A basketball fans perspective

Sunday, Monday, Wednesday & Friday

It seems different every other day

Most are aware Tyran Stokes is the one, he is the top prospect in the Class of 2026 and a 5-star prospect There are three schools on his list among them Oregon although that is not likely to be his final destination. Stokes will choose between Kentucky and Kansas, both schools are jockeying back and forth for positioning. One day Kansas is in the lead with Kentucky second and two days later the selection order is reversed.

Stokes is a one n done athlete, whether its Lexington Kentucky or Lawrence Kansas he will only occupy a dorm room for a limited amount of time. This is something to consider although I am not going to hint it’s the decider. Kansas is affiliated with Adidas while Kentucky is a Nike school. Stokes has signed an NIL agreement with Nike, does he head for Kentucky on that basis? Check this out, Michael Jordan first gained a national reputation not wearing the Nike/Air Jordan brand, MJ wore Converse the entire time he played at North Carolina. As for this matter, any day now we should hear of the Stokes’ decision, your guess is___________.

I’m on his side

This has been mentioned previously but is worth a second look. Missouri has received a solid commit from Scottie Atkinson a Class of 2027 prospect. Atkinson is a 4-star combo guard, he’s enrolled at Webster Groves High School, St. Louis. We are looking ahead at the 2026-27 season and Dennis Gates is recruiting ahead of that. That’s my case in defending the coach from the naysayers, a number in Mizzou Nation are ready to replace him.

The primary reasoning is the season ending effort, the Tigers have flamed out in the first round of the NCAA tourney twice in that space of time. If we look at the history, we uncover this fact.  Under Mike Anderson and Frank Haith there were five consecutive appearances in the tourney. The last appearance for this duo occurred in 2013, as for former coach Cuonzo Martin there were more misses than hits. His Tiger teams earned two invites during his five years at the helm prior to Gates replacing him. Those in Mizzou Nation I challenge them with this statement, who do you want leading the program? I am honest here, Missouri is not a prime destination for a coach. The school is not a blue blood program, they are unable to hire a John Calipari or Dan Hurley type. If Gates is replaced, who comes in to take the seat? I mentioned this recently Dusty May at Michigan was a relative unknown after toiling at Florida Atlantic, we are acquainted with this champion coaches name after his team beat UConn.

Friends my hope is for a winning and successful program at Missouri, in closing I’m going to mention another name. I realize the situation might have been different, at the same time this is no attempt to mention Gates in the same breath as Coach K. After his first three years on the job the Duke Blue Devils had won 38 games while losing 47, what if the AD had decided to replace him? The basketball program certainly wouldn’t be the juggernaut it was to become.

Stand up, stand out

Luka Doncic gone, Austin Reaves also missing….both suffering injuries in the same game. Of course this is the absolute worst time for the Lakers to be hit with injuries….playoff time. This will be patched together Laker lineup which will face the Rockets on Saturday, the Lakers are in deep trouble with the following exception. It is Deandre Ayton time, after going on record with the media during the season it is now up to you to prove your worth. You remember his comment during the season, “They (the Lakers) want to turn me into Clint Capela.”

This was a reference to Capela who served the Rockets successfully. He scored when called on, clogged the middle, snatched down rebounds and blocked shots. That certainly doesn’t appear to be asking too much, isn’t that the responsibility most post players are required to perform? Ayton having played for the Suns and the Blazers has more playoff experience than any other Laker other than LeBron. This is the dilemma, there is talk about replacing Ayton either with a free agent or draft pick next season. This is the time for Ayton to step up, the question is he equipped for the spotlight to shine brightly on him? Yes, it is paramount he step up and stand out if the Lakers are to win this series against the Rockets.

This is a concern

NBA commissioner Adam Silver laid out a number of proposals to address teams tanking.  As you are aware this is the practice of a few NBA teams “losing games” in order to enhance their position for the NBA draft. A strange thing occurs on the road to these teams becoming improved…it doesn’t appear to always occur. If you check the history sometimes the same teams are in the lottery every season. There remains about a week or so of the season but check out last season versus this one, the first five. 2022 NBA draft saw this order, Orlando, OKC, Houston, Sacramento and Detroit.

In 2023 it was San Antonio, Charlotte, Portland, Houston and closed with Detroit. In 2024 we saw Atlanta, Washington, Houston, San Antonio and Detroit. 2025 witnessed this order Dallas, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Charlotte and Utah, the  2026 outcome is pending as this is written however it would appear this would be the order, Indiana, Brooklyn, Washington, Sacramento, Utah. Note, the Pistons, Spurs, Rockets and Hornets who appeared more than once in the lottery over a 5 year period have moved into the ranks of winners. The key offenders would appear to be the Jazz and Kings front offices. My hope this is correct, if so is there a real tanking issue other than two franchises named? If the league must place conditions in effect there is a serious problem, what do you think?