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Basketball from a fans perspective

No, it’s unnecessary

Early season non-con basketball for Mizzou is usually not available on the regular cable outlets. Monday’s game and last night against Penn was available on SEC Network plus. I wrestled with myself early last week again last night “do I want to pay to watch Mizzou-Penn?” The decision was made…NO, it’s unnecessary for me to view every Mizzou basketball game although I certainly would like to. I believe my cable bill is substantial enough at present but wait there’s more.

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings made news recently with this statement, “Cable TV (I guess as we know it) will be dead in 5 to 10 years.” The article goes on to point out streaming services have seen an explosive growth in the past few years. Okay now that we have that cleared up, he is not discussing sports, he’s discussing Netflix, Disney plus and others. What occurs for the sports channels, ESPN, FS1, Bally and the Yes Network? Inquiring minds want to know, am I going to have even more difficulty being able to view Mizzou or Laker basketball? This is a very serious matter, Hastings and others must detail for us soon what streaming sports will appear in the time frame he mentions.   

Magic before Magic…perhaps

The above is what the headline read, some reading this probably don’t know. Michael Ray Richardson is 67 years old long since retired. The headline merely indicates Sugar as he was nicknamed preceded Magic Johnson but his skill at passing the rock could be compared to Magic. He certainly was a better shooter from the floor, what happened to him? With the 4^th pick in the first round of the 1978 NBA draft the Knicks chose him from the University of Montana. Could we say a late bloomer, the 6 foot 5 Michael Ray wasn’t a starter on his Denver High School basketball team until his senior year. At Montana his freshman year was only average however his numbers went up each season thereafter. His last season at the school saw him score at a 24.2 per game clip along with nearly 7 rebounds. Michael Ray had an 8-year NBA career but later played extensively in Europe, if he was Magic before Magic why such a short NBA career

In the ‘70’s and ‘80’s? drug usage was rampant by a number of players in the NBA, Michael Ray had gotten hooked on drugs which would ultimately be his downfall in the NBA.  Truth is he might have been the first player to be banned from the league for drug use. Years later the ban would be lifted but Michael Ray remained in Europe never attempting to restart his NBA career. Although drafted by the Knicks his best basketball might have been as a member of the Nets when New Jersey was home. In a 1985 game against the Pacers Michael Ray filled the box score. In the game he recorded 38 points along with 11 rebounds plus 11 assists and 9 steals. There was a classic line uttered by him while a member of the Knicks, the team had suffered a losing streak and he was asked the problem, “The ship be sinking.” Michael Ray “Sugar” Richardson, he could have been Magic before magic if not for the drugs.

All American

College basketball has begun, I’d like to explore a segment of rarely emphasized much in this age. Once upon a time an athlete might look toward All American status to define their play at the end of a collegiate career. With a great number of athletes only playing for one season and some not at all the All-American honor doesn’t rank as high in the eyes of many as it once did. Just a few All Americans of the past include Lew Alcindor, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Jerry West are just a few names who were honored as All Americans. All American teams were considered the best of the best which still occurs but to a lesser degree. I have no idea of the percentages, but today’s players are divided into several groups. Group one, those who leave college after a single season we refer to them as One n Done.

Another group although certainly smaller is those who bypass college all together. This is Group two; they head for the National Basketball League (Australia) such as LaMelo Ball and others. Group three is smaller than the first two. These are the players who pass on college for a time and decide to begin play in the G-League, Scoot Henderson might be the best example. Exactly what are you trying to say might be your question. All American teams continued to be announced however “the best of the best” are no longer in college for the most part. There is no intent on my part to disparage those who earn All American honors it’s just the fact the numbers reflect those who remain in school. The early departures no matter how they occur might affect our numbers significantly.

Sometimes the timing is just not there

The Cavs under the leadership of BJ Bickerstaff has been one of the surprise teams thus far. Acquiring Donovan Mitchell from the Jazz certainly added the cause, but the building blocks were there. It was just a matter of maturity for the baby Cavs to grow into the role of contender. Very much in evidence the leadership of Bickerstaff as for the headline this brief explanation. Bickerstaff moved from an assistant to interim head coach with the Grizzlies in November 2017 when David Fizdale was fired.

May of 2018 he was hired to take over the team as head coach however that didn’t last long. April 2019 he was fired because the Grizzlies failed to earn a playoff berth, that’s where the timing comes into his story. He’s hired as an assistant with the Cavs and when John Beilein resigned Bickerstaff was named head coach. The team missed the playoffs last season but finished with a 44-38 record, as this is written the Cavs have an 8-3 record and they sit in second place in the NBA’s Central Division. It’s too early in the season to determine a final place however barring injuries they should earn a playoff berth.

Emoni Bates

It appears the legal issues Emoni Bates faced are behind him. Now the real problem begins, can he prove to us he’s the NBA talent folks were falling all over themselves 4-5 years ago. As a reminder to some Bates has now returned home and is enrolled at Eastern Michigan University. His basketball coach is the veteran Stan Heath whose won at Kent State, Arkansas and South Florida. Eastern Michigan might become the last stop for Bates in that he’s got to prove to his critics including me he’s as skill as we believed. As I wrote previously a large portion of Bates troubles can be attributed to his father. Don’t get me wrong Elgin Bates loves his son however he might have done him a disservice. The elder Bates pulled his son from Lincoln High School to play at Yspi Prep a school he started.

In addition reclassifying also played a role due to Emoni’s age, Bates was not eligible for the 2022 NBA draft due to his age. Eastern Michigan’s competition in the Mid America Conference includes the likes of Toledo, Kent State, Ohio and Akron all winning 20+ games last season. There is competitive basketball played in the conference and Bates has the opportunity to resurrect his basketball career in the eyes of the nation. If this appears negative toward Emoni Bates that is not the case, the key in this instance is to listen to the advice of his coach more than his father. That’s a difficult task but one that must be accomplished if Bates hopes for success. NOTE: In closing Bates was on the bench in an EMU jumpsuit in the school’s first game of the season, there was no explanation why Bates did not play.