What’s good NRF gang? Since the season comes to a close tonight, and we’re crowning a new champion, I wanted to thank y’all for letting me into the secret society that is NRF. This time last year, like most people, I had no clue what NRF was. The big homie Bobbito Garcia mentioned it to me once and I met up with him after a game.

When I walked into the gym I saw the familiarly bearded face of AP but that only raised one question: What’s Bobbito doing in a league with AP? (Haha)

After an amazing season of NRF basketball, there were a few that stood out from the rest...

Most Valuable Player – Scott Williams
All-NRF Team – Mike Won, Brandon Smith, Scott Williams, LeKeith Taylor, Jason Burke
Rookie of the Year – Omar Grant
All-Rookie Team – Omar Grant, Terance Takyi, Billy Dodson, Nick Blatchford, Dan Solomito
Defensive Player of the Year – Terance Takyi
Most Improved Player – Al Reyes
Coach of the Year – LeKeith Taylor

For those of you who couldn't make it to the Garden and for those who did, please go check out the NRF Photo Gallery! We have all the NRF Championship photos from last night. Enjoy!

Let’s be real for a minute here; Huarache is absolutely loaded. They killed it all season long in the Uptown Conference, and they’re deservedly considered the favorite to win the title. Two weeks ago, Huarache took down Generation in the semi-finals…without their best player. The roster is loaded with some of the finest talent NRF has to offer. And when Huarache takes the floor at Madison Square Garden tonight, most of the crowd will expect the Men in Black to come out on top, as they have all season.

We could talk about LeKeith Taylor’s importance to the frontcourt, the deadly Huarache backcourt, or Roscoe’s versatility on both ends of the floor. But instead, how about we focus on perhaps the most important but least talked about player in tonight’s match-up: Eric Raymundo.

In the aforementioned semifinal against Generation, Huarache slogged through an unimpressive ...

It’s not often the best player in an upcoming championship is considered the X-Factor for his team’s chances at a title. Think about it; Kobe wasn’t considered the X this past Finals, Tim Duncan was never the X for the Spurs’ glory days, and Jordan was anything but during his reign as King. If anything, each and every one of those players was given the keys to the car and asked to set the GPS towards Victory Lane. Each general manager built their team around that weapon, and enjoyed multiple championships as a result of that decision. As July 15th approaches, however, Uptempo’s Scott Williams serves as a true anomaly to the rule; as the best player in this Finals match-up, Williams still retains the title of “X-Factor” headed into the NRF Championship against Huarache.

For a second, let’s focus on the definition of the ...

Hey NRF, come join us for the countdown that New York City has been waiting for! The countdown starts at Stadium at 8:30. Hope to see everyone there!

Seems like everyone forgot about their kick game and started to go a new route. Yesterday was bike city down at NRF. We decided to give someone Bike of the Week. Even though Roscoe Of Team Huarache came in riding the bike. It was Curtis Pemberton of Team Generation who is owner of the bike. After a great win against Team Foamposite, Curtis was riding out in style with a Pepsi fixed gear.

You saw the intro, but yesterday six members of the NRF (plus NSW's Alex Tanguay) took to the streets at 6:00am. Big thanks to Jason Burke, Ryan Kearney, Eric Raymundo, Rafael DaSilva and Steve Halo for joining me bright and early for a good cause. The NRF definitely represented!

As this NRF season feels like it has dragged on longer than a Douglas/Lincoln debate, some good things have transpired. Teams are starting to gel, new friendships are being made and lots of trades are going down. Teams more than ever are trying to compete with the elite (Uptempo and Hurrache). Once again, these are just my thoughts and assessments (all biz never personal) as I attempt to break down each team going into the playoff stretch.

Uptown Conference

Huarache
- Not much to say here. LeKeith knows what he’s doing. They are very big and very, very good.
- Will D. Broadwater (which sounds like Diddy’s golf caddy) ever not make a comment regarding any matter?
- Can anyone get past the Cookie Monster?

Generation
- How long until Joe and Dan butt heads?
- Will Dan make the 1 or 2 playoff games they need him for?
- Is Bobby J ...

Right before tonight's NRF action, a trade has been made. Terminator traded Andrew Simon and their third-round pick to Foamposite for Jamaal Lesane and their fourth-round pick (acquired via Delta Force). My initial reaction is that this is a great trade for both teams. Terminator gets another ball-handler and guard to help out Omar Grant in the backcourt, while Foamposite adds another big to their squad to help out the newly acquired David Jacoby. Win-win.