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Basketball from a fans perspective

Best in the State of Kansas

I have my doubts if the most loyal Jayhawk fan would argue with me. The best college team in the state is the Kansas State Wildcats, they beat the other Wildcat team the one from Kentucky 75-69 on Sunday.  I’m quite sure Jayhawk loyalist will proclaim “If Bill Self had been there the outcome in the Arkansas game might have been different.” I cannot disagree with that statement however there is no way to prove it. After all Kansas lost twice to Texas in the space of 7 days with Self on the bench. As for Kansas State I thought they were playing at a high level anyway, Jerome Tang has managed to raise the level of play even more. Oscar Tshiebwe allowed Kentucky to have a huge advantage in rebounds.

Double-double machine Tshiebwe scored 25 points along with 18 rebounds, Cason Wallace also had a good game for Kentucky but that was about it. Markquis Nowell is totally amazing at the point, this 5-foot 8-inch point guard led the way for Kansas State scoring 27 points along with 9 assists. Nowell was 50% from the floor shooting and 37.5% was from the 3-line, three other Kansas State players scored in double figures. Whenever you had a smallish player on the court one who excelled at the game there was a saying. “Don’t mind his size, dynamite also comes in small packages too” I certainly believe that statement reflects Nowell.

Prove it

I realize Kevin Durant has yet to make an appearance, but I have concerns about the play of the Suns at this time. I am not impressed by the look of the Suns thus far. They should be among the best in the NBA especially in the West, this is not a doom and gloom report 38 wins is a respectable number. Their win total places them behind the Nuggets, the surprising Kings and Grizzlies. Now that we’ve discussed the negative this is the good part of this account

The Suns will earn a playoff berth, they will not be forced to play all three of the teams to compete for the Western Conference Championship. As they often say it’s a long season perhaps the Suns are in cruise control. Don’t misunderstand that last statement, I’m not saying they are not giving their all-out effort. As this is written there remain about 2-3 weeks in the season. Perhaps Kevin Durant can become that spark needed to speed them up to a degree. The hope is the Suns can hold the present pace until Durant is able to return, the projected date for Durant to return to action currently is March 1.

Part Deux

If we look at the Field of Number one seeded teams, half the field has vanished. Purdue and Kansas both number one seeds have been eliminated before we reach the field of 32. Houston and Alabama remain, and both have exhibited shaky play thus far. Princeton (15) advances to the Sweet 16 after beating my Tigers (7). As for Kansas they were losers to the Arkansas Razorbacks (8). No one expected FDU to upset number one Purdue, yet it occurred. How about Pitt (11) beating Iowa State (6) and also included is Furman (13) over Virginia (4). Can that number of losses really be termed upsets?

Those games standout, looking back at the history an 8-9 match could hardly be considered an upset. I again offer the argument upset might not be the term to apply to tournament games this season and those of the recent past. We could use it during the conference season but once we begin play for the NCAA Championship, we can toss that term out the window. Why the upsets (if we wish to continue using the term) college basketball like other sports continues to evolve. There is not a single team that could dominate the game in the manner of John Wooden’s UCLA dynasty today. One of those changes I believe evident is the increase in utilization of the three-point line.

I witnessed it up close with the Mizzou Tigers, Dennis Gates re-built the team quickly after taking over. The Mizzou team might have deficiencies but one thing they did well most of the season…shoot the three. Once upon a time teams would drive for layups with an open court that no longer exists. One other factor similar to the NBA there’s been less emphasis on playing the game with traditional Big Men. We witnessed Zack Edey at Purdue and Arizona’s tall front line being neutralized in teams loss. On the other hand I could be completely off base in my study of the game. What do you think, is “upset” a valid term in 21^st Century college basketball?

Don’t tell me

My occupation requires I meet with the public on a daily basis what they wear especially sports apparel is of interest to me.  Of course you would imagine with a twice Super Bowl winning NFL team there is plenty of Chiefs apparel about even in the off season. I see a smaller number of Royals baseball stuff, but the soccer team Sporting Kansas City might have eclipsed the Royals in my unofficial tally. What about the NBA in my city you might ask?

At a point in time there was plenty of Bulls apparel about not so much anymore. Trust me on this one, the most apparel I see is Lakers. Behind them in order are Warriors, Grizzlies, Thunder, Hornets and Celtics things. I’ve seen few children or adults wearing Knicks, Heat, Spurs, Bucks or Wizards paraphernalia. This morning a customer walked into the building, and I noticed atop his head was a Seattle Sonics baseball cap, now there’s a real throwback. Despite no NBA team in my hometown since 1985 there remains a presence here.