UNC/Kansas

[jdw3018]

Oh, and I'll add the thing that disappointed me most about him last night (especially since I needed UNC to win for me to win my bracket pool for pride): he was terrible passing out of double-teams. It's the one place he could have made the biggest impact last night, and instead he constantly tried to force the score through doubles rather than finding the open man.

All that said, he was far from the problem for UNC in the first 15 minutes of that game - the guards had no ability to attack Kansas's pressure and create decent offensive opportunities for anyone. It was a purely amazing 15 minutes of basketball by Bill Self's team.

[tomegun]

Yes, he does have a lot of desire...but so did Brian Cardinal. To compare him to Dennis Rodman would be an error in my opinion. Rodman was at least athletic to go along with his desire (to rebound the basketball).

Kansas was mildly successful against him because the primary defender stood straight up and a help defender bothered his shot. Some other times they forgot what to do and the primary defender didn't resist the temptation to make contact with him. 90%, at least, of his game depends on the defender making contact. He shot a fewer free throws than he is used to as a result.

I'm not saying he was the reason UNC lost, but he sure didn't look like POY material. Who are the big men for Kansas again? I hope we know enough about basketball to realize he may have won POY, but he is not a Michael Beasley type talent. I've seen this before. When Jamison won POY at UNC I was wondering, "Doesn't everyone realize Vince Carter is a better player?"

Regardless, another year where one of the two teams that routinely get the most talent will not win the championship.

[jdw3018]

Originally Posted by tomegun

I hope we know enough about basketball to realize he may have won POY, but he is not a Michael Beasley type talent.

I'd just like to add my 100% agreement with this statement. In fact, I believe it to be quite an understatement, as TH isn't close to being a Michael Beasley type talent.

And while I believe Beasley was far and away the best player in college basketball this year, Derrick Rose is having an outstanding NCAA tournament and deserves any positive praise that comes his way...

[grunewar]

Does College POY translate into NBA super stardom? You be the judge.....

* 1990 - Lionel Simmons, La Salle * 1991 - Larry Johnson, UNLV
* 1992 - Christian Laettner, Duke * 1994 - Glenn Robinson, Purdue
* 1995 - Joe Smith, Maryland * 1996 - Marcus Camby, Massachusetts
* 1997 - Tim Duncan, Wake Forest * 1998 - Antawn Jamison, NC
* 1999 - Elton Brand, Duke * 2000 - Kenyon Martin, Cincinnati
* 2001 - Shane Battier, Duke * 2002 - Jason Williams, Duke
* 2003 - T. J. Ford, Texas * 2004 - Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's
* 2005 - Andrew Bogut, Utah * 2006 - J.J. Redick, Duke
* 2007 - Kevin Durant, Texas

PS - five Dukies.....

[Mark Padgett]

Originally Posted by grunewar

PS - five Dukies.....

Please, don't make me pukie.

[rockyroad]

Originally Posted by tomegun

I hope we know enough about basketball to realize he may have won POY, but he is not a Michael Beasley type talent. I've seen this before. When Jamison won POY at UNC I was wondering, "Doesn't everyone realize Vince Carter is a better player?"

POY is the same as the Heisman - it rarely goes to the "best" player in the college game. It usually goes to the player whose school gets the most National coverage and whose school invests a bunch of $$ into a PR campaign.