Basketball from a fans perspective

Published daily except Tuesdays & Thursday

He’s a winner

Dennis Gates is one of those special guys, you know how I know? This past week veteran broadcaster Jimmy Dykes providing commentary for Missouri’s game against Tennessee. Dykes complimented Gates several times during the broadcast, he did this when it wasn’t necessary. He even said at a point and I paraphrase “Missouri should lock him (Gates) into an extended contract.” This might be the most challenging time to coach college basketball, with NIL money plus the transfer portal. These issues and others probably say coaching at this level is more difficult than any time in the game’s history. Despite these issues Gates has managed to produce winning teams two out of the three years he’s been at the helm.

Alumni, students and fans always want to know what have you done for me lately. Last season was a disaster yet Gates made no excuses for the mediocre performance. Those who follow the program closely were aware of issues facing Mizzou most of last season. There were fans who were ready to abandon ship, I read several letters suggesting Gates be fired. Under the departed Cuonzo Martin in 2021-22 the school finished the season with 12 wins and 21 losses which included 5 wins and 13 losses in the SEC. When hired Gates hit the ground running, his first team completed the 2022-23 season with 25 wins and 10 losses, they had 11 wins in the tough SEC. Let’s just say despite the catastrophe of last season I continued to believe in Gates and he’s proven my faith in him has been validated thus far. Only two scholarship players have been signed for the upcoming season, that’s because Missouri has a number of underclassmen who likely will return.

The Why?

Several years ago a friend asked me the question, “Why are they so many trades in the NBA?” I thought about his question and what I accepted as day to day business he considered unusual. In the day of free agency with NFL, MLB, NHL and yes the NBA, basketball continues to have the most player movement. I didn’t have an answer then but informed him this was my best guess. In the NFL, a team can acquire an All-Pro QB but if the team’s offensive line is not top notch or it’s receivers have stone hands…you get the idea I hope.

An All-Star caliber starting pitcher can be acquired by a team driving toward a pennant but consider this fact, he can only pitch every 4 days. These are probably poor examples however in the NBA it’s been my contention that one or two key players acquired in a trade could allow that team to win an NBA Championship. Now it certainly doesn’t often occur however the point is simple, one or two basketball players might affect the outcome of an NBA season over his NFL or MLB brethren. I am offering not one shred of proof just a theory by me, what do you think? Is there something else I may have missed that might be the contributing factor for so many NBA trades?

A substantial number

You read here weeks ago that 91-year old Hubie Brown will close out a historic career February 9, as analyst for ESPN. I thought it would be interesting to look back at some of the players he coached and the others he covered during NBA broadcasts. I guess we could begin with Artis Gilmore, Brown coached Gilmore while head coach of the ABA Kentucky Colonels. As an assistant with the Bucks it was Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Oscar Robertson and Bobby Dandridge. With the Knicks it was Bernard King and Paul Westphal, and more recently it was the Grizzlies Pau Gasol.

All those mentioned are in the Naismith Hall of Fame some in the College Basketball Hall, those named are but a small number of players Brown coached over his career. The players he’s witnessed play during his broadcast career beginning in 1985 is astronomical. Larry Bird to Magic Johnson to Patrick Ewing to Kevin Garnett to Kobe Bryant to Victor Wembanyama. Of the names Wemby is the only one without Hall of Fame credentials at least for now. Naturally covering such a large expanse of time there are a considerable number of players I failed to list. I wanted to provide you just a thumbnail sketch Hubie Brown has either coached or broadcast the games over his brilliant career in basketball (1968-2025).

It was Magic and then it wasn’t

Earvin “Magic” Johnson changed the basketball world for us, no one had ever seen a 6 foot 9 (205.74 cm) point guard. He was taller than most of the small forwards of the period and could eyeball most power forwards. Despite his height and weight he was adept at passing the basketball. It was often said “Keep your head up on a fast break because a pass might hit you in the back of the head.” That is the primary reason he was nicknamed “Magic,” his ability to handle the basketball plus pass it was extraordinary. He was the man until Kobe Bean Bryant arrived in 1996, he stood 6 foot 6 inches (198.12 cm) and 212 pounds.

He was a shooter, however, that didn’t appear to be his forte, in a vital playoff series early in his career this occurred. During a crucial portion of a playoff game against the Jazz Kobe shot two consecutive air balls, that incident probably caused him to focus on becoming the best he could be. If you looked up the term “work ethic” next to it would be a photo of Kobe. How driven was he, to a point many said, “He wasn’t a very good teammate,” he probably anticipated to his detriment everyone was as driven as he was. Kobe said, “I arrive in the gym early to begin my routine,” this teammate came in around 7:00 a.m., it turned out he was late, number 24 had been in the building since 5:30. Yes, Kobe replaced Magic for me as the greatest Laker ever.