Game Three
Fans a prior engagement kept me from viewing the game start to finish. Someplace in the first quarter the Cavs have a nearly 20 point lead. Maybe it was home cooking or just plain embarrassment. LeBron and company did a number on the Warriors and now this may, I repeat this may become a series. 52% shooting and cutting down on the number of turnovers certainly aided the Cavs effort. No Love, no matter Richard Jefferson started at small forward and LeBron moved over to the power forward slot. This seems to be a playoff series one team or the other knocks the socks off the opposition. Final score reads Cavs 120 Warriors 90.
Which one, which one
The number one pick in the NBA Draft will be Ben Simmons or Brandon Ingram that much we know. Who winds up with the 76ers or the Lakers is still uncertain to a degree. The number three pick by the Celtics is even more intriguing, for weeks most of the mock drafts sites indicated the Celtics would make 7-1 Dragan Bender the pick. With approximately two weeks remaining until the draft mock site DraftExpress says the Celtics choice is 6-10 power forward Marquese Chriss from Washington. As for NBADraft.net they have 6-5 shooting guard Buddy Hield from Oklahoma. I certainly have no intention to speculate on who is chosen Danny Ainge operates unconventionally at times.
A tough schedule
Perennial basketball power Kansas has an excellent incoming class of prospects for the upcoming season. Perhaps based on this fact Bill Self’s team is taking on the Big Boys in the 2016-17 college season. The complete non-conference schedule is yet to be released however they have several worthy opponents on the agenda thus far. The Jayhawks will face Indiana (27-8), Duke (25-11) and Kentucky (27-9). This is probably Self thinking; “This will prepare them (Kansas) for the Big 12 race and the NCAA Tournament.” In all likelihood Self’s thought process is ahead of us.
Snakebite
A Kansas City Star reporter once wrote; “Mizzou fans believe their basketball program is snakebite.” In other words despite something good is always followed by something bad, the degree of bad has ranged. If we exclude the present Coach Kim Anderson the last three coaches tasted success. Quin Snyder was 126-91 while head coach; he was followed by Mike Anderson (111-57) and Frank Haith (76-28). Despite their plus .500 record both Snyder and Haith resigned before they were terminated. Anderson after declaring “I’m a Tiger for life” decided he wanted the Arkansas job when it opened.
For those unfamiliar Anderson served as an assistant under Nolan Richardson at Arkansas for a number of years. Kim Anderson can coach; his teams were 275-94 in his 12 seasons at the University of Central Missouri. Anderson’s last season UCM was NCAA Division II Champions finishing with a 30-5 record. Anderson was on the staff for long-time Coach Norm Stewart. He would interview to become head coach in 1999 but was passed over for Snyder. Recruiting is slightly different however X and O’s remain the same whether it’s Division I, II, III or NAIA basketball.
Where did he play?
Steph Curry should provide proof talent is everywhere, sure his dad played in the NBA but that didn’t aid his cause proving he belonged seal the deal. I lamented the fact on several occasions ability to play the game at a high skill level was not coming from smaller schools. Well that’s not exactly true we can point to Steph to counter that argument. We are lead to believe NBA stars only emerge from the Kentucky’s, Duke’s and Carolina programs. Davidson College in Davidson (NC) is a Division I program so they compete against the “big boys” however less than 2,000 undergraduates enrolled indicate it’s a small school.
Davidson is more likely to produce politician and artists over NBA athletes, example Woodrow Wilson 28th President of the United States attended Davidson. In addition former Secretary of State Dean Rusk current Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx along with Charles Wright Pulitzer Prize winning poet are just a few of the alumni who distinguish themselves. As for basketball if you are skilled enough skill NBA scouts will discover you regardless of where you play. Steph Curry is just one more example of the prior statement along with his 2X NBA Most Valuable Trophy.
