Basketball from a fans perspective   

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Del Harris

His name is likely unfamiliar to a majority reading this unless you are steeped in NBA history, currently Del Harris is serving as vice president of the G-League. This is now what occurred in the past, the names familiar to most is Pat Riley and Phil Jackson, Harris was coach in between the two for the LAkers. Technically Mike Dunleavy took over the team in 1990 but left after but two years despite a winning record, the team was in a coaching maze with Randy Pfund, Bill Bertka and Magic Johnson coaching from 1992-1994.

As you can see there was a lack of stability at the head coaching position. Del Harris was hired in 1994 and stabilized the team, after his hiring the team took off and each succeeding season won more than the prior one. The 1997-98 team won 61 games during the regular season but lost in the Conference Finals. The following season after a poor start the team decided to make a change and Harris was fired. It should be noted the first NBA coach Kobe Bryant played or was not Phil Jackson it was Del Harris. Although Kobe would later become all world Harris would bring the 17-year-old Kobe slowly. In fact, Kobe would not become a full-time starter until his third year in the NBA.

Memphis basketball

Although it was only an exhibition game this past Sunday Grizzlies point guard Jae Morant was seated courtside. Jae was in attendance as Emoni Bates took the floor for the Memphis Tigers. It’s being reported Morant has also taken on the role of mentoring young Bates. Playing against Lane College Bates scored a modest 12 points in his first collegiate game as the Tigers beat Lane College 88-49. We made the statement earlier Memphis Tigers basketball will be must-see viewing this upcoming season.

The statement could apply to Grizzlies basketball as well, Morant is tearing up the NBA. Memphis Tennessee might have the two most exciting basketball players in the NBA and college. In closing Sporting News.com named Bates to it’s pre-season All American team. With the number of athletes leaving school after their first year the honor of being named an All-American doesn’t hold the significance for fans it once did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N77b9ch_gjs

See if you find this as interesting as me

We discuss Power 5 Conferences (Big 10, Pac-12 etc.) all the time. What names a Power 5 Conference, is it student enrollment? No that’s not it, Notre Dame has less than 10,000 undergraduate students yet is considered a Power 5 school. Those not in a Power 5 Conference are considered Mid-Majors, this is the interesting part. As you are aware BYU, Houston, Cincinnati and University of Central Florida will move into the Big XII Conference in two-three years.

These schools are considered Mid-Majors but become Power 5 school’s once they move into the Big XII. Nothing changes except a technical change, enrollment likely remains the same as everything else, in 2023 one or more is invited to the NCAA Tournament as a Mid-Major. The next season (2024) the invitation extended to them will be as a Power 5 school. This is just one more thing that causes you to scratch your head in wonderment.

It’s a marathon not a sprint

The NFL season is 17 games in 18 weeks, if the Kansas City Chiefs begin the season slowly, they can be playoff eliminated quickly. On the other hand, an NBA or MLB team can play poorly at the beginning yet recover and remain in contention for a playoff position. 17 NFL games versus 82 for the NBA versus 162 games for baseball can make a heck of a difference. NBA teams expected to contend for the playoffs hope for a fast start however that’s not always the case. We could use the 1994-95 Rockets were coming off an NBA Championship however this Rockets team finished the regular season with a 47-35 record.

This team finished a disappointing 3^rd in the NBA West Division, what did they accomplish that season? The Rockets repeated as NBA Champions despite a rather average record, in the playoffs they barely won each of their playoff series. As for the Finals these Rockets would sweep the Magic 4 games to 0, there are probably other examples, but these Rockets come to mind first. As for the media folks we understand, they bring to our attention the poor start of contending teams, it’s good for a fast start however we forget. The NBA season is a marathon and not a sprint, a team can never be counted out unless they are below .500 with little time left in the regular season. Even that statement is not always correct teams with less than stellar records have earned playoff berths.