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Urban Dictionary

Off the Dribble is certainly not an original term but a further explanation follows. Some years back when this blog was first began it was titled Words eye view. Because of some confusion with the term I made the decision to change the name. After searching for a number of names I came upon the basketball term Off the dribble. I did this without consulting the Urban Dictionary which includes the term. Let’s check out the definition below.

It says, “doing something off the dribble means you are dribbling the ball, usually some dribbling move to get yourself open, before you pick up the dribble to shoot, pass or whatever.” Urban Dictionary details the term as, “Real Talk, speaking honesty, and from the heart.” After reading the definition I thought I believe that fits me. Over the years I’ve attempted to provide you my view of the basketball world as accurately as possible, in addition I put my heart and soul into this effort. I must in order to research many of the stories you read on a daily basis. Despite my approach to a title for my blog I believe I stumbled onto an outstanding name.

Once upon a time…

The NCAA might have been an efficiently run organization at one time. I cannot place a day and date, but they have had little direction for quite a few years. Remember when they charged KU and Bill Self with 5 Level one violations? Around that same time frame I believe they leveled 5 Level one charges against Sean Miller then head coach at Arizona. Self was able to retain his job however that would not be Miller’s case, Arizona fired him although Xavier would later hire him.

Back to KU, after dragging their feet for what seemed like an eternity (more like 4-5 years) the NCAA appeared to conclude nothing occurred. Self voluntarily sat out the first 5 games of the season, end of story for KU. On Wednesday came word from the NCAA that knocked my socks off, Miller was declared cleared of any charges and would face no punishment. Two former Arizona assistants would face future show cause hearings should they interview for jobs. The NCAA is stumbling, bumbling organization, they charge schools with improprieties and then are unable to provide proof of guilt.  

Best NBA Big Man

For maybe the last two seasons the debates raged, who is the best Big Man in the NBA. One might claim its Nikola Jokic a.k.a. The Joker, after all he’s a two-time NBA MVP. East of Denver in Philly to be precise folks there would have you believe its Joel Embiid. If we look strictly at the numbers, the two could be considered even. Scoring it’s Embiid almost 34 points a game versus the 23.8 of Jokic. If we check out the rebounds Jokic is the winner here, 10.1 rebounds and Embiid at 9.8.

The passing skills of The Joker place him clearly ahead in this area, 10.1 assists while Embiid is 4.8 both are outstanding for someone playing the five or post position. The field goal percentage has Jokic at 62% and Embiid at nearly 54%. To my surprise (and maybe yours) Embiid is slightly ahead of Jokic with his 32.8 compared to 31.6 from the 3pt line. Embiid has him beat at the FT Line with his 85% over the 80% of Jokic. Almost everything is based on how far a particular team advances in the playoffs. In both instances Embiid and The Joker need contributions from teammates for success, after all basketball remains a team game. Is this the year Embiid eclipses The Joker or will the Nugget center win the MVP for the third year in a row?

Their thoughts (not mine)  

I’ve indicated on more than one occasion I don’t regularly listen to local sports talk radio. The reasons vary but on occasion I do hear a noteworthy discussion. In this instance I’m talking about a morning drive time question-answer by the local radio host with veteran college basketball writer Mike DeCoursey of the Sporting News. The host wanted to discuss the Saturday game between Mizzou-KU, now keep in mind in both instances these are not word for word quotes.

When questioned about the game DeCoursey said this, "We had a basketball institution (KU) version versus a coach on the job 5 months. I like what he's (Gates) accomplished in a short period" On the way home Tuesday afternoon Garry Parrish of CBS Sports was questioned by a different host, he asked about Coach Dennis Gates these are his words not mine. "Missouri is on the road to success with this coach.” There is no doubt in my mind Mizzou Nation hoped for a different outcome…sometimes the better team wins. I hope this doesn’t appear an excuse, but I wonder, was Mizzou too hyped for the game? Sellout crowd, KU was once an archrival and other stuff.

Bits n Pieces

Steph Curry suffered a left shoulder injury and will miss a few weeks. For the defending champion Warriors this is certainly not good news, the Warriors have played up and down with Curry in the lineup. Having him sidelined for weeks might indicate a more downward slide for the Warriors. Do the Warriors have time to re-right the ship before the end of the season? The time without Curry will be a true test, will the team circle the wagons and defend their championship? We must wait and see how this season turns out for that answer.

Emoni Bates was sentenced to 18 months’ probation for his traffic arrest. You might remember back in September the Eastern Michigan forward was arrested during a routine traffic stop. The arrest resulted in two charges, carrying a concealed weapon and altering ID marks on said weapon. According to reports if Bates completes the probation his record will be expunged, both are felony charges which could be detrimental to his future should Bates fail to successfully complete probation. 

Chris Beard is in a holding pattern; he’s been suspended by the University of Texas as a result of the    domestic violence charge. Legal experts claim this entire process might not be resolve for a full year. You and I know Texas is not going to wait that length of time to determine Beard’s future. Despite all the positives this coach had going for him one negative event is likely to end his coaching career at least for the immediate future. The reason I pose Beard’s future in this manner there have been other coaches in the past with similar allegations and they eventually were able to return to coaching.