Basketball from a fans perspective

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What if I told you

I saw a photo of LeBron James shirtless and he appeared to have a dad bod, he’d been drinking adult beverages and eating hearty over the course of the summer. What if I provided you this information on my radio program but offered you 0 proof? Before I venture further allow me to say some believe free speech gives you permission to say practically anything short of defaming someone. The definition of defaming could vary but I’m not going to detail that here, by now you are asking where are you headed with this rambling confusing story? A KC radio host went on the air recently with my “LeBron” story except it was about Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.

I placed the name of LeBron James in this story because this is a basketball blog, I hope you are able to see the point. In any event the trainer for Mahomes was quick to respond to radio guy via X (Twitter) contradicting the statements he’d made on his program. At this point we might ask the question what separates opinion from fact? There is no argument from me, I have posted stories in the past without documentation. I have attempted to be careful by pointing out “this is my opinion and not fact.” In addition I’ve changed my opinion on several subjects and have attempted to point that out. I will close with a question, is it okay with you for sports media to detail subjects similar to this without offering you a shred of evidence, think about it, what do you believe?

Are the Suns about to make a move

Unless you are a Clippers fan you probably are unfamiliar with the name Kobe Brown. He played at Missouri and was a first round draft pick in 2023, apparently he is a practice player because he never plays. Brown is buried so deep on the Clipper bench it’s difficult for him to breathe. It might be advisable for him to seek another team as soon as he becomes a free agent, it might be in his best interest to look elsewhere in the NBA. The Clippers traded guard Norman Powell to the Jazz for John Collins who plays power forward the same position as Brown.

After watching Brown play at Missouri and seeing his player stock rise it was my belief he was on the way to the NBA. Well that indeed turned out to be the case but most certainly this was probably not what Brown envisioned after working intently and being drafted into the NBA. Does Brown have the skill level to play successfully at the NBA level? That question is difficult to answer based on the conditions Brown is operating under at present. As for the headline, it is apparent the Suns intend to release guard Bradley Beal. The Clippers are one of the teams standing in line intending to make an offer for his services, this move should not impact any decision regarding Brown.

I fail to understand the WHY

The resume for Bill Self is impressive, we can begin with his Naismith Hall of Fame induction, he is a twice won NCAA Champion coach. Every season since his first (2003-04) Kansas has been an NCAA contender. In the 2019-20 season they only lost three games, they would have certainly been favorites if not for the Covid pandemic shutting everything down. There are certainly more Self platitudes to mention however I will stop at this point and ask the question. Does Kansas basketball receive a pass based on the historical resume? Kansas won or tied for first place for the Big 12 tournament regular season a record 14 consecutive seasons. Two years ago they finished in a 5th place tie, last season it was in 6 place. It should be mentioned that Kansas received an NCAA invitation both of those years.

For a team to win 23 games and 21 the following season indicates the personnel are good and the coach is as well. If we check across State Line Road Missouri basketball exceeded what most believed possible. They finished the season with 22 wins and a loss in the NCAA Tournament, 22-12 overall.  At this point I will mention the Final Top 25 poll omitted Kansas and Missouri from its final poll of the season. The summer recess finds us looking toward the fall and basketball. Polls are just projections but why does this occur? Based on recruiting, portal transfers and holdovers in my opinion Missouri is on the same level of Kansas…well not quite. A number of pre-season polls place Kansas basketball anywhere from 17 through 25, among the missing…Missouri basketball. It is impossible for Dennis Gates to come close to the 22 years of Bill Self in but 4 years. I have concluded the competition (it does exist in Kansas City) will never change until Missouri makes a deep NCAA run maybe winning it all.

We live in a social media age

I claim no working knowledge of the beginning of social media, my guess some point during the last 15-20 years. I suppose it serves a purpose however sometimes its usage is questionable. I am going to provide you two accounts both involving my Lakers. This was posted on social media after the Lakers acquired Deandre Ayton, “He’s either helping this team win a title or ruining the final years LeBron Has.” Can we allow Ayton to don a Laker jersey before we conclude what we really don’t know? I believe that would certainly be advisable first.

All week various sources have claimed “Reaves and LeBron don’t like playing with Luka.” It wasn’t just one site there were multiple locations containing this story, I must guess Austin Reaves had enough of his name being dragged about. Reaves released his own story claiming there were no issues between him and Luka. Grizzled veteran LeBron just ignored the story which was probably best. Once again this might appear an effort to manipulate news stories however that is not the case here. Back to Ayton a moment, one site designated teams winners or losers based on the draft held a few weeks ago. Teams were designated winners or losers based on the player chosen. The Lakers were deemed losers simply by drafting Ayton. I can’t speak for you, however, this method is cruel and at the same time not very accurate.  

How did he accomplish this

At 37 years of age Jon Scheyer is one of the young generation of head basketball coaches. Taking over the storied Duke basketball program all wondered if he’d be able to come in behind legendary Coach K. If we check college basketball history we discover a comparable situation occurred in 1975-76, the late Gene Bartow took over for an earlier legend John Wooden at UCLA. Although Bartow was successful (28-4, 24-5) he departed for UAB, at the time Bartow indicated there was an opportunity to build a basketball program at UAB. It was reported the pressure to succeed and other factors were responsible for him leaving after such a brief time at UCLA.

I would guess there was some trepidation for Scheyer following in the footsteps of Coach K. but it appeared he took it in stride. His first two teams finished the season with 27 wins, it was the Field of 32 in his first season. The following season it was an Elite Eight finish and this past season his Duke team concluded the year with a 34-5 record and earned a Final Four position. So what do we suppose occurs for the Blue Devils after losing all 5 starters to the NBA, something I don’t believe has ever occurred in the past, you simply reload which is what Scheyer has done. Guess which school according to several sources sits at number one in recruiting for 2025? Okay, there is no requirement to guess you already have the answer. There is likely to be a drop off in play however don’t expect them to fall very far, every pre-season poll I’ve read has Duke placed from the 4th spot up to number 15.