Basketball from a fans perspective

Thanks…no thanks

A number of names have been tossed out as the next Laker coach. We’ve heard Quin Snyder of the Jazz, Nick Nurse of the Raptors. Also mentioned Mark Jackson ESPN analyst, we’ve even heard Gregg Popovich mentioned. Also, among the names cited is Doc Rivers Sixers coach. My response to that name is thanks but no thanks. I don’t dislike Rivers but believe he’s got a reputation. Everyone says he’s a winner, that’s been Mike D’Antoni and George Karl. Despite either building or inheriting good teams Rivers has only won once, while the other two have never won a championship. 

Those mentioned are coaches who won a bunch of games always manage to get their teams into the playoffs. Is winning a championship the mark of a good coach… not really however we have little ability to measure the success or lack thereof. As an example, in the college ranks there are more than 350 schools playing basketball in Division I. Of that number only one wins the NCAA every season. In the NBA there are only 30 teams a chance for a coach to win improve significantly over winning a championship at the collegiate level. In the NBA as college success is key and it’s reflected in the won-loss bio of a coach, just a thought you are free to draw your own conclusion.

The roster is set (maybe)

We have no idea at this point if Mizzou’s Coach Gates slows down a bit now. On Friday came the announcement of the last scholarship…at least for now. We’ve mentioned Mizzou’s need for a pure point guard, we can now check that box it is complete. Committing is Sean East from John A. Logan a community college in Southern Illinois, East is a 6-foot 3 185-pound point guard. In case there might be some skepticism with East arriving in this manner there is further news. 

His bio information indicates he’s played at Division I UMass and Bradley before transferring to Logan. How do all the pieces fit together, not very easily we might guess? It’s hoped by the administration, students and Mizzou Nation the coach and his staff will be able to mold this collection of athletes into an effective cohesive team, one capable of winning. As for the roster it remains to be seen if it might be tweaked again prior to school beginning in the fall. As this is written there remains no word on the status of incoming freshman Christian Jones a 6-foot 4 point guard from East St. Louis. 

He’s leaving

You probably won’t remember and it’s not really that important. Emoni Bates is leaving Memphis, but I told you a few weeks ago that was my belief. There is no indication where the former wunderkind might be headed. He could be headed to Australia and the NBL, it could be the G-League or simply another school. As was pointed out earlier Bates is too young for the 2022 NBA Draft so that’s the one area he’s not going. He’s not headed to the NBA unless he makes an appeal. Former Tiger James Wiseman played few games but perform in a manner the Warriors decided to draft him. Since then, injuries have impacted Wiseman’s development. As for Bates we never had an opportunity to see him in action to make an assessment of his ability.

He owes it to AI  

The Warriors Steph Curry is not a true point guard, he stands 6 foot 2 and 185 pounds. That’s taller (5 foot 9) but about the same weight as the average American male. Curry is a combo guard despite the fact he’s listed as a point guard. We can describe a combo guard as one who can dish the ball to a teammate as easily as taking and making baskets. A brief look at the past says any guard 5 foot 11 up to about 6 foot 3 must be considered a point guard. Well, that was then, this is now despite the fact it might be a little misleading. The Logo, Jerry West might have been the first combo guard, West stood 6 foot 2 but was a prolific shooter who could pass the ball. Fast forward to the Kings Tiny Archibald, he might have stood 5 foot 11, Tiny would lead the NBA in scoring and assists one season the only time that’s occurred in NBA history.

Although we could look at West first and later Archibald probably the first bonafide combo guard in my view was Allen Iverson of the Sixers. The bio indicates Iverson stood 6 foot tall, it was more likely 5 foot 11, how about his weight? It was reported to be 165 pounds he might have been 150-155 pounds. Despite his rather slender stature AI was fearless on the basketball court, he was unafraid of no man. When drafted he arrived in the NBA as a “point guard”, his coach Larry Brown soon discovered he was a shooter too. Rather than force AI to play the point Brown allowed him to be a shooter first and point guard second. Steph Curry is a talent all by himself, if not for AI it’s possible we’d have no Steph Curry. Sure, Curry would have played in the NBA he’s that talented however he would have played strictly as a point guard.