DEAN’S LIST for Tuesday, 26 May 2015

TOUCH OF CLASS, BILLY D

Billy Donovan is going to make bad decisions; he'll struggle with things like minutes, nuances of the NBA game and how often to wear pocket squares. But one thing is crystal clear already with Billy the Kid. When he makes a mistake he'll be doing it going full-speed. The amount of information jostling inside the noggin on a given day seems to be staggering. Donovan just doesn't miss much.

The latest example is the full-page ad Donovan recently took out in the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun, thanking fans, Gator administration and community for their support during his 19 years on the sideline at Florida. A nice touch. And maybe not his or that of his family. Could've been a trusted advisor. Regardless who had the idea, it was a good one. And if it wasn't his, more props to him. Successful people listen to people for advice and constructive criticism. Word is, Donovan's all in on that.

Unfortunately, the biggest single factor by far in determining how successful the Thunder will be next season and thus how good a chance they have to re-sign Kevin Durant is out of Donovan's control. The condition of KD's size 26 foot (maybe bigger, maybe smaller) will by a wide margin be the biggest issue facing the Thunder in 2015-16. Although you can bet Billy D will be doing all he can to get the BMU (Big Man Upstairs) to intervene!

SCOTTY WAS GREAT, BUT…

Disclaimer: Scott Brooks was a good coach for the Thunder and a good human being. With that out of the way, Brooks is not different from any fired coach, or manager, or high profile person. As time goes by after the pink slip, more issues behind the supposed rosy relationship between Brooks and Thunder management surface – and not all accurate, mind you.

But it's safe to say Brooks was not as committed to analytics as his boss Sam Presti (see Billy Donovan). And the organization was not exactly pumped up about his wife moving back to California well in advance of the shoo-shoo hitting the fan. And I was reminded by more than one person I respect that community involvement was not exactly a strong suit of Brooks – not that I care, but we all know the Thunder do.

SPEAKING OF ANALYTICS…

While analytics is all the rage now in the NBA, golf has its version of analyzing precise and instantaneous data: Track Man is a tool many of the game's leaders utilize and essentially does things like measuring the full trajectory of any shot, pinpointing the landing position with an accuracy of 1 foot at 100 yards, ball speed, spin rate, etc.

I was on Track Man today hitting balls for forty-five minutes and was ecstatic to see that a combination of stretching, golf-specific exercises, traditional workouts and weight loss has helped. Hitting around 60 six-irons I loved seeing the numbers showing a two-club increase in distance. Unfortunately, not many were at the target. Distance is great, but farther to the right or left is worse than hitting it straighter and shorter. So how smart am I? Don't answer that. I know one thing: with or without Track Man, hitting balls or playing more than once a week would help. See my loan officer for verification of that statement!

HERE'S ….. JOEY……

Officiating in the NBA can't be easy. But Joey Crawford takes it to another level. Here's betting there'll be a nationwide party when Joey decides to hang it up. In fact, it would be fun to have Joey have his farewell tour much like what we see in the final season of some of the superstars. The Thunder press row game employees have had their problems with Joey. I'd say put him in a rocking chair and let players and coaches roast the sucker. But make him stay in the rocker and not officiate the game. Joey, it's time to hang it up!