Basketball from a fans perspective

Published Tuesday, Thursday plus Saturday & Sunday

Trade the pick

It’s my desire to aid the Laker cause in their quest for a championship, I also intend that same strategy for the Spurs so here goes with that effort. In case you questioned why allow me to inform you one requested this, I have taken on this task at my own request. I have joined the Spurs front office of GM Brian Wright and head coach Mitch Johnson prior to the draft (just kidding). From all indications the number two pick will be made by the Spurs and combo guard Dylan Harper will be chosen. It’s likely Harper remains a Spur but wait there is more to the story, they also have the number 14 pick and it is highly likely they will trade the pick.

In my opinion the Spurs should acquire a talented front court player with the pick. Despite my statement that talented players should not be named Kevin Durant. Durant still continues to exhibit his skill on the court but he’s 37 years old now and it’s my belief the Spurs would be better served attempting to trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo over Durant. I’m not going to detail a list of quality small and power forwards available I just happen to believe this youthful team should continue in a youth movement. This youth movement entails moving past Chris Paul even in a limited role. The Spurs are a young team who will only get better, we can look no further than Oklahoma City and see a youth movement in full effect and playing for an NBA Championship.  

They changed the landscape of the U.S. 

It might be difficult reading this in 2025 however in 1939 it was far different than today. Segregation or separation of the races existed at the time in most facets of life. As for higher education that was a slightly different matter, blacks had been allowed to compete in athletics although it was only a trickle of the vast poot of talent. The south had a strict admittance policy although many northern and west coast schools such as UCLA not only allowed black students but they competed athletically as well. The 1939 UCLA Bruins men’s team would make history, members of this team would help usher in racial change, Jackie Robinson is the name most are familiar with.

Jack Roosevelt Robinson in April 1947 would break the color barrier in baseball when he began play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. There were others, Kenny Washington would later become the first black player in the NFL after the league lifted its ban. Strange as it might seem black players were allowed in the league and then a nearly 20 year ban was placed in effect by the NFL. Woody Strode is easily the most unrecognized name, after a time playing in the NFL Strode went to Hollywood and played a supporting role in a number of movies and television from the 1950’s through the 1980’s. Strode’s bio indicates he appeared in well over 25 Hollywood productions. There were two other black players on that UCLA roster which as I mentioned was unheard of for the time, both went on to distinguished careers in law enforcement and public service.

What we learned (or didn’t)

The NBA Draft Combine often provides us timely information, I will cite you an example. Although Cooper Flagg was in Chicago he did not participate in any scrimmages, which certainly makes sense. This is what we learned, the ESPN College page which I guess is based on Duke supplied information that needs to be tweaked. He is listed at 209 pounds, his combine weight read 221 which is certainly more significant. In addition that height thing, everyplace I found had Flagg listed at 6-foot-9 inches in height. Measured without shoes Flagg stands 6-foot-7 ½ inches in height. Despite the number of positives there appear to be a number of detractors. You’ve read some of the same stuff I have, “Cooper Flagg will not be NBA royalty” or “His game is lacking ________.” If I take you back two years ago we read and heard much of the same negative talk regarding Victor Wembanyama.

We might question how that turned out, did we discover much of the negative talk about Wemby was just that…talk with not much to back it. As this is written I have no idea of Flagg’s NBA future, based on what I’ve read and heard he can play despite the comments of some naysayers. This goes for any rookie, the transition to the NBA is far more complicated than it might seem on television. You might remember this statement from several years ago, a rookie player said; “I was surprised at the speed of the game.” I don’t remember that players name but his statement has stuck with me over the years. In addition we must take into account the opportunity for significant minutes on the court. My statement has always been that one cannot learn how to play the game at any level sitting on the bench. There have been several players over the years who arrived in the NBA and we soon discovered they couldn’t play. Simply stated their game was fine tuned for college or Euro basketball and they were unable to adapt it to the NBA. 

It's different for college ball

Later you will read a brief account on my favorite NBA teams. I realize that might be shocking to some I do follow other NBA teams besides my Lakers, that’s another story for now. The Missouri Tigers are at the top of my list for several reasons, although Missouri State and St. Louis University play Division I basketball Missouri has been the best over several generations. In addition to that I live almost three miles from State Line Road, I live on the east side of the street which places me in Missouri. As for other programs it’s been the coach generally over the school allow me to explain.

I wasn’t much of a Kentucky fan until John Calipari arrived, now that he’s moved to Arkansas I don’t have the same feeling. My new/old favorite for number two is the Duke Blue Devils, always been a fan of Coach K. and Jon Scheyer has moved into place and continued the winning tradition. Right behind Duke I place Penny Hardaway and his Memphis Tigers, he tends to always turn out competitive teams. This next one probably will surprise some of you, I have Creighton and coach Greg McDermott, the coach is able to continue recruiting talent to this Omaha Nebraska school. Again with the coaches, UCLA drops a notch for me strictly due to the school’s revolving door at the head coaching position. There you have it my brief list of favorite college programs, check back with me at the end of the 2025-26 season because some schools might be among the missing.