Basketball from a fan’s perspective

“Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom.”  George Washington Carver

I’d bet money you didn’t know this

One of the coaches victory totals 630 wins while losing 124, the other guy’s won 522 along with 118 losses. Once you begin a discussion on great college coaches the guy with the second most wins is always mentioned. The other guy, oh you are talking about him, I didn’t realize that. Mark Few at Gonzaga is the coach with 630 wins, the other guy in this instance is Bill Self at Kansas. For you folks in Jayhawk Nation calm down, I made (I hope) no disparaging remarks about Self. The intent was to point out Mark Few’s name is hardly ever mentioned in the discussion. This is the conversation, “Gonzaga plays in the weak West Coast Conference while Kansas plays in the Big 12.”

No argument the Big 12 is one of the strongest conferences in the nation, the question why is it necessary to kick Gonzaga to the curb for the WCC. Back in the day when UNLV was winning, we never heard any comments about them playing in the Mountain West Conference, Jerry Tarkanian’s teams played hard-nosed basketball. I’m reminded of the scene in the movie Hoosiers, the team from Hickory was accustomed to playing in small gyms. For the state championship they would play in Hinkle (Butler) Fieldhouse, remember coach Dale (Gene Hackman) had them measure the dimensions. He informed his team these were the same measurements as in their tiny gym in Hickory. Simply stated Gonzaga players put on their uniforms the same as Kansas, one leg at a time.  

Bits n Pieces

This is a portion of a statement by one person but multiply the number by X. This was overheard at work from a casual NBA fan, “I don’t like any of the Ball brothers or their dad.” This is no love everybody statement, but it does prove a point, LaVar Ball has caused as much vitriol to be aimed at the son’s as the father. As this is written I am yet to read a negative comment from any of the brothers, to my knowledge Lonzo’s never uttered a harsh word toward the Lakers. To stop the hatred toward the brothers is impossible so it is fruitless on my part...why bother.  

On Wednesday Mizzou picked up another portal transfer, from UMass comes Ronnie DeGray a 6-foot 7-inch 220 pound combo forward the description reads. DeGray becomes the 4^th player picked up since the end of the season. As with the other transfers the expectation is can he play, we really hope that is the case. Transfers along with incoming freshman plus those returning will reveal a “new” Mizzou team in the fall. Mizzou has one remaining scholarship, whether it’s used is unknown at this point. My thought, the coach might decide to go with the present roster number. 

While enrolled at Central Florida the basketball world was made aware of Tacko Fall. This 7-foot 5-inch post player had little basketball skill when he first began playing at Central Florida.  Many including this writer believed he was born in the wrong era, practically no one especially in the NBA utilizes post play anymore. Tacko went undrafted in 2019 however he managed to sign a free agent contract with the Celtics. They sent him to their D-League affiliate the Maine Red Claws as a two-way player. Since that time Tacko’s traveled back and forth between the Celtics roster and the Red Claws; we have a question. Are the Celtics keeping him on the roster as a novelty or do they ever expect the tallest player in the NBA to play major minutes with the big club?  

My home

My hometown is nowhere close to a New York or Chicago in population.  Despite this fact there’s been a Kansas City presence in the NBA over the years, it’s players and extends into the broadcast booth. Several have played over the years although retired now. The first to graduate high school in the metro and play in the NBA was Maury King, King played at R.T. Coles High School (now closed & demolished) and in the NBA for the Celtics and two other teams, he was a teammate of Wilt Chamberlain at Kansas.  There are too many to list in total so the focus will be on current players. For those who play the game we have Landry Shamet Nets point guard who attended Park Hill High School and Wichita State. Next up is Shaquille Harrison with the Nuggets, Lees Summit West High School and Tulsa University before the NBA.

Alec Burks plays for the Knicks at present but that’s not where it began. He played first at Grandview High School in suburban Kansas City, next it was Colorado prior to the NBA. Broadcasting would see the likes of Kevin Harlin, Kevin Calabro and Neil Funk. Harlin is one of the prime broadcasters on TNT but began his career immediately after graduating from Kansas University as the radio voice of the Kansas City Kings. Calabro’s voice has been heard on TNT, TBS along with ESPN and NBA TV, he was a broadcaster for the Kings in Kansas City.  We close with the retired Neil Funk, long associated with Bulls broadcast he was once the radio voice for the Kansas City Kings. This account is complete as best it can, keep in mind Mizzou and Kansas players are not included unless they grew up in the metro or broadcast Kings games while the team was located here. 

Climbing to the top

As this is written the Nets record stands at 43-23 and the Knicks 37-28. While one team is ascending to a degree (Knicks) the other is somewhat descending. This certainly is no in-depth profile of either team however a snapshot informs us this. The starting lineup for the Nets never appears on the floor for long periods of time, this is mostly due to injury. Mid-season pickups LaMarcus Aldridge had a medical retirement and Blake Griffin is nowhere near the highflyer of his Clipper days. As for the Knicks they have come on strong especially the last third of the season. The “New” New York Knicks have been led by forward Julius Randle and guard RJ Barrett and other members of the team.

This Knicks team comes to play every evening and the most striking example for me they play tough hard-nose defense. This trait is a direct reflection of coach Tom Thibodeau.  The Knicks are 7 full games behind the Nets, so it is highly unlikely they catch them this season, the future looks bright for both teams. Due to their youth the Knicks might be in slightly better shape going forward. From the time the Nets moved to Brooklyn they have eclipsed the Knicks in the won-loss department but not in the hearts and souls of most of the city. If a Brooklynite celebrity fan like Spike Lee goes to the other side that would be a worry for the Knicks.