Basketball from a fan’s perspective
LeBron James, wide
receiver
What if he had chosen football over
basketball? LeBron James was an
All-State wide receiver at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron (OH). We know the path he chose however others
faced a decision too. This is the
account of those athletes with basketball roots who might have chosen another
professional sport to pursue. We saw in Last
Dance Michael Jordan left the NBA to play minor league baseball. Given time could MJ have tasted success at
that sport too? Antonio Gates now
retired was an All-Pro tight end during his brilliant NFL career however his
future too might have been different.
Gates played NO football at Kent State only
basketball, he was told by scouts at 6 foot 4 his chances in the NBA were not
good. Apparently, he made the right
choice for his professional career being an 8X Pro Bowl selection. Randy Moss is in the NFL Hall of Fame, but it
might have been just as easily the Naismith Hall of Fame. In his senior year of high school, the 6-foot
5-inch Moss averaged 23 points 14 rebounds and 4 blocks a game, with his great
leaping ability catching passes it is easy to see how his number was
outstanding. Danny Ainge is known as the
GM of the Celtics, he was one of those rare athletes, drafted by the NBA and
MLB.
Ainge played 3 years in the Blue Jay
organization before giving baseball up to play for the Celtics. Dave Winfield played for several baseball
teams but spent the greatest portion a portion of his career playing for the
Padres and Yankees. How good was the potential
of Winfield, he was drafted by 3 major sports after playing basketball at Minnesota? It was Winfield the baseball Padres, NBA
Hawks, ABA Utah Stars, and the NFL Vikings.
The Vikings drafted him although he never played college football. This account contains just a few names, there
are others so this account certainly should not be considered complete.
Characters
I worked with a guy who claimed baseball’s
popularity existed to a degree by the number of characters who played or were
involved in the game. Basketball never
had or will have the characters of baseball there have been a few. The difference in the 21st Century
the humor often comes by way of a tweet, this fits Sixer center Joel Embiid
perfectly he is a character. An example
after the trade of teammate Jahlil Okafor said: “Love you…I’m gonna kick you’re
a@#$.” We could add former NBA player
turned broadcaster Charles Barkley to our list as well.
If you close your eyes and listen to former
Oklahoma Coach Billy Tubbs in conversation, you might think it was actor
Jack Nicholson, that is not the fact that made Tubbs a character it was the
other things. In a 1989 game against Mizzou the Oklahoma crowd became upset with the
officiating. The fans began tossing objects on the court disrupting play
and Tubbs was asked to address the crowd “The referees request regardless of
how terrible the officiating is to not throw objects on the floor." Tubbs received
two technical fouls for his action and was promptly ejected.
Norm Stewart long-time
Mizzou coach hated Kansas and Kansas basketball at the time Mizzou was in the
Big 8 (later Big 12). Lawrence Kansas is less than 200 miles from Columbia
Missouri, Stewart did not believe in spending a dime in Kansas. The
Mizzou basketball team would stay in a Kansas City (MO) hotel the night before
the game and then take a charter the 40 some miles to Lawrence.
Norm Stewart was once
asked if Mizzou had any McDonald’s All Americans on the team. Stewart said,
“No but we eat at McDonald’s.”
“You’ve got to believe in yourself.
Hell, I believe I’m the best-looking guy in the world and I might be
right.”
Charles Barkley
“A team should be an extension of the coach’s
personality. My teams are arrogant and obnoxious.”
Al McGuire former Marquette coach
“This year we plan to run and shoot.
Next season we hope to run and score.”
Billy Tubbs former Oklahoma coach.
“I hate it. It looks like a stick-up at
7-Eleven. Five guys standing there with their hands in the air.”
Norm Sloan former North Carolina State coach
describing zone defense.
The need is
A point guard or at least that is what many
in Laker Nation have been led to believe.
They (whomever they are) claim the offense bogs down with Rajon Rondo on
the floor rather than LeBron James. It
appears there is help in the 2020 draft should the Lakers make that move. One mock site names 6-foot 1-inch Cassius
Winston from Michigan State.
One other site indicates the Lakers will
draft 6-foot 3-inch Jahmius Ramsey a combo guard out of Texas Tech. The name of Cassius Stanley6-foot 6-inch
shooting guard from Duke has also been mentioned. Whatever date the draft is eventually held expect
the commissioner to announce one of the three mentioned being chosen. On the other hand, it could be a prospect we
have failed to consider.
