Basketball from a fan’s perspective

That’s entertainment…I’m not

This account somewhat reminds me of that old Beatles tune, “With a Little Help from my Friends.” The stanza reads

 

“Oh, baby I get by

(By with a little help from my friends)”

Several of my friends have claimed I become too upset by the rhetoric of ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Fox Sports host Skip Bayless plus Jason Whitlock and others. They inform me these media members are only entertainers, they only hope to amuse rather than truly inform. Well, I don’t believe in what they do, in writing this blog my hope is to provide valued information for the reader. It might be a historical nature or something else, one thing for sure you know its purpose is to inform not entertain. At the same time, I must admit I have views which you may or may not agree and that’s okay too, it’s unnecessary for us to agree on everything. 

Game four

In a playoff series most look at Game one to determine an eventual winner and that’s okay. Not me, Game four has always been the decider as to how a series will eventually turn out. I have no analytics to back up this statement just a belief. Saturday evening the Suns went quite a way in conquering the Clippers 84-80 although the game was certainly ugly. In all honesty the game was brutal as both teams had difficulty scoring, the Suns managed to shoot 36% and the Clippers and even lower 32.5%. The Suns now take a commanding 3 games to 1 lead as they head back to Phoenix.

This series is far from over however its going to be difficult for the Clippers to win 3 straight games with two of them to be played in Phoenix. On the other hand, perhaps Kawhi returns to the lineup and this all changes. We cannot help but wonder what might have been, the injury to Kawhi must be far more serious than we first believed. Have you ever heard the expression “Whistling past the graveyard?” It simply implies despite the dread of walking at night past the cemetery you are unafraid of the situation, not scared…that’s the Clippers. Tyronn Lue claims overcoming a 3-1 deficit is “doable.” He could be correct; the Clippers could win tonight’s game but they ain’t winning this series. 

It’s not about the money

The Hawks won the first game versus the Bucks and lead the series 1 game to 0, the series is now tied as the Bucks won Game two. Despite the smooth start interim head coach Nate McMillan indicates he’s unsure if he wants the job permanently. You might have noticed the word interim is bold and underlined, McMillan says he’s not interested in remaining on the job. McMillian claims he’s set financially and doesn’t need the money and at this point with no other information we must trust his word.

The Hawks were treading water until March 1 of this year, that’s the date head coach Lloyd Pierce was fired, and assistant McMillan took over from him. For those who might be aware the Hawks coach hasseveral coaching stops in his past in addition he’s a McMillan former player. Based on his comment we should believe him when he claims he’s set  financially. Perhaps he was just the right guy at the right time in March or maybe it was something else. That something else being a players-coach, not surprising since it was mentioned earlier, he was a former player. 

A new start 

In 2015 when the University of Texas hired Shaka Smart I thought this would be a good move, one for the school and for Smart. Well, it was sort of, when he compiled a good 109-86 non con record. On the other hand, the record for the Big 12 Conference was not that good (51-56). The recruiting appeared to be okay it seemed Texas never made any headway with Smart as head coach. In 2015 my words come back to bite me, I said “He can recruit great talent and not leave the State of Texas.”

That statement is fact, Texas once thought of as football only produces a wealth of high school basketball talent. Whether it was recruiting or something else his time in Austin did not turn out as expected. Now what are the expectations for his new job at Marquette? How about 30,000 feet in the air, I believe he’s returned to a mid-major program the type he first came into prominence. What’s expected in year one is unknown, I have no idea who left, who remains and who’s incoming. I believe we should see an uptick in play by the 2022-23 season, Marquette is exactly where Shaka Smart needs to be. Could I be incorrect, of course I could we must just wait and see.

Is the NCAA in serious trouble might be a question?

This is strictly supposition, there is no real danger for the NCAA yet. What should be taken seriously is an exploratory look at the effort of this organization to regulate collegiate athletics. A bill in Congress if passed would allow college athletes to form unions. The word union is considered a profanity in some circles so that might become a problem passing legislation to curtail the NCAA. This is a statement made earlier by yours truly but remains accurate, there is a requirement for a body to regulate colleges. That’s been the problem, uneven legislation by this body. The example of basketball players Mark and Dru Smith was detailed, both transferred to Mizzou at nearly the same time. One was ruled okay to begin play in the fall while the other (after appeal) was still forced to sit out the season.

No explanation made other than yes on one, no on the other. More recently the example is Kansas basketball and coach Bill Self, the NCAA last season announced the school was guilty of serious infractions. We waited and waited and waited for judgement to be revealed. Just this spring a representative for the NCAA announced, “A verdict would be made within the next year.” No wonder Self decided to fight back by indicating he intended to sue the NCAA. Due to both stories being nearby I became familiar with them, perhaps anyone reading this might be acquainted with similar accounts. In any event we shall see how far Senators Chris Murphy and Bernie Sanders effort progresses. NOTE: After this was written the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling which impacts athletes like no other. There is no intention to provide a detailed overview the information is available for your review on several sights.