Basketball from a fans perspective

McDonald‘s All-Star Game
One of the first and probably most prestigious All-Star games occurs next week.  The McDonald’s All-Star Game will be held in the United Center Chicago on March 30.  If you follow the high school game some of the featured names next week; Udoka Azuibuike the 6-11 270 pound center headed to Kansas will play for the East Squad.  Teammates Jason Tatum 6-9 small forward from St. Louis will be joined by Kobi Simmons 6-6 point guard from Alpharetta Georgia.

Among the talent on the West Squad will be 6-5 point guard Lonzo Ball Chino Hills (CA) along with
7-0 center Zach Collins from Las Vegas and Frank Jackson 6-4 point guard Highland (UT).  Those are but a few of the players who will be featured in the game.  The majority of All-Americans have already made their minds up on their college of choice.  If you live in the Chicago metro or in the area for vacation or business see the game in person as for the rest of us it will be available on ESPN check your time zone.

“He’s too old----really?”
This is written Thursday morning prior to the evening games and the “old” guys are still at it.  They are coaching winning basketball despite the age difference between coach and their young teams.  The junior of the coaching fraternity might be Roy Williams coaching North Carolina he’s 65 years old; Jim Larranaga Miami’s coach is age 66.  Duke’s Coach K. is 69 and the “old” man is 71 year old Jim Boeheim with Syracuse.

The very oldest guy is not in the NCAA Tournament his team is on probation.   75 year old Larry Brown currently coaches the SMU Mustangs.  This past season his Mustangs were 13-5 in the American Athletic Conference and 25-5 overall.  On the other hand young assistants deserve an opportunity to become head coaches and should have that possibility.  At the same time there is no requirement to kick an older coach out the door; there is something to be said for these old heads. NOTE:  Duke and Miami were eliminated on Thursday.

I thought we’d heard the last of him
Everyone believed former Clippers owner Donald Sterling was in the rear-view mirror.  Turns out that was/is not the case he’s still on the scene.  His attorneys filed an anti trust lawsuit against the NBA over the sale of the Clippers.  A Federal judge dismissed the case stating; “court is skeptical Sterling suffered any injury at all; let alone an anti trust injury.”  Hey fans didn’t Steve Ballmer purchase the team for $2 billion dollars?

Didn’t Donald receive a portion of the dollars despite his on again off again marriage, currently the marriage is on Donald should be sharing?  Truth is this is not a financial story this is likely an attempt by Sterling to continue his attempt to embarrass the NBA.  Despite this latest setback his attorneys announced they are considering continuing the suit.  Stay tuned for the next installment because it’s coming.

What if he refused
This what if could occur although it’s highly unlikely.  Russillo & Kanell posed the question on their ESPN program “Suppose the 76ers receive the number one pick and Ben Simmons says I’m not going there.”  The pair then held a discussion on the implied “tanking’ by the 76ers which has not proven beneficial.  Strange as it might seem similar stories have played out in sports in the past so it wouldn’t be that unusual.  NFL quarterback John Elway spent his entire career with the Broncos but he announced before the draft he would not play for the Colts who held the top pick.

Elway did have an out he was a baseball player and threatened to play for the Yankees if the Colts drafted him.  The fearless Colts went ahead and drafted Elway yet they later traded him to the Broncos and the rest in history.  Steve Francis was made the 2nd pick in the first round of the 1999 draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies.  Complaints about distance from home, money exchange and host of other issues the Grizzlies traded him to the Rockets.  The only time Francis set foot in Canada there after was as a member of an opposing team.  This scenario may have played out in other instances however these two instances come to mind easily for me.