Words eye view 

Basketball from a fan perspective

“Be careful what you wish for”

The potential seeding was in front for Mizzou, headed into the SEC post season tourney most had Mizzou a number 7 seed.  All Mizzou had to accomplish was beat Arkansas which they failed losing 70-64.  Because they didn’t win, Mizzou finds themselves a 9 seed rather than a 7.  The number 8 opponent Mizzou faces will be Oklahoma of the Big 12 with a 15-10 record and 9-8 in the conference.  To compound this dilemma should Mizzou manage to beat Oklahoma they would likely face undefeated Gonzaga.  After missing the tournament, the past two seasons Mizzou Nation was yearning for the team to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament.  With the prospect of facing Oklahoma and possibly Gonzaga we could say, "Be careful what you wish for."   

An asterisk

A segment of our populace wants to feel better; they allow their suffering to be soothed by downgrading the accomplishments of others.  I lost count, I must have read 4 or 5 letters hinting Texas won the Big 12 Tournament because they didn’t play Kansas.  Disappointment is one thing bogus excuses is another, covid issues prevented Kansas from competing for the championship.  To compound this issue further one of the writers even mentioned the Lakers in his letter. 

He claimed an asterisk to the 2020 NBA championship won by the Lakers.  In this instance the author failed to take into consideration ALLTHE NBA teams were in the Orlando bubble.  There are certainly instances we might claim are suspect neither of these are valid.  KU had to withdraw due to covid, Texas beat them twice earlier.  Do the letter writers believe their Jayhawks beat Texas playing them for the third time?  If I were them, I certainly wouldn’t have been so confident, covid issues aside let's see how they perform in the tournament.  

1962

It was 59 years ago; at the time the NBA contained a smaller number of teams (9 is the count), March 14, 1962 the season ended.  The playoffs would begin March 16 and the NBA Finals April 7-14 and that was it.  The NBA played 80 games that season, and we can state with certainty Wilt Chamberlain did not face an All-Star opponent every night, despite the statement he managed to experience a season for the ages.  Wilt finished that season with a 50.4 per game scoring average and pulled down 25.7 rebounds a game. 

That would be Chamberlain’s highest single season scoring average during his career although his rebound total had been higher the previous season.  In the NBA unlike other sports, we tend to denigrate the careers of Chamberlain and several others.  It was a different era and sport but throughout the ages Babe Ruth’s 714 record stood the test of time until broken by Hank Aaron in 1974.  We heard little about the fact the home run record was set in 1935, it was prior to black players in the major leagues, extensive travel and other scenarios, as for the NBA it’s been a different story. 

The experiment didn’t work

If you are a member of Laker Nation, please continue to read.  If you hate the Lakers or have another favorite NBA or college team you can skip here and go on to the next story.  Much to my disappointment the Marc Gasol experiment receives an F.  I believe the Lakers signed the wrong brother; they should have signed the other guy.  I am not providing you information you don’t already know, in the NBA of today there is no requirement for a back to the basket center.  For the Lakers, a “healthy” Anthony Davis and LeBron James doing the heavy lifting there is no reason for that center to even bother scoring. 

The Lakers need a rim protector and a center who can score on occasion.  With no Gasol available Damian Jones moves up and down the floor swifter than Gasol, in addition he can block shots and rebound the ball.  Long-term he is not the answer full time at the position, here’s hoping the Lakers can acquire Hassan Whiteside or Andre Drummond or someone.  There is a league issue preventing them from picking up JaVale McGee in a trade or if he is released.  Cleveland can trade him the team acquiring McGee could release him and the Lakers could sign him.  A rather complicated series of events and likely to not occur.  Marc Gasol was signed to a 1-year contract, but my hope at the time he would help the Lakers has not come to fruition.   

Come home

Cam’Ron Fletcher was a 4-star Rivals and ESPN 100 prospect at Vashon High School in St. Louis.  It was hoped Cuonzo Martin might be able to persuade him to attend Mizzou.  Blue Blood Kentucky would eventually win his affection and Fletcher headed for Lexington.  We are not going into detail with the issues at Kentucky, let’s just state things didn’t work out as hoped.  Fletcher was suspended at a point, later he was re-instated by coach Cal.  On Saturday it was announced Fletcher would be entering the transfer portal, it's early and remains unlikely but could he now be interested in returning “home?”  We shall see how this eventually turns out for the 6-foot 6-inch small forward.