I downed my first Gatorade nutrition shake like I was an extra on the set of "Beerfest". It went down fast and smooth and it was delicious. I got up out of my chair and grabbed another. I sat back and enjoyed this one a little more. I savored the flavor and took my time. There was still an hour before practice, so I had time to chill. After my third shake, I figured it was finally time to get taped up, start stretching, and get some shots up. I was about time to start my two-day camp with the Sonics. 

Three teams were made of the 18 guys there and we got to battling. Five-on-five, one-on-one, shooting drills, post moves, and defensive/offensive breakdowns were all part of that first practice. Since the majority of the first practice was spent getting used to one another and the principles, everyone was doing their best to stay in it mentally and physically.  

When the practice was over, I headed back into the locker room, grabbed a shake and sat down in my chair. I then realized that there was a pile of wet clothes in my chair. "Coddamn Isaiah Fox putting his clothes in my chair," I mumbled under my breath. I turned around to see Isaiah fully clothed. I mentally apologized to him and threw the clothes on the floor. Then, almost as quickly as I had put them down, Nick Collison picked them up. I then looked up and noticed that I had been placed in his locker. My next thought was that Nick probably said "Coddamn D-Leaguers sprawling their clothes all over my locker" when he saw my bag of nonsense taking up his space. Of course my locker had to be the only one that was currently being used by its real occupant.

I guess I was spending way too much time analyzing the situation, because Nick's words interrupted my thoughts.   

"Yo, man, I saw you on E:60," he said to my surprise. 

"Oh snap! Really?" I asked. 

"Oh yeah, I'm a big fan of The Sports Guy. So what's with this Boom Tho stuff?" 

I was putting my Boom Tho shirt on, I guess it does draw a lot of questions. 

"It's a movement," I told him. 

He left, eager to check out the blogs and videos and get his Boom-Tho-Ness to a higher level. 

All of us D-League guys went home and got rest for the next day. When I came back for day two, one of the coaches caught me on my way into the gym.  

"Rod, what's this Boom Thou? What is that?" 

The problem was, actually many people have this problem, that he was pronouncing it "boom THOU." I feel like it is already spelled phonetically, so I don't get it when people say "boom thou" instead of "boom tho." 

"Coach," I started, "for one, it's a movement. For two, it's Boom Tho! Not Boom Thou. Boom Tho. And yes, it is a movement." 

Despite my pleas, he made it a point to say "Boom Thou" the rest of the day. He did recognize that it was a movement, but he failed to recognize the correct pronunciation.  

We split up into teams for a three-on-three tournament. I was with Earl Calloway and Terrence Crawford. Given our degree of Boom-Tho-Ness, it was obvious that we were going to win. We didn't lose a single game. In fact, on the day, T.C. and I were 9-1 in all games and scrimmages. Very solid day. Mad Boom Tho.

I felt satisfied with my performance when the camp was said and done. I went back to Nick Collison's locker and had a couple more shakes. At his request, I brought him a Boom Tho shirt and left it in his locker. I took a picture of the locker with the shirt in it so you can get a visual of the situation and understand how and when Nick joined the movement. It was the day I left the shirt in our locker after the free-agent mini-camp: 

Of course I had to do Bay to Breakers when I got back from Seattle, which was awesome, but now I have a few weeks between now and my next camp, so it's back to training in Sacramento. I should have a new Boom-Tho-Ness video for Friday so get ready, and if you have Facebook, check out the Boom Tho Movement page.

Rod Benson is a Cal grad who plays for the D-League's Dakota Wizards. He also blogs one or two times a week on Ball Don't Lie. Read his archive, pay a visit to TooMuchRodBenson.com and always support the Boom Tho movement.

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