#3 Syracuse Edges #21 Cincinnati

       With a weekend full of great basketball, what a great way to end it with a showdown between two of the Top 25 teams in The Syracuse Orangemen against the Cincinnati Bearcats. The Orange Men were coming off their greatest victory of the season, taking down the #1 team in the nation, Louisville, and their star point guard Peyton Siva. They did not have much time to celebrate the victory because they had to gear up for Sean Kilpatrick and this vicious bearcats team. The game was pretty intense as expected with a tight game, neither team playing great defense, but Syracuse was able to end the half on top by a score of 22 to 18. After the half it was apparent that Sean Kilpatrick wanted this win for his team producing 21 points with 5 rebounds. Unfortunately for the Bearcats the only other person playing well was JaQuon Parker. On the other side Michael Carter- Williams put up his second great effort of the weekend posting 16 points with 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Although Cincinnati ended up winning the second half, Syracuse ended up holding on for the victory by a score of 57-55. More notable performances by C.J Fair and Brandon Triche each dropping 13 points a piece. After a great weekend for the Orangemen, knocking off the #1 in the nation as well as the #21 ranked team, they are well on there way back to the top of the rankings. This is a club that can bounce back from tough loses and end up defeating some of the best teams in the country.

Michael Carter- Williams guard for Syracuse

Unranked Temple Defeats #3 Syracuse

Unfortunately for Orangemen fans and myself Syracuse suffered a painful loss to the Owls of Temple University in the last few minutes of the game. It was an extremely competitive contest throughout the first half, but anyone watching the game could tell that Temple was hungry for a victory. As the first half came to a close the score was 40-38 with Syracuse out in front. Temple came out of the locker room fired up and ready for a big upset. Khalif Wyatt did everything he could to help out his team with 33 points, 4 assists, and went a perfect 15-15 from the free throw line. Anthony Lee also played a key role in Temples success contributing 21 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Temple started to take control of the game as the second half progressed. Syracuse was not even playing that poorly just their transition defense was a little shaken and the Temple Owls were just too much to handle. Of course the Orangmen fought back into the game as time was winding down. They ended up making one or two stupid mistakes which lead to fast break points for Temple and then had to foul them in desperation. Even when the game was practically over Michael Carter- Williams was still going strong taking it coast to coast for an easy layup. He finished the game with 13 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. When the final buzzers sounded the score was 83-79 giving the Temple Owls a key victory to hand Syracuse their first loss of the season. Some outstanding performances include C.J Fair from Syracuse with 25 points, 7 rebounds, and a block. Also the senior Brandon Triche had a fairly solid game where he posted 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals. As a Syracuse fan I am always biased towards them, but Temple was able to outplay them both offensively and defensively and that is what lead to their victory.

Khalif Wyatt, guard for Temple


 

Recruiting Report: Andrew Wiggins

I will be spending my next few weeks writing about some of the top high school basketball recruits, and what colleges they are looking at and are committed to. These players are great young talents who will benefit the programs they play for.

Andrew Wiggins: Why not start at the top? Andrew Wiggins is the number one high school basketball recruit for the class of 2013. He is a 6 foot 7 inch, 190 pound small forward from Huntington Prep Highschool. He is an all around player who can drive the lane, dunk over larger defenders with his impressive vertical leap, and even shoot the mid range to outside jump shot. Wiggins has received offers from every school on his list such as Kentucky, Florida State, Duke, Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio State, and Syracuse. Just last week he visited Florida State, where the threw everything they had at him. FSU believes that just by being considered by Wiggins will make a difference on people's perception of the school. If he does decide to play ball there it will be one of the greatest recruiting decisions in the history of the school. The Seminoles have already been able to acquire the twenty-sixth and the number eighty recruits to their program. They are confident that they have a deep talented roster, but if Wiggins decides to join then they will most definitely be national contenders.

If he decides to go with the defending national champion, Kentucky Wildcats then they will have the number one recruiting class for sure with Andrew Harrison, and Austin Harrison from Travis High School along with James Young from Rochester High School. This young man is a great talent and definitely deserves to be the number player in the nation.

Andrew Wiggins: SF from Humington Prep High School

Top 10 Pre Season Pole Ranks

10. UCLA Bruins: The Bruins may be coming off of just an okay year, but they are ready to be a top contender after what they were able to accomplish during the off season  UCLA was able to receive commits from the #2 recruit in the nation, Shabazz Muhamed coming from Bishop Gorman Highschool, and #5 recruit, Kyle Anderson of the world renowned St Anthony Friars. With these great players heading in, UCLA has the number one recruiting class of 2012. Hopefully all of this recruiting will pay off in the long run for the Bruins.

9. Florida Gators: Florida is coming off of a solid season where they were almost able to make it to the Final Four. There team did not have the best regular season last year, but that is expected to change with their star point guard, Kenny Boynton returning for another year. The big 6-9, 249 pound junior, Patric Young will be playing down low alongside Erik Murphy. Although the gators are coming off of a depressing end to the season, I believe that this will motivate them and they will be a force to be reckoned with this season.

8. Duke Blue Devils: It was a depressing ending for Coach K and his squad last season, losing to Lehigh in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. After winning gold in the Olympics  Coach K is hoping that his Blue Devils can turn things around this year. Seth Curry, entering his senior year should be a big time player and lead the team. They also have Mason Plumlee returning who will be big man on campus this year, and have a large role in the offense. I believe the Blue Devils can comeback and have a solid season.

7. Syracuse Orangemen: Syracuse did not have a terrible end to the year, making the Elite Eight and losing to the Buckeyes of Ohio State. They ended up losing three of their best players in Scoop Jardine, Dion Waiters and Fab Melo. The Orangemen are most definitely not empty handed. They have returners such as Brandon Triche, Michael Carter-Williams, Rakeem Chistmas, C.J Fair and James Southerland. The recruiting staff for Syracuse also did a solid job by receiving commits from #14 recruit DaJuan Coleman and Jerami Grant. Even though they lost some star power, the Orangemen are one of the top teams heading into the regular season.

6. Ohio State Buckeyes: Due to the NBA Draft, the Ohio State Buckeyes lost their franchise player in Jared Sullinger. Even though he was the best player on the team, I have a feeling the Buckeyes will still be pretty sucesfull this season. They still have Deshaun Thomas who can score at will and rebound the basketball. He probably played better than Sullinger during the NCAA Tournament. They also have star point guard, Aaron Craft returning who is a pure shooter and can dish the rock when he pleases. The Buckeyes may have lost a big star, but they still have plenty of fire power left over for the 2012 season.

5. Kansas Jayhawks: Kansas as most college basketball fans know, fell to Kentucky in the finals of the NCAA Tournament. After working so hard to end up short, they lost Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor who were drafted. Over the offseason the Jayahwks did some heavy recruiting bringing in Jamri Taylor and Perry Ellis. Their main returner is the huge 7 foot tall Jeff Withey who has decided to stay for his senior year to mature into a premiere player in the NCAA. They are a bit short on a big time offense, but the Kansas basketball program is to good just to roll over and call it quits.

4. Michigan Wolverines: As of now Zach Lisman is rejoicing because his wolverines are back in action. They may have been beaten in the first round of the Big Dance last year but, they have Trey Burke who is supposed to be the best point guard in the nation. He is only a sophomore so he has a lot of room to grow as a player. The Wolverines were able to receive a commit from Mitch McGary who is  6-10 and Michigan hopes he can make an impact to their team. The Wolverines are back and so is Zach.

3. Kentucky Wildcats: The best team in the 2011-2012 season has lost their starting five to the NBA Draft. You may say that Kentucky has no chance of having any success this season, but you would be wrong. Kentucky had the number two recruiting class with #1 recruit Nerlens Noel, who has the shot blocking ability of Anthony Davis. They also have the 7 foot Willie Cauley-Stein. He is expected to step into the offense and be a menace to defenses around the league. The Wildcats picked up a new 6-4 guard, Archie Goodwin who is supposed to fill the shoes of Marquis Teague. It will be interesting to see how these new recruits end up playing for Kentucky.

2. Louisville Cardinals: The expectations for Louisville are through the roof this year. They have some of their star players returning such as, point guard Peyton Siva, Chane Behanan and big man Gorgui Dieng. They are also excited about freshman Montrezl Harell who is supposed to step in and play the small forward position. All of these components should make Louisville an extremely elite team and instead of losing to Kentucky this year, maybe they will take them down.

1. Indiana Hoosiers: Indiana is the number one ranked team on ESPN mostly because of the return of Cody Zeller. He is projected to be one of the best if not the best player in the nation. The Hoosier do not just only have Zeller, they also have Christian Watford, Victor Alidipo and Jordan Hulls returning which will make for an offensive power house. They were one of the two teams to beat the wildcats of Kentucky last year with the last second shot by Christian Watford. This year Kentcuky may have to be the ones on the other end of that scenario.

Nerelens Noel, #1 recruit of 2012 and forward for Kentucky.

The Orlando Magic in my opinion are a team that has lost all hope. Dwight Howard feels like he is alone and his relationship with his coach, Stan Van Gundy, is not the greatest. The Magic did not haven a very good season but they did not have an awful season. They rank 21st in points per game with 94.2, 13th in rebounds per game with 42.5 and 20th in assists per game with 20. Having there ok season they are projected to have two picks. One in the  mid dirst round and one in the mid second round. With all of the rumors of Dwight Howard leaving they should go for a big man in the first round. With there very low assists per game they should go for a guard in the second round. If I was the general manager for the Magic my first pick would be John Henson of North Carolina or trade up for Terence Jones. Henson could be a huge force for them. He is a beast standing at 6-10 and weighing in at 220 pounds. This year, in the NCAA he averaged over 13 points per game and over ten rebounds per game. If Howard stays they could be a great combo down low. For thier second pick they should try and take Kim English of Missouri or J'Covan Brown of Texas. Either of these guys could come off the bench for Jameer Nelson and do a solid job. The Magic will not be too good for a couple of years but they should really try to take advantage of this draft. Howard is alone on an island but after this draft he could have a friend.

John Henson, forward for UNC

After Carmelo Anthony was traded to the Knicks, everyone thought the Nuggets were finished for a while. They have proved all of the haters wrong by making the playoffs, giving the Los Angeles Lakers a run for there money and having some of the best overall stats as a team. They are 1st in the league in points per game with 104.1, 8th in rebounds per game with 43.1 and 1st in the league in assists per game with 24. Even though this team has had a solid year they are still projected to have three draft picks. One in the mid-late first round, the second in the early second round and the last in the mid-late second round. With these slots, I believe that the Nuggets have the most potential for this draft. They already have a bunch of young talent such as Ty Lawson, JaVale McGee and Danilo Gallinari and if they make the right picks they will be a tough team to beat. For thier first pick they should take Dion Waiters of Syracuse. He is a point guard/shooting guard who could do exactly what he did this year, make a huge impact off the bench. For thier second pick they should go big and take either JaMychal Green of Alabama or Quincy Acy of Baylor. Both of these guys are powerful forces who can score the basketball and can grab a truck load of rebounds. Either of those guys would help them out. For thier last pick they have to be looking for Tyshawn Taylor to play backup point guard. He is projected to go pretty late but if the Nuggets take him it would be a complete steal. I am not saying that any of these guys will start but all of them could make big impacts off the bench. If the Nuggets have a succesful draft, look for them to have a very sucessful season.

Dion Waiters, guard for Syracuse

I do not enjoy the Atlanta Hawks because they always beat or give the Celtics a good game. I respect them because they are a team full of hard working guys but they always seem to play thier best when they are up against the C's. They are 17th in points per game with 96.6, 23rd in rebounds per game with 41.2 and 8th in assists per game with 22.4. In this case I would have to agree with the stats that they should try to draft a big man who can leap and bring down the rebounds. They already have Josh Smith down low but they could draft a center or someone who could shadow Smith. Since they have had a solid season, they are prjected to have one pick in the late first round. There are some solid big men that could be available when they are up such as Fab Melo o Syracuse and Andrew Nicholson of Saint Bonaventure. Although they are both solid players the best route for the Hawks to go would be to trade up a few picks and try to snag Terence Jones, one of the many big men from Kentucky. Over this past season, Jones averaged 12.5 points per game and 7 rebounds per game. If Jones played for any other team he could average a double double because there are so many great players on Kentucky so it is tough to have flashy stats. He has an NBA type skill set, standing at 6-9 and weighing in at 252 pounds. He is pretty much a tank and the type of player that could make a direct impact on the NBA. If the Hawks select him they will be one of the elite teams in the league who can have a solid chance at a title run. As much as I do not enjoy them, they could be amazing if they make the right pick.

Terence Jones, forward for Kentucky