Basketball from a fans perspective   

Published Monday through Friday

Confusion reign’s once again

Guard DaJuan Gordon transferred to Mizzou from Kansas State after last season was complete. The box score for the Mizzou-Central Michigan game did not list Gordon in the lineup. It turns out Gordon didn’t play on Tuesday in the 78-68 victory over Central Michigan. According to the St Louis Post-Dispatch Gordon was suspended by the NCAA for the game. What did he do, it seems Gordon played in a non-sanctioned game over the summer? Did he receive financial compensation for his play in this game, once again we are confused by the actions of the NCAA. In other Mizzou news this should be of note, in years past Saturday Night Live ran a segment titled Bizzaro World.

In this Bizzaro World, Kansas is eliminated as the destination for a prospective talent and Mizzou is still workable? Could this really be the case or is it something else, truth is Kansas is out of the running while Mizzou is kinda in the picture? Mark Robinson a 6-foot 7 wing from Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita has reduced the number of schools, in the running for his services Duke, UCLA and Mizzou. Did you just read that last sentence correctly…Mizzou? This 5-star prospect in the Class of 2022 will make his decision known among the three schools mentioned. Mizzou has an outside chance however its likely Robinson’s choice is liable to be either Duke or UCLA. As for the basis for his interest in Mizzou, before Sunrise he attended Bishop Miege High School in the Kansas City metro

NBA records that will never be broken

You might have heard the saying, “Records are made to be broken.” that adage has validity except in exceedingly rare instances. A writer for The Score detailed 5 records that will never be broken. It’s interesting 2 of the 5 unbreakable records were covered previously in Off the Dribble. We wrote of the 100-point scoring game of Wilt Chamberlain which occurred March 2, 1962. The nearest attempt to eclipse the record occurred on January 22, 2006.

That was the evening Kobe Bryant torched the Raptors for 81 points, I was an NBA League Pass subscriber and I sat in front of my television as shot after shot was sunk by Kobe. I said to myself “He’s (Kobe) going to break Wilt’s scoring record.” That was not the case as he came up 19 points short, but it was an amazing game. November 5, 1971, the Lakers beat the Baltimore Bullets (Wizards) 110-106, they would not lose another game for two months. This team with Wilt Chamberlain at center along with guards Jerry West and Gail Goodrich was plain unbeatable. The Bucks led by Kareem Abdul Jabbar would halt the streak beating the Lakers 120-104 on January 9, 1972.

Fans want a winner

This is written ahead of the Wednesday evening game. The schedule has the 1 win and 9 loss Pistons at the 1 win 9 loss Rockets, someone will end the evening with 2 wins the other with 10 losses but its more than the game. Fans want a winner and neither team is winning at this point and that upsets fans. The first statement might be “We need to trade ________ “or “We should have signed______ while they were free agents.” Next up its likely the coach is the one on the hotseat but that shouldn’t always be the case. As an example, if LAker Coach Vogel is under consideration it’s understandable. The LAkers are supposed to compete for the NBA Championship, yet they hover around the .500 mark.

The hope for fans of the Pistons and Rockets are not so glamorous. The Pistons under Dwayne Casey finished last season 20-52, Stephen Silas is a first-year coach, his Rockets finished 17-55 last season. Hopefully, you see where this is headed, we have two coaches whose teams are not anywhere close to being competitive. We are not going to look at the past only the future, Casey and Silas need adequate time to build competitive teams. Casey is in his fourth year but still requires time to build HIS team. Silas is in a different situation, only in his first year at the helm Silas requires at least three years to mold the Rockets into the type of team he wishes. Will both coaches be given time, time to build a competitive team? Only the passage of time can answer that question.

The barn door is wide open

You are wondering, how does that headline impact basketball. It comes from an old saying, “It’s too late to close the barn door when the cows (or horses) have already escaped.” It’s easily understood, if the barn door had remained closed there would be no need for an animal roundup. In this instance we are referencing college basketball talent, Yahoo Sports listed 10 athletes that will possibly be one and done prospects. The season has just begun, and we are discussing who is leaving for the NBA. Is this issue bothersome…of course but there is really nothing that can be done about it? Despite the efforts made the larger number of first-year students are enrolled for their freshmen year only.

What’s occurred to curtail the one and done athlete, practically nothing. A small number have chosen foreign shores LaMelo Ball might be the most recent example for us to review having played in Australia prior to his NBA debut. The jury is still out on G-League talent from the 2021 NBA Draft. Taken in that draft were Jalen Green by the Rockets, Jonathan Kuminga, Warriors and Isiah Todd Buck. It should be of note all three were NBA first round choices in the draft. Yet to make an impact is Overtime Elite a startup league in 2021. They are recruiting talent that’s yet to finish high school, the league says 16-18 years can earn incomes over $100,000 annually. I’m unsure if I had a 16-year-old I would allow him to quit high school to play professionally. The overwhelming amount of talent continues to head off to college for one year, despite the landscape change this will continue to be the choice of most.