College Basketball Transfer Rankings

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. According to our very own Jeremy Powers, Mark Lyons (pictured above) is one of the big transfers to keep an eye on in 2012/2013.

By Jeremy Powers

College basketball players are on the move now more than ever. Most programs are in need of that one spark plug to help the team get over that proverbial hump. Here are the top ten college basketball transfers that will help their teams improve this season.

10. Jabari Brown (Missouri) – Brown was a highly talented recruit, which was supposed to help rebuild a Oregon program that hasn’t made it to the NCAA tournament in recent years. After two games in Eugene, the shooter from California jumped ship and will help replace Kim English and Marcus Denmon.

9. Mark Lyons (Arizona) – A former Atlantic 10 standout while at Xavier, Lyons will bring back court depth and leadership to Arizona. Lyons will be making the transition to point guard for his former coach Sean Miller.

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Throwback Saturday Part X

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. Kemba Walker (pictured above) was the face of the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Who will be the face of the 2012 version of March Madness?

By Josh Kramer

Two and a half months later and “Throwback Saturdays” are still going strong.  Welcome to edition ten of our weekly throwback day. What was happening on March 24, 2011?  How about on March 24, 2010?  I have a gut feeling that March Madness was discussed in some facet.  Let’s take a look back and see what the major happenings were and how accurate I was with my analysis.

One year ago..

Sweet 16: Day 1 Predictions

Here is a snippet..

Connecticut vs San Diego State:  Can you say Kemba?  UConn has won 7 straight and are a perfect 10 and 0 in tournament play on the year heading into tomorrow’s showdown with a very talented and higher seeded San Diego Aztecs team.  Now I realize that most of the national media has been grilling the Big East.  I mean who wouldn’t.  The conference began the tourney with 11 teams and only 2 still remain as we begin the Sweet 16.  Let me state though, both of the teams still standing went 9 and 9 in conference play.  Name me another team that is still standing in this bracket that went 500 in conference play.  I will do one even better.  Name me a team that did not finish in the top 4 of their conference that is still alive.  But back to the topic at hand.  San Diego State is also on a hot streak of their own having won 7 consecutive games.  43, 25, and 30 sums it up for me though when looking at this matchup  (Jimmer’s point totals vs SDSU this year). Though the Aztecs play very solid defense and also have a very well-rounded scoring attack, they have failed to slow down teams with elite scorers all year.  Good luck slowing down Kemba.  At least one Big East team will find their way into the Elite Eight.  And it will be the UConn Huskies as they gut out 3 point victory behind the Kemba Show.

BYU vs Florida:  On paper, this game appears to favor the Cougars.  They put up over 80 points a game.  They have the edge on the boards.  And I could go on.  But not so fast.  BYU has not been the same since the dismissal of starting center Brandon Davies for breaking University rules.  Well this will be the first NCAA Tournament game where this vacancy in the paint really hurts.  It will also be the first game in the tournament where BYU plays a team seeded higher than 11^th.  The Gators are very deep and talented, and will be the loan SEC team to nab a spot in the Elite Eight.  The Jimmer Show has to end at some point.  Plus Bobby Knight laid out how you stop Jimmer on SportsCenter.  You better believe that Florida Coach Billy Donovan took notes on what the legend said.  I am going to stick with my original pick in this one as well. Gators by 2 in a thriller (To finish reading this post, click this link).

Throwback Saturday Part IX

Photo courtesy of kimoracochran.com. President Obama (pictured above) has proven that he really knows his hoops finishing in the 87.4 percentile of ESPN's Bracket Challenge last year.

By Josh Kramer

We have entered the third month of “Throwback Saturdays” For those of you who are unfamiliar with the routine.  This is a day where I look back at my posts on this date one year ago and two years ago.  Then we can decipher how spot on I was with my thoughts or how miserably wrong I was.  Typically, it is the latter scenario.  So what was happening on March 17, 2011?  How about March 17, 2010?  Let’s find out.

Nearly one year ago (March 18, 2011)..

Madness Highlights Thus Far

Here is a snippet..

No predictions today.  I will let my bracket play out a little.  But I wanted to check in and let you know my initial thoughts of this year’s edition of March Madness.

-Number one, I only went 11 of 16 in Round 2 (Round of 64).  That is not too good.  Shows how much I know.  President Obama went 14 of 16 and at the end of Thursday was in the 99.7th percentile in the ESPN Bracket Challenge (over 5.9 million participants).  Our President definitely knows his hoops.

-The Louisville game was by far the biggest shocker of the day.  I realize there were other upsets, but the Cardinals going down to an in-state Morehead State team?  I guess Louisville could technically be considered the 3rd best team in the state of Kentucky now?

-What a start to the first few games of the tournament. 4 of the first 5 contests came down to final second shots.  The tournament lived up to all of the hype and more in the first few hours of play.  And it is a good thing it did.  Because outside of the Michigan St./UCLA game, the nightcap was very weak, featuring multiple blowouts (To finish reading this post, click this link).

Throwback Saturday Part IV

Photo courtesy of zimbio.com. A little over a year ago today, Jerry Sloan (pictured above) was forced into stepping down from his position as the Head Coach of the Utah Jazz.

By Josh Kramer

So when I originally constructed the idea of “Throwback Saturdays,” I figured I would do it for a month or so.  It would be a change of pace for you all and give you some time to reflect a bit. With that being said, I feel as if this idea has been a rousing success thus far, at least from the feedback you all have given me.  Please provide further feedback in the comments section.  I have a feeling next week you may be seeing “Throwback Saturday Part V.”

Unfortunately, I did not put up a post on February 11^th in either 2010 or 2011.  So I apologize for letting you all down on those particular dates.  We will just have to settle for dates very close in proximity.

One year ago (February 10, 2011)..

Sayonora Sloan

Here is a snippet from the middle of the post..

Sloan is one of the greatest offensive masterminds of our generation.  The guy has won his entire career.  He handles his business the right way.  No ridiculous off court mishaps with this guy.  Yet ownership has chosen Deron Williams as the future?

Unless you live under a rock, you probably know who Deron Williams is.  He is a 5th year All Star point guard who played college ball at Illinois.  The guy is arguably the best point guard in the League (I would currently rank him behind Rose, Rondo, and Paul in all honesty though).  Any guy that puts up 20 points and 10 assists a night is doing something right.  But it has been well documented that Williams and legendary coach Sloan have had their fair share of tussles over the past year (To finish reading the post, click this link).

Why men’s basketball is greater than women’s basketball

Photo courtesy of lakers.topbuzz.com.

By Josh Kramer

Now that title is a bit deceiving.  By no means am I saying that men’s basketball is better than women’s basketball.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. Sure men’s hoop teams tend to be more talented, but the point here is that men’s basketball receives much greater viewership at both the collegiate and professional ranks than women’s basketball.  It is a simple fact.

Now why exactly does this happen?

Here are the five main reasons.

1. Women’s basketball is way too predictable.

First Half of 2011: The ball is over

Photo courtesy of The Epoch Times. 2011 started off with a fantastic BCS National Championship Game. Things have really gone sour with the NBA lockout beginning last night at midnight.

By Josh Kramer

We are at the half way marker of the year 2011. It is definitely hard to believe.  But 2011 has been an absolutely phenomenal year in the sporting world thus far.  Yet for every up, there has been a down sadly.  Here is a further look:

BCS National Championship Game (January 10th)

“French Open: The Tennis Version of March Madness?”

The 39th ranked player in the world John Isner (pictured above) pushed Clay Court King Rafael Nadal to the brink of elimination today. It would have been an upset for the ages.

Earlier today, Rafael Nadal, the uncrowned King of Roland Garros, was pushed to 5 sets in his first round match by American, John Isner.  Nadal has won the French in five of his six appearances at the Grand Slam Event.  He has turned Roland Garros into his 2nd home.   Court Philippe Chatrier has become his playground of sorts.  They may as well give Nadal a throne to sit on during changeovers.

In his quest toward tying Bjorn Borg for the most French Open titles ever at six, he was pushed to the brink in his first round match.  Surprising yes.  Shocking?  No.  The French Open, year in and year out, is the most unpredictable of the year’s 4 Grand Slam Tournaments for a reason.  Clay court tennis is grueling.  It is highly unpredictable.  And it is highly entertaining.

“Are the West’s 5-8 that Great?”

Allan Houston (pictured above) played a key role in helping lead the 8th seeded New York Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals. Do not expect the Memphis Grizzlies, despite a big time win today, to roll all the way to the Finals. But the Western Conferences 5 through 8 teams are pretty solid.

2 shockers already on this first Sunday of the NBA Playoffs.  The top 2 seeds in the Western Conference went down at home.  Could the Spurs and Lakers legitimately lose these series and turn the NBA Playoffs into April/May Madness?  It would be totally awesome with a capital A, but it will not happen.

“A Look Ahead in College Hoops”

I am already looking ahead to next year's College Basketball Season. One of the major questions in my eyes is whether UConn Head Coach Jim Calhoun (pictured above) will be back manning the sidelines for the Huskies next season.

So possibly the worst National Championship Game of all time ended what was arguably the wildest/most exciting version of March Madness in the history of College Basketball on Monday Evening.  Connecticut, a team that finished 9th in the Big East, going 9 and 9 overall, brought home their 3rd National Championship.

“Second Time is Not the Charm: Huskies Grind out Bulldogs”

 

The UConn Huskies ended Butler's National Championship hopes in perhaps the ugliest National Championship Game from an offensive standpoint of all time.

Wesley is a sports expert and journalist out of Philadelphia that writes for Bleacher Report.  You can check out all of his work at  http://bleacherreport.com/users/88810-wesley-kaminsky or follow his twitter @Wesley_Kaminsky

 

 53-41. Not your average National Championship game, huh?

In a wild college basketball season in which there has been no clear cut best team, it has finally come to an end, an ugly end in fact. The Connecticut Huskies won their third National Championship Monday night, grinding it out against the feisty Butler Bulldogs in a low scoring, cold shooting battle. You simply do not expect games like this in the National Championship.