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Basketball from a fans perspective

It’s now official

The Spurs took out their tape measure to check Victor Wembanyama. Measuring him without shoes he stands 7 feet 3 ½ inches in height, I read this is standard policy for NBA teams to measure the height of their roster. Boban Marjanovic is listed at 7 feet 4, technically he’s the tallest active player in the NBA although I wouldn’t place any bets on that fact. My only question, why does Wembanyama look so much taller standing next to athletes who are 7 feet tall?

I’m sure a number of you will not find this as funny as me. Someone produced a sheet with the Spurs logo at the top. Underneath the Spurs team logo is a Bandwagon Application, you must list your name and the next line your former team. Behind that the reason for leaving your former team is some other stuff, then you must sign it and date it. I’m sure there are folks who will not find that as funny as me. This I believe, there will be legions of Spurs fans rooting for the team because of Wemby. As for the height thing I’m sure in shoes Wemby is 7 foot 4 inches, besides the fact no one plays the game barefooted anyway.

Unequal justice-addendum

If I get it wrong my desire is to correct the error as soon as convenient. You might remember I pointed out the bogus justice system of the NCAA, I said Bill Self was suspended three (3) games at the start of last season. The correct number should have read four (4), in addition I rechecked a couple of other facts. Self and his top assistant were taken off the recruiting trail for part of the summer. I could provide no further details regarding the number of weeks or months.

Some reading this on Tuesday would assume it was aimed at Self and Kansas basketball…that’s only partially true. The real culprit is the antiquated NCAA and how it manages to dispense justice unequally. No requirement of a re-read just these tidbits of information. Kansas basketball received more level one violations than LSU yet Will Wade received stiffer punishment than Self. Other than the 4-game suspension and prohibited from recruiting during a portion of the summer the NCAA closed the case on Kansas basketball. As for Wade he received a 10-game suspension and a 2-year show cause penalty for recruiting.

Where does he go from here?

The name Emoni Bates is known to most in the basketball world. The former wunderkind is now a professional player having been drafted by the Cavs on June 22. If you ask 10 fans their opinion regarding Bates you are liable to receive 10 different answers, the majority of which might be negative. A number of events in his past has painted a somewhat adverse portrait. In some instances there were circumstances beyond his control as an example. Soon after being awarded the Gatorade Player of the Year his father pulled him from Ypsilanti High School and enrolled his son in another school.

That “other” was a prep school founded by his father. I cannot detail what occurred that one season Bates played at the prep school. The next occasion was reclassification by Bates, he graduated high school a year early. The next episode was the selection of a college, was Memphis his choice or was it his dad? The freshman year was up and down mostly down, Bates saw less and less playing time. Once he sustained an injury his days at Memphis were probably numbered, which turned out to be true. A decision was made to return home and Bates enrolled at Eastern Michigan. Bates found himself as the “team”, the Eastern Michigan roster could offer him little help. I was able to view several games and felt Bates required another year of seasoning although deep down I believed that wouldn’t occur.

Despite my belief in an additional season of play that wouldn’t happen. Bates declared for the NBA draft and I wondered if he would be chosen. None of the three mocks I use contained his name. At some point in late spring his name was listed on one mock site, then another and finally all three. All indicated Bates would be a second-round pick which happened, the Cavs made him the number 49 pick. The next stage of his life is almost exclusively in his hands, he must have been impressive in working out for several NBA teams. I certainly am rooting for Bates to earn a roster spot with the Cavs but I don’t believe I’m alone.

He’s been quiet for too long

Dennis Rodman has been far too quiet for far too long. He figured it was time for the 2023 crowd to discover his name. Before I tear into Rodman allow me to make this statement. For a guy who stood 6 foot 7 and 228 pounds he was the greatest at rebounding the basketball than anyone in the leagues history. He’s been enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame as well, which certainly provides credence of his outstanding NBA career.

With that out the way allow me to state he must have fell out of bed and bumped his head. For reasons beyond my comprehension he’s decided to attack Larry Bird. Before I begin allow me to state the facts, how can you successfully compare players from different eras? In June 2023 Rodman has decided Larry Bird wasn’t as good a player as most of us have been led to believe. The Rodman quote, “If Larry Bird played in this era, I think he’d be in Europe. He’d be somewhere over there. His game was fit for Boston at that time, in the 80s. Today’s world, oh hell no. I’m not downplaying him cause he’s a great player at that time, as I was, but there’s no way.” Their careers did overlap, Bird played in the NBA from 1979-2000, Rodman from 1986-2006. I found Rodman’s statement to be somewhat disingenuous to Bird.

We could state in truth Bird was certainly not the most athletic player of the era but he could certainly ball. My further question, why did he choose to single out Bird and further confuse by contrasting him with Nikola Jokic? The two don’t play the same position, Bird was a forward, Jokic is a center. Surely there were other players during Rodman’s career he could have chosen. Rodman certainly had one advantage NBA championships, his career indicates there were 5 while Bird only had 3.