The NBA draft is one big roll of the dice, and there is nothing scientific about it. Of course, there are those times when the picks are “no-brainers,” such as the years when Magic Johnson, Patrick Ewing, Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson, Tim Duncan and LeBron James were available with the No. 1 overall choice. You … [Read more…]
Jalen Rose has been down this road before. His recent comments about Duke University players sparked a media frenzy, so you would think Rose would back off slamming Duke for a little while. Well, Rose was at again recently when he suggested that the Cavaliers should take Arizona’s Derrick Williams with the No. 1 overall … [Read more…]
The McDonald’s High School All-American game is annually one of the best games for all basketball fans because it offers a window to the future of the sport. The game itself is not too entertaining because of all the bad shots, failed alley-oops and turnovers but the event serves its purpose in terms of evaluating … [Read more…]
The NCAA Tournament is the best showcase event in terms of evaluating talent entering the NBA. In the past 10 years, current NBA stars Dwyane Wade (Marquette), Derrick Rose (Memphis), Russell Westbrook (UCLA), Deron Williams (Illinois) and Carmelo Anthony (Syracuse) all made their big first impressions in The Big Dance. Of course, there are always … [Read more…]
NBA studio analyst Kenny Smith, who is moonlighting as a college basketball expert this month, admitted an oversight on Thursday night. Smith said he owes Arizona’s Derrick Williams an apology for underestimating his talents. “Derrick Williams is a man,” Smith said. After the 6-foot-8, 240-pound sophomore forward put together the most impressive game of the … [Read more…]
Not counting the play-in games that happened earlier in the week, the first round of the 2011 NCAA men’s basketball tournament has been nothing short of spectacular. Matt Howard’s put-back lifted Butler over Old Dominion and Temple’s Juan Fernandez beat the buzzer against Penn State. But the best buzzer-beater from the opening week was executed … [Read more…]
First of, I like Jalen Rose. He’s very well-spoken and honest. Not enough athletes today spew opinions with brutal honesty, and Rose is in the minority. However, Rose went a little too far with his raw, uncensored commentary regarding the black players on Duke University in ESPN’s documentary feature on “The Fab Five” that aired … [Read more…]
The Duke Blue Devils are the consensus sexy pick as the 2010 preseason No. 1 team in college basketball and very few will disagree with the voting (remember, this is not the BCS). Duke is the defending national champions and they have a Hall-of-Fame coach conducting practice. Head coach Mike Krzyzewski recently told the Associated … [Read more…]
Coach Mike Krzyzewski recently visited with ESPN’s Mike & Mike Show and talked about 21-year-old phenom Kevin Durant and the significance of winning a world championship. Krzyzewski says winning a gold medal at the FIBA World Championships is a greater accomplishment than winning Olympic gold simply because of the competition. “It’s actually bigger because it’s … [Read more…]
When it comes to evaluating basketball talent, there are few in the NBA who are better than Geoff Petrie. The Sacramento Kings’ president of basketball operations was responsible for drafting Peja Stojakovic, Hedo Turkoglu, Gerald Wallace, Jason Williams, Kevin Martin and 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans. Petrie may have picked up another … [Read more…]