It's NBA Draft day everyone!!! Woooooo! Who will be the next LeBron James or the next Stromile Swift?? Will your favorite team take the best player or one that actually fits their current roster? Hopefully they don't reach for that promising teenage European named Darko while passing on Carmelo Anthony. Stupid Pistons.
To be honest I don't watch nearly as much College Basketball as I used to. I've become much more North Carolina-centric with my lack of free time. I don't think I saw Florida guard Bradley Beal play once. I couldn't tell you whether he will be the next Ray Allen, J.J. Redick or Joseph Forte. When your primary talent is shooting and you're really good at it College, the NBA scouts salivate. I look at the stat line for Beal and I see 44.5% shooting with 33% from 3 point range. That doesn't strike me as a dead eye sharp shooter, but again, what do I know? Joseph Forte was an inch shorter than Beal, but shot 45.5% and nearly 37% from 3 point range in his two years at UNC. He was a complete and utter bust in the NBA. I certainly hope Bradley Beal brings more to the table than did Forte.
Let me stick to what I (think I) know best North Carolina. They will have four 1st round draft picks in all likelihood tonight. They also did this in 2005 and nearly repeated the feat in 2009. Of course both of those teams were NCAA Champions (damn you Creighton). I'm going to quickly break down this years four players to the best of my limited ability.
Harrison Barnes-
Brought in with lofty expectations as the next greatest player to ever play, Harrison Barnes could only muster flashes of brilliance. What he will be remembered for, though, is failure to come up big when his team desperately needed him to. Yes he hit some game winning shots and had an unbelievable ACC Tournament his Freshman year, but he seemed to shrink when Kendall Marshall went down as he couldn't create his own shot. He still averaged 17 ppg., but at times it felt like he could average 25 ppg. wtih his skill set if he just had better ball handling abilities. If he works on that part of his game I could easily see him having a stellar career in the mold of Paul Pierce.
Kendall Marshall-
Stuck behind Larry Drew II, Marshall did not start his career at UNC with a bang. Once he got on the court, everyone saw why he had been on the radar of UNC since as early as 6th grade. He fit Roy Williams' fast break system to a tee with his ability to get the ball out of his hands and into a teammates hands in the exact spot it needed to be. He struggled shooting, but even that got much better as his Sophomore season went on to the point he had to be guarded up close at all times. His final game as a Tar Heel will be remembered for his injury, but he had 18 points on 7-8 shooting to go along with his standard 11 assists. His ceiling seems to be limitless in the right system, but with his deftness as passing, I think he'll make any system look good.
Tyler Zeller-
The only player of this draft class to be a part of a National Championship and one that stayed a full four years (even though he missed most of his Freshman year with a broken wrist thanks to those UK douches), Zeller is a question mark. He runs the court very well and is a true 7 feet tall. He proved to be very weak as a post player though and never was able to stretch his mid range jumper to anything more than the free throw line. His stats were bolstered by the efficiency of Marshall's full court passes, but I'm not sold that he will be a failure. Post play technique can be taught and upper body strength can be improved. He's a smart player and he'll give full effort and whether that will ever be enough to be a star in the NBA is yet to be seen.
John Henson-
I have big time reservations for the thin framed John Henson. He got stronger through each of his three years with North Carolina, but I still don't see him being able to hold his own on the block in the NBA. He's going to get stuck on offense being a near 7' wing player and that is just awkward. On defense he can be a difference maker with better strength, but to avoid being the next Brandan Wright things will need to change. His hopes is to turn his game into that of Marcus Camby and be a defensive stalwart and that wouldn't be too shabby.
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After a wonderful start, the Euro Cup 2012 has taken a dreadful turn into boredom. The group stage games were for the most part compelling and lively. Everyone knew the battle between two defensive minded teams in England and Italy was going to be tough to watch, but we had high hopes for Spain and Portugal. Yesterday's game was awful, there was no flow, no action and really no drama because I didn't think either team was going to score. There was way too much talent on the field for a second consecutive scoreless draw.
Whatever on the fence American fans that had been drawn in this go around were fast asleep by the time Cristiano Ronaldo sat on the sidelines watching his less talented teammates cost him a chance to play in the Finals. Today's game should be one sided with Germany pressing for a goal while Italy will be looking for a quick counter attack. I hope we see some good play and hopefully that leads to a goal or two.
It's obvious soccer will never be a main attraction in America, even if the U.S. wins a World Cup. The game just doesn't appeal to what we love about sports. We like a good pace, obvious strategy that can be debated and star athletes doing things that we can only dream of. I can kick a ball 20 yards wide of a net. I can pass a soccer ball with a couple friends in a triangle. I can most definitely drop down and hold my ankle and writhe in pain when somebody clips my leg. I can't dunk, I can't throw 95 mph or hit a ball 425 feet, I can't break through tackles of 275 lb. linebackers or throw a perfect spiral into a 2 foot window and I can't hit a slap shot at nearly 100 mph while skating around a pro defenseman.
The rules need to be tinkered with to create a better paced game:
1) I call for unlimited on the fly changes of players. Stop standing around in the late stages of games because you can only substitute 3 players and your tired. Fresh legs = more energy = more scoring.
2) Force some players from each side to stay on the opposing teams side at all times. While on attack the attacking team needs to leave its goalie and 3 defensive players on their side and the defensive team needs to leave two offensive players there as well. Open space will create better passing and better scoring chances.
3) Power plays! A foul is a 2 minute penalty and a yellow card is a 5 minute penalty.
4) Tweak the offsides rule or eliminate it in the final five minutes of each half. Holy smokes would that be exciting. Cherry picking and long passes would stretch the field and teams like Spain and Brazil couldn't just pass the ball around to protect the lead.
5) Shot clock. 90 seconds to put a shot on goal when you cross the midfield line. 30 seconds to get the ball over the midfield line and no going back over the midfield line once you cross it. Yes back court violations.
6) Two goal shots. Draw an arc outside the box and any goal scored from past that is 2 goals.
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