“Dwightmare” is finally over at last
My wife and I along with a number of my neighbors family were guests at a 4th of July outing. My neighbors’ son-in-law (a Heat fan) derives great pleasure in giving me the blues regarding the Lakers. The last statement as he was leaving his father-in-laws home; “don’t cry when (Dwight) Howard signs someplace else. “ I informed him “this team is the Lakers; there is no need to place banners begging anybody to stay!” I never read if the Lakers were the responsible party for the building banners however it certainly concerned me. If Howard is not pleased with Los Angeles or the Lakers maybe it is best he play somewhere else. Behind Howard on the depth chart was Pau Gasol and 2nd year man Robert Sacre. The Lakers are over the salary cap, there is little wiggle room to allow for major roster additions. My view unlike a letter I read on the Laker fan website; this is not the time to trade Gasol. Gasol had an up and down season under D’Antoni’s system, even with his limitations I don’t believe he will repeat last season again. As this story was being completed the Lakers signed former Clippers/Mavs center Chris Kaman to a 1-year contract. Kaman won’t make anyone forget Howard but should be adequate at the center position, over his NBA career his numbers read 11.8 ppg and 8 rebounds a game.
Just to toss out a few numbers at you Howard led the Lakers (and the league) in rebounding at 12.4 per game. In addition he scored at a 17.1 ppg clip blocked enough shots to finish 5th in the league. Howard accomplished all this while recovering from back surgery and a shoulder injury during the season. That’s the good news; the bad news was the seemly unending drama that revolved around Howard all season long. Former center Andrew Bynum was a good free throw shooter for a big man; I thought I’d never witness a Laker big man as horrible from the line as Shaq. Unfortunately I did, no way to get around it Howard was atrocious at the free throw line; he was so bad I often felt sorry for him at the line. Although the offense surely want run through Kaman he is 74% from the line years ahead of Howard. Of course Laker fans will miss Howard’s rebounding, scoring and blocked shots. As for the Howard drama I’m pleased it is over. My neighbors’ son-in-law thoughts are similar to a number of Laker haters; they can’t upset me although they seem to believe they can. I checked Wikipedia for Laker history, since 1960 (the year they arrived in Los Angeles) they have finished below .500 only 7 times. That’s quite an accomplishment for 53 years of basketball in The City of Angels.
He didn’t say that!
I’ve believed for a number of years there are a significant number of folks who dislike Kobe Bryant for a variety of reasons. It’s okay if you have issues with Bryant, once again there is not intent on my part to force you to like the guy. My concern is don’t become a “Jason Whitlock!” Fox Sports Whitlock invents stuff to justify his dislike of Bryant; his facts are often based on supposition and not fact. The following is a statement reported by ESPN, Fox Sports and other media sites, “let me teach you how to be a champion”? The statement or one quite similar had been attributed to Bryant. The statement was reported to have been made by Bryant as an inducement for Dwight Howard to re-sign with the Lakers. Dwight Howard when questioned about the statement indicated Bryant never said it.
Glass half full rather than half empty
The headline read Stevens’ exit hurts college” and we might ask why? Matt Norlander of CBS Sports.com wrote a column detailing the Celtics hiring the former Butler coach. He also attempted to point out this was bad for college basketball. Was the Brad Stevens hire a surprise, I think most of us can respond in the affirmative? As for the hire of this 36-year old coach Butler University might be hurt worse than college basketball. Every young college head or assistant is certainly not a contender for an NBA position. It details for us the “recycle coaching hire network” is not always at work. Veteran coaches such as George Karl, Lionel Hollins and others were omitted from the search. Just in case you wondered about success or lack therein. We can look to Rick Pitino, John Calipari and Lon Kruger. All were unsuccessful at the NBA level but returned to success at the collegiate level. Brad Stevens should be able to do the same should he fail at the NBA level.
It’s the official move day
The “new” Big East Conference became officially “official,” that’s not grammatically correct I know. As for many of the conferences former members they became the new American Athletic Conference. Locally the University of Missouri-Kansas City moved from the Summit League to the Western Athletic Conference. July 2 was the date the new affiliations, new team movement became official. Other than UMKC and perhaps a few others most of these moves are made and the basis for the move is financial in nature. That was the primary basis for Mizzou moving from the Big XII to the SEC. As consolidation continues we might see the day where four or five “super-conferences” might emerge along with a lesser number of smaller conferences.
It’s not too early
Maybe Goodluck Okonoboh becomes that athlete; the 2014 McDonalds All American team will not be announced until next spring. It’s possible 6-9 215 pound power forward. Okonoboh is might be on the McDonalds team. Currently he’s listed as a 5-star ESPNU Class of 2014 prospect, Rivals awards him 4-stars. To jog your memory I mentioned one of the local sports radio host stated; “(Frank) Haith needs to sign that first McDonalds All American.” He was pointing out the coach and staff has done a good job of recruiting but signing the first McDonalds player would certainly be noteworthy.
Okonoboh is from Boston (MA) however if you are wondering about his last name his parents emigrated to the U.S. from Nigeria. As for the name Goodluck that requires a further explanation. Goodluck’s father drove a taxi upon his arrival here; the father was shot in a robbery attempt. The shooting was serious enough his father was placed on life-support. His father recovered within a period of time and Goodluck’s mom was pregnant with him. His father said; “my son has brought good luck to me.” Goodluck attends Wilbraham & Monson Academy a prep school in Wilbraham, a suburb of Springfield (MA). Hopefully he might be headed to Columbia.
