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Basketball from a fans perspective

47 divided by 38

You’ve heard the old statement “father time remains undefeated.” It’s understandable, as players age they are unable to continue to play at a high skill level. No matter the sport think about this a minute consider how many athletes you’ve witnessed become slower and slower as their ability to continue play at a high skill level begins to wane. The slowing down applies to everyone except LeBron James or at least it seems that appears to be the case. December 30, LeBron turned 38 years of age, he’s not the oldest player ever in the NBA.

Vince Carter a.k.a. Vincesanity was 43-years old prior to his retirement but most of his game had disappeared over time. Robert ‘Chief’ Parrish retired at 44 years of age; those are but two who managed to continue play after the age of 40. There is no doubt LeBron James is special, special due to his immense talent and special in managing his career outside of basketball. Soon he will become the NBA’s all-time scoring leader breaking the record held by Kareem Abdul Jabbar. The 47 represent his point total in Friday night’s win over the Hawks, the 38 of course is his age. It doesn’t matter if LeBron is your favorite player you’ve got to give him his props.  

Emoni Bates update

I had another opportunity to see Emoni Bates in action, this time against South Carolina. Eastern Michigan was a loser 74-64 because other than Bates EMU had little offense working for them. Of the 64 points scored Bates recorded 36 of them and he shot 53% from the 3pt line. Check these numbers out, South Carolina didn’t shoot that well (44.4%) as a team, but EMU shot even worst with 39.7% from the floor.

With this latest loss EMU sinks to a 3-win 10 loss non-conference record, South Carolina raises its record to 7 up and 6 down. Coach Stan Heath is in the middle of his second year at EMU, can he turn this program around might be the next question. EMU has a rich history in producing talent, The Iceman George Gervin first became a name while playing at EMU. Earl Boykins 5-foot 5-inch point guard had a 13-year NBA career, but his start was also at the school. The two are but 9 of the EMU players who managed NBA careers, will Bates become number 10?

MVP, MVP

Thought you heard or read all there was about Victor Wembanyama? I’m just scratching the surface, there is plenty more to discuss about this young man. On Thursday evening I wonder if the French crowd was similar to one in this country, you know where near the end of the game a chant begins MVP, MVP? It continues as more and more in the crowd join the chant. This game action continues the further exploits of 18-year-old Victor Wembanyama, he was named MVP in the French LNB All Star Game,

This is an annual game played between French and non-French players in the league. What did the teen phenom accomplish in the game to be named MVP, how about 27 points 12 rebounds and 4 assists in leading the way to a French victory 136-128. Much as I like Scoot Henderson there is no doubt the 7 foot 3 (or 4) Wembanyama will be the top choice in the June 2023 draft. In my view it does no good to analyze his game versus other Euro players. The only question remaining is weight. Can Wembanyama gain another 15-20 pounds without it affecting his quickness? This is not to discount Euro talent but play in the NBA will be totally different for Wembanyama.

It’s good to be incorrect

The date is unclear to me however I questioned if injuries had robbed Kawhi Leonard and left him with pieces of his MVP game. Well Leonard must have read my blog (of course I’m kidding) his play has increased significantly since my account was written. With that said the Clippers are playing better basketball and Leonard has been present in 8 of the last 10 games. He’s now played in 15 of the team’s 37 games, it’s my understanding Leonard remains sidelined on back-to-back games.

As for my earlier assessment I based part of it on my prior reading others and seeing for myself the game might have passed him. Maybe we might never see a true return to form after all he’s 31 years of age with a great deal of wear and tear on his NBA body. Despite that fact 90 or 95% of Leonard is better than 100% of others. In any event in this instance I’m glad to be wrong, perhaps Leonard might have returned to as close a form as we might see for now and into the future.

Winning streak

If I were to ask which college team has the longest winning streak at home, do you have the answer? If you guessed Allen Fieldhouse and Kansas, you are incorrect. How about the Dean Dome and Carolina Blue, wrong again? That was strike two, how about the trifecta, Duke and Cameron Indoor…you just struck out its none of the teams or arenas named. Okay rather than continuing the guessing game allow me to inform you its Gonzaga and tiny McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000-seating capacity). The Bulldogs have won 72 consecutive games the longest win streak in Division I basketball.

They are nowhere close to the all-time mark; it’s held by the Kentucky Wildcats with 129. Can you imagine this from 1943 to 1955 Kentucky never lost a home game. In second place a surprise for you and me, St. Bonaventure with 99 wins in a row, this streak ran from 1948-1961. Over the last 40 years the Bonnies have not been as competitive as they were at one time in our recent history. In third place and probably the team most figured is UCLA, their streak is only one game (98) behind that of St. Bonaventure. I might be unsure if this next school is a surprise, it’s the University of Cincinnati with an 84-game winning streak. Arizona (1945-1951) and Marquette (1967-1973) round out our top 5 tied with 81 wins in a row on their home court. Right on their heels is Lamar University in Beaumont Texas, the Cardinals were home court winners for 80 consecutive games (1978-1984).