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Basketball from a fans perspective

What a shooting display

Steph Curry has displayed his shooting prowess for years now. On Sunday he demonstrated once again his talent securing a Game 7 win (120-100) for his Warriors. A 50-point total for the game but it wasn’t just jacking up shots, Curry was 53% from the floor and 39% from three. He also found time to pull down 8 rebounds and dish out 6 assists. Curry’s point total is the most in a Game 7, eclipsing the 48 points set by Kevin Durant.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention Kevin Looney’s game as well, 21 rebounds, 10 of them of the offensive variety. Those offensive rebounds allowed the Warriors second and sometimes third shots. Although the Warriors didn’t look toward Looney for scoring, he managed 11 points in the win. I’m sure the Kings will deny this next portion I’m about to relay. It appeared as the game began flowing in the direction of the Warriors desperation appeared to sit in for the Kings. There were numerous questionable shots in my view…all taken in an effort to “get back in the game.”

He talks!

We discover Dillon Brooks can talk after a loss, in this instance I only read the headline not the content. On Monday morning after the Grizzly loss I read this, “Grizz’s Brooks doesn’t regret verbal jab at LeBron.” Guess what neither do I, this is a repeat from my earlier statement, it’s okay to talk the talk, you must walk the walk. It’s clear Brooks had a dreadful playoff against the Lakers, however it was Brooks who placed the bullseye on himself with inflammatory comments. Check out these numbers and see if you don’t see what I uncovered.

Brooks regular season average was 14.3 points a game versus 10.5 points he scored against the Lakers. What I find interesting his high scoring game was the 15 points he recorded in Game 1 which also saw him shooting 38.5% from the floor his highest field goal percentage in the series. Overall Brooks managed to shoot poorly (31.2%) for the 6-game series. This is the portion I find most interesting of the two Grizzly victories they managed to win in spite of Brooks not because of him. Check out the other numbers if you care, finally there is nothing wrong if he decides in favor of bravado to pump him up. The final word, you better be able to back it up if that’s what you intend to do, Brooks failed at least this time.

This is different

You might remember I wrote that Jamarion Sharp decided to transfer to Ole Miss rather than Mizzou. The 7-foot 5 Sharp led the nation in blocked shots this past season, based on that fact alone I thought he would be a good fit for Mizzou. It turns out that was not to be the case, despite my hope it seems the coaching staff at Mizzou was not as enamored with Sharp as me. The story might end there but wait that was part A, this is part B of the same story.

On Sunday Mizzou announced Jesus Carralero committed to Mizzou, this is interesting in several ways. It was revealed he was injured and played but few games for Campbell University this past season. The other interesting fact is Carralero is listed as a 6-foot 8 220-pound post player, not the 7-footer I hoped for. As for Carralero although he played at Campbell, he’s an international player; his home is located in southern Spain in the city of Malaga. With a return to full health Mizzou’s coaching staff believes Carralero fits the role they perceive.  

Headed to Australia

A loss for the University of Texas was a win for the Illawarra Hawks. AJ Johnson 5-star guard from Castaic California in the Greater Los Angeles metro decided in favor of starting a pro career rather than college. Johnson was one of the top prospects in the Class of 2024, his move continues the change for high school talent now and into the future. This is today, college continues to exist although it might be just one year.

There is also the possibility of signing a G-League contract or in the instance of Johnson heading to the NBL in Australia. The other option is Overtime Elite, unlike the others OTE allows for play without a high school diploma. They allow an athlete to finish high school while playing for OTE. The last piece is Name, Image and Likeness, of course not every athlete will benefit from NIL but a considerable number will. Colleges and universities now have an individual in place to steer the player through the process. As you can see school always remains available, however now there are considerable options for an athlete.

He’s the man

There is nothing you can do about it, save your nasty remarks. Ime Udoka has been hired as the Rockets coach for the 2023-24 season and beyond. This I know for sure the guy can coach basketball, of course it helps to have a talented team in Boston which he did. As for the opening sentence I mentioned the other day how many negative letters came pouring in once the Udoka hire was announced. I’m not sure if this occurred in recent memory but here goes, generally we hear from the front office on the hire of a head coach, it is rare to hear the owner.

“Houston Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta trumpeted the hiring of Ime Udoka as the first step in “phase two” of the franchise’s rebuilding process, in which immediately returning to the playoffs after a three-year absence is the plan.” Does that quote give you the impression there is a worry by the owner in hiring Udoka? I happen to believe in Udoka as well and keep this in mind. Whatever might have occurred in your past fails to reflect your future unless you choose it to be. We are all human beings subject to mistakes and that includes Udoka. The difference, Udoka’s story played out before us. What about yours, I’m quite sure you’d be okay in having portions of your private life played out in a similar manner.