Basketball from a fans perspective

Published daily except Tuesdays & Thursdays

What about him

Too much basketball and I have difficulty tracking it all. I turned on the Marquette-Wisconsin game too late to review it, Marquette was a winner 88-74. This became win number 9 for the Golden Eagles against a single loss so far this season. I thought for a moment, every time we discuss winning basketball coaches Shaka Smart is omitted from the conversation and the question might be why? Smart burst on the scene at Virginia Commonwealth in the 2009-10 season as he led his team to a 27-9 record. After six outstanding seasons an offer arrived he couldn’t turn down, the University of Texas. I remember saying to others in 2015 this is the perfect job for him at least that’s what I believed.

Texas is abundant in high school basketball talent Smart wouldn’t have to leave the state to recruit. The bright picture I painted back then did not come to fruition, sure there was only one losing season at Texas but nothing at the level expected by others including me. In 2021 Smart took over the Marquette program, that very first season resulted in a 19-13 record. From that point on his teams have been 29-7, 27-10 and at present 9-1 as this is written. Unlike the seasons experienced at Texas his Marquette team has earned an NCAA invite each season. I am forced to this conclusion is Smart better suited to coach at so-called mid majors over schools where the spotlight shines so much brighter? I pose the question however I don’t have the answer, what do you think? Am I on to something or is this work history only coincidental?

Cooper Flagg sweepstakes

The NBA season has just commenced, the race to draft Duke’s Cooper Flagg has begun. I decided to take an early look at several NBA mock drafts, it is unclear which NBA team might be the winner. As I’ve stated I’m unsure if these guys copy from one another but here goes. The first is bleacherreport.com and tankathon.com indicate the Nets will have the first draft pick in 2025 and will select Flagg. On the other hand nbadraftroom.com and nbadraft.net believe the Pistons choose Flagg.

This might be considered good or bad depending on where you are seated. I would tend to believe most fans might be joyful if their team is able to draft Flagg, others might be disappointed with the fact of “another losing season.” As the season has begun and barring the possibility of additions after this is written this is how I see it. Short term the Pistons appear to have a more stable roster than the Nets, don’t misunderstand my observation. Both teams are on the same plane, I happen to believe the Pistons are slightly better. In a sense it doesn’t matter, if Flagg is as talented as we are told there will be no problem for him to become a starter for either team.

Court storming 

I don’t like to see students storm the court, it occurs after the home team’s victory, this past Sunday we saw it in full effect. Mizzou hasn’t beaten Kansas since February 4, 2012, which saw the Tigers win 74-71 on that day. Victories haven’t come easy for Mizzou so the excitement by the student body is based on the drought of wins and Kansas being the number one team in the nation. With a 12-year drought you can see the enthusiasm regarding the victory but is court storming a good thing?

While I understand the WHY I remain critical and the chief reason is the risk of injury. Scores of persons running onto the basketball court from all directions and there is a possibility someone could be severely injured should they stumble, fall and be trampled. In the past there have been efforts made by administrations to curtail court storming but the majority of time it appears to be in vain. In conclusion despite my excitement in the win I didn’t want a court storming. I am pleased coach Gates called a TO allowing the coaching staff and players for Kansas to leave the court area.

In case you forgot

This has been mentioned in the past but I thought I would remind you again. I belong to a nostalgia ABA social media group, my hope was to gain insight into what this startup league was like while it existed. One of the more interesting aspects for me was gaining an understanding of the history. The 1976 agreement was no merger rather it was “expansion” of the existing NBA. The older more established NBA absorbed the 4 teams it wanted and allowed the others to fall by the wayside. The history says expansion, if a league expands it takes in all the teams such as what occurred with the NFL merger in 1966.

The NBA expanded in 1976 adding the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers and New York (Brooklyn) Nets. The Baltimore Claws had folded which left 5 teams which ceased operations most of its talent dispersed throughout the NBA. A number of players didn’t earn roster positions with the existing NBA teams they were forced to look toward Europe to continue play. Remember at that time there was no G-League or its equivalent in addition the NBL in Australia wouldn’t begin play until 1979. Do you think NBA owners were playing hard ball…you bet they were. There is no one in place who remains a part of the expansion. NBA team owners has changed 3-4 times since 1976, truth is the Buss family is the only remaining long term owner, Dr. Buss didn’t purchase the Lakers until two years after the expansion agreement.   

Overrated

This is your warning ahead of time, you are about to read my thoughts regarding Kansas basketball. There are portions that might be offensive to your hearing so you can stop at this point. Okay now that many of the Kansas faithful have stopped reading we can proceed. It seems every season Kansas basketball is rated number one or near the top of teams in the nation. 

By the time March Madness comes around and they have fallen short much of Jayhawk Nation refuse to believe anything’s changed. I love Dick Vitale but he is one of the main culprits, every pre-season he and a host of others pronounce Kansas “The best college basketball team in the nation.” By the time the calendar turns to April that is rarely the case, they are a good team annually but not great, the Jayhawk has his feathers plucked. In 2022 they won the whole thing, many claim they could have won in 2020 if not for covid which caused the cancellation of the season without a championship. The 2022-23 season Big XII season saw Kansas finish with an unlike 10-8 conference record and 23-11 overall. 

Hear me, Bill Self has not forgotten how to coach but the change is from an area few thought might have been possible. Kansas is no longer getting the cream of the crop of college talent, we could use A.J. Dybantsa as the example. Who could have figured Kansas and BYU in competition for the top player in the nation? That player with the opportunity to play for Bill Self and that Kansas history…chooses BYU. BYU, like several other programs across the country is ready and willing to compete with Kansas basketball and its history.