Basketball from a fans perspective

Published Monday through Friday

What is the story

We’ve heard it from a few, “I’ve given up on Gonzaga in the NCAA Tournament.” The reasons we hear can be varied but let’s check the record. The Bulldogs reached the Sweet 16 in 2022 before succumbing to the Arkansas Razorbacks 74-68 last week. They won in the tournament in order to face Arkansas so it’s not a tournament thing. Last season the Bulldogs lost only one game and that was in the NCAA Championship game to Baylor 86-70. The prior season there was no tournament as everything was cancelled due to the pandemic. The season before pandemic (2019) saw them an Elite Eight finisher in the tournament.

The gab is “Gonzaga can’t win because the West Coast Conference is weak” which isn’t totally correct. I heard a commentator say, “Since they don’t play football the conference must become like the old Big East Conference.” The other case I heard, “Tommy Lloyd is no longer recruiting internationally for them, that’s hurt the program now and into the future.” Former assistant Lloyd became head coach at Arizona this past season for those unaware. The number of answers as to why Gonzaga fails to win championships can vary based on whom you might converse with. I’m a believer in Mark Few and Gonzaga basketball, they will win an NCAA Championship I cannot provide you day, date or time but it will come.

“Make That Move”

The R&B group Shalamar had a smash tune in 1980 titled “Make That Move”, the headline has nothing to do with this account. I just thought it would be a good lead into this narrative, it might apply based on the recent change. With Covid rates subsiding in the nation and cities last week as expected New York City lifted its vaccination policy. If you remember this mandate affected a vast number of individuals but one in particular who plays for the Nets. Brooklyn point guard Kyrie Irving was only permitted to play road games…he was unable to play games at Barclays Center.

In fact, the Nets got in trouble with the city prior to the change, Irving was in the locker room which was also not permitted. In any event back to the subject at hand, will the Nets be able to Make That Move? Granted they will easily earn a playoff berth it’s the other thing. Can the team sustain a deep playoff run culminating in a championship? We have no timeframe for Ben Simmons to begin play at the same time with little court time will he be able to be of assistance to the Nets? The next few weeks and months should prove quite interesting for the Nets. No excuses should be offered (short of injury) if there is no deep playoff run by Irving, Durant and company. Just in case you might be unfamiliar with Shalamar check out the link below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvdTr0RhdsM

This doesn’t mean a whole lot, or does it?

Earlier we reported the first signee for coach Grant at Mizzou. As a reminder his name is Mohammed Diarra and he’s a 6-foot 10 215 pound forward. What else do we know about the youngster, he attended Garden City Community College in Garden City Kansas. Home for Diarra is Paris France, he arrived on these shores to attend Redemption Christian Academy in Troy New York. To provide you a point of reference Troy is located in metro Albany. The website jucorecuting.com list its Top 100 juco players for 2022 in the nation, Diarra is rated the number one player in the nation. To provide just a little depth of his skill this past season saw him at 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds a game. 

Diarra did this while shooting 45% from the floor and 30% from three. Video of him in action indicates he is swift up and down the court for a player of his size. As pointed out earlier there is a Grand Canyon leap from even the best junior college program to Division I basketball. We can only guess at this point the coach must have been scouting Diarra while still at Cleveland State. This fact was confirmed before completion of this account, coach Grant it turns out had been scouting Diarra prior to the Mizzou hire, we guess the coach is fast but maybe not quite that rapid. Coach Dennis Gates is moving faster than my ability to publish the news, also added to the roster the coach’s second commitment in two days. 

This prospect is named DeAndre Gholston he’s a 6-foot 5 215-pound combo guard and the best news Gholston is headed to Mizzou to play. He arrives from Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Tallahassee Community College; he’s played at Milwaukee the last two seasons. Gholston is a shooter having averaged 15 points a game the last two seasons while shooting 34% from 3. The disclaimer, yes there it is, we have no clue if Gholston is able to make the transition to play successfully at Mizzou…we in Mizzou Nation sure hope that is the case.

He’s been shut down

James Wiseman was not the key to a successful year by the Warriors. The team has managed to return to form with Wiseman missing sidelined by surgery and recovery. It was thought at one point he’d be able to return this season. Wiseman’s been shut down and will not appear at all the remainder of the season. The right knee meniscus repair surgery of last April has not responded as hoped. Reports indicate there is no schedule for an additional surgery on the knee. After becoming the 2^nd pick in the 2020 we’ve seen the 7-foot Wiseman limited to but 39 games since the NBA draft that year.