Monday, July 14, 2008

“I got a Basketball Jones….”

Each year I look forward to the NBA draft in late June. There are many reasons...First of all, I enjoy watching college basketball; particularly the "Big Dance" in March/April. One reason is that my alma mater, the University of Memphis, usually has a competitive basketball program. This year the Tigers came as close as they ever have to winning the National Championship. If it weren’t for a lucky shot by Mario Chalmers, the Tigers would’ve have been #1 instead of Kansas. Of course, Jayhawk fans and alum (including our Press Pass Customer Service Manager, Terri) may disagree about the “lucky” part, but I digress…

Another reason I enjoy the draft is because, we (Press Pass) get to see where all of the rookie prospects (who we negotiate autograph deals with in April, May, & June) end up. We take pride in assembling a strong roster of the top rookie prospects each year. This year was especially gratifying for me since 3 Memphis Tigers were drafted (Derrick Rose, Chris Douglas-Roberts, & Joey Dorsey) and all 3 will be included in our set which ships in late July. Particularly satisfying was to see Derrick Rose be chosen first overall by the Bulls. While Memphis didn’t win the National title game, at least Memphis took the top spot in the draft! March Madness and the Final Four--that’s all old news now anyway! The “here and now” is NBA Summer League and rookie potential. I look forward to Derrick, CDR, and Joey making an impact at the next level---Go Tigers!

P.S. Oh yes, as difficult as it was for me to be objective, we also signed up a few of those Kansas Jayhawks to be included in our 2008 Press Pass Basketball releases…even that Chalmers guy.

Tom

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