Basketball from a fans perspective   

Published Monday through Friday

Pistol

With Steph Curry setting an NBA 3-point baskets made record I decided to check another prolific scorer in this instance we are discussing the college game. We are going to look back at “Pistol” Pete Maravich again, Maravich scored 3,667 points while enrolled at LSU playing from 1967 to 1970. His point scoring total would make him the all-time NCAA Division I scoring champion. Maravich was the offense for LSU back them averaging 43.8, 44.2 and 44.5 points a game. 

Can you even imagine a player in this age with those numbers? Maravich was just that talented, while executing all that scoring there are two facts which stand out for his collegiate career. He might have scored more career points, back then first-year student were not eligible to play on the varsity they were only eligible to play on the school’s freshman team. Until 1979 there was no 3-point line in college, just imagine how scores of added points Maravich might have recorded if he’d played four years and had benefit of the 3-point line.

He made the correct choice 

We believe Steve Kerr made the correct decision; you might not remember this story from the past. At the time Phil Jackson took over the Knicks March of 2014 he wanted to hire “his” coach; his preference was for Steve Kerr to be that choice. In April Jackson fired the Knicks coaching staff and at that point he was supposed to have reached out to Kerr. Despite the fact Kerr played for PJ with the Bulls he turned his former coach down. Recently he said, “If I had taken the Knicks job, I would have been gone in two years.” We can debate the merit of his statement however considering the Warriors success we could say for a fact Kerr made the right choice. Kerr’s been a three-time NBA Champion coach, 2015, 2017 and 2018. We can only guess, there are serious doubts Kerr would have achieved the success with the Knicks he’s received as head coach of the Warriors.

Bits n Pieces   

In a surprising move Danny Ainge makes a move from the Celtics to the Jazz. He was named as alternate governor and CEO of the team. According to ESPN.com Ainge will work with the GM and the ownership group which includes former player Dwayne Wade. The report says Ainge is still a popular figure in Salt Lake City having played at BYU. Later in his playing career Ainge played for the Kings, Blazers and Suns, for me and others he will always be associated with the Celtics due to his time with Bird, McHale and other Celtics of that era.

You might have heard the adage, “It’s easier to fire the coach than fire a player.” Well, he wasn’t fired, Rick Carlisle stepped down as Mavs coach after last season, now it comes out. The franchise otherwise known as Luka Doncic did not get along with Carlisle. Doncic is saying now he resented the way Carlisle treated other Mavs players. So, you have the story, we didn’t know for sure but believe there was a problem below the surface. Doncic has now confirmed there was difficulty between he and Carlisle.

Speaking of the Mavs, Laker rookie Austin Reaves hit a 3-point basket with 0.9 seconds remaining in OT. The shot was the winner as the Lakers beat those Mavs 107-104. We’ve read the team might be missing Alex Caruso who played tough defense and provided timely shooting as a reserve. In the off-season Caruso signed a free agent contract with the Bulls and Laker Nation were left bewildered with the development. Reaves in the middle of his rookie season but might prove more valuable than Caruso going forward.

They continue

They in this instance refers to Duke basketball and its recruiting effort. The latest is 3-star prospect Christian Reeves, he is a 7-foot 1-inch 235-pound center. Currently Reeves attends Oak Hill Academy found in Mouth of Wilson Virginia, and he is a Class of 2022 prospect. We don’t have any idea if Reeves can play at this level however the other question, how does Duke continue to attract the finest basketball talent in the nation and world?

There are factors that work in favor of Duke and at the top of the list must be, academics. Parents sending their son to Duke realize if their athlete son has no pro career in his future a degree from this institution goes a long way in the private sector. The basketball played at this university has been among the best and its reputation precedes it. Coach K. is on his way out the door however his replacement Jon Scheyer has begun a recruiting sprint on prospects. This is what my imagination informs me, coach is saying to prospects “Coach K. is gone but we still continue to play winning basketball at Duke University now and into the future.”