Happy birthday
Harvey Pollack turned 91 on March 9; you might not be familiar Pollack however he is connected to the NBA. Believe it or not at age 91 he is still working; Pollack serves as director of statistical information for the Philadelphia 76ers. “He holds the distinction of being the only individual still working for the NBA since its inaugural 1946-47 season. During the Sixers’ offseason, Pollack analyzes all 1,230 play-by-play sheets from the previous season (every game of the regular season) to produce Harvey Pollack’s NBA Statistical Yearbook, an ever growing book of rare basketball information that takes statistical analysis to a new level. Including stats such as the shot distance of every field goal, who gets their shot blocked the most, and other creative categories like "working-man," which a player has to contribute to every category but no fouls or turnovers, and "trillionare club" which is when player plays in a game and has all zeros across their name.” (Wikipedia)

I cannot figure out the guy
Cynics have continued to question Mizzou’s Frank Haith coaching skills and to a degree I understand why. What I fail to understand why I hear few complaints regarding Baylor’s’ Scott Drew. There is no aurgemnt on his recruiting abilities; Baylor always manages to collect a significant number of 5-star prospects, in fact one from this area is headed to Waco. Ishmail Wainwright a 6-6 small forward from Raytown (MO) is headed to Baylor in the fall. It seems Drew’s teams almost always under achieve despite the talent level. I didn’t bother watching the recent Baylor-Kansas game, I thought in advance Kansas would easily win. That was my thought until I saw the half-time score and was shocked to discover Kansas trailed Baylor 37-28. Needless to say whether it was Drew’s coaching or just plain athletic talent the Bears ran around, through and over the top of the Jayhawks. Maybe because it was a home game for Baylor I dunno, they won the game 81 to 58 forcing Kansas into a first place tie with Kansas State.

Interesting
I’m unsure how you feel but I find it interesting several negative views have been expressed
regarding the 8th playoff slot Lakers.  "There is no need of them (Lakers) making the final spot they will be eliminated in the first round.” I’m confused, are these folks stating the Lakers should just throw in the towel because there is no reason to compete? I would find it extremely difficult to root for a team that plain gave up because the task in front of them looked insurmountable. I always hate to look at this team or any with numbers only, their numbers overall are fairly good. The only area of concern for me is defense, currently the Lakers lie at 26 (101.3). To be fair team defense has improved since the All-Star break so the November to All-Star numbers might be a little misleading. As far as an 8 seed advancing don't think it can't occur, it's difficult but its possible.  (1.)  "The 1994 NBA Playoffs the 8th seed Nuggets (42-40) upset the Sonics who won 63 games and were the number one seed."  It's an extremely rare occurance but don't say it can't happen because it did.  (1.)  NBA.com/history

Worthy of note
I heard this story and resorted to basketball-reference.com for specifics. The recent Clippers win over the Pacers assured them of back to back winning seasons. The last instance of this occurrence goes clear back to the Buffalo Braves days. The 1973-74 season the Braves finished 42-40 and the following season they were 49-33. In 1991-92 the Clippers finished 45-37 and the following season 41-41, close but no cigars. Clippers fans will assume I’m poking fun of the team, my intent is actually opposite. I’m simply pointing out anyone remaining a Braves/Clipper fan throughout the number of losing seasons is to be applauded. (basketball-reference.com)

There are two sides
Mizzou’s Phil Pressey is two athletes, one extremely good. The good Pressey distributes the ball efficiently and runs the offense in the same manner. The good Pressey leads the SEC in assists and was Pre-Season player of the year. The bad Pressey is the one who takes difficult sometimes impossible shots or turns the ball over at critical points. I don‘t think anyone whose seen this team play doubts he is the engine that drives the train but maybe that is the problem. The team is “new“, Laurence Bowers is the only holdover teamate.  A local sports talk radio host even suggested yesterday Pressey might be history after this season.

 I‘ve seen his name on several NBA mock draft sites; my thought would he leave after his junior year if he were assured he’d be drafted? I’ve seen no updated scouting report however I would find it difficult to believe any scout would recommend him at this stage. First of all his shooting percentage is below par and certainly not at the NBA level. He is speedy quick and distributes the ball despite playing out of control at points. Although listed at 5-10 he is certainly short by NBA standards however the Nuggets Ty Lawson is only 1 inch taller. Of course Lawson is a much better shooter at this stage. If Pressey returns he certainly needs to work on his jump shot over the summer, in addition he needs to learn to follow his coaches’ direction.