Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Meet me in St. Louis

The historian in me is the basis for the headline, I thought of movie of the past and begin conducting research. In 1944 a movie was released with the above title starring Judy Garland, Margaret O’Brien and a bunch of other names you never heard of. Well, Larry Laker what the heck is meant by the title? St. Louis University decided to make a change with the head men’s basketball coach, they hired Josh Schertz formerly of Indiana State. His Sycamore team should have earned an NCAA berth but that’s another story.

In any event one of the keys to basketball success by Indiana State was a roster member by the name of Robbie Avila, he was nicknamed Cream Abdul Jabbar, Steph Blurry (eye glasses) and a host of other names. St. Louis you should begin preparations for change, in addition to a new coach (Schertz), new offense and a bunch of other stuff you have the addition of the 6 foot 10 Avila. The city has a number of attractions The Arch, the world class St. Louis Zoo are just a few of the attractions in the city and metro. Could we possibly include Chaifetz Arena in the list of due to the soon to be arrival of Avila along with his coach.

Not if…but when it occurs

It’s certainly no secret the NBA will expand soon adding two teams. The only unknown at this stage is when we are aware of the locations, Seattle and Las Vegas. In Seattle, the new Sonics will play in Climate Pledge Arena the completely refurbished Key Arena home to the old Sonics. In Las Vegas there is a pending plan for a new arena, however T-Mobile Arena seats 20,000 for basketball and just opened its doors in 2016.

In Seattle, the owners of the team is likely to be the Oak View Group, which consists of Tim Leiweke, David Bonderman and Samantha Holloway. Former professional baseball player Ken Griffey Jr. along with Jamal Crawford and Gary Payton former NBA players have indicated a desire to be part of an owners association. Identifying Las Vegas owners is a little more difficult at this point. LeBron James also indicates ownership is a goal of his, probably by the time this expansion effort is in effect he will likely be retired. Naturally adding new teams will require a realignment for the existing NBA teams. Seattle and Las Vegas is a slam dunk.

Both expansion locates are Pacific Time Zone teams and they really belong in the Western Conference. As for balance Memphis is moved into the Eastern Conference, I’d flip a coin to determine if its Minnesota or Oklahoma City that also head east. Relocation of teams is strictly speculation on my part. There you have the NBA in the year 20??, the Eastern and Western Conferences contain an equal number of teams.

I guess it’s a sign of the times

Off the Dribble is personal, its written with the intent to provide information to you facts regarding basketball. I have strived over time to be as accurate as possible when discussing history doesn’t matter if it occurred 60 years ago or yesterday. Several might remember on Sunday reading an account regarding Will Robinson, feel free to check it out again if you care. In any event a social media sight wrote a similar story and that’s where the problem began. A fan wrote, “Robinson was given more credit than due him. At the time he was hired by Illinois State he released all the scholarship players on the roster except Doug Collins when he took over.” Can I prove his statement incorrect, no I cannot however there is a danger.

Someone can write or offer us almost anything without providing a shred of evidence to validate their account. I offer you the reader my opinion on stuff, as for the history that’s a different matter. My hope has always been to be as accurate as possible when researching the history of the game or those connected with it. Bottom line for me on this story, I don’t believe him. Check this out, Robinson has the Redbirds Athletics (Illinois State) Hall of Fame, 1980; Michigan Sports Hall of Fame, 1982; Michigan High School Coaches Hall of Fame; West Virginia State Hall of Fame; The Upper Ohio Valley Dapper Dan Hall of Fame; The Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame; John W. Bunn Award, James Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, 1992; Alvin N. Foon Award, Michigan Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, 1995. It’s quite possible the writer could be correct however what do you think? After reading those honors I believe we have a disconnect.

The basketball landscape 

What you thought was a seismic event was not as it seemed. John Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas after Eric Musselman departed for USC. Kentucky hired Mark Pope BYU’s head coach, he’s got a Kentucky pedigree having been a player for the Wildcats. The coaching moves have seen a number of players leave (decommit) from Kentucky, whether they wind up at Arkansas remains unclear as this is written. I could make the same statement regarding Razorback basketball although I don’t believe any promised athletes are following Musselman out the door.

I’m sure some are looking at the movement in this manner…organized chaos. I happen to believe it’s just a sign of the times, the landscape in front of us is no longer smooth as it once was for the most part. There are numerous up and down instances occurring and even sharp left and right turns which have become part of the basketball landscape. Pope is the one coach I know little about, the other two is a different matter. Musselman and especially Calipari have a history of producing winning teams on their resume, USC and Arkansas will be okay. As for Kentucky I must adopt a wait and see approach to their future.