Basketball from a fans perspective   

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Well, he could have said it!

Forrest Gump might say this, “Mizzou basketball is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get.” Mizzou men’s basketball has been embarrassing to say the least this season. No one in Mizzou Nation expected this team to win the SEC Championship. What was expected was competitive basketball which hasn’t occurred. There’s been the hot (the win against Alabama 92-86) this game was followed by the cold (the 87-43 loss to Arkansas) which was followed by a 67-64 loss to Texas A&M.

What could be expected Tuesday as Mizzou faced Ole Miss at home. What was expected and the actual occurrence were far different, Mizzou won 78-53. Analyst Jimmy Dykes pointed to a fact, “Mizzou is not a good 3-point shooting team, practically all the shots in this game were of the 2-point variety.” It should also be of note the transfers Boogie Coleman, Amari Davis along with holdover Kobe Brown led the way to victory. Davis made every shot he took from the floor, 10 for 10 with 23 points. Coleman only scored 8 points but had 13 rebounds and 7 assists, Brown would add 15 points. As a team Mizzou shot 62.7% from the floor, should we expect this every future game? It sure would be nice although there are serious doubts.

We cannot save him

Laker coach Frank Vogel is on the hot seat, you say “tell me something I didn’t know!” The bonfire under the coach’s feet has continued to grow as the Lakers won-loss record continues to go south. Is the problem Vogel, of course not however as they often say, “It’s easier to fire the manager (coach) than to fire the team?” There have been few positives in what was anticipated to be a championship season. There are bunches of reasons why this Laker team’s not played at the level it should, if they were all listed it would appear an excuse. That is not the case here, excuses only work for those offering them. There are positives, LeBron James has defied logic.

Logic says he should not be playing at this level at age 37 but he’s LeBron. Another shining star has been Stanley Johnson, the 6 foot 7 forward recently signed his 3^rd 10-day contract something which doesn’t happen often, more on Johnson in a related account below. LeBron is impressed by Johnson’s game. Another bright light is Austin Reaves, the 6-foot 5 guard who told the NBA “don’t draft me, I’ll pick my own team.” That team turned out to be the Lakers and in a reserve role Reaves has been invaluable this season. Finally, we close with Malik Monk picked up from the Hornets in the off season. Monk has become that sniper who is valuable to a team. In closing allow this statement, I’m not in the fire Vogel camp however something drastic must be done if this Laker team intends to earn a playoff berth.

The name

His government name is Temetrius Jamel Morant, we are unsure when the youngster first picked up his nickname. The basketball world first saw the brilliant point guard while he played at Murray State, we learned his name was Jae we guess this was a take on his middle name, Jamel. He played in the NBA in his first two years with that spelling, year three would see a change. The spelling of his name would be shortened in year three in the NBA.

Now we have another change, his nickname has been shorten once again. The pronunciation of his name remains the same however the e has been dropped, it’s now written as Ja. Years ago, when I attended high school, I had a teacher who explained it this manner. “You (students) have the right to pronounce (or spell we guess) your name any way you wish.” Was this change in the spelling to Ja made by those in the media or did the owner decide to make the alteration to his nickname…inquiring minds want to know.

Timing

We’ve heard for ages timing is everything, being in the right place at the right time. Is the latest example of this adage the Lakers Stanley Johnson? The 6-foot 7 242-pound Johnson has now signed his 3^rd 10 day contract a highly unusual accomplishment. It’s been reported previously LeBron James likes him on the court as a teammate. He might never become a star however we believed the potential was there. 2014 McDonald’s All American, 2014 California Mr. Basketball, 2014 First Team All American Parade Magazine so the potential was there early.

Johnson would head to Arizona for a year and then declare for the NBA Draft. The Pistons would make him the 8^th pick in the first round of the 2015 draft, from that point on he was “missing.” Missing in that he began the bounce, moving from team to team. Two G-League stops along with time spent with the Pistons, Pelicans, Raptors and finally the Lakers. There is no prediction of future stardom or anything that glorious, however value in a player is not always in points scored, rebounds or assists. Sometimes it’s the trivial things fans sometimes don’t see, the things that cause a LeBron James to praise a teammate. Does Johnson remain a Laker through the end of the season, we shall see?

Didn’t you use to be Shabazz Muhammad?

Actually, his name remains the same it’s just the fact he’s no longer in the NBA. At Bishop Gorman HS in Las Vegas Muhammad was all everything, Mr. Basketball and Naismith Player of the Year in 2012. He was also a McDonald’s All American and the game’s MVP plus he was First Team Parade Magazine All American 2012. Muhammad would attend UCLA for his freshman season and then declare for the NBA Draft. He was made the 14^th pick in the first round of the 2013 draft by the Jazz who traded his rights to the Bucks.

From this point on his hopes for an NBA career were dashed by a series of injuries, it seemed he couldn’t remain healthy enough to stay on the court. Muhammad was waived by the Bucks in October 2018, he then signed with the Shanxi Brave Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association. In 2019 Muhammad signed with the Shenzhen Aviators also in China. Last month he signed with the Grand Rapid Gold of the G-League in an attempt to return to the NBA. Here’s hoping the 6-foot 6 222-pound shooting guard can return to the form he displayed early in his youth, the form that tagged him as a “can’t miss” NBA prospect.