Whose fault is it?
Laker point guard Kendall Marshall has been Mr. Double-Double since his arrival from the
D-League. He’s dished out as many as 17 assists a game twice while scoring in double digits in multiple games. Coach D’Antoni wasn’t particularly complimentary he was quoted; “the assists (and scoring) haven’t translated into wins.” I wonder if this coach can manage to throttle back the offense in order to run a quantity of defensive schemes. As an example the Spurs have never been offensive juggernauts through the years. The team wins because the Spurs play defense an ingredient missing with D’Antoni coached teams.
He’s returned
Rumor has become official; the Nets signed center Jason Collins to a 10-day contract. If you remember his story last spring in a Sports Illustrated story Collins admitted he was gay. He made an appearance against the Lakers on Sunday. Keys for the future of Collins, he is
35-years old so even if the contract is extended he’s on the downhill side of his NBA career. Age and skill rather than sexual preference will decide the future for Jason Collins.
The Big O speaks
The great Oscar Robertson in a recent interview was discussing today’s crop of basketball players with those of his era. He confirmed what many of us believed, the youth of today are more physically talented, and as for the fundamentals of the game they are less sound. The ESPN page focuses on four of these outstanding freshman talents, they are not the only ones however they might be considered standouts among a number of talented freshman.
Jabari Parker - Duke
Aaron Gordon - Arizona
Andrew Wiggins - Kansas
Julius Randle - Kentucky
Joel Embiid - Kansas
Tyler Ennis - Syracuse
“The wolves are circling”
Mizzou’s lackluster loss to Alabama has folks screaming for Mizzou to fire Frank Haith. This season Alabama has suffered through one of its worst seasons ever. The first question I have for the wolves who do you hire to replace Haith? There are a large number of assistant coaches chomping at the bit to become a head coach. Firing Haith and hiring another coach requires starting over once again. Mizzou basketball doesn’t have the significant status of high profile programs, a Jim Boeheim or Roy Williams would not leave Syracuse or Carolina.
Columbia (MO) is not a natural destination for an upward bound coach. The Alabama loss (5-9 conference 11-16) probably excludes Mizzou from the NCAA post-season. Coaches are fired who don’t win, Haith has a plus .500 record at Mizzou. Ever how he’s managed to accomplish the feat this team will finish on the plus side of 20 wins. Haith’s numbers at Mizzou are 72-24 (.750), 201–125 (.617) for his career. I’m sure all Mizzou fans are disappointed this year however a losing record is certainly justification for termination. I don’t see that based on the numbers provided we shall see what the remainder of the season holds.
Father-son combo
A number of sons have played basketball for their fathers, Pete Maravich may not be the first however he is the one that comes to mind. He played for his dad Press at LSU in the late ‘60‘s. If we fast forward to the present day we’d see Doug McDermott playing for his dad at Creighton. That’s good but it’s not the question, has a father-son combo ever coached at the same time anywhere? I couldn’t locate any records however I believe Rick and Richard Pitino might be the first. A number of sons’ have served as assistant coaches on their dads’ staff. They may be the first (and perhaps the only) father and son to serve as head coaches at the same time. We know father Rick is the head coach at Kentucky, 31-year old Richard is serving in his first year at the helm with the Minnesota Gophers.
