BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE
Wow
I admitted I didn’t have an opportunity to view the Naismith induction ceremony. Of all the comments I’ve read from former players, coaches and contributors this one stands out. “I want to thank (John) Thompson for saving my life”-Allen Iverson. I certainly don’t wish to read anything into Iverson’s statement, I believe it details for many “Big” John might have been a different kind of basketball coach.
The countdown
Three NBA teams have media days scheduled in 11 days. After media day it’s pre-season time and finally the regular NBA season. The start of the season is not as far as you might believe.
Its football
This is a football story but I hope you understand it could have just as easily occurred in the NBA. Didn’t see the game or the play however Raiders Coach Jack Del Rio had an interesting comment which I will paraphrase. ESPN questioned the Raiders decision to go for a two-point conversion (which turned out to be successful). ESPN Stats and Info said; “Raiders had a 51% chance with a PAT to win & 44% if they went for 2. Del Rio’s tweet; “Good thing ESPN isn’t coaching the Raiders.” The story is NFL related however it could easily apply to second guessing of an NBA coach or player. You know who those media folks are there a need to name them? The media doesn’t get it right all the time but rarely admits it.
He didn’t ask me
It’s certainly terrific if a high profile athlete plays his basketball at Duke, North Carolina, Kansas or Kentucky. There are other programs with high NBA visibility. Playing at one of these schools is likely to provide the athlete visibility 5 or 6 times greater. That’s not to say the NBA is going to ignore you, they will beat a path to Neosho Junior College if they believe you are a potential talent. Allow me to explain where I’m going, the ESPN College page; “Are top freshman not at powerhouses doomed?”
6-5 point guard Markelle Fultz freshman at the University of Washington is the first name mentioned. NBADraft.net list Fultz as the number five pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, he is the number one pick on DraftExpress.com website. As you can see Fultz is not exactly invisible, at the same time if the writer had asked me I could also provide an additional example. We have no idea of Ben Simmons NBA career we do know this for a fact. Choosing to play at LSU (a football power) certainly didn’t impact his draft status since the 76ers made him number one pick in 2016.
He provoked controversy too
The recent controversy surrounding 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick reminds us of an earlier time in the NBA. A few reading this might remember Mahmoud Abul-Rauf he could shoot the lights out; born Chris Jackson he grew up in Gulfport (MS) where the 6-1 guard would become a basketball standout. He secured a scholarship to LSU where he continued to raise his level of play. After being selected an All American twice while at LSU he decided in favor of the NBA.
In 1990 the Nuggets made him the third pick in the first round of the NBA Draft. After becoming a starter in his third year with the Nuggets he blossomed scoring almost 20 points while dishing out 4.2 assists per game. At some point he would become a Muslim which would cause him problems. Someone at the time might have said; “Chris Jackson was good; Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf was nothing but trouble.”
March 1996 Abdul-Rauf refused to stand up for the national anthem prior to a game. He said; “The flag was a symbol of oppression and that the United States had a long history of tyranny.” He was suspended by the NBA for one game and a compromise would be worked out based on his Islamic view. Later in the summer he was traded to the Kings and later Abdul-Rauf would sign a free-agent contract with the Grizzlies then located in Vancouver.
2000-2001 season would be his last year in the NBA; he would continue play for a number of teams in Europe and Japan. He retired from basketball competition in 2011. Was he disliked by NBA management for his failure to acknowledge the national anthem? You can draw your own conclusion all I can say is Abul-Rauf might have been in the first wave of “shoot-first” point guards in the NBA.
