Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Games are played on the floor…not on paper

The job is not complete, it will not be over until the close of the 2024-25 college basketball season. Despite the recently completed season from hell I remain optimistic. I return to 247Sports as my source, they listed Mizzou as having the 4th best recruiting class for 2024 in the nation. All 5 commits are awarded 4 stars by 247Sports…but wait there is more. The transfer portal and its operation is a fairly new section to check however Mizzou is in good company there as well.

May 1 the portal will see it close however according to 247Sports they rank Mizzou with the number 13 best transfers in the nation. I began this exercise with one key fact, we cannot determine success until a team or individual competes on the basketball court. Despite the disastrous 2023-24 season the Mizzou coaching staff is continuing to compete for talent throughout the nation and world. Marcus and me have held discussions on Mizzou basketball, he’s proven to me he is definitely from Missouri, he’s adopted the state motto that says “I’m from Missouri, you’ve got to Show Me!” That’s okay, he’s got a right to see the product first before agreeing to the “new and improved version” of the Tigers.

I hope Marcus will be able to witness and appreciate the effort. I’m sure this fall and winter we’ll have plenty of discussions on Mizzou basketball.  NOTE: Prior to publication came late transfer portal news, also arriving in the fall will be 6-foot 9 232-pound forward Mark Mitchell from Duke. Mitchell’s from the Kansas City area attending Bishop Miege HS where he was named a McDonald’s All American and 5-star prospect.

What about me?

This is not an “I hate Caitlan Clark” account it’s simply to relay news and report information. We heard an announcement on Thursday that although Clark had an NIL in place she would be signing a new contract with Nike. This new contract would also include her signature shoe, no dollars are mentioned although the report indicates it’s an 8-figure number. This is certainly outstanding news for Clark but what about the “others.”

The others in this instance referenced include Kamilla Cordoso, Cameron Brink and Marquesha Davis to name just a few of the top 2024 WNBA draft picks. I don’t know if this next statement to be fact, have veteran WNBA players have shoe contracts in place? If not the question might be why not, I have no ability to act as agents for these women I’m not being paid. Each of these WNBA players should have an agent or representative working for them, this person has more responsibility toward their client over simply negotiating a WNBA contract.

DPOY

Until I conducted this research I had no idea how the NBA chooses Defensive Player of the Year. I have increased interest this season due to rookie Victor Wembanyama being very much in the mix. I believe this might be the first time in recent memory a first-year player has been in the running for the award. Should Wolves center Rudy Gobert be named the winner again I will applaud him and his effort season long.

As for the criteria…this from Wikipedia: “The winner is selected by a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada, each of whom casts a vote for first, second and third place selections. Each first-place vote is worth five points, second-place votes are worth three points, and a third-place vote is worth one. The player with the highest point total, regardless of the number of first-place votes, wins the award.” We can add this bit of information as judgement on a players impact:

 

Individual defense

Team Defense

Statistics

Impact on team success

Overall defensive ability  

There is a negative to Gobert being named DPOY by former NBA Big Man DeMarcus Cousins, he claims Gobert “doesn’t finish games.” The view of one player with no impact on the award is certainly not going to change the total number, it’s an opinion. “If you’re the best defender on the best defensive team, you should never be off the floor. There should never be a scenario where you’re not able to fit into the scheme. That doesn’t make sense. So how do we keep awarding this guy who can’t even stay of the floor in the playoffs? We seen it time and time again. This is mind-blowing to me.” This last portion comes from Basketball Network.com April 16.

Merchandise

Sports merchandise is certainly big business in this day no matter the sport. Around Kansas City I see plenty of Chiefs stuff, jackets, tee shirts, baseball caps and even shoes. Despite the fact we have no NBA team I see a significant amount of NBA gear. Displayed prominently in the Kansas City area is Lakers, Knicks and Bulls merch, on occasion I’ve seen Warriors and Heat stuff. Although there are no dollar figures attached you are about to glimpse the top selling merchandise according to NBA.com. This represents the majority of the 2023-24 season but not all of it, here goes:

 1.Lakers

 2.Celtics

 3.Warriors

 4.Bucks

 5.76ers

 6.Bulls

 7.Suns

 8.Knicks

 9.Spurs

10.Mavericks

Any surprises for you, there are at least three for me immediately. The fact the Spurs are in a Top 10 list, is that a result of the Wemby factor? The Knicks in 8th place, that’s shocking to me based on the population of New York City alone. Also surprising Bulls merchandise remains so much in demand after the MJ/Pippen years.