The view of a fan

Published Tue, Wed, Thu, Sat & Sun

I wish

At the time Dominique Wilkins played he was nicknamed “The Human Highlight Film,” he played in the NBA from 1982-1999. The majority of his career was spent as a member of the Atlanta Hawks, as the nickname applies Wilkins now in the Naismith and College Hall of Fame was just that. As for the headline the complete quote is “I wish these young guys would stop using us as punching bags to prove their point.” I’m unsure where to point the finger of blame…most likely social media, we have a legion of today’s players and some in the not too distant past that are performing the task. They are “beating up on the guys who proceeded them into the NBA.”

I can agree with Wilkins listening to players of today portraying those in the past as plumbers, milkmen and carpenters. There is no argument from me on the matter, the game has changed over generations. It is downright ridiculous to conclude players from an earlier time couldn’t have played in 2025. As I’ve often indicated we have no time machine to determine how Oscar Robertson might have matched up against Steph Curry or LeBron James v Elgin Baylor. Maybe Wilkins (and me) are missing the point, the podcast or television production should have an upfront disclaimer. “The discussion you are about to hear (or heard) is for entertainment purposes only.” We can never determine if Shaq could have dominated Wilt Chamberlain or vice versa, next time I hear of one of these types of discussions I intend to just laugh and keep moving.

Is he the answer

In my opinion the Rockets have one of the best coaches in the NBA, Ime Udoka is just that. It’s my belief he rather than Joe Mazulla would have won that championship in Boston. That is another story for another time, as for the present Udoka has the Rockets competing for the Western Conference leadership. He took over a Rockets team and finished at .500 (41-41) in his first season, in the 2024-25 season it was 52 wins. His Rockets finished the season in first place in the Southwest Conference of the NBA, they lost in the first round but with the addition of Kevin Durant expectation is far different. Center Alperen Sengun’s game has continued its upward trend, I’m unsure where to place him among the NBA’s top centers but is Top 7.

There is steady veteran point guard Fred VanVleet and youngster Amen Thompson at small forward who continues to grow his game now in his 3rd year but only 22 years of age. At the power forward position is Kevin Durant, you remember him don’t you? He’s now 36 years old however he remains one of the dead eye shooters in the NBA. The reserves must be able to bridge the gap which they are considered adequate by most standards. The key of course is for this Rockets team to remain healthy throughout the season and into the playoffs. One of the keys is where this began, at the foot of head coach Udoka. No doubt in my mind Udoka will have the Rockets playing “belly button” defense on the opposition. As pointed out the Western Conference is strewn with landmines, every team is a tough matchup for the Rockets. It’s my belief the only teams that might be an exception for contention are the Suns, Jazz, Kings and Blazers.

Academics and basketball

Often we tend to believe athletes are only interested in competing in their sport, while that statement might be true for some there are a number of NBA players who managed advanced degrees or took extra steps to complete their academics. Bill Bradley was an All American at Princeton and Rhodes Scholar, he spent a number of very successful seasons with the Knicks. He would run for and be elected to the U.S. Senate representing the State of New Jersey from 1979-1997. Another former NBA player was Chris Dudley who played his college basketball at Ivy League Yale University. Dudley was a member of several teams during his time in the NBA. The late Dikembe Mutombo earned a degree in linguistics and diplomacy from Georgetown.

There are others, they departed school for the NBA but returned to graduate. The first player of note to profile is Michael Jordan. Yes, MJ returned and completed a degree in geography he really didn’t require. Also included in our number is Vince Carter who also completed his undergraduate degree while Vin-Sanity was competing in the NBA. Sharpshooter Steph Curry returned to Davidson after 13 years with the Warriors and finished work on a degree in sociology. The Big Aristotle Shaq resumed his studies at LSU to complete his undergraduate work, an MBA from the University of Phoenix and a Ph.D. from Barry University. By no means should this list be considered complete, the plan was to profile several those players who believed education was as important as the ability to dunk a basketball.

No longer required

This is a portion of a conversation I heard, you be the decider on whether you believe it or not. It was said colleges no longer recruit the list of Top 30 or so high school athletes. It’s said they check the transfer portal to determine who is available and if there is a player they believe could fit in their system. Each of us is kindly aware of the changes in college basketball over the last 4-5 years…the transfer portal might have proceeded the name, image and likeness rule impacting the college game today. Is this a good thing i.e., players moving from school to school?

This is the portion I find most interesting, back in the day a transfer meant playing in a different conference often in a different portion of the country. Even that’s gone away, this past season Mizzou had Josh Gray on its roster. Previously he’d played for South Carolina and LSU both in the SEC the same conference as Mizzou. Key for the turnaround of Mizzou’s record were portal transfers rather than freshman and sophomore recruited talent. Will the family room visit with the parents disappear altogether, I have serious doubts. Those highly touted high school seniors will continue to be recruited, those considered second and third tier maybe not so much. This I do know the recruiting process has changed and might continue to evolve over the next several years.

He's a forgotten Laker great

If you began to list All-Time Laker greats you might start off with Jerry West, Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain. On the other hand you might start your list with the names of Magic, Kobe, Kareem and Big Game James, no need of last names Laker Nation is fully aware of that. A name that might be omitted or overlooked is that of Gail Goodrich. Goodrich is enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame but wait I’m getting ahead of myself. Born in Los Angeles he never left the city after graduation from a Los Angeles high school he stayed at home and enrolled at UCLA. He would be named an All American and at UCLA he would become a two time NCAA champion. In 1965 the Lakers made Stumpy as he was nicknamed a territorial pick.

Goodrich came about the nickname in an interesting manner, his junior year of high school he was a 5-foot 8 inch guard and never more than 6-foot 1 in the NBA. There were not a great deal of offers for Goodrich based on his physical makeup. Once he arrived in the NBA he would remain a vital member of the Lakers until 1979 despite a brief move. In the NBA Goodrich was a 5 time All NBA All Star and in 1974 he earned NBA First Team honors. Goodrich was picked by the Phoenix Suns in the 1968 NBA expansion draft and played with them until 1970, from there it was back to the Lakers in a trade. Goodrich would finish his career as a member of the New Orleans Jazz. After retirement he went into the corporate world. Nowadays Goodrich can be seen providing his insight to the game on NBA TV. He left the NBA scoring nearly 20,000 points for his career, he is now enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. An outstanding accomplishment for a player nicknamed Stumpy.