Basketball from a fans perspective

What’s next?

We understand Stephen A. Smith has provided a review of Space Jam II, makes sense. I realize the statement might appear shocking but bear with me. Movie reviews are entertainment, Smith is an entertainer, so it makes sense. Next up for Smith will be a review of several Broadway plays, after this he will begin reporting news on Entertainment Tonight. Soon co-host Kevin Frazier and Nischelle Turner will be calling on correspondent Smith for juicy news stories regarding movies and television. Friends, apart from the opening sentence this is strictly a work of my imagination. We realize Space Jam II is a basketball cartoon however why is it necessary for Smith to critique what essentially is a children’s program?

My choice

The NBA draft will be held this evening, the usual suspects should be near the top. Cade Cunningham Oklahoma State point guard, Jalen Green, G-League and Evan Mobley power forward USC are just a few of the names. As for my Lakers we have been all over the map with the 23^rd pick however I am going to stick my neck out again. I believe the Lakers will choose 1 of 2 players in Thursday’s draft, by the way these are not in order of preference just as I see it. Chris Duarte, a 6-foot 6-inch 190-pound shooting guard who played his basketball at the University of Oregon. The other possible choice is 6-foot 8-inch 230-pound power forward/center Usman Garuba from Spain.

We must look beyond 2021 however as proof of this drafts value, on the surface it appears deep so there is an opportunity for a win by the Lakers whomever is chosen. Why these two, because it’s my belief they are probably ready to contribute right away based on the needs of the Lakers. One mock site in describing Duarte states “Think Klay Thompson.” That’s enough for me if he can add offense firepower off the Laker bench like the Warriors sharpshooter., another site claims "He's one of the most NBA ready rookies." As for Garuba he compares to a “Faster Tristian Thompson” according to this same mock site. Rest assured I’m not aware what that states however Garuba appears dominate on the defensive side of the ball.  Both players appear capable of stepping into the lineup on day one. As for my forecast, we shall see what occurs later tonight, I could be wrong in both instances.  

The ability to fly

Once upon a time in my youth I played basketball against a guy who stood 6 feet 1, he was able to dunk the ball with ease although he never did this during a game. The Hawks Spud Webb who stood all of 5 feet 6 inches entered the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Championship. Guess what, he won the event the shortest player to date. No human can fly it just seems as though that occurs when the ball is being dunked. The player goes up and up and simply slams the ball through the cylinder, how and why did the dunk come about? The first slam occurred long before Dr. J., Connie Hawkins and Michael Jordan were even thought about. A name few of us are familiar with is credited with the first dunk, his name Joe Fortenberry the year was 1936. The location was the basketball mecca Madison Square Garden in New York City. From 1946 to 1952 Oklahoma State was led by Bob Kurland and he regularly dunked the basketball in games.

How good was the 7-foot Kurland, good enough to intercept opponents shots toward the basket? He caused the NCAA to implement defensive goal tending rule. Several of you are informed while others are reminded the dunk was banned in college from 1967-68. This was done due to the impact Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) made on the game. In closing a couple more notes, the dunk has always been that it didn’t become “Slam” Dunk until word master Chick Hearn longtime Laker broadcaster added it to our lexicon. The event held Saturday evening would exist if not for the American Basketball Association. In that period the NBA just played the game. In 1976 the new ABA to draw fans held a Slam Dunk event prior to its All-Star game. Years later the NBA would follow suit and add this event to its Saturday evening activities. This part you might find just as interesting, the term Slam Dunk has crept into our everyday conversation. It no longer describes basketball rather it says, “whatever the activity the individual is guaranteed success.”

How to handle a bully!

You smack them in the mouth first, you deny them the opportunity to push you. In this instance the bully is the University of Texas and all that oil and gas money backing the athletic program. The Longhorns bullied their way in the Big XII having set themselves up with the largest revenue generator in the conference. They complained about the post season basketball tournament being played annually in Kansas City so what did the conference do? They moved the tournament to Dallas, and it remained there until they realized despite a larger market it failed to attract the audience they perceived.

The tournament was moved to Oklahoma City and finally back to Kansas City at least through 2025. This latest bully effort “We are going to take our basketball and go home; we don’t want to play with you anymore” i.e., we want the SEC. Why Texas A&M is in the SEC is unclear, as for Mizzou the basis is clear-cut. The Longhorns with their television network deriving additional revenue which was not shared with other conference schools. Texas is right where Texas wishes to be at this point, they have exactly what they wanted. They will leave the Big XII in the dust with little if any concern what might occur for it in the future. Bullies never learn, the Longhorns should have been smacked in the mouth at the start.