Basketball from a fans perspective
I just discovered
There was almost a perfect storm at LSU this past season, with the highly touted Ben Simmons and several good teammates they finished 19-14 (11-7 SEC). They missed the NCAA Tournament and decided to pass on the NIT Tournament. Ben Simmons arrived in Baton Rouge as one of the most highly touted players in the nation and much more was expected from the team. Did you hear the report cameras followed him all around the campus this past season? In addition we can speculate a number of Simmons teammates might have resented all the adulation surrounding him. Somebody said “It appeared he (Simmons) didn’t care at times.”
That statement I find hard to believe from the time we are small children we want to win. Perhaps Simmons was more discouraged with his teammates than just didn’t seem to care. Part of the blame for LSU’s poor season must be laid at the feet of Coach Johnny Jones who couldn’t seem to motivate his team and Simmons to play at a higher skill level. I managed to view a number of LSU games and several they lost I believe they should have won. Finally one of the analyst said; “Simmons might have been better off playing for Calipari or Coach K.” I cannot find anything wrong with that statement based on the outcome.
Bits n Pieces
Forgive me please; I’ve often stated my objection to comparing players of different eras. After hearing several in the media compare Ben Simmons to Lamar Odom I changed my mind. I believe we do this because portions of their game are body might be similar to a player we recognize. Okay since I violated my own rule allow me to explain further. I’ve watched numerous highlights of Laker Brandon Ingram in action, he reminds me of another Carolina product Sam Perkins. Sam was long and lean in a manner similar to Ingram.
The local news telecast video of Cheick Diallo being introduced by the NBA Pelicans. Then 20 seconds of video of him in action at Kansas. I thought for a minute I wonder how many games and minutes he played so I decided to check the numbers. He played in 27 games averaged 7.5 minutes scoring 3 points and grabbing nearly 2 rebounds a game. Diallo had no intent to graduate from college when he chose to attend Kansas; his mission was the NBA which he’s managed to accomplish. I’m not critical of Diallo I’m critical of the system that forces youngsters to attend college for a year with no intention to complete the educational process. We continue this farce that grows “One n Done” athletes.
A number of Euro players are usually not familiar to most fans but don’t fool yourself believing NBA teams are drafting in the dark. If a Darko Milicic’s fails in the NBA believe me he and others have been thoroughly scouted. Example; Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak in his post game press conference was discussing 2nd round pick Ivica Zubac. He indicated the Lakers Euro scout Antonio Maceiras alerted him on Zubac. Laker fans might remember Kupchak flew to Europe in March, we can rest assured it was to access Zubac and maybe other Euro talent.
Competition
ESPN’s 30 for 30 programming ran a documentary title “Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL?” The network first ran it in October 2009 but is repeated from time to time. Those of you too young might not remember this football rival to the NFL. Originally they played a spring schedule but in order to compete with the NFL they attempted a fall schedule to their demise. A number of people in the know interviewed believe the league failed because of greed. There is nothing wrong with earning money however it’s the manner you go about accomplishing the task. The Lakers have a problem too only its not greed it’s a” who is charge issue.” I’ve written several times Jim Buss assuming the role of controller has led the Lakers into a hole.
Several including this writer believe (have believed) sister Jeannie Buss would be much better running the franchise in its entirety rather than just the business side. Buss is similar to a number of other sports owners who believe “I’ve been successful in the business world I can do it in sports.” On paper it sounds good however the aspects of sports are different than those of the business world. On the cusp of a championship and his team establishing a new won-loss record Warriors owner Joe Lacob went on record. He informed the world how they (his team) would continue to win into the future due to the manner his team was built. We all witnessed this very short dynasty, this is not meant to be critical of the Warriors it’s just the fact Lacob looked at his team from a business perspective rather than sport.
