sports
Michael Rand started RandBall with hopes that he could keep lies from conquering the minds of the weak. So far, he's only succeeded in using the word "redacted" a lot. He welcomes suggestions, news tips, links of pure genius, and pictures of pets in Halloween costumes here, though he already knows he will regret that last part.
Follow Randball on Twitter
Ex-Wolves forward Mark Madsen is dominating Stanford Ph.D. students in basketball now
Posted by: Michael Rand under Wolves news Updated: July 10, 2012 - 12:46 PM
Mark Madsen, the 6-9 basketball-playing version of Nick Punto with all of his hustle, scrap and grit (not to mention tail-battling and want-to), carved out a nice little NBA career out of those aforementioned traits, including several seasons with your beloved Timberwolves.
And now? Madsen is the best guy on the court, grabbing rebounds away from unsuspecting Ph.D. students at Stanford. Per the Wall Street Journal, as sent to us by reader William R.:
Yesol Huh walked into a gym here for an intramural-basketball game last year, eager to help her team notch its first victory.
Then she spotted the opposing center. He was 6-foot-9 and warmed up by violently dunking the ball in the Stanford University court. "We're never winning this game," Ms. Huh recalls thinking.
Her prediction was a slam-dunk: The center was Mark Madsen, a former player in the National Basketball Association. Mr. Madsen "had such good rebounding instincts, we eventually gave up and let him have every one," says Travis Johnson, one of Ms. Huh's teammates. Their side lost by 30 points.
Mr. Madsen is one of several former-top-tier athletes aiming to extend their careers by joining recreational and beer leagues, sometimes spoiling the fun for the shorter, slower or clumsier folks they play against.
Mr. Madsen, enrolled at Stanford's business school, had joined classmates for the game against Ms. Huh's squad, which was made up of Ph.D. students who called their team Full Frontal Nerdity.
Few on the Nerdity team had even played basketball before. Ms. Huh, a 5-foot-4 finance student, says she scored only one "goal" in two years. Mr. Madsen played nine years in the NBA, winning two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Maybe some day, Madsen's team will play Donovan McNabb's rec league basketball team in a winner-take-all championship.
ADVERTISEMENT
recent posts
- Stu's Hunt Down: Bob Bruce, former KSTP sports anchor
- TFD: Chuck Norris wrote a column defending/adoring Tim Tebow
- Vikings kicker Blair Walsh knows how to fix the NBA draft lottery
- RandBall: Twins tone deaf with their Tweeting after being swept by Atlanta
- TFD: If you're going to get an elaborate tattoo, make sure it is proofread (unlike Kevin Durant)
- Video comparison: Plouffe and Morneau concussion plays eerily similar
- Tweets about serious crime accusation coming from Jose Canseco's account
- Wednesday (Mauer, The Nook and life's narrative) edition: Wha' Happened?
- TFD: Report -- Massive layoffs at ESPN
- RandBall: Gardenhire on Deduno vs. Gibson
- Tuesday (A classic Joe Mauer letter) edition: Wha' Happened?
- RandBall: Are Buxton and Sano the next Mike Trout and Bryce Harper?
- RandBall: Tom Brady's son wearing a Gophers sweatshirt. Class of 2026?
- Monday (The end of Joe Mauer's remarkable streak) edition: Wha' Happened?
- Weekend Links with Jon Marthaler: In-season cup competition in college baskeball? Brilliant!
- RandBall: Catching up with Squints, Ham and the director of 'The Sandlot'
- Video: Inside-the-park home run with a flip over the catcher? Sure
- Saban disappointed that ex-Gophers coach called him 'the devil himself'
- RandBall: We're learning what Pitino wants from his Gophers
Post By Category
- Reusse blog: Following the Twins disaster from afar
- Rayno: Does Coleman's transfer pressure Pitino to get more locals?
- Reusse blog: Get ready for 'IFK Minneapolis,' arriving in 2017
- Buzz about former Gophers' Mbakwe and Williams
- E.J. Henderson confident in brother at middle linebacker
- Stu's Hunt Down: Bob Bruce, former KSTP sports anchor
- Reusse blog: Richard Robert Reusse: Oct. 15, 1905-May 19, 1973
- Wild season ticket prices go up
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
inside the StarTribune
-
425 Portland Av. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55488
(612) 673-4000
- Company
- Subscriber Services
- Website
- Buy Ads
- Store
- Connect with Us
© 2013 StarTribune. All rights reserved.
StarTribune.com is powered by Limelight Networks
Newspaper Subscriptions
eEdition
RSS
Newsletters