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Basketball from a fans perspective

Shocking news

On Monday morning I wrote “Is he an NBA prospect?” The story dealt with Bronny James and the three mock draft sites I utilize regularly. On Tuesday morning at work I was shocked to read the youngster had suffered cardiac arrest while at Southern Cal practice. At this point you have as much if not more information as me but I want to look a little further. The sports world came to a halt last winter when Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered the same fate on the football field, I didn’t see the action as it occurred only video of it later that afternoon. I can remember seeing video of Loyola Marymount’s Hank Gaithers collapse on the basketball court.  

Because I’m focused on basketball I was more familiar with Bronny James over Hamlin however the concern was evident. The early medical report on James, he is in stable condition and his outlook appears good, he is no longer in ICU. As for the long-range plan that is unknown, I feel reasonably sure of one fact. There will be no basketball for James in the 2023-24 season, beyond that is an unknown. LeBron James Sr. has spoken of playing on the same team as his son, that prospect may be out the window now. The health and well-being of young James is certainly more important than any basketball game. Stay informed for further updates on this story.

Imagine this

I read a portion of this from a .com site and thought it so interesting I wanted to share. Can you imagine this, a basketball team that once averaged 107.1 points per game during its season. If you are thinking an NBA team plus the shot clock and 3-point baskets that’s easy to understand how a pro team could score in that manner. Wait a moment, did I state it was a professional team, I don’t believe I said that. The shot clock was introduced to the college game in 1985, the 3-point basket came into being in college basketball in 1986. The 1976-77 UNLV Running Rebels under the late Jerry Tarkanian scored at that accelerated pace. I have no idea of their schedule, at the time they played as an independent. If you are thinking the UNLV was loaded with NBA prospects that was not the case. Of the players on that roster Reggie Theus was the only roster member to have an extensive NBA career.

He scored what?

The scoring and rebounding exploits of Wilt Chamberlain have been covered over time. As this is written I came across a story I found…well allow me to explain. Chamberlain who once score 100 points in a game, Chamberlain in the 1961-62 season averaged 50.4 points a game. It wasn’t just Chamberlain’s offense his rebounding of the basketball today is difficult to believe. The lowest percentage during his NBA career was 18.4 rebounds a game, there were 11 seasons his rebound total exceeded 21 or more per game.

Now that you see the big picture the game played March 27, 1973, would prove quite unique for what would occur. In 46 minutes of action Chamberlain scored 0 points because he took 0 shots from the floor. Chamberlain was a notoriously poor free throw shooter but no matter he took 0 free throws anyway. He did manage 14 rebounds and 4 assists, he fouled twice in the Laker loss against Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s Bucks 85-84. The only explanation, Chamberlain was close to ending his illustrious NBA career so he certainly had slowed by that point. That is the only explanation for a game that saw the prolific scoring Chamberlain register 0 points in a game.

More trivia

I discovered trivia you can utilize with your friends and acquaintances. If I were to ask the oldest professional basketball team still active today you probably look to 1947. That was the date the Basketball Association of America organized and began play but that’s not the answer. The correct reply is the Sacramento Kings who continue play to this day, you might say “How can that be, the BAA hadn’t been founded yet?” At this point you must begin following the timeline of several moves and name changes. The team began play in 1923 but it certainly wasn’t in Sacramento. Rochester New York was the original home back then, they were the Seagrams they would play under that name until 1942.

In the 1942-1943 season they were re-named the Eber Seagrams, later in 1943 they underwent a name change again becoming the Rochester Pros. In 1945 they were re-named once again becoming the Royals they remained in the city until 1957. That year the team moved to Cincinnati and maintained the same name, the Royals called Cincinnati home until 1972 when they moved once again this time to Kansas City-Omaha and underwent another name change becoming the Kings. In 1975 Omaha was dropped and they would continue as the Kansas City Kings from 1975 until 1985 when they move to Sacramento where they remain the Kings to date. The early association with the Seagrams name is likely the liquor company, the uniforms of that period read Eber Bros (brothers).