Friday, May 21st, 2010 at 1:16 pm  |  9 responses

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Same Old Mediocrity

Who can revive the 76ers?

When Cleveland-area MC Kyle Myricks aka Stalley got at us a couple weeks back, it was clear his basketball acumen and rapper wit were a perfect fit for the SLAMonline fam. Stalley played DI ball at Michigan and LIU before he was injured and got into hip hop full-time. Since then, he’s quickly built a rep as a force on stage, opening for heavyweights such as KRS-One, Ghostface Killah, Styles P., Method Man & Redman, Jay Electronica, and Mos Def. As a solo artist, Stalley is featured on upcoming Universal/Def Jam/Rocafella releases by Curren$y and Ski Beatz. You can check out the ‘Tube to see Stalley linking up with LeBron before his song “Do It Big” played at a Cavs game this season. So, without further ado, we present to you the first installation of MilqandRookies.–Ed.

by Stalley

Greetings SLAMonline. This is my first post, and I want to use it to support a friend of mine who is going through a tough time; he is a Philadelphia 76ers fan. Yes, I come from the city of Massillon, OH, which is close to Cleveland, so we know how tough sports can be on a city. But the Sixers front office is really on some extra ish lately.

First of all, they pulled in Eddie Jordan to run the show at the beginning of the ‘09-10 season. Homie took the Wizards to the Playoffs four straight years, but I’m not really sure what other highlights are on his resume. And now their hope for a return to form is Doug Collins? Do the Sixers ever learn, or are they just trying to equalize their mediocrity with an equally mediocre coach? Respect to Doug Collins, but dude has never led his team beyond the Conference Finals, and what decade was that in? Oh yeah, that was almost 15 years ago. Nice move, Sixers, big acquisition.

At least the city has three other respectable teams that usually make their respective Playoffs, but the Sixers were once in that same echelon. Now, they settle for a coach who barely has a career winning record? Who hasn’t coached a team to the Playoffs since 1997? Who gets passed over for Terry Stotts and then Vinny Del Negro? Well the Sixers are touting Collins as a “leader in the locker room” — oh, so the players didn’t respect Eddie Jordan with his amazing accolades and impressive coaching resume? How surprising. But even if the players respect Collins, will that make the team successful? Will fans return? Will his system work with the Sixers young talent? I wouldn’t be surprised if Philadelphia sees another coaching change in the near future. In hindsight, maybe they should have held onto Philly-legend Mo Cheeks a little longer.

It’s funny how everyone wanted Billy King’s head when he was the Sixers GM, but the Sixers have actually downgraded under Stefanski’s reign. Granted, Stefanski was brought in to the fix the mess that King supposedly created, but little has improved since his arrival. For one, the team still has no clear identity despite the number of talented young players on the roster. The team also lacks the veteran leadership it sorely needs and Doug Collins certainly won’t bring that on the court, even if he does to the sidelines and the locker room.

Iverson was supposed to be that guy, but clearly that experiment failed. Now Elton Brand is thrust in to the role, but he’s not the battle-tested guy you want in that position. Then you have guys on the roster like Willie Green, who may not be a starting player on any NBA roster, Sam Dalembert, who may not be a starting center on any other team, and Andre Iguodala, who may not be the star player on any other team. That combination hardly appears to be a recipe for Philly’s first NBA championship in 30 years.

The real problem may be that Ed Snider is more of a hockey guy and Philadelphia more of a hockey town, but why should the fans suffer and shouldn’t the franchise care? It seems like the winning ways of Philly’s other teams have made the fans and city apathetic toward the Sixers. What about the players and coaches, though? Are they just showing up to clock in and earn their paycheck? The Draft and off-season should reveal what direction the Sixers’ future will lean toward.

I’ve never been a Sixers fan myself, but I always liked watching Allen Iverson and the scrappiness he brought to the Sixers. The purists hated the idea of Iverson when he came to Philly, but the truth is the Sixers miss him and so does Philly basketball. Philly loves an underdog, just like any other sports town and Iverson epitomized that. Though no one will ever fill his size 10s, the Sixers desperately someone to bring excitement back to the storied franchise. Whoever will bring that respiration is a mystery, but it will happen, whether in the front office or on the court because something has gotta give, a change is gonna come.

Check out all things Stalley at myspace.com/madstalley and download his critically acclaimed project MadStalley: The Autobiography. Stalley also has a show on Creative Control called “The Milq” so come see what Stalley has been up to. And if you wanna get a little more friendly, say hello to Stalley on Facebook.