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Basketball from a fans perspective

Bits n pieces

This is different, Brad Calipari could have taken a job anywhere and we could say no big deal. Calipari being hired at Vanderbilt and Jerry Stackhouse’s staff is interesting. Of course Brad is the son of Kentucky head coach John Calipari, one of the coaches sons’ will become director of on court player development. Exactly what that title entails is really unclear, we know this for a fact…he’s got a new job. Young Calipari could have probably been hired by his dad and placed on the Kentucky coaching staff however he might not have wanted the hint of nepotism.

You remember the complaint from several years ago don’t you? Donovan Mitchell was one of several who mounted a criticism. He and others were upset with Ben Simmons being the leading candidate for 2018 NBA Rookie of the Year. Their argument centered on draft date rather than play. A summer injury kept Simmons out of the Sixer lineup for the 2017-18 season, it was 2018 before he first played in the NBA. Chet Holmgren was drafted in 2022 but an injury presented a similar story to Simmons, he missed this past season. The 2023-24 season will be Holmgren’s first year in the NBA. We might be unlikely to have a comparable situation because the odds might be more in favor of Victor Wembanyama being named NBA Rookie of the Year.

Remember back to late spring or early summer, there was a discussion surrounding expanding the annual NCAA Tournament? Discussions were held regarding increasing the number of teams eligible for the tournament from the present number of 68. Expansion talk has been placed on hold for the time being, will it be renewed at some future date? You’ve got to expect that to occur however what’s the number, how many additional teams will be added? Should the number of teams be 70, is it 80 or 100…I’m not so sure increasing the number of teams is something necessary except improving revenue?

Did you know?

I’m sure you are familiar with the Virgin Islands, the official name for the chain is the U.S. Virgin Islands. The group of Caribbean islands and islets is an unincorporated territory of the United States. A number of you reading this are acquainted with the territory due to it being the home of former Spurs great Tim Duncan. I didn’t realize the British Virgin Islands existed, of course they are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, geography wise they lie north and east of the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tortola is the largest of the British Virgin Islands and home to D’Moi Hodge Laker rookie.

Laker Nation is aware of former Mizzou Tiger Hodge from his summer league play. There is no guarantee he earns a roster spot although he’s signed to a two-way contract. Hodge indicates he’s modeled his offensive game after Kentavious Caldwell-Pope former Laker sniper. Deliberate on this, Laker Nation’s been pining for Pacer Bubby Hield like forever it seems. Despite this fact the Lakers have never been able to acquire Hield, let’s conduct a quick comparison with Hodge. Hield is 30 years old certainly not ancient but Hodge just turned 24. I’ve not seen enough of Hield to determine his defense however Hodge at Mizzou and Summer League gave us an inkling of his skill level.

The summer league numbers for Hodge, 15.4 points, shot 44% from the field along with 40% from three. Although comparing him to JJ Redick is unfair but bear with me on this. Redick arrived in the NBA high profile having been a Duke Blue Devil. Redick made himself into a three-point specialist and had an outstanding NBA career, can Hodge do the same? The disclaimer, summer play is not the real thing, as indicated earlier there is always the possibility he doesn’t make it. It certainly would be outstanding if he and Kobe Brown earned roster positions.

St. Louis basketball

Unless you are a basketball historian you might not be aware St. Louis had more than one pro team. The Bombers were a BAA team the forerunner of today’s NBA. They played from 1946-1950 and with the merger came into the NBA but that would be their last year of operation. It’s lost to history why the team went out of business, more on the Bombers in a later account. 1955 the Milwaukee Hawks moved to St. Louis where they played until 1968 and they would move to Atlanta. There is one additional team a friend posted a photo on social media, this was the Spirits of St. Louis.

The Spirits were an ABA team which moved to the city from Carolina in 1974, probably at that time a merger with the older established NBA was in the talking stages. Two brothers, Ozzie and Daniel Silna purchased the team probably believing they would have an NBA team in the city once again. Over the course of time the Silna’s struck a deal earning them millions, more on that later. As for being included in the merger that would not be the case for the Spirits, several franchises were not included in the merger and the Spirits were one of them. The won-loss record for the Spirits was only 35-49 that first season but the roster contained a number of players who experienced later success in the NBA. You’ve heard of Moses Malone I’m sure, NBA MVP, Naismith Hall of Fame and more.

Maurice Lucas NBA Champion with the Blazers, 4 times NBA All Star and a defensive specialist. Then we leave you with Jim “Bad News” Barnes a talented power forward. There were others but I hope you get the idea, I almost forgot Mike D’Antoni, he was also a team member. As for the Silna brothers this story has been mentioned previously. Folding the Spirits franchise the NBA made a deal with the owners involving television coverage of the NBA. That deal is still in place in 2023, so this is the condensed story of the Spirits of St. Louis.