A basketball fans perspective

Sunday, Monday, Wednesday & Friday

“We’re just glad to be here” 

The headline reflects what many young teams say when they reach the pinnacle for the first time: “We’re just glad to be here.” That mindset certainly did not fit the Spurs, despite the fact how young they are. Their starting five ages include Wemby (22), Fox (28), Champagnie (24), Vassell (25), and Castle (21), while the bench features Johnson (26), Bryant (20), Harper (20), and Kornet (30). Whatever occurs in the Finals I believe we have witnessed the coming of age of this youthful Spurs team. There was a Wemby quote some might believe is arrogant, questioned on his team’s lack of playoff experience he said: “We don’t have it, we don’t care.”

Mitch Johnson coached his rear end off and the veteran center Bismack Biyombo in Wemby’s ear. I’d bet huge sums of money Biyombo was speaking encouraging words to him in French. As for the Thunder at a point it seemed SGA was carrying the offensive load of the team by himself, 35 points and 9 assists. In 33 minutes Chet Holmgren took 2 shots, Alex Caruso came off the bench scoring 12 points but he certainly wasn’t the spark he’d been in previous games. It wasn’t just scoring, the Spurs played tough defense and rebounded the basketball. It should be of note that having 7 players in double figures certainly aided the Spurs cause. For me, this series has been one of the most entertaining to date, hopefully this was just the beginning. I cannot wait for Wednesday to see the Knicks and Spurs in action.   

The name might be familiar

If you followed the NFL over time the name Marcus Spears might be familiar to you. Spears had a 9-year career in the league spending the bulk of it as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. Spears was a defensive end and played other positions while in the NFL. More recently in a manner similar to other retired athletes he can now be seen working for ESPN as he provides insight into the NFL. One of his offspring has made a name for himself his son Marcus Spears Jr.

Unlike his father, Marcus Spears Jr. chose basketball and has quickly made a name for himself. The 6-foot-10 forward is a five-star prospect who plays at Dynamic Prep in Irving, Texas, near DFW Airport. He was born and raised in Plano, also part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metro area. As proof of his potential scholarship and NIL offers have come from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Duke, Indiana, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, and LSU. As you might note those are some high profile basketball programs which provides proof, many major programs want Spears Jr. on campus, and I’ll continue following his recruitment and sharing updates.

Twins

Depending on your age or NBA knowledge the name Theo Ratliff may or may not be familiar to a number reading this account. The 6-foot 10 Ratliff spent his 16 year career NBA with a number of teams after being drafted by the Pistons back in 1995. Never known as a scorer his specialty was defense as he would lead the NBA in block shots three times during the course of his career. After retirement he would venture into a variety of entrepreneurial fields. He owned a semi-pro basketball team and also opened The Theo Ratliff Center in his hometown of Demopolis Alabama.

Many basketball players follow in their father’s footsteps, but in this case it’s a two-for-one story. Theo Ratliff’s twin sons, Adonis and Darius, have both emerged as highly skilled players. Like many second-generation athletes, they are even taller than their father, standing 7 feet tall and weighing 215 pounds. Both were named McDonald’s All Americans and have signed letters of intent to attend USC in the fall of 2026. The twins attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. This is a snapshot of rising talent that could eventually make its way to the NBA.

Kansas City Metro in the NBA

Although there is no longer an NBA team here, the metro continues to produce talented players for the league. The first player from this area mentioned would be the late Maurice King. After graduating from Manuel High School in Kansas City, King played at Kansas before being drafted by the Celtics. He was part of the 1959 NBA champion Celtics team and later played for several other teams before retiring. King was the first, but there are others as well—please note, these names are not listed in the order they played however their respective high schools are included. A number are retired or playing overseas. 

Clay Johnson-Manuel-KCMO

Lucius Allen-Wyandotte-KCK

Landry Shamet-Park Hill-KCMO

Ochai Agbaji-Oak Park-KCMO

Tyronn Lue-Raytown HS-Raytown

Alec Burks-Grandview HS-Grandview

Christian Braun-Blue Valley-Overland Park

Earl Watson-Washington-KCK

Brandon Rush-Westport-KCMO & Mount Zion-Durham North Carolina

Kareem Rush-Pembroke School-KCMO

Jacob Gilyard-The Barstow School-KCMO

Bol Bol-4 high schools, 2 in KCMO Metro and one in Nevada and one in California

Anthony Peeler-Paseo-KCMO

Dean Tolson-Central-KCMO

John Windsor-Pembroke-KCMO

Steve Harris-Blue Springs South HS-Blue Springs

Note this list is as accurate as possible, keep in mind a number of the individuals who played briefly in the NBA while others had more extensive time. In addition there are others who are playing professionally overseas. The number is small by comparison to a New York, Los Angeles or Chicago however those metropolitan areas are 4-5 times larger than the Kansas City metro.