Another brother
Mizzou fans have been salivating about the Porter brothers Michael Jr. and Jontay. Younger brother Jontay has not declared yet however the belief is he might be headed to Mizzou too. At the same time did you realize there is one other brother playing in high school? Coban is a 6-2 freshman guard and you might be puzzled by his stature, his brothers stand 6-10 and 6-9. It’s highly likely he will grow his game and his stature over the next few years. Coban was on the 29-0 Nathan Hale state champion team.
Waiting…..
For years the NBA through former Commissioner David Stern cultivated the basketball climate in China. The NBA sent its players and others to the nation over the years. Yao Ming was a talent at the time he arrived in the NBA but had to prove to skeptics he could play the game. Injuries cut short his career however his impact on the game is immeasurable especially in China. In 2016 two players were drafted although both remain at play in China‘s pro league.
Wang Zhelin drafted by the Grizzlies and Zhou Qi by the Rockets are the two. What about the future of basketball in China, it could be high school prospect Kevin Zhang. Unlike the past Zhang is not playing in China he’s playing in the basketball hotbed of Indiana. The 6-7 prospect is enrolled at basketball power house La Lumiere in LaPorte and continues to develop his game according to his coach. Zhang has one more year ahead of him before he attempts the college game.
Draft the best athlete
Realizing this is the NBA and not the NFL but a little history. The old NFL Cowboys under GM Tex Schramm and Coach Tom Landry drafted the best athlete. Never mind they might have 3 wide receivers or 5 linebackers on the roster. They would draft the player and work a trade for a player they might need or depth at a particular position. Where am I going with this account, NBADraft.Net and DraftXpress.com have the Celtics picking Markelle Fultz. Don’t the Celtics already have 2X All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas? The June draft should be interesting for the Celtics.
I did a double take, Matt Barnes pitching; doesn’t he play for the Warriors? It turns out there is a pitcher for the Red Sox with the same name. I thought for a moment “there are probably other sports celebrities with the same name”, I decided to conduct a little research. We begin with Roy William’s long-time basketball coach at North Carolina. Roy Williams was a wide receiver for a number of NFL teams most notably the Cowboys at one time.
We know of Hall of Fame athlete Kareem Abdul Jabbar; fewer remember running back Karim Abdul Jabbar. Both changed their names however Karim’s name was bestowed on him much later than Cap. Mark Jackson played for a number of NBA teams during his career, former coach and now an analyst for ESPN/ABC. Marc Jackson played in the NBA for a number of teams during a 9 year career. There’s been only one Magic however there have been two Johnson’s with the same name different spelling. Earvin “Magic” Johnson enough said, the other Ervin Johnson played at New Orleans University and spent 13 years in the NBA.
By the time Larry Johnson arrived to play for the Knicks his “Grandmamma” days were over, he played at UNLV and was an NCAA Champion in 1990. Running back Larry Johnson had a rather pedestrian career for the NFL most of it spent with the Chiefs. We have the late Hall of Fame Baltimore Bullet Gus Johnson and Gus Johnson play by play announcer for the NFL and college basketball. NFL Larry Brown has long been retired, basketball Coach Larry Brown is 77-years old and we are still not sure he’s fully retired. This certainly shouldn't be considered complete just a few of the names I managed to uncover in my research.
