What If They Stayed In School?

Before the 2006 draft the League and the Players Association agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement (this is not a post on the upcoming CBA, don’t worry), and part of the agreement stated that high school players could no longer be drafted. They must wait at least until 1 year after their high school class graduation and they need to be 19 years old.

Let’s play a hypothetical and say that they changed the rule, forcing players to stay 4 years in college. (It would be a terrible rule, in fact I don’t like the restriction of keeping high school players out as it is now, but that’s another article all together.)

The 2011 NCAA tournament brackets were announced yesterday, and I’m sure it will be an entertaining few weeks with upsets, great performances, and memorable moments. But can you imagine what it would it be like had players not been allowed to leave school early for the NBA? Here is a quick look at all the teams that saw players skip out for pro ball. (Something tells me the seeding would be different and there would drastic changes to the 68 team field.)

ACC:

Florida State – Soloman Alabi, Ryan Reid

Georgia Tech – Derrick Favors, Gani Lawal

North Carolina – Ed Davis

North Carolina State – J.J. Hickson

Virginia – Sylven Landesberg

Wake Forest – James Johnson, Jeff Teague, Al-Farouq Aminu

Big 10:

Indiana – Eric Gordon

Michigan – Manny Harris

Ohio State – Kosta Koufos, B.J. Mullens, Evan Turner

Big 12:

Baylor – Ekpe Udoh

Iowa State – Craig Brackins

Kansas – Cole Aldrich, Xavier Henry

Kansas State – Michael Beasley, Bill Walker

Oklahoma – Blake Griffin, Tiny Gallon, Willie Warren

Oklahoma State – James Anderson

Texas – Avery Bradley

Big East:

Cincinnati – Lance Stephenson

DePaul – Dar Tucker

Georgetown – Greg Monroe

Louisville – Samardo Samuels

Pittsburgh – DeJuan Blair

South Florida – Dominique Jones

Syracuse – Donta Greene, Jonny Flynn, Wesley Johnson

West Virginia – Devin Ebanks

Pac-10:

Arizona – Jerryd Bayliss

Arizona State – James Harden

UCLA – Kevin Love, Jrue Holiday

USC – O.J. Mayo, DeMar DeRozan, Davon Jefferson

SEC:

Florida – Nick Calathes

Kentucky – John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe, Daniel Orton

LSU – Anthony Randolph

Ole Miss – Terrico White

Mid-Majors:

Memphis – Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, Elliot Williams

Gonzaga – Austin Daye

St. Mary’s – Patty Mills

Butler – Gordon Hayward

Xavier – Jordan Crawford

Fresno State – Paul George

Nevada – Luke Babbitt, Armon Johnson

New Mexico – Darington Hobson

UTEP – Derrick Caracter

VCU – Larry Sanders

Marshall – Hassan Whiteside

That is a total of 65 players who still would have been eligible for college basketball this season. The talent is just off the charts. This year’s All-American teams have yet to be announced, but this is how they could have looked…

Keefe’s Hypothetical 2011 All-American Team

1^st Team

Derrick Rose, Memphis

Kevin Love, UCLA

Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

Eric Gordon, Indiana

John Wall, Kentucky

2^nd Team

Michael Beasley, Kansas State

O.J. Mayo, USC

DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky

DeJuan Blair, Pitt

Jerryd Bayliss, Arizona

3^rd Team

Jonny Flynn, Syracuse

James Harden, Arizona State

DeMar DeRozan, USC

Tyreke Evans, Memphis

J.J. Hickson, North Carolina State

(Compare that list to this year’s likely All-Americans: Jimmer Fredette, BYU; Nolan Smith, Duke; Derrick Williams, Arizona; JaJuan Johnson, Purdue; Jared Sullinger, Ohio State; Kemba Walker, UConn… Do any of those guys crack the list?)

Conference Player of the Year:

ACC: J.J. Hickson, N.C. State

Atlantic 10: Jordon Crawford, Xavier

Big 10: Eric Gordon, Indiana

Big 12: Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

Big East: DeJuan Blair, Pitt

Conf. USA: Derrick Rose, Memphis

Horizon: Gordon Hayward, Butler

Mountain West: Jimmer Fredette, BYU

PAC-10: Kevin Love, UCLA

SEC: John Wall, Kentucky

WAC: Paul George, Fresno St.

West Coast: Austin Daye, Gonzaga

By my count 11/12 of the best conferences in the country would have had different player of the year had they all been forced to stay.

How about the competition for NCAA Player of the Year? My pick is Rose, but it’s scary to think what kind of numbers Love and Griffin (all 3 were NBA All-Stars this year) would put up against college kids.

Also you see John Calipari’s finger prints all over this hypothetical. Chances are Tyreke Evans wouldn’t have gone to Memphis if Derrick Rose was still there for three years. I’m not going to try and guess where he would go, but that’s a big reason I got Evans all the way down at 3^rd Team status. Would Coach Cal leave that backcourt for Kentucky?

Three of the four 1 seeds in this year’s tournament (Ohio State, Kansas, and Pitt) all would have even deeper teams. The #1 overall Buckeyes could add Evan Turner as well as big men Kosta Koufos and B.J. Mullens to their roster. Kansas is stronger with Xavier Henry and Cole Aldrich, while Pitt is all the more dangerous with DeJuan Blair. Interestingly, Duke seems to have gone back to the way they were pre Corey Maggette, William Avery, Elton Brand, Luol Deng, and don’t have as many 1 or 2 and done players as they once did. Their best players (Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler) decided to return for their senior year after already winning a title.

Memphis, Kentucky, Syracuse, UCLA, USC, and Kansas State all would have likely battled for 1 seeds; I bet Duke ends up as a 4 or 5 this season.

Oklahoma, Wake Forest, Indiana, Arizona State, and Nevada would likely have all made the tournament this year instead of finishing outside the 68 team field.

Top 8 Seeds this year:

1. Ohio State
2. Kansas
3. Pitt
4. Duke
5. Notre Dame
6. North Carolina
7. San Diego State
8. Florida

Top 8 “What If” Seeds

1. Memphis
2. UCLA
3. Oklahoma
4. Kentucky
5. Kansas
6. USC
7. Kansas State
8. Ohio State

It’s difficult to really predict and understand what college basketball would look like with all these players still in the game. Someone like O.J. Mayo, who has already gone from a starter to a reserve in the NBA and seen his points per game average drop each season in the league (18.5, 17.5, 11.8), could be a senior at Southern Cal this year. I personally think if he was still there we’d be talking about a guy putting up 25+ points, 8 assists a game and it’d be must see TV when the Trojans face Kevin Love, Jrue Holiday and the UCLA Bruins.

Look at the jump Kemba Walker from UConn has made in 3 seasons. He went from 8.9 points per game to 14.6, to 23.5 this year. There were rumors swirling that he would go pro after his freshmen and sophomore seasons. You think we’d know his name had he done that? Imagine if some of these other players listed above, who left after their 1^st or 2^nd college season elected to stay, how many points per game would they average?

Again I’m not blaming anyone for leaving school, if you’re going to get drafted in the 1^st round and make millions of dollars, no one can blame you. My only point in comparing a player to Kemba Walker is you can see the jump they can make in school. Is 30 points per game too much for Eric Gordon or Jerryd Bayliss? 35?

ESPN interviewed Walker, Jimmer Fredette, and Nolan Smith yesterday after the brackets were announced. They were picked because they are 3 of if not the 3 best players in the country. If everyone stayed in school are they in the Top 15? 20? How tough a job would ESPN have had trying select just 3 players to talk to between Love, Rose, Griffin, Gordon, Mayo, Wall, Beasley etc.?

In the end it’s just a fun “What If” game that will never be/ should never be the reality in college basketball. Enjoy the tournament this year like you do every March, but try not to drive yourself crazy envisioning Bill Walker and Michael Beasley in a Wildcats uniform when watching Kansas State play. Or O.J. Mayo during USC’s games… or Kevin Love for UCLA… or Derrick Rose for Memphis… or John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins for Kentucky… or…

-Keefe

Trade Deadline Day with the Celtics

-Keefe

Fab 5: Can't Wait For This

Finally a film about the greatest recruiting class in college sports history. It also happens to be my favorite team ever. You can thank these guys for the baggy shorts, black socks, and bald heads.

It will be interesting to watch this documentary as the team's star player, Chris Webber, who was the #1 high school player in the country in 1991, the #1 pick in the '93 NBA Draft, and the one with the most attention, on and off the court (1st team All-American, 5-time NBA All-Star, the timeout in the title game, accepting benefits leading to the Michigan scandal that stripped them of their banners) all of that stuff... he did not participate in the making of the movie.

Jalen Rose was one of the producers of the film, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, and Ray Jackson all were on board and so was head coach and now San Diego State head man Steve Fisher. They all helped the move get made except C-Webb. We'll see on Sunday how much of a factor that has on it.

I, for one, am just thrilled this movie is coming out. I have been waiting years for this. I loved the Mitch Albom book and always will, but this film is a unique take from the players and coaches involved with the ability to look back 20 years and put it all in perspective.

-Keefe

WWE 50 Greatest Superstars

The WWE announced its 50 greatest superstars a few months back on a DVD special. The current WWE roster apparently voted the list of wrestlers on. It spans 5-6 decades and includes Hall of Famers to guys who never won a single belt.

I noticed they were not afraid to mention the careers in the NWA or the old WWWF, obviously WWF legacies are vital to this list, but no love what so ever for the WCW. Before I hit you with my notable omissions I have to point out the lack of WCW guys. Those who went onto WWF fame (Chris Jericho) are high on the list, but others like Sting and Diamond Dallas Page don’t make the Top 50. Here is their list:

· #50 – Killer Kowalski

· #49 – Batista

· #48 – “Ravishing” Rick Rude

· #47 – Bob Backlund

· #46 – Dory Funk Jr.

· #45 – Jeff Hardy

· #44 – Nick Bockwinkel

· #43 – Kane

· #42 – Sgt. Slaughter

· #41 – Jack Brisco

· #40 – Big Show

· #39 – Jake “The Snake” Roberts

· #38 – “Superstar” Billy Graham

· #37 – Junkyard Dog

· #36 – Gorilla Monsoon

· #35 – “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers

· #34 – Kurt Angle

· #33 – Mick Foley

· #32 – “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka

· #31 – The Iron Sheik

· #30 – Pat Patterson

· #29 – Randy Orton

· #28 – “Classie” Freddie Blassie

· #27 – The Fabulous Moolah

· #26 – “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase

· #25 – Chris Jericho

· #24 – Bruno Sammartino

· #23 – Hulk Hogan

· #22 – Terry Funk

· #21 – Lou Thesz

· #20 – Jerry “The King” Lawler

· #19 – Edge

· #T-17 – Dusty Rhodes

· #T-17 –Ric Flair

· #16 – John Cena

· #15 – “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig

· #14 – “Macho Man” Randy Savage

· #13 – Gorgeous George

· #12 – Triple H

· #11 – Eddie Guerrero

· #10 – “Rowdy” Roddy Piper

· #9 – Rey Mysterio

· #8 – Andre The Giant

· #7 – Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat

· #6 – Harley Race

· #5 – The Rock

· #4 – Bret “The Hitman” Hart

· #3 – Stone Cold Steve Austin

· #2 – The Undertaker

· #1 – Shawn Michaels

A few things jump out at me. Hulk Hogan at #23? What the hell? He may have been the 300^th greatest in ring wrestler of all-time, but this is list is supposed to be about “Superstars.” Who was more of a Superstar than Hogan, besides maybe Michaels, The Rock, and Stone Cold?

As I pointed out before, there is no love for the WCW. I guess they decided not to include them? Because if they were allowed in, where is Sting, DDP, Kevin Nash (Diesel), Scott Hall (Razor Ramon)? What about the Steiner Brothers, Booker T, Lex Lugar, Legion of Doom...

The Ultimate Warrior deserves to be on this list. Sure he didn’t last as long as many of the others, but he was as popular a wrestler as any in the hey-day of the late 80s early 90s.

Bret Hart is #4 but there is no Owen, British Bulldog, or Jim "The Anvil"Neidhart.

The rankings were quite surprising. The Top 5 was solid (minus the lack of Hogan). But look how high Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, Jerry Lawler, Edge and others were… weird.

You think the WWE got it right?

You Should See The Other Guy

Actually the other guy (Martin Kampmann) doesn't look as bad. But this guy (Diego Sanchez) was the winner in the main event of Thursday's UFC on Versus 3. Sanchez outlasted Kampmann in a 3 round war and got the decision victory.

It's a big win for "The Nightmare" who now cracks The Sports Brief's Top 10 in the Welterweight Division.

You can access The Sports Brief's MMA Rankings, anytime, by just scrolling down and clicking on "MMA Rankings," located right above "Friends of the Brief."

Also be sure to follow The Sports Brief on Twitter: @TheSportsBrief

-Keefe

Playoff Rotations: Eastern Conference

The trade deadline has passed in the NBA and now players who reached buyout agreements are talking to and signing deals with playoff teams. There are 6 contenders in the East. I think it's a clear Tier 1 (Celtics, Heat, Bulls) and Tier 2 (Magic, Hawks, Knicks). The 76ers are above .500, good for them, they can have Tier 3. But I will breakdown the 6 best teams in the East with what their likely playoff rotation will be. You tell me who is best equipped to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals.

TIER 1

Celtics:

• Rajon Rondo
• Ray Allen
• Paul Pierce
• Kevin Garnett
• Shaquille O'Neal
• Glen Davis
• Jeff Green
• Delonte West
• (Nenad Krstic/ Troy Murphy when needed)

Heat:

• Mike Bibby
• Dwyane Wade
• LeBron James
• Chris Bosh
• Center X
• Udonis Haslem
• James Jones
• Mike Miller (he can still shoot right?)
  
• Mario Chalmers (if Bibby & James foul out)
  

Bulls:

• Derrick Rose
• Keith Bogans (he'll start and that's about it)
• Luol Deng
• Carlos Boozer
• Joakim Noah
• Taj Gibson
• Kyle Korver
• Ronnie Brewer
• Kurt Thomas
• (Omer Asik depending on match up)
• (Brian Scalabrine for a victory lap)

TIER 2

Magic:

• Jameer Nelson
• Jason Richardson
• Hedo Turkoglu
• Brandon Bass
• Dwight Howard
• Ryan Anderson
• J.J. Redick
• Gilbert Arenas

Hawks:

• Kirk Hinrich
• Joe Johnson
• Marvin Williams
• Josh Smith
• Al Horford
• Jamal Crawford
• Zaza Pachulia
• Jeff Teague (maybe)

Knicks:

• Chauncey Billups
• Landry Fields
• Carmelo Anthony
• Shawne Williams
• Amar'e Stoudemire
• Toney Douglas
• Bill Walker
• Anthony Carter
• Ronny Turiaf

Unless he goes to the West, it appears that Corey Brewer will likely join one of these teams (specifically Tier 1). Each team has at least 1 All-Star. The Celtics have 4, Heat 3, Bulls 1 (but it's the MVP), Magic 1 (2-time reigning Defensive Player of the Year), Hawks 2, Knicks 2 (both started in the game.)

That's impressive. Throw in the fact that 4 of these teams will be matched up against each other in the 1st round, and you just know its going to be a great post season. I'm also pretty sure that all the teams dislike each other as well. Everyone hates the Celtics and the Heat. The Knicks can't be liked in the league, and they got an edge once again. I'm excited for April.


-Keefe

What a knockout!!!

No idea who either of these guys are, but check out this monster KO. According to BoxRec, Amir Mansour is 12-0 with 9 KO's. Too bad he's going to be 39 this year. Might be a little late in the game for this guy, but it didn't stop him from providing us with a great, highlight-reel knockout. The camerawork, for the most part, sucks. But the angle gives us a great view of opponent, and victim, Alexis Mejias out on his feet; and you can see Mansour land another shot as Mejias slowly crumbles backward to the canvas. Check it out:



-Bess