Just the other day a question was posed on Yahoo! Answers asking the following,

“Rate the following College Players in terms of their “pro-potential”, you can even compare 2 current NBA plyrs?

*Luke Harangody
*Stephon Curry
*Tyler Hansborough
*Drue Holiday
*Blake Griffin”

Alright I say, fair enough. Sure the dweeb can’t spell T-Rex’s name correctly and has not yet been corrected for referring to Jrue Holiday as ‘Drue’, but he has managed to correctly identify 5 of the best players in college hoops right now.

Let’s check out a particular response,

From Nick C.,

Luke Harangody: Matt Harpering. Both are built tough and like to bang, but because of height both are tweeners… at one point Matt Harpering was 6′9. He sure has shrunk since being in the NBA as he’s now 6′7″. I think 6′8″ Luke will shrink some too. That being said if Luke gets drafted by a team that could utilize his talents namely rebounding and hustle play, he could have a long career. Especially if he continue to develop his outside shot.

How have I not been aware of this shrinking phenomenon Nick C. is talking about?

What shall we call it?

Post from: EveryJoe

The players are shrinking the players are shrinking

I had pneumonia for the first time last year and recovered. And I’m older and in far worse shape than Harangody is.

Pneumonia is not fun, so I do hope that Harangody has a speedy recovery. I think I speak for everyone out there in the college basketball world and especially everyone at Notre Dame.

Post from: EveryJoe

Notre Dame’s Luke Harangody out with pneumonia

First his North Carolina Tar Heels were named preseason number one in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls.

Now the All-Everything forward from North Carolina was named to the Associated Press Preseason All-American team for a record third straight year – and this time he is the unanimous pick. Hansbrough is also the returning national Player of the Year.

UCLA guard Darren Collison, Davidson guard Stephen Curry, Notre Dame forward Luke Harangody and Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin make up the rest of the team. Collison was also named preseason All-American last year.

Post from: EveryJoe

More Honors for UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough

They return four out of the top five scorers. The team is senior laden and coached by one of the most underrated coaches in college basketball, Mike Brey.

Notre Dame Basketball is a big deal.

A few reasons why they are not on UNC’s level, or even Oklahoma’s…

Very little new blood will be infused to this team this year, as no freshmen or new transfers of any kind are on the roster. Consequently the team is not what you would call deep, but the firepower to score and score often is more than there. Losing Rob Kurz’s 12.5 ppg and 7.1 reb is significant especially considering that production in the lineup isn’t necessarily guaranteed to be filled. Redshirt sophomore Carleton Scott seems like the logical replacement, not in terms of position, but in terms of minute distribution. Starting position wise, 6’10 senior Luke Zeller will compete with fellow senior, 6’9 Zach Hillesland, for the second front court position alongside reigning Big East player of the year Luke Harangody.

6’7 Ryan Ayers, yet another battle tested senior, will be hard pressed to improve his stellar 45% downtown clip, but all the while will be a big part of the outside barrage and should be a likely double digit scorer for this squad (it will be interesting to see if the three point line change will adversely affect the Irish).

Tyrone Nash could be the sleeper choice out of the remaining bit players. Just a small premonition.

Guards Kyle McAlarney and Tory Jackson complement each other as well as any duo in the country. Kyle is a lethal shooter (44.1% 3pt fg) and Tory is the ringleader, the caddie, the shutdown corner.

Tory must improve his outside shooting efficiency (38.6% fg in 07) to be considered a true all around player. His gaudy 1.8 steals/gm and 5.9 assists/gm make him a consistent jumper away from being NBA material.

I’ll tell you this, the Fighting Irish may not have a lot of depth beyond the seventh guy, but it’s a solid and hungry group that can score in a variety of ways and know the roles in which they must carry out.

Next year transfers Ben Hansbrough and Scott Martin will be eligible to play, but with so many seniors departing, not to mention Harangody’s somewhat expected leap, the only chance to make serious noise is now.

Style over substance could be the theme that derails Notre Dame, but who doesn’t like scoring?

*Thanks to crackedsidewalks.com for having the Big East Prospectus easily available.

Post from: EveryJoe

Fighting Irish at #5

In no particular order and in no particular feeling of confidence either:

**** Scoff at it, just get mad at it UofA fans. Your team will lay an egg this year but totally get hot and win the NIT.

^ Addition by subtraction in Texas—ludicrous to say maybe, but D.J. and A.J. were beguiling wonders on the court that irrevocably held back the Longhorns from placing more impactful punches against stronger fighters.

$ The Spartans will further cement themselves as the college version of the 21st century Detroit Pistons. Each has won one championship, yet both fan bases are becoming impatient with the standstill success. So much talent yet so little to show for it.

#!#@ Calling Conference USA a power conference was a little wishful. That statement, although made while sober, still feels dirty, but it could end up alright. Just hoping Vaden or some other power conference guy can make a run at the scoring title.

? Calling Northwestern a NIT team was an undemonstrative springboard to tomfoolery, as this season I will probably be glued to all news NW basketball, akin to the energy I gave them during the Jitim Young and Tavaras Hardy days.

(Preview of Big Ten season)—Probably the most accurate prediction of the Big Ten season as you will find, minus the Michigan placement. No Big Ten quality pg will be available to suit up for the Wolvies until the second semester.—-

% Hasheem Thabeet is ready for a monster year and a long run into the tourney. It would not be surprising to see the Huskies stay in the top 5 for the entire season, especially if Thabeet can average 14.5ppg, 9 reb and more than 4 blk. Just think about the terror an offensively skilled Thabeet would be.

高人 Speaking of impact big men, one should keep an eye out for UNC-Asheville’s Kenny George. When fresh, he’s really not much different than your rudimentary 7 foot center, except for the fact George can regularly hit free throws and, while this might not seem feasible, still surprises many guards with his length. After awhile you’d think they would find new ways to attack a 7’7 dude, but often they make the same mistake over and over. However the time to attack George is when he’s sucking major air. Not exactly an original idea, yet, for huge guy, the opportunities present themselves much more frequently.

It’s almost as of George has decent enough foot speed to move laterally and react, but it’s the body that often takes awhile to catch up. If the coach can really substitute him frequently and wisely, UNC-Asheville will be the best in the Big South.

The next two are direct matchup predictions.

$$$ The Big Ten will once again fall to the superior ACC and it will, as it has always been, be because of the significant back of the conference weakness’s of the Big Ten. Need I go further?

\&/ The Fighting Irish will beat the Tar Heels in the finals of the Maui Invitational.

So with that out of the way,

#1

My pick to win the whole enchilada.

Discuss.

photo credit: Newscom

Post from: EveryJoe

Ahhh Finally

Harangody, a member of the 2006 Big East All-Rookie squad, should be out of action for 3-6 weeks and could potentially miss Notre Dame’s first six games of the year.

I always cringe when I hear about a player injuring his or her thumb. As anybody who has tried to play with a jammed thumb can attest, it affects every part of your game – your shooting, your passing (both dishing and receiving), and your rebounding.

Once your thumb is hurt, it is very easy to re-tweak it, which can be maddening.

Hopefully, Harangody will recover quickly. He figures to be a big cog in the Irish wheel this year.

Post from: EveryJoe

Thumb injury sidelines Irish F Harangody