A look back at 2011

2011 was a great year for Project Spurs. It was the year we added some great staff members in Paul Garcia, Trevor Zickgraff, Humberto Cervera and Kyle Boenitz.

It was also the year we completed year six of the Spurscast and year seven of Project Spurs. In 2011, we formed several new partnerships, including our latest with WOAI and also had some fun in a cover shoot for Conexion.

All in all, the staff of Project Spurs published 1,831 posts/podcasts, a few of which we’ll highlight. A few of us decided to take a look back and a glance forward to 2012.

Michael A. De Leon
1. Best Spurs moment in 2011: I’d have to call it a tie. The comeback win against Memphis with Manu Ginobili hitting the fallaway two, followed by Gary Neal hitting that crazy three-pointer to get the Spurs into overtime, and Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili in the All-Star game would have to be my other favorite moment because it could be Duncan’s last All-Star game and Ginobili has been snubbed for the last several years.

2. Favorite post written in 2011: It’s hard for me to pick just one. The best part of covering home games is getting the chance to get a closer look at Spurs/NBA players and giving our readers a chance to see that as well. Two of my interviews really stood out for me. I wrote a feature on Gary and Leah Neal called, From Platinum to Gold: Neal continues hunt for second ring. I made pregame and postgame visit’s to Neal’s locker every few games for about a month getting a few questions in at a time before I wrote the post. I loved writing the feature, but hearing from Leah (Gary’s wife) that she and Gary read it together one night and loved it meant a lot.

Also, while I waited around to interview Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant prior to a game just to get a few quick pre-game quotes, I ended up getting much more than I expected, which led to another feature that was very rewarding to write.

3. Looking forward to in 2012: I’m looking forward to seeing what is in store for Project Spurs, some of which is in planning, and some that I don’t even know is coming as has been the case in the past. I am also looking forward to continuing to work with our great staff and trying to produce the best content we can for Spurs fans. As I said on an episode of the Spurscast that currently being edited, I got chills when I heard Duncan’s name announced during player introductions earlier last week when I thought about the day that comes when I won’t hear it anymore and the thought that this could be his final year and I’ll be there to witness it all. So whether it is or isn’t his last, I’m looking forward to seeing him out on the floor this season.

Paul Garcia
1. My favorite Spurs moment of 2011 was being able to cover game 5 of the SAS-MEM series in which Gary Neal hit the last second shot to send the game into overtime and eventually leading to a Spurs win. Being there amongst the atmosphere around the crowd and even being in the locker room post game was a special experience that I’ll never forget.

2. My favorite column was this one from last season. It details the Spurs’ 12 losses at the time last season and let’s the readers know that falling is part of the process. You have to fail, in order to succeed.

3. I’m looking forward to continuing to learn the ins and outs of the news world as my first full season as a credentialed media member. I hope to build my networking and friendships with other Spurs writers as well as visiting teams writers. I want to work to be the best at covering games live alongside Michael De Leon and supplying our readers with the fastest (via twitter) and original analysis game-by-game. I also want Project Spurs to continue to grow and I’m looking forward to our writers and our site to become one of the premiere sports news sites on the web.

Humberto Cervera
1. My favorite Spurs moment of the year was Gary Neal’s huge shot in the playoffs. Closely followed by Tiago dunking, falling on his tail and hurting himself.

2. My favorite article is a tie between my debut and my article about the ex you just can’t quit.

3. I’m most looking forward to the spurs doing just enough in the regular season to reel me into thinking they have an actual shot at winning another championship,then later crushing my soul in the playoffs.