Fans wait for basketball season
Kentucky and Kansas are synonymous with winning basketball; both have won a number of NCAA basketball championships. In addition the two schools hold the all-time won loss record. With such an emphasis on winning it would appear it should be prevalent throughout all their athletic programs. Winning football the sport that pays the bills has had little success at both schools. After this weekend the Wildcats of Kentucky are 0-3 in the SEC and 1-5 overall. As for the Kansas Jayhawks they stand 0-3 in the Big XII and 2-4.
The studio
Doug Collins signed a contract with ABC/ESPN lending his basketball expertise to their telecast. At the same time he announced he was through with coaching, he’d resigned last spring as coach of the 76ers but exactly how many teams has he coached? Collins has coached the Bulls, Pistons, Wizards and 76ers, at all the stops he was fired or voluntarily resigned. This broadcast thing is not the end of the world, he need look no further than Dick Vitale. Dickey V. has been identified as a broadcaster for such a long period of time many don’t realize he was a coach. His resume includes stops coaching the University of Detroit and the Detroit Pistons. Love him or hate him Vitale has earned large sums of money over the last 34 years broadcasting the game he loves. Collins could look to Vitale as an example, less stress and certainly less headaches than coaching.
Record keeping
Bleacherreport.com compiled a list of the Top 10 Collegiate Block Shot leaders. I had no disagreement with the list because it was compiled after the NCAA began tracking blocked shots. According to Wikipedia official tracking began in the middle of David Robinsons career at Annapolis. Only the numbers from his junior year and senior (1986-1987) seasons are compiled. In addition to no tracking there was another factor to consider; at one time major college programs had two teams’ freshman and varsity. Varsity teams in those days were comprised of sophomores, juniors and seniors. Below is a short list of qualifiers who might have been included if block shot tracking had been in place during their collegiate years.
Bill Russell-University of San Francisco
Lew Alcindor-UCLA
Wilt Chamberlain-Kansas
Bill Walton-UCLA
Nate Thurmond-Bowling Green State University
Walt Bellamy-Indiana
I take issue with this list
Anytime a top anything list is compiled by someone we tend to take issue with it. That’s the case here; Andy Glockner of SI.com listed his Top 20 basketball programs. He excluded the Mizzou Tigers; I understand why but I question a number of teams he included in his list. Texas was his number 16 team, his honorable mention list follows. He chose Arkansas which hasn’t won 20 games since 2008, Baylor under Scott Drew can certainly recruit, and winning games is a different story. Glockner also listed Oklahoma State which has one NCAA Tournament victory since 2005. As for the teams Glockner listed their win totals since 2005.
Texas-201
Arkansas-167
Baylor-173
Oklahoma State-186
Mizzou-192
Mizzou has stumbled in the NCAA tourney and fans would be the first to admit they must do a better job on the court. As for the regular season I’ve stated time and time again a won-loss record does not always paint a true picture. Unfortunately it’s the only method we have to determine a team or persons success. A few more winning seasons plus NCAA wins and Mizzou will be included in everyone’s Top 25 programs.
Wikipedia
A decision soon
Devin Booker was in Columbia (MO) over the weekend for his official visit. Booker is rated the number 30 prospect in the Class of 2014 and Rivals awards him 4-stars. This 6-6 180 pound shooting guard is the son of former Mizzou Tiger Melvin Booker. The Columbia Tribune indicates Booker will make his choice known at the end of the month. I’m keeping my fingers crossed hoping he’s headed to Mizzou.
