Basketball from a fans perspective
ACC basketball
Around this part of the nation I heard plenty of talk “The Big 12 is the best in the nation.” There might be a challenge to that statement, I submit the ACC as equal if not exceeding the Big 12. There are more ACC teams (15) to Big 12 (10) so you might believe that’s the advantage. Not totally true, last year 6 of 10 Big 12 teams won 20 or more games. As for the ACC 11 teams won 20 or more games. In the East Regional’s two ACC teams Notre Dame and North Carolina faced off against one another.
While conference members Virginia and Syracuse faced one another in the Midwest Regional. Then Syracuse lost to North Carolina in the National Semi-Finals with Carolina playing for the championship. Where was the Big 12 you ask, the only remaining Big 12 school Oklahoma bowed out in the semi-finals? I’m not trashing the Big 12 it just appears the dominance of Kansas basketball sometimes makes it appear the conference is stronger that it actually is. BOOM---I just dropped the mic.
Moral victory!!
I took this account from the NFL and the actual occurrence was three years ago. Despite the timing it could just as easily apply to the 76ers playing the Warriors or Cavs. In 2013 Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is reported to have made this statement. “We (Cowboys) had a moral victory in losing to the Broncos.” To me it doesn’t matter the sport football, basketball, checkers or dodge ball you either win the game or lose it. Please inform me has a moral victory ever allowed a coach to remained employed? We can look no further than David Blatt for an answer; he was fired with his Cavs team in first place. To borrow the Herm Edwards rant; “You play to win the game---Hello!” Moral victories only exist in the minds of a small number of people.
Home grown talent
One of the reasons for my optimism regarding UMKC basketball stands 5 feet 11 inches. In a game of big men you might believe it might be difficult for Martez Harrison to become a standout in the game. The UMKC bio page indicates among his favorite athletes are Blazer and Clipper guards Damian Lillard and Chris Paul NBA players close in size. The local connection Harrison graduated from University Academy in Kansas City; he once scored 58 points in a game.
His senior year of high school saw a 34 ppg average along with four rebounds and four assists. The collegiate honors, last season he was named second team all WAC and his junior year Honorable Mention All American. Chances are real good you probably want hear his name at next year’s NBA draft. You might not hear his name but don’t believe that’s any indication of his skill level. Did I mention he is a STUDENT-athlete; he was on the honor roll at University Academy and majors in Communications at UMKC.
Political season
We are nearing the end of the presidential race in the nation. ESPN.com NBA page wrote a piece on coaches who might become candidates for the White House. Instead of concentrating on this fiction how about someone who was a legitimate candidate for the highest office in the land. Bill Bradley is the name and basketball was his game, well that’s not quite correct allow further explanation. Bradley emerged from Crystal City High School near St. Louis he was educated at Princeton University.
Few NBA player come from Ivy League schools, these schools tend to produce corporate types not athletes. In 1965 the Knicks made Bradley their territorial pick. (Up to 1965 NBA teams were allowed a territorial draft choice, a player within a 50 mile radius of its home arena.) Bradley traveled to Italy playing for Pallacanestro Olimpia Milano a year before he returned to began play for the Knicks. The 6-5 Bradley was placed in the backcourt were he struggled, the next season he would move to the frontcourt.
The 2X NBA Champion Bradley retired in 1977 after a 10-year career but he was only beginning. He’s one of the few athletes to be enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. In 1979 Bradley was elected U.S. Senator from New Jersey and remained in the Senate until 1997. In 2000 he decided to make a run for the presidency on the Democratic ticket. He would lose in the primaries to Al Gore the eventual primary winner. Since his retirement from politics he’s remain active working in a number of endeavors. This short bio fails to provide a true picture Google his name when you have an opportunity.
