Basketball from a fans perspective
The changed landscape
I read in the Kansas City Star this morning the NAIA Tournament will remain in the city through 2019. The tournament and its basketball are no longer the draw they once were. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Tournament is older than the NCAA Tournament and NIT by a few years. The first championship of the NAIA was played in 1937. The NIT held its first a year later in 1938 as for the NCAA it was 1939.
At one time the spotlight on the NAIA Tournament and its basketball shone much brighter than it does in the 21st Century. More than a 100 NBA athletes gained their basketball skills at NAIA schools. NAIA basketball will never return to its glory days, many schools such as Grambling State, Prairie View and Kentucky State now compete at the Division I level. In addition to many schools leaving NAIA play the talent pool for athletes has shrunk.
Before you run off screaming I’m not demeaning NAIA basketball this is the explanation. At one time especially in the Deep South Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia did not recruit black athletes, a significant number of black athletes matriculated to historically black colleges and universities. Changing times plus integration witnessed schools in the south changing their recruiting efforts.
A youngster who might have chosen to attend Jackson State (MS) at one time was now afforded the opportunity to attend Ole Miss. NAIA basketball remains competitive however NCAA Division I play cast such a huge wide shadow it even blots out Division II basketball. The NAIA will never cease operations the schools and its championship tournament will continue into the future just not quite as visible as it once was.
Bits n Pieces
Ad agencies sometimes develop classic lines to pitch their product. Often a line from an ad might last longer than the commercial Degree Deodorant for Men has come up with a masterpiece. They have Steph Curry stating; “It’s not easy to keep up with moves like mine. The more I move, the more Degree for men works.” Wonder how much they paid him for the commercial.
He dueled with LeBron James on the court, those who saw him play claim he might have been as good or better than LeBron. Lenny Cooke is 34-years old now his NBA dreams dashed. I was reminded again as ESPN ran the 30 for 30 program again detailing portions of his last few high school years. Word circulated Cooke might not have been able to gain eligibility although several colleges attempted to recruit him. Due to his academic issue Cooke declared for the 2002 NBA draft but no one chose him. He bounced around a number of minor league basketball leagues. Cooke now admits one of his problems he never worked as hard as LeBron or Carmelo Anthony his contemporaries.
“You knew the job was dangerous when you took it”
This is referencing a mid ‘60’s ABC Network cartoon titled Super Chicken. Super Chicken as with all super heroes had a sidekick this one named Fred. His line in every episode to Fred; “You knew the job was dangerous when you took it.” That line could be echoed by the Sixers Ben Simmons but it’s got nothing to do with his NBA team. He’s making news unrelated to his injury; he was recruited to LSU by his godfather (true). He’s criticized the NCAA claiming “The players get nothing.” Yes Simmons attended LSU, several folks claimed he might have done himself a disservice by attending a school other than LSU.
Johnny Jones might not be the right guy to improve your overall game, in addition despite the shadow of Pete Maravich, Shaquille O’Neal and others LSU is a football school. I wasn’t privy to the hurdle but it appeared at times the team (including Simmons) were not always on the same page. That fact alone reflects directly toward the head coach. As for the “pay for play” issue Simmons raised I’ve long believed the time has come to pay athletes. My belief it should be equal, a tennis player should receive the same stipend as a football lineman.
