Basketball from a fans perspective

He is headed to Tennessee

As a reminder, in March 2022 LSU fired Will Wade and the incoming crop of freshman departed soon after learning the coach was no longer in place. One of those leaving from an outstanding Class of 2022 prospects was Rivals 5-star Julian Phillips; the 6-foot 8 small forward committed to LSU last October. We are unsure if Phillips is the first but, in any event, he’s declared his college of choice. On May 12 Phillips announced he will head for the University of Tennessee to play for Rick Barnes. Incidentally, he's from Branson Missouri about 200 road miles from Columbia home of Mizzou, oh well.

I can revise my position

Unlike those in television who are paid huge sums of money to be incorrect that’s not me. First of all, I’m not paid, this blog is strictly a labor of love, second to that updates and corrections are never going to be buried. I want them placed up front where you read them as in this case. Some might remember on Friday an attempt was made to point out the best all-time high school basketball player in the State of Missouri. Our focus was the St. Louis metro, on reading my account Frank said, “What about Bradley Beal?”

What about Beal you might say who plays for the Wizards, well I am going to say perhaps there is a tie between Jayson Tatum and Beal. The problem for Beal unlike that of Tatum the Wizards have not been particularly good during the time he’s played for them, in addition an injury limited him to but 40 games in the recently completed season.  If we look strictly at the numbers Beal has a slight advantage over Tatum although both are equally talented. I will close this by thanking Frank for pointing out the contributions of Beal who played at Chaminade College Prep in the St. Louis metro and the University of Florida prior to being drafted by the Wizards.

They are already at home  

The Sixers lost on Thursday evening 99-90 to the Heat, because they were at home the Sixers likely had little travel. What happened, the Sixers were losers in the series 4-2. As we often state this is a team sport, despite that fact there are teammates i.e., players who are expected to lead, and guess what Harden isn’t one of them. This loss can be laid at the feet of the “Invisible Man” a.k.a. James Harden. Joel Embiid was battling at least two injuries; can we make the same statement regarding Harden. In truth we cannot state this but the players seeking a max contract sure appeared disconnected, his head appeared to not be in the game. As proof the box score, in 43 minutes on the court he managed but 11 points along with an admirable 9 assists.

This is the killer, leading the Heat to victory was Jimmy Butler once a member of the Sixers, his 32 points were certainly a key. We are not going to report why he’s in Miami instead of Philly, but it certainly is interesting Butler was so crucial in this series. We reported earlier Harden wants a max contract but at age 32 and based on his playoff performance we question if this might be worthwhile. If you are a fan of Harden, I believe all of us expected more after he demanded the Nets move him. Once again if we look at his combined numbers (Nets & Sixers) they look good, but Harden’s become a real mystery to many. According to Basketball Network Harden didn’t attempt a shot in the 4^th quarter, apparently the last Sixer to do that in a playoff series…Ben Simmons.

Bits n Pieces   

Earl Manigault died in 1998 at the age of 53, for those unfamiliar with the name he was a New York City street player. A portion of his fame was earned on the basketball courts in the city, especially Rucker Park. Many of the attributes he accomplished are the stuff of fiction we can’t prove they occurred. One story claims a quarter was placed on the rim of the basketball goal, Manigault was reported to have snatched the quarter off the top. The goal is 10 feet from the floor or concrete, and the top of the backboard is another 3 feet for a total of 13 feet.

We don’t know that’s been the story all these years. How he acquired the nickname “Goat” is also in debate, so we’ll skip that for now. The Goat once reversed dunked 36 times in a row to win a $60.00 bet, that account can be confirmed. He played against some of the best of the era Earl Monroe, Connie Hawkins and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. To this day Kareem claims the 6 foot 1 Manigault was the best he ever played against. Drugs would be his downfall preventing him from play in college and the NBA.

A reader in Keokuk Iowa or Stockton California might say, “Why is he always mentioning mileage in many of the accounts.” It’s done for more than one reason; many Americans have no idea of geography in the United States. Want an example, Mark Emmert outgoing president of the NCAA presented the championship trophy to the “Kansas City Jayhawks.” Lawrence is close by but some miles from Kansas City Kansas or Kansas City Missouri. Numerous times we hear celebrities on visiting say “I’m so glad to be in Kansas when they are actually on the Missouri side of State Line Road. In addition to providing, you the lay of the land I’m an admitted travel nerd. I must also know where I am in relation to _________. So, there’s your short answer why in addition to basketball there is often a geography reference in Off the Dribble.