Basketball from a fans perspective
“Aircraft carrier”
Several of the world’s navies contain aircraft carriers most of us are familiar with the term. If it’s used in basketball we might not be too sure of the reference. Dick Vitale long-time ESPN/ABC analyst always refers to 7-foot big men as “aircraft carriers.” We must guess Vitale uses this reference since the largest ships in today’s navy are carriers. Balsa Koprivica a 7 foot 1-inch 240-pound forward from Serbia is on Mizzou’s radar. It’s been a considerable number of years since Mizzou recruited a player this tall and it just might occur.
Koprivica attends Montverde Academy in Montverde Florida 27
miles or so from downtown Orlando. Mizzou
assistant Cornell Mann has closely followed the progress of Koprivica, it’s not
clear whether an offer has been made.
According to Rivals.com the
number 59 prospect in the Class of 2019 has over 15 offers waiting for him. Duke, Kentucky, Kansas and Arizona are just
a few of the high-profile schools with Koprivica on their list of prospects. It would be quite a coup if Koprivica chooses
Mizzou with all the competition that might be questionable.
He’s signed, sealed and delivered
The Rockets signed Clint Capela to a 5-year contract, the 6-foot 10-inch Capela was a restricted agent it was highly unlikely he was headed elsewhere. We have traveled a great distance in a short span of time, a late first round pick in 2014 Capela was extremely raw. The Rocket center was forced to spend time in the G-League developing his game. Once he returned to the Rockets he was backup to Dwight Howard until the latter was traded to the Hawks. Management would never admit this; did they possibly foresee the future potential of Capela? Enough promise they were willing to part ways with Howard? As for Capela he just had his 24th birthday in May and should continue his NBA growth into the future.
The Rockets signed Clint Capela to a 5-year contract, the 6-foot 10-inch Capela was a restricted agent it was highly unlikely he was headed elsewhere. We have traveled a great distance in a short span of time, a late first round pick in 2014 Capela was extremely raw. The Rocket center was forced to spend time in the G-League developing his game. Once he returned to the Rockets he was backup to Dwight Howard until the latter was traded to the Hawks. Management would never admit this; did they possibly foresee the future potential of Capela? Enough promise they were willing to part ways with Howard? As for Capela he just had his 24th birthday in May and should continue his NBA growth into the future.
Combo guards
The term ‘combo guard’ has come into our vocabulary over the last several years. My definition of the term is simple, a guard who can score as easily as passing the basketball. I thought for a moment haven’t a number always been combo guards? I decided to research the question and look back in NBA history for an answer. Celtic Bob Cousy was considered a magician with the basketball. His nearly 8 assist career average also included an 18.4 point per game average. We think of Oscar Robertson as a scorer (25.7 ppg) however his numbers include a 9.5 assist average. The same statement might be said for Laker great Jerry West, his 27 points per game is outstanding but so is his 6.7 assist per game average.
The term ‘combo guard’ has come into our vocabulary over the last several years. My definition of the term is simple, a guard who can score as easily as passing the basketball. I thought for a moment haven’t a number always been combo guards? I decided to research the question and look back in NBA history for an answer. Celtic Bob Cousy was considered a magician with the basketball. His nearly 8 assist career average also included an 18.4 point per game average. We think of Oscar Robertson as a scorer (25.7 ppg) however his numbers include a 9.5 assist average. The same statement might be said for Laker great Jerry West, his 27 points per game is outstanding but so is his 6.7 assist per game average.
How about Tiny Archibald who
led the NBA in scoring and assist one season.
His career numbers nearly 19 points and 7.4 assists per game. Walt ‘Clyde’
Frazier was a valued leader for the Knicks back in the day, helped them to win
two NBA championships. Clyde could score
(18.9 points per game) but his 6.1 assists per game indicate he could dish the
rock too. There are others from the
past, but I’ll stop here, consider this fact.
Combo guards have always existed the difference the Curry’s and
Westbrook’s of the NBA have often become their team’s primary scorers, the
offense operates outside-in rather than inside-out. Combo guard is common usage today; however, I
believe they have always existed.
The upcoming college basketball season
I predict the 2018-19 college basketball season will be just as exciting as the preceding one. Several the athletes will perform as expected, in addition a ‘Trae Young’ type will burst on the scene and cause us to wonder why we didn’t know. Fans love to chant ‘We’re number one, we’re number one’ but who is number one? We can’t determine that fact until play begins, often the number one team in the nation will not be the one on the last poll prior to the NCAA tournament. With that I still believe it’s fun to see what pollsters think, this is a glimpse of several.com sites.
The upcoming college basketball season
I predict the 2018-19 college basketball season will be just as exciting as the preceding one. Several the athletes will perform as expected, in addition a ‘Trae Young’ type will burst on the scene and cause us to wonder why we didn’t know. Fans love to chant ‘We’re number one, we’re number one’ but who is number one? We can’t determine that fact until play begins, often the number one team in the nation will not be the one on the last poll prior to the NCAA tournament. With that I still believe it’s fun to see what pollsters think, this is a glimpse of several.com sites.
NBCSports.com, Yahoo.com and SI.com-Kansas
Jayhawks
CBSSports.com, ESPN.com-Kentucky Wildcats
A Cinderella team like Chicago
Loyola last season is likely to make a run but fall short of the championship. The
again the champion could be Michigan, Duke, Xavier, North Carolina or some
other team might come to the forefront and displace Kansas or Kentucky.
