Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Is it okay?

This is a basketball blog but occasionally something is said or accomplished in another area. That is the case here, by now you are quite aware I love quotes. In addition I believe it’s okay to use an Andy Reid quote especially since he is now a 3X Super Bowl winning coach. He said this recently, “When things look grim, be the grim reaper.” I believe that might go along with the quote from Rudy Tomjanovich at the time he coached the NBA Rockets defending their championship. “Never underestimate the heart of a champion.” I believe that might apply to the NFL Chiefs and NBA Nuggets, to be the best you’ve got to beat the best. Did I just make that up or did someone else say it first? Oh well, it is out there now for all-time sake.

Bits n Pieces

Some of you might remember Scot Pollard, he experienced an 11-year NBA career for a number of NBA teams. Pollard played his college basketball at Kansas and was drafted by the Pistons in the June 1998. A news story broke last week indicating Pollard was in desperate need of a heart transplant. For a person 6 foot 11 and 278 pounds the story indicated how difficult the task might be locating a heart. I’m pleased to report a donor heart has been found and Pollard will soon undergo the transplant, so that is certainly great news.

Bronny James in the NBA, we continue to read and hear his name mentioned. I am taking the opposite view…is he ready? I fully understand the health concerns and Southern Cal’s Andy Enfield playing Bronny in a reserve role. The portion I question is his ability on the court, his coach indicates he’s pleased with Bronny’s role less the shooting portion. Enfield should certainly be better acquainted with his player than me however I remain confused about his ability. Bronny is now 6 foot 4 and 210 pounds, I’m sure maturity plus workouts have increased his physique significantly. But the question still remains for me, is he NBA ready?

This is interesting because two individuals writing for SI.com but have differing views on Laker activity over the trade deadline. This from Rohan Nadkarni, “Knicks win NBA Trade Deadline while Lakers and Knicks Falter.” Chris Mannix had a different view, “Lakers inactivity at NBA Trade Deadline was the Right Move.” As you can see these two scribes have differing views on what my Lakers accomplished or fail to accomplish.

A sad passing

On Saturday morning came the sad news of the passing of Lefty Driesell, the Hall of Fame former coach who was 92 years old. Driesell was a coach for 41 years, imagine a career that lengthy. It was Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia State where he amassed nearly 800 wins against 394 losses. A number of college teams hold Midnight Madness at the beginning of the college basketball season. It’s Lefty Driesell who originated the craze while head coach at Maryland. NCAA rules have changed from that time, there once existed a specific date colleges could began practice and scrimmage games.

Rather than wait for the next day his teams would hold practice at 12:01 a.m. therefore causing no violation of rules with the NCAA. I checked Driesell’s coaching record, in those 41 years there are only three seasons recorded where his teams lost more than they won, an outstanding record. He retired from coaching while at Georgia State in 2003. Driesell’s been a double-honoree enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2007 and in 2018 the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Charles Grice Driesell is better known by his nickname Lefty, another name in the line of basketball you should know.

It’s a joke until it becomes serious

I never saw Babe Ruth hit a home run, despite the fact he never competed against black players his 714-career home run record still remains. I never saw Jesse Owens run could he have beaten Usain Bolt…I don’t know. The point I’m attempting to make once again is how can we successfully compete against players from another era? We could claim Shaq could beat Wilt but really how do we know? This is where we began again with a comment from the Big Aristotle.

Shaq said “I would have busted Wilt’s ***, this is where the problem begins. A letter writer says, “I never saw Wilt play so I’m taking Shaq,” do you see the error of that statement. I have made a joke with my young co-worker Kennan, he’s said, “If it’s not on video it didn’t occur” and we both laugh. The truth is I cannot decide because I haven’t witnessed a thing it fails to exist. Wilt passed away in 1999 at the age of 63 so even if he were alive there would be no ability to provide us proof. If Shaq believes he could beat Wilt that’s okay, as proof of his prowess Shaq offers us his opinion of his position.