Tuesday, February 1st, 2011...7:11 pm
Gary Neal and DeJuan Blair are not real All-Stars, but young All-Stars
A quick note before the Spurs tip-off against the Portland Trailblazers to mark the first game of the Rodeo Road Trip; Gary Neal and DeJuan Blair will participate in the 2011 Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam at All-Star Weekend.
Most people know the Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam as the Rookie-Sophomore game, because it makes more sense that way. Last year, the Rookie team won for the first time since 2002, mostly because of DeJuan Blair.
If we polled the readers and asked which of the Spurs’ three rookies this season would be in the Rookie-Sophomore game, what percentage do you think Gary Neal would have earned? 10 percent? Five percent? It’s a pretty cool honor for the guy and one would expect him to make one of the All-Rookie teams at the end of the season, assuming his production doesn’t drop off a cliff.
Also involved in the night’s proceedings will be Spurs Assistant Coach Mike Budenzholzer, who will coach of the Rookie Team. Yep, not only did the Spurs’ record earn Coach Pop the privilege (or burden, depending on who you ask) to bark instructions at All-Star Weekend, but Coach Bud gets to do it too.
The Rookie game is on Friday, February 18 at 8 pm and can be seen on TNT.
7 Comments
February 1st, 2011 at 8:41 pm
Don’t know if this has been mentioned, but this is pretty funny from Ball Don’t Lie
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/ball_dont_lie/post/Create-a-Caption-Greatest-conversation-ever-ale?urn=nba-314794
February 1st, 2011 at 9:44 pm
Kudos to all three; a recognition by the league of total team contribution to the Spurs’ stellar 1st half.
February 2nd, 2011 at 1:02 am
Was in downtown LA last night. Saw a couple of huge banners promoting the All-Star Game. One banner featured Dwayne Wade and the other featured Tim Duncan, with the text reading “Los Angeles Welcomes the All-Stars”
A hint that Timmy will make the team?
February 2nd, 2011 at 6:08 am
Tyreke Evans also might have had a little to do with the Rookies victory last year.
February 2nd, 2011 at 12:21 pm
Ha, the ESPN page for the All-Star Game has a list of the Rookie Challenge rosters, and it lists Blair as being “Drafted No. 2 in 2008″ when in fact he was drafted in the second round in 2009. Didn’t realize he was actually a lottery pick in his third year. I guess DeJuan should ask for a raise, then. Can the national media get nothing right when it comes to the Spurs?!?
February 2nd, 2011 at 3:03 pm
Yeah that’s hilarious Brandon. I’ve seen
-Two ESPN guys refer to Pop as George Popovich
-Chris Webber say the Spurs were 2nd or 3rd in the league when they were about 5 games ahead of 2nd place.
February 3rd, 2011 at 7:22 pm
[...] Coach Bud got the honor of coaching the rookies in the Rookie-Sophomore game for the same reason. Gary Neal will join Coach Bud on the rookie team, as his come-from-obscurity first season has been good enough to earn him a spot on the team. And DeJuan Blair will face Neal and Coach Bud as a member of the sophomore team. [...]
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