The Hawks always a mystery (at the top)
Last week I wrote a story on the number of coaching vacancies in the NBA. I mentioned the Hawks and the fact Larry Drew might be on the hot seat. ESPN is floating a story those same Hawks are interested in hiring Stan Van Gundy, remember him? All this is occurring while Larry Drew is still under contract and for all we know still the coach. I cannot state whether Drew is a good or bad coach, the problem I believe lies much deeper. There appears to be a front office problem for the Hawks, it seems the problems of this team might not be coaching alone. If reports are true I would be very careful if I were Van Gundy signing a contract with this team.
He will be ready to play when he’s ready
Several of you especially Celtic fans might remember the Rick Pitino teams, they were not very good. After suffering a home loss television cameras caught this post game exchange with reporters from Pitino. “Larry Bird’s not walking through that door fans, Kevin McHale’s not walking through that door etc. etc. etc. “ I’m sure Pitino was trying to point out none of those great players were going to walk through the door and save the day for the Celtics. I think Bulls fans might relate; “Derrick Rose is not walking through that door.”
I’ve never suffered a devastating injury; I wasn’t talented enough to play on my high school team. The few hurts I suffered playing the game occurred while in the military, on outdoor courts and in Parks and Recreation action, none were serious or long-term. Dan Patrick was discussing Derrick Rose and his failure to appear on the court. Patrick mentioned (and I’m sure you’ve read) Bulls doctors had given him permission to play. Patrick was questioning why Rose is not on the court. Despite Patrick’s view and others Rose will return to the game when his mental health is confident. The Bulls could certainly utilize his talent however they too must adopt a wait and see on him.
The changing basketball landscape
The Kansas athletic department (along with Bill Self) could take a lesson from Rutgers and Seton Hall. The two rivals about 40 miles apart will no longer compete in the Big East Conference. *“Rutgers will play in the American Athletic Conference next season before moving to the Big Ten Conference in 2014. Seton Hall will continue to play in the new Big East Conference, which kept all the Roman Catholic universities.” The schools have agreed to play a home and home series for the next 8 years. Two rivals now in different conferences will continue to play each other. This is totally opposite of what occurred when Mizzou left for the SEC. Bill Self and the Kansas Chancellor chose to slam the door on the 100+ year rivalry. The other portion of this silliness relates to recruiting. A fan even claimed Mizzou would have “difficulty“ recruiting in the Kansas City Metro. It should be pointed out to this individual since his pronouncement the University of Mo-Kansas City has hired a coach with Kansas City connections. In fact it was noted one of the chief reasons the school hired Kareem Richardson was his ties to the area. Richardson will be recruiting in the Kansas City Metro on both sides of the state line. *SI.com
His time is officially over
If Kobe Bryant never plays another minute in the NBA we can say; “he had a complete career.” The same statement cannot be said regarding the once talented Brandon Roy, the Wolves released him and at 28 his NBA career is over. A number of players have come into the NBA with great promise and never fulfilled it. Roy certainly demonstrated his promise although it was only for such a brief time period. He came into the NBA as the 6th pick of the Blazers in round one of the 2006 draft. How good was he---good enough to be named 2007 Rookie of the Year? He was a 3X NBA All-Star and his exemplary play was to continue until a series of injuries side tracked him. Roy was a key to the revitalization of the Blazers. Eventually he retired but only for a short period of time. In July 2012 he signed on with the Wolves hoping to resurrect his career. Roy was to play but five games before another surgery was required, he would remain on the injured list the balance of the season.
That’s why they hired him
Division I University Missouri-Kansas City has very little national following. Fact of the matter the program has had limited interest even here. As I pointed out in the past the succession of coaches has translated to limited success. It seems every athletic director wants “his” choice as head coach. Lack of success has led to little optimism by the student body or translated to a following. Just a theory on my part Municipal Auditorium (home court) is lots closer to most metro addresses than Lawrence (KS) or Columbia (MO). New coach Kareem Richardson announced the signing of a two athletes for the fall. I have no idea if these guys can play what I do know both are area players. 5-11 point guard Martez Harrison Brewster Academy (NH) and 6-6 shooting guard Frank Williams Indian Hills Community College. Harrison is from Kansas City and Williams is from suburban Raytown (MO). I’m sure keys to the Richardson hire were (a.) he was a Rick Pitino assistant coach (b.) he once served at UMKC as an assistant under a previous coach. (c.) This is actually tied with (b.), Reed has links at the AAU and high school level here and I’m excited.
