Basketball from a fans perspective
I can’t pronounce his name?
It’s
\YAHN-iss ah-deh-toh-KOON-boh\ according to Basketball Reference.com a.k.a. “The Greek Freak.” I’m attempting to provide a pronunciation
guide since practically everyone in the NBA cannot properly say his name
correctly. That included yours truly
until I listen to him pronounce it. Giannis
Antekokounmpo was born in Greece December 6, 1994 which would indicate he’s 22
about to turn 23 years of age. Although
he was born in Greece his parents emigrated to the country from their native
Nigeria in West Africa.
Giannis
stands 6-11 weighs 222 pounds is a giant man with guard skills, he’s got a 7-foot
wingspan plus he runs like a deer. The
Bucks made him the 15th pick in the first round of the 2013 NBA
Draft. If you check out his numbers they
have gone up each year since his NBA debut, the highlight for many is the
assist totals. Two years ago, it 4.3 per
game and last year 5.4, what other current Big Man has similar assist
totals? I’ll save you from checking and
just say none. Giannis has been a star
on the rise since his NBA debut and at this point the Bucks need to get him
some help.
Boogie
This would-feature DeMarcus
“Boogie” Cousins returning to Sac Town for his first game since the trade. Anthony Davis would be sidelined for the game,
so no twin tower effort would occur this evening. At the end of the night the box score would point
to a 41 point 23 rebound 6 assist game.
In it was highly accurate shooting as he registered 44 minutes on the
court while shooting .560 from the floor.
Boogie led the way as his Pelican team subdued the Kings 114-106.
Unusual Names
I
cannot use World B. Free, Metta World Peace, they were Lloyd Free and Ron
Artest respectfully before changing their names AFTER they arrive in the
NBA. My intent in this account was to
provide unusual names that were either birth names or those given early in
life, enjoy.
God
Shammgod-His name is Shammgod Wells, there were legal
issues causing him to name change.
Fat
Lever-As children his baby sister couldn’t
pronounce Lafayette it came out as Fat.
Bimbo
Coles-His birth name is Vernell.
Bol
Bol-born in the U.S. however his family is
from South Sudan in Central Africa.
Tree
Rollins-Wayne stood 7-1 so perhaps the nickname was
appropriate.
Sleepy
Floyd-His given name is Eric.
Pooh
Richardson-It’s Jerome.
Spud
Webb-Anthony Jerome is the name.
Tacko
Fall-His first name is Elhadji, he’s from Senegal
in West Africa.
This
list should not be considered complete just a few of the names I could
locate.
The Windy City
I’m
unsure if Chicago is the windiest city in the nation however that’s a
nickname. Winds of change has been
evident for several years with the cities basketball team but there’s a
problem. We’ve seen little if any
success from a high of 50 wins in the 2014-15 they have gone backward 42-42 and
last season .500 41-41. In 2015 Iowa State’s
Fred Hoiberg took over and his Bulls teams have gone 83-81. Often injured native son Derrick Rose left
and native son Dwayne Wade arrived, Wade has now departed too.
The
Bulls have been a revolving door, so many players have arrived and left in that
time it’s difficult to list all of them.
One of the departed was Jimmy Butler who certainly became a star while
wearing a Bulls jersey. This proud
franchise has fallen on tough times recently and in truth the injury to Rose
impacted the team greatly, but he wasn’t alone.
Rajon Rondo was added in the belief he would duplicate his Celtic play
and that proved to be a mistake of gigantic proportions. As this is written they have begun the season
with an 0-2 record.
WOW!!!
Last
season you could toss a rock into the stands from the Mizzou Arena floor and
you might not hit anyone. All that’s
changed for the 2017-18 season, the school announced only single game tickets
remain FOR THE SEASON! What a
drastic change from prior seasons when “Lots of fans showed up dressed as
seats.” The 15,000-seat Mizzou Arena should
really be raucous this season. Perhaps it can become as intimidating to
opposing teams as Cameron, the Dean Dome or Rupp Arena.
