Basketball from a fans perspective

“The greatest sin a coach can commit is to allow kids to slide by.” 

Hubie Brown

He’s a Nonagenarian

Reading the headline you are probably asking yourself, “What the heck is a nonagenarian?” From the dictionary, “A person between the ages of 90-99 is a nonagenarian.” Who is that old connected to basketball, that would be Hubert Blake better known as Hubie.  How long has Brown been behind the mic, I can say since the days NBA basketball was broadcast on the USA Network (1979-80 through 1983-84). Brown is not just a voice he’s been on the front line as an assistant coach along with several stops as an NBA head coach.

Brown’s been selected NBA Coach of the Year twice in 1978 and the most recent year 2004. At the time the ABA was in existence his Kentucky Colonels won the 1975 ABA Championship. It should also be noted he’s been a double honoree having been enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. As for nonagenarian attached to his name Brown turned 90 years of age September 25. Who says you must retire once you reach a certain age, I say that's foolish. As long as you are mentally and physically able you should never cease performing a task you love. That’s got to be the case for Brown, he's had a longtime love affair with basketball.

I expected this

Mizzou failed its first tough test of the year losing to Memphis last Friday. I expected a win against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Monday and I got what I expected. The final score read Mizzou 68 SIEU 50. The two players coach Gates expects to lead the team did just that. Guard Sean East II led the Tigers in scoring with 20 points, forward Noah Carter had 15 points and 10 rebounds. They managed to hold the Cougars to 28.6% from the floor (26.7% from three).

The Tigers outrebounded the Cougars although not by much as I’d like. I believe Gates is facing the same dilemma as most coaches this time of the year. He’s trying to determine his starters and his rotational players. Another test occurs on Thursday as the Tigers face the Golden Gophers of Minnesota at their place. In other connected news Jayden Quaintance committed on Tuesday, his team of choice the Kentucky Wildcats. You might remember I projected him to commit to Mizzou but after Mizzou succeeded in attracting two 7-foot prospects I thought the 6 foot 10 Quaintance might be headed elsewhere.

Really

I follow the news story by reading the thoughts of fans, most times the outlook provided is insightful and on occasion a point I hadn’t considered. On the other hand I read many that scream loudly “Really.” Recently a website quoted commissioner Silver on NBA expansion, one of the city’s mentioned was Montreal Canada. Naturally a story of this type is going to produce a plethora of responses from NBA fans. I didn’t read all the emails but one in particular stood out to me. This writer was suggesting contraction rather than expansion, “There is no need for two teams in LA or NY, the Clippers and Nets should move.” My first thought, are you going to drive the moving van?

The Clippers will open a $1.8 billion arena (Intuit Dome) next season. On the east coast we find the Barclays Center opening in 2012, construction cost were slightly under that of the Intuit Dome. The greater Los Angeles metro contains a population of 18.5 million folks. The overwhelming majority who might attend games are Laker fans however a considerable portion of the population could become Clipper fans one day. The borough of Brooklyn contains 2.6 million citizens, the greater NYC population is comprised of 18.9 million. I wonder sometimes if the respondents offering commentary are really serious. Anytime I read letters of the type just described I have serious questions, was the writer attempting humor or did he just fire it off without considering the issues detailed here.

It's a beauty contest

Gee thanks Kentucky, you bumped my Tigers out of second place. Mizzou was projected by 247Sports to be the number two team in the nation recruiting the Class of 2024, that’s changed now. The Tuesday commitment of Jayden Quaintance by Kentucky moved Mizzou down a level to the number three slot.  Just in case you wondered about the others here is the Top 10. This is only a beauty contest because it doesn’t mean beans until the prospects provide us proof they can play at the collegiate level.

  

  1.Duke

  2.Kentucky

  3.Mizzou

  4.North Carolina

  5.Kansas

  6.Arizona

  7.Miami

  8.Michigan State

  9.Rutgers

10.Purdue

 

Courtesy 247Sports