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| 10. 29. 02. Well, apparently we weren't the only ones shocked by Rafer Alston gettin' cut last week, it seems his agent was caught off guard as well. Here is a newsclip from the Hoopsworld GSW correspondant: "Uh, well, recently waived PG, Rucker Park/And1 streetball legend Rafer Alston. The Warriors waived him this morning much to the shock of his agent. Skip, we all wanna see you ball. Why can't you get any burn? Good luck, bro." 10. 25. 02. I still can't believe it. To be honest, they never really gave him a chance. I mean, look at the minutes he was recieving in the PRESEASON, it was a joke. Anyway, here is a lil update, I figured might as well put it up since there may not be any skip news for a while. DimeMag mentioned Skip yesterday and today. In today's quote, they were simply suggesting the Knicks should sign Skip. The quote from [yesterday] is a little dissapointing considering DIME is normally a place where Skip does get props, not like the rest of the media outlets. 10. 25.: "While he's at it (alluding to the Knicks picking up Lee Nailon), Layden should sign Skip To My Lou. He's got nothing to lose and everything to gain if he brings Rafer on board. Besides being weak at point guard, Skip will sell out the Garden again and actually entertain fans if they let him do his thing..." "Meanwhile, our main man Skip To My Lou didn't fit in with Golden State and will seek employment elsewhere. Hey Layden, want to fill those empty seats in the Garden and possibly save your job? Why not toss the hometown hero a bone. You've got absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain." 10. 24.: "It's back to the playgrounds for Rafer. The Warriors sent Skip packing along with foward Anthony Miller. Guess it takes more than a flashy handle to make it in the NBA after all..." 10. 24. 02. HORRIBLE NEWS: Skip got released. Frankly, I'm at a loss of words. Not to try and put a positive spin on this, but the season hasn't begun yet, and a speedy PG is a hot commoddity, and once a coach realizes this, expect Skip to be picked up. When he is, you can find out about it here first. - Silk Normally I stay the fuck outta Silk's Section, but today I feel like sayin something. Silk emailed me and told me that Rafer got waived. I was shocked, still am. I hope Rafer can move on from this and find somethin positive outta the whole situation. Hopefully, we'll find Rafer's name on an NBA roster before the beginning of the season. If these general managers can sense a golden opportunity, they'll take quick action in aquiring a hard-working, natural point guard. Below I added in the report from warriors.com. "WARRIORS WAIVE ALSTON AND MILLER "October 24, 2002 "Golden State Warriors General Manager Garry St. Jean announced today that the club has waived free agent training camp invitees Rafer Alston and Anthony "Pig" Miller. Golden State's active training camp roster currently stands at 12 players. "Alston appeared in all sic of Golden State's preseason contests, averaging 2.5 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 11.3 minutes. Miller appeared in four games, averaging 0.3 points, 0.8 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 4.3 minutes with two DNP-CDs." - warriors.com If you want to see the rest of the article, click here. - skipalston11 10. 23. 02. News is news, but I don't like reporting shit like this. Ric Bucher from ESPN magazine posted this as the #1 observation from the Warriors Training Camp. It's interesting to note that earlier this year ESPN's webpage noted that Rafer was a key player to watch as his quickness helps him rack up steals, now they are calling out his defense, saying he gets "eaten up." "1. Gilbert Arenas might just be a point guard. His teammates and firsthand observations last season suggested that there was no way Arenas could be in charge of an NBA offense, particulary on that needs a wise and steady hand as the Warriors', but he managed to stay under amazingly reasonable control during the first couple of exhibitions. He still has a hair-trigger temper that can completely shatter his focus, but he has the size, speed, and tenacity to defend the point. Talk is that Bobby Sura will start once he gets healthy, even though he's not exactly Captain Conservative. There's no one in the league I'd like to see make it more than Rafer Alston -- Skip To My Lou to New York streetballers -- but all his ball tricks can't keep him from getting eaten up defensively and the jump shot is balky." Not much news here, but Musselman announced that Arenas will be the starting PG at the opening of the season. With the way Skip has been playing in the pre-season, it's going to be a lot harder for him to work himself into the rotation... "The Warriors finish up their final week of the pre-season, head coach Eric Musselman is beginning to develop his starting five for Opening Night. One of the keys during training camp has been opening the lines of communication between the coaching staff and the players. At the beginning of camp the point guard spot was wide open, but with the injury to Bob Sura, Musselman has named Gilbert Arenas the starting point guard. The season opens on Wednesday, October 30th vs. San Antonio." - warriors.com 10. 20. 02. Got a quick lil pre-season update on how Rafer has been playin' as of late. So fat, not so good. In sunday's game against Portland, Skip got 20 mins, had 4 points, 6 assists, 1 rebound, and 1 block. In thursday's game against the Lakers (which I was able to watch on TV), Skip had 2 points, 2 assists, and 2 rebounds in 8 minutes. It was a lil upsetting considering I actually got to see the game and he only played 8 minutes. Gilbert Arenas put up 13 points, 7 assists, and had a whopping 5 TO's in 46 minutes. As a side note, those assists were nothing special, they were often just the first pass into the offensive set and someone on the sideline would hit an open shot. Now is the time for the bad news. Skip is getting this limited amount of minutes with Sura sitting out due to an injury. Most of the time Rafer was in the game, he was playin' side by side with Arenas, who was running at the 2. This will not occur once Sura comes back. What will happen when Sura gets back? Only time will tell... 10. 13. 02. In the third pre-season game, Skip got a whopping 10 minutes, giving us a quadruple triple: 3 points, 3 assists, 3 fouls, and 3 turnovers. Could this be Milwakee all over again? I doubt it, and here's why. He isn't stuck behind a PG putting up huge numbers [like his situation last year with Sam Cassell]. Arenas, in 22 mins of play, dropped a whoppin 2 points and 4 assists. I'm a firm believer that if Skip keeps working hards, he will get a chance to showcase his abilities. Here is a clip from the Hoopsworld Warriors correspondant regarding Alston: "Rafer Alston isn't getting much burn yet, but I think he is really the only PG on this roster. Why do I still think that Skip will be our starting PG this January? If he is, it probably is bad news for the W's - I mean why play Skip when you have a young talent upcoming in a contract who WANTS to be your PG of the future? But I do like the idea of Skip finding success in the league, wo why not here?" 10. 12. 02. [Against the Blazers] Rafer Alston had 2 points and 2 assists in 12 minutes, dimal numbers to say the least. It's a shame he played 12 minutes in a PRESEASON game with Sura NOT PLAYING at all. Skip really needs to step it up in practice or something, because he needs to show what he can do that the Warriors will keep him around... 10. 11. 02. Alright, here are the stats from the pre-season game against the Sonics. Skip had 2 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal in 14 minutes. Doesn't sound too impressive, but there are plenty more games to come. Arenas played 32 minutes, scoring 5 points (all of them free throws), and dropped 7 assists. So it's not like Arenas is being much more productive than Skip. Also, after the Warriors practiced on Monday (before the pre-season game), the Warriors did an interview with Skip, below are some quotes. "I'm more of a natural at the point guard spot so I have the position down pact. I have the concepts that Coach Musselman wants, but, I think I'm just trying to feel my way with the team and see how I can get out there and mesh together." You can hear that (and the rest) for yourself here, it's down at the bottom under "Multimedia." Also, check the audio highlights for some "audio highlights" of Skip. 10. 09. 02. The Warriors started the pre-season off with a bang by beating Seattle, 84-75. As of now, there are no reports to how Skip did, but we'll fill you in as the info from the game becomes more readily available. Below is a clip from the Contra Costra Times (Bay Area), which has Musselman commentating on Rafer's game. Looks like Musselman has taken note that Alston is a "true" point guard with great court vision... "Alston's in? "Point guard Rafer Alston appears to be playing himself into the team. Said Musselman: 'He's a real good pick-and-roll player. He understands who to get the ball to and I think he's well-liked by his teammates. He's pretty flashy, but he's also one of the more under-control guys we have at camp.' Alston is one of the only two true point guards remaining at training camp. The other is Dean Oliver, who was on the team's roster last season. Rookie point guard Steve Logan still hasn't practiced because he is without a contract. 10. 04. 02. First, the Golden State Warrior correspondant writer for Hoopsworld had a top ten list of positive things going for the team. Number three was: "Rafer Alston is friendly, confident, and understands his opportunity here in Golden State. He and (Gilbert) Arenas will be fun to watch together." Be on the lookout for an update regarding the Warriors open scrimmage (Oct. 3rd at 7 a.m.). Also, here is an interview Skip did during the Media with the Warriors... Hoopsworld: You're a playground legend, but haven't really caught on in the NBA, do you come here with something to prove this season? Skip: Oh, definitely. I have something to prove. I'll start by learnin a lot about my teammates. Learning in camp where they like to ball and how they play. Hoopsworld: You didn't get much of a run in Milwakee. What do you think you learned from that experience? Skip: I played on a winning team. I know what it's like to play for a winner, for a team that went to the Conference Finals. I have seen a winning attitude in the locker room. I learned a lot in Milwakee from Ray, Sam, and Ma$e. It was a great learning experience. On the ESPN Warriors webpage, they have chosen Rafer Alston as the "Player to Watch" for fantasy teams. Check out what they had to say about him (below), or check out the link, here. "Who to Watch: On the streets, Rafer Alston has been known as a legend. In the NBA, he's been disappointing. George Karl loved this quick point guard but couldn't play him over Sam Cassel. Now Alston enters a job fight where Gilbert Arenas and Steve Logan are the main competition. Watch who gets the nod as starter, as Alston could be a big steals guy." - Eric Karabell 10. 02. 02. Well, it's official enough for me... The Contra Costra Times reports that at the opening day of the Warrior's training camp, the team finally announced the signing of Rafer Alston. Coach Musselman also stated that "Arenas is HARDLY A LOCK for the starting point guard position." That sounds like great news, except for the fact that he was alluding the Bob Sura opening up the sason at the starting point, not Skip. "The Warriors announced the signing of free agent guards Rafer Alston, Joe Crispin, Elvin Mims, and Dean Oliver and free agent fowards Anthony 'Pig' Miller and Glenn Whisby." - The Contra Costra Times For the people that still don't believe that Skip is with the Warriors, here is a link to the Warriors pre-season roster: http://www.nba.com/warriors/roster/training_camp0203.html Here's a quote from DimeMag verifying the info we reported earlier, that Bobby Sura is beginning to look like the starting point on opening day. And for more info (audio, you can head over to the Warrior's homepage, where Coach Musselman gives his opinion on the point guard situation. "What's this????? Whispers out of Cali are that Mussels won't be going with Gilbert Arenas, our boy Skip, or the still unsigned Steve Logan at the point, but instead wil hand the reigns of the offense to Bobby Sura. Ewww!..." - Dime Magazine |
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| by Haas "Silk" Sullivan featuring skipalston11 |
| october '02 |
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