Climbing the mountain
For the third year the Heat has eliminated the Pacers. All season long the Indiana team worked to gain home court advantage; it was believed home court would be the key to victory. Once again the Pacers managed to fall short of the goal. The Pacers are a good dysfunctional team, talent is good attitude is dysfunctional. Coach Vogel deserves some of the blame too. An NBA coach must provide leadership, we are unsure how much Vogel was able to supply.

The Pistons were finally able to climb the mountain; they overcame the Celtics and won an NBA Championship. We could make the same statement for Michael Jordan’s Bulls. The Pistons blocked the door to success year after year. The Bulls too were able to overcome the Pistons; they climbed to the top of the mountain winning NBA Championships. Will the Pacers ever be able to beat the Heat and climb that mountain? The question remains unanswered at this point only the Pacers can truly answer that question.

Continued Growth of the international game
Basketball continues to grow internationally and this account provides proof in but one conference the Big XII. Kansas has recruited 6-8 195 pound Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk; he’s from Cherkassy in the Ukraine. He participated in the Nike Hoop Summit last month in Oregon and it‘s reported he can play either guard position. Based on the Kansas point guard problems last season it will be interesting to see if wins the job. Iowa State announced the signing of 7-1 Georgios Tsalmpouris (sal-BORE-us) from Greece; he’s an 18-year old prospect. Questions remain if he plays as a freshman or is red-shirted. The red-shirt possibility may indicate he’s not yet ready to play at this level.

This is interesting
Kansas City might well become the Collegiate Basketball Capital of the nation if this should come to fruition. It should be noted the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is located here in Kansas City. The city serves as host for the NAIA Basketball Tournament; in addition the Big XII Tournament is held here on a rotating basis and will continue through 2016. An extension could be implemented or the tourney could be moved to Dallas or Oklahoma City. I’m not sure about Oklahoma City but the tourney was far from successful in Dallas--low attendance. My point, the Missouri Valley has asked the city along with three others to submit a bid to serve as host for its tournament.

The Missouri Valley Tourney has been held in St. Louis now for a number of years but there appear to be issues not detailed. Just in case there might be a question regarding conflicts the Missouri Valley Tourney is held a week ahead of the Big XII while the NAIA is held immediately after the Big XII. Kansas City could accommodate all three without difficulty. The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce would be ecstatic if all three tournaments would ever be held in the city. If all these moves occur Kansas City might indeed become the Capital of Collegiate Basketball. As for the SEC Tourney it’s headed to St. Louis although not on a permanent basis.

“Put up or Shut up”
If you are old enough you remember reading or hearing someone make the statement “put up or shut up. “ The net and newspapers were full of commentary by several Pacers; often they were more bravado than action. Lance Stephenson, Paul George even Roy Hibbert talk better than their game. We witnessed the final results of the bluster, the Heat were series winner.

Did you hear this?
Regardless of the outcome of the NBA Championships the Heats’ Shane Battier is retiring, he‘s going to work for ESPN as a collegiate analyst. He may not have had the NBA career envisioned by many but used his savvy to carve out a 13-year career. Battier would transform himself into a defensive specialist for four different NBA teams. As for his retirement going to work for ESPN why should we be surprised? Battier was a two-time Academic All American while enrolled at Duke.

Bits n Pieces
We sometimes receive misleading financial information on the value of sports franchises. Many of us have been led to believe the NFL and MLB were the only financially sound sports franchises. We were led to believe the Knicks, Lakers and Bulls were sound financially the balance of NBA teams were border line. According to Forbes the NBA might have had issues at one point there are only four franchises losing money. The recent sale of the Clippers places the franchise at the same dollar level of the Dodgers.

You might remember I once wrote of the number of strange corporate names attached to stadiums and arenas. Add Dunkin’ Donuts Center to the list, the arena once known as the Providence Civic Center. The arena is the home of the Providence Friars basketball team and several other sports teams.

I’m okay with one but the other is questionable. Did you read or hear the NBA is discussing a larger court and a 4-point basket. For years the argument has been players have gotten bigger and bigger so more room on the court is understandable. As for the 4-point basket that’s downright silly, doesn’t make much sense to me. Maybe you are okay with the proposal.

Could Derek Fisher become “Jason Kidd II”, I’m referring to Fisher possibly duplicating the Kidd move, player to coach without missing a beat. Many have said Fisher should have retired six or seven years ago. After Steve Kerr turned down Phil Jackson Fisher’s name has been mentioned with the number of coaching jobs open.