Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Your reputation precedes you

Kansas basketball has a national reputation, Bill Self arrived in 2003 replacing Roy Williams. His record at Tulsa and Illinois was good, at Kansas it would become outstanding. Two NCAA Championships and a host of Big 12 honors have come his and the school’s way since his arrival. As for this season that’s been a different matter, at the beginning on paper at least this team look good, but now we believe not so much.

Don’t misunderstand 22 wins is a good season for any team while 10 losses (for a Self-team) not so much. Despite Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. sidelined the “experts” still had Kansas seeded higher than Cincinnati. The final score read Cincinnati 72 Kansas 52 as the taller Bearcats never allowed Kansas closer than 4-5 points. As for the AP and Coaches poll they will not be adjusted until after the NCAA Tournament, I have difficulty believing they are the 16th best team in the nation. This is no criticism aimed at the coach but I must state this is Self’s worst team since his arrival in Lawrence.

If we check the record we discover the 2013-14 team finished the season 25-10, the 2018-19 team was 26-10. As for the injuries to Dickinson and McCullar it’s too bad however they often say injuries are part of the game. At the beginning of the season the Jayhawks were rated the number one team in the nation. Consider this fact, Kansas was the number one team in the nation at a point. They booked victories over UConn, Tennessee and Houston all who are now projected as number one seeds in the upcoming NCAA Tournament.   

Kryptonite

You remember the story, once Superman came to earth it was soon discovered he was stronger than anyone. No person could defeat him except a fictional rock referred to as kryptonite. This rock weakened Superman and he was reduced to the same level as human beings. The Lakers are certainly not “Super” however the Kings have become their kryptonite. 

I’m unsure without additional research however the Wednesday evening win (120-107) presented the season series to the Kings 4 wins to 0. I believe last season the Kings surprised the NBA, this season most teams are not allowing that to occur except for the Lakers. Monica one of my co-workers and a Laker fan said this to me on Thursday. “The Lakers will never find their way until LeBron retires,” I hope that is not the case however it sure appears to be.

The history

Just a few of the names, the Pacific Coast Conference (1915-1959), we also have the Metro Conference (1975-1995) along with the Southwest Conference (1914-1996). We also have the Gulf Star Conference (1984-1987) and close this exercise with the Great West Conference (2004-2013). Those are just a few defunct conferences my research uncovered, there are many more than the 5 profiled for this account. Soon to join the list of conferences no longer existing will be the Pac-12.

The schools are not going anywhere but I have serious doubts if the conference will continue to exist with only Washington State and Oregon State as members next season. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah depart for the Big XII or whatever the name becomes at the end of this season, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington move to the Big 10, the ACC is adding Stanford and Cal. So just like that the Pac-12 founded in 1959 will essentially go out of business in 2024. A funny thing about this movement, at one time geography was a key component of conference affiliation but no more. As indicated recently the Big XII will contain teams in four time zones, for the Big 10 it will be three.

Twin Towers

The mention of basketball combos popped up on my news feed. There are no Twin Towers currently playing however the term probably came into use with Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson of the Rockets. 7-4 Sampson joined 7-0 Olajuwon in the frontcourt for the Rockets in 1983. That’s not quite correct, much earlier 1963 to be exact the San Francisco Warriors drafted 6-11 rookie Nate Thurmond, he played alongside 7-1 Wilt Chamberlain, that account is somewhat complicated.

Thurmond was more accustomed to playing as Chamberlain’s backup center rather than alongside him. Those two may have played several games as a combo however it probably was not a considerable number. History indicates the first true twin tower combo occurred in 1970, that would be Artis Gilmore and Pembrook Burrows, they played for Jacksonville University. The tandem arrived in that year’s NCAA Tournament with a 23-0 record but would lose the championship game to a much smaller UCLA team 80-69. Gilmore stood 7-2 and 240 pounds while teammate Burrow was 7-0 and 240. In 1997 6-11 Tim Duncan would join David Robinson in the Spurs lineup forming their twin tower tandem.

Say what?

Former West Virginia coach Bob Huggins will turn 71 years of age in September. I’ve long believed there is no such thing as “retirement age” people should work as long as they desire. Generally at 65 or so most prefer to relax from the daily task of labor and focus on pursuits of a personal interest. It could be travel, hobby’s or something else to take up time on a daily or weekly basis. Despite what I just stated it’s my belief there are some individuals who should retire or in the instance of Huggins should remain retired. 

I am probably one of just a few who believe the recent past of Huggins preclude him from taking any job of this type. As this point it should be pointed out the story is but a rumor and no way is it official, Louisville is one of those basketball power schools searching for a new coach. As you may be aware the school recently fired head coach Kenny Payne. Payne was let go after serving as head coach for two seasons, in that time his Louisville teams finished with a 12-52 record. Later you will read an account on the number of college coaches fired since the end of the Big XII.