I just got back from NYC and had a very full two days. I flew in on Wednesday and went to visit friends at Topps. I spoke with basketball brand manager Don Wang for a while and they really have some great stuff coming in basketball. I'll write more about a high-end basketball product Topps is coming out with early next week, but this entry of my blog is more NBA Draft oriented.

After leaving Topps, I headed WAY uptown to Rucker Park. If you haven't been to either, Topps is way down in southern tip of Manhattan and the Rucker is at 155th and 8th in Harlem so it's a long ride. There weren't many big names in the first game, but I got to see Molloy "The Future" Nesmith play. I've seen him before, but never at Rucker. He played at Utah State in the 80s and would do tricks and dance a little in the middle of the game and still complete the plays and he's been in every Rucker documentary ever made. They called the game close to halftime so I actually talked with him for a bit. I also sat right next to Ice T during the games, which was pretty cool.

As for the draft, it was packed with Knicks fans and haters and was one of the deepest drafts in a long time. I was in the lower tier of seets and pretty close to the stage with Stuart Scott right in front of me. I have no idea why the Bucks would draft a guy that has already said he won't play for them, especially with Corey Brewer available. And I have no idea how Glen Davis and Gabe Pruitt fell to the second round. I also think Portland did a great job, not only getting Oden, but trading for Rudy Fernandez and adding Josh McRoberts and Taurean Green in the second round when both players could have been first rounders.

General observations include that Knicks fans still like Isiah Thomas and have faith in his decisions. Wilson Chandler was an instant celebrity when he was drafted and the Zach Randolph trade (and moreso getting rid of Steve Francis) was extremely popular. The players that seemed to be having the most fun were Brewer, who never stopped smiling the entire night, and, of course, Joakim Noah, who signed and greeted everyone he could and even reappeared midway through the draft dancing so a Michael Jackson song. You may not like him at home, but it's hard to dislike a guy that takes 10 minutes to walk down the aisle by the fans because he's so busy making sure acknowledges, greets, signs for and high fives everyone near him.

I'll close this entry by mentioning those that annoyed me. First, someone please shut the guy up that is yelling "Patrick Ewing" before David Stern announces each pick and is sitting one row behind me. Seriously, that draft was almost 25 years ago and this guy yelled it every single pick. And while a lot of people left after the lottery or Knicks pick, this guy stuck around until the middle of the second round. Second, the guy right in front of me that has to stand up and way a Florida banner at every pick needs to sit down and show his love other ways. Wear a Gators hat or shirt to show your appreciation. Luckily, he left soon after Noah got selected.