It could happen

During the podcast of ESPN's Chad Ford was asked a compelling question. The caller asked him if he thought Ricky Rubio might be Rookie of the Year, Ford said yes it might be possible. He connected the dots on a story probably none of us thought about. Rubio could possibly become the third Rookie of the Year drafted in 2009. Tyreke Evans, Blake Griffin and Rubio were all drafted in the 2009 draft. Tyreke Evans in 2009-2010, Blake Griffin in 2010-2011 and Rubio 2011-2012. Of course we are still early in the season and there are questions if his game develops to Rookie of the Year status. Just in case you'd forgotten Griffin was drafted in 2009 but missed the entire 2009-10 season due to injury.

Trouble in South Beach

Did you read or hear this story? I'm going to paraphrase the comments of Chris Bosh. He simply stated he thought Dwayne Wade should have the ball in his hands in the closing moments of a game. Bosh probably is correct but why make it public, these types of statements are for the clubhouse only I thought? Should we suppose Bosh is referring to their overtime loss to the Clips? In any event the Heat record as I write this 8-4 only the Bulls and Thunder have won more games than the Heat. In any event I thought it interesting and and a prime topic of discussion with your friends. Even more interesting is reading letters in the Miami Herald, can you say "the natives" are getting frustrated. In all honesty I thought a repeat of last season wasn't possible, guess I might have been wrong.

Allow me to introduce

Isaac Chew currently serves as an assistant coach to Frank Haith. Prior to his arrival in Columbia he served four years as an assistant at Murray State in Murray Kentucky. Although he's from Chicago he has Kansas City connections, he played ball at Avila College in the city. He served as an assistant coach at Avila on two separate occasions. As this is written the Murray State Racers are 18-0 and the Mizzou Tigers are 16-1 Chew's recruiting certainly must have contributed to the fine play of Murray State. Murray State is that little school nobody knows, I'm unsure why the school has a rich basketball history. Next season will see the first influx of players he and Haith have recruited. Texas Coach Rick Barnes said "criticism of Haith's so-so record at Miami was unwarranted because it was so difficult to win at that school. "I love Frank," Barnes said. "Missouri did good getting him and they'd better do everything they can to keep him." (Associated Press)

WIP

I watched the Bobcats run on, run around and run through the Knicks soundly defeating them. They accomplished this feat no less in the "world's greatest arena!" Please don't think I'm discounting the Bobcats, although he's not coached in a number of years I like the Paul Silas hire. To refresh your memory Silas was Lebron James first NBA coach, he coached the Cavs from 2003 through March of 2005. The Bobcats did a beat-down on the Knicks in MSG 118-110. I wrote several weeks ago I expected the Knicks to be a better team, they would have Carmelo Anthony at the beginning of the season. In addition adding the defense of Tyson Chandler certainly would provide the team with a defensive mindset. Rookie Iman Shumpert has been impressive to date, this 6-5 guard from Georgia Tech has added firepower and leadership off the bench. The Knicks probably will be better but for now they are a WIP (work in progress).

He is what he is

I'm one Laker fan who likes Pau Gasol, sometimes I think I'm the only one. I just finished reading one of those complaints on the Laker fan website. All-Star ballots were announced and Gasol was one of four Lakers on the ballot. You've read and heard the same complaints from Laker fans I've heard. They say this about Gasol's game, "he plays to soft or I wish he was more aggressive." Gasol is 7 feet 250 pounds but he doesn't like to mix it up in the middle, his game lacks physical effort in other words he's no banger. My motto is "don't do more than you are capable of", Gasol game and his effort is just that. To me he always plays under control never venturing from what he knows he does best. Gasol is a power forward whose field goal percentage is always going to be .500+, a power forward with shooting range out to the 3-point line. A power forward who will score at the 18-20 point total nearly every game. A power forward who will grab 9 rebounds and block 2 shoots a game for you. My question to Laker fans "give me the name of the power forward you'd rather have in his place?" I thought about Kevin Garnett first, good power forward but appears to be near the end of his stellar career. The same goes for Tim Duncan as his game too has regressed. Then I came up with Amare Stoudememire with him it's all about scoring. Playing defense has never been Stoudemire's strong suit, so I'm left with Pau Gasol. Tim Duncan a quality player but like Garnett his game has slowed. Laker fans you cannot choose Blake Griffin, the only way he could play for the Lakers is free agency. Owner Donald Sterling would never, do I need to repeat never make any kind of trade with the Lakers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xO0nqUSF0g

I didn't realize

This is the 75th Anniversary of the NAIA Tournament. Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star wrote a very good article on the history of the NAIA. Several months ago I too wrote of this tournament and briefly covered it's history. I didn't realize until I read Covitz's column the tourney was 75 years old, most probably don't realize it's older than it's big brother the NCAA Tournament. The NAIA has suffered a reversal of fortune, as the game has grown Division I schools have overshadowed their brethren. Kansas City witnessed a steady stream of outstanding collegiate players several of whom went on to stellar NBA careers. I mentioned one of them last week, Hall of Famer Willis Reed. Reed had an outstanding NBA career, he first honed his basketball skill at Grambling State.