NCAA Tournament

[Sunsfan4life]

MTSU pulls off that SHOCKER! I had Michigan state winning it all.....Bracket busted.

Valentine,Brown,Raab 3 projected top 10 picks bite the dust within 15mins of each other.

[Shabazz]

My bracket got F-ed in record time this year.

[Split T]

I had MSU in the championship, luckily had them losing. Still messes up my bracket a bit

[Ring_Wanted]

Speaking of brackets and also since Ricky Rubio has been discussed lately, turns out he nailed the first round of the tournament. Via Reddit.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2625 ... nt-bracket

[carey]

He nailed the first day. I guarantee he didn't have Mich St. losing.

[Split T]

Ya, he went 9 for 16 on day 2

[INFORMER]

Agree to disagree. I said conversation. I think after Ingram and Big Ben every prospect your looking at has a case to be made against them why they shouldn't be going in the top 5 with Bender as the wildcard.

Dunn reminds me of Bledsoe...with, I'm hoping, a better Bball IQ.

I'm pretty sure they are ewwwing at the prospect that the Suns might be forced to add yet another point guard, not your assertion that Dunn belongs in the conversation in the top 5.

Dunn is a terrible decision-maker. You can't play him at point and expect to contend. He has talent for sure, but I hope the Suns stay far away from him.

[INFORMER]

Not ready to overreact, but Cal's Brown a top 5 prospect (supposedly) was 1-6 for 4 points in their opening round loss to Hawaii.

He's a terrible prospect. That game is just more evidence of it.

[INFORMER]

Agree to disagree. I said conversation. I think after Ingram and Big Ben every prospect your looking at has a case to be made against them why they shouldn't be going in the top 5 with Bender as the wildcard.

Dunn reminds me of Bledsoe...with, I'm hoping, a better Bball IQ.

I'm pretty sure they are ewwwing at the prospect that the Suns might be forced to add yet another point guard, not your assertion that Dunn belongs in the conversation in the top 5.

I have no problem adding a point guard, because Knight and Bledsoe should be shipped out.

[Superbone]

Just got my first extended look at Ingram and he was impressive.

[OE32]

Skal needs to stay in school.

[carey]

Skal needs to stay in school.

Yup. My dude Poythress did not have himself a great game. He had such a promising freshman season, then they cut his minutes, and his production suffered. I'm not sure he's an NBA player anymore. 4 years at Kentucky and never matched his Freshman numbers.

[TOO]

Agree to disagree. I said conversation. I think after Ingram and Big Ben every prospect your looking at has a case to be made against them why they shouldn't be going in the top 5 with Bender as the wildcard.

Dunn reminds me of Bledsoe...with, I'm hoping, a better Bball IQ.

I'm pretty sure they are ewwwing at the prospect that the Suns might be forced to add yet another point guard, not your assertion that Dunn belongs in the conversation in the top 5.

Dunn is a terrible decision-maker. You can't play him at point and expect to contend. He has talent for sure, but I hope the Suns stay far away from him.

This. Although he could probably be a decent SG, but we already have one of those.

[TOO]

Skal needs to stay in school.

Yup. My dude Poythress did not have himself a great game. He had such a promising freshman season, then they cut his minutes, and his production suffered. I'm not sure he's an NBA player anymore. 4 years at Kentucky and never matched his Freshman numbers.

Feels like Poythress and Perry Ellis have been in school for 9 years.

[Sunsfan4life]

Perry Ellis looks like he's about 36

[Sunsfan4life]

Sabonis vs Poeltl last night...

Sabonis 8-12....19pts...10Rebs....3asst...2stls...1BLK...3TO's
Poeltl 2-5......5pts.....4Rebs.....2asst...1BLK...........2TO's

Gonzaga won 82-59. Watched the 1st half of this game and Sabonis had his way. To be fair, Sabonis Played 12 more mins, but he definitely improved his draft stock last night. Looked very good against a prospect many project to be a high lotto pick.

[OE32]

My only beef with picking Sabonis is that, at least at the college level, he's a center. No doubt his smarts will translate to the NBA and he'll be a solid rebounder and inside scorer, but I don't know if he has many skills that translate to being an NBA power forward. His J was working last night, but he has a slow release and it isn't smooth, meaning he may only ever have a Taj Gibson-level jumper. I wouldn't be terribly excited by him.

Having a really hard time ranking the PFs in this draft. All have their drawbacks and their unique skillsets - Davis (shotblocking), Chriss (athleticism), Sabonis (smarts), Rabb (rebounding), Ellenson (offense), Cornelie (shooting), Hernangomez (smoothness). Honestly no idea how to rank these prospects.

I'm glad we have three picks, though. The draft is thin at the top but thick in the back with all these international prospects. Luwawu and Korkmaz are very interesting - Luwawu in particular I could see in the lottery. Even Cordinier looks like a better Archie Goodwin. The center crop is also deep, with all of Zizic, Zubac, Stone, Jones, Zimmerman and Onuaku looking like potential contributors, though none of them should go in the top half of the draft.

Does anyone have a good feel for Dejounte Murray? He certainly has NBA athleticism. He has the look of a lottery pick to me. I've made clear my affinity for Felder - I think he's a first rounder. Ulis also looks like an NBA player in my opinion, but neither Felder nor Ulis project as starters. What about Baldwin and Jackson? I prefer Baldwin, but they both look like guys you take in the back half of the first round.

So again, draft is deep, just not much at the top - which makes me wonder whether, if we can't get a guy we love at #4-6, we deal that pick to move either down or out. With so many international players, another draft and stash looks appealing. And with so few guards available, does someone inquire about Knight?

I hope teams are itching to deal on draft day, because I am.

[Sunsfan4life]

Sabonis isn't really a rim protector. I like my bigs to be able to defend the paint and block some shots. He is a scorer and rebounder and pretty polsihed on offense. I think it depends where you're drafting him. He isn't a high lottery pick but he is definitely someone I would take in the 20s, maybe higher depending on how some of these other prospects shake out. He really has had a nice tournament.

Deyonta Davis of Mich st. is someone who has a lot of potential. Could be someone to consider on the back end of the lottery if he declares with that Wiz pick.

[Mori Chu]

The whole "what position does he play in the NBA?" question, to me, is only valid in one particular context: PG vs SG. If a guy can't shoot well enough to be an SG but can't dribble/pass / run an offense well enough to be a PG, that's a problem.

I don't think that question is as applicable to big men. I look at Sabonis and don't think about whether he's a C or a PF; I just see a guy who I know is going to be successful in the NBA. I want a guy like that on our team.

[Sunsfan4life]

The whole "what position does he play in the NBA?" question, to me, is only valid in one particular context: PG vs SG. If a guy can't shoot well enough to be an SG but can't dribble/pass / run an offense well enough to be a PG, that's a problem.

I don't think that question is as applicable to big men. I look at Sabonis and don't think about whether he's a C or a PF; I just see a guy who I know is going to be successful in the NBA. I want a guy like that on our team.

Nice explanation. Paul Milsap is a nice example to this theory.
You've been on Sabonis for a while now Mori. How far up would you take him?