NBA & NCAA Basketball Truths From R. Scates

Here are a few truths I learned from the hoop world this weekend…


-I have underestimated one Rajon Rondo. I am not a fan of his ability to shoot mid-range jumpers and free throws, but I have come to appreciate his toughness and how he brings value when he is on the floor. I thought it was impressive taking on the challenge of guarding Lebron James, who is 7 inches taller and outweighs Rondo by 70lbs. Until Lebron went into the post, Rondo was doing a peskily (if that’s a word) effective job keeping Employee #6 out of his offensive comfort zone. Like him or hate him, Rajon Rondo does the little things that pick the Celtics up and provides positive energy.

-KG talks a good psycho babble and even asserts his psycho on the smaller ones in the league, but when he gets stepped to, his hands go in the air and he backs off. After Rondo ran into a hard, yet legal screen, Garnett leaned his shoulder into Mike Miller who was chasing Ray Allen around a screen. Dwyane Wade then came to the defense of his teammate and Garnett backed right on down. Buck up player…

-Dwyane Wade is a more versatile player than Lebron James

-The Los Angeles Lakers played a tired game against the Orlando Magic, bring in Carmelo !?!?! - (sorry couldn’t resist)

-I wish both, but either the Golden State Warriors or Los Angeles Clippers will make the playoffs. Also, Monta is an All-Star.

-On the college side basketball of things the OSU loss to Wisconsin took a lot of pressure off those kids. I think OSU will get back dominating and secure a #1 tourney seed.

-Nolan Smith has stepped up big time for the Duke Blue Devils and should finish top 3 in the National Player of the year voting.

-It’s good to see UNC ranked and back on track. It looks like the departure of Larry Drew II was good for both parties.

-Texas Longhorns are playing the type of stifling defense that could carry them deep into the tourney.


-Rod
@rodscates is the Twitter for good debates and other sports truths

Scouting Player of the Year Candidate Jimmer Fredette

Preface: I've been hearing the hype about Jimmer Fredette for a while now, but I wanted to reserve my opinion until I actually saw him play for myself. The games I saw were against San Diego State (highlights and commentary courtesy of LTSB's ALR) and New Mexico. With that, here are my thoughts on Jimmer...

Offense
Offensively, I don't see too many individuals or schemes containing him on the college level. His offensive, and I do stress offensive, IQ is extremely high. As a defender you want to make an opponent settle or do something out of their comfort zone, but you really can't do that with Jimmer. All you can do is hope he takes a bad shot, but he'll still probably get the bucket. I think one thing people may not notice is that he plays at his own pace, which makes it tough to get him outside his comfort zone. He seems to jog up the court, kind of lulling a defender to sleep, one or two cross-overs later he has buried a step back 3. BYU also seems to run a high ball screen offense to get him into open space. I mention the offensive set because Jimmer's handle is very smooth. Running off high screens he often splits the defenders and has a clear path to the basket or pull up jumper. He also has the ability to run off curls for the catch and shoot, range probably not limited to 30ft and moves well without the ball. With all that said, Jimmer Fredette can flat out hoop on the offensive end of the floor and I if you haven't seen him play, don't wait until March Madness to do so... 7 games of 40+ points, just saying...

Defense
The coaching staff of BYU deserves credit for primarily playing zone because Jimmer's man to man defense is not a strength. To his credit he plays well within the zone. Jimmer covers his area well, and often has a hand up when he is supposed to. If a play breaks down though, more often than not, he will get scored on. I don't mean that disrespectfully, like he just can't play defense. I'm just saying that his lateral quickness is not where it needs to be and if he gets a dribble move put on him, the recovery may not happen. I know defense is not what BYU is concerned with, but I also know it needs to be for Jimmer if he wants to be on the floor to make an impact in the NBA.

Diagnosis
Obviously there are comparisons to BYU and Boston Celtic great Danny Ainge. I think Jimmer Fredette is more gifted than Ainge offensively, but defensively and an intangible of intensity is where any team now or past will take Ainge over Fredette. I've also heard comparisons to Stephen Curry, but I think that's due to the green light that Jimmer has at BYU. Curry put up ridiculous numbers at Davidson and took them to the Tournament promised land, but during that process Steph learned to be a point guard. That is something Jimmer is not focusing on right now, which is highly understandable. With that said, I think Jimmer could be a valuable role player at the next level if lands in the right system. I could see him being an asset to teams like the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks, or maybe even the San Antonio Spurs (system shooter).

- @lostherod

Video: Jimmer Fredette Scores 43 vs #4 San Diego State

BYU guard Jimmer Fredette is quickly becoming a household name, and for good reason. The kid simply get BUCKETS. In bunches. The 6'2 senior is averaging a NCAA leading 27.4 ppg this season including 33 on Arizona, 39 at UNLV, 47 at Utah and just last night hung 43 while handing #4 San Diego St. their first loss of the season. Here are the highlights:



Wow. The double crossover for the open three at :31 sec mark was just nasty. SO you can see all the hype is legit. In college basketball. I say this because there have been a more than a couple excellent college scorers in recent memory that didn't immediately transfer well into the NBA (Ben Woodside and Lester Hudson come to mind) but none with the media attention that Fredette is receiving so far. Many say he compares very favorably to Steph Curry when he was at Davidson and I can agree with that as they have similar size (Curry is listed at 6'3) and playing styles. But Fredette is playing with a better supporting cast than Curry ever had at Davidson, although I do believe Curry was a better passer. Worth noting.

I will say this, Jimmer's ability to score is undeniable. Even Kevin Durant thinks highly of Fredette, which is evident by this tweet from last night;

Fredette tested the draft waters last season and would have gone pro but the Knicks reportedly would not guarantee they would pick him with their second pick in the 2nd round, which was used to draft Andy Rautins (I still think that was a mistake, but what do I know...) If "The Jimmer" can test out well athletically at the NBA Combine I see no reason why he shouldn't be picked in the latter half of the first round in the 2011 draft as he has the ability to be a J.J. Reddick type scorer in the pros.

Until then, we'll keep watching the kid from Glens Falls with the unique name and sweet jumper get buckets in bunches.

-ALR

Video: Kentucky Freshman Terrence Jones Crossover And Dunk vs South Carolina

Terrence Jones is one of the top freshman in the country, and this cross up and smash puts some of various talents on display. So far this season the 6'8, 240 lb manchild is putting up 18ppg and 9 boards and may be next in a line of Coach Calipari one-and-dones. For good reason.

-ALR

Renardo Sidney Makes Debut as Player and Boxer

Mississippi State forward Renardo Sidney sat out the entire 2009-10 season after the NCAA ruled he received improper benefits while still in high school. Last night in Honolulu at the Diamond Head Classic, he made only his second apearance for the Bulldogs against the San Diego State Aztecs, scoring 19 points in 19 minutes off the bench.

After the game, Sidney got into an altercation with teammate Elgin Bailey while the team was watching Utah and Hawaii.

No word on what started the fight, but I score the round 10-8 for Sidney. Bailey barely got off a shot.

Sidney had been suspended an additional three games by head coach Rick Stansbury for conduct detrimental to the team, and is looking at a probable extension of that after this latest incident.

There had been questions about Sidney's character going back to his days as a high school phenom originally from Jackson, Miss. His family moved to Los Angeles during his ninth grade year, and Sidney graduated from Fairfax High School.

2010-2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Storylines

The road to the 2011 Final Four is underway and here are a few interesting story lines to keep an eye on as the season unfolds...

Can the Duke Blue Devils repeat as National Champions?

There is a very good possibility a repeat is on the horizon in Cameron due to the old adage, "Guard play is the key to NCAA Tournament success". This guard group is led by senior Nolan Smith, who could very easily win ACC Player of the year. Complimenting him is stud freshman Kyrie Iriving, who was the top rated PG coming out of high school and for good reason. I know they played Princeton, but 17pts and 9 assists isn't bad in a debut. Another piece in that guard play is Seth Curry, transfer from Liberty College that averaged 20 points as a freshman. Just for good measure, there is sharpshooting Andre Dawson who can come off the bench and easily knock down shots. Stellar guard play will probably be a Duke staple this year, but the front line has improved as well.

Another ACC player of the year candidate is Kyle Singler, but he can actually be a National Player of the Year candidate as well. Singler is complete college player as he can shoot from just about anywhere on the floor, create his own tough offense and can play defense. Miles and Mason Plumlee will add interior presence on the defensive end and clean up a few of those missed jump shots on the offensive end.

On the whole, it's tough to bet against Duke because they are such a well put together team, but we all know the Tournament is full of surprises.

Sticking with the ACC, will Harrison Barnes live up to the hype?

Harrison Barnes is a freshman at North Carolina that has been put into the perfect storm. North Carolina has been gutted by the NBA draft and is currently putting the pieces back together. Barnes has the potential to be a good scorer and be one and done in Chapel Hill. He has pretty good range and is quite explosive around the basket. UNC has a lot of work to do, finishing 10th in the ACC last season, but Barnes is the type of player that can elevate the play of his teammates.

The Big 10 Conference will be regarded as the best conference this season...

Purdue, Ohio State and Michigan State were tops in the Big 10 last season with 14-4 conference records.

Purdue's major loss is Robbie Hummel, who tore is ACL in practice and is out for the season. I don't think it will hurt them too bad as they had to play without Hummel for at least half of last season as well. They should finish in the top 3 again this year.

Ohio State will have to deal with the loss of Evan Turner, last season's National Player of the Year. Look for David Lighty to make his mark, and keep OSU in the discussion around the top of the conference.

Michigan State is my pick to win the conference as long as senior guard Kalin Lucas stays healthy. Lucas probably would have left for the NBA last year, if it wasn't for injury. This brings opportunity for MSU because Lucas is a top 5 guard in the country and having him back will win the Big 10 and I'll even predict at least an Elite 8 showing.

The middle of the conference is packed with talent as well with Illinois, Wisconsin and watch out for a team who could make some noise in Northwestern.

Last thoughts...

Gonzaga's Stephen Gray will be a good story and probably win WCC Player of the Year.

Kentucky's Brandon Knight is John Calipari's next one and done, but his impact for the Wildcats is going to be something nice.

Syracuse will be a tournament problem...

- @lostherod is the Twitter Handle

Freshman Enes Kanter Ineligible For Kentucky Wildcats

Tough blow for the Kentucky Wildcats... Per this report on ESPN, Freshman big man Enes Kanter has been ruled out for this season due to illegal benefits he received while playing professionally in Turkey (no Iverson). Of course, Kentucky plans to appeal the NCAA's decision.

The 6'11 272 lb Kanter played three seasons professionally overseas and was expected to have a big impact on the Wildcats chances of replacing all of the talent that jumped to the NBA draft this summer. The report says Kanter was paid over $33k more than his expenses for the 2008-2009 season in Turkey.

The news is unfortunate for Kanter as he was playing professionally overseas to help prepare him to take his game to the states. The 18 year old forward/center is currently ranked #5 on ESPN's big board for the 2011 draft. If the ineligibly ruling sticks the best option for Kanter may be to just make the jump to the NBA, which he was probably going to do anyway.

Kentucky is currently ranked #11 in the nation. Still, it's hard for Kentucky to replace a 6-11 mobile big man in the middle. Best of luck to coach Calipari and the Wildcats this season.

-ALR

Hugs for Huggins

"I'm Huggins and I can't get up!"

West Virginia head basketball coach Bob Huggins might want to give up walking anywhere unsupervised, ever...

Every summer for the last 3 years Huggins has managed to injure himself worse than the year before, all self-inflicted. He's like a one-man 3 Stooges slapstick routine. In summer of 2008, trips off the tarmac in an airport while on the phone and cracks his noggin. In 2009, he walks into a door in the middle of the night and gets 2 shiners for his trouble. Now in 2010 Huggy takes "medication" on an empty stomach, falls down, goes boom and cracks seven ribs in the process. What's he going to do in 2011 to top these; take a casual stroll off the Grand Canyon? Someone needs to have a hidden camera crew follow him around every summer to catch his blunders on video (get on this, Comedy Central).

Bobby, you're a multi-millionaire. Please get on your "Diddy" and hire a personal assistant to walk for you!

-ALR