Editor's Note: This is the latest installment of the Bullets Forever Summer Project. Some classics have been covered so far (Robert Pack, Tim Legler, Ledell Eackles, Jim McIlvaine, Scott Skiles and Haywoode Workman) - [oh yea, and Larry Stewart and Kevin Duckworth], but there are plenty of great names left. I know many of you out there have some good, and not so good, memories about curiosities of Bullets past. I suggest you take a look at the list, see what demon you want to exorcise, and blog it out.

For this installment we take a look back at the player that went 3 spots after Stephen Jackson in the 1997 NBA Draft, God Shammgod.  Your author is JakeTheSnake.

Thankfully for everyone within the range of my voice, I won't be singing a cover of Joan Osborne's 1995 hit, but it is the basis on which this write-up is based.  If you need to background music to get you into the mood, here you go.

If God was the name, how would he play
And would you guard him face-to-face
If you were faced with him in all his glory
How would you guard him if you had no other options?

Oh yeah yeah God is great yeah yeah God is good
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to play for some dough

If God had a shot what would it look like
And would you want to see
If seeing meant that you would have to believe
In things like rimshots and in airballs and big bricks and ugly clankers

But yeah yeah God is great yeah yeah God is good
yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah

What if God was one of us
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus
Trying to play for some dough
He's trying to make his way home
Back up to heaven all alone
Nobody calling on the phone
Except for Kobe from his throne

JaVale McGee is a rare specimen.  We all know this.  You just don't see guys with 7-6 wingspans and 3 point range walking down the street every day.  Of course, we don't know yet if he'll be able to put it all together and become a productive player yet, but from everything that I've been able to deduce from image searching, at least I can feel confident in saying that he'll be one of the more photogenic players in the league.

JaVale got off on the right foot with this photo-op at his introductory press conference

(MIchael Connor - Washington Times)

Just look at him.  You're not going to mess with someone who can scrape the ceiling with his head.  Some might say that he hurt his cred with his showing at the Rookie Photo Shoot, but given what we know now about his photogeniality, I think it's safe to say that he was just trying to show off his ridiculous measurables.  After the jump, you can check out some more evidence of JaVale showing off his size and some other amazing skills.

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SE: Hello there, welcome to Survivor: The Injured List, I'm your host, Steve Emtman.  Over the last few months we've watched as this group has battled through challenges, formed alliances, and taken every precautionary measure known to man all for one purpose: To stay off of the injured list.

As the weeks have gone by, we've seen player after player betrayed by their body in the challenges.  Heavy favorite, Peyton Manning was was knocked out in the (bursa) Sack Race.  Darkhorse Tyjuan Hagler was knocked off in the Feats of Strength competion.  And of course, who can forget how Marvin Harrison was disqualified after some accusations arose during the Philadelphia Hide & Seek Challenge.

Finally, after all the challenges and all the pain that's come along with it, we're down to our final two contestants.  To my right, is Gijon Robinson.

GR: Hey, wouldn't it make more sense if we weren't doing this game where all we do is injure ourselves?

SE: That's a stupid question.  Weren't you ever told not to ask stupid questions.

GR: Well I learned in school that there's no such thing as a stupid question.

SE: Where'd you go to school again?

GR: Umm...Missouri...

SE: [Glares at Gijon]

GR: ...Missouri Western State.

SE: Exxxxactly.  Now, on my left is our other finalist, Adam Vinatieri.  Gentlemen-

AV: Steve, I hate to interrupt, but I'd really like to know the answer to Gijon's question.  I think a legit question that deserves an answer.

SE: I guess you didn't learn about stupid questions either.  Where'd you go to school at?

AV: I went to State!

SE: Which one?

AV: ...South Dakota.

GR: [snickers]

AV: Hey man, don't even start knocking on the Jackrabbits!  [At least we cover a whole state!  None of that western part of Missouri garbage.

GR: Psssht, the western part of Missouri has more cool stuff than South and North Dakota COMBINED!

AV: Oh, that's it!

[Slap fight ensues]

SE: Alright you two, break it up.  You're going to need to save your energy for the final elimination challenge. 

To determine our Survivor, you two will engage in an old fashioned game of Roshambo!

GR: Um, is that even legal?

SE: Quiet, Missouri Western.  I should punish you for another stupid question, but since I'm a forgiving man, I'll stick with the rules and allow you to kick first since you finished first in last week's ACLerator challenge.  You can start in 5...4...3...2...1...

GR: [Kicks Adam in the man region.]

ARRRRRRRRRGHHHHH!!!!!!  OH MY FOOT!  I THINK I JUST BROKE IT IN FOUR PLACES!  WHAT DO YOU HAVE DOWN THERE?  BALLS OF STEEL?

AV: What else would you expect?

SE: Adam, it's now your turn.

GR: Whoa, whoa, whoa!  Hold up!  Timeout!  That's not even fair, man.  He's a kicker!  This is what he gets paid to do for a living!

SE: Those are the rules, man.

AV: How's South Dakota lookin' now, sucka?

GR: I take it back!  All of it!  Just don't raise that foo-

AV: [Kicks Gijon in the man region.  Gijon immediately passes out.]

Alright, so what do I get now that I'm the winner?

SE: You get to play Devin Hester!

AV: Can I play roshambo against myself?

In the coming weeks, I'm going to try (emphasis on try) and analyze our competitors in the Southeast Division and take a look at what makes them dangerous in the coming season, and what helps us sleep easier at night.  This is kind of like the community projections except that:

A) No predictions on records will be made.

B) This series will be conducted in bullet point form as opposed to paragraph form.

C) These only pertain to the Southeast Division.

D) These will generally be much more poorly written than the Community Projections.

But other than that, they're kind of the same...but not really.

Why I'm scared:

The Heat's top draft pick, sporting the always in style Fresh Prince look.

• Dwyane Wade is back.  I'm not just talking about recovering from injury, either.  I mean, Dwyane Wade is back.  If you saw his performance at the Olympics, then you know what I'm talking about.  I know there's some weaknesses on that team, but guys like him can cover a multitude of weaknesses.
  
• I know that there were differing views on Michael Beasley going into the draft, but there's no doubt in my mind that he's going to produce.  How he's going to produce and in what ways are up for debate, but he can't be any worse than Luke Jackson.
• Not only is Wade back, but he's back and he's angry.  Lovely.
• I'm not sure if the Heat plan on using Marion as a small forward or a power forward, an offensive focal point or a defensive stopper, as a cornerstone for their franchise or trade bait.  And quite frankly, not knowing how the Matrix is going to be used this year scares me.

Why I'm not scared:

• Of the 13 players on the Heat's roster, 6 of them have one year or less playing experience.  That scares me down the road, but not so much right now.
  
• The Fringe Festival!
• Miami's new coach, Eric Spoelsta, is younger than Alonzo Mourning.  I mean, Zo is a classy enough guy that it shouldn't be a problem, but it's got to be a little awkward at least, right?
  
• Super Mario has been on the hunt for mushrooms, and I'm not talking about the 1 UP kind.
• The inevitable "Nobody likes me" poutfest from Shawn Marion.
• We all know that if D-Wade falls down seven times, he'll stand up eight times.  But if he's reaching for a steal...

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Right now, I see the Heat finishing in the 7-10 range in the East.  They've got three very talented players, but too many holes to make a serious run right now.  Of course, people had similar criticisms of Boston last year, and we saw what happened there.  Granted, there's significant talent gap between Boston's Big 3 and Miami's Big 3, but if this team can come together like Boston did, they could return to the elite a lot quicker than anyone is expecting.

Most of the time when you read stuff about the Wizards, there are certain words that you know are going to be assosciated with specific players on the team.  It's almost impossible to find a sentence with Antawn Jamison's name in it that doesn't also include the word veteran.  With Gilbert Arenas, you know you're going to see the word explosive somewhere in his description.  Caron always gets the tough label.  And of course, with Andray Blatche, you know you're going to hear the word potential used.

(AP - Manuel Balce Ceneta)

We've all seen flashes of Blatche is capable of.  You don't see a lot of guys at 6-11 that can shoot and handle the ball like Blatche does.  But his unique skill set isn't his only asset.  He had nine double-doubles last season and only 4 players averaged more blocks per 36 than he did last year.  Given that he just turned 22 last week, it looks like many more productive seasons are on the way as he starts realizing the potential everyone talks about.

While there's no debate among Wizard fans about whether or not Andray has potential or not, there has been a lot discussion regarding whether or not he'll ever realize it.  We can talk all day long about whether or not he has what it takes to make the most of his considerable gifts, but we don't get into a lot of discussion about how good he could be if he put it all together.  So for this week's edition of Pollin', we're strictly focusing on what we think Andray's ceiling is, not whether or not he can actually reach it.  Here are ceiling levels:

• MVP Candidate: To reach this level you're looking for someone that's the unquestioned top player on a strong team over a good stretch of time with at least 7 All-Star appearances and at least one or two serious bids for MVP.  Think Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Chris Webber, Dirk Nowitzki.
  
• Perennial All-Star: For this level we're talking about someone with 3 or more All-Star appearances, that's the top player on a decent team or a very good second option on a very good team.  Think Jermaine O'Neal, Rasheed Wallace, Shawn Marion.
• Borderline All-Star: Here we're looking at someone that makes it to the All-Star game once or twice at most.  Unless they're mired on a team in complete rebuild mode, they're operating as a second or third banana.  Think Shareef Abdur-Raheem, Theo Ratliff, Jamal Mashburn, 
• Good, but not quite an All-Star: Barring a luck selection in a down year, these guys won't ever make an All-Star team, but they're certainly above average players at their position.  Think Lamar Odom, Marcus Camby, Vlade Divac.
• Solid, but not spectacular: These are guys that are going to be either average starters or above-average backups.  Unless they find themselves on a perennial contender, they'll end up fading into obscurity, even if they have a longer than normal career.
  

Personally, I'd slot him in the Borderline All-Star range, but on the right day I could be talked into slotting him as a Perennial All-Star type talent especially if he gets traded.  But what do you think?  Is Andray the next big thing, or are we just drooling too much over a tall guy with strong putback skills?