BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERPECTIVE
Hurley
There are names associated with sport, Hurley is a name associated with basketball at the amateur level. Dan Hurley is now in his first year at UConn attempting to place the school back on the basketball map. Dan is the oldest son of Bob, Hall of Fame coach at St. Joseph’s High School in Jersey City New Jersey now closed. The elder Hurley won 26 state championships and sent a great number of players to Division I programs and eventually the NBA. Dan’s brother Bobby is the head basketball coach at Arizona State.
There are names associated with sport, Hurley is a name associated with basketball at the amateur level. Dan Hurley is now in his first year at UConn attempting to place the school back on the basketball map. Dan is the oldest son of Bob, Hall of Fame coach at St. Joseph’s High School in Jersey City New Jersey now closed. The elder Hurley won 26 state championships and sent a great number of players to Division I programs and eventually the NBA. Dan’s brother Bobby is the head basketball coach at Arizona State.
I
wasn’t close enough to the action to fully comprehend Kevin Ollie, winning an
NCAA championship for UConn in his first year many believed he would continue
the winning tradition established by retired coach Jim Calhoun. Coach Dan has the Huskies off to a good start
registering a 6-2 record, next year should be even more promising as Hurley
begins infusing his recruits into the program.
5-star prospect 6-foot 10-inch Atok Atok will enroll for the spring
semester adding depth to the Huskie bench.
Medical report
There is news on the medical front regarding Sixer point guard Markelle Fultz. You know part of the story; a health issue has kept him sidelined. Fultz has been diagnosed with neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome now I must search the internet. “It’s a condition in which there is compression of the nerves, arteries, or veins in the passageway from the lower neck to the armpit.” * According to information several baseball players and athletes in other fields have been diagnosed with TOS.
There is news on the medical front regarding Sixer point guard Markelle Fultz. You know part of the story; a health issue has kept him sidelined. Fultz has been diagnosed with neurogenic thoracic outlet syndrome now I must search the internet. “It’s a condition in which there is compression of the nerves, arteries, or veins in the passageway from the lower neck to the armpit.” * According to information several baseball players and athletes in other fields have been diagnosed with TOS.
It’s treatable with
therapy and the timetable for Fultz is reported to be 3-6 weeks. I for one am hoping this will finally be the
cure for the ailment which has sidelined Fultz off and on for over a year
now. What appeared to be a promising NBA
career has dissolved into “If he could
only ______________”. You can fill
in the blank to your hearts content. NOTE:
Lately I’ve posted several stories requiring an addendum this is
one. The Sixers front office is highly
upset, Fultz agent contacted ESPN with the medical update prior to contacting
the team.
*Wikipedia
Twin Towers
The term Twin Towers refers to a team with tw0 7-foot players in the lineup. Many tend to believe the first combo was Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson of the NBA Rockets, others think of David Robinson and Tim Duncan with the NBA Spurs. It’s believed the first Twin Tower combo played for Jacksonville University, Jacksonville (FL). 7-foot 2-inch Artis Gilmore occupied the center position, at power forward was 6-foot 11-inch Pembrook Burrows.
The term Twin Towers refers to a team with tw0 7-foot players in the lineup. Many tend to believe the first combo was Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson of the NBA Rockets, others think of David Robinson and Tim Duncan with the NBA Spurs. It’s believed the first Twin Tower combo played for Jacksonville University, Jacksonville (FL). 7-foot 2-inch Artis Gilmore occupied the center position, at power forward was 6-foot 11-inch Pembrook Burrows.
In
1971 this team would play for the NCAA championship losing to the UCLA
Bruins. Gilmore would go on to a Hall of
Fame career in the ABA/NBA. Burrows too is retired although he left basketball
behind early. He would go to work as a
Florida Highway Patrol officer. We have
no method to determine this belief, Burrows at 6 feet 11 inches is likely the
tallest law enforcement officer to wear the uniform.
Better get comfortable
As I attempted to point out I get crazy sometimes rooting for my teams. Mizzou is either 1A. or 1B. I’m not sure, allow me to explain further. After viewing one loss (Temple) and one win (UCF) the 2018-19 version of the Tigers is going to be a WIP, i.e. work in progress. With 2 seniors playing major minutes and one reserve you can see where I’m going. This is no Michigan Fab 5 or even this years Duke trio, this team must fight, scratch, crash the boards and shoot good to win the balance of the year’s games.
As I attempted to point out I get crazy sometimes rooting for my teams. Mizzou is either 1A. or 1B. I’m not sure, allow me to explain further. After viewing one loss (Temple) and one win (UCF) the 2018-19 version of the Tigers is going to be a WIP, i.e. work in progress. With 2 seniors playing major minutes and one reserve you can see where I’m going. This is no Michigan Fab 5 or even this years Duke trio, this team must fight, scratch, crash the boards and shoot good to win the balance of the year’s games.
It’s
possible they could come together by the middle of the SEC race. Where do they finish, it will not be first
place however I don’t believe it will be a 14th place finish. Ahead of Mizzou at this point I believe are
Tennessee, Kentucky, Auburn, Arkansas and perhaps Alabama. Mizzou Nation relax I need to remind you and
me of a fact, this is a maturity year.
Next season transfer (Dru Smith) becomes eligible plus the growth of the
present roster improvement is on the horizon.
I realize for some base on the Death Valley Mizzou’s experienced in the
past several years that is bothersome to some in Mizzou Nation.
