My experience with the personal branding project was not as successful as I wanted it to be but I learned a lot from doing it and reading Gary Vaynerchuk’s two books.  My blog was about basketball and I used Twitter and Facebook to try to attract more viewers to my blog.  At first I was just telling people to check out my blog rather than giving them a strong reason to want to view my blog.  I started to Tweet more about basketball and began gaining more followers who were interested in basketball, including the Denver Sports Post which I was very happy about.  I had some people also retweet my Tweets which is great because it is getting seen by many more people.  Using Facebook seemed to be a little effective in directing people to my blog, when I would post a link to my blog and a little description on Facebook some people would like it and comment.  If they went to the blog and left comments I knew that these people were directly affected  by my Facebook posts.  I did have some people comment on my blogs and encouraged people to give their opinions, this way I could communicate with the followers.  Although I did not exactly create the brand recognition that I hoped by combining my blog, Facebook, and Twitter, if I were to do this again or help an employer I would have a better understanding of what to do.  Gary V talked a lot about how when he first started using Twitter he would answer people’s wine questions and give recommendations but would never mention that he was in the wine selling business.  I would do somewhat of the same and start by Tweeting about basketball and basketball news to gain more followers and build some credibility.   I wish I had followers to my blog so I could build more of a consistent following and interact with them on a more personal level.  I am glad we did this project though because it directly related to the Gary V books I read and really enjoyed them; it was good to hear the information about how to build a personal brand using social media from a few different people and apply what we learned.

WOW!

1.      Derrick Rose

A lot of people want to give Rose all of the credit for the Bulls’ turn around but that just isn’t true in fact most of their success can be attributed to Tom Thibodeau’s way of getting this team to play team defense.  Derrick Rose has become the league’s best point guard by scoring, hitting big shots down the stretch, and having a hard working attitude.  Averaging close to 25ppg, just over 4ast, and 8 rebounds Rose has taken his game to a new level this season.  Playing at a MVP type level, young D. Rose would be an easy choice for any GM looking to start a championship team.  Along with his humble attitude and understanding of how to play as a team, Rose has proven he has a great work ethic, coming into this season with a much improved jump shot.  The young Chicago point guard has proven the future of the Bulls team is bright, but perhaps that success will come sooner than later

2.      Chris Paul

No question over the years Paul has proven that he is one of the NBA’s stars and best point guards.  CP3 is a true pass first point guard who understands the game and can create plays for himself and others.  Paul is a point guard with great court vision and a feel for the game.  This season he is averaging 16ppg, almost 10apg, 4rpg, and 2.4stl.  Paul is a complete point guard but hasn’t played on great teams giving him somewhat of a disadvantage. What impresses me the most about Paul is his control, something you can’t teach but is perfect for a true point guard. 

3.      Russell Westbrook

Normally overshadowed by the great play of his teammate Kevin Durant, Westbrook has had to play somewhat of a supporting role, but not this season.  In 2011 the young Thunder point guard has really made a name for himself averaging career high numbers and becoming an All Star.  The one thing that stands out about Westbrook is his athleticism; he is as fast as anyone in the open court with the ball and can jump out of the building.  The time Westbrook spent with team USA really helped his game progress but I think he still needs more experience and understanding of the game to take the next step.

With social media on the rise it’s no surprise that everyone from teenagers to actors are on Facebook or using Twitter.  Alot of people are hesitant about putting their information on Facebook or telling the world exactly what they are doing using Twitter, but many high profile athletes have taken a liking to social media. You would think alot of athletes would want to keep their lives as private as possible but quite the opposite. Social media gives fans the chance to interact with their favorite players and allows the players to stay in touch with their fans from wherever they are. Los Angeles Lakers forward Ron Artest uses Twitter and Facebook on an extremely personal level, giving away free sneakers, Lakers tickets, and inviting his fans to join him in beach football games. I think this is great. This disproves the false perception that athletes are arrogant and don’t care about their fans. Social media is here to stay and I think it will only help players and their fans. Never before have we had the chance to be this connected and informed about information at all times. If players start using social media the wrong way, intimidating their opponents or using foal language, I can see this being a problem and possibly teams prohibiting players from using it. Sports are about having fun and the fans, and social media provides a great opportunity for both, plus I think we would all rather have Ron Artest Tweeting than fighting spectators.

As we all know the NBA currently has a rule that forces players to be either 19 years of age or to have attended at least one year of college before entering the league.  As a fan of both college basketball and the NBA I really feel like this rule is hurting the sport.

The college game is hurt the most by this rule and the more I watch college games the more I realize this.  With players having to go to school for at least 1 year it is hard for any college program to build a lasting championship contending team.  Players like John Wall, Kevin Durant, and Derrick Rose who could have gone straight from high school to the NBA and been successful, had to go to college when everyone knew it would only be for their freshmen year.  This really destroys the whole recruiting process, if a coach tries to recruit a player who is going to enter the draft after one year in college the team has to be prepared to fill his spot while continuing to get better.  Even with good players a team is going to struggle when their star player leaves after 1 season.  What are the coaches supposed to do knowing that many of the top high school recruits are going to leave after their freshmen year? Should they not recruit the best players in hope of creating a team that will stay together long enough to build chemistry on the court and have a chance at a national championship?  If you look at the past national championship teams they are usually the deepest teams with the most experience. 

            If players want to go straight to the NBA after high school let them.  It is their choice and they will have to live their decision if they don’t have great careers in the NBA.  Going straight from high school to the NBA does work out for players (Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Amare Stoudemire, and Dwight Howard) also staying four years in college doesn’t hurt (Patrick Ewing, Steve Nash, and Tim Duncan).  In some cases player like Kevin Durant and Derrick Rose don’t need that one year of college to be great in the NBA but other players need to develop their skills and mature, but staying for one year is not going to make the difference.  If you’re a fan of the NBA it doesn’t matter to you because all your going to hear for the one year they play in college is how good this player is and how great they will be in the NBA.  You can consider their freshmen year a preview for the next level, the talk about John Wall and Greg Oden everywhere became about who they were going to play for next season in the NBA, it was like they were just showing off their skills to the league.

  Don’t get me wrong I think it is important to have a college education to fall back on but if you’re going to go to college make it worth your while, stay for 3 or 4 years, get an education, and develop your skills on the court.  If not come to the NBA from high school like LeBron James and Kobe Bryant and try to make an impact in the league.

            I think this is just a terrible rule that needs to be changed, mostly for the college game but I think the NBA would benefit from it as well because players would be able to make honest decisions about what they want to do.  For the players who aren’t going to have a LeBron like effect on the league, go to college and play for awhile, the NBA will be there.

Kobe Bryant, Bruce Willis, and Kanye West; perhaps the most intense people in their respected professions have decided to collaborate and star in a mini movie together. The Black Mamba (also Kobe’s nickname) is set to debut during the All-Star Weekend; the two trailers that have been released in recent weeks have created a lot of buzz.  Along with being entertaining, The Black Mamba is obviously a marketing plan by Nike to sell the new Kobe VI sneakers.  This isn’t the first time a sneaker company has made a commercial/mini movie with a theatrical feel, but they didn’t have Robert Rodriguez (Sin City and Machete), flaming basketball courts, or a star studded line up.  If you couldn’t tell already I’m pretty excited.  

            Being that I am a marketing major I looked at this trailer from a more analytical view point.   Is this a good marketing plan for Nike and Kobe Bryant?  I would have to say yes to both.  Nike prides itself on being the premier brand for sportswear and footwear and a high production epic mini movie like this only adds to Nike’s larger than life brand image.  The trailers for The Black Mamba shows Kobe wearing Nike apparel as well as his signature sneaker but nowhere in the commercial do they talk about the products or show them close up.  This allows the viewer to be entertained while still understanding that the product is still the main focal point of the film.  Consumers are not used to having a product advertised to them in this way, rather than telling the consumer why they should buy the product or how much it costs, these trailers simply build the basis of a story surrounding Kobe Bryant and the sneaker.  It doesn’t hurt to throw the Nike logo on the screen at the end either.

            This is great for Kobe’s brand image because, well this is Kobe’s image; an intense, high profile athlete that does whatever it takes to win.  Just throw some explosions, Danny Trejo (the dude from Machete) and a basketball court on top of a skyscraper and you have The Black Mamba, or as I see it a great new way to advertise and sell sneakers.      

Carmelo Anthony will be a free agent this summer and has said that he will only sign a contract extension with the New York Knicks whether he is traded or when he becomes a free agent.  Recently there have been talks of a three team deal involving the Knicks, Nuggets, and Timberwolves that would send Anthony to New York, but how much better will this make the Knicks?  The pairing of Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony looks great on paper and would definitely make the Knicks a better team but I don’t see the Knicks becoming an elite team until they figure out how to play team defense.  As a lifelong Knicks fan I am all for Melo coming to the big apple but I would hate to see a Knicks team with such potential fail to win because of a lack of defense.  The answer is getting rid of head coach Mike D’Antoni, his philosophy of run and gun offense is not championship style basketball.  It never worked in Phoenix when D’Antoni coached a good Suns team with great players Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire.  It takes a young athletic team to run this offense, and young teams never win NBA championship (check the history).  Also this style forces you to outscore your opponent every night and that is just flat out hard to do in the NBA, even against the bad teams.  D’Antoni needs to take a page out of the Celtics and Spurs defensive book or get out of the Garden.  All fans love to watch a fast break or a high flying dunk, but if there is one thing that Knicks fan appreciate is blue collar hustle plays and tough defense, and as long as D’Antoni is in town I don’t see much of that happening, as the Knicks are currently 28^th in the NBA in points allowed.  Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though; Anthony first needs to become a Knick for New York to have any chance of becoming a legitimate title contender.

After a crazy summer of free agency involving Amare Stoudemire to the Knicks, Carlos Boozer to the Bulls, and of course the Heat’s big three of James, Wade, and Bosh, the NBA has more competitive teams than we have seen in awhile.  Here is my current ranking of the top 5 teams in the league.

1.  

Strengths:

·        Big up front 

·         Experience

·          Deep bench

·         Multiple options at the end of the game (Doc Rivers is great at running plays to get high percentage shots)

·         Excellent team defense

Weaknesses:

·        We have seen what they can do when they are healthy but injuries are always a problem

2.

Strengths:

·        Balance of experience and youth

·        Tough defense

·        Clutch play in Manu Ginobili

Weaknesses:

·        Not much size(could be problem against Lakers)

3. 

Strengths:

·        Excellent defensively

·        Great fast breaking team

·        3 players that can get their own shots and fill up a stat sheet any night

·        Drive and kick offense with shooters and great finishers(Wade and James)

Weaknesses:

·         Little experience playing as a team

·         Injuries to Mike Miller early, and Udonis Haslem

·         Not much size inside

4.

Strengths:

·        Good defensive team and coach

·        Derek Rose is playing at such a high level

·        When they are healthy I think we are going to see a great team

·        2^nd in rebounding

Weaknesses:

·        Boozer and Noah have been injured for a lot of the season

·        Not sure if their size can match up with Celtics

·        At times it seems Rose has to do all of the scoring and can’t be a true point guard

5. 

Strengths:

·        Size up front(Gasol, Bynum, and Odom)

·        Kobe, great closer

·        Deep bench

·        Solid defensively

Weaknesses:

·         Have looked disinterested in big games

·         Rely too heavily on Kobe to score

The NBA All Star Game is right around the corner; this is a chance for the fans to see the best players in the world showcase their talents, put on a show, as well as has some fun.  One player that won’t be taking his talents to Los Angeles is the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Kevin Love, soon to be known as Kevin Snub.  Now I usually don’t get upset about All Star voting for any sport, I understand it’s a popularity contest and if you don’t think so just ask Yao Ming and the voters in China.  Something tells me there are not many T-Wolves fans in the Far East.  Popular or not Kevin Love deserves to be an All Star, he is averaging 21.4ppg and 15.5rpg and carries a bad Timberwolves team on his back every night.  Love is the first player in 28yrs to have a 30point and 30rebound game, when he put up 31 and 31 against the Knicks.  I’m sorry but these numbers are incredible no matter what caliber team he plays for, the man leads the league in rebounding.  I know not everyone can be an All Star but this is just crazy.  The one bright spot in this is that he is only 22 years old and has proven he can be extremely productive so there is no doubt in my mind he will make many All Star Games in the future.  Unfortunately for Love Minnesota just does not have the population to compete with the voting power of China, but hey I don’t think we’ll be seeing Yao on the court either.