Basketball from a fans perspective                                                                                        
The International NBA
I’m not the guardian of the truth or accuracy for that matter.  For reasons I’m unsure Colin 
Ward-Henniger of CBS Sports.com decided to compile a list of the Top 50 International players of each nation.  Some of the names are easy, for Germany he selected Dirk Nowitzki, although just entering his third year he chose Kristaps Porzingis as Lativa’s best ever, as for others he caused me to scratch my head.  “Why was it necessary to select a player from every nation considering several had average or below average careers?”  

Just a few examples to note first up Eduardo Najera from Mexico he was selected strictly on the basis of a 12-year NBA career.  Australia’s Andrew Bogut has been very serviceable considering he was the top pick in the 2005 draft his numbers are only average.  How about Vlad Radmanovic of Bosnia and Herzegovia or Joel Embiid from Cameroon?  This shouldn’t be considered an indictment of Ward-Hennigers effort he picked more good and great players than subpar but again why chose several just because they were on an NBA roster.  

Did you see the tweet?
The Knicks sent a tweet touting season tickets with photos of players.  In the tweet/photo was rookie Frank Ntilinina, Kristap Porzingis and Wily Hernangomez.  You might ask where Carmelo Anthony was so did a bunch of folks?  It’s been mentioned on several occasions he remains a Knick until he approves a trade.  The logical spot now has got to be Houston although I didn’t say it would be the best move.  

The best move would be for Anthony to land with the Cavs but that’s not likely to occur now with the Kyrie Irving-Isaiah Thomas trade.  The Cavs have Jae Crowder and Jeff Green at the small forward and adding Carmelo Anthony means someone might be history.  Would LeBron move to power forward and the team place Anthony at the small forward?  Long-term not exciting however short-term the Rockets might be the better destination for Anthony.    

This is old news but………
7-6 270 pound Tacko Fall decided he wasn’t ready for the NBA.  He withdrew his name and decided in favor of returning to University of Central Florida.  I could be wrong but it’s likely the youngster might wind up in the NBA as a specialist only.  Fall can certainly block shots and intimidate but that’s about all.  Despite packing 270 pounds on his frame he doesn’t appear very strong, I witnessed smaller lighter players snatch rebounds from his grasp.  Never say never and that is the case with Mr. Fall he works and learns through his junior and senior year………

I just read the headline
Gordon Hayward and Isaish Thomas jerseys being burned caused LeBron James to make a comment.  The headline read; “LeBron goes on rant over fans burning jerseys.”  First off the jersey burners certainly have a great deal more money than me.  NBA jerseys range anyway from $60 to $300 if they are autographed, who’s got that type of money to just burn..  

If a jersey were fire damaged accidentally that’s understandable but to intentionally burn one I’m with LeBron.  The last point is simple you are upset with your favorite player being traded or signing a free agent contract.  You have a right to be upset but burning a jersey doesn’t make a great deal of sense to me.  Just my view, what do I know?

Changing times
The civil rights issues of the 1950’s and 1960’s changed a number of the social aspects facing the nation.  This change was certainly quite evident on the basketball courts of America.  Up to that time the vast majority of black athletes attended colleges in the northern portion of the nation or west coast.  Black athletes in the south played basketball (and other sports) at black institutions of learning located in the southern region of the country.  Schools such as Jackson State, Grambling, Prairie View and Texas Southern produced a wealth of athletes for the NBA and NFL.  Tennessee A&I (now Tennessee State) and Kentucky State won the NAIA Basketball Championship three years in a row.  

Many of the stars of these teams went on to success at the NBA level but America’s social change witnessed change in enrollment.  No longer were southern black athletes only welcome at northern schools, Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU and others reached out to these players offering scholarships.  The schools now referred to as HBCU’s (Historically Black Colleges & Universities) saw the pool of talent dry up almost at once.  No longer could Grambling produce a Willis Reed or Winston-Salem send an Earl Monroe to the NBA.  These colleges and universities continue to send forth players to the NBA and NFL but numbers significantly reduced over those of the 1950’s and 1960’s.