Uncle Drew Comes to Town... Day 3... EPIC PICK-UP GAME!!

twizz said:

I saw you with those hyperdunks they just stood out. unfortunatly i was in the 2nd line and missed out... But I will be there on friday in the 12pm session

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Sorry you missed out yesterday mate I feel bad for everyone that waited in that 2nd line... we barely made it into the 1st line ourselves. Friday should be pretty epic, seems a few members from here will be heading into Knox!

So it's day 2 of my "Kyrie Week"! I'm up at 4:30 (not that I slept much!), and at the State Basketball Centre by 5:45am!

Today is a practice and skills demonstration and Kyrie shares the spotlight with another Australian born #1 draft pick, Andrew Bogut (although, just quietly, I think the majority were here for Kyrie! Duh!). Australian NBL stars Chris Goulding & Adam Ballinger served as their respective training partners.

The event didn't start until 7:30, but that didn't deter these like-minded die-hards from braving the cold Melbourne winter morning!



The early start means I'm able to get a seat in the second row. Once again the star of the show comes out to enthusiastic applause. However the crowd was mostly subdued for the entire session, save for some amazing trick shots and a final off-the-backboard dunk from Kyrie (have it on video)! Here's just a few pics:















Unfortunately for hometown boy AB, the people's true motive for coming into the stadium at this ungodly hour came to the fore as almost half the near-capacity crowd - jerseys, posters and markers in hand - exited the court with Melbourne's latest NBA hero!

Credit to Andrew though, he actually interacted with the crowd, picking out several kids (who politely stuck around for his demo) to partake in several on-court drills, much to their (and their parents) delight!





I decided to leave my seat with about 10 mins left in Andrew's session, hoping to catch him as he exited the court. I figured I wouldn't get a chance at a Kyrie autograph today as he was nowhere to be found - and several of the people who had rushed out earlier were starting to leave the centre empty-handed. No matter, I'd get another chance to meet Kyrie this coming Friday at his skills camp...

After waiting diligently around the court exit I see Andrew start to head out. He signs just few basketballs and assorted memorabilia and as he gets to where I'm waiting says "This is the last one guys!"

Then walks right past me



Damn you Bogeyman!!! I'm just going to have to fork out $5 for your autograph off eBay then! LOL! JK, I think he's a beast (when healthy of course)!


A little disheartened at this point, I figure I should just leave, but stick around to spot some of the local basketball royalty (Anstey, D-Mac - I shook his hand!).

I notice that Kyrie's dad, Drederick has been floating around the stadium between courts, conference rooms etc. pretty much undisturbed, so I head up to him and politely ask for his autograph - saying that as a new father myself - his story has been inspirational to me. He kindly obliges and takes the time to comment on my Kicks101 t-shirt (KYRIE GETS BUCKETS DOWN UNDER)!

Satisfied I've got at least one autograph, I slowly start to head out of the stadium (most of the crowd had gone home at this point). Sitting in my car, I turn on the ignition and am about to head off when I notice a small crowd of 20 or so people heading into the car park. Looking closer I can see they are all gathered around a central figure. It's gotta be Kyrie or Bogut I tell myself and gather up my cards and markers. Semi-running towards the mob, the identity of hooded figure at the core of the crowd hurriedly making it's way in my direction becomes apparent. It's Kyrie. And he's signing.

I run up to the front and, handing over card and pen, ask him if he could please possibly sign this card for me. Looking at the card long enough to realize that his is not the first signature on it he says,

"Hey you got my dad to sign this too, cool!"

Card back in my hand, I fall back from the still jostling crowd and witness Kyrie and entourage drive off to an undisclosed location...

So long Kyrie... and thanks again!







So here I am now, sitting in a food court over a now cold and belated breakfast, reflecting on the mornings events. I want to post my recollection up as soon as I can, for both accuracy and posterity

I imagine this week will be the most exciting week I'll have for a very long time and we're only halfway through!

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Oh, here's that card I've been going on a about - not bad looking considering Kyrie signed it on the go!!







Thank you all for the great comments and I hope you've enjoyed my recap while it's still fresh in my mind

Until Friday, take care guys

Another great story, can't wait for Friday's instalment

Day 3 has arrived and being the pessimist that I am, I'm expecting a fizzler given how great my last two encounters during "Kyrie Week" have been. Events turned out to be anything but... and could well be the most epic day of my life!

I start the day heading to the train station to pick up fellow Ozcard member jay87 who had flown in all the way from Perth to Melbourne (that's cross country) to meet his idol. Now my good wife has warned me against picking up strange men that I've met off the internet, however, in this instance, there was no cause for concern! Jay turned out to be an awesome dude and I was glad to be able to share the experience alongside him!

Back to the state basketball centre and a few happy snaps before we enter...





We go through the entrance and realize that it's Kyrie (grey hoodie) just ahead of us... Dammit if we'd just come in 1 minute earlier!



The skills session starts off with and introduction to the camp coaches, training staff and of course Kyrie and father Drederick, as well as a basic rundown of the day.

We begin by splitting up into groups 4 groups of 6 after a basic warm up, then go through what the coaches describe as Kyrie's personal training routine (though my performance during the drills shattered any semblance to anything Kyrie was doing on the court next to us).



Finally after the indignation of being shown up and run ragged by kids half my age, we were given the biggest news of the day...

Possibly due to the fact that there was an over-representation of more "experienced" (read: OLD) members in our session, Kyrie thought that the skill level present was high enough to forego the regular skills and drills schedule and conduct a pick up game instead!!

*For the record, I myself did not factor into that decision; my performance rating jumped from 'Hazardously Inept' to 'Woefully Mediocre' during my time at the camp.

But for the higher skilled members of our group it was time to being their 'A' game as we'd be taking part in 3min full court games against Kyrie, Drederick and members of the training staff!

The pictures say it all...













You wouldn't pick it, but the bald guy was a BEAST!





That's me... blue shorts, bad haircut!





Another Ozcard member, Twizz



This shot dropped...



as did this dagger 3 in Jay's face! And the foul!!



Honestly, I'm sure every participant there was just as shocked as I was to be playing on-court with KI himself and we relished every single second of the opportunity, even when looking on from the sidelines. As the pick-up games wound down, we all were directed to the media area where the official camp photo shoot would soon begin.





Photos over, a few of us took the chance to ask Kyrie to sign some items, I was lucky enough to get another card signed, but most missed out due to one particularly overzealous camp official (lady - you know who you are, if anyone there had the right to flex their ego, it most certainly was NOT YOU!).

Now this wouldn't be a proper Ozcard meet without some wax to break! I brought along a box of 12-13 Threads and we split it 3 ways between myself, jay and twizz! Luckily we all hit an auto each with Jay also pulling a Joakim Noah jersey card. Check out the mini mojo:





It's time to head off but we're still pretty bummed Jay & Twizz have missed out on an autograph. After hanging around the court entrance to no avail - although we did get to chat with Mr. Drederick Irving, a true gentleman in every sense of the word (the apple did not fall far from the tree!) - we decide to part ways; with Jay and I deciding to try Kyrie's hotel (garnered from sources of impeccable authority) for one last ditch attempt at a signing.

Uuuuhh, here's where it gets a little stalk-ish



Amazingly, after grabbing a quick bite, Jay spots Kyrie and his training partner through the window of the restaurant right in front of us!!



Satisfied that Jay will finally get the autograph that he's travelled across the country for (he did, two in fact!), I head back home to my baby girl and a very, very understanding wife (who I'm sure is sick to death of hearing "Kyrie-this & Kyrie-that" all week!).

And so comes to an end to one of the most amazing experiences a basketball fan and collector could hope for. Having the chance to not only meet a rising NBA superstar on 3 separate occasions, but to actually play a game with him goes above and beyond my wildest expectations leading up to "Kyrie Week"!

I'll leave you with some of my favourite images...












Thanks for sharing the adventure with me... it's been unforgettable

Love the sneakers man

What an awesome experience!

Look at photos makes me sad

You guys are so lucky to meet him

Awesome Ray, Nice meeting you and Jay it was an awesome day getting to ball with Kyrie

Harsha_12 said:

Look at photos makes me sad

You guys are so lucky to meet him

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Hopefully he'll make this an ongoing event! He and his dad seem to really like it in Aus, in fact, they were excited to be heading to the carlton/collingwood game tonight

That's awesome man. Im jealous as hell , but I have really enjoyed reading this, so thanks heaps for sharing

BigD said:

That's awesome man. Im jealous as hell , but I have really enjoyed reading this, so thanks heaps for sharing

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Thanks man, it's been my pleasure! I don't keep a journal/diary or blog. But on this occasion I felt I needed to record everything down before I forget the details

amazing time today, best time of my life..thanks to Ray for everything today your a good dude.. was great meeting you and Tim.. il post my photos etc once im back in Perth. :

I have absolutely LOVED reading your memoirs of awesomeness. Thank you so much for sharing.

Sick.
That Prizm signed with that gold or silver ink looks awesome.
What an experience!

jay87 said:

amazing time today, best time of my life..thanks to Ray for everything today your a good dude.. was great meeting you and Tim.. il post my photos etc once im back in Perth. :

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So happy you've got an auto to give to your little girl back home! How's your back? My whole body feels like a rickety old mans today! Have a nice flight home mate, I'll send you over the pics/vids in the next couple of days.

twizz said:

Awesome Ray, Nice meeting you and Jay it was an awesome day getting to ball with Kyrie

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Great to meet you too man, looks like you had a ball! How cool is it we got somebody to take away all of our base Threads? Haha

GarnettFan4Life said:

Sick.
That Prizm signed with that gold or silver ink looks awesome.
What an experience!

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Thanks mate, it turned out just how I wanted! Even better, there's a big fat Kyrie thumb print over the word 'Downtown'!

wow what a week

Can't wait to see the professional photographers photos to be posted!