If you look at the picture provided here , it's not so bad... But I, with an infinite amount of time to look at the internet and things no one else in this world cares about, see: this blog, decided to look at Blake's other media day pictures, including this one:
Ridiculous, right? Blake is probably my favorite NBA fringe player, taking over Luke Schenscher's role now that it looks he's permantly implanted in the Australian league, but when you look at his arms, it should probably scare you. How he lived in Miami for about a month and still has a farmer tan baffles me. Had he stayed here in North Dakota all last year, I could let it go. However, he was in Vegas playing for the TWolves Summer League team, where it was about 115 degrees out... Wear your jersey outside or something Blake. Unless your agent told you to hold off on tanning so once you deservedly make the NBA you can get your first big endorsement with a local tanning salon, I don't get it.
In his defense, Blake should be able to do pretty much whatever he wants, as he is destined to be an urban legend. He's been underestimated his whole career, not being drafted after taking over the career lead in free-throw percentage in college (J.J. Redick who?), being the 53rd overall pick in the D-League (rookies are immensely important because each team needs to carry 2 no matter what) behind such basketball talents as Squeaky Johnson, Jason Klotz, Lukasz Obrzut, Jahsha Bluntt, Kibwe Trim, Melvin Council, and about 35 other players you'll never hear from, at least for playing basketball. In the D-League, he started training camp as probably the 4th or 5th guard in Coach Duane Ticknor's combo guard offense.
Ahearn immediately showed he can play however, as he put in 24 points in 24 minutes in a high school gym in Dickinson, North Dakota in a preseason game, shooting 5-6 from behind the pretty-accurately-taped-3-hours-before-gametime 3-point line (I helped). Ahearn made the team, due in part to his work ethic, and also because he was a rookie, and the team didn't fall in love with big Aristide Sawadago, the 3rd rookie on the team, with Ahearn and Perrin Johnson. Though he doesn't complete the "first one to to arrive, last one to leave" phrase that is commonly heard, it wasn't his fault. Playing in Bismarck, the players got to the arena in 2 vans, so he was at least in the first couple to get on the court and definitely the last one to leave the court, as teammates were waiting for him to get out to the van while he was going through his one-man shooting drills.
Ahearn played well at the beginning of the season off the bench for the Wizards, coming in and providing a scoring punch when called upon. When Wizards vet Maurice Baker left for a paycheck overseas, Ahearn got the playing time he'd been working toward and thrived. On his way to an NBA call up with the Miami Heat, averaging 31 points and 7 assists in the 10 games before being called up.
Ahearn got a look in Vegas with the T-Wolves Summer League team, who brought 3 point guards in without contracts: Ahearn, D-League vet Pooh Jeter, and Michigan State rookie Drew Neitzel. Ahearn played more of a shooting guard role and averaged 12 points a game, including a monster dunk in one of them.
Ahearn is now looking to secure a guaranteed contract this season with Minnesota, and everyone should hope he makes it, if only just so that he's finally able to cash in on the marketing opportunity that is his half-white, half-tan-hairy-gorilla-man arms.
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