Basketball from a fans perspective
Bits and Pieces
Where are the idiots always claiming nobody is watching NBA basketball? Game 1 of the 2015 Finals was the highest rated ever for ABC and was 24% higher than last years
Heat-Spurs opener. If you don’t appreciate NBA basketball that’s okay don’t make statements or post stuff that’s totally untrue or exaggerations. Opinions whether we agree or not are okay making erroneous statements at a time facts are available are plain stupid.
He stands 7-3 and weighs 216 pounds skinny for his height keep in mind he’s only
14-years old. Yes, he’s 14-years old; allow me to introduce to most of you Choi Marial currently enrolled at West Oaks Academy in Orlando (FL). Marial joins a growing list of players from South Sudan who play basketball. As for the other measurements this youngster has a 7 foot 11 inch wingspan which allows him to dominate play offensively and defensively. Although in the 8th grade he played on the varsity team, it will be interesting to follow his progress over the next few years to see if his game (height & weight) continue to elevate.
We are full of questions on the 2015 draft specifically the Wolves and Lakers. Would the Wolves pick Karl-Anthony Towns or Jahlil Okafor? The Lakers with the second pick choose one of the remaining. The 76ers will likely chose point guards DeAngelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay or perhaps somebody else with the 3rd pick. The second round is almost exclusively the 76ers from the 35th pick on. Number 35, 37, 47, 58 and 60 all belong to Philly. I would guess no NBA team has ever had such a large number of choices prior to a draft.
Looks good
On Monday Iowa State announced Steve Prohm had been hired to replace Fred Hoiberg who left for the NBA Bulls. I admit I didn’t know a great deal about Prohm so I conducted a brief search. He’s 40 years old so he certainly adds a youth aspect to this hire. He first served as an assistant coach for Murray State (KY) later he was named head coach when Billy Kennedy left for Texas A&M. In 4-years at the helm his teams compiled a .780 winning percentage (104-29). Murray State won 20+ games during his tenure. Cyclone fans hope he’ll continue the winning ways of Hoiberg.
“The Answer”
I’m changing slightly an old adage; “Your truth, my truth and the actual truth.” We sometimes tend to believe what we hear and read often without offering proof. This is where I’m headed, a few weeks back during a Showtime documentary Allen Iverson revealed his “hidden” side. A number of you might remember the press conference made famous where Iverson mentioned practice more than 22 times. During a portion of the Showtime documentary Allen Iverson aka “The Answer” offered an explanation for the rambling press conference. He claimed he’d been dealing with the death of a close friend in addition there were rumors the 76ers were exploring a trade. Recently a Kent Babb publication on Iverson was released, the author claims Iverson was drunk when he met with the media.
This is the who do you believe portion of this account. Iverson calls Stephen A. Smith who claims he knows Iverson personally said “this is a flat out lie.” Smith went on to offer his explanation of the player and the event. He also was critical of the account while admitting Iverson made mistakes. Who do we believe Iverson, Babb or Stephen A.? I believe Iverson was his own worst enemy at times during his playing career; I’ve certainly had my share of disagreements with Stephen A. over the years regarding his take on issues. As for Babb I’ve never read of or heard of him, would he lie to increase book sales? Who’s telling the truth and do we have “The Answer?”
A name hire
St. John’s hired Chris Mullen as head coach; he’s served as general manager of an NBA team and in other NBA capacities. What he hasn’t done since he’s retired is serve as head coach at any level. That fact didn’t hinder Mark Jackson, Steve Kerr or Derek Fisher. Was this a name hire hoping the Mullin name would work magic? If we discussed the glory days of St Johns basketball Mullen’s name is certainly part of that conversation. The larger problem St. John’s is a New York City school; the talent emerging from the Big Apple these days leaves the city. The boroughs once served as fertile basketball ground for New York City Universities and colleges but no longer. In recent years it’s been Kemba Walker (UConn), Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse) Elton Brand (Duke), Lance Stephenson (Cincinnati) and Andre Drummond (UConn) who left the city for schools other than St. John’s. Those are just a few of the most recent products of the city. Basketball Reference.com indicates more than 300 athletes have played in the NBA and ABA from New York City. Mullin must determine a process to hang on to the dwindling pool of talent from escaping city boundaries.
