Basketball from a fans perspective
In Ancient Times
With the television schedule today of the NCAA Tournament it’s practically impossible for you to miss your favorite team in action. That’s not always been the case once upon a time CBS held the exclusive rights to the tournament. Although the games were televised from 11:00 a.m. till 8:30 p.m. on CBS unless they chose your game you had no opportunity to see it. Updates would be provided and occasionally CBS might cut-away to a game that might be tied or undecided near the end. Nowadays if you miss your team play it’s your own fault, the games have been “farmed” out to three other television networks. Fans now have the opportunity to view the round of early games on TruTV, TBS, TNT or CBS.
“Damn we in a tight spot”
In the movie “O Brother, Where Art Thou” George Clooney’s character uttered the line above. Trapped by law enforcement in a barn he uttered the words “we in a tight spot” three times in less than maybe 4 minutes. The Cavs could be making the same statement too it appears the team is in free-fall. March has not been good to the defending champions; they might not yet be in a tight spot. They are solidly in the playoffs, the downside they should be playing their best basketball heading toward the end of the season. There certainly is time to right the ship and defend their crown; it’s been awhile since a LeBron team has been in second place leading into the playoffs.
Uphold Big 12 prestige
It was up to TCU to uphold the prestige of the “physically powerful” Big 12 Conference; I have difficulty believing this conference is what they claim. In any event TCU beat Georgia Tech
88-56 to win the NIT Tournament. Congratulations Coach Jamie Dixon and the TCU squad.
AP Player of the Year
Kansas point guard Frank Mason III was selected Associated Press Player of the Year. I checked his numbers for the past season including the NCAA Tournament; they were up across the board. It appeared his teammates were sometimes on a roller coaster Mason remained the only steady hand at the point guard. Congratulations are certainly in order for the senior guard.
The Rooney Rule
If you follow the NFL you are familiar with the Rooney Rule. As for others the NFL several years ago realizing it needed diversity in its head coaching ranks instituted the policy. The simple explanation every time a job becomes available each NFL team must interview a minority applicant to fill a head coaching position. You ask the question how come there is no similar rule in college or the NBA. I’m glad you asked the question and there is a simple answer in my view. For a variety of reasons the NBA moved at a swifter pace than major colleges, the first pro coach was the late John McLendon not Bill Russell as most believe. In 1966 Russell became player-coach of the Celtics the first black coach in the NBA.
In 1961 the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League hired McClendon who would actually be the first black coach in professional basketball. As for the college ranks they moved a little slower Will Robinson was hired in 1970 by Illinois State becoming the first black coach in Division I. Since Robinson’s hire a number of Division I basketball programs have continued to hire black coaches. For unexplained reasons the NBA and collegiate ranks has proven to be a more fertile ground for black coaches than NFL or college football, I once read an NBA owner in the ‘70’s indicated a desire to hire a black coach but failed to follow through due to a pre-conceived outcome.
The owner said; “I was afraid my team might be picketed by civil rights groups if I was forced to fire the coach.” As this story is completed Mizzou, North Carolina State, Cleveland State, Oklahoma State, Cal and Dayton all hired black coaches believing they were the best potential leaders for the school’s program. Perhaps the answer is simpler than we might guess; many black coaches in the NBA and college basketball have proven to be successful. The numbers might be similar for football provided coaches in the NFL or college football were given the same type of opportunity. The 2015 census indicates the State of Wyoming has a 1.5% black population, the University of Wyoming has a black head men’s’ basketball coach.
