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himself as the early Player of the Year favorite, averaging a ridiculous 26 points and 19 rebounds\u00a0for the 6-0 Sooners.\u00a0 Griffin was a favorite of mine last year, but I’ll have to share him with everyone now because he is just too good.\u00a0\u00a0He has an amazing combination of size, strength,\u00a0quickness, and all-around athleticism.\u00a0 If he can keep improving his mid-range jumper, he\u00a0will be an All-Star on the next level.\u00a0 Of course, Stephen Curry was also featured in this game, and all he did was drop 44 points on the Sooners.\u00a0 Curry’s season averages of 29 points and 7 assists could land him with\u00a0Griffin on the 1st\u00a0Team All-American roster by seasons end, as long as more teams don’t use the Loyola defense<\/a> on him.\u00a0 Also keep an eye on Oklahoma’s freshman guard Willie Warren.<\/p>\n-I’ve seen the best team in the land, North Carolina, dismantle Kentucky and a very good Notre Dame team.\u00a0 The Tar Heels have the potential to be one of the very best college teams I’ve ever seen.\u00a0 Ty Lawson is one of the most fun players to watch, as he blazes by defenders and leaves them in the dust with one the best crossovers on the planet.\u00a0 The frontcourt depth did take a little hit when freshman Tyler Zeller, who started the first two games in place of Hansbrough, went down for the season with a broken wrist.\u00a0 As for the Irish, they will pile up points with Luke Harangody down low and an array of long-range bombers, led by Kyle McAlarney, who will jack up\u00a0a three from just about anywhere on the court.<\/p>\n
-Syracuse topped Florida in an entertaining game.\u00a0 The best player in that game was Florida’s Nick Calathes, a 6’6″ swingman\u00a0who can do it all.\u00a0 Last year as a freshman, he led the SEC in assists and averaged 5 rebounds.\u00a0 He can score inside and out and is averaging 2.5 steals per game so\u00a0far this season.\u00a0 He’s one of the best pure passers in the country, and he isn’t even a point guard.\u00a0 I’m often skeptical of Syracuse, but they are loaded up with a lot talent this year, especially on the\u00a0perimeter,\u00a0and Jim Boeheim even took his team on the road in this one and beat Florida.\u00a0 Shocking.<\/p>\n
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-Gonzaga put the major conferences on notice last night when they beat down Tennessee to win the Old Spice Classic.\u00a0 This might be the best Gonzaga team ever, and that’s saying something.\u00a0 All five starters can shoot from long-range, and then they bring maybe the best shooter on the team, Steven Gray, off the bench.\u00a0 But they’re not completely perimeter-oriented either, because Austin Daye and Josh Heytvelt\u00a0give excellent low-post presence.\u00a0 Tennessee will recover from this loss.\u00a0 Tyler Smith is a superstar and they have\u00a0plenty of depth to keep pressing and running\u00a0like Bruce Pearl likes to do.\u00a0 They\u00a0were lucky to get transfer PG Bobby Maze to replace Ramar Smith, who was kicked off the team after last season.\u00a0 These two teams will meet again in an interesting rematch in January.<\/p>\n
-I caught Georgetown’s rout of Maryland yesterday.\u00a0 Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez is a great player in the same mold as Nick Calathes, but Georgetown kept him completely under wraps.\u00a0 The Hoyas should stay in the Top 25 mix all\u00a0season.\u00a0 John Thompson III has done a fantastic job\u00a0of resurrecting that program.\u00a0\u00a0He recruits well, they\u00a0always play tough defensively, and the Princeton-style offense is often a thing of beauty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
-Duke just completed a comfortable win over Purdue, relying on some great defense and some not-so-great offensive execution by the Boilermakers.\u00a0 Obviously, Duke has loads of talent and I think the weight and muscle that Kyle Singler has added will be a boost for them, but the jury is still out on whether or not they are deserving of their current #4 ranking.\u00a0 A win at Purdue is impressive, but I’m not sold on Brian Zoubek as the lone starting big man for a title contender.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The glory that is the college basketball season is well underway, and I’m looking forward to settling in tonight for two top teams in the Big Ten\/ACC Challenge, when Duke travels to Purdue.\u00a0 Baseball is the only sport I\u00a0look forward … Continue reading