Basketball from a fans perspective
Yelling and screaming
Basketball coaches have been yelling and screaming at their players since the beginning of time. What is the cut-off point between coaching and abuse? A number of players have left Mizzou over the last three seasons; most being recruited by the departed Frank Haith. George Washington University is a completely different story 13 players have left the school in the five years Coach Mike Longeran has been at the helm. That’s nearly three athletes a year leaving the school for a variety of reasons.
Many claim the coach was verbally abusive; Longeran is still on the job as for others that’s been a different story. Then again this is not the first instance this type of story surfaced. In 2013 Mike Rice was terminated at Rutgers for abusing his team, Doug Wojcik was fired at College of Charleston for the very same subject. I offer no permanent solution but just an observation I believe there is a cut-off point. A coach should be skilled enough and be on familiar terms with his players to determine when he steps over the line.
Bits n Pieces
“Zach LaVine’s dunks among the greatest in Slam Dunk History.” So stated Julius Erving aka Dr. J. about the Wolves young point guard. I believe we can trust the words of the good doctor regarding dunking the basketball.
The name Matias Testi might be unfamiliar to most of you. He was the assistant equipment manager that had a fight with the Clippers Blake Griffin last winter. Griffin fractured his hand and a team suspension plus time to heal took him out of the lineup for a major portion of the season. Interesting in that the Clippers appeared to not miss him. As for Testi the Orange Counter Register indicates he’s no longer with the team.
Attention Words eye view readers in London England and the surrounding area. Circle your calendars for January 2. The NBA has announced the Pacers and Nuggets will play a game on that date in your city.
As for the college basketball please no more courts setup on aircraft carriers. Carriers are built to launch aircraft not basketball players. Remember what occurred a few years ago condensation caused two separate games to be cancelled.
Social Media
I’m always curious how these stories originate, the Shaq-Kobe debate continues in social media. In this instance scoring, rebounding and assist totals from the 2000, 2001 and 2002 series are the focus. Someone referred to Shaq as “The Sidekick.” and that’s where the argument began. The Shaq allies lined up against the Kobe proponents, the most interesting part of this discussion I never read or remember reading either player being referred to as The Sidekick.
Everything was not love and happiness but this is argument is downright silly. Back then Shaq was a monster in the paint scoring 38, 33 and 36 points a game and grabbing 16.7, 15.8 and 12.3 rebounds a game. As for Kobe his scoring numbers were 15.6, 24.6 and 26.8. The shooting guard dished out 4.2, 5.8 and 5.3 assists in the three series. Those numbers don’t appear to be any sort of “sidekick” to me. I believe rather than sidekick how about substituting the term dynamic duo instead.
They are really young
I hoped Mizzou basketball would improve in the 2016-17 season however there are questions. I checked the 15-man roster and they are a real young team. There is but one senior; the balance of the squad consists of 3 juniors, 6 sophomores and 5 freshmen. They count two of those members at 6-10 and one 6-9 so they should be able to rebound and hopefully block some shots. 5-11 Terrence Phillips is likely to be the leader at the point once again. His 107 assists were the third highest total for a freshman in Mizzou history. We remain optimistic for a plus .500 season.
