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Basketball from a fans perspective

“Best player over best fit” 

The Lakers adopted the headline above in the 2023 draft. I make that statement while admitting I know practically nothing on either of the Laker picks in the 2023 draft. With pick 17 they chose combo guard Jalen Hood-Schifino from the University of Indiana, Hood-Schifino is 6-foot 6 inch and 215 pounds. He first chose was hometown University of Pittsburg but later he changed his mind and enrolled at Indiana, he left after his freshman season declaring for the NBA draft. Pick number 47 saw the Lakers choosing Maxwell Lewis a 6-foot 7 inch small forward from Pepperdine. I found this interesting, Lewis did not play his freshman year of high school because the school had no basketball team.

The information update indicates Lewis made a solid impression when he came in for workouts for the Lakers. Now for the part I cannot detail at this point, the Lakers roster is not set. Other than Hood-Schifino and Lewis there is an unknown factor. Second, Darvin Ham appears hesitant to play rookies preferring veterans. I’ve seen neither Hood-Schifino nor Lewis in action but no matter I don’t have a true picture of what a scout might look for. Most of us in Laker Nation and I are forced to adopt a wait and see on Hood-Schifino and Lewis.

The Lakers signed two-way contracts on guard D’Moi Hodge and center Colin Castleton. Hodge is a 6-foot 4-inch shooting guard, starting his basketball at Cleveland State Hodge followed Dennis Gates to Mizzou and continued commendable offensive and defensive play for the Tigers. Unlike Hodge I am unfamiliar with Castleton except for basic information. He’s a 6-foot 11-inch 230-pound power forward/center, after beginning play at Michigan he transferred to Florida. Also signing with the Lakers is 6-foot 9 forward Alex Fudge also from Florida. Naturally at this point it’s quite difficult to determine if any of these non-drafted players earn a roster spot.

Now for the balance

The 2023 NBA draft proved quite interesting in the players chosen and the why. This was quite different, the Hornets choice of Brandon Miller was met with a chorus of boos from fans. It appears they preferred the pick to be Scoot Henderson. This entails work on and off the court to convince the legion of Hornet fans. Elsewhere I began reading about Bilal Coulibaly in late winter or early spring, he was moving up on most mock draft sites. Despite this fact did we expect him to be pick 7, I have serious doubts? That was just the first of several surprises, how about pick 26? We were familiar with Belmont University but maybe not the player, his name is Ben Sheppard. Those in Mizzou Nation hoped Kobe Brown would be drafted, most mock drafts placed him mid to late second round pick.

The Clippers surprised us and made Brown pick number 30 in the first round, he is now guaranteed more money as a first-round choice and probably earns a roster spot at least through his rookie season. Returning to Mizzou and playing for Dennis Gates has proven valuable to him. I know for a fact Brown was on nobody’s mock site last September. The second round of the draft proved interesting; I don’t ever remember as many draft right trades as witnessed by us in history. The surprises continued in the second round; several highly touted college players failed to hear their names called. I could site Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe and UConn’s Adama Sanogo would be examples of names we didn’t hear announced. The Cavs chose Emoni Bates with pick number 49, the former Gatorade High School Player of the Year who almost missed the draft entirely. In closing the promise of free agency is there, look at veteran Fred Van Fleet and Austin Reaves who were not drafted. We must wait for a period to determine the depth of this draft, right now I’m going to state it appears deep and talented.

What was it

A young Shaka Smart caused the college basketball world to set up and take notice. His VCU team would not be shortchanged, in the 6 seasons Smart was at the helm they never won less than 26 games. VCU received an NCAA invite every one of those seasons, His 2011 team earned a Final Four berth. Smart was hired in 2015 replacing Rick Barnes and my thought at the time was explicit. The State of Texas rich in high school basketball talent I said Smart might not be forced to leave the state. Although the record at Texas was not bad it failed to measure up to what many believed capable. Smart’s team’s won 109 games from 2015-21 but the most in a single season was 2019.

That Texas team didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament but was NIT Champion. 2021 would be the last for Smart, although there were two years remaining on his contract he decided to make a change. Hired at Marquette his first team was 19-13. This recently completed season found the team finishing with a 29-7 record, they would close in the Round of 32 in the tournament. I have a theory but am unable to offer any proof other than an opinion. Where outside forces key to the disappointment at Texas, after all look at his VCU and Marquette record. The ball manages to bounce the same no matter of the location but Power 5 Texas may have been too much for Smart, just a thought without offering you any proof.

Change your mind 

I’m sure a number of you are similar to me, you sometimes formulate an opinion from those around you. There are instances where your view might be opposed to the majority. As I’ve aged my opinions have gone along these lines, I believe it but it’s unnecessary for you to agree with me. There are people who will argue with you attempting to convince you to their train of thought, not me. I state my position and unbelievably I can change my opinion at times. Where am I going with this you might ask, in the direction of most of our local talk radio hosts. There are several radio and TV host who bother me when it comes to the NBA, they have been known to say, “What where you are watching last night, it certainly wasn’t the NBA game?”

Locally the sports guys here claim “Kansas City is the soccer capital of America,” I cannot argue against that statement except at one address. That address is my place of residence, I don’t hate soccer or NHL hockey for that matter it’s just the fact you’d never see either game on television at my household. Working in the reception area of my company I see a considerable number of people in the public eye. Kansas City has no NBA team yet this is what I saw in just one day and less than 4 hours. The first customer arrived wearing a Nuggets baseball cap, okay they won the championship he just decided to wear it because. Less than an hour later the second customer I spotted had a Nets baseball cap, I thought for a moment that’s different. The third customer before 11:00 a.m. had a Lakers tee shirt on. This is not intended to say Kansas City is full of NBA fans, in this instance I’m simply stating the sports talking heads are not always correct in their observations.