Basketball from a fans perspective
Is the issue resolved?
The NCAA finally cleared Cheick Diallo to play for Kansas, this account is written on Wednesday November 25th. Kansas has a game scheduled against Vanderbilt tonight in the Maui Invitational, although Diallo was permitted to travel with the team he is not cleared to play in the game. The NCAA claimed Diallo has received improver benefits therefore he must sit out five games. He is eligible to play December 1 which didn’t sit well with Seth Greenfield former coach and ESPN analyst.
Greenberg said; “This is ridiculous, they allow him (Diallo) to travel but he must wait till December 1st to play.” The NCAA after dragging its feet for months on this issue says Diallo must wait 6 more days to play----figure out the logic in that decision if you care. Even more confusing is the convoluted explanation by the NCAA on the delay. A local sportscaster claims “The (NCAA) had gone back and looked at Diallo’s 6th grade transcript.“ The issue of gaining eligibility by the NCAA remains unsolved, it shouldn’t take 6 months to resolve the issue.
I missed this one too
Wednesday I mentioned missed the LSU-Marquette game which I intended to see. I missed the recent Clippers-Warriors game for a different reason; I was unable to tune in the game at the beginning. By the time I was able to turn to the game the Warriors were down by 20+ points, I figured why bother. Not a fan of either team but I wanted to see a competitive game and it appeared one of the teams was over-matched at least in this one. My observation proved totally incorrect; I went to bed guessing the SoCal team had stuck it to their NorCal neighbor. Imagine my surprise when I checked the score Friday morning, Warriors 127 Clippers 117.
International basketball
On several occasions I’ve written on the growth of basketball world-wide. This has translated to athletes from four corners of the world arriving on our shores to play at the college or NBA level. Over the last several years Gonzaga in Spokane (WA) has recruited internationally but this prospect might be a first. The school announced one of the prospects arriving next season is Rui Hachimuara from Japan. Hachimuara is listed at 6-7 and can he play at the D-1 level?
1. He played in the Jordan Brand Classic last April in the Barclays Center the only Japanese player invited.
2. If Gonzaga has seen enough to offer a scholarship that’s good enough proof for me.
3. There were other D-1 programs scouting Hachimuara. He might not be headed to the NBA but he’s certainly on his way to Spokane.
Falling temperatures
It’s in the 40’s in the nation’s heartland Kansas City temperatures in the upper Midwest and east coast have begun sliding downward. It certainly will become even colder in those portions of the country before the spring thaw. As for the college tournaments have you noted a number are in locations where the temperature is just a bit warmer. In the Puerto Rico Tip-Off it’s in the upper 70’s while in Hawaii the Maui Invitational the daytime temperature is also in the 70’s.
The Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands the temperature is in the lower 80’s, Corpus Christ Texas the location of the Coastal Challenge it’s in the middle 70’s. The only frigid temperature might be the Great Alaska Shootout held in Anchorage Alaska where the temperature is 28 degrees. There are other pre-season tournaments I’ve failed to mention however you get the point I hope. Schools are headed for warmer climates to prepare their teams for tournament play. At the same time it provides players, coaches and family the opportunity to vacation in a warm climate.
