Basketball from a fan perspective

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MIZ-ZOU

The Braggin’ Rights Trophy will belong on the Missouri side of the state line after Saturday’s action, in a foul-plagued game Mizzou prevailed over Illinois 81-78.  Mizzou won their 5th straight game and in doing so defeated their second Top 25 team having beaten Oregon earlier, Illinois was ranked #6 in the nation.  Mizzou had 3 starters and 1 reserve in double-figure scoring.  Although Illinois outshot Mizzou from the field the Tigers managed to shoot 83.9% from the free-throw line and out rebounded the taller Illini players.

A flagrant 1 on Illinois Big Man Kofi Cockburn prove costly however there is a question on my part if the call was valid.  It appeared he was battling Mizzou forward Mitchell Smith for position; Cockburn swung his arm to pivot toward the basket.  Let’s just state although Smith was hit near the face area it certainly wasn’t intentional.  One of the great difficulties is writing about officiating however it was likely key to the game.  In addition to the flagrant foul Mizzou had two players foul out of the game.  For the third consecutive year Mizzou was a winner over Illinois for the Braggin’ Rights Trophy.  As for the immediate future don't be shocked to see Mizzou listed as a Top 25 team today.   

“Help me Obi (-Wan Kenobi), your my only hope”

No, it wasn’t the Obi of Star Wars fame it was the other Obi to the rescue, Obi Topping is now a member of the Knicks.  This Obi came off the Knicks bench recently and scored 11 points and snatched down 7 rebounds, this effort aided his team to a 90-84 exhibition victory over the Pistons.  The Obi part we discover is his nickname, his birth name is Obadiah Richard Topping Jr.  In addition to an unusual first name, Obi shares another rarity. 

Obi was drafted by the Knicks and wants to play in New York City, free agents (and perhaps draft picks) appear to want no part of the Knicks.  The 6-foot 9 forward was born in Brooklyn, New York but played his college basketball at Dayton University in Ohio.  We are unsure if this is fact but we believe Obi might have grown up rooting for the Knicks.  His family might have paid for a ticket to Madison Square Garden, now all that's necessary is to show his pass for entrance.  

Rooting for him

Michael Porter Jr. is demonstrating the potential talent with the Nuggets we missed seeing at Mizzou.  By now it’s been documented this former McDonald’s All-American arriving in Columbia assured a winning season and the school would be placed on the basketball map of the nation.  Well, it didn’t quite turn out as we hoped, a serious lingering injury limited Junior to but 3 games in a Mizzou jersey.  Many in Mizzou Nation hoped he would rehab and then return for his sophomore year, that was not the case as he declared for the NBA draft. 

After being professed to be the top pre-season pick his stock slipped a bit however the Nuggets chose him the 14th pick in the first round of the 2018 draft.  The Nuggets allowed Junior to rehab during the 2018-19 NBA season preparing him for action in the following season.  After working out what would have been his rookie season, Junior came on strong in 2019-21 as a reserve for the Nuggets.  With the departure of Jerami Grant in free agency he now moves into the starting lineup for the Nuggets based on his performance and the fact Grant is no longer in Denver.  The 6 foot 10 forward has proved especially to those at Mizzou he can play the game at a high skill level. 

NBA athletes from the African continent

We can admit we didn’t know much about Hakeem Olajuwon when he first began play in 1980 at the University of Houston.  Truth is at the time he first arrived on these shores that year we even misspelled his first name; he was Akeem Olajuwon back then.  After a training routine and adjusting to the game his athletic skill came to the forefront.  Once he arrived in the NBA, he corrected the spelling of his first name playing for the Rockets.   Hakeem would go on to a stellar NBA career which later would lead to his selection to the Naismith and FIBA Hall of Fame. 

Hakeem alone might have been solely responsible for generations of youth from the African continent to take up the game of basketball.  Practically every nation on the continent 20 degrees north has sent at least one athlete into the NBA, there is a larger number who played college basketball here.  Since Hakeem’s retired, we’ve witnessed great numbers from the continent take up the game at American colleges, others would play and continue the growth of the game on the African continent.  Want proof, the 2020 NBA Draft contained 7 players whose lineage can be traced to the to the African continent.  Precious Achiuwa played at Memphis but was born in Nigeria as was Udoka Azubuike who attended Kansas University.