BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE
They share a similar
background
Dick Vitale and Clark Kellogg share a similar background. Vitale has been an analyst for the college game so long many forget he was a college coach before becoming a basketball analyst for ESPN/ABC. As for Kellogg after competing at Ohio State the 6-foot 7-inch forward was made the 8th pick in the first round of the 1982 draft by the Pacers. After making the All-Rookie team in 1983 Kellogg was on the road to an NBA career however prolonged knee problems would curtail what was a promising career
Dick Vitale and Clark Kellogg share a similar background. Vitale has been an analyst for the college game so long many forget he was a college coach before becoming a basketball analyst for ESPN/ABC. As for Kellogg after competing at Ohio State the 6-foot 7-inch forward was made the 8th pick in the first round of the 1982 draft by the Pacers. After making the All-Rookie team in 1983 Kellogg was on the road to an NBA career however prolonged knee problems would curtail what was a promising career
Kellogg was forced to retire from the NBA
after but 4 seasons. Kellogg moved into broadcast
field first at ESPN, the Big 10 Network and Prime Sports. In 1993 Kellogg move to CBS Network where
he’s served as an in-game analyst and for the last several years a studio host. Clark Kellogg is one of those who most forget
or might not have even realized he once could shoot and score baskets and play the
game at the highest level.
On second thought
I’m unsure if I believe all the Laker players mentioned in the proposed trade were headed to New Orleans. I’m referring to the last reported list of players the Lakers were willing to give up in order to obtain Anthony Davis. There is no doubt the Lakers wanted Davis but at what cost? Either Kyle Kuzma or Brandon Ingram is traded but not both, how about the point guard situation? We read Rajon Rondo and Lonzo Ball were to be included, I don’t think both?
You have no point guard remaining, I know LeBron James handles the ball well, but he is not a point guard. There were other Laker names mentioned, but they are lost to history without researching them. I believe AD will be a Laker one day but not at the cost of news reports, far too many players exchanged for one despite his talent. NOTE: Trust me, this account was written prior to the Jeanie Buss statement. Without going into details she termed the story regarding certain players moving "fake news."
I’m unsure if I believe all the Laker players mentioned in the proposed trade were headed to New Orleans. I’m referring to the last reported list of players the Lakers were willing to give up in order to obtain Anthony Davis. There is no doubt the Lakers wanted Davis but at what cost? Either Kyle Kuzma or Brandon Ingram is traded but not both, how about the point guard situation? We read Rajon Rondo and Lonzo Ball were to be included, I don’t think both?
You have no point guard remaining, I know LeBron James handles the ball well, but he is not a point guard. There were other Laker names mentioned, but they are lost to history without researching them. I believe AD will be a Laker one day but not at the cost of news reports, far too many players exchanged for one despite his talent. NOTE: Trust me, this account was written prior to the Jeanie Buss statement. Without going into details she termed the story regarding certain players moving "fake news."
“Ice” Trae
We have been mesmerized by the glitz and glamour of Mavs rookie Luka Doncic. Triple doubles, the passing skill of a point guard in a small forwards body. Yes, he will be Rookie of the Year. The other guy ain’t too bad I believe, he’s Trae Young of the Hawks. You remember what occurred, the Hawks and Mavs exchanged draft choices, Young going to the Hawks and Doncic to the Mavs. Young cannot help the fact his Hawks are some 20 games below .500 Young is ballin’. His numbers are 17.8 points and 7.7 assists a game, the only negative his .410 field goal shooting could be improved.
We have been mesmerized by the glitz and glamour of Mavs rookie Luka Doncic. Triple doubles, the passing skill of a point guard in a small forwards body. Yes, he will be Rookie of the Year. The other guy ain’t too bad I believe, he’s Trae Young of the Hawks. You remember what occurred, the Hawks and Mavs exchanged draft choices, Young going to the Hawks and Doncic to the Mavs. Young cannot help the fact his Hawks are some 20 games below .500 Young is ballin’. His numbers are 17.8 points and 7.7 assists a game, the only negative his .410 field goal shooting could be improved.
Last winter while enrolled at Oklahoma
his game began to ebb, I read a report from an NBA scout. “They won’t be able to throw all those junk defenses at him in the
NBA.” Despite his slow down near the
middle of the collegiate season he accomplished a feat. For the first time in NCAA history a player
led the nation in scoring and assists.
The game on Friday Young played 56 minutes in a 4-OT game, the box score
indicated there were 9 TO’s registered by the rookie. The positive for Young, 49 points 16 assists
and 8 rebounds while shooting .515 from the floor .462 from the 3-point line.
He’s a mystery man
Every year at draft time a mystery name is revealed to many of us. An athlete whose name is unfamiliar to a great number of fans is announced mostly in the 2nd round although quite a few outstanding players have been chosen in the first round to our surprise. Often, he might play at a smaller school or even be an international athlete. We cannot make the statement about 2019 and Ja Morant. The Murray State point guard was a virtual unknown at the beginning of the collegiate season. He’s been noticed and has moved up on most mock draft sites.
Every year at draft time a mystery name is revealed to many of us. An athlete whose name is unfamiliar to a great number of fans is announced mostly in the 2nd round although quite a few outstanding players have been chosen in the first round to our surprise. Often, he might play at a smaller school or even be an international athlete. We cannot make the statement about 2019 and Ja Morant. The Murray State point guard was a virtual unknown at the beginning of the collegiate season. He’s been noticed and has moved up on most mock draft sites.
We can look back in history to 1987, that
draft the Bulls were very familiar with Scottie Pippen from the University of
Central Arkansas. The late Jerry Krause
scouted him and wanted him on their roster but there was a problem. The Sonics drafted Pippen with the 5th
pick so they made a trade with the Sonics sending Olden Polynice to the Sonics
in exchange for Pippen. Unless you live
in Utah or attended school at the institution most have no idea where Weber
State was located. NBA scouts knew it
was in Ogden Utah because they scouted Damian Lillard.
The point guard was made the 6th
pick in the first round of the 2013 draft by the Blazers, the rest is
history. In that same draft the Blazers
selected C.J. McCollum with the 10th pick from Lehigh. Lehigh has not been a hot-bed for producing
NBA talent however McCollum has proven to be a real gem. How about internationally, in 2002 the entire
world knew Yao Ming would be the top pick by the Rockets, in 2018 the same
could be said for Luka Doncic. In 2015
Kristaps Porzingis was a name but not widely known, it was a surprise, no shock
when the Knicks made him the 4th pick in the first round. A name we might hear called perhaps late in
the first round or in the second is Trayvon Reed. Reed is a 7-foot 2-inch center and plays for
Texas Southern University in Houston.
It’s likely there might be other surprises in the 2019 draft so standby.
