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Basketball from a fans perspective

Out of sync

Mizzou started the game appearing out of sync and it remained that way throughout, final score Mississippi State 63 Mizzou 52. It wasn’t the rebound factor this time which affected the loss it was the shooting or lack thereof. Mizzou was only outrebounded by one, as for the shooting Mississippi State didn’t shoot that great but it was atrocious for Mizzou. 32% from the floor and 26.1% from three is pretty bad. Kobe Brown usually the all around leader only scored 11 points with 7 rebounds.

One positive note for Mizzou the 6 foot 10 Mohamed Diarra came off the bench and snatched down 10 rebounds for the game. Toulu Smith of Mississippi State was the chief nemesis for Mizzou. The 6-foot 11 245-pound front court man led the way for Mississippi State as he scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds. This road trip did not turn out as I hoped, and now a return to Mizzou Arena on Tuesday to face the South Carolina Gamecocks. 

Was Red all that analyzing talent

Red Auerbach won nearly 1,000 games during the course of a brilliant coaching career. Auerbach spent three seasons as head coach of the Washington Capitols and one season with the Tri-City Blackhawks before his Celtic hire in the 1950-51 season. For the next six seasons the Celtics were a plus .500 and a playoff team. During that period we saw them lose in Division Finals or Semi-Finals every season until the 1956-57 season. That particular season witnessed the Celtics finishing in first place and they won their first NBA championship. This is the stealth portion of the story; Auerbach went against the thought process of the day.

Most centers were expected to be prolific scorers and that was not the case for Bill Russell. Russell was a defensive whiz at the University of San Francisco, he could score but that was not his primary role. Back to Auerbach, he spotted Russell early and wanted to draft him, but the Celtic record would prevent that. The shorten version of the story, Ed Macauley a Celtic player had an ill son in St. Louis at the time. The St. Louis Hawks drafted Bill Russell however he’d never see the city except as an opposing player. A trade was arranged, and Russell would become a Celtic and the NBA was changed forever by this move. We can debate the Auerbach record prior to the acquisition of Russell, at the same time we must recognize his shrewdness. He drafted a defensive minded center which went against the thought process at the time.   

Iowa State versus Jalen Wilson

So you thought it was Iowa State playing against Kansas, that’s what most believed. It was actually as the headline read since Wilson was the only player with his 26 points and 9 rebounds who was prepared to play. Even Grady Dick mock draft first round pick only scored 7 points in 31 minutes. Kansas shot 38.6% from the field and 26.1% from three, they equaled Iowa State in the rebound department with 32. All game long Kansas appeared to be out of sync, adjustment after adjustment was made by Bill Self to stem the tide of the Cyclones to no avail.

The final score would read Iowa State 68 Kansas 53, this makes for a question. After losing to Tennessee in the non-conference portion of their schedule Kansas blitzed everyone including my Mizzou Tigers. The “experts” said after losing all the talent from an NCAA championship team Kansas came by prepared to compete again. You listened, I heard them too as they continued to sing praises of Bill Self and Kansas basketball. Evidently, we have two features working here, 1. Kansas basketball is not as good as they first thought and 2. The best basketball conference in the nation (Big XII) has knocked them down a few notches. Kansas could still win the regular season crown however it’s likely to be one shared by them with one or two teams.

I’m violating my policy of yesterday

The decision on Kyrie Irving I would leave to you regarding his move. I just read this morning of a proposed trade which “forced” me to comment. Austin Reaves and Max Christie would head to the Nets in exchange for Irving and I say an emphatic NO! I’m not going to debate Irving’s talent only state I’ve seen the Lakers populate the NBA with youthful talent attempting to win championships. Reaves chose the Lakers having signed in free agency, once the deed was accomplished, he proved to be NBA worthy. Will he ever approach “Kyrie Irving” numbers, who knows however he’s proven to be a talent.

I’ve seen less of Christie’s play however I’m looking at him in this manner, the Laker scouting staff in the past has been spot on in evaluating talent. This ability might be proven once again in the case of this former McDonalds All American and Michigan State shooting guard. The Lakers made him the 35 pick in the second round of the 2022 draft. Christie is still wet behind the ears turning 20-years old later this month. The Lakers would do good to hang onto “old man” Reaves age 24 as well. The only players from the Lakers to depart in my view should be Patrick Beverley and maybe Russell Westbrook.

The old NBA draft

At a point in time all draft eligible prospects arrived in the NBA from colleges and sometimes even junior colleges. That was then, this is now…the overwhelming majority of players still enter the NBA from that route. I’m not going to place a date, date and time however we have witnessed an increasing number of Euro players drafted into the NBA. They continue to improve on a yearly basis, the best currently. That would be your choice, is it Nikola Jokic or Luka Doncic you decide. Maybe Victor Wembanyama might be included in the conversation…is this too soon? The National Basketball League (Australia) has seen a number of players arrive on these shores. Some are native (Josh Giddey) while others such as LaMelo Ball left high school in the U.S. and returned after a year prepared to play in the NBA.

I’m unsure if the G-League is operating at the manner believed when it first set up operations. There’s been a change, added among the competitors was Ignite. This G-League team is comprised of high school talent who decided in favor of a pro career over college. In 2021 Overtime Elite came into existence, it operates similar to Ignite except the 6-team league is also high school players. I cannot provide you names but it’s my understanding there is no requirement for a diploma to play. OTE will allow you to finish high school while playing in the league. We have seen an increasing number of players arrive from the African continent, the vast majority play for Euro teams. As you can see talent now comes into the NBA from a number of different directions. Truth is some of these prospects arrive from venues that didn’t even exist 10-15 years ago.