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Old 11-28-2007, 10:54 PM
AllinDan AllinDan is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: CA
Posts: 1,870
Default Re: *** Official 2007-08 Golden State Warriors Thread ***

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Based on what?

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I haven't watched K-mart as much as Monta, and I'm obviously biased and a die hard Warriors fan, but this is why:

Kevin Martin: born 2/1/1983
Monta Ellis: born 10/26/1985

also, here's an awesome feature from 1.5 years ago about Monta:



LINK

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. . .Reaching the top would deliver Ellis from Jackson. He grew up in a section of town considered gang turf, living in his grandparents' house with his mother, Rosa, and his two brothers. Drug peddlers plied their trade in the open; gunplay interrupted the drone of cicadas. As a youngster, wary of walking alone to a nearby basketball court, Monta built a makeshift hoop by nailing a milk crate to a light post in front of the house. He would shoot baskets into the evening, finally quitting when his mother ordered him to bed.

In later years, Antwain brought his younger brother along to pickup games, where Monta learned that even big kids stop talking smack when you blow past them. He revered Antwain, a member of Lanier's 1999 state title team, whose 6-foot-8 frame and shooting touch stirred talk of a possible pro career, until a teammate's murder derailed his ambition.

The teenager, a close friend of Antwain's, died over a $30 dope deal, an incident that pushed Antwain into chronic depression. His NBA aspirations long since faded, he lives with his mother and her husband in Jackson, "not doing much of anything," Rosa says.

His brother's unraveling "opened my eyes to how much you can lose," Monta Ellis says, while giving him tunnel vision to pursue his own hoop dreams. He devoted himself to working with Billups, the uncle of Detroit Pistons guard Chauncey Billups. Beyond refining Ellis' shooting form and teaching him to read the entire court, the coach instilled in the high-schooler a passion for defense, a rare trait among young players. Billups also provided reassurance when one senior questioned the decision to hand the team's reins to a freshman.

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