Basketball from a
fan’s perspective
Who wins in Oakland?
Probably most folks say Toronto, they base this on 3 games to 2 lead. Kawhi Leonard is somewhere in the mix as well as a key to victory. The Warriors are stumbling, barely escaping Canada with the Game Five win. No question there will be no Kevin Durant coming on to the floor to rescue the beleaguered Warriors. The home crowd will be yelling and screaming for the Splash Brothers, but will that be enough?
The Warriors have been guilty of what could be termed
unforced turnovers, those occasions you lose the ball simply not executing a
play properly. The Raptors realize
instead of the Larry O' Brien championship trophy being presented on their home floor it must be
done at Oracle Arena. The Raptors might
be their own worst enemy they should be celebrating their first NBA
championship. Who wins on Thursday, I
have no idea? I believe the Raptors win,
am I willing to wager a small sum of money…. NOPE!
They see what we can’t
You can return to yesterday’s edition if necessary. A number might remember Mizzou signed 7-foot Axel Okongo on Monday from a Wyoming junior college. You might remember we discovered the youngster started no games at Northwest College. His scoring average when on the floor was microscopic, why was he signed? A day later we discover a bit more information, you know that thing they always talk about. P-O-T-E-N-T-I-A-L, potential I’m not going to bore you with all the details.
You can return to yesterday’s edition if necessary. A number might remember Mizzou signed 7-foot Axel Okongo on Monday from a Wyoming junior college. You might remember we discovered the youngster started no games at Northwest College. His scoring average when on the floor was microscopic, why was he signed? A day later we discover a bit more information, you know that thing they always talk about. P-O-T-E-N-T-I-A-L, potential I’m not going to bore you with all the details.
The Northwest coach and the athletic director both see a high
ceiling for him more defensively currently.
The coach acquainted with Mizzou assistant Michael Porter Sr. made a recommendation to him. At some
point the coaching staff including the head coach must have seen Okongo
workout and believed he was a low risk-high yield prospect. Mizzou plans on getting him in the weight
room and adding bulk to his present 240 pounds.
So, there you have it, those intangibles we fans sometimes are unable to
see. Will Okongo make the jump to
Division I basketball, only time will tell.
Not our call
The first report I heard Tuesday morning, “Should Kevin Durant have chosen to play?” We are going to hear that statement and similar ones over and over for the next few days. This is for fans and former players, it’s not our call we certainly have our opinions but it’s just that, OUR OPINION. Transport yourself into the body of Kevin Durant, you haven’t played in a month. Your team is on the verge of elimination and you believe you can help do you play or remain on the sidelines?
Not our call
The first report I heard Tuesday morning, “Should Kevin Durant have chosen to play?” We are going to hear that statement and similar ones over and over for the next few days. This is for fans and former players, it’s not our call we certainly have our opinions but it’s just that, OUR OPINION. Transport yourself into the body of Kevin Durant, you haven’t played in a month. Your team is on the verge of elimination and you believe you can help do you play or remain on the sidelines?
Collegiate block shots
The NCAA did not begin to track blocked shots until the 1985-86 season, do you realize what that causes? Several historic big men missed the cut, their names are not included in the all-time collegiate blocked shots list. Celtic legend Bill Russell began blocking shots at the University of San Francisco. Russell was not the first to perform the task, but he perfected it more skillfully than anyone up to that point. A few years later came Wilt Chamberlain, he matriculated at Kansas and he took as much pride in his offensive game as his defense especially shot blocking. We have no idea how many blocked shots Russell or Chamberlain might have registered during their collegiate years. We could take this discussion one step further, noted shot blockers Ralph Sampson, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon are missing in action.
The NCAA did not begin to track blocked shots until the 1985-86 season, do you realize what that causes? Several historic big men missed the cut, their names are not included in the all-time collegiate blocked shots list. Celtic legend Bill Russell began blocking shots at the University of San Francisco. Russell was not the first to perform the task, but he perfected it more skillfully than anyone up to that point. A few years later came Wilt Chamberlain, he matriculated at Kansas and he took as much pride in his offensive game as his defense especially shot blocking. We have no idea how many blocked shots Russell or Chamberlain might have registered during their collegiate years. We could take this discussion one step further, noted shot blockers Ralph Sampson, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon are missing in action.
*“Many well-known
players, such as Hall of Famers Ralph Sampson, David Robinson and Hakeem
Olajuwon accumulated
college block totals that would have placed
them in the top 25 all-time if they had not played before blocks were a
recognized statistic. Olajuwon played for Houston and accumulated
454 blocks in his three-year career.
Robinson, meanwhile, evenly split his four-year career at Navy between
the pre-block and the recognized-block statistical eras. For his entire college career, Robinson
recorded 516 blocks, but since his junior and senior seasons' block totals
are officially recognized, his two-year sum of 351 blocks does not even
rank in the top 25 all-time.” The NBA
was the same as college the only difference they began recording blocked shots in
the 1973-74 season, Russell began play for the Celtics in 1956, Chamberlain’s
rookie year with the Warriors was 1959.
As you can see both are missing in college and the NBA record books.
*Wikipedia
