Campus Chaos

It is that time of the year..

I can practically hear Dick Vitale yelling as I type away. Welcome to the 2008-2009 NCAA Men's College Basketball season. Last year ended with the Kansas Jayhawks raising the championship trophy, but don't expect a repeat this year..

As with my NBA predictions post, I will hopefully shed some light on who is going to win it all, as well as players and teams we should look out for in 08-09.

First, of all, the national championship will make its way back to Chapel Hill, NC this year (shout out to ADS and HyPE LG) . UNC returns the national player of the year in Tyler Hansborough, as well as outstanding guards Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington. And a Roy Williams coached team will always be ready come Tournament time..

But there are a few teams to watch for. Namely UConn, UCLA, Pitt, Oklahoma, Texas, and of course Duke. All these teams have the players and coaching staff to make that 6 game run in March.

Now to the individual honors..

I think this years POY will be Blake Griffin from Oklahoma. Although I love Stephen Curry and Tyler Hansborough's game equally, Blake Griffin is a man amongst boys. He already has a 35 point 21 rebound performance, as well as a 25 point 21 rebound performance under his belt this season and he is poised for many more. Check him out..




Also, besides the obvious choices in the 2009 draft, keep an eye on these players throughout the season..

B.J. Mullens, Ohio St.
Hasheem Thabeet, UConn
Patrick Mills, St. Mary's (also plays for the Austrailian National Team and had a great showing against Team USA)
Chase Budinger, Arizona
Sam Young, Pittsburgh
Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech

Let's see how this all plays out,

Peace.

Week Two: More of The Same

Well ladies and gentleman,

Week two is in the books, and yes it is more of the same. This week saw the Lakers continue their pace to go 82-0 (lol) by finishing the week 5-0 and closing with an impressive 111-82 win over the Houston Rockets (A team who many think is the Lakers biggest threat in the west this year). Big games by the frontcourt and the emerging star Trevor Ariza, has many in the NBA dreading the day that the Lakers show up on their schedule..

As in the Western Conference, not much has changed on the Eastern coast of the country. Despite the addition of Allen Iverson to the lineup, the Detroit Pistons still took an "L" to the Boston Celtics, behind a strong performance of 23 points by Tony Allen. The Celtics finish week two with a record of 6-1 and sit atop the Eastern Conference..

The biggest surprise after week two, is without a doubt the fact that the San Antonio Spurs are a shocking 1-4, and needed a 55 point 10 assist game from Tony Parker (one of the single best games I have ever witnessed a point guard have) to steal a game from the Minnesota Timberwolves. And now, Tony Parker is scheduled to miss up to a month with an ankle injury. Couple that with an injured Manu Ginobili, and things are not looking good for the Spurs..

And my player of the week goes to Al Jefferson of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Jefferson, who is steadily working himself into the top 5 PF category is averaging 21.7 points, 10.5 boards, and 1.5 blocks per game. He has recorded a double double in every game this year and also hung an impressive 30 point 14 rebound performance on the "Big Fundamental" (Timmy Duncan).

Well until next week,

Peace.

Week One In The Books

So, week one has come to an end in the NBA, and what have we learned..

The Lakers Celtics rematch in June of '09 might as well already be stamped. The Lakers opened up the season with dominating performances over the Blazers and the Clippers. While the Celtics handled a formadable foe in the Cleveland LeBron's, oops I mean Cavaliers..

Also, the Hornets, Rockets, and Pistons all finished the week undefeated. And the Pistons pulled off a mega trade in my eyes by giving up Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson (Story to come soon)..

Likewise, the Kings, Clippers, and Wolves all struggled...

But Wait, it's only week one..so lets see what develops.

But for the latest power rankings, check out ESPN.COM

Peace.

Let The Games Begin

First and Foremost,

Let me welcome you to 24 seconds. A site dedicated not to just basketball, but everything within the sport itself. Culture, trends, and special interest stories. Also, let me shout out my other site Real Talk DC, and my mentor AG.

Normally, I hate to brag on my supreme knowledge of roundball, but the finals last year made me question that said knowledge. So over the summer and preseason, I went back to my own drawing board of sorts to see where I went wrong. And naturally through that, and a few discussions with friends, I feel as though I'm ready to give my rundown of the upcoming 2008-2009 NBA Season..

First the predictions..


This year, the Larry O'Brien Trophy will make its home in Los Angeles, California. I do believe that it will be a rematch of the Lakers and the Boston Celtics, but the Lakers have arguably the deepest and most talented bench in the NBA. And the return of Andrew Bynum will work wonders for the interior defense that failed them in June of '08. Also, be on the lookout for Houston, Cleveland, and Detroit to make some championship noise as well.


The 2008-2009 MVP will be LeBron James. As much as it pains me to go away from my obvious choice of KB24, LeBron will without question be the MVP. His ability to score and his developing jump shot will enable him to snag the Podoloff from The Mamba.

Also, look for the Sixers (with newly acquired Elton Brand) and the Magic to improve on their playoff runs from a year ago. Like I mentioned earlier, Houston has a shot to break through, yet their chances lie on Tracy McGrady's back (literally), and Yao Ming's foot!

If you are as much of a fan as I am, you cannot wait for this season to get underway. Stay tuned and keep checking in with 24 seconds as we follow the season as well as other aspects of the game!

And as a post script of sorts,

Mike D'Antoni will be coach of the year, Lamar Odom for 6th man of the year, Andre Blatche for most improved player, and the worst record in the league will belong to The Oklahoma City Thunder...Oh, and VOTE!!

Peace