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Basketball from a fans perspective

“Effective teamwork begins and ends with communication.”        

Coach K. 

Celtic re-tool

I’ve ignored changes made by the Celtics since the end of the NBA season. It wasn’t intentional let’s just say moves were overlooked at the time they occurred except the latest. Jordan Walsh from Arkansas was the 30th pick by the Kings in the 2023 draft but was traded to the Celtics, he’s a 6-foot 7 small forward. On June 22 the Celtics traded defensive specialist and the player I believe is the glue Marcus Smart to the Grizzlies, arriving as part of a three-team trade is veteran Kristaps Porzingis.

Also moving in the trade, Danilo Gallinari and Mike Muscala to the Wizards. This past weekend the Celtics acquired Jrue Holiday from the Blazers, heading west are Robert Williams III and Malcom Brogdon. Williams is certainly a quality player but cannot remain healthy. Brogdon was acquired in the middle of last season but now moves to the Blazers. Please note in the movement I only listed “warm bodies,” draft choices are not included. Naturally at this point Celtics management believe the off-season moves will prove beneficial to their playoff and championship hopes.

Gregarious

The above title is my description of K-State’s Jerome Tang, taking over the program he led them to a 26-10 record plus 3-1 in the NCAA Tournament. Headed into the season K-State basketball was a mystery, it was hoped Tang longtime Baylor assistant would be able to infuse life into the program. We can certainly state he did that in spades especially with his gregarious style. We could define Tang as outgoing, extroverted which managed to endear him to members of the media especially in metro Kansas City. Road miles between Kansas City and Manhattan is 160 miles while Columbia is 125 miles from here.

As you can see there is not a great difference travel-wise by vehicle. By now you are asking the question, “What are you trying to prove by this exercise,” I say hold on just a little while longer while I detail if for you. Unlike Tang there was a difference in the Dennis Gates hire. Gates was already serving as a head coach at Cleveland State, a number of Mizzou fans had questions on the hire considering where Gates had coached. Let’s check out the Gates record, Mizzou coming off a terrible year he managed to lead Mizzou to a 25-10 record along with a 1-1 tournament in his first season as coach. Although the coaching records were nearly the same this is the difference between the two. The gregarious personality (that word again) of Tang influences the media to discuss him in positive terms.

As for Gates it’s a different matter, on the surface the differences are obvious. Mizzou’s coach almost always appears serious during interviews, he does not come across in the manner of the easy-going Tang. At that same time that’s not to say cast a negative light on him. Before you run off claiming I hate the K-State coach that is not the case but I do believe the Kansas City media treats him in a different light than Gates. I’m simply attempting to point out what I believe to be the differences between how the two area coaches are covered by much of the local media.

Big House

His birth name was Clarence Edwards Gaines, he stood 6 foot 3 and 265 pounds. When he arrived on campus at HBCU Morgan State College (now university) a teammate said, “You’re as big as a house” and the nickname stuck. Gaines was a lineman for the Bears, although football was his first love it was basketball he would gained notoriety. Graduating in 1945 he intended to enroll at dental school however his football coach encouraged him to go to Winston-Salem Teachers College as it was then known. Gaines went to Winston-Salem another HBCU school as an assistant football coach,

In 1946 the football coach left for another school, and at that point Gaines became head football coach. That was not the only hat he wore, he was also head basketball coach, athletic director, trainer and ticket master. Despite the heavy workload Gaines managed to find time to teach a class. In 1949 he gave up coaching football and concentrated on basketball only. From 1946-1993 his teams won 828 games losing 447, the Rams registered 18 20-win seasons while Gaines was coach. In 1982 Gaines was enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame, in 2006 he was honored in the first class enshrined in the College Basketball Hall. In 2005 Gaines died at the age of 81, this is but a brief look at one of the basketball legends. We can say truly football’s loss was basketball’s gain.

A higher calling

We just read Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen completed mandatory military training required by his native Finland. Once upon a time a similar situation occurred for a well-known American NBA player, I came across this information and thought it was worthwhile to share. The late Elgin Baylor is a Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame honoree. This portion of his career most are probably unaware of the complexity he endured during one NBA season. In the 1961-62 season Baylor played 48 of his team’s 80 games. Baylor wasn’t injured, a higher calling forced him to play the limited season. Let’s do a quick history check, at the time the U.S. had mandatory military service in place, all able-bodied males were required to serve.

In addition to physical requirements there was a maximum height limit, anyone standing over 6 foot 6 was excluded from military service, Baylor was 6 foot 5 inches tall. Sidebar, the policy was changed in 1973, males were required to register at age 18 but the U.S. Military became all voluntary at this time. As for Baylor, on active duty for one year he played mostly weekend games. He would often drive or fly to a location to catch up with his teammates. Despite the travel Fred Schaus his coach played Baylor 44 minutes a game when he was able to play. How did that season turn out for him you ask? He averaged 38 points and 18.6 rebounds along with 4.6 assists per game. I was able to locate several photos of Baylor in uniform, I don’t have copyright permission so I was unable to provide any of them. I’m sure you’ve read or heard stories of Elgin Baylor in the past, it’s possible this is a side unknown to most.