It might be a blessing in disguise
Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel tore his ACL in Tuesday night’s game against Florida. He will require surgery and his season is over however this might be a blessing in disguise. Follow what might appear to be my unusual logic. Most mock draft sites had Noel pegged as the number one or two pick in the 2013 draft. If Noel had remained health free most likely would have submitted his name for the June draft. First the injury, rehab is a totally different question in this age. I remember players careers ended early with this type of injury, medicine has advance greatly over the last 20 or so years.  It’s not uncommon for athletes to fully recover from this type of injury.

The second part, Noel might never become a great offensive player, lacks basic fundamentals. Next season the coaches at Kentucky can work with him on his post moves. Can he improve offensively, certainly? There was another big man who was only a fair offensive player in college; he came into the NBA with defensive skills far superior to his offense. That player was Georgetown center Patrick Ewing who work and developed his offensive game.  I’m not stating Noel is headed for an NBA career but hard work plus a total recovery from injury----who truly knows?

Say what
I’ve been wrong before, I could be wrong again. I ain’t scared so I will climb out on the precarious tree limb. The trade deadline is fast approaching in the NBA, names of several high profile players have circulated. I will explore who stays and who goes. First of all my Lakers, he’s injured right now not expected back till near the end of the season. Pau Gasol ould be traded during the summer but certainly not now. Although Paul Pierce has been on the scene longer it’s my belief Garnett has become the heart and soul of the Celtics. The Celtics are at a point, like the Lakers they too have grown old at certain positions while others require fresher younger legs. One of those positions is the power forward position however it’s my view Garnett will never wear another jersey. In all likelihood Garnett will retire a Celtic.

Next up Josh Smith of the Hawks, this team is an enigma to many. Never really bad but never really good, they seem to never ascend to the heights Atlanta fans hope for. With his huge contract Smith has become a liability. Notice I said nothing about his talent in this instance it’s his paycheck. The Nets appear to want Smith and they just might get him, for whom? That’s yet to be determined however all parties will walk away stating they are pleased with the trade. The last player to check out is point guard Brandon Jennings. In this instance I’m writing from what I think I know this might not be the circumstance. At the time Monta Ellis arrived in trade from the Warriors a question was posed; “how can two point guards exist in the same backcourt especially two who love to shoot the ball?” Word is Jennings wants out of Milwaukee and he just might be granted his wish. There will be movement among players not mentioned; Gasol, Garnett Smith and Jennings are the subject of most trade talk.

Bits n Pieces
"Jim Boeheim calls ESPN's Andy Katz an "idiot" and "disloyal,” there is history between the coach and the reporter. I share the same view of Boeheim, I can exclude the disloyal statement however there are a number of “idiot” reporters. You can compile your own list I have mine, Jason Whitlock of Fox Sports leads off for me.

I realize I’m showing my age, it’s become okay to commit or de-commit via twitter. That very situation occurred for Mizzou on Wednesday. 2014 point guard Anton Beard had committed in June 2012, Beard changed his mind. He de-committed by twitter indicating he’d changed his mind and wasn’t headed to Columbia (MO).

This is one of those stories that cause you to scratch your head. A prospective AAU coach was denied coaching certification due to a past conviction. Due to the conviction being a nonviolent drug conviction a non-profit group took on his case. They filed suit against the NCAA on his behalf.

I’m sure Bulls fans are probably not pleased with this news. Derrick Rose is stating he would be okay with not playing this season. Makes sense (I have no medical skills) he had a devastating injury why not wait until next season?

He must have fallen and bumped his head, I speak of Michael Jeffrey Jordan, MJ or Air Jordan. He said “if given a choice he would take Kobe Bryant over LeBron James.” Surely Jordan must have been misquoted.

How does he stack up?
I was viewing a recent UNLV game and the announcer mentioned the name Anthony Bennett. This Canadian native has been overshadowed by a significant number of outstanding freshmen across the nation. Ben McLemore at Kansas, UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad and Nerlens Noel at Kentucky (prior to his injury) are just a few of the excellent freshman. Bennett’s numbers, 17.8 ppg while shooting .537 from the floor. In addition he grabs 8.6 rebounds and dishes out nearly 2 assists a game. This 6-8 240 pound power forward has certainly upgraded his game to the collegiate level. One of the contributing factors to his lack of note is the conference; UNLV plays in the Mountain West Conference. The media microscope is always zeroed in on the traditional basketball powers. George “Iceman” Gervin at Eastern Michigan and Damian Lillard at Weber State receive far more publicity in the NBA than they received in college. Where they played was a contributing factor, no one said they couldn’t play their schools don’t have a national footprint.