Basketball
from a fan’s perspective
Black Mamba
It occurs in life; a person is born and impacts the
population in a variety of ways. Kobe
Bryant was a man, a highly skilled basketball player. It’s been said we’ll never witness another
with his drive and determination. I say
hold on, that’s a bold statement considering none of us can see the future. There will never be another Kobe, he’s gone
from our midst however there could be another yet unborn human being with a
similar mindset. He or she will be
driven to play the game of basketball at the highest level. They will expect everyone to have the same
dedication and mindset they have.
The overwhelming desire to win will exist in their mind and body
in the same manner of Kobe. With all the
praise laid on him he was just a man, a man who like us made and
continued to make mistakes till the day he died. He was brash, unapologetic and convinced he
was the best and perhaps that’s what bothered some. As for the basketball this was often said by
his critics, “He’d take the shot over an open teammate.” If you check his career numbers, they detail
a shooting guard with nearly 5 assists a game over the course of his NBA career.
There was no middle ground for Kobe, he was either hated or
loved by those prior to his death. His
light shone brightly for a period and has now dimmed, he will forever be
remembered by many basketball fans and countless who don’t follow the game. The
light of Kobe like ours in time has or will dim but the impact of our coming will
be long-lasting. Check for yourself the
number of NBA players who wore jersey number 8 or 24. There might be no basis for the league to retire
the numbers, it would appear NBA players have spoken volumes by their decision
to change their jersey number.
“Blind” loyalty
I hope my loyalty to my team(s) doesn’t involve stupid devotion. This is an actual letter
from a Kansas fan, I read it on the fan website, so I guess he’s loyal to the
Jayhawks. He questioned why David
McCormick had been suspended due to the Allen Fieldhouse fiasco. “Kansas State players threw the first punches
(probably true), they should have suspended the entire K-State team.”
The writer overlooked the fact Kansas players came off the
bench as well. He went on to state,
“McCormick did nothing wrong.” That last
comment is interesting to me, Kansas has 12 or 14 players on their roster. The Big 12 Conference decided to suspend
McCormick because he was in the vicinity of the fight…I highly doubt it. I certainly have no intention of pointing an accusing finger at McCormick however there must have been some reason for the suspension besides "being in the area."
The view from
30,000 feet
Help me, there is no argument James Harden is a very talented
player. From my view it appears he
shoots the ball a great deal, will the Rockets win with Harden taking his usual
high number of shots, let’s crunch some numbers. The Beard is averaging 38 points a game, he’s
shooting 45.5% from the floor 37.9% from the 3-point line and 86.2 from the
line. In his game versus the Hawks the
Rockets took 92 shots 54 of them by Harden, over half of his team’s shots.
As this is written Harden’s team is 25-11 and in the playoff
picture, they are 3rd place in the Western Conference. An ESPN scribe wrote “They (Rockets) are
slightly better with Russell Westbrook in the backcourt versus Chris
Paul.” The question becomes can they win
the West, or better yet can they win an NBA championship as structured. Normally I’m blabby about my view of a
subject athlete or team, this time draw your own conclusions.
Mutombo
Long-time NBA fans are familiar with the name Dikembe Mutombo. Mutombo had an 18-year career in the NBA. You read the name among high school prospects
and your mind says, “I wonder if.” Both
Mutombo’s are nearly the same height, Bretner is 6-10 while Ryan stands 6-11,
both weigh 210 pounds. The Mutomobo’s
are in the Class of 2021 and awarded three-stars by Rivals.com
At this point we provide separation for the two, Bretner is
no relation to Dikembe while Ryan is one of the Big Man’s sons. Both Mutombo’s are uncommitted at this point
but there is an additional tidbit of information, Ryan might be headed to
Georgetown the school of his father.
Both Ryan and Bretner have Georgia Tech on their list, wouldn't it be interesting if both choose Georgia Tech?
