Basketball from a
fan’s perspective
How do you become a legend?
The title of this report is certainly difficult to define, for me it’s someone or something produced at a higher than expected level. To become a legend doesn’t happen overnight it occurs over time and distance from the event(s). The late Warren Armstrong could be an example, he played at Central High School in Kansas City MO and Wichita State. Once he became a pro player with the ABA Oakland Oaks, he changed his last name to Jabali which in Swahili is “Rock.” He graduated from Central in 1964, his last ABA game was 1975 yet Warren Jabali has become legend in Kansas City's basketball history.
How do I know this, when asked the question; “Who was the greatest high school basketball player in the city’s history”
the usual response is always the same.
Sometimes Lucius Allen or Jaron Rush might be mentioned, it’s said Allen claims its
Jabali “He could do things I
couldn’t.” Basketball aficionados
many too young or unborn with no opportunity to see Jabali play will mention
his name. They would hear their fathers,
uncles and others describe in detail the exploits of the basketball phenomena
that was Warren Jabali in 1962-64 high school basketball.
How do you become a legend; you perform feats on the
basketball court never before witnessed? You
leap high enough to pin an adversary’s layup on the board or you drive the
lane and dunk the ball with four opposing players around you. July 28 at the Plaza Library in Kansas City
David Thomas PhD will lead a presentation and book launching; JABALI-A Kansas City legend. Those of you reading this outside the Kansas
City metro area can purchase the book after its launch. I believe ahead of time for basketball fans
this book will be a worthwhile addition to your basketball library.
Say what?
Unequal justice, we read Doc Rivers is fined $50k for discussing Kawhi Leonard. I just read a quote from a Pelicans beat writer for the Times-Picayune, he claims "Alvin Gentry is interested in the idea of having Lonzo Ball on his team to play next to Jrue Holiday." Isn’t Gentry doing the same thing as Rivers discussing a player in a manner appearing to be tampering. Shouldn’t Gentry be in line for a fine for tampering, just asking?
Unequal justice, we read Doc Rivers is fined $50k for discussing Kawhi Leonard. I just read a quote from a Pelicans beat writer for the Times-Picayune, he claims "Alvin Gentry is interested in the idea of having Lonzo Ball on his team to play next to Jrue Holiday." Isn’t Gentry doing the same thing as Rivers discussing a player in a manner appearing to be tampering. Shouldn’t Gentry be in line for a fine for tampering, just asking?
Asian Pacific heritage
My apologies I was a month late, the month of May was Asian Pacific Heritage Month. We should look to a basketball first, the first non-white player drafted was not black he was Asian. Chuck Cooper (covered later) was the first black player drafted in 1950 by the Celtics. Back to the story at hand the Knicks made Wataru Miskaka the first non-white player. He was drafted in 1947 by the Knicks the same year Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball.
My apologies I was a month late, the month of May was Asian Pacific Heritage Month. We should look to a basketball first, the first non-white player drafted was not black he was Asian. Chuck Cooper (covered later) was the first black player drafted in 1950 by the Celtics. Back to the story at hand the Knicks made Wataru Miskaka the first non-white player. He was drafted in 1947 by the Knicks the same year Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball.
Although he’d played college ball at Weber State and Utah at
5 foot 7 and 150 pounds, he was small by pro standards at the time. Miskaka only played the one season returning
to Utah he completed an engineering degree and went to work for a Salt Lake City
engineering company. The 95-year old
Miskaka is still very much alive living in Utah the state of his birth. It would be nearly 40 years before another
Asian player would be drafted in the NBA.
The landscape has changed
The ESPN college basketball page contained a story regarding ghosts. Not the kind you might think of but the specter of former coaches hanging over a basketball program. They looked at UCLA and UNLV specifically, both programs had legendary coaches who placed the basketball on a national and international platform. Once these coaches retired (John Wooden UCLA & Jerry Tarkanian UNLV) the basketball has never returned to the level it did during their tenure. I’ve got no argument with the writer but believe he fails to take into consideration the basketball landscape has changed.
The ESPN college basketball page contained a story regarding ghosts. Not the kind you might think of but the specter of former coaches hanging over a basketball program. They looked at UCLA and UNLV specifically, both programs had legendary coaches who placed the basketball on a national and international platform. Once these coaches retired (John Wooden UCLA & Jerry Tarkanian UNLV) the basketball has never returned to the level it did during their tenure. I’ve got no argument with the writer but believe he fails to take into consideration the basketball landscape has changed.
We have witnessed outstanding play for years from the two
programs however nowadays everyone is competing for talent. A prospect who might have chosen UCLA or UNLV
now has Villanova, Texas, Michigan, Gonzaga and others to consider. The explosive growth of youth basketball at
the AAU level has seen the talent pool grow larger and larger. There’s just not enough room on UCLA or
UNLV’s roster to contain the number of prospects in today’s game. We constantly talk about balance; do we wish to
return to the days of one or two schools dominating NCAA play?
