Basketball from a fans perspective

“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”
The title above is not referring to the 1966 western movie classic starring Clint Eastwood, in this instance the reference is the composition of Mizzou’s roster.  First the Good, the 6-foot 6-inch Christian Guess fills out the vacated roster spot left by the medical departure of Cullen Van Leer.  Although his game is somewhat of a mystery it’s hoped he can make the transition smoothly from high school. 

The Bad, there might be very little roster movement over the next few years, the 2018-19 team is comprised of 10 underclassmen.  There might be one opening, Jontay Porter is most certainly headed for the NBA, it’s impossible to determine injuries or academic issues.  The Ugly might be the depth at certain positions, the coaching staff must move quickly to determine the players will be able to play multiple positions.  Despite questions raised Mizzou should still be competitive and is expected to earn an NCAA berth. 

Brent Barry
Barry is now a former analyst for NBA TV, he will become vice-president for the Spurs a team he once played for during his 14-year NBA career.  Barry is one of those voices who is quite informative regarding the inner workings of the league be it the role of front office operations or its players. 

Whatever makes you happy
There are priorities for any athlete no matter the sport, 1.  Get paid, 2. Get paid and 3. Be happy with the team you select as a free-agent.  This account is strictly must be categorized as a rumor, we cannot offer validation of the following explanation.  As you often hear, “reliable sources” claim Kawhi Leonard’s preference is the Clippers once he becomes a free-agent in 2019.  The report claims he wanted the Lakers prior to the arrival of LeBron James. 

Now that LeBron is there this has become a “Kyrie Irving” I want my own team?  Kawhi now indicates his preference is Clippers, Raptors and Lakers in that order.  I’m unsure what date we first began hearing Kawhi wanted out of San Antonio, he began expressing a preference for Los Angeles.  It might be a misunderstanding, but I never heard “Lakers” did you?  All I can do is ask you to re-visit items 1, 2 and 3 for my response to Kawhi.

Ivy League basketball
In some circles if we say ACC many of us think basketball, if we say Ivy League basketball is not the first thing likely to come to mind.  We think academics anytime Ivy League schools are in the discussion.  Despite the emphasis on education some players over the years have managed NBA careers after play in the Ivy League.  Bill Bradley might be the most noteworthy Ivy Leaguer to play in the NBA.  This Princeton grad would go to Senate representing the State of New Jersey.  Bradley would be enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. 

Over the years 44 players from the Ivy League have played at least one game in the NBA.  Currently Jeremy Lin might not have the same impact of Bradley however the Harvard educated player has achieved an NBA career.  Don’t expect to see Noah Kirkwood’s name on the 2019 NBA mock draft, this is his freshman year at Harvard.  In the Ivy League basketball players remain in school four years so it will be awhile before we hear the commissioner call his name.  Kirkwood is a 6-foot 7-inch shooting guard and he hails from Ottawa, Ontario Canada.