NBA superstars Carmelo and Durant to play in the Palestra?

 

Wow, this is jaw-dropping news for any basketball fan in Philly. After watching NBA superstars LeBron James, Carmelo AnthonyKevin Durant, and Chris Paul put on an absolute spectacle at the Team Melo vs. Goodman exhibition this past Tuesday, Phoenix Suns forward and Philly native Hakim Warrick decided he wanted to recruit a Philly-based squad to play host against his former Syracuse teammate (Carmelo) and Melo's Baltimore crew. The site of the game? Still up in the air, but look at what Warrick said in the article:

"Either Temple, St. Joe's or the Palestra," Warrick said. "My first choice is the Palestra, because when you think of Philly, especially Big 5 Basketball and all the history, you think of the Palestra.                    From ESPN.com
The fact that the Palestra is his first choice speaks volumes to the type of respect Warrick has for "The Cathedral of College Basketball" even though he didn't play in the Big 5. But ignore all that for a minute.

More pressing, this could be a slam dunk (pun intended) marketing opportunity for Penn Athletics and the Palestra. According to the article, Carmelo would not be bringing along LeBron or Paul,  but he would be bringing top-flight talent from the D.C./Baltimore area including guys like Durant (two-time defending scoring champ in the NBA and apparently, the King of Summer Basketball), and Denver Nuggets' guard Ty Lawson. Not too shabby. Meanwhile, on the Philly side, you would have Warrick and potentially Tyreke Evans (Sacramento Kings, averaged 17.8 ppg last year), St. Joe's own Jameer Nelson (Orlando Magic starting PG), and Richard "Rip" Hamilton of the Detroit Pistons (the real Facemask baller could be in the Palestra — sorry, Tyler). The list goes on of other NBA talent that could suit up (former Villanova Wildcat Kyle Lowry was also named as a potential player).

To sum up, we could have a thrilling basketball exhibition of NBA All-Star caliber right here in the Palestra. Barring any logistical issues with hosting such a highly anticipated event, Penn would have to seriously consider trying to set this up. The Palestra would definitely be rocking that night.

And it does look like this exhibition will happen, whether at the Palestra or not. Melo said he's on board, but the one guy who could throw a wrench into the plans? Kobe Bryant. The future Hall of Famer, who attended Lower Merion H.S., could also play for Philly, but if that were to happen, the game would probably need to be played at the Wells Fargo Center to accommodate more fans.

I just hope I get a press pass if this does happen, so I can witness stuff like this.

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