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Basketball from a fans perspective

“I have nothing in common with lazy people who blame others for their lack of success.”   

Kobe Bryant    

Don’t expect instant success

Victor Wembanyama has been front page news in this blog plus 1,001 others print and broadcast outlets since the NBA Draft in June. The 7 foot 4 Wemby will change the NBA we have been led to believe…. whoa hold on a moment folks. He might not be able to play at a high skill level however I seriously doubt that. I hope to not read complaints about his play or lack thereof until his sophomore season. Many in the media are guilty right now, there is no need to wait until the season starts. These media members will line up and in a loud voice complain about the first Wemby missed shot or his first turnover or maybe it might be a free throw. If this appears an excuse so be it, the youngster is only 19 years old.

With that statement I realize Kevin Garnett and LeBron James were near the same age but this is different. All three played the game as youngsters however Garnett and LeBron had a slight advantage over Wemby having played basketball here. Wemby appears quite skillful we need to remind all including media members, give him time to adjust to the swift robust play of the NBA. I certainly don’t pretend to be an expert but point out a matter I’ve read. A few in the media claim there are aspects of Euro basketball much different from the NBA. They claim aspects of the NBA game might actually be better for Wemby than Euro basketball, let’s just say I will wait to determine if that’s true. The truth of the matter there might be a number of Americans more upset with Wemby once they are informed he will be playing for France in the 2024 Olympics.

Bits n Pieces

It’s being reported that the ACC is looking at adding USMA at West Point to the conference, Navy is in the same conference but no mention of Annapolis was mentioned. They do what they must however this would not be a good move in my opinion. Once upon a time the military service academies were close to the same level as North Carolina, Duke and others in football and basketball. For those who believe I’m defaming the Patriot League where Army and Navy reside that is not the case. Let’s be honest there is a difference between the Patriot League and a Power 5 conference. Back in the day the Army produced Glenn Davis and Doc Blanchard in football, more recently the Navy had David Robinson playing center for the basketball team. Those days are long gone for all military service academies.

The Maui Invitational will be played this upcoming season, the tournament will be played in Honolulu. For a while many believed the devastating fire that consumed much of Lahaina would force the 2023 tournament to be cancelled. This thought prevailed despite the fact the Lahaina Civic Center was reported to be unaffected by the massive fire. As additional details are known regarding the tournament I will attempt to update you with information.  

That’s quite confusing to me, the statement made by Knicks owner James Dolan. You might remember fans asking him to sell the team were met by MSG security and in some instances escorted out of the arena. Although Dolan claims there is no intention to sell the Knicks (or Rangers) this is what he said. “The Knicks and Rangers are near and dear to my heart, I don’t really like owning teams.” Calling the economics of major league sports kind of sleepy.” Okay Mr. Dolan what are you saying, that statement sounds like you are stating “I love ownership but not the economics.” Is that what you read in the Dolan statement?

Dynamite comes in small packages

The textbook definition of the headline reads: “The character of a person cannot be judged by solely relying on his or her clothing and external appearance.” That should certainly fit Jacob Gilyard, standing 5 foot 9 and 160 pounds it’s likely he had to prove he could play the game. He played high school basketball at The Barstow School in Kansas City (MO), he did not receive any scholarship offers from Power Five schools. Gilyard chose Richmond to begin his collegiate career, this time he probably had to prove himself once again of his basketball talent especially against the opposition.   

Playing point guard for the Spiders Gilyard would become the NCAA Division I all-time steals leader, in addition he was twice NCAA steals leader and Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year. Once again Gilyard was overlooked, in the 2022 NBA draft every team passed on him probably believing he was too small. In September 2022 he signed with the Grizzlies, the following month November 9 he was in the opening night roster for the G-League Memphis Hustle. This past April he signed a two-way contract with the Grizzlies where he finished the season. What occurs next month when training camp opens, I only know part of the story? Gilyard will compete for a roster spot, as this is written ESPN’s depth chart places him third behind starter Marcus Smart and Derrick Rose.