Basketball from a
fan’s perspective
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Temporary stop
Makur Maker is an uncommitted Class of 2020 prospect, he’s Rivals 8th rated prospect in the class. The belief is Maker is headed to Oregon however that’s liable to be a temporary stop. It doesn’t matter if he chooses Oregon or some other school on his radar that school is likely to be a temporary stop. The 7-foot 230 pound is in the process of submitting his name for the 2020 NBA draft.
The 2019-20 season will be his 5th
year of high school and he turns 19 years old next month; both are keys as to
whether a prospect might be eligible for the draft. Stay tuned for further developments to this
story, incidentally one question. His
last name is Maker, are you wondering if he’s related to Piston center Thon
Maker? The question is yes, he’s a
younger cousin.
Allow a brief
explanation
LeBron James has been condemned in several circles due to his comment on China. It is quite interesting comparing it to history of the past, the greatest player in basketball history heard the same remarks only for a different reason. Back in the day Michael Jordan offered few remarks on issues be they civil or social. A quote was attributed to him at the time which has endured to this day. It was believed marketing the Jordan brand was more important than commentating on civil or social concerns. So, there you have it, Jordan criticized for not talking and LeBron criticized for the opposite.
LeBron James has been condemned in several circles due to his comment on China. It is quite interesting comparing it to history of the past, the greatest player in basketball history heard the same remarks only for a different reason. Back in the day Michael Jordan offered few remarks on issues be they civil or social. A quote was attributed to him at the time which has endured to this day. It was believed marketing the Jordan brand was more important than commentating on civil or social concerns. So, there you have it, Jordan criticized for not talking and LeBron criticized for the opposite.
Blame him?
The National Basketball League (Australia) runs shorter (28 games) than the NBA, once 14 home and 14 road games are complete the playoffs begin in the NBL. Currently the NBL regular season has begun play while the NBA begins play for real next week. What’s the point of this exercise you are probably asking? It’s all about LeMelo Ball, the Illawarra Hawks are 1-2 as this is written, Ball is in a three-way tie as the team’s leading scorer at almost 13 points a game. He’s the team’s leading assist man at near 6 a game. With such a short season will LeMelo be blamed for the team’s slow start and play to this point?
The National Basketball League (Australia) runs shorter (28 games) than the NBA, once 14 home and 14 road games are complete the playoffs begin in the NBL. Currently the NBL regular season has begun play while the NBA begins play for real next week. What’s the point of this exercise you are probably asking? It’s all about LeMelo Ball, the Illawarra Hawks are 1-2 as this is written, Ball is in a three-way tie as the team’s leading scorer at almost 13 points a game. He’s the team’s leading assist man at near 6 a game. With such a short season will LeMelo be blamed for the team’s slow start and play to this point?
Let’s check the history, last season
Illawarra finished 6th in the 8 team NBL, in fact the past two
seasons has witnessed them finishing with 12 wins and 16 losses. Naturally losing records have prevented
Illawarra from qualifying for the playoffs.
The 2019-20 season will see a 9th team being added to the
NBL, the South East Melbourne Phoenix begin play. Based on the past it would appear the poor
start cannot (or should not) be blamed strictly on the addition of Ball. This upcoming season the NBL completes its
regular season in February 2020 and then the playoffs begin. Although the number of games played is
smaller the NBL likely ranks slightly behind Euro basketball although the NBL
contains several former NBA athletes.
"There's no crying in baseball, basketball"
If we could line up Kobe Haters, they probably
could hold hands across the nation.
There are that many folks who love to hate him, guess what he’s got
company. You can’t see it, maybe you
refuse to see it. What can we say about
Michael Jordan other than winner, numerous things? One thing for certain MJ demanded excellence
from his teammates, so did Kobe. How
come MJ is treated so royally by fans and the media and Kobe is held in a
different light? There is no rational
answer, several folks are just plain comfortable hatin’ rather than praising. This could be understood somewhat if they
said, “Kobe never won anything.”
That’s certainly untrue if we could say
in truth, every time the number of championships is mentioned this is what we
hear. The Lakers won because of Shaq
or Horry maybe it was Rick Fox or Ron Harper for unknown reasons they
downplayed Kobe’s NBA championships which total 5, MJ’s 6. In conclusion we can state as far as we know
Kobe never caused a teammate to cry. A
story unconfirmed has continued to circulate, MJ during practice while a member
of the Wizards did just that. Running
practice Kwame Brown drew the ire of MJ for his effort which caused Brown to
cry. All 7-foot 1 inch 275-pound Brown
humiliated by MJ began bawling.
He’s a conundrum
Over the summer and early fall Mizzou added 7-foot 240-pound Axel Okongo from junior college, in late September the school received a 2020 commitment from 7-foot 3 inch 250-pound Jordan Wilmore from Baltimore. It’s been reported the coach is working to secure an additional year of eligibility for Okongo. The status of Jeremiah Tilmon was likely the basis for the two off season moves, the 6-10 260-pound power forward submitted his name as an early entry candidate for the NBA.
Over the summer and early fall Mizzou added 7-foot 240-pound Axel Okongo from junior college, in late September the school received a 2020 commitment from 7-foot 3 inch 250-pound Jordan Wilmore from Baltimore. It’s been reported the coach is working to secure an additional year of eligibility for Okongo. The status of Jeremiah Tilmon was likely the basis for the two off season moves, the 6-10 260-pound power forward submitted his name as an early entry candidate for the NBA.
A paperwork problem caused Tilmon to
return to Mizzou. That’s the concern of coach Cuonzo and staff, might he repeat
a similar act after completing his junior year?
Several in Mizzou Nation were shaking their heads wondering what the
heck Tilmon was doing or not thinking.
Despite his apparent talent Tilmon has a propensity for foul trouble, in
two seasons he’s managed to sit out extensive portions of games. Until he becomes skilled at avoiding foul
trouble this Mizzou fan questions his NBA future.
