Basketball from a fans perspective

Published daily except Tuesdays & Thursdays

ROY

Jared McCain was chosen at 16 in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft by the Sixers. This former Duke guard displayed outstanding numbers and was on his way to being named 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year. The 6 foot 3 guard was averaging 15 points while shooting 38% from three and then it occurred. McCain sustained a meniscus tear in his left knee after playing 23 games. Surgery to repair the meniscus was successful however he’s lost to the Sixers until next season. The NBA season is a distance run and not a sprint, there is no method to determine if McCain would have maintained his lead for ROY.

Moving up and into contention is Stephon Castle, this former UConn guard was chosen by the Spurs with the 4th pick. He’s been a part-time starter at shooting guard, his season numbers are not a true reflection of his overall play. How are the Spurs improved this season you might ask, Wemby has played better basketball in his sophomore season but there is at least one more consideration. The leadership of veteran point guard Chris Paul along with Harrison Barnes and the contribution of rookie Stephon Castle. It will be interesting to follow the progress of Castle and find out if he can maintain the pace that might lead to him being named 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year.   

Braggin’ Rights

At noon Central Time today the annual game between the Mizzou Tigers and Illinois Fightin’ Illini will be played. This basketball game is the renewal of a longtime rivalry on the east side of the State of Missouri. In the history Mizzou and Illinois have played one another 54 times with Illinois holding a 34-20 lead in the series. In 2023 Illinois was the winner while 2022 saw the Mizzou Tigers victorious. The game will be played at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis and generally arena capacity is divided almost evenly between those rooting for the Tigers and those cheering for Illinois. Headed into this game Mizzou has 10 wins and 1 loss while Illinois has won 7 games and lost 3. In the game’s history Illinois had a 9 game winning streak while Mizzou’s longest stretch was 4, it will be broadcast by ESPN.

It’s clear now the Lakers won

No, I’m not referring to an NBA championship although AD helped them win in 2020, the Lakers won the trade. Anthony Davis arrived in a 2019 trade with the Pelicans, the question might be asked these years later what did the Lakers give up to acquire him. Well in some circles a great deal, Lonzo Ball who was presumed to be a budding superstar, also sent to the Pelicans was Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart. A final portion of the trade involved the draft rights to DeAndre Hunter and draft capital. Let’s explore this trade from the Pelicans perspective, Ball after playing for them was shipped off in a trade to the Bulls.

Ball’s had a great deal of difficulty remaining healthy and the oldest brother of the Ball family is highly unlikely to reach the heights once projected. The truth is Ball’s NBA career might be over sooner rather than later. Josh Hart a promising guard was eventually traded and is now a member of the Knicks, as for DeAndre Hunter he too was traded prior to wearing a Pelicans jersey and is now a member of the Hawks.  Remember I mentioned draft capital, that turned out to be either the Lakers 2024 or 2025 draft pick. The Pelicans conveyed the 2024 pick to the Lakers which turned out to be Dalton Knecht. In a technical sense the trade becomes Anthony Davis for Brandon Ingram, despite being tagged fragile AD is a much improved player over Ingram. Don’t misunderstand my statement I continue to consider Ingram a talent he’s just not on the level of AD. Early reports indicate Knecht might be a budding NBA star so who wins?

KenPom

I’m unsure if this was mentioned recently, if not its news to some and an affirmation to others. Going forward this collegiate season I intend to utilize KenPom only to assess the strength of teams and conferences. The AP Top 25 poll is a bunch of guys and gals just like me, they follow the game but generally have not much more insight on the game than you or me. As for the Coaches poll it’s slightly different, the coaches are well acquainted with how the game is played and managed however they have an issue as well.

Do you really believe during the season Bill Self or Penny Hardaway or any other coach has time to sit down and judge the positioning of teams either raising them or lowering them in a poll? Like Charles Barkley I have been critical of analytics, not because it’s incorrect I don’t understand it in its totality. KenPom is full of analytics however I only intend to utilize that which I am able to comprehend. With that said let’s check out the Top 10 as of December 18 and see what KenPom indicates. This certainly looks different from the polls we are accustomed to seeing or utilizing. There are 4 SEC members, 3 from the Big XII, 1 from the ACC, one from the West Coast Conference and one from the Big East.

 

  1. Auburn

  2. Tennessee

  3. Duke

  4. Houston

  5. Iowa State

  6. Gonzaga 

  7. Florida

  8. Alabama

  9. Marquette

10. Kansas