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BasslineSpin.com March 30, 2009 ...Hoop
thoughts… The only team that has surprised me to reach the Final Four is
Villanova. Even with their gift wrapped path that included two home games in
the opening rounds - I didn’t think they had the stuff to make it. ...Wifey says North Carolina would beat the Kings if they
played today. I’m not as sure about that but I will say that the Tar Heels
have five NBA players in Ty Lawson, Tyler Hansbrough, Ed Davis, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green.
...Michigan State has done it with their superior depth. Tom Izzo’s best teams offer proof that you can
win with guards that maybe don’t shoot with perimeter purity. He has smaller
players that are tough and will mix it up if necessary. ...Connecticut may
well have five future NBA players as well. Hasheem Thabeet, Kemba Walker, Stanley Robinson, Jeff Adrien, and A.J. Price look to me like guys that will be
making NBA $$$ sometime after their college days end. ...How much do you want
to bet there is a lockout in the NBA when the next collective bargaining
agreement expires at the end of the 2010-11 season? ...
If you
ever have NBA Salary Cap questions go here. ...Len Elmore is still the best television analyst
in college basketball. ...My 12 member All College Hoop TV Personality Team:
Elmore (CBS, ESPN), Rece Davis (ESPN
studio host), Seth Davis (CBS
studio analyst), Clark Kellogg (CBS
analyst), Tim Brando (FOX
Play by Play), Jay Bilas (ESPN,
CBS, studio analyst), Marques Johnson (Fox,
analyst), Tom Brennan (ESPN
studio analyst), Doug Gottlieb (ESPN
analyst), Bill Rafftery (CBS,
ESPN, analyst), and Adrian Branch (ESPN-U
studio analyst). March 22, 2009 ...In
case you didn’t have the time to read through our complete breakdown of
the
top players by position in the NCAA Tournament, I
want to lay out one statistic for you that headed the Power Forward page: Teams that rebound poorly do not win many games. In March 22, 2009 ...In
case you didn’t have the time to read through our complete breakdown of
the
top players by position in the NCAA Tournament, I
want to lay out one statistic for you that headed the Power Forward page: Teams that rebound poorly do not win many games. In the
NBA, the top five rebounding teams (BOS, POR, LAL, CLE, and HOU) win at a
.721 clip - while the bottom five rebounding teams (Sac, GSW, LAC, NYK, and
MIA) own a winning percentage of .353. ..So I say...the NBA Power Forward
absolutely has to be able to rebound the basketball at a high rate. Lately -
there is a trend toward "stretch fours" - or Power Forwards that
can shoot three-point shots well. That is fine - as long as the player's rebounding
does not suffer. ...
Our
annual Sweet 16 list is now posted here. March 18, 2009 ...The
top
Shooting Guards in the NCAA Tournament are listed here. March 17, 2009 ...Our list of the best players in the
NCAA Tournament starts with Point Guards.
Read
it here. March 2, 2009 ...I
spent about 14 hours on Sunday updating stats for draft prospects.
My new
NBA Draft list is here. The most interesting player I
analyzed is a Brazilian BIG named Paulo Prestes. His
efficiency is through the roof. ...I
always look to see what other published draft sites are saying. The most
puzzling was Chad Ford at
ESPN.com not having LSU’s Marcus Thornton in his
“Top 100”. Suffice it to say - Thornton is in mine. ...I think other folks are underestimating
how good Luke Harangody of
Notre Dame is. Others that I like more than the mainstream draft sites are Danny Green (North Carolina), Marqus Blakely (Vermont), Gordon Hayward (Butler), and Paul Harris (Syracuse). .…Tyler Hansbrough is also being undervalued by draft
sites. ...European players I like include Giorgi Shermadini from
the Republic of Georgia, and Serbia’s Miroslav Raduljica.
...The most overrated player in my opinion is Louisville’s Earl Clark. He tantalizes with his natural NBA
body but the numbers just don’t support him being a lottery pick (or even a
first rounder). ...Shifting gears - I
wonder if we shouldn’t re-think the amount of TV time devoted to debating who
may or may not be in the NCAA Tournament. How can you say anything when the
conference tourneys have not even tipped off? I get sick of it. ...NBA
thoughts… Marvin Williams - in
Atlanta is having his best pro season but I’d say he has been an overall
disappointment. I thought he would be better. ...Speaking of disappointing… Josh Smith has been not much more than average
this year. He was injured at the start of the season so maybe that is why.
...Remember all the Acie Law hype
when he was at Texas A&M? So far he hasn’t done much in the NBA. We were
right about him so far. ...I was critical of Stephen Jackson in this space earlier this season but
Jackson has been on a sharing kick lately and his overall game has risen.
“Captain Jack” had eight assists or more in seven of the last ten games he’s
played. February also saw him land his first career triple-double. I like
that kind of player! ...Monta Ellis’ initial 400 minutes of play this
season are way, way, off of his usual efficiency. He is at .322 when he
usually is 200 points higher. ...How about rookie Center Brook Lopez shooting 82% from the free throw line
and also having over 100 blocked shots? You don’t see that combo of touch and
toughness that often (Yao, & Turiaf?). ...Ryan Anderson, the former Cal star from El Dorado
Hills, CA, is only shooting 38% FG in his rookie year. |