There is a distinction between lack of talent and lack of effort!

-------Larry Laker

That is plain stupid
Laker President Jeannie Buss on ESPN’s First Take recently. Jeannie says; “We believe it will take three years to become a competitive team again.” Co-host Cari Champion then says; “So you are in year three?” Jeannie immediately said; “No, we are in year one.” I’m trying to figure out how Champion could figure the team is in year three when they have had 3 coaches in the last 4 years. Year one started over the summer with the hire of Byron Scott as head coach. A head coach along with the front office must have time to re-tool a team.

Whoa
If the season ended as this is written Los Angeles would miss the playoffs. You probably thought I was referring to the Lakers it is the cities other team the Clippers. They are two games above .500 with a 7-5 record. Wasn’t this the year they were suppose to contend for the Western Division Championship? Doc Rivers record details for us he was and is a good coach.

The high scoring Lob City machine is now giving up almost as many points as they are scoring, 102.4 points per game while yielding 101.2. We know Chris Paul can score the ball however they are in trouble when he’s the team leader. The season has barely started there is ample time for the team to correct its problems. The question remains will the Clippers live up to the pre-season media hype?

Why leave
I am viewing the post-game interview with Kentucky’s John Calipari. The thought crossed my mind why would Calipari, Bill Self, Roy Williams, Sean Miller or others leave. Leave for where you ask the NBA of course each of the names excepting Miller I believe has been approached to become a head coach in the NBA. The first issue, few college coaches have managed to taste success in the NBA, I can only think only one success story current SMU coach Larry Brown. Mike Montgomery and Lon Kruger may be the most recent to have moved from college to the NBA. Both triumphed at the college level but failed at the NBA level. In college the coach is in charge, in the NBA it is a player’s league.

They may be the best
We could go back to 1962, which was the year the Pistons drafted the late Reggie Harding. Harding did not begin play until the 1963-64 season however he became the first. He was the earliest high school player to play in the NBA without college experience. Harding had a checkered NBA career however other high school players would follow. Moses Malone in the 1974 ABA draft was followed by the 76ers choosing Daryl Dawkins a year later. A number of others followed some made the grad while other simply couldn’t play at the NBA level. The policy of allowing high school players in the draft changed, the 2005 NBA Draft contained the last high school players.

Malone was good enough to make it to Springfield (MA) and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.  Malone may not be the best ever; the best ever high school players remain active. One now plays in Ohio the other in Southern California. Kobe Bryant will be elected to the Hall of Fame before LeBron James but it has nothing to do with who’s the best. Kobe at 36-years old is on the downhill side of a brilliant career, 5-time NBA Champion included in his resume. He’ll be elected year five after his retirement. LeBron James will turn 30 in December so he’s got several quality years in front of him. Multiple league leading scorer, two-time NBA Champion just a tiny portion of his resume. This is not a debate as to whose the best it’s a simple statement to say the best two high school players are still lacing their basketball shoes.

Bits n Pieces
Keep this name in your data bank; Vanderbilt University received a verbal commitment in August from D’Jery Baptiste. This 7 foot 250 pound center Class of 2015 prospect attends Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano Texas. Video of Baptiste in action is available on You Tube for you to check out if you care.

Michael William "Mike" Krzyzewski or Coach K. Duke basketball coach is a winner. He’s won at all levels except the NBA. Don’t be fooled I’ve been convinced he’s not coaching in the NBA simply due to his lack of desire. Everyone claimed this was the weakest Team USA since NBA players began play. Coach K. coached this team to a gold medal win.

The Spurs have won 5 championships but have never been repeat champions. The Celtics (back in the day) Lakers, Bulls, Rockets, Pistons and Heat all won successive NBA crowns. I wonder if never winning two championships in a row may be a contributing factor why NBA fans take on the Spurs is so different than for others?

It’s okay to lose a game, not really allow a brief explanation. I was upset when Mizzou lost the game against the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Later Mizzou played Arizona in the Maui Classic and lost 72-53. Did I forget to mention Arizona as this is written is the number 3 team in the nation?