Basketball from a fans perspective
Numbers look good
After Larry Brown abruptly left SMU I haven’t checked the program until now. I’d forgotten there remained a semi-local connection on the teams’ roster. Power forward Semi Ojeleye from Ottawa (KS) remains at SMU. Ottawa is about an hour drive southwest of Kansas City (MO), Ojeleye graduated from Ottawa High in 2013 and set a State of Kansas boys scoring record. He chose Duke and got lost (my belief) in the numbers.
The shorten version Ojeleye left for SMU to play for Coach Larry Brown, he would red-shirt last season preparing for his junior year. He’s led the way to a 7-3 record as the team leader in scoring (17.8 ppg) and tied for the team lead in rebounds with 7.6 per game. This is no prediction of future stardom however once Ojeleye “escaped” from Duke he’s at least to date proven he’s a solid Division I talent.
A muddled picture
Where ever one chooses to live usually there are few complaints otherwise you‘d move elsewhere. Kansas City (MO) I was born and here grew up here and plan on remaining here the remainder of my life. The city and metro offer much of what I desire for entertainment and living purposes. No concrete jungles here no need to venture far there is plenty of green inside the city.
The city and metro face the same problems as other urban areas of the nation inner city blight and crime but overall Kansas City is a good place to live. As for the sports picture that might be slightly different story, as a kid I would hear “Kansas City is a great sports town.” I might add it’s great if you have a local connection; Kansas and Mizzou at the college level have no issues filling Sprint Center near capacity.
In 1989 the McDonalds Game was held in Kansas City at Kemper Arena, 9,419 folks attended in a building that seats 17,000. That game featured Shaquille O’Neal playing for the West Team and Bobby Hurley playing for the East squad, MVP Shaq led the way as the West won 112-103. Shaq was headed for LSU in the fall and Hurley to Duke.
The CBE Hall of Fame Classic held every year at Sprint Center seems to suffer attendance issues unless Kansas, Kansas State or Mizzou are in the field. The NFL Chiefs and the baseball Royals popularity totally dominate the sports picture in this metro of 2.2 million. As for the professional teams we are consumed by Royals baseball in the spring and summer, Chiefs football in the fall and winter.
California trifecta
Chino Hills is located in San Bernardo County some 40 miles from Staples Center. Chino Hills is a city of 75,000+ people and home to the Ball family. The eldest of the brothers Lonzo is a 6-6 point guard; he’s a freshman at UCLA but is likely headed to the NBA next season. The middle brother LiAngelo is a 6-5 shooting guard at Chino Hills High and a senior, the point guard is little brother LaMelo stands 6-1.
LaMelo is the youngest brother and also the smallest however don’t allow his height to fool you. He’s likely to continue growing and at least be near the stature of his brothers. Chino Hills beat Las Vegas Gorman High on Friday evening 84-70. As for Chino Hills they were the 2016 Open Division State Tournament in California finishing the season with a
35-0 record. The win on Friday gave Chino Hills a 6-0 record in this early season. Dad LaVar claims Chino Hills will go undefeated once again this season.
Why is this still a story?
Phil Jackson stands 6-7 and I’m not even six feet tall, Phil Jackson doesn’t require me to defend him but I am anyway. Two weeks ago I wrote my belief the comments he made about LeBron James and his business associates was misplaced. Why this topic now, the story continues as one former player after another provides his view of Phil Jackson. Carmelo Anthony’s name has been drawn into the conversation. It’s Sunday evening December 11th and Phil Jackson remains a story although I question why. Phil Jackson is not going to apologize for his miss-statement so there I said it.
