It's been a while I've been busy traveling the west coast along with working on several political campaigns but I'M BACK!!!!! Where to begin with basketball. It's been so long that the college basketball season is over, the high school all stars games are wrapping up, the NBA Playoffs are about to begin and several teams will be Gone Fishin' next week.

Congratulations to the Kentucky Wildcats for winning the NCAA Title. This team was built for this year only as Coach Cal aka One&Done reloaded with a trio of freshmen All-American led by Anthony Davis, Marcus Teague, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. This Tuesday the starting 5 of the Kentucky all declared for the NBA and as a result, all five are 1st round picks and Coach Cal will reload with a brand new crop of freshmen. Plus NC State transfer Ryan Harrow will run the point next season. For next season in college hoops, I'm looking forward to seeing Shabazz Muhammad play for UCLA.

The NBA Draft Lottery takes place next month and unlike the 2011 Draft, this years draft class is one of the most in-dept draft class in years!!!!! Plenty of talent all around and I'll blog about the draft and NBA Playoffs next round Peace!!!!!!

Another week in Hoops

My time in Los Angeles draws to a close but just because I'm on the west coast I've clearly been following what's going on in the basketball world. I finally got a chance to hoop in LA and the game is just as I anticipated. Strictly fast break without the flash-n-flare ball handling skills that's displayed in Chicago as well as the NYC. Overall I stand my claim Chicago truly does have the best ball players my city has the best overall players in the country and have the most heart. Let it be known the NBA MVP does hail from the Windy City.

Speaking of the Windy City, props to Derrick Rose for being pissed of at the Indiana Pacer for celebrating on the United Center floor after defeating the Chicago Bulls earlier this week. The rest of the club should have been just as upset Michael Jordan & Scottie Pippen would have not allowed the other team to celebrate on our home court. Once again that just shows the Chicago mentality when it comes to basketball WE DO THIS!!!!!!!!

I have no idea what's going on with my Fighting ILLINI?!?!? It seems once they're ranked, that's when they start losing. This team is young but it starts and ends with Meyers Leonard who needs to become more dominant in the post. The legit 7'0 center has pro potential but is not using his skills at all times. DJ Richardson & Brandon Paul have shown promise but still this teams needs to do better or they'll end up in the NIT like they did two years ago.

The D-League of College Basketball aka the Kentucky Wildcats are once again #1 in the nation. The Cats are clicking and Anthony Davis is playing like 2012 #1 NBA pick that everyone projects. Expect this group to cut down the nets in April.

Good Week in Hoops

Still two months away from March Madness and three months before the NBA playoffs but basketball on every level has become very interesting. The powerhouse teams remain that...a powerhouse while the Washington Wizards remain the Washington Generals of the NBA. What else happened last week:

• Going into the MLK weekend Simeon (Chicago, IL) was undefeated and ranked the top HS team in the country until they ran into Findlay Prep of Las Vegas. All year long Findlay Prep felt they were disrespected for not being ranked #1 but Simeon did deserve to be ranked the cream of the crop. Chicago Public League basketball is very competitive and players have to be strong physically and mentally. Some players go away to prep schools (most notably in the New England) to improve their grades but CPS basketball especially the Red South & Red West divisions are just as tough. Congrats to Findlay Prep but if a rematch were to occur, Jabari Parker & co. will walk away the victors. 

• Only teams that will compete for the NBA title are the Bulls, Heat, Thunder. Kenny Smith suggested that the NBA Playoffs format should be the same as the NCAA tournament in March. If that's the case that eliminates Oklahoma City and the NBA Finals would consist of the Bulls and Heat. All three teams reach the conference finals last season with only the making it to the NBA Finals. Each teams has a year of expereince but the difference is OKC PG Russel Westbrook still has a low PG IQ and the Heat have yet to add a solid PG to support LBJ, Bosh and Wade. Bulls are the next team to visit President Obama count on it!!!!!!!!!!

• Syracuse continues to win. Congratulation to their best start in school history by starting out 20-0. With formers stars like Derrick Coleman, Sherman Douglas, John Wallace, Rony Seikly, Johnny Flynn, Carmelo Anthony, this group is off to the best start in school history. Baylor started of 17-0 until their 20 point loss to Kansas last night. The Baylor Bears are still my pick to reach the Final 4. Baylor Bear have another tough challenge when they face Missouri on Saturday.

THIS WEEK IN HOOPS

With Syracuse Orangeman raining as the consistent #1 team in hoops, Simeon the best high school team in the country, the NBA going on it's third week with the Bulls & Heat the best two teams in basketball.....HOOPS IN FULL SWING!!!!!!!

Tom Cream has his Indiana Hoosiers back to college hoops relevance. So far this year they're the only team to defeat the #1 (Kentucky) and #2 (Ohio State) team the same season. The scary part is next year's Hoosier class is scary. It was only a mater of time before the former Marquette coach to turn a program around. I still think he's the next Spartan coach once Tom Izzo bolts for the NBA.

Miami Heat I just don't get them. Earlier this week they loose to the Atlanta Hawks at home then turn around and beat the same Hawks at full strength in triple overtime on Thursday. The amazing part was Miami played without LeBron James or Dwayne Wade who sat out with injures. With a year under their belts, the Heat would not shock anyone if they made it back to the NBA Finals. Speaking of Atlanta, on Tuesday they played a thriller in the United Center dominating the entire game until the forth quarter where Derrick Rose had to show Jeff Teague why he's the reigning MVP. These two teams square off tonight in Atlanta.

Speaking of the Bulls other than Miami, they're the most consistent team in the NBA. Coach Tom has my team playing with a chip on their shoulder as well as they should. Finishing with the best record in basketball last season they should waltz through the Central Division until they face the Heat in the East Finals.  

Congrats to Keith Smart for the new coaching gig in Sacramento. Now that Paul Westphal is out of town, hopefully DeMarcus Cousins will listen to this coach instead of being labeled a headcase. The young former Wildcat does have talent and worked hard on his game this summer. Speaking of talent, that's all John Wall appears to be relying on which is the reason why his Wizards are the only win-less team in basketball. He & Russel Westbrook need to broaden their basketball IQ and become a better point guard.

While I'm thinking about making the transition to Los Angeles full-time, I'm going to the Staples Center this Wednesday to checkout the Clippers play the Heat.

Hoops week in Review

What an amazing week in basketball last week including the past couple of days. From the fight in Cincinnati, all the way to the Los Angeles Clippers becoming a factor in basketball what an interesting past few days. Let's review the good and the bad this past week you decide which is which:

• Xavier-Cincinnati Fight: This was much bigger than the game and unfortunately the personal beef between certain players escalated on the court with nine seconds left in the game. Supposedly something was said on Twitter which upset-ted several Xavier players.Therefore they decided to go street. Sad sad moment in sports you can't let what bothers you on the inside escalate on the court. Since these are still kids, hopefully they'll learn from this unfortunate teachable moment. Grow up to become honorable men not goons from the street. Both teams are pretty good this year.

• Kentucky-Indiana: This was the game Tom Cream needed to get his program in the right direction. A moral victory was not acceptable. This was the victory his program needed. The up-n-coming Hoosiers defeated the lottery bound Wildcats with a buzzer beater which was AMAZING!!!! Potential #1 pick Anthony Davis remained in foul trouble (he has a lot to learn) but Marquis Teague showed glimpse of promise as he dominated the game in the later part of the second half. Great game for the Hoosiers but the Cats are still Final 4 bound.

• David Stern denies Lakers Chris Paul: Last Friday the Lakers were gearing up for CP3 & Dwight Howard and even pulled the trade for CP3 for Pau Gasol but nooooooooo!!!!! David Stern refused to let the rich get richer which was wrong, and don't be surprised if Kobe Bryant doesn't request a trade after losing Lamar Odom for nothing along with Shannon Brown signing with Phoenix. 

• Meanwhile Chris Paul to the Clippers: Even though the "other" team in LA landed the future Hall-of-Fame point guard from New Orleans, this truly upset Black Mamba and the rest of the NBA Players. What David Stern did was unbelievable and nobody has a valid reason for him blocking the trade. Blake Griffin was as happy as a new kid in Toys R Us. The Clippers also landed Chauncey Billups, Caron Butler, and resigned DeAndre Jordan. The key to all this was making sure Blake stays for the future. The Clippers might be better than the Lakers this year WOW!!!!!

• Syracuse the new #1: Everything that's going on with the Orangemen nobody is talking about the 'Cuse being the nation's top team. I haven't watched the 'Cuse yet but we'll see how long their reign as the nations top team last. 

• Simeon is the nation's top prep team: The house the produced Derrick Rose, Nick Anderson, and most importantly Benji Wilson is still the #1 team in the land and has the top rated junior in the country JaBari Parker who has NBA written all over him. 

Basketball is Back!!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome back NBA!!!!!!! Christmas time is coming and so is the NBA. The opening game of the 66 game NBA season is between the Chicago Bulls lead by the reigning MVP Derrick Rose facing The Los Angeles Lakers with Kobe Bryant and new coach Mike Brown. The NBA Finals rematch between the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks where they receive their rings also take place. Overall there are six games on Christmas which have all the marquee stars playing on opening night. Dwight Howard, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, and Stephen Curry also highlight the Christmas night. The NBA was smart to have their young stars open the season trying to capture the fans that strayed away during the lockout. Building back the fans trust is key. Let's hope when this new bargaining agreement expires the owners and players are at peace to avoid another lockout. 

In college hoops over the weekend the two team that I project will meet in April to cut down the nets played in Lexington, KY as Kentucky defeated North Carolina by a last second block from 2012 #1 pick Anthony Davis.  Watching that game featured at least five future 1st round NBA picks. Harrison Barnes, Anthony Davis, Marquis Teague, Kidd-Gilchrist are lottery picks and Kendall Marshall is late lottery mid-round one pick. 

NBA free agency begins this week and training camp next week looking forward to all the signings. Also My ILLINI are 8-0 and ranked in the top 25 this week. 

NBA Preseason Cancelled

With college basketball just around the corner and Euro-league in full swing, the NBA cancelled the remaining preseason schedule on Tuesday in a move that surprised nobody. Some players have made the smart career/financial choice by playing overseas which makes sense because not every NBA player has a max contract. Things got intense this week that David Stern and Dwayne got into a verbal shouting match (would have love to been a fly on the wall). Bottom line these are millionaires fighting billionaires and in the end the biggest losers, are the fans.

Well not much pro hoops to talk but I will forecast the upcoming college basketball season real soon.

The NBA....I MISS THIS GAME!!!!!