Maui Invitational Dayton vs. Gonzaga

Dayton vs. Gonzaga
Head coach Archie Miller was asked after the game if he thinks he can go to the finals of this tournament. He responded with the usual, "It's one step at a time. We'll figure it out here. ... If we play together hopefully we'll give ourselves a chance." Luckily for him, his Dayton Flyers shocked even their own fans after they beat the Gonzaga Bulldogs. While losing at halftime 37-28, they came out with this passion that wasn't highly presented in the first half, despite anything being said by coach Miler.
The Zags and head coach Mark Few put stress on teamwork. In the game, "team player" David Stockton, son of John Stockton, passed frequently around the perimeter to set up guys for threes. By the end of the game he racked up 7 assists. After the game Mark Few appeared to be quite angry, losing to a non-conference, non-ranked opponent. Dayton isn't a bad team and looking in their conference, only LaSalle, Saint Louis, and VCU are worthy opponents. Hey ESPN, keep an eye out for Khari Price and the Flyers from Dayton University this year. I think we could see these guys make big damage in March.

Maui Invitational Chaminade vs. Baylor

Chaminade vs Baylor

For everyone's information, Chaminade is not a Division 1 school, but they are playing Division 1 teams in this tournament. They were faced with a big challenge in the Baylor Bears, the 2012 NIT Champions. With that in mind, the Chaminade Silver Swords put forth their best lineup. Just because they are DII doesn't mean that they can't be good. These guys were undefeated coming into the tournament with two wins over quality DII teams: Western Oregon and Saint Martin's. Since Chaminade is hosting the tournament, it was no surprise that the CUH fans showed up in numbers. The crowd gave Chaminade a quick boost of intensity and Christophe Varidel started to get hot scoring wise. Vardiel is a transfer from Florida Gulf Coast. He made his mark in FGCU history by becoming the third leading scorer in team history. Last night he showed his scoring ability by tossing up 42 points, the most in the tournament for any player in a single game. Along with the points record, he accomplished the most 3-pointers in a game with 11. So if you don't think that's enough, he also scored the second most points against any D1 opponent all season. While Chaminade stayed competitive, I have two words for you: Christophe. Varidel. Baylor knew who they were playing but they didn't expect the intensity brought by them. Baylor countered this with the size and power of Center Isaiah Austin. The 7-footer was grabbing boards and using his height to get put back points. I think that he can be a great NCAA player if he continues to stay tough in the lane on defense and get a little more comfortable around the three point line. I noticed when he got the ball passed to him, he immediately pivots around and looks for a teammate to pass to. A player Isaiah Austin had good chemistry with was Gary Franklin. Franklin hit threes and grabbed steals and rebounds. The Baylor Bears broke away from what was a three point lead at half time to a 16 point lead at the end of the game. Bears Siced 'Em this time.

Maui Invitational Minnesota vs. Syracuse

Minnesota vs Syracuse

CJ Fair and the Orange Men have been looked upon as one of the best in the country. Today, they lived up to that expectation. While Syracuse had some fans, Minnesota traveled well to the LCC. Before the game started, Golden Gopher fans were yelling and shouting, rooting for their team. I think some of those good vibes carried over into the start of the game as coach Richard Pitino and his Minnesota squad provided some instant energy. Syracuse has had a consistent idea of winning, so they know how to deal in these situations. CJ Fair showed that SYR came to play by jamming a major one. This made up for a few plays previous when Syracuse mishandled the ball and had a turnover. Minnesota definitely showed up to play by starting Elliott Eliason. This kid is a beast. He is 6'11" and a rebounding machine. He plowed his way through DaJuan Coleman and Rakeem Christmas, two of Syracuse's top big men. To help eliminate Elliott's success on defense, The Orange used a fast-paced offense to keep everyone on their feet. Minnesota knew what they were getting into by occasionally bringing up a second man to double team the ball carrier. Tyler Cooney helped out Syracuse with his three point shot and quick hands by recording a key steal in the 75-67 win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Maui Invitational Arkansas vs. Cal

Today was Day 1 of a four-day college basketball tournament. Today Arkansas, California, Minnesota, Syracuse, Chaminade, Baylor, Dayton, and Gonzaga all hit the court at the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina on the island of Maui. This year's Maui Invitational featured Arkansas vs Cal early in the morning at 10am Hawaii time, Syracuse vs. Minnesota at 12:30, Chaminade took on Baylor at 4:30, and Dayton vs. Gonzaga at 7.

Arkansas vs Cal

Coming into this game, the Cal Bears looked to get to play Syracuse in a revenge game from this past year's NCAA tournament. Much like I expected, there was going to be a fast paced offense. To no avail, Cal came out of the gate scoring the first bucket of the game. To me, scoring the first bucket of the game early is something you want to do because you can immediately impose yourself on the other team. Shortly after the start of the game, the crowd was greeted with a Sports Center Top 10 Nominee in my opinion: Justin Cobbs of Cal drives into the lane for a reverse layup, but misses and teammate Jabari Bird grabs the board and jams it in for a powerful dunk. Arkansas had little to say in the first half, allowing Cal to guide the game. One reason to the lack of intensity was on defense. #22 Jacorey Williams goes hard down the court, but fails to stick tight to his man. He tends to shade away into the paint and give his guy a little more room to shoot. Halftime ends and the 2nd half of the game starts. Obviously Coach Mike Anderson had something to say to the Razorbacks about their energy (or lack thereof) as there was a lot of pressure and quickness added to the game. One instance occurred where there were two players (one from each team) and a timeout was needed to be called. Justin Cobbs made the decision to call the timeout on the court. I spoke to him after the game about that play and he said, "It's just a basketball play. They had the ball, and I wasn't sure what the possession was there so I called a timeout to make sure we had the possesion. But the possession arrow was our way.

So in that case, you just let it go. But you see a guy dive on the floor and another guy dive on the floor, call a timeout just to secure the ball."

So with Arkansas' added energy, it forced The Golden Bears to make quick, on their feet decisions. I have to give credit where credit is due here, Cal did do a good job at that today. Head coach Mike Montgomery for Cal used a different style of offense than one I have ever seen before to counter the swiftness of Arkansas. On offense, Cal players were constantly rotating around to different areas of the court and setting off ball and on ball screens. It was guerilla warfare for basketball. A key player in this style of play was Richard Soloman. #35 was everywhere grabbing rebounds and dunking. Soloman unfortunately got into foul trouble and had to be taken out of the game, but he was a key contributor in Cal's 85-77 win over Arkansas to open the 2013 Maui Invitational basketball tournament.

Sox Dynasty Or Farrell's Fifteen Minutes of Fame

Sox Dynasty or Farrell’s Fifteen Minutes of Fame?

 

            This past season, Boston Red Sox Manager John Farrell facilitated one of the boldest turn-arounds in Major League Baseball history. For those of you who may have slept through the 2013 baseball season, the Red Sox are world champions. Yes, the team that just one season ago pathetically claimed last place in the American League East is now “King of the Hill” and not looking to relinquish this title for quite some time. But exactly how long can this “Battalion of Beards” stay atop the mountain?  Much to the distaste of Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington and his staff, the degradation of the Boston Red Sox is not only probable, but imminent.

            The first blow to the organization is the fact that most of the 2013 championship team has “Free Agent” stamped on their forehead. Stephen Drew, Joel Hanrahan, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Mike Napoli and Jacoby Ellsbury are all on the market right now. Though few of the aforementioned names are expendable, Ellsbury is a widely valued prize. The quick-footed center fielder is fresh off a .298 season with 52 stolen bases. It is likely that bids for this young star will reach nine digits, a number that the Boston Red Sox cannot budget. If the Sox do not resign Ellsbury, that will leave a little surplus change to bring Napoli and “Salty” back for a season or two,  but that may leave Stephen Drew in the unemployment line, as Farrell is banking on the blossoming Xander Bogaerts.

            If you do not believe the loss of Ellsbury is a significant blow to the Sox Dynasty, then recent projections of a serious decline in the Boston offense may sway you. Polls foretell Victorino, Pedroia and Ortiz, to name a few, taking steps back and/or showing no signs of improvement for the 2014 season. Though these numbers are not hard facts, it is fair to say that if Major League Baseball was a pendulum, the Red Sox are preparing for a downswing.  

            In my opinion, the 2014 Red Sox are going to closely resemble the 2013 Red Sox. Some may argue that this is beneficial to the club, but consistency may not prevail in this case. For the years following 2014, we can say “goodbye” to the Red Sox as we know them. The only current players who are contractually obligated to stick around until 2016 are Dustin Pedroia and Clay Buchholz. And by the end of the 2014 season it is likely we will be saying “goodbye” to Ortiz, Uehara, Lester, and Gomes. The Boston Red Sox may want to savor their World Series victory while they can, before their possible demise becomes an even more pressing issue. 

 

Are the 76ers a Title Contender?

      Michael Carter-Williams the 6 foot 6 22 year old out of Syracuse University. In Michael Carter-Williams first game as a rookie he had 22 points, 7 rebounds, 9 steals, and 12 assits. Going into the season the 76ers weren't even expected to win 10 games with record projections as low as 9-73. Michael Carter-Williams wasn't even expected 10 points and 5 assits and now 4 games into the season Carter-Williams is averaging 19.8 points per game 7.6 assits 3 steals per game and a great three point percentage of 35.7%. Carter Williams says that every time he steps onto the floor he wants to prove he should've been the first overall pick and he's done just that. Carter-Williams set a record with 9 steals in his first game as a rookie and became the first rookie since Shaquille O'Neal in 1992 to win Eastern Conference Player of the week.
      On the draft day trading up for Nerlens Noel the 6th pick from the New Orleans Pelicans the inexperienced rookies Noel and Carter-Williams were expected to do nothing in the NBA. Nerlens Noel had just come off of an ACL injury and Michael Carter-Williams only upside was his outstanding defense. Before the start off the season the 76ers decided to sit out Nerlens Noel which made it seem like it was going to be a nightmare of a season for the 76ers. Now for the 76ers lineup you have a Rookie point guard with barely and upside, a former number 2 overall pick who had never been able do anything with his career in Evan Turner and other medi-oker players you hear of only if you follow all teams in the NBA.
      Everything started to change for the 76ers as soon as they stepped onto the floor against the defending champions the Miami Heat. Evan Turner formerly known as one of the biggest busts in NBA history is now averaging All Star numbers with 22.2 points 5.4 rebounds 3.4 assits and 1.6 steals. Is there any explanation as to how the 76ers are playing so well? The 76ers are now 3-2 losing their last two games but the 76ers are still contenders in the Eastern Conference.

       If the 76ers make the Playoffs they will be successful. Yes they are inexperienced but i have faith in this young 76ers team. They won't make the NBA finals but I know they will make it to the Conference Semi-Finals. This may sound crazy but this is clearly a breakout year for Evan Turner and Carter-Williams is playing like on of the best point guards in the league right now. This puts him up there with the great point guards in the league such as Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Steph Curry and other great point guards in the league.
                                                

     The 76ers will not only be good this year but for the years as this era of a young team will continue. The 76ers sat out one of their top picks in the year and are still doing great for where they should be. The 76ers although inexperienced can make strides in the playoffs almost as if they are a younger version of the Golden State Warriors a young team that was doubted in the Playoffs but took the outstanding San Antonio Spurs to 6 games in the Conference Semi-Finals. The 76ers are great and as I see them grow Philadelphias fan base for this will as well, to say the least, I'm excited to see this team for now and beyond.  

Wait, I Thought We Were Tanking

ANDREW WHO?

FLASHBACK TO JULY 10th 2013
The Sixers stunned a the world by trading all-star point guard Jrue Holliday to the New Orleans Pelicans for the rights to number 6 overall draft pick Nerlens Noel. After this trade was made, the city of Philadelphia was in shock. Minutes after the trade went down, the sports world exploded saying that the Sixers would be the worst team in the league. The upside to this trade was that we would be the chance to have a top 5 protected pick. This means that if the Sixers do worse than the Pelicans, they would have a top 3 pick no matter what.
Everyone is talking about the chance to get Andrew Wiggins as the number one overall. While Wiggins is getting comparisons to LeBron James, the Kansas freshman will most likely get scooped up by someone who isn't starting the season off 3-0. I know it sounds odd, but if the Sixers keep playing the way they are now (not necessarily undefeated, but competitive and strong) they could get a 6 or 7 seed in the Playoffs.

FLASH FORWARD TO NOW
Game 1: vs. Miami Heat
The Sixers stunned the Heat in the first game in the season with a 114-110 win at home to open the season. The defeat of the defending champion Miami Heat was started off with a 20-0 run. Now when I got the alert on my phone that the Sixers were beating the Heat 20-0 in the start of the game, I was really surprised because before the game I posted the image below on my personal Facebook page before the game. Michael Carter-Williams and Evan Turner led the way for the Sixers with a combined 48 points. Philadelphia snapped Miami's 15-game regular season winning streak. This game proved to be a real statement to the league saying that there is a do-or-die attitude in the Wells Fargo Center surrounding this Sixers team.

Check out this amazing dunk Evan Turner had on LeBron against the Heat and Thaddeus Young's grind-it-out block on Norris Cole.

Game 2: at Washington Wizards
The Sixers took to the paint to beat the Wizards, scoring 74 of their 109 points in the paint. MCW was a solid defender against John Wall by limiting him to 26 points. The Sixers were losing after three-quarters but Michael Carter-Williams hit a pivotal trey at 6:28 to give the Sixers their first lead. PHI kept a fast pace to them much like the offense of their fellow sports team the Eagles. One thing to improve on from this Game #2 would be try and fight more on offense for rebounds. Against the Wizards they only had 9, so when these two teams meet again on Wednesday the 6th, Philadelphia can try to build on the Wazzerds' weaknesses.

Game 3: vs. Chicago Bulls
Another big challenge approached the Sixers in the early part of this young NBA season was the Chicago Bulls, one of the league's most feared teams. The 76ers wearing their "True Blue" uniforms got an amazing victory over the Bulls 107-104. The Bulls' star Derrick Rose scored a surprisingly low 13 points. Another streak was snapped by the 76ers as the Bulls had a 5 game winning streak dating back to the 2011-2012 season. Another positive for the Sixers was that Spencer Hawes had a double-double, first on the season for himself and the team.

The Sixers play again Monday night against the Golden State Warriors as Steph Curry and Andre Iguodala come into the City of Brotherly Love and try and stop the red-hot Sixers.