Basketball from a fans perspective

The Final Poll

Mizzou began the 2024-25 season unranked, that certainly was not shocking coming off an 0-18 season. Despite an improvement finishing 22-12 in the regular season they were unranked in the final poll. The 67-57 loss to Drake in the tournament seal their fate, going into the tournament they were the number 23 team in the nation. Mizzou’s finish is far different from Kansas, the Jayhawks were ranked the number one team in the nation at the beginning of the season. Early on they had quality wins over North Carolina, Michigan State and Duke to name a few. Beginning play in January they were up and down the balance of the season but finished 21-12.

The final poll saw Kansas unranked for the first time in “I don’t know when.” I tried to research the issue because Top 25 polls are somewhat sketchy from the past. This cannot be confirmed however it appears it might be the 1949-50 season the last instance of a Kansas team finishing the basketball season unranked. What does the future hold for these once archrivals? Both programs have hit the recruiting trail hoping to continue their winning ways. What is most interesting there are several schools that would love to have the record of Kansas, as for Mizzou most are excited about the future as well.   

He was the reason

Why Mike Malone was fired as head coach of the Nuggets was the talk of the NBA. We only have bits and pieces of information but some media sources claim Russell Westbrook was part of the basis. It’s being reported GM Calvin Booth wanted Malone to develop one of the youthful guards on the roster. Malone objected and continued to play Westbrook over the objections of Booth, of course we know the eventual outcome. There is a question for you to ponder connected here, Westbrook is 36 years old now and will turn 37 soon after the 2025-26 season begins. He is approaching the end of his NBA career and that’s where I am posing my question. Is Westbrook worthy of being enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame? Early in his NBA career, particularly with the Thunder he was a walking triple-double every time he walk onto the court.

Those days have long since departed maybe due to changing teams. Westbrook was traded from the Thunder in 2019. Since then he’s worn jerseys of the Rockets, Wizards, Lakers, Clippers and now Nuggets. If you ask about his play he is Mr. Hustle…I don’t believe anyone could ever accuse him of lack of effort. The only downside to his career is shooting from three, opposing teams actually back off when they see him on the line almost daring him to shoot. Check this out, any shooting under 35% is considered average or below average. He shot 35.6% in the 2022-23 season with the Clippers his best effort in his 17-year NBA career. One more bit of information LeBron James leads the NBA in turnovers per game, despite me providing you this information Westbrook has a higher percentage per game (3.91) playing 326 less games than LeBron. You be the judge here, is Westbrook Naismith Hall of Fame worthy? In my opinion I would say no however I am a party of one.

Anthony Davis vs Luka Doncic

I wasn’t pleased when Anthony Davis was traded, he was a major contributor to their 2020 NBA Championship and a quality player. I ignored the nasty nicknames hung on him such as “street clothes” due to a variety of injuries, when healthy he was among the best scoring, rebounding and defending the paint. Despite the fact I hated to see him go for all he could do Luka Doncic was a very welcome addition. Luka is preparation for the post-LeBron Lakers and the timing of the trade is at an ideal point. There are negatives regarding Luka and probably the most obvious, he’s not a great defender.

I will repeat again what Magic Johnson once said, “I wasn’t a good defender but I tried to play good team defense.” I believe that’s all that can be asked of Luka, he’s not all of sudden going to change at 26 years old and become a great defender. One more area that is whispered behind the scenes is his conditioning. Once again this is an area Luka must take up with Luka, there is no one in place to prepare you for the rigors of playing in the NBA except you. I’m looking past this year into the future, if and when LeBron leaves they will have a Big Two-Luka and Reaves. Management needs to begin preparation now for a Laker future minus LeBron.

It’s that time

Schools can begin to sign high school prospects for the fall. Rick Pitino expressed a belief that these signings might not be as important as they once were. The coach didn’t go into detail but hinted the transfer portal has eclipsed adding high school talent to a prospective school. It’s the belief of fans and many in the media that the transfer portal is more valuable because you have a player familiar with play at the collegiate level. I’m sure that is true however as with one and done generally that player is gone after one or two seasons at most.

A coach is then left with searching the portal for replacements which may or may not work out. In this exercise I cannot provide you proof but bear with me a moment anyway. Dennis Gates and staff recruited the number 14 class in the nation according to On3.com. These potentially talented freshman played few minutes during the 2024-25 season, will they be ready in the fall for rugged SEC play? I have no idea but hope they will be. I remain convinced a school cannot sustain its basketball program completely depending on portal players, high school talent must be integrated into the mix at some stage of development.