Alston, Rafer

Rafer Jamel Alston, also known as Skip To My Lou or Skip 2 My Lou (born July 24, 1976 in Queens, New York City), is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBA's Houston Rockets.
Contents
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* 1 Streetball legend
* 2 NBA career
* 3 Legal troubles
* 4 Career transactions
* 5 References
* 6 External links

[edit] Streetball legend

Alston grew up in Jamaica, Queens as a street basketball legend and has received most of his recognition for that aspect of his career. In high school at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School he played in only 10 games his last two years but managed to score 319 points.[1] He first came into the public spotlight for his starring in the And1 Mixtape Volume 1. In this mixtape, it had him performing his legendary dribbling moves on future NBA star Stephon Marbury. Alston was drafted after his junior year by the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round, 39th pick overall, of the 1998 NBA Draft.

His nickname Skip To My Lou stemmed from his tendency to skip while dribbling the ball upcourt. He played in several prominent streetball tournaments including the Entertainer's Basketball Classic, the North American street basketball tour, the AND1 Mixtape Tour, and the ESPN TV show, Street Ball. It is said that, during a streetball tournament at the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem, Alston once performed what most would regard as an impossible move: during a fastbreak, he supposedly glided in the paint for a layup attempt but made a change of plans in the air as he rolled the ball down his right arm, across his shoulder and down his left arm to a trailing player for a finishing dunk.[2] Since 2006, Alston has served as the spokesperson for the Houston Rockets Blacktop Battle -- a popular 3-on-3 tournament held every spring in Houston.[3]

[edit] NBA career

Despite his cult following from the streetball circuit, Alston decided to make the transition to the professional game. After sitting on the bench for most of the time he was with the Milwaukee Bucks, he emerged as a starter for the Miami Heat in 2004. He did not disappoint, averaging 12 points and 4 assists on a young Miami team that made it to the first round of the playoffs. During that season, in a March 26th game against the Dallas Mavericks, he hit a game-winning shot in overtime with 0.5 seconds left over the outstretched arms of Shawn Bradley to catapult Miami to a 119-118 victory. He signed with the Toronto Raptors during the summer of 2004.

Following a tumultuous tenure with the Toronto Raptors, Alston was traded to the Houston Rockets for guard Mike James on October 4, 2005. Although Alston frequently was criticized for his attitude while in Toronto, it is believed that Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy conferred with his brother, Miami Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, who coached Alston during the 2003-2004 NBA season, about Alston's work ethic and attitude. Jeff Van Gundy's reputation for toughness and his ability to get the most out of players previously considered "trouble-makers" or "temperamental" (e.g., Latrell Sprewell) has led to optimism on the part of the Rockets' staff [2]. In the 2006-2007 season, as the Rockets starting point guard, Alston averaged 13.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He finished the season ninth in in steals among all NBA players, fourth in three pointers made, and 20th in assists. He also had the worst field goal percentage in the NBA among qualified players at 37.6%.

[edit] Legal troubles

On Sunday morning, August 5, 2007, Alston was arrested in downtown Houston on misdemeanor charges of assault and public intoxication.[4] He was arrested again in the early hours of Tuesday, August 28 in New York on charges of allegedly slashing a man on the neck during a nightclub altercation.[5] Neither the club owner, police, nor security tapes have provided any evidence of the incident occurring.[6]