade deadline in February and acquired Michael Carter-Williams from Philadelphia to take over the point. There was a tailspin for a few weeks as the team adjusted to the new personnel, but the young Bucks recovered to finish 7-5 over the final three weeks of the regular season.

The Bucks finished at 41-41, their best record since winning 46 games in 2009-10.

“Not only is it more than we expected, we actually think we are laying the foundation that next year we’ll have a very good club as well,” Dinan said.

Kidd’s philosophy of using a deep rotation has helped weather the personnel changes. He puts just as much emphasis on his bench as he does on his starters.

Kidd is also not afraid make healthy scratches out of key players.

Twenty-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo is an emerging star whose athletic prowess has earned him the nickname the “Greek Freak.” He’s one of the team’s young building blocks, along with Parker and Carter-Williams.

Antetokounmpo wasn’t happy after being a healthy scratch on April 8 for a 104-99 loss to Cleveland. Whether the move was designed to be a motivational tool, Antetokounmpo the following night had 23 points and nine rebounds in a 99-91 road win over the Knicks.

All year long, Kidd has said the Bucks weren’t built around one guy, even while Parker, Knight and Antetokounmpo took turns on billboards around town.

And all year long, Kidd has stressed a defense-first mentality. The team’s length, including the 6-foot-11 Antetokounmpo and the 6-foot-6 Carter-Williams, can bother opponents.

The Bucks were fifth this season in opponent field goal percentage at 43.7 percent, and eighth in points allowed at 97.4 per game.

“I just think that it is a testament to this team’s depth and the adversity that’s come. I think different guys have gotten hot over different stretches,” said forward Jared Dudley, one of the influential veterans. “This is a true team where you’ve had 1 through 15 play throughout the season.”

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Follow Genaro Armas at http://twitter.com/GArmasAP

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AP freelance writer Joe DiGiovanni contributed to this story.

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Arts and Culture

Gov. Newsom and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom Host 2024 Hall of Fame Ceremony

Former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and three other African Americans were among 10 luminaries inducted into the 2024 Class of the California Hall of Fame on Feb. 8. The 17th Annual California Hall of Fame ceremony was held at the California Museum.

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Willie Brown, Former California Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor, was proud to be among the Hall of Fame inductees. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.
Willie Brown, Former California Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor, was proud to be among the Hall of Fame inductees. CBM photo by Antonio Ray Harvey.

By California Black Media

Former Assembly Speaker and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown and three other African Americans were among 10 luminaries inducted into the 2024 Class of the California Hall of Fame on Feb. 8.

The 17th Annual California Hall of Fame ceremony was held at the California Museum.

“The California Hall of Fame is one of our families’ favorite traditions as it is a time to come together to celebrate remarkable Californians as well as their loved ones because we know that it is about partnerships,” Siebel Newsom said. “The governor likes to say that California is a dream factory because it doesn’t matter what zip code or background you come from, the California dream is alive and well to everyone who calls this state home.”

The other Black honorees were filmmaker Ava DuVernay; Federal Judge and civil rights leader, the Hon. Thelton Henderson; and basketball Hall of Fame player and broadcaster Cheryl Miller.

“It’s what I’ve been waiting for and to be among a great group of individuals that also deserve the honor,” Brown told California Black Media on the event’s red carpet before the ceremony began. “No, I never thought someone from Texas would be recognized this way. But here I am, and it all happened in the great state of California. It’s a fantastic feeling.”

Other 2024 inductees are: master chef and “mother of fusion cuisine” Helene An; computer scientist and “father of the internet” Vincent A. Cerf; all-female pop punk band The Go-Gos; Chicano Rock band Los Lobos; former U.S. Secretary of Defense and Congressman Leon E. Panetta; and artistic director and choreographer Brenda Way.

This year’s honorees join a history-making club with over 150 inspirational Californians previously inducted for their groundbreaking achievements and personifying the state’s innovative spirit.

“It’s just a humbling experience. I want to thank the Governor and First Partner. Who would have thought 100 years ago (that I would be inducted?) It’s incredible,” Miller said after her induction. “I want to thank the governor and First Partner for an incredible event.”

During his acceptance speech, Henderson said he was deeply honored.

“You know, it really would have been a really big deal to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in the area where I grew up, for example, South Central Hall of Fame, or the Watts Hall of Fame, or the Straight Out of Compton Hall of Fame,” he said. “But being inducted into the California Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame of the greatest state in the country in this great nation is something else.”

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Community

El Cerrito High Senior Jayvon Bolds Named to Blue-Grey All-American Bowl

El Cerrito High School senior Jayvon Bolds is set to play in the Blue-Grey All American Bowl game at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas on Jan. 8. Bolds, an 18-year-old scholar athlete whose favorite subject is history, was nominated for the honor by Rodney Alamo Brown, founder of Soulful Softball Sunday who also serves as an announcer for the Texas bowl game.

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Jayvon Bolds (No. 4) is headed to Cowboys Stadium to play in the Blue-Grey All American Bowl. (Photo courtesy of Rodney Alamo Brown).
Jayvon Bolds (No. 4) is headed to Cowboys Stadium to play in the Blue-Grey All American Bowl. (Photo courtesy of Rodney Alamo Brown).

By the Richmond Standard

El Cerrito High School senior Jayvon Bolds is set to play in the Blue-Grey All American Bowl game at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas on Jan. 8.

Bolds, an 18-year-old scholar athlete whose favorite subject is history, was nominated for the honor by Rodney Alamo Brown, founder of Soulful Softball Sunday who also serves as an announcer for the Texas bowl game.

“It’s a real honor,” Alamo Brown stated about Brown’s selection for the bowl game. “This makes him an All-American.”

Bolds will play three positions for the Eastern team: kr, slot back and special teams—i.e., kickoff and punt return.

“The plan is to line up Bolds all over the field and let him do his thing. He’ll be a weapon for our staff,” said NFL veteran Tampa Bay Buccaneers standout and All-American Bowl Coach Dick Bell. “In a game like this, with the platform being an NFL facility with former professionals as assistants and mentors, he’ll have a chance to shine on one of the biggest stages around.”

Recently, Bolds received a scholarship offer to continue his higher education at Clarke University in Dubuque, Iowa.

Bolds maintains a 3.3 GPA and is heavily involved in leadership as he is the vice president of the Black Student Union.

Blue-Grey Football launched in 1989 by founders Gus and Erik Bell with the aim of helping prospects gain national exposure so that they can improve their chances to secure college scholarships.

Some of the nation’s most talented young football players compete in the annual game, with Fox Sports, CBS Sports and USA Today regularly providing coverage, as well as ESPN.comScout.comRivals.com and 247Sports.com.

Bolds’ family is planning on traveling to Dallas on Friday and is seeking donations from the community to offset the enormous cost. Those who are willing to donate may do so by sending their donations to this cash app, $Juanita Towns.

Rodney Alamo Brown contributed to this report.

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Book Reviews

Book Review: “Who Got Game? Basketball”

A little less than two feet. That’s how far you can get your two feet off the floor if you’re an average kid doing an average vertical jump. Not quite twenty-four inches, but don’t worry: the taller you grow, the higher you could be able to jump. Practice some, dribble a little, shoot more three-pointers, and you might jump right into a book like “Who Got Game? Basketball” by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Jez Tuya.

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“Who Got Game? Basketball” Author Derrick Barnes Courtesy of EyeSun Photography (Charlotte NC). Book Cover Courtesy of Workman Publishing c.2024.
“Who Got Game? Basketball” Author Derrick Barnes Courtesy of EyeSun Photography (Charlotte NC). Book Cover Courtesy of Workman Publishing c.2024.

A little less than two feet.

That’s how far you can get your two feet off the floor if you’re an average kid doing an average vertical jump. Not quite twenty-four inches, but don’t worry: the taller you grow, the higher you could be able to jump. Practice some, dribble a little, shoot more three-pointers, and you might jump right into a book like “Who Got Game? Basketball” by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Jez Tuya.

Here we are, football season’s almost over, and your mind has turned to other things – namely, hoops set high over your head, and a round bouncy basketball. Kids like you who “got game” have had it for more than a century. Yes, the game of basketball was created by Dr. James Naismith in 1891 in Massachusetts.

In the years since, basketball has changed a lot, thanks to what Derrick Barnes calls “pioneers.” Julius “Dr. J” Erving improved the dunk. Before that, in 1950, the NBA first allowed Black basketball players on the teams. There have been super-tall players (Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muregan were both seven feet, seven tall) and smaller b-ballers – five-three Muggsy Bogues had a vertical jump of nearly four feet! – and just two years after the game was invented, America had its first women’s team.

A lot of off-court people poured themselves into the game, too. Barnes writes, for example, about Pat Summitt, hoopster, leader, and “one of the greatest coaches in all of sports history.” Her record of 1,098 wins ranks her at first-place in coaching women’s basketball, and as the coach with the second-most wins overall.

You can probably guess that in a book about buckets, there are bucketfuls of stats. Barnes includes a list of NBA players who jumped to a team right out of high school. He writes about the greatest basketball park ever, he explains why winners cut down the net, how Title IX changed the game, why backboards rarely break into a zillion pieces anymore, high scores, bad injuries, “hoops movies,” and where in the world you can pick up a game today.

So, your 9-to-13-year-old loves basketball so much that they dribble a ball in their sleep? They think their favorite jersey is church wear? Then you’ll be the hero of the day when you bring home “Who Got Game? Basketball.”

But first, there’s one big thing you need to know: this is not a how-to book. There aren’t any instructions inside here, no rules or plays to follow. Instead, author Derrick Barnes makes young b-ballers happy by sharing little-known info about the game they love so much, short lists, great stories about great players, wins and losses, and phrases they should know to talk the talk. All this knowledge is supported by colorful illustrations by Jez Tuya that kids will enjoy alongside the facts.

This book is for die-hard young b-ballers, but don’t be surprised if an adult finds a thing or two to learn here. “Who Got Game? Basketball” is a book any fan will want to jump on.

“Who Got Game? Basketball” by Derrick Barnes, Illustrated by Jez Tuya, c.2023, Workman Publishing, $16.99, 172 pages.

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