Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Michigan....You've Got One On The Way

Last Thursday, by the commitment of one name, next year's Michigan basketball recruiting class moved up among the top of the pack. Mitch McGary,  Rivals #3 ranked recruit overall and Rivals #1 among power forwards committed to Michigan last week changing the whole landscape of their recruiting class. McGary is a 6-10 power forward from Wolfeboro, New Hampshire and attends Brewster Academy. This kid is the most hyped recruit for Michigan and is believed to have potential to impact Michigan as Tyler Hansbrough did with UNC. That all has to be proven still, but one thing about it, on the levels that he's played on, he's shown up on a constant basis. He isn't just useless height either, he's blue collar finishing around the rim and rebounds incredibly strong. Work, work, work, is the description we see in reference to McGary.He's not by his self, he is being accompanied by already committed recruits, Glenn Robinson III (ranked no. 52 by ESPN) and Nick Stauskas (ranked no. 83 by ESPN) which makes for one heck of a team, and if McGary is just half of what the hype is.....WATCH OUT!

See him in action CLICK HERE:
http://youtu.be/rJEpqDPZtS0

Dooms Day? Deadline For Labor Agreement....Today

Well, straight from the mouth of Lakers guard and the union president, Derek Fisher, came the thoughts on the owner's last offer. Its not a doable deal as far as the player's union is concerned. That was said upon receipt of the last deal to the players from the owners. The deadline for coming to an agreement on a deal before the next major cancellation of a chunk of games, is today at 5pm. In fact,the owners threaten to go backwards on the agreement at 5pm if players do not accept. Without getting to deep into the specifics, its not looking good for us, the fans, who are wanting to just get the season under way. Hopefully something good will come from the meeting going on at this present hour. We will know shortly if we'll have to just live with a lil NFL action on Christmas or have some good ole' NBA action to enjoy under our trees this holiday. We will definitely keep an eye on it.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Steph Curry "The Giant Killer"




For us who've heard the story of David and Goliath, you know, the younger, undersized, well underestimated one, that shocks all doubters by destroying his, supposedly, superior opposition, it should be very easy to see Steph Curry as a "Giant Killer". His story of triumph and defeating the odds that were stacked against him isn't like the more common story that you hear from lots of athletes today of over coming inner city, single parent home and poverty stricken conditions but to be sure odds were definitely stacked against him for many looking from the outside in.
     Steph Curry is the son of NBA, all-time great marksman, Dell Curry, who ranks high in all 3pt stats in NBA history. Being the son of a successful NBA athlete, at first thought, seems like the ideal situation for an inspiring young player but for every Kobe and Jelly Bean Bryant story, there is one of a son buckling under the pressure of the expectations of coming behind a parent NBA player. Steph wasn't the biggest kid in the world in high school and wasn't highly ranked or hyped as a high school player, attending Charlotte Christian School in Charlotte N.C. In fact Stephen didn't receive any scholarship offers from any major conference teams at all. That had to be tough seeing that Steph was such a hard worker at the game and had a very good high school career. In his senior season, Steph shot a lights out, 48% from 3pt line. Steph had always wanted to attend his mom and dad's former school, Virginia Tech but of course, no looks. So he took an offer to attend Davidson College, a very small program that hadn't won a NCAA game since the late 60's. No glam, no hype, small stage and not much press. Steph really dreamed of making it to the league one day but Davidson really wasn't a place that drew the NBA too often. Steph never lost faith at all, which he always attributes to his faith in God. He worked hard and held tight to his dream and when his freshman season began he immediately made major conference teams say to themselves,"I think we made a huge mistake".                                                                                                                              
                                             


                                               
                                            

His team began winning, competing with huge schools and Steph was getting it in himself. In his freshman season, Stephen was 2nd in the nation in scoring behind only Kevin Durant.  His sophomore season, he forced the eyes of the basketball world to turn his way even more by putting up stellar performances against Duke, UNC, N.C. State, and UCLA in  tough non-conference schedule . He ended up 5th in all of division 1 basketball scoring, averaging a little over 25pts per game. He lifted his team to levels that no one would have ever guessed they would reach by helping them advance to the elite eight for the first time since 1969 before losing to Kansas. Steph set records for his school and the nation in this tournament. He was named to the Associated Press All-America second team. Steph went back for his junior season at Davidson and became the all-time leading scorer in just three years of playing. At the end of his third season of proving himself as one of the country's best, he entered his name into the NBA draft. Wouldn't you know, that after all the doubters were proven wrong in his college days, even more surfaced upon him embarking on the NBA. "He's too small, not athletic enough, too weak and not tough enough". Well lets see.....after reaching a rookie high 5 games of 30 pts/ 10 ast games, broke the NBA record for 3s made by a rookie, had a 42 point game against the Portland Trailblazers, won the All-Star Skills Challenge, won the NBA Sportsmanship Award, was runner-up in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting and named to the NBA All-Rookie Team, silencing the critics, and shocking doubters, its safe to say  David (Steph)  slued the Goliath (all you haters) once again. Different actors, same outcome...... Steph keeps the sling shot on deck, check him out!


Steph Curry Video: Click Here
http://youtu.be/_owwXSotFFo


Friday, November 4, 2011

Can Callipari and "Dem Cats" Get Over The Hump This Year?



Kentucky is stacked with talent this season as usual. Kentucky has an unreal freshman class this year, as usual. Kentucky is receiving high praise, topped with huge expectations this year, as usual. Will head coach John Callipari get to the post season with his team, stacked with great freshman talent and come up short again? That's the question of the year.
   






This year's Kentucky freshman class has four McDonald's All-American players that include Marquis Teague, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kyle Wiltjer, and Anthony Davis. This is all on top of an already highly talented group of players, such as Terrance Jones who put out some awesome performances last season as a high profile freshman. Talent wise, this may be the #1 team in America..... again, on paper at least. But are we seeing a trend here? Even back at Memphis, he went far in the tournament with a talented team, led by D.Rose but came up short. Same thing the following year with Tyreke Evans. Then again that next season @ Kentucky with J. Wall as well as last season with a loaded freshman class.  Is the Callipari way, an under achieving, "close but no cigar" type of way? Let's think about it. What's the Callipari way anyway? Well he's known as the "superstar recruiter" because of the multiple high profile high school players that he brings in on a yearly basis. The thing about his type of recruit is, they're usually one and done type player. Off to the NBA Draft. Thats what keeps them coming. The allure of the draft day magic that Coach Cal seems to have. Lets see... Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall, Bledsoe, Patrick Patterson, Demarcus Cousins, Brandon Knight and more in just the last 4years. Callipari and other critics say,"as long as there is a new loaded class coming in, we're ok". Well, that sounds decent but what's the down side to that? Team chemistry and experienced veteran leadership goes lacking. Maybe those elements are under estimated now in college sports. Maybe that's why the Fab Five Michigan team back in the 90's didn't do what the world predicted it would, as far as winning it all. Maybe  a college championship isn't Callipari's #1 priority or maybe this is the year that he'll prove us all wrong. How much time will Kentucky wait to see?? That's the question so lets sit back and see what "dem cats" do with this loaded deck!!!!


Thursday, November 3, 2011

Who's the New Iverson?.....Cappie Pondexter



 For me, when Allen Iverson left the league, a little of the wow factor left with him. Love him or hate him, you must admit, the future Hall of Fame guard left it all on the floor on both ends and never ceased to amaze us all, being a 6ft offensive killer and scrappy on defense. Clearly unstoppable and when I see Cappie Pondexter, I get the same feeling as when I watched AI. Cappie Pondexter is an All-Star guard for the New York Liberty of the WNBA. In fact, if she had debuted first I would probably be saying, he reminds me of her! Cappie Pondexter is an All-Star guard for the New York Liberty of the WNBA that can give it to a defender how ever they want it.  She'll do it off of the dribble, drive to the basket, long range jumper, mid range game and destroy your defense with passing and penetration. Crucial stop and go, crazy step back, lightning quick first step, and an amazingly fast release are just a few things that she has in the arsenal. She never shies away from the moment. Never backs down. You can actually see the fear in defender's eyes when she has an isolation situation with the shot clock/ game clock running down.




With career averages of 19.3 PPG, 4.3 APG, 4 RPG Cappie is known league wide for her competitive spirit and selflessness. Yeah she gets her shots, and a scorer should, but whether its diving for a loose ball, running the floor like a Lambo Gallardo, or playing the entire game plus an overtime or two, if it will help her team, she doesn't hesitate to deliver. She's a two time WNBA Champion (2007 and 2009 with Phoenix), picked up the finals MVP in 07' and makes the All-Star team like every year.
If you want to see an exciting, action packed guard with relentless drive, you better tune in to the very next New York Liberty's game, because she's no joke!! Hey Cappie, are you sure you and Iverson aren't family on the low??LOL. Home girl....you're OUTSTANDING!!

             
               SEE FOR YOURSELF......CLICK BELOW
               http://youtu.be/dGZqK9yPkN4









(she's got a knack for fashion too!)

The Comeback Pack? N.C. States Overhaul.....Underway


Who remembers the glory days of tobacco road when Duke, UNC, and N.C. State  were all power programs in there own right, all with in 20 minutes of each other? Who remembers the 1983 Basketball National Championship that N.C. State took home? Well, for N.C. State basketball fans, living through the past has become a drag, big time. But there is hope on the horizon, reason to believe. A well needed "Extreme Makeover" including newly hired coach mark Gottfried, commitment from Rodney Purvis, the #5 ranked shooting guard in the country, commitment Tyler Lewis, a four star PG from Oak hill Academy and it was just capped off by a seriously huge element..... top ranking recruit, T.J. Warren.
   T.J. Warren is a 6-8, 205 pound forward from Durham N.C. that's ranked 23rd in ESPNu's Top 100.
This kid is the real deal and thats the word on him coming from every where. He has an incredible knack for scoring anywhere, from about 18 feet in. He is and should continue to be a match-up nightmare for his apposing players, each night out.

                                                                                                                        N.C. State recruit TJ Warren
So why N.C. State for Warren? Well, it seems the biggest element is that his dad also played for N.C. State as well in his playing days. How cool is that, to play for your dads former school? So as would be expected he attended many N.C. State games growing up as well, taking in the atmosphere and tradition. Whatever the case, they have a good one here and with the new leadership and the fellow standout recruits coming in next year, it could be that the PACK IS BACK!!!!
 

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO OF WHAT THE PACK HAVE COMING!!! Introducing....T.J. Warren
http://youtu.be/3nr3uOJLDmk

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

The Opening Night That Would Have Been......

   


Last night marked the 2011-2012 NBA season opening night and the match-ups to mark the first night of play were explosive and intriguing....but never happened. Of course due to the NBA's current lock out, the entire first month of the NBA season has been cancelled which, in the midst, ruined the outstanding opening night that would have been which included, the Dallas Mavs vs. Chicago Bulls and Lakers vs. Thunder. What an opening night right? Its like, what does D. Rose look like after another summer of jump shot reps, strength and agility workouts? What will be of the LAKE SHOW this year? Can they come back strong or is their run over? Do the Mavs have what it takes to repeat? Will Kevin Durant (baby ice) dominate this season and lift his team to the next level this year? Well, all of these answers wouldn't be answered in one night, but a "first look" into evaluating these scenarios would have been under way. There are no current talks planned as of today, at this minute. Billy Hunter is talking the whole "we will stand our ground" thing which is mostly about a 2.5 percent difference (they're @ 50/50 but the players want 52). WHATEVER!!! Fans don't really care anymore about the specifics. While these multi-millionaires nickel and dime each other, us, the fans, will have to just wait and pray we @ least have a little NBA to watch on Christmas Day. I don't know about anyone else but with the exciting college bball season coming up, I'll be fine after the holidays if they don't play...... We'll see.

Don't fall J. Kidd!!!! LOL (just joking, J. Kidd's 1 of the best at his position ...all-time)