Basketball from a fan’s perspective

He wasn’t the first
In 2010 Jeremy Lin’s name was added to the Warriors roster and it was believed he was the first Asian-American to play in the Basketball Association of America predecessor to today’s NBA.  Not actually correct, in the 1947-48 season Wataru “Wat” Misaka a Japanese American played three games for the Knicks.  Misaka predates even Yao as the first Asian player in the NBA.  He was the point guard on a Utah team which won the 1944 NCAA tournament and the NIT in 1947. Misaka was a 5-foot 7-inch 150-pound point guard in his playing days. 

He later said he held no ill will toward the Knicks or the NBA despite the fact he only played those three games.  Misaka indicated Carl Braun was one of the guards and the Knick roster was guard heavy.  Others looked at his race as an issue although he claims he never believed that was a problem.  It was 1950 when Chuck Cooper became the first African American player in the NBA.  As for Misaka he died the other day at the age of 95, after his playing days were over, he returned to Salt Lake City and lived there until his death.  Wataru “Wat” Misaka a basketball and NBA pioneer who should be familiar to all. 

We must return to the days of Wilt
The USA Today headline asked the question, ‘Can James Harden really average 40 points per game in a season?’  Currently “The Beard” is averaging 38 points a game in this early NBA season, I decided to research the question.  I began a search of scoring champions of the past, in the 1986-7 season Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 points a game the most recent.  I continued to go back in time before I came across the 1962-63 Wilt Chamberlain 44.8 points per game. 

Just think that was a drop off, the previous year he’d averaged an amazing 50.4 points a game. As for Harden in the present NBA age of more travel, we have more teams plus back to back games and a wide variety of defenses to negate an offensive player.  It might be extremely difficult for Harden to continue scoring at his current pace.  On the other hand, I try to never say never, and I’ll give you two examples. 

Example one, I told the story previously, a co-worker once asked me if Dennis Rodman would ever be enshrined in the Hall of Fame?  I stated an emphatic NO which of course turned out to be incorrect, in 2011 Rodman was enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame.  Example number two, I said Russell Westbrook would never duplicate Oscar Robertson.  He’d never be able to average a triple-double for a season, not only did he accomplish the feat once but two more seasons thereafter. 

A 2020 tournament already
Mizzou is scheduled to play in the Hall of Fame Classic on Monday November 25^th, that’s quite interesting Mizzou is yet to play in a 2019 tournament but have announced plans for a 2020 tournament.  The Myrtle Beach Classic scheduled for November 19-22, Mizzou’s been invited along with Utah State, Loyola of Chicago, Penn, Charlotte, Dayton, Nebraska and Pitt. 

On the surface the teams for Myrtle Beach should make for quite a competitive tournament.  I believe pre-season tournaments are usually held in warm weather climates this one I am not so sure.  As I was completing this account, I checked the afternoon temperature in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and discovered it’s not much warmer than Kansas City in the middle of November.  Rest assured Myrtle Beach doesn’t get the snow and ice dumped on us in metro Kansas City annually. 

How many?
Although I’ve never lived in Los Angeles, I’ve made no secret of my longtime love affair with the Lakers.  I continue to read comments from Clippers fans claiming Laker fans are arrogant.  There might be as many arrogant fans on both sides, want an example?  In a discussion a Laker fan pointed to the 16 championships the team’s won.  A Clipper fan offered a counterpoint by indicating only 11 were won in Los Angeles.  The others had to be discounted since they were won while the team was in Minneapolis.  This was an effort by this fan (and Doc Rivers) to lower the number of championships. 

Let’s check out other sports teams’ championships.  The Kings website indicates they were NBA champions in 1951, that championship was won in Rochester (NY) not Sacramento.  The Warriors have won championships in California, they also won in 1947 and 1956 when they were the Philadelphia Warriors.  The NFL Colts won two NFL finals and one Super Bowl while the team was in Baltimore.  The baseball Dodgers and Giants won World Series while located in Brooklyn and New York respectively.  See how silly this argument is for all concerned, individuals even coaches cannot decide the validity of a championship?