Basketball from a fan’s perspective

“Make each day your masterpiece” John Wooden

Makes sense, what do you think

This might be shocking to some of you, this Mizzou fan is on friendly terms with several Kansas fans. I held a brief conversation on Sunday with a graduate of the school and a rabid Jayhawk basketball fan. Me: “Listen in fairness this whole situation regarding penalties against Kansas has gone on for too long, the NCAA claims it will be resolved in 12 months. What’s that all about we are into the third year now, why does it take this long?

The NCAA operates like it’s the 19^th Century.” Him: “I agree however with a lifetime contract (Bill Self) its saying to any recruit “I’m going to be here regardless of any sort of penalty.” Yes, this situation has impacted recruiting to a degree, but the worst part might be over.” What do you think, could my friend be correct? Perhaps this penalty hanging over the head of the athletic program might not be as damaging as I might have perceived. 

A more athletic version

We are always comparing one player to another, how about this one? The Wizards Russell Westbrook is accelerating past Oscar Robertson’s triple double record at a meteoric pace. A writer compared the Wizards point guard to the Big O, my first thought that might not be far from the truth. Let’s check the facts, despite his greatness until the trade to the Bucks Robertson hadn’t come close to a championship. There were a smaller number of NBA teams in existence at the time.

The Eastern Conference Cincinnati Royals were forced to face the Eastern Conference Celtics to play for a championship. It seemed his Royals team had difficulty advancing in the playoffs with the Celtics blocking the path, at times there were other teams. In 8 years of playoff basketball, the Royals were beaten three times by Celtic teams, twice by the Sixers and once by the Pistons. Does that appear somewhat comparable to Westbrook’s playoff appearances over his career. Can we conclude Westbrook might be a more athletic version of Oscar Robertson?

Lack of success

It is extremely difficult for a start-up professional sports league to attain success.  We mentioned the American Football League which challenged the older established NFL, eventually a merger would entail with the leagues.  We also mentioned the American Basketball Association which technically wasn’t a merger in my view. With only four ABA teams absorbed into the larger NBA is that a merger?  How about an earlier time, the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America?  It’s interesting the NBA traces its roots to 1946 but even that date is somewhat bogus.

The Celtics, Knicks were BAA teams who along with several others merged with the National Basketball League which contained the Minneapolis Lakers, Fort Wayne Zollner Pistons (Detroit) and others.  The NBL contained 38 teams most of which went out of business for several reasons.  In 1949 the BAA and NBL merged forming the NBA we recognize today. In professional basketball a few leagues have formed since August 1976 with none attaining any sustained success.  A group attempted to re-invent the American Basketball Association in 2000 which failed to gain any traction. Although still in business the ABA 2000 is strictly a semi-professional league. In this day it would appear highly unlikely a new basketball league could compete with the NBA of today, in 1967 it was a different world back then.

Isn’t this interesting

We first began reading reports on Emoni Bates as a high school freshman, several might have gone overboard with claims, “He would be ready for the NBA in 2022.” That might not quite be the case although questions galore about him reign supreme. After committing to Michigan State, he de-committed a few weeks ago, then we read “NBA scouts were supposed to be less than enthused about his play as a junior.”

Was Bates operating under more pressure to “produce” at Ypsi Prep over Ypsilanti Lincoln the school he attended as a freshman and sophomore? It is clear while the NBA might not be excited it appears several colleges remain interested in the young man. We read Memphis, Texas, Tennessee and George Washington are among the early schools interested in Bates playing for them. We should remain vigilant for further details on this ever-developing story.