Basketball fans perspective

Monday, Wednesday & Friday

Welcome to summer

June 21 marks the first day of summer, and this is the first summer edition of Off the Dribble. Publishing on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I hope to cover as much basketball news and information as possible without much delay. With that said, I have this matter for many of you. If you enjoy the blog, please share the link (https://larry-laker.blogspot.com) with family or friends who might enjoy it as well. Thank you in advance.

There is more to the game

In one of those numerous basketball discussions we often hold this subject came up. Whenever the game is discussed we always want to know “How many points did Jalen Brunson/Wemby/KAT score.” We realize defense is important but it’s often overlooked in these discussions of a particular game. A player likely to be drafted tomorrow night has limited offensive skills but boy does he make up for it with other aspects of his game. A bleacherreport.com account claims “Ugonna Onyenso is a mobile shot-blocker who covers ground quickly and can make plays outside his immediate area.” Reading that I’m sold on the 6-foot 11 inch 245-pound Onyenso who finished his college at the University of Virginia.

Born in Nigeria he began play at the NBA Academy in Senegal and later attended the Putnam Academy in Connecticut. Onyenso spent one year at Kentucky, Kansas State and Virginia before declaring for the NBA draft. He was one of 73 players invited to the NBA Combine in Chicago were he displayed his shot-blocking skill and physical profile. This is the disclaimer on my part, its clear to me Onyenso must be drafted or signed as a free agent by the “right team.” A team expecting him to be the next Embiid or Wemby will be in for a rude awaking, he ain’t that guy. If you are looking for a lob threat and capable defender Onyenso is your man, he will score for you on occasion but that is not his primary skill. Just in case he’s not drafted late in the first round or perhaps in the second round expect to see a free-agent signing by some team.

Do you believe him….sorry, I don’t!

I hesitate to write this for fear some of you will become upset. Okay, I’m going to take a chance anyway, you either accept it or reject it. Does anyone pay attention to stuff ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith says? This is not just lately but going into his past, at least one of the tales he spins is difficult for the most die heart fans of his to maybe believe. I hope you remember the story, in any event I will relay it to you. This revolves around the basketball exploits of SAS and the legendary Clarence “Big House” Gaines, he coached Winston-Salem State basketball for 47-years. In any event lets set the stage, for sake of this discussion the fall of 1986 would have been SAS’s first year. The story he details for us the claim he and a friend traveled from New York City to Winston-Salem North Carolina arriving on a Sunday for a tryout for the basketball team.  

Some mysterious person who remains unidentified to this date “persuaded” Big House Gaines on a Sunday no less to check out this young basketball prodigy. SAS after demonstrating his passing skills the coach requested he display his shooting skill. According to the info provided by him he sank jumper after jumper evidently impressing the coach. After his tryout he was offered a basketball scholarship but later an injured knee requiring surgery changed his basketball journey, he was unable to return to the form he previously demonstrated. His bio takes a strange turn here, while still a member of the team he wrote an article for the student newspaper claiming Big House should retire based on health issues. But wait, there is more at least 5 former teammates have indicated SAS was indeed a member of the team however he saw no action due to his injury. So what’s the verdict….does his story appear valid to you? It sounds suspect to me on so many levels.

We are there

Every year at this time the NBA holds its annual draft, a number of teams hope they are choosing the next MJ or perhaps the next Cooper Flagg or Wemby. The scouting staffs have done their  job, they have traveled all over the nation and world in an attempt to uncover that hidden gem. A few NBA playoff teams believe they will secure a Dylan Harper or someone near the Spurs guards ability. Many of the teams at the bottom of the standings desire that one player to raise the level of play and allow them to compete successfully. We can also explore rookie free agents, some players (Austin Reaves) preferred to choose which team they want to unite with.

In the case of Reaves its proven quite lucrative and will again once he signs with the Lakers are elsewhere. Lu Dort of the Thunder went undrafted and has proven to be a valuable asset for the Thunder, the same could be said for the Raptors and Rockets Fred VanVleet. In the past we could mentioned retired players such as Udonis Haslem, Bruce Bowen and Ben Wallace. Each of them had a long and storied NBA career. As for others it’s an attempt to improve the team through NBA free agency, teams can begin negotiations on June 30, on July 6 they can begin signing many of those free agents but this can be misleading for some. NBA teams can sign their own free agents to higher salaries and longer contracts than other teams can offer. There is little basketball played with the exception of Summer League but numerous business is being conducted during this period.