Basketball from a fans perspective
Two minute report
I dread the two-minute report the NBA is now using. Coaches, fans and the media have been complaining about fouls and the like since 1947. All the NBA is doing is providing evidence of errors. Games are officiated by human beings and not robots mistakes are going to be made. Athletes don’t make errors on purpose and neither do officials. Why reinforce the belief errors occur with the conspiracy theorists.
NCAA Championships
The game today between Kentucky and Kansas is not to decide the NCAA Championship however it did cause me to wonder. Which team has the most Division I championships?
UCLA-11
Kentucky-8
Indiana, North Carolina, Duke-5
Kansas, UConn-4
Louisville-3
Oklahoma A&M (now State)-2
San Francisco-2
Cincinnati-2
North Carolina State-2
Florida-2
Villanova-2
Of all the champions City College of New York City has the most unique, they managed to win the NCAA and NIT Championship in the same year. In 1950 City College won the NIT and was later invited to play in the NCAA Tournament which they won over Bradley 71--68. Of course this would be impossible today far too many teams are now invited to the NCAA Tournament. A side note that CCNY team was involved in a point-shaving scandal however the double win remains recognized by the NCAA and NIT.
Can you say implosion?
I’m sure most expected the Bulls to be a playoff contender in 2016-17. The Bulls added talented but mercurial guard Rajon Rondo and Dwayne Wade arrived from the Heat. Robin Lopez came in the Derrick Rose trade replacing Pau Gasol. Fans were energized they would witness an improved team over the one that finished two games above .500 (42.40). As this is the written the Bulls might find it difficult to duplicate last season, as this is written at the end of January the team stands 23-25.
The upside to this negative picture they could still reach the playoffs in the “weak” Eastern Conference. The circumstances are not necessarily in order but the individuals named are contributors to the discourse. Rondo returned to his ME attitude and was demoted to the bench. The “Benchitis” infection spread throughout the team as All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Dwayne Wade saw the game from the bench as well. There are too many issues and too little space to detail all the issues. Has Fred Hoiberg lost this team, that’s likely the question being asked by fans and management too?
“Get him the ball”
I’ve written previously 7-6 300 pound Tacko Fall is extremely raw, despite this issue he‘s managed to average 13.1 ppg and 10.6 rebounds so far this season. His weakness is lack of strength, which might sound strange for someone weighing 300 pounds. In Tacko’s case its true, its upper body strength which causes him to “lose” rebounds to smaller players. Most bothersome to me is on the offensive end of the court for UCF.
I’ve witnessed two consecutive games Tacko registered a gigantic “goose egg." In those games the opposition played a zone defense denying UCF guards the opportunity to pass the ball to Tacko. It seems a basketball novice could see Central Florida needs a zone buster. A player able to force the opposition into man to man coverage. The remaining games on UCF schedules will be available on ESPN or CBS Sports Network; I’m going to see if Coach Dawkins fixes the problem this fan sees.
