NBA Players in The Big Dance

The Final Four is the celebration of great teams.  The 4 teams who are playing the best right now are going to Detroit with the opportunity to cut down the nets and become National Champions.  A small minority in the crowd on Saturday and Monday night are there to see how individual stars will translate to the next level, the NBA.  Here’s my perspective, laid out in 5 categories of the players from the Sweet 16 going for NBA glory.

Get your Weight Up, not your Hate Up! – Players who have great potential, must gain weight and get stronger.

Robbie Hummel – Purdue

Austin Daye – Gonzaga

Kyle Singler – Duke

Chase Budinger – Arizona

Danny Green – North Carolina

Shoe Dollares!  Get that Money! – Leave now, get paid for you and your Family.

Blake Griffin – Oklahoma

Hasheem Thabeet – Connecticut

A.J. Price – Connecticut

Ty Lawson – North Carolina

Kalin Lucas – Michigan St.

Earl Clark – Louisville

Terrance Williams – Louisville

Solid NBA Career – Maybe a 2nd Teamer, Role Player, Career of playing bball

Tyler Hansbrough – North Carolina

Goran Suton – Michigan St.

Scotty Reynolds – Villanova

Sam Young – Pitt

DaJuan Blair – Pitt

Athletes – Players with upside, maybe could benefit from another year of school.

Stanley Robinson – Connecticut

Deon Thompson – North Carolina

Sean Taggert – Memphis

Jordan Hill – Arizona

Stay in School! – Don’t go unless you would like to toil in the D-League or Greece

Sherron Collins – Kansas

Jhonny Flynn -Syracuse

Ed Davis – North Carolina

Willie Warren – Oklahoma

The New Elite

The Kentucky job is open, let me be the first to say that Colin Brady will listen to any offers.  Yeah right, I’m dreaming.  But seriously, why wouldn’t you listen to the offer of College Basketball’s Camelot?  The all-time winningest program, a fan base that is 20,000 strong every game, and the highest paid, most visible job in the State of Kentucky.  Of course, with all that comes pressure.  Billy Gillepsie is a fine coach, but wasn’t ready for the hottest seat in basketball.  Kentucky needs a tenured, battle tested coach that comes from a top program.

I have believed for a while, that the target should be Tom Izzo.  Izzo has the credentials, a National Championship, 5 Final Fours since 1999 and has the toughness and basketball philosophy the Bluegrass State would love.  My boy JK will hear nothing of it when I mentioned this to him, as all good Spartans should.  But all coaches are competitors and why not challenge yourself at the highest level of your craft?  Again, I’d take the Kentucky job.

But after this weekend, Tom Izzo is staying put.  After the dismantling of the #1 overall seed in the Tournament, Michigan St. has placed itself in the Elite of College Basketball.  Izzo has made the Michigan St. job a job that someone from Illinois, USC, or even Connecticut would move to.  

I believe there to be 5 programs that exemplify the word elite.  UCLA, North Carolina, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky are the benchmarks for College Basketball.  Now add Michigan St.

What does a program need to do to attain this recognition?  Your team must go to Final Fours and win a National Championship.  Other ingredients are; win Conference Championships, produce NBA players, play on TV, and dominate their geographic region in recruiting.

Look at Michigan St.’s Resume:

5 Final Fours since 1999

2000 National Champions

4 Regular Season Big 10 Titles since 1999

Conference Tournament Title in 2000

Since 2000, 10 MSU players have been drafted

5 out of the last 10 Mr. Basketball’s from Michigan have went to MSU, including a couple Mr. Basketball’s from Illinois

 

So the facts are facts, Michigan St. welcome to the Elite!  Plus, the War Drill is rowdy.

How Sweet the 16 iS

Great night of basketball last night. 

Started out with Pittsburgh vs. Xavier, a great match-up.  Pitt is a popular pick for the National Champion, but have struggled in the 1st two rounds.  I dont really believe it to be a struggle, more of the “Pitt” way.  They just win, thats really all that matter.  Pundits just have a better time questioning how smooth it was and what not.  Bottom Line is a victory is a victory.  It did look like the Panthers could lose yet again in the Sweet 16, but the swagga of LeVance Fields was the dagger!  A DEEEEEEP 3, followed by a steal and a bucket.  Big Time player!

Connecticut was just too much for Purdue, I like the Boilmakers, but the Huskies is just too big inside and too fast on the outside.  Hasheem Thabeet can alter a game just by being in uniform, once he swatted a few shots away, the Purdue players were looking over their shoulder the whole game.

Missouri and their “Forty Minutes of Hell”, Nolan Richardson scheme overwhelmed the Memphis Tigers.  There were times were I honestly believed that there were 8 Missouri players on the court.  They were EVERYWHERE!  I love how Mike Anderson uses 11 guys, all who are almost the same player.  He has a great system, kids that have bought into not being a star, but being a part of something.  Interesting note, the last C-USA game Memphis lost was to a Mike Anderson coached UAB team.

The most anticipated game of the tournament for me.  Duke – Villanova.  DEEEEEFENSE.  WOW.  The intensity and defense was played at such a high level, that I do not believe the teams were nervous or struggled offensively, I believe the defense was just that good.  A see-saw game, but Villanova used their  Big East pedigree and took the game from Duke.  That has been Duke’s MO, lack of desire, toughness.  I am not a fan of Duke, but I am a Coach K fan after the Olympics. However, when the Dukies play a high-caliber team, you just get the feeling that the other team wants it more.

Three Cheers for the Big Bad Big EAST!!!!!

Anthony Grant

Anthony Grant is in Alabama for his second interview for the open Crimson Tide job.  I wrote earlier, that Anthony Grant is a great young coach with championship experience (Assistant Coach at Florida for those 2 titles) and a strong ability to recruit at a mid-major like VCU (see Eric Maynor).

If Grant can get to a major program with all those resources, I think he could eventually land with a premier job.  I consider a premier job a Florida, Kentucky, Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, Michigan St., etc. 

I think Alabama is a great job, I think it is a little better then Georgia because of Georgia’s in-state competition with Georgia Tech.  I think you can dance in March every year with Alabama and potentially a Final Four.

Let the carousel begin!

The New Land of Point Guards?

For years the Mecca of basketball, more specifically, Point Guards have come out of New York City.  Let’s go through the list; Bob Cousy, Tiny Archibald, Lenny Wilkens, Earl the Pearl, Kenny Anderson, Kenny Smith, Mark Jackson, Bessie Telfair….the list goes on and on.  For a while it seemed like the best Point Guard out of high school, out of college had that NYC swagga.  

I used to notice that Kenny Anderson woud get a basket, steal, dime when you most needed it.  Same with Mark Jackson and even Stephon Marbury.  Kind of like getting that last basket in pick-up, because winners keep the court.

While NYC will always be the Mecca of the Basketball World, a new land of Point Guards has risen from the Mid-West.  That land is Chicago.  Chi-town is more known for its’ sausages, Wrigley Field, and a bald-headed superstar.  Led by Isiah Thomas, Chicago has churned out lots of talented point guards.  Thomas, Mo Cheeks, Doc Rivers, Quinn Buckner, and Tim Hardaway are the founding fathers of the Windy City’s floor generals.

The new prototype 1 from Chicago is the thick, strong, powerful guard who is absolutely fearless.  Where does this mentality come from?  I think it comes from Michael Jordan.  While not a Point Guard, Jordan’s body type mirrors those of Chi-Towns PG’s.  And can you honestly say that any basketball player in Illinois, never mind the country, didn’t model themselves after Jordan?

Let’s look at the current Chi-Town PG’s. Dwayne Wade, definately a PG in college and a PG/facilitator in the Pros.  We all know his resume.  The #1 Pick in the 2008 NBA Draft was Derrick Rose, definite Rookie of the Year and the next great PG in the NBA. In the current Sweet 16 portion of the NCAA Tournament, Jeremy Pargo of Gonzaga and Sherron Collins of Kansas are both Chicago raised.

While I don’t know if we can say that New York City has been un-seated as land of the Point Guards, the Windy City puts up a great argument.

Time to take a deep breatH. Madness!

So the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is done.  Phew!  What a long, long stretch of basketball that was wonderful in any way that you look at it.  Spent Thursday staying up late watching the first round, started off Friday watching the games, took a hiatus to drive to Boston to hang with some friends and watch some more ball.  8 games, many EVIL DECKS of cards later, the 1st round was complete. 

The weekend was amazing, great finishes.  Saturday and Sunday.

Observations:

Syracuse appears to be primed for a run to the Final Four, focused and balanced.  Look out for the Orange.  

Louisville survives a valiant effort by Siena.

Pitt has 2 dogfights, but advance.

The dominance of the Big East.  5 teams from the best conference in America advance to the Sweet 16 to show the country what the best conference was this season hands down.

The return of Ty Lawson literally saves my bracket.  I have Carolina winning the entire thing, a chance that would of been crippled if the point guard was out or even if he returned to be an average player.  Looked like Lawson brushed off the cobwebs in the 1st half and turned up the juice in the second half, showing no signs of a damaged toe.  Keeping me alive in the Madness!

Best Sweet 16 match-up :  Villanova vs. Duke.

NCAA Tournament Day 1

An on-going blog from the evening session of day 1:

American vs. Villanova Tip 7:21

Carr for a deeeeeep Three Pointer.  Petro texts and says, “can they keep it up?  Good question, adrenaline is easy to come by in the opening 10 minutes in an NCAA Game.

Kermit Washington sighting – Look out Rudy T!

Love the little guy from American, the pocket rocket.  Pull up jumper, the crowd loves this guy.  Little Man breakaway layup 1 minute left in the 1^st Half, American leads by 7.  The Madness!  American cannot miss from the 3-point line. 

Halftime – American 41, Villanova 31

The best part of the Tourney, for us basic cable folk that is, the game switch at halftime.  Gonzaga vs. Akron 8:14 pm.  7 minutes left in the 1^st half, Zags up 1.  Interesting thing about the Akron Zips, LeBron James has taken them under his wing like an alum would do.  Hometown team,  LBJ’s former high school coach, makes sense.  But talk about an up and coming program.  It’s King James for crying out loud!

Gonzaga is such a mystery, I am in the opinion that Gonzaga is no longer an underdog, no longer a mid-major.  They play an amazing schedule, Austin Daye, Pargo, Heytfult are all National Recruits.  Time for them to go to a Final Four. 

Another change!  Michigan vs. Clemson.  Michigan up 1 point at the beginning of the 2^nd Half.  I have the Tigers, too much athleticism, I think Clemson will wear these guys down and get the W.

2^nd Half

Villanova must come out determined.  2 quick buckets by American, the Pocket Rocket again.  14 point lead with 18 minutes left. 

Too much Villanova.

Michigan gets their first win in the NCAA Tournament in while.  I had Clemson, guess they cant handle it.

Great text message from my buddy CM, “we should be watching these games in your basement”  Ahhh, who could forget ditching school and meeting at CB’s house for the Tourney?  Awesome, Awesome.

Duke – Binghamton, DJ Rivera of Binghamton is Nephew of the great Hank Gathers. 

Very cool, still should have been America East Player of the Year, petty coaches.  Duke is too much, Binghamton looks like they would rather have a Hundred Yard Dash instead of play basketball, they remind me of mosquitos.

VCU – UCLA, looking forward all day to this.  VCU is excellent, Anthony Grant will pick which school he will coach at next.

Blake Griffin, nuff said.  

What a Day, tomorrow let’s do it again

Let it BEGIN

The best time of the year is finally here.  Let the Madness begin!  After months of non-conference showdowns, small tournaments around the country, the brutal conference grind, and Championship Week the real thing is finally here.  

Starting at noon today it is the basketball junkie’s ultimate fix.  Wall to wall hoop.  At my home in Vermont, the projector is being set up!  Enjoy that.  Down here in RI, the history classes are charting the rosters and schedules of the 65 teams.  In your face Geography requirements!  Love it.

Ty Lawson is out the first game for UNC, his health depends on if I can make it 5 out of 6 years correctly picking the National Champion.  If he is out, I would like a mulligan but I dont think my pool mates will accept it.

Tip of the day : photocopy your bracket so after you crumple yours up, you have a fresh one to beam at when your 12 beats their 5.

So sit back, relax, and enjoy the game.

Back on Top

If the New England Patriots get Julius Peppers from the Carolina Panthers they are immediately the NFL favorites.  It is rumored that the Patriots are going to trade the 34th pick in the draft for the services of Peppers.  The athletic Peppers, who also played on the North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball Team has said he would like to play in a 3-4 defense where he can be an outside linebacker and rush the quarterback too.  

Peppers is a great fit for that position, a certain upgrade from Mike Vrabel.  New England has always valued that position and it was what hurt them last year.  You cannot run the ball up the middle against New England and throwing the deep ball, for all teams, is hit or miss.  You make some, you miss some.  Where the Patriots were weak last year was the mid-range passing game and the swing outs.  Mike Vrabel was a step to old and visions of Leon Washington or Ronnie Brown catching a swing pass or running a “Wildcat” sweep bring up memories of bad losses.

When New England has a stud on the outside, they are unstoppable.  When it was Roosevelt Colvin and Addalius Thomas, the Patriots were in the AFC Championship Game, followed by an undefeated season.  When Mike Vrabel was in his prime, the Pats were back-to-back Super Bowl winners.  Add Julius Peppers to an already upgraded defense and oh my, that offense.  Super Bowl?  I think its a strong possibility.

Plus, Peppers will be a better pass catcher on the goal line with those basketball hands.

NCAA Tournament Early Predictions

The time has come.  65 teams are in, lots are out.  Maybe only Penn St. having a legitimate gripe about being left out of the field.  I definately feel that Arizona stole their bid.  But regardless, that situation is bound to happen.  

So first and second rounds are set from Thursday – Sunday.  Wall to wall hoops, I can’t wait.  If anyone needs a TV, the entire world is welcome at my house because you know that I will be watching.  

This is when the awesome upsets happen.  So what are mine?  So far I have #12 Arizona over #5 Utah, #12 Northern Iowa over #5 Purdue, #11 VCU over #6 UCLA, and #12 Wisconsin over #5 Florida St.  Personally I don’t consider the 8 vs. 9 or 7 vs. 10 games upsets, those are more toss ups.  

So those are my 1st weekend upsets and picks!  What are yours?

Current Champion Pick by CB – North Carolina!