For the past week, Georgetown freshman Mac McClung has been generating viral clips and tearing up the Nike Pro-City "Jabbo" Kenner League with 30-point performances and highlights galore: shifty handles, no-look passes and reverse alley-oop dunks. Thanks to the media and every person in attendance being equipped with a video camera, the 2018 Ballislife All-American will surely become a Kenner League legend.

A lot of basketball greats and NBA legends have played in the Kenner League since it started in the early 80s -- when Patrick Ewing and the D.C. summer league games arrived on the Georgetown campus -- but since every person in attendance back then wasn't equipped with a camera and desire to record everything they see, we don't have much evidence to back up some great Kenner League stories I've heard (Can someone please hook me up with some Sam Cassell and Gilbert Arenas footage?). But, we do have footage from the most memorable weekend in the league's history.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE ANSWER

On August 3rd of 1994, 19 year old Allen Iverson was released from jail. Word on the street was the 6-0 Georgetown freshman guard was going to make his Kenner League debut the following day. Hundreds of people showed up to the McDonough Gymnasium only to be rejected outside. Inside, Iverson suited up for the Tombs team and scored 40 points (30 in the first half) in a 75-67 quarterfinals victory (not bad considering he hadn't played organized basketball in over a year).

“That was one of the most exciting atmospheres I’ve ever experienced at McDonough,” Thompson said to the Washington Times. “I’d put the Missouri game with Steve Stipanovich and Patrick [Ewing] at No. 1. But Allen’s Kenner League debut ranks right up there. Maybe our NIT game [Cal State Fullerton] a few years ago would be the other McDonough game on the radar, but it would be a distant third.

Here's highlights of Iverson scoring 33 points (6 threes) in a 106-90 win against team Nike Air.

FRANCHISE VS TROUBLE

If you were online in the late 90s and early 00s then you probably remember hoop media sites like TheDunk.com (which I created back in 1998) and HoopsTV.com. One of my favorite videos from the HoopsTV era was a montage of Steve Francis scoring "63 points" at the Kenner league. I can't confirm the 63 but I can tell you he put up 59 in a 2000 championship game, which was three less than the 62 put up by 5-11 Curt "Trouble" Smith.

“It doesn’t surprise me at all that Curt has the scoring record,” Thompson said. “You talk to anyone who has been around D.C. basketball, and they know all about Curt. Whether it’s summer league, games on the playground at Berry Farms or whatever, Curt is a D.C. basketball legend.”

Besides being a D.C. basket legend, winning MVP honors and getting the best out of Francis and his team called the Francis Hitmen, Smith's only other claim to fame is a 1998 MVP award in the USBL.

As for Francis, the troubled, three-time NBA All-Star supposedly wasn't too impressed by Smith's resume.

Via DC.SBNATION

Then there's legend that Francis once 'showed' Smith up (or maybe it wasn't Smith, internet record cannot confirm the relayed story) by digging out wads of money from his pockets, laying it on the court and/or giving it to fans, saying something to the effect of how he's so great because of money and finally exiting stage left (and this is after Smith supposedly out-dueled Francis on the court).

BONUS VIDEO: MORE MAC

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The dunk of the night goes to Dennis Smith Jr for his self bounce alley-oop during the final minutes of the Mavs victory over the Blazers. It was a nice exclamation mark on a good performance (18 PTS, 8 REBS, 8 ASTS) by the rookie. It was also another reminder of Steve Francis, who some compare Smith to and is the owner of maybe the most popular self bounce alley-oop ever.

Personally, I think Tony Allen had the best self bounce alley-oop -- back when he was a high-flying and offensive-minded Boston Celtic. Many of you might not remember this version of The Grindfather but Allen came into the league as a scorer. He told me the reason why he become such a good defender is because he needed to find a way (after tearing his ACL) to get minutes on the court with veteran greats like Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.

This might also surprise you. The NBA player that made the self bounce alley-oop popular was Mark Jackson, the former point guard, Warriors coach and current TV analyst (Mama, there goes that man!). Back in his early days with the Knicks and Clippers, the former Rookie Of The Year pulled off the play a few times.

BONUS

This wasn't in a NBA game but the self oop by 6'4" Angelo Sharpless at Ben Wallace's Pro-Am deserves a mention.

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"Dennis Smith was phenomenal," Loyola coach Porter Moser said. "He was like (Russell) Westbrook the way he was that quick and that athletic... I mean, he's all that and more than advertised."

Smith's back-court teammate, Torin Dorn, also added 20 points for the Wolfpack and shot 51% from the floor. Be sure to check out Torin dropping a defender and hitting a three in the second half of the video above. Also worth nothing that fellow guard, Terry Henderson, is featured in this video as well absolutely posterizing a defender in the first half.

If NC State can figure things out on the defensive end, and once they add big man Omer Yurtseven to the roster in the mid-season, they might be a force to be reckoned with come tournament time. State fans are always looking for a reason to get excited, and congratulations, because Dennis Smith Jr is the best player NC State has had since the days that Jim Valvano brought a championship back to Raleigh.

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T-Mac -- who asked to be traded after the Magic finished with the worst record in the East -- was coming off back-to-back scoring titles and?excited about the thought of winning championships in Clutch City with All-Star big man Yao Ming.

"I just knew it was going to take time. I’m happy and it’s time to move on. I can’t predict the future, but it definitely would be nice. The ultimate goal is to win a championship for the Houston Rockets.?Bring me a championship, big man. Bring me a championship. I’ve led the league in scoring two consecutive years. As long as we win, that’s all that matters to me. I’m going to try to go in there and do what I do. If that consists of me sacrificing, giving Yao the ball and playing through other guys, that’s what I’ll do. I think both teams are going to benefit from this trade. I got want I wanted. Orlando got three solid players. Houston was definitely the No. 1 team on my list," Mcgrady said.

Despite nagging injuries, McGrady remained an All-Star for three more years and became a fan-favorite in H-Town with some of the most?memorable performances in franchise history.

But the first round curse followed him out West and shortly after being shut down for two weeks during the 2009 season to "get himself physically prepared for the 2nd half of the season," the Rockets sent him packing to New York in a three-team trade that brought Kevin Martin, Jordan Hill and a couple of future draft picks to Houston.

As for Francis -- one of four players (The Big O, Magic Johnson and Grant Hill) to ever?average 15/5/5 in each of their first five seasons -- he had a hot start in Orlando's run-and-gun system, averaging 21/6/7 in his first season with the Magic. Then the honeymoon was over. Francis, without friend and traded teammate Cat Mobley, was being blamed for stunting the growth of second-year player Dwight Howard and constantly found himself in trade rumors, which Francis blamed on his mediocre performance. A month after getting suspended by the team for detrimental conduct and a day before the NBA trade deadline, the Magic sent him packing to New York in exchange for Trevor Ariza and the original #1 wearing Orlando Magic guard: Penny Hardaway.

"When I called him this morning, I just said, 'Happy Birthday,' " said Francis's agent, Jeff Fried. "This was like a birthday present for Steve."

Like McGrady, nobody really remembers what Francis did in New York and from the sounds of Francis in a recent must-read interview by Slam Magazine, he doesn't want to remember his time in the Big Apple either.

The years I didn't have the numbers was that New York shit. There was so much shit in New York, it wasn't even injuries, it was coaches, players. I never wanted to get involved in it. Went back to Houston, and the coach benched me. So alright, maybe it's just time for me to be a dad. These people don't fuck with you like that. I was like, I ain't going to argue with that.

Both McGrady and Francis are currently retired and living in Houston. McGrady -- after a brief stint playing baseball in Sugarland, TX and becoming a basketball legend in China -- is still involved in basketball by appearing on ESPN's show The Jump.

Francis is out of the public eye but can often be seen sitting courtside at Rockets games. And every time me and my friends see him, we start sharing stories about our favorite crossover, dunk or block by the man who told Slam, "Shit, I came, I saw, I conquered."

VIDEOS

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Dennis Smith Jr is an 18 year old native of Fayetteville, NC and is currently enrolled as a freshman at NC State University. The 6'2" point guard is considered to be a potential lottery pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. Smith was ranked the #1 point guard in the country going into his senior year before tearing his ACL in early August. Luckily, he was able to graduate early from Trinity Christian Academy and enroll at NC State this past January (2015). On campus, he has been able to rehab daily with NCSU doctors, attend practices, sit on the bench during games, & acclimate to the life of a college basketball player. A process that Wolfpack Nation hopes will allow Smith to find his comfort zone sooner rather than later in the 2016-2017 season.

This new mixtape is an accumulation of the best plays from Smith's high school and AAU career. It includes footage from his time at Trinity Christian, a variety of national adidas events, Nike EYBL, Under Armour Elite 24 and more! We were blessed enough to cover Dennis over 3 seasons and summers and the number of highlights is unbelievable. Below I added some of the collection of Dennis' BallisLife mixtapes in chronological order.

Senior Summer 2015

Stephen Curry Camp 2015

Junior Year at Trinity Christian | 2014-2015 Season

Sophomore Year at Trinity Christian | 2013-2014 Season

Comparisons? His favorite player is Russell Westbrook, which explains his aggressive play. The most common comparisons are former NBA greats Steve Francis & Baron Davis, even though he is more competitive than both. Regardless of comparisons, the reality is, Dennis Smith Jr is a terror on both ends of the court. I'll leave the scouting reports to the scouts; just know that Dennis is one of the few guys who's game, and mixtapes, live up the hype.

How's the rehab coming? Word we're getting on campus is that Dennis is back in kill mode. Playing at around 85%, he's dunks are coming back and he's begun abusing the rest of NC State's back-court.

Dennis Smith Jr comes from the same soil as hip/hop icon, J Cole, and hopes that he will be the next big role model for and from "Dreamville."

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I can't recall a player ever looking so upset for being drafted so high in the draft.  We all knew Elton Brand was going #1 and although Steve Francis made it clear that he didn't want to play for the Vancouver Grizzlies, the Grizz made it clear they wanted him more than Baron Davis and were willing to roll the dice on the Maryland (freak) guard.

After publicly crying about taxes, endorsements, "God's will," and an incident at the Vancouver airport - he and his entourage were reportedly asked if they were rappers - Francis was traded to the Rockets in a 11-player deal which included Othello Harrington and the underrated and late Michael Dickerson.

Francis would go on to win rookie of the year and make three All-Star teams as a member of the Rockets but was not happy about the slowed down offense that came with coach Van Gundy in 2003. A year later he was traded to the Orlando Magic for Tracy McGrady.

After stints in Orlando and New York, Francis returned to the Rockets in 2007, struggled with injuries and then, ironically, was traded to the team that drafted him in the beginning for a 2011 conditional draft pick. The Grizzlies waived him without ever playing him. Francis will probably be the only player in NBA history to be drafted by a team and traded for by the same team without ever having to play one minute for them.

(BTW, Don't say I'm hating on Steve, the Franchise is one of my all-time favorite players but facts are facts)

The post 1999 Draft: Steve Francis Gets Upset When The Grizzlies Draft Him With the #2 pick appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Check out the most exciting player in the class of 2012, 6'2" Gabe York out of Orange Lutheran High School. The Arizona bound guard is one of the elite scorers in the country but what many people don't know yet is the rest of his game coming along.

Special thanks to:
Full Swing Films: http://www.fullswingfilms.com
& Reel Playmakers: http://www.RPMSN.com

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