We should all know that the icon John Wooden was weened on hoops in Indiana, both in high school in Martinsville and then up the road at Purdue University.
And then Westwood beckoned. You have heard of the Bruins: Lou Alcindor and Bill Walton, and many others...10 rings.
It happened to me, too, in a sense.
But not so much basketball, really. And just one ring. A wedding one. Eight years ago.
Just as a fan, I guess, of basketball.
From southern Indiana to the city of Los Angeles.
And now Eric Gordon, Junior.
Clippers.
Did Elgin Baylor find his lightning in a bottle?
Will Maggette and Kaman have their little assassin? He weighs over 220 and rocks the rim like a #### blaster, and he rains threes as well as Reggie "Riverside" Miller or Jason Kapono...
DJ White got traded to Seattle...More on that later. Of course, he is an Alabama transfer...
But when it is all said and done, the next ten years will be crazy Hoosier madness between Portland with Oden, LA with Gordon and Seattle with White.
Enjoy, Left Coast!
Maybe the Warriors should look for a Hoosier, or even a Boilermaker...Or someone from IUPUI...All those Hoosiers.
The NBA Draft and Future Hopes: The Case for EG and DJ
Who are these two blokes?
You know I am an Indiana homer, but I think I can honestly say that Eric Gordon Junior (often know as EJ for this nomenclature) and DJ White are both going to be huge plusses for their future respective teams.
Eric Gordon, 6'3" SG/PG freshman 19 year old, will be like a Dwayne Wade or Ray Allen. His first step is killer, he will light anyone up on the line, and his three range is unstoppable. Don't leave him open.
He weighs 215 now, and has been listed as 6'4". He is a keeper in the first five picks of the draft and he will hurt a lot of defenses for the next 15 years. You want this guy.
Somebody compared him to the Bull's Ben Gordon.
Wrong. He's better. And bigger.
Speaking of bigger, DJ White is 6'9" and beefy. He shoots the 15-18 foot jumper well and posts up well. He can rebound and block shots.
I have predicted he will have a better NBA career than Ty Hansbrough. Time will tell.
He needs to go in the top 20 in the draft next week.
One guy, and alleged sports writer, didn't have him selected in the first round!
Ridiculous.
This guy will make you a winner for the next 12 years.
The year was 1947, and many of your parents weren't born yet.
But there was a thing called the BAA.
Basketball Association of America.
And that year not long after the worst conflict to ever ravage our earth, culminating in the detonation of two nuclear weapons and the awful discovery of systemized death camps, the US convened what would become:
THE NBA PLAYOFFS
&
CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES!
That initial year it was the Philadelphia Warriors over the Chicago Stags. 4-1. WWWLW.
Who are these teams now? The Warriors? The...Stags?
The following year it was the Baltimore Bullets conquering the home advantage Philly Warriors, 4-2. LWWWLW.
Five games the first year to six years the following.
And then in 1949 the Minneapolis Lakers started doing their thing. 4-2 against the Washington Capitols. WWWLLW.
And the powers of the NBA have been the same ever since.
Oh, there was the anomaly Rochester (Royals?) in 1951, as well as the Syracuse (Nationals) in 1955, but from then on it was the Lakers, Philly, Boston, New York (twice), Milwaukee one time, and the occasional western team like Seattle or Portland.
But this is a game of the big cities: Chicago, Houston, and now San Antonio and the one time Heat of Miami.
So who will carry on the tradition?
LA? San Anton? Detroit? Boston again?
Overall count:
Boston...............16
Minn.-LA...........14
Chicago...............6
San Antonio.........4
Everybody else: 3 or less, including Detroit right on 3 with Philly-Golden State and Syracuse-Philly 76ers.
Most NBA teams have zero championships.
So, who do you want to win? The 17th, the 15th, the 5th or the 4th for the haves?
Last time for each?
Spurs: Last year, 2007.
Pistons: 2004.
Lakers: 2003.
Celtics: 1986.
Good luck all. I am a Jazz and Pacer fan. See you in the future, we hope. But overall, I just LOVE the NBA. And what does it mean? A little pride, a little hope, and a lot of fun. And courage and soul.
By the way, i think the blogger goTO inspired me to write this. His link is in my last post before this. His is much funnier, and more broad ranging to boot. His blog is called Northern Perspective, I think.
Winners, posessors of tremendous will, superb athletes...
Champions and dominators of their fields.
1. Michael Jordan. I saw him dominate the game at his size like few ever could. I rooted against him for his last five rings, but I have all the respect in the world for his competive spirit and nerves of iron on the court. Magic and Larry come close, but there is no other Airness than #23; the air is rare up there.
2. Muhammed Ali. In his prime Tyson nor anyone else would have stood a chance. Props to Jack Johnson and others for paving the way for the black athletes and boxers in general.
3. Roberto Clemente. This guy was the real deal, on and off the field. He had all five tools, and no one will ever know what his career stats might have been had he finished his playing days naturally.
4. Tiger Woods. I am not a big golf fan, really, but I think for mechanical superiority and mental acumen, this guy is the mind and body that I would take as the point man in a battle. Sheer competitive nature is exciting to behold, kind of like a great white shark going for its prey. In the form of a human with a club and a swoosh on his brow. Is that primordial?
5. My dad. I haven't even touched on the manly sports of football, soccer, and others, but I wanted a short list and I don't have bunch of time.
My father, born in 1937, is very human and suffers his imperfections. And obviously I am biased, but as far as a provider who sacrificed his body as a private contractor electrician and now as a generous grandfather and four year Air Force vet, Peace Corps volunteer, and active retired husband and community member, this a guy that will get the job done.
When there is a power problem, (which all of us can empathize with), he is the guy that figures things out and makes it right.
Not so athletic, but a constant fan of sports like football, basketball, boxing and the other various competitive events on screen and the occasional live sports competition, my dad is one of my dream teamers. He wouldn't be a member of many people's, obviously, but I can't think of a winner on a team without considering my pop. Driven. Constant. Professional.
Perhaps foremost, I am a basketball and an NBA fan.
I happen to be a Knicks fan for a few reasons. I am from Indiana and I love the Pacers rain or shine. Not too much shine lately. But this is what happens when you love the Pacers. This is why we have college basketball. Somebody will win from week to week, or have championship hopes come spring, representing the Hoosier state.
So why the Knickerbockers?
Well, non-Hoosiers, who make up the rest of the country minus maybe 6-8 million Hoosier born or graduated, there are some Indiana connections there in the City that Never Sleeps, plus I root for a lot of NBA underdogs.
I like Isaih Thomas, which puts me in a smaller minority around these parts than George Bush 43 fans at an anti-war rally. Or Hillary Clinton fans at a NASCAR race.
Anyway, I don’t know if the accusations against his sexual harassment suits are true or not. I would like to believe Zeke. This is unfortunate.
As for the actual team, they did get off to a very rough start this season. But they play in the Eastern Conference. Other than Boston and Detroit, and maybe now Toronto, Cleveland and Orlando are the established contenders. The last three spots remain to be seen. I say the Knicks make a run.
After getting to the first round in the Eastern Conference in 2008, ( as I have re-gathered the confidence or audacity to predict, despite their horrendous December following an ugly November), you never know. But perhaps the Knicks have a foundation.
The key is to continue to gel as a TEAM, as all teams attempt to do.
The former Hoosier and Bloomington native Jared Jeffries has to be utilized better and, to wit, perform better. Zach Randolph, the Indianapolis high school via Michigan State college player, must assert himself with Chicago native Curry. Crawford and Lee and then others, including Super Nate Man Child must play killer ball. Quinton Richardson? Be a solid alternative to Crawford. And what of that Marbury character?
All this may work out sometime.
I’m not predicting, I’m just saying…
And then: who knows? Can the Knicks do something the great Pat Ewing never achieved? Or will Lebron and Howard and Bosh be too much to overcome in the next 10 years?
Time will tell.
And finally, about Gotham. Very sad that Heath's last moments were in NYC, and his last film was all about the Gotham of Batman fame.
Our thoughts and prayers to the bereaved, including his child.
Uh....I don't want to go all the way back to Teddy Roosevelt, mostly because my brain doesn't do too well way back then, but also in the spirit of the NBA, the sport and league are much more modern consructs.
Who have the repeat offenders been since 1930?
Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Minneapolis/LA Lakers
Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Boston Celtics.
Ronald Reagan.
Philadelphia 76ers (Not really repeaters, but the others are not that impressive either: Pistons, Rockets, Knicks...)
I have lived in a few different sports areas and I am faithful to these places and their passions, give or take. I was born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana (1970-1989). Bob Knight was a central figure. I then lived in Chile for two years, where soccer became more of a presence on my global map. After returning to the Hoosier state one year, 1992, I became more aware of college football for a five year stint in Provo, Utah (1993-1997). BYU Cougar football! I made another return to Indiana from 1997 to 1999, and then spent the last six years in southern California, minus the last six months of 2005, in southern Chile again. And I got back yesterday, UPDATE:Now in Loudoun Cty, Northern VA! I am in the South! I love sports enough to think that they matter...Some how.
