Basketball from a fans perspective

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He's made his commitment

BYU has competed in football and basketball for generations. The school located in Provo Utah has long been a destination for athletes of the Mormon faith, apparently there wasn’t a great deal of recruiting for non-Mormon athletes. All that’s changed in recent years as BYU attempted to compete with other Division I programs. The reward is snagging A.J. Dybantsa, just in case you are unfamiliar with his name allow me to impart a degree of information. He’s a 6 foot 9 wing and every prospect rates him the top prospect in the Class of 2025.

He attends Utah Prep Academy in Manti, Utah which is located about 80 some miles south of Provo. Prior to his Tuesday announcement Dybantsa had reduced his list of possible schools to four, they were Kansas, North Carolina, Alabama and BYU. He made BYU his choice, which is quite enlightening to those who follow recruiting. Consider this, can you imagine beating out North Carolina and even Kansas for the nation’s basketball talent? All I can say is the Blue Blood programs better take into consideration time brings about change, that change is BYU being competitive in recruiting top notch talent to it’s campus.  

Am I easily pleased? 

Mizzou men's basketball was terrible last season. There is an explanation for the poor play but no requirement to digress, I'd rather look ahead. On3.com ranks team basketball recruiting by numbers, Mizzou was number 14 for 2024, as for the upcoming 2025 class Mizzou is ranked 18. Proof is in the production but it’s exciting to see the recruiting effort by Coach Gates and his staff. The SEC is the toughest conference in basketball but hopefully the future ahead for Mizzou is bright.

I see a difference, since legendary Coach Norm Stewart left the program’s had a number of outstanding highs and more than a few lows I can remember. Despite changes in the landscape recruiting remains important whether its that high school prospect or transfer portal talent. All things being equal I believe coach Dennis Gates will move Mizzou to a level never before experienced. The headline asked the question and I’m ready to respond, no I don’t believe I’m easily pleased. The difference for me is the ability to see the Big Picture, that’s something a number in Mizzou Nation might lack at times.

They have assets

What type of human are you, does accumulated wealth make one a better human? The answer is clear of course not, however, finance can be key depending on your beginning. We are aware that a number of professional athletes, despite earning huge sums during their career are broke in a short space of time after retirement. On the other hand there are in this instance NBA players with a plan. Each had middle class beginnings however they are now wealthy beyond even their belief at one time. You know who they are, one of them is still active…LeBron James. His estimated net worth is reported to be $1.2 billion, when he retires I could foresee his portfolio increasing in worth due to his entrepreneur efforts.

Up next is Michael Jordan a.k.a. Air Jordan, the net worth for him is a whopping $3.5 billion. Following MJ is Erving Johnson most know him as Magic or the Magic Man, his net is $1.2 billion. A name probably few are acquainted with is Junior Bridgeman, his net worth is $600 million but consider this fact. Bridgeman had a 12-year NBA career where he earned about $2.95 million but never earned more than $350,000 in any one season. We close this look at NBA wealth adding Shaquille O’ Neal to our list, Shaq’s net worth is reported to be in the neighborhood of $400 million. The point of this exercise is to offer proof that a number of players have a plan for after the NBA, these 5 profiled are the proof. 

Louisville basketball

I watched a portion of the Duke-Louisville game on Sunday, Duke would prevail 76-65. Do you realize the rich basketball history of the Kentucky school? When they first began competitive basketball Louisville competed at the NAIA level, fact is their 1948 team won the NAIA Championship but it doesn’t stop there. The National Invitation Tournament no longer holds the glamour it once did, March Madness has overtaken it in popularity among fans of all persuasions.

Despite that fact in 1956 it was still a prestigious tournament, that was the year Louisville would succeed winning it all that year. What about the NCAA Tournament, Louisville won in 1980, 1986 and 2013 detailing for all its rich basketball history. By my count Louisville has sent 18 players into the NBA, it’s likely Wes Unseld is the most well-known but there have been others throughout the years. Currently Terry Rozier of the Heat is probably one of the recognized players who honed his skills playing for the Louisville Cardinals.  

Just me rambling

I’m looking once again at an issue that appears to only concern ME, follow this. “In 1962, Franklin Mieuli purchased the majority shares of the team and relocated the franchise (from Philadelphia) to the San Francisco Bay Area, renaming them the San Francisco Warriors, playing most of their home games at the Cow Palace in Daly City.” As the excerpt from Wikipedia indicates the team never really had one location they called home until a number of years later. Further research indicates during the 1971-72 season they failed to play a single home game in San Francisco. Apparently at that point a decision was made to change the name from San Francisco to Golden State. It makes sense based on the Warriors moving to Oakland that season which lasted until 2019.

Of course that 2019-20 season Chase Center opened and the Warriors moved across the Bay to San Francisco again. I’m a nostalgic guy, I understand why the team adopted Golden State in front of their name, that was then this is now. Don’t think a name change is practical, check these examples. The Washington Bullets became the Wizards, New Orleans and Charlotte changed names. The Hornets name returned to Charlotte and New Orleans adopted a new name (Pelicans). In other sports the NFL Washington team has become the Commanders and the Cleveland baseball team is now the Guardians. Name changes for the franchises mentioned occurred for a variety of reasons, this is simply to point out a team if it chooses can undergo a name change. On the other hand consider the fact I could be rambling and there is no requirement for the Warriors to make a move of this type.