“Who are those guys?”
The above quote is from the 1969 Western “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.” The quote was utilized throughout the movie as Outlaws Cassidy and Sundance were chased by lawmen.  The Heat might be asking the same question regarding the Green-Neal combo or is it Neal-Green? The duo of Danny Green and Gary Neal combined for 51 points leading the Spurs to a 113-77 blitz of the Heat. Former Coach Doug Collins is on “Mike and Mike” this morning offering his view on the Heat winning this series. He is correct, A 2-1 lead means nothing a team must win 4 games.  The first team to win 4 games wins a Championship.

A change of plan?
19-year old Dario Saric from Croatia has withdrawn his name from the 2013 draft. It's not yet official however his agent indicates the 6-10 225 forward has decided against the NBA this year. There is an up and down side to the decision he's made. The up side, Saric will only be 20 next year and could still be considered a prime prospect. The down side, several draft experts have pointed out the 2013 draft is weak. If NBA scouts indicate you are under serious consideration 2013 would be the year rather than the following year. If Saric’s game doesn't improve in the off-year what guarantee is there he will be drafted?

He was that good
I was reading a story on the late Drazen Petrovic, the writer pointed out how vital Petrovic had been to the NBA developing a European footprint. That was the path laid out by this Croatian native when he was drafted in 1988. The first successful foreign born player might have emerged from Brazil rather than Europe, that honor might have been bestowed on Oscar Schmidt. We sometimes object to the inclusion of a particular Hall of Fame selection, I think there are few who question Schmidt’s inclusion. This 6-8 225 pound shooting guard was one of the smoothest shooters in basketball history. Schmidt was to play professionally but never in the NBA. The 1984 NBA Draft was significant for the number of all-time greats chosen.

Technically Nigeria born Hakeem Olajuwon might have been the first foreign born NBA player. Olajuwon played college ball at the University of Houston and was the first pick in the 1984 draft. 1984 was also the year of the Michael Jordan-Sam Bowie draft in addition future Hall of Fame players Charles Barkley and John Stockton were also chosen in that draft. It was also the draft of Oscar Schmidt chosen by the New Jersey Nets for reasons unclear he never chose to play in the NBA. Schmidt might have been the driving force for the inclusion of pros in the Olympics. He was playing for pay yet allowed to enter the Olympics as an “amateur.” His honors are far too numerous to list, just two will be highlighted. Schmidt was selected as one of FIBA’s 50 greatest players in 1991. Unofficially he is considered the games all-time leading scorer with 49,737 points. (Wikipedia)

Mizzou versus Kansas
If you've read Words any length of time you realize my allegiance lies with the Mizzou program. This is not an attempt to pick a fight with my friends across State Line Road. I'm writing this based on column written by a new Kansas City Star reporter. I think living on the St. Louis side of the state he failed to comprehend the serious nature of this 100 year sports rivalry. He suggested the schools should begin play similar to the current Illinois basketball series. The same could be applied in football as well, pundits wish to point renewing the series only benefits Mizzou. Untrue, in basketball Kansas is the clear leader but not so in football. The driving distance between the two campuses is 164 miles, 2 hours and 40 minutes reasonably close. How near are the two teams to play again? About 238,900 miles (384,400 km) the distance between the earth and the moon.

The Big 8 conference existed from 1907 through 1997. ESPN's Jason King chose an
all-time Big XII men's basketball team. The list is short in my view due to the time frame he established. Mitch Richmond of Kansas State, Kansas Danny Manning both began their NBA careers in the late '80's and were excluded from his list. Numbers never indicate the true worth of an NBA player however number 10 on King's list should be honorable mention. King placed Mario Chalmers of Kansas in the 10 slot. He did this based on his winning shot in the NCAA Championship and his NBA Championship with the Heat. Stanford's Mark Madsen has two championship rings, am I prepared to list him on an all-time PAC-12 team? King placed Desmond Mason an honorable mention. If we just look at the numbers (which is sometimes unfair) his numbers are certainly better than Chalmers.