Basketball from a fans perspective

We are witness to the future
Wolves center Karl-Anthony Towns at the center jump matched against Sixer center Joel Embiid. Can we say the BIG MAN has returned to the NBA, we have seen the future and it looks bright provided both are able to avoid major injuries?  The only issue unlike the old days neither player was matched against one another except on switches.  Because neither Towns nor Embiid really face one another we can only look at the outcome, the Wolves won 110-86.  Towns had 25 points 10 rebounds and 2 blocked shots while Embiid was 10, 10 and 1.  It should be noted Embiid’s minutes are still limited and he doesn’t play back to back games for now.

I’ll take the blame
Duck fans you can blame for the loss on Tuesday evening.  On November 8th I wrote on Coach Dana Altman and the great job he’d done since his arrival at Oregon.  On last evening Big 12 Baylor did a beat-down on the Ducks winning the game 66-49.  It wasn’t on television so I had no opportunity to access it but with a 17 point victory it appears Oregon must not have been prepared to play.  Baylor is now 2-0 while Oregon falls to 1-1 sorry Duck fans.

Worried already---not as much
The first opportunity to see Mizzou without traveling to Columbia was via the SEC/ESPN Network. I’m worried about the upcoming season already; Mizzou is performing a beat-down on Alabama A&M but the rebounding, the rebounding.  They have only 1 senior, the balance of the team is freshmen, sophomores, and junior college transfers.  Where is the beef is my question, Mizzou has a number of 6-7, 6-8 guys however all are relatively thin.  The only hope is 6-10 250 pound freshmen Reed Nikko develops quickly, outside of his bulk that’s about it.  I guess I could console myself in the fact former Coach Mike Anderson’s teams were never particularly tall.

Mizzou compensated for their lack of height and rebounding by a pressing defense scoring off of steals and breaks.  Game two proved quite different than I expected.  Matched against Number 11 Xavier in the Puerto Rico Classic I thought-oh well!  Mizzou played defense against a taller Xavier team.  Guards Frankie Hughes and Terrance Phillips along with power forward Kevin Puryear combined for 67 of the 81 points Mizzou would score.  The final score read Xavier 83 Mizzou 82 in an OT victory for Xavier.  For me there are no moral victories you either win or lose in this case Mizzou lost.    

Thanks Kevin Pelton
ESPN Insider Pelton brought it to our attention the Lakers winning their 7th game on November 16 have now won more than last year (6) through December 31st.  Am I excited not yet there is much to prove by this young team however I do feel better regarding their future prospects.  This young Lakers team needs a nickname, so far the media has failed to provide one for us.  I’ve got my thinking cap on maybe I can come up with one.

A different age
High school prospects have changed the manner they announce their choice of destination.  This change has been noted in the past but it’s worth a re-visit.  Today’s high school prospects have made their attentions known differently from those of the past.   What once was the routine has become old-school allow me to remind you.

The prospect is sitting in his high school gym in front of family coaches and fellow students.  He’s got 4 or 5 baseball caps in front of him with the school logo on them.  The prospect announces “I’m going to (often fakes picking up one cap over another) XYZ university.”  Others choose twitter, Facebook or some other social outlet to announce the school of their choice.  The change in the announcement is interesting isn’t it?