Is anyone else surprised that Villanova isn’t being talked about as a top 25 team? Yes, they lost Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes – a combined 31 points a game from the backcourt. But remember when Scottie Reynolds, an All-American, graduated? Nova recovered nicely with Fisher. Continue reading →
I didn’t miss very often on high school prospects in the great state of Georgia. I especially didn’t miss on players that were physical specimens that had to go to junior college. I love those kinds of players. They are the true wild card.
St. John’s reeled in one of the best recruiting classes in 2011 and the Johnnies had a chance to roll out the new look on Tuesday night in an exhibition against C.W. Post.
What should we expect from Steve Lavin’s collection of talent? Well, the newbies played pretty well in a 110-80 win over the Division II school. Continue reading →
I have yet to meet someone that didn’t rave about what a cool guy Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey is. He’s a beyond likable guy.
Then there is this.
I’ll be darned if he isn’t the coolest basketball coach in America this week because of that. You can paint your chest all you’d like Bruce Pearl, but he ain’t jumping off a stage at full speed (for a 50-something) and plunge into a sea of undergrads.
It’s been nothing but good times in Queens, N.Y. since Steve Lavin arrived last May. On the court he led St. John’s to a surprising fifth place finish in the Big East which resulted in the Red Storm’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since way back in 2002 when Mike Jarvis was still in charge. Off the court he signed nine players – seven freshmen, one sophomore, and one junior – that resulted in the third best recruiting class in the country according to Rivals. After so many years in the college basketball wilderness, St. John’s is finally back in the spotlight. The extra media attention continued this week but for all of the wrong reasons. Continue reading →
In basketball, we love a good cliché. Oriakhi is a winner and a grinder. There, I feel better. Cliché is out of the way for the day.
Truth be told, Oriakhi is exactly the cliché used to describe him. He won in high school. He’s been sized up for a National Championship ring. Oriakhi has also been on teams that no one really gave much of a chance. His blue collar work (crap, there’s another cliché) is an anchoring point to that team’s success. Continue reading →
Chances are that by now, whether you are a college basketball fan or not, you have seen the footage of Thursday’s exhibition ending brawl between the Georgetown Hoyas and the Bayi Rockets of the Chinese Basketball Association.
With nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and the scored tied at 64, a hard foul on Georgetown senior guard Jason Clark by Rockets forward Hu Ke quickly escalated into both benches emptying onto the floor while mayhem ensued for a little over two minutes. Once order was finally restored, the game was abandoned.
Without an actual game broadcast, how the game got to that point will likely become another one of China’s mysteries, however it’s unlikely to make its way to “great” status. Continue reading →
By Justin Young National Hoops Report Follow @JustinDYoung Number 27 – Draymond Green, SF, Sr., Michigan State If you play in a fantasy college basketball league, you are probably eye-balling Green as the number one spot. As David Fox of Rivals.com puts it, Green is the ultimate stat-stuffer. You can’t even debate it. Green gets […]
By Justin Young National Hoops Report Follow @JustinDYoung Number 28 – Trevor Mbakwe, PF, Sr., Minnesota Mbakwe played for Matt Painter and USA Basketball over the summer and the Purdue coach recalled an interesting moment regarding the Gopher big man.
By Justin Young National Hoops Report Follow @JustinDYoung Number 29 – John Shurna, PF, Sr., Northwestern The Most Interesting Man in the World, he is not. In fact, John Shurna looks like a kid you’d see on Sunday helping his grandmother out of the family van in a church parking lot. He looks like the […]
By Justin Young National Hoops Report Follow @JustinDYoung Number 30 – James Michael McAdoo, PF, Fr., North Carolina I know, I know, I know. He’s not going to be playing a lot this year. I know you’ve said something to debate this selection already. I get that. But let’s not debate the fact that McAdoo […]
By Justin Young National Hoops Report Follow @JustinDYoung Number 31 – Orlando Johnson, SG, Sr., UC Santa Barbara He has the size. He has the upward progression. He has ever-growing confidence. He has a final year to prove himself as one of the nation’s best. He also wants to get back to the NCAA tournament.
Truth be told, he’s one of those outside the top 30 rankings that will be better in college than his national ranki… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…1 day ago