Basketball from a fans perspective
Duke or Kentucky
6-10 250 pound Marques Bolden is undecided, he’s deciding between Coach K. and Coach Cal. Bolden is Rivals number 16 and ESPN 100 number 20 in the Class of 2016. Bolden is from Desoto (TX) in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro.
Have you seen it?
Under Armour plans a 3-second commercial every time Steph Curry scores a 3-point basket. I’ve only seen one ad but its funny, Curry holding a basketball picks up a single brick from a stack says; “What’s this? “
He might become the tallest
Perhaps we are all aware Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis stood 7 feet 3 inches tall, bet you might not be aware three other players are in the NBA the same height. Porzingis played major minutes the others were strictly reserves. The quartet represent the tallest players in the NBA however next season they might be looking up to a competitor. UC-Irvine junior Mamadou Ndiaye has decided in favor of the NBA over remaining in school. Ndiaye from Senegal in West Africa stands 7 feet 6 inches tall and weighs a sturdy 300 pounds. This past season Ndiaye averaged 12.1, 7.2 rebounds and 2.4 blocked shots a game. In a February game against Long Beach State Ndiaye set a school record registering 11 blocked shots in the game.
You might remember the first game of the season the Anteaters (yes that’s their nickname) started the tallest lineup in college basketball history. They had 7-6 Ndiaye at center along with a 6-10 point guard and 7-2 shooting guard. Also in the game was a 6-8 and 6-10 forward. As for Ndiaye’s draft status or can he play at the NBA level are questions which remain unanswered at this time. After all the late Manute Bol who stood even taller at 7 feet 7 inches Bol managed a 10-year career with a number of NBA teams. Bol had limited basketball skills but his height and shot blocking played a key. With Ndiaye’s shot blocking ability it’s possible an NBA team might be willing to take a chance on him.
We couldn’t afford it
You haven’t heard me moan in quite awhile about no NBA basketball in Kansas City. I’ve considered the fact in 2016 we might not be able to sustain an NBA franchise based on our population and disposable income. What if Greg Luckinbill had been a Ewing Kaufmann type purchasing the Kings with no intent to move them out of town. Mr. Kaufmann saw it as a civic duty for baseball to remain in Kansas City once the A’s departed for Oakland. He‘s the one reason major league baseball remains viable in Kansas City with the Royals. Would the Kings have remained here if Luckenbill had not purchased the team with the express purpose of moving? I’m not exactly sure Kansas City could afford NBA basketball in 2016, the Kings left in 1985 a time the cost of living was a great deal lower than present. I did some research lets check some 1985 prices for a number of items and compare them with 2016.
Gasoline
$1.20 a gal 1985 - $1.90 range a gal 2016
Dodge Charger
$6,203.00 1985 price - $27,995 2016 price
2 bedroom home-a number of variables but assume the same amount of down payment and in the same general portion of the country
$84,000 1985 - $108,400 2016
Kings game ticket
$25.00 estimate 1985 - $46.32 2016
These figures are not meant to be precise however they are as close as I was able to uncover, check out other metro areas which approximate the size of Kansas City. Minneapolis-St Paul has a metro population of 3.28 million and Pittsburg 2.3 million. The Twin Cities have the MLB Twins, NFL Vikings, NBA Wolves and NHL Wild. Pittsburg has the MLB Pirates, NFL Steelers and NHL Penguins. Bottom line I’m unsure if Kansas City has the population base (2.087 million) or desire for adding an NBA team to the existing NFL Chiefs, MLB Royals and MSL Sporting Kansas City teams.
"Being afraid on the court mean's you are not confident of your skills"-Michael Jordan
