Basketball from a fans perspective
Bits n Pieces
Kobe received plenty of negative commentary for “Not welcoming Hibbert, Williams and Bass to the Lakers.” What does he think of the trade plus free agents and the maturity of Clarkson and Randle? “Lakers can absolutely make the playoffs.” Go ahead and laugh if you wish you are welcome the media on ESPN’s Around the Horn did. Guess what I believe him; it’s got to be a near perfect season few team injuries. The key might be who do they eclipse?
I guess when your favorite college team finishes 9-23 what you see is what you get. That’s what occurred when Mizzou announced its non-conference schedule and it looks pretty “light.” I wasn’t expecting Duke or Wisconsin would be on the menu however I was expecting a little more competition. You can’t expect a team to become improved without playing stiff competition. Mizzou will play Xavier, Kansas State, Arizona and North Carolina State. In the CBE Classic they could be matched against North Carolina or Northwestern.
The Swoosh lost this deal because they decided to not match the offer. Adidas was bidding for James Harden’s services; they offered him a $200 million dollar contract (no years specified). Although the deal is not finalized its likely Nike will lose the Rockets sharpshooter to their business rival. NOTE: Harden is now signed by Adidas.
Written earlier this week was a story titled; “Is this Sacrilege?” I failed to include the name of LeBron James as the counterpoint to Larry Bird. I did if half-joking because I’ve been accused of being a LeBron hater. That view is far from the truth I believe once he returned to Cleveland I had no argument with him. Was I rooting for him to win against the Warriors? I had no preference who won the NBA Championship I just wanted a good well-played series.
Did you hear the latest news; Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan says “He might not retire at the end of the 2015-16 season.” To me Ryan sometimes appears to be the last angry man in America but no doubt he can coach. Should we suppose the loss in last seasons NCAA’s might have provided fuel for this I’m retiring talk.
Tell me
A few acquaintances sitting around and we are discussing NBA players. We agreed LeBron James is a leader, one who is able to lift his team (Heat, Cavs) to play at a higher level. Our discussion indicated it wasn’t necessarily scoring although at times although he does lead in that department. Our conversation turned to point guards and I asked the question; “Is Chris Paul a superstar point guard?” This is the response I received; “He’s a very good point guard however he’s held back, whether it’s the coach or his teammates.” I thought to myself interesting response. Rather than respond I asked about another player.
I said; “I believed when Deron Williams was a member of the Jazz he was on the road to superstar status. I don’t think so now just look at this past season. Williams went out with an injury and he wasn’t starting when he came back." The coach had Williams coming off the bench and the Nets didn‘t miss a beat they still made the playoffs.” We all agreed Magic Johnson was one of those who were able to lead teammates beyond their expectations. There are players who likely don’t desire the pressure of leading. I remember reading Bill Russell’s autobiography and a story I found amusing. He said; “We had guys who complained all season about not enough shots or playing time. Come playoff time and these same individuals would often have no desire to take a shot due to the pressure of missing the shot.”
In their backyard
The 2013 census says Eudora Kansas has a population of 6,211 souls; it’s located about 10 miles from the Lawrence home of the Jayhawks. In truth we could say Eudora is “in the backyard of Kansas University.” Eudora is also the home of Mitchell Ballock a 6-4 175 pound shooting guard, Rivals list Ballock as the number 33rd prospect in the Class of 2017. That near to Kansas University theirs been plenty of opportunity for the Kansas staff to witness the youngster play. We might guess he’s headed down the road to Lawrence, not necessarily so. There are 8 schools besides Kansas with offers on the table for Ballock.
