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Basketball from a fans perspective

The Captain

On the drive home from work I’m listening to the sports news of the day. Radio guy read, “Legendary Knick center Willis Reed died today.” I thought back a moment, Reed was the heart and soul of his team in the 1960’s through 1974 a total of 10 seasons. Reed drafted from Grambling State in 1964 got off to a swift start in his rookie year being named NBA Rookie of the Year in 1965. It would be the 1970 NBA Championship where his star might have shone brightest. It was Game 7 of the NBA Finals; the game would be played at Madison Square Garden and the gathering crowd was apprehensive. It was more than Game 7 jitters; Reed had been injured with a severe thigh injury and didn’t play in Game 6.

It was believed Reed would miss Game 7 as the Knicks were on the court warming up before the start.  Just before the start of the game Reed came walking out to the court. Once the game started Reed hit his first two baskets and the four points would be his only scoring for the game, but it was enough. The Knicks inspired by Reeds play went on to beat the Lakers as Wilt Chamberlain was guarded by a succession of much smaller Knicks. Walt “Clyde” Frazier took up the slack scoring 36 points along with 19 assists as the Knicks won Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Championship 113-99. The Knicks won an additional championship in 1973 with Reed again being a vital key. I cannot do justice to Willis Reed there are so many noteworthy events during his basketball career. I’ll just close by stating Reed’s enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame, he was a giant aside from his 6-foot 10-inch height, R.I.P. sir.

Coaching change

Ed Cooley left Providence to take over the Georgetown program, Providence needs a coach maybe. This might not be official yet however a Rhode Island television station is reporting the school has settled on the Cooley replacement. They intend to hire Kim English former Mizzou basketball player turned coach. English has turned the basketball program around at George Mason in just his second year at the helm. As soon as the English hire is affirmed this story will be updated, English at 34-years of age might be the youngest head coach in Division I basketball.

Where is he headed

I guess we can debate the success or lack thereof regarding Emoni Bates. After an uninspired freshman season at Memphis he returned home and began play for Eastern Michigan. His numbers were certainly satisfactory (19.5 points along with 5.8 rebounds a game) however the less than poor play of the team had most of us scratching our heads. EMU failed to qualify for the conference tournament with their overall 8-23 record. Despite that negative Bates was selected to the third team of the Mid-America Conference by the coaches. Where does the once highly touted Bates head next, according to the broadcaster for the team he believes it won’t be EMU?

He indicates his belief Bates is headed for the NBA or G-League. We’ve heard nothing from Bates camp at the time this is written. Earlier I reported Bate’s name’s been listed as a second-round draft choice on a number of mock draft sites. We realize mock draft sites are not always an indication of certainty, but they often come somewhat close. My only hope is Bates makes the decision in his best interest. As this was completed, I decided to examine several mock draft sites, I checked out four and all list Bates as a second-round choice. Insert disclaimer here, as all are aware mock drafts are not always accurate especially in the late stages of the first round and into the second. It does appear at least the NBA has eyes on Bates, whether that translates will not be known until June.

Inside his head

Kentucky’s John Calipari doesn’t require me to defend his reputation but I’m going to do it anyway. It’s my conviction it’s impossible to “get inside” someone’s head and decide what they are thinking. The opinion voiced is more important than what we believe and that includes me. In this instance we are discussing Kentucky’s John Calipari. His Kentucky team losing to Kansas State made him ripe for attack and this is what we heard from radio guy. Radio guy claims “Jerome Tang recruits players for his system while Calipari recruits NBA talent. He’s not recruiting kids who play the game today. He likes the idea of informing kids I can get you in the NBA.”

I can agree with a portion of radio guy’s statement, the game has changed there is more emphasis on shooting the three etc. etc. I cannot debate how good an X and O guy Calipari is but this I believe. Prospects can look at the number of Kentucky players in the NBA but that’s only part of this discussion. Radio guy is informing his audience his belief Calipari has not made adjustments in his coaching style. He basis his belief on the fact Kentucky has failed to advance very far in the tournament in recent seasons. Radio guy fails to see the Big Picture, college teams are more competitive than ever. The driven competition has caused Calipari teams to come up short, radio guy it’s more than simply recruiting NBA players.