R.I.P. CHRIS SANDY



The death of Chris Sandy came as a total shock to me. While writing the piece on the Brooklyn Kings, which appears at the very beginning of this blog, I observed Chris and his teammates rather closely. As one of maybe three members of the press who regularly attended home games you couldn’t help but get up close. One of my fondest memories of Chris, besides his almost effortless ability from three-point-land, is of him coming out to sign autographs, shoot-around with and chat with kids after the North East Pennsylvania Breakers failed to show for yet another road game.

It’s painful to write about the death of someone who was so full of life. As a sucker for a good undersized scoring guard, especially ones from New York City, it’s hard for me to believe a guy like Chris could die. His USBL opponents sometimes seemed unworthy. I can say, from watching him play, basketball made him very happy. The world has lost a really good ball player.

It’s too early to tell very detail of his life, I’m going to push his to get his story out on a larger scale. As for what the Associated Press said:

HELSINKI, Finland (AP) -- Chris Sandy, a former Fresno State and Harlem Globetrotters players, died Thursday in a car accident in southeastern Finland, police said. He was 27.

Sandy, from New York, lost control of his car and collided with another vehicle going in the opposite direction, police said.
Sandy, in his first season in Europe, played for one of the top Finnish teams, Kouvot of Kouvola. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 18 points and was third in the league with 3.9 assists per game



I would like to extend my deepest sympathy to his family and teammates. He is in my prayers now and for always.

"X Was It - Stomped by the Bulls, Imortalized by Crowe"


At one time, Xavier McDaniel was one of the NBA's most popular and explosive players. He had a bit apperance in the Cameron Crowe film "Singles" and had his face on t-shirts. A 6'7 small-forward from Wichita State, McDaniel was named to the NBA ALL ROOKIE Team, as well as the Co-Rookie of The Year (along w/Patrick Ewing) by Basketball Digest, as a member of the Seattle Supersonices in 1985-86. He was an All Star and regularly averaged double figures, his best season being 1987 when he averaged 23 points and 8 boards over 82 games Eventually, the Sonics ushered in a new era by drafting and building around both Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. McDaniel was traded to The Suns in 1991.

McDaniels signed as a free agent to the Knicks in '92. Before a contract dispute would end his career in New York, "X-Man" averaged 13-plus and 5-plus rebounds and intimidated the shit out of Scottie Pippen in the eastern conference playoffs. However, as history goes, Pat Riley's Knicks would lose to the Bulls in seven games. This, effectivly, marked the begining of the end for McDaniels career.
He spent three seasons with the Celtics and them pursued a pro career in Europe. After a pair of lackluster seasons with the New Jersey Nets, X-Man hung'em up for good in 1998.

"SPANISH FLY: This Foreign Kid Can Really Play! "

As a Knicks' fan, working out possible trades in your head is much more exciting than watching them trail by ten. While I can't think of anyone the Toronto Raptors would be so interested in acquiring in exchange (maybe Frye and Collins?), Jose Calderon somehow sits atop of my recent list of favorite players. When I spoke to Raptors Assistant Jim Todd this summer for ProBasketballNews.com, which is now fed from Better Basketball Online, and there was a sense that Toronto was really high on Calderon. In his second season in the league we're beginning to see his potential blossom.

In the FIBA World Championship Calderon stepped up and helped Spain take the title with 7.2 ppg, 3.2 apg and less than one assist per game. When the NBA resumed, Calderon played big minutes in the preseason. His best game probably being the 19 PT, 7 AST game he had against the Celtics. He got to show his natural floor generalship, ever-improving passing skills and surprisingly good rebounding tools. He's a natural point guard that can score and moves the ball well. In 5 games this year he's at 8.2 ppg, 3.2 apg in just under 16 minutes. While he needs to keep a handle on his turnovers his shooting ability shouldn't be slept on. He shot 50% from three in the preseason and has shot 2-5 from behind the arch in thus far this season.



WHO ELSE WOULD I WANT IF I COULD GET THE KNICKS A BACK-UP POINT GUARD?

-Earl Watson , Seattle Supersonics
Watson is someone the Knicks could actually go after and probably not have to give up too much to get. His 8.9 ppg and 4 assists last year are solid numbers for a real point guard.

-Rafer Alston , Houston Rockets
"Skip-to-My-Lou's" 12 ppg and 6.7 apg should be something the Knicks should go after. He's a NYC guy and a once considered a problem, but he's a big a basketball star as any on the roster right now.