NBA Draft

CORRECTION-It will be covered in a special edition of Words on Tuesday.  

NBA draft

Wanna know how fluid the draft is at times? On NBA TV Ronnie Thompson former 76er scout revealed an interesting draft story. Thompson said "we (76ers) were looking for a complementary guard to pair with Allen Iverson. We also wanted someone who could play the point. We selected Larry Hughes (8th pick), the Bucks chose Dirk Nowitzki (9th pick) later traded to the Mavs. With the next selection the Celtics chose Paul Pierce." This is not intended to degrade Hughes, this former St Louis University player had a 12-year 14.1 point per game NBA career. Nowitzki and Pierce have had Hall of Fame careers, many forget a player with an average career was drafted ahead of both. Take a glance at the NBA Draft of 2000, almost makes you want to cry. Yahoo profiled the class and the first five draft choices. "Kenyon Martin, Stromile Swift, Darius Miles, Marcus Fizer and Mike Miller. Widely considered as the worst NBA Draft of all time." Both Martin and Miller certainly didn't come close to expectations as for the others they left after brief and rather unsuccessful careers.        

He's the man
The celebration in South Beach last week many fans probably overlooked the contribution of Patrick James Riley. Pat Riley was just as key to this championship as a LeBron drive or a Battier 3-pointer. I've followed Riley's NBA career as a player and coach, he led my Lakers to several NBA championships. While serving as Laker coach he exorcised the Celtic mystic which had haunted Laker teams for so many years. It's my belief there were two reasons he didn't win with the Knicks--Reggie Miller and MJ. After serving as Heat coach Riley became president and general manager, he later returned to the sidelines to led the Heat to their first NBA championship in 2006. Riley managed to secure the services of LeBron and company last year the team played below the expectations of several fans and "experts." The "vultures" began circling coach Erik Spoelstra after they lost to the Mavs last season. Riley ignored the blab, blab, blab of sports talk radio, he ignored the pontificating crew on ESPN 1st Take. Riley stuck with Spoelstra when all about him said "fire the guy." We can take one lesson from this championship, having Pat Riley on your side provides a tremendous boost in your confidence.

I know you tired
I'm curious, I wonder if metro KU fans read any publications beyond the Kansas City Star? They might be able to gain basketball insight if they would occasionally check Rivals or one of the other web recruiting sites. A 2014 prospect Marlon Jones a 6-8 200 pound power forward has indicated a desire to attend Mizzou. This Chicago native states "I really like Mizzou the best," said Jones. "I think I would really fit in well with their style of play. I feel like I'm skilled big man who could play either one of the post positions. If Mizzou were to offer there is a good chance that I would commit." This is null and void unless Jones eventually heads to Columbia, the point Mizzou is out there recruiting. Several Jayhawk faithful continue to delude themselves into believing Mizzou will be unable to recruit without a Big XII connection, keep dreaming. A sidebar to this, four-star prospect Willie Cauley will play his college ball for John Calipari and Kentucky Wildcats, although undecided at this point Duke is at the top of the list for four-star prospect Semi Ojeleye. The 7-0 Cauley is from Olathe 29 miles from KU's campus and 6-6 Ojeleye is from Ottawa 27 miles from Lawrence. I would appear Kansas fans should concern themselves with closing their own borders rather than worry about Mizzou recruiting. Incidentally Mizzou has an offer on the table for Ojeleye, it would be quite a coup if manages to play for Mizzou. (Rivals.com)

Change
Do you remember the name Kelvin Sampson? Sampson has served as an assistant coach at a number of NBA stops, currently he's an assistant for the Houston Rockets. Previously he was head coach at Oklahoma and later Indiana University, he was fired at both stops. He violated an NCAA rule which just this month changed. College coaches can now text and call a prospect as often as they wish the only stipulation the prospect must have completed his sophomore year of high school. Is this a good or bad move by the NCAA? I really haven't formulated an opinion one way or another.

The "real" Laker problem
Observers and fans alike take turns pointing the finger of blame. They play the blame game as to whose at fault for the Lakers downturn. Some point their finger at Kobe while others call out Bynum. A number say it's Gasol or coach Brown or both. Certainly players and the coach are keys to any teams ability to compete and all parties share blame equally. I've always been a top-down guy, if you are having issues at the bottom of the pyramid it usually emanates from the top. In this instance the top of the pyramid lies the office of Jim Buss. Dr. Buss always had "basketball" people in place to run the franchise, it was Jerry West and staff and later Mitch Kupchak and staff. Owner Buss has stepped away, he's turned much of the day to day operations of the team to son Jim. Stories circulated Jim didn't want Phil Jackson to return, once PJ left long-time assistant Brian Shaw interviewed to become head coach. Former Cavs coach Mike Brown was hired to replace PJ and word circulated Brown was his hire. In fairness to Jim Buss the NBA salary cap will not allow for a number of personnel moves. In addition, proven or unproven reports indicate Jim was key in the Lakers drafting Andrew Bynum. Perhaps it's the age we live in, I don't ever remember Dr. Buss responding to media stories. When first Magic Johnson and later Phil Jackson made critical statements about this Laker team Jim Buss thought it his duty to respond. Dr. Buss is not going to fire his son but he needs to take him aside, he needs to explain the facts. Micro-manage owners have no more success than those who allow the basketball people to run the operation.

Bits n Pieces

A name announced in tomorrow's draft will most likely be Moe Harkless. If his name is unfamiliar to you don't worry I wasn't familiar with him either. Harkless is a 6-8 207 pound small forward who played collegiately at St. John's. His freshman numbers (along with whispers in his ear) probably convinced he was ready for the NBA. 15.5 ppg, 45% shooting along with 8.6 rebounds, the only negative might be his 67.6% free throw shooting. Harkless has a 7 foot wingspan and performed admirably at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. The key of course is the opportunity to play, mock draft sites list him in as a middle choice in the first round. NOTE: If drafted Harkless will join a long list of New York City athletes and those from the borough of Queens. Lamar Odom, Metta World Peace, Kenny Smith all first played the game as youth in Queens.

Although St. Louis University (250 miles) is an A-10 school we receive few A-10 telecasts on this side of the state unless it's an NCAA field of 64 game. The few A-10 games of note have involved Xavier, Temple and UMass. The disclaimer is made because I didn't have an opportunity to see this player or his team during his collegiate career. I have continued to read positive news reports on this potential 2012 NBA draftee. He's Andrew Nicholson who played at St. Bonaventure in western New York State. Nicholson is a 6-10 234 pound power forward whose senior year numbers were 18.4 ppg and 8.5 rebounds as he led the Bonnies to a 20-12 season. This native of Mississauga Ontario Canada is projected as a mid-first round draft choice on a number of mock NBA draft sites.

Florida State University's Bernard James is listed as second round pick by Draftexpress.com. This 6-10 230 pound center is not the typical fuzzy faced youngster, he's 27-years old and an U.S. Air Force veteran. When he left the military he enrolled at a community college receiving an associate degree.  It will interested considering his past career and age if he manages to be drafted.

Summer is the worst time of the year for college coaches but not for basketball fans. It's not the hot steamy weather it's AAU basketball which the majority of college coaches hate. They hate AAU basketball due to it's lack of structure, teams run few plays for the most part it's old fashioned "run n gun" basketball. I love it, absolutely love it!

Over the years there have been numerous complaints regarding academic progress of student-athletes. Several of the complaints have been valid however many were proven untrue. As an example last season Bobby Knight made statements about Kentucky's academic standards which proved totally inaccurate. Several years ago the NCAA established academic standards for sports teams. Failure to maintain the established standards a team would be ruled ineligible for the post-season NCAA tournament, in addition the number of scholarships would be reduced.  The NCAA announced it's list for the upcoming season, they are:

Arkansas-Pine Bluff, California-Riverside, Cal State Bakersfield, Jacksonville State, Mississippi Valley State,
North Carolina-Wilmington, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Toledo, Towson and UConn. The last school of note is Jim Calhoun's UConn team.

Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley indicated his desire to sell the Grizzlies for a period of time, he made a condition of the sale the team must remain in Memphis. A prospective owner has stepped forward and indicated a desire to purchase the team. Robert J. Pera will pay a reported $350 million dollars for the team, should the deal be approved by the NBA he will assume ownership of the team. Pera is CEO of Ubiquiti Networks a communications technology company he founded. Although Mark Cuban is now an "old" 53 he was a youngster of 42 when he purchased the Mavs. At 42 he became the youngest owner and remained the youngest until now. Pera is a 34-year old billionaire and thus would become the youngest owner of an NBA franchise. Speaking of name changes the Grizzlies might consider a name change too. For those who might not be aware the Grizzlies were an expansion franchise located in Vancouver Canada. The team began play in 1995 but located to Memphis in 2001. Grizzly bears are native to British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, Wikipedia indicates the only species of bears native to the State of Tennessee are black bears.

With names such as Phil Jackson and Shaquille O' Neal in the mix the Magic hired 30-year old Rob Hennigan as their general manager. He's served as an assistant general manager for the Thunder the last two years. If he can sign Dwight Howard to an extension that will address the number one problem facing this franchise. I would guess with no coach in place he will conduct the draft tomorrow.

 

This guy is really tall

A few months back I shared a story with you on high school player Mamadou Ndiaye. This 7-5 giant will enter his junior year of high school in the fall. Cameron Smith's article for Yahoo indicates "Ndiaye is easily the tallest high school basketball player in California." I think we can state Ndiaye is probably the tallest high school player in the nation. He plays for Huntington Beach Brethren Christian School in Southern California. Video indicates Ndiaye moves rather easily on the court, for someone still learning the game he didn't appear mechanical. Two keys, at 7-5 he towers above 99% of his competition and he lacks an overall offensive game. Ndiaye a native of Senegal is in the U.S. on a student visa, surely a university somewhere in the U.S. will award him a basketball scholarship. The NBA might be in his future dependent on how well his game continues to progress. He's tall and you know what they, "you can't teach tall."

I guess everyone's not on board

It's been no secret the desire of many in Seattle to have an NBA team again. After much "wailing and gnashing of teeth" over the years looks as though an NBA arena might be built again in Seattle. First it was Investor Chris Hansen and city and county government, later Steve Balmer of Microsoft came in with this group. The only negative to date appears to be several industrial and labor groups at the Port of Seattle. These groups have expressed concerns about traffic flow, the area tentatively planned for the arena is near Safeco Field home of the Mariners and CenturyLink Field home of the Seahawks. Lately I'm reading of an effort to revamp Key Arena and I wondered why, a condition of the NBA returning to Seattle was a new arena.

Did you know

The collegiate game played on an aircraft carrier last year will now become an annual event, there are three games scheduled this season. Florida will play Georgetown on November 9th off the coast of Jacksonville Florida. Marquette will play Ohio State at Charleston South Carolina and Syracuse and San Diego State will play on the USS Midway. The latter two games have not been scheduled nor any television commitment. I'm less favorable this time around, it was unique last year maybe to become an annual event. If there are three games played it loses some of it's appeal, it becomes an ordinary game like any other.

"Expect the unexpected"

I unsure who to give credit for the above quote. It might fit Michael Jordan and his Bobcats, searching for a head coach among the names mentioned were Jerry Sloan long-time former Jazz coach. Also prominently mentioned was assistant coach Brian Shaw long time Phil Jackson disciple and Quin Snyder a Laker assistant and former Mizzou coach. Who does Jordan chose, Mike Dunlap who serves as an assistant coach at St. John's. Before you accuse me of hatin' on Dunlap I think we are surprised at this selection. The guy has credentials, he's been a coach over 30 years however never at the Division I or NBA level. An ESPN story indicated he was "a two time Division II national champion and Coach of the Year." One other note, Dunlap has some NBA experience he served as an assistant coach for the Nuggets from 2006-08. I think we all might wish him the best on what may be the worst job in the NBA.

In case you didn't know

My home town Kansas City (MO) is no longer represented in the NBA by a team. The city still maintains an NBA presence however. Bet you didn't know 19 of the 30 NBA arenas were designed by Kansas City based architectural firms? These firms have been the architect of choice for many of the nation's football stadiums (NFL & college), collegiate basketball arenas and major league baseball stadiums. Three of these firms, 360 Architecture, Ellerbe Becket and Populous banded together and designed the Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City Missouri. Other divisions of these firms have designed commercial buildings, bridges and other public and private projects.

Populous Architects

Toyota Center-Houston
Bradley Center-Milwaukee
United Center-Chicago
Pepsi Center-Denver
Philips Arena-Atlanta
Prudential Center-Newark (former home of the Nets)
Amway Center-Orlando

Ellerbe Becket Architects

AT&T Center-San Antonio
Barclays Center-Brooklyn (opening Sept 2012)
Conseco Fieldhouse-Indianapolis
FedExForum-Memphis
Quicken Loans Arena-Cleveland
Rose Garden-Portland
TD Garden-Boston
US Airway Center-Phoenix
Verizon Center-Washington D.C.
Wells Fargo Center-Philadelphia

HNTB Corporation

Oracle Arena-Oakland

360 Architecture

American Airlines Arena-Miami

Will the haters go away?

My wife's cousin wrote this on a social commentary site. "Hopefully the haters will get off LeBron's back since he's now won a championship." Danny's statement is only half correct, many will relent their criticism of LeBron but I'm sure there will be no love extended from Cleveland and Ohio.  I have been wrongly characterized as a hater because I'm not excited in the Heat winning. Nobody, no way no how can change the events of last week, the Miami Heat are NBA champions.  Funny, I don't remember Danny (or my neighbors son-in-law) being particularly thrilled when the Lakers won two years ago. Believe it or not they kinda avoided me for at least two weeks after the Lakers won.

Kobe

Bad news for Kobe Bryant haters, you can stop reading at this point. The NBA released sales figures for player jerseys. The 2011-12 season Kobe Bryant's number 24 was the most popular jersey sold world-wide. In the U.S. the leader in jersey sales was the Bulls Derrick Rose.

This is news?

Did you know Kansas City has professional basketball? If you didn't know that's okay because most of Kansas City didn't know either. Last week the Kansas City Star ran a press release announcing the ABA Missouri Rhythm would hold tryouts in early July. My first thought, this must be an ABA expansion team? Not true, searching the ABA website I discovered the team played at least the 2011-12 season. It's possible they might have played even longer than last season, for reasons unknown nobody knows anything about the team. Further research pointed out the fact the Rhythm play their games at North Kansas City Community Center which really makes them minor league basketball.

The specialist

Ricardo Ratliffe Mizzou center's name is listed on several mock sites, he's listed as a potential second round pick power forward. I'm unsure if it was the coaching change or his adjustment from playing at the junior college level his senior year was light years ahead of the previous one. Ratliffe is undersized as an NBA power forward at 6-8 and 240. His shot of choice is a 5-10 foot jump hook which he was able to sink routinely. You think an opposing 6-10 or
7-foot NBA player will allow him to sink that shot as easily as we witnessed last winter and spring? DeJuan Blair of the Spurs has had moderate success at 6-7 but the guy weighs 270 pounds, probably few power forwards are able to push him off the block. The Jazz's Paul Milsap also might be considered undersized at 6-8 but he packs a great deal more weight than Ratliffe, Milsap weighs in a 253 pounds. I headlined this story specialist because unless I'm missing something that's most likely Ratliffe's possible future in the NBA. If he's drafted by the "right" team Ratliffe could have success in the NBA he certainly has the heart.

The Knicks

Don't know if you heard the news, coach Mike Woodson informed the N.Y. Post Jeremy Lin will be his starting point guard for know. One might assume Lin earns the job by default but if you check the guards behind him. Baron Davis will likely miss the entire 2012-13 season win an injury, at age 34 Mike Bibby's best days are in his rear view mirror. The other spot belongs to 26-year old Toney Douglas entering his fourth year, although Douglas has shown flashes it's yet to be proven either D'Antoni in the past or Woodson currently might consider him more than a backup at least for now. The Mavs Jason Kidd and the Suns Steve Nash will soon become free agents, both certainly would raise the level of play at the point. The question might be do the Knicks want to pay either at a reduced salary, they certainly wouldn't represent the future of this franchise?

The 3 Amigos

Have we seen the last of the 3 Amigos, i.e. Pierce, Allen and Garnett? Although the Celtics played well in spots they were unable to sustain leads even in the games they won. The Celtics faced injuries but that might be considered an excuse in some circles. This off-season will be interesting in Bean Town, we can assume Celtic for life Paul Pierce
(35-years old next season) will return. There are questions on 36-year old and injury plagued Ray Allen. Kevin Garnett also 36-years old was somewhat revitalized in the playoffs. With dependable relief (and lesser minutes) Garnett might be able to extend his career at least another couple of years if he desires.

$$$$$$$

A site dubbed 24/7 conducted a survey on average ticket prices of the four major sports. We'll look at the NBA only and the top 5 teams in reverse order:

5. Boston Celtics $99.43

4. Chicago Bulls 111.12

3. Miami Heat 123.35

2. New York Knicks 161.93

1. Los Angeles Lakers 169.80

NBA Champions

The Miami Heat are now champions of the NBA. Congratulations to them, LeBron, Wade and Bosh. Coach Eric deserves credit as well maligned by critics last season and this year.

Say what

Numerous stories circulated about dirty play in this years NBA playoffs, it must have prompted SI.com's next move. The website conducted a survey among NBA players to determine who they would vote the dirtiest player in the NBA. A voting percentage was provided for the top five players, winner by a wide margin was Clipper Reggie Evans with 37% of the votes cast. Kevin Garnett of the Celtics and Laker Metta World Peace tied for second with 9% of the vote, they were followed by recently retired Pacer Jeff Foster (5%) and Clipper Chris Paul (4%).

Arkansas?

This is a continuing ever developing story, Mizzou basketball recruiting that is. At the time Mizzou announced it was headed to the SEC letters begin pouring into the Kansas City Star. Most dealt with potential future recruiting issues, in essence "Missouri would have difficulty recruiting since they would no longer be a Big XII member." This development is noteworthy and quite significant and worth reporting.

* Mizzou received a verbal commitment from it's first 2014 recruit.

* A 5-10 180 pound point guard Anton Beard.

* Beard is 4-star prospect by Rivals.

* Don't overlook the fact he's from Arkansas and the school had an offer on the table.

* Perhaps most significant Mizzou was one of eight schools with offers for Beard and he chose Mizzou.

Of course all this could change unless Beard heads to Columbia. On the other hand he could change his mind in two years, in addition his game might not progress at the rate the coaching staff believes and the offer withdrawn.

Do you remember the Big Dog?

Anybody out there remember Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson? Robinson had a successful 11-year NBA career most of it spent with the Milwaukee Bucks. Robinson played as a 6-7 225 pound small forward with career numbers of 20.7 ppg and 6.1 rebounds. As we might say like father like son, the University of Michigan has an incoming freshman the Rivals folks tab as a 5-star prospect. Glenn Robinson III is the same height of his dad however he's still growing into his body at a slender 192 pounds. The most interesting part of this story, the dad played at Purdue University and son chose one of their arch Big 10 rivals Michigan.

NBA Draft Combine

The NBA held it's draft combine last Thursday and Friday in Chicago. ESPNU provided 8 hours of coverage of the drills and commentary by 5 analysts. My only complaint very little information is shared with the viewing audience. We see the agility drills but are given no information relating to the criteria of a good or bad time, the same for the 3/4 court speed check. A prospects height with and without shoes and his weight are released. It was mentioned how poorly Kevin Durant had performed prior to his being drafted. The same might be said of Ohio State's Jared Sullinger who the panel said "didn't run the drills particularly well." In addition several players were advised to return home by their agents. A number of prospects on advice of agents failed to even attend. I only had a few opportunities to see Duke's Austin Rivers play this past season but he was subject for an interesting revelation. I'm unsure who to attribute the quote but he claimed and I paraphrase "Austin Rivers is all about Austin Rivers, he doesn't look for teammates his assist numbers are really not very good, he thinks he's better than he is, he models his game after Kobe Bryant." And the other question would the Celtics draft Rivers if were available when there pick comes? Two panelist were in agreement the Celtics would probably not draft Rivers.

What's in a team name?

I wonder if Tom Benson owner of the Saints and the Hornets will do as he intends? At the recent press conference identifying him as the new owner of the Hornets among statements made was this one, "I'd like a name more closely identified with New Orleans." His view has certainly been shared by me for a number of years. Probably the most relevant name Jazz belongs to that team in Salt Lake City but was never changed when they located to Salt Lake City. For reasons unspecified they have no plans to relinquish use of the name. As for the City of New Orleans If we wanted to do a history revisit the name Buccaneers connects two different history periods for the city. The oldest and first would be connected to the pirate Jean Lafitte and his buccaneers who operated in and around New Orleans in the early portion of the 19th Century. "As a rule, the buccaneers called themselves privateers, and many sailed under the protection of a letter of marque granted by British, French or Dutch authorities." In addition New Orleans was a charter member of the old ABA, that team was named the Buccaneers we assume a salute to it's history. I realize the Tampa Bay Bucs exist in the NFL but I don't think that matters, two teams but two different sports. Prior to the move to San Francisco we had the New York baseball Giants and the New York football Giants playing in the same city at the same time. Alligators I understand are native to Louisiana and Florida, the team could be re-named the New Orleans Gators, there probably could be objections from the University of Florida folks? Face it, the best names are already taken, whatever name Benson decides to chose is going to infringe on somebody somewhere. Here's an example, the addition of Mizzou to the SEC Conference it has three schools with the same named mascots, LSU Tigers, Auburn Tigers and Mizzou Tigers. (Wikipedia)

Vacation

No Words eye view will be published on Friday or the following Monday. The next edition will be published on Wednesday June 20. Thanks again for continuing to visit the blog.

Bits n Pieces
A late addition, yesterday I placed the kiss of death on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The kiss is me predicting they would win the NBA Championship. One game does not make a series so I could, no probably will be wrong. That's my pick and I'm sticking with it. 

Celebrity status allows one privileges many of us would never receive or maybe might not even desire. Last week Metta World Peace (aka Ron Artest) as a television weather anchor. Somehow he managed to pop up on a Vancouver television station to report the weather. The station allowed him to stumble threw a very disjointed weather report. The funniest portion might have been him providing temperatures, he said (I paraphrase) "it's cold there, (pointing to a city) only 14." He didn't know or they failed to point out to him Canada utilizes the metric system which the United States never adopted.


I read the name Gene Melchiorre and it didn't register with me, I read his name on a Fox Sports article titled Ten worst No. 1 NBA Draft picks of all-time. Most of the names were pretty familiar, Kwame Brown, Greg Oden and Michael Olowokandi but Melchiorre was an unknown. Melchiorre was the number three player on their list and was drafted by the 1951 Baltimore Bullets. This is not the same Bullets franchise of Earl Monroe and Gus Johnson. This Bullets team played from 1947-1954 and went out of business that year the only NBA to close shop. The second Bullets team was actually the former expansion Chicago Packers who moved to Baltimore in 1963. They played as the Bullets from 1963 to 1973 and eventually moved to Washington D.C. That team became the Capitol Bullets and later the Washington Bullets, this team was renamed the Wizards in 1997. Back to the original story, after reading Melchiorre's bio I was unsure why he was included in the list. Melchiorre although drafted number one by the Bullets never played a single minute in the NBA. The collegiate game has endured two serious point-shaving scandals, the first occurred in 1951 which involved Melchiorre and several other collegiate players. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and although he received a suspended sentence NBA Commissioner Maurice Podoloff banned him and all players involved (31) from the NBA for life. This is not about his guilt what I take issue with why he was included in this list of players----he never played a single minute in the NBA. (Wikipedia)

This story is evidence of the continued growth of the international game. The Pangos All-American Camp in Long Beach (CA) provided us two new names to note. The first is Ben Simmons a 6-8 Australia player who arrived as an unknown but impressed. Simmons holds dual citizenship, his father Dave arrived in Australia to play pro basketball and found a home. Jeremy Russotti Skills Director HoopGains Training said, "probably the highest pro potential guy I've sheen here." Simmons is a Class of 2015 prospect who is headed to the states for college. The second player is Patson Siame who plays at Impact Academy (Las Vegas). The 6-10 prospect is a Class of 2013 commit to Loyola Marymount, Siame's home is Zambia in Central Africa. (MaxPreps.com)

Missouri and Kansas City will be the financial beneficiary of this rather strange arrangement. The City of Kansas City will continue to serve as host for the Big XII basketball tournament through 2016, the original agreement was due to expire in 2014. From a geography standpoint Kansas City (MO) is drive-time distance for the majority of Big XII schools. The Big XII will continue to hold a tournament in a state (MO) with no affiliated school, I make this statement despite the beliefs of a number of metro Kansas fans. For reasons unknown these folks prefer to operate under the premise that all sports fans in Kansas City (MO) are Kansas fans. And adding to this story Mizzou athletic director Mike Alden made a proposal the SEC tournament be held in St. Louis or Kansas City. In extending the length of the contract has the Big XII made a pre-emptive strike to ensure the SEC remain out of Kansas City?

I'm unsure of the odds but they must be astronomical, two high school teammates who both managed successful NBA careers. The two also had such outstanding NBA careers both were enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield (MA). Central High School in Akron Ohio once had two outstanding high school teammates named Gus Johnson and Nate Thurmond. Both went their separate ways with the choice of colleges, Johnson attending a junior college and then the University of Idaho. Thurmond having no desire to play backup to Jerry Lucas chose Bowling Green State University. The two went on to stellar All-Pro NBA careers, so successful in fact both were elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. I'm referring to Gus Johnson a 6-6 230 pound power forward, Johnson's career numbers 16.2 points and 12.7 rebounds a game. The numbers fail to tell the complete story, Johnson set the standard for the power forward's of today. Johnson was inducted in the 2010 Hall of Fame class. Nate "Nate the Great" Thurmond 6-11 225 pound center/forward. As for Thurmond among his numerous contributions he recorded the first quadruple-double in the NBA while a member of the Chicago Bulls. On October 18, 1974 he scored 22 points with 14 rebounds 13 assists and 12 block shots. Thurmond was also inducted into the hall with the Class of 1985.

The initials MSG are the initials for Madison Square Garden and are known world-wide. Their marketing folks coined the phrase "The World's Most Famous Arena." The Nets move to Brooklyn and Barclays Center construction allowed this historic building to slip in the eye of the public.  I said the building not it's teams, both the primary tenants Knicks and Rangers made the playoffs. The building is empty now and construction has begun again transforming the interior portion of the building to the tune of $980 million. The Garden is the second oldest arena behind Oracle Arena in Oakland, the Knicks and Rangers played their first game in this building in 1968. With the Nets inside the city boundaries David Stern spoke of his desire for the Knicks and Nets to establish a rivalry. The teams have been polar opposites of each other, during the Jason Kidd years the Nets were successful the Knicks were pretty pathetic. We can agree the Knicks are not a championship team but at this point they are much better than the Nets.

 

Bits n Pieces

I bet you hadn't thought about this, I'm sure this story might have played out previously somewhere I just don't remember. In 2011 Mike Anderson left Mizzou for the job he always wanted head coach at the University of Arkansas. Now that Mizzou in the SEC Anderson will be facing several Mizzou players he and his staff recruited. The conference schedule hasn't been released yet however we can guess most likely Arkansas and Missouri will face off against each other. Fayetteville (AR) is 300 road miles from Columbia (MO) the nearest SEC school to Mizzou. Flip Pressey, Michael Dixon Jr. and Laurence Bowers will all face Arkansas and Mike Anderson, this should only play out through the 2012-13 season but it is kinda ironic isn't it?

My wife's cousin just graduated high school, Jewel indicated to us she was exploring the possibility of attending several schools them is Virginia Commonwealth University. My first thought was she would have an opportunity to see VCU Rams and coach Shaka Smart up close. Smart burst on the national scene two years ago as his VCU team made an unprecedented and surprise run in the NCAA tournament. Coaching offers came flying in to this now 35-year old head coach but he said "thanks but no thanks." He expressed a loyalty to the athletic department and VCU certainly unusual in this day and age. VCU teams have registered a 84-28 mark over the last three seasons winning an average of 28 games a season. If Smart continues to turn out winning teams offers from other schools will continue to flow in, the offers and the financial rewards will only increase. The question might be how long will he stay in Richmond (VA)?

I have come to the conclusion LeBron James is not the problem. it's clearly the media, for this very talented athlete it's become a "damn if he does, damn if he doesn't" story. They lavish praise when he succeeds but go over the top when he errors. The good folks at the top of the list are those at ESPN, they have been guilty of building up this 6-8 260 pound athlete into a 10 foot tall 400 pound behemoth. James is not blameless, he bears a degree of responsibility for several of the issues that continue to dog him. I think James is a genuine nice guy, he was universally appreciated prior to him leaving for South Beach. Once he left Cleveland the world became divided into two camps, those that loved him and those that hated him, there appeared to be no middle ground. James probably feels like he's walking on eggshells with every action he's involved in. I still am unable to figure out why James must shoot from the perimeter, his game (and body) are built on penetrating to the basket. It appears he lacks confidence at times in his ability to knock down the shot, drives to the basket are another matter.

I always remain cautious when discussing the Los Angeles Clippers, this past season was a dream sequence wasn't it? Did the team truly make the playoffs, did they play until the second round? A portion of my skepticism was based on this teams front office and the rumors circulating about coach Vinny Del Negro. Del Negro probably saved his job coaching this team into territory it had never seen previously. Everything appears steady and then comes word general manager Neil Olshey leaves the franchise to become GM of the Blazers. "Olshey was named GM on March 9, 2010 upon the firing of GM and head coach Mike Dunleavy." In a little more than two years the grass appeared to be greener in Portland than Los Angeles. Also interesting is the fact Olshey had been working without a contract since October of 2011. Is this the beginning (of the end) after but one successful season? I don't wish to be a doom and gloom guy but based on the past history of this franchise?

 

It's interesting, ESPN is the only major sports website to make the change. The change I refer to is the name New Jersey in front of Nets, all other sites continue to list the team as the New Jersey Nets, only ESPN has made the change to Brooklyn Nets. I've checked all the websites, CBSSports, SI.com, Yahoo, Fox Sports and the Sporting News, their NBA page has made no name change as of June 7. Another note on the Nets and the move to Brooklyn, I had indicated earlier I've never visited NYC so there might be dynamics I'm unaware. I'm curious how 19,500 folks manage to navigate traffic to arrive at MSG for Knick games? The reason I'm posing the question I've read complaint after complaint about the impending traffic flow around Barclays Center. I'm reading complaints and the arena is yet to open, yet to hold even it's first event. Several of the stories have revolved around how this change will affect the quality of life in Brooklyn. Surely whoever is raising quality of life as a question must be joking, what does an arena have to do with quality of life? We can be sure traffic in and around the arena will increase on evenings the Nets play or when other events are held, we can be assured parking surrounding the arena will be impacted by the arena too.

Congratulations

Thunder fans are probably still dancing in the streets, congratulations are certainly due this team and coach Scott Brooks. I didn't pick the Thunder to win but neither did 10 of the 14 ESPN experts. The difference between us, those guys get paid to be wrong I do it for free. We all figured this would be a short series after the Spurs took it to the Thunder in the first two games. This young team came roaring back and finished them with a 4-0 run. I don't know about the ESPN guys but I certainly was fooled, I thought the Spurs were going to ride into the sunset after last season. They exceeded my expectations in a lockout shortened season, in addition the oldsters had basically been replaced. Tim Duncan was playing limited minutes, Manu Ginobili was coming off the bench, maybe coach Pop has something going on here. In any event I've never been a Spurs fan and the one and only time I actually pick them to win a series they lose. The Spurs have been one of the NBA's most successful team for a number of years. Four NBA championships and we must go back to the 1996-97 for the last time this team failed to make the playoffs.

Whose number two, who is number two?

On June 28th commissioner will announce to all the Hornets have made Anthony Davis the number one pick in the 2012 NBA draft. How can we be be sure Davis is the choice? Slam Magazine has a photo of him in a Hornets uniform with the numeral 1 on the front. As for the number two pick the Bobcats have given no indication whom they might choose and the media is doing it's best guess effort. As an example draftexpress.com says the pick will be power forward Thomas Robinson of Kansas, nbadraft.net indicates the pick most likely will be small forward Harrison Barnes of North Carolina. Chad Ford of ESPN claims the player will be Kentucky small forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist while cbssportsline.com's Jeff Goodman indicates he thinks the pick will be shooting guard Bradley Beal of Florida. The jury will be unable to render a verdict on the entire draft until April 2013 however early indications point to a deep, rich draft.

New and improved

Renovation of the house John Wooden and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar aided in being built is almost complete. Pauley Pavilion home court of the Bruins opened in 1965. The arena has undergone a massive upgrade and renewal to the tune of $136 million dollars. "New locker rooms, concession stands and video boards. Pauley Pavilion was constructed so that there would be some space between the crowds and the action on the court. Coach Wooden cited the example of the close quarters of Harmon Gym (now Haas Pavilion) where fans would pull leg hairs from his players' legs. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, then known as Lew Alcindor, was recruited to UCLA partly on the promise of playing in the new arena." UCLA basketball is certainly on the upswing again with the arrival of 6-6 shooting guard Shabazz Muhammad and 6-8 point guard Kyle Anderson, Rivals number one and number three players in the nation Class of 2012. A historical note, the first game in the refurbished building is scheduled for November 9 against Indiana State. Wooden coached Indiana State before arriving on the campus of UCLA in 1948. (nbcsports.com)

Say what?
I'm not an ESPN Insider so I was unable to read either of the stories posted on their website. Both could impact my Lakers so I thought I would cover them from my perspective. I must guess much of the detail so my view might be incorrect but here goes. First Chris "LeBron" Broussard and his proposed Bynum for Williams swap. As much as I'd like the Lakers with the addition of Deron Williams I'm unsure if I think this is a good trade. There is an age old adage that says "you don't trade a big man for a small man." I certainly could not argue with anyone who might say Bynum exhibited bouts of immaturity during the season despite his break-out year. I would guess Broussard is suggesting Bynum because Plainsboro Township New Jersey where he grew up is 60 miles from Brooklyn. Ric Bucher's proposal might be even more weird, his proposal is a Gasol for Pierce trade. Pierce is on the downhill side of his career, management is most likely preparing to hoist his jersey to the top of the TD Garden. Why would the Celtics even entertain trading this all-pro player to anyone? Bucher probably pointed out Pierce grew up in Los Angeles and rooted for the Lakers as a youth. Thomas Wolfe wrote a book, "You can't go home again" which might be true of Pierce. As for the Lakers Gasol I'm still in his corner unless there is an offer the Lakers can't afford to turn down. Gasol could have played better I cannot disagree with that view of anyone, I don't understand the critics who want to remold him into the player he never was. Gasol's game has always been one of finesse and not power.

The barber shop
My arrival time was much later in the day than normal. For that fact alone I missed most of the usual crowd, in fact the shop was basically empty. I had been prepared for them to give me the blues with the Lakers being eliminated. I probably generated more conversation on the misfortunate of the Lakers than any other. Finally my barber said, "why is Michael Jordan such a bad owner?" Those remaining answered in almost one voice, "he refuses to allow the basketball people to run the team." Curtis said "he's got Cho in place now and it will change." Cho's first name is Rich, he is approaching his first anniversary as general manager of the Bobcats. Cho has an interesting background, "born in Burma (also known as Myanmar) his family immigrated to the United States in 1968. He graduated from Washington State University with a degree in mechanical engineering and worked for Boeing Aircraft for five years. He became an intern for the Seattle Sonics while finishing a law degree at Pepperdine University." He served at general manager of the Blazers but was terminated after one year, in June of 2011 he was hired by the Bobcats as their general manager. The Bobcats have been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years perhaps Cho is the one to lead them to the promised land. (Wikipedia)

They continue to cast their nets out
The search for a general manager in Orlando certainly has taken a rather strange twist. At the beginning were stories indicating Shaquille O' Neal would interview for the job, I never read anything from the front office denying the story. I wrote at the time why would a Magic team hire an O' Neal who had no previous front office experience. I'm unsure how he handles all the various business ventures he's involved in but there is a difference. Those ventures only effect Shaquille O' Neal and family no one else. Decisions (good or bad) in the Magic front office might effect a number of individuals. I never believed this was a position he couldn't learn but it thought it was not a good first stop. Now comes word former coach Phil Jackson's name is linked to the GM position. PJ might want back in the NBA but this seems a little bit of a reach as well. I think we all could see him possibly return as the Magic coach but general manager? I even heard one bizarre story that would allow him to remain living in Los Angeles but venturing to Orlando a number of times during the year. In other words he would run the franchise from offices in Los Angeles? On the personal side, PJ and Lakers vice-president Jeannie Buss are still an item. Should PJ be hired would the NBA demand he and Jeannie cease dating due to a possible conflict of interest? If a trade can be vetoed by the league office couldn't a personal relationship also be vetoed? I don't make this stuff up it's real life.

 

Bits n Pieces

Interesting I was one of those critics who questioned the value of Chris Bosh. Bosh most likely will never be a Hall of Fame athlete but he's certainly better than we might have perceived. In a manner of speaking I would compare his game to that of Pau Gasol, Bosh at 6-11 and 235 is a finesse player. Bosh has an inside game it's just not that of a "power" power forward. Word is Bosh will probably be activated for game five, the only question how effective can he be fresh off an injury? The Heat are good however I still maintain they are James, Wade and Bosh. There is no requirement for a championship team to have All-Pros spread throughout the roster they do need good players. For me that's the question, the level of talent for the remaining Heat players. I don't think guys like Rony Turiaf, Joel Anthony or 99-year old Juwan Howard cause fear in the heart of the Heat's opposition. Bosh numbers, 14 minutes of action 3-8 from the floor with 7 rebounds and 9 points.

It's probably difficult to be the son of ________. You can plug in any famous father, in this instance the father is Michael Jeffery Jordan. MJ has two basketball playing son's Jeffery and Marcus. We might guess both chose to follow in their father's rather large footsteps. The younger Jordan Marcus appears to have the most basketball skill, enough to play in the association? That question will remain unresolved until the NBA draft in May of 2013. As for older brother Jeffery who appears less talented his future might lie in the NBA D-League or in Europe. I maintain Grant Hill did the thing correctly, don't play the same sport as your famous father. Grant's father Calvin Hill was a NFL all-pro running back for the Cowboys. It's not fair but we always tend to compare the son to the father. The only instance it's the opposite is the Bryant family, Joe was a good NBA player but Kobe is light-years ahead of his dad in talent.

It's too early yet, it's only Wednesday night but I'm going to begin a conspiracy theory thread on the NBA Lottery. I've maintained for awhile I don't believe in conspiracy theory's but no matter they continue to exist, since I can't beat them I figured I'd join the gang. After all these years I just heard a new one today relating to the Knicks and Patrick Ewing. The card with the Knicks pick was colder than the others, I guess they must have placed in a refrigerator shortly before the drawing. Back to 2012 the number one pick was to go to the Bobcats however the Hornets and the NBA "interceded." I came up with a few reasons why the Hornets were awarded the pick rather than the Bobcats, you are entitled to dream up your version the following are mine. The Hornets received the number one pick in the lottery. A. payment to Saints and soon to be Hornets owner Tom Benson. B. proof to all concerned the NBA's commitment to New Orleans. C. payback for the Chris Paul trade.

The Mavs just might have another point guard next season, his name Petteri Kopnen. Kopenen a native of Finland was actually drafted in 2007 but chose to remain in Europe. From all indications he appears ready to head for the NBA and the Mavs. I located this information on the web, "Koponen was the 76ers first round pick in 2007 but his rights were traded to the Mavs last season. Koponen played for Virtus Bologna (Italy) last season but is ready for the NBA challenge." He has no desire to ride the Mavs bench, he says if he sees no opportunity to play immediately he will remain in Europe. His timing might be impeccable, the Mavs might be hesitant to re-sign Jason Kidd at age 39. (dallasnews.com)

Players from small schools don't often receive the amount of coverage of those at larger schools. All you need to do is check ESPN, Fox Sports or CBS Sports Sunday through Monday during the season. The only exception to this is during conference post-season tournaments, you might see a Bradley University or Towson University game. As for NCAA Division II schools forget about it they are more invisible than mid-major D-I schools. For this reason if there is even a hint an athlete from a smaller school might be drafted I wanted to provide you a heads-up, that's the case for two players on the NBA's radar. Both are listed as possible 2012 draft choices. Kevin Murphy a 6-7 185 pound shooting guard from Tennessee Tech. Murphy's senior year he scored at a 20.6 ppg clip on 44.4% from the floor. Tech is located about seventy miles from Nashville. Sammy Emile played at Mars Hill, a Division II school located near Asheville North Carolina. Emile is a 6-6 215 pound small forward. He led Division II schools in scoring at 25.0 ppg and 44% shooting.

Can Jimmer Fredette play in the NBA? I would say the question remains unanswered at this time, there were hurdles that delayed his assimilation into the NBA. The largest hurdle of course might have been adjusting to life in the NBA, the second adjusting to the position of point guard. Remember at BYU he was mister everything but held the primary position of shooting guard, there are few 6-2 shooting guards in the NBA these days. Fredette had to endure those challenges in his rookie year yet another existed. I'll toss in a third hurdle, the lock-out shortened season resulted in little training camp and little opportunity to adjust to the point as well. Fredette played in 61 games of the 66 game schedule but only started 7 so even on a bad Kings team he didn't play much. Although much younger Rickey Rubio had a distinct advantage over Fredette coming into the season, he was familiar with the position he would play for the Wolves. My view, wait till next season and then we can fully determine if Fredette can play at this level.

 

He shots way too much for me

The above headline is not referring to Derrick Rose or Kobe Bryant, the honor in this instance belongs to the Thunder's Russell Westbrook. Westbrook adds much to the Thunder offense with his speed and his defensive pressure, my only issue he shoots far too much for me as a point guard. Nothing wrong with any point guards ability to shot but quality of shots versus quantity of shots is the issue with Westbrook. I didn't check his regular season average or early playoff numbers. His first two games against the Spurs certainly could have been better. This is still a team game, Westbrook cannot be faulted alone for his team's failure to win either of the first two games against the Spurs. He scored 17 points in the first game on 7-21 shooting and .333 from the floor, his second game was a little better as he scored 27 points on 10-24 shooting and .415. Game three Westbrook took 15 shots but only sank 5 of them scoring 10 points, he was virtually invisible in game four shooting 2 for 10 from the floor and 7 points. It seems he's competes with Durant for the leadership role and Durant is clearly the superior shooter.

Just entering his sophomore year

The above headline reflects the partial story of Karl Towns Jr. a 6-11 235 pound center. Towns Jr. is from Metuchen New Jersey a borough of 13,000 about 30 miles from New York City, he attends St. Joseph High School. In August he will begin his sophomore year but check out these frosh numbers. 12.0 ppg, 10.0 rebounds and 4.0 block shots a game, Towns Jr. totaled two assists per game which certainly is a good number for a big man. The only downside his height and weight make it easy to see how he might dominate at the high school level. We'll follow his progress over the next three years and see if he manages to grow his game. Currently Towns Jr. is listed as the number one prospect in the Class of 2015 by ESPNU, he's also listed on several other prospect sites as well. Towns Jr. has made the Dominican National AAU Team and hopes to aid them in qualifying for the 2012 Olympics. Towns Jr.'s mother is Dominican which of course makes him eligible to play for that nations team. The coach of the Dominican team John Calipari. (nbcsports.com)

Maybe it might be the coach

Every year as we approach the NBA draft questions surround many of the potential draftees. Baylor's Perry Jones III might have the largest number of questions on his heart. Jones III has not health issues other than between his ears. Jones III is a 6-11 235 pound do-all, he has shown the ability to play four of the five positions on the court. I had several opportunities to view his play because he played in the Big XII, not only his games against Mizzou but Kansas and Texas as well. With all the potential talent he possesses he tends to "disappear" at times while on the court. Example, the Mizzou-Baylor game in Waco standout in my memory. Baylor came roaring back in the second half of the game barely losing 89-88. Where was Jones III, he was 4-7 from the floor with 4 rebounds 1 assist and 3 TO's for 8 points. You might ask if he was in foul trouble? Not the case he only had 1 foul in 29 minutes of court action. The February re-match in Columbia, 2-12 shooting, 7 rebounds 2 assists, 1 steal and 2 TO's for 4 points. 1 personal foul in 31 minutes on the court. Okay three points, Mizzou had an outstanding season and it was their defense on Jones III. It's difficult to distribute the ball to yourself, that's the point guards responsibility. Finally the last issue might be head coach Scott Drew, excellent recruiter I'm still unsure how good he is regarding X's and O's.

Potential draftees

The Blazers brought in two 7-footers to run through a series of drills prior to the June 28 NBA Draft. The two players accessed were North Carolina's Tyler Zeller and Meyers Leonard from Illinois. Sometimes humor falls short of what was intended, that is the case here. When it was mentioned the Blazers had brought the two in the response was "if Portland drafts either one will probably get injured." Of course this effort at humor was aimed at the 2007 number one draft choice Greg Oden. You know the story the oft-injured Oden has been unable to maintain a presence on the basketball court. Oden wasn't the only Blazer big man to suffer with injury issues the team's corps of veterans also suffered. 6-11 LaMarcus Aldridge, 7-1 Joel Przybilla and 6-11 Marcus Camby all were on the injured list at various times during the season, Camby was eventually traded to the Rockets. These series of injuries including the retirement of Brandon Roy and poor play court cost long-time coach Nate McMillan his job.

He can play on my team

The on-court persona of Rajon Rondo sometimes causes as much of a problem for the opposition as it does the Celtics. For a guy who came into the NBA with little shooting skills his game has certainly grown. Recently it was revealed Rondo usually doesn't go to bed until 4:00-5:00 a.m. and no he wasn't at a party. He reviews video tape of the prior game analyzing his and the efforts of this teammates. I'm unsure if he follows this process every night during the season however the story is this is his routine through the playoffs. Last Wednesday his game was an excellent example of his value to the Celtics. 44 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists and 3 steals in the second game against the Heat. A magnificent effort on his part although his team came up short in overtime 111-115, he needed help in this game due to his teammates absence. Did you realize Rondo played 53 minutes in this game, the only rest was television timeouts and half-time, I think we might consider him the real "bionic man."

This must be a joke, right?

Someone once said "you stay around here (alive) long enough your liable to see almost anything." We are now witness to that anything.  DeShawn Stevenson of the Nets appears to have an ATM in his kitchen? Check http://instagr.am/p/LO4J0ArtWq/ and see if you agree.

 

Characters

Nowadays on those occasions we discuss the American Basketball Association we tend to focus on the players who made the transition into the NBA, players such as Julius "Dr. J." Erving, Artis Gilmore and Moses Malone. Right up to the merger with it's older brethren this "start-up" league contained a cast of unusual characters. Of course that was a different age when almost anything the players and sometimes the teams did to attract fans was deemed okay. The characters most of whom didn't make NBA rosters were almost as colorful as they were controversial. One of those players was fresh from the streets of Detroit with a brief stop at Toledo University, his name John Brisker. Brisker was talented but quick-tempered he would begin a fist fight at the slightest provocation. It was reported he had been kicked off the Toledo University team because of a fight with one of the coaches. "Brisker's most infamous moment came against the Denver Rockets. He was ejected only two minutes into the game for a vicious elbow on the Rockets' Art Becker. For unknown reasons, he charged back onto the court three times after Becker before police finally ushered him to the locker room." This 6-5 210 pound forward/guard pro career lasted from 1969-75. Brisker played for the ABA Pittsburg Pipers/Conders from 1969-72 and the NBA Seattle Sonics from 1975-75. The end of his life has become a modern-day mystery, he traveled to Uganda as a guest of Idi Amin, ruler of that nation. The Amin government was overthrown by revolutionaries in 1979 and shortly thereafter Brisker disappeared. "He was declared legally dead in 1985 by the King County, Washington, medical examiner." (Wikipedia)

Bad Boys part deux

Numbers of our readers are too young to remember the Pistons "Bad Boy Teams." We could also include the Washington Bullets "Bruise Brothers" in the tell of this story. Although it was much later perhaps many don't remember Pat Riley's Knick's teams. Those teams played "thug" basketball, that's my best description. The game was "we might not win the game but we'll certainly win the fight." For the most part play was physical and aggressive, don't you dare go for a lay-up, most likely you'd be hit so hard you would see stars. The flagrant foul rules of today grew out of the rough and tumble play of the '80's and '90's. The culprits were many, Jeff Ruland and Rick Mahorn of the Bullets, the Bruise Brothers. I don't remember reading if those Knick teams picked up a nickname however who could forget Bad Boy Pistons, Bill Laimbeer and Dennis Rodman? While viewing the Pacers-Heat playoff game we flashed back to the '80's as flagrant foul after foul was called. Both teams were guilty of over-aggressive and "thug" basketball in my view. The jury's decision, the Heat's Haslem is suspended one game, little used Heat reserve Dexter Pittman three games. As for Pacer Tyler Hansborough his flagrant one becomes a flagrant two. My remaining question, why wasn't Dwayne Wade suspended for his flagrant in game two?

Don't count me in the number

Kentucky's John Calipari is not well-liked among a number of coaches, fans and even some in the media. We realize why the hatred exists, they say he cheats. Someone once said "check any high profile program closely, you are bound to locate some shady actions." Now that's out of the way let's look at Kentucky basketball 2012-13, coach Cal has reloaded. You would think it might be difficult to produce a competitive team even with high profile freshman. How soon you forget his freshman dominated NCAA championship team this past April. At this point we have no idea how smooth the transition from high school to college will be for these players, one thing for sure Rivals thinks highly of them. The number behind the name indicates where Rivals think they rate among the nations best for the Class of 2012.

6-10 200 power forward Nerlens Noel-number 2

6-8 215 small forward Alex Poythress-number 8
6-4 181 shooting guard Archie Goodwin-number 14
7-0 225 center Willie Cauley-number 40

The cupboard is not completely bare, the entire roster is not headed to the NBA although a number are. There were only two seniors on the NCAA championship team, the 2012-13 team will be comprised of players who waited their turn to play and this mix of outstanding freshman. You might ask how Calipari continues to recruit like this, I have no idea but somehow manages to attract the nations best basketball talent to Lexington.

Late bloomer

Garrett Stutz is a local kid (North Kansas City High School) by all accounts must be considered a late bloomer. It's always difficult to access high school 7-footers, often they are so much taller than most of their opposition. Stutz was a legitimate 7 feet tall when he enrolled at Wichita State, he must have spent considerable time in the weight room as he's bulked up to 255 pounds. His numbers rose slowly from his freshman year up to his senior year, he final collegiate numbers 13.3 ppg and 8.0 rebounds a game, not outstanding but steady. Most big man are poor to average free-throw shooters not Stutz, he shot an outstanding 82% from the free throw line. This from the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament: "Garrett Stutz was the tallest player measured at the PIT at 6-11 without shoes, and also has a very nice wingspan at 7-3, which helps explain his solid rebounding numbers." This background information is provided because his name is probably not well known and the fact Wichita State is a mid-major institution. (draftexpress.com)

 

 

 

Coach Snyder

I'm not sure if a decision will be made by the time this is printed. According to reports the Bobcats have interviewed several candidates for head coach. Among them are former Laker and current Pacer assistant Brian Shaw. Several of the reported candidates I'm unfamiliar with, besides Shaw there is Quin Snyder. Snyder has served the last year as an assistant for the Lakers under Mike Brown, I have long-standing issues with Snyder. The mini-scandals surrounding him at Mizzou are not an issue, there is no proof so the only issues covered will be those we are able to validate. Snyder served as Mizzou coach from 1999-2006, there were positives under his leadership, he recruited and brought players to the coach Norm Stewart was unable to do. "Snyder was the only coach in Missouri history to make post-season play in every season that he coached the team to the season's end. During his tenure with Mizzou many allegations surfaced regarding Snyder's ability to manage the program. Though a long and intense NCAA investigation revealed that his program committed only a handful of minor violations, Snyder chose to resign." The team was floundering in February, Snyder choice was to resign rather than be fired. The team had finished 16-17 in the 2004-05 season and had played poorly up through January of the 2005-06 season. A large financial settlement was concluded between the school and Snyder was concluded. I felt then and I still maintain Snyder had an allegiance to those athletes he recruited, in my view he walked out on them and not Mizzou. I refuse to forgive him for that and just wonder if he's changed? Perhaps I'm the one who refuses to forgive maybe Snyder has learned a lesson, maybe? (Wikipedia)