Basketball from a fans perspective   

Published Monday through Friday

How about this oddity?

We are unsure if this has ever occurred in the past, but it did this week. The weekly cbssports.com college basketball poll contains two number one’s. Gonzaga and Auburn both occupy the top spot in the weekly poll. Of course, we realize these types of polls are only a “beauty contest” until the first Monday in April. The NCAA Tournament Championship Game is held April 4^th and that actually determines the best college basketball team in the nation except in rare instances. What are those exceptions, as an example we could look back at 1983 when North Carolina State beat Houston 54-52 on a State shot that missed the basket? Fortunately, the ball landed in the hands of a teammate who laid it up for the winning basket. There are other championship games where many believe the best team didn’t win the game.

“I never got a chance”

You might remember the name Michael Beasley, he arrived in the NBA in 2008 with “can’t missed” stamped on his forehead. The only problem he did become a miss, with the second pick in that year’s draft Miami believed the talented forward would continue developing his game in the NBA. The first two years good however Beasley was traded to the Wolves in year three. It became two years in Minnesota and from there it was constant movement. It would become Phoenix then back to Miami for a time and then in succession it was Houston, Milwaukee, New York and the Lakers in 2018-19.

Beasley’s season with the Lakers would become his last stop in the NBA, he headed for China and CBA play. He is now playing for Cangrejeros de Santurce in Puerto Rico, despite his basketball journey he talks of a return to the NBA. One of the difficulties in understanding the journey Beasley claims in his words “he was never given a chance.” In fairness his mom was ill and died of cancer while he was a member of the Lakers, that certainly can be devastating to one’s mental state. Was Beasley not given many opportunities to play, we don’t have an answer however get this. He’s played for 7 different NBA teams, 3 Chinese teams and a team in Puerto Rico, playing for a number of coaches it would seem one or two of these coaches might have held on to him.

Correction

On Monday I wrote of the mystique of Allen Fieldhouse and Kansas basketball as the Jayhawks faced Kentucky on Saturday in the SEC/Big XII Challenge. The Kansas Jayhawks rarely lose home games however I hope you allow me to correct something I wrote. It’s a simple statement, buildings don’t beat the opposition the home team does. There are arenas throughout the nation opposing teams have an extreme dislike.

Check this out, Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Dean Dome, Rupp Arena plus Pauley Pavilion, we might also include McCarthey Center home court for Gonzaga in the count. There are other arenas throughout the nation but listen, this is not the scene from the movie Hoosiers. Visitors are not intimidated by a building or even a wild rambunctious student body. The intimidation factor is the visiting team must compete against a Duke, Kentucky or a UCLA and these schools generally produce teams that are quite competitive. Truth of the matter it is sometimes an easier task to defeat them on your home court than in their arena.

The Knicks Suck

The Knickerbockers (do you like the use of the full name) fooled us, based on last season results we expected better especially those occupants of Madison Square Garden. Was their preparation for a championship parade or its equivalent last season, there are serious doubts? What occurred, one key is defense or lack of it. According to the numbers I could locate the Knicks finished 3^rd in team defense last season, this season they are 20^th.

Essentially there’s not been a vast number of roster changes so what is going on? Julius Randle talented as he is has returned to the sometimes-inconsistent Randle we often saw in his past. It’s not just the player alone the head coach has been a mystery as well, Tom Thibodeau hasn’t forgotten how to coach it’s his rotations which has caused some of us to scratch our heads. If you check the standings this morning the Knicks who finished 3^rd in the Atlantic Division last season are currently in last place. Unless some miracle occurs, the Knicks will finish the season with a less than stellar record. They will miss the playoffs after earning a berth last season.

The other school

Prior to the start of the college basketball season an internet site profiled the top schools in each state. In the State of Missouri, the publication chose Missouri State as the best basketball program in the state. Those in Mizzou Nation believed this was incorrect, the University of Missouri at Columbia was clearly the best in the state or at least that’s what was believed. Let’s take a quick glance at some of the numbers. Missouri State is located in Springfield about 163 miles southwest of Columbia, it’s a little over a 2-hour drive between the cities’.

As for student enrollment the Springfield school has a 23,000+ enrollment while Mizzou’s is 31,000+. Missouri State is a member of the Missouri Valley Conference, although the school once played an NAIA schedule, they moved up to Division I in the 1982-83 season. Missouri State is led by Coach Dana Ford who’s now in his 4th year, he came to Springfield from Tennessee State. As for the record as this is written Missouri State is 17-7 in the MO Valley which certainly exceeds the current record of Mizzou. So, there you have it the school located close to the Ozarks is now a clear rival as to which school has the best basketball program in the state.