LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 23: Derek Anderson #1 of the Los Angeles Clippers dunks against Latrell Sprewell #8 of the New York Knicks on November 23, 1999 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 1999 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)

Derek Anderson was a fly dude when he entered the NBA.

The 13th pick in the 1997 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Anderson was fresh off winning a NCAA National Championship with Kentucky, had a deal with the Jordan Brand and played on a Cavaliers squad that included Shawn Kemp, Brevin Knight, a young  Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Wesley Person, Cedric Henderson, Bob Sura and Vitaly Potapenko.

He’d go on to average 11 points a game and 1.5 steals. He’d play ten years in the league where he’d average 12 points a game playing for the Portland Trail Blazers, Charlotte Bobcats, Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers and the Miami Heat.

On Saturday, Anderson was the keynote speaker at the A&M Sports Academy’s March Madness Fundraiser. A&M Sports Academy is a hoops mentoring program founded in 2008. While there, he discussed the highs and lows of his journey: being a parent by the age of fourteen, being shot and stabbed, losing his mom to substance abuse, winning championships in college and the professional level. Anderson thinks he left impact. “I think they left with a purpose of I need to finish what I start  and also I need to change my attitude if I want to win,” Anderson told me.

“Those two things have always been key.”

While chatting with the students at the A&M Sports Academy, Anderson showed a video montage  of his career. Homeboy was high flying, acrobatic and showcased his arsenal of moves during his career. He zig-zagged, criss-cross apple sauced and broke ankles via crossover moves on guys like fellow NBA retiree, Kobe Bryant. While watching the montage, you couldn’t help but notice that Anderson also dunked on NBA big men like Horace Grant and Dikembe Mutombo! “I pretty much got everybody,” said Anderson. “If I can remember I think I got every big man that I can remember. So I really wasn’t searching them out, but I was always like I would love to get one of those posters up.”

You’d think Anderson got the biggest joy on dunking on Mr. No-no-no Mutombo? Was it Horace Grant? How about Charles Barkley? “Neither,” Anderson said with a sly grin.

Check out Derek Anderson Chatting With Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson on Scoop B Radio.

Apparently, Anderson has one guy in mind that he wanted to dunk on during his career that he couldn’t. “I was trying to dunk on Patrick Ewing,” Anderson said on Scoop B Radio. “I always see him trying to box out. I was growing up seeing him blocking everybody’s dunks. I see Dikembe do it but once I got Dikembe my rookie year, I was good. But I always tried to dunk on Patrick Ewing  because Jordan did it. Remember when Jordan baseline dunked on him? I always wanted to get one like that.”

In addition to chatting about his dunk conquests, the former Kentucky Wildcat also weighed in on his thoughts on the current Kentucky basketball squad and their stars chances at the next level. “I think if Monk ever plays defense he would be,” said Anderson. “But I think right now Fox is the key one. So Fox is the point guard. It’s a point guard driven league. If he continues to work on his jump shot and goes full speed like he is doing I think he will be a significant player.”

If you’re tardy to the party and not familiar with Anderson’s high-flying prowess, check it below

AAU culture is something that’s a hot button topic in sports. Kobe Bryant was critical about it in his farewell tour and Earl ‘The Pearl’ Monroe stated on the Scoop B Radio Podcast that it’s all about guard’s and forwards in the NBA. Derek Anderson weighed in as well on the debate. “I think it has changed dramatically,” said Anderson.

“I think what that is something that the AAU coaches just let their players do anything instead of teach them and train them. So now they don’t have any discipline. You look at that one kid who had 92 points, but he didn’t come past half court like half the time. Do you think our coaches would let us do that? No. He would have been all over us ‘Get back on defense play hard.’ But now there are so many coaches that let players be good so he can get a name and I think that is the issue with AAU. If they just roll the balls out and say: ‘who ever is talented go do it.’ And I think that is where AAU is failing us. The coaches aren’t demanding excellence. Therefore there is none.”

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The post Retired NBA Vet, Derek Anderson On Knicks’ Ewing: “I always tried to dunk on Patrick Ewing Because Jordan Did It” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

Larry Johnson is beloved by New York City for his heroics.

Down, 91-88, with just 11.9 seconds to go in Game 3 of the 1999 Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers, Johnson was guarded by  Indiana Pacers guard Dale Davis. Johnson dribbled and drove to the basket and pump-faked; Davis bit.

Johnson took one dribble left, absorbed contact from Antonio Davis and launched a three-pointer. The whistle blew and the shot went in; tying the game at 91 apiece.

Johnson completed the 4-point play by sinking the free throw and the Pacers missed a shot at the buzzer, giving the Knicks a 2-1 lead in the series.

The 6’8 combo forward remembers that moment fondly and the love that he got following that big play! “This is New York, man and everywhere I go here, it’s like I’m a legend,” Johnson told me on today’s episode of Scoop B Radio. “I done took the nickname Larry Legend, I didn’t think I was that old, really. But that’s what cats have been calling me simply because I believe, the four point play; it’s just one play. It’s the greatest play, I’ve had. I’ve had some pretty good moments in this game: winning a championship in college, being the number one, but making a four point play against one of our arch rivals at Madison Square Garden, that was the craziest.”

A native of Dallas, Texas, Johnson believes that his connection to his city runs deep. He spoke reverently about local athletes like Roger Staubach and others being influential to his growth and being the blueprint on how to be a positive athlete. He also shared a time that he met and played a one on one game against NBA Hall of Famer, Calvin Murphy. “He let me win,” said Johnson.

“I was like 14 years old. My mom was there. He was passing by, the shoe store. I don’t know if ya’ll know Payless. He had a big ‘ol sign with it and it said it was Calvin Murphy. And  I was taller than him at the time. Of course, I was 14 and Calvin was a guard and I think he let me win.”

Check out Larry Johnson Chat With Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson on Scoop B Radio

Johnson was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets as the 1st pick in the 1991 NBA Draft out of UNLV. The Hornets, of course went through some ownership and name changes and now a rebirth under majority owner Michael Jordan, Johnson is happy to see his old team do well. “What goes around comes around,” said Johnson. “I know they were down for a while. You get some draft picks, you get some guys in there and you get your nucleus together and you start winning ball games.

Johnson was happy specifically to see the Hornets change the name back from Bobcats to Hornets. “That was the right thing to do, that was the right thing to do,” he said. “Now they just need to start to getting back guys like Muggsy Bogues and getting those original guys back. I wasn’t really the original , I was one of the big parts, but I wasn’t one of the original. It was the original guys that really made that franchise and put and kept it together, so to go back to the Charlotte Hornets, that’s the only thing that they could do! That was the best thing. The Charlotte Bobcats? Stop it! Stop it! The Charlotte Hornets.”

Brandon Robinson is a sports and entertainment writer and TV personality. You can catch his Scoop B Radio Podcast every Thursday by visiting ScoopBRadio.com. Follow him on Twitter @SCOOPB and visit www.ScoopB.com for more info.

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The post Larry Johnson On Payless 1 on 1 With Cal Murphy: “He Let Me Win” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.