Basketball from a fans perspective
Politics of the day
The November presidential election continues to reverberate through basketball once again. This time it involves Under Armour and it's inroads in the shoe and apparel market. They have a small number of NBA players under contract and chief among them is the Warriors Steph Curry. CEO Kevin Plank came out in support of the Trump White House stating; “He can be an asset to the nation.” Contacted for his response Curry’s tone was slightly different. Curry asked about Plank’s statement; “I agree with that statement if you remove the ET”.
Curry further stated; “There is no platform I wouldn’t jump off if it wasn’t in line with who I am.” Curry signed through 2024 so he certainly isn’t heading to any shoe rival but there is this. Plank as an owner has a right to his own political take however Curry is not an employee in a true sense of the word. He’s got an obligation to speak his mind as he believes. As for Under Armour as the franchise continues to expand its operations how will it sell in the black community? Will young black basketball players continue to wear the shoe and apparel?
Recruiting
I said I would no longer discuss Mizzou basketball unless a significant event occurred. The event occurred on a Saturday as the Tigers upset the Arkansas Razorbacks in Columbia (MO); the 13 game losing streak was finally over. I stated this at the time of the Kim Anderson hire and repeated it again, I don’t believe there is a difference in coaching Division I versus Division II. In 12 years as head coach of the University of Central Missouri Anderson’s record read
274-94. One of those wins include the 2014 NCAA Division II Championship.
That’s only a small portion of the accolades Anderson’s received over his career. Mizzou has never been a hotbed for basketball recruits however at one time the talent was superior to what we witness now. Missing from the two major cities are athletes, the Tigers have one player from St. Louis and one from Blue Springs a Kansas City suburb that’s it. Recruiting in-state talent is not going to resolve the issue alone but would go a long-way toward the growth of Mizzou’s program. So there you have it a fix for what has become a disastrous basketball season.
NBA Europe
The NBA returned to Europe and London so its time once again. Time to visit again former Commissioner Stern’s desire to expand the game to Europe. Although NFL Europe closed its doors several years ago it was far different there was no similar sport in Europe. The NBA Euro talk has ceased with Commissioner Silver although he wants the NBA to continue a world wide presence. .
Basketball has long existed in Europe adding NBA teams in larger cities might cause attendance problems for a few Euro League teams. Would the Euro League consider this an excursion into their territory? Until we develop supersonic airliners travel will always be an impediment to expansion. The NBA in Europe if it’s modeled after the NFL model certainly could work. The Paris NBA team would only play the Munich NBA team or some other Euro team as an example. NBA Europe teams should never leave the continent.
Black history moment
The late John Wooden is a legend in college basketball. His teams and players at UCLA read like a who’s who, Alcindor, Wilkes, Walton and others. This story occurred long before Wooden arrived at UCLA, his story begins at Indiana State. In 1947 his Indiana State team finished 17-8 and was invited to the NAIB the forerunner of today’s NAIA. Wooden declined the invitation his Indiana State had one black player on its roster Clarence Walker. At that time the NAIB had a rule no black players were allowed. The next year (1948) Wooden’s team was even better finishing 27-7 and was invited once again to the NAIB Tournament.
This time they accepted because the NAIB changed its rules strictly because of Wooden’s complaint. In the pantheon of civil rights this might appear to be just a blip but see how it helps changed the landscape of America. Indiana native Wooden wasn’t going to hear of one of his players mistreated or discriminated against no matter where it occurred. In the fall of 1948 Wooden moved on to UCLA where he remained until his retirement at the end of the 1975 season. Wooden’s first NCAA Championship team (1964) was lead by two black players center Fred Slaughter and guard Walt Hazzard.
