Basketball from a fans perspective

He’s special

Draymond Green shouldn’t be in the NBA, after all he is a second-round draft choice. Green was the 35th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, stop a moment and think about this. There are first round draft choices from that draft who are no longer playing in the NBA. There are no longer playing because they didn’t have the work ethic of Green. It says to me Green wasn’t supposed to make it in the NBA, how did he accomplish the task? He did it by outworking opposing players, he did all the “dirty work.” Don’t confuse my statement, in this instance I am pointing to playing tough hard nose defense on the opposition, rebounding the ball and scoring when needed.

Unfortunately the length of his NBA career has witnessed him being sidelined numerous times, this M.I.A. was more of the suspension variety over injuries. Here we are again, after a punch/slap to the head area of the Suns Jusuf Nurkic the NBA has suspended the Warriors power forward indefinitely. This becomes his second suspension in game number 23 for his team. My question continues to revolve around a single question, your value to your team when you are not on the court or in other sports on the field. If this suspension was isolated it could be overlooked however this has become his standard operating procedure. I have no idea what then teammate Jordan Poole did but I was fed up with Green after he sucker punched Poole in the fall of 2022. Missing in action due to injury is different from missing due to suspension.

As some are aware I don’t like to discuss money but consider this fact, Green is earning $25 million a year in a game we all played as children. I’m not going to provide you a number but believe the commissioner should deem Green spend major time away from the NBA and the Warriors. I expect the players association to come forward to defend him. Will this be a yearlong suspension, that’s certainly a possibility although I doubt it. We could look toward Jae Morant who received a 25-game suspension for his actions, Green’s history will also be taken into consideration when judging the action. As I tried to point out if this were a first-time event its a different matter, there is history here for Green. 

I think he’s right 

In the spring of 2022 at the time he was hired most of Mizzou Nation said, “Dennis Who?” I was in the group as well however I wasn’t quite as skeptical as some I came into contact with. Who can really blame them, the basketball program has been on a roller coaster since longtime coach Norm Stewart was forced to retire in 1999. I believe Quin Snyder might not have been mature enough at the time he took over the basketball program later that fall.

In 2006 Snyder resigned in February rather than wait on the termination facing him at the end of the season. He did turn out several good teams and his youth might have been an aid in attracting talent to Mizzou. Next up was Mike Anderson, the jury remains out on Gates but as this is written Anderson might have been the best. His problem, word seemed to persist he was always looking for that next job. He resigned in 2011 when his dream job Arkansas became available and he was hired. Frank Haith replaced him and lasted until 2014 when he suddenly resigned. In a hasty move the administration hired former player and assistant coach Kim Anderson. That was a tragic mistake, he couldn’t duplicate the success at the Division I level he earned at the Division II level.

Kim Anderson was fired replaced by East St. Louis guy Cuonzo Martin, in 5 seasons his record was a poor 78-77 when he too was fired. Dennis Gates becomes the sixth head coach to serve since 1999, it should also be of note, by my count during this time at least three athletic directors were in place. Desiree Reed-Francois becomes number four. As I stated at the beginning, I think he’s (Gates) right. My desire is for success but also stability for the basketball program.

Slender Man  

Has Wemby become a version of the fictional supernatural creature? In this early NBA season he certainly has been beastly to several opposing players. The NBA email I received Wednesday morning contained a bunch of information. One of the tidbits indicted Victor Wembanyama had moved into first place among NBA rookies. Gee NBA thanks for the warning, he and the Spurs are playing my Lakers Wednesday evening. All Wemby did was almost lead the Spurs to an upset victory, final score 122-119. He filled up the box leading the Spurs with 30 points and 13 rebounds but that was only part of the story. Wemby was 52.4% from the floor and a sizzling 80% from three, he also had 6 blocked shots.

The downside, he only shot 57.1% from the free throw line and the Spurs lost the game. Anthony Davis led for the Lakers scoring 37 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. If you remember October 31 Halloween night Wemby arrived prior to the game dressed in the costume of Slender Man. Now keep in mind this is only Game 22 but have you noticed nobody is talking? You remember the conversation revolving around Wemby’s weight. In fact practically no one questioned the talent issue but the weight was another matter. We are always comparing player A with player B so here’s my take. Check YouTube for video of Ralph Sampson, he also stood 7 feet 4 inches in height but was 228 pounds.

You be the judge

A kerfuffle occurred in the recent Pacers-Bucks game, it involved the basketball however this was after the game. All everything Giannis Antetokounmpo had a monster game in his teams win, he scored 64 points in the 140-126 victory over the Pacers. The only problem was the game ball was not made available to him. It turns out a Pacer player had taken the ball to give to rookie Oscar Tshiebwe who scored his first basket in the NBA. Who do you consider should receive the game ball? It should also be of note this was a home game for the Bucks.

25

It was 25 years ago, a version of this has been repeated previously by me over time. This occasion it’s different, we have the words of Kansas coach Bill Self. He provides us some information most Mizzou and Kansas fans are probably unaware. What occurred, why did Mizzou chose to hire Quin Snyder over Bill Self? Self admits he understood the decision now but not so much back then. Self indicates he was coming from a mid-major program (Tulsa) while Snyder was coming from the prestige of Duke basketball.

This next part is jaw-dropping at least for Mizzou fan’s, Self-claims his admiration for Mizzou’s Norm Stewart was the main reason he wanted the job. This was news for me and something all Mizzou Nation needs to be made aware. The rivalry is important in the mind of Self but he admits there was some upheaval in the conference and he believed the move left Kansas in the cold. Base on this declaration by Self it would appear the games between Mizzou and Kansas will continue for the two schools and their 100+ year rivalry.