THE WEEKLY 5-COUNT

By Chris Datres

1 The game of the week was Monday’s Pitt-UCONN tussle in Hartford. Round one went to the Panthers as Dejuan Blair overpowered fellow big man Haseem Thabeet in Pitt’s 8-point victory. I thought going in that whichever player stayed out of foul trouble would have the advantage. Check goes to Blair in that department. But what really struck me was something that I had thought before but was cemented by something ESPN analyst Jay Bilas said during the game - unless it’s a dunk or a free throw, Thabeet struggles to score. Blair did a great job of not allowing him to get to the basket. He would allow Thabeet to catch the ball in the post but wouldn’t let him get any closer. Thabeet’s an excellent talent when it comes to blocking shots and changing things on the defensive end but he still has a long way to go before he can be really considered an offensive threat and I think a game like Monday’s may have exposed him when it comes to making it to the NBA level. These two teams will go at it again in Pittsburgh on March 7 in the last game before the Big East Tournament.

2 A team that has been very easily forgotten this year is the Memphis Tigers. They lost three key players from their championship game run last year and endured a couple of growing pains going into this year. But since coach John Calipari inserted star freshman Tyreke Evans at the point, the Tigers haven’t lost. At this point they have a 17-game winning streak on top of a 53-game conference winning streak. Two of those wins have come on the road at Gonzaga and at Tennessee. You might want to reacquaint yourself with the Tigers before filling out your bracket. I was skeptical of them as well until they took out the Zags and the Vols.

3 Penn State defeated Illinois in a regulation Big Ten game on Wednesday night by the score of 38-33. Let that sink in for a minute. Two high-classed Division I teams combined for less than 2 points per minute. That leads me to the bigger picture - there are a lot of fraudulent teams in college basketball this year. The top 6 or 7 teams are pretty well-known at this point. But when the committee meets in Indianapolis in four weeks, they are going to be hard-pressed to differentiate between those on the 3rd seed line and the 7th seed line, there’s that much parity out there. The worst part about it is you’re going to have 7 teams of the caliber of a Penn State, BYU, Mississippi State, Arizona, Kansas State, Miami, and Providence fighting for the last 3 spots in the field. They’re all the same team so what makes one team better than the other and/or more deserving of getting into the field? As much fun as it might be, I don’t envy the committee’s job to pick and seed the field.

4 Since I’m out west for golf work this week, I figured I should probably mention something about the Pac-10. I got the chance to attend the Washington-UCLA game Thursday night at Pauley Pavilion. First off, the UCLA cheerleaders and dance team are by far the most attractive group in all of college sports. As for the game itself, the officials certainly let both teams play, calling just 8 fouls in the first half. UCLA ended up winning the game by 9 on the strength of a balanced scoring effort - all five starters finished in double figures. That win puts UCLA in a second-place tie just one game behind UW. When you project the future earnings of these two teams in the tournament, I think it’s very possible that both can make it to the Sweet 16, given the matchups. Washington’s biggest problem on Thursday night was some poor interior defense. And not to go off on a rant, but Washington was just 4 of 10 from the foul line, including two misses with just under a minute to go while down 5. As for Pauley Pavilion itself, it’s not going to blow you away. It’s a classic-type arena that cheapens itself a bit by having a large gap between the basket and the endzone seating. They’re planning on refurbishing the arena in a couple of years to upgrade it and it’s certainly due. But if you’re a big college hoops fan like me, Pauley is definitely a place you have to get to simply to see the banners and if you’re lucky, a glimpse of Coach Wooden himself.

5 This week’s under-the-radar team to look out for if they show up in the bracket is Siena. Seasoned veterans of NCAA Tournament pools shouldn’t see Siena’s inclusion as much of a surprise considering they pasted Vanderbilt in the first round of last year’s tournament (I got it wrong). This year’s edition of the Saints is 15-1 in the MAAC and 21-6 overall. Not a bad record but unfortunately, they’re likely going to have to win their conference to get into the Dance because they couldn’t pick off any of the “name” teams on their schedule (Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Wichita State, Pitt, Kansas). They’re led by senior guard Kenny Hasbrouck outside and junior swingman Edwin Ubiles. I watched this team play in Orlando in November when they lost to Wichita State. When Hasbrouck has his game rolling, they are a difficult team to take down. But if the opponent can shut down Hasbrouck as Wichita did (6-14 FG, 7-7 FT, 20 points, but 12 of those came in the last 2 minutes when Siena was trying to mount a huge comeback), then it neutralizes the Saints. Siena has a big home game Saturday against Northern Iowa. If they can win that one, it may sway the committee to let them into the tournament should they stumble in the MAAC Tournament.

BONUS
3 Games you can’t miss between now and next Friday:
Butler at Davidson (Saturday, Noon, ESPN): The marquee game of the Bracketbusters weekend may be tarnished because of Davidson guard Stephen Curry’s ankle injury. He didn’t play on Wednesday night and the Wildcats were peppered by The Citadel. As for Butler, they’re coming off a stunning loss to Milwaukee on Wednesday. Both of these teams’ chances of an at-large bid may have ended with their losses on Wednesday. However, those hopes will be completely dashed for the loser of this matchup.

Wake Forest at Duke (Sunday, 7:45, FSN): Revenge is a dish best served cold and the Cameron Crazies will have no problem providing the deep freeze. Wake nearly blew a 10-point lead in the last 4 minutes at home in the first meeting, escaping on a well-executed inbounds play with three seconds left. The Dukies are on a bit of a skid right now having lost to Carolina and BC. Right now there’s a logjam at 7-4 in the ACC so the importance of that high seed in the ACC Tournament is up for grabs here.

Kansas at Oklahoma (Monday, 9:00, ESPN): Barring a loss to Texas on Saturday night (always possible), the Sooners will be the new #1 team in the country. If Kansas had a little bit more seasoning on their frontline, they might stand a chance but there hasn’t been anyone that has been able to matchup with the Griffin boys down low. KU might have a slight advantage at the guard matchup between Sherron Collins and Willie Warren but Collins is going to have to act like an upperclassmen and not get so sped up when dealing with the Sooners defense.

Got any questions or comments? Feel free to e-mail me at gopens24@aol.com. Who knows, maybe I’ll include your “mailbag” comment in a future 5-Count.

NFC North

Chicago Bears

Needs: WR, DE, T, CB
Analysis: Devin Hester took the next step towards becoming more of a polished receiver. However, someone to line up next to him is needed. The quarterback position has finally taken a step towards being settled. Kyle Orton showed that he can play in this league. He just has to learn to be more consistent. Pass defense is where the most help is needed. The Bears were once one of the most feared defense’s in the league. In 2008 the run defense was 5th overall in the league. However, the pass defense was 30th, scoring defense was 16th and the overall defense was 21st. The addition of Rod Marinelli as the defensive lines coach should help improve the pass rush. Defensive end should get the first look over wide receiver. There are some good options at receiver that can probably be found in the second round.
1st Round Possibilities: Everette Brown DE (Florida State), Tyson Jackson DE (LSU), Percy Harvin WR (Florida), Jeremy Maclin WR (Missouri), Vontae Davis CB (Illinois)

Detroit Lions

Needs: QB, LB, ,DE, CB, WR, G
Analysis: Where to begin on this one. The quarterback’s were tied for the third most interceptions in the league with 19. The offensive line gave up the second most sacks in the NFL with 52. Offensive tackle is a possible first round target, but Jeff Backus and Gosder Cherilus from a serviceable tackle duo. More help is needed from the interior lineman, as well as the running backs and tight ends. The Defense gave up an NFL worst 404.4 yard per game. They were 27th in pass defense and 32nd in run defense. The pass defense caught an NFL low 4 interceptions. All of this led to an 0-16 record. The best option would be to trade the top overall pick and try and stockpile picks to address many needs. At least they have 2 first round picks due to the Roy Williams trade.
1st Round (1st Pick) Possibilities: Matthew Stafford QB (Georgia), Matt Sanchez QB (USC), Andre Smith T (Alabama), Aaron Curry OLB (Wake Forest)
1st Round (2nd Pick) Possibilities: James Laurinaitis ILB (Ohio State), Michael Oher T (Ole Miss), Vontae Davis CB (Illinois), Clint Sintim OLB (Virginia), Josh Freeman QB (Kansas State)

Green Bay Packers

Needs: DT, DE, T, CB
Analysis: One year after missing the Super Bowl by one game, the Packers finished 2008 with a 6-10 record. The most recognizable piece missing from the NFC runner up team was Brett Favre. The piece missing that hurt the team most was a lack of quality play from the defensive line. They finished 26th against the rush and 25th in sacks. A couple of potential free agents on the defensive line and possible legal troubles for another, it is time to begin injecting youth along the line to play with the youth at linebacker. That leads to another need on the defense. Charles Woodson and Al Harris are getting a little long in the tooth. Bringing in some youth to learn under the tutelage of these two should be addressed early and maybe more than once.
1st Round Possibilities: B.J. Raji DT (Boston College), Peria Jerry DT (Ole Miss), Aaron Maybin DE (Penn State), Brian Orapko DE (Texas), Everette Brown DE (Florida State), Malcolm Jenkins CB (Ohio State)

Minnesota Vikings

Needs: QB, CB, WR, T
Analysis: Of the teams that are in need of a quarterback, this is the team that should make the most aggressive move towards getting Matt Cassel’s services. They are strong on run defense. Passing defense needs to be improved, but with teams not having the ability to run against the Vikings, the passing numbers are going to be higher. The receiving corps may not scare many teams, but until you get an accurate passer, you won’t know what you have. With running backs the caliber of Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor, deep threat Bernard Berrian, inconsistent but talented Sidney Rice and Bobby Wade with good hands, the most logical move would be to add the man behind center to bring it all together.
1st Round Possibilities: Mark Sanchez QB (USC), Josh Freeman QB (Kansas State), Vontae Davis CB (Illinois), D.J. Moore CB (Vanderbilt)

By Shane Smith

Blog Information Courtesy of: Pro Football Weekly, Todd McShay ESPN, Mel Kiper ESPN, Sporting News War Room

THE WEEKLY 5-COUNT

By Chris Datres

As this is the first time your eyes have come across some of my words, let me give you a quick background of what you’ll be reading over the next few weeks.  I’m currently a producer at Golf Channel but before that, spent 5 years working at ESPN, most of that with the college basketball division.  I played ball in high school and am now currently an official.  So I’ve seen just about every side of the game there is to see, though I wouldn’t mind a cheerleader’s point of view once or twice.  This blog will be pretty simple.  As the title indicates, it’ll be a list of five impressions from the week and a bonus look-ahead to the next week.  Once the season reaches the conference tournament stage, my work level will go up a little bit more.  So without further ado, here’s the ball.  Try and get it in-bounds in the time you have.

1 Wednesday night’s North Carolina-Duke game once again lived up to the hype that normally accompanies it.  The first half was played at a NBA-like pace which should have suited North Carolina perfectly, given their high-caliber firepower.  Yet Duke led by 9 at the half. In the second half, Carolina did something they normally don’t do as well and that’s play defense.  This is a team that gave up over 90 points to Maryland a couple of weeks ago, but they locked down Duke’s outside shooting and gave up just 31 points in the second half.  Two things stood out from this game.  First, Carolina guard Ty Lawson can’t be stopped when he wants to get to the basket.  He reminds me a lot of Chris Paul, now, in the way he slithers between defenders and somehow gets the ball all the way to the hoop.  Secondly, Duke is perilously moving toward the same demise they met last year.  They got smoked by West Virginia in last year’s second round because they had no inside presence and shot 38% from the field.  With the way Coach K runs that offense now - up-tempo with constant penetration and kick-outs, any team that can force them inside the 3-point line and turn the game into an inside brawl should find success.  Wake Forest, Miami, and Clemson have found ways to do it in the last three weeks.  Carolina succeeded in doing it in the second half Wednesday night.

2 Speaking of Wake Forest, their stock has certainly plummeted since beating Duke at the buzzer on January 28th.  At the time, the win took them to 17-1, and they were beginning to look like a shoo-in to be a #2 seed or better.  Since that win, they’ve dropped 3 of 4.  I’ve noticed something very disturbing in the games that I’ve watched of theirs since that Duke game.  Wake only has 3 seniors on their roster, though only one really sees appreciable playing time (Harvey Hale).  Therefore, it’s a team of youngsters.  They’re a very talented team and Jeff Teague is probably the second-best point guard in the ACC behind Ty Lawson.  But in the game against Duke, they had a 10-point lead with 4:00 left but played like they were down 10.  In their buzzer-beating loss to Georgia Tech, they had a 6-point lead with just over a minute to play but again played like they were behind.  Point guards are the lifeblood to any successful team, and when they begin to show their inexperience in big spots, a team can collapse.  Wake still has the potential to be a team to make a run at Detroit but only if Teague realizes the situation and guides his team through it.

3 There’s a lot of things that drive me crazy when I’m watching a basketball game, whether it be when I’m officiating a high school game or watching a college game.  Usually, my pet peeves in a high school game revolve around coaches who are better refs than they are coaches.  But in the college game, my biggest pet peeve is teams that can’t make free throws.  It’s 15 feet with nobody in your face, and you practice it every day, or at least you should.  What is so difficult about this shot? So far this season, two teams have each lost a pair of games directly because they couldn’t make free throws.  Kansas blew a lead against Syracuse in November and then blew another lead against Missouri on Monday night because of untimely free throw misses.  Florida lost on the road to South Carolina because of missed free throws and bad free throw defense and then on Tuesday night lost to Kentucky when Nick Calathes missed 3 free throws with :00.6 left that would have tied the game.  Just last night, Temple nearly blew an 11-point lead in the final minute to St. Joe’s when they went 7 of 18 from the line down the stretch, and Gonzaga had to weather a 3-point prayer at the buzzer because Jeremy Pargo and Matt Bouldin clanked game-icing free throw opportunities.  If you don’t think it’s a valid argument, just ask Memphis about shooting 12 of 19 from the line in a national championship game that they lost in overtime.

4 The word out that Connecticut may lose guard Jerome Dyson to a lateral meniscus tear in his knee for the rest of the season is a huge blow to their national title hopes.  Not only is Dyson the second-leading scorer on this team, but he’s also the motor that drives the UCONN offense.  Sure, Jeff Adrien and Haseem Thabeet are the headliners, but Dyson as well as point guard A.J. Price (remember, he blew his knee out in their first round loss to San Diego in last year’s tournament) were the penetrators and distributors.  This will put a huge bullseye on Price, Kemba Walker, and Craig Austrie to pick up Dyson’s slack.

5 Each week between now and the tournament, I’m going to give you one below-the-radar team likely to be a 11-14 seed that could be a first round upset special.  I’ll begin this feature with the VMI Keydets.  VMI is known for their up-tempo, pressing style that averages 95.8 points per game.  The 20-4 Keydets are led by twins Chavis and Travis Holmes, who were featured in a recent Sports Illustrated article. They’ve already taken out Kentucky at Rupp Arena which used to be an impossible thing to do but is now becoming a yearly tradition (see Gardner-Webb last year) and that high-octane output could give a 4 or 5 seed like an overhyped ACC or Big Ten team (Illinois, Clemson come to mind) huge fits.  Keep them in mind if they make it into the bracket.  Right now, they are tied with Radford at the top of the Big South standings and will likely have to withstand a battle with Liberty in the conference tournament.  Liberty is led by Seth Curry, younger brother of Davidson superstar Stephen Curry.

BONUS
3 games between now and next Friday that you CAN’T miss:
Georgetown at Syracuse (Saturday, Noon, ESPN) - Both teams have taken it on the chin in the last month. Syracuse has lost 6 of their last 8 while Georgetown has dropped 6 of their last 7 and fallen completely off the college hoops map.  It’s hard to say which team needs this game more, but a Georgetown road win in the Carrier Dome could go a long way to turning around a season that had a lot of promise just 6 weeks ago.
Pitt at UCONN (Monday, 7:00, ESPN) - With Marquette having dropped two conference games in a row, this game re-assumes its rightful place as the conference game of the year.   How will the Huskies respond in their first big game without Jerome Dyson?  Who will win the battle down low between Dejuan Blair and Haseem Thabeet?   I think the answer to that last question will be whoever stays out of foul trouble.
Washington at UCLA (Thursday, 11:00, FSN) - UCLA may really need this game to get back on track should it lose to Arizona on Saturday.  Washington should be coming in here on a high since they have a relatively easy game against Oregon, the worst team in the Pac-10.   Washington has been flying under the radar in conference all year, and this could send a real message.  UCLA has won their last 4 home games by an average of 22.8 points.

Got any questions or comments?  Feel free to e-mail me at gopens24@aol.com. Who knows, maybe I’ll include your “mailbag” comment in a future 5-Count.

There is always a buzz in the air around this time of year.  Do you know what it is?  If you haven’t guessed, it’s College Football Subdivision National Signing Day.  It just passed yesterday on February 4, 2009, and seems to get bigger every year because of the media exposure and the internet age.  It seems to capture the attention of American sports fans more than ever.  Now there are high school football all-star games played right after the bowl games end in early January.  The two most prestigious and well-known are the Army All-American Bowl and The UnderArmour All-American Bowl.  The hype for these games gets taken up a notch each year,  if that’s even possible?  After these games are played, the recruiting season is in full throttle and keeps building until the climax, National Signing Day.  I’ll admit, I am one of these recruiting junkies that contributes to the  madness by checking Scout and Rivals.com.  The recruiting starts right after National Signing Day ends and continues until signing day, 2010.

Well, I am going to list some of the top blue chip prospects that just made their decisions in the last week or two to sign with a university.  These are athletes that didn’t verbally commit to a school or are de-commitments from a school.  It seems as though the popularity and publicity of these blue chippers trumps the others.  It’s not that they are better than the other student athletes, but it’s because they haven’t made their decision yet and it’s the most recent news.  Right here, right now, the Americans mentality these days, they don’t want to hear the old recruiting news.  If one of these top 100 players, according to opinion, has a good game in one of these all-star games, look out, their stock is going to sky rocket like Tajh Boyd and Bryce Brown did this year.  Enough already, here is my list.  Over the next week or so, I will give my class rankings, breakdown, and analysis.

Pos Name School
RB     Bryce Brown Wichita (KS) East
Finalists: Miami, Oregon, Auburn, USC, Tennessee, Kansas State
Committed: Undecided until March, was verbally committed to Miami until January

LB     Manti Te’o Honolulu (HI) Punahou
Finalists: Notre Dame, UCLA, USC
Committed: Notre Dame

LB     Jelani Jenkins Olney (MD) Good Counsel
Finalists: Boston College, Florida, Illinois, Notre Dame, Penn State, USC
Committed: Florida

RB    Trent Richardson Pensacola (FL) Escambia
Finalists: Alabama, Florida, LSU, Tennessee
Committed: Alabama

WR    Rueben Randle Bastrop (LA)
Finalists: Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Oklahoma
Committed: LSU

WR     Marlon Brown Memphis (TN) Harding
Finalists: Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Ohio State, Tennessee
Committed: Georgia

LB     Vontaze Burfict Corona (CA) Centennial
Finalists: Arizona State, USC
Committed: Arizona State

TE     Orson Charles Tampa (FL) Plant
Finalists: Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Tennessee, USC
Committed: Undecided

WR    Pat Patterson Macon (MS) Noxubee
Finalists: Alabama, Mississippi, Southern Miss, Tennessee
Committed: Mississippi

CB     Dre Kirkpatrick Gadsden (AL)
Finalists: Alabama, Florida, Texas
Committed: Alabama

CB    Greg Reid Valdosta (GA) Lowndes
Finalists: Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia
Committed: Florida State

DE    Sam Montgomery Greenwood (SC)
Finalists: LSU, Michigan, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee
Committed: LSU

OL    Marcus Hall Cleveland (OH) Glenville
Finalists: Miami, Michigan, Ohio State, Tennessee
Committed: Ohio State

S    Jawanza Starling Tallahassee (FL) Lincoln
Finalists: Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Notre Dame, USC
Committed: USC

LB     Jarvis Jones Columbus (GA) Carver
Finalists: Florida, Georgia, LSU, Texas, USC
Committed: USC

S     Byron Moore Harbor City (CA) Narbonne
Finalists: Colorado, Notre Dame, USC
Committed: USC

RB    David Oku Oklahoma City (OK) Albert
Finalists: Auburn, Syracuse, Tennessee
Committed: Undecided

OL     Xavier Su’a-Filo Provo (UT) Timpview
Finalists: BYU, LSU, UCLA, USC, Utah
Committed: UCLA

WR    Justin Brown Wilmington (DE) Concord
Finalists: Iowa, Penn State, Rutgers
Committed: Penn State

OL    Pete White Washington (DC) St. Johns
Finalists: Maryland, Miami, Tennessee
Committed: Maryland

S     Darren Myles Atlanta (GA) Carver
Finalists: Alabama, LSU, Ohio State, Purdue, Tennessee
Committed: Tennessee

WR    Randall Carroll Los Angeles (CA) Cathedral
Finalists: Arizona State, California, Oklahoma, UCLA, USC
Committed: UCLA

LB  Barkevious Mingo West Monroe (LA)
Finalists: Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, LSU
Committed: LSU

CB    Janzen Jackson Lake Charles (LA) Barbe
Finalists: Alabama, LSU, Tennessee
Committed: Tennessee

LB     Tana Patrick Stevenson (AL) N Jackson
Finalists: Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, USC
Committed: Alabama

CB    Denard Robinson Deerfield Beach (FL)
Finalists: Florida, Georgia, Kansas State, Michigan, UCF
Committed: Michigan

WR    Je’Ron Stokes Philadelphia (PA) N’east
Finalists: Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Michigan, Tennessee
Committed: Michigan

OL Brandon Moore Montgomery (AL) Carver
Finalists: Alabama, Florida
Committed: Alabama

QB    Raymond Cotton Fort Meade (MD)
Finalists: Kansas State, Mississippi, Southern Miss
Committed: Mississippi

CB    Marsalis Teague Paris (TN) Henry County
Finalists: Alabama, Florida, Tennessee
Committed: Tennessee

DE     James Boyd Los Angeles (CA) Jordan
Finalists: Oregon State, USC, Washington
Committed: USC

WR     Alshon Jeffrey St Matthews (SC) Calhoun
Finalists: South Carolina, Tennessee, USC
Committed: South Carolina

WR    Devon Flournoy Van Nuys (CA) B’ham
Finalists: UCLA, USC
Committed: USC

DT     Kwame Geathers Georgetown (SC) Carvers
Finalists: Central Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee
Committed: Undecided

WR    Kendall Kelly Gadsden (AL)
Finalists: Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, LSU, Tennessee
Committed: Alabama

OL     Morgan Moses Richmond (VA) M’brook
Finalists: Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia
Committed: Virginia

RB     Eddie Lacy Geismar (LA) Dutchtown
Finalists: Alabama, Tennessee
Committed: Alabama

WR    Adam Hall Tucson (AZ) Palo Verde
Finalists: Arizona, California, Oregon
Committed: Arizona

DT    Terrence Coleman Mobile (AL) Williamson
Finalists: Auburn, Arkansas, Southern Miss
Committed: Auburn

QB     Tajh Boyd Hampton (VA) Phoebus
Finalists: Clemson, Ohio State, Oregon
Committed: Clemson

DE     Lanford Collins Stafford (VA) Brooke Point
Finalists: Virginia Tech, Penn State, Boston College
Committed: Virginia Tech

CB Jayron Hosley Delray Beach (FL) Atlantic
Finalists: Virginia Tech, South Florida, Clemson, Louisville, Michigan
Committed: Virginia Tech

by Wayde in Sports