Editor’s Note: The following is a re-post from a while back. We’ll be posting these from time to time as a way of letting a new audience see some great posts they might have missed.
Randy Moss is obviously a man with a refined palette.
Chugging, the Carolina Way.
According to Jody Demling of the Courier Journal, Kentucky recruits are now being told that 5 UK underclassmen will be leaving school early for the NBA draft. That’s 5, as in the number of players on the floor at one time for one team.
I’ve got to say… This is a little ridiculous.
Kentucky fans knew full well what to expect when we signed future #1 pick John Wall. 95% of us also knew DeMarcus Cousins was too talented to hang around for more than one year. Patrick Patterson is graduating a year early and we’ve already had him at least one year longer than we probably deserved. His jump makes complete sense.
Finding out that any of those three weren’t coming back would be like hearing that Ricky Martin is gay. It’s disappointing, but you’ve been prepared for it for a long time.
Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton are a different story completely. While both are immensely talented, neither is consistently effective as a college player. Not yet anyway.
Bledsoe goes through obvious dry spells, over-dribbles into turnovers, misses wide open layups and shoots 60% from the foul line. His single greatest asset is his athleticism. How many guys in the D League can you say that about right now? He lacks polish. He lacks consistency. He’s somehow a lottery pick.
Say hi to the kids from Europe, Taurean.
Daniel Orton averages under 4 and 4 in about 13 minutes a game. UNDER 4 and 4. He has an NBA body and an NBA defensive game to go with it, but his offensive game is lacking. I’m not sure if Daniel hasn’t shown more because it’s not there or because he hasn’t gotten the minutes to do so. As a projected first round pick, I’m guessing NBA GM’s are banking on the latter.
Daniel Orton and Eric Bledsoe are benefactors of what I like to call the “Taurean Green Effect”. If you put either of them on another team that isn’t stacked with 3 more lottery picks, they wouldn’t be thinking about the draft much less getting ready to pull the trigger. For some reason, all the time GM’s spend staring at obvious stars like Wall, Cousins, and Patterson makes them lose their perspective about the rest of the players on the roster.
Let me say this… I love both players. I love their potential and I’m proud of the character they’ve shown this season at Kentucky. But taking the money and running, when you know full well you’re not ready to succeed in the NBA yet is what the one and done rule is supposed to prevent. By jumping now, these guys are taking a huge risk and subsequently setting their program back at least a year while their replacements are groomed.
If they go, I wish them the best of luck. Here’s hoping I don’t have to.
Want to dominate your office pool but don’t know a thing about college basketball?
This would be a great time to create water-cooler talk with the boss, wouldn’t it?
Well here at EJSIC, we’re here to provide exactly what the people want: below, you’ll find the key to winning your office pool, with the EJSIC 2010 NCAA Tournament flowchart.
Well, we’ve reached the conclusion to the 2010 edition of the SEC tournament, and Kentucky fans will have something to smile about as they sit in traffic on I-65 north this afternoon.
Though the win can partly be attributed to the willingness of Mississippi State to be careless with the ball late in regulation, it took a couple of amazing plays by the Cats to seal the deal. The biggest of which being John Wall’s ridiculously tough 3 pointer late in overtime to make it a 4 point lead, and essentially sealing Miss St’s fate.
But there was more, and here are a couple of other tidbits from my view in the stands:
That’s right. Yours truly has been dispatched to provide up-to-the-minute updates live from the site of the 2010 SEC tournament at the “whatever-they’re-calling-it-now-that-the -Sommet-Group-failed-to-make-payment Center” in Nashville, TN. EJSIC will be your first stop for the sights, sounds, and even smells (if I can find a way to capture them on my phone) of the 2010 installment of the UK Invitational.
To get things started, here are the 3 biggest story lines heading into the tournament, and the 3 things I’m looking forward to the most:
1. Will the runaway-train that has been the 2009-10 version of the Kentucky Wildcats continue their resurgence with a tournament title? The obvious favorites going in to the event, it will be interesting to see if the C-A-T-S CATS CATS CATS will be able to continue to build on their 29-2 (14-2) record by capturing the tournament championship. THE most talented team in the country (IMO), the Cats have been dominant at home, but have proven to be shaky away from Rupp Arena, including losses at Tennessee and against the fightin’ Devon Downey’s, as well as close games against Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, and Auburn. It will be interesting to see how this freshman dominated team will perform in what will be the first college tournament situation for most.
Can anyone derail DeCuz and the UK crazy train?
All that said, make no mistake about it; Nashville will become Lexington south this weekend, just as it is whenever UK comes to town.
2. Bubbles bursting. It is my opinion that none of Florida, Ole Miss, and Mississippi State will make the Big Dance without a win in this tournament, and it is shaping up to be elimination Friday, with potential Tennessee/Ole Miss and Florida/Miss St matchups.
3. Who is SEC POY? The case for Devon Downey over either of John Wall or DeMarcus Cousins was a strong one after ‘lil Carolina’s upset of then #1 UK, but it has become increasingly difficult to ignore the team’s late season slide. However, Downey may have thrust himself back into consideration, after a 26 point performance last week at the dump that is Memorial Gym. With a deep tourney run, and perhaps another upset of Kentucky should they beat ‘Bama on Thursday, things could get interesting.
Bruce Pearl is a show unto himself.
1. Vandy fans. I was at the SEC/Sun Belt Classic in mid-December, which showcased MTSU vs. Tennessee and Vandy vs. Western Kentucky at the same venue as the SEC tournament. Vandy fans showed why they were the joke of the SEC by managing to attract **maybe** 200 fans to a game in their hometown. Meanwhile, WKU had 6-8 thousand, and were a raucous bunch. No one would have guessed they were the team 4-3 heading in and Vandy was the team nationally ranked. Well Vandy fans (or as I like to call them, “Alabama football fans“), here’s your chance to redeem yourselves. I don’t expect any more than 400 of you, so don’t disappoint me.
2. A live view of “Dermal Soul Glo“ I’ve heard stories, but I want to see for myself if Bruce really does glow.
3. Demarcus Cousins. I’ve been eagerly awaiting this ticking-time-bomb’s explosion all year. If this kid played in the ACC, he already would have been involved in brawls with Chas McFarland and Ryan Reid, and having the opposing fans get a hold of your phone number would be a weekly ordeal. But even in a league as physically flaccid as the SEC, Cousins has been driven to temper tantrums and dirty plays numerous times. If he’s gonna flip out, and he will eventually, I just want to be there to see it.
I’m also looking forward to some “pity” beers to be bought for me by those feeling sorry for me, in my North Carolina t-shirt, although I don’t expect Kentucky fans to be overly willing to support my cause…………..dafunk…………….out.
I haven’t decided if this is sad or scary yet. You be the judge.
[Found via Bluegrass State Basketball]
