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Basketball from a fans perspective

The school of his choosing

Over the summer the name Cooper Flagg blew up, the first mention he reclassified and immediately became the top prospect in the Class of 2024. Then the 6-foot 8-inch 195 pound small forward went out and had a terrific game at the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem. His performance brought comparisons to Larry Bird, which I believe is totally unfair to this teen. Scholarship offers were already in place but it’s likely he received a few more after his summer play, he’s enrolled at Montverde Academy in Florida.  

Flagg's mom indicates her son has three schools on the calendar prior to the start of the college season. Flagg will be in Storrs Connecticut home of the NCAA Champion UConn Huskies and meet with Dan Hurley that will occur September 22-24, October 6-8 it’s Lawrence with Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks. October 20-22 Flagg will visit Durham North Carolina home of Duke University and meet with coach Jon Scheyer. Flagg has 8 other schools offering scholarships, which becomes his school of choice? I have no inside information regarding a decision by Flagg but believe he will likely choose the Duke Blue Devils.

Why just the Lakers and not the others?

The NBA finally decided to address the issue of “Load Management” and its effect on the integrity of the game. The Board of Governors voted to levy huge fines on teams who violate the new guidelines regarding resting players. I’m not going to detail line for line of the new policy, it is available for you to check on a number of other sites. This is what I found most interesting one headline announced, “Is this change aimed at the Lakers.” I cannot address that however I make this statement, I’m sure the Lakers will work within the confines of the new guidelines.

This issue of “sitting” players impacts more than the Lakers alone there are certainly other teams and players that will be affected by this new rule. There is a player with a locker on the other side of Crypto.com area who might be in a similar category to LeBron James in supposedly missing games. The issue is understandable from the NBA’s viewpoint, they want LeBron, Steph Curry and others on the floor especially when on the road. Will this new policy change the issue of load management…we must wait and see after the season for a true assessment?  

Not too surprising

This is not intended as a criticism of Shams Charania writer for The Athletic, I enjoy his analysis of the NBA. On September 11 he wrote “expect to see Victor Wembanyama at power forward.” With Spurs training camp 4-6 weeks away this is not exactly shocking news for a number of reasons. Depending on the publication it’s reported Wemby weighs between 210-230 pounds, he’s far too “slight in the pants” to play most opposing NBA centers. Standing 7 foot 4 or 7 foot 5 Wemby should be able to shoot over most power forwards. This is what I expect to occur, opposing power forwards will do a “Kareem” on him.

You are now asking yourself, “What’s a Kareem?” At the time Kareem Abdul Jabbar entered the NBA he was also rather light, he played center (225 pounds or so). Competitors would often attempt to push him outside his comfort zone. This was done most often to force Abdul Jabbar difficulty in shooting his devastating skyhook. Unlike Abdul Jabbar what I’ve seen of Wemby thus far is a much wider arsenal of shots. There is a possibility at some future date he might be able to move into the post although that’s not a guarantee. It just might be best even with a weight game over time power forward might be his best position. Who can really answer the question, I can only speculate since I’m simply a longtime basketball fan.

Take that NCAA

How about this, the Big XII, Big 10 and Big East are discussing a post-season tournament. These conferences are about to throw down the gauntlet so to speak. In this instance this event has nothing to do with the NCAA Championship Tournament already in place, it would be far different. This tournament would be comprised of those who were overlooked or excluded from the March Championship Tournament. There is an immediate downside, if this comes to fruition it might prove the end of the National Invitation Tournament as we know it.

This Madison Square Garden event has been on life-support the last several years as the NCAA Tournament continued to expand. In addition we are aware of NCAA teams being overlooked or just plain excluded from The Big Dance. As an example last season North Carolina (20-13) and Clemson (23-10) along with 20-14 Vanderbilt failed to receive an invitation. I’m not going to detail the nuts and bolts, i.e. the predictor tool used to determine who goes and who remains at home. In this instance I’m looking strictly at a teams won-loss record. My view it’s a good thing although the downside might be no more NIT Tournament which has a rich basketball tradition and history.

Planned new arenas

I’ve mentioned 76 Place in the recent past, this is the planned arena for the Sixers. Although Wells Fargo Center is relatively new (1996 opening) play dates must be shared with the NHL Flyers and others utilizing the building. 76 Place would be the exclusive home of the Sixers, there are roadblocks in place which must be resolved before the first shovel of dirt is turned over and construction would begin. More recently the Bexar County and San Antonio announced a joint effort to build a basketball-baseball complex in the downtown portion of the area. This effort was driven by the June draft and the arrival of Victor Wembanyama. It’s believed Wemby will be the driving force for the increase in attendance, this is not a done deal either.

There are logistics which must be worked out before construction begins. This past Monday came word from Oklahoma City the intention to build a new arena for the Thunder, this arena would have a planned opening for the 2029-30 NBA season. The Thunder denote they intend to sign a 25-year lease on the new arena. Paycom Center is relatively new having opened in 2002 but is now considered antiquated by NBA standards. There are additional details which must be worked out however the OKC mayor appears pleased with the effort. The key portion of the announcement, “Don’t raise taxes if it can be avoided” says Mayor David Holt. Three planned arenas in Philadelphia, San Antonio and Oklahoma City, as additional information is forthcoming I will attempt to keep you apprised of the news. As noted these efforts are in the talking stage so it’s yet to be determined if these buildings are completed.