Basketball Talk

Michael Jordan tenure as an Executive

I have never seen Michael Jordan play with my own two eyes, but most every basketball fan agrees that he is the greatest basketball player to have ever laced a pair of sneakers. However, his stewardship of the Charlotte Bobcats has been anything but remarkable. So much so that many people have criticized MJ and even wondered how his legacy will be with the Bobcats recent failures.

On a radio show, one of the best basketball coaches of all-time, Larry Brown, brought up the fact that the Bobcats front office team is definitely lacking. This has been a concern because it seems to be that Jordan wants to bring his ‘boys’ in for the ride from the looks of it. We have Rod Higgins as the President of Basketball Operations and Fred Whitfield as the President and Chief Operating Officer.

Michael Jordan seems to prefer surrounding himself with those that are close to him and whom he trusts is what even experts seem to have gleaned. He would be better served by actually bringing in top basketball brains. I don’t know whether I necessarily agree or disagree with this, as we all know how people want to be invasive into Jordan’s private life.

But the facts are facts and the Charlotte Bobcats are probably the worst basketball team not only this season but even when looking at the history of the NBA!

Jordan has had final say on every personnel decision. He picked Adam Morrison over Brandon Roy in the first round too. Add the fact that he gives Tyrus Thomas $40 million and this would make Michael Jordan the worst GM in the NBA. This is very unfortunate as I love the man.

Kentucky starting five declare for the NBA Draft

John Calipari does it again, expectations for Anthony Davis

The starting five that were announced at the national championship game will now have their names called at different times in the 2012 NBA draft. This is keeping with Coach Cal’s tradition of sending players to the NBA and still being able to come up with star recruits that can do the same thing over again.

Two years ago, there were five Wildcats who were drafted in the first round of the NBA draft and last year it was four players who got drafted. This time there is a good chance that there will be six blue-chippers drafted in the first round of the NBA!

Although, John Calipari has come under some criticism I feel that it is unfair as he has made talented players play as a team and work really hard and it was evident in the national championship triumph this month. The Kentucky stars are chasing their dreams and as great as it would be for them to be in college basketball for the next three years, I really feel they should be able to make their mark in the NBA.

We look at players like Kevin Garnett, Tracy McGrady, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James that never went to college, but laid the foundations for today’s one-and-done players.

Anthony Davis is the projected number one pick in the draft and when looking at his game I feel like he might actually be more suited to be a power forward in the NBA or possibly even a small forward given his shooting ability and dribbling skills due to the late growth spurt he experienced. Anthony Davis has guard skills in a big man’s body!

John Calipari’s players in the NBA have been performing and putting up numbers in the league. I expect great things from Doron Lamb, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Terrence Jones who should be in the NBA for a long time.

Top 10 best-selling college basketball jerseys

Some of the players that made the list might surprise you

The players’ names are not on the backs of the jerseys and this may have something to do with how a jersey sells. Here is the list for 2012.

Harrison Barnes – North Carolina

Barnes' jersey #40 is the top-selling college basketball jersey in the country today. Barnes is one of three UNC players in the top 10 and will be one of the high picks in the upcoming NBA draft.

Anthony Davis – Kentucky

Winning the national championship in his freshman season, Anthony Davis will probably be the first pick in the 2012 NBA draft. His #23 jersey is also a hot seller!

Seth Curry – Duke

I must admit I was somewhat surprised to see Seth Curry on this list even though Stephen Curry is his brother and he has been a Duke point guard for the past two seasons.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist - Kentucky

Kidd-Gilchrist was a much hyped small forward and I am not surprised to see him on this list. Kentucky fans and other college basketball fans want his jersey and Kidd-Gilchrist has already gotten what he wants in a national championship before heading to the NBA this fall.

Draymond Green – Michigan State

We have another #23 jersey that has been selling well and it may be also due to the fact that Green is a lifter at Michigan State.

Scoop Jardine - Syracuse

We finally have a Syracuse player in Scoop Jardine and this is pretty surprising as I assumed that it would be Fab Melo that would get the honors.

Tyler Zeller – North Carolina

So it’s another one of those North Carolina jerseys that have made this list. But that is not to take away from Zeller’s impressive performance this season that earned him ACC Player of the Year honors.

Kendall Marshall – North Carolina

I guess UNC just has a ton of fans nationwide and in Chapel Hill as well. Here is the third Tar Heel on this list.

Kenny Boynton – Florida

Here is a name that I am not that familiar with and it might be because the Gators were not seeded in the top 10 going into the NCAA tournament although they did it make it to the Elite Eight.

Mason Plumlee – Duke

As big a college basketball fan as I am, it still puzzles me how Plumlee’s jersey made it into the top 10 best selling jerseys list with all the other college basketball stars out there.

Michael Jordan – the NBA team owner

Those Air Jordans are still a hot shoe and selling great – if not the best sellers. I am looking to get myself another pair over the summer. But as great as Jordan has been on the court and as a global brand, his team the Charlotte Bobcats struggles have given rise to rumors that Hisairness may decide to leave the ownership.

These rumors have been denied by MJ, but I just want to discuss whether it might be a good time for him to pursue an exit strategy. It’s no denying that when faced with constant losses, the best decision in business is to disinvest and go after something else that would be a better use of your time. Jordan has repeatedly shown what a poor manager he is with that infamous decision to draft Kwame Brown being one of them when he was the GM of the Washington Wizards.

After being fired as GM of the Wizards, he went on to acquire the majority stake of the Bobcats that haven’t had much success and with only a recent trip to the playoffs being a positive. Even this first appearance in the playoffs two years ago failed to produce a single victory as the Bobcats were swept by the Orlando Magic.

But is Michael Jordan to blame for all of this? It is a different period in the NBA with the economic issues that have to be taken into account and teams not wanting to spend money because of the salary cap. The Bobcats have had a string of big failures with Adam Morrison and Bismack Biyombo being some of them. It is pretty surprising that the greatest player in the game seems to be such a bad evaluator of talent.

Even though the Bobcats are the worst team in the league, they could get lucky in the draft and land Kentucky sensation Anthony Davis who could greatly change the fortunes of the team.

Final Four

Both number one seeds are out: the Orange and the Tar Heels. But there is a debate that if Fab Melo and Kendall Marshall had been available in their respective Elite Eight games, it might have been a different Final Four. Instead of Ohio State – Kansas on one side, it would have been North Carolina – Syracuse.

Still, Ohio State managed to get past Syracuse and that 2-3 zone defense. Not to mention, Jim Boeheim with his coaching genius on the sidelines. Las Vegas has the Buckeyes favored by 2.5 points against the Jayhawks in their Final Four clash. As big an Ohio State fan as I am, it seems to be unfair to the Jayhawks who have Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson on a hot streak going into the Final Four.

Jared Sullinger hasn’t had a very good season thus far after being troubled with some injuries and he should see his draft stock go down. It should be a close game as everything points toward it. Even the coaching matchup of Thad Matta and Bill Self will be interesting to watch.

As for the other Final Four game, it should be Kentucky all the way and I fully expect the Wildcats to win the National Championship this year as much as I want Ohio State to do so. Kentucky has too much going on for them, but it will be a heated matchup given that both teams hate each other and have a point to prove. Louisville is no small time team as it has won two national championships and the Final Four is familiar territory for the Cardinals who have been there nine times already.

NCAA Tournament Prediction

Often times, the most talented team in the tournament does not win. We saw that last year with the Kentucky Wildcats losing out to the UConn Huskies in a closely fought basketball game that ended 55-56 in favor of the Huskies. This year again I am in love with Coach Cal and the Wildcats. But will they go all the way?

I, for one, hope not although I love the team. This is because in my heart of hearts I want to see a Big Ten team holding up the trophy when all is said and done whether it is Ohio State, Wisconsin or Tom Izzo’s Michigan State. The Spartans defense is great and I fancy their chances to win 12 years since their last victory in the Big Dance in 2000 and combo guard Keith Appling is a great shooter with a great ability to score along with the star that Draymond Green is with his wonderful NCAA tournament performances.

The thing with Kentucky is as great as they are with Terence Jones who should be a top 10 pick in the NBA draft and other quality players such as forward Anthony Davis, the Wildcats have the propensity to beat themselves. This can happen because it is a loaded team and it takes one selfish player to give the game away.

But I really think that this is John Calipari’s time to prove his critics wrong as we all know how they have stated all the time about the fact that he has never won the big one. Moreover, Calipari has lost too many big games and this should be weighing on him. Nonetheless, the Wildcats are hot and so are the Orange. I will go with Kentucky to win it all as much as I want a Big Ten team to do it this time.

NCAA Tournament Brackets

"My Final Four for this year is Kentucky against Michigan State on one end and then the Tar Heels against Ohio State on the other end."

Last year, there were some skeptical decisions made when it came down to the brackets with some teams being left out that should have really made it like Harvard for instance. This year Harvard does make it as a number 12 seed in the Big Dance.

On the whole, I think the committee did a pretty good job this year as they should because they do get a whole year to make their decisions and then a week where they are locked up in a room together getting things spot on for Selection Sunday. Still, there were some questionable inclusions such as Iona and then Northwestern being left out.

It should be the case of who did you play and how many wins and there were a few seeding mistakes as well that could probably affect the tournament. The Missouri Tigers won the Big 12 conference tournament and even had 30 wins in the regular season and did not get the one seed which I thought was a mistake. They are the first team to win 30 games and not get a one seed.

Anyway, a lot of the college basketball experts such as Dick Vitale, Fran Fraschilla and Jay Bilas have stated that the committee did a great job this year. Vitale was especially supportive of Drexel’s inclusion in the NCAA tournament with 25 of 27 conference wins.

My Final Four for this year is Kentucky against Michigan State on one end and then the Tar Heels against Ohio State on the other end. I guess it’s just my secret desire for an all-Big Ten National Championship! Really excited for March Madness!

Will Dwight Howard remain in Orlando?

"He is a more receptive to the media and has been very charismatic with his entertaining personality along with the hilarious imitations"

Orlando Magic team officials have been pretty vocal about their intentions to try and keep superstar center Dwight Howard long term. But a lot of the basketball journalists and NBA experts seem to feel that Howard could potentially go to the New Jersey Nets that are soon to be the Brooklyn Nets. Howard could embrace the extra stardom that could come from being the man in the New York/New Jersey area.

He is a more receptive to the media and has been very charismatic with his entertaining personality along with the hilarious imitations that he does from time to time especially of his coach Stan Van Gundy.

Although, Howard loves Orlando and the Magic ownership, I still feel that he would be better off in a big city and to have the marketing machine that a Jay-Z and a Mikhail Prokhorov could bring to the table. It would make sense to go to a large market as the dollars to be made potentially would be as good as Howard’s salary with the Magic.

Howard reportedly did not want to sign an extension if he were to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers because he may have felt that was Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul country, whereas he could be the man in NY especially if he brought a championship to the Nets even though they are not the Knicks. Howard does want to win multiple championships too and the reality is that he wants to do it in a place like Brooklyn with Jay-Z and Prokhorov ready to market him big time.

At the same, it could be argued that Dwight could just be wooing big market teams and then ultimately stay in Orlando by getting a better deal. After all, we know that there no state taxes in Florida!

All-Star game recap

It was a very high scoring All-Star game which was pretty close as usual and in fact it was the twelfth time the All-Star game has been decided by 3 points or more. One of the highlights of this All-Star game was that Kobe Bryant surpassed Michael Jordan’s total number of points in All-Star appearances and did it in fine fashion with a dunk in the third quarter.

All three of the Miami Heat’s Big Three were in the game with Dwayne Wade and LeBron James being starters. James matched the game’s MVP Kevin Durant with his 36 points and led a fourth quarter rally with some big time shots. After being trumped by Jeremy Lin and the New York Knicks these past few weeks, the Miami Heat have started making headlines again. The main thing that everyone is buzzing about is James’ attempted pass to Dwayne Wade that was intercepted by Blake Griffin.

Secondly, Dwayne Wade’s foul on Kobe Bryant that had Kobe bleeding from his nose and he is now said to be diagnosed with a concussion. Wade did apologize to Kobe afterwards and stated that he did not expect that the foul would cause so much trouble for Bryant.

The NBA All-Star game is of course an exhibition game and does not have any important impacts on the season like in baseball, but it definitely is the best of the major league All-Star games. Yet, ratings have been sliding and a lot of people have expressed their boredom with the 2012 All-Star weekend as a whole. I guess with the internet and all the other forms of entertainment options available these days, dwindling viewership of the All-Star game is to be expected.

Does LeBron James becoming the league MVP mean anything?

"I was actually not happy with him leaving Cleveland and going to the Miami Heat."

LeBron James has had a sensational season so far and the Miami Heat are on top of the Eastern Conference with a 27-7 record halfway through this shortened NBA season. I think the only competition King James has is from Kevin Durant whose Oklahoma City Thunder is also atop the Western Conference with a matching 27-7 record.

I agree with most of the critics and basketball experts that it really doesn’t mean anything what LeBron James does in the regular season. But that doesn’t take away what he has been doing on a consistent basis this season with an amazing all-round game.

I was actually not happy with him leaving Cleveland and going to the Miami Heat. But I have since felt that he made a good basketball decision and it was evident in the Heat’s trip to the NBA Finals last season which was the first time its Big Three played together. This was impressive in my book and I only expect greater things to come this season.

A lot of people expect him to win the NBA title this season because it is now his 10^th year in the league and Michael Jordan was able to get it done in his 7^th year. I have a different take on this as my point is that LeBron is still 3 years younger than MJ was when Hisairness won the NBA championship. So I would say LeBron still has time to get to where basketball fans and experts expect him to go.

As for the Miami Heat and LeBron getting help from Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, I really feel the media is unfair on James as even MJ had Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman and other top caliber players around him when he won his championships.

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