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NFL Mock Draft 2009 Draft of 2009 Lacks Star Power NFL Draft 2009: Getting Started Super Bowl Well Worth Tuning In For
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| NBA | |
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Prospects On Center Stage NBA Preview 2008/09: Final Call
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I Still Believe By Ron Jumper The Hofstra Pride was my choice as the current season's mid-major surprise last April. I felt they had spectacular guard play with plenty of young bigs to develop. Hofstra got off to an 0-3 start to this season and everyone seemed to jump off the bandwagon. I still beleive in Hofstra today and wouldn't change my pick if I had the choice. Let me explain...  The Pride's strength is on the perimeter and, prior to this season, no big man on the current roster had played signifigant minutes. Now, those big men have gotten some games under their belt and the team has reeled off 10 wins in 11 games, with the only loss coming at Syracuse. The NCAA Tournament Committee will look at their non-conference games and say they don't have a signature win. Personally, I beleive they will get ample opportunities to beat quality teams in their own conference. Boasting a 3-0 record in Colonial Athletic Assosciation play thus far, the Pride will have their first test of the conference season Monday night at home against Old Dominion. Also at 3-0, ODU joins Hofstra, Drexel, and Virginia Commonwealth as the undefeated teams in CAA play. No, the CAA isn't as good as the MVC this season but I would say they have 4 teams with post-season aspirations that are mentioned in this paragraph above. Having already talked about Hofstra, I would have to say Drexel has put together the most impressive non-conference resume. At 13-2, the Dragons have beaten Villanova, Syracuse, and Temple thus far, all of which were on the road. The Dragons aren't a deep team, playing only 7 players meaningful minutes, but they are lead by their center Frank Elegar. Virginia Commonwealth has been a very good team thus far at 11-3 overall and 3-0 in conference play. Their most impressive wins have been UAB and Houston, neither get your mouth watering but not bad wins none-the-less. The fact that they only lost to Xavier by 3 is a good example of what they are capable of as well. In my opinion, what makes this team go is sophomore point guard Eric Maynor. Maynor averages 13 ppg, 6 apg, and 5 rpg so far this season, not to mention 50% on 3-point attempts. He has shown the ability to take over games as well. Check out the box score against Houston: 28 points, 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, and 1 steal with only 1 turnover. If that doesn't get the Rams faithful excited I don't know what will. Lastly, the Old Dominion Monarchs are getting it done with experience and excellent guard play. Having no one over 6-7 that averages more than 10 minutes a game, it is safe to say that size isn't on their side. However, that hasn't stopped them from pulling off wins at then #8 Georgetown and at home vs. UAB. All five starters are upper-classmen, which is a great thing to have. The three seniors are guard Drew Williamson, forwards Arnuad Dahi and Valdas Vasylius. The juniors are guards Brian Henderson and Brandon Johnson. At the end of the season, these four teams should all have impressive records in conference play because the conference doesn't seem to have the depth it had last year. Obviously, the battle for the automatic bid will be a heated competition. After that, it will be interesting to see if any other team gets in the tournament via an at-large bid. I beleive all 4 are at least going to make the NIT, but that probably won't be good enough for the teams left uninvited to the dance.  January 7, 2007 |
| NCAA Football | |
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Be Careful What You Wish For
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| NCAA Basketball | |
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Jumpology: My Bracket Jumpology: Scouting The Heavyweights Jumpology: Reviewing The Bracket
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