Where does he fit?
A time period might elapse before the question can be answered. Last season I wrote of Austin Rivers and his problem adjusting to the NBA. Rivers had an undistinguished rookie campaign to say the least, Greivis Vasquez was traded last month however the Pelicans backcourt remains crowded. Coming over from the Kings is 23-year old Tyrke Evans who played some point for them. The Pelicans drafted Nerlens Noel but traded his rights to Philly for 23-year old Jrue Holliday a point guard. At this point we’ll identify hold over Eric Gordon as a shooting guard, by the way he‘s 24-years old. In addition the Pelicans list Rivers as a point, see where I’m going with this story? Maybe its good Rivers is humbled a bit based on the report I once read. I offer no proof but it was said while at Duke “he wanted to be Kobe without any credentials.”
He made it official
This is written on Wednesday so it’s not official yet. Former NBA All Star Allen Iverson will announce his retirement this week. He’s not played in the NBA since 2010, he was kinda retired already. For all the Iverson negatives during his career there were an equal number of positives. This 6-foot (I say 5-10) 165 pound combo guard was one of the toughest going. His weight might be exaggerated as well, ever seen a guy that size dunk a basketball? Okay I forgot about Spud Webb and Nate Robinson but you get the idea. He might have been the first combo guard; his slight build mandated he become a point guard in the NBA. Iverson would have none of that and fortunately his first coach was Larry Brown.
Brown a point guard in his playing days would allow Iverson to assume the role of shooting guard. He would later fall out with his coach over him missing practice. You’ve heard the audio or seen the tape where Iverson debates the value of practice. He would spend the largest portion of his playing career in Philadelphia playing for the 76ers. The 6ers had made him the 1st pick in the first round of the 1996 NBA Draft. The numbers never tell the true impact of the athlete, Iverson’s numbers; 26.7 ppg and 6.2 assists per game. His assist numbers might surprise a few people who consider him just a gunner. The numbers will be eclipsed by others but pound for pound I doubt if there will ever be a tougher NBA player.
Bits n Pieces
An acquaintance and Kansas fan noticed the Mizzou polo shirt I wore one day. Naturally it provided him commentary which I basically ignored. Kansas and Missouri no longer compete in the same conference the rivalry is no more----at least for me. It might be difficult to determine by letters to the Kansas City Star. It seems every time a story is published on Mizzou letters began flying in from identified Jayhawk fans. It‘s like they have no life other than to find fault with everything Mizzou. They raise the silliness to an even higher level, this from a letter writer. “How many times our team (Kansas) is on national television versus Mizzou.”
Memphis (TN) has been a basketball hotbed for a number of years. We only need check out the roster of Memphis University to see the talent. The school has done little recruiting outside the region, there is no need based on the locally produced talent. The latest are three brothers, K.J. Lawson a 6-7 forward in the Class of 2015, Dedric is a 6-8 forward Class of 2016. Baby brother Chandler is “only” 6-3 and will be entering the 7th grade when school begins. No projections on future stardom for any of the brothers just names to store in your memory bank.
We read Andrew Bynum is looking forward to “better” fan support in Cleveland. This is not a fight between Cleveland and Los Angeles to determine which city has the most dedicated fans. It’s the failure of Bynum to acknowledge his immaturity, no need to rehash the number of juvenile offenses he committed while a member of the Lakers. Based on this past season Philly fans might no be so receptive to Bynum either.
Talk about moving up, can we say together Phil Pressey. After going un-drafted in the June draft Pressey is a Celtic squad based on his Summer League play. The latest development comes from the Celtic website; its written Pressey will back up Rajon Rondo. Should Rondo not be able to return immediately there is a hint Pressey may start at the point?
