Is he a relative

The last name jumped off the page at me as I read the story, the name was Okafor. His last name caused me to think "I wonder is he related to Hornets center Emeka Okafor?" In all my searches Tobe Okafor was a name I was unfamiliar with. Reader further in the article I found out he's a 6-11 230 pound small forward from Maine Central, Class of 2012. Earlier in the year he'd made a commitment to Loyola Marymount. The news that caught my eye he'd de-committed from Loyola Marymount, there was no indication or word where this Okafor might be headed. The answer to my question and yours the only common threads between the two, both have a Nigerian connection. Emeka's parents immigrated from Nigeria, Tobe's family still lives in Africa. I am going to attempt to follow his career just as soon as he makes a decision.

He's in pretty exclusive company
Laker center Andrew Bynum tied an NBA playoff record yesterday, 10 blocked shots. Former Jazz center Mark Eaton originally set the record which was later tied by Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon. It's possible Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain or some another player might have exceed 10 blocked shots in a playoff game. We have no method to determine if the number might have been eclipsed, the NBA did not begin tracking blocked shots until the 1973-74 season. Bill Russell was certainly not the first NBA player to block a shot but it would become his mantra. He became the pre-eminent shot blocker during his career which ran from 1956 through 1969. Another game changer Wilt Chamberlain played from 1959 through the 1973 season, we have only the last year of his brilliant career as a barometer. Bynum's triple-double, 10 points 13 rebounds and 10 blocked shots, sometimes it's difficult to realize he's only 24 years old. Injuries and a lack of maturity at times have delayed his development as an NBA player. We tend to forget sometimes Bynum was in the last group of high school players entering the NBA, it should be noted he managed to miss only one game this past season due to injury. One other note, the last Laker with a triple-double in a playoff game was recorded by Magic Johnson in 1991.

One more top recruit

I had stated earlier I thought the UCLA program was on the road to recovery. A portion of their issues might be attributed to the teams youthful roster. The late Al McGuire Marquette coach was prime candidate for quotations, one particular one speaks to this story. McGuire was was once asked what what best about his freshman players. He said, "the best thing about freshmen is that they eventually become sophomores?" McGuire's point, a number of high school players have difficulty adjusting to the college game. UCLA managed to attract the the number one player in the Class of 2012, 6-6 Shabazz Muhammad. UCLA gained another high profile Class of 2012 athlete. Tony Parker gave his verbal commitment to UCLA, no, not that Parker! This Parker is a 6-9 270 pound center from Lithonia Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.

A dubious record

The prevailing thought might have been a shortened NBA season would produce few records. I don't think anyone could have figured the won-lost record for a team would be broken, after all only 66 games would be played. Thankfully for the Bobcats and Charlotte fans the season concluded last Thursday. In December we had no idea how terrible this team was to become. The losses begin to pile up one on top of the other, as Bobcat losses mounted many begin to speculate this team might be worst than the 72-73 76ers. That 76er team finished 9-73 with a .110 winning percentage, it had been 39 years since the record was set it would never be broken!!! Little did we figure the Bobcats would be this bad, they finished the season 7-59 and a .106 percentage they lost their last 23 games in a row. Earlier in the week Larry Brown made several critical statements regarding Michael Jordan's ownership. Brown said (I paraphrase) "Jordan surrounds himself with yes men, people who will not say no to him." Others could state Brown has a vendetta since his was fired as the teams coach and that could be the case. Jordan was questioned on Brown's comments, he did defend himself which we thought would occur. As for the coaching situation I had made glowing statements regarding coach Paul Silas at a point, I'm going to take some of it back. I had to be reminded by a member of the media Silas took off a game. No family emergency or illness, he simply allowed his son to take the reins as head coach, what was that all-about? If there ever was a case for a team to be "blown up" this is it! If I'm Jordan, Silas is gone, general manager Rod Higgins is history, the talent scouts and anyone else associated with scouting talent should be replaced.

Tell me what you really think

Last Monday the Nets played their final game in New Jersey after 35 years. ESPN.com took the opportunity to conduct person in the street interviews, they stopped several people and asked them "their greatest moment in Nets history." Their responses varied but the location of the interviews was quite interesting. Don't you think it might be more conducive to pose the question in Newark rather than New York City? In any event the battle for the hearts and minds of basketball fans in New York will begin in earnest next fall. The Nets have probably been an afterthought for most basketball fans in New York City, during the Jason Kidd years they were pretty competitive but after he left they have been on a downward slide. I feel reasonably sure Brooklyn will embrace the team but how about the rest of NYC? As for the other side New Jersey Governor Christies comment. "I'm not going to the Nets game (Monday night) and my message to the Nets is 'goodbye,' " Chris Christie said Monday. "They want to leave here and go to Brooklyn? Good riddance." The governor doesn't sound as though he's very happy, LOL. (Associated Press)

Bits n Pieces

What if the Lakers had traded Andrew Bynum at or near the deadline for Dwight Howard? They would be facing the playoffs with no center, Howard not Bynum is recovering from back surgery. What if the Lakers had made the trade for Michael Beasley? Beasley is a player who never saw a shot he didn't like, his defense that's another story. In the meantime an older Metta World Peace was playing lock-down defense and was vital to the Lakers defense till his suspension.

Suns center Robin Lopez was the latest to be accessed a flagrant 2 for hard foul on the Clippers Blake Griffin. I know Blake and his teammates are smarter than they appear, they cannot seem to figure out why opposing teams are attacking Griffin. Before you get the wrong impression I'm not in favor of violence but Griffin himself could be the culprit. He poses after his dunks and his constant jawing at refs gets old after a period of time. I've got a hint for Griffin, try practicing making free throws and working on your defense. Finally work on your range rather than seeing how many spectacular dunks you can complete per game. The legs will eventually leave you, Vince Carter?

Teams have been setting picks since the beginning of time, nothing new perhaps. The Bulls are wrong, they should have yelled out "pick" to John Lucas III. 6-8 250 pound LeBron James is wrong too, he's wrong for leveling 5-11 165 pound John Lucas III in the last Heat-Bulls game. I wonder if 6-9 225 Taj Gibson or 6-9 266 Carlos Boozer might the outcome have been? Both players are closer to LeBron's size than Lucas.  Just wondering, I'm sure you can locate it on YouTube, check it out and see what you think.

Why are some folks surprised by the degree of success Mike Woodson's had with the Knicks? The guy was head coach of the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-2010, he knows how to coach. It would be nice if management should remove the interim tag in front of coach. Phil Jackson is the best basketball coach not coaching, I hope he stays retired and doesn't succumb to the dollars rumored.

We've heard all the dangers of talking on your cell phone while driving, how bout watching? During a recent Knicks-Nets game a spectator seated on the front row was smacked in the face by the basketball. He thought talking to his buddy was more important than the action on the court right, wrong.

Try it you might like it

Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver claims there is no way the NBA could operate with a 66-game season. His shortened response, "revenue would cut significantly." NBA expansion is the prime culprit with the increase to an 82 game season. I mentioned in a column months back how Gene Conley was able to pitch for the Red Sox and was a reserve player with the Celtics. Knicks forward Dave Debusschure also performed this dual role pitching for the White Sox and playing for the Pistons early in his NBA career. "NBA teams played 80 games beginning in 1961-62. The league added a game in 1966-67 bringing the total to 81, then ultimately settled on 82 games for the 1967-68 season when the San Diego Rockets and Seattle Supersonics joined the league." One of the many complaints I hear from fans is "the season is too long." Playing well into June to decide a champion hasn't made sense to me for a number of years. (ESPN.com)

Forget the shoes, the ball-handling and moves

Ol Skool, the absolute best basketball shoe commercial ever made.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-bNQR9In-0&feature=related

Headlines

The Kansas City Star recently ran a story indicating the chances of an expansion NBA or NHL team were slim to none. I cannot and will not speak to NHL expansion as for the NBA that's another matter. Although the desire is for the NBA to retain stability an existing franchise move would be far better than expansion. The product (NBA) has been diluted enough, in fact I'm not afraid to mention the word contraction. It's my belief as a party of one Kansas City could support NBA basketball, supporting an expansion team is out of the question. The latest figures indicate we have a metro population of 2,500,000 and an area population of 3,000,000. I'm defining the area as 3 hours or less drive time to Kansas City. Folks wouldn't be driving nightly from Topeka, Columbia or St. Joe but there might be a number who would chose to see an NBA basketball on a weekend. Where do we go from here, is there hope? The door is not closed, it's slightly ajar, the Hornets have been sold to Saints owner Tom Benson, the Grizzlies appear to be gaining traction that make it appear they are in Memphis for the long-haul. There are three franchises which I categorize as "shaky," the Bobcats, Bucks and Kings. I believe a key to a team is to locate local ownership, that probably sounds strange when two of our pro teams have absentee owners. Lamar Hunt and family lived in Dallas and his Chiefs played here, same for the baseball Royals after owner Ewing Kauffman's death, the Glass family lives in Arkansas. Bottom line for the immediate time NBA fans in the Kansas City metro must satisfy themselves with televised games and the annual pre-season game.

Bits n Pieces

Did you hear Florida International hired a replacement coach for Isiah Thomas? They hired Richard Pitino, not the father they hired the son. The younger Pitino has served as an assistant coach for his dad.

Hornets point guard Eric Gordon's brother has been offered a scholarship by Indiana? Eron must wait a few years before he can utilize the offer. You see Eron's a 6-1 guard who is about to complete his 8th grade year.

Would it surprise if I told you 6-6 Shabazz Muhammad might play the two rather than three at UCLA? The team has a number of small forwards incoming or in-place already. This is certainly not yet confirmed just something to think about.

I apologize earlier information I provided was incorrect. I read (and I'm unsure of the source) a player declaring for the NBA draft could not return to college. Lehigh guard C.J. McCollum has withdrawn his name and will return to school. Of course if an agent is hired a player is automatically ruled ineligible.

How about the heated exchange between Nets broadcaster Ian Eagle and analyst Mike Fratello. Were the two really arguing with one another during the broadcast? I'm sure you can locate it on YouTube, listen and make your own judgment.

Thought is was an anomaly Kentucky had 5 players drafted in 2010? It just might happen again this year with a slight difference. The 2010 draft consisted of 5 Wildcat players some starters and some reserves. This year it's another 5 players but this time all starters from the NCAA championship team.

The NBA has spoken, Ron Artest will sit for 7 games. I'm okay with the punishment but view might be the exception. I've read various fan comments, "ban him for the playoffs, sit him down for the year next season." One fans solution, "give him a lifetime ban."

I promised myself

Every time I make plans to not write anymore Barclays stories not related to basketball one more comes along. The $1 billion dollar future home of the Nets has certainly provided it's share of controversy and weird stories. Just when I think nothing else could occur along comes another story that causes me to say "are they really serious?" A group of residents opposed to the arena are attempting to fight the arena's liquor license, you read that correctly they are trying to keep the arena from gaining it's liquor license. Is there an arena or stadium anywhere in the nation that doesn't sell alcoholic beverages? I'll answer my own question I doubt it although particular alcoholic beverages might not be available in all venues. "Opponents say they understand that reality, but object to the permit on the grounds that neither arena operators nor their food service providers, Levy Restaurants, have presented any evidence that they will be able to handle the sheer quantity of drunk customers as they leave events at the 18,000-seat arena. “It’s premature for them to get community board support for a liquor license when they haven’t even made public any plans for security or crowd control of 18,000 people,” said Gib Veconi of the Prospect Heights Neighborhood Development Council and a Prospect Heights resident. “They haven’t shown how they can protect quality of life for the neighbors." The article even points out alcohol is sold in Energy Solutions Arena home of the Utah Jazz, I will allow you to discuss this subject amongst yourselves. You decide if you think the residents surrounding the Barclays Center claim is valid or just one more attempt to stop progress. One more note, the Board of Governors voted last week to approve the move to Brooklyn, in addition the name change from New Jersey Nets to Brooklyn Nets. Although Barclays is a mult-use arena varying types of events are planned for future dates. Nets basketball would take up the majority of dates however in an unusual occurrence the first athletic event held will not be a basketball game. The New York Islanders are scheduled to play a pre-season game in the building.
(fort-greene.thelocal.nytimes.com/2012/04/09/arena)

Don't tell what he can't do

Why must I always ride to the rescue of Pau Gasol? I continued to read comments from fans informing us what he can't do, rarely do they focus on those parts of his game that standout. I always felt I gave my employer the maximum effort, I never thought I was the smartest or even the most innovated employee but I was

solid and productive. You've heard the complaints, "he's not physical enough or why doesn't he play inside more or why isn't he more aggressive?" Rather then inform you what Gasol cannot do how about focusing on those things he does well. The NBA has changed in regard to 7-footers a number no longer play inside or physical Gasol's not the only one. The numbers again, 17.3 points per game 10.5 rebounds .506 from the floor. Power forwards generally are not expert distributors of the ball but that's an area Gasol really excels, his 3.4 assists per game rank him behind only one NBA power forward. By know you have come to the conclusion "he's only defending him (Gasol) because he plays for the Lakers." That statement is only partially correct, my question why in the world would you continue to criticize a player who is productive? This 7-footer "messed around and got a triple-double" against the Warriors last Wednesday, 22 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

Troll

Although I'd seen the term "troll" applied often I wasn't sure of the definition until recently. If you unsure as I once was I'll share a couple of sentences from Wikipedia that provide definition. "In Internet slang, a troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum." Last week Mizzou announced top recruiter Isaac Chew was headed to serve as an assistant coach for Illinois, it brought this email response to the Kansas City Star; "Chew sees that the SEC is a #@&** basketball conference no one cares about and will be hard to recruit to.. The Big 10 is a better conference and he will have a better future there. . After only one year he must of had problems with the way Haith coaches/recruits. Smart move to get out now before Haith destroys MIZ - ZERO like he did at Miami." What is more amazing to me this troll took time to sit down and dream up these various scenarios, the guy certainly has no life if this is all he has time to do. The only one I will address is the one dealing with "he had problems with Haith." Chew was Mizzou's chief recruiter but not the lead assistant coach, at Illinois he will be the lead. Chew is a Chicago native therefore a partial explanation for his move to Illinois. Chew was part of Haith's staff because of his Kansas City connections, he played ball at Avila University. In addition at one point in his career Chew coached one of the Kansas City area AAU teams, KC Pump N Run. I'm passionate about my writing, I'm passionate about my teams. I'm as accurate as possible with the facts as I perceive them. I refuse to "invent" stories for you or anyone.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/04/11/3548646/mu-hoops-assistant-chew-to-join.html

Prepare yourself to suffer the punishment

I hope I make this clear for the last time---defending my Lakers only goes so far. Last Friday I wrote what I thought was a very complimentary piece on Metta World Peace.  He drops the Peace portion of his name and substitutes War in it's place while becoming Ron Artest again.  Metta World War laid a vicious elbow to the head of the Thunder's James Harden during yesterdays Laker-Thunder game. A fine and suspension or both is forthcoming, whatever the case Artest should be ready to accept it. I'm dropping his pseudo name, he's now Ron Artest again. The sports news is filled with stories of the elbow while the game itself has become secondary, that's a shame too.

Mark Cuban

I'm unsure about you, I find it interesting Mark Cuban always comes up with methods to "save" the NBA when his team loses a game where an official misses a call. The latest Cubanism is a "review of basket interference in the last two minutes of a game." Before I go any further allow me to inform you just in case you might be unaware of the issue. The officials either missed a call in the Mavs game against the Lakers or maybe a no-call might have been correct. In the overtime a 3-point Pau Gasol shot was headed to the basket, Laker Matt Barnes stationed under the basket leaped and appeared to touch the rim with both hands as the ball went smoothly into the basket. I certainly agree with Cuban in one sense the league should always be on-guard to improve quality of play and the officiating. This would be a sample of my email to him. Mr. Cuban, in the future please don't generate emails to the league office because your team loses be a good sport.

Are the glory days in the rear view mirror

UConn was once one of the nations most successful basketball programs, the Huskies were always a perennial contender for an NCAA championship. UConn's men's team appears to be crumbling and in disarray. Andre Drummond and Jeremy Lamb are entering the NBA draft, in addition 6-9 center Alex Oriakhi is headed to Mizzou. Unconfirmed reports indicate 6-10 freshman Michael Bradley is transferring. Add this news to that of coach Jim Calhoun and his health issues, the lasted issue an NCAA ban on post-season play. UConn has been barred from post-season play for the 2013-14 season due to the low graduation rate for the men's basketball program. Several years ago the NCAA begin reviewing graduation records, schools were operating under a mandate to graduate a percentage of their athletes. Players declaring for the draft and others transferring from the school I wonder if it might be time for coach Cal to call it quits too?

New uniforms

Mizzou has become the "Oregon of the Midwest" of course this is symbolism only. Oregon alum Phil Knight Nike's company provides 7 different uniform changes for the Oregon Ducks. I'm exaggerating of course I have no idea how many changes of uniform Oregon has and Mizzou for the first time will have more than a home and road uniform. Mizzou unveiled it's new uniforms for the football and basketball teams, I'm not sure if this was an SEC or Nike change. The team will now have four basketball jerseys white, black, gold and Anthracite (gray), the back of the jersey contains subtle tiger stripes. "Missouri coach Frank Haith said Saturday he expects to keep a traditional look during conference play — likely white at home and black on the road — while mixing in gold and gray during nonconference games." I hope Mizzou fans expectations are not too high next season. We have a new conference (SEC) and a team with just a few left-over veterans. I'm optimistic about this team based on it's incoming class, at the same time optimistic without being overconfident. (Kansas City Star)

The Cons

Once upon a time Converse ruled the basketball shoe world, this company founded in 1908 was not the first but certainly one of the first successful manufacturer of athletic shoes. Chuck Taylors were the shoe of choice by NBA, college and high school teams of the 1950's and 1960's. Of course today's Chuck Taylors are a fashion statement made by many of today's you. Most interesting a Broadway play has brought about a resurgence in one particular Converse model. If you are under 25 years of age you probably don't remember the Converse Weapons. Back in the day Converse manufactured a model for the Lakers Magic Johnson and another for Celtic Larry Bird. The Broadway play Magic/Bird became the inspiration for interest in these shoes once again, they are on the way back to retail shelves. Converse is now a subsidiary of the Nike Corporation having been acquired in a 2003 buy-out.

It's the coach not the school

Some folks still live in a dream world, they believe that a 5-star prospect signs a letter of intent to Podunk U because it is Podunk. That view is only partially correct, there are programs such as North Carolina, Duke and Kansas that are traditional attractions due to their winning ways. It also helps the schools mentioned and others add a number of recruits on the coaches name and reputation. It shouldn't surprise 7-foot 260 pound Robert Upshaw is headed to Fresno State rather than Kansas State, in case you missed it this 4-star recruit was headed to Manhattan Kansas. He was on his way there until coach Frank Martin flew the coop for South Carolina. Upshaw had only given a verbal so no release was necessary. Is it the school or the coach, sometimes it's both.

71 the "new" 40

By now you are aware 71-year old Larry Brown has accepted the head coaching position at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. You might think at his age all he might want to do is play with his grandchildren and enjoy retirement. Not him, Brown is a teacher, loves that aspect of the game, he hates recruiting or at least he did at Kansas. It's highly unusual in this day and age for a university to hire an oldster like him but his credentials speak volumes for him. Brown is still the only coach in history to win an NCAA and NBA championship and that record will stand for one reason. NBA teams are extremely reluctant to hire collegiate coaches, the few they approach (Coach K., Roy Williams) don't want the NBA. SMU really has nothing to lose, the program has been in the toilet for years and years. There will be a generational gap between player and coach but given time Brown will handle both. The coach listening to Sinatra and his players listening to Snoop, that's rich!

 

Ron Artest has returned

I'm pleased Ron Artest has replaced Metta World Peace in the Lakers lineup. MWP has played in a funk all season long tossing up bricks at times during the course of games. Many in Laker nation would cringe every time he even looked at the basket hoping and pleading for to not shot the ball. His numbers, 7.6 points per game, .395 field goal percentage and his free-throw percentage was Shaq-like. Over the last 10 games MWP was replaced in the lineup by Ron Artest. During these 10 games Artest is scoring at a 15.2 clip per game and .496 from the floor, in addition he's playing lockdown defense. To be fair a portion of the resurgence of Artest (MWP) can be attributed to Kobe's shin injury. Laker broadcasters have stated "he (MWP) wasn't in good shape at the start of the season. In addition he lost 10-15 pounds, whatever the case I think all Laker fans are enjoying his play again.

 

Windy City Wonder

And the surrounding suburbs have certainly produced a large share of basketball talent over the years, we can add the name of Jabari Parker to the list. Parker joins Doc Rivers, Derrick Rose, Kevin Garnett and Dwayne Wade just to name a few the Chicago area has produced. Parker is a 6-8 225 pound small forward who plays for Simeon Career Academy in Chicago. Parker was selected 2012 Gatorade Player of the Year despite being a junior. This Class of 2013 athlete was selected ahead of Muhammad, Noel and others which certainly makes a statement. Over the next year Parker will mull over offers from 10 school. The usual suspects are in place, Ohio State, Kansas, Kentucky and Duke. Of course I was pleased to discover Mizzou had an offer on the table for Parker. This is another case of the son possibly having a brighter career than the father, Sonny Parker had a brief but serviceable NBA career.

 

Why do I allow myself to be baited

Our good friends at ESPN have done it again, every time I allow my view of LeBron James to ebb they provide me with conflict. The dot.com side of ESPN once again prints another story attempting to proclaim James the greatest ever. Their 5-on-5 LeBron James vs. the field column on April 18 bothers me at least in at least one area. Item 4. LeBron vs. the field: Best player of his generation (2003-12). In other words we completely discount the works of Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant? Duncan and Bryant are on the downhill side of their careers but doesn't their body of work at least equal what James has done to date. That generation thing bothered me so I double-checked dictionary.com to ensure I had the proper definition for the term generation, these are but two: 1. the entire body of individuals born and living at about the same time. 3. a group of individuals, most of whom are the same approximate age. Duncan at 35 and Kobe at age 33 share a generational link with the 27-year old LeBron James. (dictionary.com)

 

They are really bad

The Bobcats are a blip on the radar screen for most NBA fans, how much of a blip? An ESPN crawl forced me to search the record books, I did not realize how bad this team is. Like most my attention has been focused on the achieving NBA teams, that certainly doesn't fit Michael Jordan's team. The futility of the Bobcats will not establish a record for wins and losses we have a Lockout 66-game season this year. For students of the game and those in general the 1972-73 76ers set the record finishing that season with a 9-73 record. After 60 games the Bobcats are 7-53, and we are short 16 games of an 82 game regular season. In any event as bad as this team is I suspect fans might be attending games wearing brown paper sacks, they might not want anyone to witness them at a Bobcats games.

 

Who do we choose

The NBA draft is not held until June 28th so I pose a question, who do you chose? Unlike football or baseball a successful NBA draft can allow an above average team to become an NBA champion. Although I mention the sports are different the Tom Landry/Tex Schramm Cowboys drafted the best athlete available. Didn't matter if they had an all-pro tackle and an adequate backup, if there was tackle they deemed above average they drafted him. The Cowboys belief "we can trade this pick to fill a position we are lacking a starter or depth." This has not been the history of most NBA teams, you draft a player you develop him with the following exception. Often draft night players rights (not the player) are traded, as an example Scottie Pippen might have spent his entire career with the Seattle Sonics if not for his rights being traded to the Bulls. Oftentimes there is debate who is going to be drafted first, in June we'll be shocked if it's someone other than Kentucky's Anthony Davis. You cannot project injuries on draft night, the Blazers debating whether to chose Greg Oden or Kevin Durant chose the 7-1 Oden. The Sonics (Thunder) chose Durant whose had a stellar career as for Oden! Try this sometime, look at the NBA draft from 4-5 years prior, see if you can figure out where a number of even first round choices are playing.

 

A mirror image of the other

It's not unusual for a family to produce talented basketball brothers but twins? The number of basketball twins especially in the NBA have been rather rare. We have two sets of twins in today's NBA and one from the past. In the NBA are the Lopez twins, Robin and Brook and the rookie Morris twins, Markieff and Marcus. In the late 1960's and 1970's the Van Arsdale twins Tom and Dick Van Arsdale played, they may have been the first, my research didn't uncover any others. We might someday be able to add the Harrison twins, Andrew and Aaron to the list. Andrew is the point guard while twin brother Aaron is the shooting guard of this duo. You can only distinguish a difference between them by their jersey number and their weight. The Houston Texas metro has certainly produced a large number of basketball talent and we can add the Harrison twins to that list. Both brothers are 6-5 however Andrew at 210 pounds weighs five more pounds than Aaron at 205.  It should be noted the brothers are 5-star recruits in the Class of 2013 and have received offers from a significant number of schools. They have received offers from Arizona, Kentucky, Maryland, Villanova, Baylor and Texas.

Keep your ears open for news on him

Ottawa Kansas is about 50 miles from my Kansas City MO home, the point and where am I going with this story? There are Kansas fans who think every top recruit in the state must enroll at KU, Kansas State is simply an afterthought. Ottawa High School has a 4-star recruit in Semi Ojeleye, this 6-6 220 pound small forward has received an offer from a Missouri school 190 some miles east of Ottawa. Although fans want to close the borders Kansas has made no offer to date to this Class of 2013 prospect. Ojeleye has Kansas State as a school of choice but this offer was made prior to Frank Martin leaving. In addition to Mizzou and Kansas State there are 7 other schools with offers on the table. The schools are UCLA, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Marquette, Wisconsin and Butler. You know I'd love if he made Mizzou his school of choice. This is really payback, Kansas guard Travis Releford is from Kansas City MO.

Coach Pop

The Pardon the Interruption crew Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon discussed the latest Pop move recently. I'll provide you the detail if you were not aware of the story, you make up your mind what's correct. The Spurs were on an 11 game winning streak, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili did not play in the game against the Jazz on April 9, not only did they not play they weren't even in town. Coach Pop allowed the trio to stay home in San Antonio rather than make the trip to Salt Lake, his intention was to rest the trio. Pop's done this a couple of times already this season for soon to be 36-year old Tim Duncan. The duos discussion points, "should the commissioner get involved for Popovich's failure to play healthy players! What about the fans who pay good money to see the stars?" What do you think, is Pop's coaching move okay with you?

Please provide me proof other than your mouth

We are all guilty (me included) of formulating opinions on players and events that are not always correct. A disclaimer upfront, my Laker loyalty required me to respond to a broadcasters statement. Those of you in the New Orleans area are familiar with the Hornet's television broadcaster Gil McGregor. Last Tuesday during a portion of the Hornets-Lakers game he said "I don't think Ramon Sessions is a good fit for this team." I hoped he would provide us a further explanation but he offered no follow-up to his brief statement. I'm sure the fast-pace of sports broadcasts don't allow adequate time to elaborate however his statement caught me off-guard, what was he saying and why? Unfortunately similar statements such as his force me to look at the numbers which don't offer a true picture of an athletes net worth. Ramon Sessions will not cause Laker fans to forget Magic Johnson or Norm Nixon, they might not even forget Nick "Nick at Night" Van Excel. Sessions is not Derek Fisher I once wrote, he will not provide the bulldog tenacity of Fisher or take the key shot with the game on the line. I love Fisher but his time had passed, 37 years old versus a 26-year old. These are Fisher's Laker numbers in the 43 games he played prior to the trade. He shot 38.3% from the floor, dished out 3.3 assists and had a 5.9 scoring average from the floor. Even more interesting McGregor has come to the conclusion Sessions is not a good fit after but 15 games. These are Sessions Laker numbers after 15 games, .497 from the floor, .531 from the the 3-point line and 74.0% from the free-throw line. This 6-3 guard has grabbed 3.8 rebounds, dished out 6.9 assists and 13.6 points per game. If he was hinting "Kobe" problems it appears, I'll say that again it appears Kobe has no problem with Sessions running the offense. I'd sure like to know what McGregor was hinting at?

Who goes further

This past season I had plenty of opportunities to witness KU's Thomas Robinson and Baylor's Perry Jones III. Both are leaving their respective schools early for the NBA, which one will have the better NBA upside. I really don't know and neither does anyone else, what I do know is contrasting styles. Robinson is "Rocky" all heart and plenty of soul, he had a poor game against Kentucky but the guy is a winner. The only downside is his height, if he's a legitimate 6-9 with the right team he could become an outstanding player. If he's 6-8 as I suspect that could become an issue, how many outstanding 6-8 NBA power forwards have you seen lately? As for the other guy Perry Jones III is a complete enigma to me. Jones III is a 6-11 power forward in a guards body, he can handle the ball has a mid-range and 3-point game. He has everything except a heart, I have seen him "disappear" in big games. I remember the Mizzou game in Columbia, I'm watching the game and thought "where is Jones?" He was in the game but had faded into the background. Which player is better, I would like to say Jones III with his 6-11 frame and game skill. Although I have questions I must choose Robinson over Jones III, with my choice I'm sure I have shocked a significant number of my KU friends. Help them off the floor because I'm sure they fell out of their chairs me a Mizzou guy tossing roses to a Kansas player.

 

Thank you

Words eye view first published date was April 4, 2011, I allowed the official first anniversary date to slip by without notice. There is additional information I wish to share with you, this blog began as a series of emails to friends and acquaintances. A friend suggested I publish Words in the form of a blog rather than email. After much thought I began composing the outline of the blog. Although most of my initial readers were in the Kansas City metro area word of mouth or something else caused the readership to grow. Shortly after it was begun I was quite surprised to discover a world-wide audience hungry for basketball news. I'm not ESPN however I've been able to provide you stories they ignore or simply don't have space or time to cover. Our audience has become the nations of the world and it details for all the globalization of the game we share a love affair with. My sincere thanks for becoming the audience for Words eye view.

Russia       Germany     United Kingdom     Latvia

Sweden     Malaysia     Netherlands     Argentina

Canada     India     Italy     Ukraine

Belgium     Brazil     Hong Kong     France

Thailand     Denmark     South Africa

I'm not sure I'd trade him

My friends have suggested (again) it's time for the Lakers to consider trading Andrew Bynum. Friends love to visit with me on their methods for fixing the Lakers, it's funny they don't want them (the Lakers) to win but are always offering me suggestions. Wilt Chamberlain was traded, Kareem Abdul Jabbar was traded and both are in the Hall of Fame and selected to the team of the NBA's 50 Greatest players. Whenever a player is traded the hope in all instances and I think we can agree Bynum could be traded but make sure the Lakers receive equal value in return. I refuse to validate Bynum's bad behavior, shooting 3-pointers, ignoring the coach during timeouts and parking his BMW in handicap parking spaces. Bynum is far from a Hall of Fame player however I might point out players of the past sometimes acted like knuckleheads too. Just to refresh your memory banks you may remember the Bulls Michael Jordan battling GM Jerry Krause or the gambling stories, I can even be critical of my Lakers and Magic Johnson. Remember Johnson had issues with his coach, after leading the team to a championship he fell out with Paul Westhead the following season. Reports were Johnson met with owner Jerry Buss demanding Westhead be fired. The solution, exit stage left Paul Westhead, enter stage right Pat Riley. Did Magic fire Westhead of course not but I doubt seriously if he gave Westhead a vote of confidence. You like technical fouls, remember Rasheed Wallace a talented 6-11 power forward who appeared to have no control over his temper. Wallace led the NBA in technical fouls almost every season until the suspension rule came into effect, I don't think the last few years he ever missed games due to suspension. I once read his mom would often call him and take him to task over his behavior. Don't know if this was an NBA thing or not I just never remember the explosions while he was at Carolina. I'm the Lakers general manager and I approve trading Bynum, remember equal value who should I receive in return for him, Dwight Howard? Finally from the zen master himself Phil Jackson. "Bynum is not quite mature, but everyone should relax and watch him grow up," Jackson said via email. "This year has been a big step for him offensively…nice to see…and when he takes up the mantle as defensive captain the Lakers can get back in the hunt." Of course Jackson was Bynum's NBA coach but a Jim Buss draft pick, I believe Jackson formed an important bond with the youngster. Mike Brown can do the same provided he has the time to develop the relationship. (Los Angeles Times)

The deal unraveled

Almost as soon at the handshakes and high fives were exchanged the deal begin unraveling, the deal for a new arena in Sacramento. I am not going to take time and detail step by step how we arrive at this point, I will just say Mayor Kevin Johnson must have said something to upset the Maloof's. One of the brothers was quoted stating "the mayor is calling me a liar," the most interesting portion the brothers claim they want to remain in Sacramento. I'm unsure if it's them or someone else however it was revealed a refurbished Power Balance Arena would be okay. Crazy as it might sound my logic says remaining in Sacramento is better than Anaheim, So Cal does not require 3 NBA teams! On the other hand if the Maloof's would look about 2,500 miles east there is an NBA ready arena with no major tenant. This arena contains a larger number of corporate suites than Power Balance plus NBA ready locker rooms and other facilities. They were going to work with AEG in Sacramento we already have AEG here managing Sprint Center. Who says you can never return home, let me correct that Kansas City was actually the teams original home but the most recent other than Sacramento.

Which feat is the most outstanding?

Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon of Pardon the Interruption always manage to provide a question for discussion or argument. Last Wednesday evening Laker Andrew Bynum grabbed 30 rebounds against the Spurs, Celtic Rajon Rondo dished out 20 assists against the Hawks. Both the Lakers and Hawks won their games,
Kornheiser posed the question "which feat is more significant in your view the 30 rebounds or the 20 assists"? Your answer is the correct answer, you can debate it among your friends and acquaintances.

"The toughest part of getting to the top of the ladder, is getting through the crowd at the bottom" - Anonymous

The decision

This decision was not as controversial as the one nearly two years ago. You remember the one held in the Boys and Girls Club, this time the studios of ESPN were utilized. In a surprise move (maybe only to me) and before a national television audience Shabazz Muhammad, 6-6 215 pound small forward announced UCLA as his college of choice. Muhammad was ranked the number two player in the Class of 2012, surely he will help Ben Howland and UCLA regain some lost luster. The Bruins have been on a roller-coaster the last past three years. I called Nerlens Noel correctly, this 6-10 215 pound center was rated number one in the Class of 2012. I thought he might be headed to Kentucky, so I had one miss (Muhammad) and one hit (Noel). Anthony Bennett a 6-8 230 pound power forward did not announce his choice. Bennett number seven in the Class of 2012 indicated he was still undecided, he was searching for the school which provided the best fit for him. Bennett has offers from Florida, Kentucky, Washington, Oregon and UNLV.

All style and very little substance

Consider this a warning to Blake Griffin or Clipper fans, they need not read this, I'm about to talk bad about your boy! I've decided I don't like him! Currently there are several good power forwards in the NBA. I would have difficulty choosing one as the best if any thing I would state there is a 4-way tie for the best and Griffin ain't one of the four. Fans love style points, Griffin certainly would be the leader or at least near the top in that department. As for substance at least to date there is little there. Most fans award him style points while he posterizes an opposition player, but what about his total game? Dirk, Pau, Garnett and Kevin "mountain man" Love all shoot consistently from distant much better. We all know Love rebounds better than Griffin, as for the others Griffin  slightly exceeds them. At the free-throw line forget it, Griffin is "Shaq-like" from the free-throw line and without checking I'm sure the four others have better numbers. Without even checking I would speculate both Pau and Dirk are in the 70's with their free-throw shooting. Is there any element of Griffin's game superior to the others, his leaping and dunking ability! There is no requirement that says a player must be a defensive standout. Griffin is average in that department, each of the "Fantastic Four" (I like that) play fairly good defense and Garnett might exceed all of them at age 35. Think I've been critical of Griffin, from the number of emails I'm reading my criticism is mild by comparison to others. They are calling him names like "punk" and other derogatory terms, in this instance there is no need on my part to resort to name calling in order to point out holes in Griffin's game. After his recent wrestling match with the Kings DeMarcus Cousins he referred to Griffin as an "actor." He certainly has skills he can improve on, he needs to refine his game so it consists of more than three or four spectacular dunks a game. Given time he could become all-pro and known for his all-around game rather than style points.

I'm worried

Mizzou's season ended prematurely for me and I sure others, this Tiger team far exceeded my expectations over last October. Despite dire predictions from our border friends west of me the future is bright, I say that with the NCAA yet to clear Frank Haith. This is what I see, the recruiting Class of 2012 looks good and the height issues will be fully addressed. The incoming class of recruits contains five players 6-9 or taller on the way to Columbia, there is one additional scholarship available for a tall guy. Flip Pressey, Michael Dixon Jr. and 6-9 Laurence Bowers return giving Mizzou a limited veteran presence. Another name to mention is McDonald's All-American Jabari Brown. Brown a 6-4 shooting guard committed to Oregon but only played two games before leaving the program. As for the SEC I think Mizzou will compete my worries are greater and more personal. The media issues concern me, coverage by the Kansas City Star in my view has only been so-so, the greater amount of newspaper coverage has been focused on Kansas. The television coverage it's been quite good over the last several years, Time Warner Cable serves much of the Kansas City metro and they created a sports channel about 15 years ago Metro Sports. Metro Sports is part of the Mizzou Network which enabled us in the metro the opportunity to see every Mizzou basketball game. Will Mizzou coverage in this area remain the same in the SEC, that question is yet to be answered? A Kentucky or Arkansas match versus Mizzou would be a slam dunk for obvious reasons. My concern are the times Mizzou plays a Tennessee or an LSU, will Metro Sports look at these games differently than Mizzou's former Big XII rivals?

I think hate is a strong word

ESPN's John Saunders had a closing comment on his program The Sports Reporters. He revisited the animosity that exist around the Miami Heat and his changed feelings toward the Heat. There are fans out there who would admit they hate the team, I agree with Saunders I no longer consider myself a hater. LeBronKU he's not a terrible player he's a reserve not a starter. As for the center position Joel Anthony is certainly a gamer but skill limited. The Heat signed former Knick and Bulls center Eddy Curry in the off-season. Not real sure why the 7-0 295 pound Curry's never in the games I see, the other center 6-11 285 pound Dexter Pittman plays intermediately. Both bench players are taller and have more in their hip pockets than the 6-9 245 pound Anthony, why are they not playing? Once the Heat win a championship they will provide all of us a reason to hate them, for now there is no hatred from this corner.

We can't see the future or can we?

Briefly let's revisit the Isiah Thomas firing and I'm going to make it personal. Thomas indicated his firing as coach of Florida International "surprised" him, I wonder why? I once worked for a company that began downsizing it's staff, there were all sorts of rumors floating about. I thought in October I would soon have no job I just was unsure of the date, the actual date turned out to be January 31 the following year. The point, when management decides to make a human resources move most of the time you know it's coming---you just don't know the date. Thomas seem to think he would be allowed 5 years to fulfill the provisions of the contract, he was correct but I'm sure the athletic department wanted a sign of visible progress. Thomas's first year was a gimme, the 7-25 and 4-14 conference record can be discounted, first year on the job. The second year 11-19 and 5-11 in the conference and an indication of progress. This past season was a step backwards, 8-21 and a repeat of the previous years
5-11 conference record. Three years under Thomas produced a 26-65 won-lost record which led the athletic department to conclude "we need to make a change." Of course we don't know if recruiting, eligibility and injuries might have impacted play on the court but it's more than that, many think Thomas was hired for the wrong reasons. Florida International gambled and hired a name coach hoping he'd turned the program around and increase attendance at the basketball games, neither of these scenarios occurred.

The Bizzaro world of Lamar Odom

With roughly two weeks left in the regular season the Mavs made the move. They fired Lamar Odom, Odom has played in a season-long fog so this move is not totally surprising. I think most of us figured this story would conclude in this manner but much, much later. The Mavs at times have not played like defending champions but it's not all Odom's fault. I've mentioned at least once, no Tyson Chandler or Jose Juan Barea and maybe no sense of urgency. To those who complained in December the Lakers received nothing in the trade but a sack of beans you now have your answer. The Lakers received the Mavs number one draft choice for a player no longer part of the Maverick organization. Just in case you were thinking Odom out loud he cannot play for another NBA team he's not actually on the market. In a strange move the Mavs did not release Odom, he is inactive which means they could still trade him after the season in conjunction with the draft. There are other portions of this decision but I wanted to cover the main items of interest.

He's announcing today too

Today is the big day, Shabazz Muhammad number two player in the Class of 2012 announces to us where he's headed to college. He will have company he probably didn't figure, Nerlens Noel 6-10 center and number one in the Class of 2012 will also announce his choice. ESPNU will telecast a Signing Day Special 7:30 p.m. eastern time today. Muhammad has reduced his list of possible schools and these are not in any order to UCLA, Kentucky, Kansas and Duke. This statement was made at the McDonald's game last month. “Shabazz is by far the best player here,” one Western Conference scout said of the senior swingman from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman High. “It’s not even close. He’s the only one who can play in the NBA tomorrow." Noel's list of schools are Georgetown, Kentucky and Syracuse. Anthony Bennett is another high-profile Class of 2012 uncommitted player, he's a 6-8, 230 pound power forward from Brampton Ontario, Canada. Bennett's list of schools include Florida, Kentucky, Washington, Oregon and UNLV. Is it possible all three could be headed to Lexington Kentucky? No way that's gonna happen or could it? (Marc J. Spears, Yahoo Sports)

Am I overlooking the Spurs?
The Spurs have the second best record in the Western Conference. This team has been one of the more successful NBA franchise for a number of years. Over the last 2-3 years the team begin aging. Naturally aging meant drafting and trading for additions to the roster in addition Coach Pop did something I thought somewhat odd.  I have been critical of coach Pop for resting Duncan and Ginobili during the season never his coaching. I figured it was unfair to fans in visiting arenas, they pay premium dollars to attend NBA games. They attend games expecting to see "Timmy" and Ginobili on the floor. As mentioned earlier Pop has managed to infuse youngsters Kawhi Leonard, DeJuan Blair and Daniel Green into the starting lineup. Veterans Stephen "Cap'n Jack" Jackson and Manu Ginobili infuse a veteran presence when they come off the bench. The team has certainly flown beneath everyone's radar this season including mine.

I guess it could happen

The good folks at ESPN.com asked the question would Doc Rivers consider drafting his son Austin? The thought hadn't cross my mind till I read Henry Abbott's tweet, I decided to check draftexpress.com and nbadraft.net. Draftexpress has Rivers as the number 17 in the first round, the Celtics pick is 18. NBAdraft net projects Rivers to be the number 10 pick in the first round. Depending on positioning and player movement in the draft it is possible the Celtics could draft young Rivers. I was curious and did a Wikipedia search, there have been a number of coaching fathers and player sons in NBA history, none has ever coached the son in the NBA. The father and son were often not in the NBA at the same time, one other interesting note. There were fathers who coached in college while the son was in the NBA.

Father                              son

Mike Dunleavy                 Mike Dunleavy Jr.

Dolph Schayes                 Danny Schayes

George Mikan                   Larry Mikan

George Karl                      Coby Karl

John Lucas II                     John Lucas III

Butch van Breda Kolff       Jan van Breda Kolff

When is a deal incomplete?
It's not a deal when a handshake agreement between the parties begins unraveling soon after. After announcing in February a deal had been struck and the Kings would remain in Sacramento the deal is in danger of falling apart. According to CBSSports.com and the Los Angeles Times the Maloof brothers haven't "officially" signed off on the arrangements. The brothers Maloof balked at paying pre-development costs and the NBA stepped up and paid the $200,000 the Maloofs refused to pay. All I can say at this point is stay tuned for further developments, the Kings might be headed to Anaheim after-all. I pose this question to you, why is David Stern so involved here yet did virtually nothing to save the Sonic franchise for Seattle? Perhaps the Seattle franchise was a done deal once Oklahoma City interests purchased it, we often make statements we regret that's not new nor unforgiving. It seemed Stern made a number of negative statements about the Seattle efforts to retain the team. This deal is coming apart faster than an Andy Roddick serve, I have no method of proving proof of this statement. I believe the brothers Maloof want this deal to fall through. That would allow them to move the franchise to Anaheim which was the intent last year. The Royals (Kings) would have already completed their first season in So Cal, if you take time to rename a franchise that should be a clear indication of your thought process. (CBSSports.com and Los Angeles Times)

It's over now

Please don't do this, don't resort to violence in order to resolve your sports disagreements. The game has already been played and we know Kentucky was the winner, there's no telling how deep a fan's loyalty lies. The rivalry between Kentucky and Louisville is probably just as rabid as that of any Mizzou and Kansas fan, I couldn't pass up this story and wanted to share it with you. "Police had to be called to Georgetown, Ky., dialysis clinic after a fight broke out between two patients over Saturday's Final Four match. A Louisville fan who was waiting to be hooked up to a machine struck a Kentucky fan who was already receiving treatment." The paper reported the two had actually quit their fight prior to the arrival of the police. I truly understand I just don't know what to make of this, how about you? (Louisville courier-journal.com)

 

"You cannot dunk your way to an NBA championship!"

So said former Piston center and "Bad Boy" Bill Laimbeer when discussing the Clippers a week ago, I mentioned his NBA TV interview in an April 2 story. After watching the Laker-Clipper game I understand his statement, Blake Griffin had two spectacular dunks at least one of them an offensive foul. This is not a "hate Clippers" rant they are a much better team this season. The other team in Los Angeles will make the playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season, prior to that it was 1996-97. Prior to that playoff run it was 1992-93, see where I'm going here? A team must contend for more than one season to be considered a legitimate competition for an NBA championship. Someone other than Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro first said "you have no rivalry when you can't beat the other guy!" The Lakers won the season series and last game of the season 113-108. It's difficult to speculate on the future, there are far too many intangibles to consider but which team is best set for the immediate future? NOTE: I wrote about a week ago my reluctance to criticize officials, it's a very difficult job. I contacted the league office via email because I thought what I'd witnessed required an explanation. Later I read the Lakers had sent tape of three incidents from the same game and the league response was swift but surprised me. The dunk where Griffin "climbed" on Gasol's shoulder they said was okay, they gave Griffin a flagrant 1 on a fast-break because he pushed Gasol in the back. A push in the back on a break is certainly dangerous however it would appear being hit in your grill might be more dangerous.

I have his autograph

Currently I have only one, celebrity autograph that is. I'm unsure how I lost the others however I can locate the magazine with Danny Manning's autograph. You might remember his name, in his senior year he led KU to the 1988 NCAA championship. In June Manning was the 1st pick in the NBA draft however injuries limited his career and he failed to reach the heights many projected. He still managed a successful 15 year career for a number of NBA teams. Kansas City is but 40 miles from Lawrence Kansas where he served as an assistant coach to Bill Self. Even more interesting I secured his autograph in the DFW airport awaiting a flight to Kansas City. Why is this story so rambling, I don't know just wanted to give you what I thought was pertinent information on this former All-American. I didn't realize the head coaching job was open at Tulsa University. In any event Manning has been hired and that's great news. I certainly cannot guarantee how successful a coach he will be I do know he's a good guy.

I salute them

Applause is due the Oklahoma City Thunder, no they haven't won anything yet but allow me to give you some detail. There are several NBA teams (Clippers until recently) cry about the difficulty of competing and building a team, any team rebuilding should consider using the Thunder as a model. They have a good front office and scouting staff which allowed them to draft quality players, in addition they have been able to make trades for players who enhanced the roster even more. This team has become an NBA powerhouse, 2007-08 they were 20-62 and a .244 percentage and since then it's been a steady climb upward. Last season they finished 55-27 .671 and the only reason they won't eclipse that mark this season is the shortened 66-game NBA season. The only downward note for me, they still have the worst looking uniforms in the NBA.

Expectations versus reality

I haven't been an Isiah Thomas fan for a number of years, his post-basketball career has been a train-wreck in my opinion. Once Thomas retired he's been unable to maintain positive momentum in the positions he's held over the years, he's bounced from job to job, place to place. He claims "success" at every stop however it's sometimes questionable. This is but a brief thumbnail sketch of his bio and certainly is not complete nor in order. The Continental Basketball Association might have declared bankruptcy, we don't know all the details but guess who owned the league? The CBA had been in operation since 1946 and Thomas purchased it in 1999, February 2001 the CBA filed for bankruptcy. "The assets of the defunct CBA (including its name, logo and records were purchased from the bankruptcy court." The CBA has been operating again since the fall of 2001. How about the sexual harassment lawsuit he was part of while serving a term with the Knicks? Judgment rendered against the Knicks to the tune of $11.6 million although Thomas maintained his innocence and was never personally liable. He claimed he could evaluate talent yet a number of players particularly his tenure with the Knicks were signed to inflated contracts. The jury is still out, he claims he's been successful at drafting talent. He traded for players and then signed these players to inflated contracts far beyond their worth. Not surprising the Knicks soon exceeded the salary cap during his tenure as general manager. There are other Thomas stories but they are rumor and undocumented therefore I will not cover in this brief history. Last Friday Florida International University announced they terminated his contract as basketball coach. Thomas hired in 2009 led the school to a 26-65 record in that time-frame, his first words "This is the most surprising thing that has happened to me in basketball," Thomas said. "I never been fired before for basketball reasons. This is the first time." We can only guess the school's athletic department must have concluded Thomas was unable to produce a successful team. (portions Wikipedia and ESPN)

You need to decide

Prior to last Monday's NCAA championship game my neighbor's son-in-law asked me who I thought would win the game. I hesitated, I told him "I think Kentucky could win however Kansas had exceeded my expectations they could win." He then said you need to decide, "you don't write your blog claiming both teams can win would you?" I said of course not, I answered him stating "Kentucky but I wouldn't be surprised if Kansas won." Was I hedging, probably so but I was unsure last week at the time of this conversation. The same holds true for predictions, there are many in the sports world who love to make predications. For me there are just far too many sidebar issues which might cause a team to play at it's peak. ESPN's Andy Katz has already given us his Top 25 for next season and it's interesting for one reason alone, April of 2013 no one will remember his predictions. As I indicated there are too many intangibles to consider, incoming players and those returning are probably the two issues most key. We can just use this past season as an example, Kansas exceeded my pre-season expectations, Mizzou exceeded my pre-season expectations. Example, Katz has Mizzou as the number 25 team next season, at the beginning of this recently completed season Mizzou was ranked 25, they finished the season as the number 11 team in the nation. So here goes, pre-season predictions are worth exactly one penny or less, the possibilities are just too fluid to be worth anymore than that.

The "real" Lob City crew

One of my complaints about the "mother ship" was it's insistence in giving us a pseudo name for the Clippers. Lob City was the name ESPN came up with for the other team in Los Angeles. They concluded Chris Paul would be lob passes to Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Thanks to the Los Angeles Times we now discover Lob City might actually belong to the other tenants of Staples Center. This is a paragraph from a Los Angeles Times story that ran April 4. "A review of the Lakers' and Clippers' play-by-play records from every game this season by The Times showed that the Lakers have converted 110 alley-oop dunks and layups compared with 89 for their fellow Staples Center tenants. That's a 23.6% advantage for the Lakers, though they have played one more game than the Clippers heading into the teams' final regular-season meeting (April 4) Wednesday." Despite the ESPN propaganda we know who the real Lob City champs are.

The city running a close second
Media always loves to uncover drama with the Lakers. I can't deny that, sometimes it is pure drama often it's media driven. I submit for your review the city that's running a close second, home of Disney World and the Orlando Magic. The story garnered this headline on Yahoo.com's NBA page the Tragic Kingdom. We begin the NBA season with Dwight Howard drama "I wanna be traded. Next up was "I'm not going to sign an extension, Then came "I'm signing an extension, I want to remain in Orlando for the fans." The latest story broke yesterday this time from coach Stan Van Gundy "Dwight Howard wants me fired " the headline screamed. In the middle of Van Gundy's press conference Dwight Howard comes strolling in he proceeds to place his arm around the coaches shoulder. "What in the wide world of sports is a-going on here?" That line was uttered by the villain Taggart in the 1974 Mel Brooks movie Blazing Saddles. I agree with the crew on TNT, SVG is history, how can he return and coach this team next season.

NCAA Division II champs
Often we tend to regard schools playing at NCAA Division II level as small schools. This is an area most of us might plead guilty, there are Division II schools with larger student enrollments than many Division I schools. An example might be St. Bonaventure University in Allegany New York, the school has always played a Division I schedule in basketball. Their undergraduate students number 2,000. According to Wikipedia Western Washington in Bellingham has 14,575 undergraduate students on a 215 acre campus. This background information is to inform many of you Western Washington was crowned NCAA Division II champs on March 24th as they beat Montevallo (AL) 72-65.

The lumberjack
Dan Patrick anointed Kevin Love "the lumberjack," he said the guy looks like a lumberjack with the beard. The guy ain't no lumberjack however I'm going to revise an earlier story. I'm not going to state Love is the best but he's inching toward the top. For me there is no best current NBA power forward, Dirk, Pau and Garnett (yes Garnett). I'm adding Love's name to the grouping, the guy is having a monster year and is a double-double machine. As this is written Love's at 26.6 points per game and 13.9 rebounds a game, while shooting .454 from the floor and .388 from the 3-point line. And one last point, I'm going on record I claim my vertical is higher than Love's! Love provides proof that positioning rather than leaping ability are key to become a good rebounder. While discussing power forwards, Kevin Garnett in Slam Magazine says "he's motivated by people calling him "old." He's not old by any means but like Kobe his best days are in the rear view mirror. He still has skills but they have eroded just as any other 35-year athlete might.

He's back well not quite yet
The teacher Larry Brown wants to return to coaching. For the last year it seems his name keeps popping up regarding coaching vacancies. Brown is certainly retirement age at 71 but reports indicate he'd like to be considered for the Southern Methodist University job. Should we suppose he'd want to deal with the stress of teaching and coaching basketball to a team barely past their teens? There have been a number of stops in Brown's coaching career most of them he managed to leave for greener pastures. His last few years were spent coaching NBA teams which meant scouting but no recruiting trips. If he returns to the college game he could reserve a portion of the recruiting for his assistants but would be required for a few trips to "press the flesh!" On the other SMU certainly wouldn't be a boiling cauldron that he would endure at a Kentucky, North Carolina or Kansas. Remember Kansas Larry, you won a NCAA championship there in 1988?

The NBA Draft and the Kansas Jayhawks
I think in our excitement we tend to go overboard at times, I know full well I'm guilty of it at times. I can give credit were it's due, Kansas had a very successful season after having virtually no returning starters, Bill Self performed a masterful coaching job. Now that's out of the way let's discuss the NBA draft or more specifically how it impacts the Kansas Jayhawks. When I access a players NBA potential it's not my view alone I read a variety of mock draft sites and scouting publications. Several years back one of my friends (Auburn graduate, converted KU fan) accused me of hatin' on KU's Sherron Collins. I attempted to explain to him Collins was not a good NBA prospect based on scouting reports I'd read. Collins wasn't drafted but signed a free agent contract with the Bobcats. He was actually on their opening day roster but was soon sent to their D-League affiliate. Where is Collins today, he's no longer with the Bobcats, his name is not listed on any present NBA roster and he's not in the D-League. The latest information I could locate indicates Collins is playing ball in Turkey which means he's still getting a paycheck. The story of the 5-11 shooting guard morphs into a story of the 6-8 power forward? According to nbadraft.net KU's Thomas Robinson is 6-8 240 pounds, there are small forwards in the NBA taller and heavier than Robinson? Can he make it in the NBA of course with the right team the only concern he's a legitimate 6-8, if he's shorter that might present a problem there are few really good undersized power forwards in the NBA. The Tyshawn Taylor question, can he become an NBA point guard possibly? Surprise of the trio is center Jeff Withey he might be the one who might have the best chance of all making it in the NBA. Withey is 7 feet tall and demonstrated during the season he can block shots, his limited offensive skills will make him a back-up center. There is a difference between receiving a paycheck and becoming a star, most likely the three profiled will receive paychecks. As for the star statement I will be surprised, no shocked if they are outstanding at the next level. There I said it Kansas fans, each of the players mentioned had good collegiate careers and that's okay, don't expect the same play at the next level. Do you remember Josh Selby, how about Xavier Henry and the Morris twins?

Bits n Pieces

This is what I read on ESPN's Draft 2012 page? "Players can still declare for the draft by April 29. However, players can no longer go back to school once they have officially declared their professional intentions. Players also are no longer able to work out for teams and the return to school." Didn't we see this coming? (ESPN.com)

I mentioned this awhile back but it might have been missed. The announcement occurred last October at a time the Lockout was the number one NBA news. "Comcast-Spector sold the 76ers to a group of investor led by multibillionaire Joshua Harris." Purchasing a minority interest in the team was the The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith and family of course live in Hollywood but Will grew up in Philadelphia, he's been a 76ers fan since his childhood days. (Billboard.com)

Wanna know how old I am? Old enough to remember a time when an Associated Press All-American team had a center, two forwards and two guards. I don't remember when the change first occurred but sometime in the recent past the AP team became the five best players never mind the position they played. This years AP First Team is comprised of forwards Anthony Davis of Kentucky, Ohio State's Jared Sullinger and KU's Thomas Robinson. The remaining members are Creighton's Doug McDermott and Draymond Green of Michigan State.

Youth will be served is an old adage, it certainly rings true for the 2012 NBA draft. You might ask the question where are all the seniors? Two NBA Mock Draft sites draftexpress.com first senior is the number 10 pick while nbadraft.net has their first senior pick at number 17. Certainly the mock draft sites are just that and have no official connection to the NBA, that's a disclaimer isn't it? In any event I figured out the location of the seniors, all of them are in the NBA having left college 3 years ago!

Thoughts on Monday's Kentucky-Kansas championship game. I'm not sure who said this but I certainly can state I agree, "how do you get freshman to play defense like this (Kentucky), " three freshman and two sophomore starters totally amazing. Most Outstanding Player and he only scores 6 points? Sandwich that with 16 rebounds, 5 assists 6 blocked shots 3 steals, that's the stat line of Kentucky's Anthony Davis.

Will they hire him

Patrick Ewing has made it known he'd like to become coach of the Knicks, the question might be will they hire him? After outstanding Hall of Fame careers Patrick Ewing, Larry Bird and Isiah Thomas were hired by the competition. Each was never hired by the team they spent the majority of their playing time. Patrick Ewing is not the first nor will he possibly be the last. Larry Bird might have returned to Indiana because his roots were there. Although he's served the Pacers well in more than one capacity to my knowledge the Celtics never offered him a position. The same story existed for Isiah Thomas and the Pistons, the Pistons made it no secret they intended to hire Thomas for the front office just as soon as he retired. For reasons never fully explained they never hired Thomas, perhaps the Pistons knew something we didn't know. Thomas has been a "train-wreck" as a coach, general manager and president of the Raptors, Pacers and Knicks

His announcement

The number one (or two) player in the nation will make his choice known a week from today. I'm referring to the 5-star highly touted Shabazz Muhammad from Bishop Gorman High School Las Vegas Nevada. A quick explanation why I stated the number one or two player in the Class of 2012. For reasons never explained 6-10 Nerlens Noel who was number one in the Class of 2013 reclassified himself, he now intends to graduate in 2012. His reclassification caused several recruiting sites to move Muhammad to number two while others maintained him at number one. Muhammad who is a 6-6 215 pound small forward has trimmed his list of schools to three. His school of choice will be either UCLA, Kentucky or Duke. He will announce his choice on ESPNU's Recruiting Nation on the 11th. During the McDonald's All-American telecast the broadcaster made an interesting commit. He was discussing "how hard Muhammad works on his game and how much of a work ethic he has." That statement sounds like a another player his height, Kobe Bryant. Muhammad scored 21 points and was named MVP of the McDonald's All American Game as he led the West squad to a 106-102 victory. I think David Stern will be calling his name as the number one draft choice in two years on the other hand I could be wrong but I don't think so.

Speaking of coaches or rather former ones

We all realize ESPN is paying Jeff Van Gundy a salary. It seems to me almost every time I review their NBA website there is a "Van Gundyism" somewhere. The latest, "what he would do to fix tanking!" This is the term applied to teams who lose games in order to improve their position in the June Draft. This is not a "I hate Van Gundy" but I'm unsure why he has all these fixes for the NBA yet remains only employed by ESPN? It would seem one of the struggling franchises that abound would snap him up in a New York City Minute if they thought he'd be able to help them. It's not just me, think about the number of NBA coaching positions that have been available over the last four years. To my knowledge his name has never been linked to any of them. The Golden State Warriors reached into the broadcast booth and chose his former co-analyst Mark Jackson. They did this despite the fact Jackson had no previous coaching experience in the NBA, does that tell you something? Humor has it's place but I try to refrain as much as possible from using it in print. Sometimes it just doesn't come off in print as it did once last season from Mr. Van Gundy, maybe he was only kidding but in print you might be unsure as I was. "The Heat will not only be great, but historically great. So predicts the co-lead NBA analyst for ABC/ESPN. "They will break the single-season win record [of 72]," Jeff Van Gundy said. "And I think they have a legit shot at the Lakers' 33-game [winning] streak [in 1971-72], as well. And only the Lakers have even a remote shot at beating them in a playoff series. They will never lose two games in a row this year." (ESPN and Miami Herald)