Arizona sets a record with 31 draft picks since 1989

Posted on July 2, 2009 by Dino Gomez

When Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill were called into the NBA this year they made the 30th and 31st players from Arizona to be drafted into the league since 1989. You see in 1989 the NBA draft was shortened into 2 rounds and since then only a few elite programs can say they have had over 20 of their players selected in the NBA draft. Those programs would be: Duke with 29, UCLA with 28, North Carolina with 25, Connecticut with 23, ancatsd Kansas with 22.

Arizona also has the longest current consecutive streak with an invitation to the NCAA tournament with 25. North Carolina holds the record with 27 straight appearances which began in 1975 and ended in 2001. Only 3 more years to go for the Cats which should be easier now considering Arizona’s new coach, Sean Miller, did a remarkable job recruiting this offseason and has the program commanding the 12th best recruiting class of 2009.

While we are on the subject of records and or awards, Playboy came out with their 2008- 2009 College Party School of the year award where Arizona ranked 5th. No wonder Sean Miller had such an easy time signing recruits, it’s a fun place to go to school.

Advertisement

Filed under: Dino Gomez, General, NCAA News | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Lebron James and Shaquille O’neal are Teammates

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Dino Gomez

It was discussed a ton last night and has become official today, Shaquille O’neal is now a Cavalier alongside Lebron James. This deal happens just hours before this year’s NBA draft and mainly because Shaq wanted it to happen.  Really though as forementioned in an earlier post, most hall of fame players tend to just chill when a trade takes place but this trade marks O’neal’s fifth team in his career. That is a lot of moving around for the caliber of such a player. Its obvious  O’neal can’t stand to sit still for a moment if his team is not winning and the Phoenix Suns are definately not winning, so he’s gone. The details of the trade are as follows: the Cleveland Cavaliers recieve the Big Diesel with his $21 million a year contract and give the Phoenix Suns Ben Wallace, Sasha Pablovic, the 46th pick in the NBA draft tonight, and $500,000. As a Phoenix fan I’m bummed with Shaq’s departure but I recognize Wallace and Pablovic give us a better chance at completing the puzzle. A parting gift for Big Shaq comes in the form of a highlight reel when he was at LSU.

Filed under: NBA | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Trade News

Posted on June 24, 2009 by stone86

Here’s a quick update on some developing trade news.  The Minnesota Timberwolves have agreed to send Mike Miller and Randy Foye to the Washington Wizards.  In return the Timberwolves receive Etan Thomas, Darius SoBangngaila, Oleksiy Pecherov (who?) and the fifth overall pick in tomorrow’s draft.  This means that Minnesota now has both the 5th and 6th picks in the NBA draft.  Will Minnesota continue to wheel and deal?  With time running out, we are bound to find out soon.  In any case, unless something happens, Thabeet, Rubio and Griffin will likely be off the board.  On another note, the Wizards are now stacked with scorers.

In Oakland, it looks like the Warriors are close to moving Jamal Crawford.  According to ESPN, the possible deal has the Atlanta Hawks sending Acie Law and Speedy Claxton to the Warriors for Crawford.  It’s not much of a surprise considering the Glut of scoring guards and forwards on the Warriors already.  More interesting however, is the possible significance that this deal would have on the Mike Bibby contract negotiations.

The next few days are bound to be fun as teams continue to scramble.  We’ll keep you updated.  Also look for a Pac10 basketball preview in the near future.

Filed under: General | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Best draft picks from second round in past 10 years

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Dino Gomez

With the NBA draft another day closer, we have decided to recall the best draft picks from the second round in the past 10 years. These players were selected at positions where a career normally doesn’t exist for them  in the NBA after a matter of 3 or 4 years. We will start with the top pick and work down to the fifth best pick.redd

2000 – Bucks selected Michael Redd 43rd- That is just crazy. Michael Redd the guy with the sweet left hand jumper that seems to never miss was passed up 42 times before his name was called in the 2001 NBA draft. Redd is an NBA all-star now and franchise player for the Bucks. He also was chosen to represent the Dream Team in the Olympics in 2008 in which he contributed to a U.S. gold medal.

2001- Warriors selected Gilbert Arenas 31st- One of the league’s premier players was selected in the second round. Agent zero a.k.a. Gilbert Arenas, the franchise player for the Washington Wizards was offered the league maximum $127 million for seven years back in 2008. Instead he opted to receive $111 million so that his team had more money to spend elsewhere. Arenas has worn the number zero since high school when he was never given a chance to flourish on the court. He wore that number at Arizona and now in the NBA in order to remind himself what he has to prove.

1998 – Supersonics selected Rashard Lewis 32nd- Rashard Lewis who was just featured in the NBA finals as a member of the Orlando Magic is obviously talented. He is a 6’10 forward who can knock down long distance shots like he was a guard. He represents everything the NBA wants in a player. He is humble and extremely talented. He chose to take less money and play for the Magic because he understood that the majority of teams that win a championship do so with a dominant player at the center position. Lewis felt Dwight Howard was his best chance.

2003 – Mavs selected Josh Howard 29th- Josh Howard is still growing as a player but is already un-stoppable on the offensive end. He has a solid jump shot and is athletic enough to drive the lane. If the Mavericks or his team ever pushes far into the playoffs look for him to step up and take over big game situations.eva_longoria

2001 – Spurs selected Tony Parker 28th- Alright I know the 28th pick falls as the last pick of the first round but for matters here that is close enough. How amazing that Tony Parker was drafted so late. He is dominant at the point and has one of the quickest first steps in the league. He is an NBA allstar and three time NBA champion. He is also a pimp. He was approached after a playoff game in L.A. by Eva Longoria’s father and was congradulated on an impressive performance. Parker responded by explaining how hungry he was after his performance and invited Eva’s father and Eva herself to a late dinner. Parker treated the two to a late night Denny’s meal while playing everything casual. Before long he had his own date with Eva and now as you all may know she goes by Eva Longoria Parker. What a player.

Filed under: Dino Gomez, General, NBA | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

James Harden and Gilbert Arenas Twins?

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Dino Gomez

The NBA draft is only three days out and the only thing that is certain is that everything is uncertain. Teams ing202266_u52637_Gilbert_ArenasPHP4919E61073EB0 the past years at three days out almost always knew which players were going to be available when their turn to pick was up and they knew which players they’ll most likely decide to draft. This year is completely different. There are potentially 50 different combinations of how players could be drafted positions 2 thru 10 or something close to 50 (not going to do the math right now better to spend the time studying the players), which is crazy.

What would be funny in my book and what is probable is that James Harden from Arizona State will be drafted fifth overall to the Washington Wizards. He would play opposite Gilbert Arenas on the wing and would confuse the hell out of me if I were a defender. Think about playing transition defense against the Wizards when they have numbers on the break. Everyone knows Harden is going to his left because he is like Lamar Odom and can only go left, so as I defender you want to make him use his right hand. However at the speed a fastbreak happens would you be able to tell if the guy with the ball is James Harden or Gilbert Arenas? I mean they look really similar, are close enough in stature, and yeahh look similar. I’m thinking they are twins, were separated at birth, that one of them lost a birth certificate, and are about to be united on the court in Washington. Want more proof that they are twins? Twins think alike. Gilbert Arenas played college ball at Arizona while James Harden played at Arizona State.

Filed under: Dino Gomez, General, NBA | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »