R.J.'s Homecoming | Duke Canada Tour 18'

Duke Freshman R.J. Barrett Jr. returns home for the Duke Canada Tour. The tour will begin with a friendly exhibition match between the Duke Blue Devils and Ryerson Rams. The Blue Devils will also square off against the UofT Blues and McGill University during their international tour. This is the first time that Duke has ever been to Toronto, and with that being said Coach K. looks to make his statement on Canadian soil. The Blue Devils will be led by their top heavy freshman class, that includes projected lottery picks for the 2019 NBA Draft (RJ Barrett Jr., Zion Williamson). The tandem of Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett Jr. will be of sight to see all season in the NCAA. Canadian native Barrett Jr. will get his taste of college basketball as he suit up for his first game as a Blue Devil. He's been praised as the saviour for Canada basketball, leading their national program to its first gold medal in International play.

Photo by: Nathan Denette

“I know how (Rana) coaches, so i guess I’ll have the advantage against him”

— R.J. Barrett Jr.

Just a couple months ago, R.J. Barrett suited up for Coach Rana on the Sr. Men's national team. This time around R.J. and Coach Rana will be on opposing sides as they match up in the opening game of the Canadian Tour. This is a special opportunity for the Duke Blue Devil as it being their first international tour in over 10 years; the team will get to build some commodore on some Canadian soil. This will be a good test for Coach K's squad, given the fact that they haven't played a regulation game all summer, he has high hopes for his Blue Devils in hindsight. Coach K is looking forward to the seeing his Squad come together when the lights are on and in front of the packed house of 5,400. Let see if Coach K will come out victorious and add anther win to his historical list of his.

Photo by: Gerry Boome

“We are not in regular season conditioning. We don’t have a whole system in. We are just going to see how hard we can play with the lights on and in front of a crowd.”

— Coach Kryzewski

On Wednesday night, The Duke Blue Devils cruised to an 86-67 win over the Ryerson Rams. Barrett Jr. had a game-high 34 points in his college debut, while Zion Williamson added 29 and 13 rebounds; these two young stars dominated the show. Coach K and his projected lottery picks had the upper hand outscoring the Rams 25-11 in the second quarter Kudos to The Ryerson Rams who fought hard all game, J.V. Mukama led their team in scoring with 20 points and 12 rebounds. In the end, Duke was too much to handle inside the paint with the presence of Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett Jr. Ryerson had no answer.  The Blue Devils will head into game 2 vs. UofT Varsity Blues on Friday night.

Photo by: Mark Blinch

“I told R.J. at the end of the game in the handshake line, it’s nothing but love. I want to see him do well and I think he’s going to have a tremendous ‘one-year’ career at Duke”

— Roy Rana

Duke delivered a win for R.J. Barrett's coming out party and was done in stellar fashion, as for the Ryerson Rams they go back to the drawing boards in preparation for their 2018-19 USports season; they definitely got a taste of what the NCAA is  all about. Duke is one the elite programs in the NCAA and with so much history behind their program, it's great to witness what Coach K has built over the decades. Coach K led Duke to 5 NCAA titles, over 1070 wins and solidified the Blue devils program as a storied program.

Photo by: Duke Basketball

Thanks: ESPN, Canada Basketball, DukeMBB, Sportnet

Athletes: R.J. Barrett Jr. (@rjbarrett), Zion Williamson (@zionlw10)

Behind The Lens | Nia "l0verebel" Simone

In today’s world we are living in a creative space, where free will and creative energy is at an all-time high for freelancers. The emergence of the sports media market has captured the attention of prominent creative artists. Each artist has a defining story that sparks positive energy into the world; this week's feature will be on Nia Simone. The 24-year old Westchester native has a promising future that lies ahead; she uses her creative eyes to capture defining moments in our culture. This summer, Nia has blazed a unique trail by creating an authentic platform through her dope shots of the top basketball events such as: Dyckman Basketball, Nike’s NY vs. NY and Pro-city NYC. Nia has received notoriety from prominent sports media channels and NBA athletes. During my NYC trip, I had the oppportunity to conduct an interview on the upcoming creative artist as she let me into her world.

1. Can you provide your audience with a brief introduction to l0verebel?

N: l0verebel”, is composed of three parts.

1.  " I've always seen myself as a rebel because I don’t follow trends. I rebelled against my parents and life’s stereotypes. So l0ve a rebel (l0ve me) basically.
2.  "l0ve has always been a complex emotion for me. Therefore, I see myself as l0ve’s very own rebel. Sometimes I rebel against those I l0ve and the idea of them/it, but also because my tactics aren’t always as traditional in the way I show it." (it being l0ve)
3.   "My first digital DSLR camera was a canon t3 rebel so everything coincidentally and ironically plays a part and comes full circle, and the bonus factor of the “O” being a zero is the idea of l0ve being about quality and not quantity."

2. What makes Nia Simone unique from other creatives in NYC?

N: "We all have eyes, but no one has eyes like mine. I’m my own entity therefore no one can capture a photo like me. That’s something I have to remind myself constantly. When I shot the Mets game a couple weeks ago I was obviously happy, but as soon as I saw a few other photographers with the big expensive lens a frown formed out of my smile until positive Nia reminded myself it was no big deal. “They don’t have your eyes”, “they don’t see things like you do”. I walked away with some of the best photos I’ve ever taken in my life that night by simply utilizing what I had, walking around the stadium and being as creative as I can".

“They don’t have your eyes, they don’t see things like you do”

— Nia Simone

Photo of (@kevindurant)

3. What are some creative challenges you face in your work?

N: "Respect is the biggest one. Some people don’t take me seriously because I’m a woman, but I’m good at what I do so I try to not let it get to me. I’m way too hard on myself and since I’ve been shooting for so long I’m not always impressed with my work. I’m only in competition with myself."

4. What's in store next for l0verebel?

 N: "I’ve always been interested in concert photography. I l0ve music and I know I’ll be good at capturing performances. It’s the least I could do, adding value to someone’s set, giving artists something back from what they’ve given to me.  I also want to direct films and music videos. There are a lot of artists who put out quality/personable music and sadly, sometimes their visuals don’t showcase that. I’d also enjoy being an artists’ personal photographer. Not for the hype, clout or to be out clubbing, but to show the world another side of who they truly are (A black man/men preferably) because I know I look at them differently. Black men are so beautiful to me; I want to remind the world of how stunning they are."

5. Where do you draw a lot of your creative inspiration from?

N: "Life inspires me. I inspire me. People often ask me that and I always laugh because I’m shooting things that already exist. Only difference between your eyes and mine is that I took the time out to notice it."

Creative Artist: Nia Simone (@l0verebel)

Interviewed by: @twingq

niasimone.co