Joey Graham - Will this be his year ?

Joey Graham. A freakishly strong athletic defender or a waste of a baller, athletically gifted but with a terrible "feel" for the game? Basketball is a sport that combines physical prowess, mental capacity and a hight basketball IQ. Now I'm not suggesting that Joey is mentally deficient, but anybody who has seen him play in a Raptor uniform knows all about the defensive lapses, the head down, bull headed forays into the lane which consistently resulted in charges, as well as the terrible passes (often) into the stands.

Anybody else get so sick of that Raptors TV commercial which consisted of Jose Calderon repeatedly yelling at Joey and trying to get his attention ? I was not sure what annoyed me more. The fact that this lone act was supposed to get me excited about my purchase of Raptors TV, or the fact that it took so long to get Joey's attention.

Joey remains an enigma. His performance on the court is often hit and miss, and you're not sure if "Good Joey or Bad Joey" is going to show up. Despite his inconsistencies, many Raptor officials are still intrigued by his potential. Remember Joey was a highly touted prospect out of college and was expected to make an impact in his rookie season. See more here.

If he can ever put together his athleticism with some better BBall IQ, then he could be an impact player or at least a good backup. Who would have thought 2 years ago, that Stephen has a better chance of sticking in the league than Joey ? My main problem with Joey is that every year he talks about it being "his year" where he's going to prove the doubters wrong... well it's been 3 years, and he's just about out of chances.

And yet, that's what's being given to him one more time. With all the motivation available that any ball player could need (contract year, starting spot up for grabs, rotational spot up for grabs, last chance to prove himself) Joey will be battling Jamario Moon, Jason Kapono and Hassan Adams for a chance to be a contributor to the Raptors this season. To this end, Joey will reportedly be attending the summer league (which is very rare for a player with his years of NBA experience) but perhaps speaks to the seriousness of this season for him. Perhaps Joey will finally solve his problems and become Good Joey for most of the season. All I know is another season like his previous three, will result in "No Joey" in the NBA.

JJ Freddy
Writer - Hot Jewlz Entertainment