Captain Beal

After conquering the state of Missouri as a sophomore, Chaminade College Prep basketball star Bradley Beal is now taking his game to the world stage.
Beal was one of 12 players selected to the inaugural USA Basketball Men's Developmental National Team, which is comprised of players who are 16 years old and younger. Beal was not only chosen for the USA team, but he was selected as the team captain.
The team will compete in the FIBA Americas U16 Championships, which will be held from June 17-21 in Mendoza, Argentina.
The top three teams will qualify for the 2010 FIBA U17 World Championships next summer in Germany.
After leading Chaminade to the Missouri Class 5 state championship, the 6'3" Beal has continued to enhance his standing as one of the nation's top players in the Class of 2011 while playing for the St. Louis Eagles. Beal has led the Eagles to three tournament championships already during the spring and early summer. He is being recruited from coast to coast with offers from many of the nation's top collegiate programs.
There has been much speculation in recent weeks on where Beal may be playing the rest of his high school career. The rumors of a family move to Texas were rampant, but it looks like Beal will be staying put at Chaminade.
That's good news for us basketball fans who enjoyed watching great talent develop and blossom into something special.
It's not so good news for opposing coaches in the Show-Me State who must devise ways to control this special young talent for the next two years.

Getting Big

I know how much the NBA wanted to have their Kobe Bryant-LeBron James showdown in the Finals this year.
Everyone got a little carried away with the Nike puppet commericals and one-hour specials on ESPN.
I for one, am glad to see the Orlando Magic in the NBA Finals because of the presence of Dwight Howard, the man in the middle.
We're in an age where big men are becoming more and more like small forwards and shooting guards. While I like seeing the versatility of our young bigs, I'm still an old stick-in-the-mud when it comes to watching big men play.
I still like my bigs to play like bigs. I still enjoy watching a big man play the post position like it is meant to be played. He scores down low, rebounds, blocks shots and draws automatic double teams. Old-school big men are somewhat like dinasaurs, but when you have one who can get it done, it's like having gold these days.
That is why it is important to see the young up and coming giant Dwight Howard get a chance to show his stuff in the Finals for the first time. Young big men, there is hope out there.
I grew up in an era when the center was the focal point of the team. Not only did he stuff the stat sheet, but he was the leader of the team. I came up when Wilt and Bill Russell were late in their careers, but they were followed by such greats as Lew Alcindor, Willis Reed, my uncle Wes Unseld, Bill Walton, Dave Cowens and many others.
These all-time greats led their teams to NBA championships in the 1970s.
Along came the likes of Robert Parish, Patrick Ewing, David Robinson, the great Hakeem Olajuwan and current greats Shaquille O'Neal and my man Tim Duncan.
These were all great centers. Not wannabe shooting guards who loved to play the skilled game, but waffled under the heat of physical championship basketball. These men laid it on the line every night. (Remember Willis Reed's historic walk out of the locker room before Game 7 on the 1970 NBA Finals against Wilt and the Lakers)?
With Shaq and Tim Duncan now in the twighlight of their Hall of Fame careers, it was looking like the classic NBA big man was becoming an endangered species. It should be no surprise that teams featuring Duncan and Shaq won the world title eight of the nine years between 1999 and 2007. In 2008, the Celtics won with versatile, yet dominant big man Kevin Garnett leading the way. All of these men are 30-something with injuries creeping in. We need some young blood.
Yao Ming looks the part, but injuries are curtailing what could be an even more dominant career.
Who do you call when the league needs a young dominant center to carry on the tradition.
Superman, or course. Enter Dwight Howard.
Howard's game is still a work in progress. At 23, he still has a long ways to go to master the fine art of low-post basketball. But what he does now is still pretty remarkable for someone at 6'11" and 265 pounds.
He is big, physical, strong, yet he can run the floor like a smaller player. He loves to rebound and block shots as evidenced by his Defensive Player of the Year award. The Magic are full of 3-point shooters, but make no mistake, the first option is to get the ball inside to their young beast. Wait until he hits his peak as a player. Look out.
The Lakers may not have a young stallion like Howard in the middle, but what they do have is plenty good. Pao Gasol is 7'1" 250 pounds and skilled while Andrew Bynum is still a pup at 21, but can be a factor at 7'1" and 280.
Obviously, neither one is replace Shaq, Wilt or Kareem in the Laker pantheon of great centers, but those are two excellent bigs to bring to the championship party. Both are different. Gasol is skilled, versatile, can score with either hands and can pass. He is also blocking some shots. Bynum is a big young moose in the middle right now.
Together, they make quite a tandem, than can be together for several more years. Gasol is just 28 and in the prime of his career while Bynum is just 21 with a lot more room to growth.
Yes, Kobe will garner most of the spotlight with his showstopping talent, but it will be fun to watch some honest-to-goodness bigs get down in the post with the championship on the line.

It's a wrap

Last weekend, we saw the conclusion of a terrific high school athletic career in St. Louis.
Bryant Allen finished off his prep career in high style by helping lead Maplewood-Richmond Heights to the Class 2 state track and field championship.
Many of you know Allen for his prowess on the basketball court and football field. In basketball, he scored more than 2,600 points and led the Blue Devils to Class 3 state championships in 2008 and 2009. His step-back jumpers, long, high-arching 3-pointers and daring drives were a thing of beauty.
On the football field, Allen was just as explosive in leading Maplewood to a 25-2 record in the past two seasons and two consecutive berths in the semifinals in the state playoffs.
Allen finished off his career by winning four gold medals at the state track meet, including two state records. He won the 300-meter intermediate hurdles for the second time in his career. He set a new Class 2 state record in Friday's prelims, then came back to break his own record in winning the finals on Saturday.
He ran legs on the Blue Devils' state-champion 4x100, 4x200 and 4x400-meter relay teams. In his final run as a high school athlete, Allen chased down an opposing runner in the anchor leg of the 4x400 to bring the baton home for a state title.
Allen will take his talents to the University of Minnesota where he will play football and basketball.
Here's a salute to Bryant Allen. Not only for his great individual success, but putting small Maplewood-Richmond Heights on the statewide map in athletics at every level.
Job well done, young man.

Good help is hard to find

Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are finding out the hard way that it is very hard to win an NBA championship all by yourself.
These two superstars have put up some incredible numbers during the playoffs, but their teams are entrenched in major struggles to get out of the conference finals, thanks to the Denver Nuggets and Orlando Magic.
LeBron is putting up nearly 40 a night against Orlando, the but Magic have enjoyed a big advantage because of their multitude of offensive weapons. Denver has a number of offensive answers as well to answer Kobe's onslaught.
If the NBA execs are going to get their ultimate wish, which is a Kobe vs. LeBron final, it all depends on the supporting cast of players around them. LeBron is getting very little help from his backcourt mates Mo Williams and Delonte West, who have both struggled with their shooting.
The same thing can be said about Kobe's teammates, which have had trouble finding consistency. Pao Gasol has the ability to be a dominant player, but he isn't getting the ball enough.
Yes, good help is hard to find.
Which brings me to the real subject of this blog; which is the man pictured with this blog; Scottie Pippen.
Scottie Pippen was a great player with the Chicago Bulls. One of the all-time most versatile players in NBA history. However, 'Pip never gets his just due as a great player because of the presence of his Airness in Chi-Town.
With Pip running shotgut with MJ, the Bulls were the dynasty of the 90's with their six world titles. Still, Pippen could get very little love. There were always legions of Scottie Pippen haters out there.
You've heard it all. He's just a Robin. He's a sidekick. He's not that good. blah, blah, blah. So stupid was it all.
You think Kobe or LeBron would not kill for having a Scottie Pippen as their second option right about now.
For those uneducated souls out there. Here are a few numbers. During the Bulls six championship years, Pippen played a total of 112 games.
In those 112 games, Pippen averaged 19.1 points, 8.1 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.1 steals. All of this while playing point guard and playing All-Pro shut-down defense. Folks, that's why he was voted one of the NBA's All-Time Top 50 Players.
As you continue to watch Mo Williams struggle with his shot, Lamar Odom settle for jump shots and Pao Gasol not get his touches, think about what Scottie Pippen did during the 90's during the Bulls dynasty.
Not bad for just a "sidekick."

You think Cavs fans would love to have someone like Pippen and his long 6'8" wingspan guarding 6'10" Rashad Lewis or 6'10" Hedo Turkuglou during those big possessions instead of Ben Wallace.

You know Phil Jackson would give his right arm for a player like Pip to set his defense, facilitate the offense so Kobe can be Kobe and generally be the second best player on the floor at all times.

As great as Michael Jordan was, probably the greatest of all time. Six championships aren't won by one's own self. You need some help.
I think Kobe and LeBron would agree.

Sodie's Back

Lindenwood University, my collegiate alma mater, has just tabbed Brad Soderberg as its new men's basketball coach.
That is quite a get for the NAIA college program. Soderberg was the head coach at Saint Louis University for six seasons before his departure after the 2007 season. He was also the interim coach at the University of Wisconsin for part of one season after his mentor Dick Bennett resigned.
Brad is merely returning to his basketball roots. He was a basketball standout at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he was a backcourt mate with former NBA standout Terry Porter on a team that played for the NAIA championship in 1984.
Brad also lived in St. Charles during his stint as the Billikens coach, so he and his family are now back in the community that he enjoys.
Congrats and welcome back, Sodie.

Baby Bills

I'm already looking forward to my 19th season as the radio color analyst for the Saint Louis University basketball team.
It will be interesting because of all of the young kids on the roster. Today, the "Billikids" added a new recruit in 6'0" combo guard Justin Jordan from Fort Wayne, Ind.
Jordan is a quick little guard who can score in bunches. He averaged 27 points a game as a senior in 2009. He will give our Bills another quick guard to go along with stellar freshman point guard Kwamain Mitchell.
With Jordan in the fold, SLU's new recruiting class is now at six. He joins 6'8" Cody Ellis, 6'5 Jeff Reid, 6'4" Christian Salecich, 6'7" Jon Smith, and 6'8" Cory Remekun in the Class of 2009. And remember, former McCluer North standout guard Femi John willl be a redshirt freshman next year, so that makes seven newbies.
They will join the "veterans" in junior guard Paul Eckerle and sophomores Mitchell, Kyle Cassity, Willie Reed, Brett Thompson and Brian Conklin.
The running count is now seven freshmen, five sophomores and one single, solitary, lonely junior.
It should make for some interesting times in 2010. It also should make for some good times as well because this nucleus will be basically together for the next three years to grow as a unit. That is exciting.
Can't wait to lace 'em up.

A shoutout to Unc

LeBron James has been tabbed as the Most Valuable Player of the National Basketball Association after a stellar season in which he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to the league's best record.
LeBron gets the award at the tender age of 24, thus becoming the second youngest player ever to win the MVP award.
Does anyone know who the youngest player ever to win the MVP award was?
You probably have to be a true basketball junkie to know that it was Wes Unseld, the Hall of Fame center of the Baltimore/Washington Bullets. Wes won the award in 1969 when he pulled the rare feat of being named the MVP and Rookie of the Year in the same season.
Only Wilt Chamberlain pulled that feat before and nobody has done it since.
I still think it's pretty cool. You know why? Because Wes happens to be my uncle.
Although he isn't mentioned as often as other former greats such as Oscar Robertson, Wilt, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and others, Wes' name manages to come back in the mainstream from time to time.
Years ago when rapper P. Diddy wore Wes' Washington Bullets' #41 jersey on television, the sales for his jersey went through the roof.
Whenever a young player throws a great outlet pass to lead the fast break, the television announcer for that particular game always brings up Wes' name. "That looked like a Wes Unseld outlet pass."
Now, thanks to King James, Wes' name will be back in the mainstream for a few days.