Basketball from a fans perspective
They are available
The new Laker jerseys and shorts are now officially available, they were released on Monday, July 30th. Nike followed through on the change mentioned last week. Most interesting to me the home colors appear more yellow than gold, we must guess the color might be in the eye of the beholder. If question we can be assured Nike will insist last year’s jersey and the new edition are gold, you could have fooled me on that one, oh well.
The new Laker jerseys and shorts are now officially available, they were released on Monday, July 30th. Nike followed through on the change mentioned last week. Most interesting to me the home colors appear more yellow than gold, we must guess the color might be in the eye of the beholder. If question we can be assured Nike will insist last year’s jersey and the new edition are gold, you could have fooled me on that one, oh well.
Hmmmm!
Athletes rarely leave Lexington Kentucky except for graduation or the NBA. The earth shaking, we experienced on Monday was not an earthquake it was John Calipari losing a player. D.J. Jefferies a 6-foot 7-inch 210-pound small forward Class of 2019 was first headed to Kentucky. This 5-star prospect has now decided to withdraw his verbal commit. Jefferies played for Penny Hardaway’s AAU team and made his commitment prior to Hardaway becoming head coach at Memphis. Understand this Jefferies home town Olive Branch Mississippi is located less than 40 miles from Memphis. I ain’t sayin’ Jefferies is headed to play for Penny, we shall see how this story plays out.
Athletes rarely leave Lexington Kentucky except for graduation or the NBA. The earth shaking, we experienced on Monday was not an earthquake it was John Calipari losing a player. D.J. Jefferies a 6-foot 7-inch 210-pound small forward Class of 2019 was first headed to Kentucky. This 5-star prospect has now decided to withdraw his verbal commit. Jefferies played for Penny Hardaway’s AAU team and made his commitment prior to Hardaway becoming head coach at Memphis. Understand this Jefferies home town Olive Branch Mississippi is located less than 40 miles from Memphis. I ain’t sayin’ Jefferies is headed to play for Penny, we shall see how this story plays out.
Greatest ever?
My voice has been one whose raised the question. How do you refer to player A as the best when player B played in a different era? We look at the athletes within our lifetime, if that’s 30 years so be it. The question has been asked regarding LeBron James but this time it’s home. A local television station runs a Sunday night sports segment where a trio of media members offer their view on a variety of topics. Recently the question was asked, ‘Who is the greatest high school basketball player in KC history?’ One of the panelist said Alvan Adams and I almost fell out of my chair. First, Adams was born in Lawrence Kansas, although close (50 miles) it’s not considered Metro Kansas City. Secondly my research indicated Adams played his high school basketball in Oklahoma City not Kansas City.
My voice has been one whose raised the question. How do you refer to player A as the best when player B played in a different era? We look at the athletes within our lifetime, if that’s 30 years so be it. The question has been asked regarding LeBron James but this time it’s home. A local television station runs a Sunday night sports segment where a trio of media members offer their view on a variety of topics. Recently the question was asked, ‘Who is the greatest high school basketball player in KC history?’ One of the panelist said Alvan Adams and I almost fell out of my chair. First, Adams was born in Lawrence Kansas, although close (50 miles) it’s not considered Metro Kansas City. Secondly my research indicated Adams played his high school basketball in Oklahoma City not Kansas City.
This same radio host then
attempted to clean this up by naming Lucius Allen and Scott Wedman, Allen from Wyandotte
High School in Kansas City Kansas would later play in the NBA. Okay he gets a pass on Allen but Wedman, come
on. Wedman was born and raised in Harper
Kansas 250 miles from Metro Kansas City.
The other panelist named Anthony Peeler who played at Kansas Cities Paseo
High School from 1988-1992, he would later have an NBA career. The Kansas City Star sports writer/panelist said,
‘Warren Armstrong who later became Warren Jabali’. That was the correct answer in my opinion,
Armstrong played at Central High School in Kansas City from 1961-1964. This 6-foot 2-inch 200
pound guard would later play at Wichita State and become 1969 Rookie of the Year in the American Basketball Association.
pound guard would later play at Wichita State and become 1969 Rookie of the Year in the American Basketball Association.
The last name
might sound familiar
I read an account of Cole Anthony outstanding point guard, the writer indicated Anthony was continuing the line of outstanding point guards from New York City. We could mention the names like Bob Cousy, Nate “Tiny” Archibald or Lenny Wilkens. More recently it was Mark Jackson, Stephon Marbury or Kenny Anderson. The city game has produced a sizable number of point guards throughout the years.
I read an account of Cole Anthony outstanding point guard, the writer indicated Anthony was continuing the line of outstanding point guards from New York City. We could mention the names like Bob Cousy, Nate “Tiny” Archibald or Lenny Wilkens. More recently it was Mark Jackson, Stephon Marbury or Kenny Anderson. The city game has produced a sizable number of point guards throughout the years.
Rivals.com listed the 6-foot 2-inch Anthony as the number two prospect in the
Class of 2019. Reading much further we
discover he’s the son of Greg Anthony former NBA player and current NBA
analyst. Among the schools on his list
are Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas and UCLA. On the other hand he could remain at home and
attend St, John’s University, over the last several years talent has left New
York City for other destinations outside the boroughs.
Big fish in a little pond or…….
An adage asks the question, “Would you rather be a big fish in a little pond or a small fish in a big pond.” I’ve always believed the statement to be a person’s impact on the surrounding space they might occupy. Example, Conner Frankamp was one of the hottest prospects from Wichita in a few years, his destination of choice was playing for Bill Self at Kansas. Once he arrived Frankamp received very little playing time and would return home and transfer to Wichita State. He would conclude his college career as a starter at Wichita State.
Big fish in a little pond or…….
An adage asks the question, “Would you rather be a big fish in a little pond or a small fish in a big pond.” I’ve always believed the statement to be a person’s impact on the surrounding space they might occupy. Example, Conner Frankamp was one of the hottest prospects from Wichita in a few years, his destination of choice was playing for Bill Self at Kansas. Once he arrived Frankamp received very little playing time and would return home and transfer to Wichita State. He would conclude his college career as a starter at Wichita State.
Am I stating he couldn’t
play, far from it I believe at Kansas with all the talent the school attracts
it was difficult for him to stand out.
At Wichita State it was far easier not due to talent, but it was much
easier an opportunity to demonstrate his talent and ability. Last Sunday I wrote of Balsa Koprivica at
Montverde Academy. I lamented the fact
Mizzou might have a challenging time recruiting the youngster with Kentucky,
Kansas and other high-profile programs after him. Koprivica might choose a school other than
Mizzou however he just might prefer to be a "Big Fish" in a little pond."
