Anybody with a pulse has probably been keeping up with what’s been going on at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China.

The United States basketball team destroyed Spain today 119-82 to advance to the medal round. This should come as no surprise. The U.S. has been abusing the competition since they got off the plane in Beijing and will no doubt bring home the gold and make up for the sins of the 2004 team that had to settle for the bronze.

Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmello Anthony and other members of the “Redeemed Team” are showing the rest of the world that you don’t mess with the U.S. when it comes to basketball.

Ok, so we’ve sent our best professionals to go and beat up on countries like Spain, Greece, China and Angola.

Big deal!

We used to send our best college players to do that. We did for decades and were very successful. But after we came home with the bronze in 1988 with college players, the powers that be thought it was time to send in the big guns and create the ultimate “Dream Team”. That team featured the likes of Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, John Stockton, Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan. It may have been the biggest one-sided battle against the world since the U.S. invaded Grenada 25 years ago.

The U.S. has always been a basketball country and always will be. Having said that, I think that if we went back to sending our best college players to Beijing we still would come back home with the gold.

Imagine a college Dream Team or Redeem Team featuring Kevin Love, O.J. Mayo, Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose, D.J. Augustin, Brook Lopez, Joe Alexander, Brandon Rush, Tyler Hansbrough, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Roy Hibbert, and I’ll even throw in George Hill.

Do you agree that this team would not be able to challenge the rest of the world? They may not destroy the field as the current team is doing, but they are certainly good enough to win the gold.

If we are so determined to send in our professionals, then why not add a few college players or go half pro and half college? After Beijing we would have made our point. We’re the best and everyone knows it. It’s now time to reconsider allowing some of our best amateurs back in the Olympics.

Can we please stop referring to certain college basketball players and college athletes in general as “Student Athletes”?

How much of a student do you really think Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, O.J. Mayo, Derrick Rose and the other one-and-dones and two-and-dones were really students? How much time do you think they spent in the class compared to the basketball court and with potential agents?

Let’s call them what they really are - Minor League Players. The only difference is that real minor league players are paid legally.

On Thursday night Minnesota had a lot of people respecting them, believing they had made the correct selection at #3. But when folks woke up Friday, many were probably not too surprised the team who gave up Kevin Garnett traded away O.J. Mayo too. This time the T-Wolves didn’t get a Al Jefferson type of talent in return, instead they got a low ceiling player in Kevin Love.

Memphis looks much more legit now with a Mayo-Gay combo.

Minnesota? Jefferson-McCants, Jefferson-Gomes.

Ouch.

Speaking of Memphis, Chris Douglas-Roberts did get chosen by a team on draft night. It might have been after most went to bed or stopped watching, but it did happen.

CDR got to the free throw line 63 times during last year’s tourney. He scored 20 + points in 5 out of the 6 games.

Those stout postseason numbers combined with an impressive 3 year career, in a logical world, would have meant a nice first round guaranteed contract.

Instead he went 40th.

He went AFTER college players such as D.J. White, Courtney Lee, the impervious George Hill, the literal sleepy man Walter Sharpe, household name Sonny Weems and even the next Bruce Bowen, Luc Richard Mbah A Moute.

During the draft the term “unorthodox” was thrown around every time CDR’s name came about.

News Flash

Shawn Marion
Manu Ginobili
Kevin Martin…

are just a couple off hand names that came to mind of unorthodox players.

East Coast Bias has this to add about CDR and fellow New Jersey draft pick Ryan Anderson #21

Additionally: the Nets drafted Ryan Anderson and Chris Douglas Roberts. I love Anderson’s ability to shoot the ball. Chris Douglas-Roberts has some ability as a slashing scorer, but he’s not NBA quick, and he never struck me as that strong. But he’s gotten it done on one of the best teams in the country, so he gets a second round look.

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of CDR, yet his success during his college career cannot be overlooked. The stats are there.

West Virginia phenom Joe Alexander was drafted at #8.

Talk practice believes Joe Alexander is a Mandarin speaking, semi-athletic, solely mid-range jump shooting defensive liability. Well they got the Mandarin part right. Apparently Joe stole the walk-on spot at WVU of someone over at talkpractice—nobody would otherwise be able to come up with that conclusion. The guy has a go get’em attitude and all the skills to be a big time player in the NBA.

WBGV discusses Joe’s weaknesses and strengths with a little less vim and a little more sense.

Pac 10 Strong

12 Pac 10 players were taken, the most out of any conference. A few surprises, at least from my point of view

Maarty Luenen #54

Bayless slipped to #11

Moute was indeed drafted, much to the surprise of… well, probably just me.

Other suprises

Patrick Ewing Jr., all 6.1ppg of him, was drafted at #43.

Bill Walker #47, the guy I’ve compared to Paul Pierce, will actually get to suit with Paul this coming season. Not a bad guy to be mentored by. His reoccurring knee problems were really the red flag that kept many teams away.

Darrell Arthur was THE Surprise of draft night. The Kansas star, after being passes over selection by selection, sunk lower and lower into his chair, all the virility he held at the beginning of the night gone, but at #27 his wait was over. For a short time he had to think it was well worth it, because New Orleans picked him, meaning he would play with the best point guard in the world.

That was not to be. Memphis ended up receiving Arthur at the conclusion of the draft wheeling and dealing. What a find.

Some kind of supposed kidney problem really scared teams away from Arthur.

Was it all just a big misunderstanding? Did 15 or so teams really just pass on a future NBA starter? More info here at SI.com

Kansas was well represented on draft night. Not only did Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur get selected, but fellow starters Darnell Jackson and Mario Chalmers were selected in round two, as was super sub Sasha Kaun.

It didn’t stop there. Former Jayhawk J.R. Giddens (New Mexico) was the last player drafted in the first round.

Rider product Jason Thompson was drafted at #12. I had a good feeling about him going into the draft, but top 15 was beyond outstanding. Remember small school star Rodney Stuckey? Don’t sleep on those small school guys.

Some mentionable undrafted players

Chris Lofton- Will get his chance
Gary Forbes- A guy who could improve his craft overseas
Josh Duncan- A tweener who will have to take the tough route
DeMarcus Nelson- Could latch on somewhere as a lock down defender
Pat Calathes- His inability to out jump and run people really got him
Jamont Gordon- Should have returned to school and improved his stroke
Davon Jefferson- Came out way too early and didn’t play with enough passion in the Pre-Draft camps
David Padgett- Better off not drafted, he will get to choose which team is best for him to try out for. Good chance he’s on a roster within a couple of years. He’s still really cool either way.
Drew Neitzel- Spartan Weblog believes this was best for Drew. He, like Padgett, gets to choose the “best fit”

Here are all the draft picks with trades included

Round 1

Round 2

THE 08 NBA Draft is fast approaching and I for one love to predict when certain players will get drafted and whether they will become the next Eddy Curry disaster or the next Monta Ellis find.

O.J. Mayo USC

O.J. has been talked about ad nauseam on this site as you probably already know (sorry Kevin).

Where will he go in the draft?

Talent wise, he’s right up there with Rose and Beasley, but NBA teams don’t always go for the most talented, sometimes they just go for need instead.

The T-Wolves need difference makers and Mayo would certainly fit that label. Al Jefferson and O.J. Mayo on the same team… now we’re talking.

Jonathan Givony’s blog from Draft Express.com has Mayo covered, as well as some other top names.

Lopez Twins Stanford

I don’t see either as eventual All-Stars, but I do see them both as down the road starters, maybe 15 and 8 guys at the best. Brook’s lack of quickness/agility might just be the downfall that keeps him from being an elite center. Robin will have no problem rebounding and playing defense at the NBA level.

Jon Wilner of Mercury News discusses the pros and cons of the Twins.

Joe Alexander WVU

The Melo Backpedal has very detailed write-ups on the top 25 players (in their eyes anyway) in this year’s draft.

Here’s a tidbit about Joe Alexander from The Melo Backpedal

Analysis: Alexander is a very hot name right now because of how he finished the season. He’s an athletic forward with good length, and has a fairly solid inside-outside game. He has good touch around the basket, knows how to finish, and can get to the line with ease. He has a very good post up game, passes well out of double-teams, and according to scouts, has good lateral quickness.

Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports wrote about Joe on Monday in “Who’s Joe Alexander”

Joe in New York?

Joe might be the right guy to go to New York. He could win over the fans with his hard work and smooth offensive skills. Let’s face it, besides Nate Robinson and David Lee, who really plays all out all the time there?

He might not contribute much his first year or two, but I think the team who’s willing to be patient will love the eventual outcome.

Overrated draft?

I’ve heard that this year’s draft is the strongest we’ve had in awhile, but I’ve also heard this draft could be a total laugher, though I’ve heard far fewer of the latter. Somebody on talk radio in Detroit on Monday said his whole reasoning on thinking this draft is poor is because of the possibility of Russell Westbrook going in the top 5. He said if Westbrook was slated as a 20 something pick, the draft would then be pretty strong—but not if he’s going so early, like top 5 early. Far from a valid explanation in my opinion (I agree though, Westbrook was nothing a year ago and now he’s top 5 material??), but that does beg the question, who’s overrated?

More specifically put, who will be drafted too high?

Kevin Love UCLA- His limited athleticism just might be an obstacle he cannot overcome. College style and pro style basketball are two very different worlds.

Eric Gordon Indiana- I’m not going to say he will not be a good scorer in this league, I’m just saying there will be many players picked behind him that would have been better choices. Ben Gordon’s game closely resembles Eric’s, though Eric can throw some rock down with the best of them.

Roy Hibbert Georgetown- Grotesquely getting too much attention. Take a 2nd round flyer on him but don’t waste your time or $ in the first round on a guy destined to be another Nazr Mohammed, at best. The folks over at hoyasaxa.com probably won’t agree with me.

Now I’ll rehash for you some of the guys being overlooked in this draft, especially the forgotten about seniors.

Malik Hairston is high on my list. The skill is all there. Can he just put it together and make consistent progress?

D.J. White could be a first round pick, but you wouldn’t know it the way his name has been kept essentially silent.

Sasha Kaun and Pat Calathes are still guys to keep tabs on as well.

Bill Walker, not of the senior variety, is most likely going to end up on an already strong team, a playoff contender you might say. So in terms of value for a good team late in the first round, Bill is a safe pick. He’s got a scorer’s mentality with a bit of attitude.

Jason Thompson, a senior from Rider, has an intriguing skill set. He has Tim Thomas like range for a big, but is he strong enough to guard the low post?

Hoopsaddict interviews Jason to see how draft preparation is coming along. It seems like he has a lot of faith in himself. Will a team drafting in the top 20 feel the same way?

One more senior to be aware of is Gary Forbes from Massachusetts. Back on the first of June I said he would crack the first round. I must have been a bad omen because I haven’t heard anything, good or bad, about him in recent days. I actually just read that Forbes has been having trouble playing against some of the more top notch players, you know, guys that decided not to participate in the Orlando camp. You’re letting me down Forbes.

Ever think of what it would be like if there was a 3rd round like there was prior to 1989?

Well if you click on just one link in this post, I recommend you try The Pyramid of Excess’s humorous picks for the 3rd round of the draft.

Quick blurb of what you can expect

92. Boston Celtics
Sebastian Telfair/6’0”, 183/Abraham Lincoln H.S.
With the last pick in the third round Danny Ainge finally reacquires the guy he gave up Brandon Roy for two years ago.

Anyways

Draft night should be a tight affair as it always is.

And when you hear Pat Calathes’s name called, or even Malik Hairston’s, don’t choke on your licorice… or whatever the hell people wasting their time watching the draft eat, because you did not hear they would be drafted from a draft expert like Chad Ford, you heard it from the undeniably clueless me instead. Believe it!

NBA dweebs and geeks unite!

Any thoughts, suggestions, beefs, and Wal-Mart references are appreciated. No compliments!

Ryan Anderson is going to be making quite a big decision by 5pm today. All signs point to Ryan signing an agent and entering the NBA draft, thus foregoing the rest of his college career at California.

He’s currently on that 1st round fence.

I routinely get the feeling that a lot of the non west coasters don’t know much about Ryan. They recognize his name, but don’t really know his game.

He’s been called a tweener and unathletic, but many players have escaped that tag and gone on to be great, so there’s no point in putting any effort into those labels.

He averaged 21 ppg his sophomore year at Cal, good for best scoring average in the Pac 10, for what it’s worth.

Rod Benson, the Dakota Wizards star, has his own movement, the Boom Tho movement, and also blogs for Yahoo Sports as well.
The guy entertains his Boom Tho supporters (I’m one) by often posting amusing stories and videos about D-League life in North Dakota.

Benson has put up some quality numbers in the D-League in recent years but has yet to be signed by a NBA team. He compares himself to Kevin Garnett, except he says “I ain’t worth a dollar.”

This clip chronicles some of Ryan Anderson’s draft prep so far, Rod Benson style. Check it out.

Game 1 of the NBA Finals saw the Celtics outlast, completely out shoot and utterly out hustle the Lakers in the 2nd half. This was surely not the start the media favored Lakers had in mind, nor was it what Stephen Kersey had in mind over at Hoops Fantasy.

Unless, of course, Kersey believes the Celtics can be beat four straight times?

During the game I was making my way through both rosters and began to think– who is going to have a similar impact in the league as a Paul Pierce? Luke Walton? Derek Fisher? Glen Davis?

Are there any guys in the upcoming 08 draft who remind you of certain current NBA role players, or who embody the personality or mentality of a perennial All-Star?

Kevin Love Freshman UCLA

Love could be chosen anywhere between 5 and 15 according to the gazillion mock drafts circulating the web. The role player tag will probably end up defining the career of Love, however, only if he can get himself into better playing condition. Optimistically I could see Love turning out to be a slightly less athletic version of Brad Miller. Brad has never quite been a three point gunner, but has the range. Linas Kleiza has also surfaced as a comparable player in my basketball database of a head. But these similarities are only based off of Love’s ability to shoot the ball from anywhere past 16 feet, especially three point land. But neither Milller nor Kleiza are thick, grind it out post players like Love can be. But I do know of one very thick post player who did not see any action in Game 1 that Love reminds me of. That would be Glen “Big Baby” Davis. If Kevin Love didn’t have any shooting or passing skills he’d be almost an exact copy of Glen Davis.

Lester Hudson Junior Tennessee-Martin

The D-Fish prototype could very well fit Lester Hudson. Small school– check. Quality shooter—check. Hard nose defensive attitude–check. Good head on shoulders–check. Sounds like a guy who could carve out a Derek Fisher type career. And that’s just fine by Hudson, “I would like to have a career just as successful.”

Pat Calathes Senior St. Joes.

The unbridled fondness for Calathes continues, but listen, I need this kid to have a fine career so when I interview for a NBA GM spot I can say I knew he was going to be good… and I have the proof! Pat plays kind of like Luke Walton. Pat handles and passes the ball like a guard and has the shooting touch of a guard, all the while being 6′10 and rather unathletic. I’m not saying that Walton is that great of a shooter, but the comparison is still mostly there in my eyes. Let it fester awhile. You’ll see it.

Bill Walker Sophomore Kansas St.

Bill’s name has shown up on mocks as early as a lottery pick and as late as a 40 something pick. Quite frankly the guy would be a great fit in Detroit, maybe backing up Prince, provided Tayshuan is still in a Piston’s uniform next year. Bill’s strength reminds me of Paul Pierce. Bill will definitely get the nod in terms of athleticism, though both have similar bodies and are about the same size (6’6). Both sometimes methodically make their way to the basket using their muscle and brute force. If Walker can improve is outside shooting as his career moves on, he could put up Paul Pierce like numbers. Though I’m not saying he will average 16ppg like Pierce accomplished in his rookie year.

Any players in this draft remind you of current NBA’ers?

If you got any, just leave a comment!

Following in the footsteps of Michael Beasley, Kansas Jayhawks Brandon Rush, Darrell Arthur and UCLA phenom Kevin Love all declared for the NBA draft today.

Rush and Love were expected to declare, but to me, Arthur is a surprise. He averaged 12.8 points and 6.2 rebounds, which are average stats. Arthur did not sign with an agent, so he could always back out and return to school. This is the second time that Rush has declared himself eligible for the draft, so his NCAA eligibility is gone.

Love is one of the top big-men in the draft and could easily be a top 5 pick, depending upon which teams end up in the top 5 of the draft lottery.

I’m sure we’ll here of more underclassmen declaring in the upcoming days.

The clock is ticking…

March Madness is fast approaching.

Every conference game matters. One big win could secure your team a birth in the NCAA tournament. One huge loss could dash your team’s hopes to play in the post-season.

Here are some of the biggest games to watch this week:

Tonight: #15 Michigan State at #9 Wisconsin - the Badgers are tied for first place in the Big Ten with Indiana and Purdue, while the Spartans are trying to play catch-up. Wisconsin needs to win this game to put the pressure on the Boilermakers and Hoosiers.

Saturday March 1st - Kansas State at #7 Kansas - super-freshman Michael Beasley could do a lot for his Player of the Year candidacy if he leads the Wildcats to a victory over UK. The Jayhawks are one game behind Texas in the Big 12 standings, and a loss to KSU would really hurt their chances at winning the regular season conference title.

Sunday March 2nd - #4 UCLA at Arizona - Arizona lost by 22 to UCLA at Pauley Pavilion back in early February, but the Wildcats are a different team at home. Kevin Love and the Bruins should be on high upset alert.

There are some incredible college basketball games on tap for this week. Here are the best ones to watch:

Wednesday February 6th: #2 Duke at #3 North Carolina - Tar Heels versus Blue Devils. Dean Dome. Nothing more needs to be said.

Thursday February 7th: #4 UCLA at #17 Washington State - terrific Pac 10 contest. Can Kevin Love and the Bruins overcome Derrick Low and the Cougars?

Saturday February 9th:#6 Georgetown at Louisville - Roy Hibbert and the Hoyas face a tough road challenge against the Cardinals at Freedom Hall.

Now that we’re in the midst of the conference schedules, there are some great matchups this week that you don’t want to miss:

Wednesday January 16: Florida at #15 Mississippi - the Rebels face a stiff test from the 15-2 new-look Gators. Can freshman Nick Calathes and the young Gators figure out how to win on the road in the SEC?

Thursday January 17: #14 Vanderbilt at #7 Tennessee - the battle for the bragging rights of Tennessee should be a great contest. Vandy is 16-1 while the Vols are 14-1. Great SEC contest.

Saturday January 19: USC at #4 UCLA - this game could be labeled the Battle of the Freshmen Sensations as the Trojans OJ Mayo will square off against Bruin phenom Kevin Love.