Basketball from a fans perspective   

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The best

We could debate which of these schools is the best D-I basketball program in the State of Missouri. We know for sure it certainly isn’t Mizzou, let’s take a quick glance at the current record: 

Missouri State 23-10 (13-5 MO Valley Conference)

Saint Louis University 21-10 (12-6 Atlantic 10)

University of Missouri Kansas City 19-12 (12-6 Summit League)

We’ve mentioned the poor play of Mizzou on a number of occasions this season however Southeast Missouri State in Cape Girardeau is in the same group as Mizzou. SEMO is 14-18 overall and 8-9 in the Ohio Valley Conference.

No drop off

The weekend game versus Carolina is in the rear-view mirror, so are the events immediately after the game. What is left for Coach K. and Duke is the ACC playoffs and NCAA Tournament. As for next season we have no idea what Duke basketball will play out for the future under Jon Scheyer. As for 2022 it appears there will be no drop off in recruiting talent. If we check Rivals and other sites containing prospects, they indicate Duke will be in decent shape.

The Rivals.com site indicates Duke has the number one recruiting class for 2022 as of March 6. If we held a discussion on impacting a young man’s life Coach K. would have to be at the top of most lists. Consider this fact, in 46 years of coaching at West Point and Duke his roster has contained a minimum of 560 athletes perhaps a larger number. Of that count many of these men have gone on to the NBA or other professional leagues, in the majority of instances business and career pursuits have been their life interest.

Maybe 

Do we suppose Pete Maravich might have inspired Magic Johnson? In those days there was no wall-to-wall coverage of college basketball as there is today. Magic would have been 8-years old when Maravich enrolled at LSU. Nobody other than the Harlem Globetrotters controlled a basketball in the manner of Maravich. They claim Celtic point guard Bob Cousy could handle the basketball; he was adept at dribbling and passing but he couldn’t come close to what Maravich would later do. Press Maravich a former player turned coach taught his son the fundamentals of the game.

From all indications the other part, the ball control tricks, passes, head fakes and others were the result of practice, practice and more practice. Just like Magic it was said on a break teammates beware, they were likely to be hit in the back of the head with one of the Maravich passes. It wasn’t just his passing skills Maravich could shoot the ball too, he played prior to the 3-point line and when freshman were ineligible to play yet managed to score 3,667 points an NCAA record. That remains the record today although it was established in 1970. Maravich must be considered among the all-time greats in basketball in a discussion of college and the NBA. He’s enshrined in both the Naismith and College Basketball Halls of Fame. Maravich died far too young at age 40 from heart failure in 1988.

He played his way into the draft

Serge Ibaka arrived in the NBA from a Spanish team however home is actually the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ibaka has proven himself an NBA talent while playing for several NBA teams, he became an NBA Champion with the Raptors in 2019. His fellow countryman Oscar Tshiebwe came to prominence in a different manner, Tshiebwe arrived on U.S. shores while in high school, from there the 6-foot 9 255-pound Tshiebwe began play at West Virginia. After two seasons at West Virginia, he decided to transfer for personal reasons, and it appears the move has proven beneficial for him.

Tshiebwe’s become a double-double man for the Kentucky Wildcats and now it appears the NBA might be in his future; he’s led NCAA teams in rebounds all season long. There is no guarantee Tshiebwe will be drafted in June, we have no idea if he decides to leave for the NBA. He could return to Kentucky for his senior year. We are posing the question on his draft status based on mock drafts. Most identified Tshiebwe but none listed him as a potential draft pick, all that’s changed based on his play this season. Most mock drafts have Tshiebwe listed as a second-round draft choice, he’s not going to move into the Top 10. His name has been mentioned as College Player of the Year, is it possible he moves into the first round of the NBA Draft? Based on his play through February into March that’s highly likely it could occur.