Many California Baptist University students not only enjoy playing basketball, but find time to relax by cheering on their favorite teams.
That will have to wait as the National Basketball Association has their first locked out season of the millennium.
David Stern, the NBA commissioner, announced on Oct. 10, to the dismay of basketball fans ,the preseason and the first two weeks of the NBA regular season have been cancelled and the rest of the season is in question.
The last NBA lockout took place during the 1998-1999 season, which started on Feb. 5, 1999, and was only 50-games long and did not include an all-star game.
During the NBA season, it is common to see students cheering on their favorite team in their living rooms or in the community rooms in their living areas.
Connor Pierce, a Suns fan, is not stressed about not seeing the Suns hitting the hard courts. He admits the Suns are not a great team right now, and not watching them perform to their full potential is not as fun as when they are playing great.
“If anything, they could use the time off to practice and get better,” Pierce said. “It also gives me a chance to watch more football and the baseball playoffs, and I can definitely study for school more, so I might get more out of this situation.”
Matt Johnson, a Bulls fan, was disappointed that the owners and players are unable to reach a deal.
“I was looking forward to some great games. I did not really follow the NBA religiously until last year, and I was really looking forward to the Bulls vs. Mavericks game that is not going to happen anymore,” Johnson said.
The Dallas Mavericks are the current defending NBA champions, having defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, the previous champions, in the Western Division semi-finals and the heavily favored Miami Heat, which has a superstar roster featuring veterans Dwayne Wade, LeBron James and Chris Bosh.
“If the NBA starts playing again, it would be tough to make a good trade or see if their draft picks were good choices,” Johnson said.
Johnson stated that there are not as many other sports that he would watch during the winter.
“Baseball is ending soon, so I will probably watch more college basketball and check out some basketball here if I have the time,” Johnson said.
Both Pierce and Johnson agree that this lockout is hurting the league, the teams, the players and, most importantly, the fans.
However, while many NBA fans are left without their favorite teams to cheer for, CBU students are able to go crazy for both the Men’s and Women’s basketball teams, who will be competing this season in the NCAA Division II Pacific West conference.
