Basketball from a fans perspective
They chose the ABA
Several stories have been written about ABA players who left the new league for the more established NBA. Julius "Dr. J." Erving, Spencer Haywood and George McGinnis are just a few of the number. Rarely discussed are the players who left the NBA for the ABA. The first and probably the biggest name at the time might be that of Rick Barry. After winning NBA Rookie of the Year honors in 1966 as a member of the San Francisco Warriors he left them for the Oakland Oaks but didn't begin play until 1968. The Warriors went to gone and received an injunction preventing him from playing. Barry distinguished himself in the ABA prior to his return to the Golden State Warriors in 1972. Barry is now in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame.
Another who moved to the ABA was the late Zelmo Beaty. Drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in 1962 he would remain a Hawk until 1969 when he left for the ABA Utah Stars he did return to the NBA and the Lakers in 1975. Beaty is also enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. The last player we discuss is Billy Cunningham, the 6-7 forward was drafted in 1965 by the Sixers and played for theme until 1972. He left that year for the Carolina Cougars, Cunningham would eventually return to the Sixers prior to his retirement and eventually would serve as head coach of the team that drafted him. Similar to the others profiled Cunningham is also enshrined in both halls of fame.
I hope you saw the report
The news/variety program Inside Edition rarely covers anything related to basketball to my knowledge prior to November 16. On that particular evening a report dealt with arenas and stadiums and the steepness of upper deck seats. Barclays Center in Brooklyn and Golden 1 in Sacramento were two of the arenas profiled in the report. There have been a number of injuries sustained by patrons attending events in these buildings.
The upper deck seats at Barclays is the steepest in the nation at a 37 degree angle while Golden 1 was 35. I was mistaken in my belief, I thought it was a design effort to squeeze as many spectators in a building as possible. Not so an arena architect indicated these and other arenas are designed to allow unobstructed view of the court/rink/stage. Those upper deck seats might be less expensive they could also prove to be somewhat dangerous.
He could have played basketball too
Drew lock is one of those guys, a talented athlete who plays football but might have been just as competent on the basketball court. Lock was a 6-4 shooting guard at Lees Summit High School in suburban Kansas City. Rivals rated Lock a 4-star prospect and the likes of Kentucky, Louisville, Notre Dame and Michigan State were recruiting him for basketball.
Lock chose Mizzou for football but indicated he hoped to play basketball as well. Once enrolled Lock decided in favor of football and in his junior year his record is outstanding. Lock's tossed 36 touchdown passes as this is written, he's close to the all-time SEC record of 40. The belief Lock could have been just as outstanding on the basketball court if he'd chosen basketball.
Bits n Pieces
The Clippers had good news and bad! The good they finally won a basketball game after suffering a nine game losing streak. The bad news point guard made a quick return and exit, he's now loss for the season. Doc your son ain't gonna cut it as Beverly's replacement.
Was it just losing or revenge for Thunder guard Russell Westbrook? It's likely adjustment issues for George, Anthony and Westbrook to merge their talents. After playing an inspired game he got in Kevin Durant's face and were exchanging words. Durant smiled and walked away, we shall see if this feud continues into the future.
I can't really refer to the game as an upset, number 13 Notre Dame came back from a large deficit to defeat number 6 Wichita State 67-66. My view I think Mike Bray out coached Gregg Marshall down the stretch of the Maui Classic "classic" Wichita State had a 19-point lead at a point in the game.
Long Beach State has a veteran coach in Dan Monson. I admit up front I have no idea about LBS, did they return a number of players from last season? Are they projected to be a power in the Big West Conference. Mizzou raced out to a double-digit lead as Jontay Porter led the way. Will he make up for the loss of his big brother? Only time will answer that question, Porter, Jeremiah Tilmon, Kevin Puryear and Jordan Geist led the way to a 95-58 victory. Porter had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocked shots while Geist had 15 points.
