The Fan Drifter's NBA Preview

In case you didn't know, today is our last day without basketball until mid-July.  What a glorious, glorious feeling.

This NBA season is shaping up to be the most intriguing in league history with so many teams that have a legitimate shot a championship, and just as many who are trying to bottom out to try and get a piece of Andrew Wiggins & Company.

If you missed it, I wrote about my current NBA fan drifter status - and since I have no team to root for, here are some storylines and things to watch out for this season.

Can somebody finally beat the Heat this year?

In short, yes.  This is the most wide open the NBA has been in a really long time, and quite possible ever.  Five or six teams could legitimately win the West, and the same holds true in the East.  

The Heat had to scrap and claw their way back against the Pacers to even make the Finals last year, and won the title because of a couple minor miracles - Ray Allen's corner three and Tim Duncan missing TWO chip shots over Shane Battier (I'm pretty sure that's the only time in Timmy's life he's missed those shots).

For them to three-peat, Miami's going to have to make the Finals in four consecutive years, something that hasn't been done since the Celtics won 11 titles in 13 years in the 50's and 60's.

The East is loaded with teams who are designed to beat them and got better in the offseason, plus Derrick Rose is back.  The fact that the Bulls-Heat, which is quietly becoming the most awesome rivalry in the sports, kicks off the season tomorrow night is absolutely perfect.

Tankapalooza is going to be just as much fun as watching teams compete for the playoffs

Everyone wants Wiggins!

A majority of NBA front offices have adopted a boom-or-bust strategy - either have a team that can compete for a championship, or totally blow it up to try and rebuild a contender.  It's actually very smart (there's no real reason to play for a 7-seed every year and never make it out of the first round, Milwaukee), and has created a bipolar atmosphere in the league.

The NBA tried to discourage tanking by implementing a lottery system to determine first round drafting order, but that hasn't really worked.  Teams are full out COMMITTING to losing as many games as possible, trying to get one of the 5 to 10 franchise-saving players in this draft class.

The Sixers basically told their top draft pick not to play this season and their coach said they only have 6 NBA-caliber players on their roster.  The Suns just traded their second-best player away for someone who has a herniated disk in his neck.  The mighty Celtics let almost every staple and good thing about their franchise go (But they did get Brad Stevens, dark horse coach of the year candidate.  No one does more with less!!).  Utah let their top two players leave in free agency.  Orlando is just plain terrible.  And the Kings and the Bobcats/Unborn Hornets are, well, the Kings and the Bobcats.

Watching this many teams fight to lose is going to be so terrible, but so entertaining.

The Challenges of Being a Foreign Student

Jun Ki Kim's international status has been an obstacle in his educational pursuit

When Jun Ki Kim came to America with his mother and brother from Seoul, South Korea, he was only 11 years old and didn't know a word of English.

"I spent most of my first years here in the U.S. trying to figure out the culture and how to communicate with people," Kim explained.

It wasn't until his high school years when he started to really focus on academics, and performed exceptionally well by getting the grades and test scores necessary to get into some of the best schools in the country.

The problem he had with North Carolina was the same difficulty he found most places - he could go there, but he would not receive any scholarship money to do so, despite having the qualifications necessary if he was a citizen.  His brother had similar high school accolades and attended Cornell, but had to pay full price because of his international status.  

It's a problem among many that foreign students encounter all across the country, no matter how long they have been living in the United States.  There are some schools that are very rewarding to students that are not American citizens, but they tend to be among the most prestigious and toughest to get into.

Kim is now set to graduate from the University of South Carolina in May 2014, the school that really gave him a chance.  

"I liked the school a lot, but the fact they offered me a lot of scholarship money is why I ended up at USC," he explained.

Now in the process of applying to dental schools, Kim hasn't run into as many problems when dealing with his international status.  

"I was nervous after dealing with the undergrad application process, but I haven't felt as limited, which is nice," he said.  "I decided I wanted to be a dentist during my last few years in high school.  I just think it's something that matches up well with my personality and academic interests.  It's something I think will be fun."