Just got back from the UC/Athletes in Action game. We stink. It's gonna be a loooong season for the Bearcats.
I think he is better than Heinrich. I think he will score more PPG, have more APG, have more RPG and even have more SPG. Seeing that he will be better than Heinrich in every statistical category, in my mind, I would vote him #1. Throw in the fact that he will probably have one, if not two triple doubles.
Well, Carmelo is a stud(he just needs to make some free throws) but the rest of the returning players, except Pace, didn't show up last night. Forth is getting worse with time, Duany didn't show up, Warrick can't make a two foot jumper. But I feel confident that this year's 'Cuse team can make it to the NCAAs. They can only get better considering how young they are and they are missing thier starting point Billy Edelin due to a bogus 12 game suspension for playing in a rec league. Let's see if 'Nova can salvage some Big East pride tonight against Marquette.
You can't base it just off of stats though. First off... they are playing different positions. Hinrich starting out play the point, then got moved to a g/f, then now I think he's gonna be more of a shooting guard. But hell who knows, he's got every small position down solid so he'll be all over the place. And since the talent level between KU and Texas is significantly different, that makes basing it off of stats even more futile. One way you could look at it is that Hinrich doesn't get the stats because he's got 4 first round draft picks to share the ball with, and then look at Texas. Texas has talent, don't get me wrong, but the only team that can challenge KU in terms of talent is Arizona. If you think Ford is better than Hinrich, so be it, you are in the minority though.
Gratuitous Go Gonzaga post. And just to all the folks who think I'm a bandwagon hopper, I've been fan since I saw them get spanked by Pepperdine in the WCC tourney in 1991.
QPR Kevin H - I don't know if you're in the Cincinnati area, but if you are you should try to get to the Dayton-Xavier game in Dayton this season (I think it's in January; I don't have my schedule in front of me). UD just finished a $13.4 million renovation to the arena and it looks amazing. They added some luxury boxes, a sports bar type area, larger concession stands and an overall better look. I'm hoping that UD can sack up and take the West this season, although I'm thinking we'll finish second behind Xavier. I'll be sorely disappointed if we lose to you again at home; last season was the first time in my lifetime that happened. I also hope we don't go to Duke and embarrass ourselves on Fox Sports Net in December. I think whichever team wins the West will be the best team in the conference this season.
If you finish second, grest season for the Flyers. You have no chance at first. You'll lose at UD arena to X again, but thats OK cause we're the ************ing businsess! Tell Oliver to start recruiting (besides *bust* Hall) and you'll be on our level in about a decade.
Came across a really good article about this years crop of seniors, who's golden for the draft and who needs to improve, mostly from a scouts perspective. Only Kansas' Hinrich looks like lottery material Basically, here's the rundown... Hinrich (Kansas) - Pretty much the only lock for the lottery this year according to this article. It mentions that every year the number of college seniors picked in the first rounds have decreased continually in recent year. Last year only 8 seniors were picked in the first round, and only 1 was a lottery pick. There's probably going to be others in the lottery (Nick Collison, Chris Marcus, Luke Walton are all possibilities, but still have questions to disprove.) but Hinrich appears to be the only lock so far. Collison (Kansas) - Mentions that he still has to prove his ability without Gooden by his side. Chris Marcus (Western Kentucky) - Mentions that he has a lot to prove he can regain his dominance he had during his sophomore season when he was dubbed a lottery pick before he got injured. David West (Xavier) - Mentions that scouts question his size. Reece Gaines (Louisville) - Mentions that some scouts absolutely love this guard, but others think he sometimes plays out of control, that he makes poor decisions, and that he lacks the point guard mentality. Hollis Price (Oklahoma) - Mentions that he's like a Juan Dixon he's too small to be a two guard and doesn't seem to have the instincts of a point guard. Appears that he'll have to prove his ability to run the point if he wants to be a lottery pick. Luke Walton (Arizona) - Mentions that he lacks a consistant jumper, but that's about all the negativity. Says he's a great passer, probably the best, but "passing can only get you so far..." Jason Gardner (Arizona) - Mentions that his size is a huge problem in making a case for being a lottery pick. I've always said that Jeff Boschee, a senior last year at Kansas who probably had the best 3 pointer in the country wasn't gonna get drafted, no way. Why? Cause 5'11" shooting guards that can shoot the 3 perfect are a dime a dozen, and there's just no room for an uncreative SG in the NBA. But Gardner has that creativity to get him his shot in the league. Personally I gate the guy cause he's a foul whore, but I can't question his talent. Jason Kapono (UCLA) - Mentions that he has a great shot, "but what good is it if he can't get his own shot?" This guy was highly touted years back, but he's just kinda drifted off the rader lately I guess. Dahntay Jones (Duke) - Mentions that he's too streaky of a shooter and doesn't have the ball handling skills, but he is a great athlete. Says it will be tough for him to crack the first round. Ron Slay (Tennessee) - Mentions that he is a sleeper who might get into the first round with his enthusiasm and his great rebounding. My opinion is that Hinrich, Collison, and Walton make the first 10.
I have to say I was pleasantly (or unpleasantly) surprised with how they played. McCants and May were men among boys, or big boys among smaller boys.
Ok... that's cool with me, because of the hack, the posts pertaining to the first part of KU's season was lost. KU rolled over Div II Emporia St. last night in preperation for UCLA coming to town this saturday. I think KU by 11. Leslie says, "GO HAWKS.. oh, and what the hell is a Bruin?"
You say that after looking at her? Not that scoring with the chick I posted above is my one goal in life (though maybe I should think about it cause she probably lives 5 minutes from me ), but I would sure as hell rather score with Leslie than play at Grinnell College.
Wow... pretty cool day. I was at the KU trouncing of UCLA. That is one baaaaad basketball team. UCLA had 10+ fouls about 15 minutes into the game and at one point they had more fouls than points. They did mount a decent comeback that had some of us worried midway through the 2nd half. Carey says... "You fools got smoked! Wooden must be so proud of his program now."
BUMP Conference play is starting to heat up. Arizona takes out Oregon in Oregon on opening night. Doesn't look like either team will lose again till they play each other next in the desert. Duke blasts Clemson at LittleJohn. Again relying on the outside shooting of JJ Reddick. This might work in a youthful ACC but come tournement time they'll be in trouble with out a post scorer. UNC continues to win, but a big blow was handed to them when they lost Sean May for 2 months. Life will start to get tough for untested Syracuse as they open Big East @ Seton Hall, and then coming home to face Missouri. Then they get Billy Edelin back and promptly take a trip to Pittsburgh. Speaking of whom, perhaps one of the best early conference matchups in the Nation will be the upcoming Pitt - ND game. This time its a clash of premier point guards in Chris Thomas and Brandin Knight. Its also a clash of styles. ND is a high flying team that loves to run, and Pitt plays defense first. And Finally, look UConn will be looking to make a statement when they visit Norman, Ok. OU won't be able to keep up with the Huskies if Ben Gordon gets hot again. In the SEC, Miss St and Florida might be the best teams. Kentucky STILL has pg problems. Georgia looks like it might cause major problems after handling Pitt and then beating LSU in their SEC opener.
apooOnU, don't say Arizona will not lose until they face Oregon here in March! The U of A has to face Kansas in Lawrence in three weeks. Oh yeah, you were talking conference play, right? Lucid, how long is Simien out for?
Oklahoma is playing UCONN? Jesus, they have had one hell of a schedule! It will serve them well in March. apooOnU, is the capitalization of OU for Oklahoma?
yea it is. I'm not sure why I do that for Oklahoma but not Oregon. Perhaps its the football helmets. And they probably play the toughest 3 games stretch of any school in the country. Miss St, Mich St, and now UConn. I think the UConn game might be one of the more pivotal games played when it comes to seeds in the Tournament. So far, OU doesn't have a really good non-conference win that every #1 seed needs. MSU isn't as good as its ranking suggests. The same goes for UConn. Especially when you consider that they were down 30 - 9 at home to umass. This game will probably go a long ways in determing if OU gets a #3 or #4 seed, and UConn a #1 or #2 seed. Especially if either team fails to win its conference tourney. Narmec yea I did mean in Conference play. Both the Washington schools, and both the LA schools are below average. And Stanford might have peaked duruing the Preseason NIT. Wayne Simien had that exact same injury in high school and was out six months. But Kansas hasn't said anything and I don't think anyone (outside of U of K) knows just how badly he separated it. Hopefully It won't be too bad because without Simien the Jayhawks are in trouble. And it changes the dynamics of the entire country because Kansas can no longer beconsidered a Final 4 team without him. Thats the diffenrence between him and Sean May being gone for 2, UNC never had a chance at the Final 4 and just making the 2nd round for them would have been a good accomplishment. Now, coming off a loss to a Miami team that probably won't contend for a NCAA tournament berth in the rugged Big East, they're just hoping to make it through the ACC and into the tounrament.
QPR Kevin H - how much did Chalmers' absence affect Xavier at Alabama? I was listening to WLW off-and-on on my way home from Dayton's defeat of Marquette, but I couldn't tell how sorely Chalmers was missed.
I couldn't watch here in DC, but I'd say that it was a big factor since we could not deal with their zone. Someone who can shoot from the outside and penetrate (besides Sato) might have made the difference. I just hope we can win our next three (Richmond, Bonnie, LaSalle) at home. I'll be out in Cincy for the first UD game. Could be the best ever series between the two schools.
Richmond has always been one of those teams that has given Wake trouble. They haven't beaten us but it's always a pain in the ass game. Well Jerry Wainwright and his boys caught Xavier and beat them by 8 in Cincinnati.
My Muskies are in trouble. Richmond is a pesky team - but we should NEVER lose at home to a A10 team. Even with our senior PG hurt and only 2 scholarship players on the bench.
Xavier is horrible. They ruined my birthday. David West is stinking up the joint. There I feel better.