A follow up
Several might believe I was too tough on former Knicks Coach Isiah Thomas last Friday. I said at the beginning “everyone deserves a second chance,” that extends to Thomas as well. Knicks owner James Dolan is the person responsible for hiring Thomas as president of the WNBA Liberty. Dolan is responsible for much of backlash on this hiring he is guilty of being insensitive and certainly his decision was not fully thought out. We live in an age that says we cannot conduct business in the same old manner; there are repercussions even for a private business. I’d like to pose a further question; “Why is Dolan the only NBA owner willing to hire Thomas a Hall of Fame member in any capacity? “

They returned to graduate
We hear so much junk about college players leaving after their freshmen year. You’ve heard the same line I’ve heard; “They are not going to college for an education they are only going so they can declare for the NBA.” A portion of that statement might be correct but not completely there are always exceptions. Over the years a number of players have returned to college to secure a degree. All are not one and done a number played through their senior year but were hours short of a degree. Just this spring the Blazers Damian Lillard and former NBA veteran Derrick Coleman became the latest to receive undergraduate degrees. A number of present and former NBA players returned to gain their degree.

Vince Carter
Shaquille O’ Neal
Nate “Tiny” Archibald
Antawn Jamison
Damon Stoudamire
Jeff Green
Jerry Stackhouse
Juwan Howard
Michael Jordan
Don Nelson
Royal Ivey

This list of present and former players isn’t intended to be complete. There are a few who might have been omitted by chance.

I didn’t realize
You need to check out SEC Storied on ESPN, the program was titled Shaq & Dale, the documentary dealt with the relationship between Shaquille O’ Neal and his former coach at LSU Dale Brown. I’ll point out what I thought most interesting and didn’t realize. Coach said; “Hack-Shaq didn’t originate in the NBA it was at LSU. Shaq stated a fight during a game after he was fouled hard; naturally he was ejected and suspended for the next game. In his post-game conference Brown said; “If (SEC) doesn’t do something about fouling Shaquille I’m going to recommend to his parents he should head to the NBA.” Shaq also said; “The coach always had my back, I had two father figures the one who raised me and Coach Brown.”

Seismic shift
Okay maybe I’m exaggerating the significance of the announcement. The dictionary definition of seismic is; “Pertaining to, of the nature of, or caused by an earthquake or vibration of the earth, whether due to natural or artificial causes.” Well this wasn’t an earthquake however fo many Mizzou fans we might consider it in that category. Mizzou announced K.J. Walton a 6-3 shooting guard announced he’s decided to become a Tiger. This Rivals 4-star prospect made Mizzou his choice despite last season’s poor record that’s the most exciting portion of this announcement. In addition Mizzou secured the services of this Indiana native over Xavier, Indiana, Illinois State and several other schools.

The Glove II?
He's a point guard as well; he’s playing at the same school of his father. I’m referring to Gary Payton a.k.a. “The Glove. “ The Glove had a long and successful NBA career culminated with an NBA Championship. Once he arrived in the NBA in addition to scoring he became an expert defensive player hence the nickname “The Glove. “ Gary Payton II is exhibiting the same skills of his dad for the Oregon State Beavers.

GP II’s numbers 13.4 ppg, 7.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game, the numbers don’t provide us an indication of his defensive skill. GP II excels at ball thievery; he managed to lead the PAC-12 in steals for the 2014-15 season. If he makes it to the NBA he will not become “The Glove II” as his mother has already provided his nickname, she refers to to her son as “The Thief.”

They moved fast
At times news moves faster than expected, I’d written a story on the coaching hire for Florida. Mike White’s name was included along with several others believed under consideration. I had to discard the story since Florida announced the hire of White before I could publish my story. Who is Mike White many of you might ask? Louisiana Tech is his first head coaching job, he’s served there for the last four seasons. White is a youthful 38 years old so he should be able to relate to his players.

White’s first year (2011-12) they finished 18-16 since then it’s been all up hill. His last three teams have won 27, 29 and 27 games while competing in the post-season. Florida remains a football school thanks to Donovan the level of basketball has been raised considerably. In my view Florida is right up there with California, Texas and other states. There is considerable talent available so White should have no difficulty recruiting. Good luck coach.