Wednesday, January 9, 2008

Recruiting: Lance Stephenson: Born Ready?



I guess its becoming a right of passage to have a movie made out of your story if you play at Lincoln High and you're pretty nasty. Looks like Lance "Sir Lancealot" Stephenson is going to have a documentary made of his life, its pretty similar to the Telfair gem "Through the Fire". I think this is a bit ridiculous, especially because they say Lance Stephenson wants to be like Telfair and Marberry - not exactly people I'd aspire to be. Regardless Lance Stephenson is an incredible player, I'd love to see him in a Nova uniform but it doesn't appear thats going to happen any day soon. Last I read hes looking at Duke, UNC, G-Town, Indiana, Kansas etc, someone please keep this kid out of the Big East, hes a beast. Check out the trailer its pretty cool, especially the part when he nearly gets into a fight in a park. Gotta love the NJ Nets own Ian Eagle with the voice over.

Random Basketball Notes and Thoughts

I spent the past few days with my buddy Paul watching a ton of College and NBA games ranging from the Knicks vs. Anyone (we love Knicks Color Guy Walt Clyde Frazier) to Loyola MD vs. Kansas. Here are some random thoughts we came up with:

- Nick Calathes is a fantastic point guard for Florida, he just has no one that knows where he is going to pass the ball. (I guess he got the talent in the family) Almost every single one of his turnovers came because no one rolled to the basket or the forward he was trying to get open had his back turned. He kind of looks like he was chizzeled out of stone. We also loved Thunder Dan Werner, hes like a poor man's Tyler Hansbrough in that he plays 100 mph each game. Jai Lucas was fun to watch as well, he's going to be a typical Lucas kid when he graduates though, great skills, great shooter, 10 Day contract in the NBA and cut once they realize hes too small. He'll be a stud in Europe though.


- Loyola MD vs. Kansas was an intreguing game for us to watch on ESPN Full Court. First off it was broadcast on the Kansas JayHawk network so the play by play guys were hilarious Kansas homers who would basically laugh at everything Loyola would do (Loyola was pretty awful yet somehow scored 60 points). The reason we watched this game was former Providence player Gerald Brown is on Loyola's roster. Gerald Brown is averaging close to 20 PPG this season for the GreyHounds after a huge season last year where he averaged 22. The 6-4 Brown is a physical guard who was a pretty good player at Providence a few years ago, I never quite understood why he transfered to a MAAC school. Brown looked alright against the JayHawks netting 13 points but overall this game was a bloodbath. Kansas is dangerous this season,I want nothing to do with them in the NCAA tournament.

- God the Knicks are awful. Somehow they beat Chicago last night, if anyone saw the highlights, Kirk Hinrich got abused by Jamal Crawford, it was real ugly. Really though, the only reason we watch Knicks games is to listen to Walt Clyde Frazier use huge words that no one knows the meaning of, come up with hilarious rhyming phrases and say "Da Knicks". Google Walt Clyde Frazier and you can find a ton of lists of his notorious phrases like "Spinnin and Winnin", its good stuff. Hes a real gem, makes Knicks games bearable. Also love when they get Mr. March Madness on there, Gus Johnson. When they pair Johnson and Frazier its must see TV, seriously, if you have MSG I advise watching Knicks games, you'll laugh at the basketball and the play by play, its fantastic.

- Seton Hall got robbed last night, they should've beaten Marquette if Timmy Higgins didn't get involved, but wow Seton Hall looked awful. They may be the sloppiest team I've ever seen on a basketball court. Their jerseys don't fit, no one on the roster seems to be able to hit a three pointer or a mid range jumper and that coach, don't get me started on him, he was obnoxious at Manhattan and gets worse each day. What was Eugene Harvey thinking when he decided to go there? Marquette also didn't look like the 16th best team in the nation, though I love the addition of Dominic James/Earl Boykins clone Maurice Acker, the 5'8 165lb transfer from Ball State. Speaking of transfers on Marquette there is Dan Fitzgerald, a transfer from Tulane. For anyone who hasn't seen him hes a 6'7 sharp shooting skinny white guy who wears a shooting sleeve and gels his hair in a side part. Enough said.

- Jason Kidd goes for another triple double last night against Charlotte but his team gets killed. How a6-4 guy who cant jump and is that old can average 8.8 rebounds a game is beyond me. Kudos to J-Kidd, now please trade him to the Lakers or the Mavericks so he can win a championship before he retires. I'm heading to the Nets v. Sonics game tonight and to Nets v. Celtics on Friday, I'll keep you posted if J-Kidd gets another 10-10-10 game.

- Hasheem Thabeet is scary, he finally realized that he can dunk everything when he is even close to the rim and hes doing it. Way to go Hasheem! Jeff Adrian cracks me up, he tries to do everything with so much power that its beginning to hurt him. He shoots a 15 footer like hes shooting a half court shot and he lays the ball in so hard that it pops out because hes so focused on slapping the backboard. Hell of a player though for his size, I'd take him at VU anyday.

- The Suns shot something like 60% from three the other night, even GRANT HILL is hitting threes on this team (hes shooting 35% despite being a career 20ish% three point shooter). Send Andre Miller there (career 15% three point shooter) and see what happens. What gets into these guys when they get to Phoenix?

- Kyle Lowry's minutes are being eaten up by Greg Oden's boy Mike Conley over in Memphis. I'm really disappointed in that development, Lowry was having a stellar season getting 10-4-4 in 25 minutes a game now he is collecting splinters on the bench. I hope he gets out of Memphis ASAP, Bill Simmons of ESPN suggested he should end up on a team like the Spurs. I sure hope that happens.

- It has become a right of passage in the NBA to block Yao Ming. Last night he was blocked and astonishing 4 times against Washington and it seems every time Sports Center comes on Yao is getting stuffed. I love how he called his team out for being soft, please.

- Has anyone seen Frank Caliendo do his impressions of Bill Walton or Charles Barkley? If you havent go on youtube and enter Frank Caliendo Charles Barkley/Bill Walton Impression, you wont regret it.

Thats all for now, time for my lunch break.

Pitt Game EFF Ratings and Player Notes

Villanova 64 - Pitt 63

Malcolm Grant led the Wildcats with a Career High 22 points

Pittsburgh Game EFF and EFF/M Ratings

EFF

Malcolm Grant - 16.000

Antonio Pena - 14.000

Dante Cunningham - 11.000

Shane Clark - 5.000

Dwayne Anderson - 4.000

Reggie Redding - 2.000

Scottie Reynolds - 2.000

Corey Fisher - 1.000

EFF/M

Antonio Pena - .6667

Malcolm Grant - .5926

Dante Cunningham - .3438

Dwayne Anderson - .2667

Shane Clark - .2632

Reggie Redding - .0667

Scottie Reynolds - .0645

Corey Fisher - .0500

Notable Player Evaluations:

Malcolm Grant: This game cemented Malcolm as one of the most important players on the team this season. Jay Wright has been quoted in various interviews saying Grant is the heart and soul of this team and no game proved this better than Sunday's battle against Pitt. Grant came in when it looked like Villanova was down and out and energized the entire team by hitting threes, trash talking opposing players on defense and bringing the team's confidence back. It looks like we're going to be seeing a lot more of Malcolm Grant in the future, we're a better team when he is on the floor. Note: The injury at the end of the game was just leg cramps resulting from illness earlier in the week. Grant will be back at full strength for Cincinatti

Antonio Pena: Another impressive performance from Antonio Pena. 12 points including a ferocious dunk off a no look Malcolm Grant feed to go along with 4 rebounds and solid defense. Pena is really coming along nicely this season, his EFF numbers have been steadily increasing and it looks like he is ready for Big East play. I love his body control in the post and the little flashes of his array of hook shots and spin moves that come out each game. He is doing a great job filling in for Drummond while hes out and I expect his minutes to increase with each game. When Drummond gets back our front court is going to be about as strong as its been in years, I love having this much depth.

Dante Cunningham: Clutch Clutch Clutch. That is beginning to be Dante's mantra for the season. This is now three instances this season where Dante has hit the final shot(s) for us in big game situations. (I'm counting the NC State tip in play) I loved his rebounding tenacity against Pitt and his fire to keep competing after being knocked to the ground hard a number of times. Dante's warrior like mentality is key to this team and I am beginning to think that he is the most important player on the roster. Great game for Dante against a mamouth in Djuan Blair despite poor shooting from the field. Keep it up big fella, we're going to need you.

Scottie Reynolds: Another off game for Scottie Reynolds, but he played with poise in the closing minutes and contributed to the game winning play with a great dump down pass to Cunningham. Jay has cited various things in interviews ranging from a sore knee, a sore hand/wrist and getting to the game late because of Church for reasons why Scottie was so off. Overall I was happy with his passing as he seemed to know his shot was off and his defense was pretty solid. Hopefully the week off helps Scottie get rid of the bumps and bruises and he comes out strong against Cincinatti, he needs it to get himself out of this slump.

Corey Fisher: Not a good game overall for Corey after leading the team in scoring against DePaul. He played lose with the ball in the first half and missed a stupid lay up on a breakaway. His second half play was much better especially the and-one lay in that he converted at a big point in the game. Nothing to worry about here, this was a good wake up call for Corey, now he knows he needs to bring it every single game from here on out. I love the way he supports Malcolm though, its good for those two to develop a strong relationship as they are the future of of Guard U.

Dwayne Anderson: I loved Anderson's contributions to this game. Especially loved the way he crashed the offensive boards and tipped balls all around allowing our guys to secure the rebound. He was clutch from the foul line and converted a very athletic lay up, thats all I can ask for from Dwayne. I still don't like seeing him take three point shots, that shouldn't be his game at all. Overall I like what we're getting from him in 15 minutes a game, he brings energy, hustle and athletic ability on the glass. Nice stuff from the Junior Captain.

This is the biggest win of the season for the Wildcats against an incredibly physical Pitt team. This win is something the team can build on now that they understand how to win ugly in the brutal BigEast. Lets hope the week of rest helps the bumps and bruises and gives Dante's body a chance to recover so the Cats can win in convincing fashion against Cincinatti on Saturday.