The view of a fan

Published Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat & Sun

Why I ignore money

You know me by now, as a general rule I don’t discuss the salaries of athletes, the price of other stuff no problem, I will discuss those issues “till the cows come home.” The key reason I refuse to discuss money is for the following reasons. Joel Embiid is the third highest paid player in the NBA, Anthony Davis is further down the list but is in the Top 10. With all his talent if we check the numbers we’ll discover Embiid played a total of 19 games during the season, as for AD with the Lakers and Mavs it was 51 games in total. Both players are under contract as were other players who were injured during the season. 

The issue becomes the amount of pay versus the number of games played. By me simply not publishing salaries it’s not hiding any facts, if one is interested salaries can be readily sought out via the internet. What is the point of this exercise…No matter how you might feel about the salary paid an athlete you (nor I) have any control over what a team might choose to reward a player. Some reading this will be shocked to discover this fact, years ago during the off season a number of players were forced to work secondary jobs. Back then this policy of having a second job lasted until the mid ‘70’s or so, it was necessary because salaries back then were comparable to those working 40 hour a week jobs.  

The dunk will ruin college basketball

The above headline is a statement made by several folks in the middle ‘60’s, they managed to make enough noise a change was made. For those too young or unfamiliar with the events from 1967 through 1976 college basketball players were prohibited from dunking the basketball. Didn’t matter if it were warming up or during the game a team would be accessed technical fouls. The official explanation was the possibility of injury occurring if teams were allowed to dunk. This next statement I can offer no proof just what I believe was the basis. The ban was the result of UCLA’s Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) dominating basketball and this became an effective method of stopping him or at least curtailing his dominance. We are near the dawn of another college basketball season and there are issues to manage. As long as human beings are involved in something there will be issues.

Many of us continue to struggle with the Transfer Portal plus Name, Image and Likeness, it’s my belief the NCAA is directly and sometimes indirectly involved in how these series of changes developed. Am I claiming both are perfect…of course not, as with any issue as they come to the forefront they must be administered. I’ve read fan letters complaining about the amount of NIL money a particular player is receiving, that is a dangerous area for me. I would never place myself in a position to determine the financial reward of someone unless I had direct knowledge and a connection. As for the Transfer Portal I believe it should be addressed in this manner, unless there is an injury issue only two transfers should be allowed. There are instances (including Mizzou) a player might have played at 3 schools by their junior year. I realize this exercise will not satisfy many reading this and it shouldn’t. As I often attempt to explain in instances such as this it’s my opinion if you agree okay…if you don’t that’s okay too.  

If it sounds too good to be true, that just might be the case

Over the years I have made it a practice to be as accurate as possible when compiling information for Off the Dribble. I always sought to separate fact from my opinion on a subject. The history is the most important component and maybe in the information I’m about to cite perhaps the fan believed he was correct. A story on the American Basketball Association and Artis Gilmore prompted this fan responding to the “breakup” of the ABA. He claimed Jerry Reinsdorf and the Bulls held the draft rights to Gilmore. The writer claimed Reinsdorf voted against the Kentucky Colonels moving into the NBA 

Gilmore was on the roster of the Colonels and the Bulls wanted him or at least that was the claim. At this point, the story takes a left turn because only a portion of the letter written by the fan is correct. Let’s look at some dates, at the time it was not unusual for NBA teams to draft players who might be in the ABA it was commonplace, the Bulls did just that in the 1971 draft. In 1976 the NBA absorbed (I no longer use merger) four teams the Spurs, Nuggets, Pacers and Nets. Reinsdorf purchased the Bulls in 1985 exactly 14 years after the ABA was dissolved. Did the Bulls ownership in 1976 vote against adding the Colonels to the NBA I don’t know. The writer might be correct however he named the wrong culprit…it certainly wasn’t Reinsdorf based on the lapse of time. In closing as the headline reads, be careful of your source.

UConn a Blue Blood

I bet you didn’t (or maybe you did) realize UConn’s won 6 NCAA Championships in the men’s division. I had to be specific because UConn women have long dominated college basketball. As for the men I ask the question, is UConn a Blue Blood program…I believe they are for a number of reasons. At the top of the list are the total championship, their number exceeds Kansas which by all accounts is considered a Blue Blood program. UConn is tied with North Carolina so that fact alone places the them in exclusive company.

What is most interesting the in 121 seasons of basketball the championships won involve only two head coaches, Jim Calhoun and Dan Hurley. Unlike some other Blue Blood or even high profile programs UConn’s roster is never graced with McDonald’s All Americans. Winning has been accomplished recruiting talented athletes and having them buy into the system of Calhoun and now Hurley. Speaking of Hurley in some circles the guy is not well liked, he’s intense and wants to win all the time. This makes Hurley somewhat unpopular among many in the coaching fraternity. For me UConn always appears to be that team lying in the woods, the opposition is generally unsure what they might be facing.