New Mizzou Tiger
Dru
Smith Evansville point guard is transferring to Mizzou. The 6-foot 3-inch 190-pound Smith will sit
out the 2018-19 season but will have two years of eligibility remaining. Numbers don’t always transfer however those
registered at Evansville look good, 13.7 points, 3.5
rebounds, 4.6 assists and 2 steals. It
was reported Mizzou beat out three other schools to secure the services of
Smith. Two transfers in two weeks, the
backcourt in 2019-20 will appear to be a law firm or business.
At the shooting guard 6-5 Mark Smith
Illini transfer and at the point 6-3 Dru Smith Evansville transfer.
Smith and Smith would appear to be a law firm or place of business. Coach and staff continue to look to the future
one without the Porter’s. One note, on
the surface it would appear Mizzou is top heavy with guards. Cuonzo Martin almost plays position less
basketball which indicates there might be occasions there will be three or four
guards on the floor at the same time.
This latest move might signal Courtney Ramey decides on a location
somewhere other than Mizzou. (NOTE) Ramey has decided on Texas as
this narrative was completed.
Scouting report
I
attended my first Kansas City Tornados game unsure what to expect, brand new
league, brand new team plus brand-new players most with unfamiliar names. The Tornados play in the North American
Premier League a start-up league that began play in January 2018. As I mentioned earlier there are seven other
teams in this new league. The Tornados
faced the Kentucky Thoroughbreds from Owensboro.
The
home team is coached by Calvin Thompson former Kansas player and feature a run
offense, several times the ball barely touch the floor as the Tornadoes raced
to a 132-108 victory. I was particularly
impressed by the long-range shooting of 6-foot 9-inch guard Taveres Sledge, he played
his college basketball at Wright State.
The downside as I indicated earlier the metro has ignored the Tornados
although this might be the closet Kansas City gets to pro basketball for
years.
He’s a throw back
He’s
been over shadowed by social media king Joel Embiid and the dynamic Ben
Simmons. There are other Sixers who
have contributed to the success of the team this season. One of those is Robert Covington now in his 4th
year from Tennessee State. Covington is
a throw-back in a sense, over the last several years few NBA players from
historically black colleges have made it to the NBA. There are several reasons for the decline in
what was once a lucrative pipeline for basketball talent.
Up
through the mid 1970’s a considerable number of talent arrived from Grambling,
Jackson State, Texas Southern and others.
Willis Reed, Earl Monroe, Sam Jones and Luke Jackson thrived in the NBA
after first gaining fame while in college.
Schools particularly in the southern United States who never recruited
black athletes opened their doors, LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama to name just a few. The historically black colleges were no
longer able to recruit athletes at the same level of an Ohio State or
Auburn. Athletes such as Covington were
not highly recruited at the high school level.
Gone fishing
Miami
Heat
San
Antonio Spurs
Portland
Trail Blazers
Minnesota
T-Wolves
Washington
Wizards
This
will be updated as the playoffs continue
