Shawn Kemp is Ready to Return in the NBA

Perhaps no one in the NBA has dunked the basketball harder than ''The Rain Man'' Shawn Kemp.

Yes, a few others comes into mind like Shaquille O'Neal, Vince Carter and of course, LeBron James. However, in his heydays with Seattle, ''The Rain Man'' Shawn Kemp can dunk the basketball hard in an era where hook shots, reverse lay-ups and fade-away jumpers are already SportsCenter material.

Shaq, Carter and LeBron are dunking in an era where a two-handed slam dunk is boring.

Now, after three years away from the league, ''The Rain Man'' is ready to have another shot in dunking the ball on this brand new era of the LeBrons and the Carters.

Shawn Kemp is fueling a comeback.

Kemp, at 36 years of age, voluntarily retired from the Orlando Magic in 2003 because of weight issues. His last NBA Season saw him weigh as much as 320 pounds.

Now, he said he has slimmed down to a 270-pound frame and is ready for another shot in the NBA.

''I've sat out this whole season to get in tip top shape to make a comeback,'' Shawn Kemp said.

The former All-Star faced troubles other than weight loss during his career, which began when he was drafted by Seattle in 1989. He took a leave of absence during the 2000-01 season to enter a substance abuse program and violated the league's anti-drug policy three times.

Most recently, a Seattle judge sentenced him in May 2005 to five days of electronic home monitoring, a year's probation and a $440 fine after he pleaded guilty to attempted possession of more than 40 grams of marijuana.

Now, Shawn Kemp claims his days as a druggie is over and is ready to slam that basketball down with tremendous intensity. I am certainly rooting for him to do just that.

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