Basketball
from a fan’s perspective
Don’t slay the messenger
A USA Today article prompted this short account, what occurs
should Kansas win the NCAA championship?
You might remember Kansas basketball received a notice of allegations from
the NCAA last September. In this case it
might be better if Kansas fails to win because they receive the championship
trophy one month and much later the title would be relinquished. Don’t think it could happen check out the
history, Louisville won the 2013 NCAA championship however it was vacated in
2018. If you are part of Kansas Nation don’t
slay the messenger, I’m only reporting what might possibly occur if Kansas wins
the championship.
High school to the
NBA
In 2005 the Lakers drafted Andrew Bynum; he became the 10th
pick in the first round. Bynum would
become the last player entering the NBA directly from high school. This scenario does not apply to International
players who fit a special criteria. A
story was published regarding the NBA Class of 1996 and how many players were
drafted ahead of Kobe Bryant. I told my
wife, “Why is this important now, Kobe arrived straight from high school while
the others had degrees of college experience.”
Kobe had just graduated from Lower Merion High School in suburban
Philadelphia when drafted but there may have been questions on his NBA
readiness.
My wife asked, “Have there been other high school players
with resumes similar to Kobe?” I thought
for a moment, Kevin Garnett came into the NBA from Farragut Academy High School
in Chicago. He would score over 26,000
points in his career and become an NBA champion. Garnett will be enshrined in the Naismith
Hall of Fame as soon as he’s eligible. The
other high school player we are witness to his play is LeBron James, St. Vincent-St.
Mary High School in Akron Ohio, he too is eventually headed to the Hall of Fame. Keep in mind there have been a significant
number of high school players drafted but few experienced the success of the trio
mentioned.
The East side of
the State
I’ve been bragging on Kansas City (MO) area players in the
NBA, our friends on the East side of the State have topped us. The area talent here is strictly playing a reserve
role except for Landry Shamet (Park Hill HS, Kansas City). My friend says St. Louis radio is claiming
the duo of Bradley Beal and Jayson Tatum are the best NBA players from St.
Louis since the days of Bill Bradley and JoJo White.
Bradley produced back to back 50-point games scoring 53
against the Bulls and followed that with 55 against the Bucks. I was praising Tatum earlier in the week regarding
his game against my Lakers. Tatum scored
41 points and had an opportunity to score the tying or winning basket at the horn. He followed with 36 and 33 points.
It’s difficult
At times this season it’s been quite difficult to watch
Mizzou basketball. On Wednesday evening
they scratched and clawed their way to victory over Vanderbilt beating the Commodores
61-52. The win leaves them with 6 wins
and 9 losses in the SEC and 14-14 overall, this certainly is nothing to brag
about. On an upward bound note Mizzou’s now
won 4 of the last 6 games played.
Once SEC play began in January the takeoff was extremely rough,
Mizzou won only one of its first five games. This is NOT offering an excuse for
poor play however injuries and, in some instances, coaching moves impacted this
team in areas Mizzou Nation fails to take into consideration. What do I know, this is written from a fans
perspective one who is part of Mizzou Nation?
