Monday, May 27, 2013

Dallas Mavericks 2015-16 Jersey Concept



The Dallas Mavericks are searching for inspiration for a new uniform coinciding with a rebranding effort in the 2015-16 season, according to a recent blog post by Mavs owner Mark Cuban.

Armed with paper, pencil, and markers, in classic 360Special style I attempted to design what I view as a radical shift in Mavericks culture that will better unify the brand.

I know the current color scheme is white, blue, dark blue, and black and alternately some green. However if the Mavs want to distinguish themselves and create an ultra-visible and inclusive motif that fans can immediately be a part of, they should embrace cowboy culture and the cowboy image.

Dallas sports fans are familiar with the Cowboys pride from the NFL, but the Maverick image is so fuzzy and undefined. What is a Maverick? How do I be a Maverick? How can potential fans embrace this team culture if they can't easily grasp it?

I believe a team's identity should be easily accessible and relatable to the local narrative. This way fans can embrace the team quickly and passionately. What separates this design is the ablity the team will have to market the cowboy image.

Brown is an underrated color. Only one major North American sports team currently wears brown, the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. No MLB, NHL or NBA teams currently wear brown. If the Mavs can claim brown now as part of their cowboy identity it would strengthen the brand. I mean, they could hand out brown t-shirts and cowboy hats on opening night and the fans would be EATING IT UP.

Blue should remain to offset the brown and represent the vast skies over Texas. The image of the star remains as a bridge between the front and back of the jersey at the bottom of each side under the armpit. I've also elected to revive the retro logo with the M wearing the cowboy hat. It's another relatable image for people to embrace rather than a jagged, abstract horse. The stripes in the piping on the sides of the jersey and shorts create movement. I've also elected to put the player names under the number, though I'd outline the blue name with white on the away jerseys. This frees up space to feature the logo and, again, reinforce the cowboy image.

Anyways, if you hate brown this scheme isn't for you, but it's a potentially great branding opportunity waiting to happen and the jerseys don't look bad either. Let me know your thoughts!


Thursday, May 23, 2013

Shaquille O'Neal Profile

Shaquille O'Neal

"SHAQ,"
"Shaq Daddy," "Diesel," "Shaq Fu," "Superman," "The Big Aristotle," 
"MDE (Most Dominant Ever)," LCL (Last Center Left),"
"Wilt Chamberneezy," "The Big Baryshnikov," "Shaquille O'Nealovich,"
"Kazaam," "The Big Deporter," "The Big Galactus,"
"The Big Shaqtus," "Witness Protection," "The Big Shamrock"
 Magic, Lakers, Heat, Suns, Cavaliers, Celtics - 19 seasons- 1207 games 

7’1” – 325 lbs – 23.7 pts – 10.9 reb – 2.5 ast – 2.3 blk – .58 fg%
“Book of Basketball”- Bill Simmons’ Ranking: 11
SLAM #130 and Top 500 Ranking: 4

"Well, it's amazing how time flies. I just gotta say congratulations to the most gifted physical specimen that I've ever seen play this game with size and ability, and just natural talent," said Kobe Bryant at Shaq's jersey retirement in LA.

It was a seemingly heartfelt moment; candid and honest. Just Kobe caught without time to rehearse, and speaking about his greatest teammate and rival.

What he said is true. Undoubtedly so to the fans too young to remember the Olajuwons, Ewings, and Robinsons that dominated before Shaq entered the league.

And he was bigger and badder than the lot of them.

The towering power center bowled over the league for 19 seasons while starring as the most charismatic and recognizable player in a generation.

He played the game with joy and always understood that the game was a game - one that he was damn good at, mind you.

Shaq wasn't obsessed with stats like Chamberlain, and he wasn't obsessed with winning the way Russell was, he struck a rich balance with everything he did and made fans everywhere want to be a part of it.

Hell, everybody had to see him live. I watched him as an aged Celtic beat up on some kid named Joey Dorsey live just to see him with my own eyes. I will tell my grand-kids.

But through it all Shaq coasted. As the consensus best big man in the league and the self-procaimed "Last Centre Left," Shaq dominated would-be competition. Often he looked down on opposing bigs as if they were roast chicken and he was tightening his bib. Dikembe Mutombo was considered the best defender of his generation and look what happened there.

But that was only if he cared. Never driven by an opponent who could challenge him physically, he relied on his biggest assets and didn't develop many new ones. If there was a stake, a motive, a story, a rival, a must-win, Shaq came to play. And in key situations, Shaq brought more quickness and power in a seven-footer than has been seen before or since.

That quickness and agility allowed Diesel to dominate and demolish on the court. Shaq turned beautiful moves into destructive forces of slam that brought not just the rim down, but the whole backboard.
Off-court, Shaq released rap albums, movies including Blue Chips and Shazaam, and TV shows like Shaq VS, all while wearing a mask of himself and playing his lovable character. It was all part of his crux, his act, and if the NBA was the WWE he'd probably be remembered as it's greatest superstar. His poor foul-shooting became part of this act and part of his character, and he accepted this limitation throughout his career.

He never really figured out the free throw secret. Shaq launched cross-eyed bombs off his fingertips in a collision course for the rim that belied his overall grace. Why he couldn't loft them a bit higher or softer, we'll never know. What we do know is that his rookie FT% of .592 was higher than his final season FT% of .557 (he never improved), he once fell from .622 in 2002-03 to .490 the following season (inconsistent), and he finished his career with an average of .527 (typical Shaq).

Teams would employ the hack-a-Shaq defense where they would foul him on purpose and give him a pair of freebies rather than allow the opposing team to set up on offense. The hack-a-Shaq has since been employed on other wanna-be big men, but Shaq was a pioneer.

Simultaneously, and paradoxically, Shaq was the NBA's most efficient scorer from the field ten times in his career, including a stretch between the 97-98 season and the 05-06 season where he led the league in FG% eight out of nine seasons.

He made eight All-NBA First Teams, was named the '00 MVP, three-time Finals MVP ('00-'02), and won four titles (00, 01, 02 Lakers, 06 Heat) while averaging an easy 24-11. Not many players have ever been able to back up a championship guarantee either.

Late in his career, Shaq ring-chased a little while trying to cement his legacy. He moved to Phoenix, Cleveland, and Boston as a rather large shadow of himself, still able to rely on his overwhelming bulk, but without the grace he'd shown at his peak.

Shaq's legacy had already been secured long before those end-of-career moves. Now an analyst and entertainer, the memory of his dominance hasn't faded yet and that's probably why the Lakers chose to honor him sooner than later. On any given night, he was the most gifted physical specimen in the room and if he really wanted to, he could give it to the best of them.

 illustration by author: Devin Gray

Full stats from basketball-reference.com
Top 10 Plays of Shaq's Career


Big Man Bio Series
Bill Russell
Moses Malone
Elvin Hayes
Hakeem Olajuwon


Saturday, May 4, 2013

Canada Basketball

For the past four months I have had the pleasure of working with Canada Basketball to provide web content, social media updates, marketing and partnership assistance, event coordination, and media communications.

During my time with CB I wrote a variety of stories to fill web content including coverage of the National Teams, NBL, CIS, NCAA Canadians and a retrospective series on the history of basketball in Canada.

Below are links and brief explanations of each of the stories I wrote for basketball.ca, your source for Canadian basketball.

NATIONAL NEWS

Wiggins Shows Ability in Homecoming
Wiggins, Lyles Selected to Nike Hoop Summit, Rana to Coach
NBL Canada Playoffs Tip Tonight

LOOKING BACK 90 YEARS
For the 90th Anniversary of Canada Basketball, I helped to create and launch a series of stories that have impacted basketball for Canadians over the past nine decades.

1923 - Origin of Canada Basketball
1932 - Unbeatable Edmonton Grads
1936 - Silver at Basketball's First Olympics
1952 - The Livvies Live On
1953 - Houbregs crosses the border
1979 - Women Take on World & Take Home Bronze
1987 - The Fox 40 Revolution

LISA THOMAIDIS: COACH'S PERSPECTIVE
I had the opportunity to sit down with the new head coach of Canada Basketball's Senior Women's National Team and produced a three-part series.

Part I - Background
Part II - Philosophy
Part III - Outlook

NCAA ARTICLES
With 27 Canadians in March Madness and many more contributing to their teams throughout the college campaign, I had an opportunity to follow the seasons of plenty of home-grown talent.

Canadians in the Final Four
Canadians in the Madness
Canadians Receiving Recognition in the NCAA
NCAA CANADIAN IMPACT - Vol I: Bennett & Achonwa
NCAA CANADIAN IMPACT - Vol II: Wiltjer & Hanlan
NCAA CANADIAN IMPACT - Vol III: Bachynski & Agunbiade
NCAA CANADIAN IMPACT - Vol IV: Bhullar & Powell
NCAA CANADIAN IMPACT - Vol V: Plouffe & Birch
NCAA CANADIAN IMPACT - Vol VI: Olynyk & Plouffe
NCAA CANADIAN IMPACT - Vol VII: Stauskas & Pangos
NCAA CANADIAN IMPACT - Vol VIII: Cadougan & Fields
NCAA CANADIAN IMPACT - Vol IX: Alexander & Heslip
Lines of the Week: Canadians in the NCAA - March 28 
Lines of the Week: Canadians in the NCAA - March 15
Lines of the Week: Canadians in the NCAA - March 7
Lines of the Week: Canadians in the NCAA - March 1
Lines of the Week: Canadians in the NCAA - February 22
Lines of the Week: Canadians in the NCAA - February 15
Lines of the Week: Canadians in the NCAA - February 8
Lines of the Week: Canadians in the NCAA - February 1
Lines of the Week: Canadians in the NCAA - January 25
Lines of the Week: Canadians in the NCAA - January 18

CIS ARTICLES
As a former Carleton student myself, I have a background with the top team in the nation who proved once again this year why there should be no doubt of that status. I went to Ottawa where the Ravens and Gee-Gees hosted the national Final 8.

CIS Final 8 - Crucial Canadians
CIS Final 8 - Quarter Finals
CIS Final 8 - Semifinals
CIS Final 8 - Carleton Wins Record Ninth Title
This Week in the CIS - February 28
This Week in the CIS - February 21
This Week in the CIS - February 14
This Week in the CIS - February 7
This Week in the CIS - January 24
This Week in the CIS - January 17

And
Helped to run the #WECANBBALL social campaign to show the world that Canada's Got Game! and worked with the NBL's Oshawa Power to film a promo video in support of the Youtube campaign

Promoted and hosted a national Fantasy Game - March Madness Fantasy Pool

Wrote the Player of the Week column for four months