Almost a GIP

[dlgood]

The swell ann1962 made this for me after all my "Sanford and Gunn" talk. Upon further review I'm mildy bummed that the faces are a little too small, or that it doesn't say "Shut up, dummy!" on it. But then, I didn't actually ask her to do that. And I suck at any icon task that doesn't involve simply shrinking down a picture I already have. Again - only midly bummed. Maybe I'll play with it later.

In side news:

1. Went to the NIT game last night. Terps didn't show up for the first 17 minutes and started off in a 16 point hole. Only to climb out and win by 15. They still confound me, but at least are continuing to build toward ending a disappointing year on a positive note.

2. Lil Sis has won tickets to the Home Opener of the Washington Nationals. So considering I'm charging her way-below-market-rates to live in my house, I get to go. Big yay for me!

Comments

[hjcallipygian.livejournal.com]

Do you think it's the players, or do you think the coach might have somethign to do with it? I mean, usually when a team has a lot of talent and doesn't stay focused well, I tend to think it's the coach more than anything else. They're 19 -- they're supposed to be like that. It's his job to make them not be.

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

I've bee watching college basketball for twenty years. It's not like Gary Williams suddenly forgot how to coach. But in the Navy, we say that if the boat sinks, it's on the captain.

I think it's a little of both.

He had a team like this way back - the year after Joe Smith left early for the pros. He had a lot of very talented players, who'd been together for a few years. And those guys just could not stick together as a team because quite a few of them were trying to impress scouts instead of just playing ball. And it also didn't help that they didn't have a Joe or Lonny Baxter to give consistent scoring and rebounding inside.

And this team doesn't have that either. And the closest thing they have to a star player, Gilchrist, is more headcase than star. (Unlike Steve Francis, who was a big headcase, but a bigger star.)

It's definitely his job to get more out of these kids, and it would have helped if he could have recruited better big men in the last few years, but there's only so much he can do if they don't mesh. Some things, they've got to do for themselves.

[hjcallipygian.livejournal.com]

See, I don't know much about basketball. That was actually an honest question. =)

The comment about showing off for scouts does seem legitimate, though. I can definitely see that. What other options are there for a basketball player other than the NBA? I'm really only familiar with baseball in this sense.

[dlgood.livejournal.com]

It's fine if you don't know that much. It helps me a little, because I grew up as a big huge sports fan in a fairly major market for both Pro and College...

What other options are there for a basketball player other than the NBA?

There are four major options for basketball players who want to stay in basketball, but don't make the NBA. For awhile, there have been lower-tier minor leagues in the US - the CBA and USBL. Currently, there's the NBDL - the D (as in developmental) league which is stocked with a lot of young ex-college players who are hoping that an NBA team will pick them up midseason to replace an injured guy. And hope they can stick. (NBDL teams don't have direct affiliation with the NBA teams, so they're all free agents)

The better paying option is for these guys to go play International ball. A lot of countries have pro leagues - Italy, Israel, France, Germany, and even more odd places like Bolivia or Brazil.

Option #3 - TV. A lot of the TV broadcasters are people who started out playing sports. For example, back in the day, CBS' big analyst for the Tourney Games, Billy Packer, played at Wake Forest.

Option #4 - coaching. Most college teams have two or three assistant coaches, and a lot of these guys are ex-players. Not all of them, of course, but it can be a stepping stone. Gary Williams, for example, played basketball at Maryland in the 60s - went to teach and coach girls soccer at a New Jersey High School before becoming an assistant coach and eventual college head coach.