Basketball from a fans perspective

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Opinions

We all have them, for the most part no argument is forthcoming from me unless. The “unless” is those times you attempt to use your opinion as fact, this is the example. A local high school basketball player is in the middle of his junior season, last year his team was a state champion. I don’t know how much he played but at 7 foot 1 and 245 pounds his numbers were respectable. This youngster averaged nearly 12 points 9 rebounds and 4 block shots per game and then the letters began regarding the story.

The first 2 or 3 were complimentary the 4th one not so much. This writer said, “Not very impressive stats for that height!” My first thought, did you see him play during the season? I have no idea if the team’s offense was run through him…do you know? How can an individual come to a certain conclusion without all the evidence in front of him or her? I saw no indication this gentlemen had any type of basketball background other than being a “fan.” I attempt to be real careful whenever discussing budding talent, this basketball player could be in the NBA in 5-6 years for all we know.

ACC versus SEC

Based on the Tuesday evening scores it would appear the much heralded ACC is not as strong as some might believe. Of the 10 games played only Clemson managed to win a game for the conference, they beat SEC Kentucky 70-66. The other 9 games saw SEC teams win over the ACC, this is not in the order of the time they played. LSU over Florida State 85-75, South Carolina put away Boston College 73-51. In other play Mizzou beat Cal 98-93, sidebar here. Cal where the Pacific Ocean is a short distance from the campus, this school is now in a conference some schools are near the Atlantic Ocean…oh well.

Continuing, Georgia over Notre Dame by a score of 69-48, Arkansas slid by Miami 76-73 while Ole Miss did a number on Louisville 86-63. Texas A&M was a winner over Wake Forest 57-44 while Oklahoma beat Georgia Tech 76-61. We close with Tennessee blasting Syracuse 96-70. This is just a one game series and the NCAA Tournament will be the ultimate judge but it appears things have changed. In the past whenever the subject of the SEC came up in conversation football was always the first thought but that is no longer the case. There are 6 additional games scheduled on Wednesday night, the ACC might win all of them but still come out with fewer wins than the SEC.

What about the NBA

Periodically I check mock draft sites for news, this one has Cooper Flagg at the top however in second place is an unknown to me. In this instance I’m looking at nbadraft.net’s latest mock, they place Egor Demin in that position, who exactly is this guy? I don’t know however let’s explore together this prospect, he’s a 6 foot 9 200 pound guard. Demin is from Moscow Russia, his bio indicates international play with Real Madrid.

Despite international play he’s only 18-years of age, Demin is enrolled at BYU and in his freshman year at the Utah school. His numbers are decent so far, 14 points and 6 assists a game which includes 57% shooting from the floor with 44.1% from three. The only blemish on Demin is his horrible from the free throw line with a 57.9%, that part of his game definitely requires work. In the same manner as a number of these prospects I’ve not witnessed him in action although I hope too real soon. Egor Demin the prospect nbadraft.net claims will be the second pick in the 2025 NBA draft.  

Is college still important

Of course college remains important educationally, I’m speaking of basketball. This issue was approached in the recent past and the question remains. With so many opportunities to advance one’s basketball development is it important to attend college? Euro basketball is available although to my knowledge few high school players have traveled eastward. Americans playing in Europe have been comprised of former NBA veterans along with several undrafted college players. There is Australia, LaMelo Ball and a few other high school players chose this route to the NBA rather than college.

Overtime Elite (OTE) takes in players without high school diplomas, they are given the opportunity to gain a high school diploma while playing basketball and being paid. There are professional teams in China, Asia, the Philippines and Japan however according to information I could uncover there are no American high school players in any of the countries mentioned. I have no analytics to present for you only an observation…yes college remains an important portal on one’s journey to the NBA. I believe Name Image and Likeness might be more beneficial than ever. A prospect can play basketball earn income and remain relatively close to home. The furthest location in the continental United States is less than 7 hours flight time. If we add Alaska and Hawaii to the picture naturally the travel time increases significantly.    

Bits n Pieces 

What I’d like to see occur in the State of Missouri but it will not take place. I’d like to see the teams compete in a pre-season tournament and it could be titled the Show Me Tournament as a nod to the state motto. The state has five Division I programs spread from one corner to the other. They are the University of MO at Columbia, MO State University in Springfield, St. Louis University, Southeast Missouri State located in Cape Girardeau and University of MO-Kansas City or Kansas City. With rare exception have the teams competed against one another so a tournament might be out of the question. Despite the fact I’d sure like to see it.

This issue places me in the middle regarding Bronny James, I expressed the belief earlier I didn’t believe he was NBA ready and to date that appears to be the case. The fault is not his alone according to Charles Barkley and I agree. The Lakers are shuttling Bronny back and forth between their G-League team and the parent club. This routine is not conducive to the learning process in the words of Barkley and I am in agreement. I have been critical of Barkley overtime due to some of the statements he’s made especially as a member of the media. So what happens for the immediate future, the Lakers must make a decision in my view. Either keep him fulltime on the parent club or assign him to the South Bay Lakers for an extended period, back and forth ain’t gonna cut it.

Speaking of Mizzou the latest KenPom ratings place the Tigers at number 53 in the nation. Naturally, one might desire their team be ranked higher however I’m okay with it, allow me to briefly explain. This Mizzou team is an unknown to me however it appears the coaching staff has been highly competitive in attracting high school and transfer portal talent. I am not just approaching this from the tournament angle but if this ranking proves true its good in that area as well. The tournament is a field of 64 and should Mizzou play at the level projected they should earn an NCAA berth.