Bryant vs James: Who’s the man?

A debate has slowly begun to build over the last few years.  Who’s better?  Kobe or LeBron?

Arguably the two best players in the NBA, Cleveland’s LeBron James and Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant are once again dominating the NBA MVP talk at this juncture of the season.  This week, both candidates graced the floor of the world’s most popular arena, Madison Square Garden.  Neither player disappointed in their efforts.

Monday night, in a 126-117 victory over the Knicks, Bryant dropped 61 points.  The 61 points broke the scoring record in the Garden previously held by Knick great Bernard King.  Wednesday night it was LeBron’s turn.  James turned in a 52 point effort in a 107-102 victory.  James also added 10 rebounds and 11 assists to notch a triple double.

Already owning an MVP trophy for the 2008 season, Bryant appears poised to make another run at the award.  His Lakers have a 39-9 record, behind Bryant’s 27.5 point per game average.  Bryant also contributes with 5 assists and five rebounds each night.

Bryant has been in the NBA for 13 seasons, sporting a career average of 25.1 points per game, 4.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists.  He’s reached the NBA finals five times in his career with 3 championships, and has been an All-Star 11 times.  Bryant is also the NBA’s 21st all-time leading scoring with 22,941 points.

In only his sixth season in the NBA, James has established himself as one of the future cogs in the NBA’s future.  LeBron is headed for his fifth all-star game appearance in his six years.  He’s brought his Cleveland Cavaliers to an 39-9 record this season; identical to Bryant’s Lakers.  On the season, James is averaging 28.5 points per game, 7.5 rebounds and 7 assists.

James is currently this season’s leading scorer in the NBA; a feat that he also accomplished for last season (30 points per game).  James was NBA rookie of the year in 2004 and named NBA All-Star game MVP in 2006 and 2008.  In only his sixth season, James has already scored 12,055 points.  James is the youngest player to reach the 12,000 point milestone.

One thing to note is that Kobe and LeBron have played head-to-head nine times.  LeBron’s Cavaliers have won six of those nine match-ups.

While the comparison’s are fun to read about, these two are more like a teacher-pupil relationship than a peer-versus-peer relationship.  Bryant has seven years more experience in the NBA, putting him in the league since James was 12 years old.  James’ comments towards Bryant reflect such a relationship.  “I love the competitive nature that Kobe has and I’ve looked up to him for a long time,” James said.  “Especially being in grade school and high school and seeing him come straight out of high school.  I look up to him,” James finished.

Bryant shares a mutual respect for LeBron.  “I really enjoy (playing against James),” said Bryant.  “I enjoy the preparations, I enjoy the challenges, I enjoy him hitting tough shots and then me coming back an trying to stop him from doing it again.  It’s a blast,” Bryant said.

Their relationship is comparable to that of Bryant’s and NBA great Michael Jordan.  Jordan carried the NBA through the 90s and passed the torch to Kobe Bryant.  Kobe Bryant has been one of the stars to carry the NBA through this decade.  While still in his prime, Bryant could be soon passing the torch to James for the next decade.

Time’s Up for Gottfried

I guess enough was enough.

After 11 years coaching his alma mater, Mark Gottfried resigned as coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball team.  Gottfried was the longest tenured coach in the SEC until his resignation.  But after spending the last few years in mediocrity, it was the right time.

“I agreed with (Gottfried) that it is in the best interests of the men’s basketball program for us to move in a different direction,” said Mal Moore, Athletics Director at UA.  After a 61-51 loss to Kentucky in Tuscaloosa on January 24th, the writing was on the wall.

Gottfried’s career at Alabama was up and down.  He led the Tide to the NCAA tournament five times and the NIT three times.  After compiling a 12-7 record prior to him stepping down, Alabama appeared headed for another berth in the NIT at best.

Another blow the post-season hopes of Alabama was the loss of star point guard Ronald Steele.  Steele announced that he would no longer play this season with 13 games still left in the regular season.  Steele had a history of injuries, but he explained that his decision to not play wasn’t related to the injuries.  “(It’s) definitely not the reason I am leaving the team,” said Steele.

So why would a star player leave his team midway through his senior season?  Is it tied to Gottfried who was clearly a lame-duck coach?  “I can’t really get into specifics about it.”

Steele’s departure may have little or nothing to do with Gottfried’s situation.  However, his leaving did nothing to help Gottfried’s case to stick around the Capstone.

Added pressure has also come from the early success of football coach Nick Saban.  Saban arguably took over a situation that was in much worse condition with the Alabama football program and took the Crimson Tide to the Sugar Bowl in only his second season.  Gottfried’s closest accomplishment was in 2004 when he coach his squad to the NCAA tournament regional finals.

In the end, Gottfried had a mostly successful career at Alabama with a 210 win, 132 loss record.  Unfortunately with the Tide looking like they would miss the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year, his time at Alabama appeared to have run it’s course.

It’s now time for Alabama to find a new coach. Phillip Pearson was named interim coach for the remainder of the season, but likely won’t be in consideration for the permanent position.  Mal Moore has stated that he’s looking for a “proven head coach” to take over the program.

A few names that have been tossed around are Minnesota’s Tubby Smith, Hall-of-Fame coach Bob Knight, Virginia Commonwealth coach Anthony Grant, Sean Miller of Xavier, University of Missouri coach Mike Anderson, UAB’s Mike Davis, and Baylor head-man Scott Drew.