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Basketball from a fans perspective

The best guess

This is pure supposition on my part, I have no method to provide evidence for you. For the 2022-23 college season I believe the Big XII Conference is head and shoulders above others in the nation. Once upon time the ACC, Big East and Big1G took turns at the top but no more, the best conference top to bottom is the Big XII. Kansas has 16 wins and 3 losses, 2 of the losses have occurred since Big XII conference play. In second place and above those other conferences is the SEC. What’s interesting the conference once thought of as strictly for its football has improved its basketball play exponentially over the past few years.

No argument here, anytime you mention the SEC many will think Alabama, Auburn and Georgia football that’s because they don’t realize the change. The change came about with hiring quality coaches. Nate Oats hasn’t made the Crimson Tide forget Nick Saban and football but it’s no longer just football at Alabama. The story was football and spring football but that was the old SEC. The difference is across the board the conference has begun hiring quality coaches. We know John Calipari but what about Eric Musselman at Arkansas, Buzz Williams Texas A&M along with Jerry Stackhouse Vanderbilt and Mizzou’s Dennis Gates. This certainly wasn’t done with intention but it’s my belief for a number of years basketball took a backseat to the conferences football programs. Don’t confuse this account, football remains king in the SEC, but basketball is no longer an afterthought.   

The other twin

Twin brothers will be drafted into the NBA in 2023, one of the twins according to scouting reports is slightly better than the other. The twins are Amen and Asur Thompson, they are 6 foot 7 and 200 pounds, they play for Overtime Elite. The brothers were born in Oakland California but played at Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale Florida. Although both are projected as lottery picks Amen is considered the more complete athlete, he’s projected as a point/shooting guard. Asur is projected as a shooting guard or small forward. After graduating high school they chose Overtime Elite rather than college as preparation for the NBA.

In the NBA the twins will play on separate teams probably for the first time, this will not be a unique occurrence. In an earlier time probably unknown to a number of you the Van Arsdale twins Tom and Dick were drafted into the NBA in 1965. In later years the Grant twins Harvey and Horace would find their way to NBA stardom. Today’s NBA contains two sets of twins, the Lopez twins Brook and Robin who played on the same team in high school and college. Their separation in play occurred once they arrived in the NBA. We also have the Morris twins, Markieff and Marcus who played at Kansas while in college. There are certainly other twins who played in the NBA this is but a short list. As for the 2023 NBA draft expect the commissioner to announce both Thompson twins early in the first round.

I must depend on others

Is LeBron James Jr. a talented college basketball prospect, in this case I must depend on others to analyze his game. That’s what I had to do with Emoni Bates when the hype ballooned around his exploits. After an injury and less than stellar freshman season at Memphis transferring to Eastern Michigan has proven beneficial. Whether that translates to the NBA is still an unknown at this point. Back to LeBron Jr. or Bronny as he’s nicknamed, is he a genuine potential college talent?

ESPN100, Rivals and 247Sports and maybe other sites believe that to be the case awarding the 6-foot 4 190-pound combo guard 4-stars. Although he continues to grow Bronny might not reach the 6-foot 8 height of his father but that’s not bad. The key as they say, “Has he got game?” We are not likely to have an answer to the question until he plays at the collegiate or G-League level. Even playing there will require some adjustment on his part. An athlete of his stature travels from being the best guy on his high school team to opposing players who are capable of smacking your stuff into row 5 of the stands.

Has it occurred before

Perhaps the question might be on the minds of Jayhawk Nation, has KU ever lost two games in a row? I ask myself that as well, I certainly remember infrequent losses but two games in a row. Last week saw the Jayhawks on January 17 suffer a one-point OT loss to cross state rival Kansas State 83-82 at their place. This past Saturday TCU administered one of the worst beat downs in my memory of a Jayhawk team 83-60 at Allen Fieldhouse no less. Let’s turn on the way-back machine and return to the past for an answer, when did the Jayhawks last suffer two losses in a row. The year was 2017, the Jayhawks found themselves losers to the University of Washington and days later Arizona beat them 95-85 at Allen.

This is certainly no forthcoming sign of the apocalypse or anything that drastic it just proves a point. Earlier you read an account where I stated without offering you proof of my belief. The Big XII is the strongest most competitive basketball conference in the nation. Earlier I would have stated the Jayhawks are the best team in the Big XII, these recent events have caused me to reconsider my early view. For the first team in recent memory the championship of this conference will be decided among a number of schools. Right now Kansas State is in first place, in second are Kansas, Texas and Iowa State. TCU and Baylor are certainly within distance to contest the outcome. As for the post season tournament that’s going to be a pitched battle, of course all this is based on teams remaining free of injury.