Basketball from a fan perspective

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Another "player"---There are so many suitors to become substitute home of the Raptors it’s going to be easy for the owners.  You are aware of the story, with COVID-19 raging in this country the Canadian border is closed, it was Blue Jays baseball played in Buffalo.  The Raptors played in The Bubble so there was no issue regarding the completion of the NBA season and into the playoffs.  What about the 2020-21 season would become the next question? 

It should be easy to make a choice on which city to pick, the latest to step forward is the City of Nashville Tennessee.  Bridgestone Arena located in downtown Nashville is a 20,000-seat multipurpose arena and serves as home to the NHL Predators and the SEC post-season basketball tournament.  So, the count continues, we have Newark, Louisville, Kansas City, Tampa Bay and now Nashville in the running, did I miss any city?   

Are they trying to fool us? ---The evidence is in front of our face, with the second pick in the 2020 NBA Draft the Warriors will choose James Wiseman.  Am I sure, of course not this picture could change in the next two weeks however it’s a perfect team for Wiseman for several reasons?  Although parts of his development has been hindered, he checks all the boxes.  Wiseman is a 7-foot 1-inch 240-pound Big Man but has range on his shot out to the 3-point line.  Elements of his offensive arsenal need an upgrade but would appear to be no hinderance to his NBA development.   

Wiseman is a defensive specialist who loves to block shots and play defense.  Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and others provide the greater portion of the Warriors offensive scheme there is no requirement to run the offense through Wiseman except as a passer.  As usual with little to reference scouts fall back to a player we’ve seen in the past, in this instance one scout indicates “David Robinson like.”  Many of you might remember the long-time Spurs center who played at the U.S Naval Academy prior to his NBA career.  As usual I allow you permission to laugh at me in two weeks if I’m wrong, I will remind you later of this account.

In case you missed it---We questioned attendance at college basketball games once the season begins.  This latest announcement is likely to be utilized by several colleges and universities across the nation.  The University of Kentucky in compliance with local health ordinances will allow 15% capacity in Rupp Arena for basketball games, that figure amounts to about 3,000 fans per game.  We certainly have no idea how this will affect high school sports around the county, but we could see other colleges and universities adopting a similar attendance policy for basketball games.  

A change---There is a change for the upcoming high school tournament we announced earlier this month.  The game billed as the Basketball Battle Showcase will be held November 20 and 21 in the Allen Event Center in Allen Texas.  Allen is a city located in the metro Dallas-Fort Worth area.  Featured athletes will be Emoni Bates top 2022 high school prospect and LeBron James Jr. nicknamed Bronny. 

November 21 James Sierra Canyon team will face Bates and his Yspi Prep Academy team.  Additional teams participating in the basketball showcase are Hillcrest Prep (Arizona) and Sunrise Christian Academy (Kansas).  Can’t fly or drive to the area, no worry regarding that issue.  The early indication is the game will be televised; the network is unknown as this is written.  If I were to make a guess, I would believe ESPN over Fox Sports or CBS Sports Network.   

Publishing---It’s been mentioned more than once basketball activity occurs 12 months of the year and it does.  In a “normal calendar” year news slows in the summer but picks up in the fall and winter.  2020 with the pandemic has witnessed a change, Words eye view was published daily until this week.  Now we are fully into fall high school and the collegiate season will begin, as this is written the NBA will not return until December or January.  Currently publishing dates are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.  This will continue up through the end of January, at that time daily publishing will likely begin once again.  I appreciate you continuing to read the ramblings of this confessed basketball addict.   

NBA Territorial Pick---The NBA Draft was quite different in the 1950’s through 1965, teams had the opportunity to choose territorial picks in the draft.  Wilt Chamberlain played at Kansas, yet the Philadelphia Warriors were able to draft him. 

*“In the first 20 years of the BAA/NBA, the league was still trying to gain the support of fans who lived in or near the teams' home markets. To achieve this, the league introduced the territorial pick rule to help teams acquire popular players from colleges in their area who would presumably have strong local support.  Before the draft, a team could forfeit its first-round draft pick and then select any player from within a 50-mile (80 km) radius of its home arena.  Although the territorial picks were selected before the draft, these picks were not factored into the overall selection count of the draft; therefore, the first non-territorial pick of the draft was considered the first overall pick.^”  

Who are just a few of these territorial picks, they read like a who’s who of the Naismith Hall of Fame with 11 being honored?  Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Bill Bradley, and Dave DeBusschere were territorial NBA picks. 

*Wikipedia