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Basketball from a fans perspective

I failed to mention

Sometimes it’s the little things left undone, they can make a difference between winning and losing a game. These non-deeds can haunt the losers, its best to try and move on as best possible. This portion I failed to include in yesterday’s edition. Saturday evening the Tennessee player steps to the free throw line, he takes the first attempt and misses the basket. I don’t remember if he sank the second shot or not, either the shooter or one of the other Tennessee players committed a lane violation.

A lane violation meant the ball would be turned over to Mizzou to inbound; you know the balance of the story that’s already been communicated to you. DeAndre Gholston sinks a 35–40-foot shot with seconds remaining, while the ball is in the air the shot barely moved the twine. I’m sure game officials checked the video to ensure the shot was good. No reason for me to believe it wasn’t good, the only question did Gholston travel or committed an offensive foul. He was close by two Tennessee players as he fell to the floor did he run into them or did they foul him on the shot? Apparently not as game officials indicated the shot was good, game over. Final Mizzou 86 Tennessee 85, did the better team win the game?  

Black History Moment

You probably never heard of Don Barksdale; his name is lost in the annals of basketball history. It is significant for several reasons, and I will detail them for you. His bio reads like a “He was the first”, and they are certainly noteworthy. He was the first black player named an NCAA All-American, in 1947 the overwhelming majority of black players were at HBCU schools. Barksdale played his basketball at UCLA when he was named a second team All-American…but wait there’s more. Barksdale would become the first black player on team USA basketball and the first black player in an NBA All-Star game in 1953.

In 2012 he was enshrined posthumously in the Naismith Hall of Fame and the question might be why his name is missing for most fans? I believe its two-fold, the time period Barksdale played is an overriding factor. Beginning in the 1947 season Barksdale played AAU basketball having been passed over In the 1947 Basketball Association of America draft. Barksdale signed a free-agent contract with the defunct Baltimore Bullets in 1951 and played for them through 1953. He would close out his NBA career with the Celtics 1953-1955. The second reason for so little significance of groundbreaker Barksdale, his numbers might be considered average, I’d rather point toward his successes on and off the basketball court.

Celtic history

Anytime a player is traded the hope value is returned to those who generated it. The Warriors traded James Wiseman who they drafted in 2020 with the second pick. It appeared Wiseman possessed all the tools, 7 feet tall 240 pounds and he would add value to the Warriors into the future. Part of the problem, injuries and an adjustment to NBA play (time spent in the G-League). It appears over time perhaps the Warriors believed he’d reached his ceiling and certainly at a lower level than hoped for when drafted. The other issue was there too much pressure placed on him playing for the Warriors? With the re-building Pistons there should be less pressure to deliver immediately.

In any event the trade reminded me of another Warrior center, Robert Parrish drafted by the Warriors in 1976 and he remained with them through the 1980 season. According to what I read Red Auerbach saw something different. Celtic center Dave Cowans had retired, and Larry Bird was in his second year so there was a need. Auerbach held the number one draft pick but traded it to the Warriors along with another to acquire Parrish and with the additional pick chose Kevin McHale. McHale and Parrish along with a guy by the name of Bird would lead the franchise to championship levels. As for the Celtic pick the Warriors chose Joe Barry Carroll who was a decent center but an enigma. His time was so tumultuous he was nicknamed “Joe Barely Cares”. Hopefully this trade will turn out better for the Warriors in the future than the Parrish trade.

Why I hate KC Sports talk radio

Allow me to walk the headline back a bit, hate is a strong word. I try to refrain from using that animated a tone, let’s simply say I have issues with KC Sports talk radio. I will list them in order along with a brief detail of the why, here goes:

Andy Reid is A and Patrick Mahomes is B Prior to Reid being hired the NFL Chiefs had been one of the worst teams in the league. Since Reid’s arrival the Chiefs have been double digit winners every season except for his second. Mahomes arrives and quickly becomes the best quarterback in the NFL maybe the best all-time. These two along with the Chiefs playoff success sucks all the oxygen out of the room, I love the Chiefs, but they dominate sports talk radio 12 months of the year. 

Royals baseball The sport remains popular in a number of circles among a smaller number of KC fans. When talk radio is not discussing the Chiefs it’s the Royals from April through July. The baseball talk begins to dwindle once Chiefs training camp opens in July, the only exception was the two years the Royals played in the postseason leading to the Worlds Series. 

Kansas basketball There is a narrow window for Kansas basketball allocated between late November up through April. Basketball discussions on talk radio consist of Kansas, a smaller portion is devoted to K-State and Mizzou basketball. With that you might note the limited amount of time devoted to basketball unrelated to Kansas. There is little if any talk regarding basketball outside of the teams mentioned.

As you can see Chiefs football is the prime topic of conversation in season and out for KC Sports Talk radio. There is little talk (at least what I’ve heard) on NHL hockey or NBA basketball. Truth is there is more talk regarding soccer than there is on these sports. Do I expect a change one day in how the three KC locals operate? Let’s just say I’m not going to hold my breath, maybe the better thing for me to do is to find an alternative outlet. How about sports talk radio where you live, is it balanced or does one or more sports dominate?