Basketball from a fan’s perspective

No, don’t think I will

The end of the regular college basketball season witnessed a number of head coaching changes. For the most part the hires were a step up, in some instances the coach was fired by the administration. My original intent was to provide a complete list of those changes and almost immediately became overwhelmed. Although there is movement in the NBA currently there are only 30 teams, that’s a much smaller number to track.

At the university and college ranks there are 351 Division I programs, and about 300 playing Division II basketball. If I toss in NAIA schools that’s another 200+ teams, okay 900+ schools didn’t replace their coach however the list of new coaches in unfamiliar places is much larger than I first imagined. Please don’t consider this complete, I decided to profile a few schools and their new coaches: I added Cuonzo Martin’s name for a simple reason, he once served as head coach at Missouri State. He left for the head coaching job at Tennessee and later coached Cal and Mizzou and returns to his first head coaching job.

Louisville-Pat Kelsey

Michigan-Dusty May

Ohio State-Jake Diebler

Stanford-Kyle Smith

Vanderbilt-Mark Byington

Washington-Danny Sprinkle

West Virginia-Darian DeVries

Missouri State-Cuonzo Martin

I’m not greedy

You might not believe me however I can prove it, 3% of Victor Wembanyama’s earnings would satisfy me. That figure is based on his lifetime earnings because if he remains free of major injuries both of us will earn a great deal of money. When there have been story’s they provided details on his outstanding games in many losing efforts. Friday night was different for the Spurs, they managed to beat a good Knicks team in an OT game 136-126. This portion is most interesting, NBA block shot leader Wemby had but one block.

As for the balance of the box score he filled it up, a career high 40 points along with 20 rebounds and 7 assists. Wemby shot 60% from the floor and 44.4% from three. Wemby becomes the first rookie with a 40-20 game since Shaquille O’Neal accomplished it. I would be remiss if I failed to mention Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, he scored 61 points in the game and he wasn’t just chunking up shots. He shot 53% from the floor and 39% from three. Brunson did all within his power to help his Knicks team, despite his outstanding effort they came up short. I’m sure Brunson is pleased with his game but certainly wanted a win over an individual accomplishment.

That ain’t me

I’m sure this has been mentioned in the past, I have individuals and teams of which I am not fond. Despite this fact I’ve been accused of being a hater when it comes to Kansas basketball, not true. I’m considered a hater of Clipper basketball, again not true. It seems I just might be the opposite, individuals and teams others seem to hate I love. I love Kentucky’s John Calipari, I also love Duke who continues to play top notch basketball.

Will Jon Scheyer be able to duplicate the Coach K.’s achievements, there are doubts? Despite this fact I appreciate Duke University basketball, I am looking as forward to the Class of 2024 Duke prospects as I am of Mizzou. I’m unsure if any scholarships remain however this potential assembly of talent for Duke is impressive. They have four 5-star and two 4-star prospects arriving in Durham in August. The number one high school prospect in the nation 6-foot 9 Cooper Flagg lands. For all you in Duke Nation Flagg will be at Cameron Indoor Stadium for two years, he reclassified into the Class of 2024 so he will be too young for the 2025 NBA Draft. Two huge centers come on board in the fall, 6-foot 11 235-pound Patrick Ngongba II from Fairfax Virginia along with 7-foot 1 250-pound Khaman Maluach from the NBA Academy South Africa…can you say Twin Towers?

Don’t take this as fact but the manner Cooper Flagg handles the ball I could see the coach moving 6-9 Flagg to shooting guard, I believe it might be a favorable for me to allow Scheyer to coach this team and figure out his lineup, moving on. We can add Isaiah Evans (6-6) and 4-star prospect along with Kon Knueppel (6-5) and 5-star prospect to the number. As you can see optimism continues to reign supreme at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

You know what time it is

It’s official…it’s Hate Lakers Time as they manage a stretch playoff run. That statement is funny in a sense because it’s always that time, in fact I believe it’s a 12-month of the year occasion by a number of folks. It’s not just fans this goes for those who serve as television analyst as well. Charles Barkley TNT, “I wish they would stop putting so many Laker games on the schedule” or somewhat similar words. ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins on NBA Today echo’s similar words to those of Barkley. You’ve read my share of complaints about the Lakers however mine come from a different area. I want them to win when they don’t I’m disappointed.

I’ve discovered Barkley and Perkins plus a legion of folks actually hate the Lakers even exist. That’s certainly not my view but I do understand the why. Sometimes jealousy (in the case of former players) I believe can be a driving force. Barkley has zero championships while Perkins has only one. As for the fans part of it over the years various Laker teams have dashed your team’s dream of having an NBA championship team to root for. Go on, continue to hate while I laugh whenever I read your letters of complaint. Despite your complaints about free throws or anything else you cannot change the past. On the other hand, anytime you decide to become part of Laker Nation you are most certainly welcomed. This is not an exclusive club chapters of Laker fans exist all around the nation and the world.