YOUTH IS SERVED.....Naming pre-season All-American teams in college basketball is an outdated practice. Why bother with an irrelevant list of All-American players dominated by a bunch of overrated upperclassmen?
This season, Associated Press named Sherron Collins (Kansas), Kyle Singler (Duke), Luke Harangody (Notre Dame), Patrick Patterson (Kentucky) and Cole
Aldrich (Kansas) to its first-team All-American squad. The five so-called All-Americans share a common trait: they have little or no upside. What you see is what you get.
To be blunt, Singler and Harangody are not deserving of All-American status. More troublesome, Patterson is the third-best player on his Kentucky team, let alone the third-best player in the country. Freshmen John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins are superior players to Patterson.
Come to think of it, any respected list of college basketball's best players must include members of the incoming freshman class. In this age of AAU tournaments, select all-star teams and free agency in prep basketball, college basketball's new landscape should shine the spotlight on the game's youngest players as the inventory of teenage basketball stars seems to be increasing every year.
Since the NBA adopted its draft-eligible rule that requires players to be at least 19 years old and one year out of high school, college freshmen have dominated the hoop scene.
Kevin Durant and Greg Oden were the best college players in the 2006-07 season. College basketball fans will never forget the 2007-08 season highlighted by the bumper crop of freshmen that included Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J.
Mayo, Kevin Love, Eric Gordon and Jerryd Bayless. The six young hoop stars were selected among the top 11 choices in the 2008 NBA draft. Interestingly, the best freshman player in that phenomenal class did not make himself eligible for the '08 NBA draft. Blake Griffin stayed at Oklahoma an extra year before the 20-year-old star was taken by the L.A. Clippers with the #1 overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft.
The top two members of this season's NBA rookie class are Tyreke Evans, who was a one-and-done player at Memphis, and Brandon Jennings, who played one year overseas to fulfill the NBA's age requirement.
So how does the aforementioned discussion of the current hoop landscape affect my view of basketball from a gambling perspective?
A few years ago, I remember searching for college basketball rosters loaded with juniors and seniors. My thinking was simple: I wanted to back teams with cool, cohesion and continuity. I preferred 22-year-old seniors over 18-year-old fumbling freshmen.
Tsk tsk. After losing bets to players named Durant, Oden, Conley, Rose and Evans, I've changed my philosophy about the youngest hoop players in the land.
Today, I ignore a player's experience and focus on a player's true ability level, regardless of age.
SHAME ON ME.....I bet "under" in yesterday's NFL All-Star game. It turned out to be the worst bet I made all month long. The AFC defeated the NFC, 41-34.
I misread the list of Pro Bowl defections. More than 30 players missed the game due to injury or lack of interest or Super Bowl involvement. I thought the absences of star quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers and Brett Favre would limit the scoring. I was wrong. Dead wrong.
Take any quarterback in the NFL and they would flourish given the style of play in the Pro Bowl. The lack of physical play, combined with the rules that promote the passing game, virtually guaranteed a high-scoring result.
I will not make the same mistake next year.
MY PRO BOWL IDEA.....The NFL is searching to find the right spot on the calendar for its annual All-Star game. Holding the Pro Bowl a week before the Super Bowl clearly does not work because the best players on the two best teams are excluded from participating.
Here's a new idea: Play the game one week before the start of the regular season. Labor Day falls on a Monday and a Monday night time slot would be perfect. Fans would be eager to see NFL football after a seven-month layoff, while players could compete at "preseason speed."
MONDAY'S BEST BET.....Play MEMPHIS +1 IN THE FIRST HALF over the L.A. Lakers.
Phil Jackson's crew is 5-2 on their current eight-game road trip after yesterday's 90-89 victory over the Boston Celtics.
The Lakers trailed by 11 in the fourth quarter before rallying past a Celtics team that has now lost 11 of its last 17 games. As is often the case, Kobe Bryant bailed out his team with an off-balance 15-footer with seven seconds left. The Lakers could come out flat tonight after their nationally-televised, come-from-behind victory over one of their fiercest rivals.
Memphis exits a disappointing overtime loss Saturday night in which a 19-point halftime lead evaporated against a New Orleans team playing without injured point guard Chris Paul. It was the Grizzlies' first loss at FedExForum since December 4, snapping an 11-game home winning streak.
Look for Memphis, one of this season's most improved teams, to start strong before a bigger-than-usual home crowd. By backing "The Griz" for the first 24 minutes of the game, we avoid betting against the clutch Kobe Bryant, the NBA's best closer.
QUICK SUPER BOWL THOUGHT.....The Colts are 16-0 this season in games they've tried to win. Think Indy.
COMING FRIDAY.....Super Bowl predictions from the sharpest handicappers and most successful gamblers here in Las Vegas.
JK
This season, Associated Press named Sherron Collins (Kansas), Kyle Singler (Duke), Luke Harangody (Notre Dame), Patrick Patterson (Kentucky) and Cole
Aldrich (Kansas) to its first-team All-American squad. The five so-called All-Americans share a common trait: they have little or no upside. What you see is what you get.
To be blunt, Singler and Harangody are not deserving of All-American status. More troublesome, Patterson is the third-best player on his Kentucky team, let alone the third-best player in the country. Freshmen John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins are superior players to Patterson.
Come to think of it, any respected list of college basketball's best players must include members of the incoming freshman class. In this age of AAU tournaments, select all-star teams and free agency in prep basketball, college basketball's new landscape should shine the spotlight on the game's youngest players as the inventory of teenage basketball stars seems to be increasing every year.
Since the NBA adopted its draft-eligible rule that requires players to be at least 19 years old and one year out of high school, college freshmen have dominated the hoop scene.
Kevin Durant and Greg Oden were the best college players in the 2006-07 season. College basketball fans will never forget the 2007-08 season highlighted by the bumper crop of freshmen that included Derrick Rose, Michael Beasley, O.J.
Mayo, Kevin Love, Eric Gordon and Jerryd Bayless. The six young hoop stars were selected among the top 11 choices in the 2008 NBA draft. Interestingly, the best freshman player in that phenomenal class did not make himself eligible for the '08 NBA draft. Blake Griffin stayed at Oklahoma an extra year before the 20-year-old star was taken by the L.A. Clippers with the #1 overall pick in the 2009 NBA draft.
The top two members of this season's NBA rookie class are Tyreke Evans, who was a one-and-done player at Memphis, and Brandon Jennings, who played one year overseas to fulfill the NBA's age requirement.
So how does the aforementioned discussion of the current hoop landscape affect my view of basketball from a gambling perspective?
A few years ago, I remember searching for college basketball rosters loaded with juniors and seniors. My thinking was simple: I wanted to back teams with cool, cohesion and continuity. I preferred 22-year-old seniors over 18-year-old fumbling freshmen.
Tsk tsk. After losing bets to players named Durant, Oden, Conley, Rose and Evans, I've changed my philosophy about the youngest hoop players in the land.
Today, I ignore a player's experience and focus on a player's true ability level, regardless of age.
SHAME ON ME.....I bet "under" in yesterday's NFL All-Star game. It turned out to be the worst bet I made all month long. The AFC defeated the NFC, 41-34.
I misread the list of Pro Bowl defections. More than 30 players missed the game due to injury or lack of interest or Super Bowl involvement. I thought the absences of star quarterbacks Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisberger, Carson Palmer, Philip Rivers and Brett Favre would limit the scoring. I was wrong. Dead wrong.
Take any quarterback in the NFL and they would flourish given the style of play in the Pro Bowl. The lack of physical play, combined with the rules that promote the passing game, virtually guaranteed a high-scoring result.
I will not make the same mistake next year.
MY PRO BOWL IDEA.....The NFL is searching to find the right spot on the calendar for its annual All-Star game. Holding the Pro Bowl a week before the Super Bowl clearly does not work because the best players on the two best teams are excluded from participating.
Here's a new idea: Play the game one week before the start of the regular season. Labor Day falls on a Monday and a Monday night time slot would be perfect. Fans would be eager to see NFL football after a seven-month layoff, while players could compete at "preseason speed."
MONDAY'S BEST BET.....Play MEMPHIS +1 IN THE FIRST HALF over the L.A. Lakers.
Phil Jackson's crew is 5-2 on their current eight-game road trip after yesterday's 90-89 victory over the Boston Celtics.
The Lakers trailed by 11 in the fourth quarter before rallying past a Celtics team that has now lost 11 of its last 17 games. As is often the case, Kobe Bryant bailed out his team with an off-balance 15-footer with seven seconds left. The Lakers could come out flat tonight after their nationally-televised, come-from-behind victory over one of their fiercest rivals.
Memphis exits a disappointing overtime loss Saturday night in which a 19-point halftime lead evaporated against a New Orleans team playing without injured point guard Chris Paul. It was the Grizzlies' first loss at FedExForum since December 4, snapping an 11-game home winning streak.
Look for Memphis, one of this season's most improved teams, to start strong before a bigger-than-usual home crowd. By backing "The Griz" for the first 24 minutes of the game, we avoid betting against the clutch Kobe Bryant, the NBA's best closer.
QUICK SUPER BOWL THOUGHT.....The Colts are 16-0 this season in games they've tried to win. Think Indy.
COMING FRIDAY.....Super Bowl predictions from the sharpest handicappers and most successful gamblers here in Las Vegas.
JK
op:Now halftime comes and I'm waiting for them to grade it, because the scoretracker I watched was stuck on 0:04 left in the 2Q with the Grizzlies up 2. Now the game goes into the 3Q and I check again and realize to my horror that I've bet Memphis +1 for the GAME! :doh1Now, I had to sweat out the whole 2H on the same number and fortunately, they eked it out. :+excited-Already had it marked on my sheet as a winner, and refused to change it. :LMAO