Basketball from a fans perspective
The plan all along
Once again I hope this is the last time for me. If you check out Wednesday's ESPN NBA and college basketball page you will note an interesting story. It's titled "How LaVar Ball trolled his way to the top" the story details how LaVar Ball came from virtually nowhere a year or so ago to succeed in receiving more tweets than his family members.
The NBA in China
I cannot do justice to this account only provide my view and what I've read. At the same time this is only a thumbnail sketch and is not reflective of a complete picture. NBA might be more popular in China than any other nation of the world except here. The question might be why and how? A number of Americans assume it is the Yao Ming factor however it goes far beyond him. History says the NBA took the game to China in 1979 the Bullets (Wizards) played games in Beijing and Shanghai which of course is long prior to Yao's arrival.
Chinese television CCTV televised all seven games of the 1994 NBA Championship the first time ever. The NBA has continued viewership through CCTV and satellite feeds throughout the country. Nowhere is Kobe Bryant more popular than in China, he's made several off-season trips there. A number of former NBA players have played in the Chinese Basketball Association including Stephon Marbury, Marbury has a statue erected in his honor. Injuries forced Yao Ming to retire in 2011 however that's had little impact on the growth of the game in China. The Rockets drafted Zhou Qi in 2016 and the 7-1 Zhou was added to the roster this year, will he become the next Yao?
Could it happen again?
A series of events allowed Michael Porter Jr. and younger brother Jontay to arrive at Mizzou rather than the original choice the University of Washington. We might have a repeat of that scenario based on somewhat similar events with Courtney Ramey. Ramey is a 6 foot point guard from Webster Groves (MO) and the number 39 prospect in Rivals Class of 2018 athletes.
Ramey committed to Louisville but once the Justice Department probe reached Louisville the youngster changed his mind and decided to open his recruitment again. The St. Louis area athlete and family met with St. Louis area head coach Cuonzo Martin and staff. Is Ramey headed to Mizzou you ask? Nothing official however don't be surprised if he winds up in Black and Gold, my question remains why couldn't Kim Anderson do the same i.e. recruit St. Louis metro kids?
Play in any era
It could be 1960 or 2017 there are a number of players I believe could play at any period of time. Michael Jordan comes to mind so does LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. We might include Dr. J. and Kareem, there are others I omitted not on purpose but just to give you an idea we might be discussing the best all-time. but you get the idea. Recently I read a list of best all-time NBA point guards and the majority I had no argument with them being included on the list. Truth be told I had no issue with any of the players named in the publication just the order they were placed. Russell Westbrook ranked higher than Gary Payton, how about Bob Cousy in the top 5? Does Kyrie Irving deserve space in an all-time, how about Steph Curry?
Probably haven't heard of them
Their names might be unfamiliar to you, Donald De La Haye UCF kicker and Ryan Trayhan Texas A&M cross country runner. Both got in trouble with the NCAA but not for the reasons you might suspect. Both were profiting off their YouTube videos, so I pose the question. These athletes were likely earning money but nowhere near the projected amount a Melo Ball could earn from a signature shoe. I can already see the future, "LaVar Ball come down heavy on the NCAA claims son Melo will play in China or Europe and then take his talent to the NBA."
