I've been talking about this guy for years . . .

He’s a senior All-American candidate with a national title ring in his drawer and an NBA contract in his future.
So a few months ago, during one of Duke’s offseason pickup games, it was easy to understand why Nolan Smith did a double-take when he was given an order by Kyrie Irving.
Actually, make that freshman Kyrie Irving.

“Get out of the way,” Irving yelled at Smith as he streaked past half-court and raced toward the basket. “Move out of the way. I got it.”

Despite his freshman status, Kyrie Irving is not backing down from anything at Duke.

More than a month later, Smith chuckled when recalling the story after Wednesday night’s 84-79 victory over Michigan State.

“You don’t really hear that too often – a freshman telling two seniors on the wing to get out of the way,” Smith said. “But we’ve got no problem sitting back and letting him do it, because we know he can.”
Indeed, Irving has proven that in his short time at Duke.

It began during players-only scrimmages in a dimly-lit gym and then carried over to supervised workouts under the watchful eye of Hall-of-Famer Mike Krzyzewski. Now, in front of an entire nation, Irving has blossomed into the top point guard in all of college basketball.

Anyone who questioned that before certainly won’t after Wednesday, when the 18-year-old Irving turned in one of the top performances by a freshman in Duke history by scoring 31 points and dishing out four assists in the top-ranked Blue Devils’ win over No. 6 Michigan State.

Thirty minutes after the final horn, Irving shrugged off his gaudy stat line as he lounged in a chair in the Blue Devils’ locker room.

“This was a big game for me,” he said. “But I try to do that every night.”

That’s what makes Irving – and, in turn, this Blue Devils’ team – so special. He could put up those kinds of numbers in just about every game Duke plays. But after just seven college games and a handful of practices, Irving understands the big picture.

Smith and National Player of the Year candidate Kyle Singler are future first-round draft picks who played an integral role on a team that went 35-5 en route to winning last season’s NCAA championship. Emerging power forward Mason Plumlee is one of the most athletic, skilled post players in the country, and reserves Andre Dawkins and Seth Curry give the Blue Devils two of the game’s top threats from beyond the 3-point arc.

Instead of trying to outshine his teammates, Irving grasps the importance of involving them. It may sound like a small thing, but that sort of maturity impresses NBA scouts more than highlight-reel dunks and behind-the-back-passes. It’s also the reason fans and media members are wondering aloud whether Duke can become the first team since Indiana in 1976 to go undefeated.

“When I came here I was just trying to find my place on this team,” Irving said. “I didn’t know how close a team could be until I came here. We’re definitely a brotherhood. The trust around here is really special. It’s made everything so much easier for me.”

Irving may be a different type of point guard than former No. 1 picks John Wall and Derrick Rose, but he’s every bit as valuable to his team. Not just because of what he does during games, but because of how Irving carries himself when the cameras are off and the stands are empty.

“He’s one of the best point guards I’ve ever seen,” Smith said. “He’s very coachable. He loves being on the court with us. Whenever I have something to say to him, he looks me in the eyes and listens. He’s been a great teammate.

“But he’s on a different level as far as confidence. We know there are going to be games where he’s just going to go – and we’re going to follow him.”

Wednesday was one of those games.

Michigan State took a 17-15 lead on 3-pointer by Korie Lucious with 11 minutes remaining in the opening half. Irving, though, responded with back-to-back three-point plays to put the Blue Devils ahead 21-17. Michigan State tied the game three more times during the opening period but could never take the lead.
Irving, who was often guarded by Michigan State standout Kalin Lucas, scored 18 of his 31 points in the opening half. The game was the second-straight banner showing for Irving against a big-name opponent. Last week he had 17 points and six assists against Kansas State and preseason All-American guard Jacob Pullen.
“I need that, especially this early in the season,” Irving said. “You can’t go out there intimidated or they’re going to take advantage of you.”

Opposing guards are probably thinking the same thing about Irving, who continues to draw praise from his coaches and teammates for being such a sponge during workouts.

“It’s scary,” Smith said. “He still wants to learn.”

Krzyzewski has always emphasized structure. But with Irving things are slightly different. Krzyzewski said he wants Irving to “follow his instincts” at times. He said he’s given him the freedom to make reads instead of always running set plays.

“We’ve changed the way we play because of him,” Krzyzewski said.

Duke scored 84 points against the Spartans. Last year, with Jon Scheyer running the point, Krzyzewski said the Blue Devils would’ve tallied about 63.

The new, fast-paced style has led to plenty of smiles in the locker room – and in postgame press conferences. The normally stoic Krzyzewski was in such a good mood after this win that he cracked a joke when asked to think of a word that best describes his freshman point guard.

“I’m not a big adjective guy,” Krzyzewski said.

He paused for a moment, then smiled.

“Sensational, scintillating,” he said. “Was that not a good attempt by me – a guy with a low SAT verbal [score]? Jesus Christ, I’m using up all my words.”

Save a few, coach. You’re going to need them.

The Epic Saga of LeBron James

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Sigh.

What can you say about LeBron James that hasn't already been said in every outlet of sports media?

He is clearly the most talented and dominant athlete in basketball. He is known as "The Chosen One," "Akron Hammer," "L-Train," or simply "King James." Anybody with that many nicknames is surely an all time great. He is a surefire future hall of famer, and there is no reason for anyone to believe his legacy is on the line. He still has a decade of basketball to play

LeBron was supposed to bring a championship to the cursed city of Cleveland, whose sports teams had not won a title in any major sport since 1964. Just to put that in perspective, here's a short list of things that happened in 1964:

Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali and defeated Sunny Liston to win his first heavyweight title.

The Beatles song "I Want to Hold Your Hand" was the number one single.

"My Fair Lady" won best picture at the academy awards.

"Bonanza" was the number one show on television.

My point? 1964 was a long time ago. Cleveland is a city where sports fans are constantly tortured by near misses in nearly every sport. It's happened so often that they actually have names for every specific occurrence. "The Fumble," "The Shot," and "The Drive" are just a few of the incarnations of the Cleveland sports curse (not to mention the 1997 World Series).

Pretty soon, we are going to have to come up with a name for the LeBron situation.

First of all, if LeBron James leaves for another team, I have absolutely no doubt that he instantly becomes the greatest sports pariah of all time in Cleveland. Any time he returns to that city, he will be absolutely despised and reviled beyond his wildest imagination.

Is that justified? Absolutely not. Those fans don't seem to remember that LeBron basically carried the Cavs to the playoffs every year with almost no supporting cast to speak of, including an NBA finals appearance in 2007. He entertained them at every home game with his unbelievable athleticism and talent. He gave them some of the best and most exciting years of his career.

Is it his fault the Cavs haven't won it all yet? No.

Every single year the Cavs were knocked out of the playoffs, we said "Well, LeBron can't be blamed, he played lights out, he just had no help." That is true. I can't remember a single year where LeBron didn't bring it almost every play of every game.

Game five against the Celtics this year was the first time I saw LeBron not being LeBron. The guy literally has had like two or three bad playoffs games in his career, and you are insane if you are going to blame him for this defeat.

Why not blame some of the people who deserve it?
I'm pointing the finger at Mike Brown. He deserves to fired.
The biggest advantage he had against the Celtics was athleticism. During the regular season, the Celtics had a terrible time matching up with Hickson-LeBron-Moon-West-Williams or even Hickson-LeBron-Varejao-Williams-West.

Bill Simmons noted in his column on ESPN.com: "In a Feb. 25 game in Boston, Hickson-LeBron/Moon-Varejao-West-Williams turned a 78-77 deficit into a 101-86 rout in just eight minutes. They blew the Celtics off the court."

Instead, he played Shaq all series even though he got killed on pick and rolls every time, was nonexistent on help defense and fast breaks, and clogged up the lane on offense; which limited LeBron to jump shots much of the time.

Hickson sat on the bench nearly the entire series and Moon, Brown's best perimeter defender, who also barely played, was guarding Ray Allen or Paul Pierce instead of Rondo; who continually killed the Cavs with his drives to the basket.

Mike Brown is terrible at creating favorable matchups. The only reason he is even an NBA head coach is because he has the best player in the world and he gets carried to 60-win seasons. The Cavs said they are keeping Brown this year, and I predict that he's gone by this time next year. LeBron should have just been Player-Coach, Bill Russell style.

How about Mo Williams, Antawn Jamison, and Shaq? These guys were brought in to help LeBron, not stand around and expect LeBron to take over and win a title for them. Mo figured it out in the first half of game six, but then everyone just gave up in the last two minutes of the game. Pathetic.
Shaq is not a good player. I'm sorry, but he's terrible. He needs retire.

LeBron has every right to pursue free agency. As cliche as it may sound, it's a free country. You can't force him to stay in Cleveland. He wants to win a title, and it's becoming more and more obvious that it will not happen there.

As a LeBron fan, I want to see him in the finals competing for a championship. For that to happen, I think he has to leave.

At any rate, all signs point to his departure. It is obvious from his body language and from the way his teammates played the last two minutes of game six that he is gone.


Wherever LeBron ends up, he will contend for championships every year. He will pick the best situation for long term championship contention. Personally, I believe that destination is Chicago. Some think it is New Jersey or New York.

Regardless, whatever LeBron James does this summer, it will have a ripple effect across the league that will affect its direction for the next decade.

It is a little sad, but I think I am actually more excited about this off season than the playoffs right now.
With all the free agent signings and potentially one of the deepest drafts ever, it is sure to be an interesting shift in the struggle for NBA supremacy. I can't wait.

2010 NBA Mock Draft

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The NBA announced last Thursday that 103 players, including 80 players from U.S. colleges and 23 international players, have filed as early entry candidates for the 2010 NBA Draft. Add in about 20 college seniors, about half of whom have a very good chance of being drafted, and you have to figure that more than half of the early entries are going undrafted.

It is truly bewildering to try to comprehend the logic behind some of these kid's decisions. What would prompt all these young players to give up their college eligibility for just a remote shot at being drafted? Sure, the John Walls, Evan Turners, and Demarcus Cousins are guaranteed a spot in the lottery, and no one can question their decision, but what about the Malcolm Delaneys, the Talor Battles, and the AJ Ogilvys? These are players who could have significantly increased their chances of being drafted by staying in school one more year.
If this disturbing trend continues, should we even be calling these guys student-athletes anymore? College has obviously become and prep program for the NBA, and I just don't see the value in it. The one year rule needs to either be abolished or extended to 2 or 3 years, with the option of entering the draft out of high school. That way, the players who want to go to school can go to school and the players who want to go pro can do that.

The days of All-Stars who were once college seniors may have come to an end. Since 2005, just 3 players were drafted as college seniors and made an All-Star squad: Brandon Roy, David Lee, and Danny Granger. Granger and Lee were drafted in 2005. Roy was drafted in 2006. That means 0 seniors drafted after 2006 have made an appearance in the All-Star game. Think about that.

I've taken five recently updated mock drafts from respectable sources (NBADraft.net, NBADraft.com, Draft Express, ESPN's Chad Ford, and College Hoops Update) and compiled and averaged them into one meta-draft. If these mocks are even remotely accurate, then it seems that 2010 will be the first draft EVER to not feature a single college senior in the lottery. In fact, the first senior projected to be drafted is Texas forward Damion James, 24th.
Without further ado: the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft:

30. Armon Johnson, Jr. Nevada PG
Average draft position: 28.5
I can't terribly fault Johnson for entering this draft. He has the size and skill to play in the NBA as a point guard, and as a junior, he is likely worried about the potential lockout next year.

29. Dominique Jones, Jr. South Florida SG
Average draft position: 28.25
Good offensive guard, and his game shows maturity. However, he's on the small side for an NBA 2 guard and his jumper is about as inconsistent as it gets.

28. Elliot Williams, So. Memphis SG
Average draft position: 27.25
Williams is a guy who I respect a great deal. He started out at Duke, but transferred to Memphis after his first year to be close to his mother, who had developed cancer. If that's not a good reason to want to enter the draft, then I don't know what is. Obviously, with another year in college, E-Mail had a shot at being a lottery pick, but some things are just more important. I hope he goes higher than this, he's a great defensive guard, and I wish him and his family the very best.

27. Quincy Poindexter, Sr. Washington SF
Average draft position: 26.75
One of just 3 seniors projected to go in the first round, good athlete, but with his limited perimeter skill set, I just don't think he's a major player at the NBA level as a small forward.

26. Devin Ebanks, So. West Virginia PF
Average draft position: 26.5
In all honesty, Ebanks should have gone last year, when he had a real shot at going in the lottery. But then again, he could have stayed one more year and still have been in the lottery. Therefore, the logical choice was to go this year, when he's barely a first rounder.

25. Stanley Robinson, Sr. Connecticut SF
Average draft position: 26.25
Senior #2 of 3 . . . Robinson can jump out of the gym, his best asset is clearly his athleticism. However, he lacks the size or power to play the 4 in the NBA, and lacks the perimeter skills to be an effective 3. An unfortunate combination of problems indeed.

24. Damion James, Sr. Texas PF
Average draft position: 23.5
That's it . . . that's ALL the seniors in the first round, all in the bottom 7 picks. However, James deserves to higher than this, he's an outstanding player, very athletic, very talented, great rebounder. His only problem is figuring out what position he will play. He's kind of in that same dilemma as Stanley Robinson, but he has the offensive game to be a player in this league.

23. Luke Babbitt, So. Nevada SF
Average draft position: 22.75
Skilled small forward prospect with an accurate perimeter shot and solid mid range game. Should be a nice offensive boost off the bench but he will have difficulty guarding NBA small forwards, which will limit his playing time.

22. Avery Bradley, Fr. Texas SG
Average draft position: 21.6
A great scorer who can really shoot it, but at 6'2", he's is going to be severely limited as a shooting guard. He lacks the quickness and the floor game to be a point guard.

21. Solomon Alabi, So. Florida State C
Average draft position: 21.2
Big defensive presence who has a soft touch and is very athletic. Alabi could really improve and eventually become a very solid player, but currently, his feel for the game is very limited, and he has a great deal to work on offensively. Still, he's a bargain at this point in the draft. You can't teach 7 feet.

20. Eric Bledsoe, Fr. Kentucky PG
Average draft position: 20.8
The poster boy for leaving a year too early. Kentucky really could have used him next year at the lead guard position. He would have been a top 10 pick next year.

19. Larry Sanders, Jr. Virginia Commonwealth C
Average draft position: 20.0
Intriguing prospect for a mid to late first rounder. Sanders will be a dominant shot blocker. He has a 7'7" wingspan and great anticipation. However, his game is still very raw. He must work on his fundamentals and offensive game.

18. Paul George, So. Fresno State SF
Average draft position: 19.8
The first early entry here who I would consider truly ready for the NBA. George has great length, and a smooth game. He is a great passer as a small forward. His shot is accurate, with a quick release and is difficult to contest because of his high release. He will be an impact player at the next level.

17. James Anderson, Jr. Oklahoma State SG
Average draft position: 19.0
Many people considered Anderson the best 2 guard in colllege basketball this year. He's a prolific scorer, lights out shooter, and has good size for his position. Must improve on his ball handling. He has problems creating offense for himself.

16. Gordon Hayward, So. Butler SF
Average draft position: 16.2
This is about where I expect Hayward to go. He's an excellent shooter, ball handler, and rebounder. Creates matchup problems with his size and shooting skill. He must become more aggressive and improve his defense.

15. Daniel Orton, Fr. Kentucky PF
Average draft position: 15.4
Okay . . . what???? How does a guy who averages 3 points and 3 rebounds go this high in 5 different mock drafts? Talk about drafting on potential. If I were an NBA GM, I'd leave him alone. He is far from the known quantities of his teammates Wall and Cousins. If Orton completely flops in the NBA, I'll be sure to tell you I told you so.

14. Patrick Patterson, Jr. Kentucky PF
Average draft position: 14.4
Great NBA body, effective low post scorer, much improved perimeter shooter. Patterson is the best example in recent memory of a guy who went back to school one more year and came out with a much better draft outlook. Even though his scoring went down, he was able to show what he could really do in an NBA style offense. However, he does need to work on his rebounding.

13. Xavier Henry, Fr. Kansas SG
Average draft position: 14.2
Henry possesses a powerful body and a good shooting stroke. He is a prolific scorer, but lacks elite athleticism.

12. Ekpe Udoh, Jr. Baylor PF
Average draft position: 13.0
Elite prospect. Udoh is unbelievably long and athletic. He possesses the quickness of a guard and is a shot blocking and rebounding force. Still has a raw offensive game, but should develop in time in to one of the best forwards in this draft. I would not be surprised to see him go in the top 10.

11. Donatas Motiejunas, Lithuania PF
Average draft position: 12.4
The latest version of "The Next Dirk Nowitzki." Extremely talented European 7 footer. He can play inside or out, can shoot the ball and has an effective post game. Has the toughness to play through contact and defend in the post.

10. Hassan Whiteside, Fr. Marshall C
Average draft position: 11.4
The typical athletic big guy who is solid defensively but needs to work on his offense. I feel like a broken record at this point, there's just so many of these guys, but Whiteside is clearly the one with the most potential.

9. Greg Monroe, So. Georgetown PF
Average draft position: 9.2
I can't believe a guy this talented isn't a top 6 pick. Think about this for a second. Here's a 6'11" big man who can handle the ball like a guard, has incredible court vision, is extremely unselfish, makes precise and effective passes, and can shoot the ball from range or go down low and score in the post with his unorthodox lefty style. Teams that pass on him will be sorry they did.

8. Ed Davis, So. North Carolina PF
Average draft position: 8.2
Davis should have gone pro last year. That's all there is to it. he dropped in value and he was part of the worst Carolina team since Doherty was on the sidelines. Memo to future top-5 projected guys: Go pro.

7. Cole Aldrich, Jr. Kansas C
Average draft position: 7.0
Solid fundamentals, skilled big man who can rebound, play defense, and score down low. Not an explosive athlete, but will contribute effectively in his role. With Aldrich, what you see is what you get. He's a safe top 10 pick.

6. Al-Farouq Aminu, So. Wake Forest SF
Average draft position: 6.8
I think this is a little high for Aminu. Sure, he's a freak athlete, extremely quick, explosive leaper, and has some REALLY long arms, but the guy can't hit a jump shot and even with his quickness, somehow cannot create his own shots. He will be a defensive presence, but I'd take Monroe over him in a heartbeat.

5. Wes Johnson, Jr. Syracuse SF
Average draft position: 5.4
The top 5 of this draft is about as predictable as it gets. Every mock draft I saw basically had the same 5 guys with a few variances in positioning. Johnson at #5 is the logical choice. He is the prototypical athletic NBA small forward. He has a 7 foot wingspan, which should allow him to be an unbelievable defender. He's ultra quick and has a huge vertical. Johnson will be a star, that's guaranteed.

4. Demarcus Cousins, Fr. Kentucky PF/C
Average draft position: 3.8
Whether Cousins goes 3rd or 4th, you can't really go wrong with him or Favors. With cousins, you get a dominant rebounder who is HUGE(270 pounds). He is also very quick for his size and excels at scoring in the post. He's not a great athlete, but his overwhelming size makes up for it nicely. The only thing you have to worry about with Big Cuz, is how many years he will lead the league in technical fouls.

3. Derrick Favors, Fr. Georgia Tech PF
Average draft position: 3.6
9'1" wingspan . . . that's what they reported. Not only that, Favors is a phenomenal athlete with soft hands. I think you have to go with Favors over Cousins. His length and athleticism is just too much to pass on. His stats weren't very imposing at G Tech, but that's more a problem with the style of play and lack of quality guards to deliver him the ball. Favors will be one of the best scoring big men in the league in a few years. Think Amare Stoudemire.

2. Evan Turner, Jr. Ohio State, SF/SG
Average draft position: 2.0
A no brainer for the #2 pick. Turner is a 6'7" Swiss army knife who can play up to four different positions. That kind of versatility is just unheard of nowadays. He handles like a point guard, rebounds like a power forward, and scores like a shooting guard. Turner can do it all.

1. John Wall Fr. Kentucky PG
Average draft position: 1.0
If you don't take wall at #1, you're absolutely insane. You just don't get blazing speed, pinpoint passing, and dominating athleticism in a 6-4 package like this. In fact, there is no current comparison for Wall in the league. His size and speed put him in a class of his own. The closest comparison i can think of is that he's a miniature version of Lebron James. They are both very similar in the open court, as in, you can't stop them. Yeah . . he's that much of a physical freak.

This Mock is also featured on the Mock Draft Database

Top Recruiting Classes of 2010

 Read this article on Bleacher Report

Now that the vast majority of the highly rated senior prospects have committed to a school, it's time to take a look at which colleges got the best recruiting hauls. Many of the same names are back in the picture. John Calipari, Roy Williams, Tom Izzo, Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim, and Thad Matta all made big splashes with this year's class, but many newcomers have entered the picture as well. Memphis' Jon Pastner and NC State's Sidney Lowe came through big for their schools on the recruiting trail.

Lets look at the top 10 classes, but first here are some schools with great classes coming in, but just missed the cut for the top 10:

Florida
#13 F Patric Young
#35 G/F Casey Prather
F Cody Larson
F Will Yeguette
G Scottie Wilbekin

Missouri
#24 F Tony Mitchell
#42 G Phil Pressey
G/F Ricky Kreklow
F Kadeem Green
F Ricardo Ratliff
G Matt Pressey

Wake Forest
#49 G JT Terrell
#60 F Travis McKie
#64 C Carson Desrosiers
F Melvin Tabb
G Tony Chennault

Illinois
#23 G/FJerome Richmond
#47 C Meyers Leonard
#79 G Crandall Head

10. North Carolina State
#11 F CJ Leslie
#39 G Ryan Harrow
G Lorenzo Brown

State is officially back. Sidney Lowe secured a HUGE commitment (again) from athletic freak CJ Leslie, who had UK in his top 3 at the very end of his recruitment. Leslie is a dunking and rebounding machine. He stands 6'8' but has RIDICULOUS arm length. You'll see what I'm talking about next year. Leslie will be one the best shot blockers in the nation with his unreal combination of length and athleticism. What a steal for NC State.
Ryan Harrow will start at point guard from day 1. He gives Coach Lowe a savvy guard who has many, many ways of scoring. He's lightning quick and has the unusually solid knack for shooting on the move. With Harrow at the controls, the Wolfpack will be back in the hunt for the ACC title.

9. Tennessee
#6 F Tobias Harris
#38 G Jordan McRae
G Trae Golden

Versatile forward Tobias Harris is the jewel of Bruce Pearl's latest class. Harris is a good shooter, rebounds extremely well, and has been commended for his great work ethic. He needs to work on his post game, but with his ability to play up to 3 different positions, he will be a star in the SEC.
McRae is an aggressive slasher who has great ability to create his own shot and finish at the rim. He isn't a great shooter, but should be a great contributor to the Vols with his athleticism and slashing ability.

8. Michigan State
#26 C Adreian Payne
#27 G Keith Appling
#61 F Russell Byrd
F Alex Gauna

The Spartans only add to their already formidable Final Four Squad that loses just 1 starter with this incredible class, headlined by two studs in Payne and Appling. Payne is one of the best centers in the class, and will most likely start for Coach Izzo. He is a long, athletic shot blocker who is explosive and plays above the rim. He will be a tough interior defender for an already scary good defensive MSU team. Offensively, he is not quite as polished, but the Spartans will not need him to score. Great pickup for Izzo.
Appling is a compact scorer who once scored 49 points in a high school state championship game. He is super quick and can shoot the jumper. His only weakness is that he needs the ball to be effective and must work on his point guard skills. Once he develops a floor game, he will be a tough guy to stop.

7. Texas

#10 F Tristan Thompson
#16 G Cory Joseph
Rick Barnes went waaaay up north to Canada to find these two young studs. Texas's class is more about quality than quantity. Thompson is an extraordinarily gifted athlete. He is a combo forward who can guard players on the perimeter as well as down low. He is an elite rebounder and can really get it done on both ends of the court. He must improve on his shooting and ball handling, but has unlimited potential.
Cory Joseph is THE best defensive guard in the class. He is a relentless ballhawk and an accurate perimeter shooter.He doesn't have the explosiveness and athleticism of some other guards, but overall, may be the one of the two best pure point guards in the class. He can handle the ball, and is a great distributor.

6. Duke
#3 G Kyrie Irving
#19 F Josh Hairston
G Tyler Thornton
G Seth Curry (Transfer from Liberty)
F Carrick Felix (Transfer from College of Southern Idaho)

It's been a LOOOOONG time since Coach K had a point guard prospect like Kyrie Irving. Not all scouting services agree at the moment, but I am 100% confident that KI is the number one point guard in this year's class, and it's not even close. No guard in 2010 has Irving's combination of speed, quickness, court vision, shooting stroke, and ability to get to the rim at will. He has the body strength to score through contact, and is deadly in crunch time. Duke will not miss a beat with KI replacing Jon Scheyer at the point.
Also going to Durham next year is Josh Hairston, a versatile forward who is long and athletic. Hairston can shoot the three with accuracy and is smooth offensively with his face-up game. He needs to work on his strength, but should be a valuable contributor off the bench.
Seth Curry also joins the Blue Devils after a year sitting on the bench due to NCAA transfer rules. After leading all freshman in the nation in scoring at Liberty in 2009, Curry is ready to contribute immediately with his deadly three point shooting and overall scoring ability.

5. Syracuse

#11 G Dion Waiters
#14 C Fabricio Melo
#63 F CJ Fair
C Baye Moussa Keita

Syracuse lost it's best player in Wes Johnson, but don't be surprised to see the Orange back in the hunt for a #1 seed with imposing 7 footer Fab Melo suiting up for Jim Boeheim. Melo is 7 feet tall and 270 pounds and will be the anchor of Boeheim's stifling 2-3 zone. He can block shots, rebound, and score. Melo can really do it all.
Waiters is big time scoring guard who owns a body built for contact. He can get himself hoops when he needs to, and has a great first step, accelerates and finishes at the rim. A talented scoring threat.

4. North Carolina

#1 G/FHarrison Barnes
#18 G/F Reggie Bullock
#22 G Kendall Marshall

It's a little bit hard to believe this isn't the #1 class this year, but that just shows you how good the top classes really are. If you haven't heard of Harrison Barnes at this point, then you've been living in another galaxy. Barnes is the most complete player in the country. He has a 7 foot wingspan, can shoot the 3, get to the rim, is a lock down defender, can handle the ball, and the list goes on and on. No player in the country will be as good as Harrison Barnes next year. Yes, that includes upperclassmen.
Reggie Bullock is a deadly shooter and has great size. He is also an accomplished defender and will start alongside Barnes right away.
Marshall finally gives Ol' Roy a floor leader who can really pass. He isn't quite the fast break dynamo that Kyrie Irving is, but make no mistake, this guy is one of the best passers in the class.
Tobacco road looks to be hotly contested this year, as NC State, UNC, and Duke will all be formidable teams in the ACC.

3. Kentucky
#4 G Brandon Knight
#25 C Enes Kanter
#29 G Doron Lamb
#51 G/F Stacy Poole
G Jarrod Polson

Knight is a a big time scorer, he has the ability to create for himself, but needs to work on his passing and court vision. He has good athletic ability and size for the point guard position and will step in nicely for John Wall.
Enes Kanter may be the most underrated prospect in this year's class. He is a big time scorer in the post and can shoot the mid ranged jumper as well. He is fundamentally sound and has great basketball IQ. He will be one of the top centers in the country.
Lamb is one of the top scoring wing players in this class. He really has a great feel for getting buckets. He could be more explosive off the bounce, but overall just a really talented kid.

2. Memphis
#8 G Will Barton
#21 G Joe Jackson
#44 G/F Jelan Kendrick
#59 Tarik Black
F Hippolyte Tsafack
G Chris Crawfod
G Antonio Barton

Second year coach Josh Pastner picked up right where John Calipari left off: picking up top recruits and making it look easy. Will Barton will be one of the top scoring threats in the nation with his length and aggressiveness. He has great size and has a unique ability to create scoring opportunities for himself. At this point, his greatest weakness is strength, once Barton hits the weights, he will be a force to reckoned with.
Joe Jackson is a high flying scoring machine who reminds some of Nate Robinson. He needs to work on his ball handling and passing to excel at the college level, but he is an elite scorer.
Kendrick is one of those unique wings who will either be a skilled small forward or a point man. He's working towards the latter and has the natural ability to make it happen. Great size, vision and passing skills. Needs to tighten up his handle in traffic but that will come easier once his game grows into his body.

1. Ohio State
#2 C Jared Sullinger
#12 F Deshaun Thomas
#80 G Lenzelle Smith
#82 G Jordan Sibert
G Aaron Craft
F JD Weatherspoon

Ohio State is quickly becoming THE place for centers to go to college. Following in the footsteps of former Buckeyes Oden, Mullens, and Koufos, Jared Sullinger joins Thad Matta as possibly the best of the bunch. Big Sully is an unstoppable low post scorer, using his huge frame extremely well. He must become better conditioned, as his speed and quickness are below par, but he will be the best center in the nation this year.
Deshaun Thomas is an incredible prospect. At 6-7, he is a deadly catch and shoot scorer as well as a threat to take it to the hole. Few players in the country have his combination of size and shooting ability.

Duke: 2010-11 Preview

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It's official, Singler is back. Duke haters everywhere, prepare to suffer another year. According to many "experts," Duke is the preseason #1 and the favorite to win it all (again). I still think Michigan State is the favorite, since losing seniors Zoubek, Thomas, and Scheyer cannot be underestimated, but Duke's backcourt is unquestionably the best in the nation for 2010-2011. Singler and fellow senior Nolan Smith are both potential All-Americans, joining the #1 point guard prospect Kyrie Irving, who will lead the offense, which, by the way, will be MUCH faster paced this year. Long distance snipers Seth Curry and Andrew Dawkins round out the ridiculous backcourt, and the athletic brothers Plumlee will return, presumably much improved, to cause havoc in the interior.  I anticipate many, many alley-oops from Irving to Plumlee (either one.)

Just check out this depth chart:
C: Miles Plumlee, (Mason Plumlee)
PF: Mason Plumlee, Josh Hairston, Ryan Kelly
SF: Kyle Singler, Carrick Felix
SG: Nolan Smith, Andre Dawkins
PG: Kyrie Irving, Seth Curry, Tyler Thornton

This team has all the weapons to be the run & gun, pressure defense, transition oriented, high scoring type of squad that Duke has traditionally seen. There is enough quality talent here for the team to go 10 deep, although I expect Coach K to shave the rotation down to 8 or 9 by March.

Although this team will be very different from last year's championship squad in terms of play style, it is similar in that the experience is there. My projected starting lineup includes 2 seniors, a junior, and a sophomore, all 4 of whom return from a championship campaign. Kyrie Irving doesn't really count as a freshman, since his game will translate immediately, and he will play as though he is an upperclassman.

There should be no questions about athleticism this time around, as this will be the most athletic Duke team since 2002. Everyone on the team can run the floor and finish at the rim. Duke fans can look forward to the most exciting squad we've seen since Jason Williams ran the point.

New NBA Playoffs Structure

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So, I've always had a problem with the way the NBA playoffs are structured. Most of the time, the first round is basically not worth watching, since every round is a 7 game series and the higher seeded team wins a huge majority of the time. Also, the overall competitive intensity of these games is low because one team is just overmatched. Here is my proposal to make the NBA playoffs more exciting. This diagram is the structure of the playoffs in the Austrailian football league. It may seem a little complicated at first, but here's how it works:

This would be the structure for 1 conference:

Round 1: All matchups are a best of 3 series with the higher seed having home court advantage

• 1st Qualifying Final (QF): 1st seed vs. 4th seed
• 2nd Qualifying Final: 2nd seed vs. 3rd seed
• 1st Elimination Final (EF): 5th vs. 8th
• 2nd Elimination Final: 6th vs. 7th

Round 2: Matchups are a best of 5 series, higher seed gets home court advantage

• 1st Conference Quarter-final (CQF): Loser of 1st QF vs. winner of 1st EF
• 2nd Conference Quarter-final: Loser of 2nd QF vs. winner of 2nd EF

Round 3: Matchups are a best of 5 series, higher seed gets home court advantage

• 1st Conference Semi-Final (SF): Winner of 1st QF vs. winner of 2nd CQF
• 2nd Conference Semi-Final: Winner of 2nd QF vs. winner of 1st CQF

 Round 4: Matchups are a best of 7 series, higher seed gets home court advantage

• Conference Finals: Winners of 2 SFs

Round 5: Best of 7 series, team with better regular season record gets home court advantage.

• NBA Finals: 2 conference champions

Here's why this would work: First off, you start out with matchups with teams that are closer in terms of seeding, which SHOULD translate into more exciting competitive games. 2nd, you get many more different mathups between different teams, so it will create more variety. 3rd, teams in the top 4 seeds of each conference will have a second chance even if they lose their first round series. This way, if a good team just has trouble with a specific matchup, they are not out of the playoffs entirely, they get another chance. 4th, this system would have just as many games, and the games would be more exciting, so it makes sense from a business perspective. The current playoff system isn't really exciting until the conference finals, this system would create much more urgency in the early rounds for everyone. Come on David Stern, if you are reading this, make it happen.

Can We Stop Hating On Tiger?

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So, I felt I needed to post a little of my opinion on this whole situation. First of all, I could not care less what happens in Tiger Woods' personal life. It's not my business, and it shouldn't be yours.
Tiger Woods is a professional golfer, not a professional role model. I don't remember him signing any contract saying "I will be the perfect person for everyone's kids to look up to and emulate." He has absolutely no obligation to anyone, except his family and friends, with regards to how he behaves outside of golf.

Okay, so he signed a bunch of endorsements. That's fine, he has now lost a bunch of them and that's his own fault. But come on, even some of the companies that dropped him are just plain hypocritical. I mean, take a look at Gillete. They currently endorse Thierry Henry, Roger Federer, and Derek Jeter, all world class athletes. I'm sorry, but you just can't convince me that none of these guys have ever cheated on their wives.
I'm not trying to slander any of those guys, I have no idea about the details of their personal lives, since I actually follow sports for the actual sport. But even so, it's practically public knowledge that Jeter used to go home with a different supermodel on a nightly basis. Yeah, I know he wasn't married, but all in all, these guys are multi-millionaires who are wildly successful. Women throw themselves at them. Are you trying to tell me if you were in their position that you would just take the high road? Please.

Nobody is forcing you to buy Nike gear. Nobody made you go to the store and buy EA Sports' Tiger Woods golf game. This all brings me back to the real question, why do we follow Tiger Woods? I'll tell you why, he is damn good at golf. Tiger Woods does his job better than anyone in the world does their job. He is currently the single most dominant athlete in any sport. Isn't that enough to cherish?

Why do we have to bring a successful man down? It's taken us awhile to realize it, but this man is human. And this may be a newsflash for some people, but I think we've been on God's green earth long enough to realize that we, as a species, are not perfect.
People make mistakes. Tiger Woods just happens to be a rich and famous guy who made some bad ones. If this was your next door neighbor, who the hell would care? Why should we even follow his personal life? He's not very good at it. In fact, he's probably one of the worst playas of all time, second only to Bill Clinton. (In the Oval Office, Billy??? COME ON, MAN!!)

For now it's back to business for the world's greatest golfer. At the time of this post, Tiger is currently six-under par (tied for third place) at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, and shows no signs of slowing down. Isn't it time to forgive and forget already? I mean, come on, this is ridiculous. The man just came back from a four month layoff, went through an incredible deal of grief, and here he is, looking like nothing ever happened.

How long will it take us to put this away for good? I mean, in a hundred years, we are not going to be talking about how Tiger cheated on his wife. We are going to be talking about how Tiger Woods won 30 majors and how no one will ever touch that record.
So, seriously, just face it. Golf needs Tiger more than Tiger needs golf. Without Tiger, golf is nothing more than a niche sport. It's not exciting to watch for most fans and it's an older gentleman's game. But with Tiger in the picture, people are drawn to it. I'm not a golf fan at all, but seeing Tiger back on the tour makes me interested in it.

With luck, Tiger will get back on his feet and this will all go away sooner rather than later. I just want it on the record that I'm on his side, and I hope he continues to crush it until he's an old, old man.

Duke Dodged More Than Just A Bullet

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Okay, I know everyone's had enough of the David vs. Goliath references. But this wasn't exactly the same story. In the biblical version, David had a slingshot, and God on his side. In the 2010 Butler basketball version of this story, David didn't need God. David had a full rocket launcher, four sticky grenades, a sniper rifle, AND a spartan laser, just in case you wanted to come at him with a vehicle or something pathetic like that. (Forgive my Halo references, but you get the point.) Can we stop comparing them to the Hickory Huskers already? Butler was a damn good team this year. Their best player is not Jimmy Chitwood, his name is Gordon Hayward, and he's going to do work in the NBA as a future lottery pick.

Yeah, they were the underdogs, but not by much. Didn't these kids just win an insane 25 straight games? TWENTY-FIVE STRAIGHT??? Nobody seems to remember that Butler was ranked in the AP poll the entire year, coming in at a very respectable #11 in both the preseason and the final regular season polls. Duke was ranked #9 in the preseason poll and #3 in the final regular season poll. This was a relatively even matchup, considering it was a home game for Butler. The real injustice was that the selection committee gave Butler a #5 seed. How in the freakin' world does a top 15 team get a #5 seed? Selection committee, that's on you.

On another note, my Dukies were not your typical Goliath. Duke didn't star a single lottery pick on their team. Kyle Singler is a mid to late first rounder now, but other than that, no one on this squad has a remote chance to be drafted in the top 14 picks this year. Duke's team this year is one of the best examples ever of how players on a team can work together to use each player's individual strengths to compensate for each player's individual weaknesses.

Jon Scheyer has been constantly criticized for his lack of quickness and ability to create shots at the point guard position. That's okay, because Nolan Smith is great at those things, and he had the ball when the shot clock was running low. Brian Zoubek is a monster rebounder, but he is far below average as an offensive threat down low. The solution? He kicked the ball out to open shooters at every opportunity. Lance Thomas was never a great offensive player, so instead, he contributed by guarding the other team's best player every game by using his unbelievable defensive intensity and energy and left the offense in the hands of more capable players.

I could sit here for days and tell you how this team just worked perfectly together, but I'm not going to. All you need to know is that this team was not Goliath. This team had no stars. This team played as one unit. Yeah, they watched Hoosiers, and they heard you, Gene Hackman, they heard you.

Finally, let's give Butler the credit they deserve. Gordon Hayward, I could have completed med school in the time it took for your final two shots to finally come down from the sky. I was THAT worried. Butler, I tip my hat off to you, you were one of the toughest opponents we faced all year, you gave us a hell of a game, and you almost won it. You played winning basketball, championship basketball, and came up a possession short. You have nothing to be ashamed of, and you will be a force to be reckoned with next year.

5 Reasons Why You Should Root For Duke

This article is also featured on Bleacher Report: 5 Reasons Why You Should Root For Duke

Let's face it: Duke is and will probably always be the most widely hated team in college basketball.
Unless you are a Duke fan, you probably can't stand the program's pretty-boy image, and its long history of star players who just annoyed the crap out of you.

First, there was Christian Laettner—the arrogant jerk who hit the game winning shot in OT in the greatest game of all time, shortly after stomping on the chest of a Kentucky player. Then there was Steve Wojciechowski, a 5-foot-11 white kid who somehow won the 1998 national defensive player of the year award with his floor-slapping antics. Let's not forgot about J.J. Redick, who flashed a smug look of satisfaction every time he buried a deep three in your face.

You hate that Duke has a spotless NCAA record; you hate that they consistently recruit high school All-Americans; and you hate that Coach Mike Krzyzewski does everything right and just keeps winning.
Okay, fair enough, even us Duke fans understand all that, but this year's team is different. It is a completely new kind of Duke team. As a lifelong Duke fan, I've seen many squads come and go, including the three that won it all (and the one in 1999 that should have won it all), but this team is special to me.

I have followed this team more closely than any other team that I can remember, and during the process, have become incredibly attached to them because they are such a likeable group. Here are five reasons why I think that they deserve your cheers as well:

1. Coach K is a national hero.

Like him or not, Mike Krzyzewski (and only a Duke fan would know how to spell his name without cheating) brought USA basketball back from the depths of Athens, Greece, where UNC alum Larry Brown brought home bronze. . . . Really Larry, bronze? You had the greatest power forward of all time, in his prime—Tim Duncan, LeBron James, and Carmelo Anthony and you brought back BRONZE?

Okay, enough Larry bashing.

Coach K took a USA basketball program that finished sixth at the 2002 FIBA world championships and 3rd at the 2004 Olympics and went undefeated in Beijing in 2008, crushing the opposition by an average of 32 points—including the hometown Chinese squad and the vaunted Spaniards.

USA basketball is back to its rightful place way, way above the rest of the world, and you can thank Coach K.

2. Freshman Andre Dawkins has been playing with a heavy heart this season.

Andre's story is particularly touching.

Here's a kid who shouldn't even be in the big dance by all rights. He should be getting ready for the other big dance: the prom. Andre graduated from high school a full year early to join the Blue Devils because of the transfer of Elliot Williams to Memphis and the loss of Gerald Henderson to the NBA draft.

A month into the season, Andre was averaging double figures, while shooting a ridiculous 23-44 (52%) from beyond the three point line. He also had a 7-9 FG game against Radford for 20 points and a 4-4 3-point FG game (all in the second half) at one of the most hostile venues in all of college basketball, Wisconsin's Kohl Center, in a loss to the Badgers.

After the St. John's game, 'Dre was informed by his father that his sister had been killed, and his mother had been seriously injured in a car accident that occurred while the two were driving down to Durham to see his game.

Following these events, 'Dre just wasn't 'Dre.

His shooting percentage plummeted and his once overflowing confidence was all but gone. He registered two DNPs in that time.

He questioned whether he had made the right decision coming to Duke. But after he witnessed how his teammates and coaches rallied around him, cried with him, and attended the funeral with him, he knew he was in the right place.

Dawkins has come back of late, and hit two huge threes in the elite eight win over Baylor—one from nearly half court.

You truly have to root for this 18-year-old kid; he's been through more than most of us who are twice his age.

3. Brian Zoubek stepped out of the phone booth and became Zouperman.

Seven-foot-one Zoubek was a Parade All-American in high school. Three years into his career at Duke, he had been posting numbers that don't seem like an All-American stat line: 3.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.

I might also add that he probably (this is purely from observation) led the league in traveling, turnovers per possession, fouls, and disqualifications.

I hate it say it about one of my favorite guys on the team, but the man was a bust.

To his credit, Zoubek had been dealing with nagging injuries his entire career, and just never got a chance to shine during his first three years. This year has been an entirely different story.

Since Zoubs was inserted in to the starting lineup for the home game against Maryland, he has averaged 6.6 points and 10.1 rebounds a game—including 5.9 offensive boards a game. And that's while playing only 23.1 minutes a game!

He's learned how to play smart defense—without fouling—and has become one of the best passers on the team. Zoubek was essential against Baylor's 2-3 zone, grabbing offensive boards and kicking the ball out to wide-open shooters.

I almost can't believe it myself, but Zoubs might just be more important to this team than any of the "big three."
You gotta feel great for the kid though, because he's such a good person, an academic all-american, and one of the toughest guys in the ACC.

4. Nolan Smith is playing in the memory of his late father.

Now, here is a story that made me start getting teary-eyed.

At the age of eight, Nolan Smith's father, Derek Smith, passed away on a cruise ship—victim to a heart attack. Nolan was so devastated he almost quit basketball. He loved his father—a nine-year NBA veteran who retired after Nolan was born to devote all of his time to raising his son.

Shortly before his father's death, Nolan had been playing a one-on-one game with an older boy on the ship. After losing, Nolan heaved the ball into the ocean in frustration. After seeing this display, his father grabbed his boy by the wrist and told him that if he wanted to play this game, that he needed to get his head on straight and have the right attitude. Little did Nolan know at the time, this would be the last father-son talk he would ever have.

To this day, Nolan still remembers that conversation.

Without a paternal figure, Nolan was taken in by his father's NBA organization, the Washington Bullets, where he had been coaching. The Bullets reserved a courtside seat every game for Nolan, and the players helped school him in the game that he loved to play.

One particularly prominent figure in his life was a former teammate of his father, Johnny Dawkins, or "Uncle Johnny" according to Nolan. Instead of going to Louisville, where his father went, Nolan decided on Duke, where Dawkins was the head associate coach.

Prior to last week's game against Baylor, Nolan caught the end of the ESPN Outside the lines documentary featuring himself and his father, which prompted him to post on Twitter the following morning: "This one is for you Dad!! I love you! #43..... Let's go Duke!"

Smith went on to post a career high 29 points, including four clutch threes which sealed the Blue Devils victory against the Bears. He claimed that he felt that his dad was with him. Now Nolan is headed to Indianapolis, where Derek Smith helped Louisville win its first national championship 30 years ago.

5. This is may be the most tight-knit group you will ever see.

Two words that describe this team well are "togetherness" and "chemistry." These kids are really all on the same page. After the Baylor game, an emotional Lance Thomas said, “We always hang together off the court, there are no cliques on this team.” When asked if he had ever played on a tighter team, the senior captain shook his head and said “Never, never. We’ve worked so hard for this." Lance is one of three seniors on this team with the aforementioned Zoubek and Jon Scheyer, none of whom had ever been past the sweet sixteen until this year.

Scheyer in my opinion, is one of the most underappreciated players in the history of college basketball, and is one of the most clutch players to ever put on a Duke uniform. In his senior year of high school, Scheyer scored an Illinois state tournament record 52 points in his final high school game, including five threes and six free throws for an unreal 21 points in the game's final 75 seconds.

He hit the nail in the coffin to bury Carolina at the Dean Dome earlier this season. More recently, he has hit the shots that sealed victory in the ACC championship game against Georgia Tech and the elite eight game vs. Baylor. Coach K says Scheyer is one of the best kids he's ever coached, and his constantly positive attitude is "infectious."

After the victory against Baylor that put Duke in the final four, Coach K said, “This team will really be brothers forever.  It’s as close a team as I’ve had. You want great things to happen for people who are great with us. I mean, they’ve been spectacular to coach.  You can tell they’re really close and I’m ecstatic about it. I can’t tell you how happy I am about them taking our staff to Indianapolis."

There you have it.

How can you root against these guys?

Coach K has said it time and again; this is not a great team. This is not Laettner-Hurley-Hill, or Williams-Battier-Dunleavy-Boozer. This is a very good team that plays together, that plays hard every possession, and does whatever it takes to win.

If you can't root for that, then you are probably a UK fan. (I've never seen a collective fanbase that hated a single program more, oh yes, even more than UNC.)

Yes I know, we're the only No. 1 seed left, yes I know, we are the favorites, and yes, for the love of God, I know Butler is playing in their hometown and their stadium is where Hoosiers was filmed, but I'm going for The Blue Devils.

LET'S GO DUKE!!!