Michael has been watching basketball since the late eighties. He has been playing basetball at the amateur level since the early nineties for such teams as the YMCA Sonics, the St. Rita Falcons, where he was selected as the Faclon Award winner for the 1997-98 season, the Solon High School Intermural Eastern Conference Champion UCLA Bruins, as well as countless other brief stints in Europe and Eurasia. What he lacks in traditional talent he makes up in sheer heart. Often he is referred to as the King of the Hustle, Hustleman Jones, and Sir Hustles. He is a libra (ladies).

Historically speaking, it is essentially impossible. Only four people in the NBA have done it. Some have grasped at it, others a breath's distance.

Rick Barry was a steal away. The Glide came within one rebound. Ten years later he came within one steal. Jordan couldn't do it. Bird couldn't do it. Wilt and Bill Russell probably had a few, but people weren't writing things down then. It’s happened in college, sure, but what hasn't happened in college? It is the next hurdle to clear, the next threshold to cross. Double digit figures in four statistical categories. The quadruple-double.

To say that the quadruple-double is difficult to attain is like saying that Austin Carr "just sort of likes the Cavaliers." Considering how hard it is to achieve a triple-double for an NBA player, the quadruple-double is not even a thought entertained. Save the superstars (i.e. Big O, who went ahead and averaged one for a season), a triple-double is nothing short of a career defining moment for players. For first timers, the triple-double is a declaration; a statement that "I have arrived." For the leagues finest, they act as a steady reminder to all- an alpha-male assertion of dominance. Though considerably more rare, the 12-15 year veteran (The Mailman at age 40 for instance) will blow up, indicative of a nostalgic glimpse of what once was. And while all these games elevate to levels of individual greatness and basketball glory unimaginable by Dr. Naismith, they would pale in comparison to "The Quad."

To watch a triple-double in the making is to watch a special form of basketball. Where the double-double can be achieved through a single person's prowess alone, the triple-double performance (usually) requires excellent team play. Off the ball movements create open looks which are fed by good passing. Creativity becomes key. The Quad is far more elusive, however, requiring a special set of circumstances. The triple-double becomes a statistical necessity, thus spectacular play infused with team basketball becomes a necessity. But there is a final key to the puzzle: superb defense. There hasn't been a Quad since The Admiral in 1994. Robinson posted 34 points, 10 rebounds, 10 assists, and 10 blocks. That was 15 years ago. This may be due in part to higher quality teams and defenses more effectively shutting down star players, but that is doubtful. Since the mid-90's, the caliber of NBA basketball as a whole has declined.



The early 2000's saw only a handful of dominating stars and in turn left a large discrepancy between the best teams and the rest of the league. Mediocrity, in comparison to the star packed Association of the 70's, 80's and early 90's, defined the post-Jordan era. But in 2003 that all changed. Spearheaded by LeBron James, a new class of superstars has characterized the league, turning it around for the best. Nearly every team has a franchise player capable of basketball wizardry at any given moment, ready and eager to prove to the rest of the league who they are and what they can do. The Quad no longer lay dormant. With this NBA, with these players, the Quad is within reach. The closest hand? None other than The Chosen One himself. Jon Miller captured my sentiment perfectly. "At any given moment, on any given night, against any given team, the King could go for 50, 12, and 10."

The triple-double is a walk in the park to him. Stats wise, he's a freak. That's common knowledge. However, it isn't his day to day stats that impress me the most. It his evolution from season to season. Remember the rookie James? That seems like decades ago. It was six years. The man leaves for Beijing as a 4 time snubbed MVP, a ringless beast searching for some hardware other than a couple of All-Star Game MVP trophies, and comes back a f***ing defense force. Where did those crippling blocks come from? Three months of off-season and he's a bullet train on both ends of the floor. He's averaging more blocks per game than at any time in his career. He's only going to get stronger. He's only going to get faster. He's only going to get hungrier. What makes you think that he won't start recording 5, 6, 7 blocks a night? At that point, what's stopping him from that magical 10? If anybody is going to get the quadruple-double, its going to be him. ...And then there's that point guard from New Orleans.

Chris Paul is the best point guard in the league, bar-none. He's on of the top five players in the league. His game is a treasure to watch as his quickness dismantles defenders allowing his pristine vision to create sheer beauty of out of nothing. As far as rebounding is concerned he's on track to top Jason Kidd. He can get a triple-double with limited problems (4 already this season). But just like James, it is Paul's defense that is devastating. He picks the pockets of any causal ball handler, racking up steal after steal. Can he get ten in a game? Well, he already has gotten 9 (not to mention 8 twice). I'm not saying James and Paul are locks for the Quad. Both players have a way to go, especially LeBron. It took the four who did it at least 10 years in the NBA before etching their names in history. However, with their skills they are more poised than anybody else in the league. This brings us to this Friday.



Two players both on their quest for everything. Two players with unbelievable promise and unrelenting will facing off against each other. Aristotle says that a probable impossibility is preferable to an improbable possibility. In other words, people are more willing to be attracted to something that can't happen then something that most likely won't. The Quad is improbable, but not impossible. LeBron and CP3 have a long time of playing ahead of them. Can they prove Aristotle wrong? We will see.

Michael Tonovitz and has written for TAC since 2009, to contact him email theaustincarr@gmail.com