Interview with Jamie Mottran of Mr. Irrelevant

As I resume the interviews here on The Fifth Corner, I believe I’ve scored a truly great one in Jamie Mottran, co-owner of the blog Mr. Irrelevant, which he runs with his brother Chris. Both of these bloggers do a lot more than just the blog, Chris is now chief editor of SB Nation, that has blogs such as Troy Nunes is an Absolute Magician (Syracuse University), Carolina March (University of North Carolina) and Peachtree Hoops (Atlanta Hawks). Jamie is the main man when it comes to the blogs on Yahoo.com, which features Shutdown Corner (National Football League), Ball Don’t Lie (NBA), The Dagger (NCAA Basketball) and Mr. Saturday (NCAA Football).
 
In other words when you’re talking sports Jamie Mottran knows them, add to that the passion he has for the teams from our nation’s capitol and I just had to get some questions in with him about the Washington Wizards and the three ex Tar Heels there. Heck, I might just sneak in a question about blogging if I can, we shall see…

A.E.M.: First of all, thank you for giving up some of your time to do this. My first question is about Antawn Jamison, who this year was 11th in scoring (22.2 per game) and 10th in rebounding (8.9 per game), on a team that won 19 games overall. Looking back at the season, was the long term contract that the team gave him the right or wrong thing to do?

Jamie: It was the right thing to do, but probably not the smart thing. Jamison’s been a warrior for Washington, and was their MVP this season, but still, there are a lot of miles on those tires, he doesn’t play defense and there are three years left on that deal.

A.E.M.: If you think it was the right thing to do, what do you think that the ex National Player of the Year under Dean Smith needs to do to improve himself and the team? On the other hand, if it was the wrong thing, do you see the 2010-11 season being one that doesn’t have Jamison wearing a Wizards jersey, since the team will try to move in a different direction?

Jamie: In the perfect world, the Wizards land the No. 1 pick, draft Blake Griffin and bring Antawn off the bench as a superstar sixth man. Of course, this is the Wizards we’re talking about, so they’ll get the 4 spot, draft someone like Jordan Hill and carry on as they were.
 
A.E.M.: Moving from Jamison to the other ex Tar Heel on the squad, Brendan Haywood. Next year he will be in his player option year, while another center, Ethan Thomas, will be in the early termination option. Do you see the Wizards working out a deal to keep Haywood longer that the 2009-10 season or could next year be the last year for the center in the nation’s capitol?

Jamie: First off, Haywood, by getting hurt, proved just how valuable he is, which is very. There were other losses, sure, but they went from being a playoff team to tying the franchise record for futility. He’ll have a huge ‘09-10 and get paid, as he should (hopefully by the Wiz, who need him more than probably anyone).
 
A.E.M.: Now for the ex Tar Heel that few remember that is on the Washington Wizards, their lead assistant coach, Mike O’Koren, who under Dean Smith was an All American at Chapel Hill. In a lot of ways, even at UNC O’Koren was overshadowed and many do not remember him, but when it was time he made his mark with the Heels. Now, in his 4th year with the Wizards, is there something, be it a story or a tidbit that you can share where Mike O’Koren has left his mark on the team?

Jamie: I’ve got nothin’.
 
A.E.M.: Having spoken about the Tar Heels, let me ask you a couple of generic questions. First, as a fan of the NBA, what do you think of the “one and done” rule? Keep it, tweak it, or get rid of it altogether?

Jamie: Even if, as a Wizards fan, I badly wish it was in effect when Kwame Brown came out of high school, I’ve never understood the rule. Get rid of it, and good riddance.
 
A.E.M.: And lastly, being the great blogger that you are, I’d like to know where you see the blogging community heading. In regards to the mainstream media, and as far as the single blogs compared to the community blogs.

Jamie: We’re heading straight for the sun, my friend.

Not much more to say other than to thank once again Jamie Mottran for taking time out to do this. I do not know about anyone else, but the comment about “we’re heading straight for the sun” has got me excited about what the blogs could be come. Remember, you can follow his work at Mr. Irrelevant or you can follow him on twitter. No matter how you do it, my advice to you is to follow him, because it’s worth it.