“Don’t shoot the messenger”
Many of you are familiar with the headline; I’m only reporting the news. A former player turned NBA analyst discussing Carmelo Anthony joining the Rockets. “Instead of four guys in the lineup playing defense there will be only three,” the reference was Anthony joining James Harden. Another former player stated it this way; “It‘s easy to drive the lane on Harden he simply steps out of your way.” Could this be a portion of the Thunder’s basis for trading Harden rather than pay him? I ’m paraphrasing the statements but I hope you get the idea, this is not me hatin.’

Who replaces Coach K?
Mike Krzyzewski has indicated he wants to stay at the helm five more years. The years pass more rapidly than we sometimes realize, with that said it’s not too early to explore possible successors. Duke is one of the high profile programs that demand a national search for a new head coach. The school is fortunate in one aspect the coaching tree for Coach K. extends coast to coast. First up might be Tommy Amaker, he played for the coach and has remolded Ivy League Harvard into an annual NCAA Tournament team. There is Doug’s son Chris Collins coaching at Northwestern, he too played for the coach.

On Coach K’s staff serving as an associate head coach is Jeff Capel, he’s served as head coach at VCU at one point. Also on staff as assistants are Nate James and Jon Scheyer who like Capel played for Coach K. The jury is out on former Dukee Steve Wojciechowki, he’s just been hired as head coach at Marquette. He needs to get his feet wet first to determine his status as a possible Coach K. replacement. I’m sure the coaching tentacles reach out much further than listed, as you can see there are a number of former Duke players who could be hired. So you can see there are a number of names to consider once Coach K. decides to step down.

Bits n Pieces
I wonder if the Kansas fan bragging about the Big XII happened to see the attendance numbers? Just in case he didn‘t see the article the Big XII averaged 10,489 per game, the “football” SEC averaged 10,353. The Big 10 led all of the conferences with 13,534 fans per game.

The plan for Words eye view is to provide you basketball news. A reporter said; “The FIFA World Cup audience has outdrawn the NBA Finals on television.” I thought for a moment on his statement, the NBA has a growing world-wide audience but is secondary to football (soccer) in the minds of most of the world’s populace. A sports novice realizes the fact this reporter indicated was “news.”

Nike is the world-wide leader in basketball shoe sales, what about NBA players? They are still the leader with 284 NBA players under contract. It was interesting to note the others. Adidas was in second place with 79 players sporting the brand. The surprise brand was Peak at number four and Under Armour number five.

Thunder basketball
An acquaintance of mine is a huge Thunder fan; naturally he was disappointed when they missed the cut again. I patted him on the shoulder but thought “I’m unsure where his team is headed.” The Thunder is talented but there are questions regarding their roster. Kevin Durant is pure talent and a heavyweight pro as for Russell Westbrook questions l remain on my part. I repeat myself once again, Westbrook is just as liable to lead the team to victory as to take an ill advised shot at a crucial point of the game. It’s clear to me (an amateur) the team runs smoother with Westbrook as the two guard. I cannot see why this problem is not evident to Coach Brooks.

I can hope can’t I?
Three coaches have come and gone since Norm Stewart left the helm at Mizzou and still no “aircraft carrier. “ The term aircraft carrier was coined by veteran ESPN broadcaster Dick Vitale. He used it to apply to any collegiate athlete 7 feet and taller. Former Coach Quin Snyder didn’t do it, Mike Anderson’s style of offense didn’t lean itself to big man play. I thought eventually Frank Haith would lure a big man to Mizzou however it never occurred. This past Tuesday for the first time in memory a legitimate 7-footer was visiting Mizzou, in addition he’s been offered a scholarship.

Thon Maker is certainly not new to many of you we’ve covered him previously but this time it’s different. Maker is 7-1 and a skinny 210 pounds, he attends Carlisle School in Martinsville (VA). Martinsville is located some 60 miles south of Roanoke. Although he attends school here Maker is from the African nation of Sudan by way of Australia. As for Mizzou the school faces stiff competition for Maker’s services, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky are just a few of the schools interested in securing his services. Maker (through his guardian) is a Class of 2016 prospect however he’s going to be re-classified to the Class of 2015 hence the early campus visits.

Kim Anderson hired Rob Fulford and the coaching staff is now complete. Fulford has coached Huntington Prep the last five years. Huntington has been in the national spotlight as one of the best programs in the nation.  This West Virginia school has sent a number of players to colleges throughout the nation. With Fulford on board and holdover and chief recruiter Tim Fuller this is a good signal.  Anderson is addressing the issue voiced by me and others, as a long-time Division II coach (Anderson) we believed there might be recruiting issues.