Basketball from a fans perspective 

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G-League

Bronny James didn’t embarrass himself Friday night against the Wolves, he emerged from the Laker bench playing 16 minutes in total. I’ve gone back and forth regarding Bronny since the draft in June. It was my belief back then and it continues into training camp…he’s not ready. Allow me to clarify my statement, I said nothing about potential, he’s got plenty of that. My concern back then and now is the limited amount of time he’s played at a high skill level, Sierra Canyon HS doesn’t count. Get this neither does the season he spent at Southern Cal, the health issue with his heart made him a reserve player.

I’m unsure now if there was any effort to make him a starter while at Cal, the draft and then NBA Summer League. Bronny looked okay although it appears defense is going to be his strong suit. As for his future status he belongs with the South Bay Lakers for this upcoming season but it probably won’t occur. There is no two-way contract which says its likely he spends the season on the Laker bench and that becomes the problem. The NBA is different from the NFL, we’ve seen rookie QB’s in a backup role, Patrick Mahomes might be the example. Sitting on the bench Bronny will be unable to judge the speed of the game and other factors which he will require for future growth as a player.

He returns

After an outstanding career 90% of it spent with the Knicks Patrick Ewing retired from basketball in 2002, since then he’s been on a journey. Ewing spent years as an assistant coach at several NBA stops even with the Knicks at a point. Strangely enough he would interview for a number of NBA head coaching opportunities but was never hired. In 2017 his alma mater Georgetown hired him hoping his presence and coaching would turn the program around.

After a number of years at the helm Ewing was unable to return the basketball program to any semblance of what occurred in the past. In 2023 Georgetown released Ewing after the school experienced two successive losing seasons. Last Friday the Knicks announced a hiring, Ewing was returning to the Knicks as a basketball ambassador. The news release indicates he will work with coach Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks front office. As for his basketball play Ewing found success while playing at Georgetown, that and his play in the NBA saw him enshrined in the College and Naismith Hall of Fame.

What the heck is he doing?

The talk on adding UConn to the Big XII conference has slowed, it appears several schools have voiced objections. It’s not only the Connecticut school, there are others the Bret Yormark commissioner is exploring. I’ve been reading that the conference could eventually contain 24 teams adding Oregon State and Washington State. Everything is money driven that’s understandable but how the heck is a 24 team conference to operate. I pointed out earlier information indicates home and home series will not exist for basketball in the 2024-25 season, it’s been reported some teams might play one another only once.

At the present time regardless of the conference’s future Kansas basketball will again face stiff competition attempting to finish at or near the top. As an example the University of Houston performed well in its first season in the Big XII, they won the regular season championship with Kansas finishing in a 5th place tie. I’m quite sure Houston has reloaded, it’s likely the same could be said for Baylor. We must include Iowa State in the mix and now Arizona arrives fresh off winning the Pac-12 this past season along with Colorado. Those are but a few teams in the now expanded Big XII, I wonder in building this “Super Conference” what commissioner Yormark might be doing for the future of Kansas basketball. 

NBA Rookie of the Year

We cannot see the ceiling for Victor Wembanyama, after all he was named 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year. Not only was he named ROY he was a unanimous selection…not a single rookie received a vote. With that you might be asking why I am writing this now, it’s due to Ralph Sampson. Just in case the name is unfamiliar to some of you a brief explanation. Sampson played at the University of Virginia and was drafted by the Rockets in 1983, he was named ROY in 1984. As for other honors he’s been enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame.

The key point, Sampson arrived in the NBA standing 7 foot 4 and 228 pounds. The Rockets had Hakeem Olajuwon at center so the rookie Sampson moved into the power forward position, Sampson had a perimeter game at a time no one his height possessed. Recently he assessed the game of Bol Bol and Wemby and his view was interesting. You might remember prior to the start of last season Shaq was comparing Bol’s game to that of Wemby…that’s ceased now. Sampson indicates from his perspective there is no requirement for Wemby to play the post, he’s got a different game from a traditional center. In closing you might remember when questioned on Bol’s ability Shaq claimed he is lazy, Sampson takes a different view taking an opposing observation.