Basketball from a fans
perspective
“It’s not a big deal”
This is not to pass judgment on the guilt or
innocence of LiAngelo Ball and his two teammates. This is aimed at LaVar the dad who continues
to remain defiant and obstinate in his demeanor. This is my response if LiAngelo is my son and
a reporter places a microphone in front of me.
There are two, “No comment” or “I love my son” and leave it there. Instead LaVar Ball says; “It’s not a big
deal,” it is a big deal LaVar this is China and not the U.S. The judicial system is totally different,
legal experts claim young Ball and his teammates could be forced to remain in
China. If the trio is found guilty they
could receive a minimum of three years in prison, LaVar it is a big deal despite
your rather cavalier comment.
Kings front-office
decisions
On more than one occasion I’ve mentioned the
Kings (in Kansas City) missed drafting Moses Malone in the ABA dispersal draft. I also stated my belief the team might still
be in Kansas City if their front office had not been so short-sighted or
unwilling to spend money. The Sporting News reminded me it was
more than missing the boat on Malone there were others, one of those “others”
occurred in the 1976 draft. The Kings
had the 3rd pick in the draft and the chose Richard Washington from
UCLA a 6-11 220 pound forward/center.
Washington played six years with the Kings, Bucks, Mavs and Cavs with career
numbers of 9.8 points per game and 6.3 rebounds. Three picks later the Buffalo Braves (now the
Clippers) chose a player who managed to score over 23,000 points during his NBA
career.
The players name, Adrian Dantley and in
addition he’s been enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame. The stumbling,
bumbling Kings front office continued its management into the future, let’s
check out the 1983 draft. Have you ever heard
of Ennis Whatley, I bet you’ve heard of Clyde “The Glide” Drexler? Drexler like Dantley is also a 20,000-point
NBA scorer and he’s enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of
Fame. The Kings made Whatley the 13th pick in the 1983 draft and the
14th pick the Blazers choice was Drexler. This is all speculative on my part based on several
aspects, no one can truly peer into the future and determine who will become an
All-Star and who will have an average or mediocre career. In addition, injuries could certainly impact
the contribution or ability of that player.
I’m not claiming he’s
guilty
As the college basketball scandal unfolded
Auburn was one of the school identified as an offender. An assistant coach for the team has been
indicted so it appears the government believes they have enough evidence for a
trial. Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl has
declared his innocence (and he might well be).
This is the statement we often hear in similar cases; “Lack of
institutional control” which says the head coach failed to adequately monitor
his team. Does Pearl deserve to be
fired, unless there is the proverbial “smoking gun” Pearl should be able to retain
his job. We must wait for the case to
fully unfold in order to determine the outcome.
Clearly in the lead
The 2018 NBA Rookie of the Year is Ben
Simmons. No, the NBA will not announce
the award until early next spring however the 6-10-point guard is clearly the
leader. Accolades piled on a guy with no
shot past 20-feet, hmmm seems to me we remember another guy who arrived in the
NBA with no jump-shot.
What was his
name, Johnson and he went by the nickname of Magic?
As this is written Simmons is scoring at an
18 point per game clip along with 8 assists and nearly 10 rebounds. Simmon's has two-triple-doubles and its not yet December. It’s easy to shoot .516 from the field when
you are scoring on layups and dunks and an occasional basket not far from the
goal.
He did what?
Mizzou basketball over the summer was moving
at a break-net pace. A name that might
have been overlooked at the time was K.J. Santos. He committed in July however it was just revealed
in the St Louis Post Dispatch he’d never seen the campus of Mizzou. On Wednesday he signed his letter of intent
for 2018 still without a campus visit which will occur on Friday.
Santos is a 6-8 219 pound forward, he played
last season for the University of Illinois-Chicago last season. He transferred to Tallahassee Community
College in Florida. Santos will have
three years of eligibility remaining once he arrives at Mizzou. As for the verbal commitment and LOI signing
on Wednesday without a visit to campus he made it clear. It was the coaching staff that convinced him
this would be a good fit for him.
