One of the most intelligent chat locations I’ve ever seen --a true gift to a KU fan in Montana who never gets to see any games live. So kudos to you all. I don’t disagree with your concerns about bad influences on b-ball, whether it be the AAU, shoe companies, or the failure to teach boys how to teach free throws. But as a former China prof at the U, I’m afraid I have to be a jerk and correct the historical claim. It was called the Opium War and not the “Pot” War for a reason: Opium is of the heroin family, yes? hoplessly addictive. and thus a whole different ball game from any more casual drug. The war was not about opium nor lost because of opium use, but it’s impact was huge. England’s use of opium (the gift that kept on giving) to counter their problems finding any other exports the Chinese wanted from England create tensions that soured relations. No less important, becase so much silver left China to pay for Opium, the tax rate --set in silver–tripled overs some years for millions of peasants who never even heard of opium. Warning: do not use fun facts like this unless everyone in the room is drunk enough to remember… However, I do find reminding myself that “1.3b Chinese don’t care” is helpful when some otherwise devastatingly good 18 year old decides to enroll at Kentucky.
Again, my sincere thanks for great insights.