Curry the Warrior

Steph Curry is quickly becoming, one of the best shooters in the NBA, if not THE best shooter.  Curry is not just a pure shooter, passer, or point guard. But someone who can do all of the above, and really excel at doing it.

Curry is basketball’s new 6-foot-3, 190-pound unstoppable force. “He’s lethal,” says Curry’s coach, Steve Kerr. “He’s mesmerizing,” says his teammate Klay Thompson. He’s the “best shooter I’ve ever seen,” says his president, Barack Obama.

Curry played college ball for Davidson. There, he was twice named Southern Conference Player of the Year and set the all-time scoring record for both Davidson and the Southern Conference. During his sophomore year, Curry also set the single-season NCAA record for three-pointers made.

He was quite the college player, as you can see.  But did anyone see the huge impact he has made on the NBA coming? i sure didn’t.

He was picked as the 7th overall pick, in the 2009 NBA Draft.  Curry holds the record for most 3’s made in a single season.  He actually beat his own previous record this year.

I actually had the privilege of meeting Steph and getting my picture made with him.  Although it was before his time in the NBA, it is still a cool thing to have, and something that i will keep for the rest of my life.

Warriors

So the Golden State Warriors have been one of the best teams in the NBA so far this season. With a record of 67-15, they have been one of the toughest teams to take down in the NBA.  With the “Splash Brothers”  (Steph Curry & Klay Thompson) they have some of the very best shooters in the league.  Now that the regular season is over, do you think they have a legitimate chance at winning the title? Can they dethrone the “King” Lebron James? I certainly hope so. Im not the biggest Lebron fan in the world.  Ill admit he is an extremely good Basketball player, but he is also very cocky.  The Warriors have a tough road in the playoffs.  First they will face the Pelicans, and the talented Anthony Davis.  The Pelicans recently knocked the Thunder out of their playoff chances.   Although Russell Westbrook won the Scoring Title this season, he was not too pleased with his team missing the playoffs this year.  His running mate, Kevin Durant, the 2014 League MVP, was hurt for the majority of the season.  I think if he were healthy, the Thunder would for sure be in the Playoffs.

Do you think they Warriors can get past the Pelicans, and make it to the NBA Finals?  Do you think Steph Curry will be able to hold off James Harden for MVP this year?

I sure look forward to seeing.

Record setting Masters

Jordan Spieth is just 21 years old, but yet he became the newest Masters Champion.  He was asked when he was 14 years old, what his dreams were.  Even at 14, he answered that he wanted to win the Masters.  And only 7 years later, that dream became a reality for the young Spieth.  But even more impressive then that, was the records he set, while winning. Spieth was a total 18 under for the tournament.  This was not only very impressive, but a Masters record.

Spieth attended The University of Texas. Although, he left and turned pro midway through his Sophomore year.  In 2013, he signed a sponsorship with Under Armour.  Although he is a very young player, he seems very wise and professional.  With this win at the Masters, Spieth moves up to 2nd in the World Golf rankings, just behind World number 1, Rory Mcilroy.

How many more majors do you think Spieth will get before he turns 25? Also, do you think he will ever win the grand slam?  Do you think he will be able to give Rory a run for his money?

Only time will tell.

Globetrotters come to HPU

This past week, i had the privilege of seeing the Harlem Globetrotters play in the Millis Gymnasium! it was a very neat experience and a great time! Thanks to HPU alum, Corey Law, the Globetrotters were able to come play a game for us!  All in all i was very impressed with their performance! We saw everything from high flying, acrobatic dunks, to half court trick shots.  Even though the game took a very long time to play, i feel like it was very worth it! i had not seen the Globetrotters play in about 10 years!  After the game, we got to meet the players, get autographs, and get pictures with them.  It was a lot of fun! I talked to a Globetrotter whose name was “Cheese”. He was an extremely animated person, who seemed very energetic and fun to be around.  I also talked to Corey Law, and found out that he would be leaving the next morning for France.  i think it would be very neat to be able to travel the world, and do something that you love.  I am very glad i got to see the Globetrotters play!

Nike on social media

I chose to evaluate NIKE on Pinterest and Instagram. Their Pinterest boards are extremely inspiring. This immediately caught my attention. Their board titles are very nicely done. The boards’ titles relate to the year and clothes that are in style that season, shoes, different sports, and lifestyles. It appears Nike does not include the price in the caption of the photo. You must click on the picture and follow the link to their site to see how much the item costs. They also have boards for each hashtag they use on other social media sites. These hashtags are effective marketing campaigns and it looks as if their Pinterest is up to date with the most recent campaigns I have seen on their other social media accounts. I believe their presence is strong on Pinterest and they’ve done a great job at keeping it updated and inspiring the consumer to live a healthy life.

Nike’s Instagram account is very active and I enjoy following them and seeing their posts. Their photos are artsy, eye-catching and represents their brand image. I clicked on various photos and didn’t see a big use of hashtags. The occasional hashtag they use is #justdoit. They post photos such as reminding their followers to adjust their clocks for daylight savings, the first day of spring, different shoe releases, or surprise sales and in each photo, they include their clothes and accessories. I really like this clever approach because they aren’t throwing their products in the consumers’ faces with the price and product name. They are creative and incorporate their products into every post with a catchy caption. When consumers think of Nike, they think of an active athletic brand. I definitely think their social media presence on Pinterest and Instagram represent who they are as a brand from the consumer’s point of view. I really like what they are doing on social media.

March Madness is here!

How many of you filled out your brackets this year?  I sure did!  I have the Kentucky Wildcats going all the way, to win the National Championship.  Although i am not a fan of them, or their coach, i think they will still win it all.  This is one of my favorite times of year! Not only because i love basketball, but because i love seeing teams win games, that are not supposed to! Even after the first few games, the majority of America’s brackets have already been busted.  As of 7:40 pm, on Thursday, the first day of play, out of nearly 11.6 million brackets filled out on Espn, less than 5,000 remain perfect! I think this stat shows how hard it is to predict the NCAA tournament.  Currently, I am watching Carolina play Harvard.  (cue jokes about UNC athletes not going to class) Right now, the score is 19-7 as the Heels are leading.  I think the key to the Heels getting a victory, will be working the ball inside, to one of their big men, Meeks or Johnson.  The Heels made it to the ACC championship game, but lost to Notre Dame.  The Irish knocked the Duke Blue Devils out of the tournament the night before.  But there is no telling how this years NCAA tournament will turn out!!

UNC vs. Duke

Wednesday night was one of the greatest rivalries in sports history.  North Carolina vs. Duke.  The battle of the blues faced off in Durham, North Carolina.  Duke was picked to win the game by 7 points. However, everyone thought it would be a much closer game.  Duke is ranked #4, while UNC is ranked #15.  Duke led by as many as 10 points in the first half.  then UNC kept chipping away at the lead.  Going into halftime, Duke led by 7.  So it was certainly in reach for the Heels.

In the second half, the game went back and forth.  The heels led by at most, 10 points. But Duke kept fight back into the game.  Duke was up 90-89 with 31 seconds to play in overtime.  North Carolina got the ball near midcourt before calling a timeout. Britt was fouled before the Tar Heels could even think about hoisting a 3.  Britt then made the first free throw, and tried to miss the second attempt.  Marcus Paige tried to go for the rebound but could not get ahold of the ball.  Duke went on to win the game 92-90.

There is a rematch though, and this one is in Chapel Hill.  So the Heels get another chance at the Blue Devils of Duke.

week 4

If you were not able to attend the HPU basketball game this week, you sure missed an amazing game!  The Panthers faced the Winthrop Eagles.  The Eagles led most of the game, at some parts they were up by 12-15 points.  But as usual, the mighty Panthers did not give up until the final buzzer sounded.

High Point battled back the entire second half. Even with around 2 and a half minutes left in the game, we trailed by 10 points.  For some time, it didn’t seem like a comeback was possible.  However, for some reason i had a good feeling about the game and decided to stick around for the last few minutes.  The Panthers closed to within one, 72-71, with 5 seconds remaining on two free throws from Devante Wallace.

High Point then quickly fouled, to stop the clock and also get the ball back after Winthrop shoots free throws.  Winthrop was on the line, shooting a One-and-one.  Luckily the Eagles missed the first free throw. As each team fought hard for the rebound, John Brown ended up with it.  And the refs called an over the back foul!! So Brown would be at the line, shooting 2 free throws.  HPU was currently down by only one point.  Brown then went on to make both free throws.  And HPU won the game by one point! 73-72

Week 3 Blog

So now that the Super Bowl has come ad gone. Everyone has some commercials that they liked as well as some they did not like.  As for this week in sports, it was quite the rough week, for me at least.  Our High Point Panthers lost, my North Carolina Tarheels lost, and also the Duke Blue Devils won.

As for HPU, they faced the talented team out of Radford University.  This game was the battle for first place in the BIg South Conference.  HIgh Point lost the game 67-64. It was a great game!! The Panthers were down 40-29 and rallied back the entire second half.  HPU’s Adam Weary made a lay-up with 38 seconds to play, that brought the Panthers within one point. Weary then fouled a Radford player, who went on to make both free throws. Radford had the lead at 65-62.  Each team went on to score two more points each.

As for the University of North Carolina Tarheels, the faced the extremely talented Virginia Cavaliers.  The Cavs have only lost one game all year. They are 20-1 for the year, white the Tar Heels are sitting at 17-6.  Unlike the HPU game, this game was close throughout, until the very end.  UNC was only down by one at halftime. However, a second half surge by the Cavaliers helped them pull ahead for the victory. They ended up winning the game 75-64.  Although it was a much better game then showed in the score.

Heres to hoping this week turns out better for myself, the Panthers, and also the Tar Heels.

Week 2

Often times throughout life, we are faced with difficult decisions that we must make.  It can be as simple as what we are going to eat for dinner, all the way to, where should I go to college?
Now that i have a couple of years behind me in college, i am faced with the decision of what i would like to do with the rest of my life.  Even though i do not have the answer to that question yet, i must make a few difficult decisions about the near future, regarding internships for this coming summer.

One option i have for this summer would be an internship with the FCA Golf Camp program.  It would be an amazing experience and would be a ton of fun! However, I would not be getting paid for doing it.  Also, it would cost me $2,500 to attend the training and for the rest of the camps over the summer.  i feel that the experience that i would gain, would definitely benefit me.  It could possibly help me get a job in the future or help me in deciding what i want to do the rest of my life.

One other option i would have for this summer would be to intern with the medical company Anutra.  This would just be a 4 week internship. However, it would be a paid position and that money would come in very handy in the future.

So those are two options i have regarding this coming summer.  As of now i dont know which i will do! So any input wil be helpful!

Thanks!