Basketball from a fan perspective

Who's number one?  

You can argue almost anything except fact and the historical ramifications of that history.   Ever wondered which school has produced the most NBA talent?  Does not matter if that

player had a hall of fame career or a brief stop either in the draft or free agency.  You might be surprised I certainly was, below are the Top 10 according to SI.com.  The surprises for me, I thought Kansas would rank higher on the list, in addition I would not have placed Notre Dame in the Top 10.  The school is more known for football rather than basketball in my opinion.  Another surprise St. John’s earning a spot, certainly the New York City school has produced a wealth of NBA talent however I did not realize it was as large as the number listed. 

  1.Kentucky–107

  2.UCLA-97

  3.North Carolina-90

  4.Duke-83

  5.Kansas-72

  6.Indiana-66

  7.Louisville-58

  8.Notre Dame-56

  8.Arizona-56

10.St. John’s-52

SI.com

Cleveland basketball  

If I said Cleveland professional basketball your first thought might be the Cavs.  That is a natural thought however the Cavs were not the first.  I was surprised there were other professional teams with Cleveland on the front of their jersey.  There were several incarnations prior to 1946, that was the year the Cleveland Rebels began their only season of play. 

The Rebels were a Basketball Association of America team forerunner to today’s NBA.  They would only play the 1946-1947 season; the history indicates the Rebels “went out of business.”  In 1961 the Cleveland Pipers had their inaugural season in the American Basketball League, as the ABA was about to go out of business their owners were negotiating with the NBA to move the Pipers into that league.  The deal fell through and Cleveland would remain without a professional team until 1970 when the expansion Cavaliers were born. 

Freedom of speech…maybe 

There are fans who believe “I paid my money for this seat I have freedom of speech.”  This is another case of wacky fans; two Sixer season ticket holders have been banned from Wells Fargo Center.  They were yelling obscenities at Wizard guard Isaiah Thomas.  This is in line with the Jazz fan and his girlfriend expelled from Vivint Smart Home Arena last season in a similar incident involving Russell Westbrook. 

As reported, this “fan” is suing the Jazz and Westbrook.  Finally, we arrive at the Warriors part owner prohibited from attending games due to a similar issue last season.  I could be wrong but am willing to bet all three instances were fueled by alcohol, in addition the distance from the floor to courtside seats is but a few feet.  How else to explain why a grown man would attempt to get into a verbal battle with a player from an opposing team?  This issue appears to be getting worse instead of better.

Denver in the NBA

Hopefully, your NBA knowledge of history is superior to mine, I did not realize Denver had an NBA team prior to the Nuggets.  The earlier incarnation of a pro team in the city began play earlier than 1946 however it was not NBA it was AAU.  The Nuggets joined the National Basketball League in 1948-49 season, in 1949 with the merger of the two leagues Denver moved into the National Basketball Association (NBA). 

The Nuggets compiled a 11-51 record and in 1950 they along with six other NBA teams went out of business. Denver was to remain without professional basketball until 1967 when the ABA came into existence and the Rockets were born.  The history indicates the anticipation of moving into the NBA the team held a contest to replace the Rocket name.  The Houston Rockets already in existence was the driving force behind the name change.  With a nod to its basketball past they reached back to 1949, the Rockets name would be replaced by Nuggets which it remains to this day.