Thursday, March 19, 2009

Watch Out! Tourney Players with NBA Potential

This is not going to be a list of the big name guys, because if you don't know names like Blake Griffin, Haseem Thabeet, and James Harden, then get out from under you're rock. Rather, this is a top 10 list of guys that might be in the League in a few years that you need to watch, and hope that they don't upset your favorite team. Most of my info is from nbadraft.net, in my opinion the best site for NBA Draft info

1. Eric Maynor-VCU Sr.- The notorious Duke Killer, he is back this year with a matchup against UCLA, a popular upset pick. I see him as a combo guard, even though he is only PG size. However, his shooting and defense currently have him pegged as a first round pick this year

2. Austin Daye-Gonzaga So.- An excellent shooter with 6-10 height, Daye is being closely watched by many NBA teams. He needs to get stronger, but will probably wait until the 2010 draft, where he could be a lottery pick.

3. Toney Douglas-Florida St. Sr.- A 6-2 point guard hardened by the ACC leads the Seminoles into the tourney. He could improve his current secound round potential with a win over the defensive minded Wisconsin

4. Jeff Pendergraph-Arizona St. Sr.- James Harden can't do it alone. Pendergraph adds a post presence to the Sun Devils. He is an efficient shooter, hitting on 58% of his shots. He will have to face Temple in the first round.

5. Dionte Christmas-Temple Sr. -Speaking of Temple, here is the man that dragged them to the tourney. Though he lacks outstanding athleticism, he can score from anywhere. You've been warned

6.James Anderson-Oklahoma St. So.- The Cowboys are capable of pulling major upsets. If so, James Anderson will be mostly responsible, as he could be a second round pick in 2010

7. Tyrese Rice-Boston College Sr.- Even though he only stands at 6-0, Rice is nearly impossible to stop. Any opponent of BC needs to watch out for this PG, who reminds me of Leandro Barbosa

8. Jarvis Varnado-Miss. St Jr.- Miss St. is not usually a powerhouse, but they have a beast in the paint. At 6-9, Varnado is the nation's leading shot blocker, and could be a first round pick in 2010

9. Raymar Morgan- Michigan St. Jr.- As much as I hate to say it, I think we could see a long tourney run by the Spartans, meaning we will see a lot of Morgan. The athletic wing could be a second round pick in two years

10. Edwin Ubiles-Siena Jr.- The best basketball school you've never heard of has produced Ubiles, a 6-6 2-guard who could be selected in 2010

Toney Douglas, Tyrese Rice, Dionte Christmas, Eric Maynor, Jarvis Varnado, Edwin Ubiles, , Austin Daye, James Anderson, Jeff Pendergraph, Raymar Morgan

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Thursday Heat Check

Three Up:

Nate Robinson-Uhh, what is going on. Sure he can drive, and the big guys can barely see him, but how is he scoring this much? Last night, the surging Knicks beat the Pistons behind Nate's 30. Besides the game he missed, he hasn't scored less than 10 since January 17th. Also, his 4.1 rebounds per make a lot of taller guys feel embarrased


Atlanta Hawks- After a bad last week, they have now rolled off 3 straight wins against playoff teams, including potential 1st round matchup Detroit. Josh Smith's double-doubles have helped, but Joe Johnson's play is near angelic!

Dallas Mavericks-Just when you think the Mavericks are glue, (sorry if I offended any horses) they win 3 straight. A win over Washington at home is no big deal, but they did beat Portland and Phoenix. Jason Terry has caught fire, scoring 24, 25, and 33. However, I think the Mavs are relaxing because they really don't have anybody on their tail anymore. And really, they are only 1.5 games out of the second seed. The Western Conference is crazy.

Three Down:

Boston Celtics: After a huge win over the LeBron's, they trip and fall against the Magic and the Heat. I really don't expect this to continue. Over the next two weeks, they play the Grizz twice, the Bucks, the Bulls, and the Clippers

Denver Nuggets: The Nuggets fell how far? After starting March 2-5, they are now the 7th seed in the West, and the Suns and Mavs are licking their chops. The perimeter D is looking a little shaky, especially after giving up 14 3-Pointers in a loss to Sacramento

Toronto Raptors: I thought there would be big things in store for this team this year. I did not mean a draft pick. The Raptors are nearly out of contention, which is pretty hard to do in the East. I thought Shawn Marion would help get this team to the playoffs. Perhaps they need to give more minutes to Roko B. Ware

Tonight:

Lakers at Spurs: The two best teams in the West square off (sorry, Houston.) I like the Spurs, who should grind it out against a Lakers team that already had a tough game against the Rockets last night. Give me the Spurs by 2.

Cavs at Suns: The big questions is how many LeBron can score. I however would like to see if the Suns can keep hanging on to the hope of a playoff spot. I have the Suns by 6.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Tourney Wrap-Up

Once again, I apologize for my absence. I was deciding if I should begin blogging for mysportspen.com, but I decided I would rather devote my efforts here. Anyways, since I am not really getting any comments, I'm gonna wrap this tourney up right now

First the rosters of the other eight teams

Georgia Tech: UCLA:
PG: Stephon Marbury PG: Baron Davis
SG: Jarvaris Crittenton SG: Russell Westbrook
SF: Matt Harpring SF: Trevor Ariza
PF: Thaddeus Young PF: Kevin Love
C: Chris Bosh C: Dan Gadzuric
Bench: Jarrett Jack, Mario West Bench: Arron Afflalo, Matt Barnes,
Jordan Farmar, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute,
Jason Kapono, Earl Watson



Georgetown: Michigan State:
PG: Allen Iverson PG: Charlie Bell
SG: Patrick Ewing Jr. SG: Jason Richardson
SF: Jeff Green SF: Morris Peterson
PF: Roy Hibbert PF: Zach Randolph
C: Dikembe Mutombo C: Paul Davis
Bench: Othella Harrington, Mike Sweetney Bench: Maurice Ager, Shannon Brown,
Eric Snow


Stanford: North Carolina:
PG: Brevin Knight PG: Ray Felton
SG: Casey Jacobsen SG: Vince Carter
SF: Josh Childress? SF: Marvin Williams
PF: Robin Lopez PF: Antawn Jamison
C: Brook Lopez C: Rasheed Wallace
Bench: Jason Collins, Jarron Collins, Bench: Brendan Haywood, Sean May,
Mark Madsen Rashad McCants, Jerry Stackhouse,
Brandan Wright


Ohio State: Arizona:
PG: Mike Conley PG: Mike Bibby
SG: Daequan Cook SG: Gilbert Arenas
SF: Michael Redd SF: Andre Igoudala
PF: Kosta Koufos PF: Luke Walton
C: Greg Oden C: Channing Frye
Bench: None Bench: Jerryd Bayless, Richard Jefferson,
Jason Terry, Marcus Williams


Remaining Round 1:
U-Conn rolls LSU
Georgia Tech upsets UCLA
Georgetown eeks by Michigan State
North Carolina obliterates Stanford
Arizona gets a buzzer beater over Ohio State

Elite Eight:
Duke gets a close victory over Texas after Coach K deploys Shane Battier to shut down the Durantula

U-Conn dominates Florida, shooting 60% from the floor in the surpringly easy victory

Despite Iverson's scoring, Chris Bosh takes over down low and the five man squad from Georgia Tech advances again

Sheed and Jamison assert themselves down low, revealing how weak Arizona has been at producing low post guys. North Carolina wins by 10

Final Four:
Here we go. From the onset, these teams begin trading baskets back and forth. The teams are almost evenly matched at all the starter positions. The difference is in the bench, when the Dukies take a rest, Ben Gordon and Rudy Gay wreak havoc on Redick. Once the starters come back, Elton Brand goes to work on Charlie Villanueva, and the game gets tied back up. Ray Allen fakes a 3, then dishes to Rip, who knocks down an easy mid-range jumper. With 4 seconds left, Hill inbounds to Deng, who catches at halfcourt, starts to drive, then turns, shoots...and misses. Where is Christian Laettner when you need him?

North Carolina starts to celebrate to early and find themselves down early against the scrappers from Georgia Tech. At halftime, Roy Williams screams at the Tar Heels, and they come out motivated. Sheed decides to play defense against Bosh, and shuts him down. Marbury isn't having much trouble scoring, until Vince Carter switches onto him. Jamison abuses Young in the low post, and Tar Heels get their act together and roll to a 16 point win

The Championship Game:
Duke's loss means we avoid the dream matchup of Duke vs. UNC. Instead we have the U-Conn Huskies matched up against the Tar Heels of North Carolina. Heres a recap of the lineups

U-Conn UNC
Marcus Williams - Ray Felton
Ray Allen Vince - Carter
Rip Hamilton - Marvin Williams
Charlie Villanueva - Antawn Jamison
Emeka Okafor - Rasheed Wallace

Ben Gordon - Jerry Stackhouse
Rudy Gay - Rashad McCants
Caron Butler - Sean May
Josh Boone - Brandan Wright
Hilton Armstrong - Brendan Haywood


Early on, the game starts out quick with Ray Allen and Vince Carter going back and forth hitting jumpers. Marcus Williams starts feeding it to Rip Hamilton, who is usually open because Marvin Williams can't keep up with him. In the post, Jamison scores on Villanueva a few too many times, so Villanueva switches to sheed. When Ray Felton scores on the 2 straight drives, Ben Gordon subs in for Marcus Williams. Gordon and Jesus Shuttlesworth go off, and combine for 4 straight 3's. The Huskies head into the half up by 8. After the break, the boys in baby blue give it their all, as Rasheed starts heating up, and Vince Carter knocks down a few 3's. But Caron Butler heads in and shuts down VC. Rudy Gay also subs in, and UNC can find anybody to shut him down. The Huskies never let game even get close, and win by 15 points

The Connecticut Huskies are the 2009 NBA Alumni Tournament Champions

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Connecticut vs. LSU

U-Conn:
PG: Marcus Williams
SG: Ray Allen
SF: Rip Hamilton
PF: Charlie Villanueva
C: Emeka Okafor

Bench: Hilton Armstrong, Josh Boone, Caron Butler, Rudy Gay, Ben Gordon, Donyell Marshall, Kevin Ollie

LSU:
PG: Ronald Dupree
SG: Brandon Bass
SF: Tyrus Thomas
PF: Glen Davis
C: Shaquille O'Neal

C'mon, this really isn't fair. LSU is quite inept at producing guards. Dupree is barely NBA level, and Bass is really a PF. I honestly think U-Conn's backup would beat LSU, and by double digits, easy. U-Conn has the best pure shooter (Ray Allen), the best mid-range shooter (Rip Hamilton), and one of the best streak shooters (Ben Gordon) in the world. How is Shaq gonna stop that. He could try flopping?

Previous Winner:
The post combo of Lee-Horford was too much for the Wildcats. Prince took over the game, scoring 26, and holding Corey Brewer to 6, but Rondo resorted to throwing his crapola jumper up too often, trying to keep pace with Mike Miller. Also, Jason Williams showed why he should still be in the NBA