The Proper(?) Way to Honor 1 Billion Views

If you were busy working, watching actual basketball, playing actual basketball (my team won 75-41 in rec league competition, thanks) or doing anything, really, you may have missed this video celebrating a collective 1 billion views for the NBA's official YouTube channel. Tack on one more and click the play button below:



Not much fundamental basketball being played in that video. There's plenty of dancing and some dunking, if you're into that kind of thing. Me? I would prefer more chest passes and uncontested jumpers. Oh, and more Scal.

The league's team of editors should already be readying a video for the 2 billionth view seeing as there have already been more than 8 million clicks since this clip was posted, but if you have any nits to pick with the NBA's unique commemorative highlight reel right now, air your grievances in the comments.


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Friday Mini-Roundtable: Who Will Be The NBA's Next 30,000-point Scorer?

(sneakerbardetroit.com)

BDD's Friday (Mini-)Roundtable is a weekly discussion among three two of our writers on a trending NBA or college basketball topic.

This week's question: Kobe Bryant scored his 30,000th career point Wednesday night, making him the sixth player in NBA history to accomplish the feat. Who will be the next NBA player to reach the 30,000-point career scoring mark?

Kyle Davis:
It's difficult to persuade myself to pick anyone other than LeBron James. He reached the 5,000 and 10,000-point mark faster than Kobe, and is nearing in on 20,000 for his career, which he should easily hit this season. The other obvious choice to me was Kevin Durant, and Sports Illustrated agreed, but James has a four-year head start, and I don't see him slowing down enough for Durant to surpass him. I do think an interesting argument is if there is a scenario where Durant reaching the 30,000 milestone at a younger age than James. James has a head start by coming into the league out of high school, where Durant played a year at Texas. But looking at their style of play, it wouldn't be horribly shocking. Durant is a better pure shooter than Lebron, we know that. And as James gets older, even though he is a freak physical specimen, he will probably need to rely more on his jump shot. Both have remained healthy throughout their careers, but a knee or any leg injury would hurt James' explosiveness, which he thrives on, more than Durant's jump shot. Regardless of who is the youngest to get to 30,000, I think we'll see both names among that Pantheon of great scorers.

Alex Skov:
LeBron James and Kevin Durant are the two names that immediately come to mind, and for good reason. Durant already has several scoring titles and still has his prime years ahead of him while James is, well, the most dominant basketball player in the world. But Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus notes that Dirk Nowitzki is the next active player that could feasibly hit the 30,000-point mark. He is only 5,866 points away, compared to Durant's 10,527 and LeBron's 19,519. Still, at 34 years old and with the injury bug starting to bite -- not to mention O.J. Mayo's ascendance in his absence -- I can't call Nowitzki a shoe-in. Even playing the fewest minutes per game of his career, James should pass 20,000 career points this season and keep up the scoring pace as it becomes more and more evident that Miami's Big Three is actually LeBron, a past-his-prime Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh (...and his faces). Durant will get there eventually, but James' path to 30,000 points is clear barring major injury and he will reach it before any other player.


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Pau Gasol's Leaving Lakerland, Eventually

"That's where I'm going?" (Gary A. Vasquez/U.S. Presswire)

Mike Brown is the most recent casualty of the Los Angeles Lakers' post-Phil Jackson era. He joins Shannon Brown, Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom, who all played different roles in helping the franchise win back-to-back NBA championships in 2009 and 2010.

The number of hard feelings that each one carries from his means of departure varies. Brown, for instance, declined to pick up a player option that would have kept him in L.A. last season and found a bigger payday with the Phoenix Suns. He had a say in the way he left, unlike Fisher — who nearly became a three-time Laker this fall after being traded to the Houston Rockets in March — and Odom, one of the league's most talented sixth-men who was flipped for a mere trade exception after being included in the Chris Paul-to-the-Lakers trade that never happened due to a David Stern veto.

Even considering the boot Mike Brown received after coaching fewer than 80 regular season games, Pau Gasol has had the roughest road out of Southern California. The worst part, obviously, is that Gasol is still clad in purple and gold.

By the numbers, the Spanish big man was the Lakers' second-most productive player in 2011-12 behind (who else?) Kobe Bryant. In the championship years, too, Gasol was an important weapon for Jackson's juggernaut.

New philosophies have not been kind to him, though. New additions Steve Nash and Dwight Howard were supposed to make things easier by drawing more attention, allowing Gasol to shoot mid-range jumpers and work on his three-point range.

That's not quite how it's panning out.

Howard started slow while still recovering from back surgery earlier in the year and Nash suffered a small fracture in his left fibula when he knocked knees with Portland Trailblazers rookie point guard Damian Lillard in the Lakers' second game of the season. Mike D'Antoni, who claimed the head coaching position shortly after Brown's firing, implemented his trademark offensive system, which minimizes Gasol's role on the court by moving away from his strengths. As a result, his minutes have waned as Antawn Jamison has gained favor and, thus, playing time.

Currently, Gasol is benched while his knees rebound from tendinitis. His view from the bench is clear. He can see not only the teams entering Staples Center, but also the cities of Atlanta, Minneapolis and Toronto — the homes of three franchises rumored to have interest in acquiring Gasol. The Raptors are said to be the Lakers' most likely trade partner, but their projected package of Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon does not contain the shooter needed in Los Angeles. Same with the Hawks, as Josh Smith is their only relevant asset in this situation. Timberwolves general manager David Kahn has made more than his share of mistakes in the past considering Minnesota's roster, but swapping Kevin Love for Pau Gasol would be foolish in any capacity due to age, if not Love's cemented star status on a small market team.

That is without namedropping Odom, Paul, Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic — other players that would have moved in the Stern-stopped four-team trade that would have landed Gasol in Houston at the beginning of last season.

Ever the soothsayer, Bryant recently weighed in on his teammate's quandary:

"Put your big-boy pants on. Just adjust. Just adjust. You can't whine about it. You can't complain about it."

To his benefit, Gasol has not complained about it. Not even when Rockets radio announcer Craig Ackerman co-opted Bryant's quote into what might end up being the greatest call of the season. Gasol's been benched, asked to play more minutes at center rather than his preferred power forward spot, been dangled over the trade scales and seen regimes change.

No complaints.

All signs point to Gasol being the first casualty of the Lakers' D'Antoni era, though. Soon, maybe, Gasol will find himself in a spot where he is expected to be more vocal; to be a leader; to not play second-fiddle; to be Pau.


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Utah To Honor The Late Rick Majerus With Sweater In Rafters

Rick Majerus will be honored at the University of Utah after his death last weekend. (midwestsportsfan.com)

A great basketball coach in Rick Majerus passed away last weekend at the age of 64.

How do we know he was a great basketball coach? Well, besides looking at his record and accomplishments, countless coaches and analysts have told us as much. The testament is that the person was even greater than the coach.

Majerus was the current coach of the St. Louis Billikens, although he had not coached this season due to his health issues. But the University of Utah was where Majerus spent the majority of his head coaching career, and where he found the most success. It was Utah that Majerus led to the national championship game in 1998.

Now the university is planning to honor the late coach in a classy and fitting way. From now on, the rafters of the Huntsman Center will include a replica white sweater often famously worn by Majerus as the Utes' coach.

Kudos to Utah for not just going with a jersey in the rafters- although that still would have been a respectful gesture - and instead finding a personal way to honor a great coach and ambassador to the university.

It's a shame Majerus was not able to return to Utah for an induction into the school's hall of fame last year, and that he will not be there to witness the white sweater hanging next to the other university greats.

But what's important is Majerus is being honored in a way that reflects the greatness that so many people thought of him.


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New Orleans Hornets To Change Nickname To ... The Pelicans

The New Orleans Hornets could be the Pelicans as soon as 2013-14. (sportscity.com)

The New Orleans Hornets came under new ownership in April - New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson - and since then, there has been a possibility of the team changing its nickname.

According to a Yahoo! Sports report, the Hornets name could be replaced on the jerseys and logo as early as the 2013-14 season. The replacement nickname? The New Orleans Pelicans. This beat out the other possible nickname finalists the Brass and the Krewe (costumed parade members during Mardi Gras). Remember, New Orleans' NBA team was the Jazz before the team moved to Utah.

The Pelican doesn't seem overly intimidating, especially compared to a Hornet, unless you remember it was a Pelican that stole the board in the hit movie "Jumanji." You're welcome for that reference.

It makes sense for a New Orleans basketball team to have that nickname. It is the state bird, and Louisiana is the Pelican State. Also, the Pelican is equivalent to a 6-foot human in size, with a huge, 10-foot wingspan, and can fly, so the basketball metaphor is there.

The success of this new nickname will depend on the logo and how it is marketed, and it will be accepted with time. But whatever the organization decides to do, let's just hope the Pelican is wearing 70s-style Chuck Taylors and a headband or some other partially wacky design.


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Upsets Underscore the First Month of College Hoops

Baylor couldn't hang onto a lead against College of Charleston. (USAToday.com)

First Colorado handed Baylor a loss, then the College of Charleston did it. Of course, the Bears followed up the Charleston loss by coming one point short of beating Kentucky by double-digits. Out west, UCLA has fallen to Georgetown and Cal Poly. Oklahoma State even walloped North Carolina State, 76-56.

Just like that, four of the most hyped teams in the country have dropped from the Top 25 entirely. The Wildcats' tumble comes after sitting at No. 3 in the preseason polls, and falling from No. 8 to holding the almost-doesn't-count designation of top vote-getter outside of the rankings. UK's most recent vanquishers, Baylor, are now seventh in the waiting line for a national ranking after coming into the season at No. 19, but neither of those teams have fallen the farthest.

N.C. State was originally given the No. 6 spot thanks to the Wolfpack's forceful conference play and a strong showing in the NCAA tournament. Many people wondered whether this might be an optimistic projection by voters longing to introduce a new contender into the Duke-North Carolina scrum that is the perennial pinnacle of ACC action.

Ben Howland's Bruins planned on having a resurgent year, but ran into eligibility trouble before the season even began. Several players have departed before even getting into conference competition, with center Josh Smith being the most recent expatriate. A loss at the hands of San Diego State is completely understandable — the Aztecs are currently ranked No. 23 —but the Hoyas are supposed to be having a down year (although they have taken top-rated Indiana to overtime on a neutral court and eeked out a one-point victory over Tennessee in a 37-36 snoozefest) and Cal Poly is not a traditional national contender.

Questions arose last year over Howland's leadership at UCLA, so perhaps a No. 13 preseason ranking was a tad lofty. John Calipari's newest freshman-heavy squad could have been given too much credit, too. After losing Alec Burks to the NBA then faltering in their inaugural Pac-12 campaign, the Buffaloes were bound to pick up their play and would have to find a big win somewhere — they just happened to play Baylor before encountering an also-falling Murray State team.

As for the Charleston loss? The Bears gained an experience that many teams don't get until single-elimination play in March. Any group of players can beat their opponents on the hardwood on any particular day of the week.

What's the next upset special? Tell us in the comments.


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Will Calipari's System Be Questioned Again After Kentucky's Slow Start?

Is Kentucky's rough start leading to questions about John Calipari's freshman strategy? (yahoo.com)

The system of coaching in college basketball changed after John Calipari and Kentucky won a national title last season. Or at least that's what we thought.

The idea of senior leadership and building players has been exchanged in Lexington for the year's best recruits (and maybe a few old sophomores and juniors). And before last season, the formula had proven to produce positive results, but never the ultimate result, which made it easier for people to dismiss Cal's methods.

Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and the rest of the young Wildcats proved what raw ability can do with a season of preparation. Naturally, the same was expected of this year's group. UK has highly touted freshmen in Nerlens Noel, Alex Poythress, Archie Goodwin and Willie Cauley-Stein, who have even higher expectations and more pressure on them than last year's squad.

Kentucky just lost its second game in a row and third of the season, which is more losses than the 2011-12 team had all season and keeping them barely above .500 at 4-3. The 2011-12 team's first loss was on Dec. 10 to Indiana and then it didn't lose again until the SEC Tournament Championship game against Vanderbilt.

Freshmen are supposed to go through growing pains, and that's exactly what is happening to UK this year. The talent is there, but adjusting to the pace of the college game and facing hostile environments, not to mention building team chemistry, takes time.

This season's start is making last year look more and more like a once-in-a-decade group, rather than the new norm in the college game. Who else has found a team, led by freshmen, that only lost one game in the regular season (on a buzzer-beater 3-pointer in a loud Assembly Hall), go perfect in conference play and win a national title, all while looking like it was the best team in the country? If there were growing pains, they didn't show up in the final score. The starters rarely looked like the stage was too big for them and the chemistry was as good as it could be for players working together for the first year.

It was just assumed that since Cal pulled this feat off last year, of course he could do it again this year. That's what the system entails; come in for one year, be one of the best teams in the country, compete for a title and then go make money in the NBA. The most difficult part is the recruiting, and Cal has succeeded with flying colors.

But now we're seeing why coaches and analysts preach senior leadership and chemistry. Trust me, any coach would take the most talented freshmen if he could get them, and Cal shouldn't be faulted for that. There just also happens to be a down side to the approach, and we're witnessing it as Kentucky will most likely drop out of the top 25 this week.

This doesn't mean Kentucky is going to flop or remain in neutral all season. They'll be a dangerous team to face in the NCAA Tournament because a lot can be learned in four months. This is more about how special last year's team was, and that Cal hasn't discovered a fool-proof secret to the game, he has just crafted another way compete.

Other teams still have a fighting chance and the college basketball apocalypse can be put on hold until the next super-frosh team makes all of us rethink our team's strategy.


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