Don’t overlook him
I’m not getting ahead of myself, it’s still early in the collegiate season, and in addition one game fails to make a season. You might remember I wrote I was more interested in viewing a freshman prospect developing his game over others. Currently he’s only scoring at 5.5 points per game clip and the same number for rebounding. The outstanding figure for this 7-foot 250 pound center might be his 2.5 assists per game. Currently his statistics are limited due to playing time and adjustment to the collegiate game. Bill Self was able to recruit Joel Embiid who attended high school in the U.S. after emigrating from Cameroon West Africa.

Last Tuesday may have been his breakout game against Iona. Embiid was 7-7 from the floor, 2-4 from the free throw line for 16 points. He also managed to snatch down 13 rebounds while blocking 2 shots. Bold prediction, if Embiid continues to progress over the next few years we may eventually see him in an NBA uniform. I hope nobody gets in this youngsters ear and convinces him to leave school early. Embiid while considered a prospect clearly needs tutoring over the next 4 years? The last sentence is not a question, it contains a question mark because I’m unsure if it will hold true.

Speaking of the Lakers
ESPN, SI.com, Yahoo.com and CBSSports.com compile a weekly power rank of NBA teams. Same as the Top 25 collegiate polls you lose and you may drop in the poll, all teams are ranked 1-30. I have no disagreement with the latest placement of the Lakers on any of the polls. What causes me to laugh out loud is “haters continue to hate.” A fan responding to the poll emailed ESPN indicating; “the Lakers should be 13 slots lower than number 17.” This writer’s assessment would place the Lakers at number 30 supplanting the Utah Jazz who are 1-10 as this is written. The Lakers certainly are no threat to win an NBA championship this season but I believe at (5-7) are certainly better than the Jazz.

Can’t get no love even in your home town
How about this, you hire a new coach and change conferences. All done in hope to boost your program and the local paper still ignores you. That event occurred recently in my home town Kansas City (MO). Now just maybe I’m wrong, I only read the Kansas City Star on-line so the hard copy edition might have contained the story, the on-line edition failed to mention the game. Creighton had All American Doug McDermott, he didn’t disappoint scoring 37 points but that was only a piece of the story. UMKC fell behind in the middle of the first half but they never gave up. They hustled all evening they just didn’t make shots, UMKC eventually succumbed 96-70.

“What can Brown do for you?”
The headline above was the tag line used by UPS in its commercials a few years ago. We could apply the term to Cavs coach Mike Brown, wonder if owner Gilbert might be questioning his re-hire of the coach he once fired? After several quality drafts that brought them Kyrie Irving, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters many believed the Cavs were on the way back. In addition they signed veterans Jarrett Jack and Earl Clark to boost their depth. The prevailing thought the Cavs might be returning to the “LeBron” days when they were an Eastern Conference threat.

Although he was injured signing former All-Star Andrew Bynum was another upward bound move. As for this team (along with others) the season is young, there is still time to turn things around. Reports indicate the Cavs locker room somewhat resembles the Lakers of last year. Irving was reported to have gotten into a shouting match with Coach Brown. The Cavs shocked the NBA world last June making UNLV’s Anthony Bennett the number one pick, Bennett has seen limited minutes due to injuries. The Cavs as with other teams are faced to deal with the injury issue. As for the coaching story that’s a whole other concern, again keep in mind it’s still early.

I beg to differ
If you remember a few columns back I pointed out the Spurs had an ageing roster in fact the average age is older than the Lakers. Its evident Allie LaForge CBSSports Network did not read my column (smile). She and co-host Doug Gottlieb were discussing the Lakers-Rockets game on their program Lead In. LaForge stated and I paraphrase; “the Lakers are an old team.” WRONG---There are several NBA teams whose average age tops that of the Lakers.

Miami Heat - 30.7
Brooklyn Nets - 29.5
New York Knicks - 28.5

The Lakers average is 28.1 while their Staple Center co-tenants (Clippers) are 28.0. I believe LaForge and others look at Nash (39), Bryant (35) and Gasol (33) and conclude incorrectly the team is old. The Lakers might not be the youngest; they may not be the swiftest. One thing for sure they certainly are not the oldest team in the NBA Ms LaForge. Check this link http://en.hispanosnba.com/teams/comparison