Resurrection of the American Born White Baller

At a recent work holiday party, I was playing beer pong and obviously sinking shots when two spectating black coworkers started yelling out the names of white basketball players as I was making the other team drink.  At the time, I found this to be extremely comical as they would cheer out "Chris Mullen!" or "Steve Kerr!". As days, weeks, and a little over a month went by, I started thinking of how I would much rather have heard, "Kobe!" or "Jordan!".  I know my coworkers meant no disrespect , they were just at a loss of names of great, American born, white basketball players. We all know about the all time greats like Jerry West, Larry Bird, and John Stockton, but being white and crafty in the NBA has been a lost art in the last 10 or so years. In those 10 years, with the exception of German born Dirk Nowitzki, the white baller has become much more of a role player.  Players such as Mike Miller, Wally Szczerbiak, and Kyle Korver have made pretty successful careers out of letting "slashers" drive to the hoop, drawing more defenders, and dishing the ball out to them for a usually wide open three point shot.  The role for the most part, has become "three point specialist".  While I like to think of myself as a "three point specialist".....(possibly due to lack of ball handling, vertical leap, and lateral quickness) every kid that grows up playing basketball dreams of "posterizing" someone the way that Jordan did Ewing (and just about everyone else who made the mistake of stepping in the paint two to four steps after they realized he just did that with the ball) or the way John Starks immortalized himself against the Bulls.  Around the age of 15, the average white American male makes peace with the fact that they will never be able to dunk on a regulation rim and learn to enjoy dunking on an adjustable hoop set somewhere between seven to eight feet (depending on how much pride they have).  I am here today to tell you all that the future is looking a little bit brighter.  With players such as the Timberwolves Kevin Love, who has had a double-double in his last 30 games and is averaging 21+ ppg and 15+ rpg this season and Brigham Young University's Jimmer Fredette who's averaging 26+ppg including 47 against Utah and 42 against Colorado State (and is currently going off against #4 San Diego State in the 4th quarter as I type), the future is looking bright.  I'm not saying that these guys are/will be the best players in the NBA or that I would rather watch them over Kobe Bryant, LeBron James or Derrick Rose, but its a strong step towards being the next Larry Bird.

-The Nature Boy..........WOOOOOOOOO!