BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE
Broadcast institutions
Can your name be associated with the game you broadcast? I believe the answer in some instances might be yes. Those who broadcast the game we all love can become institutions. That might be the case for Marv Albert If you check his bio you will discover he’s broadcast a variety sports over the course of his career however he‘s forever identified with NBA basketball. He served for years as the Knick broadcaster but currently works for TNT. He’s got 49 years of broadcast behind him beginning as the voice of the Knicks on radio and television in 1967.
He’s 75 years old now there might be a question of how much longer. Broadcaster requires home work however it’s not heavy lifting, after all Chick Hearn continued to broadcast Laker games until his death at 85 in 2002. The late Dr. Jack aka Jack Ramsay former coach became a television analyst for the 76ers and Heat. Later he would go to work for ESPN on its NBA telecast he would leave broadcasting at the tender age of 87.
Bret Musberger at age 77 continues to broadcast college basketball and college football too. Musberger is further identified from the time period the NBA at the time the CBS Network held the broadcast rights. Bob Costas might be identified with baseball however his start was basketball. At the tender age of 22 Costas was the broadcast voice for the ABA Spirits of St. Louis and later it was Mizzou basketball. In 1990 when NBC acquired the NBA rights Costas was the lead broadcaster which he held until the expiration of the contract.
They missed him
Pacer Paul George might have more notoriety for a broken leg than basketball. He suffered the injury while competing for Team USA tryouts in 2014. The injury was so devastating it caused him to miss most of the 2014-15 season. How would he return in 2016 I’m glad you ask the question? He made the NBA All Star team and the All-NBA team for the third time. George was All NBA Defensive Second team for the second time.
All his playing career beginning in high school he’s flown beneath the radar. George wasn’t highly touted at Knight High School in Palmdale (CA), Rivals a talent source I use awarded him three stars. Five stars is the highest rating the site offers a prospect. The 6-9 forward left Fresno State after two years for the NBA, the Pacers made him the 10th pick in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft. I continue to maintain doesn’t matter where you play if you have potential talent a scout somewhere will locate you.
He was the first
Thon Maker will make his NBA debut in a couple of weeks; Brandon Jennings was drafted in 2009 by the Bucks both circumvented the age 19 or one year college rule. If you believed they might have been the first to go this route I’ve got news for you they were the first. We must travel back to 1961 Detroit. In 1961 the late Reggie Harding graduated from a Detroit high school but failed to enroll in college. He would be selected by the Pistons in the 4th round of the 1962 NBA Draft and the following year by them in the 6th round.
NOTE: Prior to 1989 the NBA Draft consisted of seven rounds. The draft became two rounds only. As for Harding he didn’t play for the Pistons until the 1963-64 season, the 7-foot Harding had a brief pro career. Personal demons managed to end his short career. Those who played with and against him claimed he could have developed into a solid player. The lure of the streets were more a draw for him than staying on the straight and narrow. In 1972 at the age of 30 he was murdered.
The NBA’s future
Can you name five potential NBA superstars? I can name maybe 10, despite the naysayer’s the NBA is in good shape and the future continues to shine brightly. The league will never surpass the NFL in popularity and that’s okay. Every sport goes through cycles, in the ‘50’s its likely you survey most folks of their favorite sport this is likely the order. Baseball, college football, the NFL college basketball and the NBA. Nowadays this is probably closer to the order the NFL, baseball, college football, the NBA and college basketball. The naysayer’s claimed; “No Michael Jordan the league will suffer.” Along came Kobe followed by LeBron and others to blow that observation away. A number of sub-par teams are at play but have players on their roster with plenty of potential. The future is bright despite what some might say.
