A fans perspective 

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday

Gambling

Sports betting, or gambling, has been present since the early days of organized sports. Recent events on Friday involved the arrest of a coach, an active player, and a retired individual by the FBI on gambling-related charges. As the story is still developing, there are no conclusions being drawn at this time, but several aspects merit attention. The situation presents significant challenges for the NBA and has become a prominent topic both within sports and broader news coverage. There are concerns about inaccurate headlines that have emerged.

For instance, it was reported on Friday that Scott Foster former NBA official who retired after 29 years, was arrested on Thursday. However, as of early Friday morning, news sources indicate no such arrest has occurred. The most perplexing part for me the possible involvement of Chauncey Billups, head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers and member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, has raised notable questions. If allegations are substantiated, it could impact the proud legacy he’s established. Currently, only Billups and two additional individuals have been named, while the FBI investigation continues. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

He said it

Kelvin Sampson Houston coach performed quite a feat. At the recent Big 12 media day he laid gobs of praise on Kansas basketball, that’s all the local media needed to just lap his words up like a puppy drinking water. That was then, this is now, I must constantly remind my friends across State Line Road the days of Kansas dominating the Big 12 are over. Sure they still have Bill Self, sure they can recruit on the school’s name but the door is slowly closing on them being the best team in the conference let alone the nation. We realize media folks are not always the best source for information, I include myself at this point. I decided to check a number of preseason Big 12 polls, I stopped at four. Of that number none of the polls have placed Kansas in the top spot, that space belongs to Sampson and his Houston Cougars.

Not only is Kansas basketball not projected at the top of the conference, three sites ranked them the number 5 team in the conference, one even placed them in 6 place. The conference leadership may indirectly be responsible for Kansas basketball not being as prevalent as it once was. There was an annual appeal for teams to join the Big 12 since the departure of Nebraska, Mizzou and Colorado have made for a competitive conference. Houston mentioned previously along with Arizona and a revitalized BYU program come ready to play. If we add Cincinnati and holdovers Baylor and Texas Tech I hope you see where I’m going. This is not the end of Kansas basketball however the era of Kansas no longer dominating the conference begins. The truth of the matter It was 2016-17 the last year they won the conference outright. If Sampson believes his words, if Kansas City media believes in the invincible Jayhawks that’s okay…it’s just no longer reality.

Not my list

Recently several might remember the story regarding the All-Time Laker players. I didn’t originate it but took issue with a couple of the players the writer placed on his team. One of those he named was LeBron James. Now it’s not my intent to toss rocks at LeBron but he doesn’t belong for a number of reasons. Basketball similar to a number of others is a team sport, it requires all parties to perform at peak efficiency. We can look at the champion Thunder team as the most recent example, LeBron has been a Laker since 2018 in that time the team has won but one championship that one in 2020. The team has failed twice in that time period to qualify for the playoffs,

Those other years were playoff elimination seasons for the Lakers. In that time period only one season did they manage to play for the conference finals. The fall back is despite having LeBron on the roster the balance of Laker teammates were not talented enough to advance any further in the playoffs. Is that LeBron’s fault alone…of course not, he's a party of one. The finger of blame must also be pointed in the direction of Laker management. Whenever I contemplate All-Time Laker greats I think of those in the past who led the team to numerous championships. No argument from me LeBron James has set scoring records that will never be duplicated. Based on that fact alone he’s headed to Naismith as soon as he’s eligible. Yes, that Hall of Fame but not one that includes Laker All-Time greats.

Meanwhile….

There are 135 international athletes on 30 NBA rosters which is a record number this season. As for the numbers Canada leads with 23 players, France is second with 19 and Australia sends 13 to the association. Completing the Top 10 are the following nation and the number is included in parentheses. They are Germany (7), Serbia (6), Cameroon (4), United Kingdom (4), Bahamas (3) Croatia (3) Democratic Rep. of the Congo (3). There are a total of 21 nations represented in the international count. Without conducting any research it’s my belief the NBA comprises more international players than any other professional sport less soccer (football) and perhaps major league baseball. Despite the popularity of NFL football the sport contains few international players.

I’ve mentioned his name in the past, it’s Jay Bilas. Most of you are more familiar with his role as a college basketball analyst and color commentator for ESPN. Bilas provided us his list of All Americans for the upcoming season. One of the names he placed on his team is Yaxel Lendeborg, power/small forward at Michigan. A bit of background on the 6-foot 9 240 pound Lendeborg, he was born in Puerto Rico but moved to Pennsauken Township New Jersey a city in the Philadelphia metro. He began play at a community college prior to attending and playing for UAB, 2025 would be his first year at Michigan. He entertained the NBA draft but decided in favor of playing another season at Michigan, expect to hear his name called in the 2026 NBA draft.

There are times rules are passed that are questionable to some. Longtime Michigan State coach Tom Izzo expressed his displeasure with the fact that two former G-League players will be allowed to play college basketball. I understand why the coach is upset, he probably considers them professionals yet they are going to be allowed to play as “amateurs.” Speaking of fair, how about this one? Gonzaga’s Tyon Grant-Foster missed two seasons while at DePaul with heart issues while the NCAA details for all they have no heart. The NCAA denied Gonzaga’s request for an injury waiver providing us proof once again they truly lack empathy.

There is an adjustment period for rookies but not the Sixers guard VJ Edgecomb. He aided his team in edging the Celtics 117-116. In 42 minutes on the court he scored 34 points on 50% from the floor and 39% from three. The only downside to his first regular season NBA game was poor free throw shooting, he shot only 50% from the free throw line. Frank Selvy scored 35 points for the 1954 Philly Warriors, Wilt Chamberlain had 43 in his Warrior debut and then on Wednesday evening the third most scored by a rookie in Philly history with Edgecomb’s 34.