IT’S OFFICIAL!

On March 1st, at 11am in Dallas, Texas, I will sit down and have lunch with Mark Cuban, owner of the NBA Champion Dallas Mavericks!

The How

If you’ve been following along on this journey of mine to play Michael Jordan since day one, you know that Twitter has been good to me!  From Jeff Jordan to Tracy McGrady, Damon Jones to Coach B Meyer, I’ve made numerous basketball connections through the 140 character social media platform.

I can now add Mark Cuban to that list!

I currently follow 158 people on Twitter, with one of those being billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban (@MCuban).  Just over two months ago, on the afternoon of November 3rd, I opened Twitter on my phone and saw this retweet by Cuban himself.

At first I didn’t really think much of it, figuring the odds of “winning” a lunch with someone like Mark Cuban would be highly unlikely.  So I skimmed through the rest of my Twitter feed and went on with what I was doing…for a moment.

Then curiosity got the best of me.

I went back to the tweet a few minutes later, clicked the link and read that the lunch would go to the highest bidder of an auction taking place on eBay, with proceeds going to charity.

Again, my initial thought was, this will most likely quickly get out of my “giving” range, but the optimist in me, read on.

As I read through the details, the actual prize was a lunch for two with Mark Cuban.

I immediately thought, who could maximize my giving potential?  Who loves hoops and or Mark Cuban as much as I do and is as crazy as I am to go for it?!?!

A minute later, I sent an email to my buddy Karol and just moments after that, he was in!

Do You Really Want To Do This?

A day or two before the auction was due to come to a close on November 11th; I was out for a run when I received a message from Karol asking if I still really wanted to bid on the lunch.  He said he was definitely in, but would leave it up to me.

It was gut check time.

I had then just recently returned from Las Vegas, and Impact Basketball’s Competitive League and while I loved the idea of having lunch with Mark Cuban, I wasn’t sure it made the most sense financially to make an unplanned charitable contribution at that time.

I continued on and finished my run, thinking about what I should do the majority of the way.  I got home, took a shower, while still thinking of all that could be and could come from such a meeting.

Then with just under 24 hours of opportunity remaining, the dreamer in me, said, YES, WE’VE GOT TO GO FOR IT!

On November 11th, thanks to some great bidding by Karol, we won by just an $11 margin, with a final bid in the closing seconds!!

The Million Dollar Pitch

This may come as a shock to most reading this, but I don’t plan on pitching any “money making” ideas to Mr. Cuban.

I know, I know, most people would kill for an opportunity to share their ideas with someone like Mark Cuban, because he has the ability to make dreams come true.

All I want to do though, is get to know him a little, talk hoops, tell him about mevsMJ.com and my journey to play Michael Jordan and ask him one major question/favor.

I plan on asking Mark:  Will you call Michael Jordan and ask him to play me?

That’s it!

In a Position to Succeed!

I can’t control how the upcoming lunch will go.  While I am hopeful that Mark Cuban falls in love with what I’m doing here at mevsMJ.com and wants to make it a priority of his to make my dream a reality, I just don’t control that.

I leave that in HIS hands.

All I can do is work hard and do my best to continue to place myself in positions in which I can succeed.

That’s all any of us can do.

Hoops Instead of Lunch?

Through email we’ve actually asked to shoot hoops with Mr. Cuban as opposed to lunch, but have yet to hear back on that just yet, haha!  If that happens, you know he may just sign me after seeing me shoot the ball!!

Anyway, as the trip gets closer and more details come my way, I’ll be sure to pass them on!

I’m just happy now that it’s confirmed, to finally be able to share with everyone something I’ve known for two months!

me vs. MJ…the amazing journey continues!  As always, thank you for following along and for your continued support!

Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

As the final days and hours of 2011 come to a close, I can’t help but reflect on my official slogan for this year, which was “Life is AMAZING, if you allow it to be!”

For me and my journey of playing Michael Jordan 1-on-1, 2011 was beyond amazing and for that I am so thankful!

Having said that, there were definitely some struggles over the last 365 days, but overall it was without a doubt more than I ever could have expected!

Here is a recap of all that was 2011 for mevsMJ.com!

-1st Quarter-

(January, February, March)

Looking back, January seems like years ago.  I began 2011 gaining my first 1-on-1 match-up win (Me vs. Scott Spencer) and feeling like my game was getting stronger and stronger.  Unfortunately then, but rather fortunately I suppose as I reflect now, I got injured on the next to last day of the month (Pop Goes The Dream) and was faced with painful rehabilitation that consumed the next eight weeks, testing me both physically and mentally.

During the rehab, even though I wasn’t playing, some great things still happened!

The very next day following my injury in the most surprising turn of events, I got some Jordan love! (Jeff Jordan promotes mevsMJ.com!)

Over the eight weeks of rehab I wrote 18 different posts including (Dear MJ:  My Letter to Michael Jordan).  Then exactly 62 days after the injury that left me devastated, I made my comeback in the last part of March against now Virginia Tech Hokies freshman Robert Brown, a good friend and the very first player to really believe in what I’m doing here on this site! (I’m Back!!!!)

-2nd Quarter-

(April, May, June)

I gave my life to the Lord when I was 23 years old (Yes, I’m a huge Jordan fan, but no, I didn’t plan that!)  I’ve sprinkled my faith over many of the posts I’ve written on this site and I mention that to say that I always feel that God has a plan for me.  During the injury I believed that and as I went through the second quarter of 2011, HE left me amazed as things began happening so quickly that I could hardly keep up!

April began with me meeting up with a talented young man named Ziarekenya Smith!  He had gained National accliam for his Jordan typeface, pictured to the right.  (God Inspired Designs)

From there, a simple hope filled email returned back to me, someone I now call a friend and mentor, Dave Hopla. (My time with Dave Hopla, World’s Greatest Shooter)

Then, still in April, I took on my first real professional basketball player, in what was the worst showing of my life! (Me vs. Garfield Blair)

May began with another no and then the biggest YES to date! (Nick Anderson Called Me!!!)

While nothing ever materialized with Nick, it was beyond cool having the former NBA player call me on MY cell phone!

Later in the month I had the blessing of getting to know and workout with then one of the top high school coaches in the country and now George Washington assistant coach, Kevin Sutton! (My First Workout with Coach Kevin Sutton!)

June came around, I played much better against my second professional player (Me vs. Andy Gebru) and had my third rematch with Robert Brown (Me vs. Robert Brown – Round 3).

-3rd Quarter-

(July, August, September)

The third quarter of 2011 kept up the momentum with me spending a little time with Tracy McGrady and even getting a shout out from T-Mac himself! (My Time with T-Mac)

On August 22nd, mevsMJ.com turned 1 year old. (me vs. Michael Jordan – 365 Days Later!)

In September I flew to Vegas for Impact Basketball’s Competitive League, where I told Chauncey Billups, John Wall, Rudy Gay, OJ Mayo, Corey Maggette, Jared Dudley and more about my journey to play Michael Jordan and almost had a shootout with NBA Sharpshooter Damon Jones! (Me vs. Damon Jones – The Shootout That Almost Was)

-4th Quarter-

(October, November, December)

In October I switched things up a bit and did my first video post (Where Are You Going?) so that everyone could actually hear me speak!  [Side note:  I often wonder how people sound when I’m reading their blogs/posts.]

A few days later, by reader request, I posted a video of me draining 22 of 24 from the 3 point line. (Is This Why NBA Guys Won’t Play Me??)  So pretty!

Mid November, I began working harder and sweating more than I probably ever have in my life! (Me + B Meyer Training – The Man Behind Dwight Howard)

On Thanksgiving day, Eric Griffin and I helped one young man’s dream come true, in what was one of the most fulfilling moments of my life.  (Thanksgiving Day Dreams)

Then the moment I had been waiting for happened!

→Michael Jordan KNOWS!!!←

I‘m still blown away by what happened in the first moments of December, the last grouping of days of 2011!

In what played out like some scene from an inspirational movie, I met Michael Jordan! (Michael Jordan Knows About ME and mevsMJ.com!)

As I wrote when I began this post, LIFE IS AMAZING, IF YOU ALLOW IT TO BE!

####

Through all that has happened on this journey, the part I never really anticipated is all of the great people that would come into my life and become true friends.

This mevsMJ.com walk has always been about truly believing that anything is possible with faith and hard work and I really feel that through 2011 that became more eveident than ever!

I’ve always believed in me vs. Michael Jordan and now I’m sure a few more people do too!  That’s a great thing!

For every person that has read a post, for each one of you that has believed in what I’m doing, for those who took time out of their life to help my dream come true, for those of you that I’m fortunate enough to call my friends, I say THANK YOU!

2011 was an unbelievable ride!

Off to 2012 we go!

me vs. MJ…the journey continues!!!!!  Thank you for following along!

Connect:  Twitter (@KennyEller) and mevsMJ.com Facebook Fan Page.

A week ago, as part of my basketball workout, I set out to make 100 NBA three pointers while logging my shooting percentage, Dave Hopla style.

Shooting NBA range threes isn’t something I typically work on in my normal shooting workouts, as I have always felt until every other shot is as money as a lay-up, why move further out.  Makes sense right!?!

Then I challenged former NBA sharpshooter Damon Jones and my rationale changed.

I knew if Damon had actually shown up that our shooting contest would have been from his comfort zone, the NBA three point line, not the high school line for which I usually practice.

Knowing I wasn’t truly prepared for such a challenge, I got back to Florida (see recent trip), received my NBA ball (more on this in another post) and headed to the gym to see where I currently stood from 23’9”, pro basketball land.

That day I made 100 of 164 (61%) from NBA range.  My best rack was 10 of 13 and my worst happened twice, a dismal 10 of 20.

I left the court knowing that I had plenty of work to do, having seen a tweet from D. Jones earlier saying that he had shot 83% from the same distance during his workout.

Compliments and Surprise

Over the days that followed I mentioned to some coworkers, when asked if I had played any basketball over the weekend, that I had worked on shooting more than playing and shared my shooting percentage, which I wasn’t all that pleased with.

On each occasion before I could further explain, I heard, “Wow, that’s amazing!” and “That’s crazy good!”

I don’t know why, but their responses really surprised me.

Maybe the surprise has to do with the fact that I really wasn’t fishing for compliments or all that pleased with my performance.  I suppose it also has to do with my scope, of late.  During this journey that is mevsMJ.com, I have definitely lifted my level of expectations for myself by immersing myself amongst the pros.

Because of that, my evaluation of my performance was far below theirs.

Competing With Myself

Fairly or unfairly, I now compare my performance with pro athletes when it comes to basketball.

I must.

Being a better shooter or player than the average person will do absolutely nothing for me on this journey.

This is about being the best that I can be!   Why can’t I shoot like an NBA guy or even better?

At this point, for me, it is about competing with myself!

Who Are YOU Competing With?

Is it YOU vs. the smartest kid in your class or the brightest person in the World?

YOU vs. the best basketball player in your school or Michael Jordan?

YOU vs. your peers or those your same age making global impact?

YOU vs. others or YOURSELF?

How good GREAT can YOU be?

It all depends on who you are competing with….

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Road to 100 Free Throws In A Row (Update):

This past Sunday I improved on my previous high of 45 free throws in a row and made 47.  That still leaves me 53 short of my goal of 100 in a row, but I’m getting closer!

In The News!!!

Rohb Jennings of Fan2Athelete.com was kind enough to do a write up on my journey, entitled:  The Eller Factor

If you haven’t had time to read it yet, please do!

Enjoy your weekend!

During my time out at Impact Basketball’s Competitive League, I was once again shown the power of social media and in particular Twitter.

During my layover in Phoenix, Arizona, I sent a challenge out to 11 year NBA veteran and three point sharpshooter Damon Jones.  I knew Damon would be at Impact’s event in Las Vegas, but I didn’t really expect him to respond.

Yet he DID!

What ensued was three days of playful trash talk and challenges as shown below in my twitter feed.  While it may not have ended the way I would have liked, the experience still left me thankful.

September 20, 2011 (The Challenge, Response and Initial Meeting)

I honestly couldn’t believe it when I looked at the notification on my phone and saw that Jones had taken the challenge.  It was early afternoon and I had just checked into my hotel room in Vegas last Tuesday.

Beyond excited, I packed up my gym bag with a change of clothes and my Jordans and then let the world know that Me vs. Damon Jones was on!!

As I took a cab ride over to Impact Basketball’s facility, my buddy DJ got in on the Twitter action and spoke a little trash for me!

Damon’s response had me smiling from ear to ear!  I had come out to Vegas to spread the mevsMJ.com word and minutes into the experience something amazing was already happening!

I watched the two games prior to Jones’ 5:30pm game and awaited his arrival.

As Damon warmed up prior to his game, I walked out on the court (THANK YOU Impact for the VIP passes) towards Jones, and was greeted with a huge smile and warm handshake.  I could tell he recognized me from our online conversation.  He asked in a challenging tone, “You ready?”  I responded, “Always, when are we going to do this!?”  Jones replied, “Right after this game!  I’ll come find you and we’ll do it!”

In the first half of the game Damon was 4 of 6 from downtown.

As he began warming up for the second half he walked right past me and I said, “I see you!” (A modern day way of acknowledging someone’s success)

Jones very sure of himself responded, “Did that make you nervous!?  You still think you want some of this!?”

I told him, “Of course!”

With a puzzled look he replied, “Really!?!?”

Almost laughing I said, “Yeah, because you thought two of the four you made were off!”

Then in what would turn out to be classic Damon Jones fashion he confidently told me, while shooting a three at the same time, “Naa, I just say ‘that’s off’ to throw the defender off!”  With the ball halfway to the rim, he had now turned back completely to me until he heard it swish through and then said, “See!”

I laughed, appreciated his confidence and knew I’d have my hands full after the game.

The only problem is there was no shoot off on Tuesday.  Midway through the 4th quarter Jones had his knees iced and I was almost positive then that he wasn’t going to shoot with me.

He left pretty much immediately after the game.  I of course proceeded to get my shots in and went back to my hotel room to get some rest, but not before calling him out!

September 21, 2011 (The Response, More Trash Talk and a New Shootout Date Set)

Fairly early on Wednesday morning Damon responded to his whereabouts after the game the night before.

30 minutes before Damon’s 3:30pm game on Wednesday, I saw him sitting on the other side of the court a few seats from Chauncey Billups.  Never one to shy away from a challenge (Remember:  I am trying to get a game of 1-on-1 vs. Michael Jordan), I made my way from my courtside seat, on the other side of the court, over to Jones and we had a good laugh as I sat down next to him and we began to talk.

Damon Jones can flat out shoot the ball!  I know that, he knows that and he’ll tell you so in a playful way if you don’t know that!  I’ve watched the guy for years make shots in the NBA, teamed with the likes of Dwayne Wade and LeBron James.  I asked him about his shooting practice and if he counts shots or makes.  As I thought, he said he only counts makes and depending on the schedule would get in 500 makes three to four times a week from various areas on the court.

He told me with a large smile that turned into a laugh, “It takes a lot of work and a lot of trash talk to be as good as me, but keep working and maybe you’ll get there some day!”

Amused and enjoying the verbal jabs, I responded, “I hear you talking, but I don’t see you doing anything!  I’m here!  I’ll be here!”

Jones then asked me, “OK, how long will you be here?  How about we shoot tomorrow at 11am!”

I said, “It’s on!  I’ll be here!”

I then wished him luck and watched the next two games!

September 22, 2011 (The Day of the Shootout and What Could Have Been)

I woke up at 5:42am Thursday morning and while I wish I could say it was nerves about the upcoming shootout, it was not.  That was actually the longest I had slept during my time in Vegas, apparently thrown off by the three hour time change from Florida.

Still, I jumped out of bed, ordered a nice breakfast and sent out a tweet in an attempt to confirm my upcoming shootout with one of the NBA’s best!

I arrived at Impact’s training center around 9:35am that morning.  I caught the last few minutes of Coby Karl’s workout and watched the first few minutes of Eric Bledsoe’s workout before deciding to see if I could go get some shots in on the open half court prior to Damon’s arrival at 11am.

My buddy Karol got in on the action and based upon Jones’ response, I wanted to be as ready as possible!

With the guys at Impact being cool with me using the court, I grabbed an NBA ball, headed down to the other end and began shooting around 10:45am or so.

Then around 11:30am I got the following message from Damon.

Disappointed for sure, I continued to get my shooting work in, changed clothes and then enjoyed the day’s games and DJ’s Twitter response.

Could I have beaten Damon Jones in a shooting contest?  Who knows!  All I knew was that the experience would have been great and I would have without a doubt done much better than Damon ever would have expected.  I know I can shoot the ball!

I ran into Jones as he was leaving Thursday evening, having just made 10 three pointers in his game.  He wished me the best on my journey and told me to stay in touch.

As I’ve learned with this experience that is mevsMJ.com, sometimes the journey outweighs the final destination.  Even though Damon had backed out, I couldn’t help but feel thankful for the experience.

September 26, 2011 (NBA Ball and More Damon Jones)

One of the first things I did this past Saturday morning when I got back from Vegas was look into getting an NBA ball.  When I got waxed by Garfield Blair in 1-on-1, we used his NBA ball and I was thrown off a bit by the different feel (not that the ball would have mattered in our two games).  Then at Impact I got to use the ball the pro’s use on two seperate occasions for extended periods of time and decided that if I’m going to be playing NBA guys, I need to get used to their ball!

I sent a quick text to one of my contacts and Monday I had my official NBA ball!

I of course had to let Damon know and assure him that we WILL have a shootout ONE DAY and I will be coming for his self proclaimed, “World’s Greatest Shooter” crown!

Thank you Damon Jones!

I want to thank Damon for his kindness and availability.  Sure he backed out twice (Damon, did Rudy or OJ text you that I was popping those nets Thursday morning?? Haha! :-D), but he could have easily done what so many others do and never even responded to my initial challenge.

Will we ever have a shoot off?  Only time will tell!

What I can assure you is that if there is a next time, I will be even more prepared and ready!

LET IT RAIN!

me vs. MJ…the amazing journey continues!

Sitting in the last of a long row of folding metal chairs lining the sideline of the court I studied the footwork of Rudy Gay, Roger Mason and Jared Dudley as they went through their morning court workout with the founder of Impact Basketball, Joe Abunassar.

My eyes red and heavy from lack of sleep the night before did their best to paint mental canvases of the player’s execution on each drill.

In an empty gymnasium just off the Las Vegas strip, on a Wednesday morning in September, I was being shown exactly what the best do to get better and I couldn’t have been happier!

John Wall

Forty-five minutes into their workout in walked one of the most electrifying point guards in the NBA, John Wall.

The night before as I was shooting around on the court after the games, I dribbled up to John as he walked across the hardwood floor and playfully asked, “You wanna play some 1-on-1?”

With a slight smile he responded, “I’m too tired right now man.”

It made sense.  He had just dropped over 40 points in the game some 20 minutes earlier, hitting the hole like the roadrunner.

Now less than 12 hours later he was back in the gym ready to work on his game.

As he walked down to the court he took a seat in the chair directly next to me, kicked off his slides and began putting his shoes on.

We talked briefly about my journey to play Michael Jordan before Rudy, Roger and Jared came over to greet John, having just completed their workout.

Me, Roger, Jared, Rudy and Stephen Jackson

Because John had chosen to sit next to me out of all the empty chairs, I soon found myself next to Roger and Rudy, who had taken seats next to John before he proceeded to begin his workout.  Then Jared pulled up a seat at an angle on the other side of me and for the next 30 minutes or so I listened as they talked shoe contracts, music, and what players were leaving to play overseas.

Then in walked Stephen Jackson and as he was giving handshakes to the guys, because I was there with them he reached out to me and said, “What’s up man!”

Wearing my Jordan Six Rings shirt, Jackson noticed and said, “I have the white one, but I haven’t seen the black one.  I like that!”

It was all quite surreal to say the least.

I’m Trying To Get A Game of 1-on-1 vs. Michael Jordan

Over my three days at Impact Basketball’s facility I told Chauncey Billups, John Wall, Corey Brewer, Jermaine Taylor, Rudy Gay, Jared Dudley, OJ Mayo, Damon Jones, Kenyon Martin, Corey Maggette, Marreese Speights and Dahntay Jones about my journey to play MJ.

They all for the most part were very supportive wishing me luck on my quest.

While I wasn’t able to get anyone to agree to play me, I did get some encouraging feedback and at one point was shown a move by John Wall.  I’d describe it, but Mr. Jordan might be reading!  Oh, what the heck…it was his patented spin move!!!  How cool is that!?!?

On another occasion as I was shooting one evening, I did a little hesitation dribble towards Chauncey Billups, prompting him to say to me in an encouraging tone, “Oh, that’s what you’ve got for Jordan!”  I then ran right next to him on the court, launched a NBA 3 pointer over him, that swished, to which he said, “Nice shot!”

In all, to list every single interaction with a player would take much more than a single blog post and for some reason I’d like to just keep some of them for myself.  All I can is, it was an amazing experience for sure!

Impact Competitive League Action

In my time in Vegas I watched eight fairly intense games of NBA basketball.  I’ve never been closer to the action, including my days in TV, as I was last week.

With a couple hundred people there to watch daily, I could hear the trash talk, the shoes squeak and all that falls between the two.

It was awesome!

For the fans that did show up, they got an up close and personal look at a group of NBA guys that just love to play ball.  Stripped away was all the formality that has become today’s NBA.  Left was a group of highly skilled men that love the game and appreciate the fans, even interacting with them at times during the games.

I also saw numerous players sign autographs and stop to take pictures after the games.

Shooting In Front Of NBA Players

Thursday morning as Eric Bledsoe was working out on one end, the other half of the court was open, due to Coby Karl having completed his morning session.

Always equipped with my Jordans, I walked down and asked if they mind if I shoot on the other end until the next workout began.

After getting approval, I proceeded to get some shots in for the next hour and 15 minutes in front of the top trainers and players like Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo.

At first, to be honest, I was a bit nervous.  I had just watched Bledsoe make almost every shot he took and now I was shooting with an NBA ball, which is a bit different than what I routinely use, in front of a group of basketball’s best.

The adrenaline was sprinting through my body, but after a few minutes I found my rhythm, took a deep breath and was fine.  I honestly don’t know if they watched much of what I did, but I know they heard that net pop, haha!

What I Learned Watching NBA Guys Workout

They are so freaking good!  Like in all walks of life, some go harder than others, but the consistency is amazing!  The footwork, the elevation, the fluidity and ease at which they move, the conditioning, the explosiveness and their ability to make the majority of their shots was so inspiring!  They are so efficient on the basketball court!

There is such a gigantic difference between them and most everyone else that plays basketball and getting to see them workout further proved that and blew my mind.

They made me want to work even harder because I know now how great you can actually be at the game I love so much.

My Impact Family (Thank You!)

Last year I reached out to Impact Basketball and told them about my dream.  Matt Hiller who trained me some 11 months ago has been like a brother to me and I can’t say enough good things about him or Tom Carollo who hooked me up with VIP, all access passes to the Impact League event.  Great men, no doubt!

Impact Basketball truly is a class act organization and I’m so happy and thankful to have them on my side.

I’d like to thank Impact Basketball creator Joe Abunassar for his hospitality as well.  Very much appreciated!

I also want to thank every single person at Impact Basketball for having me and for their kindness.  Means the World to me!

More Impact Basketball In My Future

I’m actually looking to possibly make another trip to Vegas next month for some more hoops!  I simply can’t get enough!  There is talk of perhaps putting on another two week league in late October and that has me already wanting to book some airline tickets!

While those details are being worked out, I will without a doubt make my way back down to Sarasota to work with Matt and Tom very soon.

Life Is Amazing If You Allow It To Be!

I’ve been saying all of 2011 that “Life is Amazing If You Allow It To Be!”  This is just another example of that and for it I’m so thankful.

Never be afraid to go after your dreams!  Amazing, wonderful things are waiting for you, if you just take a long stride and believe!

me vs. MJ…the now cross country journey continues!  As always, thank you for following along!

Full Video Recap of Impact Basketball’s Competitive League Series

httpvh://youtu.be/ZneQFX2kZho

 **Check Back Thursday For…Me vs. Damon Jones (The Shootout That Almost Was)