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I keep hearing LeBron James wants to change his jersey number from 23 to 6. James says “[Jordan] can’t get the logo, and if he can’t, something has to be done. I feel like no NBA player should wear 23. I’m starting a petition, and I’ve got to get everyone in the NBA to sign it. Now, if I’m not going to wear No. 23, then nobody else should be able to wear it.” Michael Jordan is arguably (if you’ve listened to Friday Nite Mics then you’ve heard the arguments) the greatest basketball player of all time. He has won six championships, six Finals MVPs, and five regular season MVPs but he is not Jackie Robinson. He doesn’t hold a candle to Robinson’s cultural impact. Jordan is a basketball and marketing icon, but he didn’t change the landscape of professional sports. For James to change his number from what he feels is respect for Jordan to number 6 shows his lack of basketball history. Lebron also said “I just think what Michael Jordan has done for the game has to be recognized some way soon,” James said.  There would be no LeBron James, no Kobe Bryant, no Dwyane Wade if there wasn’t Michael Jordan first. Without Julius Erving, who wore number 6, there would be no Michael Jordan. But didn’t someone else wear #6 that won 11 championships, was a pretty decent player in his own, arguably the greatest basketball player ever and most likely the greatest defender and played during an era that changed America? For LeBron to change his number out of respect to Michael Jordan, he should think about changing it to a number not #6 out of respect for Bill Russell and the history of the game.

Speaking of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant should be mentioned in the same breath. I know everyone at www.sportsnetusa.net will disagree.

Here is my top 5 MVP candidates:
1. LeBron James
2. Carmelo Anthony
3. Kevin Durant
4. Kobe Bryant
5. Dirk Nowitzki

I was thinking recently of a game the Buddha of Babble and I played during our 3am journey from Jackson to the Nashville airport a couple of years ago; the Hall of Fame game. This is a list of nine that should be in the basketball Hall of Fame.
*Artis Gilmore: dominating in the ABA and didn’t drop off when he came to the NBA. Top ten in rebounds, blocks, games and   number one in field goal percentage.
*Dennis Johnson: nine straight All-NBA Defensive teams, three time NBA champ, one Finals MVP
*Gus Johnson: besides being my Uncle Popsie’s favorite player, prototype power forward, think Gayle Sayers impact on the hardwood
*Jerry Tarkanian: Long Beach St. is still living off the recognition he brought to the program, more coaching victories than Ralph Miller, John Chaney, Norm Stewart, Ray Meyer and more championships
*Oscar Schmidt: five-time Olympian for Brazil, one of the best players never to play in the NBA
*Rebecca Lobo: catalyst for UCONN dominance, National Champion
*Frank Selvy: 100 points in a college game, three time all-American
*Hank Gathers: 2nd player in NCAA history to lead in points and rebounds in the same season, average for NCAA career 33 points, 14 rebounds

The most impressive sports team during the last few years has been the UCONN Huskies Women’s basketball team. At this moment, they are at 70 consecutive wins and counting and a national championship during the run. If Maya Moore stays for her senior season, she will be considered one of the all-time greats.

Speaking of all-time greats here is my All-time Golden State Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Team:
*Kelly Schmidt, Vanguard University: four all conference selections, two-time GSAC Player of the Year, four-time all-American (three 1st team and one 2nd), NAIA Player of the Year
*Jessica Richter, Vanguard University: three all conference selections, two-time GSAC Player of the Year, three-time all-American
1st team, NAIA Player of the Year
*Lisa Faulkner, Vanguard University: two all conference selections, GSAC Player of the Year, NAIA Player of the Year, two-time all-American 1st team, NAIA single season assist leader (385)
*Gitte Mejer, Concordia University, all-American 1st team, three-time GSAC Player of the Year
*Sonia Akkerman, Cal Baptist University: all-American, three-time GSAC Player of the Year
Honorable mentions: Lindsey West and Cindy DeYoung (APU), Jamie Gast (CUI), Lesley DuBois (TMC), Colleen Planeta (PLNU), Katie Hardeman and Becky Gibb (WC)

If the NCAA really cared about “student-athletes” missing class time, the NCAA would not consider expanding the Field of 64 to 96 teams. The tournament field is fine the way it is structured now. Proponents say expanding will lessen the cries of those that missed the cut. Even if the field grows, there will always be one or two teams that feel left out. I thought the NCAA wanted full-time “student -athletes” not athletes that only go to class when the time is convenient to the NCAA; which is October to the first week of April.

Tags: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, NAIA, NBA, NCAA

This entry was posted on Monday, March 8th, 2010 at 1:03 am and is filed under NBA. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.