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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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Prospects On Center Stage NBA Preview 2008/09: Final Call
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Jumpology: Scouting The Heavyweights By Ron Jumper So now that you have had a little bit to make out your bracket, who is your sleeper to make a Sweet 16 run? Who made your Final Four and who cuts down the nets? I’ll be giving you my bracket Wednesday afternoon to have at your disposal but, before then, I thought I would examine the heavyweights and see what they need to happen in order to make a Final Four run. This is a season where not much separates top overall seed Louisville and the four 2 seeds. It is the subtle things that make all the difference, I’ll explain more. Typically, when examining who makes it to the Final Four and who doesn’t, there are some common traits. For the teams that do: -They probably have a great coach, who maybe has been there before. -They probably have senior leadership, especially in the backcourt. -They probably have great 3-point shooting, with multiple guys who can knock shots down. -They probably have the size and athleticism to defend, since on some nights the shots just aren’t falling. For the teams that don’t: -They might have one fatal flaw, whether it be shooting or interior defense. -They might have overachieved in the regular season and benefited from the schedule. -They might have a coach who has a history of underachieving in March. -They might lack solid point guard play to handle whatever tempo is thrown at them. Louisville The Cardinals have a very talented club, led by Terrence Williams and Earl Clarke. They have athletes to press like Rick Pitino wants and they knock down threes well. However, I would say the one weakness this team has is inside, where they lack both quality and quantity. Samardo Samuels is good but not great, then it really drops off on the depth chart. Looking ahead, what happens when they run into Wake Forest (who is huge) and Samuels gets in foul trouble or is completely neutralized inside? Think back to when UConn played at Louisville and Thabeet made the Cardinals completely dependant on perimeter shooting. If the Cardinals don’t have balance, they could lose to Michigan State or Wake Forest. UNC The Tar Heels are loaded with talent, we all know that. However, they tend to not defend at a high level at times. Now, there is issue of how healthy Ty Lawson is. Without Lawson, they can’t run and gun at such a high level as we have become accustomed to seeing. Looking at the bracket, if Lawson isn’t back at 100% yet then LSU could be a tough out if the Tigers get by Butler because they are so athletic and defend so well. After that, if the Tar Heels aren’t defending well, Gonzaga can match score for score with anyone. A potential Elite 8 matchup with Oklahoma could put Hansborough to the test against OU’s Blake Griffin. Pittsburgh The Panthers are so athletic and defend as good as anyone in the country. DeJuan Blair is a tough matchup for anyone inside and Levance Fields is a veteran point guard. They have streaky shooters from the outside but, when the outside shots are falling, this team can’t be beat. I would say the two weaknesses this team has is depth inside and consistent 3-point shooting. When they lose, it usually means DeJuan Blair was in foul trouble (19 fouls in 4 losses this season) and they didn’t shoot well (20-69 3-point shooting in 4 losses). The Panthers could have trouble with either Xavier or Florida State in the Sweet 16, as both have size and defend well. After that, it is likely either Duke or Villanova, two perimeter-oriented teams (for what it is worth, Nova beat Pitt by 10 in the regular season). UConn The Huskies have scary size and athleticism this season. Before a couple of losses late, this team had been right at the top of the polls and seemed to be a strong candidate to be the top overall seed. This team is similar to a lot of Huskie teams though, as they lack scoring and consistent outside shooting. The one guy that gives them great perimeter scoring is A.J. Price, as he is borderline special when he gets it going. The problem is that Price has a lot of bad games inbetween (9 games in single figures to go with 6 games of 20 or more). Which Price shows up could have a major impact on how far this team goes. No one is giving Washington or Purdue a lot of respect, but those teams have quietly played very good basketball all season. After that, the Memphis-Missouri winner could cause problems for the Huskies because the fast tempo could limit how much of an impact Thabeet has inside. Memphis The Tigers, as usual, are really athletic and play great defense. They have depth and run you into the ground with it. They don’t have great outside shooting nor do they have a great point guard (Tyreke Evans has moved over and made do). Some thought this team was worthy of a number 1 seed, but I would like to remind everyone that this team stumbled out to a 6-3 start, fell out of the polls for nearly the entire month of January, and wasn’t really highly thought of until they went out to Spokane and beat Gonzaga. Sure, they beat Tennessee and Gonzaga, but is that even close to comparable to the other teams on this list? They have an easy road to the Sweet 16, then they face a red hot Missouri team. I am curious to see how Tyreke Evans will handle the “40 Minutes of Hell” that Mike Anderson will put on the Tigers if they play each other. After that, if they advance, they likely get Connecticut and that is just too many athletes on one basketball court. Michigan State The Spartans are what they are, they are not going to beat themselves. They will play at a slow pace, defend really well, and have a balanced scoring attack. The wildcard for this team is Raymar Morgan, as he has only had 2 double-digit scoring games since January 17th. We all know how good he can be, but can and do are different things with the NCAA Tournament here right now. Without him at full strength, they can cruise to the Sweet 16 and try to survive from then on. With him rocking and rolling, they can make a Final Four run (which is in Detroit, MI) then anything is possible. As I said, I think they can cruise to the Sweet 16 then Kansas could give them a lot of trouble if they are there. Oklahoma The Sooners didn’t play well down the stretch and that could hurt them in the tournament. Blake Griffin and Willie Warren are spectacular, then depth is a little bit of an issue. Austin Johnson is solid, but they lack a premiere point guard. If Clemson gets by Michigan, the Tigers could give Oklahoma all they want by pressing and also being able to matchup inside by putting Booker and Sykes on Griffin. After that, whether it is Arizona State or Syracuse is huge because those teams are nothing alike in terms of style. Each would cause completely different matchup problems. The Sun Devils will slow the game down and make it ugly, while the Orangeman will make it an uptempo affair. Duke The Blue Devils still haven’t convinced me that Jon Scheyer is the man that needs to be running the show. Scheyer is a scorer, mostly as an outside shooter, and he really doesn’t break the defense down or have excellent vision. Besides that, Duke has the age old problems it always does and that is trying to matchup against really big and athletic teams. Fortunately, they don’t have any big teams on their half of the region. In the Elite 8, any of Pitt, Xavier, or Florida State could cause problems inside. Before then, they should cruise by Binghamton and the Texas/Minnesota winner to the second weekend. Then, if Villanova makes it to the Sweet 16, the Wildcats are very athletic and, with the inside threat of Dante Cunningham, are very balanced on offense. That game has the potential to be a great one. March 18, 2009 |
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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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