Post by cwizz on Nov 7, 2006 18:42:58 GMT -5
INTERVIEW WITH JAMES " KETCHUP " KING
Any scientist worth his salt will tell you that rubber does not react with wood. Leave the two in a test tube and years will pass without change to either substance. Heat gently, add water and shake, and the effect will be no more exciting than a WNBA preseason game. It is simply accepted as fact that the materials have no effect on one another. James King, however, cares little for the laws of nature. Gravity, for example. You see, the second the sole of his shoe meets the surface of the court, the fuse is lit. Here, contact between rubber and wood causes a detonation, the impact of which leaves defenders reeling, fans gasping for breath, and Reemix some four feet in the air.
“Explosive” is a word often used arbitrarily to describe dunkers, but with King it truly fits. Where Vince Carter makes a boing, he makes a boom. Other leapers glide gracefully through the sky, riding an invisible wave to smoothly deposit the ball in the bucket. Ketchup, conversely, appears to have been fired from a cannon as he leaves the floor, violently throwing it down and manhandling the rim before falling back to earth.
True to the name, Ketchup sure to the name, he shakes things up when away from the game. Speaking during the interview, he has a calm, composed manner, taking care to say exactly what he means. The on-court spontaneity is replaced by a thoughtfulness not often seen in professional athletes, let alone one only a few years removed from university. He displays an understated intelligence and capacity for insight that contrasts with the in-your-face style of his above-the-rim antics.
We recently caught up with the man himself for an exclusive interview. Read on below for Ketchup’s words on 850’s departure, the new dunk that’ll blow your mind, and the program that could have you jumping like him.
P. Loius: Let’s start with your highschool career. You had some bad luck when you sustained an injury to your foot. How do you think things would have turned out if you’d been healthy for your senior season?
Ketchup: I would say that if I hadn’t injured my foot, well, it was a blowout season the season before; I was leading the team in scoring. So I know that if my senior year had been a blowout season, I would have had more chances at being looked at by the league.
Did you want to go pro straight out of highschool then?
Yeah, it was my intention to play professionally straight out of highschool. Unfortunately, I didn’t play enough. I didn’t put up enough numbers to get them to recognize.
The first time most fans saw you was when you competed in the Junior PHL dunk contest. How was it to suddenly be known all over the world?
I always knew that I would get some international recognition as well as national. It just felt real good to know that even through my trials and tribulations I was able to find a way to get nationally and internationally known.
At what age did you first dunk the ball?
I was thirteen years old, and I think it was a junior high All-Star game. The ball came off the rim, and usually I’d jump up there just to grab the rim, but somehow the ball reached my hand and I ended up putting it down, so after that it became addictive.
How tall were you then?
I was 5’8’’.
at are your aims for your life outside of basketball?
What I want to do is go out there and inspire and mentor players that don’t exactly know what to do in order to get yourself eligible for a college scholarship or make yourself eligible for a pro contract, to let them in on the secrets, let them in on what they need to do in order to put themselves at that level. Also, I have a couple of deals coming out. I have a vertical leap program that I’m trying to finish up and trying to get that out on the market. I also have my B.A. in broadcast communications, and I want to be a sports commentator. I want to get out there with some ESPN gigs or anything to do with sports to help the kids.
ally, do you have any messages or shout-outs?
Finally, do you have any messages or shout-outs?
Yeah, I got messages, man, but I’m just going to narrow it down. I just want to let everybody else out there know that with basketball, you have to love the sport before you can get good at it. If you’re not out there having fun, just go ahead and give it up (laughs).
Any scientist worth his salt will tell you that rubber does not react with wood. Leave the two in a test tube and years will pass without change to either substance. Heat gently, add water and shake, and the effect will be no more exciting than a WNBA preseason game. It is simply accepted as fact that the materials have no effect on one another. James King, however, cares little for the laws of nature. Gravity, for example. You see, the second the sole of his shoe meets the surface of the court, the fuse is lit. Here, contact between rubber and wood causes a detonation, the impact of which leaves defenders reeling, fans gasping for breath, and Reemix some four feet in the air.
“Explosive” is a word often used arbitrarily to describe dunkers, but with King it truly fits. Where Vince Carter makes a boing, he makes a boom. Other leapers glide gracefully through the sky, riding an invisible wave to smoothly deposit the ball in the bucket. Ketchup, conversely, appears to have been fired from a cannon as he leaves the floor, violently throwing it down and manhandling the rim before falling back to earth.
True to the name, Ketchup sure to the name, he shakes things up when away from the game. Speaking during the interview, he has a calm, composed manner, taking care to say exactly what he means. The on-court spontaneity is replaced by a thoughtfulness not often seen in professional athletes, let alone one only a few years removed from university. He displays an understated intelligence and capacity for insight that contrasts with the in-your-face style of his above-the-rim antics.
We recently caught up with the man himself for an exclusive interview. Read on below for Ketchup’s words on 850’s departure, the new dunk that’ll blow your mind, and the program that could have you jumping like him.
P. Loius: Let’s start with your highschool career. You had some bad luck when you sustained an injury to your foot. How do you think things would have turned out if you’d been healthy for your senior season?
Ketchup: I would say that if I hadn’t injured my foot, well, it was a blowout season the season before; I was leading the team in scoring. So I know that if my senior year had been a blowout season, I would have had more chances at being looked at by the league.
Did you want to go pro straight out of highschool then?
Yeah, it was my intention to play professionally straight out of highschool. Unfortunately, I didn’t play enough. I didn’t put up enough numbers to get them to recognize.
The first time most fans saw you was when you competed in the Junior PHL dunk contest. How was it to suddenly be known all over the world?
I always knew that I would get some international recognition as well as national. It just felt real good to know that even through my trials and tribulations I was able to find a way to get nationally and internationally known.
At what age did you first dunk the ball?
I was thirteen years old, and I think it was a junior high All-Star game. The ball came off the rim, and usually I’d jump up there just to grab the rim, but somehow the ball reached my hand and I ended up putting it down, so after that it became addictive.
How tall were you then?
I was 5’8’’.
at are your aims for your life outside of basketball?
What I want to do is go out there and inspire and mentor players that don’t exactly know what to do in order to get yourself eligible for a college scholarship or make yourself eligible for a pro contract, to let them in on the secrets, let them in on what they need to do in order to put themselves at that level. Also, I have a couple of deals coming out. I have a vertical leap program that I’m trying to finish up and trying to get that out on the market. I also have my B.A. in broadcast communications, and I want to be a sports commentator. I want to get out there with some ESPN gigs or anything to do with sports to help the kids.
ally, do you have any messages or shout-outs?
Finally, do you have any messages or shout-outs?
Yeah, I got messages, man, but I’m just going to narrow it down. I just want to let everybody else out there know that with basketball, you have to love the sport before you can get good at it. If you’re not out there having fun, just go ahead and give it up (laughs).
