Basketball
from a fan’s perspective
Alien invasion
Earth communities
have been invaded, this is no “War of the Worlds” or “Independence Day”
scenario. This invader is not from outer
space rather it is from this world. The
reference is the COVID-19 virus and its devastating impact on citizens of the
world. With this and other issues facing
societies someone might question, “Why do you continue to publish a basketball
blog there’s nothing going on. The college
season ceased operations so did the NBA.
Many summer basketball pursuits have been cancelled prior to July.”
That
statement and many similar are certainly true however there is a future beyond
COVID-19. This “plague” will eventually
subside, many more will become ill and others might die but it ends at some
point. The world continues to operate although
it might be in a suppressed pace, there remains stuff basketball included. We can look at the history and projections
for next season regarding the high school, college and NBA game. In short that is the reason we continue to
publish with the belief this shall pass.
Thank you for reading Words eye view and hopefully you will into the
future.
The records
What
occurs should the 2019-20 NBA season be concluded without a championship
series? One thing for sure you are not
likely to hear any talk about the Lakers, Clippers, Raptors or any other team
declared NBA champion. Sure, as this
account is being written fans and many in the media might offer their opinion, there
are serious doubts if it gains any traction.
The
records, what about them? I’m happy you
ask the question because I have the answer.
I believe every stat not involving championship status should be placed
in the official record books. Ja Morant
should be named Rookie of the Year, LeBron James assist winner and James Harden
scoring champion and so forth and so on.
I’m quite sure some parties will not agree with me however that’s
okay.
I know the name
A few
us heard the name Kristaps Porzingis ahead of the 2015 NBA draft, we had no idea if he could play but we knew the name. We can make the same statement regarding Luka
Doncic, few of us here had any opportunity to see most Euro players in
action. Back to Porzingis a moment, five years later many of us are still laughing at Stephen A. Smith for his draft day rant. Much later Smith was forced to admit Porzingis could play.
NBA scouts did, they will fly around the world to discover
what might be budding basketball talent.
There are several international players on a few mock draft sites. At the top of the list on most is the name
Deni Advija, he’s a 6-foot 9-inch small forward. Advija plays for Maccabi Tel Aviv and is
listed as a lottery choice on most mock draft sites. The only disclaimer is the usual, we believe
he can play at the NBA level however that's not set in stone.
“Should I stay or
should I go”
For those unfamiliar the punk rock group of the 80’s The
Clash had a hit tune with the above title.
Kyle Boone wrote a piece for cbssports.com college basketball page. Boone identified 5 players he believed had a
decision in front of them, would they return to school or enter the NBA draft? The 5 he identified were certainly budding
talents but had questions regarding their game.
One of the athletes he identified was local talent Ochai Agbaji who attended
Oak Park High School in Kansas City (MO) before heading to Kansas two years ago.
Unlike this past season the 2018-19 Jayhawks struggled, it
was reported Bill Self wanted to redshirt Agbaji. Evidently in practice or some point the
youngster began to gain minutes on the court.
Agbaji was expected to have a breakout sophomore year only it didn’t
occur. For a variety of reasons his game
was not as strong as the previous year.
Despite the slide backwards his name appeared on several mock draft
sites which is the basis for the question.
Devin Dotson will probably leave for the draft and Udoka Azubuike is a senior,
so the breech is wide open. What is
Agbaji saying to himself, should I go, or should I stay?
