Conspiracy theory
I heard this account prior to the conclusion of the 2014 NBA Championship and thought it was worth sharing with you. “The Heat can’t be playing this bad; the NBA has fixed the finals in order for Tim Duncan (insert Parker or Ginóbili) to win another ring. “ I’d like to remind these same folks Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals. The Spurs leading in the series 3 games to 2 were about to close the door on the Heat with a win. Late in the game with little time remaining Ray Allen hit a 3-point basket which tied the game. Coach Pop substituting elected to take one of his best defenders Tim Duncan out of the lineup; he mistakenly believed the Spurs had won the game.

The Heat would win the game in overtime forcing a Game 7. Of course we know the results; a Game 7 victory led the Heat to their second consecutive NBA Championship. Conspiracy I don’t remember any of the Spurs fans making that comment last year. These types of stories only exist in the minds of fickle fans that often have difficulty excepting the truth. Consider this little jewel I picked up from ESPN.com, the factor might be FATIGUE. “The Heat has played in four consecutive championships the first team to do this in 25 years.” Interesting immediately after the game several Heat fans are already referring to us as haters. We are haters simply because we didn’t root for “their” team.

DeCoursey’s grading system
This is connected with the above account. The Sporting News Mike DeCoursey is a scribe I respect. He knows college basketball inside and out and doesn’t just cover it during its season run. For that explanation alone I respect his view although I admit I don’t agree with everything he writes. DeCoursey awarded grades to college teams based on their hires I was curious about the Mizzou hire. DeCoursey awarded Mizzou a B- in it’s of hiring Kim Anderson. He provided us evidence for the grade he gave the athletic department. DeCoursey didn’t make this statement but I will Anderson was a safe-hire for many of the Mizzou faithful.

And why not?
SEC schools are just as the first letter states--Southeastern. We know conference schools are Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and others. The conference admitted Texas A&M and Mizzou a few years ago. Where am I going with this story you ask? It was decided the conference post-season tournament would be established permanently in Nashville (TN). Wait up a moment it was later decided the 2018 tournament would be held in St Louis and Tampa (FL) in 2022.

“With the 7th pick in the 2014 NBA Draft the Lakers select _________”
I have no idea; the Lakers had the following players in for a workout. Indiana’s Noah Vonlech, Marcus Smart Oklahoma State, Zach LaVine UCLA, Michigan State’s Gary Harris and Tyler Ennis Syracuse. So we have one power forward, two point guards, one combo and one shooting guard. That should provide us a clue who the team plans on drafting. On the other hand this could be a smoke screen; they could be looking at someone totally different.

Land down under
Dante Exum will soon be a lottery pick in the NBA. Few realize he will be added to the number of Australian basketball players who played in the NBA. We saw Spurs point guard Patty Mills have a terrific playoff series against the Heat. Coach Pop spoke in glowing terms of Mills and the intangibles he brought to the Spurs. Warriors Andrew Bogut is from Melbourne and like Mills played college ball in the US, Bogut at Utah and Mills at St. Mary’s. As for the Australian history connection who could forget Luc Longley. Longley from Melbourne too played at New Mexico. He had a 10-year NBA career anchoring the center position for the Bulls during their championship runs. We might forget Kyrie Irving; he like the other played his college ball (Duke) in the U.S. but was actually born in Australia. There are others from Australia who were overlooked it’s strictly unemotional.

A different take
This was a different view expressed by Spurs guard Danny Green. When asked about the turning point of the series. We’ve heard players (and coaches) since the beginning of time say; “steal one on the road.” Of course they are speaking of the visiting winning on the opponents’ court. Green said confidently “we went to Miami intending to win two games.” NOTE: did you see the play where 36-year old Manu Ginobili dunked over Chris Bosh?

He’s unemployed and searching
Former Mizzou and NBA guard Anthony Peeler is searching for a job. Peeler a 13-year NBA veteran has been an assistant coach at Virginia Union the last six seasons. Peeler submitted his resume for the head coaching position which went to another coach. Not being hired Peeler headed home to Kansas City unemployed and searching for a coaching position. AD Mike Alden appears to have mellowed regarding former Coach Norm Stewart and his players after all he hired Kim Anderson after bypassing him three times. Peeler’s Mizzou connection runs deep, he’s the third leading scorer in Mizzou history in addition he needs a job.