Miller from "23" and the curse of Yinka Dar

[Box and one]

And thats what scares me tonite.Miller hitting a 3 from beyond the arc with 2 seconds left down by 2.
Watched the Nets this yr more then my beloved Knicks.Loved Jason Kidd.Even when he was a Bear and a Sun.
And on top of his great game he plays defense.
Have been turned off by the NBA since the strike.The 20/20 special on illigimate kids a few yrs ago made me sick.Boston's Walker with 3 illigimate kids and no child support.Kemps 7 kids,Birds daughter,etc,etc.
And then the stat that there are more illigimate kids from NBA players then NBA players blew me away.Please don't think I'm a prude or holy -e-er then the almighty.It just made me sad how these guys fight paying support,etc.
Even Kidd who I love to watch had the famos french fry incident with his wife.He's feeding his 2 yr old fries in the kitchen and eating a few himself.His wife yells at him"to stop eating them",.He jumps up grabs her throat,she runs,locks herself in a room,and he knocks down 2 doors trying to get at her. Wow.. You know they had marital problems before she dialed 911.
Anyway there are so many things that have turn me off[tatoo's,drugs,showboating] but I guess I'm somewhat 2-faced and still watch it.

Getting back to tonites game.The pressure tonite is on the Nets.They are the no 1 seed team that has won 52 games.Playing at home with a 34-9 record is quite impressive.Pacers are 17-24 on the road.There are so many trends in this series the past few yrs.But the nets didn't have Kidd so you have to throw out all the past trends except for this yr.
Miller scares me.He has aged but I will not bet against him in a final game.I hate him being a Knick killer.I still remember him scoring 8 pts in 9 seconds vs the Knicks.
He is the all time 3 pt shooter in playoffs.And tonite in the Meadowlands I can just see that scenario unfolding.
Nets up by 2 and Miller lets one of those classic shots go and Pacers win outright.But even if he misses that shot I still win because I'm getting 6 pts.
I'll grab the +6 tonite.Pacers are younger and will play with less stress.I see the Nets being a little tight.
So Miller +6 and the curse of Yinka Dar will do in the Nets.The Yinka curse is only known by real Net fans.The former No.1 draft choice has put a curse on this team.Ask any Red Sox fan about the Ruth curse.There hard to break.... Gl

 

[superbook]

Box and One --

Good to see you posting on this important game.

 

[HighRoller]

Would you please elaborate on the curse?

Would you please elaborate on the curse?

i am interested...

THX

HR

 

[superbook]

Yinka Dare was the Net's number one draft pick in 1994? and he turned out to be a big bust. Played two years at George Washington and built like the Shaq...

"There's a lot of unpleasant history at work here. This is a franchise that seems eternally jinxed, the Curse of the Doc if you will. The Nets have been in the NBA for 25 years. That came after they let Julius Erving go to Philadelphia and the results have been stupefying.

In a quarter century, the Nets have won one playoff series -- a best-of-five upset of the 76ers in 1984. They've been ravaged by injuries, by poor shooting, by horrible decisions (Yinka Dare) and by bizarre happenings. Byron Scott came in last year all full of you-know-what and vinegar, determined to right the wrongs of years past. His team won 26 games, closing with a six-game losing streak"

 

[Scooter]

Box, thanks for your write up as usually it's great !I'm with you on this one good luck

 

[Box and one]

Superbook,only you could find a picture of the "Great Yinka".
Highroller,superbook explained it.But the great stories of Yinka are still being told in the NY-NJ metro area.
The Nets have had the worst luck on any ABA-NBA team.Long before Yinka arrived the Nets drafted Lew Alcinder.Alcinder accepted 2 sealed bids,one from the NBA Bucks and one from the Nets.He would go to the highest bidder.The Nets put the wrong number in there.[they forgot to add a zero] Lew accepted the Bucks offer.When the Nets changed the offer Lew said "No",you had your chance".

Bad luck has followed this team year after year.Top draft choices Benoit Benjamin,Ed O'Bannon and Chris Morris were busts.Wendal Ladner killed in an air plane crash,Drazen killed on the autoban in Germany.
In 1968 they lost a playoff game to kentucky because the Circus was in Commack arena.They moved the game to another gym but the floor bds were loose so Mikan the ABA commish forfeited the game to the Kentucky.
Superbook mentioned Dr J.Rick Berry who played for the Nets for a few yrs was ordered back to the NBA.

I got to see the Nets play in the late 60's and early 70's when they played the Dallas Chaparals.As a student at North Texas St we would drive to Moody Col. on the SMU campus and watch all the ABA teams.
I was there when Lavern Tart of the Nets sneaked punched Ron Boone of the Chaps.Blood all over.

Anyway the Nets drafted in 93 or 94 Yinka Dare.He played a total of 3 minuts his first year.The curse and legend started.In our ny vocabulary Dinka became a common street word.Coaching inner city kids all my life I would say to one of my players who was dogging it"don't you dinka me" or" can you get off your dinka ass and get 1 rebound for me".

Dinka sightings and jokes have been reported by the NY media for yrs.
The "curse" is one of bad luck for an organization.
I do hope the Nets are leading by 2 and Miller does miss the shot.As long as the pacers cover.

My all time favorite Net is Buck Williams.He came up and spoke at our awards banquet one year.His 1st cousin played for me.He gave a great speech that nite,answered questions for an hour and refused the check I was giving him.That's class.
My heart says the Nets tonite.But that Reggie.......

 

[superbook]

A funny excerpt from the book "Marketing Outrageously":

When I was President of the New Jersey Nets, our General Manager drafted a player from Nigeria. His name was Yinka Dare. In his rookie year, he played only three minutes and took only one shot. It was an airball. It took him one and a half seasons to get his first assist in the NBA. Think about that for a minute. If you placed a dead man on the court during an NBA game, he would probably get an assist before Yinka got one. After all, a ball might bounce off of the body into the hands of a teammate for an easy score.

Early in Yinka's rookie season, he was warming up with the team before a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Yinka asked our second string center, Jayson Williams, a question. Yinka pointed to Christian Laettner, the 6-11 forward of the Timberwolves. "What does the 'C' stand for on Christian Laettner's jersey?" Dare asked in British style English. He was referring, of course, to the letter 'C' that is stitched onto the jersey of the player who is the team Captain.

"Caucasian," Williams answered. Laettner was one of the few white players in the NBA. Yinka nodded his head; it made sense to him.

Benoit Benjamin, our big 7-foot center overheard this. After Yinka ran off to take his turn in the lay-up drill, Benoit said to Jayson, "That Dare is really stupid. He thinks Caucasian begins with a 'C' instead of a 'K'."

 

[THE HITMAN]

Funny stuff about Yinka...........I remember him, but of course, but didnt have privvy to the fine stories. THE HITMAN