Such is the case for Lamar Gayle AKA Buckets.  At 6'5" and 210 pounds, Buckets has the prototypical NBA body for the 2/3.  Growing up in Long Beach, CA, Buckets got a chance to play college ball at Utah State before transferring to Cal State University, Bakersfield.  At CSUB, he led his conference in scoring and rebounding, at 17.3 ppg and 8.3 rpg, earning All-American honors.

Since then, Buckets has been bouncing around from league to league trying to find an opportunity.  "You know, it's tough out there," he said, "since you don't know if anybody is going to see what you can do."  After leaving college, Buckets has played in Israel, Austria, and in the ABA, succeeding at all three levels but still going unnoticed.  He averaged over 30 points a game in Austria and went off for 50 points in an ABA game last December - but do you know who Lamar Gayle is?

You will now.  He made it on the bus.  "That's the thing, man - now with AND1, I can turn on ESPN on July 5th when this airs and I can laugh with my family because everyone will see Buckets and how he can deliver."

What Main Event and AND1 have created is an opportunity - a parallel road to the NBA that seemingly has more potential than the NBDL, David Stern's pet project minor-league for the NBA.

That's why you'll see a guy like 15 year-old Duwan Kornegay show up at Open Run to get his name out there.  Only playing basketball for two years, Kornegay is still growing into his 6'5" frame and has shown explosiveness and athleticism that can make him a star.  Already establishing himself as a great dunker and shooter, Kornegay, who flew in from Dallas, TX, is honing his skills as a point guard at God's Academy in Dallas. 

"The Mix Tape Tour is giving me a chance to see what I have to work on," said Kornegay, who plans on following the Tour from stop to stop until he can get his run against the AND1 guys.  "This is my road to college - people will know my name."

That exposure is exactly what Jerry "the Assassin" Dupree has capitalized on with AND1.  After graduating from USC, Dupree played in the ABA before joining up with the Tour last summer and eventually earned a spot on the AND1 roster.  Now, he has a legit shot at the NBA, as he's headed to Orlando for the Pre-Draft Camp.  "What I'm expecting is after I leave Orlando, some team will want to call me and tell me they need me - you think I'd get that opportunity in the ABA?  AND1 gives you that exposure - interviews, TV and radio with ESPN - things like that give AND1 guys a clear advantage over the D-League and overseas - GMs already know what I can do."

He's right.  When's the last time you heard a D-League player on sports radio?  How about on international cable TV?

With executives worldwide now knowing who these guys are, they can reap the financial benefits.  "This is a blessing," Buckets expressed, "my game will be out there now and I can get a nice-sized overseas deal."

It's not all just in exposure, though.  "AND1 is my NBA for now," Bad Santa said. "This isn't all tricks and games - we can shoot and we're professional basketball players."  Bruner played for BG Karlsruhe of the German Leagues. 

Main Event echoed those sentiments in talking about how hard the AND1 team works to get to where they are - "I hear a lot of people in the stands saying things like 'Yo I thought AND1 was fake, but it's real!' but you have to be at the game and you find out how real it is."  Pushing and shoving were all commonplace on the courts of the Home Depot Center. "We practice hard-nosed three-man weaves and defensive skills.  We're not practicing moves - those all come from the talent those guys have."

The game featured a lot of the razzle dazzle you'd come to expect from AND1, but there was defense, as Grayson "The Professor" Boucher dove for steals.  There was mid-range jumpshots, with Philip "Hot Sauce" Champion rising over defenders 15 feet out.  There was fundamental rebounding, as Keith Closs (formerly of the Los Angeles Clippers) got boxed out hard by Anthony "Half Man-Half Amazing" Heyward. 

That's why guys flock to the Tour Stop from every league you can think of.  The ABA, CBA, USBL, Europe .. they all came because the competition is stiff and the game is played hard.

But what AND1 exposes most, other than pure athletic ability and showmanship is heart.  As a former NBDL player with the Mobile Revelers, Aaron "AO" Owens knows all about how tough it is to get into the NBA, but he knows that the D-League didn't give him all he needed.  "Certain things you can't experience - the roughness and toughness, the trash talking, the pushing and shoving and cheating, stuff like that is what you learn with us and not all those other leagues," said AO.  "You come out here and you show your heart .. that grit and determination .. you can go at anybody at any time and it don't matter who it is.  They on the court and you on the court."

It is that very hard work and fortitude that is really exposed with the AND1 Mix Tape Tour.  Staying on the entire tour requires a desire and competitive fire to keep your roster spot, something a guaranteed D-League contract doesn't do.  When asked who he models him game off of, Main Event said "really, its not an athlete - its my parents. you know, just hard work .. the reward may not come when you want it to, but when it comes its overwhelming .. it's more than basketball; it's life."

Traditionally getting less respect from the NBA because they're considered streetballers and one-trick ponies, the AND1 of old is gone; how can you not respect a guy working hard to get to his goals?  Now, with the NBA firmly established as a potential destination, the AND1 Mix Tape Tour players are looking to prove that their brand of basketball deserves every bit of attention that it gets by developing their NBA skills.  The Tour has legitimized itself as a potential pipeline to the next level, because at the end of the day, basketball is basketball and if you're good .. you're good.

"Everywhere in America and in the world," said AO, "the rim is ten feet .. ten feet .."

Indeed, the AND1 Mix Tape Tour has established itself as a parallel road to the eventual goal, displaying that with the exposure and the necessary grit needed for success on the Tour, the streetballers of AND1 will prove that they can step to any one on any court and give them a run for their money.


Preetom Bhattacharya
HoopsWorld.com