Basketball from a fan’s perspective

"He’s 8 feet 3"

This is a Victor Wembanyama report, fair warning in advance if you wish to avoid it. Monday evening Wemby had a monster game against the Raptors as he filled the stat sheet. The Spurs beat the Raptors 122-99 rather convincingly thanks in part to Wemby’s game. 27 points, 14 rebounds 5 assists 2 steals plus 10 blocked shots added to his NBA leading block shot total. 

His scoring and defensive prowess was accomplished in only 29 minutes of action, in addition he shot 71% from the floor plus 50% from the 3-line. Wemby joins 4 other players all in the Naismith Hall of Fame to register similar numbers during their career and he accomplished this on Monday.  After reading the account of the block shot game one fan said this, “He should have a game like this he's 8 feet 3 tall. We know he's not that tall but I'd bet money Raptor players might have thought that. 

It’s tough remaining loyal

I’m unsure if I mentioned this at a point regarding Mizzou basketball, I held no belief this would be another 25-win season for Dennis Gates. The Tigers lost two key players to the NBA, Kobe Brown and D’Moi Hodge. Although the transfer portal brought in talent I believed could compete I wasn’t as sure about the status of the team after a few tough non-con games. The prospect of a difficult SEC schedule worried me but that was only the beginning. This Tiger team is not very good but I really have no idea how good they could have been beset by so many injuries.

Two names will be mentioned, Sean East II, the efficient guard who has been responsible for 30-40% of the Tigers offense. East has been sidelined with an injury for two consecutive games. Guard Nick Honor has played nowhere close to what he exhibited last season in my view. If this appears an excuse to you have my permission to stop at this point, I will not be the least bit offended. I can say this as a loyal fan, I’m disappointed but my faith in Gates has not waned one iota. If you are a member of Mizzou Nation upset with losing and doubly upset with the coach I’m not writing to convince you to my side. All I can do at this point is “ride out the storm” and look forward to next season. Next season when according to all sites a Top four recruiting class arrives on campus.

Rookies not named Wembanyama

The two in the headline have made the race for Rookie of the Year competitive, I believe Wemby will be named the winner with Chet Holmgren coming in second. What about the others, are there rookies distinguishing themselves in the season? Earlier Jamie Jaquez Jr of the Heat and the Hornets Brandon Miller had been mentioned…who else is playing? We heard a great deal regarding Scoot Henderson who played for G League Team Elite, the Blazers drafted him maybe to replace Dame Lillard. I’ve yet to see Henderson in action however his numbers appear competitive, 12.8 points and 4.6 assists a game.

Henderson’s FG percentage certainly could be increased a bit (37.3%), he should be at least in the 40% range. In other names not Wembanyama or Holmgren we have Dereck Lively II who plays for the Mavericks, the 7-foot 1 230 pound Lively has been a pleasant addition to the Mavs roster. There are certainly many others who have contributed to this seasons rookie class. The other consideration are those we don’t know, they have received little if any playing time. On the other hand a few have not made the adjustment to NBA play. At the same time a few have been “farmed out” like Emoni Bates drafted by the Cavs, we believe they can play at the NBA level but have no idea until he and others are given time to prove they are the real deal.

The shoe history     

“Must be the shoes” was the catchphrase uttered by Mars Blackmon a.k.a. Spike Lee in all those Nike commercials. Some might be too young to have seen the commercials made during the playing career of Michael Jordan. Just in case you are unfamiliar, these were advertisements I believed propelled Michael Jordan to the top of the basketball shoe market. In fact the play of MJ plus ads for the shoes may have indirectly been responsible for the Air Jordan brand separating itself from the parent company Nike.

What is interesting today is the variety and stylings of basketball footwear. Even more interesting the days of a team be it college or NBA all wearing the same shoe are long gone. In fact I’ve seen games where a player’s right (or left) shoe might be an unlike color of the other. This was worth mentioning again the original Air Jordan’s were prohibited from being worn by MJ, the problem was the shoes were not a single color. This was a requirement at the time, either solid white or black. Depending on your age you might find that difficult but that was the rules in place at the time. Of course the NBA would later relent and the balance of the story is part of basketball history.

No…at least for now

Several might remember reading the owner of the Wizards and Capitals wanted a new arena. The plan was to build it in Alexandria Virginia not far from Capital One arena in the District of Columbia. Well that plan no longer exists at least for the immediate time being. The Senate Finance Committee has no plans to move the bill forward due to concerns regarding taxpayers. Capital One under the name of the MCI Center opened in 1997 so its certainly not ancient by any means. Naturally owner Ted Leonsis is not pleased with this news, he claims the opponents of the Potomac Yard project have concerns but not the clear picture of the development. This appears to be a project that will not be resolved quickly, I will attempt to follow as best I can.