Basketball from a fan’s
perspective
Shock the World
Makur Maker is a Rivals 5-star prospect, Maker
is 7 feet tall and 235 pounds and a budding talent. A seismic shock was felt throughout the
basketball world on Friday morning as Maker made his intention known to the
nation and world. The youngster would attend
Howard University in Washington D.C. an HBCU school. For those unfamiliar with the term Howard is
one of several colleges and universities founded after the civil war for black
students.
Over generations the academics of these schools
have remained top notch however the athletic programs have lessened over the
last 30+ years. As times changed an
increasing number of state schools allowed black students (and athletes) to
attend. Talent such as Willis Reed
(Grambling) and Earl Monroe (Winston Salem) would begin their NBA careers at HBCU
institutions.
The Rivals story pointed to the fact Maker (the
18th rated prospect in the Class of 2020) becomes the first 5-star
prospect in 20 years to attend an HBCU school.
Perhaps change might indeed be in the air for HBCU schools, after all
Maker’s choice was not made in the dark.
Howard basketball was 2-20 (0-7 in conference) in 2019-20 season, Maker
is turning down UCLA and other big-time programs for Howard.
Who is this guy?
Mike Schmitz has become the face of the NBA
Draft in recent times. If you have read
Words eye view any length of time you realize I am skeptical regarding most of
the “talking heads” on television. Many of
them are suspect because the subject matter they report on at times becomes all
about ME. They pontificate on and on
till it sometimes makes me nauseous, at that point I change the channel.
That is another story for later, back to
Schmitz a moment, his bio indicates he works for DraftExpress.com and has begun
popping up on ESPN recently. In my
estimation he appears knowledgeable regarding the NBA Draft. In any event on Thursday evening Schmitz
provided his assessment of the lottery portion of the 2020 NBA Draft with host
Scott Van Pelt. After providing his 411
on the draft he stated with a straight face, "I would have no problem taking LaMelo Ball with the top pick."
Coronavirus
The pandemic has ravaged citizens of the world,
the U.S. certainly has not been spared the trauma of illness and death. The NBA is attempting to complete the 2019-20
season, but it is rough going. On Friday
it was announced 9 additional players tested positive for the virus, that
brings the total to 25. The league
continues to look at starting anew in about 3 and ½ weeks. I am double minded on the issue; the thought
of basketball action is exciting. On the
other hand, the likelihood of players testing positive and placing their families at risk...you can see my concern.
I am old
Nobody needs to remind me my age, my game no longer
exists (as if I once had one). My once
somewhat competent jumper I discovered had abandoned me years ago. My
leaping ability which was good for my height departed from yours truly as well. The knees now ache even when I am not playing
from all those years I played on outdoor courts. Eventually I became winded much sooner than I
remember at one point in life.
I now have aches in places I did not realize existed
at a younger age. The years pass and one
fails to realize ageing of one’s self and many around you. You might ask the question, how old, old
enough to remember LeBron James play for St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School in
Akron (OH). My oh my, LeBron is now 35
years old and will have another birthday before the end of 2020, where have the
years gone?
