Basketball from a fan’s perspective

November 17, 2023

You are probably asking the question, what’s the significance of that particular date? Allow a brief look at the present period first, on Friday evening Wemby had another 5-block game against my Lakers. Despite the blocks and his effort the Spurs lost the game 123-118. As for the blocks, that equals his total for the previous game, 10 blocked shots in consecutive games. Based on the numbers you can see why he continues to lead the NBA in that department. As my friend Keenan says, “Block shots detail your effort.” I might add to his statement.

The number of rebounds a player manages to accumulate during the course of a game. Wemby had 10 rebounds which matches his season average. As for the headline date I looked at his season long record. In that November17 game against the Kings Wemby scored 27 points in a loss but had 0 blocked shots in 30 minutes. That’s the only game to date he's failed to register a blocked shot. Wemby certainly has a height advantage but he might have a “heart” advantage too. In addition he joined Jamaal Tinsley (2001), the only rookies to have a 5X5 game. This would be at least 5 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 5 steals and 5 blocks in a game. 

Houston has a point to prove

Houston has been involved in a historic basketball game in history, I’ve written in the past they were matched against UCLA playing what became known as The Game of the Century. It occurred on January 20, 1968, and it would become the first nationally televised game in history. Since then Houston basketball for the most part has produced competitive teams since that time. Over the years many have looked at the program as it moved through several conferences. The first was the Lone Star Conference then it was the Gulf Coast and later Missouri Valley.

For a time Houston played as an independent, it was during this period they played UCLA in 1968. Later the school would become conference affiliated joining the Southwest Conference first. When the SWC dissolved Houston moved into the newly formed Conference USA and from there it was a move to the American Athletic Conference. The expansion of the Big XII saw Houston apply to become a member of the conference. Last July Houston officially became a member of the Big XII and in their first season are on the road to a possible Big XII Championship. Now Kelvin Sampson and crew can boast they play in one of the best maybe toughest basketball conferences in the nation.

It’s the age we live in

A full week after the Super Bowl a “fan” claimed a Chiefs lineman was offsides on the touchdown play that was the winner. It was his opinion a penalty would have killed the drive thus preserving the win for the 49ers. He took this one step further by posting a photo of said play with an arrow pointing to the “offending” Chiefs lineman. I checked out the photo and noted the line judge standing some distance from the play, I believe he might have been close enough to toss a flag if he saw an infraction. We are discussing football but this issue has clearly occurred in college basketball as well as the NBA.

Decisions by officials are made in the blink of an eye, there are occasions when they miss plays, they are missed because game officials are human beings. This fan had a clear advantage over the line judge if an error had occurred. He could have viewed this video 10-15 times before he could come to the conclusion that officials missed the proper call. Officials have the opportunity to stop the game and review the play on video, even with this a mistake might still be made. Allow me to say this at the end, whatever the sport it’s a darn shame. We have individuals take one play out of a 60-minute football game or a 48-minute basketball game and decide “that’s why the 49ers (or Clippers, Bucks) lost the game.”

Chicago

Earlier I listed my Top 10 players from New York City and more recently it was Los Angeles. It’s now time for the Windy City edition, the best ballers Chicagoland has produced over time. I must always state if the name is unfamiliar to you check the archives for additional detail of that player. Each of these players were outstanding in the NBA, in the instance of Anthony Davis he is still an active player. With that said let’s begin the list, the names are not in any sort of order:

Mark Aguirre

Terry Cummings

Isiah Thomas

Dwayne Wade

Anthony Davis

George Mikan

Tim Hardaway

Derrick Rose

Tony Allen

Who did I leave off my list, well I could have included Maurice Cheeks, Michael Finley, Eddie Johnson plus a number of others who missed the cut. The names on this list took their game from the high school gyms of Chicagoland to the NBA. In the instance of Thomas, Wade, Mikan and Hardaway they took their game all the way to the Naismith Hall of Fame.

It must be a French thing

Louis Vuitton is a French luxury fashion house, my research uncovered the fact the company is much older than I first thought. The company first begun in 1854 is a world fashion leader. The Louis Vuitton line cover a wide range of fashion items, women’s purses, perfume, watches and large numbers of other items relating to style. Over time the company have used a number of celebrities such as actors, musicians and models in their marketing campaigns. For what I believe is the first time Louis Vuitton has signed an athlete to their brand.

The athlete Louis Vuitton embraced is Spurs center Victor Wembanyama. Draft night June 22, 2023, we witnessed Wemby announced as the first pick in the draft by commissioner Silver. Later we saw him interviewed by the ESPN television assembly, we saw a great deal of Wemby that night, even the suit he wore was on display. The dark green double-breasted suit worn that evening by Wemby was tailor made by Louis Vuitton. Can you imagine the amount of material required for his 7-foot 4-inch frame? Further we determined the majority of his outerwear is from his association with the Louis Vuitton fashion house. So there you have the story of Victor Wembanyama and unlike the 1971 movie classic The French Connection this time is unique.