Basketball from a fans perspective

Shocking news

This caught everybody off guard…the retirement of Villanova coach Jay Wright. Wright’s been head coach at the school of 21 years, in addition to being a regular season winner he’s got two NCAA championships. 2016 and 2018 saw the Wildcats winning it all. As for his replacement that will be Kyle Neptune currently at Fordham will be named head coach, Neptune was a 10-year assistant coach for Wright. One more note on the coaches resume, he was enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2021. The college basketball world will miss Wright, good luck coach whatever unfolds in the future.

The Logo 

There was a question on the minds of quite a few, how long before someone took legal action against the producers of Winning Time? That event would unfold on Tuesday, a law firm representing Jerry West sent a letter to HBO and the producer of Winning Time. The team said West ask them for a retraction and apology in two weeks. West is upset in the portrayal of him as “an out-of-control, intoxication rage-aholic,” their words not mine. The team went on to state in the letter “this is fiction pretending to be fact.”

This is the first legal attempt to correct what’s been presented in the HBO production. Best bet, nothing will come of this action by the West legal tam, as they might say in the entertainment industry “It’s in the can.” That points to a production that is complete and that represents the first season, although the second season’s been renewed whether it airs remains a question. Many of us might be familiar with a term, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.” That’s exactly what this mini-series might represent, as personality after personality trashes Winning Time it might increase the audience substantially. It will be interesting to determine how HBO and the production team respond to the West demand. We’ll continue to follow this developing story to determine how it might eventually play out.

The part of this story I find most interesting the comments by a few letter writers, they acknowledge the production is fictional yet are reveling in the story that’s unfolded thus far. Okay we have a few events the public is aware, as for others “We’ll present for the viewer what we believe might have occurred.” On the other hand, we have a few who claim Jerry West is being too thin skinned about the manner he’s portrayed in the series. How can you glorify a production you acknowledge is the imagination of a writer(s), maybe I’m missing something here? Finally, to those who believe West is being too critical consider this fact. How’d you like a story written about you which only covered what might be perceived to be the negative portions of your life?

The professional connection 

My research indicates my hometown had professional basketball prior to the ABL Steers and NBA Kings. In 1947 the Kansas City Blues began play in the Professional Basketball League of America. The league was begun due to the growth of basketball following World War II, this league had 16 teams, there was a Northern and Southern Division. Kansas City was placed in the Northern along with the Chicago Gears, St. Joseph Outlaws, St. Paul Saints and others. The league was under financed and folded after but one season, there is no indication where the Blues played their home games our guess the Municipal Auditorium. In 1961 the American Basketball League (not to be confused with the ABA) was born. The brainchild behind this league was Abe Saperstein then owner of the Harlem Globetrotters.

Saperstein was reported to have been promised an expansion franchise and when the NBA reneged, he formed his own league. The ABL only contained 8 teams and the Kansas City entry would become the Steers. This too would become short lived as the ABL played one complete season but shut down in the middle of the second. Next up, the American Basketball Association which came into existence in 1967. Kansas City was awarded a franchise however it never saw play in the city. At that time Municipal Auditorium was the only arena capable of housing a hockey or basketball team. The city signed a contract earlier with the St. Louis Blues and a Kansas City farm team for the Blues would assume most of the available dates. The ABA team was moved to Denver and was nicknamed the Larks, later it was changed to the Rockets and then Nuggets. It’s been stated “Timing is everything” and that’s been the chief problem for Kansas City basketball history and why none is currently playing here.

Not a surprise

Chet Holmgren's decided he favors the NBA over the college game. On Thursday the spindly forward announced he was leaving Gonzaga, it makes sense on so many levels. Mock draft sites have the 7 foot Holmgren listed from 1 through 4 all college season long. As a lottery pick Holmgren can earn a larger amount of money in the lottery. One of the keys for the youngster is being drafted by the "right" team, in my view a veteran team where he receives limited minutes might not be a good thing. As for the issue of weight TNT's Kenny Smith has gone on record stating he doesn't believe the issue will inhibit Holmgren from becoming a competitive NBA player. It will be interesting how this plays out for the youngster leading up to the NBA draft on Thursday June 23.

Back away from the edge please

Instead of heading over the cliff as many believed they were headed the Knicks returned from oblivion. They won 41 games and earned a playoff berth in the 2020-21 season. After many frustrating years Knick fans could look forward to improved basketball but it didn’t occur. Let’s just say it’s not occurred immediately, the 2021-22 season witnessed them returning to the edge of the cliff again as they recorded a 37-45 won-loss record. The Knicks were eliminated in the playoffs last season, 2022 would be different as they missed the playoffs all together. What happened, a bunch of things…players not playing and coaches not coaching

That last sentence is a little blunt, there were a myriad of events that caused the Knicks to reverse course. Just as with the Lakers there is plenty of finger pointing which really serves no true purpose. We continue to believe in Tom Thibodeau as a head coach, let's explore this puzzle piece. Perhaps Thibodeau saw the problem but couldn't fully address it during the season. Bombastic Stephen A. Smith wants Knick President Leon Rose to face the media...wrong. Media members receive free access to the games and bunches of stuff they don't pay for, Rose needs to face Knick fans to explain the poor showing by the team. Doesn't matter if it's a corporate type or hourly worker, they spent $$$ to witness less than spectacular play by the Knicks. Once again Stephen A. claims he sees a problem but provides an unsatisfactory response in my view.