Basketball from a fans perspective

Published Tuesday, Thursday plus Saturday & Sunday 

Draft Lottery

The NBA world was anxiously awaiting the news, which team will have the opportunity to draft Cooper Flagg next month? The anticipation was crucial and when it turned out to be the Spurs and the Mavs I thought “The Spurs can’t win again…can they?” In a manner of speaking they did win securing the second pick while the Mavs will have the opportunity to draft Giannis, sorry for the typo I meant Cooper. Nico Harrison will still continue to receive flack for the Luka Doncic trade but Mavs fans have got to feel a slight bit better Monday evening. The possibility of acquiring Cooper Flagg should curtail to a degree a portion of the anger aimed at Harrison and the Mavs. It’s possible a veteran player could impact the Spurs and Mavs decision.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has made it know he is willing to entertain a trade and from what is written he’s specified no preference for a particular team. At this point, the next few weeks could prove interesting. Could the Mavs package a deal with Flagg and other parts to acquire Antetokounmpo? Could the Spurs with the second pick make some noise regarding the Bucks power forward? We must wait for draft night, sometimes players have switched caps finding out their rights have been traded. The Spurs have a decision as well, in any other draft year Rutgers Dylan Harper might be the top pick, that is not the case for the “Cooper Flagg” draft. Harper is listed as a 6 foot 6 219 pound combo guard. The Spurs have combo guard Stephen Castle 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year, in the middle of this past season they acquired point guard DeAaron Fox, they also have Chris Paul on the roster. If you are the brain trust of the Spurs what is your decision?  

March 18, 1995

The was the date Michael Jordan announced he would interrupt his baseball career and return to the Bulls and the NBA. May 12, 2005, is not quite as significant a date although MJ could make a statement quite similar. Okay it’s not the earthshattering statement MJ made back in 1995, you can blame the hyperbole on me. The NBC network returns as a family member in 2025-26, this is one of those changes too. This NBA news story dropped out of the sky for us because no one expected it!

NBC announced Michael Jordan will be coming on board as a "special consultant" for the network. If you think this might be a conflict with Jordan still owning a part of the Hornets there are others. Grant Hill is a Hawks owner and he's involved in NBA telecast. Shaq was (not now) held an owners share in the Kings yet continued working for TNT. This is so new it’s not been fully explained the role of MJ as a special consultant. Let’s speculate, since this role is with television rather than the NBA offices I’m guessing it might be a studio task with the network. Although it’s certainly possible I can’t imagine him in the role of a play by play analyst.

Gatorade Player of the Year

This might be old news to some however I am going to publish it anyway. The Gatorade Player of the Year Boys winner for each state’s been announced. Close to home in the State of Missouri the champ is Scottie Adkinson a 6 foot 3 sophomore guard for Webster Groves HS. Webster Groves is a city in the St. Louis Metro for those who might be unfamiliar with its location. Across State Line Road in Kansas we have Keaton Wagler a 6 foot 6 senior guard from Shawnee Mission NW HS in Shawnee Kansas. Shawnee is a city located in the Kansas City (MO) metro. Cameron Boozer a 6 foot 10 senior forward from Christopher Columbus HS in Miami is a double winner. Boozer was the winner for Florida and the national winner. Below is the link to the other winners across the nation.

https://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/winner/state?sport=bk&year=2025

Meanwhile….

The game you attend or see on television, one of the players not only scores 30 points but also pulls down 30 rebounds in the same game. The last player to accomplish the feat was Dwight Howard while he played for the Hornets. In a game against the Nets Howard scored 30 points and had 30 rebounds 124 games during his brilliant NBA career. Kevin Love also accomplished the feat while a member of the Wolves, 31 points and 31 rebounds. Wilt Chamberlain achieved the feat in his team’s 111-105 victory over the Nets March 21, 2018. The balance of names have long since retired from the game. Just a few of the names include some of the giants of the NBA’s past, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Moses Malone, Robert Parrish, Elvin Hayes and Willis Reed. I understand several reading this might not be impressed they will find explanations for the total accumulation but that’s okay. 

This college basketball team set the standard, an accomplishment no other school will ever eclipse, they will not even come close. This school has 11 NCAA Championship Trophy’s in its case. Kentucky is close but they have only won 8. In addition to that, consider this fact, a number of schools have won back to back championships, UConn was the most recent school to accomplish this feat. This mystery school has won three championships in a row something no other D-I school’s has ever done. Do you know the name of the school, a hint of the name is below.

The University of _a_i_or_i_ L_ _ A_ _ e _ e _               hint: Sidney Wicks played for this school.