Basketball Dead

It is with great despair in my heart that I allow this ink to start to trickle down this oral page a shade similar to my skin color and mood…..dark. Dark in theory because those who sit near me know my profound passion for basketball and clearly can’t fathom me giving it up and so….I’m weary. Weary cause this pastime I once loved has forsaken me and transformed into much more than just “how I played the game”. Although, I walk this earth with a metaphorical NBA-TV I.V. connected to my main vein like morphine gradually dripping dozens of statistics and thousands of highlights into my Shawn Marion like frame somehow I’m still in pain. You see, when I was growing up basketball was an escape from defeat & rival block beef & gat cocked heat and even though there were pit-bulls in the metaphysical as well as in the streets the only thing that ever got dogged was my dark brown ball and my sneaks. So with grief I inform my family & friends that I no longer can pretend as if my body and mind can bend itself into the skilled contortionistic mindset it takes to mend position and aggression with repetition and learned lessons and practicing so much that you know every move your opponent can execute and no longer have to resort to guessing or stressing cause being a student of the game makes u a pupil with bumps and bruises but graduating at the top of your class with honors, is a blessing. I remember this sport to be my only protection and on cold nights, accompanied by nothing but leather to fight off the congestion of monotonous days filled with problems with no resolutions in sight but ironically, an angled kiss, off a wooden backboard, in a flowerless playground, provided the perfect form of affection. Under-Armour type shirts gave me tight hugs and caught the perspiration, that encapsulated my fears and weaknesses and as the sun was fading I worked on fading away from not just my opponents on the court but the ones in the most important sport of life that tried to get me to revert to hating my days…….and fellow man but now I understand that regardless of the colors of our melanin jerseys or difference in the shoe branded steps we take into life’s paint our lanes will at some point merge and all those who attempt to impede my forward motion by blocking my path will be burrowed over as a I charge down the road to the riches cuz it’s too late in the game to forge a complaint. Besides, I learned many periods ago that those appointed to wear uniforms don’t always make the correct calls or truly see what we do but I don’t want “Big Brother” installing their equipment in my arenas to show replays of my moves or taking time-outs for official reviews. Official confuse what’s the right call with what they think is right and a players reputation often induces calls either produced by anticipation or spite. The game is watered down and now its politics more than ever and even when you’re winning by a landslide and the odds are on your side, never say never. You better, continue to go hard & come prepared to ball cuz the difference between good and great is explained through their resurrection after their fall.

 

Davis Gives The Favorite Favor

Can UK & Star Anthony Davis Rise To The Occasion?

 None of the roads to New Orleans will be “easy” this year but at this juncture in the tourney it seems as if the University of Kentucky may have an inside track on the rest of the competition. With an impressive 32-2 record; with losses only coming by the hands of Indiana (73-72) on the road and Vandy (71-64) in the SEC tournament, John Calipari has manufactured another stellar season spearheaded by the obvious future number 1 pick, freshmen Anthony Davis, assuming he decides to throw his name in the hat. (and he will enter the draft, TRUST ME!)

   Davis, along with Super-Soph Terrence Jones, fellow freshmen and possible lottery pick Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, 2nd year player Doron Lamb and freshmen point Marquis Teague make up a starting five that garners worldwide media coverage. With the tenacious Senior influence, Darius Miller coming off the bench and providing the glue to this project the Wildcats seem to be on their way to a 38-2 clip as well as bringing home Calipari’s long-awaited first National Championship…….but as well all know, things rarely go as planned in the NCAA Tourney. 

   I personally have selected Kentucky to win it all this year with confidence. I just don’t see them making enough mistakes or missing enough shots when it counts. They can literally score from EVERY position and with Jones able to extend the floor with his long range shooting from the 4-spot (.333) it causes numerous mismatches on the court. Kidd-Gilchrist at 6’7 is a bully in the paint and may just have the best NBA-ready body on this team at 232lbs. Paper stats don’t do this team justice and if you haven’t watched a Kentucky game yet you can’t truly understand the impact Davis has on defense. He leads Men’s Division 1 programs in block shots avg 4.6 per game and has accumulated 154 total which is more than all but 37 D-1 schools in the country have tallied as a team, and comes only second in blocks overall to 6’8 Junior Center, Brittney Griner from the Women’s Baylor squad who’s averaging an insane 5.1 blocks per game. Davis has surpassed all Kentucky players in blocks in one season and has already been labeled as SEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. 

Rejection Isn't Always a Bad Thing

   With a force like that in the paint Kentucky is able to sell-out on defense and take gambles that other teams don’t have the luxury of doing. In a league where you cannot duplicate or simulate the play of Davis prior to seeing it I just don’t fathom any institution putting together a 40 minute game plan that will knock Kentucky off it’s mission. In the ensuing weekends we will see whether I’m right or if the basketball gods truly hate Calipari but for now we all will wait and see. It’s no longer an issue whether they CAN win, it’s more so the question, will they squander their opportunity to achieve their destiny? 

I’m betting on Blue