Basketball from a fans perspective

Published daily except Tuesdays & Thursdays

KenPom

Mizzou escaped a “trap game” with an 83-72 victory over Jacksonville State. I was listening to sports talk radio on the drive home, the host spent more time in my view discussing Kansas State’s game against Drake (now 6-4) over Mizzou (now 10-1). The focus from this host was on Mizzou’s overall record giving the listener he was less than impressed. The guest indicated Mizzou might earn an NCAA invitation just by playing in the SEC. He said if they are .500 in the conference race they might earn an invite. As for the headline Mizzou is rated 49 by KenPom if they remain at or near that level it just might be enough. Yes, my reference to a trap game, it’s my belief Mizzou might be looking ahead to Sunday. On that day Mizzou will face Illinois in the Annual Braggin’ Rights game.

Pop

Long time Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has been missing since November 2. As most are aware coach suffered what the medical staff refers to as a mild stroke. Based on that statement it appears Pop will return to the Spurs bench although the date is yet to be determined. I’m not going to repeat what you already read, he wanted to thank fans for their support during this time. Pop will turn 76 years old next month and there is no doubt in anyone’s mind. He’s served in the role of coach because he loves the game and loves his players.

Despite a downturn in victories the last few seasons Pop has the most wins in NBA history with 1,401. What’s most interesting like fine wine his ability to coach went through an aging process. His first head coaching position was at Pomona-Pitzer College in Claremont (CA) a Division III school, his record there (76-129) was less than stellar. The truth of the matter I seriously doubt he would have been hired by the Spurs or any NBA team with a losing record on his resume. Despite his rough exterior there appears a heart of gold, I don’t know this to be a fact. I can only make that assessment based on those who played for him on the Spurs. In all the years he’s coached the Spurs I’ve only read or heard from a single player with a negative comment regarding Pop.

No, that’s not the reason 

A website yardbarker.com’s NBA page provided a list of the Top 15 cities for NBA expansion. After checking the list a number of them have me scratching my head…why. I realize some of you will claim I’m hatin’ cause Kansas City is not on the list, believe me that is not the case. With the disclaimer out of the way I am disclosing five I believe are questionable in my mind. Along with the location I provided the basis why I believe the NBA should bypass those named:

San Diego-Despite its large population how many ABA and NBA teams has this city had in the past. The NFL Chargers after calling San Diego home for years decided in favor of Los Angeles. The city limit to city limit boundary indicates the two cities are only 120 miles apart however I cannot estimate drive time due to California traffic, as for San Diego its thumbs down in my opinion.

Jacksonville-The city has an NFL team which is certainly noteworthy. The issue for me is location, location…the city of Orlando and Jacksonville are close to one another (140 miles). It would seem to this observer wouldn’t a franchise here be extending into the Magic’s fan base since the two cities are so near one another. This is even closer than road miles between Oklahoma City and Dallas, this is a no.

San Jose-This represents the same issue discussed earlier, this Silicon Valley city lies 55 miles from San Francisco and 119 from Sacramento. In the instance of San Jose it would be encroaching on the territory of two present NBA franchises, this would be a no in my view. On the other hand this is home of the microchip and deep pockets…who truly knows the answer.

Baltimore-The second Bullet franchise began play in 1963 and were mainstays of the city until they moved in 1973. It’s too far down the road of history to detail why the Bullets left the city and now call Washington D.C. home. At most the two cities are some 50 miles apart definitely an encroachment on the Wizards territory.   

Philadelphia-My question here is simple…why? The metro population of Philadelphia is well over 6 million people but is that reason enough. There is major league football, baseball and basketball. In addition there are 6 colleges that play basketball, and toss in several high schools with their sports programs this might be a different case than the other cities named. Can we state the Philly metro might be oversaturated in basketball?   

Below are the other cities the article indicated they would be ready day one for an NBA team. The cities listed have concerns as most in the nation, despite this fact I believe the cities below would be ideal candidates to add teams to the NBA. Finally this fact, money always talks, if some billionaire in Baltimore or Jacksonville decides he wants a team in his hometown you really thin the NBA will turn him or her down.

Vancouver

Montreal

Seattle

Las Vegas

Pittsburgh

Mexico City

Raleigh NC

Louisville

Nashville

Columbus OH

An expanded tourney

As most are aware the NCAA Men’s basketball tourney now consists of 68 teams. This tournament has continued expanding, in 1951 it expanded to 16 teams, doubled to 32 in 1975 and expanded to 67 in 1985 and finally in 2011 the 68 team format was adopted. As the NCAA tourney has expanded the prospect of teams selected to play in the NIT tourney has diminished. Expansion is very much on the agenda again, NCAA president Charlie Baker wants to increase the number of invited teams to either 72 or 76.

In my view expansion will occur the only question is when, the chief reason it will occur is $$$. The information I am relating to you might have changed by now, I cannot document it. It was said at one time that nearly half the revenue of the NCAA is generated from the basketball tourney. For you and me there will not be any change just more basketball games to watch in March. As for the revered National Invitation Tournament currently on “life-support” an expanded NCAA tourney will see it cease to exist. What’s interesting this tournament predates the NCAA tourney. The NIT first played in 1938 while the initial NCAA tourney began play a year later in 1939.