Now that all the tourneys are over or coming to an end, I've gotten to see alot of teams. What a great week for any basketball fan, even better for Rick Majerus....wonder how many pounds of turkey he put away. Anyway....this was a great chance to see most of these freshman that everyone was hyping, yeah, HYPING. Here's my thoughts on a few.....</p> O.J. Mayo - The guy has everyone eating out of his hands.....literally. From what I saw of him against San Diego, I wasn't impressed at all. Mayo made it look like he had everyone drinking his juice except me. He didn't have anything going but his team won, which was all that mattered. When they played Miami (OH), it was a different story. He looked great, getting to the hoop and draining shots in the 2nd half but down the stretch they had a clear out for him, only to see him throw it away instead of shooting it. If you want to be the man, you gotta be willing to take the shot down the stretch, not looking to get rid of the ball. He has a bright future ahead of him as long as he keeps up his willingness defensively.</p> Micheal Beasley - I didn't like any of the match-ups he's had to go up against so far, but tomorrow against Rider he's going to face a good player in Jason Thompson. If Beasley can put up the same stats against Thompson as he's been putting up, I'm a believer, but he looked a little shaky at first by getting in foul trouble against a smaller George Mason team.</p> Eric Gordon - Best frosh I've seen so far point blank......no other frosh has taken over like Gordon has when I've seen him. When his team needed him to be the man against Illinois State, he did it with a monster dunk & a odd looking fadeaway. I really believe he's going to be the #1 pick when it's all said and done because he's a combo guard.</p> Kyle Singler - The guy is supposedly a good perimeter shooter but Coach K has him in the post so far, not sure what to say about him, so "To Be Continued....."</p> Kevin Love - The IQ of this kid is great for a big man and I now know why he owned Oden back in their AAU days. Love is for real, the guy can post up but also go out and knock down a shot. Defensively he's not dominant but with Aboya, Mata-Real & Mbah a Moute should make up for that. Kevin Love should be around UCLA for more than 1 year, and that's bad news for my Zona team.</p> DeAndre Jordan - Very raw, that's all I came out with from him this week. He's dominant at times but when he steps to the Charity Stripe, he becomes the coaches worse nightmare. Kinda reminds me of the Dr. Phil/Shaq part in the new Scary Movie.</p> Anthony Randolph - The guy is almost as raw as DeAndre Jordan, but he can shoot for a bigman. He had 1 insane block in the Oklahoma State game that got me out of my seat but it was only followed by a foolish foul that sat me right back down. At points he seems like he's forcing his defense too much and just fades out of the game on offense, just needs to get more experience before he becomes a star, I give him until March then he blows up.</p> James Anderson - The Oklahoma State guard just reminds me of Caron Butler @ UConn. Just the way he plays the game and his mentality to lead his team. With JamesOn Curry leaving for the NBA, Anderson has just taken advantage of the minutes and shots. Not only does he score but he does it very efficiently with high % shots, which will only get better as time goes on. He didn't force the game when Oklahoma State was in the game but when they got smeared by Marquette and Illinois, I saw him trying to bring his team back.</p> Jerry'd Bayless - The Zona Homer is going to be drooling over my TV tomorrow when Zona takes on Kansas! Tell you what I think then....</p> Andrew Ogilivy - I only saw him against Utah State but he reminds me a bit of Andrew Bogut. He has great vision and fundamentals but isn't someone that's going to take a game completely over IMO. He should be a good one for Vanderbilt this year......and the next if he wants to develop into an NBA player.</p> LaceDarius Dunn - The Baylor Bears got a steal with Dunn. The kid can flat out shoot and will fill some shoes when Jerrells & Aaron Bruce graduate.</p> Derrick Rose - I didn't really pay too much attention to him but I guess he showed he's a frosh when he only scored 4 in their last game.</p> J.J. Hickson - Hickson was pulled from the starting line-up to boost the confidence of Ben McCauley when I saw the Wolfpack, but he was monstrous off the bench. It was quite funny that they had to bench the frosh, to make the Junior more confident, should be the other way around. I like his potential down the road, and wish Zona could of pulled him in.</p> James Harden - I kind of was hoping Harden was a bust for not going to Arizona because he didn't want to compete for minutes, but he's pretty good. I liked what I saw from him and think he wouldn't of had to compete for minutes, he would of been given them. He showed his shooting ability, Sprewell like jab step, and superman type athleticism in Maui, making him one of my favorite Non-Wildcat players.</p> Malcolm Delaney - This guy is my sleeper for becoming a star. With Va Tech losing their whole starting backcourt from last year, they have to give some frosh big minutes, giving them a chance to get experience early on. Delaney looked good in the game against Butler, or at least I remember it that way. He's going to be a 4 year guy and at the end of those years, he'll be a Va Tech great IMO.</p> </p> There were also many teams that I saw that really impressed me over this weekend. I know I already predicted the Baylor Bears & St. Mary's as sleepers but here are some more teams that I like what I saw from.</p> Rider - Against NC St., they looked great in the 1st half. They dominated a top ACC team for 20 minutes, but then they just got timid and scared. I doubt anything like that will happen for them again. They have Jason Thompson down low, who's a legit NBA prospects at 6'10". Thompson looked great for 30+ minutes facing Costner, Hickson, & McCauley but was wore down at the end and it showed. To compliment Thompson, they have many 3 point shooters who should make them the top dog in the MAAC.</p> Miami (OH) - They brought back almost that whole team from last year's tourney team and they play phenomenal defense. Their coach looks like some bum off the street but he obviously know how to coach defense. They looked like an old man's YMCA League team but they play smart offensively, very good compliments to each other. Haynes the PG, makes everything happen, especially if things breakdown. Bramos is a great shooter for this team, the guy looks like a body builder but a good basketball player. Pollittz was the most impressive by far out of the game against USC. Pollitz showed a great offensive arsenal against Taj Gibson. He had 2 back door cuts, 3-3 on 3pt shots, took Gibson off the dribble, had a floater, and showed a baby hook, this guy looks like he's straight from the YMCA Gym.</p> Illinois State - VC was right about this team, they looked great against Indiana. They had a few guards that don't make mistakes, that also play quick fierce D. They also have a very athletic post player named Slack, who was playing toe to toe with D.J. White. To compliment Slack, they have a 6'10" perimeter shooting Dyer, who has great touch similar to Memo Okur. When VC says this team is for reals, and I like them, you know they got to be good ;-)</p> George Mason - If you didn't know, they're back! Will Thomas and Campbell bring that experience from their Final Four run, along with a few other seniors that all play big minutes. They have 6 players that have been in the program for four years, and a few younger players that looked good also, beware of the Year of the Mid-Major?</p> </p> Here's a few thoughts I had on my mind keeping me awake, had to let someone know them. Let's hear some of your thoughts and impressions of college hoops so far. Any feedback on mine would be greatly appreciated!</p> </p> </p> </p>
Texas really impressed me. I was @ the Prudential Center for the NewMexSt/Tex and Tenn/WVU games, and Texas looked awesome. Great guard play. JJ Hickson is my favorite frosh this year. He's a beast.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kid Chocolate)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Texas really impressed me. I was @ the Prudential Center for the NewMexSt/Tex and Tenn/WVU games, and Texas looked awesome. Great guard play. JJ Hickson is my favorite frosh this year. He's a beast.</p> </div></p> Texas beat Tennessee today, so Texas looks like they weren't a 1 man team last year after all. No Durant, No Problem, Augustin has done a great job leading them and Abrams has picked up some scoring slack for sure.</p> Hickson is pretty good, and has a good body to work with, should stay at NC St. for at least 2 years IMO though.</p> </p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (J_Ray)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kid Chocolate)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Texas really impressed me. I was @ the Prudential Center for the NewMexSt/Tex and Tenn/WVU games, and Texas looked awesome. Great guard play. JJ Hickson is my favorite frosh this year. He's a beast.</p> </div></p> Texas beat Tennessee today, so Texas looks like they weren't a 1 man team last year after all. No Durant, No Problem, Augustin has done a great job leading them and Abrams has picked up some scoring slack for sure.</p> Hickson is pretty good, and has a good body to work with, should stay at NC St. for at least 2 years IMO though.</p> </p> </div></p> I think that this Texas team is better than last year's with Durant. Augstin is a great facilitator, and Abrams is a dead eye shooter. They are getting nice contributions from Atchley thus far, and they got some big bodies inside, if they can bang down low and grab some rebounds, they'll be really good. Damion James is really good too, and Mason gives them depth.</p> I think Tennessee is in for a lot of trouble this year.</p> </p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kid Chocolate)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> I think Tennessee is in for a lot of trouble this year.</p> </div></p> Why do you think they're in a lot of trouble this year? They got tons of depth, great athletes, and a lot of scorers, who are always good to have. Don't forget, they're going to be getting J.P. Prince soon, he's made for this team.</p> </p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (J_Ray)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Kid Chocolate)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> I think Tennessee is in for a lot of trouble this year.</p> </div></p> Why do you think they're in a lot of trouble this year? They got tons of depth, great athletes, and a lot of scorers, who are always good to have. Don't forget, they're going to be getting J.P. Prince soon, he's made for this team.</p> </p> </div></p> What is Prince's deal, I didn't even see him on the bench during the game.</p> They have no playmakers, no one can create their own shots or for other people. I'm a big fan of Wayne Chism though.</p> </p>
Zona and Kansas turned out to be a hell of a game, but KU pulled it out 76-72 in OT</p> I came into the game thinking that I didn't like Zona much because of their D and toughness, or lack thereof. They really showed up in this game. They didn't score a lot in the paint, but they managed to outrebound the Jayhawks at Phog Allen. I thought a low-scoring game would mean Kansas asserting its will against an undermanned and outmuscled Zona team. Hope the 'Cats play like that all year - I'm still not convinced they have the grit to become a great team. Buddinger can be a star - he shows flashes of having a truly complete game, and I think he can even become a better outside shooter.Nic Wise might become a really entertaining player, but he triestoo hard to make the special play rather than the safe one. He's atrue 1, but he acts like he wantsto play his own game at times, rather than just making the offense flow.Bayless is, well, not a true 1. The 'Cats have a fair amount of athleticism in the frontcourt, but they seem to rely on that and talent alone rather than positioning and sometimes hustle.</p> Rush looked real good in spurts, like when he scored 5 in like his first half minute into the game. And damn, did that last halfcourt heave look like a game-winner. Chalmers is so talented, but he still isn't a real savvy player. Sasha Kaun looked like maybe a bit more than a lethal threat from 2 feet and in. He can make athletic plays but seems to lack confidence. Darrell Arthur shows some real good things. If he can knock down some jumpers, he'll be a tough matchup and allow the KU shooters some more space - last year it seemed as though teams were able to at least take away some of what the 'Hawks wanted to do in the paint.</p>
First of all... 45 minutes 45 fouls. There were some bad calls late in the game and UA probably should have won that game in regulation.</p> Arizona has been playing good defense all year and will for the rest of the season. With Lute still out the offense is going to be different. I was expecting to see UA try and push the ball in order to make KU play transition defense and hopefully get into foul trouble. Kevin O'Neill wanted to play an efficient half court game and focus on his sets he installed and it worked. Chase was a monster coming off those baseline screens and came up huge. Bayless looked good as usual, but needs to cu down on the turnovers. I was suprised that UA outrebounded one of the best front lines in the nation. Arizona's big men consist of a walk-on (Brielmier), a freshman SF/PF (Horne), an athletic freak who only played 2 years of HS ball (Hill), and a guy who was out for 14 months with mono (Walters).</p> Arthur was very impressive and he can dominate if he stays out of foul trouble. Rush was getting abused by those screens trying to defend Chase, but he played pretty well on offense. Other than that, KU played pretty poorly. They turned the ball over, made stupid mistakes, and were out rebounded by a very thin UA front line. Bill Self just is not a good in game coach.</p>
Well when you give the ball back 10 times more than the other team, they're not going to get as many rebounding opportunities.....</p>
Tennessee has no playmakers? What about Chris Lofton? Jajaun Smith? Tyler Smith? This team is loaded with explosive offensive weapons...scoring won't be a problem for them, but they could potentially struggle on the defensive side of the ball...especially if they don't have time to setup Pearl's famous full court press defense...</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (UKFan33)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Tennessee has no playmakers? What about Chris Lofton? Jajaun Smith? Tyler Smith? This team is loaded with explosive offensive weapons...scoring won't be a problem for them, but they could potentially struggle on the defensive side of the ball...especially if they don't have time to setup Pearl's famous full court press defense...</p> </div></p> </p> Tyler Smith is the closest thing to a playmaker that they have. Lofton and Jajuan Smith are scorers, but not playmakers, there's a difference.</p> </p>
