Basketball from a fans perspective
A loss
I was shocked and sadden to hear that ESPN’s John Saunders had died; he was only 61 years old. Saunders covered all aspects of sports the network telecast since 1986. He wore many hats while employed at ESPN but first fame anchoring SportsCenter. He served as host for the networks Sports Reporter program and even did play by play for a number of sports. There are several in the field who could look at the Saunders example one that never said “Hey look at me.” The story be it baseball the NFL the NHL or NBA was always reported in a professional manner. Saunders appeared to have no desire to become part of the story.
Bits n Pieces
Kobe Bryant is not a member of Team USA for the Rio Olympics. I’m a little surprised because I believed Kobe might want one last hurrah on an international stage, guess I missed this one.
There will be no repeat of Lin-sanity now that Jeremy Lin is back in The Big Apple. We read earlier Lin expressed a desire to remain a member of the Hornets but it was not to be. The Brooklyn Nets signed the 6-3 point guard to a multi-year contract in July.
What happened to the Big East Conference? The conference was founded strictly for basketball although a number of the schools played football. The name is still utilized today but the Big East as it’s constructed currently bares little resemblance to its former self. In its former self the league began play in 1979 and lasted until 2013.
Bol Bol is the son of the late NBA player Manute Bol from South Sudan on the African continent. Bol is entering his junior year at Bishop Miege High School in Roeland Park a Kansas City suburb, he is a 5-star and the number 13 prospect in Rivals Class of 2013. He’s got the physical traits of his father 6-11 and 180 pounds. Offers are on the table from Kansas, St. John’s, Creighton and New Mexico State.
Canada basketball
I claim no expertise in the area of Canadian basketball so this account is strictly research. Over the years our northern neighbor’s sent a number of talented players to the US some attending high school while others managed college careers. A number have managed to secure an NBA vocation. I was reviewing a Canadian website and a number of the Class of 2017 is headed to US colleges.
I knew there were a number of high schools that competed in basketball but was unsure of the number that might be playing college ball. I discovered a significant number of Canadian colleges and universities compete in basketball, Simon Fraser University is the only school competing in NCAA Division II basketball. The school is located in Burnaby British Columbia located approximately 140 miles north of Seattle Washington.
Hopefully a life-change
Remember the saga of highly recruited prospect Zach Brown? The Florida prospect committed to UConn and located to a prep school in Connecticut. Then the problems began, Brown had an altercation on the court which caused the prep school to dismiss him. Returning home he was involved in an armed robbery in the spring.
Fast-forward to the present news accounts indicates the criminal charges will be dropped. The 7 foot 260 pound center was back on the recruitment trail again and he committed to St. John’s. Brown and his brother grew up in poverty and were adopted by a wealthy family. One or two mistakes does not mark you for life hopefully he’ll make a life-change and not because he’s an athlete.
