Beyond Basketball
Life Lessons Learned Baseline to Baseline
Is life like basketball or is basketball like life?
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University of Maryland Eastern Shore – The men’s team opened the season with a 75-57 loss to Stony Brook University on Friday, November 13th. They will continue their season tonight with a contest on the road versus Marquette University. The women’s team also loss their season opener on Sunday to the University of Maryland Baltimore County by a score of 102-65.
Washington College – The men’s team will also be participating in the Pride of Maryland Basketball Tournament. They will open their schedule with an opening matchup against Hood College. The women’s team will also open their schedule on Friday by participating in the Messiah College/Wingate Hotel Invitational. They will face Messiah College in their opening matchup.
Cecil College – The men’s team began the Rashad Brooks era with an opening 113-82 loss to Harcum College in Pennsylvania on November 11th. On November 14th, they followed up the loss with a 98-83 victory over Northern Virginia Community College. Their next matchup will be on Wednesday, November 18th versus Delaware Technical & Community College. The women opened their schedule with a 69-61 victory over Camden County College on November 11th. They followed that with a 84-63 loss to Northern Virginia Community College on November 14th. Their next matchup will also be on Wednesday, November 18th against Delaware Technical & Community College.
Chesapeake College – The Skipjacks have begun the season 1-4 under new coach Reggie Williams. They opened their season by participating in the Howard Community College Tournament on November 6th & 7th. The ‘Jacks defeated Howard Community College 74-67 before losing to Northern Virginia Community College 108-84. The ‘Jacks then loss their next two games last week – losing to CCBC-Catonsville 66-65 and Mercer County Community College 77-69. The women’s team also opened their season by participating in the Howard Community College Tournament on November 13th & 14th. They split both games, losing the opener versus Monroe Community College 85-65 before defeating Middlesex Community College 64-55. Their next contest will be today versus Harcum Community College.
In other news . . .
Milbourne Watch – Landon Milbourne posted an all-around game in the opener against Charleston Southern with 16 points, 7 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. Look for Milbourne to have a strong senior season for the Terps, who were chosen to finish 5th in the ACC in the preseason predictions. The Terps will face Fairfield University tonight in their next matchup. Milbourne is the son of Andre Foreman, former Stephen Decatur & Salisbury University standout and the all-time leading scorer in Division III history.
I just wanted to spread the word that I have been given the opportunity to write for the examiner.com website. I am now a Fantasy Basketball Examiner writing about topics concerning fantasy basketball. Check out my page whenever you get the chance. Thanks for the support.
Another NBA season starts tonight and with all of the exciting storylines this looks to be an exciting year. With all of the offseason moves, there appears to be about 5-6 teams that have a legitimate chance to win the championship. Will Ron Artest help the Lakers win a second straight championship or will his unpredictability derail a potential Laker dynasty? Will Shaq do for LeBron what he did for D-Wade and help him win a title? Will the addition of Richard Jefferson help the Spurs climb back to the top of the NBA mountain? Will the return of KG and the addition of Rasheed Wallace make anything possible again in Boston? Have the Nuggets players grown enough from last year’s experience to take the next step and win a championship? Will Vince Carter do what Hedo Turkoglu couldn’t and help bring a championship to the Orlando Magic? There will be no predictions from us this year – we plan to just enjoy watching the season. It starts tonight with four games on tonight’s schedule, two of which will be televised on TNT. Questions will begin to be answered on TNT tonight as the Celtics face the Cavaliers (7:30 ET) and the Clippers “travel” to meet the Lakers (10:30 ET). Enjoy – I know I will.
In recent weeks two colleges on the Eastern Shore, Cecil College and Chesapeake College, have undergone major coaching changes. Although, as a fan of Eastern Shore basketball I hate to see two good coaches leave these schools, the changes may prove to be beneficial for the future of basketball on the Eastern Shore.
In September, well-respected Coach William Lewit of Cecil College resigned to accept an assistant coaching position at the University of New Orleans. Coach Lewit had been with the institution for 14 years and had led the Seahawks to a NJCAA Division II national championship in 2006, six regular season Maryland JUCO championships, five postseason championships, and six Region XX titles. Over his tenure, 38 of his players had received Division I scholarships and an additional 30 players has received Division II scholarships.
Coach Lewit now moves on to become an assistant coach at the University of New Orleans, a Division I school in the Sun Belt Conference. In addition to his assistant coaching duties, he will also be the program’s recruiting coordinator.
In my opinion, this is potentially a huge opportunity for basketball players on the Eastern Shore. With the familiarity that Coach Lewit has with the Eastern Shore area, the University of New Orleans may begin to become active in recruiting the area more than they have in the past.
Also, around the end of September, Coach John Mappas of Chesapeake College resigned citing that family reasons had lead to his decision. Coach Mappas coached the Skipjacks for seven years, winning 124 games, and winning a Region XX championship in 2008. He had a combined record of 224-103 in 11 seasons as a junior college head coach.
Coach Mappas was replaced by former Georgetown University star and NBA veteran, Reggie Williams. Williams was a McDonald’s High School All-American before winning a national championship with Georgetown during his freshman year. After his college career, Williams was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 4th pick in the 1987 draft and went on to average 12.5 points per game over his 10-year career.
Recently, Coach Williams has spent the last five seasons as a high school coach in the state of Maryland. He will now bring his playing and coaching experience to Chesapeake College. This will be beneficial for the players at Chesapeake College because they will now be learning from a person who has played and competed at the highest level. Although, many of his players may not be familiar with his track record initially, a small amount of research will educate them to the opportunity that they now have.
As can be seen from the gap between the dates of our last blog post and now, we have been on a slight hiatus. During that time we watched a lot of playoff and NBA Finals basketball (congrats to the LA Lakers) and we even watched some WNBA basketball. We also took the time to rethink the direction in which we want to grow our blog.
As many people visit our website, they will notice that we are mainly about Eastern Shore basketball. Well, if you aren’t familiar with the Eastern Shore in some way, you will quickly go in another direction. Many people may read our blog and notice that we rarely discuss the Eastern Shore in many of our blog posts.
Moving forward our goal is to speak more about basketball on the Eastern Shore while still writing about current stories and events in the basketball world – and of course, to write more in general!
But we want to stress that while we represent and want to bring more exposure to Eastern Shore basketball, that is not all that we are about.
We love the game of basketball and we feel that the sport can help to teach important principles and life concepts that go beyond the hardwood, asphalt, or dirt courts where the game is played. We also feel that basketball can help to cure some of the social ills that plague the world today.
Ultimately, we have an intense passion for the sport of basketball and we want to touch and affect as many lives as we can through the game that we love and that goal extends far beyond the Eastern Shore. If you share the same goal and passion for the sport, feel free to let us know. We would love to hear from you!
Tomorrow begins the NBA’s version of April, May, and June Madness as the 16 playoff teams begin their march through the playoffs to an NBA championship. The matchups have been set and the games begin shortly after noon tomorrow. We have provided our picks for the playoffs including our pick to win the NBA championship.
Mike’s Picks
Brad’s Picks
As you can see, we pick the same champion, but there are some differences along the way.
Also, with the end of the regular season came the end of us making our daily NBA predictions. Our final records were 786-444 (63.9%) and 813-417 (66.1%) respectively. Not bad, but we will be looking to improve on that next year. CBS Sportsline’s record was 854-376 (69.4%) so we will be looking to beat them out next year.
Last week I was listening to the Dan Patrick radio show and Reggie Miller was a guest on the show. I was sitting at work, mildly paying attention to the show, until Reggie said something that really caught my attention. He stated that in his opinion Tyler Hansbrough will have a better professional career than Blake Griffin. He used the argument that Hansbrough will be drafted later in the first round and has a better chance of going to a team that has a chance to win a championship while Griffin will be going to a lottery team who more than likely will not win a championship.
That premise really started my mind racing. What is the definition of success in terms of an NBA career? Would you rather have a Hall of Fame career with no championships or be a role player who wins multiple championships? Would you rather be Reggie Miller or Steve Kerr?
Of course, those questions are personal questions that will have different answers depending on the person. It speaks to each individual person’s definition of success.
Personally, I would choose the Hall of Fame career and I find it hard to believe that Reggie Miller would trade in his Hall of Fame credentials for a couple of championships as the eighth or ninth man on the bench.
Keep in mind, I’m not talking about a guy like Robert Horry who won 7 championships in his career – two as a starter with the Houston Rockets, three as a borderline starter/sixth man with the Lakers, and two as the sixth or seventh man with the San Antonio Spurs.
I’m talking about a guy like Stacey King, who was the eight or ninth man on the Bulls first three-peat teams or Mark Madsen, who won two championships with the Lakers but is remembered more for his victory parade dances than anything that he did on the court. Basically, the role player that doesn’t know from game to game whether or not he will even play.
It is an interesting concept to contemplate. Again, I would take the Hall of Fame career in a heartbeat, but that is my personal preference. Ultimately, the answer is based on each person’s individual definition of success.
Dan Patrick and Reggie Miller placed a friendly wager on the subject with the measure being the player who has the most all-star appearances. Based on that criteria, I think I have an idea of who will win that wager - but I guess success is in the eye of the beholder.
Congratulations to the NCAA champions UNC Tarheels and UConn Huskies. The UNC Tarheels finished their dominating tournament run with an 89-72 victory Monday versus Michigan State. Meanwhile, the UConn Huskies capped their third undefeated season with a 76-54 victory in the national championship game versus Louisville on Tuesday night. The Huskies impressively won all 39 of their games by double digits to capture the sixth national championship in the program’s history.
Every year at the All-Star Break, David Stern gives his “State of the League Address”. Well, with the NCAA tournament winding down and the NBA playoffs fast approaching, we felt it was time to begin our “State of the Game” series. In this series we will examine various topics within the game of basketball and provide a personal commentary on each subject.
The Thin Line
I was reading an article today about a sixth grade basketball phenom by the name of Allonzo Trier. Allonzo lives in the Seattle area with his mother and the article described the lengths that Allonzo and his mother take in order to keep his game on point.
Before I go any further, I would like to first say that I wish Allonzo all the best in his basketball career and in his life in general and this post is not meant to criticize him or his mother in any way. I am just using his example as a means to talk about a bigger, growing problem within the game.
Allonzo is a 5’5” 110-pound sixth grader who is an aspiring NBA superstar. He maintains a daily workout that consists of about 10 minutes of ball handling work – many of the drills based on the workouts of “Pistol” Pete Maravich. The bulk of Trier’s workout focuses on shooting where he must make a total of 450 shots from various spots on the floor. When he misses two shots in a row, one gets subtracted from his total and shots that bounce off or roll around the rim do not count.
After completing this workout, twice a week his mother drives him to a local gym where he continues his work with a private basketball tutor. After his private session, his mother then drives him to another two-hour long practice session with his AAU team. After nearly seven hours of practicing and traveling between practices, Trier’s day comes to an end at about 9:30 pm.
This exhaustive workout is all to maintain Trier’s national reputation and No. 1 ranking in his class.
Let that last statement sink in for a minute . . . “No. 1 ranking in his class” . . . as a sixth grader. One minute I’m reading an article talking about the difficulty of projecting a player in college basketball into the NBA game and the next minute I’m reading about a sixth grader ranked No.1 in his class by a national scouting service. Mind boggling!
At what point is all of this a little too much. We are talking about a sixth grade kid here. A sixth grade kid who has his own line of clothing with his own signature and motto. A sixth grade kid who receives endless free merchandise from shoes to a shipment of Under Armour gear from Brandon Jennings, who now plays professional basketball in Italy after being ranked as last year’s top high school point guard prospect. A sixth grade kid who has been flown around the country by AAU teams and basketball promoters to play in their events. And a sixth grade kid who has his private school tuition and academic tutoring paid for by the charitable foundation of an NBA player and receives free dental care.
His mother has an interesting quote in the article – “They’re doing nice things for my son, things that he needs and I can’t afford. So how can I say no?” I thought about that quote and I asked myself, being a parent, would I do the same thing? To be honest, I would have to say I don’t know.
My problem with this is at what point do we allow our kids to just be kids? Where do we draw the line between supporting our child(ren) to achieve their goal(s) and exploitation? I can see how grassroots basketball is becoming big business and it is easy to get caught up in the whirlwind, but doesn’t a line need to be drawn somewhere?
I also found another quote his mom said interesting – “If his game falls off, they will kick him to the curb. That makes me nervous, and I don’t want it to happen.” That seems to be a lot of pressure for a sixth grader. Just this year a freshman female basketball player left the University of Connecticut and quit playing basketball citing burnout after being a highly recruited player since seventh grade. She now plays volleyball at the University of Delaware but that example speaks to the pressure that a lot of kids feel to live up to other people’s expectations.
The author of the article went on to talk about attending the Adidas Junior Phenom Camp which is the premier annual event for pre-high school talent. He gave an example of an interesting conversation he had with one of the kids in attendance. The kid made comments such as “I’m just want to stay humble” and “I’m just trying to get my family out of the ghetto”. Wow! Already at 12 or 13 years old, these kids already have their cliché one-liners rehearsed and ready to let fly in any context.
The last statement was the most interesting. I must admit, I have heard this line many times. While that may be true for some players, not all of these kids and players are living in the ghetto. In fact, the author stated that many kids that attended this camp came from middle-class families who paid the $450 entry fee themselves.
The real issue here is that we have to start giving these kids other options. As much as I love basketball, it cannot be seen as the only way “out”. It can be used as an avenue to get where you want to go, but it doesn’t have to be the only way. We all know the percentages of players who make it to the NBA and those percentages aren’t high.
At the very least, basketball can provide a kid with a college scholarship and a free education. That education can lead to success in many different avenues and careers. If the desire to play basketball is still important, then there are various minor and overseas leagues that can be pursued if the NBA is not an option.
Unfortunately, the motto seems to be “NBA or bust” and when that doesn’t happen, these kids are lost. So in the end we need to support our children to strive to achieve their athletic goals, but we need to be honest in presenting all the options to them as well.
Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that you should shoot down your child’s NBA dream. But just like you owe your child your support in striving to achieve their dream, you would be doing them a disservice if you didn’t have a conversation about all of their options. I just hope that Allonzo Trier’s mother is having that
conversation with him.
The tournament is approaching with games starting at about 12 noon today and everyone’s picks are in. Even President Obama has submitted his bracket! See our picks below. Good luck to everyone!
Brad’s Bracket
Yesterday, I was reading this article about Tennessee Lady Vol’s basketball coach, Pat Summit, and I found it to be a very interesting story. The article looked at her recent accomplishment, winning her 1000th game and her historic career through the eyes of her son Tyler. Tyler, who was born in 1990, has witnessed 587 of his mother’s victories and is currently a senior high school basketball player.
In thinking about Coach Summit’s recent accomplishment, I’d first like to congratulate her on her historic victory. She became the first men’s or women’s Division 1 coach to reach that milestone. She has to be one of the greatest basketball coaches of all-time, regardless of gender. In her 35 years of coaching, she has won 8 national championships with a career record 1002-187. That is a .843 winning percentage! Also, 455 of those wins have come on the Lady Vols home floor by an average margin of 24.1 points per game.
To me, her career and impact on women’s college basketball is comparable to the legendary UCLA coach, John Wooden. Wooden won 671 of the 932 games he coached for a .807 winning percentage and won 10 national championships. Many fail to make that comparison or put Wooden in a more elevated position for various reasons. People will make the case that the talent pool in the women’s game is smaller than the men’s game and because of that the level of competition is thinner than in the men’s game. While that may be true on a certain level, remember that Wooden began his coaching career in an era where African-Americans were not fully integrated into the game.
However, I do think we can pose valid questions concerning both coaches’ careers. For Summit – would or could she have the same success coaching on the men’s level and for Wooden – would or could he have the same success coaching in today’s era? You would think that legendary coaches such as these two could reach any player and have success at any level, but it is an interesting thought.
In either case, Summit’s son Tyler has dreams of playing college basketball, but his ultimate goal is to be a basketball coach someday. Hopefully, he has his mother’s gift. Congratulations, again, Coach Summit!
Two nights ago against the New York Knicks, Kobe Bryant set a Madison Square Garden record by scoring 61 points in a 126-117 Lakers win.
Kobe’s complete stat line: 19-31 (FGM-A), 3-6 (3PM-A), 20-20 (FTM-A), 61 points, 0 rebounds, 3 assists, 0 steals, and 1 blocked shot.
Last night, LeBron James scored 52 points and posted a triple-double against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden in a 107-102 Cavaliers win.
LeBron’s complete stat line: 17-33 (FGM-A), 2-7 (3PM-A), 16-19 (FTM-A), 52 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists, 0 steals, 2 blocked shots.
So, my question is – which performance is more impressive, Kobe or LeBron?
Let’s look a little deeper into the stat lines.
Combining his point and assist numbers, Kobe accounted for 53.2% of his team’s points and did so in 36 minutes and 48 seconds. As stated before, his 61 points were the most points scored in Madison Square Garden history.
Likewise, LeBron accounted for 69.2% of his team’s points in 44 minutes and 3 seconds. He also accounted for 23.8% of his team’s rebound numbers and 55.0% of their assist numbers.
This is an interesting conversation because these two are probably the two most polarizing figures in the NBA right now, the top two MVP candidates this year and probably the two best players in the league right now.
I will admit that I am not a big Kobe fan but in looking at the two performances, I think that LeBron’s triple double was more impressive than Kobe’s record 61 points.
While Kobe’s performance was impressive and more impressive when you consider that it was done in only 36 minutes, he did not have any rebounds and only 3 assists. Though I did not actually see the game, just from the box score it appears that Kobe’s game was simply a great offensive output and he really did not affect the game much in any other aspect.
LeBron on the other hand, posted a triple-double to go along with his 52 points. His 52 points were the most with a triple-double since 1976-77 and one point shy of the most points scored with a triple–double. Again, I did not see the game but it appears that LeBron was able to affect the game in a variety of ways, while also scoring a comparable number of points to Kobe’s 61.
I would be interested to here what everyone else has to say, so feel free to post your comments.
I was flipping channels last night and I was surprised to find Coppin State versus University of Maryland-Eastern Shore on ESPNU. It was a welcome surprise to see the Eastern Shore get a little love on ESPN, although UMES didn’t have such a great performance. They ended up losing 65-48 and really played an overall sloppy game committing 21 turnovers and shooting only 32% from the field. Apparently, the UMES women’s team played on ESPNU prior to the men’s game, but I didn’t get a chance to check that out. The women played a closer game, losing by a margin of two made free throws with four seconds left in the game. So although the outcomes weren’t the best, it was still good to see the Shore get some love.
This is the perfect time for basketball fans. The holidays are past, the college football season is over, and the NFL playoffs have begun and will be winding down shortly. This is the time when many people begin to turn their attention to college and professional basketball. So it’s time to catch up on some of the storylines in the world of basketball . . .
Making a run at 70 wins – NBA.
The Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Los Angeles Lakers stormed out of the gates and looked to threaten the ’95-’96 Chicago Bulls 70-win season. The Boston Celtics began the season 27-2 including a 19-game winning streak. However, since December 25th, the Celtics have lost 7 of their last 12 games. The Lakers and the Cavaliers started off hot as well. However, looking at their current records of 31-7 (for the Lakers) and 30-6 (for the Cavaliers) compared to the Bulls records of 33-3 (through 36 games) and 35-3 (through 38 games), these two teams have a way to go before accomplishing that goal of 70 wins.
Making a case to go undefeated – NCAA.
The last undefeated team to finish a college basketball season was the 1975-76 Indiana team coached by current ESPN analyst, Bobby Knight. Approaching this year, many believed that the UNC TarHeels has a chance to match that record. Early on, they seemed unstoppable in beating ranked Notre Dame and Michigan State teams. However, the TarHeels began the ACC season and promptly lost their first two games to Boston College and Wake Forest. There are currently three undefeated teams remaining in college basketball – Pittsburgh (15-0), Wake Forest (14-0), and Clemson (16-0). Can an undefeated season be accomplished this year? Pittsburgh’s chances seem slim playing in a tough Big East conference where they have seven ranked teams remaining on their schedule. Clemson’s chances seem slim because to this point, they have not been tested (having not played any ranked teams) and have Wake Forest, Duke, and North Carolina remaining on their schedule. Wake Forest – who may have the best chance to finish the regular season undefeated - has two games against an undefeated, untested Clemson team and two games against a highly ranked Duke team. Right now, we can only speculate, but time will tell.
The NBA MVP Award race.
Early on this season three candidates have stepped up above the rest as MVP contenders – LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Kobe Bryant. In my opinion, the race is actually between LeBron and DWade. The reason that I would leave Kobe out of the conversation is that he has a better supporting cast than both LeBron and DWade and his numbers, though comparable, are not as good as either one of those players. As of now, I would give the edge to LeBron James because of his numbers and the excitement that he generates on a nightly basis. I will commend DWade for the job that he is doing in Miami because he has to do everything – and I mean, everything. And just to clarify, I am torn in my decision, but I think that LeBron will win out simply because his team will end up with a better record than the Heat.
The National Player of the Year race.
This year’s National Player of the Year race comes down to two names in my opinion – Blake Griffin and Stephen Curry. I can already hear people asking. “What about Tyler Hansbrough?” and to that I would say look at UNC’s first two ACC games. Was Hansbrough the best player on the court against Boston College and Wake Forest? Hansbrough’s performance in both of those games was dwarfed by Tyrese Rice of Boston College and Jeff Teague of Wake Forest. So when looking at Blake Griffin vs. Stephen Curry – again, I feel torn in my decision, but I think ultimately Blake Griffin will win out. Although Curry has the “David against Goliath” quality going for him in putting up big numbers against bigger schools, his struggles against teams have also been seen as well. In looking at Blake Griffin, he is sixth in the nation in scoring (22.4 ppg) and first in the nation in rebounding (13.8 rpg). He leads the nation with 14 double-doubles and is among the nation’s leader in field goal percentage. With his numbers of 22.4 points and 13.8 rebounds per game, he is on the verge of becoming the first player since Tim Duncan to average 20 points and 14 rebounds per game. But as much as I am spitting out numbers to support Blake Griffin, there will still be support out there for Hansbrough simply because as Jay Bilas said “he delivers”.
The best conference in college basketball is . . .
The Big East hands down. The Big East has eight teams ranked in the top 25 of the AP Top 25 and the ESPN/USA Today polls. They would have actually had nine teams ranked if West Virginia had not fallen out of the recent ranking. I know many people out there will make an argument for the ACC which has four teams ranked in the top 10 of both polls, which is impressive. But top to bottom, the Big East is the best conference in college basketball, period.
After following the college game this past month, I’d like to make a public service announcement: Tyler Hansborough is overrated. That’s right. I said it, and I’ll say it again, nice and clear - Tyler Hansborough is OVERRATED. I’m just fed up with the hype about this guy. Let me be nice about him for a minute. I respect the numbers that he puts up each night, and I respect the effort that he brings night-in and night-out…………………………Whew! That was hard. Now let me be real: He has no game. None. Zip. Zilch. No game whatsoever. For a big man, he has no footwork in the paint. He has no post moves and he hasn’t developed a signature move that will bail him out of tough situations. He plays as if he’s clumsy. His game is gar-bage, not garbage, GAR-BAGE. The numbers that he puts up are clearly off effort, which will not translate well in the NBA. I know there will be some UNC fans who will disagree, but seriously, let’s take the emotion out of it and look at it from a basketball perspective and not as a fan. Tyler Hansbrough is not as good as analysts, the media, UNC fans has put him out to be. I have two reasons to validate my argument.
1.) He’s getting hype because of the team he plays for. The media always falls in love with the historic, storied programs around the country, like UNC, UCLA, Duke, Kansas, and so forth. They’re so in love with these glamorous schools that they forget about the great players and the great stories that are going on around us. They talk about Stephen Curry now, who’s doing his thing at Davidson, but before their NCAA tournament run last year, I didn’t see Davidson playing on primetime TV, with Dick Vitale screaming or ESPN college analyst Jay Bilas raving about Stephen Curry and Davidson. Last year, Michael Beasley, a former one-and-done star player for Kansas State (I repeat, Kansas State) had one of the greatest freshman years in the history of college basketball, a year after another former one-and-done star player, Kevin Durant had one of the greatest freshman years in college basketball history.. As I recall, Kevin Durant won the Player of the Year award after his historic freshman year at the University of Texas. A year later, Beasley puts up better numbers than Durant’s previous year number and even better numbers than Tyler Hansbrough. However, Hansbrough won the Player of the Year award. How? Another example of the “Tyler Hansbrough effect” is Derrick Rose last year. No one would acknowledge that he was the best point guard in the country last year. Maybe it was because he didn’t have Duke or UNC or UCLA on the front of his jersey. People gave that title to Darren Collison or even Ty Lawson. But Rose makes Collison look stupid in their Final Four matchup, leads Memphis to the championship game, goes on to be the top pick in the draft, and look at the rookie year he is having.
2.) Tyler Hansbrough is not even the most important player on his own team. His point guard, Ty Lawson, is the catalyst that makes this team go. Last year, Ty Lawson went through a period of time during the season where he struggled with injuries. During that time, the team struggled. They won games, but it was a struggle. Tyler Hansbrough is struggling with injuries now, and his team isn’t missing a beat. They’re playing as if he isn’t even there. They’re blowing teams away by an unheard of 20-point margin per game. Mmmm…That doesn’t make sense. If Hansbrough was who we thought he was, it would be the other way around. I don’t know. Maybe people will realize it when he gets to the NBA, and sits the bench like a Mark Madsen, or a Brain Scalabrine. We’ll see . . .
Looking into our crystal ball . . .
As you know, my brother and I have been picking the winners in each of the NBA games so far this season. So far this season our records for picking winners are 177-96 (65%) and 188-85 (69%), respectively. Now I'm not familiar with betting services and the percentage that they claim to pick winners, but I'm sure there is no betting service out there that is picking all the games, giving you the winners free, and getting a combined 67% correct. If I am mistaken, please let me know. I would actually be willing to say that if there is, we would be willing to challenge them - picking winners head-to-head. If there are any takers out there, leave a comment. I'm not trying to brag, but I'm just saying . . .
Last night I watched the Clemson Tigers squeak past the Fight Illini, 76-74, on ESPN2 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. I was impressed to find out that the Clemson Tigers are 8-0 so far this season. Upon further examination of their schedule, they have not really played a formidable team yet, but they still have an impressive 8-0 record. It was also nice to see Eastern Shore native and Clemson coach, Oliver Purnell get some love on national television. Purnell is a 1971 graduate of Stephen Decatur High School in Berlin, MD. He led the Decatur team to a 1970 state championship before having a successful collegiate career at Old Dominion University. He recently had his high school jersey number retired September 19th in a ceremony held during halftime of the Decatur football game.
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BMac's Blog: The Rants of a Basketball MavenEric Musselman's Basketball NotebookTrueHoopBall Don't LieFreeDarkoThe Black Fives Blog
Fundamentally UnsoundHardwood Paroxysm Reed and WriteBasketball Geek GarbageTime All-Stars
Fundamentally UnsoundHardwood Paroxysm
Reed and WriteBasketball Geek GarbageTime All-Stars
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