We are almost there
Summer is over; well not officially autumn doesn’t begin until September 22nd. In roughly two weeks NBA training camps open. Shortly thereafter colleges will open practice and then “Midnight Madness. “ We are almost there; I can hear basketballs bouncing and shoes squeaking. I’m certainly ready for the season, how bout you?
Jersey history
I’m unsure if you saw the wedding photo on any website. The return of LeBron James to Northern Ohio made one groom so happy he used a unique method of expressing his joy. He outfitted his best man and all the groomsmen in various Cavs number 23 jerseys. I didn’t count the number in the wedding party however it must have been 6 or 7 different jerseys. Most likely the jerseys worn by the group represented the Gordon Gund (1983-2005) era right up to and including the Dan Gilbert (2005-present) ownership. Unlike the Cavs three of the most storied franchises in the NBA have undergone few jersey changes since their inception.
Cavs jerseys have undergone color transformations but few design changes over the years. Those three franchises, the Celtics, Knicks and Lakers of the three the Celtics have undergone the fewest change of all. Other than summer league you tune into a Celtic game you know right away the team in either green or white is the Celtics. As for the Knicks the classic road blue jersey with orange lettering and the home white with orange lettering has been in use since forever. The 1960 Lakers wore road blue and white home. Jack Kent Cooke owned the NHL Kings and at the time he purchased the Lakers he wanted both teams clothed in the same color jerseys.
I may be wrong
On more than one occasion I’ve moaned about the lack of big men in the game today. There may have been a slight oversight on my part; a recent edition of the Sporting News contained a list of the Top 10 collegiate centers. I’m not going through the complete list let’s just state I failed to include incoming freshman to my conclusions. Guess what they are 7 feet tall for the most part, the shortest was incoming Kansas freshman Cliff Alexander. At 6-9 240 pounds Alexander is not exactly a tiny specimen. Sporting News believe 6-10 265 pound freshmen Jahlil Okakor as the best of the best. It's possible Okafor may become Coach K’s best ever big man. Now if only Kareem Abdul Jabbar could be available to teach one or more of these prospects to shoot his patented sky-hook.
So you don’t agree
I don’t tweet or instagram so I couldn’t do anything except send an email. Because Stephen A. Smith has often mentioned social media I believe email might no longer be used by Smith. I’ve said time and time again Smith and everyone is entitled to their opinion and view of a particular subject matter. I write about basketball because I love it, I was never ever good enough to play even at the high school level. I’m unsure of Smith’s basketball background as for Dr. J. that’s a different story.
I listened intently as Dr. J. described basketball players of his era and earlier. He stated he found it difficult to declare Michael Jordan or LeBron James the best ever. Dr. J. said there was no intent on his part to disparage them it’s plain and simple we see the players in front of us. We don’t see Bill Russell or Elgin Baylor we see Kevin Durant and LeBron James. The wide angle television shot caught Smith twisting his face and squirming in his chair while listening to Dr. J. It was quite evident Smith had problems with Dr. J.’s view of stars of today.
