Daily Basketball
NBA and NCAA blogging on an occasionally daily basis
Archive for March, 2006
March 30, 2006 at 4:05 pm · Filed under NBA, NCAA
Before discussing the new draft candidates, there’s been some talk about Kevin Garnett to discuss. Glen Taylor, owner of the Timberwolves, say the team doesn’t plan on trading their star, and that it isn’t even a possibilty that he’ll be moved this offseason.
The discussion comes at the same time as an article comes out saying the Chicago Bulls need to go after an all-star, possibly Garnett or Paul Pierce.
Speaking of Pierce, he said that is personally enjoying the soap opera that has been taking place in New York with the Knicks turmoil. “It’s one of the daily soap operas I check out. I think it’s good for the NBA. You need something like this to keep people into it.” That probably isn’t the answer NBA commissioner David Stern would have given.
Tyler Hansbrough will stick with the North Carolina Tar Heels for at least another year. Meanwhile, Guillermo Diaz of Miami and Marcus Slaughter from SDSU will be entering the draft this summer.
March 27, 2006 at 3:11 pm · Filed under NBA, NCAA
It is difficult to believe the GMU had yet to win an NCAA tournament game before this year. This time around they’ve upset North Carolina, and now UConn can be added to the list.
I doubt that there are many brackets in the world that picked this year’s group: George Mason, LSU, Florida and UCLA. There are no number one seeds, and just one number two seed who barely made it after the comeback against Gonzaga. None of these four teams bring any big names, though more people are beginning to recognize LSU players “Big Baby” Glen Davis and Tyrus Thomas, along with Florida’s tourney standout Joakim Noah.
It’s difficult to pick a favorite, but it would be awesome to see George Mason go all of the way and LSU would also be another popular choice. George Mason is matched up against Florida, and the winner will play the victor of the LSU-UCLA game.
It looks like Tyrus Thomas stock has really shot up. Some scouts and draft websites around the NBA say Thomas may now be the first pick overall.
Back to the NBA, Charlie Villanueva lit up Milwaukee in a game where he scored 48 points. That was a career-high, of course, for the rookie. Eventually, the Raptors lost, but Villanueva had this to say about his big scoring effort: “I’ve been in that zone before but to do it at this level is an even better feeling.”
March 24, 2006 at 6:23 pm · Filed under NBA, NCAA
It’s tough to say that Adam Morrison and his team got upset by UCLA consider the UCLA has the higher seeding, but this certainly isn’t the way Gonzaga hoped to send their star to the NBA. UCLA had been down for over 39 minutes of the game. One thing that will come out of it: you’ll likely find that bloodied gauze back on eBay, for you obsessive fans.
The bigger story of the night was Duke being upset by 4th seed, LSU. The Landlord (Shelden Williams) controlled the paint, but J.J. Redick had an off night (connecting on only 3 of his 18 shots) and LSU played too physical of a game for the Blue Devils.
The Texas-West Virginia game had an insane finish. Kevin Pittsnogle hit a clutch three with five seconds to tie the game and send it in to overtime. West Virginia, instead of calling time, throws the inbound pass and the ball gets down to Kenton Paulino who nailed a three just as time expired. Pittsnogle said, “We thought we had a pretty good shot to go into overtime. (Kenton Paulino) just tossed it up and it went in.” Talk about a great finish.
Amare Stoudemire was a success in his season debut. He scored twenty points and grabbed nine boards in just nineteen minutes. If he isn’t on a team in your fantasy league for some reason, make sure you go grab him…
Now Steve Francis is the whiner in the Big Apple. Francis has told reporters that he didn’t come to New York to come off the bench, and if it continues he’ll demand to be traded. I don’t know what the franchise (the Knicks) can do to turn the team around.
There’s some draft news stirring up, with Joakim Noah. Chad Ford believes he could go as high as number four…Another name is LSU freshman forward Tyrus Thomas, who helped lead the Duke upset.
March 23, 2006 at 4:57 pm · Filed under NBA, NCAA
It’s a lot easier to keep track of this March Madness when it’s down to the Sweet Sixteen. Here are the games remaining:
(1) Duke vs. (4) LSU – Duke’s problems on the boards may lead to a Sweet upset.
(1) Connecticut vs. (5) Washington – This could be a great game of offensive basketball.
(1) Memphis vs. (13) Bradley — Bradley’s season will likely end soon…as they are the lowest seeded team left.
(1) Villanova vs. (4) Boston College — May be closer than the seeding looks
(2) UCLA vs. (3) Gonzaga — Either team losing will be a disappointment.
(2) Texas vs. (6) West Virginia — Texas isn’t as highly rated as they were to begin the season, but still have the edge in this game.
(3) Florida vs. (7) Georgetown – Neither teams brings a big name to the table.
(7) Wichita State vs. (11) George Mason — Should be called ‘Battle of the Overachievers’
It’s hard to tell how Duke will finish the tourney, after they’ve lost to some mediocre teams…
Back to the NBA: Samuel Dalembert is on the bench after signing a $64 million contract over the summer. The invader: Steven Hunter, who was nearly traded away before failing a physical. Dalembert told the Philadelphia Enquirer, “Not starting is one thing but not playing is like them telling me what you were doing wasn’t good enough.” Hunter’s play over the last road trip (17 points, 3 blocks per game) may have been a factor.
Fred Hoiberg may not become the first player to play with a pacemaker after all. His comeback has come to a halt, and it seems that he may look for a front office position.
Amare Stoudemire will be returning to the hardwood floor soon. After an “extra” month of rehab, it seems that you can expect him back on the floor.
Karl Malone, the second leading scorer all-time, will have his jersey retired tonight at the Delta Center. Also, there will be a statue unveiled, right next to a bronze statue of teammate and friend John Stockton.
March 17, 2006 at 4:10 pm · Filed under NBA, NCAA
Adam Morrison had to almost single-handedly bring his team back from behind their victory over Xavier. I’m not sure what was more psychotic, his play, or all of the times he’d be talking to the ball or banging it against his head.
Coach Mike Davis will have his job for another day, after his Hoosiers beat SDSU. The team will face Gonzaga in the next round.
Gerry McNamara’s season is over, after Syracuse was upset yesterday. For the first time in his career, Gerry McNamara failed to hit a field goal and scored just two points. The timing for the poor play was pretty bad, as it was the last game he’ll play for the team.
Game results:
- Duke over Southern University, 70-54
- George Washington beat UNC-Wilmington, 88-85
- Texas A&M upset Syracuse, 66-58
- LSU ran over Iona, 80-64
- West Virginia beat Southern Illinois, 64-46
- Northwestern State beat #3 seed Iowa, 64-63
- Memphis ousted Oral Roberts, 94-78
- Bucknell beat Arkansas, 59-55
- Indiana beat SDSU, 87-83
- Gonzaga recovered to beat Xavier, 79-75
- Alabama upset Marquette by five, 90-85
- UCLA tore apart Belmont, 78-44
- Washington beat Utah State, 75-61
- Illinois beat Air Force by nine, 78-69
- Wichita State eliminated Seton Hall, 86-66
- Tennessee escaped Winthrop, 63-61
- Villanova beat Monmouth, 58-45
- Arizona handled Wisconsis, 94-75
- Montana upset Nevada, winning 87-79
- Boston College beat Pacific by twelve, 88-76
- Wisconsin-Milwaukee upset Okalahoma, 82-74
- Florida beat Southern Alabama by twenty-six, 76-50
- Georgetown got past Northern Iowa, 54-49
- Ohio State beat Davidson, 70-62
There are still several more games to be played tonight where we could see some more upsets, including North Carolina’s game against Murray State, and Texas is playing Penn.
Though the NBA is forgotten about by many general sports fans, the teams play on. Ron Artest will be making his return to Indiana for the first time since being traded to Sacramento.
March 16, 2006 at 9:23 pm · Filed under NBA
The war between Stephon Marbury and Larry Brown continues as Marbury strikes back. Marbury told the New York Daily News:”I’m no longer going to allow him to say things about me (and) I’m not going to say anything back,” Marbury said at yesterday morning’s shootaround. “That’s just not going to happen. I allowed him to drag me the first three, four months in the paper and I didn’t say one word. I just sat back and took it. I’m not taking it any more. If something is going to be said, I’m going to defend myself. My mother taught me that if somebody hits you, hit them back.”
Larry Brown sarcastically said, “that’s great”, before admitting that he has never been through anything like this with any other players. It’s hard to believe that after Brown spent part of his time coaching Allen Iverson, but the situation in New York makes it seem more likely that Marbury will be joining another NBA team this summer.
Marbury said that he has been dragged into this media mess, but it seems he threw the first punches when he first questioned the coached while saying he could play like “Starbury” and didn’t have enough freedom on the court.
Be ready for a long, NCAA review tomorrow.
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