When I was a kid we were brainwashed to believe all kinds of superstitions or old wise tales. Remember, “step on a crack break ya momma’s back?” There was, “If you break a mirror you’ll have 7 years bad luck. If you cut a baby’s hair before they’re a year old it will make them stutter. If a black cat crosses your path it’s bad luck.” On New Year’s Day you had to eat black eyed peas because it’ll give you good luck. You can’t split the pole if you’re walking down the street with your friends and if someone did everybody would stop and make them go back. It was ridiculous that we even believed any of that and the sad thing is, some folks still do.
One of the most ridiculous superstitions or old wise tales ever told was that New York is the Mecca of Basketball! You heard so many people saying it that you just assumed that it was true. After all, we’ve been told that Madison Square Garden was the Cathedral of Hoops. You heard it and it was the law. All the best ball playas come from New York City! Nobody plays basketball better than they do in NYC is what they’ll tell you!
Well playas…they haven’t been to Indiana have they? This is the Mecca of high school basketball bruh. You can literally step out of your front door, get in the ride and see a Division 1 player in darn near every gym in the state. Literally!! And while you’re watchin’ boyz get down you’ll run into a few pros too.
Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1st! It’s not a joke around here. They’re ballin’! We’ve got cats like the 5th rated player in America, Romeo Langford (New Albany). Then there are two cats in the Class of 2019 that are doin’ whatever they want to do on the floor. No.16 Keion Brooks Jr. (Fort Wayne, North Side) and No.24 Trayce Jackson-Davis (Greenwood, Center Grove) that are bein’ recruited by everybody playin’ basketball.
It’s NUTS how much talent I see every night roamin’ around just the city of Indianapolis. It’s crazy!! I can drive 7 minutes north of my house and see Ben Davis’ Aaron Henry (Michigan State signee) or drive 10 minutes east of the crib to see the lil’/big homie over at Tindley that they call E-Buckets, Eric Hunter Jr. (Purdue signee). Then there’s another junior that’s got every coach out here salivatin’ and that’s the 6’5″ guard Armaan Franklin from Cathedral that can do it all. I could sit here and name 10 more cats but you get my point.
They’re ballin’ in Indiana and have been for years!!! The Hoosier state has produced 129 NBA players all-time with 21 players in the league right now!! Oh I’m just talkin’? James Blackman, Mike Conley, Yogi Ferrell, Eric Gordon, AJ Hammons, Gary Harris, Gordon Hayward, George Hill, Courtney Lee, Trey Lyles, Josh McRoberts, E’Twaun Moore, Mason and Marshall Plumlee, Zach Randolph, Glenn Robinson III, Caleb Swanigan, Jeff Teague and Cody and Tyler Zoeller.
It’s not a game around here bruh. It’s serious business. At the minimum Romeo Langford and Keion Brooks Jr. are “One and Done” cats. They’re pros right now!!! The only reason they’re even considerin’ college is because the NBA says that you’ve got to be a year removed from high school in order to enter the NBA draft. Otherwise, they’d be goin’ straight the league.
The Indiana Pacers have a slogan on their floor that says, “We Grow Basketball Here” and that’s real talk playa! So when a dun tells you that any place other than Indiana is the Mecca of Basketball tell them to send their best players out here and we’ll see about that. Stop me when I start lyin’!
Straight Studs:
Playas Thesaurus:
1) Dun: noun – the person in question, dude, guy, etc. It’s whoever I’m talkin’ about and its non-gender specific.
The G is excluded from the endings of all words because the G is near and dear to my heart because I’m from “The G” which is Gary, Indiana. So I only use the G when I’m talkin’ about “The G!”
The caption under the photo is real talk!