Sports InsideOut

Top 10 (includes top 3 players with stats, and comments on team) 1. Syracuse Tyler Ennis 11.6 PPG 5.7 APG, Jerami Grant 12.3 PPG, 6.5 RPG, CJ Fair 17.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG This is the easiest choice, they are far and away the best team in the country right now.  Jerami Grant is phenomenal, he is a great defender, and can shoot from anywhere, and is also a huge post presence.  Tyler Ennis is one of the three best PGs in the country, along with Aaron Craft, and Marcus Smart.  CJ Fair is an all-american.  Behind that, they have 3 other athletic big men who also have awesome names: Baye-Moussa Keita, Dajuan Coleman, and Rakeem Christmas (so does Duke transfer guard Michael Gbinije).  Anyways, Keita, Coleman, and Christmas could start on almost any team in the country, and lead the team (and maybe the league) in blocks.  In Syracuse's famous 2-3 zone, it is critical to have these big, strong and athletic big men. 2. Michigan St Keith Appling 16.4 PPG, 4.6 APG, Gar...

College basketball truly began this past weekend with the first weekend of conference play.  Oregon lost its first game of the season to number 24 Colorado.  Michigan St took down Indiana.  Undefeated Wisconsin came back to beat ranked Iowa after Fran McCaffery was ejected.   Kansas lost at home to a very talented 21st ranked San Diego St team.  It was an exciting weekend and showed me why college basketball is so great.  Here is a video of the college basketball highlights since 2010. I am going to answer two big questions for this post. Question 1: Duke, Kansas, North Carolina and Indiana are four of the best programs in the country.  Recently, they haven't done very well.  All four of these programs are not in the top 15 of this week's poll, and have struggled lately.  Two are unranked.  Will this be a trend for the rest of the year or is this just a slow start? In my opinion, the answer is different for all of these ...

For this blog post, I would like to do something called a blind resume.  Here are the resumes of two teams.  They include SOS (strength of schedule rank in the country), RPI (a computerized ranking of each team), and record (W-L).  It is your job to decide which two of these four teams should be a number one seed. Team 1                    Team 2                 Team 3                Team 4 Record: 9-3            Record: 12-1        Record: 11-1        Record: 11-2 RPI: 4                     RPI: 13                RPI: 1                   RPI: 35 SOS: 2                   SOS: 79     ...

I love college basketball. I forget how much I love it during the summer, but it is officially my favorite sport. A few comments about coaching decisions before I start: 1. Did Minnesota really hire Rich Pitino when he had just 1 year of head coaching experience? 2. Wow Steve Alford, really classy. 3. Brad Stevens, Butler forever? 4. Andy Ennfield: Dunk City to The International City. My basketball coach last season used to make me do a running drill called an 8-6-4-2. Here is my written version of the drill: 8 best teams in the country right now 1. Syracuse This was an easy pick.  In their win vs. Indiana, they looked better than any team that I have seen all year. Tyler Ennis is a top 5 point guard in the country, and Trevor Cooney is a top 5 shooter in the country.  CJ Fair is a top 5 player, rounding out their unbelievable trio, and backed by great inside players, it forms a great team. 2. Ohio St If only they had a scorer...  Aaron Craft and Shannon Scoo...

1. Dwight Howard, C Howard has been in limbo for over a year now, first with the magic, then with LA.  Hopefully this will end tomorrow at some point.  Howard has many suitors.  The Mavericks, the Hawks, Clippers, Nets, even the Warriors have a tiny chance.  He could even stay with the Lakers.  But, the Mavericks are just too old, the Hawks will not have a star once they lose Josh Smith, the Clippers and Nets don't have enough money, and I would be surprised if he stayed with the Lakers based on how bad of a season he had last year.  I think that he will go to the Rockets.  The Rockets want him more than any other team, and they would immediately be a contender with him. Suitor: Rockets 2. Chris Paul, PG This is probably the easiest to determine of the 5.  It is pretty obvious that Paul will stay.  He is happy with the Clippers organization for the most part, and especially about one thing.  They traded for Doc Rivers.  Rivers ...

Top 10 Picks Analysis 1. Anthony Bennett, Cavaliers, PF NBA Comparison- Zach Randolph This was a HUGE surprise! Anthony Bennet going 1 overall!  It was a good pick though.  They didn't reach for Nerlens Noel, and instead picked a solid Power Forward, who may eventually be an All-Star. Grade: B+ 2. Victor Oladipo, Magic, SG NBA Comparison- Andre Iguodala This is a very solid pick.  Oladipo has good upside, and could turn into an Andre Iguodala type player, with his athleticism, and defense. Grade: B+ 3. Otto Porter, Wizards, SF/PF NBA Comparison- Jeff Green I am not very high on Porter.  He fits their system, and went to college in DC, but he is just not crazily talented. Grade: C+ 4. Cody Zeller, Bobcats, C NBA Comparison- Brook Lopez I think that this is a solid pick for the Bobcats.  They don't need high-upside guys, they need guys who will be NBA starters, and good ones, too.  Zeller is very underrated in my opinion. Grade: B 5. Alex Le...

Before I start my post, I wanted to say that the NBA has lost so much.  First Derrick Rose, then Rajan Rondo, then Kobe Bryant, and now Russell Westbrook.  The NBA has to become a game where players stop hurting their knees and feet/ankles.  There have been so many victims.  Yao Ming lost his career to it, Al Jefferson tore his ACL, and still isn't the same.  So many teams are losing their title chances to mid to lower leg injuries.  These injuries leave a lasting effect on not only the player that suffers the injury, but the entire NBA as well. Do the Warriors have any chance of beating the Spurs with David Lee? How about with him? David Lee may or may not come back again in the Warriors vs. Spurs series.  I think that they have a chance to beat the Spurs with or without David Lee.  Having David Lee would certainly help, but they can win it either way.  Lee racks up more stats than he is a good player.  He averages many points and r...