All-time winners
I wanted to share facts I believe might interest several of you. Kentucky’s Wildcats sit in the top spot with 2,111 wins in their basketball history. Right behind them with 2,101 wins are the Kansas Jayhawks. They are followed by North Carolina, Duke and Syracuse. Surprise for me (maybe you too) Temple and St. John’s sit in front of UCLA. Also surprising Missouri State (Springfield) at number 29 is in front of traditional basketball powers Georgetown and Ohio State. Note: Missouri State competed at the NAIA, Division II and finally Division I level. Oklahoma is perceived more for football than basketball at least until the late ‘60’s. The “football” school sits in 37th place among the Top 50 programs. My Mizzou Tigers you might ask, well they are number 35.
“Has curse been lifted?”
The above was the recent headline on the ESPN.com NBA page. The reference of course the specter of Donald Sterling no longer hangs over the Clippers franchise. Despite the talent exhibited by Chris Paul and Blake Griffin the coaching of Doc Rivers they came up short last season. The Clippers have never advanced past the second round in their playoff history, the time is now for them to put up or shut up. They must prove they are a championship quality team.
Haters will hate
One of the Laker fan websites contained this story; “The Lakers are the second most hated team in the NBA.” Who finishes ahead of them, I have know idea I didn’t read the article but it did prompt this response. I’ve held conversations with individuals and they inform me, “I hate the Lakers and Kobe Bryant.” I’m tempted to ask them “what are you going to do in 5 years when Kobe’s gone, will you then love the Lakers?” Once upon a time it bothered me a great deal to read or hear negative comments regarding my favorite team but no more.
I’ve discovered an interesting coloration folks still hate the Yankees despite they haven’t won the World Series since 2009. These fans continue to hate them because they are the Yankees and they have had a long history of Worlds Series success. The Patriots are the reigning team to hate in the NFL, even years when they make the playoffs but fail to play in the Super Bowl. I don’t have enough information on the NHL or MLS however I’m sure there are hated hockey and soccer teams that fit this account too. The Lakers with 16 NBA Championships fall right into the group, teams opposing fans “love to hate.”
Do we truly know?
Better yet can we determine the fire that might burn inside a player? We can access the physical tools but it’s often difficult to gauge the mental aspects. Since the early exit of Kansas and Andrew Wiggins NBA declaration many in this market questioned his ability. They questioned whether “fire burned” in his belly. *“Does he have the fire inside to maximize his abilities and develop a killer instinct? He has a laid back demeanor; will he continue to work hard after he starts cashing 7-figure checks? One aspect of his game that was put on center stage throughout the (NCAA) tournament was his tendency to disappear throughout stretches of the game.
For 10 minutes, you will be watching the best player the college game has had to offer in the last 10 years. Then for 5 minutes, you will forget that he is even on the floor offensively.” This was a pre-draft scouting report written on------well it wasn’t Andrew Wiggins the report was written on Thunder forward Kevin Durant. Nobody is claiming Wiggins will be the next Durant but these local guys need to be real careful accessing the ability of an athlete. After all if they were that good as gauging talent they would be working for some NBA team---correct? *Sean Deveney Sporting News
The Princeton Offense
I wasn’t familiar with the Triangle Offense although Phil Jackson/Tex Winter implemented it with great success with the Bulls. Later the two would implement the offense with the Lakers. I have an elementary understanding of the triangle and how it works and why it’s successful. This offensive scheme and others require players able to run it successfully. As for Byron Scott it’s been mentioned his historical connection to the Lakers.
I wasn’t familiar with the type of offense Scott has utilized over his coaching career. Phil Jackson was a disciple of Tex Winter who perfected the triangle offense, as for Scott he follows Pete Carril who ran the offense for over 20 years at Princeton University. The Princeton Offense “emphasizes constant motion, passing, back-door cuts, picks on and off the ball, and disciplined teamwork.” Reading the Wikipedia comment you can see elements of the Princeton Offense appear identical to the Triangle Offense.
Nothing but big men
The African continent has produced a number of talented athletes. Several have managed successful NBA careers. There are two players currently in high school from the continent which were mentioned previously. 7-4 Takco Fall plays in the Orlando Florida area, Fall is from the Republic of Senegal. In addition there is 7-0 Thon Maker playing his high school ball in Virginia; Maker from the Republic of Sudan visited Mizzou earlier in the summer. I was curious, in the recent past we discussed the number of basketball players in the NBA from Africa.
I believe Hakeem Olajuwon may have been the first prospect (1981) to emerge from the African continent but was soon followed by a number of talented prospects. Olajuwon’s NBA career beginning in 1984 certainly contributed to the stream of talent, a number have attended colleges in the U.S. while others came directly from their native countries. Interesting the count of talent consists of centers, power forwards and small forwards, to date no guards have managed an NBA careers.
