Bits n Pieces

A week or so ago I wrote of the Warriors plan to move back to San Francisco. There was no intent on my part to be funny when I said "where was Golden State?" Of course I knew the team was based in Oakland however the name change that was made when the team moved I never fully understood. Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Vikings is easy, two cities, Minneapolis and St. Paul. Branding the sports teams Minnesota allows both cities and the state for that matter to claim allegiance to the team. The Texas Rangers receive a free pass, the name has a historical connection to the state.

In keeping with my attempt to update you on possible 2012 draft choices make a note of these names. The first name to remember is Ivy League athlete Greg Mangano who played at Yale. Mangano is a 6-11 240 pound power forward, his senior numbers, 18.2 ppg and 9.6 rebounds. Kyle O' Quinn of Norfolk State led his team to the upset victory over Mizzou in the NCAA tournament. O' Quinn is a 6-10 240 pound PF/C, he scored at a 15.9 ppg clip and grabbed 10.3 rebounds. Introducing the next Serge Ibaka, just kidding I have no idea. Festus Ezeli of Vanderbilt game is similar to that of Ibaka, he's still learning the game. As a 6-11 255 pound athlete he has a ready made NBA body, although he attended Vanderbilt Ezeli hails from Benin City Nigeria.

I decided to check Rivals and ESPN's Class of 2013 athletes, both lists are almost mirror images of the other. A name of note is Ishmail Wainwright who plays for Montrose Christian Academy in Rockville Maryland but that's not where the story actually began. Wainwright played at Raytown South High School (suburban Kansas City) but left after his freshman year. He transferred to Montrose indicating he wanted to player against better competition and at the same time grow his game, all indications point that both occurred. Many of us in the Kansas City metro can debate if Wainwright's view was valid or not, playing here certainly didn't seem to be impair Mizzou's Marcus Denmon or Michael Dixon Jr. In fairness to Wainwright the school has produced three current NBA players, the Thunder's Kevin Durant, Linas Kleiz of the Raptors and the Hornets Greivis Vasquez.

I hope I'm not guilty of writing attention grabbing headlines. In any event Rumors & Gossip by Yardbarker (an offshoot of Fox Sports) headline read: "Knicks didn't want Phil Jackson?" To the uniformed it might have appeared the Knicks turned Jackson down, I wonder if they ever stopped to consider maybe Jackson didn't want the Knicks? The Knicks made the playoffs this past season but Jackson has been a coach for teams just beneath the championship rung, that was both the Bulls and Laker teams. No one could consider this edition of the Knicks remotely close to a championship team. That issue aside I'd said a number of weeks back I thought Mike Woodson deserved the job and the Knicks did the right thing, they signed him to a 3-year contract.

I'm pleased Shaq's indicated he's no longer in the running to become general manger of the Magic. Shaq has proved he's not beyond working long hours to gain advanced degrees but there is a difference. His masters and PH.d were directly beneficial to Shaquille O' Neal and no one else, that's not intended to be critical of him just to point out a fact. We might ask the question would he be willing to work the extended hours that might be required of a general manager? We don't have an answer but there is a method of addressing the question. It's okay for him to crack jokes and offer analysis on television but if he's really serious I'd like to see him go to work in a teams front office. He could seek a position that would allow him to gain working knowledge of how an NBA team is run, the next time a general managers position opens it wouldn't be as much of a stretch for him to submit his name.

ESPN's Chris Palmer tweet, "LeBron James is a better basketball player than Larry Bird. What can I tell you?" I wonder what prompted Palmer's tweet? I have stated over and over how difficult it is to compare player's from different era's, if we just focused on the numbers and career Bird is clearly the superior player. You notice I didn't say athlete, I have no difficulty stating James is the better athlete! I was ranting the other day on this very subject, a friend said "do you expect the media to focus on Abdul-Jabbar or Jordan, those players are retired?"

An acquaintance asked me for my predicted 2012 NBA champion. I will remind many of you and inform others I don't predict! I ain't scared to be wrong that's not the issue, the problem as I see it often injuries and other issues come up we couldn't have possibly comprehended. I'm always reminded of the 1988-89 Los Angeles Lakers, they won 57 games that season which certainly wasn't dominating. That team swept the playoffs right up to the NBA Finals. Keep in mind they were coming off two consecutive NBA championships and all the experts figured they would make quick work of the Detroit Pistons. Without consulting the record book I remember the sequence I just don't remember which game, first Magic Johnson went out with an injury. Okay they still had hot-shooting guard Byron Scott on hand, Scott went down later. Your starting point guard and shooting guard both out of action in the biggest series of the year you can figure out the balance of the story, the Pistons swept the Lakers 0-4. Of course I have teams I prefer to win over another even with my Lakers but I never, ever predict victory, how about you? Truth be told I'm sitting this years NBA championship out.