Basketball from a fans perspective

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Sunday

The wow factor

Television doesn’t do a basketball prospect justice and that is the case here. I hate to become overhyped about a prospect be they amateur or pro. As an example I was singing the praises of Emoni Bates until I realized he might not be as good as advertised. I didn’t want that to affect me regarding Victor Wembanyama the first time I saw the teen Big Man from France. Metropolitans 92 lost their game against G-League Team Elite 122-115. Scoot Henderson the brilliant G-League point guard took on the challenge of his team facing Victor Wembanyama’s Metro 92 team. Henderson led the way scoring 28 points along with 5 rebounds and 9 assists. Although I can state I was impressed with Henderson’s game it was Wembanyama who I was most curious about. I’m sure there are others like me who were quite impressed with the young Frenchman.

Wembanyama sat most of the first half due to foul trouble and adapting to NBA play, this is one example of play. During activity around the basket the 7-foot 5 Wembanyama took the ball off the rim, this is okay for international play but certainly not okay in the NBA…the result a goal tending call. The second half of the game Wembanyama went to work and almost willed his team to a win. For the game Wembanyama shot a sizzling 55% from the floor, 7-11 from the 3-line scoring 37 points in all. He scored baskets in a variety of manners there were lobs, mid-range and three-point shots, the only exception I don’t remember a back to the basket score. In defense of Wembanyama he’s a jump shooter and from distance. To further enhance his game in my eyes he proved he wasn’t a one-dimensional player with 5 blocked shots and certainly intimidated a number of misses. My scouting eye indicates there are a couple of areas for Wembanyama requiring work for his NBA future.

Wembanyama must gain strength, notice I didn’t say weight, at 230 pounds he just might have a naturally thin frame. The camera caught a rebound being snatched out of his grasp. At this point Wembanyama is strictly a jump shooter, the question might be asked is this element necessary to add to his arsenal? Ever seen a 7-foot 5 guy dribble the ball the length of the court, Wembanyama has that skill? There is definitely a wow factor regarding this 18-year-old youngster. The number one and two projected players in next year’s NBA draft were on display on Tuesday and Thursday. According to ESPN.com there were more than 200 NBA scouts and front office personnel in attendance at the game. One GM described Wembanyama as “a 7-4 Kevin Durant” which is certainly high praise. When it was suggested, the youngster be shut down for the season his agent scoffed at the idea, so we know that’s not forthcoming. Do we have a diamond in the rough in Wembanyama, only time will tell. A recap of Thursday’s game will be available in Sunday’s edition.

A bit of trivia

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics or the NAIA was comprised of several schools that have now become Division I programs. One by one over the years these schools decided to move up their level of competition. Just a couple of notes of interest on two of them. In 1948 Louisville won the NAIA Tournament and in 1986 the NCAA Championship and repeated the feat in 2013 although the championship was later declared invalid. As for Southern Illinois by the time they won the 1967 NIT Championship the school had moved to Division II.   

Missouri State

Louisville

San Diego State

SE Missouri State

Southern Illinois

Marshall

Indiana State

The coach received another commitment

Mizzou coach Dennis Gates received a 2023 commitment on Wednesday. 7-foot Jordan Butler a Rivals 4-star recruit verbally indicated he intends to head for Columbia Missouri next fall. My chief concern is his weight (195 pounds), I’ve got to believe he will be camped out for a while in the weight room attempting to add pounds to his thin frame. Butler becomes the third member from the Class of 2023 making a verbal commitment to Mizzou, the others are Anthony Robinson II a 6-foot 2-point guard and Trent Pierce a 6-foot 8 wing.

By my count Gates will lose 7 players from the present roster next spring to graduation or eligibility issues. Mizzou is likely to need a commitment from 4 additional players to complete its roster. There is a downside to incoming freshman talent. The late basketball coach Al McGuire once expressed in these words, “The best thing about freshman is they become sophomores.” Of course his meaning was simple, we should expect them to play at a higher level than in their freshman season. In addition the phrase was coined by McGuire prior to the one n done of today, some of those freshman might be headed for the NBA or other professional endeavors.

Tiger

Mascot names are applied to college teams throughout the nation, sometimes they represent a weather occurrence (Iowa State Cyclones, Miami Hurricanes) or an animal (Texas Longhorns, Boston College Eagles). Our guess there are more animal mascots over any other name, we are overwhelmed with Bears, Lions, Tigers, Cougars and Panthers. There are other animal names but those would appear the most often used. As for the name most used that would be Tigers, check out just a few examples below:

Princeton Tigers

Auburn Tigers

LSU Tigers

Mizzou Tigers

Clemson Tigers

Memphis Tigers

Tennessee State Tigers

Grambling Tigers

Texas Southern Tigers

Jackson State Tigers

We could also include the Lincoln (MO) University Blue Tigers, Morehouse Maroon Tigers and Tuskegee Golden Tigers although these three and others with tiger add-ons are not included in the count. According to Fansided.com there are 31 schools in all with Tigers as their team’s mascot.

Bits n Pieces

The final score read 134-124, you figure the Suns managed to beat the Adelaide 36ers. That is not quite the case, the 36ers from the NBL in Australia placed a beat-down on the Suns. This was the first loss to a non-NBA team since 2016 when the Thunder lost a game against Real Madrid. Despite the setback it certainly is not the end of the world, the 36ers roster evidently contains some very talented players. In addition this was the first game of the pre-season for the Suns, I hope that doesn’t appear an excuse on my part.  

Recently a headline caught my eye, and I offer proof I need to read slower:

“Grizzlies, Adams agree to a two-year deal”

This is how I read it before re-reading the comma and spelling:

“Grizzly Adams agree to a two-year deal”

Most of you reading this are probably too young, as for others you may have forgotten this information.  In the late ‘70’s there was a short-lived television series titled The Life and Times of Grizzly Adams. Of course in this story the NBA Grizzlies were signing center Steven Adams to a new deal.

Recently we discussed the future sale of the Suns franchise. Unofficial reports indicate a perspective owner with deep, deep pockets is interested in purchasing the Suns and WNBA Mercury. The name is well known to all of us with his trucks driving up and down the streets delivering goods on a daily basis. He’s Jeff Bezos founder and owner of Amazon and the world’s 2^nd richest man. The reason I claim this is not official news is because Bezos has said nothing publicly, but Shaq has. Shaquille O’Neal having divested his interest in the Kings is looking for another franchise. He claims his interest in purchasing the team waned once he discovered Bezos might enter the picture. Shaq says he would be okay being a minority shareholder should Bezos purchase the team.