Sharing the Mizzou game with a few Kansas fans
My wife informed me a week or so ago we had been invited to a housewarming party. Needless to say I didn’t realize it would occur right in the middle of the Mizzou-Arkansas match. Fortunately (or unfortunately) we arrived with a little over 3 minutes left. When we walked in I was surprised to see the game was on so I parked myself in front of the HD television. There is a sidebar to this story the husband and wife host are educators and both are employed by Kansas University. Naturally with this a game day I wore my Mizzou tee to their house, pretty brave of me wouldn’t you agree?

Back to the game, I’m not even sure without checking who took the last shot of the game for Mizzou. When the ball glanced off the side of the goal I slumped in my seat. A 73-71 loss to Arkansas and Mike Anderson, doggone it, I’d rather suffer a blowout than lose a close game like this. Sunday morning after service I discussed the game with a church member, I expressed my anguish and said; “on paper this year’s team (Mizzou) is better than last year.” I then reflected and I told him; “they don’t play games on paper do they?” He said correct, “the only game where paper might be a winner is rock, paper, and scissors.” The Razorbacks must journey to Columbia, I’m circling the date.

Mr. Unknown
Bucknell University is in Lewisburg (PA); it’s about 170 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Mr. Unknown is the title I am providing for Bucknell’s Mike Muscala. As always this is no guarantee he’s headed to an NBA near you but he might. This 6-11 235 pound forward/center has outstanding numbers, 19 points per game and 11.4 rebounds. You think he just plays one way; he manages to block nearly three shots a game. One more noteworthy accomplishment of this big man, he leads Bucknell in assists at 2.8. There are several schools who receive far too much attention by the media in my view while the Bucknell's continue to play in relative obscurity.  Despite a 21-5 record (8-2 conference) Bucknell is not seen on the national radar with the exception of the NCAA Field of 64. The school was on Mizzou’s non-conference schedule so I had an opportunity to view Muscala’s game. Muscala’s game total read: 25 points 14 rebounds 2 blocked shots 4 steals while shooting 10-17 (.588) from the floor. This is simply a note for you to store away, retain it in order to not be surprised when David Stern or Adam Silver announces his name.

“It’s gotta be the shoes”
If you are old enough you remember the headline, it was voiced by the Mars Blackmon character (a.k.a. Spike Lee) in a series of Air Jordan commercials. Basketball aficionados were aware of Michael Jordan, the series of Mars Blackmon commericals introduced Michael Jordan to the non-basketball world.  Jordan the basketball icon will turned 50 years old the same date as the All-Star game.  Those under 25 only saw brief glimpses of the player, YouTube clips fail to detail  his greatness.  Darren Rovell ESPN Business Reporter stated; "the Air Jordan line generates $1 billion dollars a year for Nike.”

The majority of us might assume most NBA players wear Nike, that’s a fact. Have any idea the second most common brand worn by the NBA? Well it ain’t Adidas and it’s not Reebok its Air Jordan. Sales point out the Nike brand places first, Air Jordan is number two and Adidas finishes three. More NBA players wear the Jordan brand than all other shoes combined. Rovell pointed out an interesting fact; "Jordan wanted Adidas but they never approached hm."  Perhaps even more interesting the Jordan Brand continues to sell into the 21st Century despite MJ has been retired for a number of years.  Did you know at a point in time Jordan was receving a larger salary from Nike than from the Bulls?  Eventually the Bulls would reward MJ with a much larger contract.    

Bits n Pieces
Ever wonder why an outstanding player’s jersey is not hanging in the rafters of the schools arena. Most universities stipulate they will not retire a player’s jersey unless he graduates. Of course there are always exceptions; the late Wilt Chamberlain had his jersey retired at Kansas. Chamberlain left Kansas after his junior year.

The All-Star game doesn’t do much for me anymore; it’s become unwatchable in some instances. Regular season games provide much better play, it always seems the fans leave someone off the team who should be included and someone makes the team who shouldn’t be at home like me---watching the game on television. Just my view you don’t have to agree.

After I witnessed the Heat take apart and totally demolish the Thunder I don’t think this team is ready. OKC is certainly an elite team and many thought this might be a break out year; they are not ready for their “big boy” pants yet.

It’s been stated on more than one occasion it cost $1 billion dollars to construct Barclays Center. The Madison Square Garden renovation will be complete next summer and is nearly the same amount $980 million dollars. Both New York teams (along with others) are bidding on the 2015 All-Star game.

Overlooked
Gonzaga has a problem, they are often overlooked. This phenomena doesn’t occur because they are a terrible team in fact the opposite exists. The Zags are one of the better teams in the nation. There are probably two key reasons few media and some fans overlook them. The first issue the school is located in Spokane (WA). Weeknight games begin at 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time, only the brave (media) remain stationed in front of their television sets. San Diego State, BYU and St. Mary’s have been successful over the years however the media tends to overlook West Coast Conference basketball. The school hasn’t been completely overlooked as this is written Gonzaga is number five team in the nation. They are 25-2 and the number one in the conference, Coach Mark Few has continued his usual habit of building a successful competitive team.

Naismith Hall of Fame
Candidates for the Hall were announced recently, as usual several outstanding past players, coaches and contributors were nominated. Final selections will be made during the NCAA Final Four; selections will be enshrined in late summer. Although the list is not final a few candidates are: Gary “The Glove” Payton, Tim Hardaway and Coaches Guy Lewis and Rick Pitino.