Jack Lambert
Hall of Famer
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2009
- Messages
- 4,743
Hawkeye, I agree only with the crybaby point. Even though plenty of black athletes have done the same, we need to hold our own to higher standards.
However, I think the whole point of the Caste System, as it pertains to basketball, is to put talented Whites in secondary roles. Could McDermott develop into a James Harden like player (another guy who's a poor defender) if he started and was allowed to be an offensive focal point? Do the Zeller brothers have plays run for them on offense or are they out there to set screens, rebound and block a shot? Olynyk has injuries and might not be the best defender but I've never seen him have trouble scoring the ball.
White talent is simply not developed like their black counterparts. In instances where they are, they are not allowed to be the alpha, leader like Dirk in his prime.
This is the big thing I have noticed from watching games this year. There are precious few white leaders on top teams. I'd say Kennard is the most high profile one; Alford and Leaf are two more that will lead the team in scoring and demand the ball as well. Farrell for Notre Dame and Chrabascz for Butler as well. The thing is, even on white-friendly teams, a black is still considered "the team leader" more often than not, and will of course get all of the shots drawn up for them.
There used to be a fair amount of white leaders on good college basketball teams in the recent past; you had guys like Dellavadova at St. Mary's, Chandler Parson and Nick Calathes at Florida, Gordon Hayward/Matt Howard at Butler, Scheyer, Singler, Plumlee, etc. at Duke, Robbie Hummel at Purdue, Uthoff at Iowa, McDermott at Creighton, Kaminsky and Dekker at Wisconsin, McConnell and Tarczewski at Arizona, Jimmer and Tyler Haws at BYU, Stauskas and McGary at Michigan, Joe Harris at Virginia, Pangos and Wiltjer at Gonzaga, and the list could go on.
The media helps with this as well. I remember that ESPN always used to show starting lineups before the game. Now they barely do, and just talk about "key players" from each team who just so happen to be black more often than not. This helps to further the perception that any good white performances will "come out of nowhere" because the other team was busy guarding the "star" they hype up.
From what I've watched in the NBA this year, are whites even allowed to be developed into a leader anymore? I know Gordon Hayward for the Jazz has a pretty big role on the team, and Porzingis should be after Carmelo finally retires.
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