Top 50: Carmelo Anthony, no. 9

by Sam Rubenstein (and Ramshar and Nasir)

Carmelo Anthony is not only a top-10 NBA player and arguably the best pure scorer in the NBA today, but he is the best thing to happen to the Knicks in years. Amar’e is the pioneer of the return of Knicks’ pride movement, pulling the team back into relevancy again, but it was Melo who made them a team that people actually would turn on their TVs to watch again.

Back when I was in ninth grade at a public high school in NYC, the city was crazy about the Knicks. I remember the day after the infamous Charles Smith game, kids in my school wearing Bulls hats were viciously beaten. My Global Studies teacher, Mr. Harris, was so upset about the game, he went around the room and demanded we all give a reason why the Knicks lost. People really, REALLY cared about the Knicks back when I was in ninth grade, and on through the Van Gundy era. People stopped caring as the ’00s were a lost decade.

I mention all of this because I now teach Ninth Grade English Language Arts at a public school in Canarsie, Brooklyn. Like the No. 1 movie at the box office recently, The Lion King (!!!!), it’s the Circle of Life. (And yes, The Lion King being No. 1 at the box office in 2011 is an example of the Circle of Life in itself.) I’ve been working with adolescents and teens in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn over the past four years, and when I have talked to them about basketball, maybe 1 percent of them would admit that they were Knicks fans. I did notice that a lot of kids from NYC were Carmelo fans, even when he was with Denver.

Why?

Is it because, like Michael Jordan, he is technically from Brooklyn, even if it was just for the early years of his childhood? Is it because of the laid back, easy style of his game that masks flawless technique? Is it as simple as that he has a good personality?

All I know is that in my experience, today’s NYC High School kids have become NY Knicks fans because of Carmelo, and for that I thank him. Now the students I teach get to experience the same joy and pain I once felt back in the day. I chose to share this assignment with two of my ninth graders from last year, currently in the 10th grade.

For the official SLAMonline piece on Carmelo, we came up with the idea of recording some audio at lunch time one day. Think of it as SLAM Radio—all about Melo.

Enough pregame, this is Nasir, Ramshar and Ernie Johnsonstein on Carmelo Anthony.

[audio:http://www.slamonline.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Carmelo-Top-50-pt-1.mp3] [audio:http://www.slamonline.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Carmelo-Top-50-pt-2.mp3]

I think we covered everything that matters. I promised them I would run their top-50 list:

They said Carmelo is better than the Golden Boy MVP! That will not go over well with the public. But as far as our mini radio show (podcast?) went, excellent work fellas.

SLAMonline Top 50 Players 2011
Rank	Player	Team	Position	Pos. Rank
50	Luol Deng	Bulls	SF	8
49	Andrew Bogut	Bucks	C	7
48	Ray Allen	Celtics	SG	9
47	Marc Gasol	Grizzlies	C	6
46	David West	Hornets	PF	15
45	Kevin Martin	Rockets	SG	8
44	Andrew Bynum	Lakers	C	5
43	Brandon Jennings	Bucks	PG	11
42	Lamar Odom	Lakers	PF	14
41	Gerald Wallace	Blazers	SF	7
40	Brook Lopez	Nets	C	4
39	Joakim Noah	Bulls	C	3
38	Carlos Boozer	Bulls	PF	13
37	Kevin Garnett	Celtics	PF	12
36	Eric Gordon	Clippers	SG	7
35	Tony Parker	Spurs	PG	10
34	Andre Iguodala	76ers	SG	6
33	Al Jefferson	Jazz	PF	11
32	Al Horford	Hawks	C	2
31	Stephen Curry	Warriors	PG	9
30	Tim Duncan	Spurs	PF	10
29	Josh Smith	Hawks	PF	9
28	Manu Ginobili	Spurs	SG	5
27	Tyreke Evans	Kings	PG	8
26	Rudy Gay	Grizzlies	SF	6
25	John Wall	Wizards	PG	7
24	Danny Granger	Pacers	SF	5
23	Monta Ellis	Warriors	SG	4
22	Joe Johnson	Hawks	SG	3
21	Paul Pierce	Celtics	SF	4
20	Steve Nash	Suns	PG	6
19	Zach Randolph	Grizzlies	PF	8
18	LaMarcus Aldridge	Blazers	PF	7
17	Chris Bosh	Heat	PF	6
16	Kevin Love	TWolves	PF	5
15	Rajon Rondo	Celtics	PG	5
14	Blake Griffin	Clippers	PF	4
13	Pau Gasol	Lakers	PF	3
12	Russell Westbrook	Thunder	PG	4
11	Amar’e Stoudemire	Knicks	PF	2
10	Deron Williams	Nets	PG	3
9	Carmelo Anthony	Knicks	SF	3

Notes
• Rankings are based solely on projected ’11-12 performance.
• Contributors to this list include: Maurice Bobb, Shannon Booher, David Cassilo, Bryan Crawford, Sandy Dover, Adam Figman, Jon Jaques, Eldon Khorshidi, Ryne Nelson, Doobie Okon, Ben Osborne, Quinn Peterson, Dave Schnur, Abe Schwadron, Dan Shapiro, Irv Soonachan, Todd Spehr, Tzvi Twersky, Yaron Weitzman, DeMarco Williams and Ben York.
• Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.