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March
25, 2008 ...The NCAA Men’s Tournament field is reduced to 16
teams.
Here
is our annual list of the 16 players we will watch most closely come
Thursday. March
20, 2008 ...The list of
Centers
to watch in the NCAA Tournament is here. March
19, 2008 ...
Power
Forwards worth paying close attention to in the NCAA Tournament are here.
...Attended the Kings, Warriors game Tuesday night at ARCO Arena. The rivalry
between the Bay Area fans and the Kings faithful always makes for a fun
atmosphere. ...This time Sac won despite a late run by the GSW. ...I hate
being wrong. But I am not afraid to admit it. While I am not ready to give up
on Shelden Williams - I
keep coming away from watching him with thoughts that he is overmatched by
quality NBA athletes. He really needs to be hidden more on offense—unless he
can develop a face up jumper. Williams lack of NBA productivity perplexes me
because I thought he would be a guy that gets ten points, and ten boards each
night. He could get the rebounds—but I doubt he could score ten a game at
this point. The only thing I can rationalize is that Williams has gained
weight and with lots of summer work—he may return to being the Power Forward
I thought he would be out of Duke. ...Here is a news flash. Monta Ellis can get to the rim virtually at
will. ...I wonder if there is any
significance to the ‘signs’ Mikki Moore throws
up after a big dunk. Mikki went to college in Nebraska but he looks like a
West Coast gangsta with his finger gymnastics. ...Here are a couple guys I
would like for Sac State to look at for their vacant head coaching gig. How
about Kings advance scout Bubba Burrage? He
is young (36), and enthusiastic, and he has learned from the likes of Pete Carril, Geoff Petrie, and Rick Adelman among others in his 14 years with the
Kings. Mostly - he is a quality human being. You can trust him. ...OR… Do you
think Kansas assistant Danny Manning would
consider Sac? ...I could write volumes as an alum of Sac State about why the
program has failed to win in Division One. Mostly—it is due to outdated
facilities. But I also think there is a HUGE disconnect between the program
and the people of Sacramento and it’s outlying areas. The Hornets need to
recruit some local kids. March
18, 2008 ...I added the
Top 15
Small Forwards in the NCAA Tourney. March
17, 2008 ...Filling out those brackets huh?
Read
our list of the 15 point guards and
15 shooting guards in the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball
Tournament that we think will one day ball in the NBA. This has become an
annual deal I spend quite a bit of time on. I calculate the career totals for
each player and then rank them according to efficiency - factoring in
strength of competition. Once I have an ’adjusted EFR’ for each player—I look
at where that number would rank among NBA players at that position. The final
sorting method is my own common sense from hours upon hours of observation.
We
start with the guards and promise to follow with Forwards,
and Centers before the tourney tips on Thursday. March
11, 2008 ...I am claiming VICTORY! My man Mike Harris from Rice University—who I have
championed more than any other player - finally is in the NBA. Harris was
signed by the Houston Rockets! (Btw—they waived Gerald Green.) ...Harris was undrafted a couple
seasons back and despite good summer play for the Rockets—he was their last
training camp cut. He took his game to China’s CBA and with that season
complete he came back home. Harris scored six points and grabbed seven boards
in 20 minutes in the Rockets latest win Monday night over New Jersey. ...The
SMART Houston Rockets also signed Justin Williams. Plus
I love them for seeing what I too saw in Carl Landry.
...I’ve watched almost all the small school D1 tourney games over the past
few days. Most impressive to me is easily
Stephen Curry of
Davidson. Dell Curry’s son
can shoot, and he plays smartly. I also was impressed again by Jason Thompson of Rider. He is 6’11” and runs as
well as Amare Stoudemire. Kenny George, the 7’7” GIANT from UNC-Asheville
is a guy I would honestly consider drafting too. His defensive presence is
real in the half-court. The scary part about George is all the physical
troubles that accompany being so BIG. He already has had two dislocated
knees. His conference semi-final game was one of the most entertaining
ballgames I’ve seen all year. I have NEVER seen any one player be so dominant
in one game.
Watch
this about him. ...Honorable mention among smaller
school players I’ve seen play recently: George Hill from
IUPUI, Courtney Lee from
W. Kentucky, Kyle Hines from
NC Greensboro, and Lester Hudson from
Tenn. Martin. March
5, 2008 ...It’s
on in the NBA. Kobe and Lebron are battling for MVP honors and tonight—Lebron
James busted 50 points at Madison Square Garden as the Cavs beat the Knicks. March
4, 2008 ...The Lakers beat the Kings tonight at ARCO Arena.
Believe it or not—it was only the FIRST meeting of the season between the
division rivals. The arena was energized all night. Lakers fans came out in
force wearing their L.A. gold jerseys. It felt special and it should have. I
say this because I think I may have just witnessed the team that will win the
2008 NBA Championship. Where is their weakness? Kobe Bryant is so ridiculously good—I really just
marvel at his skill, and determination. Ron Artest was
giving Kobe a tough time tonight through three quarters but Bryant raised his
game in crunch time as the Lake pulled away. LAL is solid at point guard with
Derek Fisher being
backed up by Jordan Farmar—who
could start for half the teams in the NBA. Sasha Vujacic is much improved and now routinely
knocks down the open jumpers that he used to only hit in Lakers practice or
pre-season games. Obviously - Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol are high end players with the capable
Ronny Turiaf backing
them up. Andrew Bynum is
GREAT - and he and Trevor Ariza will
raise the Lakers overall athleticism when they return. So to answer the
question - the Lakers only relative weakness is Luke Walton, and Vladimir Radmanovic at the THREE. ...The Kings lack of point guard depth has
hurt them in this recent stretch. When Beno Udrih is not
on the floor—Sacramento struggles. March
2, 2008 ...Holy hoopy-time! It’s March! I warmed up for
March Madness by spending the first day of March watching a quadruple header
with bonus coverage. The morning started with Duke @ N.C. State. The Wolfpack
have a Power Forward that I like in
J.J. Hickson. He is a bit raw but he has great
hands to go with a wide NBA body. ...It is crazy to me how much Brandon Costner’s game has slipped. Once viewed as a
future NBA player - Costner went scoreless in 22 minutes Saturday. ...Duke’s Gerald Henderson has all the tools but I am not sold
on him yet. If being an athlete was all that mattered guys like
Jeff Trepagnier and Gerald Green would be multi-time all-stars by now.
...Kyle Singler had
an off game for him. Most reports have Singler, a freshman, staying at Duke
which I agree would be a good move. I do think he is a outstanding prospect
though. ...We followed the Duke comeback win with a solid SEC match up of
Mississippi State @ Florida. I am very high on Marreese Speights of the
Gators. He is a 6’10” PF with great quickness around the hoop. On this day he
had 20 points and ten boards against the best shot blocker in the conference
- Jarvis Varnardo.
...Miss. St.’s Charles Rhodes is a
guy that I think is undervalued. Rhodes is a 6’8” SF with a back-to-the
basket game that goes well with his perimeter skills. ...Jamont Gordon had a very rough outing going just
1-8 from the field. ...We also caught the second half of Georgetown’s win at
the Bradley Center over Marquette. ...Game three was the best I’ve ever seen
Arizona State play. USC - despite an heroic effort by O.J. Mayo was no match for the Sun Devils. I
capped the night (almost) with the big West Coast Conference showdown between
St. Mary’s and Gonzaga. The more I
watch Diamon Simpson—the
more I think he is at least a second round pick. ...The more I watch Austin Daye of Gonzaga—the more I think he is a
lottery pick. ...When that game ended—it was time to catch the second half of
the Kansas St. @ Kansas game. It was blowout city with the Jayhawks rolling.
...Of course I channel flipped during commercials to catch glimpse of other
games. How about Tyrese Rice of
Boston College going for 34 in the FIRST HALF vs. North Carolina?!! |