Basketball from a
fan’s perspective
Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday
The number one prospect
Unless you live in the Ypsilanti Michigan region its highly likely you’ve not seen Emoni Bates in action. If you follow the game as I do, I’m sure you are likely familiar with his name. For others what do we know about the 6-foot 8-inch 200 pound forward? He’s already the number one prospect in the Class of 2022, Bates’s received a boat load of accolades after but one season of high school basketball. According to Wikipedia Bates stood 6 foot 2 inches in the 6th grade, the next year it was 6 feet 6 inches.
One analyst, “He’s the best high school
prospect since LeBron James” and we know what transpired with that guy. Let’s cover the most recent news, Bates
entering his sophomore year of high school indicates he’s not headed for any
prep school. He could always change his
mind at some future date but indicates for now he will remain in the city at
Lincoln High School. It’s been mentioned
previously, if his basketball skill level continues to grow, he will likely be
the top NBA draft choice in 2022. By 2022
the one and done rule will have been eliminated by then.
Better defender
The headline reads, “I’m capable of being the Lakers third star” which should not be shocking news. Those are the words of Kyle Kuzma discussing the upcoming season. The 6-foot 9-inch forward was the 27th pick in the first round of the 2017 draft. He was drafted by the Nets and arrived in a draft day trade with the Lakers that sent D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Nets in exchange for he and Robin Lopez.
The headline reads, “I’m capable of being the Lakers third star” which should not be shocking news. Those are the words of Kyle Kuzma discussing the upcoming season. The 6-foot 9-inch forward was the 27th pick in the first round of the 2017 draft. He was drafted by the Nets and arrived in a draft day trade with the Lakers that sent D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Nets in exchange for he and Robin Lopez.
Consider this Lonzo Ball drafted 2nd
in the same draft certainly arrived with more ballyhoo than Kuzma, Ball played
at UCLA, Kuzma at Utah. As a reminder
attempting to secure Anthony Davis it was his name the Pelicans wanted, it was
the Lakers who continued to say NO.
Kuzma’s offensive numbers provide us proof he can play at this level; he
certainly is capable of stardom. The only complaint we read Kuzma could become
a better defender, notice it didn’t say GREAT just better. That’s certainly possible for him.
Mizzou non-con out
Mizzou announced its non-conference schedule this week. From this fan’s perspective it’s a mix bag, several very noteworthy games. Other games might be considered toss-ups, games Mizzou should win if they play well. A Mizzou fan website looks at it this way, “Good for the schedule bad for attendance.” I’m only going to cover those games I believe are going to be on the tough side. The first challenging game is November 12, the Tigers travel to Cincinnati to battle the always rough Xavier Musketeers.
Mizzou announced its non-conference schedule this week. From this fan’s perspective it’s a mix bag, several very noteworthy games. Other games might be considered toss-ups, games Mizzou should win if they play well. A Mizzou fan website looks at it this way, “Good for the schedule bad for attendance.” I’m only going to cover those games I believe are going to be on the tough side. The first challenging game is November 12, the Tigers travel to Cincinnati to battle the always rough Xavier Musketeers.
The Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City will
see Mizzou versus Butler on November 25, if they win, the following evening its
either Stanford or Oklahoma. On December
3 Mizzou plays Charleston Southern in Mizzou Arena, on the road in Philadelphia
on December 7 finds them matched against Temple. Those games are followed by Southern Illinois
and in the Annual Braggin’ Rights game they face Illinois. On January 25 it’s West Virginia on the road
in Morgantown, so there you have it.
Some might believe the schedule is not that compelling, I beg to differ
with them.
We certainly have a
great number of “experts”
The headline is certainly tongue in cheek; I don’t know about you, but I certainly experience it. Letter after letter written by college and NBA fans stating who can coach versus who can’t, in addition who can play and who can’t. Now I must admit to a degree sometimes I’m one of the culprits. Allow me to provide an example, a writer claims DeMarcus Cousins is damaged goods.
The headline is certainly tongue in cheek; I don’t know about you, but I certainly experience it. Letter after letter written by college and NBA fans stating who can coach versus who can’t, in addition who can play and who can’t. Now I must admit to a degree sometimes I’m one of the culprits. Allow me to provide an example, a writer claims DeMarcus Cousins is damaged goods.
The writer goes on to point out Cousins will
never return to his pre-injury self.
That’s a strong statement considering the writer has no firsthand
knowledge just an opinion. If it appears,
I’m defending Laker players that’s not the case it could apply to any player in
a similar scenario. We could apply this
writer’s statement to Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson and a host of other
players.
Hope this doesn’t sound
arrogant on my part
At the rate NBA players are dropping out or deciding to not play for Team USA the future looks dim for USA basketball. I’m referring to Team USA future play in the FIBA championships to be played in China. We get it, counting exhibition and the regular season most NBA players will have played well over 100 games.
At the rate NBA players are dropping out or deciding to not play for Team USA the future looks dim for USA basketball. I’m referring to Team USA future play in the FIBA championships to be played in China. We get it, counting exhibition and the regular season most NBA players will have played well over 100 games.
NBA players have literally been tied up
from October through April, those on playoff teams it’s been even longer
playing into May and June before their season is complete. The obligation to play in the FIBA games
really appears to lack the emphasis placed on Team USA for the. It’s my understanding FIBA positioning in
these games does set the stage for the Olympics, apparently that is not
paramount in the eyes of NBA players. Oh
well, hope we play aptly.
