Basketball from a fans perspective

The Transfer Portal, Part Deux

You remember the line from the movie Forrest Gump, “Life’s like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.” This is where I disagree with the comment made by veteran coach Rick Pitino, if a coach’s recruiting emphasis is placed on transfers only that coach might be in for a rude awaking. There might be other examples but these two programs are close by me in Kansas City, the University of Missouri and the University of Kansas. First Kansas, based on AJ Storr’s play at Wisconsin this led Bill Self and Jayhawk Nation to believe they had a valuable addition when he arrived on campus.

Can I say he never played at the level expected by Self or anyone for that matter? Hunter Dickinson doesn’t escape either, he earned 3rd team Big XII but in his case as well more was expected. Across the state line in Missouri John Tonje was supposed to aid the cause. He spent most of last season on the injured list and transferred to Wisconsin without contributing anything to Missouri’s effort on the basketball court. I would say utilize it but don’t fall in love with it. Just concentrating on high school talent alone a coach has no idea what he is going to receive as well. I continue to take a neutral opinion regarding the transfer portal despite the view of Pitino and maybe others.

Hoosiers

Have you seen the movie Hoosiers staring the late Gene Hackman? The movie released in 1986 detailed the basketball season of a small fictional Indiana basketball team which won a state championship. The movie took liberties with an actual 1954 event. Once upon a time the state basketball championship was not separated by student enrollment; a tiny school of several hundred would sometimes face an opposing one with thousands of students. This would change in 1997 as school’s were reclassified by student enrollment. Milan Indiana High School back then had an enrollment of 161 students, the town population was 1,014.

In 2020 the population of the city has swelled to 1,823 so we could guess Milan High School’s enrollment has risen as well. As for the game itself Milan played and defeated Muncie Central High School from Muncie Indiana. Muncie has merged with another high school and now has an enrollment of 1,340. I was unable to locate any information from 1954 but guess Muncie at a minimum must have contained at least 900 students, Milan finished the season 19-2 and overall 28-2. Playing in Milan’s tiny gymnasium team members of Milan must have been overwhelmed by the size of Hinkle (then Butler) Fieldhouse as depicted in the movie. The final score of the championship game read Milan 32 while Muncie Central was 30.

It's different this time

Victor Wembanyama was literally an unknown, my view was tempered by scouting reports and YouTube videos. He was a talent based on the view of NBA management and scouts. Finally some months prior to the draft he and his Metropolitans 92 team arrived on these shores. They were matched against a G-League Team Elite and for the first time most of us were able to witness him in live action. That was 2023 the calendar now reads 2025 and we have another wunderkind before us. His name is Cooper Flagg and you are aware he’s been demonstrating his talent as a Duke freshman. Of course the two (Wemby & Flagg) play distinct positions on the court but there is the stark difference.

I’ve had numerous opportunities to see Flagg in action. Roughly since last summer the majority of mock draft sites have Flagg projected as the top NBA draft pick in 2025. Every week, sometimes twice a week I check for movement wondering if some other talent has moved in front of him. What I’ve seen thus far is that an athlete able to perform a number of basketball assignments on the court, does he have shortcomings? I’m quite sure they exist however they haven’t smacked anyone in the face saying, “He can’t do this or his game at _____ could show improvement.” On June 26 if Flagg has declared for the draft, this speech will emanate on our television sets. “With the first pick in the 2025 NBA Draft the ________ select Cooper Flagg from Duke University.”

Meanwhile…

Florida is a number one seed in contention for the 2025 NCAA Championship. Despite that fact there is at least one player we haven’t seen play yet. His name is Oliver Rioux, he is being redshirted in his freshman year. Rioux did not play in any of the team’s first four games when Coach Todd Golden decided to redshirt him. Although not playing Rioux already has a unique distinction, Guinness World Records declared him the tallest teen in the world in 2021. He measured 7 feet 5 inches at the time, Rioux now stands 7-9, that would make him the tallest ever to play in an NCAA game. The youngster is from Terrebonne, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal.

This is Lakers too but somewhat of a different vein. I’ve read over the course of time the Buss family have “nothing to fall back on besides Laker basketball. Unlike other owners like Dan Gilbert, or the Mavs group they and others operate businesses separate from their basketball teams.” Perhaps moves made in the past by Laker management was more in line with league rules over personal operating capital. This is not representative of the entire family however the net worth of Jeannie Buss is reported to be in the neighborhood of $700 million. She has invested in a considerable number of business ventures outside of Laker basketball.

The Mount St. Mary’s-Duke Tourney game is about to begin as this is written. The CBS chyron for Cooper Flagg listed him as a guard/forward, it’s my contention without offering you any evidence just an opinion. At 205 pounds he might be somewhat light to play small forward in the NBA. Generally this position in the NBA would see a player at least 220 pounds and maybe LeBron size (245-250). In the games I’ve seen Flagg handles the ball well, in addition he’s got an outside shot although he does have an inside game. In this age it’s not uncommon to see a shooting guard at 6 foot 9, what do you think, am I off base with my hypothesis?

We hear the term Dubs to describe the Warriors or something connected with them. How did it come about, I was curious so I decided to uncover the basis. This is from the net, “The nickname “Dubs” for the Golden State Warriors emerged from fans shortening the team’s name to “W’s” (referring to the “W” in “Warriors”) and then even further to “Dubs.” I am easily adaptable to nicknames however this one leaves me asking the question why. If you are okay with Dubs certainly continue to use it…for me it’s a different issue. As an example I don’t like “Slim Reaper” for Kevin Durant or “King” for LeBron James. It’s just a preference on my part.