Editor’s note: Brooklyn’s own is gone but never forgotten
Before I get all sick over the Big East representing so thorough in this years NCAA tournament I thought I should give some love to my brother that brought his brand of Brooklyn excitement to the hardwood. CONRAD McRAE was nicknamed McNASTY for the ferocious zeal that he played the game with. His specialties were thunderous slam dunks and emphatic shot rejections.
CONRAD was a athletic and energetic player, but at 6ft. 9in. he was undersized to play the center position in the big leagues despite finishing Syracuse with a stellar career. CONRAD took his game overseas and found tremendous success playing in the Italian and Turkish leagues. The following press blurb was taken from the Ankara Daily News…
 |
“A hat-trick of basketball stories for you today, the first one we would prefer not to have to write. Forward Conrad McRae has died of a heart attack while in training with the Denver Nuggets. McRae was well known to Turkish basketball lovers from spells with Fenerbahce and Efes Pilsen. In his Fener days, he made himself one of the most popular players in the Turkish League, not only because of his fluent points scoring but because of his flamboyant style and crowd-pleasing antics. With Efes he was less successful. Some of the magic seemed to have gone and it was apparent he was never going to be the team player then- coach Aydin Ors wanted. The club released McRae before he had completed a single season. Nevertheless the fans will remember with affection the sight of him soaring in like a giant eagle for one of the slam dunks he and they so loved.” |
That’s just how I remember ol’ boy too.
R.I.P. McNASTY
Mcrae was nice…..
couple of dudes I know are sigmas and I thunk he was down with that….they all say he was a good dude……
RIP to Malik Sealy also
He was a sigma. He was a good dude. R.I.P.
Word Up R.I.P-Brooklyn’s Own…
R.I.P Malik Sealy…..
Big East Represent!
McNasty is one of the coolest nicknames i’ve ever heard.
not for nothing…..but I think the fact that New York fell off the map basketball wise is part of the reason that tri state has lost it’s identity…
The Knicks were perennially a contender in last 75% of Ewing era…..Big East (original big east) always had a few squads tearing up college basketball..and the “NYC point guard” was a sports icon….and one of those dudes would semmingly lead his team deep into the ncaas each year…
last year of heavily recruited point guards out of nyc was the year that omar cook, andre barret, and the dude who ended up in uconn..
telfair was the last one
knicks garbage, sju garbage, area college teams garbage, blue chips recruit pgs out of nyc=??? highly heralded NY area players in the pros =??
the basketball thing used to be part of NYC’s reputation and as that’s diminished….so has NYC’s identity and cultural influence.
Drop a gem…
The decline of homegrown NYC basketball players is more a socio-economic by-product when you look at shifting demographics(reverse migration NYC-ATL) and the decline in programs like AAU and PAL which helped develop these players.
NYC identity is more connected to baseball than to basketball and the fact that NYC is going thru a period where many of the active people in this city aren’t FROM this city might be why you don’t recognize the place.
The last truly great point guard NYC turned out was Tiny Archibald.
Let me add on that the style of play from the NYC point guard no longer had it’s place in the NBA.
To that, I’m saying that the league had to have guys like Tiny who could create their own shot, spread the defense and distribute the ball when needed. This was at a time in the NBA when there were extremely few big men that could run the court and had the skills to create in multiple facets. A prime example of the decline of the NYC PG and the ascent of the multi-tool big man is Lamar Odom.
The league has shifted and needs the PG to play in a more classic style and move the ball around a la Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Steve Nash. It’s why we’re not talking about Lance Stephenson anymore, though he was in most every conversation as a HS player.
I hear you….
I think modern Black NYC identity…and hip hop NYC identity for sure is more tied to basketball…and that’s partly related to sneakers, and Madison Square Garden.
black people haven’t played baseball(like that) since the end of the negro leagues…yankees were garbage from the dawn of modern hip hop era until fairly recently…mets championship back in the day against red sox WAS a big deal….but knicks/bulls..knicks/pacers..knicks/heat are woven into fabric of the city…the EWING adidas shoe was killing…. in the throwback era..the hottest shit were the white knicks jerseys…
more basketball references in NYC hip hop from the beginning until roughly 2000 than baseball too
=============
You’re right about the last great one….but rod strickland,kenny anderson, marbury,kenny smith…and mark jackson were good players…
nerditry,
you’re right…..the rise of the american multiskilled big man…and the influx of european players( who all have small forward skills regardless of their height) has flooded the league with 6’5″ to 7′ dudes who can shoot, dribble, and pass..
that had to have changed the standards for what a prototype point guard means..
I think though, that if the Magic had stuck with Skip to My Lou…and had better coaching….they would have beaten the Lakers…
@getthesenets: In fact the thing that sank the Magic was bringing Jameer back far too early from injury. From those that I’ve talked to who know these things, the decision to bring him back during the playoffs was made at a higher level than Van Gundy.
The team had established a fantastic chemistry after the All Star break with Skip as the starting point and Anthony Johnson keeping things together as a reserve. Nelson was rusty, forced too many shots and made passes that weren’t in sync with his teammates.
Barnes is a welcome addition this year, he gives the team the toughness they’ve lacked.
I don’t think NYC’s Hip-Hop identity is tied to basketball any more than is the Chi or Detroit. I don’t quantify Hip-Hop as golden era shit either since people are making great music right here right now. The emergence of Chicago’s Hip-Hop ascendence was long after the Bulls dynasty had ended. Sure Com and Twista had been licking shots and when the Lakers with Shaq/Kobe were running the Association we didn’t see an L.A. rebirth.
I think music influences the attitudes in athletics more than a winning team makes musicians wanna hop on the bandwagon. Some musicians are dickriders too so I’m sure you can find the exception.
You want my honest opinion? NYC style rap fell off with the emergence of the disco samples in everyone’s production portfolios. We almost got it back with the Dips and chopped soul samples that were coming up but then all the grimy gangster music got squashed by 50 Cent. You had to get shot just to get a meeting with a record company.
Rest in Peace to my friend Conrad McCrae. I used to tutor him as a freshman in HS. He was very smart and a really nice guy. So sad to lose him so early.
Dals,
when lebron..or if lebron comes to either manhattan or brooklyn……..watch how much more light that area basketball gets…and witness how nyc hip hop artists start setting national styles and trends AGAIN.
===================
the sneaker culture in NYC…was directly tied to and stems from basketball…
dudes rocked suede pumas because walt frazier of the knicks rocked them…
the shell toes(superstars) were the signature shoes of NY’s own Kareem Abdul Jabbar
these kicks were adopted by b-boys and the rest is history….
now the adidas I posses for one man is rare/
I hear ya on the decline of the “NYC point guard” and the Golden Years of NYC basketball, back when Mullin was running shit and St.John’s were still the Redman… But I tend to somewhat disagree, The NYC Metro is still reppin’ Pretty HEAVY.. I think if you do the math you’ll find out that a lot of D 1 standouts are from the area… What ruin shit was prep schools, all my HS B-Ball heads no what I’m talking about.. Jersey too is stealing a lot of NYC HS players EARLY… Another problem is that our media being blowin’ these kids way the fuck up before they accomplish shit.. Hence, Telfair..
Just off the top of my head local D 1 players.. West Virgina starting 5, Uconn’s Kembo Walker, The PG from Wisconsin (BK native), Sosa from L’ville, Lance Stevenson, Jeremy Hezell and sure a bunch more….
But I think the ultimate kicker is since the Knicks suck dudes ain’t staying around…St.John’s will be better next year. Their problem was Jarvis got caught with dirt on his hands(same shit everyone else is doing) and since it’s been a re-building process…
“the sneaker culture in NYC…was directly tied to and stems from basketball…”
I’m not co-signing this statement even with sneaker historian Bobbito Garcia pointing everyone in that direction because when they became culural items there were dozens of athletes endorsing shoes that weren’t just basketball players.
This is why we used to call them “tennis” shoes.
LeBron in any uniform doesn’t point to a relevancy renaissance for any particular region because that idea no longer exists thanks mostly to the internets. Rappers and producers can come from wherever they want to now. Drake is from Canada. What region is that?
Drake has a faux southern twang in his flow……eh,…you get what I’m talking aboot?…not “about” but “aboot”. he’s alligned with and cosigned by a southern rapper with a new york influenced/philly influenced flow…Lil Wayne….
otherwise he’d be doing halftime shows for the Raptors
If you didn’t read he was toronto, you couldn’t pick it up from his flow or his lyrics..
I don’t know when basketball players became style icons….but since i’ve been alive ,kids have viewed them as such…
there’s a blacktop and hoop EVERYWHERE…..
baseball diamonds, football fields, tennis courts……aren’t as plentiful….
so no matter how popular those other sport athletes are….just not as easy for them to push shoes…kids can’t wear cleats…and there were no “cool” Black tennis players in that era….
*rod lavers(adidas) are some of the hardest sneakers ever made though
Black cool ass athletes were all over the place in the NBA…
remember the aba was popping in early 70s..Dr. J , David Thompson, and those other dudes brought mad flair to the game..black jesus and clyde were the coolest athletes in the NBA….
I bet that outside of that year during the crack era when gucci sneakers were the HARDEST sneakers out……and that 3 month period in the 1980s…when dudes were rocking “bally” sneakers..and that 2 year span in the 90s when dudes rocked boots all year……that from 1980-2000 that the toughest sneakers on the streets and the most popular ones were basketball sneakers.
look through photo album from your high school days..bet 3 out of 4 dudes are rocking basketball sneakers in every photo… coincidence?
thekid,
no doubt…
I guess college basketball in general gets less light so even the kids out there destroying d1 comp. won’t get the attention…
media does gas up “phenoms”…like they did with felipe lopez…solid nba career but hardly the player they were gassing him up to be in high school…
I wonder how the prep schools get away with signing public school kids…..it makes sense for the schools and the kids..but it has to be violating rules…
What exactly brought about the decline of SJU? Was it that bullshit with the white hooker when the team visited WVa?
Chicago’s been the origin for primo points for a while… Tim Hardaway had swagger like he was from NYC.
I tend to agree that NYC point guards since Kenny Anderson have fallen prey somehow or other to the media hype cycle — though who’s to say Marbury should have won more than one playoff series or Anderson should have been productive for a decade-plus or Bassy would be an injured bit player on a championship contender at 24?
RIP to Conrad, but I don’t remember him. All respect due.
I totally agree that once St Johns lost Louie Sweater, changed the name to Red Storm, hired that bum coach Mahoney, who begat Fraschilla, who begat Jarvis (who although did have them become BE champs), and then got bagged, all the recruits went elsewhere and NY lost THAT team. I was rooting for them this year in the tourney.
@ get
here you go…
http://www.redstormsports.com/genrel/112604aaa.html
How can we speak of the Redmen and not name drop Walter Berry and Artest, their last two big players? Straight forgot about Felipe Lopez until I read his name.
Ron Artest
Charlie Villanueva
Royal Ivey
Roy Hibbert
Joakim Noah
Lamar Odom
Smush Parker
Sebastian Telfair
are the only NBA players repping the Empire State…and wasn’t Telfair supposed to be THAT PG? I remember when Jigga used to dick ride him like he does Lebron right now…(II)
$yk, that’s a short list… but if you’re going to include Hibbert you should add Brendan Haywood… and just off the top of my head, throw in Jamaal Tinsley, Mike James, Adonal Foyle…
Ben Gordon too
Get,
1980-2000 Nike Cortez, adidas Stan Smith, adidas Ilie Nastase, Nike Court Challenge(McEnroe), Nike Air Trainer (Bo Jackson), Diadora, Prince, the OG Jack Purcell Converse, the Nike Air Max 1(1987 – first shoe with the visible air bubble) are all sneakers that popped hard and we’re’nt basketball shoes. To properly describe sneaker culture you have to understand that one of the driving forces was to rep your individual style within the greater circle. The avalability of b asketball courts isn’t what fueled sneaker culture. The desire to be fresher than the next is what made cats cop Guccis and Bally Competitions.
So saying that sneaker culture is fueled by basketball players is inaccurate. Certainly talented players factor into the marketing of shoes and basketball has a shitload of Black dudes with signature shoes but the culture is bigger than one sport.
Did you forget about Ken Griffey and his signature shoes? We were’nt rocking them as cleats all the time (I had a pair tho’ for when I played softball) [ll] to playing softball
yeah, what he ↑ said…
@ LM
I even knew that was too short. That’s what I get for commenting 4am PST blunted.
“are SOME the only NBA players repping the Empire State”
^ fixed
dallas,
break out them high school pics…3 out of 4…wearing basketball kicks..
the chuck taylors are probably the original hard sneaker……and it’s been the rule ever since…those 10-15 kicks you listed were the exception
air force ones, delta force, court force,jordans, robinsons,pippens, penny’s, the questions,the converse weapons, pony city wings,spot-bilts, ewing adidas, the other ewings, all of shaq’s funny looking kicks,diadoras, the fila grant hills, the dominique brooks, the reebok pumps, the grey and blue hoyas nikes, the fab five michigan nikes,the unlv nikes, adidas forums, adidas top tens,the hightop shelltoes
the rule……….
Get,
Everything you listed was classic except them Dominique Brooks. Them shits was almost as bondoolou as the Karl Malone L.AM Gears that light up.
But basketball shoes aren’t where the innovation begins and that distinction belongs to running shoes. The entire Air Max series is the single most innovative line, even moreso than the Air Jordan. And the Air Max series wasn’t bolstered by a superstar athlete. That line was based on design and evolution.
I think that you went to school when everyone was an unmitigated Jordan stan and liked dressing alike. I come from the era when you could have your own style and the object of your kicks collection was to make someone ask you, “where’d you copp those?”
Dal,
I’ve watched your sneaker series on youtube and more than once when talking to another sneaker head you’ve asked “you play ball in your kicks”? like they were doing something wrong.
So I just think there are a few schools of thought when it comes to this.
I think whether or not a person ever bought a pair of sneakers specifically for playing basketball or NOT..would determine their viewpoint.
and in every era…the majority are followers/clones…small % are flamming and killing with exclusive stuff.
also…sneaker game didn’t get serious SERIOUS around the way..until crack which was the summer between 8th grade and 9th grade….in fact…that was one of the dead giveaways when a dude was clocking…his kicks would shit on EVERYBODY’s in the school…..or the neighborhood
Get,
That’s funny that you say seriuos SERIOUS because my big cuz got jumped for his suede adidas Gazelle. Back in the day if you had any suede sneaker (or shoe – British Walkers?) you needed to be nice with your hands or fleet of foot. When was the last time you heard of someone getting got for their kicks?
Other than in Detroit, natch
Nothing more serious than getting got for your shoes
he had the burgundy ones or the blue?
Damn y’all still going at it?
I always had that thought that I don’t wanna look like everybody else. When dudes were Face down, I had Patagonia. When cats were burning adidas suits I switched to Le Coq (II), Tachini, and Ellesse. Too many Cazals? Went with Dunhills or YSLs. I think that type of mindset allowed the ‘get fresh game’ to really flourish back then. Biting wasn’t really allowed like it is now.
I wish they still had that Ellesse mens tennis line up and going. That clothing was quality.
By “serious”…I don’t know if it was coincidence…..but sneaker prices got sky high…..with more releases at the exact same time crack hit….
those suede adidas were 32 dollars..I know because the shells were 42…at around the same time…
and those were “THE” sneakers..to have
just a few years later……THE hot sneakers were easily twice the price of those suede adidas..or more…..
Before, dudes were broke….or worked part time or during the summer to get gear/sneaks……but when the crack economy kicked in…..you saw a lot more people rocking fresh gear and kicks…they stood out more than before….the girls noticed..and so did the wolves.
Syk,
tell you a funny story…..we had a funny episode once at a nice mall…..in Jersey…
we were mispronouncing EVERY sneaker/clothing brand…and didn’t know it…
we just knew what the spelling was….and what everybody else called them
this is around when…”Walking in the rain”* came out…..more on that later.
so anyway…at the mall asking for stuff…salesman would say the CORRECT pronunciation….. happened enough times that we got a little embarrassed….and if my memory serves me correct…..ellesse…saucony, and some other stuff were the names….it was still funny.
*”I bought you things you couldn’t even pronounce”
I don’t recall the color biut I remember my aunt being mad as hell and telling him he should have run like a gazelle. Cuz was 14 and a frosh in high school. Fools wouldn’t tie they shoes up either back then. They thought it was cool to leave your tongue flapping around.
Mr.Penn wouldn’t let me do no street shit like that. I didn’t realize that the older dudes with no laces in they shoes got that style from being in jail and having to remove their shoelaces. Mr.Penn smacked the durag off my head one time and I never did that shit again.
Imagine my surprise years later when I moved back into my parents’ basement only to see my kid brother wearing a durag. Mr.Penn had gotten mellow in his older days and wasn’t interested in fighting every battle with his sons. My brother got off easy I thought. My brother stays going in and out of jail.
I can dig it…I think at 14 he was just a year away from being able to get working papers…..so more than likely..your aunt spent hard earned money on those sneaks..
if she really said run like a gazelle, you officially come from the funniest family ever….your kicks get taken from you and then your mom clowns you like THAT…?
yo..my father was so strict…and add the wesi indian immigrant factor..
durags?? SHIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTT
I was afraid to even wear skullies around my father or even outside walking around, because he associated them with criminals…(not being from cold weather area, he didn’t get it)
I swear to this day some kind of brain or nerve damage occurred to me because my head/face STAYED cold in the winter…
Durags? Or the cut up BVDs?
get I still go thru the sock-a-nee (saucony/SAHK-uh-nee) issue. The homie Cult gets on me (II) for using the BK lingo for ‘net blogging. But that’s my dialect.
I loved some 3 stripen Campus’. Some dudes tried to snatch my charcoal suede at the game room after playing Defender. Little did they know the game room was packed with MY team of hoodrats.
* Damn the Redmen lost to Memphis *
Fun fact: St John’s has more NIT titles than anyone.
Yoooo, the adidas Grand Prix? If you sleepin’ on tennis shoes your kicks culture is subpar
Damn Ron Washington you couldn’t stall for 4 days after you took that bump? That n*gga’s nose in this interview I’m watching looks like you could fit ten Sacagewa dollar coins in his nostrils and he could still breathe.
The fuxed up part is all the clips they show of him (ESPN) has him doing the coke lick of the lips…LOL
dP I hated when the soles turned piss yellow…
Syk
the NIT used to be viewed as the better tourney…………and teams used to turn down ncaa bids for that nit bid…don’t know when it changed though…
so sju with all those nits is a good look,
now not so much.
thanks for the link about why jarvis got canned..
jayson williams wrote in his book that sju athletes had a great legal hustle..
there were no dorms…….and the housing market in ny being what it was.dudes got market value rent money…as part of scholarship…..and then some alum would rent them all a nearby house for dirt cheap… they pocketed the difference…..
shame jarvis went out over shady biz….but to win..you need those top recruits
yeah I don’t remember when that switched up either. Too blunted and full off of corned beef and Guiness to look.
I’m upset Jarvis got caught, most of these coaches cheat their asses off anyway.
dP you check my NB blog yet? B bak need more irish juice (guiness)
(II)
$yk,
You and Cult are posting some dope drops over there. Between you and Grand$ I can quit this blogging shit now and just read y’all drops. Yo, you fux with the Campus? I got a deadstock pair is sz 12 I will send you just because I’m still not fuxing with adidas
Get,
The NCAA tournament and NIT were neck and neck for the most part until the 1970s when the NCAA expanded to all of those teams. That plus better marketing and television revenues being given by CBS to the NCAA (and conversely the school) meant that no one was gonna pull an Al Maguire and decline an NCAA bid after that.
NIT was always a smaller tourney but it was made up of conference champs so the play was better in theory. Fux the bullshit, TV money trumps all that slick talk.
That means a whole lot coming from an IC. Thanks sir you are the inspiration.
You know I’m an adidas fanatic. That’s next weeks blog. Pass ’em off, the homies like them choco stompers you sent.
p.s. The g.f. might get a gig @ adidas/OR. Some mgmt type flow so I will pass your vlog to her if it comes to fruition.
$yk,
Just don’t let homegirl try to steel on somebody with a camera. That’s all I ask.
^ roffle snaps
DP,
That was a helluva compliment considering I didn’t even drop a comment on this thread…all y’all cats went in, wasn’t even trying to jump.
Oh, & thanks…
@ getthesenets..
Good Lookin’! Dog day afternoon today/tonight..I saw K-State got a NYC kid… After further analysis I came up with a few things.. City kids are better off gettin’ out town, too many distractions, outta state campuses/facilities/hoes are NUTS, and way to many distractions with staying home…I like the Felipe reference, definitely got paid but no way near the next Jordan..I think it’s just a new era, get outta town and concentrate on ballin’… I think it’s tough to be nasty and come outta NYC because at that age all of our heads were somewhere else..It takes way more than talent to make it..
As for SJU-yeah, it’s a little foggy but after the Jarvis firing and The Ron Ron show dudes put a real shit stain on the program-hence the Pitt/WVA(?) stripper scandal and Jarvis’ under the table recruiting..With it being a Catholic University FR.Harrington was like fuck athletics, we have a rep to uphold..So, if I’m not mistaken a NCAA suspension for a yr or two, hence my man Norm not being able to recruit his first two yrs…Lance Stevenson woulda’ been a nice drwa but if he did get his he woulda’ been one and done…Maybe these outta’ state college coaches guarantee these kids the Lottery or at least the draft….
With that said the trend has been created and the kids are just following it..We just need that one stud to stay home and were good, circa Ron Artest ’98-’00…Shoulda’ made the Final Four that year….Anyways, great convo, well done DP…. What happen to email? No worries I woulda’ lost after today!
40..
temple…lost to cornell
nothing left to..yo..nature moved to marcy
vanilla-nova lost to WHO?
fucking up,,making the big 5 look bad!!!
==========================