Basketball from a fans perspective
40 years
Recently we profiled former Louisville coach Rick Pitino, we questioned if he’d ever coach basketball again. The question’s been answered at least to this date, he’s written a book detailing his career and making rounds promoting the book. He continues to proclaim his innocence on the events that caused his firing at Louisville. Boston University, Providence, Kentucky and Louisville at the Division I level plus the Celtics and Knicks in the NBA.
He’s also in the Naismith Hall of Fame, despite the negatives
at the end of his career the 65-year old can look back and state “they cannot
take my memories.” I won’t detail the
accusations against Pitino far too much detail is required, he claims to have
taken a lie detector test which cleared him.
If that information is true that’s good enough for me, we must consider
this one fact as head coach “The Buck stops at his desk.”.
“Must be the water”
Dino Raja from Croatia was enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame on Friday. He’s the latest of the continuous stream of talent that’s arrived in the NBA from the former Yugoslavia. It reminded me of the account I wrote on August 12th about this region of the world. If you check a map of Europe today you will be unable to locate a country by that name. Yugoslavia came into existence after World War I (1918) and lasted until 1980, one country would become seven (7). Today the nation once named Yugoslavia is:
Dino Raja from Croatia was enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame on Friday. He’s the latest of the continuous stream of talent that’s arrived in the NBA from the former Yugoslavia. It reminded me of the account I wrote on August 12th about this region of the world. If you check a map of Europe today you will be unable to locate a country by that name. Yugoslavia came into existence after World War I (1918) and lasted until 1980, one country would become seven (7). Today the nation once named Yugoslavia is:
Slovenia
Croatia
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Serbia
Kosovo
Montenegro
Macedonia
Croatia
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Serbia
Kosovo
Montenegro
Macedonia
A rich
basketball tradition existed before the break-up and continues today. I don’t remember the number however these
seven nations have sent more players into the NBA than all the other European
nations combined. Is there an
explanation for this occurrence, as with most issues there is no one thing that
prevails? For now, let’s just say it “Must
be the water” that’s contributed to so many talented players coming from this
portion of the world. NOTE: It's the Naismith Hall of Fame not the NBA Hall, it was necessary to point this out to an individual who questioned Raja's selection. I thought an addendum might be necessary for others.
I’m not so sure now
University of Central Florida center Tacko Fall burst onto the college basketball scene 3 years ago. It certainly was difficult to miss him since he stands 7 feet 6 inches and 300 pounds. There was a belief at one-point Tacko might eventually become an NBA draft prospect. Tacko is now in his senior year as for the NBA draft that might be an afterthought now.
University of Central Florida center Tacko Fall burst onto the college basketball scene 3 years ago. It certainly was difficult to miss him since he stands 7 feet 6 inches and 300 pounds. There was a belief at one-point Tacko might eventually become an NBA draft prospect. Tacko is now in his senior year as for the NBA draft that might be an afterthought now.
It’s possible he could be signed as a
free-agent by some NBA team however the draft is almost certainly out of the
question. If he’s not signed as a
free-agent there is always Europe, Asia or somewhere else but likely not the
NBA. Tacko in his senior year is slow
afoot, in addition his durability might be questionable. Despite his height and bulk, he’s not
particularly good at rebounding the basketball.
With Tacko’s slow reaction he would be a detriment to an NBA team in a
pick and roll
Just in case you
miss this
Football stadiums and basketball arenas have long held corporate names. Philips Arena has been the corporate name on Atlanta’s arena at the time it opened in 1999. The arena serves as home of the NBA Hawks and was formerly home to the WNBA Dream and Atlanta’s departed NHL team. There is a new name on the front of the arena, it’s now State Farm Arena. The arena is now undergoing a $192 million renovation, there is one more change required. The address is still listed as 1 Phillips Drive, Atlanta Georgia.
Football stadiums and basketball arenas have long held corporate names. Philips Arena has been the corporate name on Atlanta’s arena at the time it opened in 1999. The arena serves as home of the NBA Hawks and was formerly home to the WNBA Dream and Atlanta’s departed NHL team. There is a new name on the front of the arena, it’s now State Farm Arena. The arena is now undergoing a $192 million renovation, there is one more change required. The address is still listed as 1 Phillips Drive, Atlanta Georgia.
