My Writing — Jake Uitti

EssayJake UittiMarch 19, 2024Yamaha

‘She’s must see TV’: NBA and WNBA on Caitlin Clark’s blistering talent

There is no bigger name in college basketball than Caitlin Clark at the moment. The Iowa star is becoming a brand unto herself having recently broken both the NCAA women’s and men’s scoring marks, held previously by Lynette Woodard and Pete Maravich, respectively. She already boasts a net worth estimated to be in the millions.

Clark, who started playing in boys’ leagues when she was five, is the surefire top pick in the upcoming WNBA draft. Standing 6ft, she is a big guard for the women’s game, with her passing drawing comparisons to Magic Johnson and her shooting to Steph Curry.

With the women’s NCAA Tournament starting this week, we reached out to a handful of hoops luminaries for their takes on Clark’s talent and how it may translate to the next level.

EssayJake UittiMarch 19, 2024The Guardian

Hoop Dreams at 30: Arthur Agee, William Gates and the ties that bind

America has long obsessed over celebrity and the quest for fame. Thirty years ago, millions of moviegoers got to see that desire up close thanks to the groundbreaking documentary Hoop Dreams, which focused on two teenage basketball players, Arthur Agee and William Gates. The pair never fulfilled their dream of making the NBA, but Agee and Gates ended up making more of an impact than many who did.

EssayJake UittiMarch 7, 2024The Guardian

Rising star: Kevin Durant's rookie year through the eyes of Seattle's basketball figures

Every chance he gets, Kevin Durant talks glowingly about Seattle. He said recently that he wants to be part of the franchise in the future. (And Seattle’s mayor hinted that the team could be back soon.) Many in the city would welcome Durant back with open arms. Maybe the team would even retire his jersey, even though he only played for it for a single season in 2007-08.

Below, we talked with a number of Seattle basketball figures to get their take on Durant’s rookie year, from the promise of his early career to the devastation from his departure months later.

EssayJake UittiMarch 4, 2024Hoops Hype

Wemby is a boss and Pop is legend. So why are the San Antonio Spurs so bad?

Let’s get this out of the way at the beginning: Everyone loves Gregg Popovich. He’s a five-time NBA champion, the league’s all-time winningest coach and he led the US men’s national team to a gold medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Furthermore, if some tragic world event occurs, Pop is the person in the NBA most would want to hear from (Doc Rivers and Steve Kerr being next). But affection can’t get in the way of a difficult question. So here goes: Why are the San Antonio Spurs so bad?

EssayJake UittiFebruary 21, 2024The Guardian

The life of an NBA beat writer

It’s 4 am somewhere and James Edwards’ alarm begins to shriek. Bleary-eyed, he tries to remember where he is: What city, what hotel and what time does his plane take off? Can he take a shower, and get a quick breakfast? And where is he headed next – Toronto, Atlanta, L.A.?

Edwards, who is the beat reporter for the Detroit Pistons, employed by The Athletic, has been covering the team for seven years and it’s another losing season. It’s an epic poem of a losing season. Detroit is the worst team in the league and it recently endured a 28-game losing streak. Yet, Edwards dutifully tracks the team, coming up with stories and wondering both aloud and in print if there is light at the end of the tunnel.

EssayJake UittiFebruary 15, 2024Hoops Hype

6 Artists Discuss How They Recovered From COVID—”Once I Stopped Thinking About Thriving and Moving Into Surviving, Everything Changed”

COVID-19 ravaged the music industry. Venues shut down, tours stopped, vinyl plants went on hiatus. It was mass-confusion, mass-worry and potentially the end of many a livelihood. Thankfully, in the several years since, things have come back to life. Some order has been restored amidst the concern over disease, loss of life and the pandemic shutdown.

But how did artists come back after some two or even three years away from their fans and even each other? To find out, we asked six artists one question: “How did COVID-19 affect your music and how have you since recovered?” Here below are their answers.

EssayJake UittiJanuary 31, 2024MSN

EssayJake UittiJanuary 31, 2024Yamaha

Ranking the likeliest NBA players to make their All-Star debut this year

This year, several players are on the brink of the very real opportunity of making their first All-Star team. Here, we’ll rank 11 such talents – from speedy guards to nimble big men – who are making a real case for themselves to be added to the 2024 All-Star roster.

Check it out below.

EssayJake UittiJanuary 24, 2024Hoops Hype

EssayJake UittiJanuary 23, 2024Yamaha

Sleater-Kinney’s Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker Talk Growing, Enduring & New LP ‘Little Rope’

For anyone who’s been in a longstanding relationship with someone else, like in a marriage or a band, it can be hard to keep things fresh. That’s why the Pacific Northwest-born rock group Sleater-Kinney, co-founded by Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker, is always working, as Brownstein says, to find “new ways of expressing what is essential about the band.” It’s with this approach, she adds, that the duo make their best records. They operate at their peak performance, she says, “when there’s a thread between the early ingredients of the band, the early desperation of the band, with our skills as songwriters today.” With that intention, Sleater-Kinney is poised to release its newest LP, Little Rope, on Friday (January 19).

EssayJake UittiJanuary 15, 2024American Songwriter Magazine

The best players to sign 10-day contracts in the NBA

It’s January 5! And do you know what that means? Well, for NBA executives it marks the first day they can officially sign players to their roster on 10-day contracts. For those unaware, a 10-day deal allows a team to sign a player for three games or 10 days, whichever lasts longer. This, in turn, can help a franchise fill a need caused by injury or just bolster its bench depth.

When a player signs a 10-day contract, it’s unlikely he will earn a significant amount of time on the court. But that isn’t always the case. Sometimes a 10-day can showcase a young, developing talent who can then earn a permanent roster spot for the season once coaches are able to see him up close. On other occasions, however, it’s a chance for an aging veteran to earn one last opportunity in the proverbial NBA sun.

Below, as teams seek out which players they might want to sign to 10-day deals for the 2023-24 season, let’s examine the Top 13 players to ever sign one.

EssayJake UittiJanuary 5, 2024Hoops Hype

Book excerpt: What it was like to barnstorm with Magic Johnson

Below is an excerpt from the new memoir from former NBA player and two-time champion, Earl Cureton, “Earl the Twirl: My Life in Basketball.” The book, which arrives January 5 via McFarland Books, is co-written by Jake Uitti, who also co-wrote a recent memoir with former NBA star Muggsy Bogues.

In Earl the Twirl, Cureton highlights the stories of a basketball veteran who wasn’t necessarily thought of as a star, someone who had to navigate tryouts, cuts, contracts, international play and the dreaded right of first refusal in the league. In this excerpt below from the chapter, “Playing Everywhere,” Cureton discusses barnstorming, traveling to Alaska and what it was like touring with the Magic Johnson all-star team in the 1990s.

EssayJake UittiJanuary 4, 2024The Athletic

Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson clash offers peek at NBA’s future

Throughout the history of the National Basketball Association, one thing has almost always been true. The league is exceptionally difficult – and especially so for rookies. Unless your name is Magic Johnson, the first year of one’s career portends struggle, heartbreak and mistakes aplenty. But what the NBA has also taught its players is that the name of the pro game is resilience. It’s about what one does with those hard times that matters most. Fall, but get up. And when it comes to the 2023-24 season’s two most hyped rookies – Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, who were picked first and third in the 2023 draft, respectively – the new season is proving to be a test of all they’ve prized and prided themselves on in the past.

EssayJake UittiJanuary 2, 2024The Guardian

(EXCERPT) Earl the Twirl: My life in basketball

I don’t remember the exact time I made it into Houston, maybe around 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon Texas time. But I was ready. A team assistant coach, Larry Smith, picked me up. His nickname was “Mr. Mean,” but he was great to me. After we shook hands, I told him I had to go to baggage claim to get my stuff. He said, “Earl, there’s no time to wait for the bags. We have to go now.” All I had was my carry-on in my hand. He said, “We’ll get someone to get your stuff later. Let’s go!” So, I jumped in a car with him, and we went straight to the arena. By the time I made it to the locker room in Houston, the rest of the team was already on the court warming up. The team had my jersey all ready, name printed on the back and everything, hanging in a locker. I jumped into the uniform, number 35, warmups and all, and I got a quick physical examination from the doctors right there in the locker room.

EssayJake UittiDecember 30, 2023Hoops Hype

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