The Sportaholic 2011 NBA draft spectacular

Just like the general managers whose team are near the top of the draft, I have played it close to the vest on the draft this year. This was billed as the weakest draft class since the 2006 draft, that featured the Andrea Bargnani led class of a debacle. That class only saw two eventual all-stars (Rajon Rondo and Brandon Roy) and plenty of busts (Adam Morrison #3, Shelden Williams #5, and Patrick O’Bryant #9 sheesh those were some stinkers). This was definitely a down year in terms American born talent and was supposedly going to have a lot of international flavor. That notion held true to form as four of the lottery picks came from overseas, breaking an NBA record. Most teams had a plan and worked it to perfection but some failed miserably (I just don’t understand for the life of me why GM David Kahn of Minnesota still has his job.)

The Cavaliers selected Kyrie Irving with the number one pick which wasn’t really a surprise but their number 4 pick Tristan Thompson was. The Cavs have now created the new foundation for there future. The Jimmer was drafted by the Bucks but will take his talents to the Kings (He looked awkward in that Bucks hat with everyone knowing he was going to Sacramento). The Jimmer seems to be the most marketable player in this year draft as a Jimmer Jam was held in Glen Falls, NY in hopes that he would land with the Knicks, but to no avail. Speaking of trades, the flurry of established players moving was the biggest story this year’s aside from the foreign players’ takeover. It was too many trades to go over so I will list them at the bottom of this article.

Now for the biggest winners, losers, surprises and best laughs of the 2011 NBA draft:

Biggest Winners:

Washington Wizards: I am surprised to say the Washington Wizards had the best draft in the NBA this year. They drafted the freakishly athletic Jan Vessly at number 6 (Who has a very nice taste in women as ESPN analyst Fran Fraschilla properly put it.) He will combine with John Wall and Javale McGee to form a devastating fast break for the Wiz. Washington selected defensive specialist Chris Singleton next with the 18th pick. Flip Saunders probably ran to get the pick in to David Stern and for good reason, Singleton was the highest rated defensive perimeter player in the entire draft this year. He is a pit-bull on defense and has a long wingspan (That Jay Bilas would not let us forget about, but more on that later) that should make him a pest on the wing for the Wizards for years to come. To put the cherry on top of their haul, the Wizards selected former Butler star Shelvin Mack. Mack may not be the most athletic or have the most upside but he will give John Wall a decent spell of the bench and run the second unit for Washington. Damn good draft by the Wizards

Sacramento Kings: With all the turmoil the organization is facing with the on again off again relocation talks, the Kings needed a star that could come in and make an immediate impact for them and they got one. As I stated earlier the most marketable player in the draft was Jimmer Fredette. The Jimmer is a one-man train of publicity and he already has an established fan base out west from playing at BYU. Fredette will move Tyreke Evans off the ball as he takes over at the point which I think he can excel at. He will have some problems defending but he will be ok. The Kings have a chance to become an offensive juggernaut with Fredette, Evans, Demarcus Cousins, Marcus Thornton and the recently acquired John Salmons. The relocation talk may never come to fruition with the Jimmer in town. (Now if they can only get a new arena but that’s another subject for another day)

Biggest Losers:

New York Knicks: I know the Knicks usually boo their picks every year because lets face it; it’s the thing to do as fans for this once proud franchise. But they may have a valid point this year with the Knicks selecting Iman Shumpert from Georgia Tech. Shumpert has all the measurables, jumps out the gym and seems like a nice guy but that’s not what New York needed. They could have went in so many different directions and they had so many needs that Shumpert doesn’t fit. Kenneth Faried and Chris Singleton were still on the board and both would have met an immediate need for the Knicks. They already have a guy in Landry Fields that does the things Shumpert does well. I was booing just like you New York fans as this was just an all around bad pick.

Minnesota Timberwolves: If anybody could explain to me what the hell is going on up there with general manager David Kahn then I would really appreciate it. They continued to stockpile young front court players and future draft picks but they don’t seem to have a concrete plan on what to do with them. Drafting Derrick Williams at #2 was no-brainer since they couldn’t move the pick in a trade but now that gives them Kevin Love, Michael Beasley, Anthony Randolph, Wesley Johnson and now Williams as combo fowards. Don’t forget they have Ricky Rubio also as he finally agreed to come over and play which adds to the chaos that is Minnesota’s locker room. They did trade former first round pick Jonny Flynn and the 20th pick Donatas Motiejunas to the Rockets for Brad Miller and some draft picks but I just don’t get a sense of direction from the front office. They have some talented players but you have to settle on a core and let them develop. And to top everything off, they have an uncertain coaching situation as Kurt Rambis remains in limbo. It’s just a mess in Minne these days. I have to admit that I do like Kevin Love’s “Love in the shower” Old-Spice commercials though.

Biggest Surprise:

Tristan Thompson goes 4th: I could go a lot of different direction here including Markeiff Morris being drafted ahead of his more polished brother Marcus, or the fact that Michael Jordan and the Bobcats had a pretty good draft but it has the to be the selection of Tristan Thompson at the #4 slot. There were rumors swirling that the Cavs were enamored with the former Texas star, who is a bit undersized at 6’8 for power forward and doesn’t have the offensive game to match his rebounding and defensive talents just yet. They had to hope that Enes Kanter, the big man from Turkey would be there at #4 but of course he wasn’t as the Jazz took him at 3. Thompson will pair with the #1 pick Irving and provide a new era for the Cavs but I know they are somewhat disappointed they couldn’t turn this pick into a trade or draft a more skilled big man to compliment Irving.

Best Moments:

Morris twins go 13th and 14th: It’s almost as if all that were watching last night was duped by the producers at ESPN. First, Markieff is drafted and cameras instantly pan to older brother Marcus. He delivered to as he had one of the best lines of the night when asked what it will be like not to play with his twin whom he has played with his entire life. I mean, I'll send him flowers or some fruit. It'll be good." Said Marcus. And right after little brother is picked by the Suns 13th, the Rockets select big brother at 14. If they couldn’t play together I guess the next best thing was being picked one after the other. I posted on twitter (@thesportaholic) that I would wager anyone that the Morris twins would have better careers than the Collins and Lopez twins but no one took me up on the offer. I wonder why not?

Kenneth Faried gets his due: This was sentimental for me as I am friend of Demonte Harper who is the best of pals with Faried. He has come a long way and endured many things that I wouldn’t wish on anybody but he now can say he is a NBA player. It was even more special that the draft was in Faried’s hometown of Newark and his entire family was in attendance. I had the pleasure of interviewing Faired and Harper at a local college basketball all-star game and you could see the hunger and determination in his eyes.(http://sportaholic2112.blogspot.com/2011/04/highlights-and-interviews-from-4th.html) He is a guy that plays with his emotions on his sleeve and that reverberates with fans. The standing ovation he received was well deserved and from me personally Kenny, I hope you have a long and productive career.

Worst Moments:

Jay Bilas’s description of players: Bilas must have been under the impression that we don’t know these guys have long arms because he gave us the wingspan of seemingly every player drafted. I like Bilas’s commentary on ESPN but maybe he could get a little more creative in the player description field.

Jonas Valanciunas’s interviewing skills: I know this kid is just becoming accustomed to speaking English but lord have mercy that was a terrible interview he had after being drafted 5th by the Toronto Raptors. His English was limited at best and he seemed to have a hard time understanding what ESPN analyst Mark Jones was saying to him. Even Jones himself had to acknowledge that Valaniciunas was still learning his way around the language. It was painfully comically to watch.



That does it for my NBA draft spectacular. And to think I got through this entire article without mentioning Lebron James. Wait… ok so now I just did. Hopefully the NBA doesn’t go down the lockout road as the NFL but all signs point in that direction. So this may the last actual basketball related talk we have for a long time. As they say always hope for the best but always expect the worst.

College Baskbetball Weekend Finale

Before you know it, it will be March and time is winding down for bubble teams. The NCAA tournament begins March 17 and that leaves just four weeks for teams to get their resumes up to par. A few teams helped their cause helped their cause out and none more than Virginia Tech as they defeated number 1 ranked Duke in Blacksburg. The Hokies came out from the start with the passion and intensity usually reserved by the Blue Devils. Its good to see Seth Greenberg’s bunch finally get on the right side of the bubble for change as in recent they seem always to come up just short. Michigan State just can’t right that ship for their disastrous season. They were easily defeated by Purdue and at 16-12 they need to win all of their remaining games to have a shot entering the tournament as an at-large. Last years final four run for Coach Izzo’s group seems so long ago. The Jimmer was on the loose again as he scored 25 for BYU as they downed a solid San Diego State team for the second time this year




Now let’s take a look at the weekend’s best games.

Virginia Tech 64 vs. Duke 60 -  The Dukies took the initial shot from Va. Tech but it couldn’t take the final wave as Tech was able to wear down the Blue Devils. The Hokies played an inspired first few minutes highlighted by some beautiful plays from guard Eric Green. The Blue Devils were able to shut down the Hokies leading scorer Malcolm Delaney for the first few minutes of the game as Coach K’s signature defense was on display. Tech would grab the early lead only to see Duke retake it back in the second half and go up by six points, 53-47. However the Hokies didn’t back down after relinquishing their lead as Terrell Bell scored five straight to give Tech the lead for the remainder of the game. Bell knocked down a clutch 3-pointer in the corner with 4:40 left and two free-throws seconds later. Malcolm Delaney finally was able to get loose from Duke’s suffocating defense to hit his only 3-pointer of the night. The Dukie with the most miserable night had to be Seth Curry as chants of “Who’s your daddy rang loud and clear. Curry’s dad Dell, of course was in attendance to see his son but that doesn’t mean the Virginia Tech legend and his son were getting off easy in Blacksburg. This was Duke’s 18th lost as the number one ranked team in the nation, giving the Blue Devils this ominous record for most losses as a number 1 ranked team.

BYU 80 vs. SDSU 67 – San Diego State just had no answer for the shooting display by the Cougars. Jimmer Fredette done his usual putting up 25 points but it was his teammates as well that put the game away. The team as a whole was 10-16 from 3-point range. Charles Abouo was 4-5, Noah Hartsock was 3-4, and Jackson Emery was 2-6. They just shot the lights out. San Diego State was led by Kawhi Leonard’s 17 points and 13 rebounds but they could never control the pace of the game. Fredette shooting percentage wasn’t pretty (8-23) but he effectively found a way to get his teammates involved. He is clearly the front-runner now for player of the year and BYU has a chance to stalk a claim as a number 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

St.John’s 81 vs. Villanova 68 – I don’t know what Steve Lavin is telling his players these days but whatever it is he should keep it up. The Red Storm continue their unbelievable hot play of late as they beat their sixth straight top 25 team in Villanova. The star again for the Johnnies’s was Dwight hardy as he demolished the Wildcats defense for 34 points. Hardy is as versatile as they come as he was able to make a dazzling display of different shot’s including tear-drop lay-ups, runners in the lane and 3-pointers. The Wildcats usually play tough in your face defense with their great guards in Corey Fisher and Malik Wayns but Hardy was able to find space. Speaking of Fisher, he was only 1 of 10 from the field and the team as whole was just 4 of 14 from 3-point land and when you combine that with 12 turnovers, you have a recipe for defeat. The Wildcats started the year off hot but not have lost two straight and four of six. The score was 18-4 in the first few minutes of the game. Dwight Hardy has now firmly entrenched himself in the race for Big East player of the year.



Other news and notes:

Can the Big East get 11 bids? As of today you have at least 11 to 12 possible teams coming from the big bad Big East. Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Louisville, St. John’s, Villanova, Connecticut, Syracuse, Georgetown, West Virginia, Cincinnati and Marquette all seem to have a creditable resume for the tournament. But with so many teams from one league getting in, it will definitely lead to some scrutiny for the teams who don’t get in. I’m sure Digger Phelps doesn’t like so many teams getting in from a BCS conference especially when it is taking away a few mid major bids in the process. Maybe everyone can get what they want this year since the tournament has expanded from 64 to 68 teams.

Pauley Pavillion gets proper send-off – What better way for Pauley to close its doors for renovation then to have the late great John Wooden’s great-grandson score the last basket. Tyler Trapani, the rarely used walk-on junior was able to make a lay-up on a putback after an airball from teammate Jack Haley Jr. The shot from Trapani bought his head coach Ben Howland to tears. I was thinking about Coach,” he said of the man who led the Bruins to 10 national championships. “It was so fitting Tyler hit the shot. It fell right in his hands. There’s something going on there, I really believe it.” John must have been smiling down from the heavens.

Louisville cheerleader is a little too enthusiastic – From the department of male cheerleaders gone wild, a Cardinals cheerleader got a little too excited about the Louisville impending win over number 4 Pittsburgh. The play happened after Kyle Kuric’s dunk looked to seal the game for the Cardinals in the last few seconds of overtime. The cheerleader (Still no name associatied with him) ran onto the court and chucked the ball into the air. All seems normal until it was noticed that there was still five-tenths of a second left on the clock (D’oh!). The chuck by the cheerleader led to a technical foul being called on Louisville and gave Pittsburgh two-free throws in a five point game. Luckily for this guy Ashton Gibbs missed on a half-court shot and Louisville prevailed 62-59. Who knows what would have happened to this kid had Pittsburgh found a way to pull off the victory even though it was highly unlikely. The guy wouldn’t’ have mad it out the arena alive in basketball crazed Louisville. "The male cheerleader is coming to an end," Louisville coach Rick Pitino joked to start his postgame press conference. "It was good while it lasted. It was fun. Now we'll try another sport for him."