Basketball from a fans perspective
Change is difficult---sometimes
James Harden of the Rockets had been a Nike man until this summer. With an expiring contract Adidas made an all out effort to sign the Rockets shooting guard. They managed to lure Harden from Nike with a $200 million dollar 13 year contract. Despite the new shoe contract he was spotted recently in public wearing Nike Air Jordans. Shame on you James but it is pretty funny maybe only to me.
Almost there
Residents on both sides of the building issue might have believed a deal would never be reached. The occurrence I speak of is a new arena the Kings will call home in a little more than a year. Construction on the Golden 1 Center is progressing steadily and has planned opening in October 2016 in time for the start of the NBA season. The $477 million dollar arena will seat 17,500 but can be expanded to 19,000. Most of us living outside California have no idea who or what Golden 1 is; it’s a credit union serving most of the state.
I don’t believe you
It’s been my belief retraction of a story or clarification is never satisfactory for a number of people. Once they hear (or read) a story they never change their mind and no amount of convincing or clarification will change their mind. That’s the case with Kentucky’s John Calipari the hint of cheating in some manner is almost always mentioned by his critics. I’m not going back to the coaches’ tenure at UMass just elaborate on Memphis because the media reported a story there. At the time Calipari was to be honored with induction into the Naismith Hall of Fame a number in Memphis wanted to show their appreciation to him. The event was canceled a number of fans and alum are still upset about the NCAA probation levied after Calipari left.
The issue as I understand it surrounded former Memphis player Derrick Rose. The NCAA Clearing House declared Rose eligible not one time but twice. Later it was determined someone other than Rose took the exam. After the error was discovered the NCAA forced to address the issue decided in favor of punishing the school. The NCAA vacated 38 victories and erased the teams’ 2008 Final Four appearance. If a similar situation occurred to Mizzou I’d feel terrible but I couldn’t blame the coach or the school. The real culprit rather than Calipari was the NCAA stating Rose was eligible to play. Once the clearinghouse gives an okay is a coach expected to contact the NCAA and question them?
Bits n Pieces
The African continent continues to export basketball talent to the U.S. The latest is Udoka Azubuike a 5-star prospect in the Class of 2016. Azubuike home country is Nigeria located on the west coast of the continent. This 6-10 250 pound center has received offers from Florida, Florida State, Kentucky and Kansas to name a few schools. Azubuike is yet to declare a college; he attends the Potter’s House Christian Academy in Jacksonville Florida.
Paul Pierce long-time Celtic and now a Clipper said it. Growing up in Southern California he said as a youth he rooted for the Lakers. Of course his career went another direction his college ball was played at Kansas and then in the NBA most spent in Boston. We don’t know if Laker 2nd round draft pick Anthony Brown will make the final roster spot. Brown like Pierce also rooted for the Lakers growing up. Brown a small forward grew up in Bellflower (CA) a Los Angeles suburb. Unlike Pierce he never left California heading north to play for the Stanford Cardinal. What an opportunity the possibility of playing in front of family and friends in addition the team you idolize as a child.
Mark Gottfried and North Carolina State performed quite a coup recently. Dennis Smith a 6-3 guard from Fayetteville and the number four prospect in the Class of 2016 verbally committed. The 5-star Smith had to choose between Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky, North Carolina State plus Louisville and several other schools. This might be one time Gottfried out dueled Coaches K, Williams, Calipari and Pitino.
I missed this hope you didn’t, the rules committee over the summer voted in favor of a reduced shot clock. College teams will now be working with a 30 second clock rather than 35. The belief is a shorter clock will increase scoring in the college game which has been going down steadily over the last few years. The move makes sense however a team still needs shooters which was evident in several games I saw last season.
