Basketball from a fan’s perspective

The coach
Other than NBA coverage Division I basketball is the second most covered topic for Words eye view.  That’s not to say other levels of basketball are not competitive.  That’s the topic in this account, unless you live in the area Philadelphia University might be an unknown.  The school competes at the Division II level which makes it somewhat anonymous.  In addition, the school’s changed names over the years and is now known as Philadelphia University through a merger. 

Through the name changes Herb Magee has served as head coach, in fact he was hired prior to the 1967-68 season when the school was then known as Philadelphia Textile.  Can you imagine this in 52 years the programs only experienced three losing seasons under Magee?  With over 1,000 wins Magee joined an exclusive club last week, the victory over Kutztown last week placed Magee with Coach K.  Both coaches have over 1,100 wins on their respective resumes which certainly is remarkable and noteworthy. 

Texas Shootout
The game wasn’t on ESPN/TNT or NBA TV, I’m sure the game was telecast on Fox Sports Southwest but it’s not on the system in Kansas City which is logical.  The game was of interest, Mavs versus the Rockets two of the three Texas teams.  I utilized ESPN’s Gamecast feature on their NBA.com page.  I noted when I first click on the Mavs had a 60 something to 40 something lead.  My first thought, ‘The Mavs must be smoking on offense and the Rockets cannot seem to contain them.’  The score continued to mount, and I really had no idea of the quarter because I was paying more attention to the scoring. 

I noticed on the side of the screen the countdown had begun when it read 0.00 the Mavs had a 78 to 60 lead.  Oh well I’ll wait for the 4^th quarter to begin, when I fully checked the stats imagine my shock when I discovered 78-60 was the HALFTIME SCORE!  As this is written I’m waiting for the second half to begin, all I can say is for the Rockets to give up such a large amount of points in a half…wow.  The Rockets close the gap, at the end of 3 its Mavs 105 Rockets 95.  Final score Mavs 137 Rockets 123, this must have been quite a shootout. 

Bits n Pieces
The Hall of Fame Classic should provide a test for Mizzou.  The Tigers face Butler University in a Monday evening match.  Going into the game Butler is yet to lose they have a sparkling 4-0 record.  I don’t know much about this team, but this Indiana school has a rich basketball history and tradition.

I just checked the history; do you realize it’s as if the Kings never called Kansas City home?  Consider the timeline, the Cincinnati Royals moved here in 1972 and left for Sacramento in 1985 a total of 13 years.  1985 to 2019 is 34 years so you see where I’m coming from.  At least two generations of Kansas Citians were born grew to adulthood without realizing the NBA standings once contained the name Kansas City Kings.  

Sierra Canyon High School is a coeducational private high school located in Chatsworth which is metro Los Angeles.  The basketball roster includes the sons of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade.  ESPN.com announces 15 Sierra Canyon games will be available for viewing by a national and world-wide audience.  Much of the schedule will be telecast on ESPN3, while other games will be split between ESPN2 and ESPNU.  If you don’t mind paying you can view this first season of Bronny James and Zaire Wade as teammates. 

The countdown continues for Knicks coach David Fizdale.  It’s just a matter of time before he’s eventually fired, does he deserve to be terminated might be your question?  We really cannot answer that or anything else for that matter.  It was pointed out in this publication the belief he’s not been allowed enough time to turn the team around.  In addition, the coach cannot secure free agents or arrange trades which might boost their win total.  The Knicks front office seems to lack direction (and effort) in how to re-build this team.

Two NBA players are going to be a little cash short this month.  The Clippers Patrick Beverly fined $5,000 for flopping.  I didn’t see it in real time, check out the video on NBA.com or another source for yourself.  It’s quite clear Beverly needs additional acting lessons.  It must be an LA thing; the Lakers Rajon Rondo was fined a hefty $35,000.  Rondo was fined for having physical contact with Thunder guard Dennis Schroder, verbal abuse of an official and not leaving the court in a timely manner when ejected. 

The top two

This is not 2015, you realize that fact, that was the year the Knicks made Kristaps Porzingis the number four pick in the first round.  The word heard draft night from coast to coast ‘Who is this guy?’  Technically the question was not true NBA scouts and most mock draft sites which are unofficial were acquainted with Porzingis.  Late 1^st round and 2^nd round International players are an unknown, if your name pops up in the lottery area, we’d better pay attention. 

That is the case here, his name is Theo Maledon and he’s a 6-foot 5-inch point guard.  And your next question, ‘Can he play?’  I have no idea however nbadraft.net list him as the number five pick currently on their site.  As for nbadraftroom.com has him listed in the 9^th position.  From Israel we have Deni Avdija, currently he plays for Maccabi Haifa and is a 6-foot 8-inch small forward.  For his ranking nbadraft.net has Avdija at 8 and nbadraftroom.com list him at 9.  So, there you have it, the top two International athletes who are foreign born.