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Mizzou’s move to the top

If you check Rivals for the school in first place recruiting prepare for a shock. On the basis of a single athlete the University of Missouri is number one for 2026. This rating is based on receiving a commitment from the number 7 prospect in the nation on rivals.com. His name, Jason Crowe Jr. and he's from Lynwood California a city in Los Angeles County. Crowe Jr. is a 6-foot 3 170 pound shooting guard and becomes the first 5-star prospect recruited by Dennis Gates and staff for Mizzou. The most interesting portion of this account the number of programs with offers on the table for Crowe Jr.

Who are these schools you might ask, well they include Kentucky, Southern Cal, UCLA, Georgia Tech and Villanova to name just a few. It’s not just a Rivals rating check this out, ESPN 100 places him at number 4 while 247Sports list him as the 5th best prospect in the nation. There is no attempt to pour water over this blazing fire but we must look at several possibilities. It’s a long way to May 2026 he could change his mind and de-commit of course Mizzou interest hope that is not the case. The second and possible worst possibility is he is unable to adapt to the college game or he is a distraction to the team. What might appear to be negatives could transpire although the hope is it fails to occur. If Crowe Jr. arrives in Columbia Missouri next fall he will be the highest rated Mizzou prospect since 2017 when Michael Porter Jr. made his commitment known. Keep in mind Porter Jr. was recruited by former coach Cuonzo Martin.

We are a Now people

A number of athletes see greatness now rather than those who played in the past. I’m hypercritical of Brandon Jennings for these purposes, allow a brief explanation. On a recent podcast or interview he was asked to name the 5 best high school players in the NBA’s history. He named Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, LaMelo Ball and of course, himself. Of course the first three names are a slam dunk, Ball must finish his career and as for Jennings. He was made the number 10 pick in the first round of the 2009 draft, Jennings played for 9 seasons in the NBA. I could guess he earned a great deal of financial wealth and certainly his stat numbers indicate he could ball but think about the players he left off the list.

We are talking Top Five NBA players who didn’t attend college. Moses Malone, Kevin Garnett and Tracy McGrady, all are enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame, lets skip that and check a few more names. A number of international players were professional when they arrived on these shores but did not attend an American high school. How about adding Dirk Nowitzki, Ming Yao or Manu Ginobili’s name to our list? I’m not going to skip adding Amar’e Stoudemire’s name either. His was an outstanding NBA career especially the period he played for the Suns. In closing I’m not trying to downgrade Jennings career, I am simply pointing out when you begin naming names sometimes there are those overlooked…I hope you see my point.

Thunder unveiled their new arena

A brief time ago we discussed the NBA arena’s under deliberation, of the number the furthest along time wise is Oklahoma City. A replacement for Paycom Center was unveiled recently by the city and architect of the project MANCINA architects. Unfortunately, I cannot provide you reproductions of the arena because I don’t have permission by the city or MANCINA, I will just say it will be an enhancement to the skyline of Oklahoma City. This arena when completed will join the list which includes The Intuit Dome, Chase Center, Fiserv Arena and Little Caesars Arena all of these opened since the 2017-18 NBA season. Just in case you want to check out this latest NBA castle you can locate several sources online.

I’m going to mention this again, the Kansas City is the base for architects who have designed more than half of the current buildings in use by NBA teams. “Voters approved the project in December of 2023 by a 71% majority vote, groundbreaking will occur in 2026 with completion projected to be 2028. The arena will be publicly owned and funded through a one-cent sales tax over 72 months, $78 million in MAPS 4 funding, and $50 million for the Oklahoma City Thunder ownership group. The tax will not increase the city’s overall sales tax rate. The final design is still subject to Oklahoma City Council approval.” As for the remainder of NBA arena projects San Antonio’s Frost Bank Arena replacement would appear nearest to a start date. On May 14, the city council approved Project Marvel which is an urban renewal project including an arena.

Coliseum-on line-com/designs

The AARP gang

Let's check on the geriatric Clippers and reserves, we have 35 year old James Harden at the point. His backcourt mate will be 32 year old Bradley Beal. In the front court there is Ivica Zubac a youthful 28 years old, the small forward is 34 year old Kawhi Leonard who is joined by 28 year old John Collins at power forward. Those are your starters, as for reserves we have 57 year old Brook Lopez, just kidding he's only 37 years of age post backup. Also in reserve are guards Kris Dunn 31 and 32 year Bogdan Bogdanovic, we also must add 28 year old Derrick Jones Jr. at small forward along with 36 year old Nicholas Batum. 

I almost omitted my Missouri guy Kobe Brown, he’s only 25 but is never given the opportunity to prove he can play at this level. As you can see this team is built to win now, there is no way you can tell me this roster is being constructed for the future, heck the future is now. On paper I can state with conviction this team will be an NBA juggernaut offensively but what about the defense? Looking strictly at those named as starters only Zubac and Leonard play consistently outstanding defense. What ultimately prevails for this Clipper team, truth is I don’t know. They could win an NBA Championship, then again not to be a downer, injuries have seriously impacted Leonard and Beal and to a lesser degree James Harden over the course of time in the NBA. Okay, I admit it…I may have gone over the top with the headline. AARP says it is “Dedicated to people over 50, there is no minimum age to join.”