At the risk of jumping to conclusions after just one week of NBA regular season basketball, we’re ready to declare that a new wave of NBA big men has arrived in the form of 7-foot centers who play like shooting guards. The “stretch” four or “small ball” four has been around for a long time now, and refers to power forwards who can shoot from outside and thus “stretch” the defense. Over the course of the past 10 years, players with those skill sets became more prevalent since the league as a whole began trending toward small ball for a variety of reasons.
Category: New Orleans Pelicans
Analysis, Commentary and Musings on the New Orleans Pelicans.
Q&A with John Salmons’ former high school teammate
Nishu Jani is a graduate of Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School, PA where he played with John Salmons for three years on the school’s varsity basketball team. He is currently a risk advisory consultant in NYC. His full bio can be found here.
Hi Nishu. Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions. Can you tell us a little about your past relationship with John Salmons?
I met John when he was 13 and we played against each other in the Keystone State Invitational Games, an invitation only basketball camp in Pennsylvania. John was only about 5 11′ at the time. In the next two years he grew 8 inches. He had a good handle though which helped him when he grew taller. We were the same age so when he transferred to my high school the following year, we knew each other and became friends. I still remember his message in my yearbook about this locker room joke we had. John and I played 3 years of varsity basketball together at Plymouth Whitemarsh, I joined the varsity team as a sophomore for the playoffs because I was known for hustle and defense and toughness. John was a quiet guy, he focused on his game and was a good student. He occasionally hung out with my friend circle senior year outside of school. He had a charming personality and was loyal.
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