Basketball from a fans perspective
Retirement…that is hardly the case. The Spurs have been treading water the last few years, they were not terrible but not very good either. Stories begin to circulate Gregg Popovich might be leaning toward retirement after all he is in his 70’s. Well that was then this is now, on Saturday it was announced 74-year-old Popovich would sign a 5-year contract. Should we suppose drafting Wemby and the opportunity to return the Spurs to past glory might be an incentive? That might appear to be the case however maybe Pop just loves what he does. I forgot to mention the huge monetary contract Pop will sign.
Last fall he was accompanied by his Metropolitans 92 teammates as they face G-League Team Elite. This time Wemby would be with a new team with little if any practice. “I didn’t really know what I was doing on the court, but I’m trying to learn.” Wemby’s shooting was off (2-13, 1-6 from 3pt), the other numbers were decent, 8 rebounds and 5 blocked shots. No telling how many shots were missed with the 7 foot 3 or 7 foot 4 Wemby looming around the basket. Interviewed after the game he offered no excuses for his performance. “I hope to do better next time” which is all we could ask of any player rookie or 10-year veteran. I can only speak for myself, I cannot allow myself to see Wemby play his first game in a Spurs jersey and conclude he can’t play at this level.
We begin with Patrick Ewing, Georgetown played a nominal number of games in MSG against St. John’s. In 1985 Ewing was the best prospect in that year’s draft and the Knicks wanted him. Reports have persisted for years a “frozen” or card different from the others was placed in the drum. Once the drum was spun around a few times this allowed Knick GM Dave DeBusschere to pick the card containing Ewing’s name. As for Duncan a season long injury to David Robinson saw the Spurs lose enough games to qualify for the lottery and thus the opportunity to draft Duncan.
Akron Ohio home of LeBron James is some 40 miles from Cleveland, James was able to be drafted by the Cavs need I go any further. How about Chicago, Derrick Rose played at Simeon Academy in Chicago and went on to play his college ball at Memphis yet was able to be chosen by hometown Bulls. The jury remains out regarding Wembanyama however this tidbit of information, the Spurs have an extensive history developing international talent. Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and several others unnamed are examples of talent developed by the Spurs. I am not a believer in conspiracies but desired to provide you the background for those most familiar to NBA fans.
Spears claimed she recognized Wemby “tapped him on the shoulder wanting a photo.” Spears says “security backhanded me in the face without looking back. They nearly knocked me down and my sunglasses fell off and broke.” Later Spears ask for a “public apology from Wemby, his security or the Spurs organization.” Las Vegas law enforcement contacted indicated they had received a battery complaint on the matter. This becomes one of those stories that causes you to go…what? As for Wemby I’m more concerned about on the court rather than in the court. The end of the story proves quite interesting for us. In this age there is almost always video available, someone with a camera phone or surveillance video is almost always available. After an investigation by authorities it was determined Spears inadvertently hit herself in the face.
What should we conclude from this incident? I don’t follow celebrity news intently. I’ve heard few news accounts regarding Spears in months, was she attempting to gain publicity? This is what I believe occurred, neither party might have known the other. It’s possible Wemby growing up in France might have been unaware of her, at the same time unless she’s a genuine basketball fan had not a clue who he was. She saw an extremely tall person walking into a restaurant surrounded by bunches of people and figured “He must be a celebrity.”
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