Basketball from a fan’s perspective

You didn’t ask…I’m tellin’

This is just a portion of a conversation held on Friday. My wife asked me “Did you watch the game (Catlin Clark Iowa) last night?” My response was no, this from her, “You have a problem with women’s basketball?” This is the explanation for my wife and you, I have no issues with the women’s game I grew up watching basketball from a male perspective. Despite this fact I can say in truth there are large numbers of very talented female athletes and Catlin Clark is one of many.

The numbers of women playing the game and at a high skill level has continued to grow over time. I believe the formation of the WNBA has been a contributing factor plus the games being available on ESPN has certainly aided growth. Unlike a number of males I am willing to admit the truth in the WNBA there are portions of the game equal or superior to that played by men. There was no explanation required on my part however I wanted to state my perspective and provide you a basis for the why. The WHY being so little mention of women’s basketball and the WNBA.  

I’m unsure

We are at the NBA All-Star break and let’s check another account of our resident wunderkind Victor Wembanyama. There is no argument…well maybe just from a few, Wemby is the top rookie in the NBA. Post season awards should see him named NBA Rookie of the Year. The headline is only my opinion however I’m going to take an opposing view from most. You remember all the cynics who once claimed with his limited playing weight opposing NBA players would “break his bones.”

He’s not Superman, the NBA season is long and the hope is he is able to avoid injury. At 210 pounds or whatever and based on his numbers maybe gaining weight might be a view of the past. Wemby’s speed racing up and down on the court might be inhibited with additional pounds. His quickness has allowed him to lead the NBA in blocked shots a feat few rookies have accomplished. Wemby’s numbers have been limited by the amount of minutes he spends on the court (28.4). His FG percentage is nearly 47% a game with 32% from three. He shoots an outstanding 81% from the free throw line, he’s scoring nearly 21 points 10 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. Did I forget something, yes I did Wemby is the NBA leader in blocked shots. Producing numbers similar to this is it necessary for him to gain weight, I say an emphatic NO it just might reduce his effort defensively and offensively?

You might remember I once wrote of a quadrable double game the late Nate Thurmond registered back in the day. While playing for the Bulls in a game against the Hawks Thurmond registered 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocked shots. Since this effort there have been 3 other NBA players to record quadrable doubles, Alvin Robertson, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon. Will Wemby be the next, it was pointed out Wemby was a mere 5 assists short of a quadrable double in his most recent game against the Raptors. Am I placing too much promise on the broad shoulders of Wemby, I don’t think so. It appears to me his desire is to be the best in the NBA now and maybe all-time who knows?

My Top 10 Los Angeles basketball players

Earlier I posted the Top 10 NYC basketball players, it’s now time to turn to Southern Cal specially Los Angeles. Who are they if you think Lew Alcindor-Kareem Abdul Jabbar forget including him. It was UCLA basketball and John Wooden however he was born in and first came to prominence as a NYC guy. I’m unsure if I mentioned in the other poll, this is mix of high school, college and NBA athletes. If you check the list there are names I omitted, these are the best of the best in my view, with that said here goes:

 

Baron Davis

Russell Westbrook

Paul Pierce

Byron Scott

Gail Goodrich

Marques Johnson

Reggie Theus

James Harden 

Jrue Holiday 

Ed O' Bannon

 

How tall are you son?

I located a YouTube video regarding the height of NBA players. I watched about half of the video and found little surprising in it. This to me might prove interesting, maybe from the earliest times heights have been inflated for basketball players. I have no idea of the why just a guess, it might have been to intimidate the opposition. As an example we know from history we know how adept Bill Russell was at blocking shots.

Officially Russell is listed as 6 foot 10 however many believe he was only 6 foot 9. He once said, “I can’t block every shot taken around the basket but if I can convince you I can.” There you have the intimidation or psych factor at work in full effect. There is another factor to consider, I’m unsure if this exists now but evidently it did at one time. This story about former Knick great Willis Reed was supposed to have occurred while he played at Grambling. In the same vein of Russell if you check Reed’s bio it indicates he was 6 foot 10, that was not the case either. According to a story I once read the coach at Grambling asked Reed his height, he said 6 foot 9. The coach is reported to have told him you are 6 foot 10, in the NBA they pay more for guys at that height. Now I have no idea if the story ever occurred and second to that I have no idea if NBA teams have a monetary payment scale. I’m somewhat skeptical of height measurement of players unless I have actual proof as I did in two instances.

If we check his bio it indicates Nate “Tiny” Archibald is 6 foot 1, no way is he that tall. Once I had an occasion to stand next to him and it’s my belief he’s no more than 5 foot 11. Clay Johnson played for a brief period in the NBA, Johnson is from KC so when his NBA career was over he returned home. I met him about 4 years ago, his bio claims he’s 6 foot 4, by my height I believe he might be closer to 6-foot 2 ½.