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.