Basketball from a
fan’s perspective
I trashed the story
Anytime someone says “trust me” you immediately become skeptical, that is the case but I’m going to say trust me. I wrote an account of Carmelo Anthony and provided an explanation why I believed he was no longer on an NBA roster. The account was finished Wednesday evening and the next day word came the Blazers would sign Anthony. We learn it’s a non-guaranteed contract which is certainly not surprising.
As for the Blazers they have underwhelmed
this early NBA season. I haven’t seen
enough to make my own judgement, but it might be the view the veteran Anthony
could help them. I don’t doubt it might
work for both parties, in addition if he fails to meet the Blazers standard,
he’s cut in December of January whatever the established date. On the earlier Anthony story, I highlighted
it on my draft page and pressed delete.
On second thought
I said to myself, “Larry, why not wait till the NCAA makes a decision regarding Wiseman. There is no requirement to add your two cents worth!” Well that was then, this is now, the NCAA is as wrong as walking into a department store and leaving with a shoe box containing two left shoes. I offer you no proof other than an opinion, the NCAA has long been out of step with society. In the 21st Century they are marching to a different beat than most of us.
I said to myself, “Larry, why not wait till the NCAA makes a decision regarding Wiseman. There is no requirement to add your two cents worth!” Well that was then, this is now, the NCAA is as wrong as walking into a department store and leaving with a shoe box containing two left shoes. I offer you no proof other than an opinion, the NCAA has long been out of step with society. In the 21st Century they are marching to a different beat than most of us.
This organization which makes millions of
dollars from the labor of football and basketball seems to have no compunction
regarding justice. We don’t know all the
details of this move by the Wiseman family.
There may well have been a “wink-wink, nod-nod” arrangement as the household
moved from Nashville to Memphis. My
chief issue the NCAA is always ready to pounce on the youngster rather than the
adults making the decisions. With DeAndre
Ayton at Arizona and Silvio De Sousa at Kansas it was the adults.
You might say the NCAA has no power over
the family other than declaring a prospect ineligible. Consider this bit of information when California
passed legislation allowing college athletes would be able to receive payment
the NCAA made a loud emphatic statement saying NO! Fast forward a few weeks later and the
governing body appears to have changed its mind on the issue of athletes being
paid. As a matter of principle, the NCAA
should free James Wiseman and allow him to play, more than likely it will only
be for one year anyway.
Bits n Pieces
Winning an NBA championship is not the only mark of a great player. Despite this statement we seem to hang that yoke around a player’s neck. Chris Paul is now 34-years old, he’s on the downhill side of a brilliant NBA career. We can lay all kinds of accolades on Paul but one lacking is NBA champion. Unless he’s traded to a contender, he will close out his career without a ring, sorry Thunder fans this is no slam at your team. The Thunder are rebuilding and no contender at this point.
Winning an NBA championship is not the only mark of a great player. Despite this statement we seem to hang that yoke around a player’s neck. Chris Paul is now 34-years old, he’s on the downhill side of a brilliant NBA career. We can lay all kinds of accolades on Paul but one lacking is NBA champion. Unless he’s traded to a contender, he will close out his career without a ring, sorry Thunder fans this is no slam at your team. The Thunder are rebuilding and no contender at this point.
We are in the early signing period for
athletes which runs from the second Wednesday of November to the third
Wednesday of the month. As this is
written the so-called Blue Blood programs North Carolina, Duke and Kansas are
the early projected winners. Texas Tech,
Tennessee and others might not be considered Blue Blood however it appears they
also benefited from this early signing period.
We heard an analyst refer to Grizzlies
rookie Ja Morant as skinny, that might well be true. Morant stands 6 foot 3 but weighs a slim 175
pounds. He reminds us of that cartoon
character the Road Runner “Beep-Beep” up and down the basketball court. He’s shooting nearly 48% from the floor and
scoring is 18.9 points per game, we can add 3.4 rebounds and 6 assists a game
to his total. We realize Zion Williamson
is yet to appear on the court, right now I’m pronouncing Morant 2020 NBA Rookie
of the Year.
