A Couple Basketball Notes(1) Tonight my brother's team - the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig Silver Eagles - travels to Remer for what should be an interesting game. I am sporting my brand new Silver Eagles long-sleeve t-shirt to show my support. Good luck JDW and team. I couldn't find any internet action re the team, but here is the school:
http://www.bugschool.bia.edu/(2) I have to rant about the Wolves a bit... Not about the team, but about MN fans' percpetion of the team, and their insistent complaining and griping.
First of all - PLEASE STOP - particularly Mark Rosen, KFAN folks, etc. - PLEASE STOP suggesting that we "need" or "should get" or "need to get" another "superstar" player. We have KG - that is all we get in the way of superstars... unless we want to give him up. By definition, a team gets 0-1 "superstar" player(s). Suggesting that a team is somehow entitled to two such players means that you believe that ~40% of starters should be superstars. If you are lucky, you get a star player, surrounded by solid role players.
Second - PLEASE STOP ripping on Mark Blount, Ricky Davis, and Mike James. These guys are exactly the type of role players that are needed to comprise a good team. Blount is 7 feet tall, 250 pounds, and solid muscle... he is an easy 15 pts, 6-8 rbs and 50%+ from the floor... but he is constantly ripped on by fans and radio... why? Davis may be a jerk in some respects, but he is a good player, who has for his entire career put up good numbers. He can create his own shots, which is more than I can say for Wally S. Mike James is a nice player to have too - puts up good numbers, and is a better-than-serviceable NBA PG. Throw in a nice draft of Craig Smith and Randy Foye, and you've got a good collection of players to surround KG.
My question has always been - when I hear these guys on the radio criticizing the Wolves - WHAT WILL EVER BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU? You constantly complain, no matter what players we bring in. You say we need a guy who can shoot in the fourth quarter - we bring in Davis and Foye - you still whine. You say we need big bodies - we bring in Blount and Smith - you're still not satisfied. This is how it is! You get a star if you're lucky, and a bunch of role players, and you try to meld them into a team. I feel like you'll only be happy if we can get a top three player at each position (which, by the way, would not guarantee a good team).
So Barreiro, Hartman, Rosen - stop ripping this team, and get behind them. They hear and read what the media say... They have the potential to be good, and if we talk positively about them, it can only help.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/min/