The Future Is HERE, Acuff’s Deal, Pippen’s Commercial & That Scoring List

In this episode of Real Hoopers Show #43, we tap into some of the biggest conversations in basketball right now.

We break down Darius Acuff’s shoe deal and what it means for the future of NIL and young players coming up in the game. Is this a shift in how the next generation builds their brand?

We also react to Scottie Pippen’s Mr. Pibb commercial and the internet’s response, plus what it says about legacy, branding, and staying relevant after the game.

And you already know we had to talk about Bleacher Report’s scoring list… who’s too high, who’s too low, and what people still don’t understand about scoring at an elite level.

Real Hoopers understand.

Make sure you tap in, drop your thoughts in the comments, and let us know what you think.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Darius Acuff, man. Darius Acuff got me wanting to go back to school, bro. He got his first, he got his first signature shoe with Reebok, man. SCC player of the year, first player to lead the conference in points since Pete uh points and assists since Pete Meravic. Arkansas wins the SCC tournament as well. And he got a Rebock this is his year, man. I'm loving what I'm seeing out of these young guys, E. E. What you think, bro? You ready, bro? You got some years of eligibility on you. Nah, nah, nah. I'm done with college, bro. You done with college, man.

SPEAKER_03 0:36

Lots of bigger red things, bro.

SPEAKER_02 0:37

Man, listen, would you get some uh Darius A cups?

SPEAKER_03 0:41

It'll look good, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

I'll cop. Okay, all right, all right, all right. I thought you were gonna have some Haitian blood.

SPEAKER_03 0:47

Nah, he got a good game to him.

SPEAKER_02 0:49

I like his game, man. Shout out for Reebok. Shout out for Reebok for doing something legendary. Rebok doing something that other other brands are not doing. They're taking the risk. They're taking a risk. I mean, obviously, Darius Acuff is an amazing player. It's definitely an amazing player at the college level, but it's always tricky to see how they pan out at the professional level. Because players, when they play in college, they're just doing that. They're playing against college athletes. But when you play against pros, it's just a different, it's a different beast. You're talking about pros who've been pros for a long time. It's the real Hooper show. I got my guy E was good with you. What's good, bro? Yeah, man. We we jump right into it, man. We, you know, the college college game is looking good for these kids. These these guys, these NIL deals, they they getting sneaker deals.

SPEAKER_03 2:08

Who's your favorite current college player right now?

SPEAKER_02 2:10

You know what? Um, I like Darren Peterson. I like him. Um I say, I think this this might not be the greatest comparison right now, but to me it is. Darren Peterson reminds me of Malik Monk. Like Malik Monk, he was an elite scorer at the college level. I believe he dropped a had a 50 ball with Kentucky. Um They were on the same side, same height. And he got busy. He could score in small spaces. So I like, so I like Darius Peterson and a Malik Monk comparison. Um hopefully Darren Peterson gets to a better situation than Malik Monk. I think because Malik went to straight to the Lakers. That's not a good situation. Going straight to the Lakers is not a good situation for any upcoming guard because they do not develop players. That's not their, that's not their that's not their makeup.

SPEAKER_03 3:03

Well, some of the Lakers hate, bro.

SPEAKER_02 3:05

Well, listen, I'm not hating. I'm just calling what I see it. They they you if you get drafted to the Lakers, you better, unless you the number one pick, unless you that guy, you better believe you're gonna be trading, you're gonna be part of a the uh a three-way trade pretty soon.

SPEAKER_03 3:25

We developing Bronny, bro. He's turning out pretty good.

SPEAKER_02 3:28

Nah, Bronny gonna get enough playing time. Yeah, he gotta get more playing time. You talking about a guy who's cooking in y'all G League or whatever you call it, whatever it's called now. Yeah, he's cooking over there. Man, but look, speaking of deals, though, you know, my boy Scotty Pippen. Scotty Pippen got the got the Mr. Pibb deal. They say he's throwing shade. Did you get a chance to watch that commercial?

SPEAKER_03 3:51

No, no, I ain't see it yet.

SPEAKER_02 3:53

Yeah, he's you know, listen, man. I'ma say he's throwing shade, but rightfully so. Rightfully so. But I think it's just a little too late, though. I think he should have spoken up for himself with the Blazers.

SPEAKER_03 4:06

Yeah, he should have been in this. I don't know why you should.

SPEAKER_02 4:09

Well, the thing about it is, you know, you you get in these these documentaries and and you get in these four doc series, you you're doing all these things, and he's not being portrayed in the way he feels like he should have been portrayed. Right? You talking about a guy who was at AIA, he was the first round pick, lottery pick at that, come on a team, develop for about two years, two to three years, and now it's a championship team. Every time um Jordan won the championship, Scottie Pippen was right there. When Jordan left, Scottie Pippen held it down, at least kept him to the what, the Eastern Conference Finals. So when you sit here and you do all that work, you want some love. You gotta think about it. Scottie Pippen won six rings on one contract. I believe that contract was what three, four million a year, I believe. While he watched Jordan, he watched Jordan um make 30 million a year. You gonna have listen, I'm not sitting here saying that he should be bitter, but there's some bitterness in there. Kind of like the taste of Dr. Pib. See, you like a Dr. Pibb, y'all like not Dr. Pibb, Mr. Pib. Damn, I messed my endorsement up. I could have done that. I listen, you see what I did right there? The bitterness, but you listen, bro.

SPEAKER_03 5:35

But that's a bad thing, though. You don't want nothing to be bitter.

SPEAKER_02 5:38

Lemon ain't bitter, ain't it?

SPEAKER_03 5:40

Lemon is sour.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

Sour? Oh yeah, never mind them. Sorry about that. Sorry about that. I guess I don't I don't drink soda, so as you can tell, I don't really drink too much soda. I drink Sprite. I drink Sprite, but Mr. Pip, but look, man, back to Scottie Pippen. Back to Scottie Pippen. When it comes to, when it comes to getting his fair shape, getting his acknowledgement, getting his respect, he's on a hunt. And then listen, I'm I'm a I'ma address the elephant in the room. Your son was dating his ex-wife, bro. He it's gonna, he always gonna throw some shade. But the problem is now you can't throw shade, and Michael Jordan don't mention you. Yeah, bro. It's gonna look bad. So you gotta, you gotta relax. You gotta relax. He talked about how uh people will blindly say someone's the second best because someone else has the movies or or you know the fame or whatnot. But look, Jordan was better than Pippen. That's without a doubt, right? But when it comes to having swag on the court, Jordan was also better than him, too. You talk about shoe changing shoe styles, like before the Jordans, what we what people was wearing? The Converse? They was wearing the Magics and the and the Larry Birds. Jordan came in with the black and red ones, they still go hard to this day. He deserved that. He deserved that. I mean, when when you talk about style endorsements, you gotta you gotta live up to that. I don't think people wanted to be Scottie Pippen that much. But Scottie Pippen got shoe deals too.

SPEAKER_03 7:23

Yeah, that's that's what I was just sitting here thinking, like, if you next to a guy, Jordan, and you see all the endorsement deals he had going on. I'm not saying that you can reach that level, but you can start your own endorsement deal, you can start your own shoe brand, you can get your own little swag going on, your own movement, your your whole crowd.

SPEAKER_02 7:39

You know what though? That's very true, but you looking at it from a right now perspective, right? You're looking at it like, yeah, that's what we would have had did. But ultimately back then, that would have divided the team. Like I think about Scottie Pippen, not Scottie Pippen, Shaq and uh Anthony Hardaway. Shaq was the guy, Shaq was the main attraction. Anthony Hardaway was also the guy. He was also the guy, but he was the second guy. He was the secondary guy, right? The moment Anthony Hardaway started getting some commercials, getting his own shoe, then it becomes a thing of yo, why Shaq getting paid more than or more than me? And Shaq, like, yo, Anthony Hardaway shouldn't be getting paid more than me. And y'all pick either him or me, and it become a few. It become a few. But the reality of it is, it might not have worked that way for Jordan and Pippen because Jordan was just bigger than life. There was nobody doing what he was doing at that time. Everything he was doing was elite. So when you look at it, so when you look at it from a perspective of, yo, why don't you even get your own your own situation? Jordan was so colossal back then that anything you did on that team was secondary. So, for instance, right, you remember the Christ of 300s? Remember those? Jordan was the Bentley, and Scottie Pippen would have been looked at as the Christ of 300s. Damn, bro. I'm just dead ass. I mean, listen, I'm not saying that that was the truth. What I'm saying is from a media perspective, from a media perspective, a fan perspective, how we see Jordan right now, you would have seen it as this is the Bentley. Oh, yeah, he got some shoes out. That's cool.

SPEAKER_03 9:38

But you skip so many levels where you got a Benz.

SPEAKER_02 9:41

No, I've said the look alike. Yeah, I'm just using it as a look alike. I mean, you can be the Benz.

SPEAKER_03 9:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

But shit. If I just think about it though. If I pull up in the Bentley, uh, what kind of bench? You want to say what?

SPEAKER_03 9:55

Any, I feel like a Benz is crazy.

SPEAKER_02 9:57

No, any type of Benz is crazy. I got a Bentley, you got a a Benz 300? Yeah. No, that's a girl card.

unknown 10:05

Oh.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

That's small.

SPEAKER_03 10:06

How about an E-Class? E-Class is small.

SPEAKER_02 10:08

No, I mean, you you better off saying like a Maybach or something.

SPEAKER_03 10:11

A Maybach, but a Maybach. That's a lot. I feel like that's the same level though. A Bentley to a Maybach?

SPEAKER_02 10:17

A Bentley to a Maybach? Nah. S-class? Nah, I I a Bentley and a Maybach. Yeah, I guess. It's not the same level. It's not the same level of cost. Like, it's not, it's definitely not the same level of cost. But from a from a standpoint, from a viewer's standpoint, I guess if a dude had a Maybach, it wouldn't be far-fetched to have a Bentley.

SPEAKER_03 10:41

Like you don't see no young kids. I mean, I'll be I'll be on online. I be seeing, I see young kids gravitate towards more Maybax than Bentley's.

SPEAKER_02 10:49

Yeah, but that could be because of popularity, though.

SPEAKER_03 10:53

That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

But no, I don't even think he was a Maybach, though. No, okay, that's fair about it. Yeah, I don't, I don't think, I don't think Scottie Pippen would have been viewed as a Maybach because the the points were so different. The styles were so different. Maybe you talking about Shaq and Kobe. That could have been Maybach and Bentley.

SPEAKER_03 11:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:11

That could have been that, but I don't think they would have been, I don't think uh Scotty Pippen. Scottie Pippen, his best years, he's averaging what, 18, 17 points?

SPEAKER_03 11:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 11:20

You know what I'm saying? You talk about Jordan averaging 30, 31. We we we was introduced to Jordan averaging 35, 37. You know what I mean? So it's like Scotty, Scottie Pippen wasn't that. Scotty Pippen wasn't doing that. Now Shaq and Kobe was averaging 28, 20 in between 27 and 30 apiece. So that's yeah, that might be brand new Bentley and brand new Mayback for sure, for sure. Uh, but no, man, I listen, I I get where I get where Scotty Pippin coming from, bro. But you gotta let it go, bro. We we respect you, Scotty. We respect you, bro. We respect you. I don't gotta do. I'm we're gonna get Mr. Pib too, bro. We're gonna get Mr. Pib too. Next show. I'm gonna be drinking some Mr. Pib, man. Did you see the Bleacher Report Pure Scores? The Pure Score list? Yeah, yeah, I saw that too. Yeah, man. I you know, I looked at the list, and the first my first off, I gotta be honest, right? My introduction to the list was uh I was online and you know, some one of the fell one of the podcasters, he mentioned it, and I he was ranking the people, he was ranking the players. Like, nah, I'll take this guy off, take this guy off. So when they said pure score, I thought it was just like an opinion, right? I thought it was maybe opinion. Of course, some stats is involved, but I thought, you know, it just had like a strong opinion on who should be on there. So when I looked at the list, I looked at it kind of blindly a little bit, right? I overlooked some things, I should say, not blindly. I overlooked some things because I'm looking right at the list, I'm looking straight at the list. And they got Steph Curry at one, Kevin Durant at two, Jordan at three, Joel Embiid at four, and that's when my eyebrows go up. Uh Brian at five, SGA at six, George Gervin at seven, Luca at eight, Jokic at nine, Kobe at 10, Giannis at 11, Kyrie Irvin at 12, Shaq at 13, uh, Donovan Mitchell at 14, Carl Malone at 15. So my thing is like, yo, how is Carl Malone on here and not Dame Lillard, Paul George, James Harden, ISO Joe? But the way they're ranking this is pure score based off of points, points up uh per possession, per 75 possessions. So that makes sense. That makes sense. Like so that obviously is a stat is a stat that they look that they uh calculated. So it makes sense if that's how you say who's a pure scorer. Now, here's the thing, right? I'm all for stats, but stats don't tell the full story. So for instance, you got Joel and Beb up there. You taking you taking Joel and B before you take Kobe to shoot to be your score? Yeah, give me Joel and B before Kobe. Wow. I guess the tribes gotta stick together.

SPEAKER_03 14:23

Nah, Lake and Nation all day, bro. Give me Kobe, bro.

SPEAKER_02 14:25

Kobe. Give me Kobe, bro. What about Luca? What about Luca? You gonna you gonna take uh Joel and B to Luca for your for your score? Nah, bro, Luca all day, bro. So that that's my thing, right? Yes, uh Joel and B has the highest per possession scoring average um of all time, about 31 points. That means every time he's touching the ball, he pretty much gets into a bucket. I agree. But that doesn't necessarily mean he can create his own shot. That doesn't necessarily not will create his own shot better than Kobe. Create his own shot and a shot for others better than Luca. That doesn't necessarily mean he can shoot a long ball or shoot the ball to damn near the the uh the half court line like Donovan Mitchell. Doesn't mean that. And that's what you need in today's game. That's what you need in today's game. A Joel and B led the league in scoring, I believe, three times. Two to three times, I believe. But the reality of it is the sixes didn't go nowhere. They didn't go nowhere. It was close, it was close, but it ain't go anywhere. A guy like Kobe Bryant scoring, he's gonna win you a championship. Huh?

SPEAKER_03 15:40

He had two scoring titles.

SPEAKER_02 15:41

Two scoring titles. A guy like Luka Donc is at least gonna get you to the championship. So when I see these stats, it's cool and it and it's something to talk about. I mean, and this is why I don't really like like debating anymore. Because it's it's stats like this. Oh man, this this person, he's the he's the point, he averaged this and hit uh he's the top in points per per possession. Who gives a shit? Who cares? I'm not taking him over no Alan Iverson. I know Alan Iverson is gonna get downhill all game and put pressure on the defense and get foul, and he's gonna talk, and he's gonna boost him around a team, he's gonna boost him around of the fan, he's gonna do all those things. I don't care if they was averaging the same out. Alan Iverson was different. I'm not, I'm not picking, I'm not taking Carl Malone before James Harden. Why would I do that? Carl Malone was dependent upon someone else getting basketball. James Harden, get your teammates to basketball and get you a butt, and get you a basket. So when I look at stats, yeah, it exists. I look at stats as all right, cool. It gives me a direction at a person's game. I know what you're capable of, but Kobe Bryant might not have been uh making as many points as Joel and B per possession because they was double them every time you catch the basketball. That Kobe Bryant might have gone on a streak of missing and then come back and scoring bunches. That don't just because just because a stat says something doesn't necessarily mean it's gold. So when I see these stats, it's like, all right, cool, great, good for you. But it doesn't necessarily mean that uh that these are better score. You guys let me know what you think in the comments, man. I'm gonna take this time out to make sure y'all support the brand. Go to goalsactivewear.com. Make sure you get yourself a hoodie, hat, whatever you whatever you like, whatever's on there you like. We got some great material. Great, great material. Our stuff does not string. Our merch does not string. Use real hoobers at checkout and receive 15% off. Goalsactivewear.com, real hoobers at checkout, receive 15% off. You know the biggest uh speak, you know the biggest issue with uh high school, not my fault, not high school, AAU. AAU the biggest issue, one of the biggest issues with AAU is too many guys, or not guys, fan parents are treating it as if it's college scouts out there. Like you got a fourth grader, fifth grader, and parents is like, yo, shoot the ball, shoot the ball. You you better off, yes, encouraging him to shoot for confidence, but he also needs to know how to pass. He also needs to know how to uh uh rebound. He or she also needs to know how to work with others because that's what people want to see at the next level. That's what people want. Ain't no coaches in the stands. This is development, bro. This is development. Your kids are 50. I seen one uh one page, it was an exposure page, and essentially what they do is they say, hey, send your highlights and we're gonna and we're gonna boost you, we're gonna put you on the page. We're gonna put you on a page and write an article about you. So kids and families are sending these people highlights. Mind you, the page ain't got nothing but 2,000 followers. And the kids is posting, oh, look, I'm one of the top guards in this state. Because somebody who you don't know, no recognition, no nothing, is saying that. How you gonna be a top guard and you ain't play against other guards in other states? That don't make no sense. That don't make no sense. But the kids. But I but you know what, man, I've I've given up on the idea of um just just constantly on guys about about basketball. I realize that there's not a lot of, there's there's not a lot of real basketballs out there. Basketball players out there. It's a sea of players who just like basketball. They like basketball to pastime. They like basketball because their friends play basketball. They like basketball because it gives them some type of status. They like basketball because it's cool to them. They not like locked in with basketball. The families like basketball because the kids like basketball, they want to be supportive. But if they want to go on a go on a vacation, if they don't feel good that day, they they don't go to practice, if they can't come to a game, they miss the game because whatever reason. We got family stuff, whatever, right? That's not locked in with basketball, bro. I hate to tell y'all that, but that's just not locked in with basketball. Yes, family is important, but if your family's in town, tell them to come to the game. Tell them to come to the game. That's locked in with basketball, bro. Like, I listen, I saw one uh show on 520, right? 520 was talking about this, how some guys missed the prom. And like, oh yeah, basketball gonna be there. Not for me. I ain't give a shit about a prom. I miss my prom because I wanted to play in the tournament. I when my mom was like, look, either I'm gonna pay for this prom or I'm gonna pay for the tournament. Which one you want? Say less. Say less. And I never sat one time and thought to myself, damn, I wish I would have gone to the prom. I never thought to myself, damn, I wish I would have worn a suit for a night and been on a date with a girl I seen all year. I never thought that to myself not one time. I could tell you, I can tell you what tournament I went to, Charlie Weber and Merlin. This is 04. I don't regret it. That's what you call locked in. I've seen dudes coming from an age. You tournament, win a championship. Hey coach, pull over. I'm about to go work out. I'm about to go work out. Damn, you just won a championship. You're about to go work out. Yeah, about to go work out. This guy was an all-American. Went to the University of Arizona. Dip in and out of the NBA for years. Shah Moustaf Shakur. But when I see that, he was locked in. If you want to get to the highest level, you got to do things that people ain't doing. If your friends missing practice, friends missing games, you playing on four or five teams, you spread yourself thin. Unless you like that. And if you like that, they not charging you no money. When I was playing in Vegas, when I was in AAU, excuse me. When I was playing in Vegas and for AAU, that was the first time I was introduced to that world of a player can live in one state and play on the AAU team in another state. Sean Livingston was playing, I believe, was invited, or was rumored to be with the Atlanta Celtics. They was flying guys in. I remember Sean Livingston played with no, Sean Living, it wasn't the Atlanta Celtics. Sean Liveston played with uh the Tim Thomas players. Tim Thomas players. Sean Livingston was from Illinois. Tim Thomas players is in New Jersey. So when you sit in there, you say, like, yo, man, I want to lock in. I want to be a basketball player. I want to do all these things. Yo, there's levels to it, bro. There's levels to it. You gotta, and if you're not seven foot tall and you're not kicking down your door, you gotta really lock in, bro. I had a dude on live E. He asked me, yo, if I wanted to make a high school team, what would I do? What should I do? Know what I told him, right? Know what I told him.

SPEAKER_03 23:48

Same thing you told me.

SPEAKER_02 23:50

Same thing I told you. Play some defense. Cause listen, and I want, I hope a parent hear this. I hope a kid hear this. If you are on the fence if you're gonna make the high school team, right? Be real with yourself. You think you're about to be the leading scorer for the team next year? Probably not, right? So go play defense. Do something the other kids not doing. Be the first in the line drills. Run. Get up the court. Be the first in all those things, bro. Play defense on the best player on the team, best player on the court. And then when you finish the line drills first, clap for everybody else who's still running. That's how you get attention. That's how that's what coaches want to see.

SPEAKER_01 24:39

Coaches want to see guys who are ready to play on the team. Not somebody, oh, let me show him I can do all these drips, all these moves, because I did a I got a trainer and I got cones. Nah, bro.

SPEAKER_02 24:50

Got a lock-in. Your boy Cam uh Thompson got waived, bro. Ah, no. It's a shame, bro. It's a shame. No. Hey, so for all for all the new guests here, right? Or not guests, all the new scores, I should say. My guy E had a lot of faith in Cam Thompson, man. Cam Thomas, right? My fault. Cam Thomas. He had a lot of faith in him, man. And I was telling him, he's 6'3, bro. He's 6'3. He's a scorer, and that's it. He's not a Tyrese Maxi 6'3 scorer. Always getting downhill, but being able to get guys involved, being able to pull up on the drop of a dime from 50 feet for away from the basket. He's not that. He a guy who won't get some shots up. He a black hole scorer. Get the ball, you might never see it again. Ain't as athletic as uh Tyrese Maxie. Still a good player. Still a good player. He sure he can average 20 points over 20 points in a league. He just gotta find a spot. And clearly the Bucks said, nah, this ain't it.

SPEAKER_03 26:08

See, my thing is, what's the difference? What makes him different than a spark plug coming off the bench? Like a like a Jamal Crawford, like a Lou Will. Lou Will was just in the league a couple years ago. Not too long ago. Not too long ago. What makes Cam Thomas different now than these players and what why he get cut from the Bucks?

SPEAKER_02 26:27

Well, the thing, here's the thing, right? So when you say Jamal Crawford, Jamal Crawford didn't start off a six-man. He didn't start off a six-man. He was actually one of the premier players for the Bulls years before. I don't think he was a six-man for the Warriors. He has been a starter, but Jamal is also six five. He's about six five. He got a nice lift on his shot. I don't think it's necessarily a big difference in the spark plug aspect, but I do think it's a difference in time. Right? Now, I know he went through some injuries. I don't know too much about Jamal Crawford and Lou Will injuries. But for me, they always been durable. Like from what I know, from what I remember. Lou Will was in the league for years before he got his break. Before he got his break of, oh, this six man like Lou Will. Before he got to the Raptors and all that type of stuff. He was in the year for in the league for years before that. So I'm not saying that Cam Thompson or Cam Thomas won't be a scorer for a team one day. It's just the teams that he's on already have those guys. Because here's the thing, right? The difference between Jamal Crawford, Lou Will, is that everyone coming off the bench couldn't do what they what he was doing. All those like you JJ Reddick couldn't do what Jamal Crawford was doing for the Clippers, right? Now you got a bunch of guys on every team who can handle the ball. Everyone can shoot the ball. So sometimes you don't need a guy who needs the ball to score, um, to score like from a one-on-one ISO position, or maybe just chuck up a three. You sometimes need a three in the first half. Does he play defense? Do you know him for defense? You don't know him for defense. So that's the that's the difference in the timing of everything. Like Lou Will didn't play, wasn't known for defense neither. Jamal Crawford wasn't known for defense, but they was on teams that needed a score. Giannis is the scorer over there. Uh Roland is the scorer over there. Uh what's the what's the lefty guy name? I'm drawing a blank right now. Kevin Porter. Porter is the scorer over there. All around the same height. Don't need you. Don't need you. You know what I'm saying? So someone would need him. I was looking at I was looking at a report about Cam Thompson being waived. Thomas being waived. I keep saying Thompson. Thomas being waived. Orlando can use him. They might need some scoring.

SPEAKER_03 29:08

Orlando's gonna be tricky. It's gonna be the same thing, though.

SPEAKER_02 29:11

Could be. I mean, they Snugs give them something off the bench as far as when it comes to scoring and defense. But I'm just saying, like, this is what they're saying. They saying the Knicks could use them.

SPEAKER_03 29:19

See, the Knicks are gonna be tricky too.

SPEAKER_02 29:21

I mean, look, I don't think when I say use him, I don't think he just gets a lot of playing time. I mean, unless you want to go, shit, the Wizards probably. But look, that's what I'm saying. Like, he he's he's interchangeable. Like, even the Wizards got got have guards who 6'3 and can score. A lot of these guys, man, look, going this is a good segue to my next one. Markel Folks get a 10-day contract, right? He gets a 10-day contract. Markel folks, 76ers, played for the 76ers, number one draft pick in 2017. The first two years or two seasons, he had 30, he only played 33 games. 14, he this best year was 14 points with the Orlando Magics. He's only 27 years old. He's in and out of the NBA for the last, not in and out of the NBA, but being, you know, injuries and different, you can trade in now. He's uh coming to the going to the Raptors for a 10-day contract. And it's only, he's drafted 2017. It's only year nine. Year nine? 6'3 guard, 6'3 guard play for Washington. Interchangeable. You're not a knockdown shooter. You're not a consistent shooter. You wasn't a consistent shooter at the free throw. I don't know what happened. I think he went through some type of injury. Um, I think it was a shoulder injury, but some people think it's psych, it was his psyche was throwing off. He was holding the ball, it was like a hitch. And I even went through that. When I was uh uh when I was playing in college, for some reason, I don't know what it was. My senior, I my junior year, I was about 81% from the free throw line, right? And then for some reason, my senior year, I was 73% from the free throw line. And maybe even lower than that, maybe like 69. And I would hold the ball and then shoot it. Yeah, because I think I was overthinking. Like looking back at it, I was just overthinking. And here's a kid who came into the league, I believe, 19 years old, number one pick, a lot of pressure on his shoulders, no pun intended. Uh that was good though. But you know, he he he's a guy who he's a guy who uh who had a lot of pressure on him, so he could have been overthinking it. Could have been overthinking it, man. And he's um he ended up, he's a 69% free throw shooter. They drafted him before Tatum. They drafted him before Tatum. He had a lot of red flags around him coming in. I mean, you talk about a guy coming from Washington, and his and Washington was 9-22. Number one pick coming from a losing team in America at that. So, so the reality of it, and then you get drafted before a guy like Jason Tatum who went to Duke. So, so it's stuff like that, man, where you when you gotta realize, you know, that and this is just put it all together with you know the AAU stuff and the 6'3 guard and just teaching kids just how to score and score only. You gotta be interchangeable, man. I mean, you can't well, you gotta be irreplaceable, I should say. Yeah, I can't, I'm not hitting the shot, but I got everybody involved. Rondo made a living off that. But there, then again, there's no room for rondo's anymore. Everybody's scoring.

SPEAKER_03 32:48

Yeah, at the point guard position. Everyone's scoring.

SPEAKER_02 32:52

I mean, yes, there are guys on the team who doesn't need to score the basketball. Are there point guards on the team that doesn't need to score the basketball? Absolutely. 1,010%. But if you're trying to get new players or strong players, you're gonna look for that next SGA. You're gonna look for that next Luca. You're gonna look for guard 6'5 and up that's willing to pass the ball and score the basketball and make good decisions. I don't think Cam's problem is about scoring or ability. I think his problem might be about decision making. His problem might be defense, committing to his role. Who knows? He might have a bad attitude in the locker room. I'm not trying to create a narrative, but whatever it is, they don't need his services for the teams he just left. Uh lastly, we talk about championships. Talk about championships, man.

SPEAKER_03 33:47

My favorite type of talk, bro. We're talking about Lakers today.

SPEAKER_02 33:51

Yeah, you know, we're not talking about Lakers today. Oh my god. But you know what? When we do talk about championships, we do talk a lot about Lakers. We talk a lot about the SG, uh, about say S G A OKC. We talk a lot about the Nuggets. We well, that's what we're about to get into. We don't we don't talk too much about the Nuggets. We should be talking more about the Nuggets. Yes, the Spurs are good, the Knicks are good, the Celtics are good, but the Nuggets play basketball. They play good basketball. Guy like, man, look, they're they're they're they lead the league in scoring at 124 points. Field goal percentage at 50%. That means they're passing the basketball until they find the best shot possible. They're ranked seventh in assists. Of course you got Jokic. Of course you got Jamal Murray. 1,000%. But you know who the X factor in this? Aaron Gordon. Aaron Gordon plays hard every possession. He's on the glass every single time. And if he gets that basketball at the end of a shot clock, fourth quarter, time running down, he is good as gold. You know why? Because it's not pressure for him to make it. If Aaron Gordon misses it, oh well, Aaron Gordon took the shot. Luca misses it, that ball is like heavy.

unknown 35:22

Come on.

SPEAKER_03 35:23

What you mean?

SPEAKER_02 35:24

Because everybody, he because he knows everyone is expecting him to make it. He has the basketball. He knows the defense is going to be top notch. He knows the world is looking for him to make it. If Aaron Gordon gets the ball in the corner off a double team off a double team by from Jokic, then guess what?

SPEAKER_03 35:44

No, he gotta hit that shot.

SPEAKER_02 35:46

He gotta hit that shot, but you ain't gonna be you ain't gonna crucify him in the in the media for the next two years.

SPEAKER_03 35:51

No, yes, we are, but we gotta. If he's still shooting it, I mean credit to him. He has improved his three-point shot tremendously. You talk about Aaron Gordon? Aaron Gordon. Okay, his three point shot hasn't improved uh a lot. But if he misses, if he starts missing that shot, we're gonna start criticizing him in the media.

SPEAKER_02 36:08

If he you so you trying to tell me if Aaron Gordon misses a game-winning shot, yes, wait, wait, wait. You're gonna be making memes about him. You gonna you're gonna talk about how he ain't out clutch, you're gonna talk about how he can't win. You're gonna be doing all that for Aaron Gordon.

SPEAKER_03 36:27

So it's not gonna be done for Aaron Gordon because he's not the face of the team.

SPEAKER_02 36:31

That's the point. That's when the ball is lighter. That's when the ball is lighter. Nah, but he still had no. Robert Hory hit some big shots because the ball was lighter when it got to him.

SPEAKER_03 36:41

No, but because nah. See, my thing is the team is depending on him to make that shot. Yokich is depending on him to hit that shot because they he knows the team knows they're gonna double off Aaron Gordon. Yeah, he when Jokic gets him that ball, he has to hit it.

SPEAKER_02 36:55

But that doesn't necessarily mean that the ball is heavier for him and uh him than Luca. Luca, the world is dependent on it. Only four or five guys depending on you shoot this shot who I've been working and training out or working out with and training with for the last five, six years, is dependent. I can do this. That should be that should give you confidence.

SPEAKER_03 37:19

Same thing with Luca, it should give you confidence because your team gives your team has trust in you to hit that shot. Your team has trust in you to make the correct play, make them do what you need to do with the ball in your hand.

SPEAKER_02 37:30

No, you talk, I'm listening we talking playoffs. We talking Luca, I think Luca is a clutch player, so it is all gonna feel easy for him. But what I'm saying is the moment is lighter. The moment is lighter, the ball is lighter for those for those players who no one in the gym is expecting to shoot the shot or had a ball at the end. You expecting Jokers to have a ball. You expecting Jamal Murray. When Jamal Murray, I forget what game this was. I think it was against the Timberwolves earlier this early this season, and he had a he had an opportunity to ice the game from the free throw line and he missed it, and he missed the free throw. Yeah, yeah. Right? That ball heavy right there. That ball heavy for him.

SPEAKER_03 38:09

See, for certain players, the ball gets heavy, but a player like Luca, who has that killer mentality like Kobe had. Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 38:19

No, I I don't I'm not gonna say he don't have a killer mentality. He got killer mentality. You want to do the Kobe thing? Cool. Okay. No, he does have a killer instinct, though. I I feel like if if Luca gets a wide open shot, he's gonna hit that shot. Of course, bro. He's gonna hit that shot. But I also feel like if he missed that shot, he knows in the back of his mind subconsciously, man, they gonna cook me in the and they gonna cook me everywhere on this. Aaron Gordon, on the other hand, I feel like if he missed that shot, he gonna be like, ah man. I should have put my I should have released the ball higher. And then walk off.

unknown 39:04

That's fair.

SPEAKER_03 39:05

They're gonna walk off, man. That's that's a that's that's fair. That's fair. That's fair.

SPEAKER_02 39:09

Man, there you have it, man. We we're gonna end it right there, man. We're gonna end it right there. Do me a favor in the comments, right? Put in the comments how can we improve the show? I wanna know how can we improve the show? What do you want to see? What do what are we what can we touch on? Do you want more videos? Do you want more pictures? Do you what do you want to see? Or just let us know. Hey, man, I love the show. I'm a big fan of the show. I follow you on all platforms TikTok, Instagram, um, Facebook, whatever platform of choice, because you know we all score society on all of them. But until next time, let's continue to think elite and together. Welcome to Score Society.