Out of the running
Remember the report indicating the Big 12 conference wanting to expand? I believe I overlooked UNLV and I shouldn’t have. Despite my oversight the Big 12 decided to remove the school from its list under consideration. The schools to be added were strictly for football however Big 12 basketball might be even more competitive if UNLV was in the mix. Over 47 years of competition the record is 1052-429 .710 winning percentage. Under Jerry Tarkanian they won an NCAA Championship and made numerous appearances in the NCAA tournament.
The late Tarkanian is foremost responsible for placing UNLV on the basketball map. Prior to his arrival in 1973-74 the school was hardly a blip on anybodies radar. UNLV has sent 34 players into the NBA including Larry Johnson, Shawn Marion and Greg Anthony just to name a few. Marvin Menzies was hired in April he coached New Mexico State to five consecutive winning records. Perhaps the decision was purely based on football because by basketball standards UNLV would be worthy of consideration as a conference member.
“It’s getting
The headline above is a take-off on the hit record by rapper Nelly. As for the Lakers it might not be getting hot but it certainly is getting crowded in the frontcourt. The Laker frontcourt is full of veterans, free-agents and rookies.
6-9 Tarik Black - c
6-7 Anthony Brown - small forward
6-9 Luol Deng - small forward
6-9 Brandon Ingram - small forward
7-0 Yi Jianlian - power forward/center
7-1 Timofey Mosgov - c
6-9 Larry Nance Jr. - power forward
6-9 Julius Randle - power forward
6-7 Nick Young - small forward
7-1 Ivicia Zubac - c
10 of the 16 roster members play in the frontcourt and now there is an 11th player. Recently the Lakers announced they signed 6-10 Zach Auguste rookie from Notre Dame.
The ABA
Today’s NBA might not be the NBA except for the American Basketball Association. This NBA rival first began play in 1967 and died with the merger in 1976. Although the older league was supposed to be superior debate still rages on that question. Much of the NBA plays a wide-open game not evident much prior to the ABA. The 3-point basket, the legendary Red Auerbach was very critical of it. “We don’t need it” he complained to the New York Times, “I say leave our game alone.”
In the beginning talent was not equal to the NBA however gradually it improved significantly. By the time of the merger George Gervin, Artis Gilmore and others moved into the NBA with ease. Others such as Dr. J. and Spencer Haywood had left for the NBA earlier and tasted success. Part of the problem for the ABA was stability of the start-up league; franchises were on the move annually. It might have started here in Kansas City, the unnamed team unable to locate an arena moved to Denver.
The re-located Kansas City franchise would become the Larks then re-named the Rockets and finally Nuggets. The Anaheim Amigos moved across the metro to Los Angeles and finally to Utah becoming the Stars. The Kentucky Colonels and the Indiana Pacers were the only original franchises who lasted from start to finish in their original location. At the time the Colonels folded their roster was placed in the dispersal draft.
It would be excellent
Mizzou basketball needs some good news; lately most of the news has been negative. Mohamed Bamba is Rivals number four prospect in the Class of 2017 and a 5-star prospect. The 6-11 Bamba from Harlem (NY) has a list 29 schools attempting to secure his services among the schools is Mizzou. Mizzou is on probation and competing with the likes of Duke, Arizona, North Carolina and Kentucky for this youngster what do you think? I can hope can’t I?
A change
We held one of those barbershop discussions yesterday which brought the world into focus. The dialogue centered on athlete’s training regimentation. Somebody said; “Twenty or thirty years ago we just practiced and practiced in preparation for the season. All that’s changed now, in addition to basketball summer camps there is AAU basketball competition.” I thought a minute it seems from mid-May up through early August AAU basketball is played from coast to coast.
This is a radical change from the past, there was always the Rucker League and other summer basketball however participation was limited. There is no disagreement the athletes of today whatever the sport are better conditioned. Notice I didn’t say better I said better conditioned. Not only do the camps and AAU ball exist there is diet to consider as well. I’m no expert but I’ve seen a number of training supplements available for consumption by today’s athletes.
