NBA jerseys 
At the time the Thunder came into existence I wrote about the terrible choice I thought the fans or management or whomever in choosing a jersey. For me it wasn’t color issue as much as the design, I still maintain the jersey reminds me of a high school team. That last statement is not fair on my part, a number of high school teams have outstanding jersey combos. Since the debut of the original jersey the Thunder has introduced an alternate jersey which looks far better. In fact I wish they would adopt it as their chief uniform. While discussing ugly jerseys I could include the power blue sleeved jerseys worn by the Clippers. Unlike the Thunder the power blue are alternate so they are not worn as often.

All Star voting
It’s been quite a number of years since I elected to vote an All Star ballot. I’ve held a multitude of reasons for my non-participation. This is a brief explanation of what I believe is wrong with fan vote. I love me some Kobe Bryant however there is no way he should be in second place among guards after but two games. How about Derrick Rose, he’s third in voting and when healthy no one doubts his All Star ability. Don’t you dare believe this is the first occurrence of this type? My memory says this has occurred previously I was unable to locate the player or date. Bottom line it’s okay for fans to have favorites however All Star voting is a different matter. Just my observation doesn’t make it correct, what do you think?

“Diamond in the rough”
I declare no ability to peer into the future; over the years I have seen a number of athletes whom I believe have all the tools. The tools are the ability to play at the highest level, the prospect is Joel Embiid. The Embiid story has been documented previously but his talent level continues to increase. Last Saturdays’ action provides us continued evidence; Andrew Wiggins only scored 11 points in the Kansas win over New Mexico. Forward Perry Ellis led the team in scoring with 21 points in the 80-63 victory. The rising star of this team is Joel Embiid the 7 foot center from Cameroon West Africa.

All Embiid did was score 18 points on 5 for 6 from the floor and 8 for 10 from the free-throw line. He blocked 4 shots and may have altered another 4 or 5 by his presence; he also had 3 steals and 6 rebounds. Embiid helped Kansas rebound from the poor play in recent weeks. Freshman Embiid needs to return for his sophomore year despite his skill improving game to game. The 2014 NBA mock drafts have followed his game as well. Draftexpress.com lists Embiid in the number four position while he’s the number three pick by NBADraft.net. I believe both sites had Embiid last summer but certainly not this lofty a draft pick.

　
Mizzou, a Top 25 team?
I’m pleased the Tigers have finally cracked the Top 25. Despite the national spotlight those who follow the program closely have apprehension. The Tigers have benefited with friendly scheduling, to date the only the high quality win is that over UCLA. Besides the schedule the other concern is frontcourt play. The teams’ success to date lies in the backcourt, frontcourt production (offensively and defensively) has been spotty at best. Losing key frontcourt players Coach Haith recruited replacements among them junior college prospect Keanu Post. We thought there would be a learning curve for the 6-11 265 pound Post and it‘s been evident.

We probably were not expecting scoring but we did anticipate rebounding and defense; so far we’ve been witness to little of both. Returning letterman 6-9 240 pound Tony Criswell’s play has also been up and down. Another returnee 6-10 252 pound Ryan Roseburg has rebounded the ball well but lacks scoring punch. Interesting the best frontcourt athlete to date has been freshman Jonathan Williams III 6-9 and a thin 208 pounds. The Tigers lose little with 6-11 242 pound Stefan Jankovic leaving the program. Although he shoot the ball well at times Jankovic always seemed more comfortable taking perimeter shots, he didn’t seem to like mixing it up inside.

He’s a winner
Dana Altman is one of those collegiate coaches that manage to fly beneath the radar. When discussing successful coaches folks usually toss out the same names, Calipari, Williams and coach K to name a few. Altman’s teams have never won a national championship wonder if that’s the basis so little is know about the man. We know he’s a winner, in 23 years of coaching his teams have only finished below .500 three times.

This includes stops at Marshall, Kansas State, Creighton and Oregon State, as for him losing its only occurred his first year at Kansas State and the first two years at Creighton. Overall Altman coached teams have won 20 or more games 15 times and have advanced to the NCAA Championship round. It’s noteworthy he’s been coach of the year in four conferences and in 2013 was honored with the Jim Phelan Award. This award is given to the most outstanding coach in men’s Division I basketball. *coaching history, Wikipedia