Basketball from a fans perspective

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Princeton offense

Pete Carril died on Monday at the age of 92 years, he invented the Princeton offense while coaching at the school.  Carril was head coach at the school from 1967 to 1996, his teams won 514 games losing 261 during his tenure. 13 Ivy League Championships came his way during this time. His 1975 team won the NIT that season and this part of his bio is interesting. Carril had one season and that was 11-12 at Lehigh before his hire of head coach at Princeton. After his retirement he worked for the NBA Kings for a time as an assistant coach. Carril was honored by being enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame, Pete Carril a basketball legend, R.I.P. coach.

Then there is this

This is not written as the voice of authority just an opinion. Las Vegas in the NBA, the commissioner and the NBA are quiet about an expanding the league. Once this occurs Seattle and Las Vegas will become franchise number 31 and 32 but how does this impact LeBron James? The ageless one has often spoken of his desire to play alongside his son(s) in the NBA, this is nice however it could present an obstacle. In this instance we are only partially discussing age over an ownership issue. Let’s face facts, the NBA wants LeBron an owner even if it’s only as a partial owner.

You know they always say, “Timing is everything” and that’s what is presented here. You can be a player-coach in the NBA however you are not permitted to be an owner-player. We have no idea how long LeBron intends to play but he’s liable to become an owner before either of his son’s make an appearance in the NBA. If this scenario appears negative on my part that is not the case. It would appear to me LeBron will be required over the next year or so to decide which issue is most important to him. From my view I’d love to see LeBron as an NBA owner and it should come, I’m just cannot pinpoint a day and date. The question will LeBron chose ownership over the opportunity to continue a Hall of Fame NBA career playing with one or more of his son’s?

The road ahead

I cannot think of a coach with a more difficult task ahead then these two. In this instance I speak of Matt McMahon at LSU and Dennis Gates at Mizzou. Both will begin the season with new teams and new players. As for Gates technically a few Cleveland State players transferred to Mizzou. As for both coaches LSU and Mizzou fired their basketball coaches at the end of last season. In some instances, the remaining players left immediately while others continued until the new coach arrived and then departed. I cannot speak for LSU however Gates (and we assume) McMahon had to begin recruiting immediately with a gutted roster.

Mizzou was left with three holdover players, since there was only one true senior the remaining roster members said bye-bye. Generally speaking, a new coach is given two to three years for a team to embrace his plan, as for McMahon and Gates will the timeline be lesser or greater? It should also be of interest both coaches arrive on campus from mid-major schools, McMahon from Murray State and Gates arrived by way of Cleveland State. Both coaches are near the same age, McMahon is 44 and Gates is 42 years old. Their effort should be noteworthy as Power 5 schools search out future basketball coaches for their programs. Other than assistants based on these two will AD’s look for the “best” candidate available? 

It's good they will play in separate arenas

Construction is progressing on the Intuit Dome future home of the Clippers. Several might believe Laker fans are upset with this development, far from it in my observation. Most Laker fans probably never wanted to share an arena with the Clippers in the first place. At the time Steve Ballmer became owner a number in Laker Nation wanted him to move the team to Seattle. After all this former Microsoft guy is from that area, that was only a hope in the minds of a few. Ballmer and company are in Los Angeles to stay that’s the principal reason he believes the Clippers need their own building.

Consider this fact besides Los Angeles only New York City has two NBA teams, but even they play in separate arenas, the Knicks are in venerable MSG and the Nets play in Barclays Center. NFL teams in the past and present day have often played in the same stadium however there is a vast difference, NFL games generally only play once a week. There is a possibility an NBA team might play 3-4 games in a week’s time. A brief look at the history for those who might not be familiar with it, the Lakers moved from Minneapolis in 1960. The Clippers arrived in Los Angeles in 1984 from San Diego. Although Southern Cal’s had these teams since 1984, they have never shared an arena until 1999 when Staples Center (Crypto.com) opened. As for the Intuit Dome the arena will be quite spectacular in its design and the amenities it will contain when it opens in 2024. Rest assured Laker fans are just as pleased with the planned opening of Intuit Dome as those in Clipper Nation.

Just a couple of history notes, the Lakers played at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena from 1960-1967. Owner Jack Kent Cooke had a dispute with the city and decided to build his own arena which completed became the Forum. The Clippers moved from their San Diego home to Los Angeles in 1984, they played in the Sports Arena home until 1999. In the fall of 1999, they joined the Lakers and began play in the Staples (Crypto.com) Arena. In September 2021 owner Steve Ballmer announced the Clippers would build their own arena and would begin play in 2024.