He was the first
Bob Kurland who was 88-years old died this past Sunday; unless you are a student of the game you might not recognize his name. Kurland who played for Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) is given credit as the first player to dunk a basketball during a game. Players had dunked basketballs in warm-ups but never during a game; in addition no one included it as part of their offense game. Kurland’s dunk occurred in a 1944 game against Temple University and was actually an accident according to the 7-footer. Kurland aided Oklahoma A&M to win back to back NCAA championships in 1945 and 1946. This portion of his story might be shocking in 2013. The NBA had just been originated in 1946; it was nowhere close to the multi-billion dollar professional organization we witness today.

When he completed college Kurland was drafted by the St. Louis Bombers in 1947; he chose an established AAU team over the less well-known NBA. *“AAU basketball was attractive to many players for two important reasons, first, for those who wished to remain eligible for the Olympics, they were able to maintain their amateur status. Second, for players looking to earn a living, many teams were sponsored by corporations which provided jobs to the players on their teams.” Kurland chose AAU basketball over the NBA partially due to employment opportunities with an established organization. The NBA was only in its second year of operation. Kurland was elected to the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1961 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006 the first year it opened. *APBR.org

Father and son
The Heat announced Juwan Howard will become a full-time coach this season; his days as a player even part-time are over. Howard might hold a distinction few might be familiar with; this could have occurred in another sport I don’t remember reading or hearing of its. The 40-year old Howard has played limited minutes over the past two seasons; he and son might be one of the few father-son combos playing a sport at this elevated level. Juwan Howard Jr. has entered his junior year at the University of Detroit.

Is his NBA career over?
Jason Collins was never close to being an All Pro player. The veteran 7-foot center weighing 255 pounds has enough bulk to clog the lane playing limited minutes. As a reminder you heard after the season concluded Collins admitted he was gay in a Sports Illustrated story. After Collins was applauded by many for his courage questions began to surface if any NBA team would sign free agent Collins?

First it was the Pistons who stated interest in Collins and then announced they would not sign him. Now the Nets have repeated the act of the Pistons. Even more interesting is the quote by Coach Jason Kidd. *“I think he can still play,” Kidd added. “His knowledge as a veteran. There's always a veteran that can help a young team. I think he'll find a job at some point here.” I might ask Kidd if he’s unwilling to hire Collins who will since he seems to be so sure?  *cbssportsline.com

This is why, maybe
This story is just one more example why the Mizzou-Kansas basketball rivalry is so intense. Few present Mizzou or Kansas fans are probably aware of this narrative since it occurred prior to the birth of most of us. The University of Kansas has a championship which Mizzou believes is in dispute. Mizzou and Kansas were member of the Missouri Valley Conference prior to joining the then Big Six Conference. In 1922 the schools split the games against one another; they both finished the season 15-1. Discussions occurred at the time to resolve the conference tie, the schools could never agree to a deciding game or a series of three games. One game would be played in Lawrence and one in Columbia, the decider would be in Kansas City. For unknown reasons Kansas coach Phog Allen declined to play.

As for the record books the schools remained tied for the Missouri Valley Conference championship until 1936. The NCAA playoff format did not come into being until 1939 when a national champion was decided on the court. In any event 14 years after the event the Helms Foundation (having the authority at the time) decided to crown a “national” champion. The records don’t indicate why Kansas was chosen over Mizzou from KU Sports.com; “KU’s victory in the latter of the schools' two meetings gave them the edge.” The Helms Foundation who created the controversy no longer exists; several years ago it was merged into what has become the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). Dates; Wikipedia

He’s not the only one
The media was full of stories over the summer regarding when and if Kobe Bryant would return. Well Kobe is not the only All-Star who will be missing in action at the start of the season. The Celtics Rajon Rondo is not ready at this point to start the season in the lineup. Thunder fans probably felt their playoff hopes were shortchanged with the injury to Russell Westbrook. Westbrook had to undergo another surgery this week and will not be ready for the start of the season.