He ain’t comin’ back
I saw a photo of Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant on ESPN.com during PJ’s time. We understand PJ is history; this is a fact as long as Jim Buss is in charge. A fix, Buss allows basketball people to run the team, they hire PJ. Another scenario Greg Popovich wants a new challenge so he resigns from the Spurs to take the Laker job. This could work too, tough hard-nose Jerry Sloan late of the Jazz wants to coach again or Larry Brown at SMU might want to return. I know this is not gonna occur but I can dream can’t I?

I’m careful
I attempt to provide as accurate news updates as possible. Often I refuse to report a story if I think cannot be documented or from a reputable source. I provide you this long disclaimer for a reason. A week or so ago I read injured Laker guard Xavier Henry “might miss the balance of the season.” Sunday evening ESPN.com is reporting Henry might return to action as soon as this week. It was confirmed he probably will play in Friday’s game against the Celtics.

Proof
I’m not going to provide you a word by word account of Chris Kaman. Kaman informed the Los Angeles Times his frustration with little playing time. This one gem I will provide, Kaman indicates he regrets signing with the Lakers. Proof positive the D’Antoni system is all offense and little if any defense. In addition I don’t believe the coach’s system is designed to work for big men.

Bits n Pieces
I wrote earlier freshman PG Marcus Smart surprised many by remaining in school. He was projected by many to be an NBA lottery pick if he‘d submitted his name for the draft. Over the summer it was made clear he was headed for the NBA after this season. Oklahoma State received a commitment from New Mexico Junior College point guard Jeff Newberry. On hearing the news an OSU fan said; “wish we could combine Travis Ford’s recruiting ability and Eddie Sutton’s coaching ability.”

We often comment a big man must prove he can’t play; this might be the latest example. Fox Sports reports Rick Pitino offered a scholarship to 6-11 Bakary Konate who’s from Mali in West Africa. Konate attends Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita (KS) and is yet to take his SAT. He’s played four years in Spain but is reported to have no eligibility issues.

Interesting view of a subject. Dan Patrick was discussing baseball Hall of Fame voting. He mentioned a player he believed would never be enshrined who has similar numbers to a recently elected one. Patrick claims the difference is one player was liked by the media the other was not. I’m unsure how the voting is conducted in baseball but I refuse to believe personality enters the picture. Proof media vote is different for basketball; I offer Dennis Rodman and Rick Barry as examples.

The next Magic Johnson?
Awhile back I wrote a story on the Lakers Magic Johnson. It was pointed out at 6-9 he was the tallest point guard in NBA history. In the NBA teams always attempt to copy the success of others. The Lakers with Magic at the helm and the accomplishment of Laker basketball caused other NBA teams to search for tall point guards. Although the 6-8 LeBron James is skilled at distributing the ball and performs duties as a point guard he’s actually a small forward. This list might be incomplete however this was researched to be as accurate as possible. Probably one of the first of the crop of tall point guards was Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway. 

At 6-7 and 195 pounds Penny honed his skills at Treadwell High School in Memphis and played college ball at Memphis University. Penny played for several NBA teams however his best years were spent with the Magic.  Tyreke Evans who also played his college ball at Memphis. The Kings made Evans the 4th pick in the 2009 draft and attempted to re-cast him in the role of a point guard. After a number of years at the point it appeared the experiment was over, Evans would become a shooting guard, in July the Kings traded him to the Pelicans. Next up given the general theme is 6-6 high school player Dante Exum from Australia. Current information lists him as a point guard/shooting guard; we shall see what the future holds for him over the next several years.