Emails in on Maravich & Bradford
The new emails are in, and it’s a light week, since I’ve been on vacation and haven’t written a column since last Monday. But some interesting stuff came in anyway.
Eddie wrote about my radio bit in which a variety of votes and nominations settled on Pete Maravich’s 44.2 college basketball scoring average as the greatest record in American sport: “Is Pete Maravich the only college player to have a higher scoring average (44.2) than field goal percentage (43.8)? He averaged 38 shots per game.”
I would assume so. No one ever scored like Maravich, so let’s drop it down. Can you imagine someone who scored in the 25-point range shooting 25 percent? No. OK, let’s go down to 15; 15 points and 15 percent? No. No one who shoots 15 percent gets to play enough to score 15 points a game. How about five? Can someone who routinely shoots 1-for-5 be good enough in other parts of the game to play, make a few foul shots and average 5.something points? Doubt it. Maravich reigns.
Craig was not so thrilled with Maravich: “He averaged 50+ against Kentucky in six games (LSU lost them all). Tennessee was the only team that consistently held him under 30. But his dad was the coach and thought he was the second coming when it came to basketball.”
First coming, I’d call it.
Several people wrote about my Sam Bradford leadership column. Jason: “After reading your Bradford article, I think the only question left in college football is: Bradford or Tebow? Who will sit at the right hand of the father throughout eternity?”
I’d say Bradford. Being right-handed, he would have a better angle to play catch.
Jerry: “Nice story on Bradford. I would like to read more about the Selmons and others that served in such a role. It should make for a good story.”
I never get tired of writing about the Selmons. Good to know someone never gets tired of reading about them.
William also wrote about Bradford: “Sam is a true leader, and unfortunately, stories like that are not what sells papers. I’ve seen him several times on campus, and his commitment to academics is really impressive. Especially for someone who has a full-time job.”
I actually think stories like that do sell papers. They don’t generate a lot of emails, but they sell papers.
Jerry: “Great article on Sam. When we first signed him, I doubted whether he would be any more than a backup, but a really good backup. He’s a great young man and us fellow Oklahomans should take great pride in how he represents not only OU but our state. Here’s hoping he has another great year. Also, I’m really proud of how Blake Griffin has handled everything even though I’m less than excited about him going to the Clippers.”
Don’t let anyone fool you. Very few, coaches included, wrote in Bradford as anything but a backup.
Brad wrote about the NBA draft: “Petro, Sene, Thabeet – no answers there. Thabeet plays defense like Marcus Camby. Comes from out of position to block a shot. Neither one can man up and play a basic defense. Same goes for Birdman, though coming off the bench (which is all he can or needs to do) his effort, energy, etc., fits well.”
I know, it’s bad form to keep drafting centers who can’t play. But the Thunder can’t dismiss Thabeet just because Robert Swift (and Sene and Petro) was a dud. If Sam Presti thinks Thabeet can defend the post, you draft him, regardless of who the Sonics drafted when they were in Seattle.
Leonard wrote about Justin Chaisson coming to OU after he was indicted for kidnapping an ex-girlfriend, then pled to a lesser charge: “Do you think it is mistake for OU football to bring this kid in from Las Vegas? Did they offer him a scholarship before all his legal stuff hit the fan? The OU statement about him sounded like it was written by attorneys.”
I think it’s a mistake. I think Bob Stoops will come out looking bad if Chaisson doesn’t walk the straight and narrow. Of course, if Chaisson does keep his nose clean, it’s a success story.
Roger talked some baseball: “I didn’t realize that Joe Mauer is still hitting over .400 this season. Suzuki leads the AL in BA at .360 and with 254 plate appearances. Mauer is 50 points ahead of Ichiro right now but lacks plate appearances. Mauer has 176 plate appearances (152 at-bats and 24 walks). Since the Twins have played 65 games, Mauer would need 202 appearances to qualify for the batting crown, so he is still short by 26. Won’t it be amazing if a catcher finishes over .400?”
It will be amazing if anyone hits .400. But Mauer could do it as easily as anyone else. I don’t think the appearances will be a problem. As I type this, Mauer is hitting .421, with 194 plate appearances. You need 502 plate appearances to qualify for the batting title, so that’s 3.3 per game the rest of the season. Even given Mauer a few days off, he should make that, barring injury.
-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.
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