The Best Mid-Major Rebounding Teams

Tired of hearing about the big schools, the BCS schools, the schools with a bigger yearly athletic than you whole university’s endowment? Then this is the Final Four Blog for you. We’re ranking the top ten rebounding schools in the nation, only we’re eliminating the big programs and only talking about the little guys. North Carolina led the nation in rebounding with 1503 rebounds total, and 44.2 average per game. A big reason for that was their highly touted recruit and Naismith Award winner Tyler Hansbrough. But who did a good job on the glass without a big name big man? We used ESPN’s stats to help.

FINAL FOUR BLOG’S TOP TEN
REBOUNDING MID MAJOR TEAMS OF 2008

1. Texas State
2. Sam Houston State
3. Mercer
4. Wagner
5. South Carolina State
6. Chattanooga
7. Long Island
8. McNeese State
9. Grambling State
10. North Texas

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 16, 2008 - Post a comment

What is Upside?

Upside is one of those buzz words that gets thrown around during conversations about college basketball players who are looking to get drafted into the NBA. But what is upside? Why is it so important? From what the Final Four Blog can tell, upside is pretty much like saying “potential.” Why they don’t say potential, we have no idea. You head this phrase a lot last draft when Greg Oden and Kevin Durant were being compared. The common thought was that Durant would have a better “upside” as he is more versatile, can become a better player later in his career, while Oden is going to be defined as a back-to-the-basket center his whole career.

So who has “upside” this year? According to Basketballprospectus.com (and you can read all about them there), the following players are on the high side of the upside.

  1. Jason Thompson
  2. Ryan Anderson
  3. Richard Hendrix
  4. Robert Vaden
  5. Trent Plaisted
  6. George Hill
  7. Marcelus Kemp
  8. Courtney Lee
  9. Sean Singletary
  10. Will Daniels
  11. Gary Forbes
  12. Jaycee Carroll

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 13, 2008 - Post a comment

Wisconsin Had the Best Defense in 2007

The Wisconsin Badgers allowed an average of 54.4 points per game from their opponents in 2007, by far the fewest in NCAA basketball in 2007. But how did the other teams rank? How good were the UCLA Bruins at keeping their opponents at bay? Are there any no-name teams near the top of the list?

We’re pulling some of our data from the National Team Scoring Defense Leaders list at cstv.com, a great place to get college sports news and info. Our list combined their list with our own secret criteria, which includes elements of strength of schedule and our own team biases here at the Final Four Blog. Anyway, here is our list:

THE FINAL FOUR BLOG’S
TEN BEST DEFENSIVE TEAMS OF 2007

1. Wisconsin
2. Washington State
3. Georgetown
4. Butler
5. UCLA
6. Kansas
7. Air force
8. VCU
9. Miami (Ohio)
10. Stephen F. Austin

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 12, 2008 - Post a comment

Should You Stay Or Should You Go?

The decision to make the jump from college to the pros is a tough one for college basketball stars. There are many factors that affect your decision, and no time is more critical than right now. Indeed, there are several nationally recognizable stars of NCAA Hoops who are mulling whether to go back to school or go pro.

The factors that might affect it: Where will you go in the draft? First round? Fourth? What is your family’s financial situation? Is your college team on the brink of a national championship if you stay? Do you want to have a degree to fall back on? Are there too many similar players already in the draft? So many questions. So few answers. Luke Winn of SI.com takes a look at these top players who have to ask themselves the tough questions:

  • Ty Lawson, PG, North Carolina, Soph.
  • Wayne Ellington, SG, North Carolina, Soph.
  • Danny Green, SF, North Carolina, Jr.
  • Mario Chalmers, PG/SG, Kansas, Jr.
  • Russell Westbrook, PG/SG, UCLA, Soph.
  • Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, SF, Jr., UCLA
  • Joe Alexander, PF, West Virginia, Soph.
  • Jeremy Pargo, PG, Gonzaga, Jr.

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 11, 2008 - Post a comment

Kentucky’s British Center Leaves for Duquesne

The Kentucky Wildcats didn’t play their British recruit, Morakinyo Williams, very much last year, and now he has decided to transfer to Duquesne to play for the Dukes. Hopefully the move will allow Williams to get more playing time, and the Dukes of Duquesne to get more rebounding and post play in a bid for the Tournament next season.

Morakinyo Williams is 6-10, and likes to play with his back to the basket. He was born in Solihull, England. Although he thought that he’d have a great opportunity to be an impact player with the Wildcats, that never happened, as Kentucky went through a coaching change before the season started, and the plans for Williams kind of got sidetracked. Said Williams (from the CBSsports.com story about the transfer):

“Ihad a lot of fun here (at Kentucky), but I was ready to get out of here. I want to play a lot more minutes — I just wanted to play a lot more. Hopefully when I do start playing at Duquesne, I can be an impact player.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 10, 2008 - Post a comment

The Garden to get NCAA Tourney Games Again?

In a story that will affect the world of NBA basketball and NHL hockey a bit more than it does NCAA basketball- at least in the immediate future- New York’s Madison Square Garden has announced that it will undergo a $500 million renovation project to get it up to snuff. The current arena is one of the oldest in use by a pro sports team, and although it certainly has character and a lot of great memories, the cries to get the place renovated have been loud and growing louder for a long time.

Now that the place is getting a once-over, the NCAA basketball higher-ups are thinking that the NCAA Tournament should be held there… perhaps as soon as a couple of years. ESPN’s article about this quotes NCAA basketball president Greg Shaheen:

“The renovation makes it much more conducive to the kind of space we would take a look at. We are not in an active bid cycle right now with everything awarded through 2011, but it is always part of an ongoing discussion. Clearly Madison Square Garden is interested, and I think the basketball committee is interested as well.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 9, 2008 - Post a comment

WVU’s Alexander Mulls Draft Choices

Joe Alexander, forward for the West Virginia Mountaineers, has a real shot at going pro. In fact, he’s slated to be a top-10 lottery pick in the NBA Draft coming up. But there’s one thing that could keep him from securing millions of dollars in an NBA contract: his desire to win a national championship in college. Said Alexander in an ESPN article about his decision-making process:

“What people don’t realize is that when you jump to the NBA, it overshadows the downside of leaving your school, leaving your friends and a team you committed to. If I didn’t like my coaching staff, it would be easy. But I honestly like my coaching staff.”

Not only does Alexander like the way he has it in West Virginia, but sometimes by staying in the league you can move higher in the draft. It would be hard to have a more impressive year than he had last season, but Alexander, if he’s put onto the largest stage in the sport, could move up some slots. If WVU makes the national title shot, he’ll have another great point to add to his already impressive resume.

To get NCAA basketball tickets, go to StubHub.com.

Permalink - Posted in General on June 6, 2008 - Post a comment

Michael Beasley is 6-foot-8 ¼

In college Michael Beasley was listed as 6-10 when he played for the Kansas State Wildcats. However, the official line on his height is a bit different now that he has to be measured for the NBA Draft. Officially, Michael Beasley stands at 6-foot-8 1/4 tall with basketball shoes on.
College and NBA players are notorious for changing around their listed heights to affect who they will matchup with in the game. Wile a 6-10 college player might be tall enough to play center in college, in the NBA, a 6-8 player is about average for a shooting guard or small forward. Looking at Beasley play, you’d say he was taller than 6-8, but his actual height will be more important when he gets into the NBA, as the players he’s facing will be that much taller.

Also of note, Derrick Rose, the other player the media has announced will be one of the top two picked in the NBA Draft, is slightly shorter than previously thought. Although some were saying that he was 6-3, Rose is actually 6-2 ½.

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 5, 2008 - Post a comment

Craig Robinson- The New Oregon State Coach

Craig Robinson is the new head coach of the Oregon State Beavers. He has experience both playing and coaching D-1 basketball, and he has a tough task ahead of him. Getting a new coach at a big-time, D-1, Pac-10 school is noteworthy, but what might be even more interesting is that Robinson is actually the brother-in-law of Barrack Obama, who, as timely news would have it, just wrapped up the Democratic Party presidential nomination last night. Needless to say, there are a lot of comparisons being drawn between Obama and Robinson right now. One of the better stories about this topic can be found at Sports Illustrated.com.

Oregon State has had its share of basketball problems in the past couple of decades. The Beavers used to be a great team back when Gary Payton was running the show, but they have fallen on hard times, and the Pac-10 in an unforgiving, inhospitable place for a program with bad luck. Will Robinson be the catalyst of change that they’ve been looking for? Let’s hope so. The Final Four Blog would love to see Robinson and the Beavers succeed.

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 4, 2008 - Post a comment

Championship Jayhawks Visit White House Rose Garden

President George W. Bush welcomed the national champion Kansas Jayhawks to the Rose Garden at the White House yesterday. As you are probably aware, it is a tradition for championship teams from the major sports in America to get a complementary visit to the White House, complete with a tour of the Oval Office and a nice little speech by the president himself. Bush is an avid sports fan, and loves these kinds of things, so the Rose Garden ceremonies are usually pretty fun. Here’s an excerpt from the Bush speech about the Jayhawks that we pulled off of the CBSSports.com article  on the meeting.

“You brought new glory to one of our nation’s most storied basketball programs, and you gave your fans all across America one more reason to chant: Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!”

Overall, a good time was had by all. The Jayhawks got to see the president up close and personal, and Bush got some quality time with the cameras in a real public relations softball, one which Bush, a naturally disarming and common Joe-type guy, always blasts right out of the park.

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Permalink - Posted in General on June 3, 2008 - Post a comment


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