Basketball from a fans perspective

SMU’s gain is Duke’s loss 
Semi Ojeleye left Ottawa (KS) for Duke in 2013, a true student athlete he ran into a numbers problem at Duke.  Buried at the end of the bench had nothing to do with his budding talent it’s the fact he made the wrong choice.  This is no criticism of Coach K. its reality; in any event Ojeleye decided to transfer and his school of choice would become Southern Methodist University and Larry Brown.

You might ask the question can Ojeleye play we believe he’s talented enough to prove the point. The youngster set the 4-year scoring record for boy’s high school basketball for the State of Kansas.  This fall and winter we’ll all have an opportunity to see the 6-8 230 pound forward in action; in addition Ojeleye might have something to prove to Duke and Coach K. who often failed to utilize him.

“We eat at McDonald’s”
I love the line by former Mizzou Coach Norm Stewart.  Stewart questioned regarding his basketball prospects stated; “We don’t have any McDonald’s All Americans but we eat there.” Well this ain’t Mizzou its Kansas and they managed quite a coup when Josh Jackson announced he was headed to Kansas to play for Bill Self.

Of four prospect sites two list him number one, one number two and the last one number three in the nation.  That should provide you an indication of the projected talent by a number of websites. They believe the 6-7 small forward is a true talent, the most interesting part of the story Michigan State in Ann Arbor is located less than 50 miles from Jackson’s Southfield (MI) home.

Talk about dysfunctional
The Lakers and 76ers are not very good; there are several problems to consider the “why”.  As for the Rockets that’s a completely different story.  Disclaimer I didn’t see all five games of the Rockets-Warriors series but I saw enough.  I’m convinced there is no difference between the Lakers, 76ers and Rockets all three teams appear to have no direction.  For the Rockets it’s much worse because there is veteran talent on the roster.  Naturally the finger of blame is placed on the shoulders of the coach but that’s not the complete answer.  B.J. Bickerstaff took over this team not expecting to be head coach this soon.  I’ve always believed (right or wrong) a coach requires training camp to run his program, Bickerstaff didn’t have that luxury.

Dwight Howard has fallen from superstar status to just a very good player.  How much injury has taken it's toll we don't know.  As for James Harden the guy has never seen a shot he didn’t like and that creates a further problem for Howard.  It appears neither Howard nor Harden are able to raise the level of their teammates.  In addition it’s my belief Howard arrived expecting to become the focus of the offense and that has not been the case.  Patrick Beverly at the point should be a back-up, small forward Trevor Ariza adequate is getting long in the tooth.  It’s likely this team won’t require a make-over in the off-season.  Howard is ready to move once again and that should resolve a major portion of the issues.  Don’t be surprised if Beverly and several others will appear in different jerseys next season.

Speak it into existence
Where do you see yourself in five years was a question a prospective employer once asked me. Ben Simmons has an answer to the question although we don’t know if it will actually occur.  Last year the LSU freshmen said; “See you next year as a Laker.”  This might not occur however based on the team’s poor finish it could occur.  The latest is 6-9 forward Jayson Tatum headed to Duke in the fall, he was asked in an interview where he saw himself five years down the road. His response; “Playing on the LA Lakers.”  All these prospective talents are likely not headed for Southern California however that’s music to the ears of this Laker fan.

We hear and read accounts claiming Los Angeles is no longer the destination of choice but I contend it still is.  The warm weather, the entertainment plus commercial opportunities would tend to be attractions to prospects.  As bad as the Lakers have played the last past two seasons I’ve never read of a high school or college prospect stating he wanted to come to Los Angeles to play for the Clippers.  I’m likely to get an argument from Clipper fans but the Lakers brand is still the one most easily identified.  At this point in time the other team can offer more then the Lakers accept one thing, brand name tarnished a bit lately.  Sorry Clipper fans your team will remain the “other team” in the eyes of Los Angeles (and many others) until they win a championship.

"We have a great bunch of outside shooters.  Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors" - Weldon Drew