Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Bits n Pieces

Andre Drummond Cavs Big Man shocked his server recently.  On a $164 tab Drummond left a $1,000 tip, she did not realize the size of the tip until she rang it up.  She indicated once she looks at the ticket she was in shock, a feel-good story for the morning. 

Adrian Wojnarowki claims the agreement to start the season will not make all parties happy.  Perhaps the playoff picture will possibly be expanded for one thing.  The best defense I heard was by a local guy, "These are not usual times, we must make adjustments if the season is to be completed."  

Free throws      

The emphasis is on “free” and nobody receives a pass on shooting them. Hall of Fame athlete Rick Barry once said; “nobody is guarding you; it should be the easiest shot in basketball.” I think we might conclude Barry knew the subject matter well. He shot .893 over the course of his 14-year career; separately it was .880 in the ABA and .900 in the NBA. Consider this, court length the 3-point line and other variables exist depending on the level of competition. 

Did you realize standing at the free throw line the distance to the basket is 15 feet. It does not matter if we are discussing junior high basketball, high school, college, or the NBA. The only difference is FIBA which measures at 15.9 feet. It is my belief a portion of the difficulty shooting free throws kids do not practice it enough. In addition, it is not exciting for the shooter; they grow up with the mind set of scoring a 3-point basket in the waning seconds of a game. Shooting free-throws is just not cool, sexy whatever adjective you wish to use. 

Mid-Major  
The subject has been discussed in the past, but I thought it was worth a re-visit for those who might not know.  What exactly is a mid-major school, it has nothing to do with a university’s student enrollment?  As an example, Wichita State has an enrollment upwards of 15,000 students, the school is considered a mid-major.  On the other hand, the University of Notre Dame in 2016 had an enrollment of less than 9,000 students but is considered a major, your question is why?

I am glad you asked the question; Notre Dame is a member of the ACC in basketball.  The Power Five schools are dubbed majors and everyone else mid-major, any school competing in the Pac-12, Big 10, Big 12, SEC and ACC are considered majors no matter their student enrollment.  In the non-conference portion of a school’s schedule we could see a mix of major and mid-majors.  Generally, the mid major plays on the home court of the major.  

An upgrade?

Mizzou’s Jeremiah Tilmon stands 6 foot 10 and a solid 250 pounds, in addition Tilmon’s always shown potential however there is an issue which has dogged him from day one.  Tilmon has struggled to remain on the court, he is often in foul trouble over what Shaq once referred as “nick-nack” fouls.  Sometimes Big Man are whistled for fouls where an opposition player is barely touched.  Tilmon spends more time seated next to one of the coaches than on the floor. 

Tilmon’s sophomore season was also curtailed by injury and when he was able to return to action let us just say his play was just okay.  Hopefully, the 2020-21 season will see Tilmon challenged by one or perhaps both Big Men on the roster.  Tilmon submitted his name in the NBA draft so the center position fight might occur between Okongo and Wilmore.  7-foot 240-pound Axel Okongo arrived last season from Northwest College in Wyoming. 

Okongo was the Invisible Man as he saw little playing time last season.  Hopefully the 2020-21 season will witness him in action and perhaps justify the promise the coaching staff envisioned.  Freshman Jordan Wilmore arrives from Atlanta and the Skill Factory, Wilmore stands 7-foot-3 inches and weighs 245-pounds.  We cannot expect great play from this youngster, the leap from high school to Division I can be quite imposing.  The hope is given time Wilmore can play valuable minutes.