An announcement that surprised few
At the press conference on Wednesday Joel Embiid announced he was leaving Kansas to enter the 2014 NBA Draft. There were probably three or four people who believed Embiid would return for his sophomore year, I have serious doubts if the number was any larger than four. If you remember I wrote of his rapid rise on a number of mock draft sites. Early on most have him projected in the 20’s, after he took over the starting job and demonstrated his prowess his draft stock rose swiftly. He’s listed anywhere from one to five depending on the site.  Embiid is still raw, he’s only played basketball for three years a shorter time period than most of his contemporaries.

More interesting his numbers projected over 40 minutes are superior to those of Hakeem Olajuwon in his freshman year. Estimated over the time mentioned they are 19.4 points per game, 14 rebounds and .626 from the floor. Embiid is satisfactory at the free throw line hitting close to 70 percent from the line. Embiid has proven he’s not one-dimensional, his block shot numbers and defense in the paint are outstanding. Its unfair to seriously compare players of different eras however sometimes that‘s the only method we have to access talent. Check it out for your own satisfaction, below is the website. http://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/players/

Plausible deniability
The term used by the NBA at certain points. A definition of the word; *“The term most often refers to the capacity of senior officials in a formal or informal chain of command to deny knowledge of and/or responsibility for any damnable actions committed by the lower ranks because of a lack of evidence that can confirm their participation, even if they were personally involved or at least willfully ignorant said actions.” I’m referring to the NBA logo; hopefully it is familiar to you. Someone questioned if the image reflected former NBA great Jerry West. The NBA office “claims” there is no connection between the logo and a photo of Jerry West. Why not formulate your own opinion, Google the Jerry West photograph next to the NBA logo and see what you think. *Wikipedia

Replacement team Mizzou’s back court is now in state of flux, Jordan Clarkson has declared for the NBA Draft; next to declare was Jabari Brown. The two mentioned plus senior Ernest Ross provided the bulk of Mizzou scoring. Haith has a major job replacing the scoring (and leadership) the trio will have left behind. Sorry newspaper guys I’m a “half-full glass” person rather than “half-empty.” The Mizzou roster still holds a number of potential talented athletes; in addition there are transfer players who will be eligible in the fall. There are incoming freshman but they will be freshman which means there must be an adjustment to the college game. Will this team compete for the SEC Championship I doubt it, will the 2014-15 Tigers play better? That question and others will be answered over the course of next season.

The offense suffered at times without a true point guard. Shane Rector or Wes Clark two point guards should aid the Tigers offense next season; they will be sophomores and hopefully better adjusted to Division I play. The Tigers have added 6-4 shooting guard Kevin Punter from State Fair Community College (Sedalia MO). Punter averaged almost 21 points a game however that was junior college hopefully he can score 12-15 points a game. There are two freshman shooting guards headed to Columbia, Ronnie Suggs at 6-4 and 6-5 Namon Wright. The back court should be okay my worry is front court scoring and defense.

Nowhere did Mizzou suffer more than in the front court both offensively and defensively. 6-7 Notre Dame transfer Cameron Biedscheid should add scoring ability and defense to the front court. The defense especially in the front court suffered all season especially at the rim. 6-10 Louisville transfer Zach Price will add front court depth (NOTE: Price was arrested and has been suspended pending the outcome of a possible trial). It’s hoped 6-11 Kenau Post a year under his belt at Division I will come close to his Southwestern Illinois College numbers. 6-9 223 pound Jonathan Williams III played more minutes than any other freshman on the roster, he should be improved as a sophomore. 6-8 234 pound freshmen Torren Jones was a spark off the bench when given the opportunity to play. This is written in late March and certainly it’s not intended to be complete. Because there are questions we have no idea if departures will make additional scholarships available.

An addendum
Last Wednesday I provided you my 10-point plan to “fix” the Lakers. I’m unsure if I should have made it 11-points or simply add an A. to one of the existing points. Oh well here goes, if for some reason 7-foot Joel Embiid “falls” to the Lakers in my view he rates above Smart and Exum. In fact by a small margin (injury and limited game experience) I would rate him above Wiggins and Parker.