Amile Jefferson: Breaking Down Best Possible College Choices for Elite Recruit
Ranked as the No. 36 overall prospect by Rivals.com, Philadelphia-based forward Amile Jefferson is one of the most highly-coveted college basketball recruits still on the market. Jefferson has narrowed his choices down to six schools, and while all of them are certainly elite programs, there are some that are more sensible than others.
Jefferson figures to make an immediate impact wherever he goes, but he may not necessarily be looking to attend a school that gets him ready for the NBA right away. Since he isn’t a top 10 recruit in the class, he may be more likely to stay in school for a couple years rather than jumping ship right away. With that in mind, Jefferson has a lot to consider.
Here are the three best destinations for Jefferson for both this season and beyond.
N.C. State
After reeling in three top-flight recruits in Rodney Purvis, T.J. Warren, and Tyler Lewis, the N.C. State Wolfpack appears as though it will be a major contender this season and in coming seasons as well. In addition to all of the young talent N.C. State has brought in, star forward C.J. Leslie decided to return to a team that surprisingly made it all the way to the Sweet 16 this past season. Even without Jefferson, the Wolfpack appear to be a top 10 team for 2012-13.
Adding Jefferson to the mix would make N.C. State even more dangerous, though, as it would have a ton of depth and skill in the frontcourt, in addition to a dynamic backcourt. Not only would Jefferson have a chance to contribute and win this year, but if he decides to stay in school, then he will be a go-to guy within a season or two.
Duke
The Duke Blue Devils disappointed in a big way this past season as they were eliminated by Lehigh in the round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament. With leading scorer Austin Rivers leaving for the NBA, they are in a state of flux. There is still a lot to like with players like Seth Curry, Ryan Kelly, and the Plumlee brothers in the fold, but there is no doubt that they could use an infusion of young talent. The lengthy and athletic Jefferson would provide exactly that.
As is the case with N.C. State, Jefferson likely wouldn’t be the main man right away at Duke, especially with Curry entering his senior season. However, there is no doubt that he’ll be used effectively in Coach K’s offense. He won’t necessarily be expected to be a physical presence in the paint since the Plumlees are mostly responsible for that, and it will allow him to focus on his offensive game and flourish.
Kentucky
No program over the past few years has done a better job of developing freshmen and making them into instant stars than the Kentucky Wildcats under head coach John Calipari. The Wildcats were largely made up of freshmen and younger players two seasons ago and they made it to the Final Four. The same was true this past season as they won the national championship. With Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, in particular, entering the NBA draft, the Wildcats need some help at forward.
They did well to nab prized center prospect Nerlens Noel, but they lost a ton of depth, so there is no question that Jefferson would be a big addition for the Wildcats. Unlike some coaches, Calipari has no reservations about playing younger players if they represent his best option, so Kentucky would be a great spot for Jefferson to play early and often. It does seem like the Wildcats are building from the ground up, though, so there may be some growing pains involved.
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College Basketball Recruiting: 20 Best High School/Prep Programs of All Time
While college may be the first stage the general public sees of an NBA player’s career, there is much more behind a player’s journey to the NBA.
There are plenty of similarities between high school and college basketball that go unnoticed and underappreciated. High school basketball is an important step in every player’s career. Attending the right high school can put a talented basketball player on the right path.
Over the history of basketball, certain programs have stood out for their ability to produce players who can make it to the NBA. It is no coincidence when the same program has multiple alumni reach the top level of basketball. This list will examine which high schools have been the best at molding their talent into NBA caliber payers.
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Early College Basketball 2012-13 Preview: The Nation’s 10 Best Small Forwards
The small forward position doesn’t look quite as loaded as others for the 2012-13 season. The defections of talents like Moe Harkless, Quincy Miller and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist to the NBA draft have left the ranks somewhat depleted.
While the 10 players in this slideshow may not be prime-time national names, there is talent at the three. At times, we may just have to wander off the beaten path to find it.
After you finish with this one, come back and check out the rankings of next year’s top 10 point guards and top 10 shooting guards.
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Kentucky Basketball: Why They’re the Best College Team of the Last 10 Years
In winning the 2012 national title, the Kentucky Wildcats set a new standard for excellence in men’s basketball with a single-season record 38 wins against just two losses. It’s the kind of performance that immediately raises questions about UK’s place in history, starting with this one:
Has there been any team in the last decade that could match the Wildcats’ brilliance?
In addition to the other nine NCAA champions in that time, two other squads have an obvious argument to be considered among this period’s best. Both Illinois (in 2005) and Memphis (in 2008), while they failed to win the title, equaled the previous Division I record of 37 wins in a season—a record Memphis actually broke, only to vacate its performance and leave the mark for Kentucky to capture.
Read on for a head-to-head look at why no one, even in that impressive collection of teams, can beat out Kentucky as the best in the last 10 seasons of college hoops.
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NBA Free Agents 2012: Is Deron Williams’ Best Situation with Dallas?
There’s a lot of talk about the Dallas Mavericks’ upcoming free agency, but many fans are failing to comprehend the salary cap. In one ear we have some fans suggesting Dallas sign every big name on the board, while others believe that in order for Dallas to make a big splash, it’ll have to release everyone not named Dirk Nowitzki.
So to help us accurately judge how much Mark Cuban will splurge this offseason, I’ve decided to pull out the numbers. Note: exact numbers included are rounded.
This season the Mavs paid out $75.5 million in guaranteed salary and were $17.5 million over the cap.
This summer $25 million in salary will be coming off the books. The total cost of remaining salaries under contract in the summer will be $50 million, leaving the Mavs with about $20 million in expendable cap room before going into the luxury tax threshold of $70 million.
So that’s $20 million of available cap space to spend if the team lets Kidd, Terry, Jianlian, West, Mahinmi and Cardinal go.
The biggest fish in the pond, Deron Williams, will be paid about $17 million next season (assuming he picks up his option and is obtained in a sign-and-trade).
If Dallas manages to woo Williams from leaving Brooklyn, Dallas will have $3 million to spend on re-signing Mahinmi, Kidd, Terry and West. Dallas will almost certainly have to let Terry walk in any situation, but signing key-cogs Kidd and Mahinmi for only $3 million will prove to be very hard.
I believe in this situation Dallas will just go over the luxury tax threshold again to keep Mahinmi and Kidd and will sign “filler” contracts to fill out the roster. As great as this situation would still be, there won’t be any room here to spend on any fancy “secondary” free agents next to Williams.
That being said, there is one option remaining that could prove to be real handy, and that is the Amnesty Clause. Whether the Mavs should use it on Lamar Odom on Brendan Haywood is definitely something that can be debated, but either option will give Dallas an extra $7.5 to $9 million of wiggle room in the summer.
This newfound cap space could then be used to pursue a solid role player in Chris Kaman or possibly a combination of Marcus Camby and O.J. Mayo.
Overall, Dallas is in great shape to improve its team this off season. Not only can it add Williams, but this article proves it can do so while providing Williams with a superstar running mate without having to diminish all of its depth (a la New York Knicks).
Even if the Mavericks don’t catch the big fish in Williams, they’ll be able to explore a combination of different options, including Chauncey Billups, D.J. Augustin, Omer Asik, Andrei Kirilenko, Leandro Barbosa, Nick Young, Eric Gordon, Roy Hibbert, Elton Brand, Spencer Hawes and JaVale McGee.
If you were Mark Cuban, what would you do? Would you blow up a perennial contender in order to get younger? If you were Deron Williams, would you sign with Dallas?
Let us know your opinion by leaving a comment!
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John Calipari Is the Best Coach and Kentucky the Best Team
A gray tempest settled over New Orleans in the hours before college basketball’s national championship game. Lightning bolts shot from the bulging clouds, blowing gray over the concrete pod of the Superdome.
Beneath the massive dome, surrounded by 70,000 spectators—an enormous, brightly colored crowd towering over the custom-painted slab of polished maple—lightning struck for one of college basketball’s purebreds, Kentucky, and its coach, John Calipari, as his Wildcats vanquished a relentless Kansas Jayhawks’ team, 67-59, to capture the school’s eighth national championship.
That Calipari is now head coach of the finest amateur basketball team in America was just a matter of time these last 16 years; since the days he led UMass—from a dry-dock rot—to five consecutive Atlantic 10 championships and into the 1996 Final Four, where its season ended at the bloody maw of the Wildcats’ program he now leads.
But to say the run the ’96 team made came from nowhere is not strictly accurate. Calipari re-charted the course of the Minutemen’s ghost ship from the moment he took the helm as a 29-year-old coaching phenomenon. There, too, it was clearly a matter of time before his teams grew into distinguished participants in the national tournament.
Those days at Amherst, Mass., the way his squads attacked the goal and defended it with principled cohesion—Calipari pacing the deep crimson sideline of their parquet floor, his jacket off, his black hair swept back, sweating like a fighter, shouting and flailing, caring more than anyone, taking everything as personally as an Italian mother watching her sons in a fight—made a deep impression.
It was also—from the perspective of basketball as a game comprised of fundamental skills which must be mastered, philosophies and principles that must be taught and executed—a pleasure to watch.
Soon the entire realm of college basketball was altered by Calipari’s presence, in the way an erupting volcano can reorganize the chemical composition of an atmosphere. This effect, a human force of nature doing what he must do in the way that he must do it, teaching a system which refuses on principle to accept being vanquished or suppressed, made Calipari a target for some of the most ludicrous criticism of an obviously huge talent that I’ve ever heard.
The most common charge yawped into the abyss by the armchair fan says Calipari can’t actually coach. This school of critics claims, often describing the type of ultra-athletic urban players Calipari recruited during nine seasons at Memphis, that he turned the floor over to “thugs” and let them play some kind of brutal playground game. I’ve listened as some of these people attempted to light it into beauty, like it was the genius understanding of a young tactician: give the floor over to the soldiers and allow them to destroy everything in sight.
Calipari may be Machiavellian in that he accepts on its own terms the rampant corruption and cynicism festering amongst many of the adults involved in high school and AAU basketball; but he is not some figure-head coach and manager who unleashes 18-year-old “street kids” onto the floor to play the game by instinct alone.
I’ve stopped having the debate. To hear someone describe Calipari’s teams that way after watching them play is like hearing a man say Rossini couldn’t write music, but needed an orchestra of prodigies playing instruments built by Stradivarius to carry off his effect. As if somehow it is a coincidence that Rossini’s music sounds the same 140 years later, and Calipari’s college teams are among the most dynamic and structurally sound units in the country every season, wherever he coaches. It’s gotten too patently stupid to indulge, even for the sake of argument.
The commonest criticism hurled by sports writers, (those self-appointed moralists of college athletics), and Bob Knight, the former martinet head coach at Army, then Indiana and Texas Tech—(called The General, after his hero, Patton)—is that he’s a sleazy recruiter and operator, generally. They cite the facts that several of Calipari’s best players have left school for professional basketball after a single season in college, and that both his Final Fours at UMass and Memphis were vacated, erased from the record books by the NCAA, for violations involving players.
The annihilation of two separate Final Fours were severe public censures and blights upon Calipari’s permanent record, without any doubt. But it is important to make clear that at both schools the violations began and ended with a single player, and it was nowhere charged that a virulent disease had infected either program. Calipari was not personally punished after either investigation. I’ll leave the NCAA’s byzantine Committee on Infractions to defend its sentences against UMass and Memphis.
But it’s on dubious moral grounds that Calipari is criticized for building teams with athletes who aren’t going to spend four years in college. In any field of endeavor, the purpose of college is to receive training to perform certain tasks competently—when the requisite course of study is finished the student transitions into a professional environment to employ what they’ve learned. Physically and emotionally mature athletes may not require four years to prepare for professional sports. Players who need to stay four years will; players who don’t, won’t.
The Division I athlete not talented enough to play professionally—the vast majority of them are not—is free to remain and earn a degree in his chosen field. There should be less moral hand-wringing over athletes moving on to highly paid occupations when they believe they’re ready to move on. College should do as much for us all.
The fact is that a substantial amount of the clamoring over kids leaving school early comes from the fan upset by fewer opportunities to watch a team develop over three or four seasons, culminating in a crusade through the tournament. That’s the way it used to be, they say. And they’re right; but the way it used to be is not the way it is; change is merciless.
Calipari comprehends this modern mindset more than any other coach: players come first in today’s game. A coach like Knight with an inveterate, almost 1950s world-view will never understand or accept the new reality. Calipari’s said it over-and-over again, and his players vouch for his sincerity. Calipari is so confident in his talents as a recruiter and coach that he believes he can assemble a formidable team every season with new parts. So far he’s been right.
But though the players come first in terms of their personal futures in athletics, they are forced to play the roles assigned them in his squads. At Amherst, they were structural teams, relentlessly fundamental and grinding with an underdog’s mentality until Marcus Camby came.
At Memphis, he deployed a wing of attack helicopters. His 2008 team was an all-out assault squad as a result of explosive athleticism installed into Calipari’s dribble-drive offense. Those teams carried out savage raids from the point and wings using high-flying, forceful players. When a jump shot arced toward the basket, what looked like a swarm of angry gunships buzzed the rim to hammer down any rebound. They played aggressive man-to-man defense; all of his teams do.
His Kentucky groups—there have been only three—have shown all the signs of a master coach working flush through his most creative and productive period. The balance, camaraderie and selflessness drilled into the highest-profile prep players in America has been amazing to watch. While other Mt. Rushmore programs have struggled badly with the ego driven, thinking-about-the-future selfishness of “one-and-done” players, Calipari has thrived with them.
In his teams one can see the professional mindset: win a championship and do whatever it takes to get the job done, your personal statistics and feelings be damned. Somehow Calipari gets his very young players to understand that to do whatever it takes to win a team championship in college will prepare them to make their best contribution to a professional franchise—where the only goal is championships and teammates police themselves.
After what Calipari managed to build at UMass and Memphis, look what he’s done with Kentucky’s blue-and-white to sell. In three years, it’s been an Elite Eight, two Final Fours and a national championship. Kentucky is one of the half-dozen or eight programs that look most comfortable, most at home in the Final Four.
Something elemental in college basketball is right when Kentucky trots onto the floor and starts through the layup lines at a national semifinal. For the rest of college basketball, the present looks a lot like the past: the benchmark for excellence has once again been set at Kentucky, and it looks to remain that way for awhile.
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L.A. Lakers: 15 Best Plays from Opening Round Series vs. Denver Nuggets
After Sunday’s game against the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers now lead the series 3-1.
This has been a roller-coaster series. In Game 1, the Lakers didn’t have too much trouble beating the Nuggets, but Game 2 was a different story. While the Lakers held the lead the whole time, there were times when it looked like the Nuggets were going to make a comeback.
Then the series moved to Denver. Game 3 was a disaster for the Lakers. They started out leading, but could never quite catch up, but there were still some highlights to be noted. Game 4 was a back-and-forth between the two teams, and the Lakers came out on top.
These are the top 15 plays so far in the series.
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NBA Debate: Who Is the League’s Best Trio?
Do the Miami Heat have the best trio of players in the NBA, or are the Oklahoma City Thunder at the top of this list?
With the NBA postseason in full swing, Bleacher Report’s NBA contributors, Will Leivenberg and Aliko Carter, debate who is the best trio of players in the NBA.
With LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh on the same team, can anyone really call themselves a better trio? These three lead by example, showing their experience on both sides of the ball.
What about the youth of the Oklahoma City Thunder? James Harden, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are all under 24 years of age and have really showed how good they can be. These three helped the Thunder sweep the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Watch the video above to find out what our experts think, and be sure to sound off in the comments section below!
Be sure to sound off and let us know what you think in the comments below. If you like what you see, click here for more from Bleacher Report Productions.
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Boston Celtics 2012 Mock Draft: The Best and Worst Options for Both Rounds
The Boston Celtics are currently in the midst of a first-round playoff series with the Atlanta Hawks. Other than the fact that they are a competitive team, this also means that the Celtics have been removed from the lottery section of next month’s NBA Draft.
As it stands right now, the Celtics will receive the Clippers‘ first-round pick which will give the Celtics back-to-back picks in the latter half of the first round. This gives Boston the ability to immediately get younger and fill the holes left by departing veterans Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.
While the Celtics could still sign them for cheap money, it is unlikely that either player would take a hometown discount at this juncture. Also coming off the Celtics books will be Rasheed Wallace (yeah, they are still paying him), Jermaine O’Neal, Chris Wilcox, Keyon Dooling, Shaquille O’Neal (yeah, still paying him too), Mickael Pietrus, Marquis Daniels, E’Twaun Moore, Ryan Hollins and Sean Williams.
For the sake of argument, let’s just say Wilcox, Moore and Pietrus all resign for next season. That gives Boston nine players under contract and a ton of cap space to play with.
So what are Boston’s needs and what should they address in the Draft?
Need No. 1 – Swingman Scorer
With Allen leaving in free agency, Avery Bradley will likely remain in the starting backcourt with Rajon Rondo. Paul Pierce will remain at the small forward spot, but we all know he is not getting any younger. The Celtics must address this position early in the Draft, and can do so with one of their two first-round picks.
The Solution – Jeff Taylor (Vanderbilt)
Taylor is projected (by Chad Ford) to fall to the 25th pick, meaning that he should be there in the first round for the Celtics to scoop up. Taylor is 6’7″ and 225 pounds and can defend multiple positions— which Doc will love—and is an elite three-point shooter—which Rondo will love.
The Wrong Pick – Royce White (Iowa State)
Everyone seems to think the Celtics should pick White, but there are several factors that make him unappealing at this juncture:
- An anxiety disorder and a fear of flying.
- Only played one season of college basketball but is not a one-and-done talent.
- At 6’8″ and 240 pounds, he is basically Brandon Bass without the experience.
Picking White would land them another player in the mold of Glen Davis or Bass and would not help the Celtics get to the next level.
Need No. 2 – Defensive Center
With Kevin Garnett out the door, the best option the Celtics have at center is Greg Stiemsma. While Stiemsma has been very good this year, the Celtics’ position in the first round offers them the opportunity to address this issue early on.
The Solution – Fab Melo (Syracuse)
Forget about Melo’s academic issues. Forget about his offensive inabilities. Melo is a true seven-footer with a defensive presence that cannot be taught. The 2008 Champions got their identity from Kendrick Perkins and KG defending the rim, and Melo would serve to fill the hole left by Perkins in the Jeff Green trade.
The Wrong Pick – Anyone under 6’10″
With two picks in the first round, the Celtics need to address their needs with the best player or option available. The fact that they will be back-to-back selections makes it even more important that they get the two players that fit their needs the best. Drafting anyone under 6’10″ will not serve them well at all.
Need No. 3 – Depth
So with the two selections in the first round, the Celtics now have 12 players on the active roster. They have two point guards (Rondo, Moore), five wing players (Bradley, Pierce, Taylor, Pietrus and Green) and five interior players (Bass, Stiemsma, Johnson, Wilcox and Melo).
Bradley has the flexibility to play the point, which means point guard is not a need; they will be set on the wings and the interior will look much better with Melo in the picture. At this stage, the Celtics need to simply take the best player available.
The Solution – Quincy Acy (Baylor)
While this is not exactly a game-changing pick, the 51st selection rarely is. Acy is a 6’6″ power forward who is flexible enough to play at the small forward if Doc wants to go big. He came out a bit too early, but he would likely end up in D-League off the bat anyway.
Here we have the best and worst options for the Boston Celtics in the 2012 NBA Draft. Let’s just hope that they can make the best of the cards they’ve been dealt.
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Best dunks in NBA playoff history
Jump at your own risk!
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