The word has come down, and former University of Dayton guard Juwan Staten has announced where he's headed.
According to the Dayton Daily News, the sophomore-to-be who left UD saying he believed his talents weren't being properly utilized, tweeted that he will be transferring to Penn State University.
If you're like me, you read that and thought, "Huh?" This seems like one an odd decision, so let's run through it.
Staten said he was transferring because his talents weren't properly utilized, but then former Dayton head coach Brian Gregory took off for Georgia Tech. At that point, Staten still had the option of playing at UD. Admittedly, that would have been tough for Staten to do, since he had already said he wanted to leave. But still, Staten insisted Dayton wasn't the right place for him.
But Penn State is? Why is the level of success going to be any higher for Staten there? Yeah, Penn State made the NCAA Tournament this year, but barely, as a 10 seed. This was the team's first tournament appearance since 2001. UD has been to the tournament more often in the past decade (three times) than the Nittany Lions have. So does Staten think he'll have more success with Ed DeChellis than Archie Miller? As far as the programs' two histories are concerned, he's wrong.
Maybe it's about individual glory for Staten. His first year at UD was successful from an individual standpoint, but not phenomenal. He was a good distributor, but struggled shooting the ball from outside the paint. He showed he has the talent to be good, but does he really think he will blossom at Penn State?
Certainly, PSU has a precedent for good guards in the past. Just last year, they were led by Talor Battle, a guard with size similar to Staten's, who was an All-Big Ten Selection for two years at Penn State. But after his junior season, Battle made himself eligible for the NBA draft. He didn't garner much interest from NBA teams. The same will likely be true this year. Battle is ranked 61st by DraftExpress.com among NCAA seniors only, meaning the likes of Kyrie Irving, Derrick Williams, Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones will definitely be in front of him on NBA teams' draft boards.
Does Staten think he will be more successful than Battle has been at Penn State? Battle is Penn State's all-time leading scorer, and led the Big Ten in scoring his sophomore year. He led Penn State in scoring, rebounding and assists his junior year. He is one of the all-time greats at Penn State, and he is almost certainly going to be playing in Europe or the NBA Developmental League.
The likelihood is Staten will not have a better career than Battle did as Nittany Lion. So why is he going to Penn State? On his Twitter account, the Dayton Daily News reported Staten tweeted, "Just an 18 year old kid tryna make my dreams come true." What are Staten's dreams? I figured the biggest one was to play in the NBA. Now I'm not so sure, because the last player Penn State had drafted was Calvin Booth in 1999.
I'm not saying UD is a better place to forge an NBA career. But once Staten decided to transfer, I figured he would give himself a better chance at a pro career in the U.S. So why Penn State? Maybe Staten wants to be broadcast on the Big Ten Network instead of CBS College Sports. Maybe he would prefer to be at a school where football comes first way way way before basketball. Whatever his reasons, I'm scratching my head.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
The NBA Playoffs start with a bang
The NBA Playoffs have always been an awesome postseason. It's a time when even non-NBA fans can enjoy some basketball because all the players actually care about whether they win or lose, so the play tough defense, actually look at the hoop when they're taking free throws, and continue with doing the absolutely ridiculous feats of athleticism they have all regular season long.
Well, this year's playoffs are looking like they might be any better, if the first games of each series are any indication. There has been a 10-point comeback in the final 3:30 of a game (Bulls over Pacers, a 46 point performance (Dwight Howard, whose team lost), a late three-ball to win it in Boston by Ray Allen, two shocking upsets in the Western Conference (including one of the great performances of the entire season by Chris Paul), and a high-energy, close throughout shootout between two of the team's youngest teams in Oklahoma City. Did I mention not a single series has played game two yet?
It has been one of the truly great weekends of basketball I can remember. The first two days of these playoffs have been as good or better than any first round NCAA Tournament action (the round of 64, to clarify; I'm boycotting calling that the second round). Usually, nothing can top the NCAA Tournament because you never have to settle for watching bad basketball. If one game is boring, or another is a blowout, you've got four more options to choose from. Saturday and Sunday in the NBA Playoffs, there was not a moment of bad basketball to be watched.
The question now becomes, can this possibly continue? Unfortunately for some of the series, I think the answer is probably no. The Pacers expended just about everything they had, played a great game, and still collapsed to lose in game 1 to the Bulls. Now I think the Bulls will grab that momentum and run with it. A sweep seems like a strong possibility. The New Orleans Hornets will have a tough time maintaining what they produced in game 1 against the Lakers. Chris Paul was phenomenal, but I don't think his supporting cast will continue to produce like they did. The Hornets might take another game away at home, but the Lakers will recover.
The good news, however, is that plenty of series ought to keep on trucking just like in game 1. There is no reason the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder won't have similar games for the next five or six. The New York Knicks proved that they will be able to stick with the Boston Celtics in their series. A young Memphis Grizzlies team looks like they will give the San Antonio Spurs all they can handle and possibly pull off an epic 8-seed over 1-seed upset. The Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks look primed to battle for seven games as well.
What's the point here? Even if you're typically not an NBA fan, start watching. This is great stuff. I know, I know, the fact that NBA players are lazy and that they are obsessed with money and their images is annoying, but don't let that deter you from the fact that their basketball is phenomenal. They're the best athletes in the world, and for the next month and a half their best will be on display. So tune in for crying out loud! You won't be disappointed.
Well, this year's playoffs are looking like they might be any better, if the first games of each series are any indication. There has been a 10-point comeback in the final 3:30 of a game (Bulls over Pacers, a 46 point performance (Dwight Howard, whose team lost), a late three-ball to win it in Boston by Ray Allen, two shocking upsets in the Western Conference (including one of the great performances of the entire season by Chris Paul), and a high-energy, close throughout shootout between two of the team's youngest teams in Oklahoma City. Did I mention not a single series has played game two yet?
It has been one of the truly great weekends of basketball I can remember. The first two days of these playoffs have been as good or better than any first round NCAA Tournament action (the round of 64, to clarify; I'm boycotting calling that the second round). Usually, nothing can top the NCAA Tournament because you never have to settle for watching bad basketball. If one game is boring, or another is a blowout, you've got four more options to choose from. Saturday and Sunday in the NBA Playoffs, there was not a moment of bad basketball to be watched.
The question now becomes, can this possibly continue? Unfortunately for some of the series, I think the answer is probably no. The Pacers expended just about everything they had, played a great game, and still collapsed to lose in game 1 to the Bulls. Now I think the Bulls will grab that momentum and run with it. A sweep seems like a strong possibility. The New Orleans Hornets will have a tough time maintaining what they produced in game 1 against the Lakers. Chris Paul was phenomenal, but I don't think his supporting cast will continue to produce like they did. The Hornets might take another game away at home, but the Lakers will recover.
The good news, however, is that plenty of series ought to keep on trucking just like in game 1. There is no reason the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder won't have similar games for the next five or six. The New York Knicks proved that they will be able to stick with the Boston Celtics in their series. A young Memphis Grizzlies team looks like they will give the San Antonio Spurs all they can handle and possibly pull off an epic 8-seed over 1-seed upset. The Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks look primed to battle for seven games as well.
What's the point here? Even if you're typically not an NBA fan, start watching. This is great stuff. I know, I know, the fact that NBA players are lazy and that they are obsessed with money and their images is annoying, but don't let that deter you from the fact that their basketball is phenomenal. They're the best athletes in the world, and for the next month and a half their best will be on display. So tune in for crying out loud! You won't be disappointed.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Mediocrity's Trick
I'll admit it: Butler and UConn had me fooled.
I listened to every ESPN pundit when they kept telling me Butler wasn't an underdog, and I ignored the fact that they had lost five games in the Horizon League (not a bad league by any stretch, but no team losing five games is national title worthy).
I also ignored the fact that UConn placed ninth in the Big East, going just 9-9 in everyone's favorite conference to overrate. Yeah, the Huskies caught fire and reeled off a great stretch of wins, but that team was still nowhere near as good as Ohio State or Kansas this year.
That Connecticut and Butler played each other in the title game is both the beauty and the curse of the NCAA Tournament. Any team can get hot and go on a run, especially if you have individual players that are on fire (Kemba Walker and Shelvin Mack). But college basketball took a huge step back rather than forward with UConn's 53-41 victory in the National Championship. Yes, UConn's 11 straight wins and Butler two straight trips to the title game are both incredible feats and should be lauded. But those aren't what will be remembered in this game. Instead, we'll remember how UConn was basically fortunate to run into Butler on one of it's coldest shooting nights in years. The Huskies played strong defense, but the Bulldogs' shooting was the bigger issue. Butler went 9-33 from beyond the arc, 8-14 from the foul line, and an astoundingly bad 3-31 on two point field goals. You read that correctly. No defense is that good.
We were all excited to watch these teams play so well en route to this game, but what happened Monday night was pitiful. We allowed ourselves to forget that these teams had been mediocre during the season. There was a reason Butler was an 8 seed, and a reason UConn needed to win the Big East Tourney to get a 3 seed in an off year. During Monday night's game, all those memories came rushing back.
In last year's tournament it almost felt as though Duke deserved an asterisk next to their win, because it seemed so easy going in. If that was the case then, it is all the more pronounced now. What's really sad is that winning the national championship almost takes away from UConn's incredible run, just because of the way that game was played. The Dayton Flyers could have won that game, with or without Juwan Staten and Brandon Spearman.
I used to think that 1 and 2 seeds filling up the Final Four was boring, because there were none of those major upsets. The tournament's unpredictability was always what made it so exciting to watch.
This year, the first four rounds were rife with upsets, each one seeming more stunning than the last. It was great at the time. But the end result? Anything but exciting.
I listened to every ESPN pundit when they kept telling me Butler wasn't an underdog, and I ignored the fact that they had lost five games in the Horizon League (not a bad league by any stretch, but no team losing five games is national title worthy).
I also ignored the fact that UConn placed ninth in the Big East, going just 9-9 in everyone's favorite conference to overrate. Yeah, the Huskies caught fire and reeled off a great stretch of wins, but that team was still nowhere near as good as Ohio State or Kansas this year.
That Connecticut and Butler played each other in the title game is both the beauty and the curse of the NCAA Tournament. Any team can get hot and go on a run, especially if you have individual players that are on fire (Kemba Walker and Shelvin Mack). But college basketball took a huge step back rather than forward with UConn's 53-41 victory in the National Championship. Yes, UConn's 11 straight wins and Butler two straight trips to the title game are both incredible feats and should be lauded. But those aren't what will be remembered in this game. Instead, we'll remember how UConn was basically fortunate to run into Butler on one of it's coldest shooting nights in years. The Huskies played strong defense, but the Bulldogs' shooting was the bigger issue. Butler went 9-33 from beyond the arc, 8-14 from the foul line, and an astoundingly bad 3-31 on two point field goals. You read that correctly. No defense is that good.
We were all excited to watch these teams play so well en route to this game, but what happened Monday night was pitiful. We allowed ourselves to forget that these teams had been mediocre during the season. There was a reason Butler was an 8 seed, and a reason UConn needed to win the Big East Tourney to get a 3 seed in an off year. During Monday night's game, all those memories came rushing back.
In last year's tournament it almost felt as though Duke deserved an asterisk next to their win, because it seemed so easy going in. If that was the case then, it is all the more pronounced now. What's really sad is that winning the national championship almost takes away from UConn's incredible run, just because of the way that game was played. The Dayton Flyers could have won that game, with or without Juwan Staten and Brandon Spearman.
I used to think that 1 and 2 seeds filling up the Final Four was boring, because there were none of those major upsets. The tournament's unpredictability was always what made it so exciting to watch.
This year, the first four rounds were rife with upsets, each one seeming more stunning than the last. It was great at the time. But the end result? Anything but exciting.
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