DoolittleBrothers

This past installment of my NBA radio show was bound to go smoothly. After all, there were no pounding thunderstorms on my way to the radio station, I actually had a key with me to get into the building and … I had a plan.

With 45 minutes for final show preparations, and having already coordinated with producer John, I was eager for the show to begin. With July being so heavy with NBA news and developments, I have yet to run into any lack of content issues. My opening segment focused on setting up Team USA’s scrimmage last Saturday in Las Vegas, and previewing this USA roster and the FIBA World Championships in Turkey next month.

Four years ago, Team USA was stunned by Greece in the semifinals, and eight years ago Team USA finished a mind-boggling sixth in the World Championships. Only one player from the gold-medal-winning 1994 team, Shaquille O’Neal, remains an active NBA player, and and each of the 12 players from the 2008 USA gold-medal team has withdrawn from this year’s team.

I discussed how Kevin Durant was just five years old in 1994, yet is now the new face of USA basketball.

St. Louis native David Lee (finger injury), who was recently traded to the Golden State Warriors, suffered an injury to the middle finger on his right hand last week during practice in Las Vegas. He will wear a splint for six weeks and is expected to make a complete recovery prior to the start of training camp in September. However, Lee will not be playing in Turkey, unfortunately.

The fact that Celtics PG Rajon Rondo is not a lock to make Team USA’s roster was discussed; Rondo is not a solid perimeter shooter, lacks positional flexibility and has incredible backcourt competition on this team.

It has been 16 years (1994) since Team USA grabbed the gold medal in these championships and Saint Louis University head coach Rick Majerus was an assistant coach under Don Nelson during the 1994 games. Coach Majerus was kind enough to record a 20-minute segment for the show, and we talked all about Team USA, his experiences with Don Nelson and Saint Louis University’s decision to play at Duke this season.

Our final segment featured Nuggets writer Jeremy Wagner, who helped to break down the current situation regarding Carmelo Anthony’s potential contact extension in Denver. Other topics going on around the Denver Nuggets includes head coach George Karl battling throat cancer, and ex-Missouri star Linus Kleiza leaving Denver for the Toronto Raptors.

I will have my Podcasts going soon, and hope to have studio-quality interviewing methods at my home office very soon. After one week off, we will be back every Saturday and I look forward to it. For everything related to the show, please click here.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 28th, 2010 at 12:17 am and is filed under NBA, NBA Radio Show. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.