#1 2019 high school basketball player James Wiseman has chosen to attend hometown Memphis over Kentucky,Vanderbilt,and Florida State.Wiseman will team up with his former AAU coach Penny Hardaway at Memphis.
Category: College Basketball
Since LaMelo Ball has started attending and playing basketball at Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio it got me thinking.
Wherever (if he even does) LaMelo goes to college,he won’t last long. For the simple reason being that he plays for himself, he’s not a team player,and just wants the money. In my honest opinion, he should take the G-League route and will end up getting paid until (or if) he’s able to get into the actual NBA.Those are all of my thoughts on that,so…
“iwstbbacs” (Carter) is signing out.
I got this article from someone I cannot name and are my hogs in the wrong conference.They have had just one top ten finish since joining the conference in 1991 with South Carolina, and since then has squandered time with Bret Bielema. While it would be easier in the Big 12, Arkansas get seven million dollars a year in the always dominant in football and baseball SEC. I mean at this point West Virginia and Texas are in the same conference but Texas A&M and Texas don’t meet once. Colorado’s move to the Pac-12 is difficult to examine. Former Arkansas player and Ole Miss head football coach Houston Nutt said “You’ve got to be better at recruiting and evaluating.” Which I mean in the backyards of powers Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and LSU is really easy, Arkansas with former Texas high school and SMU Head Coach Chad Morris goes into the lone star state with just one game a year in Texas, in Arlington against old Southwest rival Texas A&M who’ve they have lost to,what six times in a row now? While analysts have talked about that it is great that Arkansas, Rutgers, Boston College, and Louisville (and Pitt,West Virginia, Syracuse and others) that they are in power five conferences,I think those programs would beg to differ.
What if I was a college football god? What if I could make the next moves in conference realignment? We will start with the Big 12 edition, since they need the most of the power five conferences.
In the next big time of conference realignment,the Big 12 will need to convince their biggest money makers,Texas and Oklahoma to stay.But since I’m a college football god,I make them stay.Let’s say that West Virginia’s academics improve and they bolt for the ACC (or the Big 10 if that doesn’t work out),and Iowa State goes to the Big 10.Now the Big 12 wants four schools to join the conference.I would add Memphis,Houston,Tulsa (any other sports than basketball),Wichita State (basketball only), from the American and BYU from the Independents.While Tulsa is decent at basketball,Wichita State would be a huge addition in the sport.Tulsa would go back to the American for basketball. Find out who the American and the Indepedents would replace for Houston, Memphis, Tulsa, and BYU. BYU would be the new West Virginia, having to travel the most.Here would be the divisions:
South- Baylor, Houston, Memphis, Texas, TCU, Texas Tech
North- BYU, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State ,Tulsa (Any other sport than basketball), Wichita State (Basketball only member)
Rank Player Position College/From Height Weight Age (As of June 27,2018)
1 R.J. Barrett SF/SG Duke (Freshman) 6’7 210 18
2 Cam Reddish SG/SF Duke (Freshman) 6’9 205 18
3 Nassir Little SF North Carolina (Freshman) 6’7 215 18
4 Sekou Doumboya SF Limoges 6’8 230 17
5 Zion Williamson PF Duke (Freshman) 6’7 270 18
6 Romeo Langford SG Indiana (Freshman) 6’6 200 18
7 Quentin Grimes PG Kansas (Freshman) 6’5 205 18
8 Daniel Gafford C Arkansas (Sophomore) 6’11 235 19
9 Rui Hachimara PF/SF Gonzaga (Junior) 6’8 225 20
10 Charles Bassey C Western Kentucky (Freshman) 6’10 230 17
11 Luka Samanic PF KK Olimpija 6’10 210 18
12 De’Andre Hunter SF Virginia (Sophomore) 6’8 225 20
13 Darius Garland PG Vanderbilt (Freshman) 6’3 170 18
14 Jontay Porter PF Missouri (Sophomore) 6’11 235 18
15 Louis King SF Oregon (Freshman) 6’7 190 19
16 Keldon Johnson SF/SG Kentucky (Freshman) 6’6 210 18
17 Bruno Fernando C Maryland (Sophomore) 6’10 235 19
18 Kevin Porter Jr. SG USC (Freshman) 6’5 210 18
19 P.J. Washington PF Kentucky (Sophomore) 6’7 230 19
20 Jarrett Culver SG Texas Tech (Sophomore) 6’5 190 19
Hey guys!Welcome back.Note:I’m just talking about one Duke prospect because that may bore you.
R.J. Barrett, SF/SG – Duke- Barrett is the most obvious nominee as he may not even be Duke’s leading scorer as the former number one player in the 2018 class after his reclassification from 2019.Barrett is a long wing with six-sven size and the ability to defend the one through the four.
Nassir Little, SF, North Carolina- Ten miles away from Durham, the extremely athletic and willing defender that is Nassir Little will be UNC’s best player (Luke Maye may have something to say about that).Little brings versatility but may not be able to defend any other position,other than the small forward.Little may have the best chances as Duke has many ball dominant player.
Bol Bol, C, Oregon- The seven plus foot center, and the son of former NBA giant Manute Bol, needs to gain more for his size of two hundred twenty-five pounds.Bol provides a reliable scoring option and is a great rim protector due to his height.Bol should be Oregon’s next star but may be the longest shot out of these four prospects.
Romeo Langford, SG, Indiana- Langford ,and Cam Reddish, may be the best two scorers in the class.Langford is nice and tall for a two-guard,so maybe he will turn into as mush of a defensive threat as he is on the offensive side.Langford is a good ball handler,and should have many instances doing that in the Hoosier’s offense.
Others who could: Zion Williamson, PF, Duke, Cam Reddish,SG/SF, Duke, Keldon Johnson, SF, Kentucky
Darius Bazley, the number thirteen ranked player in the country by ESPN did not make a commitment but is instead is being the first player to forgo college and play in the NBA’s G-League since 2009. At first Darius’ plan was to go the normal route, but changed his mind.Bazley decommited from Ohio State a year ago and signed with Syracuse but then reconsiderd his options after the McDonald’s All-American game. Bazley will be entering the development league draft.
Y’all probably thought I was doing Bol Bol next because he was next in the rankings but today we take a look at the sixth ranked player in the country, small forward/shooting guard Nassir Little.
Story: Roy Williams said that it would take awhile before he would offer the five-star. Just a weekend later after a camp that Nassir starred in, Nassir was offered by North Carolina. One of the main reasons Little wants to go to UNC is because he and Roy Williams are winners. Nassir made a commitment to UNC and moved up from number ten in the rankings all the way up to number six.
Scouting Report :Little is exceptionally long with a seven-foot one wing span and is a good sized wing at six-seven. Little is a great athlete with a developing jumper ,something so precious in the modern NBA. His defense is very good and should translate over to the next level nicely.He is very tough physically. He needs to work on being mentally tough along with his twenty-six percent three pointer and sixty-nine percent from the free throw line. Overall, Nassir Little is a great athlete and should be a top five pick in the NBA Draft by the summer of 2019 or 2020.
The third installment of the “Stars of the Future (Basketball) 2018” is yet another Duke signee.Coach K and the co. brought in the top three recruits (Barrett,Williamson,Reddish)
Story: Unlike Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett, Cam Reddish says that he’s a combo guard. Reddish is called a shooting Guard or a small Forward on various recruiting bases like ESPN, 247 ports, and Scout. Reddish chose to attend Westtown Boarding School in Pennsylvania. Cameron’s first year (his Sophomore year) was a struggle. Basketball was okay and he had bad grades.At peach jam, though, he had a great tournament ending on a good note as a sophomore. On April 23,2016, Cam Reddish got his scholarship offer to Duke.
Scouting Report: The true shooting guard has excellent size at 6’7,203 and a seven foot one wingspan. He posses combo guard skills and has great athleticsm. Reddish will fit well next to Point Guard Tre Jones,Small Forward R.J. Barrett and Power Forward Zion Williamson at Duke. The only bad thing in his game is overdribbling,especially east and west but other than that he has breat basketball IQ and should fit well in Durham.
Welcome to the second installment of “Stars of the Future (Basketball) (2018)”.
Today we have Zion Williamson,the second ranked prospect in the country who I did a blog on my old NBA website. This is not going to be split up between his story and scouting report because this long paragraph explains everything. Zion is headed to Duke in the fall.
Story/Scouting Report: Why Zion Williamson is a future NBA star! Zion, as of now is the second ranked player in the 2018 class according to ESPN.T oday I’m here with another player breakdown.Zion Williamson, is a 6’7 power forward, but will most likely have to play at the Small Forward position because he’s not tall enough to play at the four in the NBA. Before, ninth grade Zion was a point guard. As an eighth grader he was only 5’9, but he eventually grew to now six foot seven.In high school ball, in South Carolina, he scored a ton, making not so good South Carolina high school basketball teams worse. Zion won a State Championship, and averaged thirty-seven points as a Junior .Zion can shoot, which is always great, especially in the NBA now. Drake got a custom Zion Williamson jersey, which everyone knows that means that that kid can ball, but until last Summer know one saw the dunks, the blocks that went into the stands until the Summer of 2016. This was because of his lackluster high school opponents. Zion played in many camps, and balled out against older five-star players at many camps in the past two years. Zion, since then, has played for the South Carolina Supreme, an AAU team, and gone up against LaMelo Ball! This was one of the most hyped up games, and I’ve already blogged about it, and I put the link to it in the comments. Zion did amazing keeping his composure, as he scored thirty-one points, and added eight rebounds! I was even lucky to see Zion play, as well! Zion said that he doesn’t want to have trouble off the court, he wants to give back to the community, and he wants to win at least three rings. Winning three rings is tough, but giving back to his community, and having no trouble off the court is amazing! I definitely, now, after hearing this, am on the Zion Williamson hype train, and believe that he’s going to be balling for any college he goes to, and in the pros. Zion watches game film on LeBron James,Russell Westbrook, and Kawhi Leonard. Watching LeBron is great, (I don’t have to explain why), watching Russell is great so he can improve his in-game toughness, and demeanor, and watching Kawhi, the best defender in the NBA, will greatly improve his game, too.
Cam Reddish will be the third edition tomorrow.
One of my favorite websites to look at college sports news, SEC Country, will be off the internet for at least awhile, along with the family (ACC Diehards, Land of 10, Big 12 Diehards, and Pac-12 Diehards). Big shoutout to them over there and they’ve always been a big inspiration.I hope that y’all with come back stronger than ever!
Intro: Today I’m starting a new series on the blog,”Stars of the Future (Basketball)”, in which I will be breaking down the next college basketball and even NBA stars if it comes to that.
R.J. Barrett Intro: I’ve already done a post on Barett’s story (https://carterbhuffsports.com/2018/04/19/the-one-decision-that-led-to-r-j-barrett-being-the-number-one-playerin-the-2018-class/). Make sure to check that out but Stars of the Future breaks down the skills, craft of each player and a little story at the beginning that we scout.Starting off with the number one ranked player in 2018 class,R.J. Barrett.
R.J. Barrett’s story: After reclassifying from the 2019 to 2018 class,R.J. Barrett has dominated at national powerhouse Montverde Academy in Florida. Barrett moved from his home land of Canada to get a better chance at playing college ball in the US. Barrett eventually made the decision to commit and sign with Duke University along with five other five-star recruits.
Scouting Report: Barrett is a long six-seven or six-eight small forward or shooting guard who is a versatile scorer. He is a very athletic scorer but moves well without the ball. RJ can is multiple position defender and is very quick with his feet on that side of the ball. Barrett is the type of player who can step in with four fellow five-stars and still make an impact. Barrett continues to work on his jump shot and it has been greatly improved since he arrived at Montverde.
Categories
Wow…
What an NCAA Tournament so far! Two of the four one seeds are out. Two of the four two seeds have been eliminated.
What has made this NCAA Tournament CRAZY?
Cinderella of the Tournament? Maybe Not
Loyola Chicago has been this years’ cinderella story by beating Miami and then beating Tennessee .Loyola beat those two teams by a combined two points. When you really think about it though,Loyal Chicago is not a cinderella story-really-they went to Gainesville and knocked of Florida ,and are a great team on both sides of the ball.They will meet Nevada after Nevada came from behind twenty-two points to upset two-seed Cincinnati.
Two Seeds Out
As I just mentioned, seven-seeded Nevada came back from twenty-two points to beat two seed Cincinnati. Another seven seed,Texas A&M, cruised to a victory over veteran-led and two-seeded North Carolina, 86-65. Duke and Purdue, the other two,two seeds are still in.
Wait a minute…There are one seed(s) out too?
Yes. The biggest upset of all-time happened in the Round of sixty-four this past Friday night when sixteen-seed UMBC defeated number one overall seed Virginia seventy-four to fifty-four. UMBC did not just beat Virginia-they crushed them. UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County) became the first sixteen seed to beat a one seed in the round of sixty-four, just to lose a fifty to forty-three score game to undermanned and nine-seeded Kansas State.Xavier lost in the round of thirty-two when nine-seeded Florida State made a mini comeback to defeat Xavier 75-70.Kansas and Villanova,the other two one seeds are still in,though.
Here’s how the bracket looks right now
South Region:5.Kentucky vs. 9.Kansas State, 7.Nevada vs. 11.Loyola-Chicago
East Region:1.Villanova vs. 5.West Virginia, 2.Purdue vs. 3.Texas Tech
West Region:4.Gonzaga vs. 9.Florida State, 3.Michigan vs. 7.Texas A&M
Midwest Region:1.Kansas vs. 5.Clemson, 2.Duke vs. 11.Syracuse
Now that number one overall seed Virginia got upset by UMBC. This is the first time ever a sixteen seed has beaten a number one seed. So here are a couple teams who could win it all:
(These teams are in no order)
1.(1 Seed) Villanova Wildcats
Villanova won the Big East Tournament and is now in the Sweet Sixteen,as right now they lead Alabama 81-58, so I think they are safely in. They’ve got two stars in Jalen Brunson and Mikal Bridges and they play well on both sides of the ball as a one seed.
2.(1 Seed) Kansas Jayhawks
Two Senior Guards lead the team, and one of them is star Devonte Graham who has played great this season. They play great defensively, and have one of the best coaches in Bill Self.
3.(1 Seed) Xavier Musketeers
They are the last one seed left and are called “The weakest number one seed” but they’ve got a star in Trevon Bluiett who can flat out play. They were the Big East regular season champs and will most likley make it to the West regional final.
4.(2 Seed) North Carolina Tar Heels
A two seed with ten losses, blew out fifteen seed Lipscomb yesterday. They’ve got expierenced talent like guards Joel Berry and Cameron Johnson and forwards Theo Pinson and Luke Maye. If the Heels make it to Final Four it will be a record twenty-one times and counting and if they make the championship it will be three times in a row.
5.(2 Seed) Duke Blue Devils
Led by senior guard Grayson Allen and freshman sensation Marvin Bagley, this team will probably make a deep run in the tourney. Coach K and the Blue Devils will win their first championship since 2015 if they make it that far.
Other favorites: Michigan State (3), Cincinnati (2), Tennessee (3), Purdue (2), Michigan (3)