Basketball from a fans perspective   

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Can he play in the league?

Do you know Jaden Ivey, maybe not? He’s a 6-foot 4-inch 200-pound shooting guard, he plays for Purdue however not for very much longer. This talented sophomore is headed for the league, expect him to be an early first round draft choice in 2022. Born in South Bend Indiana given a choice among a number of schools he preferred to remain in Indiana to further develop his basketball talent. Ivey is scoring at a 17.3 clip along with nearly 5 rebounds and 3 assists per game, can Ivey score? Take a glance at the video below of him in action against Rutgers, pay close attention to the dunk at the end of the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbiBn3qCUDc

A historic game of the past

There was a historic game played in 1950 few might be aware. City College of New York won the NCAA Tournament and the National Invitation Tournament that year, teams today couldn’t play in both events today. Despite the significance that was not the most noteworthy outcome of that tournament. In 1950 the Southern portion of America had a strict segregation policy; black and white citizens were separated in all levels of society including sports. Then as now Kentucky was a basketball power led by the legendary Adolph Rupp, his team would face CCNY in the NIT Tournament that year.

Kentucky was an all-white team and would face CCNY with its roster of Jewish, black and white players. The final score told the story as CCNY beat Kentucky on the road to the NIT Championship 89-50. Was there more to this game than might be evident, we have no method to answer the question however history would be the judge of future events. In 1966 Rupp’s all-white Kentucky Wildcats would face Texas Western (now University of Texas-El Paso) for the NCAA Championship. It was noteworthy at the time Texas Western’s lineup featured five black starters, as for the final score Rupp’s Wildcats came up short once again 72-65. In 1969 Rupp and Kentucky recruited their first black player and the segregation stronghold that existed for generations began to crumble in the south.

Time for a trade

Anthony Davis is out of the lineup once again, this time it’s 4 weeks as he suffered yet another injury. As was indicated recently today’s NBA athletes no longer play 82 games and that’s not what is expected of him and others. AD is one of several players we can term brittle, he is injury prone which forces him out of the lineup. Naturally, this causes the Lakers continuing problems over time. If we look back at the Lakers Championship season the report on AD was incomplete as it occurred in the middle of the pandemic, play was stopped for a period and then resumed.

Last season 2020-21 was the test as the Lakers and other teams continued playing an 82-game schedule. Injuries limited AD to 36 games plus 5 in the playoffs, these are numbers far below what was expected of such a talented athlete. There is no doubt in my mind AD is no slacker he wants in the lineup he just can’t be there. Is it time for a trade, should the Lakers look elsewhere for help, as proof AD’s only been available for 37 of the Lakers 52 games? That is the case in this corner, despite his propensity to be injured he turns 29 in March. AD should have several prime years ahead and the Lakers ought to be able to move him, just my thoughts.

Is this for real?

Instead of college or Australia Jaden Hardy signed with Team Elite in the G-League. This 2021 Coronado High School (Nevada) graduate’s name is listed as a first-round draft pick by nbadraftnet.com and nbadraftroom.net. This 6-foot 4 200-pound shooting guard appears to have all the tools which might lead to an NBA career. Reading the scouting report on him by nbadraftroom.net might leave one a little confused. “Hardy is not an elite run/jump athlete but is a talented shot-maker with a polished offensive game”, now what exactly does that detail for us?

Allow us for a moment to look back at the draft prospects of a few others. At the draft combine in 2007 Kevin Durant had difficulty bench pressing a weight he should have been able to manage. The Celtics Larry Bird was certainly not swift of foot speed, yet he managed to play at a high skill level in the NBA. How about his counterpart Magic Johnson of the Lakers, the Magic man’s jump shot was not rated particularly good, in addition he was unable to leap particularly high? Magic and Legend are in the Naismith Hall of Fame, Durant will be once he retires. We realize scouting reports are not written in stone however it appears at times they don’t provide us a complete and accurate picture. With that said expect the commissioner to call Jaden Hardy’s name in the NBA Draft in June.