Basketball from a fans perspective
Where does he rank?
My barber hit me with this question before I left. “Where does Kobe rank in the list of All-Time Lakers?” I informed him “I don’t won’t to place a position number but Kobe ranks in my Top 5.” Now that I’m at home and can sit and think about his question I’m going to provide you my verdict, they are not in any sort of order. I thought it noteworthy to give you an idea who arrived via the draft, free-agency or a trade.
Magic Johnson
*Kareem Abdul Jabbar
Jerry West
Elgin Baylor
Kobe Bryant
James Worthy
George Mikan
*Wilt Chamberlain
*Shaquille O’Neal
*Jamaal Wilkes
Honorable mention
Gail Goodrich
Michael Cooper
*Pau Gasol
*Hap Hairston
*Byron Scott
*Acquired in a trade or free agency
Bold indicates enshrinement in the Naismith Hall of Fame.
It should also be noteworthy Shaq is likely to be elected to the HOF in the summer and Kobe will be elected in four years. 10 All-Time Laker greats 9 in the HOF and 2 likely enshrined at a future date.
“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”
For Clint Eastwood fans the above is the title to the 1967 Western which in my view provided a bump in his career. This is not about the movie it’s the arena situation in the city by the bay----San Francisco. The Good----the Warriors announced in the spring of 2012 they intended to build a new arena to replace Oracle in Oakland. The new 18,000 seat $1 billion dollar arena would be built across the bay in San Francisco. The Bad----environmental issues forced a change the first location was deemed unacceptable back to the drawing boards. A secondary location was chosen but the bad continued with a fight regarding the impact of traffic on game nights. The Mission Bay Group cited a belief there would be difficulty getting to the UCSF hospital due to traffic, parking and other issues.
Despite the reported issues the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-0 approving the second site and it appears full speed ahead on the project-----hold on just a moment there is more. The Ugly----the Mission Bay Group which has spearheaded arena opposition indicate they are not finished, they intend to file a lawsuit preventing construction of the arena. Ground breaking is planned for 2016 with a grand opening for the arena set for 2018 do you believe that’s possible? Right now I believe it’s more likely the Warriors win the next two NBA Championships then the arena be completed by 2018. The arena will be built the lands been purchased at this point it becomes a time issue. This is not intended to be a complete account of all activities only an attempt to capture the major events.
Somebody else maybe
This is the year somebody other than Kansas is suppose to win the Big 12 regular season championship. Iowa State looks strong so do Oklahoma and Baylor perhaps we could include Oklahoma State in the mix. We might add Texas to the list however the new coach and new system they might need time. How much will Cheick Diallo aid the pursuit of Kansas is still unclear at this point however he is defiantly a talent. The question can Diallo mesh his skills with the holdovers on the roster? I pose the question once again, is this the year somebody other than Kansas wins the Big 12 regular season crown? If I were a betting person I wouldn’t place money on my last statement.
Last season I looked at Kansas prior to the season and the cupboard looked pretty bare. The Jayhawks finished 27-9 (13-5 in conference play) so much for my down season prediction. I’ve said this before and continue to believe the Big 12 is not as strong a basketball conference as it claims. If it’s as strong as it claims how come one school could win 12 regular season championships in a row? In addition how could that one school be the only one able to advance deep into the NCAA Tournament every year. The Wooden UCLA teams did this back in the day however there are no more super teams how does Kansas do it? Its good coaching and a world-wide recruiting base which have become the building blocks.
