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Basketball from a fans perspective

1983

On Monday the AP named the Houston Cougars number one in the nation in the weekly Top 25 poll. This becomes the first time Houston’s been named in the top spot since 1983. That Cougar team was led by a slew of NBA talent including Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler both now in the Hall of Fame. The 1983 Cougars finished the regular season with 31 wins and only 3 losses, they were 16-0 in the defunct Southwest Conference. This Cougar team despite the sparkling record failed to win the NCAA Championship.

One of the 3 losses they experienced that year was to North Carolina State 54-52 in the final game. NC State made an improbable run that year culminating with the championship. They were 25-10 going into the championship game. With time running out and behind in the game Dereck Whittenburg of NC State hoisted a 30-foot shot which didn’t hit the rim but landed in the hands of NC State’s Lorenzo Charles. Charles dunked the ball in the basket, end of game. That was then, this is now, and it certainly is the hope of Kelvin Sampson history doesn’t repeat itself.

Sam Presti

In 2007 Sam Presti was hired as GM of the Sonics, at age 29 he was the second youngest in NBA history to occupy the position. I don’t wish to give him too much credit perhaps it’s his scouting staff with the Thunder or maybe its him. Over the years the Thunder have been able to draft a great number of talented players. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Hardin, Serge Ibaka and Steven Adams to name just a few. More recently it’s been Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort, last season shooting guard Josh Giddey was added to the roster.

In June the Thunder drafted 7 foot 1 Chet Holmgren and Ousmaine Dieng. Dieng is a work in progress while Holmgren is forced to sit out the season sitting out the season due to injury, both appear to be additional youthful talent added to the Thunder roster. So what’s next, despite adding talent continually in the draft they lose players to free agency or trade them. Durant, Westbrook and Hardin departed Oklahoma City quite a while ago. The Thunder are in a rebuild mode once again finishing last season with a 24-58 record their second losing season in a row. NBA basketball is still relatively new to OKC however I wonder how patient these fans are going to be going forward.

Could they compete, I believe they can

As indicated earlier there is a report Gonzaga is considering aligning itself with the Big XII Conference. I raised the question of no football program for the Zags, but friends claim that doesn’t matter. Despite the fact I continue to believe my view has merit we can check out a few things. There is no doubt in my mind Mark Few continues to turn out winning teams every season at the Spokane Washington school. Recruiting has even seen a number of international athletes find their way to Gonzaga. The one knock on Gonzaga by critics is no NCAA championship on their resume but even that’s not fair in my opinion.

These same folks claim the West Coast Conference is not that strong, they say that’s why Gonzaga dominates conference play but fails in the tournament. I ain’t buying that observation, I believe the Zags have run into better teams. In any event what does this possible move do for the Big XII?  Currently the Big XII in some circles is considered the strongest in the nation. Adding a Gonzaga into the mix would do nothing but strengthen it even more in my view. If the football issue is not seen as a negative, then the Big XII Conference should extend an invitation. Although it was a non-conference game, they knocked off Kentucky in this early college season.

“Who you calling Street Clothes”?

Anthony Davis missed so many games cynics nicknamed him “street clothes.” While AD’s missed significant time how about the duo down the hall at Staples Center (I know)? Without checking the numbers I believe Paul George and Kawhi Leonard’s salary exceeds that of AD and they too have been M.I.A. Let’s check, excluding this early season since 2019 the Clippers have played 246 games. Any idea how many of those games both were in action? I will help you; George has been in action for 133 of those games. As for Kawhi Leonard it’s been a lesser number, he’s played in 109.

As its often stated “Injuries are part of the game” there is no way to avoid them. Unfortunately Leonard’s dealt with a series of injuries over the last 6 seasons which extends beyond his recent tenure with the Clippers, the total missed games is 242. The hope of course is always to be free of injury which has not always been the case for Leonard or George for that matter. You might ask the question why is this account important, continue reading for the explanation?

In the big picture it’s not, my intent was simple. My hope was to point out injuries have impacted play of the Lakers, but it’s also done the same for the Clippers. As this is written (Monday morning) both George and Leonard have been missing from the lineup for a number of games. Understand this, the 2022-23 season was reported to be their breakout year you know. The Clippers would overcome the past frustrations of prior Clipper teams; they would emerge from the Western Conference Finals to compete for the NBA championship. Will this be the year they escape their frustrating past?