Built Ford Tough

I don't understand why Kentucky keeps on picking up full court. The Gators have broke the press 3 straight times and it has lead to 3 straight wide open layups underneath the hoop. Beal has been breaking it like nothing. What is the most puzzling about this is that Kentucky has the best half court defense in the nation. Why do they feel the need to press when they are already up? Very weird coaching decision.

So... Barnes, Zeller, Henson combined for 48 points and 24 rebounds on 20/34 shooting. Curry, Rivers, Dawkins combined for 27 points on 6/26 shooting and shot a combined 4/12 from 3. Of course Marshall looks to have been the best player on the floor tonight, which I'm not surprised about, but the UNC bigs vs. the Duke guards certainly seemed to be the difference in this game.

Louisville had 15 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. They finished the half with 19 points. Luckily for them they buckled down defensively and stopped turning the ball over to allow the Orange to get so many opportunities in transition. Their half court defense has been rock solid and they showed it again during those final 4 minutes. Their offense is just brutal right now. The game is still well in reach (26-19) but Lousiville must play better on offense if they are going to have any hope of pulling off the upset.

Beautiful move in transition by Waiters. A nice hesitation move to his left to make the defender react and an picture perfect spin to his right to get by him for the layup. Syracuse with a 13-1 run, 7 of which have come in transition. Louisville needs to get back to taking care of the ball like they were earlier in the game because 'Cuse is feasting on this poor offensive execution. And as I type that, Melo gets another block that immediately leads to a layup on the other end. Then the Cards take a poor long range shot and 5 seconds later Southerland is at the free throw line. These final 4 minutes could easily decide the game. If Lousiville lets this lead get any more before the half, their chances of winning are very poor.

I don't know. By the way, did the Habs hire a non-French speaking coach when Martin was fired?

Murray State and UNC Asheville both won their conference tournaments today, so they are the first two teams officially in the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee State gave the Racers a bit of a scare but Long hit a runner in the lane with about 4 seconds left to win the OVC for them. Louisville is currently playing really well against Syracuse. Their defense is giving the Orange all sorts of trouble, but they are also struggling to score against 'Cuse's zone so despite how well they are playing defensively, they only have a 3 point lead after Sutherland just hit a 3 to make it a 15-12 Cardinal lead. This would really be a huge win for Lousiville. They are going to be in the tournament regardless, but this would be a great win for their resumé. Cuse is getting on a bit of a role right now, though. 5 straight points after the Fab Melo follow.

Been a long time since I last updated this thread, but there has been some news of late. I'll start off with his LKL All-Star game numbers. He had 25 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assist and 1 block on 11/16 shooting from 2 PT and 1/1 from 3 PT in 23 minutes. (For those who are interested, Sonny Weems had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 blocks in 18 minutes and he also won the dunk contest) Secondly, here are some updates on his game logs (from all three of the leagues he plays in): Feb 13th: 13 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks Feb 21st: 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks Feb 25th: 15 points, 12 rebounds, 3 blocks Feb 28th: 17 points, 7 rebounds March 2nd: 18 points, 7 rebounds Thirdly, he was named MVP of the VTB United League for February. Finally, in Chad Ford's draft chat earlier this week, he said that Valanciunas would be hands down the 2nd pick in this years draft, behind Anthony Davis. Hope this makes up for my slacking in this thread over the last 3 weeks or so.

This honestly wouldn't surprise me. In the 1st meeting it easily could've been a Carolina blowout if they didn't implode down the stretch (and have a couple of calls against them, like that Curry three where he traveled, but those calls were not the reason for the collapse). Marshall committed turnovers that I've never seen him commit before, Barnes made that stupid play that resulted in a charge, Zeller choked at the free throw line and had that fluke deflection into his own basket. If the Heels play like they do 90% of the time down the stretch of that game Duke doesn't have the chance fo make that comeback. It was the perfect storm of Carolina mistakes and Duke playing near perfect basketball sure. Then again, Duke can also play much better than they did for the first 17 minutes of the 2nd half as well. I honestly would not be surprised by any result tonight. Obviously, I'm pulling for a UNC win.

Don't get me wrong, Marshall is arguably the most important player on the floor for the Heels, especially since Strickland got hurt and they've been forced to play him for basically the entire game as White isn't exactly up to the challenge of playing in games of this magnitude. He could easily have the biggest impact on the floor tomorrow, like he often does for Carolina. I just wanted to stick with the UNC's interior play vs. Duke's outside barrage as the theme of this. If I really went into more detail, I definitely would've mentioned Marshall's ability to control tempo, the Plumlee's and Kelly down low for Duke, the importance of Bullock and Hairston being able to knock down shots, Thornton's defense and what not. I just didn't feel the need to go into excessive detail as I do believe that this game will inevitably come down to UNC's front court against Duke's back court, just like it did the last time they played. I'm so pissed that I'm going to miss this game, though. I'll be able to catch the final 5 minutes or so when I'm on my lunch break, but other than that I won't be able to catch a minute of it, which really sucks. I guess I can't complain too much, though. After all, I did manage to watch Indiana/Kentucky, Duke/UNC 1 and Kansas/Missouri a week ago. All three of those games were absolute gems, but it definitely will suck to miss this one, just like it sucked to miss the Kentucky/UNC game back in December.

See, part of that is what worries me about him . He loves to play a dump and chase style of game that features a lot of work below the icing line and along the boards. That is great and all if you have guys like Getzlaf, Perry, Ryan, Koivu and Selanne on your team. All of those guys are excellent in these areas and have great puck protection skills. Who exactly do the Leafs have that fits this mold? Kulemin is the only top 6 forward who is good along the boards. Lupul isn't bad and Grabovski is tough as nails and will never quit regardless of how outmatched he may be, but he isn't very good at this are of the game either. Kessel is absolutely useless along the boards and the same can be said of MacAruther. Connolly is even worse than Kes is. It is pretty hard to play a puck retrevial game when you don't have anybody on the roster who can go and get the puck. In the future with guys like Ashton, Biggs, Ross, McKegg, Colbrone and Frattin this kind of game would work very well as they are all capable of playing that style, but with the current personnel it is going to be a struggle. I do like his approach defensively, though. I absolutely hated how much Wilsons stressed pinching, especially with guys like Schenn and Komisarek. There is no reason why those two should be pinching as often as Wilson had them. Like I said, I'm glad Wilson is gone but I certainly have my doubts about Carlyle. Then again, I'm hoping that this team looks much different in the next year or two so hopefully he will have the right roster to match his coaching style.

Allen made DeRozan his bitch today. It was actually comical seeing DeMar try and score on him tonight. He was completely shut down. Hopefully he bounces back on Sunday against the Warriors as it was a rough night for him to say the least. I'm glad Casey sat Barbosa in the 4th tonight. He and Kleiza single handedly won them that Hornets game the other night and they looked poised to do it again tonight (along with Bayless, who Casey also sat, thankfully). Although, Kleiza was a complete disaster in the last minute and a half after being brilliant earlier in the quarter. Good loss after the tank hit a rough pacth in Louisiana.

While I'm estatic that Wilson finally got fired, I'm not too thrilled with Carlyle being named his replacement. I know he is an established coach and has a solid resumé, but I'm not particluarly fond of him. There are a lot of similarities between him and Wilson and I can see the team having a lot of the same problems under Carlysle as they did Wilson. I would've loved to see Eakins get a 20 game audition with the big club as I absolutely love the work he has done with the Marlies. Then again, they have a legitimate chance at winning the Calder Cup this year and removing Eakins now would really hurt. I'll take it, though, so long as it meant that Wilson won't be behind the bench. This firing is only, oh, I don't know, 2 years overdue?

http://theurbantwist.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/02092012-austin-rivers-e1328790804882.jpg On Saturday night at 7PM EST, the 6th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels and 3rd ranked Duke Blue Devils will meet for the 234th time in their schools history. UNC leads the all-time series 131-102. However, the Blue Devils have won 5 of the last 6 meetings between the two, including a thrilling 85-84 win on February 8th in Chapel Hill that saw an epic 10 point Duke comeback in the final 2 minutes that was capped off by a buzzer beating 3 pointer from star Duke Freshman Austin Rivers. http://media.scout.com/Media/Image/103/1032166.jpg Duke guard Austin Rivers before the February 8th matchup: “I'm going to have an impact.” However, this time, there is more than just pride and bragging rights on the line. When the Tar Heels and Blue Devils step on the floor of Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season championship will be on the line. Both UNC and Duke are 13-2 in ACC play and this will mark the 6th time in history that these two fierce rivals will face off in the final regular season game with the ACC regular season title on the line. UNC currently holds a 3-2 record in these aforementioned games, including an 81-67 point win in last season's regular season finale. Tar Heel coach Roy Williams looks to improve his record to 3-0 in these winner take all showdowns. http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/fansonly/sports/m-baskbl/01action/unc-haywood-012801.jpg Current Dallas Mavericks center and Tar Heel alum Brendan Haywood: “I don't want to share the ACC title with anybody; especially Duke.” As if the stakes needed to be any higher, the outcome of this game will not only determine the #1 seed in the ACC tournament, it will also have strong implications when it comes to a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament later this month. How's that for excitement? ________________________________________________________________________________________ The two schools represent a stark contract in styles. North Carolina relies heavily upon their size inside the paint. They feature one of the biggest, longest and most talented front courts in the NCAA. Senior Tyler Zeller, Junior John Henson and Sophomore Harrison Barnes are all 6'8 or taller and all three of them posses wingspans of 6'11 or greater. The Heels score 39 points a game inside the paint, which is 1st among power conference teams. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils' defense struggles mightily at closing down the interior. They allow 32 points in the paint per game, which is 2nd worst among power conferences. This statistic played a significant role in the first meeting this season as UNC outscored Duke 42-14 inside the paint. This interior dominance was the driving force behind North Carolina establishing and maintaining an 8-12 point lead throughout much of the 2nd half. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_963G0l5jLIw/SZNNyp9m0yI/AAAAAAAAAT8/rK9Q-B08_EI/s200/forte.jpg Former North Carolina guard Joseph Forte: “They hate us, just like we hate them.” While UNC will look to pound the ball inside, Duke will rely heavily upon the 3 point shot and their dynamic back court of Rivers, Junior Seth Curry and Junior Andre Dawkins. North Carolina makes 5 3's a game while their opponents make 7.3. Duke makes 8.4 3's a game and shoots 39% from deep. Much like UNC's paint dominance, Duke's long range bombing played a significant role in the first meeting this season. Curry, Rivers and Dawkins combined to shoot 12-23 from beyond the arc and the Blue Devils outscored the Tar Heels 42-3 from beyond the arc, including making 3 long range shots during the comeback, one of which was the game winner from Rivers as time expired. Just how close are these two rivals? Well, the last 82 games that they have played, UNC has outscored Duke by a single point; 6,355 to 6,354. Duke beat UNC by a single point earlier this season. The 3 games these teams played against one another last season were decided by a combined 9 points; 221-212 in Duke's favour. If these statistics foreshadow anything, it is that we should expect yet another close, hard fought battle in college basketball's most historic rivalry as these two Carolina schools, separated by just 8 miles, go to battle for ACC supremacy. College broadcasting legend Dick Vitale summed it up best when he said: “There's no greater rivalry in college basketball than Duke and North Carolina” On Saturday night, a new chapter will be written in this historic rivalry.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/gametracker/recap/NBA_20120301_LAC@SAC

You wouldn't have to actually have Turner defend the point guards and Holiday defend shooting guards, though. Just play Turner at the point on offense, let him run their stuff, initiate the offense and move Holiday off the ball and into a more scoring role. Defensively, Holiday would still match up with opposing point guards and Turner would take opposing shooting guards/small forwards (whichever one Iguodala isn't matching up against). I'm sure the opposing defense would have similar matchups as well. I can't see them actually having their point guard defending Turner and putting their shooting guard on Holiday. So really, the lineup probably wouldn't change. Just change the role that Turner and Holiday have in the offensive system. I haven't caught too many Philly games as of late, but earlier in the year when I was watching a vast majority of them, he did a lot of running the offense. When him and Williams were on the floor together, I'd say Turner ran the offense 70% of the time and Williams did 30% of the time. A lot of the times I thought that the Sixers offense was most effective when Turner was running things and it certainly brought the best out of Turner as it is no secret he is at his best with the ball in his hands. I do agree that if it ain't broke, don't fix it, but the Sixers have hit a bit of a rough patch as of late so a shake up may be the kick in the ass that they need.

So I've been thinking about possible 2nd round picks, since it is obvious who the Raptors are going to be after with their 1st round pick, and one guy that has really caught my eye is NC State's CJ Leslie. He was pretty well regarded coming out of high school but had an up and down freshman season. He seems to really be putting it together as of late, though. Check out his numbers over his past few ACC games: 21 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks on 7-10 FG and 1-1 3PT against Miami (FL) 18 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists on 7-15 FG and 4-8 FT against Clemson 24 points, 12 rebounds, 1 block on 9-17 FG and 6-9 FT against UNC 21 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block, 2 steals on 8-14 FG and 5-6 FT against Florida State 12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 blocks on 6-16 FG against Duke For the season he is averaging 14.2 ppg, 7 rpg, 1.8 bpg on 50.5 FG% and There are questions about his position as some people believe he may be stuck between the 3 and the 4, and assuming the Raptors draft a wing with their 1st round pick he probably wouldn't be an option with the new rookie, James Johnson and Linas Kleiza all on the roster, but there is no denying his talent and athleticism. Last year Sidney Lowe used him mainly as an athletic finisher and didn't really use him much in his offense, but NC State's new coach, Mark Gottfried, is making him much more of a focal point offensively this season. He is drawing up plays for him, putting him in one-on-one situations and is also using him out on the perimeter more than Lowe did. He is still much more effective around the rim on the perimeter as his outside jumper is inconsistent and he does have a shaky handle, but he has a great first step and doesn't waste movement. I imagine that if he continues this strong play he would elevate himself into the 1st round, but figured I'd mention him as I have been very impressed with what I have seen of him as of late, especially since he is going up against some ranked teams in Duke, UNC, Florida St. and a solid Miami (FL) team. I liked him last year coming out of high school and was a bit disappointed by his inconsistent play. This year he has really improved his game, but at the end of the day he is too similar to James Johnson to really be a candidate for the Raptors. His talent and potential does intrigue me if he decides to enter the draft and is available in the 2nd round when the Raptors pick. My two favourite targets in the 2nd round at the moment would be Doron Lamb of Kentucky and Dion Waiters of Syracuse as I think both of them would make great long term backups at the two and both are capable ball handlers.

A really great read that gives a nice look into Perry Jones as both a player and a person. There was a lot of stuff in here that I had absolutely no idea about and makes me view him a bit differently as I did. Read more at: http://www.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7630611/the-story-baylor-bears-star-perry-jones-iii-men-college-basketball

Davis runs the floor to get back on defense, blocks a shot, recovers to block another shot and then comes down with the defensive rebound. The guy is just such a force defensively. It isn't even fair.

Nice steal by Ware and an even better job of using his body to prevent MKG from being able to block his shot on the other end.

Really liking the aggressiveness that Terrence Jones is playing with tonight. When he plays with this kind of energy, he is so much more effective. Two straight defensive lapses by Georgia defensively and Kentucky immediately takes advantage. Their communication broke down and Lamb ended up with a wide open three and then on the next possession nobody picked up Jones who was wide open down low for the lob from Miller.

Lmao, in the Kentucky/Georgia game that just started the ref took a ball right in the face, tripped over the camera man and landed right on his ass. Great start for him, 20 seconds into the game. Anthony Davis off to a great start already. Had a nice turnaround hook on the right baseline, rotated over to force the tipped pass that resulted in the ref getting nailed in the face, blocked a shot and then just stepped outside and drained a 3. All of this occured in a matter of the first 2 minutes of the game. He really is all over the place on the floor.

Worst game of the season by far. Seriously, it is time to trade Barbosa and fake that Kleiza's knee is bothering him and he needs to be shut down for the rest of the season. They had this game completely in hand and were displaying the perfect tank job until these two knuckleheads came in and went nuts in the 4th quarter. There was literally nothing good to come out of this game. DeRozan, despite his numbers (21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists), played poorly for much of the game, Davis was a complete non factor, Bayless was bad and JJ played 20 minutes. As much as I want the Raptors to lose games this year, I'd be alright with a win here and there if it was a result of these four players playing well (or at least some combination of the 4). Winning games in which the majority of them struggle and guys like Kleiza, Barbosa or Calderon play well is the absolute worst. Such a disappointing game, although I must commend the Hornets for their tanking in the 4th. Up 5 or 7 (can't remember for sure) heading into the 4th and wind up trailing by 12 in the final minutes. I'm jealous.

You just can't combine a TPE with other players. Draft picks are completely fine. As long as you aren't combining salary with a TPE, you are fine.

Like I said, I'm not counting Kansas out by any means and it wouldn't surprise me at all if he went there. It is speculated that his top four are those teams I mentioned, but who really knows as it is exactly that; speculation. Recruiting update: Muhammad has already visited Kentucky (during Midnight Madness) and Texas A&M, as well as an unofficial visit to USC. He officially visited Kansas this past weekend (Feb. 25) and will be at Duke on March 3. His last visit will probably be to Arizona, although UCLA may get a visit as well. At this stage it appears to be a four-team race between Duke, Kentucky, UCLA and UNLV. http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/recruiting/basketball/mens/story/_/id/7608132/top-uncommitted-prospects-2012-class If I had to guess, I say he ends up at Duke or UNLV (assuming he is eligible), but I really wouldn't be surprised at him going to anyone of Kentucky, Duke, UNLV, UCLA or Kansas. I don't see him going to Arizona, although they do have a fantastic class coming in, which is part of why I don't see him going there.

If it helps ease the pain, last I heard he had narrowed his list down to 4 schools and Kansas wasn't one of them. He hasn't completely ruled them out, but it is speculated that the 4 leading candidates are Kentucky, Duke, UCLA and UNLV.