There is a lot going on right now, mostly involving basketball and the things that happen around it. It is late February in 2026, and I am mostly thinking about the passage of time. Looking at a basketball court can feel like looking at a grocery store receipt: you know what you paid for, but you are not sure if it was worth it.
Coach Darko Rajakovic discussed the fourth quarter rotations after the last game. He has ideas about how five people should move in relation to a orange ball. Sometimes those people are the ones we expect, and sometimes they are not. It is hard to keep track of who is where, especially when the scoreboard starts doing that flickering thing.
Thinking of Chris Bosh
Basketball is a job, but it is also a body that sometimes breaks. We heard some very unsettling news about Chris Bosh waking up in a health crisis. He was the guy who stayed when others did not, until he eventually did, which is how life works. He used to scream after dunks and it felt like the building might fall down.
We are all sending him something like a prayer or a good thought. It is a reminder that even if you are six feet, eleven inches tall and very fast, your blood still has to stay where it belongs. I remember his dreadlocks and his jump shot. I hope he is resting somewhere quiet with a glass of water.
The Science of the Shot
People have been talking to Kansas fans about Gradey Dick. They have a lot of opinions about his shooting mechanics, which is interesting because mechanics are just habits we repeat until they become us. Gradey shoots the ball and we wait to see if the net moves. The Jayhawk fans seem to think he will be fine, which is a nice thing to believe on a Thursday.
I saw a sketch of the game today. Someone is drawing a picture for every single game of this eighty two game season. We are at game fifty nine now. That is a lot of drawings of people in shorts. It makes me wonder what I have done fifty nine times this year besides worry about the weather.
Final Observations
Basketball continues to occur even when we are not looking at it. The standings are what they are, and the players are who they are. My uncle says we need more grit, but he also says that about his oatmeal. I think we just need the ball to go through the hoop more often than the other team makes it go through theirs.
I might go to Scarborough later to look at some old jerseys. There is a sense of peace in a store that smells like polyester and 1998. We are all just trying to get to the next quarter without too much trouble. Be well out there, and try to stay hydrated.