The risk I take when I can't write like I did last Friday is that the Captain and his anti basketball policy is a little ridiculous, so of course he would leave out the NBA DRAFT/ CELTICS DRAFT recap or thoughts, so although it's a little old news at this point here it goes.
The Celtics had a talent fall into their laps at 25 in Providences Marshon Brooks. Brooks is a SG/SF that can score in bunches and he shoots from everywhere and doesn't play much defense. So when the Celtics grabbed him I thought this was a real good pick, then they immediately traded him to the New Jersey Nets for their 27th pick and next years 2nd round pick. With the 27th pick they picked up the JaJuan Johnson, the 6'10 PF from Purdue. and the more and more I thought about it, the more and more this pick was the best fit. He averaged 20 points, 8 boards and shot 80% from the line last year and also was a 1st team all american and won Big 10 defensive player of the year. He is what we have been talking about when referring how to inject life into the Celtics, long, athletic and can play above the rim, also him being a 4 year senior means he can be effective this year.
They also picked up E'Twuan Moore (sweet name) with their second pick, also from Purdue and is a "do everything" guard. But I won't get too happy about that pick as I often do and then they are nothing but D League players.
But back to Johnson, with Glen Davis likely gone, this guy will be an improvement over him. Danny found a good need player in the draft, Chad Ford gave them a A- so I guess that has to mean something.
DP's Pick: Akeem Ayers, LB, UCLA With all of the DE's practically off the board the Bucs select a LB. The passed two years the Bucs selected 2 DT's so getting a physical specimen such as Ayers is a must. He should be able to shoot the gaps as well as be decent in cover. He's also a great tackler so that's always a plus.
BMack's Pick: Ryan Kerrigan, DE/OLB, Purdue There are some questions if Kerrigan is an every down DE, but he is a sack machine (12.5 sacks last year), and that is something the Bucs need terribly after ranking 30th in the NFL in sacks. On top of that he led the country in tackles for loss, so he knows how to shed blocks and get behind the line. Very solid pick by the Bucs here, and somewhat of a steal if he falls this far.
DP's Pick: Ryan Kerrigan, DE, Purdue Well I believe this pick will be traded, but lets just pretend they will use this pick. It's pretty obvious that the Patriots need some defensive line help and now that all the guys I believe will be good are gone, they go with the next big thing. Kerrigan doesn't have a high ceiling like the other guys in this draft, but can be plugged in immediately and that's what the Patriots need the most. He is smart guy, was a team captain and a high character guy, something that the Patriots look at.
BMack's Pick: Muhammad Wilkerson, DE, Temple He was a DT in college, but most people think he will be a DE in a 3-4 defense. He can get pressure on the QB, which is something the Patriots have been missing for a couple years now. With good CBs, Warren coming back to the defensive line the Patriots should be a much improved defense if they can get a guy like this in the draft. I do agree with DP that there is a good chance that they trade this pick, because they seem to do it every year, but if they were to stick around this is exactly the kind of player they would be looking for.
The Indy Star reports that Missouri is hot for Purdue coach Matt Painter. At $1.3 million per year, Painter is one of the lowest-paid coaches in the Big Ten. Missouri is said to be offering $2 million a year.
If I was Matt Painter I would want to get the hell out of Purdue, he's losing his top 2 players and even though Mizzou isn't that big of a step in program recognition getting paid isn't a bad thing. Also with VCU coach Shaka Smart being the prized possession of this offseason, it wouldn't be a bad thing for Purdue to give him a call after VCU loses this weekend and rebuild around him while he's so hot.
Purdue's hopes for a number 1 seed, and most likely their chances at making the Final Four might have just been flattened. Star forward, and jack-of-all-trades, Robbie Hummel tore his ACL Wednesday night against Minnesota. The Boilermakers squeaked out a win over the Gophers, 59-58, but things don't look bright right now for the #3 team in the country.
Hummel drove into the lane and mostly untouched his right leg buckled underneath him as he crumpled to the floor. An MRI on Thursday revealed the torn ACL.
Purdue was on the track to being a #1 seed, after losses by Villanova opened the door for them. But, that train has most likely been derailed with Hummel's injury. I wouldn't rule out Purdue to still win the Big 10, though Ohio State and Michigan State (maybe even Wisconsin?) will have something to say about that. JaJuan Johnson is a stud and will try to pick up some of the slack left by Hummel. But that is a lot of slack, as Hummel was the emotional leader of the team and contributed big numbers in every category.
They face Michigan State at home on Sunday which will be a big test to their ability to step up in the absence of their fallen star.
(3) Mizzou 102, (2) Memphis 91 Has anyone else been more impressive this tournament than Mizzou? JT Tiller had a career night for Mizzou as he broke Memphis' 27 fluff game win streak. Tiller finished with 23 points on the night. Mizzou almost blew it as they let up a 24 point lead to 6, but free throws really sealed the deal for them. Freshman point guard Tyreke Evans finished with 33 points for Memphis, but the problem of course (again) was free throws. Memphis only hit 18 of 32 from the line, I guess Calipari should start taking them a little more seriously figuring it has cost them two tournament games.
(1) UConn 72, (5) Purdue 60 After cruising through the first two rounds in the tournament, UConn found itself in a little bit of a challenge yesterday until late in the second quarter. Hasheem Thabeet had his coming out party scoring 15, rebounding 15, and blocking 4 shots. But what the stat line won't show you is his overall defensive dominance. Since Purdue lacked size, it was close to impossible to score from the paint due to Thabeet's size.
(1) Pittsburgh 60, (4)Xavier 55 Does anyone else hate having Pitt as their winner? Levance Fields was star of the game hitting one of the most ill advised three point shots with 50.9 seconds left on the clock and hit it. Pitt was trailed 54-52 before Fields hit that three pointer to put the Panthers up for good. Sam Young led led Pitt with 19 points, Fields had 14 and DeJuan Blair had 10 points and 17 rebounds as they needed it to overcome a 8 point deficit at halftime. Pitt finally got over the sweet 16 hump and is on to the elite for the first time in 8 years.
(3) Villanova 77, (2)Duke 54 Dante Cunningham had 14 points and 11 rebounds and the third seeded Wildcats beat the Blue Devils for the first time in more than 50 years. Villanova took advantage took advantage of Duke's pathetic shooting 27% to advance to the elite eight. Kyle Singler had 15 and Jon Scheyer had 13 but went 3-18 and "star" Gerald Henderson had the worst shooting performance I have seen in my life going 1-14 finishing with 7 points.
The year of pretenders in the top 5 continues as Purdue wiped the floor with Michigan State last night. The Boilermakers have been over achieving this year and made their run much more impressive with this win.
Purdue forced 22 turnovers, blocked eight shots and held Michigan State to 33 percent shooting.The Boilermakers (20-6, 9-4 Big Ten), who have five games left, won their third straight and moved within one game of the Spartans in the conference standings. So it is a ridiculously huge win. JaJuan Johnson scored 17 points, E'Twaun Moore had 13 and Robbie Hummel added 11 for Purdue in his first start since missing three games with a hairline fracture in his lower back. Michigan State will need to find more scoring if they want to make a run in the tourney. Their scoring or lack there of would scare the hell out of me going into March.
I hate the BigTen. I hate it because I don't like the Midwest. I hate Michigan. I hate Ohio State. And the state of Wisconsin sucks. And most of all, I hate people who can't count. And if you don't hate the BigTen, just realize it's the biggest supporter of the BCS system, and the biggest fighter of a playoff.
I think the BigTen is a bit overrated. They were 3-5 in Bowl games last year. Then again, the BCS decided to put Illinois into the Rose Bowl to face USC, which was a complete joke.
Let's get to the teams...
1. Ohio State One of the favorites to win a national title, as always. OSU is usually ballsy enough to schedule a big non-conference game and this year is not different. They play USC on the road. But they never play more than one quality team. Their other non-conference opponents are Ohio, Youngstown State, and Troy. The Buckeyes have 9 returning offensive starters, and a loaded defense. They'll go 11-1 and make the national championship game... unfortunately.
2. Wisconsin The Badgers are solid, but I don't know why anyone considers them to be close to a top ten team in the country. They have Zach Brown and Lance Smith at QB, but neither has significant experience, nor does either one stand out. PJ Hill rushed for 1200+ yards last year and is the main reason Wisconsin will end up in the Rose Bowl. Actually, the main reason is that the rest of the BigTen blows.
3. Illinois Without Rashard Mendenhall, the Fighting Illini become one of those teams that drifts into and out of the top 20 from week to week. Juice Williams returns at QB, but his 13 TDs and 12 INTs are a cause for concern. They've got a solid and deep defensive line, but elsewhere their defense is missing that little extra something that makes a unit great. Missouri will avenge their BCS snub on August 30th when they destroy Illinois.
4. Penn State There's always a great deal of optimism surrounding Penn State, and that's why I hate them. Although the Nittany Lions have some promising players like RB Evan Royster (6.3 yards per carry in limited time last year), there are too many questions that will go unanswered (like who will be QB, what kind of offense will the team have, etc.). Like Illinois, they'll drift in and out of the top 20 all season.
5. Michigan No I-AA teams on Michigan's schedule this year. Michigan will be utilizing a speedier spread offense, which may work out in 2009 or 2010, but will be funny to watch in 2008. Only 3 returning starters for the Michigan offense, none of whom are significant. On the other side of the coin, the defense returns 8 starters, including all 4 linemen. So they'll be in a lot of games, but their offense will struggle to capitalize on the opportunities their defense creates for them. It will be a frustrating season for Wolverine fans, which makes me very happy.
6. Purdue The only BigTen team I like. QB Curtis Painter returns to lead the offense. He threw for 3,846 yards and 29 TDs in 2007. But he'll miss Dorian Bryant and Dustin Keller, his top two receivers from last year. The offensive line will also struggle, and the defense won't do much to impress. But they'll have a solid season and make a bowl game.
7. Michigan State RB Javon Ringer will be the star of the MSU offense. He ran for 1,484 yards and 6 TDs last year. Jehuu Caulcrick got the goal line carries, but he's gone. But QB Brian Hoyer has a problem: he threw 20 TDs last year, but 14 of them were to players who are now in the NFL (Devin Thomas and Kellen Davis). The Spartan defense is slightly above average. It won't win games on its own, but it won't lose games on its own either. MSU will be a fun team to watch in '08 because they'll be capable of stealing a few games here and there.
8. Iowa The Hawkeyes averaged a pitiful 18.5 points per game on offense last year, and things won't be much better in 2008. The offensive line allowed 46 sacks in 2007, but maybe returning most of the starters will help minimize that problem. The defense lost its best players from last year. So basically, a team that was 6-6 (4-4 conference) got a little bit worse.
9. Northwestern They'll probably finish higher than 9th in the BigTen standings. They return 15 starters from a 6-6 team, but they're still Northwestern. Their players go to class, so they're not competitive.
10. Minnesota Minnesota has 15 returning starters, but I don't know if that's much of a good thing for a 1-11 team to do.
11. Indiana The battle for 11th place in the BigTen will be more dramatic than the battle for 1st. But I think Indiana wins out.
