Basketball from a fans perspective

Toughest job in basketball

There was a time coaching basketball at the collegiate level was somewhat safe.  By safe meant a successful coach could have time to build his program the worst shape the more time allowed.  That view went out of style at some point in the last 10-15 years.  You don’t win enough or turn a program around you will soon find yourself looking for another job, change has accelerated in recent years.  SI.com listed 13 coaches who might have the toughest job in college basketball.  They say it’s Patrick Ewing taking over at Georgetown or Cuonzo Martin at Mizzou. 

On the other hand, it could be Chris Holtman who took over the Ohio State program after Thad Matta was fired.  It could be at Cal or Dayton or several other schools We cannot include Rick Pitino in this discussion his termination was different from others who lost their job. Sidebar, I wondered about Avery Johnson at Alabama a coach with nothing but NBA coaching experience, Johnson has adjusted much better than I expected.  Back to my original theme, I believe Ewing might have the easiest path because he’s not expected to win. 

“The truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth”

Former Louisville Coach Rick Pitino says he passed a lie detector test.  The only problem with is this, in 1998 the United States Supreme Court deemed lie detectors as unreliable.  If they could offer proof of anything don’t you think the courts would utilize them?  Sorry Rick you may indeed be innocent but just stating you took a lie detector test and passed it is no proof of innocence. 

I’m okay with this

The USA Today Top 25 Poll was released and to no one’s surprise Duke is listed number one.  Number 2 might be a surprise Michigan State coming off a 20-15 record from last season is there.  As for number 3 its Kansas and the question again will the Jayhawks be dethroned this year in the Big 12?  Chomping at their heels are West Virginia (10) and Baylor (24) however I wouldn’t hold my breath we hear the same story every year. 

As for the others Kentucky is listed at 4 and surprise, surprise Wichita State is number 10.  Number 25 is Alabama, you ask where is Mizzou, they might have the best player in the nation in Michael Porter Jr. Mizzou received votes but didn’t make the Top 25 and I’m okay with the ranking.  I think until they have a few games under their belt they will be the Tiger cubs.  Louisville is listed at 16.

It’s not fair

The comparison was natural because they are very similar in style.  In this instance it might only be me. I made this statement quite a while ago how unfair it is to compare player A with player B.  With the disclaimer out of the way allow me to proceed with that a comparison of one former player to a present one. After watching Ben Simmons in action much of his game reminds me of Lamar Odom, both are 6-10 and left-handed. 

Despite their height Simmons is adept at distributing the basketball although Simmons appears slightly better than Odom.  Simmons is not a particularly good shooter something he’s certainly got time to improve, if you remember Odom was an ordinary from distance.  The second disclaimer is this, there is no guarantee of future stardom for Simmons however it appears he’s gotten off to a good start in the NBA.  

Miles Bridges

Michigan State and Tom Izzo are normally winners, last year’s 20-15 (10-8 Big 10) is quite surprising considering the school and the coaches history. The outcome should be different this year, Miles Bridges expected to be a lottery pick chose to return for his sophomore year.  Bridges is a 6-7 230-pound small forward/guard, he was Second Team All-Big Ten, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. 

You can see where I’m going with this I hope.  Nearly 17 points and 9 rebounds a game plus 2.1 assists and nearly 2 blocks a game are impressive numbers for a high school player adjusting to college basketball.  Tom Izzo is adding a 5-star and 4-star athlete to the roster which already includes Bridges.  This probably gives us an idea why improvement is expected at Michigan State for the 2017-18 season.