The NCAA is slowly doing away with the "testing the waters" process

Once again, the NCAA and its coaches are acting in their own best interests.

In a season where the pre-draft camp, which was the only place outside of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (which is only for 64 seniors with an outside chance of landing in the second round) that prospects could play five-on-five in front of pro scouts, has been eliminated, the NCAA has voted to reduce how long NBA draft early entrants have to decide whether or not they will stay in the draft.

They also did away with the rule that allowed players 30 days to declare their intention to return to school if they did not get drafted. Both rule changes will take effect August 1st.

I have no problem with the second part of the rule change. If you stay in the draft, you should lose your eligibility.

The change I disagree with is moving the deadline to withdraw your name up to May 8th (this year, the deadline is June 15th, just 10 days before the draft). I understand why the change was made - mainly because it affords coaches time to sign players if they do end up losing underclassmen to the league (the end of the spring signing period is May 20th), but it also reduces the amount of time these "amateur athletes" spend being bombarded by agents and increases how much time they spend in the class room - but that does not mean it is the right decision.

Having that extra time to go through extensive individual workouts allows these kids to really get a good grasp on their draft standing and make an informed decision about whether or not to stay in the draft.

UNC is a perfect example. Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green all declared and then withdrew their names from the draft, returning to school and winning a national title. But with the earlier deadline, do you think that all three would have been back? All three were projected as borderline first-rounders, and it wasn't until their workouts, when none of the three could get a first round guarantee, that they withdrew their names.

To be honest, I don't think it (it being the pre-draft camp) will make all that much of a difference this year. For guys like a Luke Harangody or a Donald Sloan, it is pretty much a guarantee that they will not be a) flown around the country for workouts with NBA teams because of the economy and b) picked anywhere near the first round. If Harangody does get invited to workouts, it will be by teams that are looking at other power forwards, and want someone going against them that the know will be playing hard.

But like I said earlier, this won't even be the biggest change to the NBA Draft process. Without the pre-draft camp, a lot of guys that are borderline first rounders won't have the same chance to prove themselves. Take a kid like Jrue Holiday. Holiday entered his freshman season with all the hype in the world (I even read a couple D-Wade comparisons), but he struggled with his consistency and rarely looked dominating during a disappointed season for the Bruins.

One of the issues is that Holiday was supposed to be a point guard, but he was playing off the ball with senior Darren Collison still on campus. Now, if the pre-draft camp still was happening, then Holiday could have gone in there and ran the point in some five-on-five scrimmaging. Maybe he proves to some scouts that he can run the point, and it was Ben Howland's system (which has and always will limit individual stats) and playing out of position that led to his mediocre season.

Or maybe he goes into the five-on-five games, struggles running the point, and realizes that if he comes back for a year and develops his game, he could be a lottery pick next season.

As it stands, if Holiday remains in the draft, he is likely to fall to the back end of the first round, if not the second round. Without the five-on-five, it makes the decision of whether or not to remain in the draft that much more uninformed.

Moving the deadline to withdraw to May 8th will further complicate the decision-making process.

And kids like Holiday are going to be the ones that are hurt the most.
Continue reading...

Xavier and CJ Henry to Kansas

Jeff Goodman is reporting that both Xavier Henry (the #3 recruit in the country according to Rivals) and his brother CJ, who just finished a season at Memphis, have decided to attend Kansas. Xavier originally committed to Memphis, but was allowed out of his LOI when Calipari left for Kentucky. During his original recruitment, Kansas (where Henry's father went to school) and Memphis were the final two.

If they weren't already, this makes Kansas easily the favorite for the 2010 national title. They return just about everyone of significance (including probable all-americans Cole Aldrich and Sherron Collins), and add Henry, who is the dominant wing scorer they were missing last season.

The ripples of this decision may be felt as far away as Queens, NY. Many thought that Lance Stephenson would be headed to Kansas, but if Henry does in fact end up there, it looks like the NYC prodigy will end up somewhere else. If I am Norm Roberts, I am doing everything I can to get "Born Ready" in a Johnnies uniform next season. The kid does have some character issues, but he is a program changer that can push St. John's back into relevance in the Big East. Continue reading...

John Wall is Pretty Good at Basketball, and Lance Stephenson has a TV Show

I'm not always the biggest fan of highlight mixtapes.

Yes, they are, most of the time, an absolute joy to watch.

But they are far from the best way to gauge the ability of a high school kid. Watching two minutes worth of clips of the absolute best plays this kid has made over the course of a season does not tell you enough about the player. Hell, you could have put together a two minute highlight tape of me in high school that would have made it look like I was a scholarship player (I'll tell you a secret - I wasn't).

You don't see the player's decision-making ability, his on-the-ball or weak side defensive ability, or his all-around offensive game (let's just say it is rare to see a player sliding over to take a charge or pulling up for a 12 foot jumper in the lane on one of these highlight packages).

That said, I just watched the John Wall youtube mixtape that has been spreading through the interwebs.

He's going to be a star (video after the jump):



Wall, who is Rivals #1 overall recruit for the class of '09, has yet to decide on a school (and may even be eligible for the Draft because he is a fifth year senior in high school).

Wall isn't the only top prospect still undecided on where he will attend school.

Lance Stephenson, who is a consensus top 10 recruit and, like Wall, has yet to sign with a college for next season. But he has signed on for a TV deal.

I don't know how we missed this (oh yeah, it was right in the middle of the NCAA Tournament), but the former web series "Born Ready" (titled after Stephenson's nickname) has been picked up by MTV 2.

I haven't seen the show, but here is the trailer for it:



And in case you were wondering, here is a good read on how both Wall and Stephenson rose to prominence.

UPDATE: Figured I'd give you guys this as well - the story behind the notorious battle that OJ Mayo had with Stephenson during the '05 ABCD Camp.
Continue reading...

More on the Rick Pitino extortion case

Now this is just getting weird.

Karen Sypher, the estranged wife of longtime Pitino colleague Tim Sypher, was interviewed this afternoon by Fox 41. It was actually the second time that the station had interviewed her, but apparently the first time around they did not air any of what she had said because her accusations could not be substantiated.

It was much of the same in part two, as the specifics from the interview could not be aired. But look at how stressed this woman looks in the 15 or so seconds she does talk.



What does she have on Pitino?

For those of you still catching up on what has happened, check out this Pat Forde interview on ESPN earlier in the week.

Continue reading...

SCOTTIE REYNOLDS: Reynolds, who just completed a junior season at Villanova where he led the Wildcats to their first Final Four since 1985, has declared for the NBA Draft. It is a good move for Scottie. He probably is not going to stay in the draft as he looks to be a second round pick at best right now. But by going through the process he can gauge where he currently stands and what exactly he needs to improve on. Continue reading...

Rick Pitino is Being Extorted?

We don't know much about the situation as it stands currently. As far as I can tell, this is what has happened: Someone tried to blackmail Rick Pitino, and Pitino asked the FBI to help investigate a possible extortion scheme. Pitino's son, Richard, has left Louisville to join Billy Donovan's staff at Florida. Karen Sypher, the estranged wife of longtime Pitino assistant (dating back to three years in Boston) and friend Tim Sypher, has been named as the subject of the investigation. The Sypher's are in the process of getting divorced.

So what is going on?

No one really seems to know at this point (although, it always seems like this stuff will leak out eventually). We'll be keeping an eye on this one as it develops. Continue reading...

NBA DRAFT NEWS AND NOTES: As many people have predicted, Gerald Henderson entered his name into the NBA Draft on Monday. Most people have 'G' slated to land in the mid-to-late lottery, and considering that the junior has yet to test the waters, it is a good decision for Henderson to declare.

After three seasons at Duke, everyone in the country should know that Henderson is a world class athlete. But this season, after getting off to a slow start, Henderson proved how good of scorer he could be. He ended the year averaging 16.5 ppg and 4.9 rpg, but it was his development of a consistent perimeter stroke that sent him soaring up most NBA draft boards. Henderson still needs to work on his ball handling ability, but his athleticism and his defensive ability seem like they will translate well to the NBA game. He probably ends up being somewhere between a Shannon Brown and a Richard Jefferson.

While it will obviously hurt the Blue Devils to lose a player of G's caliber, they still have plenty waiting in the wings. Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer both return, and the minutes freed up with Henderson gone will probably go to Elliot Williams, who looked like a star in the making the last month of the season.

Henderson is expected to sign with an agent.

- With Henderson declaring, there are only three household names left that have yet to make a decision - Stephen Curry, Ty Lawson, and Wayne Ellington. Personally, I think it would be in the best interest for all three players to leave now. At 5'11", Lawson was the most dominant player in the country for the last two months of 2009. In all reality, he is not going to be able to raise his stock anymore than it already is - especially after he proved he can shoot and he won a national title. Strike while the iron's hot?

The same can be said for Ellington. Yes, the junior shooting guard could definitely use another season refining his game, specifically his ball-handling and his defense, but he is coming off of a Final Four MOP and a season where he looked absolutely unstoppable at times. Can he put up the same kind of performance over the course of an entire season without Hansbrough and, in all likelihood, Lawson? While Ellington is not quite a lock for the first round, this draft class is getting weaker and weaker with all the players that have been returning to school - which also means that the 2010 draft is getting stronger. This might be his best chance to get a guaranteed deal.

For Curry, it is a bit of a different story. I think he should have left after his sophomore season, so that the flaws in his game were not so readily apparent when he was forced to become a point guard. According to Jonathon Givony at Draft Express, Curry is gone. Bob McKillop said that Curry is still officially undecided, but knowing how Givony works, he is probably hearing this from NBA scouts/front office personnel/what have you. If you just got a new job, who would you tell about accepting the job first - the current one, or your future employers.

Curry was supposed to make a decision by today, but an announcement never came. More on him when it does.

- Ricky Rubio has officially made himself available for the 2009 NBA Draft. His name has floated about for a while. Many thought that he was going to wait until the 2010 Draft to enter. Rubio is the 6'4" point sensation from Spain. While he is still quite raw, his potential all but guarantees him a spot in the top 5.

Depending on who you read, Rubio has the makings to be somewhere between Jason Kidd and Steve Nash. Not bad company.

- Georgia Tech forward Gani Lawal has entered his name into the NBA Draft. He looks very likely to stay, as so many players rated ahead of him are coming back to school. Lawal has excellent length, athleticism, and energy, especially going to the glass. After a fantastic start to the 08-09 season, he fell off towards the end of ACC play. Right now, it looks like he will fall somewhere in the 15-25 range.

A good comparison for Lawal is Jordan Hill. Hill went back to school for his junior year, and now looks like he will end up in the top 5. I'm just saying. Continue reading...

Andy Kennedy Pleads Guilty

And here I was foolish enough to think we had heard the end of this story.

We have written about this incident three times before (which also happens to be three times too many), so if you are too lazy to follow the link, here is a quick synopsis of what has happened so far:

Andy Kennedy, the coach of Ole Miss and former coach of Cincinnati, heads out with some members of his staff to a nice place for a quiet night out The Lodge for "college night". At the end of the night, thoroughly inebriated, he hops in a cab to head home. Some way, some how, there ends up being a physical confrontation in the cab between Kennedy and the driver, resulting in Kennedy's arrest. After some priceless unintentional comedy (Kennedy's wife sued the cab driver for ruining their sex life, while the Cinci police released a video in which Kennedy says that his arrest will be an international incident, to which the cops reply "whatever, we deal with the Bengals all the time"), it seemed like this story was dead.

Not quite.

Kennedy has pleaded guilty to a disorderly conduct charge after originally being charged with assault. His punishment? 40 hours of community service, six months probation, $100 fine plus court costs, and it can all be expunged from his record in a year.

A bit of a slap on the wrist for an international incident, no? Continue reading...

Cali-perrryyy, Caliperry

Anyone ever heard of Scoupe?

Yeah, me neither.

A little internet sleuthing tells us that not only is Scoupe "a G", but he is also a rapper based out of Lexington, Kentucky. And if you are anything in Lexington, you are a fan of the University of Kentucky.

Scoupe is no different. He has recently released a mixtape aptly titled "Calipari, Calipari", on which the title track is the new, self-proclaimed theme song for UK basketball.

Take a listen:



While Scoupe is never going to be confused with hip-hop behemoths like a Jay-Z, a Nas, or a Tupac, the song isn't exactly terrible. My favorite line: "The whole Blue fans stand up and toast, we finally got a ball coach".

More John Calipari news: Not only has he hired two former Kentucky players (and national champions at that), Scott Padgett and Tony Delk, to his staff, he has also bought a house worth $2.295 million ... and the lot next to it for $550,000.

And Jim Calhoun makes too much money? Continue reading...

Apologies!!

Apologies to everyone that has visited BIAH in the last six days or so. The site (aka my computer) is currently experiencing technical difficulties, but I have been in touch with Apple's customer service, and they have been over the top helpful worthless as I try to figure out exactly where my computer currently is.

But rest assured, BIAH will be back (hopefully by tomorrow) as we try and keep you up to date on all the off-season happenings. Continue reading...

NBA Draft News & Notes: Miami forward Dwayne Collins, a junior, will test the waters of the NBA Draft, but likely will not sign an agent. Collins is strong, athletic, and has excellent length, but he is still very raw offensively and is a bit short to play on the inside in the league. If he left, he would be a second rounder at best.

Shawn Taggart, the 6'10" junior forward from Memphis, will also be entering his name into the draft. He is not expected to sign with an agent either. Everything I said about Collins could be said about Taggart. Josh Pastner should expect him back at Memphis.

So Russ Pennell takes a team with just about zero expectations to the Sweet 16, and what is his reward? A D2 job? Pennell has signed with Grand Canyon University for next season. You would think that there was some D1 school that would have taken a flyer on this guy, no?

UNC is making a late run at John Wall. Wall is from North Carolina and apparently grew up a Tar Heels fan, dreaming of playing in the Dean Dome. With Lawson halfway out the door, it is a perfect fit right? Not if you ask AAU coach Brian Clifton:

I have no desire to talk to, to be involved with, to visit, to contemplate in any shape, form or fashion John Wall going to play for Roy Williams. Zero.

Right now, it looks like Kentucky, Baylor, Duke, and UNC are the four front runners for Wall.

Tasmin Mitchell will put his name into the draft, although he won't sign with an agent. Good move by the junior, because he is not projected to go in the first round and there is a good chance he goes undrafted.

Nic Wise will also be testing the waters. If I'm Wise, I leave regardless. He is probably not an NBA pick at this point, but how much is he going to improve his stock playing for Arizona next season? Would you draft a single person off of Indiana this year? Wise proved how good of a point guard he could be at the end of last season, and while there may not be an NBA team with which he is the right fit, the kid stands to make a good living playing ball in Europe.

Take a guess at who broke the Josh Pastner-Memphis story? Hint: You will never get it right. Continue reading...

Jim Calhoun to Return to UConn

Calhoun had a lot to deal with this season. It started with a pre-season bout with cancer, the third time in his career life he has beaten the disease, ended with a thorough whooping from Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans in Detroit, with a little bit of turmoil and a lot of bit of scandal in between.

With the pending investigation into his program and the significant losses the Huskies face (Hasheem Thabeet, AJ Price, Jeff Adrien, Craig Austrie, possibly Stanley Robinson), it seemed to many that this run to the Final Four was the perfect way for a coach like Calhoun to ride off into the proverbial sunset.

If you know who Calhoun is, then there is one certainty - he is going to do things on his time.

Calhoun has announced that he will, in fact, be returning to coach the Huskies in the 2009-2010 campaign. In a statement released by the school, Calhoun said:

In many ways, the journey of this past season has made me realize how much I love coaching this game, how much I love my kids and how much I enjoy being at Connecticut.

Having your school be investigated by the NCAA is not exactly the best way to attract top tier talent, especially when there is a chance the investigation involves a player currently on the team (Ater Majok).

But Calhoun is one of the best coaches in the country, especially when it comes to getting kids to the league. And if he is anything, he is resilient. So if the Huskies do end up having a down year, don't expect any excuses out of Calhoun.
Continue reading...

Syracuse Orange: Without a sure-fire lottery pick on their roster, the Syracuse Orange have been one of the trendy picks for 2009-2010 NCAA champion. I mean, they made it to the finals of the Big East tournament and reached the Sweet 16 of this NCAA tournament this season.

But just because you aren't projected as a lottery pick doesn't mean you won't declare for the draft.

Earlier this week, news came out that Jonny Flynn, Jim Boeheim's stud point guard, would be declaring for the NBA Draft, although he won't be signing with an agent. This makes sense for him as most have him going somewhere in the middle of the first round. Hell, Boeheim even pushed him to leave.

(photo credit: Syracuse.com)

Thursday, reports started to trickle out that Eric Devendorf and Paul Harris would also be declaring for the draft, but they would, in fact, be signing with an agent.

As far as academics are concerned, Devo is a senior and is on track to graduate in May (for all the negative things said about him, Devo managed to graduate from Syracuse in four years - how many college hoopers can say that?), although he does have one year of eligibility remaining. With everything he has gone through in his four years at Syracuse, and given the fact that he has a daughter, can you really blame the guy for wanting to get out and start making some money? I doubt he is cut out for the NBA (simply just not athletic enough), he is a smart basketball player with a great jump shot. I'd be willing to bet he heads to Europe and makes six figures.

Paul Harris is a different story. Harris has a shot at turning himself into a first rounder. He has the body and the athleticism to be a good small forward in the NBA if he can get his jump shot and handle to NBA caliber. But Harris and Boeheim seemed to be feuding a bit at the end of the season. Harris put up some great numbers, but never was a good decision maker. It seemed like, at some point, Boeheim became fed up with it and began yanking Harris from the game early and often.

Regardless of the reasoning, Syracuse stands to lose their three best players from last season's team. You can end all that national title talk now.
Continue reading...

2009 NCAA Tournament - Most Dominant Performances

Individual: Cole Aldrich vs. Dayton - This was easy. Not only was this far and away the most dominating individual performance on the tournament, it might have been the most dominant performance of the entire season. For those with a short memory, Aldrich posted a triple double against Dayton with 13 points, 20 boards, and 10 blocks. Yes, 20 boards and 10 blocks. Aldrich absolutely controlled the paint, especially on the defensive end.

Dayton's star forward Chris Wright, who had gone for 27 points and 10 boards against West Virginia in the first round, was just 4-16 from the floor against Kansas. As a team, Dayton shot just 22.2% from the floor. Why? The Flyers were not the greatest perimeter shooting team in the world, instead relying on their athleticism to score in the paint, either off of penetration or an offensive board. It was Aldrich's presence inside that was the main reason Dayton struggled so much.

Cole Aldrich blocked 10 shots against Dayton.
(photo credit: John Biever/SI.com)

The other impressive part about this performance is that it single-handedly boosted Aldrich's NBA Draft stock. Here me out. People want Hasheem Thabeet because he is a game-changer on the defensive end. But the biggest worry about him is that he is incredibly raw offensively. Against Dayton, Aldrich put on display just how good he can be on the defensive end (he is 6'11" with a huge wing span). Given that he is already leaps and bounds more advanced offensively that Thabeet is (and he still is far from developed), this defensive performance makes him a much more intriguing prospect for teams that need interior defense but won't get Thabeet.


Team: North Carolina - Again, this one was easy. It wasn't any particular game, either. During the entire tournament, there was 32 minutes of basketball where UNC was not in complete control. With 8 minutes left in the second half against LSU in the second round, the Tigers got a three from Marcus Thornton to tie the game at 63. The Heels scored the next 11 points, taking control and eventually beating the Tigers by 14.

In each of the other five tournament game, UNC jumped out to big first half leads: 53-34 against Radford, 53-42 against Gonzaga, 32-23 against Oklahoma, 49-40 against Villanova, and, lastly, 55-34 in the finals against Michigan State. The Heels won all six games in the tournament by double figures, averaging a 20.2 point margin of victory.
Continue reading...

NBA Draft News and Notes: A day after Chase Budinger signed with an agent, reports have surfaced that Jordan Hill will also be entering the draft. No surprise here. Hill, who had an all-american campaign averaging 18.3 ppg and 11.0 rpg, is projected as a top ten pick and is expected to sign with Bill Duffy (aka the guys that paid OJ Mayo).

Jeff Goodman is reporting that DeMar Derozan is leaving USC and will be signing with an agent. We've heard the same thing elsewhere as well. UPDATE: It looks like all three Trojans (Derozan, Daniel Hackett, and Taj Gibson) will be making themselves eligible for this years draft. Contrary to prior reports, however, it seems as if Hackett is the only one that will be signing with an agent for now.

A week after James Johnson announced he is leaving school, Jeff Teague has announced that he will be testing the NBA Draft waters. That leaves Al-Farouq Aminu. No one seems to know with him. Some are reporting that he has told the Deacon's coaching staff that he will be back, while other outlets say he is gone ... for good.
Continue reading...

James Harden: Most media outlets are currently reporting that James Harden will declare for the draft. Harden had an excellent sophomore season, averaging 20.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg, and 4.2 apg for the Sun Devils. But the year ended on a sour note as he struggled in two games during the dance. The biggest knock on Harden during the season was that he was not aggressive enough, and he did nothing to prove those doubters wrong as he averaged just 9.5 ppg on 3-18 shooting in the two games. Still, Harden is predicted by many to go in the top five, and it would be a shock if he dropped out of the top ten. Continue reading...

DeMarcus Cousins Commits to Kentucky

DeMarcus Cousins, who decommitted from Memphis when coach John Calipari took the Kentucky job, has followed him to Lexington. He committed there last night, according to Gary Parrish.

Most expected Daniel Orton to rescind on his commitment to Kentucky if Cousins came (UPDATE: All day, reports circulated that Orton had asked out of his LOI, but Orton's father has denied those reports), simply because a front court with Cousins, Patrick Patterson, and Perry Stevenson would be very crowded. But Cal is the best recruiter in the country, and there may actually be a chance he gets Orton to stay.

As for Xavier Henry and John Wall, well, that is up in the air right now. On Saturday, news was leaked that Henry was all but gone to Kansas. But now word has leaked that Josh Pastner will hire Carl Henry, the father of Xavier and CJ (who is already at Memphis), in an effort to keep him. John Wall is still a huge question mark. It was rumored that Memphis was at the top of his list when Cal was there, and I'm sure Kentucky is somewhere up there now.

Big Blue fans are salivating right now. Imagine this line-up - Jodie Meeks, Patterson, Cousins, Orton, Wall, and Henry. Can you say Final Four? Continue reading...

2009 NCAA Tournament - Best Dunks

No lists here. Nothing needs to be ranked. We all know what the best dunk was (sorry Sticks, its true), but that was far from the only poster that was made.

Jeremy Pargo on some poor kid from Akron:



The Blake Griffin series:











Elliot Williams with a one-handed dunk in traffic against Villanova.



Stanley Robinson saves a little face with a huge tip dunk against Michigan State. I know that technically a tip dunk is when you grab a rebound in the air and dunk it before hitting the ground, but dunks of this nature need a better name than "tip-dunk". It is a different beast all together. Suggestions? Side note: this dunk signified the end for UConn, as the ensuing inbounds led to Durrell Summers and-one lay-up.



Gerald Henderson with a huge dunk against Texas.



I know it didn't count, but you gotta love when a little guy like Jonny Flynn gets up like this.



Sergio Kerusch of Western Kentucky with a nice dunk off of a back door feed. Not really sure what that music is though.



And the best dunk of the tournament:



I know I missed some nice dunks somewhere, so leave a comment and let me know.
Continue reading...

2009 NCAA Tournament - All-Tourney Team

One stipulation - your team needed to make at least the Sweet 16 to be considered.

Blake Griffin, Oklahoma: The national player of the year was fantastic, as expected. In four games, he averaged 28.5 ppg and 15.0 rpg (6.0 of those coming on the offensive glass). But those were far from his most impressive stat. Remember, this came in four games during the NCAA Tournament. Griffin was 46-59 from the field. That's 78%. Are you kidding?

Goran Suton, Michigan State: Suton did not put up the best numbers during the dance. He averaged just 13.0 ppg and 10.7 rpg. But he came up huge when the Spartans needed him. He scored 17 of MSU's 27 first-half points against Louisville. He hit a number of big baskets down the stretch in Sparty's victory over Kansas. And against UConn, his presence on the perimeter was one of the major reasons that Hasheem Thabeet was unable to camp out in the paint.

Cole Aldrich, Kansas: If last season's Final Four was Cole Aldrich's introduction to America, his performance in three games in this year's dance was him coming out party. Aldrich was flat-out dominant in these three games on both ends of the floor. For the tourney, he averaged 17.7 ppg, 15.7 rpg, and 5.3 bpg. Among those three games was a triple double, just the sixth in NCAA Tournament history, where he went for 13 points, 20 boards, and 10 blocks against Dayton.

Wayne Ellington, North Carolina: Ellington may have played his way into the first round of the NBA Draft with his performance in the NCAA Tournament. He was borderline unstoppable at times. Over the course of six games, the Final Four MOP averaged 19.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg, and 2.7 apg, all while shooting 55% from the floor and 53% (17-32) from deep.

Sam Young, Pitt: While Levance Fields got the recognition as the Panther's leader and DeJuan Blair got all the accolades for being an animal in the paint, Young was Pitt's go-to scorer all season long. That continued into the tournament, where Young averaged a team-high 23.3 ppg (which included 32 against Oklahoma State and 28 against Villanova) and also grabbed 7.8 rpg.


And your 2009 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player:

Ty Lawson, North Carolina: Lawson was flat out unstoppable all tournament long. He got into the lane at will, buried threes every time he was open, and one numerous occasions absolutely took over a game. For the tournament, Lawson averaged 20.8 ppg, 6.8 apg, 4.2 rpg, and 3.2 spg (which included a title game record eight steals). Some of his notable performances? The 21 points he scored in the second half the carry UNC over Louisville; 17 points he had in the first half as UNC ran away from Gonzaga early; and the 7 steals he posted against Michigan State in the first half of the finals, which was huge reason that UNC was able to, literally, run away from the Spartans.
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2009 NCAA Tournament - Best Call by an Announcer

Announcers are often an overlooked and under-appreciated aspect of a sporting event. Quite often, they are egotistical maniacs that would rather turn the attention from the game at hand to themselves. But sometimes, when you call a moment just right, it becomes intertwined with that moment, becoming just as much a part of history as the play itself. Think miracles. With all the drama and the intrigue involved in the NCAA Tournament, legendary calls can make an announcer a cult hero.

You want proof?

Gonzaga. The slipper still fits.
Batista with the catch.
This is March Madness.
Holy Mackeral.
Hamilton at the buzzer.
By George, the dream is alive.

And my personal favorite (although not from the NCAA Tournament, Bill Raftery + Gus Johnson = the perfect storm).

Who made the best call this year? Well, we have a tie here, folks. One of them was a bit of a sleeper coming in, but the other is a bit of a usual suspect.

Kevin Harlan calling the end of Gonzaga's win over Western Kentucky in the second round.



Gus Johnson calls Kalin Lucas's three-point play to put Michigan State ahead of Kansas in the Sweet 16. "Count it and the foouullllll".


Continue reading...