Ducks Land Forward Olu Ashaolu

The Ducks have landed the Louisiana Tech transfer Olu Ashaolu who will be looked on to bolster the front line of Oregon next season.  Click the link above to see one of Ashaolu's explosive dunks.  He showed a real talent for rebounding and he is an explosive athlete.  He will make up for the loss of Jovan Catron and may even be an improvement over the beloved Duck big man.  Olu averaged 14 points and almost 10 boards last season for the Louisiana Tech, and should form a formidable pair with fellow new addition 6'7 forward Carlos Emory and the incumbent 6'8 Jeremy Jacob.  Although Ashaolu is still a  bit undersized for a post player he has long arms and the leaping ability to go up against larger players.  He is eligible immediately and should crack the starting line up on day one.  

Malcolm Armstead to transfer closer to home

The Ducks have lost 6'0 guard  Malcolm Armstead as he has decided to transfer closer to his Florida home.  Armstead was a consistent contributor for Altman and the Ducks, he averaged 27.5 minutes per game and played in all 38 games this season.  He scored almosat 9 points per game while dishing out 4 assists per game, and now the Ducks will either look to their bench or to the Minnesota transfer guard Devoe Joseph, a 6'4 guard who is instant offense, and can distribute the ball.


Armstead may have foreseen a drop in minutes with the anticipated arrival of Jabari Brown and the addition of Devoe Joseph, or he may have just wanted to move closer to home.  Either way Armstead gave the Ducks two good seasons and it looks like that will be all.  

Carlos Emory Becomes A Duck

Carlos Emory played at Howard Junior College in Texas and was one of the top juco basketball players last season, and now he will be bringing his talents to Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene next season.  He will fill the hole that Joevan Catron's depature created.  Emory is an undersized power forward at only 6'7, but he makes up for it with his athleticism and motor.  Carlos is a player who can play inside or outside and likes to drive the ball to the basket and finish hard at the rim.

Last year he was named Western junior college  athletic confference player of the year while averagving 17 points and grabbing 7 boards per game.  He did that despite battling the disease Colitis which is a painful intestinal disease.  His playing weight is at 240 but last year he lost 20 pounds.

There is confusion about where his scholarship is coming from however because the Ducks have already met their limit.  This means they will have to drop one scholarship player in order to add Emory.

Overall, once Emory is added to the team he will bring immediate help.  He is very explosive at the rim and his toughness and rebounding down low is just what Dana Altman needs in Eugene.  

Which players lived up to the hype in the 2011 McDonalds All American Game

Austin Rivers, Left, showed off his
long distance shot on Wednesday night.

All of the players in the McDonalds All American game will most likely go on and star in the NCAA next year, but here is a list of the players that stood out to me.

Quinn Cook, PG, Duke- Cook started out the game with a few long range threes.  He showed deep range on his jump shot during the rest of the game.  He showed that he is extremely quick weaving through traffic and he is very fast getting the ball down the court.  He has very good dribbling ability and he uses that to get his opponent off balance which allows him to get to the basket where he knows how to finish.

Myck Kabongo, PG, Texas- By far the fastest player in this game.  He seemed to race up and down the court but he did not lose control while going.  Time after time he penetrated into the lane and either hit the open man or pulled up for a jumper or a floater.

Michael Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky- One of the announcers compared Gilchrist to Scotty Pippen because of his length and defensive ability.  Gilchrist showed how active he can be on the glass, repeatedly grabbing offensive rebounds and finishing at the basket.  He has very good athletic ability and seemed to be one of the harder working players on the court.

Marquis Teague, PG, Kentucky- Teague is a long, athletic point guard in the mold of Brandon Knight and Eric Bledsoe.  He is very fast with the basketball and is has a quick first step off the dribble.  With all of the talent on Kentucky's squad next year he will have his pick of who to dish the ball to when he breaks down the defense and gets into the lane.

Austin Rivers, SG, Duke- Rivers took some rushed shots, but its an all-star game so I don't read to much into that.  He showed that he can pull up off the dribble and nail the NBA three already, he also showed the ability to take his defender off the dribble, slash through 3 other defenders, and finish at the rim.  He was pretty impressive overall and definitely looked to be one of the elite players of this class.

McAdoo showed that he can be a threat
inside and outside for North Carolina

Cody Zeller, C, Indiana- Zeller had a few possessions where he received the ball with low position but looked a little overmatched and quickly passed the ball back out the wing.  If he improves his strength and conditioning those plays will soon be in the past.  He made a few strong finishes, showed his ability to knock down face up jumpers and made his presence known on the glass.

P.J. Hairston, SG, North Carlolina- Hairston is offensive dynamite.  He has unlimited range on his jump shot, making 2-3 from the NBA three and also has explosive athletic ability.  It is hard to tell if he needs to work on his defense because very few players actually play defense in this game, but if he becomes a defensive presence for North Carolina he will make a big time splash next season.

Kyle Wiltjer, PF, Kentucky- It looks as though my Ducks have missed another good prospect from Portland to Kentucky.  Wiltjer showed that he is active, and able, on the defensive end and he is fearless on the boards.  He has an old school game and even broke out a sky hook.  He uses a lot of fakes around the basket and can bring defenders out with his jumper.

James McAdoo, PF, North Carolina-McAdoo does not seem to have that elite vertical jumping ability, but he has long arms that make up for it.  He looks like he has spent a lot of time in the weight room and could probably contribute at the NBA level already.  He displayed a good shooting stroke from long distance, and also displayed the ability to score off the dribble or find the open man.  The way he looks on the floor and the way he played reminded me of Derrick Williams.

Khem Birch, C, Pittsburgh- Birch is the top ranked center in this class and he showed the blocking ability which got him that ranking.  He was a force on the offensive and defensive boards and recorded 6 blocks.  Once he grabbed the offensive rebounds he showed the ability to score the ball as he displayed with a few powerful dunks.  His offensive game is very raw, but the defensive ability is very present.

Anthony Davis' constantly improving skill
set will be a huge factor for Kentucky next
year.

Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky- Davis was 6'3 about a year ago, since then he has shot up to almost 6'11.  He has the ball handling skills of a guard and the type of length and athleticism that is garnering him the comparison to Kevin Garnett.  He still looked a little raw to me, which in now way is a negative statement because he played great, it just shows how good this kid can be.  He will be a force for Calipari next season.

Brad Beal, SG, Florida-Beal showed his ability to be a deadly shooter from long distance.  He also showed that he has the fundamentals to succeed at the next level, for example he was one of the few players I saw who actually followed his shot.  Sometimes it is the little things that can help your team win, and Beal shows the willingness to do these.

Marshall Plumlee, PF/C, Duke- Plumlee didn't have a great game, but his athleticism was apparent.  He showed good ability on the offensive boards, but he will have to add some strength to bang with some of the players in the ACC next season.  Like his brothers, he really needs to work on his offensive game.

Branden Dawson, SG/SF, Michigan State- Dawson is a very athletic wing player who showed his rebounding ability.  He brought down 8 boards from the wing position.  He needs to work on his fundamentals and shooting ability, but he should make a big impact for Tom Izzo next year and in years to come. 

John Henson Is Skying High Over Opponents In The NCAA Tournament

Henson's strong season has scouts believing
his game will continue to grow in the NBA.

A strong campaign in the NCAA tournament will give John Henson's draft stock a huge boost.  


John Henson has been on NBA scout's radar since his freshman year at North Carolina.  He entered his sophomore season with a lot of questions to answer.  One thing that scouts wanted to see was an improved offensive game,  Henson needed to show that he could take over game the way his athleticism suggests he could. He also needed to display his defensive ability on a nightly basis to show consistency.

The Tar Heels got off to a bumpy start at the beginning of the season, but pulled it together at the beginning of ACC play.  Henson has been consistently excellent on the defensive end.  During the entire season Henson averaged 10 rebounds and 3 blocks per game.  He showed that he has the IQ, athleticism, and continuity to be a solid defensive contributer every night.

His offensive game, however, still needs some fine tuning.  He averaged 12 points per game, but most of these were off of put backs and dunks.  He did not show the same improvement on the offensive end that he did on the defensive end, and the lack of an offensive repertoire could hurt him on draft night.

Henson has been consistently talked about as a lottery pick, says Chad Ford, because of his motor, rebounding and shot blocking.  He  has been successful in showing all of these skills, and at times he looks like the best player on the floor during tar heel games.  2 games into the tournament it looks like he may have shown the beginning to an offensive game.  In his first game, albeit against Long Island, he scored 28 points off of 10-16 from the field and 8-10 from the line.  He also threw in 11 rebounds and had a whopping 6 blocks.  That is the kind of offensive effort that leads to the scout's impressions of the potential that Henson has.

In his second game against a more athletic Washington team, Henson struggled a bit, but was still able to put up 10 points, grab 10 rebounds, and record 4 blocks.  In this game he showed that he needs to add strength and weight to dominate more athletic opponents.  This has been a consistent knock on Henson, so whichever team drafts him will surely have him meeting with their strength and endurance coaches quite often.

If Henson keeps up this great play throughout the tournament it could push his stock even higher.  Right now I think he could end up in the late lottery to the mid first round, but if he keeps playing at this high level he could crack the top ten.  He is a tweener between small forward and power forward, so he will have to figure out what he is most successful at.  I think his top priority should be adding strength, followed closely by the need to improve his mid range jumper.  If he improves in these areas he reminds me a lot of Tayshaun Prince with better overall athleticism, that would be a scary combination for anyone being defended by him.

The Top College Basketball Players 2010-11, Poised To Make A Difference In The NCAA Tournament

The little man from Connecticut, Kemba Walker,  could have a huge impact on the outcome of the tournament. 

March Madness is right around the corner as the 2010-11 NCAA basketball season is coming to an end.


Here is a list of some of the year's top players that could make huge impacts for their teams in tournament season.

Jimmer Fredette, BYU- This season has been a showcase for BYU's 6'2 point guard.  He has shredded opponents in a variety of ways, showing his craftiness and ability to finish at the rim in traffic, beating his man off the dribble, or using his unlimited range on his deep shot.  The results have been BYU's ascension to the top of the collegiate basketball world.  He is the NCAA scoring leader averaging 28 points per game.  He has been able to go for 40 on any given night.  BYU will need to utilize his scoring ability if they are going to make a run in the tournament.  He will have to exhibit the scoring prowess that fans have been seeing on Sports Center seemingly every night.

Nolan Smith, Duke- Smith has been the scoring, and floor leader, for a Duke team that has been at the top or near the top of the rankings all season.  In his senior year Smith is showing the scoring ability that had him rated as one of the top recruits in the nation when he joined the squad.  He is averaging 22 points per game while dishing out almost six assists.  Smith is not the only weapon Duke has, but in crunch time expect him to take the big shots for the Blue Devils.  He is also an athletic lock down defender on the wing, he will guard the opponents best wing player.  His ability to run the offense has been on display all season, and he will have to continue his great play in the tournament.  Duke has had its fair share of missteps this season, but they are full of senior leadership and are poised to make a run for their second straight championship.

Jared Sullinger, Ohio State- Sullinger has burst on the college basketball season this year, and is a candidate for player of the year.  Ohio State is a very well rounded team with lots of experience with Buford and Lighty, but the player that has taken them over the top has been Sullinger.  He has dominated opponents' big men all season, averaging 17 points and 10 rebounds per game.  He is the team's top scorer and has had big time performances against some of their top opponents.  Teams have had some success against OSU when they are able to keep the ball out of Sullinger's hands.  For Ohio State to have a chance at a national championship they will have to make sure that Sullinger gets the ball early and often down low in the post, where he is almost unstoppable.

Johnson's improved offensive game
 could take Purdue deep in the tournament.

JaJuan Johnson, Purdue- Johnson had to fill the shoes of Robbie Hummel who missed the entire season with a knee injury.  Johnson responded to the challenge and has taken his game to a new level.  He has showed that he has a very solid offensive game with the emergence of his mid-range jumper.  This year he is averaging 21 points per game and is grabbing 8 rebounds per game. Even more important for a man his size, he shoots 81% from the free-throw line.  This means that at the end of the game Purdue can keep the ball in his hands for a big shot.  He is still a defensive play maker, averaging over 2 blocks per game.  Johnson will have to take his game to an even higher level in the tournament, but if he can do it his draft stock could sore to lottery status.

Harrison Barnes, North Carolina- Barnes has not had the impact that many thought he would this year.  He has struggled to find his game on the offensive game, and sometimes seems lost on the defensive end.  That being said, he always competes.  He has found his stride the second half of the season and has helped the Tar Heels win the ACC conference title.  He averages 14 points per game and grabs 5 rebounds per game.  In the tournament he will have to step it up a notch or two.  Zeller and Henson should help a lot too, but Barnes will need to stand out if North Carolina is going to bring home another national championship to Tobacco Road.

Kemba Walker, Connecticut- Walker stands only  6'1 feet tall, but he has a big game.  This season he has averaged 23 points per game and is the heart and soul of Uconn.  He has hit a number of game winners and usually comes up big in clutch situations.  He has lifted his team up the rankings and made them a mainstay at the top this year.  Walker showed what he can do in a tournament setting at the beginning of the year as Uconn won the Maui Invitational.  If he can put together a string of games like he did in Maui, opponents are in for a hand full.

Derrick Williams, Arizona- Williams is a tremendously talented scorer.  He can score on the post, or he can shoot the three with 60% accuracy.  He lead the Wildcats to a Pac

Jon Leuer, Wisconsin- Leuer is a fundamentally sound big-man with a sweet shooting stroke.  He does

Together, the Morris twins give opponents fits.

 not get enough love for a player who averages 19 points per game.  He pulls down about 8 boards a game, and plays on the defensive end, getting one block per game.  His game reminds me a lot of Ryan Anderson from Cal a few years ago.  Wisconsin has a lot of scoring options and they have a real chance of making some noise, but they will need Leuer to keep his 46% 3-point average up to stretch the defense and pull opponents big-men away from the lane.

Kawhi Leonard, San Diego State- San Diego State has had a great year, they just couldn't get over the hump against BYU.  The Aztecs are led by Leonard, who is a great defender, solid rebounder and can get to the basket with a quick first step.  The knock on Leonard is that he is not a good shooter, he averages only 25% from the 3 point line. He gets most of his points on slashes to the basket, put backs, and drives.  That being said, he does put in 17 points per game.  He will have to lock down opponents best player and keep his averages on offense up, if not improve them, for the Aztecs to win some games.

Morris Twins, Kansas- Marcus and Markieff are the combined face of Kansas this season.  Kansas has lots of talent and ever position but the Morris brothers are the heart of the squad.  Both crash the boards and have good offensive games.  Marcus is averaging 17 and 7 this season while Markieff is averaging 13 and 8.  Kansas is set to make a deep run, but they will need both of the twins to have big tournaments to end up where they want to be.

Jordan Hamilton, Texas- Hamilton's improvement in his sophomore season has been key to Texas' success this year.  He is averaging 19 points per game this season and adding 8 rebounds.  The knock on him during his freshman season was that he took too many shots, many of which were bad and not part of the offense.  This season he has done a better job in the area.  Texas will need him to be more aggressive in the tournament, but his ability to be more aggressive without taking bad shots will be the deciding factor for the Long Horns.

Kentucky's fate rests in the hands of
 their talented freshman class.

Terrance Jones, Brandon Knight, Kentucky- Kentucky will once again be led into the tournament by their talented freshman class.  This class is led by Jones and Knight, both of whom are averaging around 17 points per game.  Kentucky has struggled at the free-throw line this season, something that could cost them when it counts.  The Wildcats will need consistent and steady play from Knight at the point guard position, and they will need Jones to be a beast on the boards while using his versatility on offense.  Lamb, another freshman playing a key role, will also need to play well and continue shooting the 3 with confidence.

Ben Hansbrough, Notre Dame- Just like his big brother, Hansbrough is the heart of his team.  He is a scrappy player, and hustles on every play.  He is the team leader in scoring, averaging 19 points per game, and he shoots 45% from the three.  Notre Dame has a lot of talent surrounding him, but Ben is the engine that makes the team work.  He is a great floor general and knows how to spread the ball around.  His toughness will be needed, but it looks as if Notre Dame has assembled a team that could make a lot of noise.

Dana Altman Leading the Ducks to a Bright Future

Coach Altman is turning around
the basketball program in Eugene.

Dana Altman has turned around the basketball fortunes of the University of Oregon by stringing together a few tough wins in the Pac-10 conference.  At the beginning of conference play the Ducks went through a tough patch by losing six straight.  After their six game losing streak they have won six out of their last nine.  They now look poised to make a run in the Pac-10 tournament. The Ducks have three of their last 5 games at home against the bay area schools and their rival the Beavers.

The current roster is stacked with juniors so regardless what happens at the end of this season the Ducks will be in position to have a great season next year, in their first full season in Matthew Knight Arena.  They will be lead by senior to be Garret Sim and junior to be E.J. Singler, who has come-on under Altman to be a consistent contributer for the Ducks.

The real story is Altman's coaching style, as he has been called a dark-horse candidate for coach of the year honors.  He has seemingly turned around the culture in Eugene and is putting a competitive team on the floor every night, something that has not been the case in the years after their elite-eight fun four years ago.

Altman has also made some big strides in the recruiting world.  His top recruit in 2011 is Jabari Brown, the 6'3 shooting guard out of Oakland Highschool.  He is a great shooter with deep deep range, and shoot fit nicely in Dana's system.  He is also adding three more recruits who may not have an immediate impact but have the potential to grow.  Bruce Barron is a big, tough, point guard who can get into the lane and finish with acrobatic plays around the rim.  Brett Kingma is another shooting guard with a great shot with great mechanics.  They have also added some height with 6'9 power forward Austin Kuemper who is a tough rebounder and has a solid shot from 15 feet and in.

It may take a few more years to turn around Duck basketball, but it seems as though Dana Altman has taken huge strides in his first season as the Duck's head coach.   Go Ducks!

College Basketball-The Rich Keep Getting Richer

Can Doc Rivers' kid Austin become the next
 freshman to lead his team to the top?

In recent years collegiate freshmen have made a huge impact on college basketball.  This has come about because of the NBA's age restriction for draft eligible players.  This has caused many changes to college ball and a new desperation to land the next top recruits.  It is now essential to land these top recruits because, as we have seen, these top players have the ability to immediately put a team on their back and take them on a tournament run.  There have been a few teams who have recently dominated this recruiting war.  With the impending NBA lockout many of this years top freshmen could opt to stay in college and hone their skills one more year, so as we look ahead to next years crop of freshmen we see that the rich do indeed continue to get richer.

Duke-Duke will lose some of their leadership next year in their two top seniors Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith and Mason Plumlee could also make the leap to the NBA.  These are big shoes to fill but coach K has a stocked freshman class coming in headlined by the top rated recruit Austin Rivers.  Rivers is a complete player and scouts rave about his floater in the lane.  They also add two more McDonalds All Americans in center Marshall Plumlee and point guard Quinn Cook.  Finally, but not least they add Michael Gbinije the sharp shooting small forward.  Kyrie Irving could possibly return next year after missing most of this year with a foot injury and they will bring back Seth Curry as well.  Duke will remain a contender last year as Coach K transitions from a experienced team to young team full of potential.

Kentucky-Callipari adds four more 5 star McDonalds All Americans to his squad.  Two of the top three recruits in power forward Anthony Davis and small forward Michael Gilchrist.  They also get point guard Marquis Teague and a second power forward in Kyle Wiltjer.  There have been rumors that Brandon Knight and Doron Lamb will hang around for a second year.  Callipari seems to have his team geared up for another title run next year.

North Carolina- The Tar Heels are going to add power forward James McAdoo to replace John Henson who will most likely make the NBA leap. They will also add shooting guard P.J. Hairston.  There have been consistent rumors all year that Harrison Barnes likes the collegiate atmosphere and wants to stay for at least another year.  If he stays, along with freshman point guard Kendall Marshall this group of Tar Heels will continue to develop and become a power-house next year.

Baylor-Baylor is the least prestigious of these schools but lately they have been landing some of the tops recruits.  They land two more big recruits in power forward Quincy Miller and small forward Deuce Bello.  It is pretty unlikely that Perry Jones will return next year, but with the potential of the lock out anything is possible.

Ohio State-Thad Mata has been a great recruiter during the last 10 years landing a lot of big names, his streak continues in 2011.  Ohio State is probably going to lose Sullinger to the NBA and David Lighty is going to graduate, but they add four 4-star recruits this year, two of which are McDonalds All Americans.  Shannot Scott the point guard and Center Amir Williams Join the Buckeyes' roster along with the tandem of small forwards in Sam Thompson and Laquinton Ross.

Texas-Texas gets the McDonalds All American guard Myck Kabongo.  He will be looked to be the floor general for the Long Horns.  He will be accompanied by Sheldon McClellan the shooting guard, power forward Sheldon McClellan, and another shooting guard Julien Lewis.  Jordan Hamilton will probably head to the next level, if he and Tristan Thompson return this team will remain on top during the 2011 season.