I've had several fans approach me in recent weeks asking if the 2011-12 Wizards are on track to have a similar fate as the 2010-11 version - a team that struggled to a 19-31 record. The answer - for those of you who may be asking yourself the same question - is unequivocally no. Don't be fooled by Dakota's 8-10 record, this team is better than it's record, a topic that has been discussed several times in the KFYR-TV Sports Department.

How quickly we forget that last year's team started 2-12, was devoid of a strong veteran presence and frankly entered the regular season with a number of players who had no business being on a D-League roster. While the defense was solid, the offense was generally anemic, ranking 15th in the league in scoring efficiency and in the bottom half of the D-League in essentially every scoring scenario save for shots generated from offensive rebounds. So essentially, without the presence of current NBAer Chris Johnson, this team could have gone down as one of the worst offenses in league history. There was a disconnect on the court with players, a constant rate of turnover on the roster, a seemingly revolving door of journeymen players.

Don't mistake last year's team for the current one. The Wizards are deep, experienced and within a few questionable calls and unfortunate bounces from being over .500 on the year. A much maligned offense from a season ago has dramatically improved, the defense remains stout (most of the time) and the roster is surprisingly ripe with players capable of scoring baskets when they are sorely needed. Before the arrival of faces like Anthony Goods and Mike Hall last season who could the Wizards go to for a late game score? Johnson was an easy double-team on the block, Renaldo Major for all of his talents wasn't an elite iso player - the rest left far too much to be desired. The 2012 version can go to Edwin Ubiles, a continually developing Mike Anderson, Mo Baker and even rookie Justin Johnson in stretches. 

Perhaps the most tangible difference in this year's team has been the ability to win more consistently in close games. Fans may point to the Wizards 50 percent success rate in crunch time this year - but this is a significant improvement from last season. Friday's double-overtime win over Tulsa - for all of the hair pulling it inspired - is a game Dakota would have lost in 2011. The fortitude necessary to overcome blowing a 16-point second-half lead wasn't present on that roster - at least not among enough players to result in a win. 

Are these minor differences? Maybe, maybe not. Frankly it depends on how closely you observe this team. I don't consider it a coincidence that when asked, the individuals who initially approached me with the question that prompted this post had only been to a pair of home games - the season-opening loss to Los Angeles and the Friday night win over Tulsa. The perception created from these two games was that of a team capable of getting close and occasionally squeaking out a win. The bigger picture is more promising, more tantalizing, one that should have fans excited as we approach the midway point of the regular season. 

Welcome back for a new season of the Wizards Watch Blog everyone! A year ago at this time I approached management at KFYR-TV with the idea of starting a daily blog about the Dakota Wizards as much to bring the best possible coverage of the team to all of you, as to satisfy my thirst for writing about basketball. The experiment was a good one in my mind in that I managed to maintain a daily blog for the season without it falling off and the response was a good one from fans. Well get ready for more.

As you can see, the blog's home base has switched to a new platform this season, one that will allow even greater range of coverage. In addition to the daily musings and advanced analysis that you've come to expect, Wizards Watch will be much more visual and interactive this season including video, highlights, more interviews, telestrator breakdowns and much, much more. The blog now has an archive system, so rather than one long string of posts, things will be much more manageable. Each post will be separate unto itself, with a comments section (something I strongly encourage you all to use) and the ability to be linked to individually. Last, but not least, there is also a contact page which you can see just underneath the site's banner. Have a longer comment on something you've seen on the site? Have a question, comment or something you want to see more of? I want to hear from you, this is an open and ongoing dialogue that will take us through the entire season and maybe even the playoffs. KFYR-TV will also continue it's excellent coverage of the Wizards in our nightly newscasts at 6 and 10 PM Central Time and of course Wizards Watch on Sunday's during the 5 PM newscast. 

Things officially get underway on Thursday night with the 2011 D-League Draft, but we'll have a look at some of the more intriguing names that will be available tomorrow. With that I will leave you with some opening words from last season that I feel are appropriate once again here. Enjoy and get ready for another season of Wizards basketball!

Standing On The Edge (originally printed November 19th, 2010)So here we are, standing on the precipice of another D-League season and as is always the case there are few certainties and a wealth of unknowns. Players will come and go, injuries will arise, the opponents will change, but the uniform remains the same. In the end that's what brings us all back, stitched and sewn fabric worn by players, many of whom will see their legacy in this town written in just a few short weeks, never to be read again. They are the Wizards collectively, but save for a few, are they ever really Wizards? The Renaldo Major's and Mo Baker's of the world are few and far between, outnumbered 10-to-1 by the Cory Underwoods and D'Lancy Carters. Players pass through town and time zone as part of the primordial soup that is the world of minor league basketball. Most will stay here, or hop across the pond where paychecks with more zeros await. Some will climb out onto the land and undergo the metamorphosis that is the hope of all NBA teams that send promising youngsters to far away lands like Bismarck. But that is not why we watch. Not for the ones that leave never to return. Not for the ones who pass beyond the realm of memory. We watch for that uniform, the sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves and for the game we love. It's time for basketball once again.