Tyreke Evans to Memphis

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone given Tyreke Evans close ties to William “Worldwide” Wesley and Wes’s close relationship with Memphis Coach John Calipari. People have been speculating about this decision for months and now it’s official. Evans a three-time Pennsylvania AP player of the year and MVP of the McDonald All-American game has selected the Memphis Tigers, to play his collegiate ball.

Evans averaged 29 pts, 8 rebs and 6 assists this past season as a Sr. guard at American Christian in Pennsylvania. Tyreke was also mulling offers from Villanova and Texas before selecting the Tigers. "It wasn't an easy decision," Evans said. "It's time for me to be a man. I need a little time away from my family and I wanted to get away. I like Memphis' system. I like what Coach Call does and I think he will help me get to the next level."

Make no mistake about it… Tyreke is not going to Memphis to further his education. His goal is to be one and done. But for anyone that is expecting the next coming of Derrick Rose, understand now that Tyreke is not even close to the athlete or point guard of the electric D. Rose. In fact, if it wasn’t for this year’s Senior class being a down year, Tyreke wouldn’t have garnered all the accolades that came his way. He is a tremendous scorer and a superb talent, but Tyreke has a long way to go before he can even contemplate a jump to the pro-level.

His brother Reggie, has somewhat of a different view as to the type of player Memphis is getting, "CDR and Derrick put together a hell of a tandem, but I think 'Reke is both of them in one," Reggie Evans said. "He's Derrick handling the ball, and he's CDR with his scoring ability. All he needs is a little help around him. They could make another run at it."

Not quite, but we’ll see…

For more on Tyreke Evans

In the Spotlight: Derrick Rose

Position: Point Guard
Ht: 6-4, Wt: 200
Hometown: Chicago, IL

Class: Freshman

College: Memphis

Age: October 4th, 1988

Strengths

• Great size, strength and build for the pg position
• Outstanding in the open court – Rose is about as fast as you can get end-to-end with the ball in your hands.
• Explosive leaper who can throw down highlight dunks.
• Combine his leaping ability with his uncanny hang time and Rose is exceptional finishing around the rim and in traffic.
• Superb quickness
• Great foot speed, solid on the ball defender… He has all the tools to be a phenomenal defensive player.
• Excellent rebounder for a pg, which enables Rose to turn and start the fast break – He’s always looking to run.
• Very strong handle – comfortable going left and right – with a particularly strong in and out move with the left hand.
• Unselfish – always looks to give up the ball
• Team player – despite receiving all the hype coming into college, Rose really showed that he just wanted to be another member of the team.
  

Weaknesses

• Doesn’t have the “I want to be the man” mentality – thus shying away down the stretch
• Needs to work on being more effective playing in a half-court game
• Shot needs refinement – slight mechanical adjustments might be needed, but definitely has the ability to develop into a consistent outside threat.
• Despite having all of the tools to be a phenomenal defensive player, Rose needs to exert more energy on the defensive side of the ball – not have lapses where he lets his man penetrate past him.
• Needs polishing off the court

Rose is the complete package. He has an NBA body, speed, quickness, athletic ability and he plays point guard the right way. Like Jason Kidd, the moment Rose gets the ball in his hands, he is looking to create a fast break opportunity even if it doesn’t seem like one is available. He is very unselfish and teammates love playing with him because of his style of play and unselfishness.

Rose prefers to blend in with the guys like another member of the team, rather than being ‘the man,’ which is both a good thing and a bad thing. He needs to develop that killer instinct at the end of games, where he realizes ‘I am the guy and it’s time to take over on certain occasions,’ but it may just not be in him.

To this point in his career, Rose has been able to dominate on his athleticism alone, but as he transitions to the pro-level; Rose will need to further advance his half-court game. He needs to be able to knock down the jumper on a more consistent basis, both spot shooting and pull up jumpers off the bounce. He also has to get more effective at running the pick and roll in a half court set and avoid picking up his dribble and getting trapped away from the basket.

With that being said, Rose has star potential at the next level.

Blueprint to Defeat the Cavs

For anyone who thought the Cavs got better following the deadline deal to acquire Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, and Delonte West, they should spend a few minutes watching Thursday nights Cavs, Wizards game. In fact, every coach in the NBA should watch the game to understand how to defend the Cavs.

The Wizards made life impossible for LeBron on the offensive end last night. Due to the offensive deficiencies of Ben Wallace, Washington was able to rotate Wallace’s defender (in this case Jamison) off of him and double team LeBron each time he looked to make a move. It was border line embarrassing that a former All-Star is that inept offensively that an NBA team could pay so little attention to their offensive game, but it worked to perfection.

With LeBron worrying about how to blow past two defenders and Washington making it so difficult for LBJ to get into the paint, the Wizards took advantage. On the rare occasions when LeBron penetrated and settled for dishing off to Wallace, Big Ben was just looking for the closest guy to kick the ball back out too. With range that doesn’t extend past the dotted lines, Wallace provides little threat for the opposition.

The +/- numbers even validate this claim: Wallace was the only starter that the Cavs lost points, while he was on the court… Wallace -6 and the second closest starter was +3.

With Zydrunas Ilgauskas out with an injury and Drew Gooden now playing for Chicago, the Cavs are currently without a big man who can knock down the medium range shot. The Cavs might have added bigger names to their roster with the deadline trades, but there is no way they became a better team.

LeBron has big shoulders, but with Big Ben bringing him down, it could prove to be too much of a load to carry.

MJ's on a Different Level

When an athlete or celebrity walks into a party, it adds some excitement for a minute or two and then it quickly wears off.

But when MJ shows up, people just stare in astonishment. It’s even funny to see how star struck other celebrities get when MJ enters the building.

Michael Bivins has the details of his encounter with MJ down at All-Star weekend:

Another Night, Another Embarrassment

With 19 seconds left in the 4th quarter and the score tied, did you ever wonder what goes on in the NY Knicks team huddle? Here it is:



I guess the Knicks players didn’t miss each other too much over the All-Star break.

But don’t worry… According to Zach Randolph everything is fine, “It was a misunderstanding. Nate and I talked about it."

Whew…I got nervous for a second.

Oh yeah, and the Knicks lost by 40 tonight to the 76ers. But hey, I’m sure its fine.


Prior to hiring a new GM, James Dolan should make sure to read this article:

Selecting a General Manager

I’ll even sum it up for you: Great player doesn’t translate to great executive. Call me!

All-Star Game: A Few Bullets

• LeBron is on a level above everyone else. Even though it’s the All-Star game, LBJ still shines a tad brighter.
  
  
• For anybody that doesn’t think Kobe Bryant is furious that his All-Star game PPG average took a hit, well than, you just don’t know Kobe.
  
  
• D-Wade is really hitting the commercial circuit. It’s an honor to make Charles Fav-5, but there’s only so much Wade I can take during timeouts.
  
  
• Part of what makes the All-Star game so exciting for the players is the opportunity to play with stars from different teams. The Pistons All-Stars (Rasheed, Chauncy and Richard Hamilton) can’t enjoy being considered a trio; always having to be inserted into the game together.
  
  
• Yao Ming needs to freshen up. With 19 Billion people from China tuning in to see their beloved star, the Big Fella forgot to shave his neck. You got to go one way or the other Yao Ming!
  
  
• Rasheed just doesn’t care. The guy took 5 shots, 4 of which were lefty.
  
  
• Every time I watch Dwight Howard, I get more mesmerized with what he’s able to do on the basketball court. He’s the complete package.
  
  
• The East won by 6, but they were outscored by 20 when Richard Hamilton was on the court. Not a great stat for Richard.
  
  
• Am I the only person that feels like every time the ball is in Jason Kidd’s hands, something good happens? He should be mandatory at All-Star games.
  

NBA Dunk Contest: WOW

What a Dunk Contest! Creativity, Originality, Competitiveness… It was all on full display last night.



A Few Notes:

-Dwight Howard redefined what big man should be able to do… He’s 6’10 with athletic ability that is simply off the charts. Howard gave people the “What’s next?” feeling, which hasn’t been felt since 2000, Vince Carter.

- Rudy Gay’s second dunk when he caught the lob from behind the basket would’ve actually been cool, had it not been for Dwight Howard’s monster first dunk. Not such a great showing Rudy.

- Despite getting so much height on the superman dunk, Dwight Howard forgot to move toward the basket, hence the reason that he was forced to throw the ball in. Following the dunk, everyone had the expression on their face of “What just happened?”

- Gerald Green blowing out the cupcake was so impressive, but it needed replay for people to understand what actually happened.

- Not that I’m talking from experience, but the final Gerald Green jam in which he dunks the ball after going between his legs, without sneakers on, didn’t get near the credit it deserved.

NBA: Mid-Season Awards

With the first half of the NBA season wrapped up, its time to dole out some mid-season awards:

Are you still in the NBA Award?

Emeka Okafor: Has anyone seen or heard from Emeka Okafor? Outside of him rejecting a massive $65 million contract extension, I can’t recall hearing his name mentioned once during the first half of the NBA season. His 13.5 points and 11 rebound averages are about as silent as Mark McGwire standing in front of Congress.

The fact that scouts once debated who should be taken #1 overall, Emeka Okafor or Dwight Howard… Let's just say they can joke about that now.


Ready to Break Out Award

Monte Ellis: Monte Ellis is one Baron Davis strained hamstring away from becoming a star in the NBA. Ellis’s averages of 19, 4.5, 3.5 have propelled GS to a 32 – 20 record, despite the 0 – 6 start. Ellis is the complete package and as he continues to mature, he’s going to be a very difficult player to stop. He can shoot, penetrate, run the open court, and finish around the basket.

It’s not too long until Ellis is actually busy during All-Star weekend.


Look Who’s Laughing Now Award

Mitch Kupchak: With all of the heat Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak received over the summer, it takes a real set of balls to stick by what you believe in and not force a trade in an attempt to quiet the naysayer’s. Well, not only did Kupchak keep his young talent (Andrew Bynum), but he also managed to steal Pau Gasol from Memphis without giving up a core player in return. With a 35-17 record, all seems well in Laker land and there’s really one person who deserves much of the credit.


I’m in Need of a New Team Award

JR Smith: JR Smith is way too explosive and too good of a scorer to be playing such a limited role in Denver. With 2 prolific scorers (Melo and AI) already in the rotation, there are limited minutes left for one more, thus JR’s 17 minutes per game average.

With a change of scenery and an understanding to not just settle for deep three’s, JR Smith could become a Top 10 scorer in the league.

“It’s Time” Award

Isiah Thomas: Enough is enough. It’s time to chalk this up to a failed experiment.

Indiana University is awaiting you!


1st Team All-NBA

Chris Paul
Kobe Bryant
LeBron James
Kevin Garnett
Dwight Howard


First Half MVP:

Kevin Garnett: After the KG trade went down, everyone knew the Celtics were going to be a much better team. But 41 – 9… Not many people saw that coming. To put that record in perspective, the bookies had the Celtics over/under wins for the season at 48. (I’ll gladly win that).

KG turned around the entire culture of the Celtics organization. Prior to his arrival, the Celtics were a team stuck in mediocrity led by a miserable star in Paul Pierce, a coach that didn’t know what he was doing in Doc Rivers and an Executive Director of Basketball Operations whose job was on life support, Danny Ainge.

Instead of coming in and proclaiming this as his team, KG just tried to fit in as one of the guys. He’s brought a team oriented, defensive mind-set that everyone on the roster not only bought into, but seems to enjoy. Individual accolades have been put on the backburner and the Celtics are flourishing with the best record in the NBA.

RJ's Had a Tough Few Days

If there is one guy who’s not taking the Jason Kidd trade news all that well, it’s Richard Jefferson. Either RJ is furious about his star point guard potentially leaving him in ‘The Swamp’ or someone must have really gotten under RJ’s skin.

Jefferson is under investigation by Minneapolis cops for allegedly choking someone at a club and threatening to kick someone’s ass.

“It appeared that Mr. Jefferson had been choking Mr. Fox. Richard Jefferson quickly exited the club, at which point Dan asked him to wait a minute so they could all figure out what had happened. It was then that Mr. Jefferson verbally threatened Dan, stating that, ‘Say another word I will kick your ass.’”

To read the official report.

Just wondering, why is someone that lives in NYC going club hopping in Minnesota? Strange…Either way, any excuse to throw this picture up works.

(Assist: TMZ)

Get Used to Hearing These Names

Courtesy of HSSMTV, we’ve obtained recent footage of two of the best point guards in the nation, Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans in recent action.

Game 1: Jennings’s (3) Oak Hill Academy Team (28 – 4) pummeled Piscataway (NJ) 81 – 39. Jennings full arsenal was on display as he poured in 32 pts and dropped 7 dimes. It wasn't really much of a contest, but Jennings’s made sure to keep the crowd entertained.





Game 2: In a close battle throughout, Tyreke Evans (1) American Christian (white) fell to St. Benedicts (maroon) 77 – 70. Evans dropped his standard 33, but it was Louisville bound Samardo Samuel that carried St. Ben’s to victory. Samuel poured in 27 pts and 17 boards.