Why did it come to this?
You may remember on September 6 we discussed the inconsistent rulings of the NCAA. The organization gave their stamp of approval for a student-athlete who suffered a family illness but ruled against Kerwin Okoro with a death. Briefly the father of Okoro died late last year and Okoro’s brother in the spring. This New York native wanted to be closer to his family after this double tragedy. Okoro transferred from Iowa State to Rutgers and applied to play immediately the NCAA denied his request. Guess what the venerable organization has now done, they changed their tune. The NCAA reversed itself and has now granted Okoro immediate eligibility.
It’s really not our call
I admit I am guilty in falling into the same trap of you. I’m referring to discussions surrounding the admittance to the Hall of Fame versus those to be excluded. Prior to Bernard King being enshrined last week I read more than one letter indicating King didn’t belong in the Hall. We might have an opinion regarding a player and that’s okay but thumbs up or down is not our call. The decision belongs to those who have the power of the vote; potential honorees have been excluded due to not receiving enough votes. A candidate should be of high moral character, no drugs or legal issues. Major League Baseball has a serious problem besides Pete Rose (betting on games). It’s been determined a number of baseball players may have enhanced their career numbers taking ban substances.
This discussion is based on conversation on the 2014 Hall of Fame class. Host Vince Cellini and Dennis Scott of NBA TV were discussing players who could be considered. One of the names they mentioned was Robert Horry, “Big Shot Rob.” During his 17 year career his scoring average was a meager 7.0 ppg, his highest regular season scoring average 12.0. Horry has 7 championship rings, 2 with the Rockets 3 with the Lakers and 2 with the Spurs. Any players close to Rob in number of championship rings, how about Michael Jordan. Need a clutch shot at a critical point in the game; give the ball to “Big Shot Rob.” Just because the rings are mentioned should not be the primary consideration for the Hall. Charles Barkley is in the Hall so is Karl Malone and several others who never won an NBA Championship.
Bits n Pieces
Eudora Kansas is about 35 miles from downtown Kansas City (MO). One of the famous residents from Eudora was Hugh Beaumont. The Beaumont name might be unfamiliar to a number of you. He played Ward Cleaver the father in the ‘50’s television series Leave it to Beaver. This television character might someday be superseded by Mitchell Ballock as Eudora‘s most famous citizen. Ballock is a 6-4 175 pound shooting guard; he’s received a scholarship offer from Creighton University. Did I mention Ballock is beginning his 8th grade year? They won’t see him at the college until at least 2017.
Kobe Bryant might not be the only veteran unable to play at the beginning of the season. Reports indicate Rajon Rondo may not have recovered enough from his ACL surgery begin play. I checked the Celtic roster after reading the report, third year man Avery Bradley and rookie Phil Pressey are the only point guards available to Coach Brad Stevens. Don’t be shocked if Pressey is the starter should Rondo be unable to begin play. I have downplayed the grit of Pressey since he left Mizzou and he’s continued to prove me wrong. I speculated he wouldn’t be a 2013 draft pick that I correctly called. After he was picked up by the Celtics as a free agent I thought he wouldn’t make the team. Imagine my surprise---no shock when he was extended a contract. Pressey may never be an NBA All-Star but I won’t doubt his ability from here on.
We have no idea if LeBron James is interested in returning to Cleveland. We know for sure Magic rookie Victor Oladipo wanted no part of the Cavs or at least that’s the view he expressed. The 2nd pick in the 2013 draft choice later attempted to clarify his comment. He claimed it was nothing personal against the City of Cleveland or the Cavs. He said; “the Cavs roster contained Dion Waiters (SG) and Kyrie Irvin (PG).” Both players played major minutes for the Cavs and are only 21 years if age, Oladipo might have thought his NBA future was somewhere other than Cleveland. The Magic indicate they intent for the 6-4 Oladipo to play both guard positions.
Have you seen the new uniforms of the Pelicans? The road uniforms are dark blue and the home are white. Both jerseys contained the name New Orleans across the front of the jersey. The location name is common for road uniforms in the NBA although not with all teams. As an example the Kings road jerseys have Sacramento across the front, the same for the Thunder which read Oklahoma City. On the other hand the Pelicans follow the example set by the Spurs, Lakers and other teams who don’t include the location name on their road jerseys.
Correction
This is an update to an earlier account of the Fox Sports family of channels. Previously the network announced it had secured the rights to Big East basketball. Because Big East was all that was mentioned we assumed incorrectly the network would only contain games from that conference. The network released the balance of its basketball telecast schedule and it includes Big XII, Pac-12 and ACC basketball. Coverage post-season conference tourney games will also be provided. Fox Sports 1 will compete with CBS, CBS Sports, and the ESPN family for viewers.
