Basketball from a fans perspective

Age…it’s just a number

Some of you might remember Vince Carter, Vinsanity as he was nicknamed was a highflier on the basketball court. He retired from the NBA in 2020 after 22 seasons wearing the jersey of several teams. Imagine this, playing in 4 decades…he was 43-years old at the time of his retirement, in 2024 Carter was enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Toward the end of his brilliant NBA career Carter was only producing ordinary numbers on the court. They were ordinary to what is presently occurring for LeBron James while wearing a Laker jersey. LeBron is 40 years of age but producing numbers that are equal to or succeeding those of the 30 year old version of himself. It’s often been said “Father Time is undefeated” meaning every athlete reaches the point were his or her game begins to slide downward…not LeBron.

The first secret is conditioning, can you image the routine he must work at to maintain his body in top notch condition. There is a second secret which LeBron gained in February, his name is Luka Doncic. There were many questions, point guard Luka become a member of “LeBron’s team.” The blending of talent has been quite smooth and I believe the game of LeBron has been enhanced with the arrival of Luka. Anthony Davis and Austin Reaves as talented as they were couldn’t do it, there was no one to lead this Laker team once LeBron went to the bench. The offense suffered without LeBron being on the floor a duty no longer of prime concern. Despite his age LeBron appears to play a more relaxed role aware the team is not so dependent on him as it once was to provide leadership. LeBron will retire one day just not right now despite his age.

AK-47

An ESPN story on Cooper Flagg made a comparison to equivalent NBA talent, he was compared to current Magic forward Franz Wagner and former NBA player Andrei Kirilenko. It’s interesting to me that one of the two comparison players was Kirilenko for a single reason, the guy played lock-down defense. Kirilenko was born in Izhevsk Russia in 1981, after playing for several Russian pro teams the Utah Jazz drafted him in 1999. If you check his scoring it was moderate but his defense, boy could he play that side of the ball.

Of the 13 years spent in the NBA 6 of those Kirilenko received votes for Defensive Player of the Year. He was All Defensive First Team in 2006 and twice All Defensive Second Team (2004, 2005), although he stood 6 foot 9 Kirilenko had a 7 foot 4 wingspan. He would lead the NBA in Blocked Shots in 2005. Retired since 2015, his bio list him as a basketball executive. I have said we make comparisons to players we are familiar with and this is the case for Flagg. If Flagg is anywhere close to Kirilenko defensively that would make for an outstanding athlete. There is a premium on playing defense in the NBA, we shall discover in time if the comparison made is valid.

Why are we so impatient

I’m talking football but bear with me a moment, Antonio Pierce was fired as head coach of the NFL Raiders after one season. ESPN provided us a list of coaches over the years fired after a single season and I ask the question, why are we so impatient? As for basketball my sights are Dennis Gates and Mizzou, in 2021-22 the Tigers finished the season with a 12 win and 21 lost season. That led to Cuonzo Martin being fired and replaced by Gates, in his first season 2022-23 the Tigers finished with 25 wins and received an NCAA invitation for the first time in years. Gates used the transfer portal and recruiting, Mizzou was expected to compete however injuries impacted the team severely.

Last season was a disaster finishing with but 8 wins and winning zero conference games. There were loud howls last season about firing Gates in his second year, how far did the conversation go? This wasn’t everyday however one local sports talk host discussed it quite frequently whenever he conversed college basketball with a national college media member. The Mizzou Tigers have exceeded expectations already in early January, they have won a conference game. I cannot preach patient to Mizzou Nation because many believe in moving quickly whenever a team fails to play at “this fans” expected level. We must wait and see how this season turns out but it appears much improved over 2023-2024.

The return of St. John’s basketball

Rick Pitino has revitalized the school's basketball program. In his second year, the Red Storm have won 28 games and lost 4 as this is written. Last season, under Pitino, they had 20 wins and 13 losses. This marks a return to success for the Queens, New York school, which previously struggled with a record of 127 wins and 129 losses under former coaches Chris Mullin and Mike Anderson. St. John’s boasts a rich basketball history dating back to the 1907-08 season with notable players like Mark Jackson, Walter Berry, and Chris Mullen in the Big East Conference.