Basketball from a fan’s perspective

How is he a help

Reading the comments from a number of fans I thought a further look was required. The account  focused on the 10-block night of Victor Wembanyama and it caused a flood of letters to pour in. Most generally contained the same tone, “If he (Wemby) is so good why hasn’t he made the Spurs a better team” or similar words?” Let’s check a bit of history, it was the 2018-19 NBA season. The Spurs finished that season with a 48-34 record, that was the last year the team finished above .500.

Since then it’s been seasons of 32, 33, 34 and last season it was 22 wins. There is no intent to indicate the Spurs are that much better however there is the future. It’s always been my belief that a basketball team be it college or the NBA can be turned around to perform significantly speedier than a football team. As an example in football you can have the best defense in the world but if your team lacks a quality performer at quarterback your team is unlikely to find itself as a championship contender. Don’t confuse my statement, a single superior talent even in basketball cannot turn a team completely around. There are pieces required in football and basketball to attain success it’s just my belief the job is so much easier in basketball or baseball.

I have no idea the length of time coach Pop will be in place however I believe in his ability to build a team, and at the same time injury free I believe in the growth (not necessarily the height) of Wemby’s game over time. In closing his defense, Wemby is providing distance between himself and Jazz center Walker Kessler presently in second place in block shot stats. I’ve long believed playing tough defense requires more effort from an individual player than an offensive effort.

Power 5 to Mid-major and then Power 5      

Hold on a moment, Houston basketball actually traveled from Power 5 to mid-major and back to Power 5. This was not the starting point but more recently Houston was a member of the defunct Southwest Conference, which was Power 5, the SWC ceased operations and the school moved to Conference USA. From there the next move would be the American Athletic Conference and last July it was the Big XII. In any event there might have been questions moving into the Big XII,

The most critical would the Houston Cougars be competitive with the move? They hit the ground running, after being one of the best teams in the AAC they have become one of the best of the Big XII. As this is written they have a total of 21 wins, although they lost their game against Kansas they are tied for first place in the conference. So what do we suppose the future path of this program, should Kelvin Sampson remain head coach they will be competitive. The Big XII Conference might have become one of the most wide-open races in the nation. The domination by Kansas basketball might truly be at an end, we shall see.

One of the best   

If we held a discussion of NBA All-Time great centers, it’s highly likely no one would mention the name Artis Gilmore. Our conversation would include the usual suspect, Wilt, Kareem, Russell, Shaq and maybe Bob Lanier. Someone might bring up the name of Nate Thurmond or David Robinson, few would mention Gilmore. Spurs fans are seething at this point, “You didn’t mention Tim Duncan.” Although Timmy stood 7 feet tall the bulk of his play was spent as a power forward, he formed a twin tower combo with David Robinson. As for Gilmore during his ABA/NBA career he scored over 24,000 points along with nearly 12,000 rebounds. Despite beginning his professional career with the ABA Kentucky Colonels, he would spend additional time as a member of the Bulls and Spurs.

You might ask the question why is Gilmore so invisible compared to several of the other names, it’s likely his demeanor? He didn’t have the personality of a Wilt nor draw the media to him as Shaq did, he might have been closer in personality to Bill Russell. Gilmore nicknamed the A-Train quietly scored, rebounded the basketball and blocked shots for three franchises. Opposing players plus his teammates knew he was on the floor. Gilmore was born 74 years ago in Chipley Florida, he arrived in the ABA from Jacksonville University. In 2011 a long over-due honor came his way being inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame. Since his playing days ended Gilmore’s been active in the Jacksonville Florida community. Artis Gilmore a link to the rich history of basketball.

Age is a number     

You’ve heard the old statement “father time remains undefeated.” It’s certainly understandable, as players age they are unable to continue playing at a high skill level. No matter the sport think about this a minute consider how many athletes you’ve witnessed become slower and slower as their ability to play at a high skill level begins to wane. The slowing down applies to everyone except LeBron James are at least it seems that appears to be the case. December 30, LeBron turned 39 year of age, despite this fact he’s not the oldest player ever in the NBA.

Vince Carter a.k.a. Vincensantiy was 43-years old prior to his retirement, in truth most of his game had disappeared over time. Robert “Chief” Parrish retired as 44 years of age; those are but two who managed to continue play after the age of 40. There is no doubt LeBron James is special, special due to his immense talent and special in managing his career outside of basketball. He’s become the NBA’s all-time scoring record holder beating the mark established by Kareen Abdul Jabbar. Like you I’ve read a great deal of hate mail aimed at LeBron James over his career. I’m sure for a number of you he might not be your favorite player but you've got to give him his props. 39-year old LeBron cannot play at the level of a 29-year old.  

This is interesting

I was conducting research on NCAA single season scoring. Like you I was aware of the scoring prowess of the late Pete Maravich. His seasonal scoring represents his sophomore, junior and senior season, at that time freshman were ineligible. Maravich averaged 43.8, 44.2 and 44.5 points a game in 1969-70 his senior year. Imagine the prolific scoring without benefit of a three-point line which came into existence much later. Maravich might have been aided because his father was LSU head basketball coach at the time. Despite the numbers you are reading the first player to break the 40-point barrier was a player lost on most of us.

His name was Frank Selvy and he played at Furman, the 1953-54 season witnessed Selvy registering 41.7 points a game but wait there is more. In 1953 there is another name lost in the annals of basketball history, his name is Bevo Francis. He played his basketball at Rio Grande College (now the University of Rio Grande) in Ohio. The NCAA indicates Francis averaged 48.3 points per game but the number was actually higher. Francis averaged 50.1 points however it’s said a number of the games were omitted because they were played against junior college teams. We must conclude in that era rules were not strict regarding scheduling. I cannot imagine Penn Valley Community College located in Kansas City playing Mizzou.