Basketball from a fans perspective

Published Monday through Friday

Declare

Gonzaga’s Chet Holmgren needs to run toward the door, the one leading to the NBA. His freshman numbers were good, 14 points nearly 10 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. They are not outstanding however they provide proof the skinny 7-foot Holmgren made the adjustment to Division I play smoothly. His NCAA Tournament play was somewhat checkered but that is not tragic. Mock draft sites have placed Holmgren as a Top Three prospect all season long. He should declare for the 2022 draft yet avoid the NBA Draft Combine held in Chicago,

For years coaches and scouts have used the combine to determine an athletes ability. There are horror stories relating to the combine, remember the story about Kevin Durant unable to bench press a weight believed possible. There are positives too regarding the combine, Mizzou’s DeMarre Carroll was not on the NBA’s radar. Outstanding numbers and play registered by Carroll allowed him to become a late first round pick in the 2009 draft by the Grizzlies. Back to Holmgren, he needs to be paid now he's proven he can play at the Division I level, why return to Gonzaga for another season and risk injury and losing the opportunity to play and be paid.

Few residents are aware

If you live in or around Indianapolis, you might believe the Pacers are the only pro basketball team to represent the city…wrong. Technically the city had three teams although just two appeared on the basketball court. The Jets were a National Basketball League team, they began play in 1937. In 1948 the team became a member of the Basketball Association of America and played under that banner until 1949 when the team folded.

Understand this, the Jets ceased operations due to the Olympians forming. The Olympians were members of the National Basketball Association and began operations in 1949. This Indianapolis team ended business in 1953. Much of the history is lost so we can only guess a portion of it. We are aware most of the BAA teams became part of the merged NBA, why the Jets went out of business replaced by the Olympians is an unknown. For the residents (or fans) of Indiana basketball there’s a brief look at history prior to the Pacers being born in 1967.

Duke re-load

For all practical purpose Coach K. is history, despite this fact apparently Duke basketball will continue to attract quality talent. Check out the Class of 2022 Rivals.com, the top three prospects are all headed to Duke in the fall

Dariq Whitehead 6-foot 8 small forward

Kyle Filipowski 6-foot 10 power forward

Dereck Lively 6-foot 11 center

As with any player leaving high school and headed to Division I basketball an adjustment is required. We have no idea how smoothly the transition will occur for the trio however its hoped they are able to play. All are not 5-star prospects however there are three additional prospects headed to Duke on the Rivals list.

There is talent galore

A mock draft site nbadraftroom.com contains more than the usual information about prospects. Most mocks list an order and the top 60 players they believe will be drafted. There are an additional 40 names which the site considers viable prospects. Where am I going with this you might ask, I’m ready? The Lakers have mortgaged their future to win now which is not likely. There are a few names on the list that might be familiar to you. Shooting guard Ron Harper Jr. who played at Rutgers, Drew Timme Gonzaga power forward or Makur Maker power forward from Australia.

Someone reading this might question Timme’s name being included among the undrafted list of talent. This is nbadraftroom.com’s justification not yours truly he could indeed be drafted. What occurs with these and other potential free agents? We could look at Raptors guard Fred VanVleet who went undrafted in 2016, he’s now a key to his team’s success. As for this season we have Laker guard Austin Reaves who came to the Lakers as a free agent. In his instance through his agent, he informed teams to not draft him, he wanted the opportunity to choose the team of his choice. Reaves recently was moved into the starting lineup.

Vegas takes the lead

We have mentioned over and over the NBA will expand within the next 4 years. For balance purpose its likely two expansion teams will be added to the number. Seattle is a slam dunk for one of the two franchises, as for number two that’s been up in the air until recently. Generally, the discussion revolves around two cities, it’s either Kansas City or Las Vegas for that 32^nd franchise. Although Kansas City has a grass roots effort to acquire an NBA team it’s my belief Vegas has moved to the front for a number of reasons. LeBron’s names been mentioned as a potential owner along with partners. Sounds about right the NBA would love to have LeBron associated with a team in the same manner as Michael Jordan.

For years, the prospect of Las Vegas was out of the question for a city built specifically for gambling. It was believed unsavory elements would find their way into it should the city acquire professional sports. We can dismiss that question for now, the apparent success of the NFL Raiders and NHL Golden Knights laid that story to rest. Las Vegas has moved from a gambling paradise to a family entertainment destination, sure the gambling exists but is downplayed now. Naturally sitting in the middle of the nation I would prefer franchise number 32 be the Kansas City Monarchs, Steers or Knights but apparently that is highly unlikely now.