Basketball from a fans perspective

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Bits n Pieces of information 

On Wednesday evening I watched portions of three NBA games at the same time. No, I wasn’t switching back and forth between channels…all the games were separated on a single screen. I’m not sure why NBA TV decided to approach the games in this manner. Despite my interest in this concept after a while it drove me a little bizarre trying to keep up with the action on three games at the same time. Perhaps NBA TV ran this type of telecast last season however I just don’t remember. Is it a thumbs up or thumbs down view of this programming…for me it’s a thumbs down. No matter how much interest one has in the NBA I found it impossible to follow action on three games at the same time.

The 7 foot 9 (2.3622 cm) Oliver Rioux has been mentioned several times in this blog. The Canadian youngster after playing at IMG Academy in Bradenton decided in favor of remaining in Florida. Rioux chose to play at the University of Florida, the curious (me among them) was very anxious to see how this giant of a basketball player would adapt to the collegiate game. On Thursday it was determined we must wait until next year to see him in action, Todd Golden announced Rioux will be redshirted this season. I’ve seen video of him in action against high school competition but believe that to be misleading. It’s likely that even playing at IMG he never faced anyone tall enough to cause him difficulty in the paint. There might be a desire to work him extensively on agility drills, weight is hardly an issue since he weighs a reported 305 pounds or 138.346 kilos.

This is a slight bit unusual, there exists a legion of Laker fans who want GM Rob Pelinka gone. It’s their belief that nobody wants to trade with the team and it’s all the fault of Pelinka because “they refuse to take his calls.” I offer you no proof but believe it’s more to the story, I could be off base however there is a school of thought regarding this matter. There exists several unnamed teams who flat out refuse to discuss trade with the Lakers. I’ve read they are even concerned with releasing some players believing they might wind up in Purple and Gold. Bottom line, they don’t wish to do anything which might wind up benefiting the Lakers. Pure speculation on my part, to a degree yes however several points raised are quite valid.

I ain’t scared

More years than I care to count I read the autobiography of the late Bill Russell. I remember a particular portion that dealt with crunch time. Russell stated there were players who complained all year about playing time and shot attempts. He says all that stopped once the playoffs began, the spotlight shining on a player who might be guilty of an error. Well it was too much for some, they simply were unwilling to take the chance on being the scapegoat should the Celtics lose.

The Lakers were an above average team by the time Kobe Bryant was drafted by the Hornets but never wore their jersey. He was a reserve player until year three, however that would define him in the eyes of many. Pressed into the starting lineup due to injuries Kobe shot 4 airballs at a critical stage of Game 5 of their playoff series, the Jazz would go on to win the game in OT and the series. Two accounts, one in which players were unwilling to risk and the last one regarding Kobe Bryant who said, “I’ll do it.” Those lead up to this past Tuesdays Duke-Kentucky game, I have read story after story regarding Cooper Flagg losing to Kentucky, despite the fact he scored 26 points 12 rebounds they all mentioned the TO’s. I was complacent too although what I wrote of the game was lacking detail regarding the other Duke players.

If they had been a little better shooting the basketball and doing other stuff the game might not have come down to critical turnovers. 17-year old (we forget that) Cooper Flagg has ice water in his veins, others might not want the spotlight on them at a crucial stage of the game. Flagg chose to run toward victory rather than shrink in fear as others might have done. I’m okay with what I wrote yesterday except I should have left out the Flagg TO’s.

The conference that refuses to die

This report is not intended to be in depth, for that please consult other sources. With the disclaimer allow me to state the Pac-12 is the conference that refuses to die. We’ve covered the number of schools that have left leaving only Oregon State and Washington State remaining. I covered those schools committed to become members in 2026, they are Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State. There is one more problem, an 8th school. I’ve mentioned in the past this is a basketball blog however these moves are generated by football, which for the most part pays the bills. The exception of course the schools without football programs.

The Pac-12 needs an 8th team to be fully recognized as a conference but has reached an impasse. Several schools have turned down the Pac-12 so the conference will explore the following. Texas State located in San Marcos Texas, information I uncovered indicate the school is located in the Greater Austin footprint. Then we have New Mexico State in Las Crues which makes it closer to El Paso than New Mexico’s capital of Santa Fe. Mentioning El Paso we have UTEP or the University of Texas at El Paso and we close this exercise mentioning Sam Houston State in Huntsville Texas, the school’s located about 75+ miles from Houston. I should add that by closing this account the schools mentioned by no means have made a commitment to the Pac-12, the conference is desperate to add that 8th school.