Basketball On The Internet.

BOB'S CORNER: Our man on the spot in the US, BOB CRAVEN, sure stirred up a hornet's nest last week and we're glad he came through unscathed and serving our readers with his usual frank assessment of basketball in the US. So Merry Christmas with your special day read.

VICTOR Wembayama, the 224cm rookie big man for the San Antonio Spurs, recently chalked up what presumably will be the first of many 20-point, 20-rebound double doubles.

A few days later, in a loss against the Lakers he had 30 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks. 

He is the first rookie to have 30 points, 10 or more rebounds and six blocks in a game since superstar Tim Duncan in 1998.  He also had four blocks, making him only the second rookie in league history (after Shaq in 1992) and the youngest to notch a 20-20 game with four blocks.

And Aussie point guard, Dante Exum of the Dallas Mavericks, whose promising career appeared to be almost dead due to injuries, is finally healthy and proving he belongs in the NBA. 

He has moved into a starting role for Dallas and recently set a career high with 26 points (7-of-9 on 3-pointers), with his offence taking some of the pressure off superstar Luka Doncic to do everything himself, as Kyrie Irving is missing time with a bruised foot.

Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks recently had a monster game, setting a career high and a franchise record of 64 points and adding 14 rebounds. 

He was 20-of-28 from the field and 24-of-32 from the charity stripe.  A game later, in a win over Houston, he surpassed Kareem as the Bucks' career rebounding leader (he already had surpassed Kareem as the club's career scoring leader). 

And speaking of scoring leaders, Joel Embiid of the 76ers continues to lead the NBA in scoring and is on a hot streak.  He scored 51 in his last game, giving him an average of 38.3 ppg in his past 12 games, including scoring 40 or more in four of his last five outings.

IN less joyous NBA news, Hall of Famer George McGinnis passed away at 73. 

He was probably the first big guy (202cm) who could and did lead the break, and was huge for the Indiana Pacers franchise, both in the ABA and the NBA. 

He was famous for having a one-handed shot, and once had a game of 53 points and 37 rebounds in the ABA. 

KAREEM Abdul-Jabbar is on the injury list. 

The player many consider the GOAT tripped and fell while attending a concert in LA by the Manhattan Transfer, and subsequently needed hip replacement surgery. 

And the Brooklyn Nets have announced that Aussie Ben Simmons won't be returning to active status until later in January at the earliest because of the pinched nerve in his lower back that has bothered him for some time.

THE Detroit Pistons recently lost their 25th consecutive game and are now only one game behind the NBA's all-time record for futility. 

And the red-hot Boston Celtics are now within a couple of games of the record for consecutive home wins to start a season, a record set by the early-Bill Russell-led Celtics of the late-1950s.

IN the NCAA, league games are just beginning to get started and the bulk of the season's action will be with us starting in January. 

Purdue, behind 224cm post man, Zach Edey, is the top ranked men's team, and has been for most of the pre-season. 

South Carolina is the runaway number one team for the women.  The top story individually is the pursuit by No. 4 Iowa's Caitlin Clark of both an NCAA title for Iowa, and her race to break the NCAA career scoring record for women, currently held by-U. of Washington grad and current star for the Las Vegas Aces in the WNBA, Kelsey Plum. 

Clark is currently about 400 points behind Plum's record and could reach it this year.  If not, by NCAA rules she has the option to come back to play in college next season, if she does not turn pro.

Major recent anniversaries in basketball:

1891--Canadian Dr. James Naismith at the Springfield, Massachusetts YMCA teacher training school supervises the first ever game of Basket Ball under rules he created to get his pupils to remain active during the cold Massachusetts winters.  He nailed a peach basket to the wall at each end of an auditorium and rolled out a soccer ball to two teams of nine players each to play that first game, using 13 rules he devised for his new invention.
1969--Pistol Pete Maravich of Louisiana State U. led the Tigers to a road win 98-89 over the Oregon State Beavers.  He scored 44 points, including 30-of-31 from the foul line as Oregon State employed the "Hack-a-Pistol" defence, mugging him with multiple players every time he touched the ball.  His total made free throws is the still the most ever made in a game (tied now) by a player.
1982--In what is generally considered to be the biggest upset ever in college basketball history, Chaminade U., a very small private school in Hawaii, defeats top-ranked and unbeaten Virginia with 224cm centre Ralph Sampson, 77-72.
1983--The Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple OT in the highest-scoring game in NBA history.  Isiah Thomas scores 47 and John Long adds 41 for the Pistons.  Denver's Kiki Vandeweghe leads Denver with 51.