Hit up TarheelDaily, or scroll on down to the article. After you check it out, if you want to discuss my opinions, email me. I will also appear on WXYC FM 89.3 Chapel Hill for Sunday Night SportsRap this fall on Sundays between 9-10PM. Also, check out my weekly music show, which can be heard at www.wxyc.org, this fall. Stay tuned for time details. Enjoy the article.....BD

Hustlers Convention, Live @ Reebok ABCD Basketball Camp, Teaneck, NJ

Bret Dougherty hung with the fast crowd at the Reebok ABCD Basketball Camp last week. Here are some of the sights and soundbites to basketball’s ‘Hustler’s Convention'.

July 16, 2004

Damn 'Sports Zones' and OTBs...They took away the juice...The computerized smoke-filled lounges with their sticky couches have pillaged the tracks and gyms across America of hustlers, wackos, and risk junkies. No longer is it easy to find a place where an assembly of hustlers will gather in one place to pick apart and wonder how physical specimens may perform under competitive pressure.

Well, if you are one of those lost souls, that juice can still be found at the annual ABCD Basketball Camp in New Jersey, which is run by Reebok grassroots basketball mob boss Sonny Vaccaro and his henchmen. What a place...Where else can you find an assembly of basketball aficionados like George Karl, Peter Vescey, and Rick Pitino pressing palms while drinking in the stories of the hustlers of the basketball community?

So with that in mind, while you sit in your ergonomically designed chair, here is a serving of some of the players and banter that caught some eyes and ears...Open wide.

FEARSOME FOURSOME

Bobby Frasor (Brother Rice H.S., Chicago, IL, Class of 2005) - The sharpshooting 2005 signee combo guard out of Chicago's Brother Rice High School oozes the South Side Chicago Irish way, which doesn't care about playing against black, white, Puerto Rican or Haitian...just play....And this kid does it well.

Carolina fans will probably be interested in the match-up that took place during last Friday night's session with Frasor battling against fellow UNC signee, Marcus Ginyard. After stroking a textbook jumper from the top of the key, Frasor started jawing at Ginyard while running backward back up the court.

"I told him to not leave me alone like that, because that's the way it's going to be at Carolina... He's been my roommate this week. So, I liked giving it to him a bit," Frasor said jokingly.

Many onlookers will be quick to note the South Sider's shooting stroke, which is a work of beauty. However, an asset that may be overlooked in Frasor's game is his solid ability to push the ball upcourt, which is an uncommon attribute in many guards' games in today's basketball world.

Frasor explains. "Ever since I was a kid playing at St. Benedict's parish, coaches have been telling me to push the ball up the court. My father (former Eisenhower High School basketball coach, Bob Frasor) told me during pick-up games at Eisenhower High School to push it up the court, and Coach Richardson, (Frasor's Brother Rice H.S. coach), is always saying to push it up and go. So that's what I try to do. I don't know why a lot of guys don't like to do it. It makes the game a lot more fun."

With his ability to keep an offense in a fast-tempo game, a lot of insiders have been quick to compare Frasor's game to Roy Williams KU protegee and current Chicago Bull, Kirk Hinrich. However, for an even better point of reference, one could draw comparisons between Frasor and former KU guard, Ryan Robertson, who played for Williams from 1995-99.

Throughtout Robertson's career at Kansas, his play was characterized by excellent shooting and great court awareness. He also served as a backup to Jacque Vaughn after finishing his high school career as a McDonald's All-American. Coincidentally, Frasor may find himself in the same role as an understudy in 2005-06, possibly backing up senior Raymond Felton as a point guard. A year of tutelage would be fine with Frasor.

"I'll play whatever role they want me to play. I just can't wait to get down there. Coach Williams wants me down there in the fall when other recruits visit, so I can help recruit."

If other recruits are interested in balling with a gamer, they're going to have a lot of fun. Frasor may be the best lead guard to come out of the South Side of Chicago since Quinn Buckner.

Lance Thomas (Scotch Plains H.S., Scotch Plains, NJ, Class of 2006) - It seems that everyone on the recruiting trail is hyped on 6'9" 280 pound power forward prospect Derrick Caracter. A rising junior, Caracter will be transferring back to St. Patrick's High School in Elizibeth, NJ from Scotch Plains High School of Scotch Plains, NJ. Yet, the real "wham bango" may turn out to be sleek rising junior, 6'8" forward, Lance Thomas.

New Jersey locals are quietly murmurring that between the two 2006 recruits, the best long-term promise may lie in Thomas's consistent game rather than Caracter's lackadaisical play. Thomas, who played in Caracter's shadow when they were teammates at Scotch Plains last year, displayed an all-around game at ABCD that was characterized by one assistant coach hot on his trail as "reminiscent of a young Alex English."

Carolina fans may have to brace themselves for a recruiting war in the Garden State during the next year. The Cohiba billows Thomas' two favorites as North Carolina and Duke...This kid's game is a 'Wonka Bar'...Keep that eye taped open....

Curtis Kelly (Brother Rice H.S., New York, NY, Class 2006) - Raw...Raw...Raw... This Bronx native and AAU Bronx Gaucho mantelpiece is awkward but sleek, and that is why his play conjures up images of Stacey Augmon. He covers the court well and his arms give him a condor-like wingspan, but there have been consistent indications that the southpaw needs work on his jumper, which is why Augmon comes to mind.

Kelly could be the missing link to rewire the North Carolina-to-New York City connection...Watch out for this lanky southpaw. The junior is ogling Georgia Tech, Texas, and Carolina. This is would be a nice nab for Carolina in November of 2005.

Nate Minnoy (Hales Franciscan H.S., Chicago, IL, Class of 2005) - "Don't laugh...Keep watching this kid, and then tell me what you think." says an mid-major assistant in the stands. "This kid can play...."

Yes, at first glance at this 6'3" 230 lbs. shooting guard, you will immediately say. "No way!" However, by the game's end a basketball purist will love this Chi-Town banger's game.

Minnoy looks like he has a beer keg sewn into his chest, and with the combination of his girth, he blows into the lane like a KV-8 Tank. However, this guard can put the ball on the floor. He has a great touch, and more importantly, he wins. Be on the lookout in the future for Frasor's pick-up ball partner out of Chicago. By November, he'll most likely have the name of a Big Ten school stamped on his chest.

The Last Domino - The last domino from the fallout of the UNC-Chapel Hill Y2K fiasco has finally landed safely, with Coach Phil Ford nailing down a spot as an assistant on Larry Brown's staff. Ford's move came after the departures of his former UNC roommate and Pistons' assistant John Kuester, who joined the Philadelphia 76ers, and Detroit assistant Herb Brown, who moved on to join Mike Woodson's new Atlanta Hawks staff.

Despite the belief of many Chapel Hill basketball aficionados that Ford would most likely not leave his blanket in Blue Heaven, famed New York Post columnist, Peter Vescey, puffed the first smoke cloud on the subject at the ABCD last Friday afternoon by proclaiming "Phil Ford to Detroit...My sources say it's a done deal"...Damn, he's good....Vescey also wants Carolina alum S.L. Price's head for the his portrayal of Vescey in a 'Sports Illustrated' article ten years ago. "Not one story in that article was true."

Looking for Rings - One of UNC's most avid alums was mingling with the politicians throughout the ABCD camp...The eye spotted veteran NBA coach George Karl, who has thrown his hat into two coaching manhunts, at UNLV and Ohio State, and is looking to lead a solid program to prominence.

Karl coolly stated, "I'm watching where I cast my line...I'm taking my time. I want to make sure that it's the right situation, and it's a place where I can win championships".

From the consistent donning of a Carolina lid during his tenures in Seattle and Milwaukee...which was just straight up dope...It has always seemed that Karl's true destiny would be in coaching college basketball.

The demand is there for the Carolina smashmouth. UNLV students, alumni, and fans alumni gathered hundreds of signatures for an unsuccessful petition to hire Karl before the hiring of Lon Kruger in March. Let's hope the right domino falls for Karl because he is a coach that could bring a program a lot of success...the right way...

Ballin',

BD

Bret Dougherty is a UNC-Chapel Hill alum and current graduate student at UNC-Chapel Hill. He has a feature article in this summer’s 'Sneaker Freaker', and you may pick up the magazine at either SneakerFreaker.com or at a sneaker boutique in a major city near you. He may be reached at bret.dougherty@onebox.com., and feel free to check in at his website, www.bretdougherty.com, for more info.

Resume