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March Madness: How Duke and Kentucky can witness their season’s end in the Sweet 16

Posted on March 25, 2015 by ajward2010

Making it to the second week of the NCAA tournament is an accomplishment for most, however, it’s only a step closer to the ultimate goal for both Kentucky and Duke; a National Championship. Now, while there is never an easy road to the Final Four, both Duke and Kentucky can expect to have to fight vigorously to continue on their path. While many may think they will be safe this week and weekend, there are reasons to think otherwise. Lets take a look at how both Duke and Kentucky can be sent home packing in the Sweet 16. Thus, ending their mission on becoming this year’s National Champion.

March Madness: Quick notes about every team in the South section

Posted on March 19, 2015 by ajward2010

It’s been a crazy season in college hoops. From the undefeated season of Kentucky to the downfall of the defending champion Huskies not making the dance to defend their title, this year’s tournament is bound to be a good one. Teams such as UCLA and Texas are sending thank you letters to the committee after being selected in over other competitors such as Colorado St and Temple. While as always, lower seeds are out to make a name for themselves. To make the run and crash the party at the Sweet 16 and possibly Final Four. There isn’t a perfect formula to predicting the madness; one hot-shooter or tricky game-plan devised by the brilliance of a mastermind at head coach can send a favorite home at anytime. We’ve seen it all, 12s defeat 5s, same for 13, 14, and even 15 seeds. While yet to see a 16 seed upend a 1 seed, everyone still must remember that anything is possible. This is March, a month of unforgettable moments and unpredictable outcomes. However, there are ways to prepare yourself for the madness. Here is an analysis of each and every team in the tournament this year:

March Madness: Quick notes about every team in the East section

Posted on March 19, 2015 by ajward2010

It’s been a crazy season in college hoops. From the undefeated season of Kentucky to the downfall of the defending champion Huskies not making the dance to defend their title, this year’s tournament is bound to be a good one. Teams such as UCLA and Texas are sending thank you letters to the committee after being selected in over other competitors such as Colorado St and Temple. While as always, lower seeds are out to make a name for themselves. To make the run and crash the party at the Sweet 16 and possibly Final Four. There isn’t a perfect formula to predicting the madness; one hot-shooter or tricky game-plan devised by the brilliance of a mastermind at head coach can send a favorite home at anytime. We’ve seen it all, 12s defeat 5s, same for 13, 14, and even 15 seeds. While yet to see a 16 seed upend a 1 seed, everyone still must remember that anything is possible. This is March, a month of unforgettable moments and unpredictable outcomes. However, there are ways to prepare yourself for the madness. Here is an analysis of each and every team in the tournament this year:

March Madness: Quick notes about each team in the West section

Posted on March 18, 2015 by ajward2010

It’s been a crazy season in college hoops. From the undefeated season of Kentucky to the downfall of the defending champion Huskies not making the dance to defend their title, this year’s tournament is bound to be a good one. Teams such as UCLA and Texas are sending thank you letters to the committee after being selected in over other competitors such as Colorado St and Temple. While as always, lower seeds are out to make a name for themselves. To make the run and crash the party at the Sweet 16 and possibly Final Four. There isn’t a perfect formula to predicting the madness; one hot-shooter or tricky game-plan devised by the brilliance of a mastermind at head coach can send a favorite home at anytime. We’ve seen it all, 12s defeat 5s, same for 13, 14, and even 15 seeds. While yet to see a 16 seed upend a 1 seed, everyone still must remember that anything is possible. This is March, a month of unforgettable moments and unpredictable outcomes. However, there are ways to prepare yourself for the madness. Here is an analysis of each and every team in the tournament this year:

March Madness: Quick notes about each team in the Midwest section

Posted on March 18, 2015 by ajward2010

It’s been a crazy season in college hoops. From the undefeated season of Kentucky to the downfall of the defending champion Huskies not making the dance to defend their title, this year’s tournament is bound to be a good one. Teams such as UCLA and Texas are sending thank you letters to the committee after being selected in over other competitors such as Colorado St and Temple. While as always, lower seeds are out to make a name for themselves. To make the run and crash the party at the Sweet 16 and possibly Final Four. There isn’t a perfect formula to predicting the madness; one hot-shooter or tricky game-plan devised by the brilliance of a mastermind at head coach can send a favorite home at anytime. We’ve seen it all, 12s defeat 5s, same for 13, 14, and even 15 seeds. While yet to see a 16 seed upend a 1 seed, everyone still must remember that anything is possible. This is March, a month of unforgettable moments and unpredictable outcomes. However, there are ways to prepare yourself for the madness. Here is an analysis of each and every team in the tournament this year:

Emmanuel Mudiay Scouting Report

Posted on March 6, 2015 by ajward2010

Emmanuel Mudiay is a 19 year old Point Guard prospect of the 2015 NBA draft by way of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Last year, Mudiay was playing in his senior year of high school basketball at Prime Prep Academy in Dallas, Texas. Mudiay then committed to SMU on August 24th, 2013. However, during that same summer, Mudiay opted to forgo the (expected) one-and-done template at SMU and play overseas in the Chinese Basketball Association. Mudiay would sign a one-year, $1.2 million dollar contract with the Guangdong Southern Tigers.

Under-The-Radar Players: A look at the unsung heroes of the NBA

Posted on February 21, 2015 by ajward2010

Under-The-Radar: Standouts from the Western conference that you did not see in the all-star game

A look at the unsung heroes around the league. Players who contribute significantly to their team’s success, but remain under the radar. These players could have been all-stars, should have been all-stars, or will be all-stars in the near future. Here, they are recognized and honored for their overlooked, but excellent performances.

Ever since the days of post-illegal defense, balance has grown to become an important commodity for teams in today’s game. The game has grown to be more complex. Tactics are more advanced as well as scouting reports. Play has become more essential on both ends and is easier to quantify. No longer are elite scorers who dominate in isolation situations the only valuable commodity to a team’s success. The decoys are just as important.

Tactical advancements and the game’s evolution have made it easier to place a value on players. Analytics have become the new wave (Sorry, Charles Barkley). They help give a new look at what players do for their teams on the floor. Nowadays, role players are just as critical to a team’s integral success as the star players.

Now, while these standouts are not all-stars,that does not mean they are any less important. They deserve to be recognized because they are situational all-stars. They have served a deeply beneficial role to their respective teams this year and should be honored for it. Reason being, without them, their team would not be in as good of a position as they are now.

Notes:

*No All-Stars or All-Star replacements are listed

*Some players may be left out

*These players are listed due to their value to their respective team, not by overall skill or by their numbers

*Noted players are replacements

Virginia vs Louisville: What to look out for

Posted on February 7, 2015 by ajward2010

It has been a good year for both Tony Bennett and Rick Pitino. As the Virginia Cavaliers (20-1) and Louisville Cardinals (19-3) are currently the No.1 and No.3 seed (respectively) in the ACC. Bennett’s Virginia team, led by Juniors Justin Anderson and Malcolm Brogdon (redshirt Junior), have wrecked havoc on opposing offenses with their stiff Pack-Line defense which was implemented by Tony’s father, Dick, during his tenure at Washington State. Bennett’s Cavaliers-also influenced by his father-run the Blocker-Mover offense. A year coming after winning the ACC championship, and losing seniors Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell, no one expected the Cavaliers to sitting at No.3 In the A.P Coaches Poll. Bennett’s Cavaliers have come along down the road this season after enduring battles with top teams such as Duke, North Carolina, Maryland, Harvard, VCU, and Notre Dame. Duke currently stands as the Cavalier’s only defeat suffered this season. On the flip side, we have Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals. Pitino’s, whose teams are always known for applying vigorous full-court pressure on to opposing teams, have done a fairly well job at that this season. While Louisville is not the prettiest team to watch in the halfcourt, they like to push the pace with Terry Rozier and Chris Jones at the helm of things. Plus, returning power forward Montrezl Harrell has worked around improving his range. Although Harrell has not posted good (hardly acceptable per se a scout’s opinion) numbers from shooting on the perimeter, Harrell has still managed to harass teams on the glass and kill them in the open court. It has been a great start to the year for both of these schools who keep pushing on with tournament time coming in less than a month. On Saturday, February 7th, both of these schools will meet in John Paul Jones Arena. Here is what we can expect to see:

(Not-So) Born Ready in Buzz City: How the Charlotte Hornets should handle Lance Stephenson

Posted on January 2, 2015 by ajward2010

The Charlotte Hornets were suppose to be good and entertaining this year. After a 6-19 start-before going on a four-game win streak (Sans Lance Stephenson being active) the Hornets ranked 22nd in the league in points per game (96.5) and 25th in field goal percentage (43.6%). The Hornets have also regressed on the defensive end-after posting a top-10 defense last season-to ranking 16th in the league in points allowed per game (100.6). This would be considered appalling given that the Hornets made improvements defensively at the shooting guard (Lance Stephenson) and power forward (Marvin Williams) position in their starting lineup. Nothing has seem to go Charlotte’s way this season, which has led to the emergence of such trade talks involving Mr. Born Ready. In this article, I will analyze the troubles in Buzz City, how Charlotte can improve, and the two of the best potential trade partners for the Charlotte Hornets.

Charlotte Hornets-Atlanta Hawks: How the Hawks ran wild in the first half versus Charlotte

Posted on December 5, 2014 by ajward2010

Saturday, November 29th in the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The Charlotte Hornets (4-13) who were currently riding on an abysmal eight game losing streak were set to take on the (8-6) Atlanta Hawks. The Hornets had come into this game with ongoing speculations that the team was willing to trade everyone except for Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson unless things improved. This performance did not help any efforts. Atlanta came out the gates and had run wild from the start to open up to a 64-28 halftime lead. Atlanta had made 10 of their first 11 three-point attempts. It was all over for the Hornets at that point who would go on to lose 105-75 as well as drop to 4-14 and last place in the Southeast division. In this breakdown, I will show how the Charlotte Hornets struggled to contain the Atlanta Hawk’s offense, alongside their consistent struggles on the other end.