Basketball from a fans perspective

I’m not a hater
LeBron James is a great talent, he’s got two advantages the first he’s extremely talented. The second he arrived in the NBA directly from high school, the former players he surpassing had 3 or 4 years of college at the time they came into the NBA.  They were 22, 23 or maybe 24 years of age before they scored their first basket or dished out their first assist in the NBA.  LeBron was 18 or 19 when he accomplished the same task. Don’t just take my word check out the All-Time NBA leaders in points, assists, rebounds etc.  You’ll discover the information I’m proving is correct, I’m not a hater I just want to set the record straight.

He’s not getting traded
DeMarcus ‘Boogie’ Cousins is a talented player, he’s also a troubled one.  He appears to sometimes suffer anger issues.  His run in with a reporter caused him to be fined a substation amount of money.  Despite the anger issues despite all the negatives the Kings will not trade him.  An example was his game against the Blazers, he scored 55 points had 13 rebounds.  In addition in the same game the 6-11 Cousins was 5-8 from the 3-point line. Never say never, two possibilities both involving trades.  The Kings decide they could receive a wealth of talent in a trade or pending free-agency and him walking they decide on a trade. 

Time for a change
I speak as no voice of authority however it is my belief it is time for a change, Mizzou has yet to begin conference play but I see danger signs little if any improved play. I hoped for a win against Arizona I didn’t expect a loss against Eastern Illinois and at home no less. I’m borrowing the term Mizzou basketball is in a free fall, I’ve stated in the past and will repeat an earlier statement. I don’t believe Kim Anderson is a bad coach however he took on an impossible coaching job at least for now. 

Why has coaching this program turned into such an impossible task? There are probably 100 reasons and I can only provide one----Mike Alden. There is no method of correcting the problem now but it lies directly at the feet of former AD Alden. The last four coaches including Kim Anderson have all been hired by the departed Alden. Snyder left about to be fired, Anderson took the Arkansas job one he’d coveted for a number of years. 

Haith would leave under a cloud of suspension related to his days at Miami. Anderson former Mizzou player and assistant coach arrived with a sparkling record at NCAA Div II University of Central Missouri. In truth Anderson should have been hired at the time long time Coach Norm Stewart was forced to retire. I refuse to root for failure I wouldn’t do that lets just say I’m extremely disappointed. Mizzou with or without Anderson will never attract McDonald’s All-Americans, they should be able to recruit enough second tier talent for the program to be successful. 

There are just too many schools that continue to be competitive without McDonald’s All Americans on the roster. It was good for Mizzou to show loyalty to Kim Anderson but I believe it’s time for him to be replaced. Mizzou needs a coach who can do two things recruit and coach, the school must bit the bullet pay the money and hire a name coach.

Draft by talent or position?
We’ve got months to go before the 2017 NBA Draft but I’m speculating already; the basis for this account is DraftExpress.com’s mock draft.  Consider bottom teams must participate in the lottery so this order is unlikely to occur however let’s suppose it does. Three of the first four prospects on the list are point guards and all are freshman.  There is no guarantee they are headed for the NBA in the June draft but it is interesting.  

Markelle Fultz-Washington
Dennis Smith-North Carolina State
Lonzo Ball-UCLA

As this is written I’ve only seen two of the three play Ball and Smith, both appeared highly skilled. I began this story by asking ‘do you draft by talent or position‘.  Do the Sixers draft one of the prospects with the anticipation of Ben Simmons passing skill?  The Celtics have the talented IsaiahThomas and the Heat with the 30-year on Goran Dragic at the point.  Then we have the Wolves with Rubio currently the starter being pushed by Zach LaVine and Kris Dunn.