Sir Charles In Charge » Washington Wizards http://sircharlesincharge.com A General NBA Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More Fri, 17 May 2013 18:24:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.1 Twitter Reacts (Shows Support): Jason Collins Reveals His Sexuality As A Gay Man http://sircharlesincharge.com/2013/04/29/twitter-shows-support-for-jason-collins-coming-out-as-a-gay-man-nba-news-2013/ http://sircharlesincharge.com/2013/04/29/twitter-shows-support-for-jason-collins-coming-out-as-a-gay-man-nba-news-2013/#comments Mon, 29 Apr 2013 16:16:32 +0000 Chris Walder http://sircharlesincharge.com/?p=5464 “I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.” In a piece written for Sports Illustrated by the man himself, Jason Collins, a free-agent center who played for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards this past season, has become the first active NBA player to openly reveal his sexuality as a gay man. “I [...]

Twitter Reacts (Shows Support): Jason Collins Reveals His Sexuality As A Gay Man - Sir Charles In Charge - Sir Charles In Charge - A General NBA Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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“I’m a 34-year-old NBA center. I’m black. And I’m gay.”

In a piece written for Sports Illustrated by the man himself, Jason Collins, a free-agent center who played for the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards this past season, has become the first active NBA player to openly reveal his sexuality as a gay man.

“I didn’t set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport. But since I am, I’m happy to start the conversation,” Collins wrote. “I wish I wasn’t the kid in the classroom raising his hand and saying, “I’m different.” If I had my way, someone else would have already done this. Nobody has, which is why I’m raising my hand.” (SI.com)

You can read the piece in its entirety by clicking here.

Collins played 32 games for the Boston Celtics this past season. He was dealt before the trade deadline along with Leandro Barbosa to the Washington Wizards in a move to acquire Jordan Crawford.

Over his 14-year NBA career, Jason has also suited up for the Atlanta Hawks, New Jersey Nets, Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves. He has career averages of 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds.

Since his reveal, the outpouring of love and support from the world of social media has been tremendous. There have been ignorant and naive comments here and there, but for the most part, fans, fellow athletes and members of the media have handled this news with the respect and care that it deserves.

This is a landmark moment in professional sports, and it should be treated as such.

It took a great deal of courage for Jason Collins to come out to the world.

Jason Collins is a hero.

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Chris Walder is the Editor of Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports

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]]> http://sircharlesincharge.com/2013/04/29/twitter-shows-support-for-jason-collins-coming-out-as-a-gay-man-nba-news-2013/feed/ 0 NBA Rookie Of The Year (2013 SCIC NBA Year-End Awards) http://sircharlesincharge.com/2013/04/17/nba-rookie-of-the-year-2013-scic-nba-year-end-awards/ http://sircharlesincharge.com/2013/04/17/nba-rookie-of-the-year-2013-scic-nba-year-end-awards/#comments Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:48:19 +0000 Chris Walder http://sircharlesincharge.com/?p=5336 Continuing a tradition that began here at Sir Charles in Charge almost one year ago, we will once again be giving you our predictions and picks for all of the year-end NBA hardware with our 2013 SCIC NBA Awards.  Over the next several days, you will see who the writers here at the site selected as [...]

NBA Rookie Of The Year (2013 SCIC NBA Year-End Awards) - Sir Charles In Charge - Sir Charles In Charge - A General NBA Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

Continuing a tradition that began here at Sir Charles in Charge almost one year ago, we will once again be giving you our predictions and picks for all of the year-end NBA hardware with our 2013 SCIC NBA Awards. 

Over the next several days, you will see who the writers here at the site selected as the winners for the following awards…

NBA Coach Of The Year/NBA Rookie Of The Year/NBA Defensive Player Of The Year/NBA Sixth Man Of The Year/NBA Most Improved Player/NBA Most Valuable Player.

For our second award, let’s take a look at who’s walking away with the SCIC award (Editor’s Choice) for NBA Rookie Of The Year for 2013.

(all numbers accurate as of April 17, 2013)

Second runner-up: Guard Bradley Beal – Washington Wizards 

2012-13 Statistics: 56 games played, 31.2 minutes, 13.9 points, 38.6% from three-point range, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.5 blocks, 13.67 PER

The second runner-up for this award was about 1000 times more difficult than selecting the top-two candidates. Guys like Dion Waiters, Andre Drummond, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Harrison Barnes all could have found themselves in this position, but I decided to go with Beal for a couple of reasons.

He missed a great deal of time this year for Washington with injuries to his knee and wrist, but I’m going to put that to the side and look his body of work when he was actually competing.

Beal will finish the season third amongst rookies in scoring, and was one of only two rookies (Lillard) to be named NBA Rookie Of The Month on multiple occasions (December-January).

At 19 years of age, Bradley has shown the ability to perform under great pressure, which was never more evident than back in January when he nailed a game-winner in the final seconds to help Washington knock off the defending Western Conference Champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Give credit where credit is due to the return of John Wall, but Beal was just as integral to the Wizards second-half of the season fortunes as anyone else on that team.

His shooting leaves a lot to be desired (41%), but his mid-range stroke will come to him in time.

Again, if I could put another name like Andre Drummond in this discussion, I would. For now, I’m giving the edge to Beal. You can’t go wrong with a lot of names in this slot.

First runner-up: Forward Anthony Davis – New Orleans Hornets

2012-13 Statistics: 64 games played, 28.8 minutes, 13.5 points, 51.6% from the field, 8.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.8 blocks, 21.78 PER

For an in-depth look at Anthony Davis and his rookie season for the New Orleans Hornets, click here.

WINNER: Guard Damian Lillard – Portland Trail Blazers

2012-13 Statistics: 81 games played, 38.6 minutes, 19.0 points, 42% from the field, 3.2 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.2 blocks, 16.42 PER

During my preseason predictions for all potential NBA Award winners back in October, I decided to go against the norm and pick Damian Lillard as my early favorite for NBA Rookie Of The Year.

The backlash was astounding. How could I possibly pick anyone not named Anthony Davis?

While Davis has had himself quite the impressive first year in the NBA, no one rookie can match the impact Damian Lillard has had in Portland. This has been his award to lose for quite some time now, so having him as the SCIC NBA Rookie Of The Year for 2013 was a no-brainer.

His numbers put him side-by-side with some of the best point guards in the league today. Point guards are considered the floor generals for their respective teams. They dictate the pace and the flow of the offense. Even as a rookie, Damian has shown the poise and tenacity on the court that puts him well beyond his years. Staying the full four years at Weber State was probably the best thing that could have happened to him. He entered the NBA at the perfect time.

It’s not a coincidence that Lillard swept the NBA Rookie Of The Month award for the entire season in the Western Conference. Heck, even Anthony Davis didn’t earn that honor, and he was the number one overall pick in the draft.

With 1541 points and 528 assists, Damian is just the third rookie in NBA history to total at least 1500 points and 500 assists in their first year. The other two to accomplish that were Allen Iverson and Oscar Robertson. That’s some pretty good company.

He also broke the NBA record for three-pointers made by a rookie by nailing 183 shots from behind-the-arc.

Not only was he a unanimous decision for the SCIC NBA Rookie Of The Year Award, but you can EASILY pencil him in for the KIA NBA Rookie Of The Year Award, as well.

Portland taking him with the #6 overall pick will be looked back on as an absolute steal.

Honorable Mentions: Andre Drummond (Detroit Pistons), Dion Waiters (Cleveland Cavaliers), Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Charlotte Bobcats), Harrison Barnes (Golden State Warriors), Jonas Valanciunas (Toronto Raptors)

Staff Writer Picks

Jay Rosales (@Rosalesaurus) – 3) Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards 2) Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Hornets 1) WINNER: Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers

John Armstrong (@JohnYArmstrong - 3) Michael Kidd-Gilchrist of the Charlotte Bobcats 2) Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Hornets 1) WINNER: Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers

Michael Lingberg (@Lingberg2000) – 3) Andre Drummond of the Detroit Pistons 2) Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Hornets 1) Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers

Dante Nelson (@DanteWrites) – 3) Dion Waiters of the Cleveland Cavaliers 2) Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Hornets 1) WINNER: Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers

Chris Walder is the Editor of Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter at @WalderSports

Be sure to “LIKE” the Facebook Fan Page for Sir Charles in Charge by clicking here

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