MISS YOU MUCH

I fell in love with basketball back in December of 1970.  It was Christmas morning, my mother gave me an orange, Voit basketball.  I was six.

I have had a relationship with hoops for 50 years.   Watching thousands of games at every level,  playing on  many teams over the years and having coached at different levels.  (I have also kept this on-line journal for 10 years) the game has brought me a tremendous amount of happiness.

Last night the NBA returned to their regular season schedule.  The season was suspended back in March.   I don’t need to write about Covid-19 and the Pandemic, this has been the worst 20 weeks of our lives.

First game was the New Orleans Pelicans against the Utah Jazz at 6:30 on TNT.  (Stan Van Gundy was on the call with Ian Eagle and Stan was fantastic)  That game was followed by the Lakers-Clippers.   Now if you don’t know, 22 NBA teams are in Orlando, Florida in a bubble.  Things seem to be going okay (fingers crossed) except for a few players testing authority.  Boys will be boys, right?  Imagine if everyone did the right thing?

Wear a mask.  Wash hands.  Practice social distancing.  Or, just read up on Major League Baseball…

Both games went down to the wire; Jazz and Lakers won by 2.  There’s 6 games scheduled today beginning at 2:30.

Sure there were turnovers, missed shots and poor defense last night but hey, can’t blame them, they’ve been away from the game for over 4 months.   I just hope the players do the right thing off the court and we see them finish the season.

How about J.J, Redick of the Pelicans?  Guy is in tremendous shape.  The former Dookie plays hard the entire time on the floor.  He’s 36.

Anthony Davis of the Lakers shot 16-17 from the free-throw line.  Who said big men can’t shoot free-throws?

LeBron James, who is in his 17th season in the NBA is the third all-time leading scorer in the history of the league.  Also, James has a chance this season to become the first forward in league history to lead the league in assists.  He’s on top currently dishing out 10.5 per game.  TNT’s Kenny Smith doesn’t have him on his Top 5 Players of All-Time?

Happy birthday to Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks and former St. Anthony’s head coach Bob Hurley.

Always play the right way…

-Steve Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

BILLY PAULTZ

Happy birthday to the Whopper.  He’s 72.

 

SCOTT WEDMAN

Happy Birthday Scott Wedman.  He’s 68.

Wedman’s performance in the Memorial Day Massacre, Game 1 of the 1985 NBA Finals was amazing.

Coming off the bench, Wedman hit all 11 of his shots, including four three-pointers, in Boston’s 148-114 win over the Lakers.

E-MAIL:  HOOPS135@HOTMAIL.COM

BILL BRADLEY

Happy birthday Dollar Bill…

“I practiced from June to September, four days a week, three hours a day before basketball season.  Above all, I played wherever there was a good game.”

GREGG POPOVICH

Pop discussing Tom Thibodeau…

“It’s easy to demand things, but to make people accountable and want to play the right way is not something that’s easy for everybody to do.”

https://www.nba.com/article/2020/07/25/report-tom-thibodeau-knicks-coach

E-Mail:  Hoops135@hotmail.com

OFF THE GLASS

The backboard is a player’s best friend…

CAMP LIFE

One tough thing about the pandemic is we are not allowed to have our basketball camps this summer. We usually do 5 weeks at the Michigan Athletic Club.

When I was a kid I attended two camps;  Pythian camp in Glen Spey, NY (1976-77 ish) and Jack Curran’s at Marist College (1978).

Many children across the country spend time at summer camps, and it’s usually an outstanding experience for most.  You get to meet new friends, learn a skill and most important, have fun.

Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  Stay positive…

-Steve Finamore

Hoops135@hotmail.com

TOGETHER

Manu Ginobili

BRYN FORBES

Happy birthday to the former Lansing Sexton Big Red.

Two state titles at Sexton High School.

Cleveland State/Michigan State.

Undrafted.

Bryn is in his 4th season with the San Antonio Spurs.

Pop to Bryn 2 years ago…

“You’re here. You belong. You’re doing a hell of a job, and you just need to keep getting better.”

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

I often wonder when and where the love for the game of basketball begins?

Does it start at Christmas time when you get a brand new basketball and run outside to play in the schoolyard while the temperature is 15 degrees and there’s snow on the ground?

That’s how and where it began for me.  Holy Name schoolyard.  1970,  Christmas morning. My mother gave me an Orange, Voit basketball.  I ran across the street to the boys schoolyard.  It was Seven A.M.

Maybe it starts out on the dirt patch, with a goal hanging on the barn for other kids? Or does it start in gym class at school?  A young kid is introduced to the game in P.E.

Does it start in the driveway?  Mom and dad nail a goal above the door and you get outside and begin to shoot.

Maybe it starts in your bedroom with a coat hanger bent into the shape of a hoop and you use a rolled up pair of socks for the ball?

Maybe your mom and dad took you to health club and you took your first shot indoors?

Possibly you went to a high school basketball game?  You watched the older guys play. And you thought to yourself, “I want to be like them.”

Whether it was in Brooklyn, New York playing in the schoolyard, the kid on a farm in Bloomington, Indiana, the kid playing on the beaches in California, it’s all the same.

Wherever and whenever it starts, it’s the beginning of something special.

A ball.  A goal and a dream…and of course, the love for the game.

Do it for love…

E-Mail:  Hoops135@hotmail.com