Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

Bits n Pieces 

Veteran and future Hall of Fame athlete Chris Paul is now a member of the Golden State Warriors. Both are a surprise, the fact at 38 years of age he will be playing for a new team. The most amazing fact, Paul might become a starter for the Warriors, if that is the case who sits? That would likely be 6-foot 9-inch Kevin Looney but that could present a further problem. There is no argument regarding Warriors shooting but rebounding the basketball might be another matter. We could see the Warriors with the shortest backcourt in the NBA with the 6-foot Paul and Steph Curry at 6 feet 2. I never say never however despite the fact of two future Hall of Fame guards there might be a problem. Will this duo be able to not only rebound but defend with such a “tiny” backcourt? It will be interesting to see how this match works out over the course of the season.

I came across an account which I thought quite interesting, 247Sports.com presented its Top 10 high school basketball players regardless of their class and guess who’s at the top?  In a manner of speaking its really no surprise, they selected 6 foot 8 forward/wing Cooper Flagg. Even more interesting is Flagg’s age, although now a senior at Montverde Academy he will not turn 17 until December 21. This is the part that stood out for me, 1.” In short, it’s the defensive dominance (he’s the best non-7-foot rim protector I’ve ever seen at this age), combined with the offensive progression, killer instinct, intelligence and competitiveness.” I hope this is not a “Emoni Bates” repeat and Flagg is for real, the comparison to Larry Bird is scary for me. There are several in the media sitting the bar a bit too high in my view. 

1. 247Sports.com

A special Happy Birthday greeting to one of my favorite coaches Larry Brown. Although now retired (temporarily) he turned 83 years old yesterday. 3X ABA Coach of the Year, 2001 NBA Coach of the Year, 2004 NBA Champion along with induction into the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. You question why I state the retirement is temporary for Brown. He was working the 2021-22 college basketball season in an advisory role to head coach Penny Hardaway at Memphis. Health concerns caused him to resign in the middle of the season, if his physical condition issues are resolved expect to see him at some basketball stop soon. I say that because basketball is his life, Google his name and note the number of stops he’s made over his career.

How to….

Be informative in describing the game but don’t talk too much. I don’t have the answer however the shorten version of this account is the role of a basketball television analyst.  They are hired due to their expertise and ability to communicate the game to the viewer.  It’s always been my belief a radio analyst requires far more verbal skills than video, it’s obvious the picture.  You might not see the nuances of the game however an untrained eye can see the shot or the pass, blocked shot or TO.  It was said the late Chick Hearn simulcasting Laker games on radio and television was much more descriptive than required for television. 

It was done on purpose the action on the court had to be communicated to those in his audience listening on radio.  We have reached a stage now especially with television, the picture quality is so clear and concise we now see plays our grandfathers and fathers never witnessed.  I believe it’s important for that analyst to highlight areas which they believe are critical for the viewer.  At the same time, its unimportant to talk incessantly as Jeff Van Gundy often does during games.  Don’t get me wrong, I have no doubt of Van Gundy’s basketball knowledge and now I will probably miss him. For me it appears he often go’s on tangents which often have nothing to do with the game in front of us.  Now you ask, could I perform the role of an analyst?  Currently not without a great deal of training and coaching, after that I think I could manage the job.

Who’s record

The scoring of LSU’s "Pistol" Pete Maravich and his scoring prowess is well established. We even detailed for you he is the all-time leading scorer in college basketball history. That statement is only partially correct but not fully, Maravich scored 3,667 points in NCAA Division I basketball. An athlete few remember Travis Grant scored even more, playing for Kentucky State University he scored 4,045 points. Grant was nicknamed "Machine Gun" due to the rapid point totals he registered during the games he played. Perhaps one of the reasons the record is not known by most Kentucky State played at the NAIA level although now the school has moved up to the Division II level.

During Grant’s time at Kentucky State the school won three consecutive NAIA Championships and his scoring was a contributing factor. Grant would be drafted by the Lakers in the 1972 NBA Draft, unfortunately he was unable to transfer the success he achieved at the college level to that of a professional. Grant exited the NBA by 1976 having spent time with three other NBA/ABA teams. There is this to consider, NAIA schools unlike Division I always allowed freshman to play on the varsity. The Maravich scoring represent his point total from his sophomore through senior years. I took this investigation one step further and uncovered this fact. Maravich averaged 39 points a game his freshman year scoring 741 points, which makes for a grand total of 4,408 points he scored at LSU.

What occurs

Anthony Davis has gone on record indicating he is reluctantly playing center, his preference for a position is power forward. As this is written there are reports AD will be the starter but the question might be for how long, I say this since it appears there is now depth at the five? We are 6-8 weeks or so from the start of training camp, even then the question might remain unanswered for a time. Let’s do a quick assessment here, the Lakers now have two veteran post players and one rookie.

There is youth too, the recently acquired Christian Wood (27-years old), 7-foot Jaxson Hayes (23-years old) picked up during the free agent period and 23-year-old 6-11 Colin Castleton. We have been led to believe coach Ham prefers a veteran presence in the post, a rookie is likely to spend the bulk of his season with the South Bay Lakers. Castleton will probably not be involved in play short of injury to one of those mentioned earlier. AD turned 30 years of age in March so he should still have several quality seasons ahead barring injury. We must wait to see how this post position fight turns out.

Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

The school of his choosing

Over the summer the name Cooper Flagg blew up, the first mention he reclassified and immediately became the top prospect in the Class of 2024. Then the 6-foot 8-inch 195 pound small forward went out and had a terrific game at the legendary Rucker Park in Harlem. His performance brought comparisons to Larry Bird, which I believe is totally unfair to this teen. Scholarship offers were already in place but it’s likely he received a few more after his summer play, he’s enrolled at Montverde Academy in Florida.  

Flagg's mom indicates her son has three schools on the calendar prior to the start of the college season. Flagg will be in Storrs Connecticut home of the NCAA Champion UConn Huskies and meet with Dan Hurley that will occur September 22-24, October 6-8 it’s Lawrence with Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks. October 20-22 Flagg will visit Durham North Carolina home of Duke University and meet with coach Jon Scheyer. Flagg has 8 other schools offering scholarships, which becomes his school of choice? I have no inside information regarding a decision by Flagg but believe he will likely choose the Duke Blue Devils.

Why just the Lakers and not the others?

The NBA finally decided to address the issue of “Load Management” and its effect on the integrity of the game. The Board of Governors voted to levy huge fines on teams who violate the new guidelines regarding resting players. I’m not going to detail line for line of the new policy, it is available for you to check on a number of other sites. This is what I found most interesting one headline announced, “Is this change aimed at the Lakers.” I cannot address that however I make this statement, I’m sure the Lakers will work within the confines of the new guidelines.

This issue of “sitting” players impacts more than the Lakers alone there are certainly other teams and players that will be affected by this new rule. There is a player with a locker on the other side of Crypto.com area who might be in a similar category to LeBron James in supposedly missing games. The issue is understandable from the NBA’s viewpoint, they want LeBron, Steph Curry and others on the floor especially when on the road. Will this new policy change the issue of load management…we must wait and see after the season for a true assessment?  

Not too surprising

This is not intended as a criticism of Shams Charania writer for The Athletic, I enjoy his analysis of the NBA. On September 11 he wrote “expect to see Victor Wembanyama at power forward.” With Spurs training camp 4-6 weeks away this is not exactly shocking news for a number of reasons. Depending on the publication it’s reported Wemby weighs between 210-230 pounds, he’s far too “slight in the pants” to play most opposing NBA centers. Standing 7 foot 4 or 7 foot 5 Wemby should be able to shoot over most power forwards. This is what I expect to occur, opposing power forwards will do a “Kareem” on him.

You are now asking yourself, “What’s a Kareem?” At the time Kareem Abdul Jabbar entered the NBA he was also rather light, he played center (225 pounds or so). Competitors would often attempt to push him outside his comfort zone. This was done most often to force Abdul Jabbar difficulty in shooting his devastating skyhook. Unlike Abdul Jabbar what I’ve seen of Wemby thus far is a much wider arsenal of shots. There is a possibility at some future date he might be able to move into the post although that’s not a guarantee. It just might be best even with a weight game over time power forward might be his best position. Who can really answer the question, I can only speculate since I’m simply a longtime basketball fan.

Take that NCAA

How about this, the Big XII, Big 10 and Big East are discussing a post-season tournament. These conferences are about to throw down the gauntlet so to speak. In this instance this event has nothing to do with the NCAA Championship Tournament already in place, it would be far different. This tournament would be comprised of those who were overlooked or excluded from the March Championship Tournament. There is an immediate downside, if this comes to fruition it might prove the end of the National Invitation Tournament as we know it.

This Madison Square Garden event has been on life-support the last several years as the NCAA Tournament continued to expand. In addition we are aware of NCAA teams being overlooked or just plain excluded from The Big Dance. As an example last season North Carolina (20-13) and Clemson (23-10) along with 20-14 Vanderbilt failed to receive an invitation. I’m not going to detail the nuts and bolts, i.e. the predictor tool used to determine who goes and who remains at home. In this instance I’m looking strictly at a teams won-loss record. My view it’s a good thing although the downside might be no more NIT Tournament which has a rich basketball tradition and history.

Planned new arenas

I’ve mentioned 76 Place in the recent past, this is the planned arena for the Sixers. Although Wells Fargo Center is relatively new (1996 opening) play dates must be shared with the NHL Flyers and others utilizing the building. 76 Place would be the exclusive home of the Sixers, there are roadblocks in place which must be resolved before the first shovel of dirt is turned over and construction would begin. More recently the Bexar County and San Antonio announced a joint effort to build a basketball-baseball complex in the downtown portion of the area. This effort was driven by the June draft and the arrival of Victor Wembanyama. It’s believed Wemby will be the driving force for the increase in attendance, this is not a done deal either.

There are logistics which must be worked out before construction begins. This past Monday came word from Oklahoma City the intention to build a new arena for the Thunder, this arena would have a planned opening for the 2029-30 NBA season. The Thunder denote they intend to sign a 25-year lease on the new arena. Paycom Center is relatively new having opened in 2002 but is now considered antiquated by NBA standards. There are additional details which must be worked out however the OKC mayor appears pleased with the effort. The key portion of the announcement, “Don’t raise taxes if it can be avoided” says Mayor David Holt. Three planned arenas in Philadelphia, San Antonio and Oklahoma City, as additional information is forthcoming I will attempt to keep you apprised of the news. As noted these efforts are in the talking stage so it’s yet to be determined if these buildings are completed.

Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

Unknown quote

I searched for the author of this great quote, unfortunately I was unable to locate a name. I cannot give proper credit for these great words, well in any event here goes:

“Average players want to hear how good they are.

Great players want to hear how they can keep getting better.” 

New York was home too

If you said New York and the NBA you’d immediately think of the Knicks and Nets. While that’s certainly correct there were three other teams that once called New York state home. The Rochester Royals were an NBL team that began play in the 1945-46 season. According to the history the team was successful but failed to profit, in 1957 came a move to Cincinnati (OH). Cincinnati would remain home until 1972 when the franchise was moved again this time to Kansas City-Omaha becoming the Kings. In 1985 the Kings left Kansas City for Sacramento where they remain to date. In Buffalo we had the expansion Braves who came into existence in 1970.

In 1978 the Braves moved west to San Diego and were reborn as the Clippers. The other New York team was a member of the National Basketball League rival to the Basketball Association of America. The two leagues would merge in 1949 becoming today’s NBA, let’s check a little history, the Syracuse (NY) Nationals began play in 1946 the same season the BAA began play. It’s not clear if attendance was an issue or just the fact the NBA was focused on play in larger city’s but this is how the move occurred. The Philadelphia Warriors relocated to San Francisco at the end of the 1962-63 season leaving Philadelphia without an NBA team. That wouldn’t last long, the Nationals moved from Syracuse New York and would be reborn as the Philadelphia 76ers for the 1963-64 season.

Top 25

I took a look at several pre-season Top 25 teams, the majority have Kansas number one. The questions might revolve around several of the others on the list, for an example Purdue. CBS places them as the second-best college team in the nation, do you believe that high a ranking is legitimate? Matt Painter is a good coach so maybe I’m underestimating the Boilermakers. The biggest shocker for me and I hope this doesn’t appear a put down, they have Florida Atlantic University at four.

The Owls (yes that’s the team’s mascot) won 35 games last season losing only 4 games 2 of them conference and one in the NCAA tourney. CBS believes the SEC will be tough once again and it’s not just Kentucky, they place four other SEC in their Top 25. Is the Big XII as dominate as reported, this poll certainly doesn’t reflect that? Other than Kansas at the top only Baylor makes the list, I’m excluding Texas because they are headed for the SEC at the end of the season. Check the list, see if you agree with the assessment.

Am I superstitious? 

I might have been less than honest with myself about superstitions, I’ll explain. You are aware of the traditional stuff several folks believe, Friday the 13, walking under a ladder etc. etc. etc.  What occurred to change my mind, a conversation with a co-worker. We held a discussion on the subject and a Lakers game emerged from the back of my brain. I cannot provide you the day, date or anything connected with it except I remember it was a win for the Lakers.

I was parked in front of my television watching the Lakers battling a tough team in the playoffs. My wardrobe was a Laker Polo or jersey I don’t actually remember but the win I do. Down by two points one of the Laker players hit a 3-point basket as the clock read 0.00 as the horn sounded. I’m sure the neighborhood heard my screaming and hollering with the victory. Since that win if the Laker game is on television you will find me parked in front of my television with something Purple & Gold on. Does this superstition work all the time…of course not but it sure provides me a degree of comfort knowing I’m game ready?

Someone’s calculator is not working

By my fingers and toe count Cooper Flagg has two years before he is eligible for the NBA draft. For some reason I am seeing publications writing along these lines. They figure the 6-foot 8 youngster will play a year at Duke or somewhere and then declare for the draft. That’s not possible, hold your horses a moment and consider this fact. Flagg reclassified, he is 16 years old and his 17 birthday will not occur until December 21. It would appear the latest basketball wunderkind on the scene will not be eligible for the 2024 NBA draft no matter how ready he might be. As you can see his age prevents that from occurring, where I sit there are two scenarios that could play out.

Flagg could play his freshman year and then head for the G-League, Overtime Elite or Australia and play his “sophomore” year. On the other hand he could decide in favor of skipping college period and head off to play for one of the leagues mentioned above. No matter what his decision might be it’s the 2025 NBA draft for him, in this instance his age is the deciding factor rather than his basketball ability. Prior to this account being published a Kansas fan website listed Flagg as KU’s number one prospect, all I can say about that is good luck Bill Self with your effort. 247Sports list the youngster with 11 offers pending besides KU. Among a few of the schools with offers are Duke, UConn, Texas, Michigan and Villanova. I didn’t bother to check however Rivals.com claims there are 10 offers, whatever the number Cooper Flagg is certainly a hot Class of 2024 prospect.

Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

“Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your doorway”

The headline has nothing to do with mice or any device used to trap them. It comes from an old saying that implies when you do something better than the next guy someone will always come to you for improvement or advice. Team Germany beat Serbia for the FIBA championship 83-77 on Sunday, I didn’t have the opportunity to view the game but that had nothing to do with the time difference between the Philippines and the U.S. it was something far different, I’ve not decided as of this is written how to address my lack of ESPN. As for the headline a reminder again of the issue, the world catching up in basketball…perhaps. 1. An ever-increasing number of international players now play in the NBA.

From what I was able to read Dennis Schroeder and Franz Wagner were key to the Germany victory over Serbia. In addition to those who play in the NBA a number of international players are acquiring skill playing in America colleges. 2. Youth basketball camps being taught by American coaches in an increasing number of international settings. I said this before and if this appears to be an excuse for the performance of Team USA so be it. I have no idea what occurs in next year’s Olympics although I’m certain the outcome will be quite different. Old man LeBron James has committed to play and is in the process of “recruiting” Draymond Green, Jason Tatum and several others to play for Team USA. Unlike him who will not be named, I’m disappointed in Team USA but far from being upset. The world landscape has changed and some in the U.S. refuse to believe that.

How old is too old?

Rick Pitino will be coaching St. John’s when the college season begins in November. He takes over head coaching responsibilities after serving as Iona’s coach for three seasons. Pitino could have walked away from the game after all he’s 71-years old now so he must do this because he loves the game. I asked the question about Spurs coach Gregg Popovich recently, he’s even older he turned 74 this past January. We can only conclude he loves the game too because just like Pitino he could walk away.  Jim Boeheim Syracuse coach is older than the others, his birthday in November will be birthday 79.

Reports have circulated this is Boeheim’s last season coaching the Orangemen. In the State of Florida we find Leonard Hamilton who turned 75 in August, apparently he is nowhere close to leaving the helm at Florida State. While I conducted research I discovered age is associated with the college game much more than in the NBA, there is not a single NBA coach close in age to Popovich. Don’t think I am suggesting these septuagenarians need to retire if they still have the energy, desire and they continue being productive they need to remain coaching. By the way I discovered a new word while researching this account, the word is septuagenarian any person between the ages of 70-79.

Bits n Pieces

Disappointing, that’s all I can say Team USA losing to Canada in OT 127-118. It’s clear the better team must have won the game based on the scoreboard. I believe there is incentive for world teams whenever they face a representative for the U.S. As for this game in the loss, for the first time in forever the U.S. will not medal. As I tried to point out earlier Team USA was bound to lose one day. That day (no medal) turned out to be much sooner than I expected. Rather than dwell on the why I’d rather look toward the future. As this is being written Team USA for the Olympics will be composed will more firepower and depth than this one. As for future FIBA competition the composition of the team must be built differently no matter who manages to coach the team. With that I’m going to close out my crying spree and prepare for the next basketball session weeks away, NBA training camp.

Color me confused by this, which player is the better choice, Bol Bol or Christian Wood? Over the summer as most are aware the Lakers were attempting to fill that last roster slot and Bol’s name was mentioned. He was available because he’d been waived by the Magic on July 4 and was ready for any team to sign him including the Lakers, a short time later July 18 to be exact Bol would sign a one-year deal with the Suns. This past Friday I read a story on a Suns website asking the question “Did the Lakers make a mistake signing Wood over Bol?” Quick response, let’s wait until the season before we decide which team made the best move. In my view both prospects present huge question marks, is there an upside one over the other?

As Shaggy might say, It wasn’t me but on the other hand, Germany beat Team USA 113-111 in the FIBA World semi-finals. Perhaps someone mentioned for a variety of reasons the “world” is catching up in basketball competition. Despite this loss I continue to believe the best basketball in the world played remains in America. On the other hand for a variety of reasons the best players don’t always represent us in world competition. I am disappointed in the loss, of course I am however the world did not end last Friday. I will continue to look toward the 2024 Olympics and a different composition of players representing the U.S. To borrow from Team USA coach Steve Kerr, “This is not 1992.”

A name that should become familiar

His name is Izan Almansa, he hails from Murcia Spain and will be in action this fall and winter playing for G-League Team Elite. Almansa is 6 foot 10 and weighs 216 pounds, he’s listed as a power forward. Don’t be surprised to hear his name announced as a lottery pick in the 2024 NBA draft. A couple of high points, Almansas was FIBA Under 17 World Cup MVP in 2022, he repeated as FIBA Under 19 World Cup MVP in 2023. This from nbadraftroom.com, “A high energy and incredibly productive player who dominates on the interior. Will have to add range to his offensive game but has a very bright NBA future.” Should Almansa enter the 2024 draft expect to see him make the adjustment, according to scouts he certainly has more upside than down.

Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

There is always someone

Just as I rid myself of the one who shall remain unnamed another pops up. I’m reluctant to mention his name because you will go scrambling to find him print or podcast…but here goes. I’ve mentioned this previously Gilbert Arenas was a good basketball player, his NBA career was cut short by injury and stupidity. Although he’s been retired for a while suddenly through podcast or print he’s become quite vocal. I’ve got no problem with expressing one’s opinion until that person says something incredibly ridiculous, Arenas has suffered oral diarrhea recently. This is just the latest example, “Duke was trash before one and done” was the latest pronouncement from Mr. Arenas.

That statement is totally off base however former NBA player Arenas has a platform much greater than mine, hundreds perhaps thousands of readers will hang onto every word uttered by Arenas believing it to be correct. As for the stupid part, Arenas and former teammate Jarvis Crittenton. In 2009 these teammates got into an argument over money owed with both bringing guns into the Wizards locker room. January 27, 2010, Arenas was suspended for the balance of the season (50 games) by the NBA. Check me out, don’t just take my word for this incident. In closing allow me to say everybody deserves a second chance, Arenas got one despite this error. As for me this was the first time since writing this blog I’ve reported on the incident. In addition hopefully this will be the last time the name Gilbert Arenas will be mentioned.

It was expansion and not a merger

Time brings about a different outlook on the matter. You might remember a few weeks ago I mentioned the point totals scored by Julius “Dr. J.” Erving, Moses Malone, George Gervin and others failed to migrate over to the NBA. Certainly it was a question that required additional research and this is what I uncovered. In 1976 the public was led to believe a merger had taken place between the ABA and NBA. This was not the case as the established NBA “forced” two teams, Kentucky Colonels and Spirts of St. Louis out of business. As I reported earlier the merger in 1970 between the American Football League and the National Football league was a true coming together. 

Not a single AFL team was dissolved, all became part of the new National Football League. Most AFL teams became the AFC Division while the existing NFL teams became the NFC Division, cosmetic change mostly. As for professional basketball all these years later we discover the truth of the matter, the four ABA teams added to the NBA were considered expansion teams. As expansion teams technically no records of any type existed prior to the season they first began play in the NBA. Although the two leagues had been fighting over talent the NBA was clearly in the lead. As an example there was no cable back then but the NBA had a national television contract something the ABA never had. 

This contract was certainly a revenue stream plus the NBA operated in more cities throughout the nation, the ABA had no such ability to generate income. Only local broadcast television and radio contracts existed for the ABA at the time. Owners of the Spurs, Nuggets, Pacers and Nets certainly must have been aware of the principles of this merger (expansion) prior to signing any binding documents. Truth of the matter ABA teams had been hemorrhaging money for several years, inclusion of stats was likely secondary. Perhaps the owners at the time were unwilling to fight for ABA records to be included with the existing NBA records. This is how it went down, money became the decider, a “merger” between the ABA and NBA was presented to the public however in truth it was actually expansion.

The schedule is complete

Mizzou’s 2023-24 schedule is now complete, the conference portion was finalized much earlier. The non-conference portion of a schedule is always incomplete until around mid to late August. With that said here goes:

Arkansas Pine Bluff (Mon Nov 6) home

Memphis (Fri Nov 10) home

SIU-Edwardsville (Mon Nov 13) home

Minnesota (Thur Nov 16) away

Jackson State (Sun Nov 19) home

South Carolina State (Wed Nov 22) home

Loyola (MD) (Sat Nov 25) home

Pitt (Tues Nov 28) away ACC/SEC Challenge

Wichita State (Sun Dec 3) home

Kansas (Sat Dec 9) away Hy-Vee Border Showdown

Seton Hall (Sun Dec 17) neutral site T-Mobile Kansas City

Illinois (Fri Dec 22) neutral site Braggin’ Rights Game

Central Arkansas (Sat Dec 30) home

Last season the first for Dennis Gates Mizzou was 10-0, the first loss was to Kansas in early December. What do I expect in the 2023-24 season, improved play all around. The area I’d like to see the most improvement is team rebounding. The schedule is more imposing than last season however its possible we could see a repeat, Mizzou possibly not losing a game until December…it could happen…maybe.

Nobody loves them…except family members   

Are you similar to me, love the game just never good enough to play. How about becoming a game official, no I’m not talking at the high school or college level. I’m talking about the big guys at the top of the food chain, NBA officials. I hear you loudly, player complaints about the officiating, hostile crowds plus the fact you are never at home. Yes, home is but a memory during the 82-game regular season and into June for those selected to officiate NBA playoff games. Are the issues raised enough to say, “no way do I want that job.” Let’s take a look at the financial side of the picture, NBA game officials are well compensated in my view for the issues they must deal with. This is no overnight process one desiring a role in the NBA must work their way to the top.

Have you noticed in the G-League and NBA Summer League there are officials working those games who are being critiqued if they have the ability to officiate in the NBA? With that check out the salary scale, an entry level or rookie official earns $600 a game about $250,000 annually. In 3-5 years they could earn as much as $3,500 a game or $550,000 a year. If an official is fortunate enough to be selected for working post-season games they earn between $800-$5,000 per game. Currently there are 10 officials with 17 years and more in the NBA so you can see what occurs. Unless one becomes ill or some other tragedy transpires NBA officials remain on the active role for an extended period of time. Ken Maur is in year 36 while Tom Washington has 31 years on the job. As you can see despite the negatives there are certainly financial rewards officiating games. As for the headline I believe despite the schedule game officials are able to be home at times. 

Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

I’m excited

The season ahead for the Lakers appears promising, hopefully Christian Wood is the last “piece” allowing for an NBA championship. There are several newcomers I’m looking forward to seeing perform in Purple and Gold. The one player of my focus is probably not who you might have figured. Guard D’Moi Hodge went undrafted in the June 2023 draft, he’s since echoed the words of Austin Reaves so to speak. Hodge indicates he was allowed to choose the team he wanted to play for and that was the Lakers. In summer league play Hodge demonstrated he was ready to play at a professional level.

He accomplished this by precise 3-point shooting and playing “belly button” defense on the opposition. This former Mizzou Tiger was rewarded with a two-way contract at the conclusion of summer league. Hodge will spend time with the South Bay Lakers but will also be eligible to play for the Big Club too. As I wrote earlier during the summer Hodge is the first player from the British Virgin Islands to earn time in the NBA. Hodge has plenty of competition in front of him for playing time however I believe he will rise to the occasion if given time. On the other hand if its not the Lakers maybe another NBA team will discover the talented guard. After watching Hodge play for my Mizzou Tigers he will always remain a special player for me.

Does he remain coaching?

It’s clear by now the Spurs are in rebuild mode, the question does Coach Pop remain in place. Gregg Popovich is 73 years old; he’s been coaching the Spurs since 1996. He’s the longest tenured coach in the NBA and has been for a period of time. Pop’s done it all, five-time NBA champion, that represents one of the many accomplishments of this Hall of Fame coach. Pop represents one of a number, he is one of those guys who could have quit coaching years ago. They continue in the role due to their love of the game and I expect one day he’ll call it quits.

This is the part I found most interesting on Pop’s resume, he’s a loser. Before you begin tossing rocks in my direction allow for a brief explanation. At Division III Pomona-Pitzer his teams were winners 76 times, but they lost 129 games. In eight years at the school Pop had only two winning seasons. After a time as an assistant coach for the Warriors he returned to the Spurs as general manager and vice president of basketball operations in 1994. After the Spurs started 3-15 in the 1996-97 season, he fired Bob Hill and named himself head coach. The balance of this history continues to be written in 2023 extending into 2024. The question is posed again, does coach Pop remain in place rebuilding this Spurs team? With the potential of a Victor Wembanyama I believe the answer is yes.

Son of 3-D

That was his nickname, Dennis Scott was given the nickname 3-D. This was due to his prolific three-point shooting, the 6-foot 8 inch forward had an extensive NBA career with his most productive years as a member of the Magic. The elder Scott turned television analyst for NBA TV several years ago but this is not about him but rather his son. Dennis Scott III is a senior at Mount Vernon Presbyterian in Atlanta Georgia, while dad played small forward his offspring is a power forward.

In addition its possible as he matures III might add another two inches to his present 6 foot 10, he is a reported 235 pounds outweighing his father who was 229. III has offers from several schools the most recent Bradley University. In addition he’s received offers from Indiana, Howard, Harvard, George Mason, Georgia Tech, Fort Valley State, Radford and Loyola (MD) have offers for him. Now we must come up with a nickname for the son, the headline Son of 3-D is certainly not intended to set a trend. What do you think his nickname should be? It should be of note one of the schools with an offer is Georgia Tech, that’s where his dad played.

A re-visit

On Friday former Kings player Vlade Divac made news with his basketballnetwork.com interview. He was discussing talented post players and made this eye-opening comment. “Shaq wasn’t talented. He was just strong”, I mentioned my belief these types of quarrels are sometimes absurd. The comparison is often between players of different generations, this one was good. Divac played from 1989-2005 while Shaquille O’Neal played 1992-2011 detailing numerous opportunities to face one another. The full quote from Divac was: “I’ve been in basketball a long, long time, and have to say (Cousins is) the most talented big guy I have ever seen, Shaq wasn’t talented.

He was just strong. I was talented, but I wasn’t strong.” Divac is referring to DeMarcus Cousins as being talented. I weigh in on this argument of two 7-foot guys and somewhat disagree with Divac. Shaq did indeed play bully ball, can you imagine taking a charge from a 350-pound colossus. His offensive game certainly was not extensive as I remember, there was a jump hook and bank shot although the power drive was the one most used. Despite Divac’s statement I believe Shaq was a skillful passer too, certainly nowhere close to Nikola Jokic or DeMarcus Cousins. As for Divac his offensive game wasn’t extensive, those Kings teams required other portions of his game to be effective. Divac was very skilled at passing the basketball, this is a draw in my opinion. Shaq was certainly strong and did play bully ball but for those who didn’t see him in action he was more than that.

Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

Are you ready for the football season?

A co-worker asked the question above, I hesitated for a moment before answering him. “Yes” was my response but was I actually being honest, allow me to explain further. I follow the NFL Chiefs and the baseball Royals for sports other than basketball. I am familiar with the names of most quarterbacks in the NFL but that’s about it for my knowledge in that area. I know Tyreek Hill for the Dolphins because he once played for the Chiefs, no other Miami Dolphin comes to mind except their quarterback. Most Royals players are known to me, as for the balance of major league baseball it’s even worse than football. It’s Aaron Judge, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, that’s it.

A look ahead for the Lakers

The Lakers got the man they wanted, Christian Wood’s been signed to a two-year contract. Wood becomes the latest player added to the roster since the summer signing period. I believe I’m the lone member of Laker Nation who’s adopted a lukewarm response to the Wood acquisition. Based on my concerns regarding this latest addition I want to adopt a pro con approach toward him, with that here goes. Pro: His offensive numbers for the Rockets and this past season for the Mavs are quite good.

With the Lakers there is no requirement for him to score however the ability he’s demonstrated in the past is certainly noteworthy. I might add his shot from the 3-line is outstanding for a player standing 6 foot 10 or taller. Pro: For a guy reported to be 214 pounds he rebounds the basketball quite well, the last two seasons saw him register 10.1 and 7.3 rebounds a game. Con: Reports indicate Wood has a tendency at times to not be fully engaged in the game. As one might say he wasn’t fully focused on the game in front of him. Con: Over the years I’ve read either you have a work ethic or you don’t. Say what you might about LeBron James he’s got it, no one could play at his level without it. This is actually the second part of what I just wrote, can coach Ham, LeBron and others convince Wood it’s in his best interest to play at a high level?

Con: This might be the greatest red flag for me, the Lakers become team number 8 for Wood. He went undrafted in 2015 and perhaps that enters into the picture plus four years spent with several G-League teams. I’m sure there is an area or two I missed, these recorded stand out for me. In closing motivated Wood might be the player to aid the Lakers to a championship however I intend to adopt a wait and see attitude on his possible impact with the Lakers.

Something to think about

In the Big Picture is a name change important, that’s a possibility let’s explore. In the NBA if we think Pacific Division it’s those teams playing somewhat close to the Pacific Ocean. That would be the Lakers, Clippers, Warriors and others. On the other side of the nation we say Atlantic Division and it’s the Knicks, Celtics and Sixers plus others. In the college ranks among other conferences is the ACC or Atlantic Coast Conference. Who are the members, North Carolina, Duke, Maryland are among several teams.

As for the future the conference has invited Stanford and Cal both located in California and SMU in Texas, two Pacific Time and one Central Time Zone team. In addition consider this fact, Mizzou in the middle of the nation is closer to the Atlantic Ocean than all three of these pending ACC teams. The big question, should the conference undergo a name change? If we wish to become technical we could state soon arriving Texas and Oklahoma plus Mizzou are certainly not south although they all lie below the Mason-Dixon Line. The Mason-Dixon is the division between the northern states and southern but this harkens back to the days of the Civil War. In closing is a name change necessary, for me it would only be cosmetic. 

A little surprising

Lithuania beat Team USA earlier this week, they were likely on top of the world. What about a follow up, would they be on the road to the FIBA championship? In what turned out to be a surprise (at least to me) Lithuania lost their game against Serbia 87-68 in the quarterfinals. Team members of Lithuania insist the victory over Team USA 48 hours previously was not on their minds. In Group I Serbia is now 5-1, Group J finds Lithuania and Team USA also with 5-1 records, Group K Germany is undefeated 6-0. As for the others all have 2 or more losses with the exception of Canada in Group L, as this is written they have only one loss too. In closing according to what we read Lithuania has tasted success early but in the Olympics it’s been quite a different matter.

Him

I informed all the other day, I’d fixed my news feed. No longer would I receive the declarations of one Stephen A. Smith, based on this why am I writing about him? A discussion of sports and I mentioned to a co-worker “I’m not a fan of Smith.” His response was “I kinda like him, why don’t you?” I really, really wanted to avoid this conversation/discussion but had painted myself into a corner. I told James this, “I’ve had a problem all my life with people who must inform you how much money they earn, that’s just not cool to me and has never been.”

Several people (not me) criticized Smith on social media, his response, announce how much money he was earning from ESPN and his podcast, far too much braggadocious for me. The other Smith issue for me, the loud brash and pontificating side that almost always presents itself. There is no requirement to be the loudest voice in the room, state your view and leave it there. The last point, “I have much love for the brother, no disrespect intended.” After making this statement quite often Smith moves into attack mode on the athlete for whatever it is they may have done or stated. I’ve said this on more than one occasion and I’m quite sure Smith’s family loves him and that’s good, this bias doesn’t extend to me.

Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

It occurred

This account is yet to be confirmed but I believe it’s transpired, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnaroski is the source of the report. He’s reporting the Lakers have signed the 6-foot 10-inch Christian Wood to a 2-year contract. Over and over again since the free agent period I continued to say this wouldn’t happen, I said this based on the amount of money the Lakers were reported to be able to offer. As I often say, I’m only as good as the information I receive. So what occurs now, does Wood move into the post position and AD returns as power forward which he prefers. The late addition of this news story is incomplete, allow additional detail in the Thursday edition.  

The smaller Aristotle

Shaquille O’Neal once dubbed himself The Big Aristotle, according to information he’s provided that nickname should no longer exist. The headline of course reflects his weight loss, Shaq indicates he’s loss 55 pounds and is now a svelte 315 pounds. If the number is correct we are led to believe Shaq now weighs about the same as he did at LSU back in the day. Based on Shaq’s statement he weighed 370 pounds.

The survivors

As you are aware the conference technically has fallen apart, one team after another are headed elsewhere. Only Oregon State and Washington State remain of the Pac-12, with only those two schools remaining it’s actually become the 2-Pac, sorry about that bad joke I saw it somewhere and decided to use it. On a serious note the Mountain West has approached both schools with offers to join them. Conference affiliation is important in this age, there are few independents. Independents are always seeking conference affiliation. Since I am unfamiliar with all conference members of the Mountain West I thought a quick check was necessary for you and me. The Mountain West is an 11-team conference with headquarters in Colorado Springs, current full-time members are:

San Jose State

Fresno State

San Diego State

UNLV

Nevada

Boise State

Utah State

Wyoming

Air Force

Colorado State

New Mexico

The Admiral

David Robinson hoped for a career in the U.S. Navy, in fact we read he wanted duty aboard a submarine. Later both failed to occur, the future at sea and due to his height submarine service. Oh there was a third issue his growth in height plus athletic ability changed his future. You might have read or maybe familiar with the fact enrollment at Annapolis his plebe (freshman year) Robinson was 6 feet 6 inches in height. By the time he graduated four years later he was 7 foot 1. In addition to a growth spurt there was a spurt in his basketball talent as well.

In any event Robinson holds the longest record of draft night versus his first NBA game. The Spurs holding the first pick made him the top pick on June 22, 1987, Robinson played his first NBA game November 4, 1989. Cadets entering military academies are pledged to serve active-duty commitments for 5 years and Robinson was required to finish his naval obligation. Instead of the normal 5 years he was only obligated to serve 2 years. David Robinson, College All American and NBA Champion, his career is well documented now having been enshrined in the Naismith and FIBA Hall of Fame certainly nothing he might have envisioned at one time in his life.

NBL

No that is not a typo headline, it is the National Basketball League. Once upon a time the NBL existed in this nation but merged with the BAA to become the NBA. This account covers the professional basketball league in Australia which has now become the NBL. I’m unsure if there was a basketball league in the nation previously however NBL began play in 1979. The NBL is a 10-team league with 9 Australian teams and one in New Zealand. League play is October-April summer in the southern hemisphere, the summer schedule was chosen to avoid competing with winter sports in Australia. Similar to the development of professional basketball in the U.S. there were also “bumps” with NBL development. There are teams no longer in operation, the city of Melbourne has two teams. Below are the current league members: 

Adelaide 36ers

Cairns Taipans

Brisbane Bullets

Illawarra Hawks

Melbourne United

New Zealand Breakers

Perth Wildcats

S.E. Melbourne Phoenix

Sydney Kings

Tasmania JackJumpers

History places the Perth Wildcats at the top of the heap winning 10 NBL Championships, Melbourne United is second with 6. A host of Australian players have journeyed to the NBA the first being Luc Longley who played for a number of Bulls teams, we could also include the name Andrew Bogut. The best current player from Australia might be Josh Giddey who plays for the Thunder. Although LaMelo Ball is an American who traveled to Australia after high school to begin play in the NBL prior to being drafted by the Hornets. Those are but a few players who spent time in the NBL however just like Euro basketball the NBL has become the future for aspiring NBA players.

Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

Does it really matter?

Last Friday I reported ESPN and associated Disney channels were no longer available on Charter/Spectrum cable systems. I posted on social media “Spectrum pulled the plug” and someone believed it required a correction. This person said, “Disney was responsible for removing the channels from Charter/Spectrum.” Well technically that might be correct but does it really matter? New York City, Los Angeles and yes Kansas City are without ESPN and some Disney channels. Below you will see an earlier post mentioning the fact I missed the Mizzou football game last Thursday but currently it’s just an inconvenience. There is no NBA or college basketball missing, FIBA is occurring but with the time difference I’ve not seen any games.

Soon the NBA and college basketball season will be here then the takes on a real serious tone for me (and maybe you too). Sure there are games available on Fox Sports, CBSSportsNetwork and CBS broadcast but nowhere near the number that exist on ESPN. As for the NBA I can fall back to TNT and NBA TV, for the Disney portion of ABC I’m unsure what might occur. Am I too far ahead of this issue, perhaps I am however I’m concerned. With the internal changes at ESPN I pointed out that was of little concern the sports broadcast portion was more important to me. Am I panicked, not yet but certainly old enough to remember a time when my basketball viewing was severely limited. Most evenings and weekends I now have choices of what I wanted to view.

Pay attention to me…not them

You may have read the commentary of former NBA players regarding the loss by Team USA. Allow me to state upfront the apocalypse is yet to occur despite the fact Lithuania was victorious on Sunday. Despite writing this blog my attempt at all times is to focus on the subject and not me.  This is a departure I believe and allow me to explain further. I’ve attempted to be the voice of reason in this Team USA versus the world match, first thing:

1. The best basketball in the world is still played in the U.S. in the NBA.

2. Team USA is voluntary, several of the NBA’s top chose not to play for a variety of reasons.

3. An increasing number of international players has seen the balance of power shift over time.

There is no doubt I probably overlooked several elements of the game that might have been your focus. Just to clarify I am offering no excuses for the loss, the Lithuanian team was just plain better than Team USA. If the two met again would the results be similar, they could be however I have serious doubts? In closing those former NBA players have more basketball knowledge than me but yelling and screaming about the loss fails to make their point more valid than mine. Besides that, most of the time in my view their focus has been on a mistaken area.

Bits n Pieces 

My timing was impeccable I might say. A portion of the Thursday edition of Off the Dribble dealt with the Lakers effort to fill their last roster spot. The focus was Christian Wood however the name JaVale McGee was mentioned in the article. Unintentionally I was behind the news, on Friday morning my ESPN.com NBA page read: “Veteran C McGee planning to join Kings.” Another site claims McGee’s already signed with the Kings so matter he is no longer available for the Lakers. As for what occurs going forward I’m unsure, I could speculate again and claim the Lakers will sign Christian Wood however that’s a little dangerous too based on the conditions existing (money, trade possibilities).

After being raided by the Big XII and Big 10 conditions were ripe for the Pac-12 to conclude operations. This might have become official now based on actions concluded Friday morning. Presidents and chancellors of the ACC voted to add three schools, they are SMU, Cal and Stanford. For me the invitation to add Cal and Stanford are not surprising, SMU is a different matter. On the surface I’m unsure how these additions might affect basketball play in the conference. All three schools have been competitive in the past however there are naysayers. A writer for CBS Sports basketball page claims this move will do nothing to enhance the ACC in basketball. I can’t see that far ahead so I will adopt a wait and see attitude regarding the move. As for the Pac-12 if my count is correct we now have only Oregon State and Washington State remaining.

The time difference between the Philippines and the Central Time Zone in the US created difficulty for me. I have been unable to view Team USA at play except to DVR the games. I missed Team USA’s victory over Montenegro 85-73, no I didn’t forget to set time correctly it was an issue out of my control. My cable provider is fighting Disney/ESPN which resulted in all affiliated channels being blacked out on our system. Not only that, but I also arrived home prepared to watch Mizzou play its first football game of the season. At 7:00 p.m. Central I changed the channel and discovered it was not available. Back to Team USA and basketball I guess its highlights only until this kerfuffle is resolved.

Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

Are the Huskies on the move? 

The UConn Huskies and coach Dan Hurley are sitting on top of the world, on April 23, 2023, the Huskies beat San Diego State 76-59 in the NCAA Championship game winning it all. Over the summer several schools announced a change in conference affiliation while others were rumored news…UConn was one of them. It was reported UConn was mentioned being added to the Big XII Conference. Let’s do a quick history check, for me when I consider the Big East it’s always been basketball despite the fact there are other sports played.

UConn was one of the original members at the time the Big East Conference first began play in 1979. In 2013 the school left for the American Athletic Conference, 2020 saw the Huskies return to the Big East. This return allowed the Huskies to compete against many of the schools they faced back in the 1980’s. The top of the Big East contains a number of outstanding basketball teams over history. Marquette, Xavier, Creighton and even Providence along with Villanova have a rich basketball history. Has the Big XII become the “go-to” conference for schools wanting to enhance their profile? I certainly am in no position to answer the question, I along with others will wait and see if UConn decides to move at some date in the future.    

Bits n Pieces

On Sunday Lithuania beat Team USA in the FIBA World Games 110-104, what I hoped wouldn’t occur finally did. Although the game was on ESPN2 there was no method for me to provide details for you other than rudimentary. It’s possible those with cable systems other than Spectrum or if you have satellite you saw more than me. Perhaps I can lean on your view of the game to determine what occurred. Stop now Larry Laker you are just being cynical again. I mentioned this previously basketball…i.e. good basketball is no longer played exclusively in the U.S. This from coach Steve Keer, “Lithuania just punched us in the mouth.”

How about this bit of trivia I came across this on the ESPN.com site and thought it was interesting. JaVale McGee might be the only NBA player whose mom played in the WNBA so that’s one. How about this part, news reports indicate JaVale intends to sign with the Kings. Mother Pamela McGee was drafted and played for the Sacramento Monarchs and there is this. Mother and son will have played for Sacramento, Los Angeles and Team USA. 

Time zone is more important than region, I checked several conferences prior to the recent moves. Team play has prevailed in more than one time zone for a number of years. We could look at the Big XII, its mostly a Central Time Zone conference but then there’s West Virginia. West Virginia has been a member of the conference since 2012 and is in the Eastern Time Zone. The Big 10 has been a mixture of Eastern and Central Time Zone teams, here’s another example. Illinois games are Central Time but Maryland games are Eastern. Hopefully this exercise makes sense, in essence a number of rivalries have been eliminated with conference realignment however there never was a time zone issue.

He ain’t no Austin Reaves

We are reading reports indicating the Lakers are seeking to add Trae Young to the roster. This member of Laker Nation says no way, it’s definitely not a personality or talent issue. “I’m him” has been the rallying cry of Austin Reaves and I believe in it. I am quite sure there are elements of the game Young brings to the table Reaves lacks. On the other hand I’ve seen enough of Young to realize he’s got essentials missing in his game that Reaves possesses. We are on the cusp with Reaves I believe, hopefully he will continue to develop his game.

As for Young I believe he’s peaked, I hope that’s not meant to say he can’t play just the opposite. In my view there is probably little Young might be able to accomplish at this stage to improve his game. Then on the other hand I’m just a writer of basketball, what do I really know about assessing talent or even potential? Well allow me to back up, I’ve had a few misses but there are also players I spotted early…want an example? The Sixers Joel Embiid comes to mind first, seeing him at Kansas as a raw freshman. At the time Embiid was the second-string center, once he entered the game his talent potential was quite evident to me. The balance of the Embiid story is history there are portions yet to be written.

Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

Bits n Pieces

There will be additional monetary help forthcoming for Maui fire relief. Michigan State will host the University of Tennessee on October 20, near the end of the month October 29 the University of Hawaii will play St. Mary’s, both being exhibition games. I’m unsure if I might have missed other scheduled games, these plus the others mentioned earlier are the only ones I have uncovered to date.

You know my prime complaint, guys from this era or those recently retired. They undertake an effort to compare themselves and others to those who played in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s. For once we have players who competed at the same time, Shaq versus Divac. Vlade Divac was drafted by the Lakers, he was traded in order for them to acquire Kobe Bryant.  “Shaq wasn’t talented. He was just strong” were the words of Divac in describing Shaquille O’Neal. You be the judge, read the piece in basketballnetwork.com dated August 30.

Its September 1, NBA training camps open in about 3 weeks. Christian Wood sits by the phone waiting on a telephone call or text message from his agent. Wood is no closer to signing with an NBA team than he was in July. I’ve mentioned on several occasions money is keeping the Lakers at distance. The Heat and Kings are also interested but they are yet to make a move as well. It is highly likely Wood will not sit out the season, the only question is who signs him. At this point your guess is as good as mine.

I can’t see you from here anyway, it’s clear to us you have mighty deep pockets. Come on raise your hand if you were the individual who purchased the Victor Wembanyama rookie card. News reports indicate the card was sold at auction for $67,333 and this next part should be interesting. Wemby is not in a Spurs jersey…he’s in his Metropolitans 92 jersey. The card is personally autographed, because I don’t have permission I cannot provide you a photo however if you are curious it is online. By the way Wemby is yet to set foot on an NBA court and this is certainly news.

College basketball arenas

I’ve written about the magnificent basketball palaces most of which are in NBA cities. As for colleges and universities across the nation over the years there have been a number of new arenas. To use the term coined they are state of the art, but what about the others? There are many old venues still in use today. Despite the age these old arenas have been renovated over the years, in addition this list should not be considered complete.

The oldest arena on our list opened in 1925 which makes it nearly 100 years old. The arena still in use that is the newest listed is Cameron Indoor Stadium on the campus at Duke University. The home of Duke basketball saw its first game played in Cameron in 1940 which makes it 83 years old. Who are the others and where are they located, please note the arena name followed by the university along with seating capacity and the year opened? I’m quite sure a number of these will surprise you they certainly did me.

Devlin Fieldhouse-Tulane University

4,100-1931

McAlister Fieldhouse-The Citadel

6,000-1939

Lavietes Pavilion-Harvard University

2,000-1926

Williams Arena-University of Minnesota

14,600-1928

Rose Hill Gymnasium-Fordham University

3,200-1925

Cameron Indoor-Duke University

9,000-1940

Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion-University of Washington

10,000-1927

Payne Whitney Gym-Yale University

2,800-1932

The Palestra-University of Pennsylvania, St. Joseph’s University

8,000-1927

Hinkle Fieldhouse-Butler University

9,000-1928

Ben Simmons

If we looked at Simmons numbers from last season they appear good. I make that statement considering he played 42 games, 33 of which he was the starter. As for the numbers 57% shooting from the floor, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, certainly decent numbers but. That shooting probably was mostly dunks and lay ups, there were no 3-point baskets made. Simmons indicates he had a herniated disk last season and probably shouldn’t have played at all. After a summer of exercises and workouts Simmons pronounced himself ready for the 2023-24 season.

I remember first reading about this Australian prospect, he decided in favor of LSU over a host of colleges. Every LSU game available that season I watched, imagine I thought a much bigger “Magic Johnson” at the point standing 6 foot 10 and 240 pounds. I soon discovered while enrolled at LSU Simmons had no distance shot. I’m unsure if Simmons was able to shoot consistently from over 15 feet. This shooting issue would follow him into the NBA when drafted by the Sixers. Then came the trade, a move to the Nets proved disastrous as he practically never played. Games I saw opposing teams began to dare Simmons to shot from distance, generally it worked because he just plain quit shooting. Is Simmons ready to play this season?