BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE

The field is wide open…. well not quite
It's now complete, the NCAA committee has done its job, 68 teams have or will be selected by this Thursday.  Arguments reign supreme among fans and the talking heads on sports talk radio or television.  “The (fill in the blank) should have been a 3 seed rather than a 4” or “Why was (fill in the blank) placed in the South region rather than Midwest.”  Some of you might remember the days of all 20-win teams being extended invitations, those days are long gone. 

Selection Sunday I noted at least three 20-win teams who missed the cut.  Who wins the whole thing, I don’t know however it won’t be a 16 seed.  The 8-9 matches are always interesting too, the winner could be either team.  There will be upsets, it’s impossible before play begins to pick them out.  Who wins, how about providing you a Final Four and say all could possibly win. This is not in any order Duke, North Carolina, Virginia and Villanova.  I could be wrong but surely two of the four make it to the final round…. I hope. 

The doctor is not in
Thunder guard Russell Westbrook received technical foul number 16 on Saturday against the Warriors.  16 is the magic number which the NBA established for a one game suspension.  As indicated in the headline I sometimes wonder what drives the volatile guard.  The attempt is not to psycho-analyze Westbrook I’m not skilled enough to do that.  Only the outer surface which is visible colors our perception of Westbrook.  Annually he’s near the top of the list in techs but has avoided missing games until now. 

There is no argument Westbrook is one of the most talented players in today’s NBA but there is something missing.  He cannot will his team to wins despite what he might hope.  As for the technical fouls he’s certainly not the only player to experience suspension due to accumulating the number requiring suspension.  If he should receive two additional technical fouls the balance of the season, he would be suspended another game, the rule does not extend into the playoffs. 

Have they lost their ever-loving minds?
Kansas City will serve as host for the Midwest Regional of the Sweet 16.  I believe most of the local media are living in the world of “I hope”.  I lost count the number who raised the possibility of KU playing in the Sprint Center.  Well anything is possible, KU could go on a winning streak and the play of the recent past will be but a memory.  As for these media folks I wonder if they stopped a moment to realize KU is a 4 seed or is this hype intended for the large number of KU alumni and fans in this area? 

Check this out, in order to play at Sprint, they must beat North Carolina or Kentucky and perhaps a Houston team.  You say upsets are conceivable, that is certainly a possibility therefore they could face either Auburn or Iowa State before heading here to play.  Iowa State has beaten them twice already.  Sorry fans of KU basketball they ain’t likely headed to Kansas City except to maybe land at the airport and then be bussed to Lawrence Kansas.  I say they don’t make the Sweet 16, you can laugh at me in a couple of weeks. 

He remained at a time he could have left
The name Kim English is probably unfamiliar to most, allow a little background on him.  English is a former college and NBA athlete.  He was recruited by Mizzou then led by Mike Anderson, the coach would later leave for the Arkansas job.  It’s likely English could have left but after meeting with new coach Frank Haith he remained, he became the essential key tying Anderson recruits with the incoming Haith group. 

The 6-foot 6-inch guard was drafted in the second round of the 2012 draft by the Pistons.  He would play in Europe and then in 2015 his former Mizzou coach Haith hired him as an assistant at Tulsa.  In 2017 he left Tulsa to become an assistant at Colorado, is he ready to become a head coach?  We cannot answer the question, we shall see what occurs over the next few months as head coaching positions are filled.