Basketball from a fan’s perspective

The Hurley’s

We have several instances of brother head coaches, some have been in the NBA while it’s been college for others, in this instance our focus is the Hurley’s. You are likely familiar with both, the elder brother is Bobby Hurley Jr. currently the head coach at Arizona State, head coach at UConn is younger brother Dan Hurley. Both brothers have produced winning teams over the years but where did it all begin? It started with their father Bobby Hurley Senior, although retired now he was the long serving head coach at St. Anthony’s HS in Jersey City.

The senior Hurley served as head coach at the school from 1972 through 2017, St. Anthony’s closed at the end of the 2017 school year. Hurley Sr. is beyond a doubt the winningest high school basketball coach in the nation. His St. Anthony’s teams won 4 national championships and 26 state titles. The state titles are amazing to me, this is NJ Boys basketball and his teams were able to win double digit titles. It’s estimated his teams have won over 1,000 games with him as head coach. In 2010 Senior was enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame the only high school coach to date with that honor.

Remember him

Most of my coverage of NBA rookies has begun and ended with Victor Wembanyama. Despite that fact I have mentioned a few others, Thunder power forward Chet Holmgren would be next most mentioned. Briefly discussed have been Brandon Miller Hornets and Jaime Jaquez of the Heat. Missing all season long has been an account of Scoot Henderson, you remember him don’t you? Playing for G League Team Elite he was a highly regarded NBA prospect and, besides the fact there was this advantage. We could see him play unlike that 7-foot 4 French kid, we had no idea of his potential. Last June 22 the night of the draft this was the order, the Spurs with the first pick chose Wemby, the Hornets then picked Miller.

With the 3rd pick the Blazers took Henderson. I thought at the time it was a good move, he’d play behind Dame Lillard and absorb point guard skill from one of the best in the NBA. That would change four months later when the Blazers traded Lillard to the Bucks. As we come near the end of the NBA season an assessment for Henderson I believe is incomplete. His 13.3 ppg scoring average is okay, so is 3.1 rebounds and 4.9 assist. All could stand to be raised, his 38% shooting from the floor definitely needs improvement. As for the hype last year he should be drafted number one over Wemby it was just bravado on his part. I don’t know his temperament, does he take tutoring to heart? Those are questions I have no answer at this time, hopefully next season the Blazers plus the NBA will see improvement in his overall game.

Have you ever wondered

You might wish to have this news, which school has produced the most NBA talent? This account will provide the all-time number and those currently active. Warning, this represents information through the end of the 2022-23 NBA season, here goes:

                                       Number of players all-time      Number of players active

Kentucky                          127                                         26

UCLA                                 99                                         11

Duke                                  94                                         25

North Carolina                    92                                        12

Kansas                                81                                        12

Arizona                               65                                        11

Indiana                               65                                          5

Louisville                            61                                          7

Notre Dame                        60                                          3

St. John’s                           49                                          1        

Any surprises for you, there are certainly two for me and I will share with you. Although Indiana only has 5 active players the historical number of NBA players over time is greater than I might have guessed. This is speculation on my part, would you have presumed St. John’s would earn a Top 10 position. This is not intended to disparage the school because it has a rich history of producing great college teams but I didn’t realize over time it extended into the NBA.

https://erudera.com/resources/colleges-with-most-nba-players/

Your needs

Face facts, fans are going to vote differently from a bevy of coaches…I’m sure that is the case 98% of the time. Rock M. Nation the fan website of Mizzou Nation asked the question. “What position should the Tigers look at filling next season?” I’m unsure how many responded to the poll however the overwhelming majority said: point guard. This was a little surprising to me based on Mizzou’s record and the fact they were outrebounded in the majority of the games they played. In the fall despite losing 7 foot 2 Mabor Majak to the transfer portal they should be tall.

7-foot Jordan Butler will be a sophomore along with 6 foot 10 Trent Pierce also a sophomore, joining them in the fall from the Class of 2024 is 7-foot Peyton Marshall and 7 foot 3 Trent Burns. They will have a bevy of tall youngsters, hopefully the coaching staff will be able to mold them into a cohesive group. Maybe I’ve got it wrong, it might be point guard. Nick Honor performed in that role but the senior is on his way out the door, as a junior I thought he brought much to the table as a senior not so much. This leaves Mizzou with sophomore Anthony Robinson II the only point guard on the roster. The fan voting might be correct, there might be the need for a veteran point guard in the portal.