Basketball from a fans perspective
Duke wins again
With Duke coming off an NCAA Championship we might ask; “What is the plan for an encore?” We could start with an outstanding 2016 recruiting class which arrives next fall. Harry Giles the number two prospect on Rivals suffered a torn ACL and will miss the 2015-16 high school season. That’s the bad news, the good news the 6-10 225 pound Giles announced he is headed to Duke.
Initial reports indicate he should look forward to 100% recovery by next fall. Giles from Winston-Salem (NC) indicated one of the keys to him choosing Duke over several other schools was his friendship with number three prospect Jason Tatum. The two were teammates on the gold medal winning USA Men’s Under 19 team, the 6-8 Tatum had committed to Duke in July. How good is Duke next year, they have the number one recruited Class for 2016.
No do over’s
ESPN recently ran a story titled; “What if the New Jersey Nets had drafted Kobe Bryant in 1996.” I read the account and thought to myself “There are no do over’s what’s the purpose?” The writer purported to tell the story how the NBA landscape would have changed if Kobe had become a Net. 1,001 similar stories could exist if we choose to speculate on draft history. In 1992 the Magic chose Shaquille O’Neal over Alonzo Mourning, we know O’Neal didn’t remain with the Magic but just suppose. The Knicks or the Nets conduct a draft night trade for O’Neal, would he remain in New York or New Jersey (he was born in Newark) for his career?
How about the Wolves, in 1995 they drafted Kevin Garnett with the next pick the Vancouver Grizzlies drafted Bryant “Big Country” Reeves. What if the picks had been reversed would an NBA team remain in Western Canada with a talent like Garnett playing for the franchise? Reeves serviceable had a shorten career due to injury. In 1997 the Spurs chose Tim Duncan and the 76ers followed choosing Keith Van Horn. Would the legacy of Greg Popovich be different with a Van Horn in the Spurs lineup rather than Duncan? I have no argument with the author of the story but as you can see there are a cluster of stories that could have caused a ripple in NBA history. Maybe Kobe was the choice since he’s at the end of his career, in summation there are no do over’s.
I’ll explain
Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com wrote a story titled; “Mizzou, Tennessee look silly for passing on MSU's Ben Howland”. As you might remember Howland was hired by Mississippi State, I have no idea why Tennessee passed on the coach. As for Mizzou there is justification which I can offer for you. Former AD Mike Alden had been roasted by alums regarding his basketball hires. Despite some missteps he struck gold hiring football Coach Gary Pinkel now in year 15, basketball has been an entirely different matter. Norm Stewart long-time coach was “asked” to leave and Alden became the bad guy to deliver the word. The first basketball hire was Quin Snyder who would resign (before his rumored firing). It seemed every year of Mike Anderson’s tenure stories circulated he was seeking employment elsewhere. We have no way of verifying the reports but they did occur. After declaring himself a “Tiger for Life” he left for Arkansas his dream job, Frank Haith replaced Anderson.
All the coaches had limited success although rumblings of trouble always appeared to be present. The next to the last coach Alden hired Frank Haith was connected to the Miami football scandal. Although Haith had been vetted nothing was ever discovered connecting the coach to the Miami football scandal. After a mandated NCAA suspension the handwriting was likely on the wall for Haith. He would resign after the 2013-14 season and be hired by Tulsa. Alden probably feeling the heat might have wanted to hire Ben Howland but was reluctant because of “baggage”. 94 miles west in Warrensburg (MO) former Mizzou player Kim Anderson had built a successful Division II program at the University of Central Missouri. In addition Anderson had Mizzou connections playing for Norm Stewart and serving as an assistant on his staff. Anderson interviewed at the time Stewart was relieved of duties but was not hired. Alden possibility believed Anderson was a far safer hire than that of a Ben Howland.
Doesn’t come easy
I was discussing the college basketball season with an acquaintance. I’m not sure if it was him or me but the conversation moved to Texas basketball. I said; “I’m glad to see Shaka Smart get the job at Texas.” I’m not exactly sure of his words but he appeared to be unimpressed with my statement, I’m not sure if it was the record of departed Coach Rick Barnes at Texas or something else. I’m not downplaying Virginia Commonwealth basketball he registered a .744 winning percentage (163-56) there. At Texas with the states rich basketball talent the potential for Texas basketball is astronomical. With all coaching changes this one too must be given time.
Any new hire needs at least three years to impact the program, same for Texas. I believe the advantage of a Shaka Smart is he can recruit. Have you noticed how little talent comes from outside the State of Texas? Kevin Durant who played at Texas is from Maryland, the bulk of other prospects come from within. Take time and check out the rosters of Texas A&M, Baylor, SMU and others. I could be wrong about Smart and his ability to recruit and coach but I don’t believe so. He’s got to be time to implement his program so hopefully regents and fans will be patient during the change over.
