Basketball from a fan perspective

The game from a fan’s perspective

We can’t peer into the future

As mentioned on several occasions it’s been revealed downtown Kansas City Missouri lies roughly 46 miles from Lawrence Kansas.  Lawrence is the home of Kansas University, due to the university’s proximity to Kansas City the Kansas basketball program dominates the airways even in the Kansas City market.  Mizzou basketball has not competed effectively in years by comparison to that of the Kansas.  As for the members of Mizzou Nation we can do or say little but smile and say, “One day this will all change.”

We can’t peer into the future however that day may have arrived, to date the teams might be on the same level.  Kansas fans are doing a “What did he just say?”  Let’s check the numbers, after beating South Carolina on Tuesday Mizzou has 9 wins and 2 losses (3-2 in the SEC).  As for Kansas after losing versus Baylor on Monday the Jayhawks have recorded 10 wins and 4 losses, 4-3 in the Big 12.  So, as you can see on paper the won-loss record of the two schools is almost identical.  This is written near the end of January; we must wait to see how this ultimately plays out. 

Just in case you wondered as I did

I was informed once but forgot how the Warriors became the Dubs. “The Warriors are called the Dubs in a “truncated” pronunciation of the “W” Warriors.  The Dubs is one of those nicknames or terms that doesn’t seem to make much sense when you first hear or see it.  In fact, one of the reasons you’re likely reading this article is because you couldn’t figure out why the Warriors are called that on your own.  While it may at first appear strange, once you realize where it comes from, it makes a lot more sense. 

The nickname began in the 1990’s when younger fans decided to shorten the word “Warriors” when referring to the team.  Instead of pronouncing the team’s full name, some fans began to refer to the team as the “W’s”.  “W” soon was changed for its pronunciation to “dub-a-u,” which then was further shortened to just “dud”.  As the team became more popular with the younger generation using this slang to describe the team, the term caught on with the general public, and the team began to refer to themselves in this manner as well.  So while the Dubs may seem a little strange at first, it’s simply a shortening of the team name “Warriors” over time.” 

 https://wordcounter.net/blog/2015/11/27/10968_golden-state-warriors-called-the-dubs.html

“You can’t handle the truth!”

You remember the line don’t you, this from the 1992 movie A Few Good Men.”  Lieutenant Junior Grade Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is cross examining Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson) on the witness stand regarding the death of a Marine.  Lieutenant Kaffee says I want the truth and we hear the response from Colonel Jessup.  In the world of college basketball, several “can’t miss prospects” we could have passed.  They certainly are talented enough for the game at the collegiate level but lack the something that allows them success in the NBA. 

Isn’t the truth more important than a mistaken belief we are witnessing a future NBA All Pro?  We know the names Adam Morrison, Jimmer Fredette might first come to mind.  What about Iowa’s Luke Garza, he’s tearing it up at the NCAA level.  Garza has an NBA ready body at 6 foot 11 and 265 pounds but it’s the other things that require work.  Currently he is averaging nearly 28 points and 9 rebounds a game what are the things holding him back? 

Scouting reports indicate he’s a little slow a foot…his foot speed might betray him in the NBA.  The 3-point shot has become the specialty in this age of the NBA doesn’t matter how tall you are.  Garza’s shot needs work along with his 65% free throw shooting.  The question will those negatives cause him to be overlooked in the 2021 NBA Draft?  Despite the adverse comments Garza’s repertoire of shots will make him valuable to some NBA team, we could see him in the role of an NBA specialist.  So, we can handle the truth despite what the Colonel Jessup’s of the world and others might think. 

No government intervention…please 

Louisville-Kentucky reminds me of Wichita State and Kansas, the latter two schools are about 150 road miles from one another bur never play.  One year the NCAA Tournament got more than it wished for with both teams in the same bracket.  As fate would have it, they faced one another with Wichita State the victor.  Further east the history of the schools said they wouldn’t play each other; it was more a case of Kentucky refusing to play Louisville, so the story goes. 

In any event it was said despite the efforts of Louisville to play Kentucky they were turned down until government intervention.  State government forced the schools to play one another on threats of withholding funds.  In the instance of Wichita State-Kansas it’s reported Bill Self is the culprit, he’s the roadblock in the two schools meeting on the basketball court.  This year might be the exception both programs are not nearly as strong as they have been in the past. 

In addition, Wichita State fired their head coach despite his overall success.  A home and home series would be a good thing after all Kansas has now made peace with Mizzou.  The two former Big 12 foes now in separate conferences have a home and home schedule planned.  In Missouri besides Mizzou, we have several D-I schools the Tigers could play, St. Louis University, Missouri State.  We could include Southeast Missouri State and the University of MO-Kansas City.