T-wolves

Felipe Lopez--be proud

There's a young man who put up with enormous pressure out of high school. He was placed on the cover of Sports Illustrated as an incoming Freshman and then got to St. John's and had to suffer (quietly and without complaining) under a coach that was put into that position out of pure loyalty alone.

After this coach was fired, Felipe had to make an adjustment (or 2 or 20) and contend with a new coach. All of this while under the enormous pressure of being EL UNIQUO, the only Dominican of any reputation in big time college basketball.

Even while in college, Lopez's Dominican connection resulted in new media outlets for St. John's basketball so he could be seen back in the DR and more widely on Spanish language stations.

Through it all, Lopez remained a human being that anyone would be proud of. He carried the responsibility of stardom well, humbly, and, to my knowledge, got his college degree on time.

Even if he has only another year in the NBA (and I am not suggesting that), Felipe Lopez has succeeded admirably.

So do all you can do to get to this game and salute a young man with healthy values and fine character. Those characteristics live long after your knees go and your uniform doesn't fit any more.

Football?

A.J.,
Who is the Dominican that plays football for Minn.?

Who cares?

Who cares for an exhibition NBA game in DR? It will be such a waste of time. As for Felipe Lopez, just like Tito Horford, both picked the wrong school for the wrong reasons.

I spoke to Horford recently and he told me he chose the University of Miami because it was too cold elsewhere. He was out of the NBA in two years. He was rated the #1 high school player in America before graduating and with 7ft. at the time, with most teams looking for big men, he could have been a legend. But Miami is not your mecca for college basketball.

St. Johns was the wrong school for Felipe. He always played with his back to the board. He should have been a point guard.

TW

DRMarine, the Dominican football player that play for minn. is from
the Bronx, NYC. I know he is 6-7, 280, DE but I can't remember
he's name. Maybe A. J., will give you more info.

NBA corrected

The reason the NBA missed this one is because many of our players have anglo names. Tito Horford comes from an area in DR where many Dominicans have English names. Here are some Dominicans who were confused for black americans while they played: Alfredo Griffin, Juan Samuel, Rico Carty, George Bell, Manny Lee and others.

Did you know that Bernie Williams is Puerto Rican? Just like few people know that Reggie Jackson's real last name was Martinez(a Puerto Rican).

TW

was George Bell known as Jorge in DR? I know many of his early baseball cards said Jorge Bell, but later said George.