Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Help Wanted

We’ve seen those signs in the window of businesses, you know the ones that state, “Help Wanted.”  There’s no sign in front of the Knicks office however it does apply in the case you are about to read.  Wonder what might occur if they advertised for a head coach and someone said, “I need a job I just don’t need… THAT JOB!”  Speaking would be former head coach Stan Van Gundy; he says the Knicks are too dysfunctional. 

Not only did he thrash the Knicks ownership he even stated he didn’t believe younger brother Jeff Van Gundy wanted the job either.  You might remember Jeff was head coach once upon a time, Stan’s statement was made without consulting Jeff.  Both the Van Gundy brothers are working in television Stan for NBA TV as an analyst while Jeff does play by play commentary for NBA broadcast on TNT.  This would appear to say they prefer working in television over coaching in the NBA at least coaching the Knicks.  

What do you think?

Although the 2019-20 college basketball season came to a screeching halt, what about next season?  ESPN.com staff writer Jeff Borzello decided to peer into his crystal ball, the results might prove interesting.  He’s got Villanova winning the whole thing, certainly not surprising.  All Jay Wright does is win and win, he then wins some more, his Wildcats could have made an “NCAA run” had the season not been cancelled.  It’s no surprise he places the Kansas Jayhawks at number 10, they could lose a great deal of their firepower and defense.  Who does he expect to be at the top of the Big 12, the Baylor Bears? 

Baylor was clearly in the driver’s seat until they experienced a couple of late season losses.  Back to Kansas a moment, clearly 10 is not terrible if we consider there are 300+ Division I college programs, I’d say that’s doggone good.  Borzello places the Creighton Bluejays as number two in the nation, he believes they are that good.  Mizzou will face stiff competition in the SEC next fall and winter.  Tennessee, Arkansas and LSU are all listed in his Top 25.  I admit I haven’t paid a great deal of attention to Colorado basketball since they moved to the Pac-12.  As a member of the Big 8 (12) Conference I remember few days as a Top 25 team, Borzello list them as the Top 21 team next season. 

They have no scholarship and the other

Josh Christopher is a 6-foot 5 217-pound shooting guard, Rivals list him as the number 11 athlete in the Class of 2020 and a 5-star prospect.  This Lakewood California talent has 19 offers on the table from various schools throughout the nation.  Although the McDonalds game will not be played this season January 2020, he was named an All American. 

Rivals indicates there is a 45% chance he attends Mizzou however the story evolves from there.  The Mizzou basketball staff contains a family member and Christopher’s visited last fall.  Jordan Wilmore inherits the scholarship held by the departure of senior Reed Nikko.  As you might have read most of Mizzou’s roster returns so that’s the glitch.  Should Christopher head for Columbia Missouri how does Mizzou add him to the roster? 

The “other” is 5-star Class of 2021 prospect Aminu Mohammed a 6-4 175-pound shooting guard.  Mohammed attends Greenwood Laboratory School in Springfield (MO) and currently has 16 offers to play from several schools.  I’ve long held the belief McDonald All Americans or 5-star prospects don’t guarantee a winning program.  It certainly cannot hurt for Mizzou basketball to land either of these prospects.  The prospect of both possibly headed to Columbia is beyond the realm of possibility.      

Where did he play?

As this is written we are unsure at what point the 2019-20 NBA season concludes.  When it does Ja Morant will be named Rookie of the Year, Zion Williamson will finish second in the voting.  Morant attended Murray State and Williamson Duke University, one smallish school and one known throughout the world.  In recent years most NBA players have either arrived from power conferences or overseas, Morant is that rare exception.  That’s not always been the case throughout the NBA’s history. 

Hall of Fame player Artis Gilmore honed his skills at Jacksonville State, the late Nate Thurmond also in the Hall played at Bowling Green University.  Former Sonics and Bucks center Jack Sikma spent his college career at Illinois Wesleyan a Division III school.  Dennis Rodman played at two schools, North Central Texas a community college and Division II Southeastern Oklahoma State.  Michael Jordan’s running mate Scottie Pippen played his college basketball at Central Arkansas, which is now a Division I program, at the time Pippen was enrolled the school was a Division II school.  There are others, the names mentioned are just a few of the number.