Basketball from a fans perspective

I will refrain
LSU is making a stretch run to qualify for the NCAA Tournament; they played number 15 Texas A&M on Saturday winning 76-71.  Craig Victor and Ben Simmons led the way for LSU both scoring 16 points.  LSU remains tied at the top of SEC with Kentucky.  I will refrain from mentioning the balance of the season “Simmons is not aggressive enough” or “Simmons has no range on his shot.”

Don’t tell me
John Calipari received two technicals in 146 seconds of their game against South Carolina.  What could the officials have done in such a short space of time to run the coach to the locker room?  Absolutely nothing, I didn’t see the game only highlights.  Don’t tell me coaches don’t purposely force officials to whistle them for technicals at times.  In any event it worked as Kentucky beat South Carolina 89-62.

Is the concept dated?
My NFL friends tell me how boring they think the Pro Bowl has become in recent years.  I like NBA basketball I’m just not sure how much I like All-Star basketball.  Don’t get me wrong I like the weekend events the All-Star Celebrity Game, Skill Challenge, Three-Point and Slam Dunk contests.  By Sunday evening I’m ready to get back to “real” basketball, the East versus West match has become an exhibition game for me.

Last year I watched the All-Star Game through the middle of the third quarter it’s likely I’ll do the same this year.  The Slam Dunk Contest was the best I’ve witnessed in several years, I think if nothing else there should have been a tie.  I was shocked when teammate Klay Thompson outshoot Steph Curry in the Three-Point Contest.

King of Negativity
I’m conflicted at times; I believe I’m guilty of being too negative and too judgmental.  On other occasions I see positives where others perceive negatives.  Example; Mizzou’s Kevin Puryear played his high school ball in the metro at a Blue Springs (MO) high school.  An acquaintance informed me while Puryear was in high school; “I’m not impressed with his game.”  I was aware of Puryear because he was a local kid but had never witnessed him play.  Recruited by Mizzou and several other D-I schools led me to believe he must have some skills.

Puryear is mid-way through his freshman year and he’s certainly no threat to Ben Simmons status as the nation’s top newcomer.  The 6-7 215 pound forward is scoring 11.3 and grabbing 4.5 rebounds a game.  I would venture to say if Mizzou was a better team this season (1-10 conference 8-16 overall) Puryear’s numbers might be slightly better.  As for my friend I saw him last week and he repeated the same comment to me about Puryear.  Puryear was able to score 17 points as he help the the Tigers prevail over Tennessee 75-64.