Basketball from a
fans perspective
All will soon be right with the world
The NBA age restriction is about to end, it won’t be next season, but the 2020 draft could include high school players. I believe all understood why the rule was implemented, if not just a quick refresher. Several high school players arrived in the NBA unable to play. They were not injured they just were not NBA material, okay we could make that same statement about one and done and Euro players too. While some of them arrived with limited skills it seemed the high school numbers were even worst.
Part of the problem can be blamed on NBA teams and inadequate
scouting. Example, Kobe Bryant would
become the 13th pick in the first round of the 1996 draft. Jerry West after running him through drills
wanted him for the Lakers, the Hornets drafted Kobe traded his rights to the
Lakers and the rest is history. In the
years that followed various NBA teams fearing they might overlook another for
fear of overlooking another “Kobe” failed adequately assessing high school
talent. This time around it will be much
smoother, athletes will continue to leave college for the NBA but nowhere near
the number we’ve experienced over the past several years.
Laker Summer League report
This is written prior to the Lakers-Blazers championship game tonight. I continue to say to myself this is summer basketball; the big boys don’t play until later this year. Despite this view a few rookies have stood out with sharp shooting and strong defense.
Laker Summer League report
This is written prior to the Lakers-Blazers championship game tonight. I continue to say to myself this is summer basketball; the big boys don’t play until later this year. Despite this view a few rookies have stood out with sharp shooting and strong defense.
Isaac Bonga-the 18-year old from Germany
arrived late but exhibited athleticism and demonstrated potential talent. More than likely the 6-foot 9-inch point
guard plays for the South Bay Lakers this upcoming season.
Svi Mykhailiuk-I’m sure my KU fans will say I
missed the bus on this one. Svi
demonstrated long-range shooting and accuracy beyond the 3-point line. Even more interesting when closely guarded he
managed to drive around a defender for a layup or dunk.
Moe Wagner-the 7-foot Wagner was shut down
due to injury late but his long-range shooting impressed early. Wagner snatched an adequate number of
rebounds and played defense.
There were other rookies and G-League players however they are
not likely to earn a roster spot. Not
included in this assessment are Josh Hart and Alex Caruso who both played last
season on the Laker roster.
Year two, and change
The Kansas City Tornadoes will begin year two in January 2019. There have been several changes from last season beginning with coaching. The team has a new head coach, Eddie Corporal an assistant takes over for Calvin Thompson. Corporal has an interesting connection to Kansas City basketball, he once served as a ball boy for the Kings when they were located here. The team hopes to play in Hy-Vee Arena (former Kemper Arena), they bounced from Municipal Auditorium to Avila University.
The Kansas City Tornadoes will begin year two in January 2019. There have been several changes from last season beginning with coaching. The team has a new head coach, Eddie Corporal an assistant takes over for Calvin Thompson. Corporal has an interesting connection to Kansas City basketball, he once served as a ball boy for the Kings when they were located here. The team hopes to play in Hy-Vee Arena (former Kemper Arena), they bounced from Municipal Auditorium to Avila University.
There is an additional connection to the Kings in Kansas City,
Kevin Loder. Loder is the COO for the
team but was a first round pick for the Kings in 1981. There is no kidding anyone this is minor
league basketball however for Kansas City currently it’s all we have. I did attend one game last season and was
pleased with ticket pricing and the team’s performance. The 8-team league will add 4 franchises, the
new teams will be Bellevue, Washington, Raleigh, North Carolina, San Diego,
California and Tampa, Florida. The last
change is the league name, no longer the North American Premier League it’s now
TBL…. The Basketball League.
What if?
I’ve said over and over “What if’s” will drive your bananas, but here goes. The history says, “If there had been a suitable arena the Denver Nuggets might never exist.” Sure, Denver might have an NBA team today, but they wouldn’t be that name emblazoned on their jersey. The American Basketball Association began play in the fall of 1967, Kansas City was awarded a franchise however the arena issue caused the team to leave for Denver without ever playing a game here. The Larks began play in 1967, later they would become the Rockets and finally the Nuggets. Let’s return to Kansas City in 1967, the only arena in the city at that time was Municipal Auditorium (still in use today).
The Municipal would seat 10,500 before a 2007 and 2013 renovation reduced the number of available seats. I've got to believe the issue was play dates rather than an arena, several years later the Kings would play games in Municipal until the larger capacity Kemper Arena was opened. The basketball history of Kansas City might have changed completely if the ABA team had remained here. The Cincinnati Royals might have moved but not to Kansas City. Would the ABA have been a success here and moved into the NBA with the merger? That question and perhaps many others will never have an answer. Kansas City Larks....sounds different but I guess I could have gotten use to the name.
I’ve said over and over “What if’s” will drive your bananas, but here goes. The history says, “If there had been a suitable arena the Denver Nuggets might never exist.” Sure, Denver might have an NBA team today, but they wouldn’t be that name emblazoned on their jersey. The American Basketball Association began play in the fall of 1967, Kansas City was awarded a franchise however the arena issue caused the team to leave for Denver without ever playing a game here. The Larks began play in 1967, later they would become the Rockets and finally the Nuggets. Let’s return to Kansas City in 1967, the only arena in the city at that time was Municipal Auditorium (still in use today).
The Municipal would seat 10,500 before a 2007 and 2013 renovation reduced the number of available seats. I've got to believe the issue was play dates rather than an arena, several years later the Kings would play games in Municipal until the larger capacity Kemper Arena was opened. The basketball history of Kansas City might have changed completely if the ABA team had remained here. The Cincinnati Royals might have moved but not to Kansas City. Would the ABA have been a success here and moved into the NBA with the merger? That question and perhaps many others will never have an answer. Kansas City Larks....sounds different but I guess I could have gotten use to the name.
