Harlan Schreiber

Last week, Chris Mullin was named the new head coach of St. John’s basketball team.  This makes for a great story—the best player in school history coming back 30 years later as a coach.  Of course, the fact that Mullin was a really good player in 1985 really has no bearing on whether he can coach (he has never done so at either the college or professional level) or whether he can recruit players (he has never formally done this either).  Certainly, a school does get a nice little temporary … [Read more...] about Chris Mullin: Can You Go Home Again?

This year, the NBA has yet another spirited battle between very mediocre teams for low rung East playoff spots.  The question has arisen again whether it is worth considering awarding the 16 playoff spots by record, regardless of conference.  Adam Silver seemed to hint that a change could be coming when he told ESPN in December that “[u]ltimately, we want to see your best teams in the playoffs, and there is an imbalance and a certain unfairness [under the current system].”  Let’s think through … [Read more...] about The Top 16: Does It Make Sense?

With Kentucky on the verge of going undefeated, the rumor mill is starting to heat up that John Calipari has nothing left to prove in college and that he wants another shot at the NBA.  According to this report by Steve Popper of the Bergen Record, “[t]he NBA is the only place [Calipari’s] ever failed and it drives him nuts.  He’s not the same guy he was then.  He came to the NBA and he wasn’t ready.  He’s ready now.”  Popper goes on to note that Calipari gets his star players to all buy into an … [Read more...] about Calipari and the 1990s Nets

Recently, Charles Oakley sounded off about the modern NBA, letting us know that he did not think the game has progressed to his liking since he retired about a decade ago.   Oakley’s complaint is that the modern players lack something: “I don't know what it is. They just roll you out there like a basketball. That's why ... you see the same teams in the finals or winning 55 games. Strong teams, strong-minded coach. Just the players, they don't think it, they don't know how to play together.   So … [Read more...] about Back In My Day

With so much going on in the home stretch of the NBA season, for some reason, what caught my eye is the weird season that Steve Novak is having.  It was only two years ago that Novak was key component on a very good Knicks team as the guy shooting corner threes when Carmelo Anthony was doubled (after which Novak would celebrate with the famed “Discount Double Check Belt” celebration).  Since leaving New York, minutes have been hard to come by for Novak.  Now, Novak has really retreated to his … [Read more...] about Steve Novak Does Not Like Two-Point Land