Breakfast with Berndon: NBA's First Month

My interest in the NBA tends to wane slightly once college ball tips off, but this year I've kept at least one eye on the proceedings. My Bulls are, at least in my eyes, a legitimate title contender. The Miami chemistry experiment appears to be blowing up in Pat Riley's face, and, quite simply, the league is stacked like it hasn't been in a long time. What follows is the return of my power rankings, the return of the “man of the match," and some random commentary thrown in free of charge at the bottom.

Power Rankings

1. Boston (13-4) KG's knees apparently work again.
2. Lakers (13-5) Losing four in a row doesn't change the fact that they're still the favorites.
3. San Antonio (15-2) Shocking they've gotten out as fast as they have.
4. Dallas (13-4) Tyson Chandler is protecting the rim, Dallas actually is playing D now.
5. Orlando (13-4) I still think the Bulls will be better, but Dwight Howard still scares me.
6. Utah (14-5) Without Okur, great start as they plug in Jefferson for Boozer.
7. New Orleans (12-5) Chris Paul shows he's back.
8. Oklahoma City (12-6) Westbrook, not Durant, for MVP?
9. Chicago (9-6) I'm licking my chops with a 9-6 record without Boozer.
10. Miami (10-8) Almost under .500. Wow.
11. Atlanta (11-7) Joe Johnson is out 4-6 weeks, give Jordan Crawford his minutes?
12. Denver (10-6) Take one more shot, or trade Carmelo and start from scratch?
13. Indiana (9-7) Roy Hibbert might be an All-Star.
14. Memphis (8-10) I think they'll take off and get 50 wins.
15. Phoenix (8-9) Hakim Warrick, you are no Amar'e Stoudemire.
16. Portland (8-9) They still have about 3 more season-ending injuries left in them.
17. New York (10-9) Wilson Chandler is a charter member of the All-Underrated team.
18. Golden St. (8-10) A year or two away, but entertaining as hell.
19. Houston (5-12) Still could be somewhere ranging between frisky and dangerous eventually.
20. Cleveland (7-10) I hope they murder Miami tonight. Not literally Cleveland, calm down.
21. Milwaukee (6-11) Wait, your telling me a team has quit on Scott Skiles?
22. Minnesota (4-13) Maybe Minnesota is the location of Darko finding his freedom.
23. Sacramento (4-12) I hope Cousins cries on the bench at some point.
24. New Jersey (6-12) I honestly thought they'd be a little better.
25. Charlotte (6-11) Last year apparently was a fluke.
26. Detroit (6-12) All I want for X-mas is Rip or Tayshaun in a Bulls uniform.
27. Clippers (3-15) Baron Davis is an asshole. Way to eat your way out of the league.
28. Washington (5-11) I really like JaVale McGee.
29. Philly (5-13) I'm kind of surprised Evan Turner has struggled.
30. Toronto (6-11) The Raptors do not have the worst record, but give it time, they will.

Man of the Match Leaderboard

1. Dwight Howard 13 ( 21 pts, 12 rbs, 2 blks)
2. Pau Gasol 9 (20 pts, 12 rbs, 4 assts, 2 blks)
3. Chris Paul 8 ( 16 pts, 5 rbs, 11 assts, 3 stls)
4. Josh Smith 7 ( 15 pts 9 rbs, 4 assts, 2 blks)
4. Derrick Rose 7 (26 pts 4 rbs, 8 assts)
4. Deron Williams 7 (22 pts, 4 rbs, 10 assts, 1 stl)
7. Russell Westbrook 6.5 (25 pts, 6 rbs, 9 assts, 2 stls)
8. Kevin Garnett 6 (16 pts, 9 rbs, 2 stls, 1 blk)
8. Dwyane Wade 6 (21 pts, 6 rbs, 4 assts)
8. Rajon Rondo 6 (11 pts 5 rbs, 14 assts, 2 stls)
8. Carmelo Anthony 6 (23 pts 8 rbs, 3 assts)
8. Tony Parker 6 (17 pts, 7 assts, 2 stls)

Bottom Five
The five players whom one would say the following: “I didn't even know he was still in the NBA,” or “ How in the hell did he lead the team in even one category, ever in his life, let alone be the most valuable player in a victory,” when notified that they made the Man of the Match leaderboard.

Melvin Ely
Josh McRoberts
Leandro Barbosa
Amir Johnson
Jose Calderon/Ronny Turiaf

Just a quick refresher: I came up with the man of the match criteria last season. In order to get credit for a “point,” your team has to win, and you have to lead your team in the most categories out of points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. Not earth-shaking stuff here, but I'll leave the advanced statistical analysis to those who are much smarter than I am. In looking at the leaders, half on the list are point guards. There are so many quality floor generals right now, the whole “Deron Williams vs. Chris Paul” argument now involves at least 3 others who could be considered the best in the league. Other parts of the list that stand out include Gasol being the MVP in 9 of the Lakers 13 victories, bringing up the question, is he starting to be more valuable than Kobe? Also, whether or not he wants to be in Denver isn't really affecting Melo's play that much. His points are slightly down but the 8 rebounds a game is a little unexpected. The return of KG is kind of a surprise, with him playing really well and looking more and more like the pre-2008 version.

Random Observations

Chicago: I have to talk about my Bulls, and mainly how happy I am that they're off to a 9-7 start, with Carlos Boozer just now coming back. Rose can now hit outside shots, making him almost unstoppable. My only concern is the fact that he's logging heavy minutes, which hopefully Thibs is smart enough to monitor by year's end. Luol Deng looks a lot better than last year, Noah keeps improving, and now Taj Gibson makes for a helluva 6th man. I like our chances.

San Antonio: If someone would have told me that San Antonio would start out 15-3, and didn't say that Tiago Splitter is averaging 40 pts and 20 rebounds a game, I would have questioned their sanity. But, with essentially the same team as last year, the Spurs are back as a title contender. It's almost as if they're mustering up one more really great run before Duncan becomes a role player or retires, and the team gets broken up. Richard Jefferson looks completely different, and I like the move to start Dejuan Blair. I also think that James Anderson looms as an x-factor in the playoffs as someone who can knock down a big shot for them.

B Easy, K Love, and Darko: What a combo. There's probably not a more unique frontcourt in all the game. Darko could have finally found a home after 7, 257 teams didn't work out for him. He's averaging 2.9 blocks a game for the Wolves, while Love continues to lead the league in boards, and Beasley is averaging 21 a game and not acting like a head case. Don't worry, I'm still kind of happy the Bulls took Rose and not him. But still, he's playing better and behaving himself. Baby steps, Mike.

Miami: You would think I would have led off with these guys, but I still haven't seen enough of them yet, making me hesitant to write them off. Bosh has been a major disaster, though I honestly would be really scared if the Bulls had to face them in a 4 vs.5 match-up come spring.

Golden State: They've become my favorite Western team to watch, simply because I love watching Curry and Ellis play together. Biedrins and David Lee rebound everything in sight. Put it together and you have a team that I'd really love to see end up in the playoffs, potentially upsetting the Lakers or someone of that ilk in April.

Noteworthy, footnotes: John Wall, Blake Griffin, Greg Oden, Carmelo being traded, Milwaukee and Charlotte being terrible, and the Knicks playing decent.

Breakfast With Berndon: Picking Apart the Preseason Top 25

I'm going to come up with my own preseason top 25, along with some other college hoops preview-type stuff in the next couple of weeks in pure "Breakfast with Berndon" style. But, for now, here's my take on the top 25. In my opinion, some of the squads are ranked too high, some are ranked too low, and others are sitting right about where they should be, at least in my humble college basketball obsessed brain. Granted, I haven't watched a whole lot of the freshman, apart from the McDonald's game, but in terms of what people have coming back, I'm confident with my knowledge.

Ranked Too High

4. Pitt: Pittsburgh is going to be really good with pretty much their whole roster back in the fold, but I'd but them in the top 10. Just not the top 4.

7. Kansas: There are eligibility concerns about top newcomer Josh Selby, but even if he's cleared and plays every game, I don't see how a team that lost in the 2nd round to Northern Iowa, and lost their point guard and best low-post option should be in the top 10. To be fair, I often made fun of Cole Aldrich. But he is huge and the Jayhawks will miss his rebounding and interior defense.

8. Purdue: The Boilers have no business being ranked this high without Robbie Hummel. Illinois moves ahead of them in the Big 10, and Purdue should now be about 20-25.

9. UNC: No one can accuse me of being a homer. That is until I have a conniption when Harrison Barnes drops 40 in his first college game. I need to see improvement from Larry Drew, and whether or not the Heels have enough depth inside before they crack the top 10.

10. Kentucky: They have a stellar recruiting class once again, but it's not the same as the one they brought in last year. Plus they don't have anyone coming back who's as good as Patrick Patterson.

15. Missouri: Maybe if Frosh Tony Mitchell was eligible, but since he's not, Missouri doesn't belong in the top 15. I don't see any pros on this roster. They'll be good, but not this good.

24. Wisconsin: I feel like this ranking comes mainly out of respect for Bo Ryan. Jon Leuer is back, but they lose Trevon Hughes and didn't bring in anyone that significant. They'll be a fringe top 25 team all year, and won't go far in March.

25. Texas: They have four point guards, they still have to deal with Rick Barnes as their coach, lost three starters to the NBA, and have no business being in the top 25 after losing in the first round of the dance to Wake Forest.

Ranked Too Low
11. Florida: The Gators returned everybody from last year, and picked up Patric Young and Casey Prather. This is the year Billy Donovan brings the Gators back to the front of the SEC and back to national relevance.

13. Syracuse: Boeheim lost a lot, but they weren't supposed to do anything last year and look what happened. They bring in Fab Melo to team with Rich Jackson, have two really good players that played lesser roles in Kris Joseph and Scoop Jardine, and have other recruits that give them a lot of depth. I think the Cuse should be in the top 10.

14. Baylor: LaceDarius Dunn is back, and should be an All-American. If Perry Jones is anything close to being as good as advertised, Baylor also is a top 10 team.

17. Washington: Lorenzo Romar had the Huskies in the Sweet 16, and has most of the pieces from last year back. They won't get challenged in the Pac-10 outside of maybe getting a game or two from Arizona, and should parlay this into a high seed come dance time.

18. Butler: I would  have thought Butler would have gained more respect after their run last year. They did lose Gordon Hayward, but they still have a roster chock full of contributors from last year's team. If Matt Howard plays like he did as a soph, Butler will again be in final four contention.

23. Virginia Tech: Granted, they've been on the outs of making the tourney the last two seasons, but VT has an absolute-stud back in Malcolm Delaney. Throw in the fact that they return the majority of their roster and that the ACC is slightly down outside of Durham and Chapel Hill, and you get a top 20 team.

Ranked Where They Should Be

1. Duke: There's no way they can be ranked anything but number 1 right now. They simply have too much firepower returning. I'll find a way to figure out how they're not going to repeat at some point, but right now I have to say they're the favorites.

2. Michigan St: Like Duke, Michigan St simply advanced too far and return too much for them not to be ranked where they are. Kalin Lucas' returning from injury is a key variable in how good they really can be, but if Durrell Summers plays like he did in March and Delvon Roe really is healthy, Sparty will definitely be in title contention.

3. Kansas St: Some might say this is too high, but I'm not one of them. Jacob Pullen might not be an NBA player, but he's a great college guard. They return a lot of big bodies and with Frank Martin at the helm, they'll be tough as hell.

5. Ohio St: Losing Evan Turner obviously will hurt them, but with the combination of returners and newcomers the Buckeyes won't slip much. If they figure out their point guard situation, they'll challenge MSU for the Big 10 title.

6. Villanova: The Wildcats have depth for days, and despite losing Scottie Reynolds will advance much further than last year when the Australian National Team (St.Mary's) took them down early. I like Villanova here, and they could creep into the top 5.

16. Illinois: This is the year that Bruce Weber brings Illinois close to the standard set by the Deron Williams, Dee Brown teams. Jereme Richmond is going to challenge Jared Sullinger for Rookie of the Year honors in the Big 10, and with Demetri McCamey, Mike Davis, and Mike Tisdale returning, the Illini will move into the top 3 of the league.

19. Memphis: From all accounts, the class they brought in is special. They also have just enough returning to make some noise in Conference USA.

20. Tennessee: Despite the drama brought about from all the Bruce Pearl recruiting mishaps, the Vols bring in Tobias Harris to go along with Scotty Hopson, Brian Williams, and others who played key minutes on an Elite 8 team. If Hopson takes it up a couple of notches, they'll challenge Florida and be better than Kentucky.

22. Temple: Lavoy Allen is one of the best bigs in the land, and with everyone back except Ryan Brooks, Temple is exactly where they should be.

Coming Soon: My actual preseason top 25, conference predictions, preseason All-Americans, and the first ever LCB podcast where Langston and I will break down the upcoming season. Get excited.

Breakfast with Berndon:A Final Farewell

In this edition of "BBE" Berndon gives us his preliminary top 25 for next year, the players whose stock rose and fell, and recaps the biggest games of championship weekend.

Breakfast with Berndon: Paid Professionals Edition

Berndon is back with BBE. This time around he updates you with his power rankings, his NBA madness tourney, and the man of the match leaders.

Breakfast with Berndon: Award Tour and the Quest for .700 Edition

 

In this edition of Breakfast, I take a stab at picking the all-league teams. I did this based off of what I’ve seen myself and the statistics at my disposal. Everyone loves lists and most people love to argue about lists, so feel free to comment/verbally bash me if you so choose. I’m also going to attempt to pick the conference tourney champs, striving for a .700 winning percentage as the pre-test before the final exam, where I, much like every year, am going to dominate every pool I’m in and win a wheelbarrow full of money in the process.

ACC
Player of the Year: Jon Scheyer, Duke
Frosh of the Year: Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech
Coach of the Year: Gary Williams, Maryland

1st Team:
Scheyer, Duke
Grevis Vazquez, Maryland
Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
Trevor Booker, Clemson
Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech

2nd Team:
Nolan Smith, Duke
Kyle Singler, Duke
Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech
Ishmael Smith, Wake Forest
Chris Singleton, FSU

3rd Team:
Tracy Smith, N.C.State
Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech
Solomon Alabi, FSU
Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech
Deon Thompson, UNC

Big East

Player of the Year: Wesley Johnson, Syracuse
Frosh of the Year: Lance Stephenson, Cincinnati
Coach of the Year: Jim Boeheim, Syracuse

1st Team:
Wesley Johnson, Syracuse
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova
Greg Monroe, Georgetown
Deshaun Butler, West Virginia
Lazar Hayward, Marquette

2nd Team:
Austin Freeman, Georgetown
Kemba Walker, UCONN
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame
Andy Rautins, Syracuse
Dominic Jones, South Florida

3rd Team:
Ashton Gibbs, Pitt
Rich Jackson, Syracuse
Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame
Jerome Dyson, UCONN
Chris Wright, Georgetown

Big 12

Player of the Year: LaceDarius Dunn, Baylor
Frosh of the Year: Xavier Henry, Kansas
Coach of the Year: Frank Martin, Kansas St.

1st Team:
Dunn, Baylor
Daimon James, Texas
Jacob Pullen, Kansas St.
Ekpe Udoh, Baylor
Sherron Collins, Kansas

2nd Team:
Tweety Carter, Baylor
Denis Clemente, Kansas St.
James Anderson, Oklahoma St.
Cole Aldrich, Kansas
Donald Sloan, Texas A&M

3rd Team:
Xavier Henry, Kansas
John Roberson, Texas Tech
Cory Higgins, Colorado
Dexter Pittman, Texas
Bryan Davis, Texas A&M

Big 10

Player of the Year: Evan Turner, Ohio St.
Frosh of the Year: Christian Wattford, Indiana
Coach of the Year: Thad Matta, Ohio St.

1st Team:
Turner, Ohio St.
Jajuan Johnson, Purdue
Manny Harris, Michigan
E’Twaun Moore, Purdue
Trevon Hughes, Wisconsin

2nd Team:
Kalin Lucas, Michigan St.
Jon Diebler, Ohio St.
Demetri McCamey, Illinois
William Buford, Ohio St.
Robbie Hummel, Purdue

3rd Team:
John Shurna, Northwestern
Deshawn Sims, Michigan
David Lighty, Ohio St.
Dallas Lauderdale, Ohio St.
Draymond Green, Michigan St.

SEC

Player of the Year: John Wall, Kentucky
Frosh of the Year: John Wall, Kentucky
Coach of the Year: Bruce Pearl, Tennessee

1st Team:
Wall, Kentucky
DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky
Jarvis Varnado, Miss. St.
Jermaine Beal, Vanderbilt
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky

2nd Team:
Chris Warren, Ole Miss
Devan Downey, South Carolina
Trey Thompkins, Georgia
Wayne Chism, Tennessee
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt

3rd Team:
J.P. Prince, Tennessee
Jeffrey Taylor, Vanderbilt
Tay Waller, Auburn
Tasmin Mitchell, LSU
Mikhail Torrence, Alabama

Pac 10
Player of the Year: Quincy Pondexter, Washington
Frosh of the Year: Derrick Williams, Arizona
Coach of the Year: Mike Montgomery, Cal

1st Team:
Pondexter, Washington
Jerome Randle, Cal
Derrick Williams, Arizona
Patrick Christopher, Cal
Landry Fields, Stanford

Mid-Majors
Player of the Year: Jimmer Fredette, BYU
Frosh of the Year: Elias Harris, Gonzaga
Coach of the Year: Steve Alford, New Mexico

1st Team:
Fredette, BYU
Darington Hobson, New Mexico
Gordon Hayward, Butler
Matt Bouldin, Gonzaga
Randy Culpepper, UTEP

2nd Team:
Elias Harris, Gonzaga
Derrick Carachter, UTEP
Lavoy Allen, Temple
Steven Gray, Gonzaga
Ryan Brooks, Temple

3rd Team:
Jackson Emery, BYU
Tra’von Willis, UNLV
Kevin Anderson, Richmond
Jordan Eglseder, Northern Iowa
Shelvin Mack, Butler


Now, here’s how I see the conference tourneys playing out. It almost seems like there are more upsets in these than in the real thing, so getting 70% of the games right might be a stretch, but if I can do that, I feel like I can up this to 80-85% for the Dance.

ACC

1st Round Winners: Boston College, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, N.C.State
Quarters: Duke, Wake Forest, Maryland, N.C. State
Semis: Wake Forest, Maryland
Champ: Maryland

Maryland is simply on fire right now. And no, that wasn’t a play off of Teach’s post about rioting etc. at College Park, just a poor choice of words. Wake Forest is trying to play themselves off of the bubble, and I think Ishmael Smith will be too much for Scheyer to handle in the in the semis. N.C. State seemingly always plays well this time of year, and I look for Tracy Smith and the Wolfpack to pull off 2 upsets.

Big 12

1st Round Winners: Texas Tech, Missouri, Oklahoma St, Texas
Quarters: Kansas, Missouri, Kansas St. Baylor
Semis: Kansas, Baylor
Champ: Kansas

I don’t see quite as many upsets in this league, as Kansas has been head and shoulders better than everyone the whole year. They’ll get challenge a little by Baylor, but will hold on for a tournament championship to go along with their regular season crown.

Big East

1st Round Winners: South Florida, UCONN, Seton Hall, Rutgers
2nd Round Winners: South Florida, Marquette, Seton Hall, Louisville
Quarters: Syracuse, Marquette, Pitt, Louisville
Semis: Syracuse, Louisville
Champ: Syracuse

I look for Syracuse to get a third crack at number 6 seeded Louisville, finally beating the Cardinal in the finals. Louisville will get there by beating an erratic Mountaineer squad, and barely squeaking by Pitt in the semis. Other upsets include Marquette knocking off Villanova, exacting revenge for their loss against them at the buzzer in last year’s tournament, and South Florida, led by Dominic Jones, who will beat Georgetown, enabling them to just barely get into the field of 65.

Big 10

1st Round Winners: Michigan, Indiana, Minnesota
2nd Round Winners: Ohio St, Wisconsin, Purdue, Minnesota
Semis: Ohio St, Minnesota
Champ: Ohio St.

Ohio St. has been playing the best ball of anyone in the league as of late, and that, combined with having a player that can take over whenever they need him to will lead them to the crown here in my temporary home state of Indiana. Minnesota will be playing for their faint tournament hopes, going on a mini run knocking off Sparty, and a not as good as they used to be without Robbie Hummel, Purdue squad. Indiana over Northwestern is my other slight upset in the 1st round.

Pac 10

1st Round: Oregon
Quarters: Cal, Arizona, Washington, Arizona St.
Semis: Cal, Washington
Champ: Washington

Washington was a fringe top 10 team at the beginning of the season, they lost an extremely close 2nd round game to Purdue in the round of 32 last year, and will feed off of this, and the fact that Quincy Pondexter is simply the best player in the league to beat Cal in an extremely close final. The Huskies will also strugglewith,  but beat Arizona St. in the semis, with the winner of that game probably getting the second bid to the tourney out of the league.

SEC

1st Round Winners: Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia
Quarters: Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia
Semis: Kentucky, Florida
Champ: Florida

I don’t like my pick to win it all in a couple of weeks to win here. I think Florida has played them close both times they met in the regular season and will get the Cats here. I also like an underrated Georgia team, with two really good players in Trey Thompkins and Travis Leslie, to upset Vandy and make it to the semis. Aside from that, both Mississippi teams will lose in the 2nd round and will be playing in the NIT next week.

Total Games: 68 

Correct Picks Needed to get to .700: 48

Check back next week to see how I did, and whether or not my upcoming March Madness predictions are worth anything.

Breakfast with Berndon: Capping off the Weekend

 

Author’s note: I’m making B.B.E. two parts this week. I wrote way too much about Duke-UNC to fit in my usual stuff, so I’m going to just put in the recaps and a much smaller version of “Around the Power 6.” Tomorrow, I’m going to take a stab at breaking down the Conference tourneys, and at picking my All-League teams for these conferences.

Duke 82, UNC 50: Just typing that score would have been unfathomable last year, two months ago, hell even two days ago. I brilliantly predicted that UNC would pull off the upset, but they weren’t remotely in the game from the opening tip. These two teams aren’t even in the same stratosphere anymore. The matchup was about as one-sided as if my Chancellor team played against Oak Hill Academy.

The only thing I kept thinking of was when I was playing 8th grade AAU ball. We lost to Prince William like 96-20, and the game was called after 3 quarters, making this the first and only time I’ve ever seen the slaughter rule applied to a basketball game. Honestly, they could and probably should have called this one at halftime. It wasn’t just a talent discrepancy because Carolina arguably isn’t that far away from Duke in this area. But in terms of heart and other intangibles, it wasn’t even close. Carolina didn’t fight. They were the pacifist who just kept getting punched in the mouth repeatedly.  They had worse body language after turnovers than the 6th grade girls team my father coaches. By the time you hit college and have a D1 scholarship, you should have learned to run back on defense without pouting or sulking.          

So where does Carolina go from here? I mean aside from the NIT, which they might not even get into. Honestly, and this might be a little bit of a knee-jerk reaction here, but I feel like Roy should do what Calipari did when he took over at Kentucky and just clean house. Scholarships are renewable, and from the way that these players “competed” this season, it might be wise for Roy to basically tell some of them they should try out another program. Kentucky brought in John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, Eric Bledsoe, and Darnell Dodson, keeping Patrick Patterson, Darius Miller, and DeAndre Liggins as the only holdovers from the Billy Gillespe regime. Why couldn’t Roy do the same with Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock, and Kendall Marshall? Rebuild everything around these 3, keep John Henson, Dexter Strickland, Tyler Zeller, and maybe the Wear brothers, see if Ed Davis comes back, shorten the rotation, and go from there.

From what I saw this season, I don’t want Larry Drew running the offense, and I don’t want Will Graves erratically launching airballs from the perimeter. You could argue that UNC has won two national titles in 5 years, and that they shouldn’t necessarily go drastic with changing everything and panic. But it’s not just the 16-15 record, it’s the way they underachieved. This wasn’t the only time this season that they were simply outworked in route to losing. It happened repeatedly, and inexperience played a role; but, in the one-and-done climate that is college basketball today, you can’t sit around and wait for freshman and sophomores to figure things out. Injuries played a role, but they shouldn't have to the extent they did. They still had plenty of depth and should have been able to play through everything.

I honestly think that if Bobby Frasor would have been granted a 5th year, things might have been different. Frasor might have been able to do what Ginyard and Thompson obviously could not: lead this young team and get them to go all out and represent Carolina basketball the right way. Hometown biases aside, Frasor was a tremendous leader last season, never bitching about playing time, and stepping in for Lawson when he was injured, providing quality minutes and not making the mistakes that were made this season, always scrapping and hustling along the way. Ginyard and Thompson were always supporting actors, not leads that can carry a picture. Their lack of leadership had this team doomed from the jump. I just don’t even feel remotely comfortable with what is coming back, and again, it would be different if they lost a bunch of close games where they fought like heck and gave it all they had. But they laid down in way too many games and I don’t know if Roy can fix this stuff in practices. To go from having probably one of the hardest working teams in the country to the one that underachieved the most means that it’s not going to be just a matter of the team magically getting it next year and taking back their spot in the top 25. Roy needs to change things up, cut the dead weight, and start over. I don’t want to see Duke 82, UNC 50 ever again. Carolina’s the only consistently good team that I cheer for, I’d hate to see this change, with Roy’s legacy fading into the background in the process.
Man of the Match: Duke’s Program in general

 Maryland 79, Duke 72: I went through a lot to watch this game. I had to go somewhere during the first half, so I decided to DVR it and watch the whole thing after its completion. I was about 5 minutes in, when my ex-girlfriend called, which resulted in us fighting and talking for a good hour. I then proceeded to watch everything up until 1:27 left in the second half, where the DVR shut if off. I’m new to having a DVR, and didn’t realize that everything would shut off right at 11. I didn’t know what to do, but luckily ESPN 2 was showing a replay of the game from 1:30-3 in the morning. So I jumped right back in at the 1:27 mark, trying my absolute hardest to watch without looking at the bottom line updates. Long story short, it was Duke-Maryland, and with the Terps getting the win, it was well worth my struggles to bring my loyal readers, all 5 of them, my thoughts. Both of these teams will be around until at least the second week of the NCAA’s. Begrudgingly, I give Duke credit for coming back from an early 11 point deficit. Scheyer and Smith seemingly hit shot after shot, which bodes well for the Dookies because guard play is always a factor in the dance. Brian Zoubek has turned into a rebounding machine, and although he seemingly always shoots about 5-14, Kyle Singler is usually good for a couple of clutch 3’s and big rebounds each time out. As for Maryland, Grevis Vazquez is simply one of the best guards in all the land. I think the last, or second to last shot he hit, where he dribbled into 3 people and seemingly just threw the ball at the rim, is a microcosm for who he is as a player. It is one of those shots where coaches scream “No, no, no, Yes!!!” You question his methods sometimes, but he gets the job done. Jordan Williams bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Sean May, and he had a very Sean May-like output of 15 points, 11 boards, and 3 blocks. Vazquez led the Terps with 20, while Nolan Smith also had 20 for Duke. Now, the clash in Durham between Duke and the Tarheels takes on added importance, with UNC now getting a chance to spoil Duke’s chances at winning the league. (As you read above, you saw how that turned out).
Man of the Match: Vazquez 20 pts, 4 rbs, 5 assts

Tennesee 75, Mississippi St. 59: I watched UT play for the first time this season, so I could argue more effectively with Langston about their merits or lack of them. I also wanted to check them out because they have beaten arguably the two best teams going in Kansas and Kentucky. I don’t really think this game was a case of the Vols playing great, but simply Miss. St. playing terribly. They got down 17-0, then pretty much ignored Jarvis Varnado and just shot threes. What Tennessee does have going for them, aside from “Rocky Top” being a pretty sweet song, is that they are deep and athletic. Scotty Hopson relies on shooting triples a little too much, but when he’s on, he’s tough to stop. J.P. Prince led the Vols with 16, while Brian Williams had 10 points and 13 rebounds. UT could go anywhere from the Final Four to out in the first round, but either way they’ll make it interesting.
Man of the Match: Prince 16 pts, 6 rbs, 3 assts, 2 stls

"Around the Power 6"

ACC

Ascending: Maryland
Descending: Georgia Tech
Player of the Week: Greivis Vazquez (21.5 pts, 5 assts, 2.5 stls)

Big East
Ascending: West Virginia
Descending: Cincinnati
Player of the Week: Deshaun Butler (21.5 pts, 8 rbs, 4 assts)

Big 12
Ascending: Texas A&M
Descending: Oklahoma
Player of the Week: Cory Higgins (24.5 pts, 4.5 rbs, 3 stls)

Big 10
Ascending: Wisconsin
Descending: Illinois
Player of the Week: Raymar Morgan (19 pts, 9 rbs, 2 stls)

SEC
Ascending: Tennessee
Descending: Mississippi St.
Player of the Week: Mikhail Torrance (15 pts, 9 rbs, 7 assts)

Pac 10
Ascending: Arizona St.
Descending: UCLA
Player of the Week: Matthew Bryan-Amaning (14 pts, 10.5 rbs, 2 blks)

Breakfast with Berndon: Paid Professionals Edition

NBA Madness:
Since this is March, I've decided to have a little hypothetical tournament and all eyes will be concentrated on the collegiate ranks. I've taken the 18 colleges that have at least 5 players in the NBA, and will hold my own tournament where NBA'ers battle it out to see which school has truly produced the best talent. I will go through this round by round for 4 weeks. So without further ado, here's the "play-in round."

18. Cal vs. 15. Syracuse: Jason Kidd and a bunch of NBA journeymen going up against Melo and Johnny Flynn. Cal would trot out a lineup of Jason Kidd, Leon Powe, Francisco Elson, Ryan Anderson, and Sean Marks. Meanwhile the Cuse would have Carmelo, Flynn, Hakim Warrick, Etan Thomas, and Donte Greene. There's no way in hell the Orange could lose this game. Event though Kidd would still somehow manage to put up 10 or so assists, he wouldn't be able to handle Flynn in the open court. Melo would drop 40-50, and Warrick and Donte Greene are better than whoever the hell Cal's second best option would be. Cuse moves on.

17. Villanova vs. 16. Southern Cal: This would be a little bit closer of a matchup, but USC has too much juice for the Cats to handle. Despite being saddled with Brian Scalabrine, the Trojans could overcome with OJ Mayo, Taj Gibson, Nick Young, and DeMar DeRozan. Nova has Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry, and Dante Cunningham, but lose steam with Tim Thomas and Malik Allen. USC would be too athletic, and would beat the scrappy Villanova squad.

So Southern Cal and Syracuse move on to the round of 16, leading us to next week's matchups:
1. UCLA-16. Southern Cal
8. Kentucky-9. Texas
5. Arizona-12. Wake Forest
4. Duke-13. Memphis
6. Florida-11. Georgia Tech
3. UCONN-14. Ohio St.
7. Kansas-10. LSU
2. UNC-15. Syracuse

Man of the Match Leaderboard

Weekly Leaders:
1. Lebron James 4 (30.5 pts, 7.5 rbs, 7.8 assts)
2. Josh Smith 3 (15.3 pts, 10.3 rbs, 5 assts, 1.7 blks)
3. Kevin Durant 2 (32 pts, 9.5 rbs)
3. Amare Stoudamire 2 (24.5 pts, 12 rbs, 1.5 blks)
3. Andrew Bogut 2 (11.5 pts, 10 rbs, 2 blks)
3. Pau Gasol 2 (18.5 pts, 13.5 rbs, 4 assts, 1.5 blks)
3. Chuck Hayes 2 (5 rbs, 4 assts, 1.5 stls, 2.5 blks)
3. Brandon Roy 2 (22.5 pts, 6 rbs, 4 assts)

I think after three weeks we've found a flaw in our little system. Look for a second and see which name doesn't belong. Then again, the seemingly minor numbers and fanfare surrounding Chuck Hayes cover up the fact that yes, he doesn't score, but everything else is solid, especially for a starting center to average 4 assists and 1.5 steals. James, Smith, and Durant have become the Norm, Cliff and Fraiser of the party. (God I just made a Cheers reference, I'm so old). Amare's stats don't include the 41-12 he put up on the Spurs because they couldn't come away with the W in that one. Gasol and the Lakers in general have picked up the slack with Kobe being a little dinged up. Bogut continues to combine with ex-Bull John Salmons to lead the Bucks playoff charge, while Roy is putting up better numbers as he comes back from injury.

Season Leaders:
1. Lebron 9
2. Dwight Howard 8
2. Josh Smith 8
4. Kevin Durant 7
4. Andrew Bogut 7

Power Rankings
1. Cleveland  48-14: Better off without Shaq?
2. L.A. Lakers 46-16: Artest is starting to be the lockdown defender they need.
3. Dallas 41-21: Simply on a roll. Is it too late for Mark Cuban to buy the Cubs?
4. Denver 40-21: Dallas-Denver could be an amazing playoff series.
5. Utah 39-22: Need more 24 point nights from Mehmet Okur.
6. Orlando 42-20: I'm still not sold on them yet.
7. Atlanta 39-21: Outrebounded Chicago 63-37 on Monday.
8. Boston 38-21: I still wouldn't want to play them in May.
9. Phoenix 37-27: Playing better defense, but I don't know if it's enough.
10. San Antonio 34-24: RJ had a huge game on Sunday.
11. Oklahoma City 36-24: Starting to falter slightly, can they handle the newfound pressure?
12. Portland 37-27: The Camby trade is looking better and better.
13. Milwaukee 31-29: Scott Skiles is pushing pins into his Benny the Bull voodoo doll right now.
14. Toronto 31-28: They need Bosh back, and they need him now.
15. Miami 31-31: Huge win against the Lakers last night.
16. Memphis 32-30: It's a shame they can't figure out how to win at home.
17. Chicago 31-30: Probably smart to overextend Noah to win one game, then lose him for 3 weeks.
18. New Orleans 31-31: Collison is putting up the numbers, but they need CP3.
19. Houston 30-30: Might want to rethink giving up Carl Landry.
20. Charlotte 28-31: Charles Barkley says its name for his fellow Alabama native Mr. Wallace to step up. I concur.
21. L.A. Clippers 25-36: Did I mention that Chris Kaman is still ugly?
22. Sacramento 21-40: Dr. Dre mentioned Sacramento in a rap song once.
23. Washington 21-37: I don't really know, I'm not subjected to having to watch this team anymore.
24. New York 21-39: David Lee should be an All-Star for years to come. But will it be in New York?
25. Philly 22-38: At least Roy Halladay is good.
26. Detroit 21-40: At least Justin Verlander is good.
27. Golden St. 17-47:  At least the Raiders......no scratch that.
28. Indiana 20-41: I wanted to try and get tickets when the Bulls played them at home. Needless to say there were plenty of good seats available.
29. Minnesota 14-48: Wayne Ellington makes me like this team good or bad.
30. New Jersey 6-54: They will be the worst team in NBA history. Mark it down.

Game Recaps
Cleveland 108, Boston 88: This one honestly played out like a terrible movie. The first 90 or so minutes move along, you’re interested in the story, and then, the ending leaves you scratching your head and wondering what the hell the director was thinking. The only flck I can think of is if “The Departed” would have ended without Matt Damon getting shot by Mark Wahlberg. If that didn’t happen, it would have been an awesome picture for the most part, but you would have been angrily demanding your money back after the final scene. At the end of the third quarter, Boston was up 74-73. They then went 3-21 in the closing stanza, putting up a putrid 14 points, as they seemingly just ran out of steam. Antawn Jamison still isn’t doing much, but Mo Williams came to life in the 4th, notching 14 of his 19 points, including 4 from behind the arc. Despite the fact that The Diesel injured his thumb in the 2nd quarter, Cleveland did not look rattled, as Lebron carried them on his hefty shoulders with a ho hum 36 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists. This was the easiest I’ve ever seen anyone put up stats like that. Nothing was forced, as he let the game come to him, distributing the rock when he needed to, and scoring when the Cavs needed a bucket.
Man of the Match: Lebron 36-7-9

Dallas 111, Atlanta 103: It’s rare that in the NBA a coach can actually cost his team a game. I mean, I feel like with my 2 years coaching basketball at Thornburg Middle School, I could lead the Cavs or Lakers to 45 wins. The players are by and large responsible for controlling the outcomes. Tonight however, Mike Woodson single-handedly lost this game for Atlanta. With about 1:40 left in the 4th quarter, Woodson was out of the coaches box and on the court giving instructions when Jason Kidd, being the savvy vet that he is, deliberately ran into Woodson, giving the coach a technical for being on the floor. From then on, Dallas was able to send the game into overtime, going on a 16-6 run post-technical to come away with the win. Dallas shot 78% from the field to start, but Atlanta was on the fire in the third, with Mike Bibby, Joe Johnson, and Jamal Crawford lighting it up. The technical killed the Hawks, as the Mavs won without Caron Butler. Kidd had a monster night, with 19 points, 16 boards, and 17 assists.
Man of the Match: Kidd 19 pts, 16 rebounds, 17 assists, 2 steals

San Antonio 113, Phoenix 110: The Spurs are back to being the Spurs, or at least this Sunday they were. The key to this game was the production they got from Richard Jefferson. RJ went for 20 points on 7-11 shooting. He also had 4 rebounds and 5 assists. This is what the Spurs were looking for when they signed him, another fringe all-star who can score and defend to compliment Duncan, Parker, and Ginobli. Manu also played really well, coming through with 21 and 8 assists off the bench. While Duncan let Amare go off on his watch ( 41 and 12 boards), he played his usual steady game with a quiet 21 and 10. If the Spurs play like this consistently for the rest of the year, I wouldn’t quite write them off as being a threat in the West.
Man of the Match: Tim Duncan 21-10-3-2-2

Photo Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4

Breakfast with Berndon: Late Lunch Edition

In this weeks edition, Berndon takes a look at all the action around the college basketball landscape and breaks down the polls.

Breakfast with Berndon: Paid Professionals Edition

(Author’s Note: Due to our forthcoming look at all of the trade deadline deals I’m modifying the start of my weekly NBA writing. Look for Breakfast with Berndon: Paid Professionals Edition coming every Thursday. For today, I just have a couple of older game recaps, some power rankings that aren’t set in stone as more deals are made, and a look at the top players of the last two weeks.)