Basketball from a fan’s perspective

It ain’t the SEC

Thanks to Gary Parrish of CBS Sports for this reflection of events and what might prevail in the future. Naturally local sports talk radio is ripe with “Fire Dennis Gates” (Mizzou), an out-of-town guy has to be the voice of reason. I’m going to condense the radio interview and hit what I believe are the high points raised by Parrish. When asked by the host should Gates be fired Parrish said NO, don’t make the same mistake Vanderbilt made, he used Bryce Drew as the example.

Parrish pointed to the fact Mizzou has an outstanding recruiting class arriving in the fall and after all Gates won 25 games in his first season far exceeding what might have been believed. If the losing ways continue then you fire him but not in the second year there is far too much money on the table. Back to the theme, Vanderbilt hired Drew expecting him to turn the program around. In Drew’s first year the Commodores finished 19-16, then it was 12-20 and finally the 9-23 record (0-18 in the conference) the school fired him. A year later Grand Canyon University hired Drew and his first team went 17-7, since then its been 23-8, 24-12 and this year to date 27-4. They are awaiting an invitation to the NCAA Tourney next week which in all likelihood will occur. Parrish further indicated Vanderbilt basketball is in worst shape now then it was at the time Drew was fired.

Two keys, Grand Canyon plays in the Western Athletic Conference not the SEC. Second, consider the fact Drew had three full seasons before he was fired, Gates is in his second year. If the losing for Mizzou continues into next year the issue of termination should certainly be considered but not after one bad season. One of my chief concerns is listening to these locals laughing at the season Mizzou has experienced, guys it ain’t funny. Am I a homey for Mizzou Nation, you’d better bet I am.

Bits n Pieces  

I held a discussion on the NBA with a friend, he got around to the Spurs. “Is Gregg Popovich okay to coach Victor Wembanyama, he’s been coaching for quite a while.” I somewhat agreed with him in this aspect, Pop’s been coaching the Spurs since December 10, 1996, which is a long, long time ago. I wrote this once before but will repeat it, I couldn’t think of a better landing spot for Wemby than to learn the NBA game from Pop. I’m sure he’s slowed to a bit however I’d bet money he’s not lost his zest for the game. Last season Bucks center Brook Lopez led the NBA in blocked shots with 193, as this is written the Spurs Victor Wembanyama has 195 blocks. At this stage of the season we can no longer consider him a rookie, although he will lead the NBA in that category in his first year. Wemby’s total will come nowhere close to that established by the late Manute Bol in 1986, in his first year Bol blocked 397 that year.

Remember back in the early days of the NCAA Tournament, games were telecast on the CBS Broadcast Network if you were fortunate your favorite team and maybe others would be chosen for the regional telecast. Chances are travel or something else might cause you to miss one or more game you desperately wanted to see. That scenario can still occur now but its more unlikely based on the pattern now. Games are spread across a variety of networks now, TNT, TBS, TruTV, USA, CBS Sports Network and CBS Broadcast Network. As I indicated you might still miss a contest you wish to see but its more unlikely now.

Who starts

Starting versus a reserve role is interesting because all players respond differently. Back in the Piston Bad Boy Days they had a player by the name of Vinnie Johnson, he was tagged “microwave.” Just like a microwave he would emerge from the Piston bench and immediately begin scoring the ball. How good was Johnson, the Pistons retired his number 15. That should provide an idea of his value to the Pistons while a member. Another player, Jamal Crawford, played for a number of NBA teams during his career. Crawford was outstanding being named NBA Sixth Man of the Year three times. I once read a coach said, “It doesn’t matter who starts the game the important thing is who is there at the end.” There are others but Johnson and Crawford are standouts for me.

On the other hand for some players there is a difference between a reserve role and starter minutes. Rui Hachimura Laker power forward is our focus due to his season thus far. At the beginning of the season he was starting, later Hachimura took on the role of a reserve. I have nothing but my thoughts to back up what I’m about to state. It seems the player is more comfortable starting over coming off the bench. This is written Monday, March 11…over the past 10 games Hachimura averaged 15 points which is nominal. It was the other parts of his game, he shot nearly 53% from the floor and 45% from the 3-line. The Lakers are not dependent on Hachimura for scoring, they need him to do the other things. Apparently he’s conducted himself to the point that maybe he keeps his starter spot for the time being. Hachimura plays much better as a starter.

Grandfather-Son & Grandson  

Much has been made regarding LeBron James and his desire to play in the NBA with son Bronny. Although I can locate no family able to accomplish this feat there have been a number of grandfather, son and grandson connections, check this out. The first name that comes to mind are the Wagner’s. Grandfather Milt played at Louisville and later in the NBA, son Dujuan honed his basketball talent at Memphis. Dujuan’s NBA career was cut short due to health reasons, his son Dujuan Jr. is in his first year at Kentucky. Should we suppose there might be an NBA future for Jr.?

This is a granddad-grandson combo, Joe Caldwell (1964-1976) in the NBA and ABA. In 2018 the Kings made grandson Marvin Bagley III the 2nd pick that year, Bagley III now plays for the Wizards. The basketball playing Barry’s are also listed, Father Rick enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Son’s Brent, Jon and Drew all played in the NBA for a time, Scooter and Canyon played professionally but not in the NBA. We also have father Henry and son Mike Bibby, for you folks in Phoenix Devin Booker’s father Melvin also played in the NBA. Of course Knick fans are aware of Father Rick and son Jalen Brunson. There are so many more names I uncovered while conducting research, I will close with this family the Curry’s we have Dell along with son’s Seth and Steph.