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Basketball from a fans perspective

Election

I attempt to avoid politics in Off the Dribble however we had a unique occurrence this past Tuesday. For the first time in memory and without conducting any research there were no NBA games played. This is likely the first time in history the league failed to play during a week. Consider this, there have been games scheduled and played on holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas and MLK Day) but this I believe might be a first. The NBA wanted to do its part in an attempt to focus on electing political leadership for the future of the nation.

Surprise, surprise

Just yesterday I wrote of the Nets search for a permanent head coach. Reports have been circulating since Steve Nash was fired the team intended to sign Ime Udoka. Well it didn’t occur, early Friday afternoon came the announcement, the interim term would be removed from Jacque Vaughn’s name. Vaughn is now officially head coach of the Nets, this from the team. Vaughn was named coach based “on his basketball acumen, competitiveness and intimate knowledge of our team and organization.”

A little background on the newly named coach, Vaughn played college basketball at Kansas. Drafted by the Jazz in 1997 he played for 5 other NBA teams during his 12-year career. The last team was the Spurs where Vaughn would become an assistant to Gregg Popovich. In 2012 he was hired as head coach of the Magic remaining there until 2015. I’m sure Vaughn is pleased on being hired otherwise he wouldn’t have agreed to take the position. Despite the statement of fact serving as head coach of the Nets has to be one of the most stressful coaching situations in the NBA.  

I didn’t know

You probably don’t remember but I provided the story of Isiaih Mosley. As a refresher for some he’s a 6-foot 5-inch 205-pound shooting guard from Columbia (MO). For those who might not be aware Columbia is home to the University of Missouri, for unknown reasons I remain unsure how much effort was made by the previous coaching staff to recruit Mosley. Maybe he was just one of those guys who wanted to a school away from home. At the time Mosley was choosing a college, he decided in favor of Missouri State in Springfield. His progression was remarkable and as a 5^th year senior he returned home and will now display his talent for Mizzou.

Although he’s inside the state I’ve never seen him in action…the hope is he can play and maybe he can based on my discovery. Perusing mock draft sites as I do guess whose name popped up, yes Isiaih Mosely. Now you and I realize your name listed on a mock draft site is no guarantee of your draft stock nevertheless it is interesting. One site list Mosely as a middle of the 2^nd round selection while another has him barely missing the second round. This is what it says to me Mosely has a unique skill set, whether it’s good enough for the NBA is the question. As a member of Mizzou Nation I hope it’s good enough to propel the basketball team to the middle of the pack in the SEC rather than 11^th as the media has indicated.

Conjecture

I am aware what occurred with the Kansas City Kings, what about the other side of the state? Why are the Hawks in Atlanta (and have been for years) rather than St. Louis? Okay technically they should be in Milwaukee but that’s another NBA story. The Hawks arrived in St. Louis in 1955 from Milwaukee, at the time only the storied baseball Cardinals franchise existed. Later the dike opened, and franchises began moving into the city, first it was the NFL Chicago Cardinals in 1960. In 1967 the city would be granted an NHL expansion franchise and the Blues became part of the divided sports dollar. Back then conflicting seasons didn’t exist as much as today however the NFL Cardinals did cause a problem. Instead of that dollar being split two ways (baseball Cardinals, Hawks) the arrival of the NFL Cardinals caused a further split.

It was reported at one time Hawks attendance was good but began to wane as teams were added to the landscape. Hawks owner Ben Kerner sold the team to Atlanta locals and the team moved in 1968 where they have remained to date. Could St. Louis support an NBA team today, I believe the metro population would allow it. Would there be enough interest for NBA basketball might be a better question. With the departure of the Rams for Los Angeles an NBA team would not be forced to compete with the NFL so that’s a positive. The difference between St. Louis and Kansas City is this I believe; St. Louis probably wouldn’t campaign for an NBA return. There is interest from the mayor’s office on down for the NBA to restore the NBA in Kansas City whether if occurs is a different matter.  

The strongest

At the time Georgetown, Syracuse, St. John’s and UConn reigned the Big East was considered the strongest basketball conference in the nation. In more recent years it became the Big 10 who claimed superiority, an interesting sidebar here. Do you realize back in the day when John Wooden’s UCLA Bruins were perennial NCAA champions the Pac-10 (later Pac-12) wasn’t that strong? Those Lew Alcindor/Bill Walton/Keith Wilkes teams were outstanding it’s a proven fact the conference itself was less than stellar.

As for the present, according to bleacherreport.com in 2021 the Big XII Conference led the nation. In this instance it had nothing to do with the NCAA champion Kansas Jayhawks. From top to bottom the conference was the most competitive in the nation. On this occasion I’m just the messenger and this is not my opinion. According to them the SEC and Big 10 were tied for second place, the Big East in 4^th and the Pac-12 in 5^th. What do you think, do you agree with the publication or maybe believe some other.