Mid Major Hoops

Quick NBA Draft Review, Including a Couple of Mid Major Guys I Missed

So, for the first time in a while, I watched a lot of the NBA draft last night.   First, I forgot about a couple of mid major guys, one you certainly heard of, one you and I certainly did not hear of (he was a sleeper on a few draft lists). 

First, Jason Thompson of Rider went 12th overall to the Sacramento Kings.  It was somewhat of a shocker that he went that high, but Thompson was dominant in his senior year with the Broncs.  He was part of "The Great MAAC Attack" (that's what I call it now) of this past February's Bracket Buster Saturday where the MAAC won five of the six games they played that day (and that's when I knew Siena could knock off  a team like Vandy after they went on the road and SMOKED eventual WAC champion Boise State).  I think he is very NBA ready at 6-11 240 and averaged a double double the past two years (how Thompson ended up at Rider is a coup for the Broncs).   And in Thompson last 12 games in college, 11 of them were double doubles..talk about clutch down the stretch.  I think he will be a solid NBA pro.

Now for the guy you and I really never heard of.  I had talked about IUPUI during the season, which included a big win over UMass, but little did I know that shooting guard George Hill would be drafted BEFORE my boy Chris Douglas Roberts.   In fact, it wasn't even close.  Hill, who was only selected 2nd team all mid major by College Hoops, went 26th overall to the Spurs (talk about landing with a really good team). Hill averaged 21.6 points, nearly 7 rebounds a game and 4 assists a game, can apparently play the 1 or 2.  In that aforementioned UMass game, Hill had 30 points and 10 rebounds, including 8 of 16 from the field (4 of 5 from three) and 10 of 11 from the line.  The kid can do it all and I am embarrassed that I don't know much about him.

As for the other two mid major guys I talked about, JaVale McGee and Courtney Lee, well they went as expected.  McGee, who really needs to get a lot stronger, went to the Wizards at 18.  Lee went to the Magic at 22.

As for shockers well, its three players that didn't get picked as high as they should have.  Darrell Arthur, who many including Jay Bilas and Chad Ford thought was a top ten pick dropped all the way down to 27 by the Hornets.  I thought it was a great pick for the Hornets.  Well not so fast.  The Hornets traded Arthur then to the Blazers, another good team.  Then the Blazers traded him to the Rockets, another good team.  Then the Rockets traded Arthur to the Grizzlies, well, not a good team.  The kid was drafted low due to a supposed kidney issue (did anyone watch the two final four games, Arthur looked pretty good to me) and then he is passed around like a hot potato. 

Then, speaking of Jayhawks who get drafted too low and then get traded, Mario Chalmers was drafted by Minnesota at #34 overall and then gets traded to Miami.  The Heat get their point guard and Michael Beasley.  Nice night for them.

Finally the steal of the night.  Chris Douglas Roberts ended up at 40 (40?!!) to the Nets, in an absolute thievery, big time thievery.  Chad Ford of ESPN said it best "The Nets make what could be their best pick of the night. I don't love Chris Douglas-Roberts, but he can score and is one of the best slashers in the draft. For a team that could use more juice in the backcourt, this is a fantastic value."   Well, Chad, I love CDR.  The Nets may have done the best of any team of the night.  Brook Lopez falls, I mean falls into their lap at 10, then they draft Ryan Anderson at 21.  Anderson's pretty good, a 6-10 forward with long range shooting and can drive to the hole.  Then CDR at 40.  SWEET.  I think I just became a New Jersey Nets fan and as my friend Anthony Terentieff would say, "The Nets are jammin!"

By the way, do you think Kevin Love's father is doing cartwheels right now. During the draft on ESPN, they interviewed Stan Love, and he talked about showing Kevin old school forwards such as Kevin McHale (apparently Stan loves Kevin McHale) and then Love gets traded to McHale's team the Timberwolves.  Perfect fit.

Other teams I thought did well;  The Blazers had another interesting draft as Kevin Pritchard is every fantasy basketball GM's idol.  They made oodles of trades and ended up with Jarryd Bayliss, which might be a steal, Nicholas Batum, who is a toolsy player and was the French league MVP, and tons of picks in next year's draft.  Well they didn't need much this year and Greg Oden you could say is an addition since he missed all last year.  I liked the Sonics pick of Westbrook (some say it was too high, but the Knicks were seriously looking at him at 6) and their trade for DJ White, an Indiana Hoosier player who actually comes to play - see below.   Ibaka was a stretch but if he matures over in Europe, it could be huge for them.  Also Detroit did well trading down and getting two solid second round picks that will fit their system in big men Trent Plaisted and Walter Sharpe. 

And finally, the Clippers never learn.  How ironic is it that the team with the most lottery picks in the history of the NBA draft, would use their 20th lottery pick on, yes, Eric Gordon.  How priceless is that.  Well, and to top it off, the Clips took D'Andre Jordan at 35th.  He could be great, he could be a huge bust (but at 35, talent value wise its pretty good. Originally he was supposedly a lottery pick but teams were so scared about his work ethic he fell to 35).  So, Clipper fans, get ready for the 21st lottery pick next year, because Eric Gordon is going to be a SPECTACULAR BUST.  And we will have the Eric Gordon watch on this season.  Every game he plays will be listed on this site.  If I end up being wrong on Gordon, i will gladly admit it.  But I don't think so. :-)

Update on NBA Draft

Chad Ford on ESPN's Draft Watch page has Chris Douglas Roberts going in the late first round, possibly as low as 30th to the Celtics or 32nd to the Sonics (could be as high as 22 to the Magic), while he has Eric Gordon going no lower than 10th.  Seriously???!!!  Hasn't anyone watched either of them play their last few games of the season.  Holy cow!  If the Celtics land CDR at 30, it will be a felony on the parquet; Grand Theft CDR.   He is soooo much a better clutch player than Gordon, its not even close.  Did anyone watch Gordon against Arkansas like I did?  I mean really.  Wow.

As for mid major hoops players, Western Kentucky's Courtney Lee looks to be in the same draft range as CDR, anywhere from 20th to 35th.  Nevada's JaVale McGee, who I am afraid has bust written all over him (kid, you should have stayed in school), could go anywhere from ninth to 26th.

Should be interesting...just don't want to hear David Stern say the following.."With the 6th pick in the NBA draft, the New York Knicks select....Eric Gordon, guard from Indiana".  Ugh.

A Couple of Quick NBA Draft Thoughts and Other Miscellaneous Stuff

Greetings!  I know, I still owe you the CAA 2007-08/2005-06 comparison post.  I know I know. Very soon.  Anyway, here are some miscellaneous thoughts, mostly about the NBA draft tomorrow but other things too.

First Tim Russert, now George Carlin.  Who's next?   Carlin was simply brilliant and hilarious.  Groundbreaking.  His comparison of baseball to football is an all time classic (you can see Carlin loved baseball.  His first heart attack was at a Dodgers' game years ago).  Of course, even better is his rant about airline safety. Finally his rants on religion, including his version of the Ten Commandments, which is my all time favorite.  You can find all on YouTube.  What I loved most about Carlin is that he had a kid-at-heart side.  He was the narrator for many Thomas the Tank Engine episodes.  He was Fillmore, the spacey  60's VW van in the Cars movie, and was Mr. Conductor for the PBS kids show "Shining Time Station". 

Next, if you are a Mets fan, have you already starting either looking forward to football season, or in my case, glad your fantasy baseball teams are doing really well (first in my Yahoo league, second in my All Star Stats league). The Mets have lost their first two games at home to the worst team in baseball, the Seattle Mariners.  Even worse, they were shut out by possibly the worst starting pitcher in baseball, R.A. Dickey.  In his three previous starts this season, Dickey had gone 0-3 with a 14.11 ERA. Yet he shuts out the Mets for seven innings, in an 11-0 whitewashing of the Mets.  The Mets are sooooo bad, it's just not even funny, unless you are a Phillies fan.

Ok, some NBA draft thoughts.   ESPN the magazine came out with their NBA draft prediction and it has the Knicks taking Eric Gordon with the sixth pick.  NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!  Ok, I am not a big Knicks fan anymore like I used to be and really don't watch the NBA much anymore. But I am begging Donnie Walsh that he will use good judgment and won't make sure to bury any  hope they have of me returning to be a NBA/Knicks fan.   All you need to know about Eric Gordon is here.  Most overrated player in the NBA draft by far.  Not even close.

Now, if you want my most underrated player in the NBA draft, its kind of funny in a way, but its Chris Douglas Roberts.  Now, yup, CDR in college was anything but underrated.  He was big in the NCAA tournament averaging over 23 points per game in those six games, including 28 against UCLA in the semifinal game.  Unfortunately, he will be remembered for those two missed free throws at the end of the championship game against Kansas that allowed for Mario Chalmers' heroics. But he is a six foot seven guard/small forward who can shoot the three (41 percent from three) and can take it to the hole (see the below reference to his free throws in four NCAA games). And unlike Gordon, he came up big against very good teams.  In his last four games of the NCAA tournament, against four very good teams, he had 25 points vs. Mich State, 25 vs. Texas,  28 vs UCLA and 22 vs. Kansas with a combined 28 of 57 from the field and 40 of 49 from the line..compare that vs. Gordon's stats in his last three games of the season (see link above).  Right now, he is looking like a mid first round pick in the 12-15 range.  I'd take him over Gordon ANY day of the week, month, year, next year, decade, century, millennium...get the picture.  I think he will be very good in the NBA.  If I were the Knicks, I'd trade down try to get at least two picks in the first round and make CDR one of them.  I'd think he'd fit into the D'Antoni Suns style of play real well.

 

The Loss of a Giant - Tim Russert

I know that this has nothing to do with college basketball, but I felt the need to write this. Like so many others, I was stunned to hear the passing yesterday of Tim Russert.  For a very long time, since we have been married, my wife and I have had one unwritten tradition.  Simply put, in Tim's great words, "If it's Sunday, It's Meet the Press".  That great tag line was our Sunday thing.  My wife and I would have breakfast, usually me making an omelet, read the paper, then watch "Meet the Press".  Tim usually had a really interesting guest on and would ask insightful, probing questions.  But he did in a way that was never hostile.  Our favorites were always Carville and Matalin, who are a traveling comedy team, John McCain and of course when Russert would hold court with his reporters round table. 

There are things that you might hear about the passing of Russert and some you might not.  Yes, Russert was a big Buffalo Bills fan and he would always root them on at the end of his program.  What you might not know was that Russert was a board member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.  He had season tickets to the Nationals.  He went to a lot of Yankees/Red Sox games.  The man loved his sports, loved family and truly loved his work.   

He was vacationing with his wife and his son in Italy to celebrate his son's graduation from Boston College (Russert was a man of strong Catholic faith who attended the catholic university Canisius, so its fitting his son Luke went to Boston College).  Russert came back early from the vacation to finish up "Meet the Press"and suffered his heart attack at work.

I remember staying up all night during the 2000 election watching the NBC coverage with Brokaw and Russert.  He never went to bed that night, because I remember him being on like at 3:00 in the morning and then later, there was Russert talking on the Today show at 7:00 am.  I also remember one interview on CNN last year about this 2008 campaign season.  He was running through all the possible candidates on each side and there was just such glee in his face. Often I listened to Imus in the morning and always relished when he had Russert on the air.  Russert always showed a very funny side to him on the show.   He really loved his job, loved politics.  And he knew it well being the former chief of staff for Daniel Patrick Moynihan.

Some of my other fond memories of Russert are his interviews of John McCain, who has the second most appearances in the history of "Meet the Press", no doubt in respect to Russert.  That's when I really got to like John McCain and first heard about "Faith of My Fathers", one of all time favorite books.   Russert, despite the apparent affection for McCain, would often ask difficult questions of him.  McCain said in tribute yesterday that Russert was "always tough but always fair".  When McCain hosted SNL in 2002, there was a "Meet the Press" skit with Darryl Hammond playing Russert who did various ways of asking McCain if he was running for president again.  It was a pretty funny skit and in some ways pretty accurate, as Hammond played Russert as the probing, relentless bulldog he often could be on "Meet the Press".

I will be going on Amazon shortly to get "Big Russ and Me", the NY Times bestseller Russert wrote a few years ago.   I look forward to getting it.   He will be sorely missed and for me always, "If its Sunday, It's Meet the Press".  It just won't be the same though.  Rest in peace Tim.

I Know Its Been a While and Hofstra's Jules Goes Prep.

Sorry that's it been so long between posts.  Yes, I know I owe you all a comparison post of the CAA seasons of 2007-08 vs 2005-06.  Coming soon, I promise.

In other stories, wanted to give a public "Get Better" to my friend Tony Bozzella, coach of the Iona Lady Gaels, who is recovering from abdominal surgery.  No truth to the rumor that this was caused by years of being in our Baseball Rotisserie League together. :-)

I also wanted to say welcome aboard to the folks at Big Fly Sports in Hoboken NJ. You'll see them as one of my links. They have a lot of NCAA items I think I'll be getting my Hofstra basketball floormat from you guys shortly.  Looks very cool! :-)

Speaking of Hofstra, for those of you paying attention to offseason CAA transactions, Hofstra's highly touted incoming freshman Yves Jules won't be coming to Hofstra in 2008 as planned.  There had been a question about his SAT scores and I guess we know now they weren't good enough.  He will be attending the prep school  Winchendon in Winchendon Massachusetts.  Though his letter of intent is no longer binding, Jules will still come to Hofstra in 2009 along with guard Chaz Williams.  Hofstra had probably seen this coming,  The Pride signed another JUCO recruit back in early May, Cornelius Vines.  At Iowa Lakes CC Vines averaged about 18 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds and 2 steals per game.

This gives Hofstra five JUCO players; Vines, seniors Dane Johnson and Darren Townes, and incoming juniors Tony Dennison and Miklos Szabo.  The addition of three JUCO players implies that Pecora has not been happy with his 2005-06 and 2006-07 recruits.  Of those recruiting years, probably the best player by far is sophomore Charles Jenkins who was redshirted a year.  The other players have been disappointments.   

From the 05-06 recruits, senior Arminas Urbutis is for the most part,  a very smart, fundamentally sound player. But he is often injured and at other times is seemingly in coach Tom Pecora's doghouse.  Senior Zygis Sestokas has a very inconsistent shooting stroke, has not once driven to the basket in the three years I have watched him play, and just might be the worst defensive player I have seen at Hofstra.  Mike Davis Sabb at times gives energy and good rebounding and at other times is a foul machine.  Finally, his supposedly best recruit, senior point guard Greg "Playstation" Johnson, who had shown so much potential as a freshman on the 26-7 team from  2005-06, has been a major disappointment with his careless ball handling and inability to shoot from the outside. 

And from his 2006-07 recruits, other than Jenkins, sophomore center Greg Washington, who was redshirted for that season due to NCAA regulations, shows some potential but is very thin and needs to add weight, along with a better shooting touch.  Forward Mantas Leonavicius has barely played in two years and seems to be destined as the 13th man on the team.  The jury is still out on 2007-08 recruit sophomore Nathaniel Lester, who at times played well and at other times was very lost on the court.

Its one thing to bring in a JUCO here or there to round off your team.  But when you have five JUCO players out of 13 scholarship players, its making a statement about your four year recruits.  And that statement is "Maybe they weren't as good as we thought they were".