There's no question that the Wu-Tang Clan is one of the greatest groups in Hip-Hop History, and personally they are my favorite group of all-time. After the success and response of their first album "Enter the 36 Chambers" several members went solo, most notably Method Man, Ghostface, and Raekwon, all of whom were incredible rappers without the group, they all could carry the weight of a song or album without the assistants of the other members of the Wu, but then there was the Ol' Dirty Bastard. ODB was no question the most entertaining member of the Wu, I always liken him to the Sammy Davis Jr of the Wu, maybe not the best singer, but the most entertaining (Sammy Davis Jr. was entertaining in a completely different way of course) ODB's shenanigans were always good for a laugh, wether it was taking a limo to pick up his food stamps or storming the stage at the Grammy's when Wu-Tang didn't win, he was a character to say the least. While much of his debut solo album "Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version" is unlistenable (listening to 60 minutes of ODB's frantic rapping style is way too much) the second single "Shimmy Shimmy Ya" is a really fun, catchy song, by far the best solo song ODB ever did, also its one of the better and more entertaining songs ever done by a Wu member. Sadly ODB died in 2004, but his great moments will never be forgotten, Shimmy Shimmy Ya was definitely one of them.
Keith Van Horn is one of the most reluctant superstars to ever play the game, Van Horn was immensely talented, there was never any question about that, the guy could shoot, he had great range, he had an impressive back to the basket game, and he was an incredible rebounder, the one thing that was always questioned with Van Horn was the last thing most athletes ever want questioned, that was his heart. Many people always felt that as great a natural talent as he was his heart was never fully in the game. But there was no question that he was a natural talent, in my opinion with his size, range and scoring ability, if his heart was ever fully in the game he could have been Kevin Durant, before Kevin Durant, his natural ability was that good.
Van Horn was drafted in 1997, he played his first 5 years as a key component to the New Jersey Nets massive turnaround, the Nets went from a perennial loser, to a team that competed in the Eastern Conference for several seasons. In 2002 the Nets won the Eastern Conference Championship, in fact it was Keith Van Horn's game winning shot against the Celtics that got them there. The Nets would eventually get swept by the Lakers, and Van Horn would get traded to the 76'ers that summer, Van Horn's numbers would dip, and he would start to move around the league, he did have a resurgent year in 2006 as the sixth man for the Dallas Mavericks, that Mavericks team would eventually lose to the Miami Heat, but Van Horn was a major factor of the Mavs winning the West that year. Van Horn would essentially retire after that season (he said he was taking just 1 year off to be with his family but never returned) it seemed like he still had a lot left in the tank after his resurgence with the Mavs, but it was an all to typical move for him. Van Horn finished his career averaging 16 points and 7 rebounds per game, those are really solid numbers, but we're left wondering how great could he have been if his heart had been in the game.
Fun Fact: Anytime I need a good laugh I watch the video of ODB storming the stage at the Grammy's, it makes me weak still to this day, his speech is one of the funniest things I've ever heard, if you haven't seen it, watch the video, immediately if not sooner.
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