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Basketball from a fans perspective

NBA All Star Game

I’m prepared for pushback; I believe the NBA All Star Game has run its course in this present format. It’s time for a re-boot. Celtics Jaylin Brown matched against Celtic Jason Tatum; Western Conference LeBron’s team had Eastern Conference Julius Randle. It was more than the two examples cited here, the game was plain unwatchable for me a diehard NBA fan. It wasn’t just me; I conducted my own survey and didn’t find a single affirmative vote for the game. How to fix it, worst case cancel the game all together …why risk possible injury (Giannis and LeBron) to players in the middle of the season. As for a revised format someone smarter than me should figure that one out.

Trivia

Have you ever had a question regarding the number of Division I basketball programs? The number can change from year to year however at present there are 358 colleges and universities across the nation. Are there Division I programs in all 50 states, the answer is, no? Alaska has no Division I school, in Hawaii there is one, the University of Hawaii at Hilo. Further trivia, I mentioned the changing number of schools. At one time each of the schools below won at least one National Association of Athletics a.k.a. NAIA Championship in their past but moved up to NCAA Division I. 

Southeast Missouri State

Louisville

San Diego State

Southern Illinois

Southwest Missouri State (Missouri State)

Tennessee State

Grambling

Prairie View

Grand Canyon

Coppin State

Speculation

I’m guilty, you are guilty we all guilty of speculating at times about outcomes we believe will occur. “My team will finish ahead of yours” or “My man will score more points than yours.” Those are just a few examples of speculation something yet to occur or unproven. Here’s where I’m going with the latest rant, an NBA analyst was extoling the virtues of Victor Wembanyama recently. He pointed out this key or that bit of information all intending to paint an extraordinary picture of the 19-year-old French youngster. This analyst finished his narrative by stating Wembanyama was the best NBA prospect since LeBron James. Now it was Mr. Negative’s turn, I’m giving him that title based on his version of the same. 

He said the analyst was correct, Wembanyama had a tremendous upside and then BAM, he hit us. “He’s razor thin, I’d hate to see him experience knee or ankle problems. He went on to compare him to Kevin Durant mentioning his size while Durant was at the University of Texas. Folks, I get it, we have a high rise-high reward story here. We have no idea if Wembanyama will be a success or not, NBA scouts and front office personnel believe he’s got all the keys. The assessment for me, unlike Mr. Negative I cannot or refuse to speculate on yet to occur injuries. Why is Mr. Negative discussing injuries which may or may not occur ahead of the entry of Wembanyama? NOTE: I might add Mr. Negative used the example of Thunder rookie Chet Holmgren missing the season as an example of thin players too.  

I’m forced to admit it

This seasons Mizzou team is comprised of a bunch of guys from a bunch of different programs. Much of the success on the court has been dependent on 3-4 players always to score the ball and provide leadership. One of those players is named Kobe Brown and I am forced to admit, where would Mizzou be without him? You certainly know the story by now, three roster members remaining including Brown after the coach was fired. I’m really unsure how to categorize Brown based on his size and skill level. The roster says he’s 6 feet 8 inches tall and checks in at 250 pounds that screams power forward however he’s not strictly a power guy. Brown has demonstrated the skill of a finesse player as well, example.

In the game versus South Carolina he scored 19 points along with 8 rebounds, in the mix were 6 assists which point out Brown is a willing passer. Last season under the previous coach he was often responsible for bringing up the ball and setting the offense in motion. As they might say Brown’s got skills to play a multitude of positions on the court. His numbers are not going to wow anyone (16.4 points and 6.1 rebounds a game), his assist numbers 2.7 a game only a step behind team co-leaders Nick Honor and Sean East with 3.0 a game. Proof of improvement, he’s gone from 48.1% last season to 56.9 this season. From the three-point line he’s doubled his number from last season’s 20.6% to 47.7. I cannot be for sure on this next statement but believe it to be the case. This is not a new team now but early on I believed teammates looked at Brown as the leader and continue to see him in that light. Oh, that size thing, Brown is listed as a guard on Mizzou’s roster.