Several dates were finalized
The NBA by a
vote of 29-1 will return to action July 31 with 22 teams playing in Orlando
Florida. Regular season and playoffs
will occur between the July start time and October 12 when the NBA champion is
crowned. Three days later October 15 the
draft will be held, the lottery will have occurred August 25. The plan is for the 2020-21 season to begin
December 25. The lone dissenting vote against the startup plan was from the Blazers camp.
It was first technically
The National
Basketball League or NBL would merge with the Basketball Association of
America or BAA in 1949 forming the National Basketball Association we
recognize today. Research is quite interesting;
history indicates the NBA began operations in 1946 however that is not totally
correct. The NBL first began play in
1937 nine years earlier than the BAA.
History indicates there were 38 NBL teams at one point although the
number was certainly much smaller by the 1949 merger. It is likely based on the recorded number all
38 teams were not at play at the same time.
Events such as
World War II probably caused the demise of several teams, large numbers of men
in military service must have curtailed talent, as for the balance of
franchises operating budgets may have been the culprit. If the count is correct (and I believe it to
be) only four NBL teams would come into the NBA. They were the Fort Wayne (Detroit) Pistons,
Minneapolis (Los Angeles) Lakers, Rochester (Kings) Royals and Syracuse
(Sixers) Nationals. The majority of NBL
teams appeared to have disbanded years before the 1949 merger.
Big shoes to fill
We have no
idea what size shoes Coach K. and Roy Williams wear. Neither coach has given any indication they
are ready to retire but the date is not that distant. Coach K. is 73-years and Williams 69-years old;
their coaching tree reaches far and wide throughout the land. This is pure speculation on my part, a Duke
guy takes over there and the same for Carolina.
Bobby Hurley is coaching Arizona State, but I would bet large sums of money
if Coach K. called, he would be gone in a New York City minute. Jeff Capel is currently coaching Pittsburgh,
but he too would head immediately for Chapel Hill. Northwestern is led by Chris
Collins think he would be interested in returning to coach the program he once
played for.
Coach K. could
hand pick his successor among Nate James, Chris Carrawell or Jon Scheyer all
assistant coaches on his staff. Then
again it could be someone else, but I have got to believe it will be a coach or
former player associated with the program.
As for Carolina Williams has several names in his coaching tree
too. We begin with his present coaching
staff of Hubert Davis, Brad Frederick, and Steve Robinson. Kenny Smith might be persuaded to leave
television for this job or Jerry Stackhouse current Vanderbilt head coach. Jerod Haase is not a Carolina guy, but he
played for Williams while at Kansas.
There you have it a short list of names for both coaches at the time they
decide to retire. NOTE: If you read the SI story appearing May 28
believe me, mine was written but just not published yet.
Skywalker
That was the
nickname given North Carolina State’s David Thompson because it fit him. The 6-foot 4-inch athlete had a 48-inch
vertical and 44 inches standing, consider this example. Zion Williamson a full two inches taller than
Thompson has a vertical of 45. Many
reading this will find it difficult to believe but the dunk was banned from the
college game due to a fella by the name of Lew Alcindor.
Thompson was
forced to demonstrate his prowess in the pros, in 1975 he chose the ABA Denver
Nuggets but would only play one season.
In the 1975-76 season the NBA-ABA merger occurred, and the Nuggets moved
into the NBA. It was not just dunks;
Thompson had an all-around game as well.
Injuries and a substance abuse problem curtailed his career after but 9
seasons. Thompson would be enshrined in
the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. David “Skywalker” Thompson an NBA pioneer you
should know.
