During last Thursday’s NBA Draft, Quartersnacks, along with those who follow our Twitter account, took upon the task of drawing parallels between skateboarding and professional basketball, mostly by way of pointing out which skaters would be #1 overall picks in their respective draft years. We settled on a variety of conclusions: Guy Mariano in 1991, Eric Koston in 1992, Arto Saari in 1998, Paul Rodriguez in 2000, Mike Mo in 2007, Torey Pudwill in 2008, how skaters would be drafted out of skate shops, how Coliseum would’ve won the NCAA title in 2002, and finally realizing that most of the #1 overall picks somehow go to Girl (Cory Kennedy in 2010) and Chocolate (Raven Tershy in 2011) due to their highly astute front offices. Rick Howard wouldn’t be a bad GM for the Lakers. (That team can go to hell, though.)
If you don’t follow basketball, keep in mind that #1 overall pick does not necessarily equate to the “best” skater, as Larry Bird (#6), Michael Jordan (#3), and Kobe Bryant (#13) were not #1 picks. Manu Ginóbli was #57, and he went on to lead the Spurs to three championships. Then there are obvious draft busts, like Jereme Rogers going #1 in 2003, or Jovante Turner going #1 in 1989, only to have a short lived prime, a la Bernard King.
Someone insisted that Zoo York was overdue for a #1 pick, but sometimes, three top five picks in seven or eight years helps you build a better franchise than one #1 overall, and a bunch of picks above #15 in proceeding years. Look no further than this year’s batch of X-Games “Real Street” videos for evidence of that.
Zered Bassett: Apparently, the kink at the Courthouse Drop is just a regular ledge now. And it’s good to see that the rail they put up at that Washington Heights bump isn’t stopping some people. Zered should’ve won the whole thing last year.
Brandon Westgate: The opener on Canal Street doesn’t make a lot of sense. If you’ve never been to that rail he 5-0s (Jake backside 5050s it in Mind Field), you should know that aside from the fact that it’s shoulder high at the top, it also has a curb in front of the set.
Eli Reed: Said it before, but just to reiterate…best switch skater out right now, and king of the Alligator Ledge.
(There’s also a solid Dylan Reider section.)
when guzman ollied zered’s ender i was convinced he had done the best trick in history. props to both them.
Zoo has a “Big 3” in this X Games contest, but more like the Celtics Big 3, not the Heat trio.
Zoo is dismantling its team for good, Westgate returning home to 5boro
people have been saying that rumor for like five years. i’ll believe it when i see it.
wow to westgate’s opener
I wish the Timberwolves could duplicate Zoo’s success in the draft.
zereds ender is in the heights woot! son went ham
best post this year, and not just cuz of the footy
lets go massholes lets go!!!!
Zoo sure has had good drafts as of late, especially with Westgate skating like he’s Blake Griffin. Let’s just hope they can keep it going.
So who is skateboarding’s Kwame Brown?
wouldn’t pj ladd be the #1 overall pick in 2003 and not jereme rogers?