Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

An MPJ apology

I owe a sincere apology to Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. for what I wrote. Some of you might remember I authored a list of Mizzou players winning NBA championships, somewhere in the discussion I besmirch the reputation of MPJ by saying he was missing in action at Mizzou. I pointed to the fact he only played 3 games in Black and Gold before declaring for the NBA draft. MPJ did not intentionally injure his back, for whatever the deep-down reasons he committed to Mizzou.  

After an All-American High School season his intention was to play in a Mizzou jersey. The fall of his freshman year MPJ arrived on campus as a projected NBA lottery pick, with that in mind looking back none of us (including me) truly expected him to play a sophomore year. He’s not been an NBA superstar but certainly has played exemplary basketball for the Nuggets once his back fully healed. To Mizzou Nation (and others) I’m sorry I missed the boat on this one, I salute MPJ as an NBA champion and former Missouri Tiger.

Philly legend

Whenever a discussion of the GOAT occurs, we rarely hear Julius Erving’s name mentioned. Dr. J. along with a number of others changed the game in a positive manner. Perhaps the reason some of us fail to acknowledge his game might be based on his start. Erving left the University of Massachusetts for the ABA for a simple reason. At that point in time the rival NBA did not allow entry unless an athletes class had completed 4 years of college. Naturally with such a rule in place a number of talented players decided to cast their fate with this startup league (1967) and Erving was one. Looking back at his ABA days and to a degree the NBA I’m unsure if Erving was that great an outside shooter. It was the other things that made him a basketball legend.

Earlier we covered Erving’s attempt to play for an NBA team but the legal process prevented that from occurring. The question was posed in an earlier account how exactly did Erving arrive in Philadelphia was the question…money? It wasn’t the amount demanded by Erving but rather by an owner. I’d mentioned the shaky foundation of the ABA by this time, Erving playing for the cash-strapped Virginia Squires was traded to the New York Nets. At this point we have a merged league, the Knicks (knowing the prowess of Dr. J.) wanted $$$ for “moving into their market.” The Nets owner at the time refused to pay, offering Erving’s contract to the Knicks among several NBA teams. After being turned down by them Erving’s contract was then offered to the Sixers. There are additional portions of the story left out but this is the basis for how Erving became a Philly legend.

We now have the number

Unlike his brother Kaleb Brown decided in favor of Mizzou. This is not tossing brother Kobe under the bus, he saw an opportunity and grabbed on to it. It’s almost a sure bet the older Brown sibling will be   drafted or at least sign a free agent contract. Younger brother Kaleb entered the transfer portal this spring but chose to return to Mizzou. Now the “meat and potatoes” of this account…Mizzou’s roster. Thanks to Power Mizzou we are informed there are 19 roster members currently, despite this fact only 15 can suit up at any one time.

What does this entail for Dennis Gates and staff, there will be plenty of competition for playing time. The roster of 19 includes 6-foot 5 shooting guard Isiaih Mosley and 7 foot 2 Mabor Majak both appeared infrequently in the lineup this past season. Mosley is the apparently talented guard who transferred from Missouri State while Majak was not on scholarship but eventually was awarded one. Now the real dilemma begins, if we leave Mosley and Majak out of the count there 17 players remain on the roster. I don’t wish to say this in advance but it’s likely there is an early transfer based on opportunities to play. I guess we could consider this a good thing having an apparent abundance of talent.    

Bits n Pieces 

We can state the Spurs are conducting due diligence regarding the team’s future. The Spurs just might not draft Victor Wembanyama however I seriously doubt it. The Spurs medical staff flew to France to meet with the youngster although they are yet to draft him. We have no idea if Wemby took a full-scale physical examination but that’s likely to have occurred. What else is going on in San Antonio you might ask? The Spurs announced they will hold an introductory press conference on June 24, who do they plan on introducing we might inquire? 

I’ve read the NFL Cowboys ownership prior to Jerry Jones approached the NFL draft in this manner. They would draft the best athlete available, this meant they could have an all-pro cornerback starting. If the best athlete was a cornerback they drafted him, your question might be why am I going with this account? All three mock sites I utilize have the Blazers drafting Scoot Henderson from G-League Team Elite. Henderson would be pick number 3 in the 2023 draft, what’s wrong with this picture you might ask? The Blazers have Dame Lillard at the point, Henderson is also a point.