Basketball
from a fan’s perspective
Decisions, decisions
Josh Christopher Rivals 11 rated prospect in the Class of
2020 is close. He will make his
announcement official on Monday April 13.
Mizzou is very rarely in the running for a 5-star prospect and McDonald's
All American, this 6-foot 5 shooting guard appears to have all the tools. This is all speculation on my part, but my
belief is despite a Mizzou connection Christopher will likely choose the
University of Michigan. Naturally if Christopher decides in favor of Mizzou this member of Mizzou Nation will be thoroughly
pleased.
NBA draft
This account is not set in stone take it for what it is, pure
speculation. The draft might be moved
from its June date to August 1, if this should occur it makes sense on several
levels. Hopefully by that time the
pandemic will have subsided, we could foresee NBA teams with the opportunity to
work out prospects at their facilities.
No game this season
McDonald’s All Americans were chosen but no game was played.
Looking back over the years the game has been an introduction to basketball
royalty. Being honored by the game was
the highlight for many of the youngsters at the time. That first year 1977 witnessed Magic Johnson
being selected a McDonald’s All American.
1979 we saw James Worthy and Dominque Wilkins in action on the
basketball court.
The 1981 team had the GOAT play in the game, Michael
Jordan. 1988 Shawn Kemp, Alonzo Mourning
and Chris Jackson were honored, the next year witnessed Shaquille O’Neal. The 1991 team had three players Chris Webber,
Jimmie King and Juwan Howard who played in the game, months later they would join
as teammates at the University of Michigan.
Paul Pierce and Vince Carter saw action in the 1995 game, the
following year the late Kobe Bryant’s name was added to the list. In 2003 today’s, best NBA player LeBron James
from St. Vincent-St. Mary was a roster member.
That’s just a thumbnail sketch on those honored as McDonald’s All
Americans. There were numerous names who would distinguish themselves later in the NBA have
been omitted this was to give you a brief look back and forward.
Revisionist history
The late Kobe Bryant was demonstrating his prowess on the basketball court at a high skill level. The previous season Kobe’s numbers read 25.3 ppg along with 5.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists, as for Paul it was 15.8 ppg, 4.1 rebounds and 9.8 assists. Can you imagine Chris Paul at the point and Kobe Bryant at the shooting guard, the Lakers would have been unstoppable? For those who believe the two might not have blended forget it the two had mutual respect for the others game. As stated, earlier Paul has been on the Hall of Fame road for quite a while, too bad among many of the accolades will be no NBA championship.
Revisionist history
Thunder point guard Chris Paul is on the downhill side of a
brilliant NBA career. He will be enshrined
in the Hall of Fame as for an NBA championship that’s another matter. What might have occurred if David Stern had
not vetoed the trade to the Lakers? The Hornets
(Pelicans) traded Paul to the Lakers in December 2011 and Stern said, “In the
best interest of the NBA the trade is rescinded.” Eventually Paul would be traded to Los
Angeles but the other Los Angeles team the Clippers.
The late Kobe Bryant was demonstrating his prowess on the basketball court at a high skill level. The previous season Kobe’s numbers read 25.3 ppg along with 5.1 rebounds and 6.3 assists, as for Paul it was 15.8 ppg, 4.1 rebounds and 9.8 assists. Can you imagine Chris Paul at the point and Kobe Bryant at the shooting guard, the Lakers would have been unstoppable? For those who believe the two might not have blended forget it the two had mutual respect for the others game. As stated, earlier Paul has been on the Hall of Fame road for quite a while, too bad among many of the accolades will be no NBA championship.
