Forecastle has become a major event for the city of Louisville. Over the past few years it has created major buzz from both locals and visitors. We typically stick to covering basketball, but we’re a big fan of big things happening within our city, and it doesn’t get much bigger than Forecastle.
We’ll stay in our lane and try not to ramble nonsensically about this weekend’s lineup when there are others who actually know what they’re talking about. So that being said, go check out the Forecastle Preview from our friend at Live Music Louisville. Then get out and enjoy all it has to offer.
With so many NBA prospects from the area participating in the NBA Summer League it is difficult to follow all of them. If you find yourself saying “I really wish I could just go to one place and see how all of those guys are playing!”, it’s your lucky day.
Summer League will be wrapping up at the end of the week. Here is how each of our local guys have fared thus far.
Wayne Blackshear (San Antonio Spurs) – 18.3mpg 11.7ppg 3.7rpg 1.3apg
Keith Bogans (Portland Trailblazers) – 15mpg 0.0ppg 2.0rpg 1.0apg
James Young (Boston Celtics) – 20mpg 7.3ppg 2.0rpg 0.3apg
That is a lot of NBA talent that has passed through the area and it’s good to see so many of them having success at the next level. Hopefully they can keep it up and ink some contracts.
If there is anyone I left out feel free to call me an idiot in the comment section.
The NBA could be coming to Kentucky…sort of. We’ve already heard about preseason games to played in both the KFC Yum! Center and Rupp Arena in the fall, now rumors are circulating about a potential University of Kentucky v. University of North Carolina alumni game being played in Rupp as well.
Kentucky Sports Radio is reporting that the game could feature several NBA players from the two schools, with John Wall and Harrison Barnes leading the squads as captains.
Given all the talent to come out of UK and UNC in recent years this would be a great event for state and fans of basketball within the state. We’ll take the NBA here anyway we can get it at this point. Hopefully there will be more information leaking on this soon.
Basketball season doesn’t end after the NCAA Tournament or the NBA Finals. Not around here, at least. For the year-round basketball fan one season doesn’t truly transition to the next until the NBA Draft.
The city of Louisville and state of Kentucky are no strangers to the draft. With the 7 guys from the University of Kentucky, 2 from the University of Louisville, and 1 who grew up in the city of Louisville, you can bet all eyes around here will be tuned in.
On that note, here is a brief round-up of what all the talking heads have to say about our favorite future pros leading up to the big night..
Karl-Anthony Towns (University of Kentucky) – Projected #1
This year was shaping up like those debates, as Jahlil Okafor and Karl-Anthony Townswere said to be neck and neck for the top spot this year. But in reality, this is not a two-man race. Towns is the best player in the draft, and it isn’t particularly close.
What’s really jarring is that Towns doesn’t appear to have any glaring weaknesses. Scouts can question Okafor’s defense, D’Angelo Russell’s athleticism, Emmanuel Mudiay’s shooting and Kristaps Porzingis’ frame, but there’s nothing to nitpick with Towns. After watching him at a private workout, ESPN’s Chad Ford described Towns with the most ridiculous hypothetical imaginable: “What if Dwight Howard could shoot, dribble and move the way James Harden does?”
D’Angelo Russell (Ohio State University/Louisville, KY) – Projected #2-4
“He is such a smooth operator,” Blake told SN’s Sean Deveney. “He can make plays for himself and others. He is not an elite athlete in terms of hops and speed, but he’s got that elite brain. … The numbers are off the charts on him. When you have a player like that who rarely had a bad game, it’s so hard to ignore.
Willie Cauley-Stein (University of Kentucky) – Projected #4-11
Willie Cauley-Stein is a player you can plug in your system in order to play high level defense, and provide both versatility guarding perimeter players and the ability to guard the rim … His one side of the ball type of play will cause him to be drafted below players that have two way potential, but he has the ability to be very good, or possibly elite as a defender if he can harness his improved metal focus, and grow as a professional …
Devin Booker (University of Kentucky) – Projected #8-14
One of the best shooters in the draft, maybe even the best, and the Heat certainly could have used that kind of firepower last season after the loss of Ray Allen. Booker has good size and could do plenty of damage off the bench in support of Wade, but is he too one-dimensional?
Trey Lyles (University of Kentucky) – Projected #10-16
What makes Lyles a potentially special offensive weapon is that he can’t be put in a box. He has the size of a traditional NBA power forward, but showed he’s just as comfortable playing the perimeter. He isn’t a big man who wants to play like a guard; he’s a 6’10 force of nature that can adapt his game from inside-out depending on the matchup.
Montrezl Harrell (University of Louisville) – Projected Late First Round
That finishing ability, as well as physicality, energy, and rebounding is what he hopes to bring to an NBA team. Harrell made 58.7 percent of his shots overall for the last two seasons, including 72 percent of his shots within five feet of the hoop. Harrell was able to make shots around the hoop in a variety of different sets and situations, although one aspect stays the same each time:
Dakari Johnson (University of Kentucky) – Projected Late First Round
Some NBA team will almost certainly look at Johnson’s relative youth, apparent desire to work hard and 9-foot-4 standing reach and see a project worth taking on. ESPN Stats & Info estimated that although Johnson’s chances of achieving superstardom are very slim, he has the lowest risk of becoming a bust of any player in the draft.
Terry Rozier (University of Louisville) – Projected Late First Round/Early Second Round
Rozier has the physical tools to match up against NBA guards and nice size to boot. Measured at 6’2.25” with a 6’8.25” wingspan at the NBA Draft Combine, Rozier has a strong frame, long arms and good size for a point guard which will allow him to compete on both ends. Additionally, he possess excellent speed, agility and explosiveness to round out his strong athletic profile.
Andrew Harrison (University of Kentucky) – Projected Late First/Early Second Round
The better of the two Harrison twins is a strong combo guard with a great ability to finish. He can handle very well for a bigger guard, and his ability to creatively finish in the lane is tough to guard. Obviously, after two years at Kentucky, you know you’re getting someone who knows how to win.
Aaron Harrison (University of Kentucky) – Projected Second Round
Teams love his fearlessness—who can forget the three game winners he made in the 2014 NCAA tournament—but poor three-point shooting numbers last season (31.6%) have scouts uneasy about his future.
Ten potential draft picks with ties to the area. Something not many other places can say. We hope the best for all of these young men as they take one more step toward their dream Thursday night.
The last 24 hours hasn’t been fun for the Arizona Coyotes and fans of the NHL franchise. It was announced earlier today that the Glendale City Council has voted to terminate the team’s current lease agreement citing “financial burdens”, which will likely end their time inArizona.
The Coyotes will likely appeal the termination, but things certainly look bleak for the those hoping to keep the team put. According to SI.com,
After [termination], relocation would be inevitable—most likely to Quebec City, where the Centre Vidéotron is about to open its doors.
Of course this is a story that has no real significant meaning to the city of Louisville and their lack of a professional sports franchise, but it is still interesting nonetheless.
Most interesting is the possible relocation spot, Quebec City. A hockey crazed city that just so happens to have a $400 million dollar arena waiting to be filled. Or in other words, a city whose residents are passionately in favor of a sport and has the infrastructure to support a potential team. Sound familiar, Louisville?
Also worth noting that Louisville was once home to a professional hockey team. How cool would it be to bring an NHL version of the River Frogs back?
FWIW, I just discovered that the River Frogs logo was ranked the 4th worst hockey logo of all-time by some website named ginandtacos.com, which is absurd because I have it ranked as the best logo of all time.
Louisville native, and top NBA Draft prospect, D’Angelo Russell has some thoughts on Louisville’s lack of an NBA franchise. And just like you and me, he wishes there was one. Russell, who recently worked out for the Los Angeles Lakers, had this to say about where he wishes to begin his professional career,
Louisville native Russell on if he has a pref. about where he plays: “If I could be home that’d be great, but we don’t have a pro team.”
I don’t think he is alone in thinking that would be great.
The Lakers have the second pick in this year’s NBA Draft and Russell is expected to be drafted anywhere from the first pick through the third. He is an extremely rare talent, one such we haven’t seen come out of the city of Louisville since Rajon Rondo.
Cheers to hoping we can one day make his wish come true. In the meantime, I’m sure the entire city will be behind the kid wherever he does land.
The KFC Yum! Center will be home to opening round games in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament beginning this Thursday. This is the second time in the arena’s short existence that it will play host to the tournament.
The arena, which is arguably the nicest in the country, should be a focal point of the first weekend given it is the site where the undefeated and number one overall seeded Kentucky Wildcats will open action.
It’s easy to take such an event for granted when the arena already plays host to several marquee college basketball games throughout the season, but having millions of eyes from all across the country focused on your city, and the nicest asset your city has to offer, for an extra weekend toward the end of the season is a big deal. Major basketball events in the city of Louisville are always something worth celebrating.
A new Wall Street Journal article, which examines the major TV markets for all major sports across the country, has dubbed Louisville, KY “The College Basketball Capital of the World”. According to the article..
People in Kentucky don’t just watch their own teams more than anyone else. They watch every team more than anyone else. Louisville has registered the country’s highest television ratings among metered markets in college-basketball programming for at least the last dozen years, according to ESPN data.
This should come as no surprise to the people of Louisville. The entire state, and specifically its’ largest market, is obsessed with college basketball. Even the most anti-basketball resident couldn’t deny that fact. But bring up the NBA’s popularity in the city though, and you’ll get mixed reviews.
There is a certain purity to college basketball. Student-athletes playing the game we love is often more emotionally fulfilling than millionaires playing it. It’s a fair argument for favoring the college game over the professional game. But basketball is basketball, and the fact of the matter is the city of Louisville loves the basketball they have more than anyone else. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that they would feel the same way if they had the NBA as well.
The people of Louisville love their basketball. The trick is making the NBA theirs again.
If you’re looking for my thoughts on the NBA trade deadline (and why wouldn’t you be) then please refer to the title of the post. In a day where a record 37 players were swapped and there were 16 teams involved, it was easy to give up on trying to keep track of what was going on.
Because I don’t want to bring a massive headache upon myself, I’ll refrain from recapping each move and how each team fared. Instead I’ll just post other people’s reactions because stealing opinions from other people is so much easier than having your own.
Here are the five best reactions to the madness:
5) One of our beloved local NBAers, Patrick Patterson, lets us know what being traded is like.
The NBA game is constantly changing. It’s easy to look back through the history of the league and see the not so subtle differences in style of play, defining moments/players, etc.
The 1960s NBA was defined by pure finesse; a ballet of offense which produced league averages of over 115 PPG.
The 1970s was defined by the NBA/ABA merger. An era that introduced raw power and athleticism into the league.
The 1980s were defined by showtime. Magic Johnson and the Lakers brought us a brand of basketball that broke all the rules. Later in the decade we saw teams who couldn’t play showtime basketball adopt quite the opposite style; a bruising, defensive, and borderline dirty style of play.
The 1990s were defined by Michael Jordan. And only Michael Jordan.
The 2000s were also defined by Jordan in a way. Teams were desperate to find the heir to the Jordan throne, drafting young upside guys straight out of high school. This greatly diluted the talent in the NBA as a whole, and the league suffered to an extent. That’s not to say there weren’t bright spots though – the Kobes, Garnetts, and TMacs.
But what era are we currently in? What is the state of the current NBA? And what will define the basketball we are watching right now?
To me, that answer is obvious. Today’s NBA will be defined by the 3pt shot.
(Let me note that we have also been witnessing a clear-cut top 3 player to ever play the game in Lebron James. I don’t mean to downplay his greatness during this era in any way.)
Shooting. The best shooter of the era, Ray Allen, is without a doubt the best shooter of all time. That being said, when it’s all said and done he probably won’t be. With guys like Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Kyle Korver ripping the nets at clips never before seen, it’s important to realize the greatness we are witnessing.
Last season, when compared to every league leader in 3 point shooting percentage since the adoption of the line, Kyle Korver attempted more than 100 more 3 point shots than the next greatest ‘attempter’. And he did this while still shooting 47%. He is currently on pace to shoot even more 3 point shots this season while shooting 53%.
Korver is doing something very rare. If he finishes at or above 53% he will hold the NBA record for highest single season 3pt FG percentage. The current record holder is Steve Kerr, who shot 52% during the ’94-’95 season. Kerr attempted 170 3pt shots that season. Korver has already attempted 254 3pt shots this season. *Mind blown*
What Klay Thompson and Steph Curry are doing with the Warriors (under Steve Kerr nonetheless) is of the same mold.
Steph Curry & Klay Thompson have hit 193 three-pointers thus far this season… which is 47 more 3’s then the entire Grizzlies team combined.
The duo have been so great many are already pondering whether they might be the best shooting backcourt ever. Guess what… neither is older than 26 years old. There are a lot of 3s left in that duo. If you haven’t seen the two play, I suggest you change that quickly. They will be two you tell your grandkids about. Don’t believe me? Watch for yourself.
There is a premium being put on the outside shot in the NBA. Strictly looking at percentages might not suggest the 3pt shot is any better now than it has been in past decades, but the fact of the matter is players are shooting significantly more and still hitting at an impressive clip.
The aforementioned guys are hitting shots at all-time great levels. Meanwhile, other top players around the league like James Harden, Kevin Durant, Wesley Matthews, Damian Lillard, and Kevin Love are utilizing the deep ball at an exceptionally high rate as well. When we look back at this current era of the NBA I think we will say two things:
A) There was all-time great talent. (Lebron, Kobe, KD, possibly Anthony Davis).
B) The 3pt shot was being successfully utilized like we had never seen before and possibly will never see again.
Colonel-Journal 