March 18, 2026
Some hallowed ground was tread upon last night in the NBA, and both involved Wilt Chamberlain. More on those stories coming up, but I would like to start with reflections on watching the Big Ten Women’s Conference Tournament this past weekend.
I was in Iowa visiting my 92-year-old mother, who still lives on our family farm. Mom has had many health challenges, but all 5’2” and 100 pounds of her is powered by her deep faith and a nuclear-charged will to live; she loves life and has no intention of changing that anytime soon. One of her passions that keeps her young and fired up is basketball. I grew up as the oldest of 8 in a basketball family and a good one at that. My father was the last All-State player from Cresco, Iowa, before I was selected. I believe the combined total points of the Sir siblings in high school would be well over 6000. Not bad for 32-minute games with no 3-point line or shot clock. My sisters actually played 3-on-3 rules!
My parents were running to and fro, getting to every game they could as it was like a Rubik’s Cube of basketball games. Junior high, high school, and university all at the same time. Somehow, some way, they made it work.
My Mom loves the Iowa Hawkeye women’s team. Always has. No Caitlin Clark bandwagon hopper here. Pure love for the black and gold. We settled into watching the women’s Hawkeyes squad battle in the Big Ten (which has 22 teams – the math doesn’t quite work) as March Madness looms. It was a display of teamwork, hard-nosed defense, and just enough offensive savvy to knock off a tough Michigan team decisively in the semi-finals. For the 6th time in 8 years, the Hawks were back in the tournament finals.
Now in nature, a bear would eat a hawk if the opportunity presented itself. The UCLA Bruins devoured, decimated, decapitated, discombobulated, disassembled – whatever ‘d’ word that describes a resounding defeat as they clicked on all cylinders, crushing this fine Hawkeye team by 51 points. That is not a misprint. How can a 26-5 team with many Top 25 wins in the regular season have that happen? Here are my thoughts:
- Women’s college and pro basketball have come so far in the past 10 years in skill, athleticism, and depth of talent. However, there is still a talent gap that will need to continue to be closed. The best are often far better than the very good.
- There is a physical reality in women’s sports that when opponents have superior size and equal or greater athleticism, the difference is nearly impossible to overcome.
- There are 2 super teams in NCAA women’s basketball this season: UConn and UCLA. There are a small handful of teams that have a shot at upsetting them in March Madness but the possibility of a 16th seed beating a 1st seed is not nearly as likely as on the men’s side…. YET. This era of women’s college basketball reminds me of the men’s game in the ‘80’s and 90’s; upsets like that didn’t happen then. This may not be the case in 10 years as more and more women become better players physically and mentally.
My Mom’s Hawkeyes will now head into the meat grinder of March Madness. They will fight and compete with all their heart. They are an inspirational group of women who play for their school and the State of Iowa with deep conviction and passion. They outdraw the men’s team, and they are a decent team! And Mom, with her struggles with vision and sight, will be there cheering them on as the superfan she is. Isn’t that what March Madness is really all about? Isn’t truly caring more important than winning or impressing? When I watch my Mom, I know that is the real magic of sport.
3 + 1 is on its way:
- The ‘Bam Sham’: I will take credit for this moniker for the childishly awkward display of adolescence in the 83-point performance by Bam Adebayo in the Miami Heat’s victory over the Washington Generals… Sorry, I mean Wizards. He now goes into the NBA record books as having scored the second most points in a game in NBA history, trailing only Wilt’s heretofore untouchable 100-point game and passing Kobe’s venerated 81-point performance in a comeback win against the Raptors.
- Bam’s previous high was 41 points. He is a great defender. He averages 18.9 points per game and 9.8 rebounds. Bam is a very good player. But to get 83 in a lopsided win while shooting under 50% and having his team foul to get the ball back faster so Bam could be fed the ball to rack up the points? And to have Eric Spoelstra enthusiastically fuel the fire? Bogus and enraging to the critics. Awesome to the social media influencers who are chirping like magpies over a bag of garbage. And everything in between.
I encourage you to read the following article by the great Ben Golliver on Substack to get a very insightful and thoughtful perspective on this gaudy ‘accomplishment’.
https://open.substack.com/pub/bengolliver/p/bam-adebayos-83-points-gave-me-the?r=yv90&utm_medium=ios
Ben will join me on the ‘Hoop City with Paul Sir Deep Dive’ this Saturday morning on Sports1440 and later on the podcast to discuss Bam the Sham and other NBA stories that are starting to heat up as the stretch drive to the playoffs is in full gear.
- There is another record that is much more legitimate and that is Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s tying of Wilt Chamberlain’s 126 consecutive games scoring 20+ points! At the time of this writing, the Thunder will be hosting the Boston Celtics on Thursday night, allowing SGA to break the Stilt’s record. Do you think Boston might try to thwart this accomplishment? My money is on the Canadian. Trivia: Wilt’s streak was broken when he was ejected from a game for losing it on the refs. At that time, that was the only way to stop Wilt. The same can also be said about Shai. One more to go!
- Quick Hitters:
-Denver is getting healthier, the Joker is playing better, but they were still not good enough to beat the Thunder with 3 starters out in one of the best games of the year. SGA had 35 points going 14-21 from the field, scoring 35 points with 15 assists and ZERO turnovers. Phenomenal efficiency! Denver rebounded last night with a massive beatdown of the Houston Rockets. Hard to bet against the Joker.
-Having sung the praises of the Thunder, the Spurs might be the best team in the NBA right now. They are mowing teams down with ruthless regularity.
-The Timberwolves need to check into a facility that treats Team Schizophrenia. Who are these guys? I understand ebbs & flows, it’s a long season, and all the sports sayings, but the dramatic swing in the team’s chemistry are concerning. 2 horrible losses in LA add to the feeling that something is happening behind the scenes.
-There was a lot of grumbling in LA about the Lakers and questions emerging about Luka and, lo and behold, they are now on a tear. I had coined another descriptor: No longer the ‘Showtime’ of the 1980’s but the ‘Slowtime’ of the 202’s; I have shelved that for the time being. But now Luka is playing great, as is Austin. Even Ayton had 14 and 12 in the recent victory over the split personality T-Wolves. In case you didn’t notice, LeBron’s name wasn’t mentioned because he is injured. This begs the question: Are the Lakers better without LeBron? They aren’t as deep for sure, and he is still putting up good numbers. However, Reaves is much more impactful without him. The team seems to flow better. The end of the season and the offseason are going to be very interesting as it shapes up for LeBron’s next step in his illustrious career. More on this on ‘Hoop City with Paul Sir’.
+1) March Madness is here. Selection Sunday is, well, Sunday! Birds’ songs are sweeter, the sky is bluer, food tastes better and the sun shines brighter – you name it, it’s all better as 68 men’s and 68 women’s teams get asked to the DANCE! Next Thursday and Friday will be the lowest productivity days of the year as people call in sick and sneak the games on their laptops and phones. What fun! We will have a Madness preview on ‘Hoop City with Paul Sir’. Longtime NCAA broadcaster, Kevin Lehman, will join me for the ‘Deep Dive’, at 11:00am Mountain Time for a breakdown of what teams and players to watch and what are possible Upset Cinderella squads to consider for your soon-to-be-shattered brackets!
Speaking of which: You can listen to us live on Sports1440, sports1440.ca and YouTube on Saturday from 10am to noon Mountain Time. Our shows are available on all your favorite podcast platforms as well as YouTube, anytime.
Enjoy the rest of your week as you prepare to guess wrong on your bracket and be in last place in your pool after the first day! I guess I am talking from my embittered, embarrassing personal experiences. 🙂
Yours in basketball,
Paul
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