“You play to win the game”
A number of you might be familiar with the Herm Edwards press conference during his tenure with the Jets. The former coaches’ quote has become historic, tape and sound bits resonate 12 years after the fact. If you are unfamiliar with this sound bit check it out on You Tube it’s a classic. The point of course you must play the games to win, you cannot win on paper just check with the Pacers. With that statement let’s explore the 2014-15 Chicago Bulls. Despite the arrival of LeBron James I believe a healthy Derrick Rose will lead the team to the Eastern Conference finals.
The Bulls have made a number of significant moves over the off-season not involving Rose. The Bulls drafted the shooter they needed (Doug McDermott), signed free agent Pau Gasol plus power forward Nikola Mirotic from Real Madrid. These newbie’s plus holdovers Joakim Noah and Taj Gibson add firepower (and hopefully defense) to the Bulls run. We know in advance Tom Thibodeau teams play tough hard-nose defense however two questions remain. First can the newcomers and holdovers blend into a cohesive team and two will Rose remain injury-free during the season.
Don’t bother reading this
If you are a Kobe hater don’t waste your time reading this. It appears Kobe and I are on the same page regarding the potential talent of Andrew Wiggins. Kobe is reported to have stated; “Cleveland is making the same mistake the Charlotte Hornets made with me.” Students of the game remember the Hornets drafted Kobe but traded his rights to the Lakers. We can look back with different eyes than Kobe some 15 years later. Hornets’ management may have believed Kobe would leave as free agent after his rookie contract expired.
There was a slight difference in the two athletes’ path to the NBA. Wiggins arrives in the NBA after one year at Kansas, and Kobe came into the NBA from Lower Merion High School. Hornets’ management may have believed (mistakenly) Kobe might not be able to play at the NBA level. Few high school players were drafted prior to Kobe so there was no barometer to determine his future. Who could have speculated at the time the Hornets would draft a player who would eventually be enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame.
The rich become richer (again)
Weston Florida is some 30 minutes from Miami; Weston is also the home of Prince Ali. Never heard of Ali you soon will. He’s a 6-4 180 pound shooting guard ranked number 27 in the Class of 2015 by Rivals. A select number of schools appear to corner the market on basketball talent. You know the schools, Kentucky, Kansas, Florida, Duke, North Carolina and UCLA. Ali verbally committed to UCLA and is headed to California next August. The hope he has defensive skills, the video available on YouTube only details his offensive game which is quite impressive.
Bits n Pieces
I’ve stated on several occasions my desire to avoid arguing salaries. Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless are discussing player salaries. Bayless mentions Tim Duncan’s name in the conversation and this is Smith’s response. “Duncan’s from the Virgin Islands he doesn’t need the money LeBron requires.” After hearing this comment I thought; “he didn’t really say that did he? “
“The crappy guy never gets a second chance” so says Dan Patrick. He was speaking of the 49ers Aldon Smith and his off the field problems. At the same time the NBA has had several players with gun and drug issues. Like Smith they too are talented but cannot seem to avoid problems not related to on-court performance. I’m not going to name the players; you can formulate your own list.
The issues facing the NCAA cannot be fixed overnight; they are far too many and far reaching. As president of the organization Mark Emmert is in a unique position he can provide change. His predecessors view was similar to the fairy tale “The Emperor has no clothes.” The public has a far different perception of the NCAA than the NCAA has of itself. Someone said Emmert (on the job since 2010) can make change; they can no longer conduct business as usual.
Demolish Kemper Arena is my view now, given adequate time there are three other metro arenas that could serve as host for basketball. Sprint Center (2007) can hold up to 19,000 fans for basketball while Independence Events Center (opened in 2009) has a 6,000 seat capacity. Finally there is venerable old Municipal Auditorium home of more NCAA Championships than any other arena in the nation, it can seat nearly 11,000.
