The Pac-10 makes a big deal about how there's some shadowy East Coast bias conspiracy against them all the time, but honestly, the Pac-10 basketball just isn't as consistently nor top-to-bottom good as other conferences. I think what causes this thinking though is the Pac-10 does seem better than most other conferences at creating NBA-style talents. Whereas a guy can be a top player in the ACC or SEC and end up overseas, the Pac-10 superstar is NBA-ready. Not sure if this is due to the west coast style of living, or what. I do know that with the tournament starting tomorrow, while every conference tournament this side of the Mississippi has had it's Wikipedia page updated for this year's tournament through this morning, including little shit ass obscure conferences, nobody's touched the Pac-10 2010 tourney page since February. So there is obviously a senseless passion issue involved in the Pac-10's lack of national respect. No senselessly passionate followers, no rabid curiosity is ramped up, and then casual people are less likely to be tricked into thinking it's the real-deal Holden Caulfield. But without further ado, here are the top fourteen dudes who has scoreded the most points the past four Pac-10 tournamental weekends (plus where they is now)...
#1: Darren Collison (UCLA guard; 119 points in Pac-10 tourneys '06-'09) - A constant contributor in all four years of college on a team that went to the Final Four three straight times. That's fucking crazy. He seemed like he was around for nine years because of this. Now, he plays for the New Orleans Hornets. The Hornets/Charlotte Bobcats/Oklahoma City Thunder/Memphis Grizzlies are just a giant clusterfuck of teams that could be the same ones inside my head. I honestly couldn't pick their uniforms apart if you took the distinguishing wording off of them.
#2: Malik Hairston (Oregon guard; 118 points in Pac-10 tourneys '06-'08) - Hard-working ass bitch, straight blue collar style guard, who after finishing college in 2008, was drafted by the Suns but traded to the San Antonio Spurs. Has made the cross-state trek between the Spurs in the NBA and the Austin Toros in the D-League multiple times since then, yearly, and currently is back on the Spurs roster, but you might want to double check that in a week, because only once has he gotten more than 10 minutes on the NBA court this season.
#3: Tajuan Porter (Oregon guard; 101 points in Pac-10 tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#4: Ryan Anderson (California forward; 99 points in Pac-10 tourneys '07 and '08) - Man, maybe there is an east coast bias in the media, because I never even heard of a Ryan Anderson. But he's some sort of three-point machine cyborg whiteboy who only played two years in college, did a year with the Nets, and now plays with the Orlando Magic, coming off the bench.
#5: Ayinde Ubaka (California guard; 97 points in Pac-10 tourneys '06 and '07) - Okay, here's another guy that rather than talk about him like I knowed him, let me just run you through his post-collegiate team allegiances. 2007: ASCO Slask Wroclaw and Energa Czarni Slupsk (both in Poland) and Deutsche Bank Skyliners (Germany). 2008: Antwerp Diamond Giants (Belgium), came back to the states for the NBA Summer League, and round out the year in the D-League with the Anaheim Arsenal. Started 2009 by getting waived from the D-League, so he bounced to the strangest named team I've come across, a German team called the New Yorker Phantoms, and then when this past fall's basketball season arrived, he hit a third continent, going to Australia to start for the Gold Coast Blaze. Yeah.
#6: Taj Gibson (USC forward; 93 points in Pac-10 tourneys '07-'09) - Brooklyn-bred bad ass who started all three years he played at USC, and was around during the O.J. Mayo year, where they ended up being exposed as having paid Mayo to come to USC, which would lead one to believe they probably paid Gibson as well. A great shot-blocker and defensive-minded player, Gibson was drafted into the NBA by the Chicago Bulls where he is an integral part of their ever-evolving collection of can't miss young talent that never seems to jibe together successfully to any large extent.
#7: Anthony Goods (Stanford guard; 91 points in Pac-10 tourneys '06-'09) - I do not remember this guy, and after four years at Stanford, all he's done is kick it on the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League. But back in 2005, while still in high school, he played on something called the Compton Magic Travel Team... Oh, I looked it up; it's an AAU team based in Compton, high profile as fuck, sponsored by Adidas. Nice to see these corporations giving back to the hood, isn't it?
#8: Leon Powe (California forward; 80 points in Pac-10 tourney '06) - Oh man, Leon Power was a role-playing budding blue collar bench star for the Celtics in their championship run a couple years back. Now he's on the Cavaliers roster, but only contributing about four points in 10 minutes a night.
#9: Josh Shipp (UCLA guard/forward; 79 points in Pac-10 tourneys '07-'09) - also part of three Final Four teams, although the first one in 2006, he was on the end of the bench in plain clothes due to a hip injury. Shipp now plies his trade for Bornova Bid in Turkey, and has already played in the Turkish All-Star game in fact.
#10: Jeff Pendergraph (Arizona State forward; 77 points in Pac-10 tourneys '06-'09) - You wanna talk about the growth of the Arizona State program, you could probably start the conversation around Pendergraph, who was a four-year starter and set records for games played and started and is in the school's top six all-time for points, rebounding, blocks, field goal percentage, and free throw percentage. He was drafted by the Sacramento Kings but ended up on the Portland Trailblazers bench.
#11: James Harden (Arizona State guard; 77 points in Pac-10 tourneys '08 and '09) - Pre-NBA draft hotness last year after his sophomore year with the Sun Devils, and was taken third overall in the draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. He has been inconsistent and probably hasn't lived up to his draft status, but whatevs, he got paid.
#12: Aron Baynes (Washington State center; 75 points in Pac-10 tourneys '06-'09) - West coast teams get Australians like a motherfucker, where you can find a big nearly 7-foot tall whiteboy to bang in the paint with a blue collar ethic because he's so bedazzled by American pussy. Baynes was that up in Washington, and after finishing up his eligibility last year, he finds himself in Lithuania balling for Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius.
#13: Brook Lopez (Stanford forward/center; 71 points in Pac-10 tourneys '07 and '08) - One half of those two big butt ugly twins that played for Stanford, Brook is the more successful one, who is an up-and-coming star on the worst team in the NBA and perhaps of all-time, at least by wins, in the New Jersey Nets. At least now that he's grown his hair out some, it can hide his mongoloidic face and perhaps he can get his NBA-style multiple baby mamas on.
#14: Gabe Pruitt (USC guard; 71 points in Pac-10 tourneys '06 and '07) - Another guy holding onto that dream, who has bounced a bunch between the NBA (mostly the Celtics, including their championship year in 2008, although also the Knicks) and the D-League (almost always the Utah Flash, but also the Los Angeles D-Fenders). He is currently on the Utah Flash team now.
Tuesday, March 9
S14: Top 14 Scorers From Last Four Big 12 Tournaments
The Big 12 doesn't really get the respect you'd expect when conversations start up about the greatest basketball conferences, because I guess historically they're not on the level of an ACC or Big East. But in the past decade or two, you can't really deny they deserve to be in the conversation. And when you think about how prolific they are in football every year, it could be argued that the Big 12, at least with the two cash money revenue sports, is the best athletic conference in college sports. The Big 12 tournament may not be as prestigious as some, especially factoring the thinking that the top few teams are already pretty much guaranteed entry into the Big Dance, but it's still something the players like to add to their resume. It gives them midwestern bragging rights, and if there's one thing the modern basketball player likes to do, it's talk shit. Here are the top fourteen overall scorers from the past four Big 12 basketball tournaments...
#1: A.J. Abrams (Texas guard; 161 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'09) - People sometimes don't realize how hard it is to get into the NBA, as there are only so many spots for employment, much less stardom. Abrams is the type of guy that can bless a university program, because he's as good as they came, but he wasn't quite great enough (or big enough) to make the jump into the NBA. So he played in Austin for four years, and played on two Elite 8 teams with other guys who went on to the NBA. He was a solid shooter, and took his game to Greece where he played for AS Trikalia 2000 before being released in December.
#2: Curtis Jerrells (Baylor guard; 148 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'09) - Jerrells was the force that led Baylor to a shocking championship game run in last year's tourney from the opening round (meaning four games in four days), which was a nice way to cap a collegiate career and help put some shine back to a program that a few years earlier had crazy players killing other players. Jerrells got a preseason sniff of the NBA in San Antonio, but is back in his hometown of Austin playing for the D-League's Austin Toros right now, where he made the D-League All-Star game.
#3: Mario Chalmers (Kansas guard; 136 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'08) - Big 12 tourney MVP his freshman year, and helped take Kansas to a National Title his junior year, then made the jump to the NBA. He was drafted by the Timberwolves, traded to the Heat, and had girls hiding in his hotel room at rookie orientation, which showed he was more than ready for the NBA. He had done well with the Heat, and being a defensive minded point guard, could see a long career in a league where really only one or two dudes are gonna take the shots so a solid point guard who can disrupt on defense is always wanted.
#4: Brandon Rush (Kansas guard; 126 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'08) - On the same three-year plan Chalmers was, bolting after the National Title they won for Bill Self, where he was drafted by the Trailblazers but ended up on the Indiana Pacers, where he's still starting and cashing large checks two years later.
#5: Damion James (Texas guard/forward; 98 points in Big 12 tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#6: Henry Dugat (Baylor guard; 96 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'09) - Dugat was also part of that Rebirth of Baylor team last year, and his career has gone south ever since, literally. He had a brief stint with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League, but was cut, and moved across the border to play for Los Toros Nuevo Laredo.
#7: Kevin Durant (Texas guard/forward; 92 points in Big 12 tourney '07) - Kevin Durant was one-and-done, so all his points were from that single 2007 Big 12 tourney. He is already considered an upper echelon NBA star, with the Oklahoma City team being built around at him at this point. Man, remember the Kevin Durant or Greg Oden questions before that draft? Turned out to not even be close.
#8: Richard Roby (Colorado guard; 91 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'08) - The light-skinned, soft-smiling, half-brother of Kenyon Martin who gave Colorado their best moments in recent memory, he tried to get into the NBA both summers since college has passed, but has ended up in the Israeli Premier League both times, last year for Bnei Hasharon, and this year for the always impressive Maccabi Haifa Heat.
#9: Jarrius Jackson (Texas Tech guard; 90 points in Big 12 tourneys '06 and '07) - A strong shooting guard who passed up his draft into the CBA by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers to go abroad, where he has played for Palma Aqua Magica (in Spain), Khimik OPZ Yuzny as well as MBC Mykolaiv (in the Ukraine), and now Fastweb Junior CM (in Italy). Seems to be setting up a career of overseas successes without an eye to the NBA, which is probably best for a guy who would want to be a part of the action, as starring in Europe is probably a lot more fun than sitting on the bench in the NBA, even if the latter paid far better.
#10: D.J. Augustin (Texas guard; 90 points in Big 12 tourneys '07 and '08) - Spent two years at Texas, including coming in as a freshman the same year Durant did, and now he's starting for the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA, but not nearly as prominently as Durant does for Oklahoma City.
#11: LaceDarius Dunn (Baylor guard; 89 points in Big 12 tourneys '08 and '09) - Still in college.
#12: Byron Eaton (Oklahoma State guard; 88 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'09) - I always used to like Oklahoma State's color scheme, but since they switched to those weird non-tank top sleeveless t-shirts that always look like they're too tight, it's hard to support them in anything. I hate to sound superficial but that's what's real. Eaton played all four years of eligibility with the Cowboys, and moved across state to play for the Tulsa 66ers in the NBA D-League this season.
#13: Josh Carter (Texas A&M guard/forward; 87 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'09) - Four years of solid Big 12 competition has equipped him to fuck people up in the German Bundesliga for EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
#14: Sherron Collins (Kansas guard; 85 points in Big 12 tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college.
#1: A.J. Abrams (Texas guard; 161 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'09) - People sometimes don't realize how hard it is to get into the NBA, as there are only so many spots for employment, much less stardom. Abrams is the type of guy that can bless a university program, because he's as good as they came, but he wasn't quite great enough (or big enough) to make the jump into the NBA. So he played in Austin for four years, and played on two Elite 8 teams with other guys who went on to the NBA. He was a solid shooter, and took his game to Greece where he played for AS Trikalia 2000 before being released in December.
#2: Curtis Jerrells (Baylor guard; 148 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'09) - Jerrells was the force that led Baylor to a shocking championship game run in last year's tourney from the opening round (meaning four games in four days), which was a nice way to cap a collegiate career and help put some shine back to a program that a few years earlier had crazy players killing other players. Jerrells got a preseason sniff of the NBA in San Antonio, but is back in his hometown of Austin playing for the D-League's Austin Toros right now, where he made the D-League All-Star game.
#3: Mario Chalmers (Kansas guard; 136 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'08) - Big 12 tourney MVP his freshman year, and helped take Kansas to a National Title his junior year, then made the jump to the NBA. He was drafted by the Timberwolves, traded to the Heat, and had girls hiding in his hotel room at rookie orientation, which showed he was more than ready for the NBA. He had done well with the Heat, and being a defensive minded point guard, could see a long career in a league where really only one or two dudes are gonna take the shots so a solid point guard who can disrupt on defense is always wanted.
#4: Brandon Rush (Kansas guard; 126 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'08) - On the same three-year plan Chalmers was, bolting after the National Title they won for Bill Self, where he was drafted by the Trailblazers but ended up on the Indiana Pacers, where he's still starting and cashing large checks two years later.
#5: Damion James (Texas guard/forward; 98 points in Big 12 tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#6: Henry Dugat (Baylor guard; 96 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'09) - Dugat was also part of that Rebirth of Baylor team last year, and his career has gone south ever since, literally. He had a brief stint with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League, but was cut, and moved across the border to play for Los Toros Nuevo Laredo.
#7: Kevin Durant (Texas guard/forward; 92 points in Big 12 tourney '07) - Kevin Durant was one-and-done, so all his points were from that single 2007 Big 12 tourney. He is already considered an upper echelon NBA star, with the Oklahoma City team being built around at him at this point. Man, remember the Kevin Durant or Greg Oden questions before that draft? Turned out to not even be close.
#8: Richard Roby (Colorado guard; 91 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'08) - The light-skinned, soft-smiling, half-brother of Kenyon Martin who gave Colorado their best moments in recent memory, he tried to get into the NBA both summers since college has passed, but has ended up in the Israeli Premier League both times, last year for Bnei Hasharon, and this year for the always impressive Maccabi Haifa Heat.
#9: Jarrius Jackson (Texas Tech guard; 90 points in Big 12 tourneys '06 and '07) - A strong shooting guard who passed up his draft into the CBA by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers to go abroad, where he has played for Palma Aqua Magica (in Spain), Khimik OPZ Yuzny as well as MBC Mykolaiv (in the Ukraine), and now Fastweb Junior CM (in Italy). Seems to be setting up a career of overseas successes without an eye to the NBA, which is probably best for a guy who would want to be a part of the action, as starring in Europe is probably a lot more fun than sitting on the bench in the NBA, even if the latter paid far better.
#10: D.J. Augustin (Texas guard; 90 points in Big 12 tourneys '07 and '08) - Spent two years at Texas, including coming in as a freshman the same year Durant did, and now he's starting for the Charlotte Bobcats in the NBA, but not nearly as prominently as Durant does for Oklahoma City.
#11: LaceDarius Dunn (Baylor guard; 89 points in Big 12 tourneys '08 and '09) - Still in college.
#12: Byron Eaton (Oklahoma State guard; 88 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'09) - I always used to like Oklahoma State's color scheme, but since they switched to those weird non-tank top sleeveless t-shirts that always look like they're too tight, it's hard to support them in anything. I hate to sound superficial but that's what's real. Eaton played all four years of eligibility with the Cowboys, and moved across state to play for the Tulsa 66ers in the NBA D-League this season.
#13: Josh Carter (Texas A&M guard/forward; 87 points in Big 12 tourneys '06-'09) - Four years of solid Big 12 competition has equipped him to fuck people up in the German Bundesliga for EWE Baskets Oldenburg.
#14: Sherron Collins (Kansas guard; 85 points in Big 12 tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college.
S14: Top 14 Returning Scorers in the Atlantic 10 Tournament
The Atlantic 10 Tournament has a strange format in that, of the 14 member schools, only the top 12 make the tournament. This year, that meant La Salle and Fordham stayed home. The first round games are played at the home site of the higher seed today, and those four winners advance to the tournament proper kicking off Friday in Atlantic City. Here are the top fourteen returning scorers from previous Atlantic 10 tournaments who may or may not actually make it to Atlantic City...
#1: Ryan Brooks (Temple guard; 88 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Senior guard to a very good Temple team, and a solid role player who can accept his position on a good team and allow someone else to be the star. Temple has always had solidly coached teams, and coach Fran Dunphy has carried on the wise tradition set by Don Chaney. The Owls are the number one seed going into Atlantic City and expected to do the conference proud in the NCAA tournament as well.
#2: Marcus Johnson (Dayton guard; 75 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - The Flyers have not had the season they expected to have, especially with high profile high school athlete Marcus Johnson maturing to his senior year. The first round game in Dayton tonight where they host George Washington is a showdown of underachievers to go to Atlantic City and get knocked out by Xavier, who is usually strong even in sub-par seasons.
#3: Bill Clark (Duquesne guard/forward; 62 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Part of a solid nucleus of returning players from last year's Duquesne team that made the A-10 championship game, yet they only earned themselves a #9 seed and will have to beat St. Bonaventure at home in Pittsburgh to earn a flight to Atlantic City and unenviable position of challenging the Temple Owls.
#4: Kevin Anderson (Richmond guard; 62 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - The Atlantic 10's player of the year this year, and he's still only a Junior. The semifinals on in the Atlantic 10 tourney actually should be some high quality basketball this year, as opposed to some seasons where there's one good team, two questionable ones, and then a bunch of go-nowheres.
(La Salle guard Rodney Green, who has scored 62 points in previous A-10 tournaments, would have gone here if La Salle had not finished next to last in the conference and not qualified for the damned thing.)
#5: Darrin Govens (St. Joseph's guard; 60 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Senior leader of a St. Joe's team that actually won the A-10 title two years ago, and has fallen to being the last team to qualify for this year's tournament. They have to win at Rhode Island tonight just to get into Atlantic City.
#6: Melquan Bolding (Duquesne guard/forward; 56 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Just recently signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens, and once broke his face.
#7: Damian Saunders (Duquesne forward; 56 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Saunders was named first team All-Atlantic 10 and the A-10 defensive player of the year. And yet, here they are, dwindling on the bubble of even going to Atlantic City. Might they upset Temple? Seems possible at least, and it is March, and the madness gets started long before the NCAA selection committee finishes tinkering with their brackets.
#8: Lavoy Allen (Temple forward; 48 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Allen's only a junior, and took over the A-10 this year, making first team All-A10, and clocking 12 double doubles. His dominating presence closer to the basket combined with Ryan Brooks on the perimeter make them a tough team to not go ahead and declare Kings of Atlantic City.
#9: David Gonzalvez (Richmond guard; 46 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - A guy like Anderson can become player of the year when surrounded by complementary teammates, like Gonzalvez, a second team All-A10 player, and defensive specialist, who has made his name known in Virginia during his run at U of R. A back court combo like Anderson and Gonzalvez not only makes them a tough team for the Atlantic 10 tourney, it makes them a legitimate threat in the NCAA tournament to get to the second weekend and maybe the elite eight.
#10: Eric Evans (Duquesne guard; 39 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Sophomore sensation on the Duquesne Dukes team, most noteworthy in recent years for having five players get shot up back in 2006.
#11: Garrett Williamson (St. Joseph's guard; 37 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - A solid shooter who has made the A-10 All-Defensive team two years in a row.
#12: Dan Geriot (Richmond center; 36 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Every non-premier basketball program in Division I needs a big ugly whiteboy to do some enforcing on the inside. That is Dan Geriot's job.
#13: Keith Cothran (Rhode Island guard; 34 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Senior season player; the Rams of Rhode Island have to beat St. Joseph's at home to earn a chance to play Saint Louis in Atlantic City.
#14: Mickey Perry (Dayton guard; 33 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Briefly played Big Ten ball in Wisconsin before transferring to Dayton, where he is petering out his last season of college basketball eligibility.
#1: Ryan Brooks (Temple guard; 88 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Senior guard to a very good Temple team, and a solid role player who can accept his position on a good team and allow someone else to be the star. Temple has always had solidly coached teams, and coach Fran Dunphy has carried on the wise tradition set by Don Chaney. The Owls are the number one seed going into Atlantic City and expected to do the conference proud in the NCAA tournament as well.
#2: Marcus Johnson (Dayton guard; 75 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - The Flyers have not had the season they expected to have, especially with high profile high school athlete Marcus Johnson maturing to his senior year. The first round game in Dayton tonight where they host George Washington is a showdown of underachievers to go to Atlantic City and get knocked out by Xavier, who is usually strong even in sub-par seasons.
#3: Bill Clark (Duquesne guard/forward; 62 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Part of a solid nucleus of returning players from last year's Duquesne team that made the A-10 championship game, yet they only earned themselves a #9 seed and will have to beat St. Bonaventure at home in Pittsburgh to earn a flight to Atlantic City and unenviable position of challenging the Temple Owls.
#4: Kevin Anderson (Richmond guard; 62 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - The Atlantic 10's player of the year this year, and he's still only a Junior. The semifinals on in the Atlantic 10 tourney actually should be some high quality basketball this year, as opposed to some seasons where there's one good team, two questionable ones, and then a bunch of go-nowheres.
(La Salle guard Rodney Green, who has scored 62 points in previous A-10 tournaments, would have gone here if La Salle had not finished next to last in the conference and not qualified for the damned thing.)
#5: Darrin Govens (St. Joseph's guard; 60 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Senior leader of a St. Joe's team that actually won the A-10 title two years ago, and has fallen to being the last team to qualify for this year's tournament. They have to win at Rhode Island tonight just to get into Atlantic City.
#6: Melquan Bolding (Duquesne guard/forward; 56 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Just recently signed a free agent contract with the Baltimore Ravens, and once broke his face.
#7: Damian Saunders (Duquesne forward; 56 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Saunders was named first team All-Atlantic 10 and the A-10 defensive player of the year. And yet, here they are, dwindling on the bubble of even going to Atlantic City. Might they upset Temple? Seems possible at least, and it is March, and the madness gets started long before the NCAA selection committee finishes tinkering with their brackets.
#8: Lavoy Allen (Temple forward; 48 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Allen's only a junior, and took over the A-10 this year, making first team All-A10, and clocking 12 double doubles. His dominating presence closer to the basket combined with Ryan Brooks on the perimeter make them a tough team to not go ahead and declare Kings of Atlantic City.
#9: David Gonzalvez (Richmond guard; 46 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - A guy like Anderson can become player of the year when surrounded by complementary teammates, like Gonzalvez, a second team All-A10 player, and defensive specialist, who has made his name known in Virginia during his run at U of R. A back court combo like Anderson and Gonzalvez not only makes them a tough team for the Atlantic 10 tourney, it makes them a legitimate threat in the NCAA tournament to get to the second weekend and maybe the elite eight.
#10: Eric Evans (Duquesne guard; 39 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Sophomore sensation on the Duquesne Dukes team, most noteworthy in recent years for having five players get shot up back in 2006.
#11: Garrett Williamson (St. Joseph's guard; 37 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - A solid shooter who has made the A-10 All-Defensive team two years in a row.
#12: Dan Geriot (Richmond center; 36 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Every non-premier basketball program in Division I needs a big ugly whiteboy to do some enforcing on the inside. That is Dan Geriot's job.
#13: Keith Cothran (Rhode Island guard; 34 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Senior season player; the Rams of Rhode Island have to beat St. Joseph's at home to earn a chance to play Saint Louis in Atlantic City.
#14: Mickey Perry (Dayton guard; 33 previous points in the A-10 tournament) - Briefly played Big Ten ball in Wisconsin before transferring to Dayton, where he is petering out his last season of college basketball eligibility.
S14: Top 14 Returning Scorers in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament
The MEAC tourney is held in Joel Coliseum in North Carolina, like it should be. Knowing the vibe of North Carolina, and knowing this is an HBCU tournament, that they spread out nicely, and actually mix in the women's tournament so every day you only get two or maybe three men's games, but a full buffet of like five games of varying genders in the first rounds, I can imagine this is a nice fucking tournament with a lot of wacky people watching type stuff going on to check out. And if you've gone to college basketball games live, you know that one of the best parts is watching the pep bands and cheerleaders during TV timeouts. I have watched enough barely overweight white girls try to shake their asses in sequined pants to expect the MEAC timeout parades to kick some fucking ass. Here are the top 14 returning scorers for this year's MEAC tournament, which kicks off tonight around supper time...
#1: Reggie Holmes (Morgan State guard; 134 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Morgan State is the #1 seed in this year's MEAC tournament, and it's entirely on the shoulders of Reggie Holmes, a hometown hero who hopes to repeat as MEAC tournament MVP and winner this year and go back to the NCAA tournament for a second straight year. Go Bears!
#2: Michael Deloach (Norfolk State guard; 88 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Norfolk State comes in the #4 seed and doesn't play until Thursday night against cross-metropolitan-cluster rival Hampton, and Michael Deloach is buckwild enough of a scorer to help the Spartans steal an automatic berth into the NCAAs. He's a guiltless shot-taker, hitting double digits on even an off-day, and topping 30 points a couple times this year. An All-MEAC first-teamer last year, he should repeat that without issue again this year, and has a shot at Player of the Year.
#3: Vincent Simpson (Hampton guard; 60 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Simpson is also a beastly game-changer within the relative levels of MEAC play, and that quarterfinal game Thursday night could just end up with him and Deloach trading shots.
#4: Jason Flagler (South Carolina State guard/forward; 47 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Hot scoring Senior who has the Bulldogs sitting in the #3 seed, awaiting the winner of the Maryland-Eastern Shore/Coppin State game.
#5: C.J. Reed (Bethune-Cookman guard; 43 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Team leader of a middle-of-the-pack inconsistent MEAC basketball team, meaning he, like many of the guys from yesterday's list, probably will no longer be in basketball this time next year.
#6: Michael Freeman (Hampton forward; 41 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Michael Freeman is a pirate.
#7: Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys (Norfolk State center; 39 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Senior center for the Spartans (stands 6'11") from the Bronx. On one hand, you can be like, "Hahaha, NYC urban ass gritty kid going to college to play baskeball, whatever, am I right?" But on the other hand, props to the world of HBCUs for giving this guy, should he be from a rough upbringing like you might assume a dude with a hyphenated name and icy glare in his promo photo from the Bronx to be like, a chance to experience something more than abject poverty his entire life. We get so caught up in the one-and-done major program wastes of collegiate space, we forget that there are a lot of guys who benefit from the exploitative nature of college basketball.
#8: Curtis White (Howard guard; 34 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Howard's a pretty prominent HBCU, so you'd think at some point they'd have a more successful basketball team, not because of black people stereotypes, but because any college, prominent in any way within any prism, ends up having alum who push for the school to be awesome in high profile sports, even if only a small scale. This apparently has not happened at Howard, though their yearly festival probably takes up most of their alumni generosities.
#9: Carrio Bennett (South Carolina State guard; 30 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - One of the more prominent Juniors in the MEAC, who should be domineering shit next season.
#10: Michael Harper (Coppin State guard; 25 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Coppin State has traditionally been a player in the MEAC in recent years, but this year they are the lowest seed going into the tournament, facing off against Maryland-Eastern Shore in the first round. Harper is only in his sophomore season (first team All-MEAC last year as a freshman), but he can light it up, and in a conference where one outstanding player can make you the team to beat, the Eagles might be booking hotel rooms in Dayton for the NCAA play-in game again in the next year or two.
#11: Frisco Sandidge (Delaware State forward; 25 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Delaware State is the #2 seed in this year's MEAC tournament, and plays the winner of the Bethune-Cookman/Florida A&M game in the late game on Wednesday night. They are led by a group of Senior players, including this guy. I have a hard time imagining a guy with the name "Frisco Sandidge" is not a chill ass dude.
#12: Brandon Tunnell (Hampton guard; 23 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Actually, Hampton seems to have a steady line-up of solid contributors, so maybe they can back door their way into the NCAA tournament again, where they scored a major upset over #2 seeded Iowa State in 2001, and almost upset Georgetown to make the Sweet 16 as a #15-seed.
#13: Thomas Coleman (North Carolina A&T forward/center; 22 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Prominent high school athlete in Kentucky who, at 6'9", plays center in the MEAC. Do tall people just not get born anymore, or are they just rushed so quickly into the NBA, no one's left to trickle down to the smaller colleges?
#14: Marcus Neal (Delaware State guard; 21 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Marcus Neal is the other main Senior in the Delaware State starting line-up along with Frisco Sandidge. These Seniors have also won the MEAC regular season titles in 2006 and 2007, only to lose the tournament championship game, and they went to the semifinals last year. A free trip to the NCAA tournament seems like it would be appropriate.
#1: Reggie Holmes (Morgan State guard; 134 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Morgan State is the #1 seed in this year's MEAC tournament, and it's entirely on the shoulders of Reggie Holmes, a hometown hero who hopes to repeat as MEAC tournament MVP and winner this year and go back to the NCAA tournament for a second straight year. Go Bears!
#2: Michael Deloach (Norfolk State guard; 88 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Norfolk State comes in the #4 seed and doesn't play until Thursday night against cross-metropolitan-cluster rival Hampton, and Michael Deloach is buckwild enough of a scorer to help the Spartans steal an automatic berth into the NCAAs. He's a guiltless shot-taker, hitting double digits on even an off-day, and topping 30 points a couple times this year. An All-MEAC first-teamer last year, he should repeat that without issue again this year, and has a shot at Player of the Year.
#3: Vincent Simpson (Hampton guard; 60 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Simpson is also a beastly game-changer within the relative levels of MEAC play, and that quarterfinal game Thursday night could just end up with him and Deloach trading shots.
#4: Jason Flagler (South Carolina State guard/forward; 47 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Hot scoring Senior who has the Bulldogs sitting in the #3 seed, awaiting the winner of the Maryland-Eastern Shore/Coppin State game.
#5: C.J. Reed (Bethune-Cookman guard; 43 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Team leader of a middle-of-the-pack inconsistent MEAC basketball team, meaning he, like many of the guys from yesterday's list, probably will no longer be in basketball this time next year.
#6: Michael Freeman (Hampton forward; 41 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Michael Freeman is a pirate.
#7: Joseph Dorsett-Jeffreys (Norfolk State center; 39 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Senior center for the Spartans (stands 6'11") from the Bronx. On one hand, you can be like, "Hahaha, NYC urban ass gritty kid going to college to play baskeball, whatever, am I right?" But on the other hand, props to the world of HBCUs for giving this guy, should he be from a rough upbringing like you might assume a dude with a hyphenated name and icy glare in his promo photo from the Bronx to be like, a chance to experience something more than abject poverty his entire life. We get so caught up in the one-and-done major program wastes of collegiate space, we forget that there are a lot of guys who benefit from the exploitative nature of college basketball.
#8: Curtis White (Howard guard; 34 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Howard's a pretty prominent HBCU, so you'd think at some point they'd have a more successful basketball team, not because of black people stereotypes, but because any college, prominent in any way within any prism, ends up having alum who push for the school to be awesome in high profile sports, even if only a small scale. This apparently has not happened at Howard, though their yearly festival probably takes up most of their alumni generosities.
#9: Carrio Bennett (South Carolina State guard; 30 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - One of the more prominent Juniors in the MEAC, who should be domineering shit next season.
#10: Michael Harper (Coppin State guard; 25 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Coppin State has traditionally been a player in the MEAC in recent years, but this year they are the lowest seed going into the tournament, facing off against Maryland-Eastern Shore in the first round. Harper is only in his sophomore season (first team All-MEAC last year as a freshman), but he can light it up, and in a conference where one outstanding player can make you the team to beat, the Eagles might be booking hotel rooms in Dayton for the NCAA play-in game again in the next year or two.
#11: Frisco Sandidge (Delaware State forward; 25 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Delaware State is the #2 seed in this year's MEAC tournament, and plays the winner of the Bethune-Cookman/Florida A&M game in the late game on Wednesday night. They are led by a group of Senior players, including this guy. I have a hard time imagining a guy with the name "Frisco Sandidge" is not a chill ass dude.
#12: Brandon Tunnell (Hampton guard; 23 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Actually, Hampton seems to have a steady line-up of solid contributors, so maybe they can back door their way into the NCAA tournament again, where they scored a major upset over #2 seeded Iowa State in 2001, and almost upset Georgetown to make the Sweet 16 as a #15-seed.
#13: Thomas Coleman (North Carolina A&T forward/center; 22 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Prominent high school athlete in Kentucky who, at 6'9", plays center in the MEAC. Do tall people just not get born anymore, or are they just rushed so quickly into the NBA, no one's left to trickle down to the smaller colleges?
#14: Marcus Neal (Delaware State guard; 21 previous points in the MEAC tournament) - Marcus Neal is the other main Senior in the Delaware State starting line-up along with Frisco Sandidge. These Seniors have also won the MEAC regular season titles in 2006 and 2007, only to lose the tournament championship game, and they went to the semifinals last year. A free trip to the NCAA tournament seems like it would be appropriate.
S14: Top 14 Returning Scorers in the Big East Conference Tournament
Like I said, the Big East tournament being held in the Big Apple at MSG is some hot historical shit to get involved with. And after the Big East expanded to 16 schools, they kept it at 12 in the tournament, which sucked. There is no reason every team in a conference shouldn't get into their conference tournament, although I understand the reasoning by not wanting your top teams who have earned the right to have an easier path have to play every day as well. (It can be argued though that the easier path you earn is by being bracketed to play lesser teams.) Well, the Big East started using that same staggered format that the West Coast Conference uses, where the lowest half of the conference plays on opening day. Then those four winners play the 5 through 8 seeds, giving the top four teams a bye into the third day's quarterfinal round. It makes it hard as fuck to come from the bottom and win, but it's pretty interesting, and you still have to win three games at least to win the tourney (make it five if you come from the bottom half of the conference). Here are the fourteen guys coming back to MSG this year who have scored the most points in previous Big East tournament shindigs...
#1: Da'Sean Butler (West Virginia forward; 129 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Senior dude made All-Big East 1st Team this year (2nd team last year) and is a loveable monster. Being I don't have any emotional attachment to the Big East really, and have always thought West Virginia the state was more of a southern state than stupid Maryland, and the fact Butler is a hyped ass exciting dude to watch, I will probably pull for them from afar, like by reading the agate results the next day in the newspaper. West Virginia gets double byes into Thursday.
#2: Scottie Reynolds (Villanova guard; 98 previous points in the Big East tournament) - He was one of the best players in the NCAA tournament last year, so barring any tragic injuries, being this is his Senior year that he came back for on purpose even though he could've been a lottery pick, he should take an already good Wildcats team up on his back and fuck some shit up. I just read today how when he was in high school, he stayed in the same school he was in even though everyone told him he should transfer to a high-powered basketball factory, and he actually bolted one game early in the 4th Quarter of a tournament game of some sort because he had Bible study to go to. Bible study.
#3: Lazar Hayward (Marquette forward; 95 previous points in the Big East tournament) - The best name in college basketball is in his senior season, and Marquette will play the winner of Tuesday's UConn/St. John's game, which might mean UConn, hellbent on forcing their way into the NCAA tournament. And a win would just get Scottie Reynolds and Villanova on Thursday afternoon. It all makes Saturday's championship game seem a long fucking way aways.
#4: Jeremy Hazell (Seton Hall guard; 60 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Junior guard made the Big East's all-second team, but Seton Hall has been an afterthought in the Big East for a while now. They play in the opening round against bottom feeder Providence (although I guess if you are the 15th seed in a 16-team tournament, you're not technically a "feeder"), and after that it would be the hot-as-fuck Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and if they get through that, Pittsburgh would await. And all that would only get them into the semifinals. Good luck next year Jeremy Hazell.
#5: Andy Rautins (Syracuse guard; 59 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Andy Rautins is a hot-shooting whiteboy from upstate New York who is helping stroke the engine of a team that's expected to make NCAA title dreams a near reality at least. Rautins' dad actually starred for Syracuse back in the early '80s, so his roots to the Orange go even deeper than the five years he's been on campus as part of their basketball team.
#6: Luke Harangody (Notre Dame forward; 58 previous points in the Big East tournament) - After being 2nd team All-American last year, the big hick from Indiana was expected to carry the Irish to new heights this year, but he got injured earlier this year, missed some time, and now comes off the bench for the Irish, even though he still made All-Big East first team. Notre Dame, as most football schools with potentially good basketball teams tend to do, has a history of underperforming their expectations on the hardwood.
#7: Corey Stokes (Villanova guard; 51 previous points in the Big East tournament) - The junior scoring back court counterpart to Scottie Reynolds, who can be inconsistent at times, and not quite the Bible studying fool that Reynolds is either, as he got a ticket for public urination a couple weeks back.
#8: Devin Ebanks (West Virginia forward; 49 previous points in the Big East tournament) - As a freshman last year, Ebanks contributed heavily to a Mountaineer team that made it to the Big East semifinals, and made the all-tournament team. The single bye team in their part of the Big East bracket (meaning the team most likely, if everything followed seedings, to play WVU) is an inconsistent Louisville team, so it looks good for West Virginia to make the star-studded semis again this year in MSG.
#9: Will Walker (DePaul guard; 48 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Senior star for the worst team in the Big East, and they tip-off the Big East tournament against a much better South Florida team at noon today, which means that by the time you probably read this, they're already on a bus back to Chicago.
#10: Tory Jackson (Notre Dame guard; 48 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Harangody's senior counterpart in the back court, and he's taken strong leadership of this team since Harangody's injury, and they actually seem to be playing better. There's a lot to be said for a solid-minded Senior guard running a team both literally and spiritually this time of year.
#11: Jerry Smith (Louisville guard; 46 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Senior leader on this Cardinals team, who actually missed the better portion of them upsetting Syracuse at home, if you can count winning the last game ever in Freedom Hall an upset, and Louisville, as any Rick Pitino team is, could be dangerous, both in the Big East tourney, and the NCAAs.
#12: Deonta Vaughn (Cincinnati guard; 45 previous points in the Big East tournament) - The best player (a Senior this year) on a low ebb for the Bearcat basketball team, still struggling to come close to that level drunk ass Bob Huggins had them at. The Bearcats will close out today's opening round against Rutgers tonight, and should probably win that one, but with Louisville awaiting the winner tomorrow night, getting much further than that does not look like a good bet.
#13: Samardo Samuels (Louisville forward; 41 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Sophomore star, and the pride of Jamaica, I should just let you know I bought a subscription to US Basket to get info on all these fuckers for this thing, and really the bio/outlook on Samardo Samuels is such an amazing piece of writing that I'm just gonna C&P it here, "A player form Jamaica, who considers as the top 89er of his country. Is been quite a number of years since the last time that Jamaica had such a player as Samardo looks to be. These 5 years in the States changed him totally, he god massive and can play easily the physical game, he has great moves in the paint and can score with more than one ways as he have been working quite hard with his shooting skills and has been improved in the specific sector too. He can become a great player; he will be definitely in the NCAA, next year and probably in a very nice college too, he already agreed to continue his career in Louisville but this could change." Couldn't have said it better myself.
#14: Stanley Robinson (Connecticut forward; 39 previous points in the Big East tournament) - UConn has been all sorts of not normal UConn this year, to the point that cancer-fighting coach Jim Calhoun actually benched Robinson and two other Seniors the last fifteen minutes in their final regular season game. Mind games. Calhoun's trying to pull some Bruce Leroy shit on these kids, to fire them up for one final run for the ol' ball coach, although he'll probably come back.
#1: Da'Sean Butler (West Virginia forward; 129 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Senior dude made All-Big East 1st Team this year (2nd team last year) and is a loveable monster. Being I don't have any emotional attachment to the Big East really, and have always thought West Virginia the state was more of a southern state than stupid Maryland, and the fact Butler is a hyped ass exciting dude to watch, I will probably pull for them from afar, like by reading the agate results the next day in the newspaper. West Virginia gets double byes into Thursday.
#2: Scottie Reynolds (Villanova guard; 98 previous points in the Big East tournament) - He was one of the best players in the NCAA tournament last year, so barring any tragic injuries, being this is his Senior year that he came back for on purpose even though he could've been a lottery pick, he should take an already good Wildcats team up on his back and fuck some shit up. I just read today how when he was in high school, he stayed in the same school he was in even though everyone told him he should transfer to a high-powered basketball factory, and he actually bolted one game early in the 4th Quarter of a tournament game of some sort because he had Bible study to go to. Bible study.
#3: Lazar Hayward (Marquette forward; 95 previous points in the Big East tournament) - The best name in college basketball is in his senior season, and Marquette will play the winner of Tuesday's UConn/St. John's game, which might mean UConn, hellbent on forcing their way into the NCAA tournament. And a win would just get Scottie Reynolds and Villanova on Thursday afternoon. It all makes Saturday's championship game seem a long fucking way aways.
#4: Jeremy Hazell (Seton Hall guard; 60 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Junior guard made the Big East's all-second team, but Seton Hall has been an afterthought in the Big East for a while now. They play in the opening round against bottom feeder Providence (although I guess if you are the 15th seed in a 16-team tournament, you're not technically a "feeder"), and after that it would be the hot-as-fuck Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and if they get through that, Pittsburgh would await. And all that would only get them into the semifinals. Good luck next year Jeremy Hazell.
#5: Andy Rautins (Syracuse guard; 59 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Andy Rautins is a hot-shooting whiteboy from upstate New York who is helping stroke the engine of a team that's expected to make NCAA title dreams a near reality at least. Rautins' dad actually starred for Syracuse back in the early '80s, so his roots to the Orange go even deeper than the five years he's been on campus as part of their basketball team.
#6: Luke Harangody (Notre Dame forward; 58 previous points in the Big East tournament) - After being 2nd team All-American last year, the big hick from Indiana was expected to carry the Irish to new heights this year, but he got injured earlier this year, missed some time, and now comes off the bench for the Irish, even though he still made All-Big East first team. Notre Dame, as most football schools with potentially good basketball teams tend to do, has a history of underperforming their expectations on the hardwood.
#7: Corey Stokes (Villanova guard; 51 previous points in the Big East tournament) - The junior scoring back court counterpart to Scottie Reynolds, who can be inconsistent at times, and not quite the Bible studying fool that Reynolds is either, as he got a ticket for public urination a couple weeks back.
#8: Devin Ebanks (West Virginia forward; 49 previous points in the Big East tournament) - As a freshman last year, Ebanks contributed heavily to a Mountaineer team that made it to the Big East semifinals, and made the all-tournament team. The single bye team in their part of the Big East bracket (meaning the team most likely, if everything followed seedings, to play WVU) is an inconsistent Louisville team, so it looks good for West Virginia to make the star-studded semis again this year in MSG.
#9: Will Walker (DePaul guard; 48 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Senior star for the worst team in the Big East, and they tip-off the Big East tournament against a much better South Florida team at noon today, which means that by the time you probably read this, they're already on a bus back to Chicago.
#10: Tory Jackson (Notre Dame guard; 48 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Harangody's senior counterpart in the back court, and he's taken strong leadership of this team since Harangody's injury, and they actually seem to be playing better. There's a lot to be said for a solid-minded Senior guard running a team both literally and spiritually this time of year.
#11: Jerry Smith (Louisville guard; 46 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Senior leader on this Cardinals team, who actually missed the better portion of them upsetting Syracuse at home, if you can count winning the last game ever in Freedom Hall an upset, and Louisville, as any Rick Pitino team is, could be dangerous, both in the Big East tourney, and the NCAAs.
#12: Deonta Vaughn (Cincinnati guard; 45 previous points in the Big East tournament) - The best player (a Senior this year) on a low ebb for the Bearcat basketball team, still struggling to come close to that level drunk ass Bob Huggins had them at. The Bearcats will close out today's opening round against Rutgers tonight, and should probably win that one, but with Louisville awaiting the winner tomorrow night, getting much further than that does not look like a good bet.
#13: Samardo Samuels (Louisville forward; 41 previous points in the Big East tournament) - Sophomore star, and the pride of Jamaica, I should just let you know I bought a subscription to US Basket to get info on all these fuckers for this thing, and really the bio/outlook on Samardo Samuels is such an amazing piece of writing that I'm just gonna C&P it here, "A player form Jamaica, who considers as the top 89er of his country. Is been quite a number of years since the last time that Jamaica had such a player as Samardo looks to be. These 5 years in the States changed him totally, he god massive and can play easily the physical game, he has great moves in the paint and can score with more than one ways as he have been working quite hard with his shooting skills and has been improved in the specific sector too. He can become a great player; he will be definitely in the NCAA, next year and probably in a very nice college too, he already agreed to continue his career in Louisville but this could change." Couldn't have said it better myself.
#14: Stanley Robinson (Connecticut forward; 39 previous points in the Big East tournament) - UConn has been all sorts of not normal UConn this year, to the point that cancer-fighting coach Jim Calhoun actually benched Robinson and two other Seniors the last fifteen minutes in their final regular season game. Mind games. Calhoun's trying to pull some Bruce Leroy shit on these kids, to fire them up for one final run for the ol' ball coach, although he'll probably come back.
(7s) Longest Serving U.S. Representatives #6 - Representative Fortney Hillman Stark Jr. aka Pete Stark (Democratic Bohemian Grover of California's 13t
The most striking thing about Pete Stark is how creepy and forced he looks when smiling in photo ops. Dude has seen some things behind closed doors, things that good rum don't erase. Stark took office on January 3, 1973, meaning he's been in Congress for about a month longer than I've been alive on this stupid Earth. His history is straight up white success - born in the midwest, graduated from M.I.T., served in the armed forces, did post-grad schooling at California-Berserkeley, and loved it so much he stayed. There he founded a banking business that blew the fuck up into a huge company (how do you found a bank anyways? just have a lot of money?) and he parlayed that into a life of making laws for the rest of us stupid asses.
California's Lucky 13th is situated mostly in Alameda County, a wealthy and highly diverse county that leans heavily Democratic flavor of the two-headed monster, and thus Pete Stark can get away with things like publicly proclaiming his atheism and talking shit about George Bush wanting to kill people for his own amusement on the House floor. But the best thing Pete Stark ever did, and what makes him slightly more tolerable than the rest of these assholes that he's just like anyways, is some soldier wrote him a letter back in 2004 regarding Stark's vote against the war in Iraq, and usually you'd not expect anything more than a form email response or some bullshit like that. But Stark actually broke off a call to the dude and left an angry voicemail for the guy that included, "But probably somebody put you up to this, and I'm not sure who it was, but I doubt if you could spell half the words in the letter, and somebody wrote it for you. So I don't pay much attention to it. But I'll call you back later and let you tell me more about why you think you're such a great goddamn hero." In the relatively low standards of our American career politicians, that's some drunken fury we've rarely seen in the last century of our stagnant bureaucracy.
Monday, March 8
S14: Top 14 Scorers From Last Four Atlantic 10 Tournaments
The Atlantic 10 Conference is not one I care about much, other than I always root for state of Virginia teams, and the University of Richmond is in the A-10. Although to be honest, Richmond is one of my least favorite state schools, mostly because of knowing the type of people who go there, but they're having one of their better years ever this year, actually cracking the Top 25 and staying there and being set for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The A-10 seems to usually have one team that's in an upswing, and then Temple who is always at least okay. Beyond that, it's just fourteen colleges that make up the Atlantic-10 (yeah, I know). Here are the top fourteen scoring machines from the previous four Atlantic 10 tournaments...
#1: Ahmad Nivins (St. Joseph's forward; 132 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'09) - Last year's Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and All-American honorable mentionee tried to get a shot at the NBA through summer leagues galore, but ended up Spain playing for Basquet Manresa, only to have his first professional season cut short in December by injury.
#2: Pat Calathes (St. Joseph's guard/forward; 123 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - Greek-American fucker did well at St. Joseph's (has a prominent basketball brother named Nick as well) and now is a star in his motherland country for Costa Cafe Marousi BC.
#3: Dionte Christmas (Temple guard; 120 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '07-'09) - Oh man, I remember watching a game or two where this Christmas kid would go crazy and score like 30 points, or just completely become the entire offense and there was nothing anybody could do. Went out as A-10 tournament MVP last year, and an All-American honorably mentioned guy. Hit the big NBA summer leagues last summer, and played with the 76ers during the preseason, but landed in Israel, starting for Hapouel Afula. I think every Israeli team can have three or four foreigners, and it's considered a strong launching spot back into the NBA. Or it pays well, which would go against conventional wisdom.
#4: Leemire Goldwire (Charlotte guard; 107 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - Possesses a very fluid name that I am going to name a character in some sort of bullshit after at some point in my life. Played in Greece, and then won a Bulgarian Cup with PBC Lukoil Akademik Sophia, and now is back in America on the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the D-League.
#5: Rob Ferguson (St. Joseph's forward; 106 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - Solid role player for St. Joe's for a number of years, now in Germany on the Noerdingen Giants.
#6: Mark Tyndale (Temple guard; 106 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - Post-college, spent some time in Australia's league, playing for the Adelaide 36ers, then came back to America to play for the Iowa Energy of the NBA D-League. Got some preseason activity with the Milwaukee Bucks this year, but is back at Iowa, hoping for a 10-day contract.
#7: Stanley Burrell (Xavier guard; 103 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - Along with Josh Duncan, part of the driving force that took Xavier to the elite eight in 2008. Post-Xavier, Burrell's had workouts for six different NBA teams, but spent last year in both Bosnia and the D-League with the Austin Toros, and now is starring in Belgium for VOO Verviers-Pepinster.
#8: James Baron (Rhode Island guard; 97 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'09) - All-A10 last year, one of those close-cropped hair like a fadecut whiteboys that you never know if they're actually white or Puerto Rican or something, like Dru Ha from the Boot Camp Clique, who could always get the pussy because he told them he was Spanish. Now the young Mr. Baron is in Turkey, running the offense for Mersin Buyuksehir Belediyesi.
#9: Aaron Jackson (Duquesne guard; 96 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '07-'09) - Senior leader of last year's Duquesne team that made a run to the Atlantic 10 title game in the tournament, he now plays the balls for Antalya in Turkey.
#10: Bryant Dunston (Fordham forward/center; 95 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - After an up-and-down career at A-10 second-tier team Fordham, he's played a couple years in the Korean Basketball League, starring for Mobis Phoebus.
#11: Tasheed Carr (St. Joseph's guard; 88 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '08 and '09) - You talk about a basketball vagabond... Carr actually played two years at Iowa State before transferring back home to Philadelphia to play for St. Joseph's. After college eligibility was done up, he played in a Spanish summer league, did a stint in the high profile Israeli Premier League, and then moved on to starring for the Jilin Northeast Tigers in the Chinese CBA.
#12: Ryan Brooks (Temple guard; 88 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#13: Tommie Liddell (Saint Louis guard; 87 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'09) - Tommie Liddell has taken his handsome doe-eyed smile and dangling braided hair down to Uruguay where he starts for a team called Bohemios. I imagine life is pretty good for a young Tommie Liddell.
#14: Josh Duncan (Xavier forward; 86 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - Just like former teammate Stanley Burrell, he's had multiple NBA workouts, and now plays in Belgium, for Belgacom Liege Basket. I wonder if they have an apartment together over there?
#1: Ahmad Nivins (St. Joseph's forward; 132 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'09) - Last year's Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and All-American honorable mentionee tried to get a shot at the NBA through summer leagues galore, but ended up Spain playing for Basquet Manresa, only to have his first professional season cut short in December by injury.
#2: Pat Calathes (St. Joseph's guard/forward; 123 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - Greek-American fucker did well at St. Joseph's (has a prominent basketball brother named Nick as well) and now is a star in his motherland country for Costa Cafe Marousi BC.
#3: Dionte Christmas (Temple guard; 120 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '07-'09) - Oh man, I remember watching a game or two where this Christmas kid would go crazy and score like 30 points, or just completely become the entire offense and there was nothing anybody could do. Went out as A-10 tournament MVP last year, and an All-American honorably mentioned guy. Hit the big NBA summer leagues last summer, and played with the 76ers during the preseason, but landed in Israel, starting for Hapouel Afula. I think every Israeli team can have three or four foreigners, and it's considered a strong launching spot back into the NBA. Or it pays well, which would go against conventional wisdom.
#4: Leemire Goldwire (Charlotte guard; 107 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - Possesses a very fluid name that I am going to name a character in some sort of bullshit after at some point in my life. Played in Greece, and then won a Bulgarian Cup with PBC Lukoil Akademik Sophia, and now is back in America on the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the D-League.
#5: Rob Ferguson (St. Joseph's forward; 106 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - Solid role player for St. Joe's for a number of years, now in Germany on the Noerdingen Giants.
#6: Mark Tyndale (Temple guard; 106 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - Post-college, spent some time in Australia's league, playing for the Adelaide 36ers, then came back to America to play for the Iowa Energy of the NBA D-League. Got some preseason activity with the Milwaukee Bucks this year, but is back at Iowa, hoping for a 10-day contract.
#7: Stanley Burrell (Xavier guard; 103 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - Along with Josh Duncan, part of the driving force that took Xavier to the elite eight in 2008. Post-Xavier, Burrell's had workouts for six different NBA teams, but spent last year in both Bosnia and the D-League with the Austin Toros, and now is starring in Belgium for VOO Verviers-Pepinster.
#8: James Baron (Rhode Island guard; 97 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'09) - All-A10 last year, one of those close-cropped hair like a fadecut whiteboys that you never know if they're actually white or Puerto Rican or something, like Dru Ha from the Boot Camp Clique, who could always get the pussy because he told them he was Spanish. Now the young Mr. Baron is in Turkey, running the offense for Mersin Buyuksehir Belediyesi.
#9: Aaron Jackson (Duquesne guard; 96 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '07-'09) - Senior leader of last year's Duquesne team that made a run to the Atlantic 10 title game in the tournament, he now plays the balls for Antalya in Turkey.
#10: Bryant Dunston (Fordham forward/center; 95 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - After an up-and-down career at A-10 second-tier team Fordham, he's played a couple years in the Korean Basketball League, starring for Mobis Phoebus.
#11: Tasheed Carr (St. Joseph's guard; 88 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '08 and '09) - You talk about a basketball vagabond... Carr actually played two years at Iowa State before transferring back home to Philadelphia to play for St. Joseph's. After college eligibility was done up, he played in a Spanish summer league, did a stint in the high profile Israeli Premier League, and then moved on to starring for the Jilin Northeast Tigers in the Chinese CBA.
#12: Ryan Brooks (Temple guard; 88 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#13: Tommie Liddell (Saint Louis guard; 87 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'09) - Tommie Liddell has taken his handsome doe-eyed smile and dangling braided hair down to Uruguay where he starts for a team called Bohemios. I imagine life is pretty good for a young Tommie Liddell.
#14: Josh Duncan (Xavier forward; 86 points in Atlantic 10 tourneys '06-'08) - Just like former teammate Stanley Burrell, he's had multiple NBA workouts, and now plays in Belgium, for Belgacom Liege Basket. I wonder if they have an apartment together over there?
S14: Top 14 Scorers From Last Four Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournaments
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference doesn't get the kitschy love that the CIAA does, even though both started out as Division II all-black college conferences. In 1979, the MEAC upgraded to Division I status, and this has really been the cause of conference affiliation switching for HBCU (historically black colleges and universities) in the mid-Atlantic ever since. Since 1995, a number of Division II teams from the CIAA (Hampton and Norfolk State at first) have moved up to the MEAC for Division I athletics, and Winston Salem State, which moved up a couple years ago, and hasn't even earned post-season eligibility yet, is moving back down already. But the MEAC tournament, with a few of the schools being basketball only (meaning no-football, and then all the other sports nobody cares about), is a happening affair. I guess the main difference is in Division II, the CIAA winner has a shot to win the national title, whereas in Division I, the MEAC champion has a pretty good shot at being relegated to the ridiculously unfair play-in game. Nonetheless, here are your top 14 point scorers from the previous four years of MEAC basketball tournaments...
#1: Tywain McKee (Coppin State guard; 184 points in MEAC tourneys '06'-09) - Tywain McKee is about the best thing the MEAC has seen in decades. He was first team All-MEAC from 2007 through 2009, MEAC tournament MVP 2008, conference Player of the Year in 2009, and actually an All-American honorable mention as well. Yet that's still a big big fish in a small pond, and post-college, he signed with the Wollongong Hawks in Australia, but has been out with injury since back in January.
#2: Reggie Holmes (Morgan State guard; 134 points in MEAC tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#3: Tony Murphy (Norfolk State guard; 128 points in MEAC tourneys '06-'08) - I remember Murphy taking over some game I watched on the TVs like mad; he had game. He was drafted by the Dakota Wizards of the D-League, played for the New Jersey Lightning in the Eastern Basketball Alliance, which I had never heard of before, but looked up, and they have like six or seven teams in Virginia alone. It looks like some minor league old basketball gym from 1958 type bullshit where dudes refuse to let their dream die that I'm gonna have to go check out. Now, Murphy starts for Angrabasket/Palmeiraspark in Portugal.
#4: Rashad West (Hampton guard; 114 points in MEAC tourneys '06-'08) - A most perfect small-time pro basketball post-college career for the former Hampton Pirate. Drafted simultaneously by the East Kentucky Miners of the CBA and the Idaho Stampede of teh NBA D-League. Chose Idaho, but got released before the season started, so he ended up starting for Obera Tennis Club in Argentina. Last summer, did well in the Eurobasket Summer League held in Las Vegas, which is basically a tryout for European teams, and he got signed by Gestiberica Ciudad de Vigo in the Spanish Gold League, but he then he split Spain last November.
#5: Roy Bright (Delaware State forward; 108 points in MEAC tourneys '07 and '08) - Actually started out collegiately as a hot prospect with Cincinnati, but behaviored his way down to Delaware State, where he starred for two years. After college, he's been all over, in American minor leagues I've never heard of (who are the Buford Majic?) and being a bit player in Latvian League. He was signed last fall by Baerum Basket as a potential starter in Norway, but was released one month later. Not exactly the high profile career you'd expect from a former high school phenom who was North Carolina Player of the Year in 2004. Still, if we all were successful, everybody would feel like it was status quo. The world needs flameouts.
#6: Corey Lyons (Norfolk State guard/forward; 105 points in MEAC tourneys '06-'09) - A kid from New York City who goes south to play at an all-black college, and has no professional history afterwards. I would imagine though that basketball is still part of his life, and often times you can make money without being a professional. This is not to suggest something nefarious about Corey Lyons, because he finished college and is probably a straight acting bro like anybody else. But there are streetball leagues, playground hustles, and shit, somebody has to play for the Washington Generals. Just saying, is all.
#7: Michael Deloach (Norfolk State guard; 88 points in MEAC tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college.
#8: Lamar Twitty (Florida A&M forward; 81 points in MEAC tourneys '06-'09) - Lamar Twitty, after his Senior season last year, has apparently fallen off the face of the earth. At least the internet-ified earth, which of course is a really in-depth and deep accounting of a small slice of the real world.
#9: Marquise Kately (Morgan State forward; 81 points in MEAC tourneys '08 and '09) - Actually from the West Coast, and started his collegiate career at California, before transferring all the way across the fucking country to Morgan State for some reason. Out of basketball now, perhaps still ghostriding a Greyhound back to the Bay Area.
#10: Chris Brown (Norfolk State guard; 73 points in MEAC tourneys '06 and '07) - Oh man, this is why the Eastern Basketball Alliance has to be awesome. Post-time at Norfolk State, Chris Brown went on to be the owner/general manager/starting guard for the Virginia Fastbreak, who played one season in the EBA last year. They no longer exist, but nearby there is now a team called the Tru-Hope Trailblazers, and these teams are a clusterfuck of former Division I guys, juco players, and guys who never got into anything after high school. It can only be the greatest thing ever. I hope they have a giant three-day tournament to crown the EBA champion somewhere within a three hour drive of me.
#11: Ed Tyson (Maryland-Eastern Shore guard; 67 points in MEAC tourneys '06-'08) - Post-MEAC, no longer in the sport of professional basketball. Another of many Baltimore kids on the northernmost teams of the MEAC member roll.
#12: Leslie Robinson (Florida A&M guard; 66 points in MEAC tourneys '07 and '08) - Post college, Leslie went back home to the Chicago area, and is playing for the Chicago Steam of the latest incarnation of the ABA, which has teams sprout up and disappear yearly in rapid and wacky fashion.
#13: Jermaine Bolden (Morgan State guard; 64 points in MEAC tourneys '08 and '09) - Morgan State is located in Baltimore, and Bolden is a Baltimore kid. They tend to recruit Baltimore's more awesome, less desireable kids, meaning guys not necessarily good enough to get into a private school at a young enough age on basketball to then get into a major program. Bolden is out of college now, still in Baltimore (I am guessing) but now with a college education. Think how Bodie or Omar could've turned out with a similar opportunity.
#14: Brian Greene (Florida A&M guard/forward; 64 points in MEAC tourneys '06 and '07) - Most successful recent Rattler post-collegiately, after a quick stint with the Jacksonille Jam of some league called the Premier Basketball League, he made a name for himself in the Ukraine, bounced through Slovenia briefly, and now starts for Antalya Buyuksehir Belediye in the Turkish Basketball League. Mad daps.
#1: Tywain McKee (Coppin State guard; 184 points in MEAC tourneys '06'-09) - Tywain McKee is about the best thing the MEAC has seen in decades. He was first team All-MEAC from 2007 through 2009, MEAC tournament MVP 2008, conference Player of the Year in 2009, and actually an All-American honorable mention as well. Yet that's still a big big fish in a small pond, and post-college, he signed with the Wollongong Hawks in Australia, but has been out with injury since back in January.
#2: Reggie Holmes (Morgan State guard; 134 points in MEAC tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#3: Tony Murphy (Norfolk State guard; 128 points in MEAC tourneys '06-'08) - I remember Murphy taking over some game I watched on the TVs like mad; he had game. He was drafted by the Dakota Wizards of the D-League, played for the New Jersey Lightning in the Eastern Basketball Alliance, which I had never heard of before, but looked up, and they have like six or seven teams in Virginia alone. It looks like some minor league old basketball gym from 1958 type bullshit where dudes refuse to let their dream die that I'm gonna have to go check out. Now, Murphy starts for Angrabasket/Palmeiraspark in Portugal.
#4: Rashad West (Hampton guard; 114 points in MEAC tourneys '06-'08) - A most perfect small-time pro basketball post-college career for the former Hampton Pirate. Drafted simultaneously by the East Kentucky Miners of the CBA and the Idaho Stampede of teh NBA D-League. Chose Idaho, but got released before the season started, so he ended up starting for Obera Tennis Club in Argentina. Last summer, did well in the Eurobasket Summer League held in Las Vegas, which is basically a tryout for European teams, and he got signed by Gestiberica Ciudad de Vigo in the Spanish Gold League, but he then he split Spain last November.
#5: Roy Bright (Delaware State forward; 108 points in MEAC tourneys '07 and '08) - Actually started out collegiately as a hot prospect with Cincinnati, but behaviored his way down to Delaware State, where he starred for two years. After college, he's been all over, in American minor leagues I've never heard of (who are the Buford Majic?) and being a bit player in Latvian League. He was signed last fall by Baerum Basket as a potential starter in Norway, but was released one month later. Not exactly the high profile career you'd expect from a former high school phenom who was North Carolina Player of the Year in 2004. Still, if we all were successful, everybody would feel like it was status quo. The world needs flameouts.
#6: Corey Lyons (Norfolk State guard/forward; 105 points in MEAC tourneys '06-'09) - A kid from New York City who goes south to play at an all-black college, and has no professional history afterwards. I would imagine though that basketball is still part of his life, and often times you can make money without being a professional. This is not to suggest something nefarious about Corey Lyons, because he finished college and is probably a straight acting bro like anybody else. But there are streetball leagues, playground hustles, and shit, somebody has to play for the Washington Generals. Just saying, is all.
#7: Michael Deloach (Norfolk State guard; 88 points in MEAC tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college.
#8: Lamar Twitty (Florida A&M forward; 81 points in MEAC tourneys '06-'09) - Lamar Twitty, after his Senior season last year, has apparently fallen off the face of the earth. At least the internet-ified earth, which of course is a really in-depth and deep accounting of a small slice of the real world.
#9: Marquise Kately (Morgan State forward; 81 points in MEAC tourneys '08 and '09) - Actually from the West Coast, and started his collegiate career at California, before transferring all the way across the fucking country to Morgan State for some reason. Out of basketball now, perhaps still ghostriding a Greyhound back to the Bay Area.
#10: Chris Brown (Norfolk State guard; 73 points in MEAC tourneys '06 and '07) - Oh man, this is why the Eastern Basketball Alliance has to be awesome. Post-time at Norfolk State, Chris Brown went on to be the owner/general manager/starting guard for the Virginia Fastbreak, who played one season in the EBA last year. They no longer exist, but nearby there is now a team called the Tru-Hope Trailblazers, and these teams are a clusterfuck of former Division I guys, juco players, and guys who never got into anything after high school. It can only be the greatest thing ever. I hope they have a giant three-day tournament to crown the EBA champion somewhere within a three hour drive of me.
#11: Ed Tyson (Maryland-Eastern Shore guard; 67 points in MEAC tourneys '06-'08) - Post-MEAC, no longer in the sport of professional basketball. Another of many Baltimore kids on the northernmost teams of the MEAC member roll.
#12: Leslie Robinson (Florida A&M guard; 66 points in MEAC tourneys '07 and '08) - Post college, Leslie went back home to the Chicago area, and is playing for the Chicago Steam of the latest incarnation of the ABA, which has teams sprout up and disappear yearly in rapid and wacky fashion.
#13: Jermaine Bolden (Morgan State guard; 64 points in MEAC tourneys '08 and '09) - Morgan State is located in Baltimore, and Bolden is a Baltimore kid. They tend to recruit Baltimore's more awesome, less desireable kids, meaning guys not necessarily good enough to get into a private school at a young enough age on basketball to then get into a major program. Bolden is out of college now, still in Baltimore (I am guessing) but now with a college education. Think how Bodie or Omar could've turned out with a similar opportunity.
#14: Brian Greene (Florida A&M guard/forward; 64 points in MEAC tourneys '06 and '07) - Most successful recent Rattler post-collegiately, after a quick stint with the Jacksonille Jam of some league called the Premier Basketball League, he made a name for himself in the Ukraine, bounced through Slovenia briefly, and now starts for Antalya Buyuksehir Belediye in the Turkish Basketball League. Mad daps.
S14: Top 14 Scorers From Last Four Big East Conference Tournaments
The Big East Conference, and this pains me to admit as a lifelong ACC loyalist, has to be considered the top basketball conference in college basketball. Maybe that's questionable historically, but in the past decade, for the sheer amount of great teams and hotly contested seasons, everything else is at least half a step behind the Big East. Of course, being an ACC fan growing up, the Big East was always considered overrated and some yankee bullshit. However, if I was picking college basketball tournaments to go attend live, this one would be near the top of the list, playing in Madison Square Garden, a four day clusterfuck of knockout games, stars shining on the big stage to get their NBA credentials on display... it's a great environment. And here are the 14 dudes who scored the most the past four Big East tournaments, along with where they are nowadays...
#1: Eric Devendorf (Syracuse guard; 168 points in Big East tourneys '06-'09) - Man, Devendorf was the perfect little shithead semi-thug rap generation whiteboy to play for a college basketball team located in upstate New York. Perfect. His freshman year, they won the Big East tournament in shocking fashion and he was on the All-Rookie team in the Big East. And then last year, he led the Orange to a tourney championship game loss, and was first team All-Big East. But mostly he was great for relentlessly and heartlessly shooting threes. If you could get away with making a white underclass version of the Harlme Globetrotters, Devendorf would be one of my first picks, along with Jason Williams. Devendorf dabbled in the D-League last year, for the Reno Bighorns, and currently kicks it in the land of the kiwis, playing for the Waikato Pistons in New Zealand.
#2: Sam Young (Pittsburgh forward; 157 points in Big East tourneys '06'-09) - Oh man, Sam Young was a fucking monster presence on the court, taking shit over with a fury. My interest in the Big East is casual at best, so when I see guys like him back in the day when he was still in college, I can latch on and off without any emotional attachment. But he was awesome. He helped take Pitt to tourney finals in '06 and '07, and won the MVP award helping them win the Big East tournament in 2008. After finishing college last year, he got drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies, where he currently is getting his young, black, and wealthy on to this day.
#3: DaSean Butler (West Virginia forward; 129 points in Big East tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#4: Wesley Matthews (Marquette guard; 105 points in Big East tourneys '06-'09) - Marquette kind of falls off my radar, to be honest. I know they are the Al McGuire school that won titles in the '70s, and then one of the Hoop Dreams kids went there, but that's it for me and my mental bank regarding Marquette. Matthews I don't even remember, but he's earned a slot in the NBA as a starter for the Utah Jazz, probably because he is a solid guard that stands 6'6". Guys that size who can play like a guard tend to get paid.
#5: Alex Ruoff (West Virginia guard; 104 points in Big East tourneys '07-'09) - West Virginia has a long tradition of balling ass whiteboys. Ruoff's time in West Virginia, which included two Sweet 16 runs, is nothing compared to winning the Belgian Supercup last year with his Belgacom Liege Basket team.
#6: Jeff Green (Georgetown forward; 102 points in Big East tourneys '06 and '07) - You know, I love John Thompson III as much as anybody, but seriously, the fact Georgetown was rocking Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert there for a few years and never made more March Madness noise. I guess they went to the Final Four, but that seemed like a line-up that was bound to bring another title to D.C. They did win the Big East tourney in '07, and Green was MVP, and he went on to be NBA All-Rookie in 2008, and is still a solid starter second fiddle to Kevin Durant on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
#7: Jerel McNeal (Marquette guard; 102 points in Big East tourneys '06-'09) - Oh man, Jerel McNeal was gonna be the hottest shit ever until he had some injuries last year in his senior season. Still he got a preseason roster slot with the Clippers, but didn't make the team, and now is Belgium of all places, starting for Dexia Mons-Hanaut.
#8: Levance Fields (Pittsburgh guard; 101 points in Big East tourneys '06-'09) - Fields was the braided cornrowed happy faced sharpshooter on the outside to complement Sam Young's Incredible Hulkness on the inside. They were at Pitt the same four-year period, and were a tough tag team to tackle. Still, to break into the NBA as a 5'10" guard is much harder than as a 6'6" forward, so while Young is in the NBA, Levance Fields runs the offense for Spartak St. Petersburg in the Russian Superleague. I would imagine with the Russian Mafia and just the general oddball nature of east Europe post-fall of Communism, the Russian Superleague is a wacky fucking hodgepodge of personalities.
#9: Scottie Reynolds (Villanova guard; 98 points in Big East tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college.
#10: Demetris Nichols (Syracuse forward; 97 points in Big East tourneys '06 and '07) - On Syracuse teams that won the Big East title in 2005 and 2006, and was drafted by the Trailblazers into the NBA. Since 2007, he bounced between short-term contracts in the NBA (mostly with the Bulls) and the D-League (mostly with the Iowa Energy - where he helped them win a coveted D-League Central Division Championship last year), but finally I guess got tired of not catching on long-term in the NBA, and now stars for BCM Graverlines Dunkerque Grand Littoral in France. Once again, I am reminded of how boring our American sports team names are. Instead of franchises, we should have institutes.
#11: Earl Clark (Louisville forward; 96 points in Big East tourneys '07-'09) - Helped lead Louisville to a Big East regular season/tournament title double award season last year, and then bolted for the NBA, where he's buried on the Phoenix Suns bench.
#12: Roy Hibbert (Georgetown center; 95 points in Big East tourneys '06-'08) - Hibbert is the perfect example of a big dude with a soft heart, which is not a negative thing necessarily, but it certainly means a lack of killer jugular jabbing instinct that makes for dominant players. Hibbert is a starting center for the Indiana Pacers, and will probably have a long and inillustrious career, doing just about what is expected of him, and not much more, if at all.
#13: Lazar Hayward (Marquette forward; 95 points in Big East tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college.
#14: Jonny Flynn (Syracuse guard; 95 points in Big East tourneys '08 and '09) - Last year was his sophomore sensation year at Syracuse, where he led them to a tourney title and a tournament MVP trophy for his self. He got drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he's averaging nearly 30 minutes a game with them, and played on the NBA All-Rookie team at All-Star weekend.
#1: Eric Devendorf (Syracuse guard; 168 points in Big East tourneys '06-'09) - Man, Devendorf was the perfect little shithead semi-thug rap generation whiteboy to play for a college basketball team located in upstate New York. Perfect. His freshman year, they won the Big East tournament in shocking fashion and he was on the All-Rookie team in the Big East. And then last year, he led the Orange to a tourney championship game loss, and was first team All-Big East. But mostly he was great for relentlessly and heartlessly shooting threes. If you could get away with making a white underclass version of the Harlme Globetrotters, Devendorf would be one of my first picks, along with Jason Williams. Devendorf dabbled in the D-League last year, for the Reno Bighorns, and currently kicks it in the land of the kiwis, playing for the Waikato Pistons in New Zealand.
#2: Sam Young (Pittsburgh forward; 157 points in Big East tourneys '06'-09) - Oh man, Sam Young was a fucking monster presence on the court, taking shit over with a fury. My interest in the Big East is casual at best, so when I see guys like him back in the day when he was still in college, I can latch on and off without any emotional attachment. But he was awesome. He helped take Pitt to tourney finals in '06 and '07, and won the MVP award helping them win the Big East tournament in 2008. After finishing college last year, he got drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies, where he currently is getting his young, black, and wealthy on to this day.
#3: DaSean Butler (West Virginia forward; 129 points in Big East tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#4: Wesley Matthews (Marquette guard; 105 points in Big East tourneys '06-'09) - Marquette kind of falls off my radar, to be honest. I know they are the Al McGuire school that won titles in the '70s, and then one of the Hoop Dreams kids went there, but that's it for me and my mental bank regarding Marquette. Matthews I don't even remember, but he's earned a slot in the NBA as a starter for the Utah Jazz, probably because he is a solid guard that stands 6'6". Guys that size who can play like a guard tend to get paid.
#5: Alex Ruoff (West Virginia guard; 104 points in Big East tourneys '07-'09) - West Virginia has a long tradition of balling ass whiteboys. Ruoff's time in West Virginia, which included two Sweet 16 runs, is nothing compared to winning the Belgian Supercup last year with his Belgacom Liege Basket team.
#6: Jeff Green (Georgetown forward; 102 points in Big East tourneys '06 and '07) - You know, I love John Thompson III as much as anybody, but seriously, the fact Georgetown was rocking Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert there for a few years and never made more March Madness noise. I guess they went to the Final Four, but that seemed like a line-up that was bound to bring another title to D.C. They did win the Big East tourney in '07, and Green was MVP, and he went on to be NBA All-Rookie in 2008, and is still a solid starter second fiddle to Kevin Durant on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
#7: Jerel McNeal (Marquette guard; 102 points in Big East tourneys '06-'09) - Oh man, Jerel McNeal was gonna be the hottest shit ever until he had some injuries last year in his senior season. Still he got a preseason roster slot with the Clippers, but didn't make the team, and now is Belgium of all places, starting for Dexia Mons-Hanaut.
#8: Levance Fields (Pittsburgh guard; 101 points in Big East tourneys '06-'09) - Fields was the braided cornrowed happy faced sharpshooter on the outside to complement Sam Young's Incredible Hulkness on the inside. They were at Pitt the same four-year period, and were a tough tag team to tackle. Still, to break into the NBA as a 5'10" guard is much harder than as a 6'6" forward, so while Young is in the NBA, Levance Fields runs the offense for Spartak St. Petersburg in the Russian Superleague. I would imagine with the Russian Mafia and just the general oddball nature of east Europe post-fall of Communism, the Russian Superleague is a wacky fucking hodgepodge of personalities.
#9: Scottie Reynolds (Villanova guard; 98 points in Big East tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college.
#10: Demetris Nichols (Syracuse forward; 97 points in Big East tourneys '06 and '07) - On Syracuse teams that won the Big East title in 2005 and 2006, and was drafted by the Trailblazers into the NBA. Since 2007, he bounced between short-term contracts in the NBA (mostly with the Bulls) and the D-League (mostly with the Iowa Energy - where he helped them win a coveted D-League Central Division Championship last year), but finally I guess got tired of not catching on long-term in the NBA, and now stars for BCM Graverlines Dunkerque Grand Littoral in France. Once again, I am reminded of how boring our American sports team names are. Instead of franchises, we should have institutes.
#11: Earl Clark (Louisville forward; 96 points in Big East tourneys '07-'09) - Helped lead Louisville to a Big East regular season/tournament title double award season last year, and then bolted for the NBA, where he's buried on the Phoenix Suns bench.
#12: Roy Hibbert (Georgetown center; 95 points in Big East tourneys '06-'08) - Hibbert is the perfect example of a big dude with a soft heart, which is not a negative thing necessarily, but it certainly means a lack of killer jugular jabbing instinct that makes for dominant players. Hibbert is a starting center for the Indiana Pacers, and will probably have a long and inillustrious career, doing just about what is expected of him, and not much more, if at all.
#13: Lazar Hayward (Marquette forward; 95 points in Big East tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college.
#14: Jonny Flynn (Syracuse guard; 95 points in Big East tourneys '08 and '09) - Last year was his sophomore sensation year at Syracuse, where he led them to a tourney title and a tournament MVP trophy for his self. He got drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, and he's averaging nearly 30 minutes a game with them, and played on the NBA All-Rookie team at All-Star weekend.
(7s) Longest Serving U.S. Representatives #5 - Representative C.W. Bill Young (Republican Overlord of Florida's 10 District)
Part of the 1971 freshmen class of Congress, Bill Young has held it down in the 10th for nearly four decades. The 10th (which has changed from the 8th to the 6th to the Red 40th to the Peyton Manning pointing at people back to the 8th and then to its current designation) is situated in Pinellas County, which if you looked at Florida on a map (it's the gun-looking ass state) and followed the western edge against the Gulf of Mexico (the left part by the blue area on the map, blue means water) and you go about halfway down (I hope you at least know "halfway") and that's Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, and part of the Floridian clusterfuck of water-happy people that is known as the Tampa metropolitan area.
Probably the most noteworthy aspect of Young's life is the hot piece of ass (in his eyes at least) he's hitched too. He had previously been married for a long ass time to one lady, who had built a family with, but then got divorced in the mid-'80s and remarried to a chick 25 years younger than him, who had also previously been married. They had a couple of kids together as well, but she has been the ruling factor in his life. She got kicked out of the State of the Union address in 2006 for wearing some stupid American flag-laden "Support our Troops" shirt, and Young made a big stank on the House floor about it. She also was behind drumming up his interest in the treatment (or mistreatment) of soldiers at Walter Reed hospital, claiming she saw dudes lying in their own urine, and getting ol' Bill all riled up about it. Allegedly, he was going to retire and she was actually going to run to fill his seat, but that hasn't happened yet. I guess the old coot ain't ready to turn the keys to the family business over to a woman just yet, even if she already is wearing the pants in the family.
An interesting aside is Young is one of the most notorious abusers of Congressional earmarks, including tons of awards for two businesses that his children have worked for. Most notably, his youngest son with his current wife, a kid named Patrick, a high school dropout with a General Equivalency Diploma, got a job with a defense contractor at age 20 in a high security capacity. And the defense contractor's D.C. offices are on the same floor as Young's Congressional office. The point is, once you get in, stay in, and prop up everybody around you to suck at the abundance of growth hormone-laden milk and honey spewing from the well-molested tits of Lady Liberty.
Sunday, March 7
(7s) Longest Serving U.S. Representatives #4 - Representative Charles Bernard Rangel (Democratic Deacon of New York’s 15th District)
Rangel’s been in Congress since January 3, 1971, when it ws the 18th District, then got shifted to the 19th in ‘73, then the 16th in ‘83, then to the present 15th District in ‘93. It currently covers about 10 square miles (the smallest geographical district in Congress) of upper Manhattan (including the Harlems, both negro and Spanish) and Rikers Island and an industrial chunk of Queens. Rangel is actually currently catching some flack for tax cheating bullshit or something, which all them dudes do, so I’m not sure what he’s done to piss off the insiders club to have them publicly reprimand him like this. I’ve often thought of Rangel and Al Sharpton as the same human embryotic cell structure that was separated, and you trained one in actually sleeping with the white men and learning their secret handshakes and forked tongue trickeries (that’d be Rangel) and the other you trained in drinking gin in church basements and hanging out with R&B singers at tha club (that’d be Sharpton), and someone is studying the differences. Personally, I’d take a government full of Al Sharptons, so long as it was a culturally diverse group of Sharptons, so that you had wacky hillbillies and moonshine crazies and Vietnam vet Indians from South Dakota not to mention brown pride dudes galore from Mazatlan maybe even including Oscar Zeta Acosta himself if he hadn’t have been killed running drugs in Mexico.
Personally, I find Charles Rangel a creepy looking cat, and I imagine he smells like cologne mixed with hospital disinfectant with a touch of cigar smoke pilfering all his suits even though he hasn’t smoked in decades. I bet Al Sharpton smells like gin. (Ha, that was a trick statement... gin has no smell. That’s why it’s America’s favorite illicit workplace beverage.)
Saturday, March 6
(7s) Longest Serving U.S. Representatives #3 - Representative David Ross Obey (Democratic Lord of Wisconsin's 7th District)
The grey-bearded Obey (an apt last name, though he be saying it differently, like in Obi Wan Kinobi) has been repping Wisconsin's 7th District (a vast mostly rural expanse creeping down from the northwest corner towards the geographic middle of the state) since April 1, 1969, a little less than four years before I was born. And I feel old. You know why Obey, who grew up a Republican, joined the Democratic Party? Because of a teacher being falsely accused during the McCarthy era. THE MCCARTHY ERA! But he leans conservative amongst Democrats, and is the third longest continuously serving active member of the House, behind the two dudes from Michigan up above. What the hell is it with rust belt congressmen being in office forever? At the time of being sworn in, at age 30 at the time, he was the youngest member of Congress. Nearly 41 years later, he has the relative youth to stay in Congress for another decade, and is already the longest serving Congressmen of either chamber to have served in Wisconsin history. But the fact that a guy born in Oklahoma, who grew up in Wisconsin and went to college there, could get elected at age 30, and then you double his life, and he's spent over a full half of it shuttling back and forth between D.C. and Wisconsin, pretending to represent the values of the local people he only spends part of the year with, it's fucking retarded. You cannot tell me that this guy, who I'm going to make the blanket assumption is probably a well-off individual to a certain extent (real estate broker was his listed profession before going off to Congress), can truly be in touch with the feelings of his constituents. And this is why pork barrel bullshit happens, because rather than truly represent people, they just get these goofy earmarks to throw into campaign ads and be like, "I got you all this $7 million dollar bullshit thing," or something or other, and can throw up posters of big shiny complexes as testaments to their legislative purity. Man, fuck a Congress.
Friday, March 5
S14: Top 14 Returning Scorers in the WCC Tournament
The West Coast Conference tournament operates on a staggered scale that more and more conferences are moving towards. There are only eight teams in the WCC, but rather than having a straight up single elimination tournament, the lowest four seeds play in the first round today. The two winners face off against the #3 and #4 seeds tomorrow. Those two winners play the top two seeds on Sunday, and obviously the two winners battle for the conference title. So Gonzaga and St. Mary's, as the top two teams during the regular season, don't even have to play until the semifinals. It guarantees a smaller conference that their biggest teams won't get eliminated early, before the national TV cameras of ESPN arrrive for Championship Week festivities, and gives the actual top teams a better format for showing themselves off on a grand scale (although in previous years, especially with San Diego, a lower seed has snuck further into the tournament than WCC officials would probably be stoked about). Here are the 14 dudes returning on the active rosters of teams to this year's West Coast Conference tournament, being held in Paradise, Nevada, which sounds like the type of place you accidentally sell your soul to the devil...
#1: Brandon Johnson (San Diego guard; 134 previous points in the WCC tournament) - San Diego is only a 6th seed, meaning they will have to fight their way through from opening day until they lose. But they've done that in the past all the way to the championship game, like in 2008 when they won the title. They are not a top-tier team this year though, and Brandon Johnson is the best player on a lackluster team, but one that has surprised in WCC March play before.
#2: De'Jon Jackson (San Diego guard; 81 previous points in the WCC tournament) - My man De'Jon is on their roster, but in spirit only, as he tore his knee up in the middle of February and his basketball career is done. He will be sitting at the end of the bench, watching his dreams fade to black.
#3: Dior Lowhorn (San Francisco forward; 68 previous points in the WCC tournament) - From the San Francisco area, he originally played for Texas Tech for a year before transferring home where he hit his stride last year, averaging 20-plus points a game. He's a great player on a not-so-great team, although San Francisco actually won national titles twice way back in the day. San Francisco actually played well enough to be seeded 4th, meaning they don't have to play until tomorrow, and hopefully get to take a shot at Gonzaga on Sunday afternoon's early game. Their success in doing such a thing will depend heavily on a kid called Dior.
#4: Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga guard; 62 previous points in the WCC tournament) - Every year, when it comes time for college basketball talking heads to announce non-major conference teams you have to beware of, they pick Gonzaga, and whatever flavor of the year shaggy-haired pseudo-whiteboy is their star. Since it his Senior year, it is Matt Bouldin's turn. You know how shaggy-haired and awesome Matt Bouldin is (way more than Adam Morrison was with his metalhead molester mustache)? He has consistently been rumored to be dating Taylor Swift. That is a far stronger career move, bankwise, than fucking around with basketball.
#5: Omar Samhan (Saint Mary's center; 47 previous points in the WCC tournament) - An All-WCC player last year, Samhan is the solid force inside for the second-best team in the conference this year, who hope to fuck up Gonzaga in the conference tournament for grudge style points going into the NCAA tournament. Samhan is also Egyptian, and I now work with an Egyptian dude, who talks soccer and tries to get me to watch the friendlies between North African countries and European teams online during work. I have mostly worked with underclass foreigners, so it's fairly interesting working with a post-doctoral Egyptian dude, and learning, once again, that people are people, regardless, as well as irregardless, of where they come from and where they are going.
#6: Nik Raivio (Portland guard; 43 previous points in the WCC tournament) - An All-WCC team player last year, he strained his Achilles tendon during practice in January, so is a bench coach ever since. But the Pilots have been winning (10 of their last 12), and come into the WCC tournament the 3rd seed.
#7: Kevin Foster (Santa Clara guard; 38 previous points in the WCC tournament) - Last year was Foster's freshman year in the WCC, and he was crowned Co-Newcomer of the Year to the league. This year has not been so great, with Foster breaking his foot in December.
#8: Mychel Thompson (Pepperdine forward; 34 previous points in the WCC tournament) - Thompson, a Junior, is the best and only consistent player on a Pepperdine Waves team that finished last in the WCC regular season.
#9: Keion Bell (Pepperdine guard; 33 previous points in the WCC tournament) - But perhaps their future is not so ugly, as Keion Bell was a starter in his freshman year last year, and he's averaging nearly 20 points per game. Next year could be Pepperdine's turn to be the WCC second fiddle to the always-hyped Gonzaga Zagdogs.
#10: Steven Gray (Gonzaga guard; 33 previous points in the WCC tournament) - Junior counterpart to Bouldin's Gonzaga superstardom status, who will be next year's Zag star as they pummel West Coast Conference competition yet again, and then underachieve, at least according to their hype, in the NCAA tournament. Like I said, they must have a crazy good sports information director at Gonzaga.
#11: Chris Lewis (San Diego guard/forward; 28 previous points in the WCC tournament) - Lewis is the most contributable bench player for the sixth best team in an eight-team conference that few people know about beyond Gonzaga.
#12: Roberto Mafra (San Diego forward/center; 27 previous points in the WCC tournament) - One of two Brazilians on the San Diego roster, continuing their international tradition of hodgepodginess.
#13: Marc Trasolini (Santa Clara forward; 23 previous points in the WCC tournament) - Also on last year's All-Freshman team for the WCC, meaning Santa Clara is loading up to take a shot at Gonzaga's inherent superiority. Just not this year.
#14: Ben Dowdell (Santa Clara forward; 22 previous points in the WCC tournament) - A decorated Aussie player before coming to America, he is biding his time in America before going home to clock his down under grip. Santa Clara plays the nightcap on the opening day today, and against an always tough San Diego Toreros team, so it may be an early return to Australia for big Ben (unless they actually make him take classes).
#1: Brandon Johnson (San Diego guard; 134 previous points in the WCC tournament) - San Diego is only a 6th seed, meaning they will have to fight their way through from opening day until they lose. But they've done that in the past all the way to the championship game, like in 2008 when they won the title. They are not a top-tier team this year though, and Brandon Johnson is the best player on a lackluster team, but one that has surprised in WCC March play before.
#2: De'Jon Jackson (San Diego guard; 81 previous points in the WCC tournament) - My man De'Jon is on their roster, but in spirit only, as he tore his knee up in the middle of February and his basketball career is done. He will be sitting at the end of the bench, watching his dreams fade to black.
#3: Dior Lowhorn (San Francisco forward; 68 previous points in the WCC tournament) - From the San Francisco area, he originally played for Texas Tech for a year before transferring home where he hit his stride last year, averaging 20-plus points a game. He's a great player on a not-so-great team, although San Francisco actually won national titles twice way back in the day. San Francisco actually played well enough to be seeded 4th, meaning they don't have to play until tomorrow, and hopefully get to take a shot at Gonzaga on Sunday afternoon's early game. Their success in doing such a thing will depend heavily on a kid called Dior.
#4: Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga guard; 62 previous points in the WCC tournament) - Every year, when it comes time for college basketball talking heads to announce non-major conference teams you have to beware of, they pick Gonzaga, and whatever flavor of the year shaggy-haired pseudo-whiteboy is their star. Since it his Senior year, it is Matt Bouldin's turn. You know how shaggy-haired and awesome Matt Bouldin is (way more than Adam Morrison was with his metalhead molester mustache)? He has consistently been rumored to be dating Taylor Swift. That is a far stronger career move, bankwise, than fucking around with basketball.
#5: Omar Samhan (Saint Mary's center; 47 previous points in the WCC tournament) - An All-WCC player last year, Samhan is the solid force inside for the second-best team in the conference this year, who hope to fuck up Gonzaga in the conference tournament for grudge style points going into the NCAA tournament. Samhan is also Egyptian, and I now work with an Egyptian dude, who talks soccer and tries to get me to watch the friendlies between North African countries and European teams online during work. I have mostly worked with underclass foreigners, so it's fairly interesting working with a post-doctoral Egyptian dude, and learning, once again, that people are people, regardless, as well as irregardless, of where they come from and where they are going.
#6: Nik Raivio (Portland guard; 43 previous points in the WCC tournament) - An All-WCC team player last year, he strained his Achilles tendon during practice in January, so is a bench coach ever since. But the Pilots have been winning (10 of their last 12), and come into the WCC tournament the 3rd seed.
#7: Kevin Foster (Santa Clara guard; 38 previous points in the WCC tournament) - Last year was Foster's freshman year in the WCC, and he was crowned Co-Newcomer of the Year to the league. This year has not been so great, with Foster breaking his foot in December.
#8: Mychel Thompson (Pepperdine forward; 34 previous points in the WCC tournament) - Thompson, a Junior, is the best and only consistent player on a Pepperdine Waves team that finished last in the WCC regular season.
#9: Keion Bell (Pepperdine guard; 33 previous points in the WCC tournament) - But perhaps their future is not so ugly, as Keion Bell was a starter in his freshman year last year, and he's averaging nearly 20 points per game. Next year could be Pepperdine's turn to be the WCC second fiddle to the always-hyped Gonzaga Zagdogs.
#10: Steven Gray (Gonzaga guard; 33 previous points in the WCC tournament) - Junior counterpart to Bouldin's Gonzaga superstardom status, who will be next year's Zag star as they pummel West Coast Conference competition yet again, and then underachieve, at least according to their hype, in the NCAA tournament. Like I said, they must have a crazy good sports information director at Gonzaga.
#11: Chris Lewis (San Diego guard/forward; 28 previous points in the WCC tournament) - Lewis is the most contributable bench player for the sixth best team in an eight-team conference that few people know about beyond Gonzaga.
#12: Roberto Mafra (San Diego forward/center; 27 previous points in the WCC tournament) - One of two Brazilians on the San Diego roster, continuing their international tradition of hodgepodginess.
#13: Marc Trasolini (Santa Clara forward; 23 previous points in the WCC tournament) - Also on last year's All-Freshman team for the WCC, meaning Santa Clara is loading up to take a shot at Gonzaga's inherent superiority. Just not this year.
#14: Ben Dowdell (Santa Clara forward; 22 previous points in the WCC tournament) - A decorated Aussie player before coming to America, he is biding his time in America before going home to clock his down under grip. Santa Clara plays the nightcap on the opening day today, and against an always tough San Diego Toreros team, so it may be an early return to Australia for big Ben (unless they actually make him take classes).
S14: Top 14 Returning Scorers in the CAA Tournament
Me and the kid will be making the trek down on Sunday to the always hyped semifinals, and this year's CAA tournament seems to be even more of a clusterfuck than usual, with five or six teams having a solid shot at taking the automatic berth into the NCAAs. At one point, both William & Mary and Old Dominion were also considered legitimate threats to get an at-large bid, but let's be honest... the major conferences hog that shit. They could expand the field to 128 teams and they'd make all the BCS conference members get in before they took a third or fourth quality team from something like the Colonial Athletic Assocation. And my kid can't even make the finals because she's just started pointe in ballet class (last year, we actually were having discussions comparing Eric Maynor floating jumper gracefulness to great ballet, and how similar they were), but I'll be there bitch, hopefully rooting for the stupid VCU Rams. Here are the top 14 returning players ranked by who's scored the most in previous CAA tourneys...
#1: Danny Sumner (William & Mary forward; 83 previous points in the CAA tournament) - The Tribe was the hot pick to win the league and maybe even get an at-large berth into the NCAA tourney earlier this year, and that was built upon the solid shooting back of one Danny Sumner, a soft spoken dude who fits that William & Mary image perfectly. (It's a nerd school with high rates of suicides and gay/lesbians and future poets of America, so thuggish ruggish black dudes don't really fit in.) A lot of his previous tourney points came two years back when William & Mary went from the opening day round all the way to the championship game, where they finally ran out of juice. This year, they can rest on the opening day today, and get ready for whoever wins the Drexel/James Madison nightcap tonight.
#2: Gerald Lee (Old Dominion forward; 68 previous points in the CAA tournament) - With Eric Maynor now gone, Gerald Lee is without a doubt the most dominant player in the CAA, and he's led ODU to a #1 seeding going into the CAA tourney. He just dropped 23 on VCU last week in a regular season closing game that locked VCU out of a first round bye in the tourney, and had NBA scouts on hand to watch Larry Sanders, who was mostly shut down. Last year, he had a sprained ankle in the tourney, denying us a showdown between him and Maynor, but this year he's healthy, and will probably dominate the Monarchs into the title game at the very least.
#3: Charles Jenkins (Hofstra guard; 68 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Jenkins, a Senior, comes in the star of this Hofstra team, but they're going to be fighting out of the 7th seed, playing Georgia State in tonight's first game, and having to claw their way through every day in the hopes of an upset NCAA berth.
#4: Pierre Curtis (James Madison guard; 63 previous points in the CAA tournament) - You've got to feel for a guy like Curtis, who has been a hot shot for James Madison and is in his Senior year, because the team is built for next year, with a transfer from Texas A&M getting his CAA feet wet this year, plus a younger hot shot in Julius Wells. Still though, as James Madison was mired in the lower levels of the CAA, Curtis was always highlight reel material, meaning he'll go to Europe somewhere.
#5: Josh Thornton (Towson guard; 61 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Towson is the tightest most gangsta swagger team in the CAA (which can be white as fuck sometimes), and even though they're just an 8 seed, Towson has a reputation for being disruptive in the tournament, which could make for a more than exciting Saturday afternoon opener against #1 seed Old Dominion. This is Thornton's last year, so he could get all small-time Kobe Bryant on motherfuckers and make it happen.
#6: Larry Sanders (VCU forward; 60 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Big Larry Sanders is a junior who last year with Eric Maynor made up one of the few non-super programs in college that had arguably a pair of bonafide first round NBA draft picks. And Sanders still gets lottery pick hype now and then, and has a ton of tattoos since last year, but he hasn't dominated like he did when Maynor was on the team with him. Still, students made up big Larry Sanders Has A Posse banners and shit last year, and it's only grown larger this year, and hopefully the big, soft-spoken, tattooed goofball who never touched a basketball until his junior year of high school can go buckwild in the CAA tournament this week, and get VCU at least into the semifinals when me and my daughter have tickets, so we can be emotionally invested in the bullshit we're paying good money to watch. (Maybe not good money, I actually traded my food stamp balance for the tickets in late January.)
#7: Manny Adako (Northeastern forward; 60 previous points in the CAA tournament) - In the usually small triple guard line-ups of today's college basketball, to have a pair of guys 6'8" or better like Northeastern does, especially at the mid-major level, is to be a dominant force inside. Manny Adako is the 6'8" forward Senior, who along with 6'9" Senior center Nkem Ojougboh, has made the Northeastern Huskies a tough out for anybody else in the CAA, and set them up in the 2nd seed spot, which means they can avoid the three CAA tourney homestate heavyweights of Old Dominion, George Mason, and VCU until the championship game at the earliest.
#8: Louis Birdsong (George Mason forward; 60 previous points in the CAA tournament) - The last link (albeit a redshirted guy at the time) to that Final Four team, he was a starter and then underplayed his way onto the bench, and now does what he does. Sometimes he hits his stride and can take over a game, and other times he plays like a guy who should be on the bench of a upper-middle-of-the-pack team in an upper mid-major basketball conference. Still, it's his Senior season, so he could end up lighting it up on Saturday afternoon in George Mason's first game of this year's CAA tourney.
#9: David Schneider (William & Mary guard; 54 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Solid well-rounded mid-major school type who can snag rebounds banging the glass from the outside, and can post up in the corner for to drain a 3. The Tribe is full of dudes like this, and a refreshing change of pace from the standard CAA one or two big fish in small pond driven offenses.
#10: Matt Janning (Northeastern guard/forward; 48 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Every CAA team, no matter how good, needs a rock solid whiteboy, by conference by-laws, and Janning is that dude for Northeastern.
#11: T.J. Gwynn (VCU forward; 46 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Man, it seems like T.J. Gwynn's been playing for VCU since I was in college. He's the perfect example of a fan favorite - a guy who's not super noteworthy on the stat sheet, and doesn't dominate any particular scoring category; but live in the game, he has a floppy hyper intensity that's impossible to not love, and it's the type of thing that gives a team momentum. He's the type of guy who rips down a rebound in retarded-looking fashion, and then somebody else guns down a 3, and next thing you know, they're on a 14 to 0 run.
#12: Cam Long (George Mason guard; 43 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Long is the type of player who, when he gets hot, you are fucked. But he can also be stifled by aggressive defense. Which can be a sucky proposition, because then it falls into the hands of the officials. Will they call ticky-tack fouls and allow a guy like Long to go buckwild, or will they let 'em play, as they say, and a dude like him will have to fight twice as hard for half the points? I prefer the latter personally, but I have never been well-known for my finesse.
#13: Joe Dukes (Georgia State guard; 38 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Joe Dukes is the big gun on a not-so-scary team. They are the #10 seed and face-off against Hofstra tonight in the early game, and will probably be lucky to go beyond even that.
#14: Troy Franklin (Towson guard; 36 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Troy Franklin is a sophomore, meaning all his previous points came in last year's tourney run by Towson. It also means he's the youngest guy on this list of returning players, making him this year's Larry Sanders to get big hyperbole next season. This year, maybe they get hot and win two games to make to Sunday's semifinals.
#1: Danny Sumner (William & Mary forward; 83 previous points in the CAA tournament) - The Tribe was the hot pick to win the league and maybe even get an at-large berth into the NCAA tourney earlier this year, and that was built upon the solid shooting back of one Danny Sumner, a soft spoken dude who fits that William & Mary image perfectly. (It's a nerd school with high rates of suicides and gay/lesbians and future poets of America, so thuggish ruggish black dudes don't really fit in.) A lot of his previous tourney points came two years back when William & Mary went from the opening day round all the way to the championship game, where they finally ran out of juice. This year, they can rest on the opening day today, and get ready for whoever wins the Drexel/James Madison nightcap tonight.
#2: Gerald Lee (Old Dominion forward; 68 previous points in the CAA tournament) - With Eric Maynor now gone, Gerald Lee is without a doubt the most dominant player in the CAA, and he's led ODU to a #1 seeding going into the CAA tourney. He just dropped 23 on VCU last week in a regular season closing game that locked VCU out of a first round bye in the tourney, and had NBA scouts on hand to watch Larry Sanders, who was mostly shut down. Last year, he had a sprained ankle in the tourney, denying us a showdown between him and Maynor, but this year he's healthy, and will probably dominate the Monarchs into the title game at the very least.
#3: Charles Jenkins (Hofstra guard; 68 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Jenkins, a Senior, comes in the star of this Hofstra team, but they're going to be fighting out of the 7th seed, playing Georgia State in tonight's first game, and having to claw their way through every day in the hopes of an upset NCAA berth.
#4: Pierre Curtis (James Madison guard; 63 previous points in the CAA tournament) - You've got to feel for a guy like Curtis, who has been a hot shot for James Madison and is in his Senior year, because the team is built for next year, with a transfer from Texas A&M getting his CAA feet wet this year, plus a younger hot shot in Julius Wells. Still though, as James Madison was mired in the lower levels of the CAA, Curtis was always highlight reel material, meaning he'll go to Europe somewhere.
#5: Josh Thornton (Towson guard; 61 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Towson is the tightest most gangsta swagger team in the CAA (which can be white as fuck sometimes), and even though they're just an 8 seed, Towson has a reputation for being disruptive in the tournament, which could make for a more than exciting Saturday afternoon opener against #1 seed Old Dominion. This is Thornton's last year, so he could get all small-time Kobe Bryant on motherfuckers and make it happen.
#6: Larry Sanders (VCU forward; 60 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Big Larry Sanders is a junior who last year with Eric Maynor made up one of the few non-super programs in college that had arguably a pair of bonafide first round NBA draft picks. And Sanders still gets lottery pick hype now and then, and has a ton of tattoos since last year, but he hasn't dominated like he did when Maynor was on the team with him. Still, students made up big Larry Sanders Has A Posse banners and shit last year, and it's only grown larger this year, and hopefully the big, soft-spoken, tattooed goofball who never touched a basketball until his junior year of high school can go buckwild in the CAA tournament this week, and get VCU at least into the semifinals when me and my daughter have tickets, so we can be emotionally invested in the bullshit we're paying good money to watch. (Maybe not good money, I actually traded my food stamp balance for the tickets in late January.)
#7: Manny Adako (Northeastern forward; 60 previous points in the CAA tournament) - In the usually small triple guard line-ups of today's college basketball, to have a pair of guys 6'8" or better like Northeastern does, especially at the mid-major level, is to be a dominant force inside. Manny Adako is the 6'8" forward Senior, who along with 6'9" Senior center Nkem Ojougboh, has made the Northeastern Huskies a tough out for anybody else in the CAA, and set them up in the 2nd seed spot, which means they can avoid the three CAA tourney homestate heavyweights of Old Dominion, George Mason, and VCU until the championship game at the earliest.
#8: Louis Birdsong (George Mason forward; 60 previous points in the CAA tournament) - The last link (albeit a redshirted guy at the time) to that Final Four team, he was a starter and then underplayed his way onto the bench, and now does what he does. Sometimes he hits his stride and can take over a game, and other times he plays like a guy who should be on the bench of a upper-middle-of-the-pack team in an upper mid-major basketball conference. Still, it's his Senior season, so he could end up lighting it up on Saturday afternoon in George Mason's first game of this year's CAA tourney.
#9: David Schneider (William & Mary guard; 54 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Solid well-rounded mid-major school type who can snag rebounds banging the glass from the outside, and can post up in the corner for to drain a 3. The Tribe is full of dudes like this, and a refreshing change of pace from the standard CAA one or two big fish in small pond driven offenses.
#10: Matt Janning (Northeastern guard/forward; 48 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Every CAA team, no matter how good, needs a rock solid whiteboy, by conference by-laws, and Janning is that dude for Northeastern.
#11: T.J. Gwynn (VCU forward; 46 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Man, it seems like T.J. Gwynn's been playing for VCU since I was in college. He's the perfect example of a fan favorite - a guy who's not super noteworthy on the stat sheet, and doesn't dominate any particular scoring category; but live in the game, he has a floppy hyper intensity that's impossible to not love, and it's the type of thing that gives a team momentum. He's the type of guy who rips down a rebound in retarded-looking fashion, and then somebody else guns down a 3, and next thing you know, they're on a 14 to 0 run.
#12: Cam Long (George Mason guard; 43 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Long is the type of player who, when he gets hot, you are fucked. But he can also be stifled by aggressive defense. Which can be a sucky proposition, because then it falls into the hands of the officials. Will they call ticky-tack fouls and allow a guy like Long to go buckwild, or will they let 'em play, as they say, and a dude like him will have to fight twice as hard for half the points? I prefer the latter personally, but I have never been well-known for my finesse.
#13: Joe Dukes (Georgia State guard; 38 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Joe Dukes is the big gun on a not-so-scary team. They are the #10 seed and face-off against Hofstra tonight in the early game, and will probably be lucky to go beyond even that.
#14: Troy Franklin (Towson guard; 36 previous points in the CAA tournament) - Troy Franklin is a sophomore, meaning all his previous points came in last year's tourney run by Towson. It also means he's the youngest guy on this list of returning players, making him this year's Larry Sanders to get big hyperbole next season. This year, maybe they get hot and win two games to make to Sunday's semifinals.
(7s) Longest Serving U.S. Representatives #2 - Representative John Conyers Jr. (Democratic Deacon of Michigan’s 14th District)
Okay, what the fuck is wrong with people in Michigan? Do they just not have elections with more than one person? Conyers represents northwest Detroit on over to Dearborn, basically the district right above the Dingell dude’s district. Conyers is the second-longest serving member of the House right now, and cut his political teeth working as an assistant to Dingell in Congress, before getting his own seat, sworn in on January 3, 1965. That’s just shady as fuck, that two dudes who were tight have held two major elected seats for 45 years now. And Michigan’s economy is crushed. Coincidence? No. The tree of liberty is looking pretty goddamned wilted and needs some fertilizer.
Conyers was one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus, which is a collection of white dudes in suits who make all the rules for everybody else, just they’re not technically white dudes. Conyers was also on Richard Nixon’s infamous list of enemies (at the #13 spot), where his weakness was listed as “white women”, and his special powers were considered a strong head (for headbutting evil, and not falling weak to blows to the head) and superior genetic athleticism that made it hard to outrun him.
Shockingly enough, Conyers wife is a light-skinned black woman who has been under FBI investigation for political corruption in Detroit. And Conyers himself has caught shit, like all Congressmen do, for shady shit he’s done regarding public funding of medical research and other nonsense that supports his financial supporters which help him make nice commercials that convince the people to keep on voter lever stamping him into office every two years. And a great quote by Conyers, from 2001 on the House floor, regarding knowing a proposed bill in detail before voting on it, is “’Read the bill’... What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?” Ahh... democracy in action. It warms my heart.
Thursday, March 4
S14: Top 14 Scorers From Last Four WCC Tournaments
For no real reason I was trying to find one more conference to do as I did all these stupid things, looking up the scoring and tabulating a bunch of shit, and I ended up picking the West Coast Conference for the last one, because it is the top-tier mid-major conference from the West Coast, like a Pac-10 B-League, where stars can be born, mostly at Gonzaga, but in other little left coast colleges as well. The WCC is mostly known as Gonzaga's stomping ground, where they tend to win the regular season all the time, and the conference tournament most of the time. But for your informational purposes only, here is the top 14 scoring basketball players of the past four WCC men's basketball tournaments (which has a tweaked out format, which I'll get into tomorrow)...
#1: Leonardo Pomare (San Diego forward; 135 points in WCC tourneys '06-'09) - San Diego has made shocking runs from the bottom 4 seeds through the WCC tourney's stacked format a number of times, and Leonardo Pomare has been a big part of that in the past. He's the son of a former Panamanian basketball legend, and post college, made a run through Panama, but is now in Japan, starring for the Sendai 89ers.
#2: Brandon Johnson (San Diego guard; 134 points in WCC tourneys '06-'08) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#3: John Bryant (Santa Clara center; 113 points in WCC tourneys '06-'09) - Because he is a 6'10" 300-pound goofy ass whiteboy, he has gotten looks from the NBA after a long ass solid collegiate career with Santa Clara. He got some NBA Summer League action last summer, and has been playing for the Erie BayHawks in the D-League ever since. And in a conference where Gonzaga stars are seen as the cream of the crop, it is worth noting he was WCC Player of the Year last year, which means he could probably be as good as Adam Morrison in the NBA. At the very least, he'd make a good poor man's Kevin Love.
#4: Diamon Simpson (Saint Mary's forward; 112 points in WCC tourneys '06-'09) - A two-time All-West Coast Conference player who got into the NBA Summer League last year, kicked it with Golden State in the preseason, and then got assigned to teh Los Angeles D-fenders in the NBA D-League, where he made the all-star game. This all means he's one or two badly twisted ankles from being a Sacramento King.
#5: Ross DeRogatis (San Diego guard; 89 points in WCC tourneys '06 and '07) - The West Coast Conference is far more international than you'd expect, although I guess both coasts have mad immigrant influence and it's just the middle of the country that's white as fuck. And like Pomare was Panamanian-American, DeRogatis is Italian-American, and post San Diego, made a pro run through the Italian League, then Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, and now back to Spain's second league.
#6: De'Jon Jackson (San Diego ; 81 points in WCC tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college.
#7: Jeremy Pargo (Gonzaga guard; 75 points in WCC tourneys '06-'09) - Pargo was Gonzaga's post-Adam Morrison hotness flavor, and after the 2008 season actually had pre-draft workouts with multiple NBA teams, yet stayed in college for his Senior season. His hotness wasn't as hot, at least not with the NBA, and after playing in multiple NBA-connected summer leagues, the 2008 West Coast Conference player of the year took his hot ass to the Israeli Premier League, where he stars for Galil Gilboa, which is the Jewish version of Rocky. Oddly enough, having heard of Jeremy Pargo, it seems strange to me that he has a brother I've never heard of named Jannero who is on the Chicago Bulls.
#8: Nir Cohen (San Diego forward/center; 72 points in WCC tourneys '06 and '07) - And then there is an Israeli dude for San Diego, the most international of all college basketball traditions. He actually played in Israeli leagues before doing a stint at a Bronx junior college before spending two years at San Diego. Ever since, he has bounced around the Israeli Premier League, first for Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan, then Atlshuler Saham Galil Gilboa, and now Hapoel Afula. American basketball teams have far too short a name.
#9: Rob Jones (San Diego forward; 69 points in WCC tourneys '08 and '09) - Rob Jones left San Diego in the most nefarious way of all - to transfer to conference rival St. Mary's. He is on this list, but not the returning scorer list, because he's not technically on the St. Mary's roster, sitting out this year due to NCAA rules.
#10: Micah Downs (Gonzaga guard; 68 points in WCC tourneys '07-'09) - Man, I remember this dude also being hyped as the hotness, and yet his stats aren't all that impressive. He couldn't catch on with the NBA, and went to a Croatian team called KK Zadar, but was dropped by them last month. Gonzaga must have a helluva public relations dude in their athletic department. (I should also admit that I always assumed Micah Downs had downs syndrome and was that kid that scored the points on that famous high school clip from a while back.)
#11: Dior Lowhorn (San Francisco forward; 68 points in WCC tourneys '08 and '09) - Still in college.
#12: Derek Raivio (Gonzaga guard; 67 points in WCC tourneys '06 and '07) - Another former West Coast Conference player of the year (in 2007) who tested the second-tier pro leagues in America briefly after college in 2007, but ended up going to Germany, where he was a big enough star for the Koeln 99ers, taking them to something called the ULEB Cup, that he got a multi-year contract with TBB Trier, also in Germany's top league.
#13: Brody Angley (Santa Clara guard; 66 points in WCC tourneys '06-'08) - Straight up swoggy haired whiteboy, like you'd expect to be playing major level basketball in the 2000s, who parlayed that into being one of the foreign stars of the Swiss League last year, and now he starts for SKS Polpharma in Poland, where his goofy hair and horseface smile is greatly appreciated by white Eurotrash basketball whores.
#14: David Pendergraft (Gonzaga guard; 48 points in WCC tourneys '06-'08) - David Pendergraft was a popular drink, but apparently he no longer is.
#1: Leonardo Pomare (San Diego forward; 135 points in WCC tourneys '06-'09) - San Diego has made shocking runs from the bottom 4 seeds through the WCC tourney's stacked format a number of times, and Leonardo Pomare has been a big part of that in the past. He's the son of a former Panamanian basketball legend, and post college, made a run through Panama, but is now in Japan, starring for the Sendai 89ers.
#2: Brandon Johnson (San Diego guard; 134 points in WCC tourneys '06-'08) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#3: John Bryant (Santa Clara center; 113 points in WCC tourneys '06-'09) - Because he is a 6'10" 300-pound goofy ass whiteboy, he has gotten looks from the NBA after a long ass solid collegiate career with Santa Clara. He got some NBA Summer League action last summer, and has been playing for the Erie BayHawks in the D-League ever since. And in a conference where Gonzaga stars are seen as the cream of the crop, it is worth noting he was WCC Player of the Year last year, which means he could probably be as good as Adam Morrison in the NBA. At the very least, he'd make a good poor man's Kevin Love.
#4: Diamon Simpson (Saint Mary's forward; 112 points in WCC tourneys '06-'09) - A two-time All-West Coast Conference player who got into the NBA Summer League last year, kicked it with Golden State in the preseason, and then got assigned to teh Los Angeles D-fenders in the NBA D-League, where he made the all-star game. This all means he's one or two badly twisted ankles from being a Sacramento King.
#5: Ross DeRogatis (San Diego guard; 89 points in WCC tourneys '06 and '07) - The West Coast Conference is far more international than you'd expect, although I guess both coasts have mad immigrant influence and it's just the middle of the country that's white as fuck. And like Pomare was Panamanian-American, DeRogatis is Italian-American, and post San Diego, made a pro run through the Italian League, then Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, and now back to Spain's second league.
#6: De'Jon Jackson (San Diego ; 81 points in WCC tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college.
#7: Jeremy Pargo (Gonzaga guard; 75 points in WCC tourneys '06-'09) - Pargo was Gonzaga's post-Adam Morrison hotness flavor, and after the 2008 season actually had pre-draft workouts with multiple NBA teams, yet stayed in college for his Senior season. His hotness wasn't as hot, at least not with the NBA, and after playing in multiple NBA-connected summer leagues, the 2008 West Coast Conference player of the year took his hot ass to the Israeli Premier League, where he stars for Galil Gilboa, which is the Jewish version of Rocky. Oddly enough, having heard of Jeremy Pargo, it seems strange to me that he has a brother I've never heard of named Jannero who is on the Chicago Bulls.
#8: Nir Cohen (San Diego forward/center; 72 points in WCC tourneys '06 and '07) - And then there is an Israeli dude for San Diego, the most international of all college basketball traditions. He actually played in Israeli leagues before doing a stint at a Bronx junior college before spending two years at San Diego. Ever since, he has bounced around the Israeli Premier League, first for Maccabi Ironi Ramat Gan, then Atlshuler Saham Galil Gilboa, and now Hapoel Afula. American basketball teams have far too short a name.
#9: Rob Jones (San Diego forward; 69 points in WCC tourneys '08 and '09) - Rob Jones left San Diego in the most nefarious way of all - to transfer to conference rival St. Mary's. He is on this list, but not the returning scorer list, because he's not technically on the St. Mary's roster, sitting out this year due to NCAA rules.
#10: Micah Downs (Gonzaga guard; 68 points in WCC tourneys '07-'09) - Man, I remember this dude also being hyped as the hotness, and yet his stats aren't all that impressive. He couldn't catch on with the NBA, and went to a Croatian team called KK Zadar, but was dropped by them last month. Gonzaga must have a helluva public relations dude in their athletic department. (I should also admit that I always assumed Micah Downs had downs syndrome and was that kid that scored the points on that famous high school clip from a while back.)
#11: Dior Lowhorn (San Francisco forward; 68 points in WCC tourneys '08 and '09) - Still in college.
#12: Derek Raivio (Gonzaga guard; 67 points in WCC tourneys '06 and '07) - Another former West Coast Conference player of the year (in 2007) who tested the second-tier pro leagues in America briefly after college in 2007, but ended up going to Germany, where he was a big enough star for the Koeln 99ers, taking them to something called the ULEB Cup, that he got a multi-year contract with TBB Trier, also in Germany's top league.
#13: Brody Angley (Santa Clara guard; 66 points in WCC tourneys '06-'08) - Straight up swoggy haired whiteboy, like you'd expect to be playing major level basketball in the 2000s, who parlayed that into being one of the foreign stars of the Swiss League last year, and now he starts for SKS Polpharma in Poland, where his goofy hair and horseface smile is greatly appreciated by white Eurotrash basketball whores.
#14: David Pendergraft (Gonzaga guard; 48 points in WCC tourneys '06-'08) - David Pendergraft was a popular drink, but apparently he no longer is.
S14: Top 14 Returning Scorers in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
The Missouri Valley Conference shootout affectionately called Arch Madness kicks off today in St. Louis with a pair of first round elimination games, leading up to a Sunday afternoon championship that will crown a popular upset pick into the Sweet 16 on a lot of gambling brackets in two weeks time. The MVC is known for making trouble in the NCAA tournament, disrupting the major conference get-together that it seems the NCAA would prefer. Here are the top 14 returning players by how many points they've scored in previous Arch Madnesses...
#1: Osiris Eldridge (Illinois State guard; 114 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Not only does he have the most gangsta ass name in the MVC, but Osiris Eldridge is probably the most gamebreaking presence in the league as well. Illinois State is only seeded third, but still a very real threat to win the tourney, opening up tomorrow against the Bradley Braves.
#2: Josh Young (Drake guard; 74 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Young is the senior leadership behind this Drake team, and is one of the Bulldogs all-time great shooters, but that's not going to mean too much, as Drake enters the tourney as the #8 seed, playing Southern Illinois on first round Thursday.
#3: Adam Koch (Northern Iowa forward; 65 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Northern Iowa comes into Arch Madness as the #1 seed and a Top 25 team nationally, as well as the defending Missouri Valley Champion. Koch is that traditional MVC whiteboy - all-academic team, and can drain 3-pointers as a forward. He's been a floor leader for the Panthers, and is surrounded by a pretty decent cast of cats that, if the Panthers can storm through the MVC tourney, could get a really nice seed in the Big Dance.
#4: Kwadzo Ahelegbe (Northern Iowa guard; 60 previous points in the MVC tournament) - A key part of the Panthers nucleus of basketball productivity, yet only a junior, which means he shall be MVC preseason royalty next year, because Missouri Valley Conference guys don't leave school early.
#5: P'Allen Stinnett (Creighton guard; 44 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Well, Stinnett is only active so far as being on the roster, as this junior star for Creighton got suspended for the rest of the season back in January for conduct detrimental to the team, which basically means he and the coach didn't get along and he's going to transfer. You don't normally see "conduct detrimental to the team" and season-ending suspensions before a miraculous turnaround the following season. Creighton still comes into the MVC tournament the #4 seed, going up against Indiana State on Friday afternoon.
#6: Sam Maniscalco (Bradley guard; 43 previous points in the MVC tournament) - If ever there was a dude born with a name destined to host a sports talk radio show in a small market city, it would be this guy.
#7: Rashad Reed (Indiana State guard; 36 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Senior guard would like to see Indiana State have a return to glory (this is the school Larry Bird came from), but the Sycamores are middle-of-the-pack in this year's MVC, opening up in the tournament against Creighton tomorrow in the #4/#5 seed game.
#8: J.T. Durley (Wichita State forward/center; 35 previous points in the MVC tournament) - The Shockers are Arch Madness's #2 seed, and more importantly, the Wichita State Shockers have the most awesome logo going through my brain right now, with a cracked out degenerate wheat stalk man of some sort balling his fists up like he's about to get all back woods pugilist on motherfuckers. Junior sharpshooter J.T. Durley goes hot and cold, and that will probably decide whether Wichita State can knock Northern Iowa off or even just survive the MVC battle royal this weekend.
#9: Harry Marshall (Indiana State guard; 34 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Another senior in the back court to go along with Rashad Reed. Usually this time of year, an upperclassmen back court can make a difference, so perhaps Indiana State can upset their way into the MVC title game on Sunday.
#10: Kenny Lawson Jr. (Creighton center; 33 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Lawson is having a solid junior year and helped pick up the slack from the suspension of Stinnett, and what the fuck happened to tall people? How are you the best center in a mid-major conference standing at 6'9"?
#11: Dinma Odiakosa (Illinois State forward; 30 previous points in the MVC tournament) - A powerful senior forward, who along with Osiris Eldridge, make the Redbirds a serious threat to upset Northern Iowa's automatic apple cart into the NCAA tournament.
#12: Aaron Ellis (Wichita State forward; 29 previous points in the MVC tournament) - He is a guy who plays basketball.
#13: Cavel Witter (Creighton guard; 29 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Senior guard who's seen enough of the clusterfuck Missouri Valley Conference to know that all they have to do is get hot for three days to get into the NCAA tournament.
#14: Ali Farokhmanesh (Northern Iowa guard; 28 previous points in the MVC tournament) - This Iranian-American Iowan with the wacky Homeland Security double-checking name will be one those TV basketball talking head dudes name drop when it comes time to discuss mid-major schools that could be this year's Cinderellas in the NCAA tournament. Ali can drain 3s all night long, and if he can get hot and the team around him can stay steady, they could still be playing deep into March.
#1: Osiris Eldridge (Illinois State guard; 114 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Not only does he have the most gangsta ass name in the MVC, but Osiris Eldridge is probably the most gamebreaking presence in the league as well. Illinois State is only seeded third, but still a very real threat to win the tourney, opening up tomorrow against the Bradley Braves.
#2: Josh Young (Drake guard; 74 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Young is the senior leadership behind this Drake team, and is one of the Bulldogs all-time great shooters, but that's not going to mean too much, as Drake enters the tourney as the #8 seed, playing Southern Illinois on first round Thursday.
#3: Adam Koch (Northern Iowa forward; 65 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Northern Iowa comes into Arch Madness as the #1 seed and a Top 25 team nationally, as well as the defending Missouri Valley Champion. Koch is that traditional MVC whiteboy - all-academic team, and can drain 3-pointers as a forward. He's been a floor leader for the Panthers, and is surrounded by a pretty decent cast of cats that, if the Panthers can storm through the MVC tourney, could get a really nice seed in the Big Dance.
#4: Kwadzo Ahelegbe (Northern Iowa guard; 60 previous points in the MVC tournament) - A key part of the Panthers nucleus of basketball productivity, yet only a junior, which means he shall be MVC preseason royalty next year, because Missouri Valley Conference guys don't leave school early.
#5: P'Allen Stinnett (Creighton guard; 44 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Well, Stinnett is only active so far as being on the roster, as this junior star for Creighton got suspended for the rest of the season back in January for conduct detrimental to the team, which basically means he and the coach didn't get along and he's going to transfer. You don't normally see "conduct detrimental to the team" and season-ending suspensions before a miraculous turnaround the following season. Creighton still comes into the MVC tournament the #4 seed, going up against Indiana State on Friday afternoon.
#6: Sam Maniscalco (Bradley guard; 43 previous points in the MVC tournament) - If ever there was a dude born with a name destined to host a sports talk radio show in a small market city, it would be this guy.
#7: Rashad Reed (Indiana State guard; 36 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Senior guard would like to see Indiana State have a return to glory (this is the school Larry Bird came from), but the Sycamores are middle-of-the-pack in this year's MVC, opening up in the tournament against Creighton tomorrow in the #4/#5 seed game.
#8: J.T. Durley (Wichita State forward/center; 35 previous points in the MVC tournament) - The Shockers are Arch Madness's #2 seed, and more importantly, the Wichita State Shockers have the most awesome logo going through my brain right now, with a cracked out degenerate wheat stalk man of some sort balling his fists up like he's about to get all back woods pugilist on motherfuckers. Junior sharpshooter J.T. Durley goes hot and cold, and that will probably decide whether Wichita State can knock Northern Iowa off or even just survive the MVC battle royal this weekend.
#9: Harry Marshall (Indiana State guard; 34 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Another senior in the back court to go along with Rashad Reed. Usually this time of year, an upperclassmen back court can make a difference, so perhaps Indiana State can upset their way into the MVC title game on Sunday.
#10: Kenny Lawson Jr. (Creighton center; 33 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Lawson is having a solid junior year and helped pick up the slack from the suspension of Stinnett, and what the fuck happened to tall people? How are you the best center in a mid-major conference standing at 6'9"?
#11: Dinma Odiakosa (Illinois State forward; 30 previous points in the MVC tournament) - A powerful senior forward, who along with Osiris Eldridge, make the Redbirds a serious threat to upset Northern Iowa's automatic apple cart into the NCAA tournament.
#12: Aaron Ellis (Wichita State forward; 29 previous points in the MVC tournament) - He is a guy who plays basketball.
#13: Cavel Witter (Creighton guard; 29 previous points in the MVC tournament) - Senior guard who's seen enough of the clusterfuck Missouri Valley Conference to know that all they have to do is get hot for three days to get into the NCAA tournament.
#14: Ali Farokhmanesh (Northern Iowa guard; 28 previous points in the MVC tournament) - This Iranian-American Iowan with the wacky Homeland Security double-checking name will be one those TV basketball talking head dudes name drop when it comes time to discuss mid-major schools that could be this year's Cinderellas in the NCAA tournament. Ali can drain 3s all night long, and if he can get hot and the team around him can stay steady, they could still be playing deep into March.
S14: Top 14 Scorers From Last Four CAA Tournaments
The Colonial Athletic Association would be my home conference. I grew up an ACC fan, like any normal kid in southside Virginia, but not all of us go to big giant ass state schools, and some of us go to smaller ass artsy weird fuck schools like VCU. Back when I was there, they played their games downtown at the Richmond Coliseum, which meant you had to ride a shuttle bus to get to the games, and I can tell you that never in my life have I been a shuttle bus type of person. Greyhounds? Yes. School bus for a house? Sure. But a shuttle bus? Hell no, that's some sprawlish creepy crawl bullshit right there. So I never caught game one, even though back then we had two former McDonald's All-Americans (Kendrick Warren, who probably couldn't be trusted in any other school to be honest, and Kenny Something or other who had played his freshman year at UNC but had to transfer, most likely due to questionable decision making skills, as he had like three kids by five women back then, and he wasn't but still in his early 20s). But they built a new arena on campus, and a steady string of up-and-coming coaches (Jeff Kapel, who left to coach Oklahoma, and then Anthony Grant, who left to coach Alabama, and now Shaka Smart, who will leave to coach South Carolina in three years).
The CAA, along with the MVC, is probably the most notorious mid-major conference there is, and the one that big programs hate to face in the NCAA tournament. It was the CAA's George Mason who made that run to the Final Four a few years back, and then VCU followed that up by upsetting Duke the following year. So it's a conference capable of showing their ass in prominent mid-March basketball competitions.
The CAA tournament itself is a big part of that, it always being a clusterfuck of evenly matched teams that make for an interesting first two days and exciting grudge match final two days. And being it's held in the Richmond Coliseum (which technically is a pretty fair center point between all the schools), VCU always has a pseudo-home court advantage. Here are the fourteen dudes who scored the most points in the previous four CAA tourneys...
#1: Eric Maynor (VCU guard; 156 points in CAA tourneys '06-'09) - I took my oldest daughter to the CAA tourney semifinals and finals last year, and she absolutely fell in love (athletically, not physically... she's only 11) with Eric Maynor. And it was hard not to. Even though it's a Division I conference, he was just another two levels above everybody else, to the point they could fall behind by 10 points or more, and he could just completely take over a game, single-handedly. He did just that when he was CAA tourney MVP in 2007, and basically just decided at the end of the game when VCU was down by 6 or 7 points to George Mason, that they were gonna win. It was like somebody playing NBA Jams who knew all the cheat combos. He was drafted into the NBA by the Utah Jazz, where he played a little before getting traded to the Oklahoma City Thunderbirds where he's a steady bench contributor as a rookie, and I can't help but think a team with him and Kevin Durant is a team with a solid as fuck futuristic back court.
#2: Dre Smith (George Mason guard; 126 points in CAA tourneys '07-'09) - Before I speak upon Dre Smith, I want to mention I just googled news his name, and this was part of what I got: "fuhrte US-Boy Dre Smith nahtlos fort: Punkte in Serie!" No doubt 'bout that. Dre was but a young buck, not even on the team in an active capacity when they made their Final Four run, but he took over in his time. And he's been rewarded with a starting gig in Austria with the ABC Lions Dornbirn. And to think just last year, I saw him trading threes with Eric Maynor in the Richmond Coliseum. That was in the championship game, and this year, if VCU wins their opening round game against Delaware, GMU and VCU will rematch in the quarterfinals.
#3: Will Thomas (George Mason forward; 120 points in CAA tourneys '06-'08) - A major player in the Final Four run along with Jai Lewis, and that notoriety got him some NBA Summer League action, but he landed on Belgacom Liege Basket, in the Belgian League, where he's been a solid contributor. That team even played in the Eurochallenge, which I can only assume is some sort of super league competition of Euroleague champions. He's still cold kicking it in Belgium, to this very day, eating waffles like a motherfucker and washing it down with beers that come in big bottles with corks held on by twisted wire.
#4: Folarin Campbell (George Mason guard/forward; 118 points in CAA tourneys '06-'08) - Another Final Four run roleplayer, who landed in Europe, first in Italy and now upgraded to the prestigious German League, starting for the Artland Dragons Quakenbrueck, which oddly enough, was the name of a gang of drunken handicapped Mennonite kids gone awry back in my high school.
#5: Antoine Agudio (Hofstra guard; 92 points in CAA tourneys '06-'08) - Double A was a straight shooter, who could light it up for 30 points no problem if you weren't careful and he got that feeling. He was hot enough to get a look from the New Orleans Hornets before the 2008 NBA draft, but nothing came of it, and he starred for a year in Turkey for the Banvit Basketbol Kulubu, who are involved in phone card scams that filter money to Islamic organizations. After their involvement in the Eurochallenge, he got hooked up with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in the NBA D-League, where he's been solidly scoring points, hoping for a 10-day contract somewhere in the NBA on the far end of somebody's bench, beside the guys in the suits with the torn ACLs and sprained ankles.
#6: Laimis Kisielius (William & Mary forward; 84 points in CAA tourneys '06-'08) - My man Laimis was the foreign hotness there in the CAA at one point, taking over a tourney a couple years back and carrying shitty William & Mary all the way to the championship game before they bit it against a George Mason team. A native Lithuanian, since finishing college, he's played for multiple teams in his home country, as well as in the Ukraine and Latvia, where he's currently stationed as a starter for Liepajas Lauvas. Judging by the pictures I've seen looking him up, they use some pimp ass designed basketballs in some of those Euro leagues. Seems like when we do alternate color styles in America, we get stifled by the awesomeness of the red, white and blue old school ABA balls. But you'd have to figure countries with a stronger soccer identity would know how to pimp a round ball out better than us anyways.
#7: Danny Sumner (William & Mary forward; 83 points in CAA tourneys '08 and '09) - Still in college.
#8: Leonard Mendez (Georgia State guard; 81 points in CAA tourneys '06-'09) - Mendez was another dude like Antoine Agudio who could just light it the fuck up sometimes, just he played on Georgia State, which has at best been like middle-of-the-pack in the CAA. It must be hard being the southernmost team in a league situated mostly in Virginia with schools way the fuck up in New England as well, although I'm sure the other schools enjoy a nice trip down to Georgia's weather in the dead of winter. The only thing Mendez has done post-college was playing in some sort of Eurobasket Summer League in Las Vegas last summer, so I can only assume he is working at the UPS in Atlanta now. Although these smaller school guys all actually graduate and get degrees, so he might've got a business degree and has some sort of internet start-up going. Google news shows nothing, so whatever he's doing, it's dwelling in the shadows of the real world.
#9: Loren Stokes (Hofstra guard; 76 points in CAA tourneys '06 and '07) - Former Hofstra dude, as you will say, travel well. Since wrapping up his college career in 2007, here is the resume of a young Mr. Loren Stokes: Long Island Primetime (America), assorted pro-scout heavy summer leagues, Aspis Apoel Nicosia (Cyprus, including some FIBA EuroCup action), Generali Okapi Aalstar (Belgium), Aget Imola (Italy), BS Odessa (Ukraine), and now back at Generali Okapi Aalstar. Imagine the crazy characters a young American basketballer all over Europe like that has bought his weed from.
#10: T.J. Carter (UNC-Wilmington guard; 73 points in CAA tourneys '06 and '08) - Another domineering shooter, which basketball dork analysts always call "pure shooters" as if there's some sort of eugenics program for guys who shoot threes well and have nice floating jumpers. Carter was good as fuck though, and has kicked it for Duesseldorf Giants in Germany's top league for a couple years now, where he is one of the league's top sixth men.
#11: Herbert Courtney (Delaware forward; 71 points in CAA tourneys '06-'09) - Delaware's basketball team has never been that great, because even in smaller schools, some schools are football schools. The Delaware Blue Hen Division I-AA tradition is strong (that's where Joe Flacco came from), and that hasn't translated to the roundball too often. Still, Courtney made a strong enough showing to allow himself the odd post-collegiate pro career travels of Argentina to Israel to Turkey, where he was dropped in December from a team called Final Genclik, which I think is some sort of Armageddon-based song by Testament. Or maybe it was Kreator.
#12: Gerald Lee (Old Dominion forward; 68 points in CAA tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#13: Charles Jenkins (Hofstra guard; 68 points in CAA tourneys '08 and '09) - Still in college.
#14: Carlos Rivera (Hofstra guard; 66 points in CAA tourneys '06 and '07) - I barely remember Carlos Rivera as Hofstra's point guard, but apparently holmes is like a Puerto Rican superstar, and proud boriquas everywhere think he should be in the NBA. Post-college, he has run up his frequent flyer miles, playing for Atleticos de San German (in Puerto Rico HOOOOO!), then SPEC Polonia Warszawa (in Poland), then back to Puerto Rico (HOOOOO!) to play for Capitanes de Arecibo, then fall ball back in Poland for Atlast Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski, then summer back in Puerto Rico (HOOOOO!), again for Capitanes de Arecibo, and he kept it close to home this fall, going to Mexico to play for Halcones Rojos de Veracruz, starting in all of those places. So dude has pretty much played year-round professional ball since he finished his collegiate eligibility in spring 2007. And people say Puerto Ricans are lazy.
The CAA, along with the MVC, is probably the most notorious mid-major conference there is, and the one that big programs hate to face in the NCAA tournament. It was the CAA's George Mason who made that run to the Final Four a few years back, and then VCU followed that up by upsetting Duke the following year. So it's a conference capable of showing their ass in prominent mid-March basketball competitions.
The CAA tournament itself is a big part of that, it always being a clusterfuck of evenly matched teams that make for an interesting first two days and exciting grudge match final two days. And being it's held in the Richmond Coliseum (which technically is a pretty fair center point between all the schools), VCU always has a pseudo-home court advantage. Here are the fourteen dudes who scored the most points in the previous four CAA tourneys...
#1: Eric Maynor (VCU guard; 156 points in CAA tourneys '06-'09) - I took my oldest daughter to the CAA tourney semifinals and finals last year, and she absolutely fell in love (athletically, not physically... she's only 11) with Eric Maynor. And it was hard not to. Even though it's a Division I conference, he was just another two levels above everybody else, to the point they could fall behind by 10 points or more, and he could just completely take over a game, single-handedly. He did just that when he was CAA tourney MVP in 2007, and basically just decided at the end of the game when VCU was down by 6 or 7 points to George Mason, that they were gonna win. It was like somebody playing NBA Jams who knew all the cheat combos. He was drafted into the NBA by the Utah Jazz, where he played a little before getting traded to the Oklahoma City Thunderbirds where he's a steady bench contributor as a rookie, and I can't help but think a team with him and Kevin Durant is a team with a solid as fuck futuristic back court.
#2: Dre Smith (George Mason guard; 126 points in CAA tourneys '07-'09) - Before I speak upon Dre Smith, I want to mention I just googled news his name, and this was part of what I got: "fuhrte US-Boy Dre Smith nahtlos fort: Punkte in Serie!" No doubt 'bout that. Dre was but a young buck, not even on the team in an active capacity when they made their Final Four run, but he took over in his time. And he's been rewarded with a starting gig in Austria with the ABC Lions Dornbirn. And to think just last year, I saw him trading threes with Eric Maynor in the Richmond Coliseum. That was in the championship game, and this year, if VCU wins their opening round game against Delaware, GMU and VCU will rematch in the quarterfinals.
#3: Will Thomas (George Mason forward; 120 points in CAA tourneys '06-'08) - A major player in the Final Four run along with Jai Lewis, and that notoriety got him some NBA Summer League action, but he landed on Belgacom Liege Basket, in the Belgian League, where he's been a solid contributor. That team even played in the Eurochallenge, which I can only assume is some sort of super league competition of Euroleague champions. He's still cold kicking it in Belgium, to this very day, eating waffles like a motherfucker and washing it down with beers that come in big bottles with corks held on by twisted wire.
#4: Folarin Campbell (George Mason guard/forward; 118 points in CAA tourneys '06-'08) - Another Final Four run roleplayer, who landed in Europe, first in Italy and now upgraded to the prestigious German League, starting for the Artland Dragons Quakenbrueck, which oddly enough, was the name of a gang of drunken handicapped Mennonite kids gone awry back in my high school.
#5: Antoine Agudio (Hofstra guard; 92 points in CAA tourneys '06-'08) - Double A was a straight shooter, who could light it up for 30 points no problem if you weren't careful and he got that feeling. He was hot enough to get a look from the New Orleans Hornets before the 2008 NBA draft, but nothing came of it, and he starred for a year in Turkey for the Banvit Basketbol Kulubu, who are involved in phone card scams that filter money to Islamic organizations. After their involvement in the Eurochallenge, he got hooked up with the Albuquerque Thunderbirds in the NBA D-League, where he's been solidly scoring points, hoping for a 10-day contract somewhere in the NBA on the far end of somebody's bench, beside the guys in the suits with the torn ACLs and sprained ankles.
#6: Laimis Kisielius (William & Mary forward; 84 points in CAA tourneys '06-'08) - My man Laimis was the foreign hotness there in the CAA at one point, taking over a tourney a couple years back and carrying shitty William & Mary all the way to the championship game before they bit it against a George Mason team. A native Lithuanian, since finishing college, he's played for multiple teams in his home country, as well as in the Ukraine and Latvia, where he's currently stationed as a starter for Liepajas Lauvas. Judging by the pictures I've seen looking him up, they use some pimp ass designed basketballs in some of those Euro leagues. Seems like when we do alternate color styles in America, we get stifled by the awesomeness of the red, white and blue old school ABA balls. But you'd have to figure countries with a stronger soccer identity would know how to pimp a round ball out better than us anyways.
#7: Danny Sumner (William & Mary forward; 83 points in CAA tourneys '08 and '09) - Still in college.
#8: Leonard Mendez (Georgia State guard; 81 points in CAA tourneys '06-'09) - Mendez was another dude like Antoine Agudio who could just light it the fuck up sometimes, just he played on Georgia State, which has at best been like middle-of-the-pack in the CAA. It must be hard being the southernmost team in a league situated mostly in Virginia with schools way the fuck up in New England as well, although I'm sure the other schools enjoy a nice trip down to Georgia's weather in the dead of winter. The only thing Mendez has done post-college was playing in some sort of Eurobasket Summer League in Las Vegas last summer, so I can only assume he is working at the UPS in Atlanta now. Although these smaller school guys all actually graduate and get degrees, so he might've got a business degree and has some sort of internet start-up going. Google news shows nothing, so whatever he's doing, it's dwelling in the shadows of the real world.
#9: Loren Stokes (Hofstra guard; 76 points in CAA tourneys '06 and '07) - Former Hofstra dude, as you will say, travel well. Since wrapping up his college career in 2007, here is the resume of a young Mr. Loren Stokes: Long Island Primetime (America), assorted pro-scout heavy summer leagues, Aspis Apoel Nicosia (Cyprus, including some FIBA EuroCup action), Generali Okapi Aalstar (Belgium), Aget Imola (Italy), BS Odessa (Ukraine), and now back at Generali Okapi Aalstar. Imagine the crazy characters a young American basketballer all over Europe like that has bought his weed from.
#10: T.J. Carter (UNC-Wilmington guard; 73 points in CAA tourneys '06 and '08) - Another domineering shooter, which basketball dork analysts always call "pure shooters" as if there's some sort of eugenics program for guys who shoot threes well and have nice floating jumpers. Carter was good as fuck though, and has kicked it for Duesseldorf Giants in Germany's top league for a couple years now, where he is one of the league's top sixth men.
#11: Herbert Courtney (Delaware forward; 71 points in CAA tourneys '06-'09) - Delaware's basketball team has never been that great, because even in smaller schools, some schools are football schools. The Delaware Blue Hen Division I-AA tradition is strong (that's where Joe Flacco came from), and that hasn't translated to the roundball too often. Still, Courtney made a strong enough showing to allow himself the odd post-collegiate pro career travels of Argentina to Israel to Turkey, where he was dropped in December from a team called Final Genclik, which I think is some sort of Armageddon-based song by Testament. Or maybe it was Kreator.
#12: Gerald Lee (Old Dominion forward; 68 points in CAA tourneys '07-'09) - Still in college; will speak upon him tomorrow.
#13: Charles Jenkins (Hofstra guard; 68 points in CAA tourneys '08 and '09) - Still in college.
#14: Carlos Rivera (Hofstra guard; 66 points in CAA tourneys '06 and '07) - I barely remember Carlos Rivera as Hofstra's point guard, but apparently holmes is like a Puerto Rican superstar, and proud boriquas everywhere think he should be in the NBA. Post-college, he has run up his frequent flyer miles, playing for Atleticos de San German (in Puerto Rico HOOOOO!), then SPEC Polonia Warszawa (in Poland), then back to Puerto Rico (HOOOOO!) to play for Capitanes de Arecibo, then fall ball back in Poland for Atlast Stal Ostrow Wielkopolski, then summer back in Puerto Rico (HOOOOO!), again for Capitanes de Arecibo, and he kept it close to home this fall, going to Mexico to play for Halcones Rojos de Veracruz, starting in all of those places. So dude has pretty much played year-round professional ball since he finished his collegiate eligibility in spring 2007. And people say Puerto Ricans are lazy.
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