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.

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Bron Bron and Artest?

Posted on July 2, 2009 by stone86

The Cavaliers are stoked.  Not only did they land the giant Saguaro Shaquille O’Neal, but now Lebron is working his star power in an attempt to convince Mr. Ron Artest to join them in Cleveland.  Signing a guy like Artest would be huge, making them the unequivocal favorites to win the east, even if the Celtics are healthy.  Also, it’s rumored Trevor Ariza’s representation is making him available to the rest of the league.  It sounds like talks with the Lakers are breaking down and the Cavaliers are possible suitors.  Ariza probably wouldn’t have the immediate impact that Artest would, but he is also much younger and his game has consistently improved since leaving UCLA for the NBA.  Ariza could be a great long-term fit but the Cavs appear unwilling to wait for a title.  In either scenario however, the Cavs will be in great shape.

In other news, Detroit has made the first big moves in the free agent market.  With their seemingly endless cap space they were able to pursue and sign both Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon.  The reported deals have Ben Gordon earning $55 million over 5 years and Villanueva raking in $40 million over 4 years.  Now all they need is a coach.

(Also it’s rumored Rudy Fernandez is pissed about the possible Hedo deal.  Watch it closely, he is reportedly considering heading back to Europe.)

You know that Heinekan commercial where a group of women scream with the sight of their friend’s new walk in closet only to over hear their husbands screaming louder with the sight of a walk in closet filled with beer? Well imagine that with Shaq and Artest joining in. Confused? Watch below.

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Pac10 Preview – Overview

Posted on June 30, 2009 by stone86

Alright, I figured it’s time to get this project underway.  The idea of doing in-depth analysis of every club in the Pac 10 conference scared me, so I decided to break it apart.  Today we’ll look at the conference in general and begin the team previews with the  Oregon Ducks.  Choosing to look at the Ducks first may seem a bit arbitrary but it’s the club I know best and thus it will be the easiest to do.  (Which is nice because I’m a busy man.)pac10

Pac 10 clubs lost a lot of talent, NBA caliber talent.  Both Arizona schools have to replace the bulk of their scoring after the departures of Harden and Pendergraph at ASU, along with Budinger and Hill at Arizona.  Besides Taj Gibson and Demar DeRozan leaving the club, SC lost Coach Tim Floyd to resignation in a veritable debacle.  At UCLA, Coach Howland will be without the experience of Aboya, Collinson, and Josh Shipp.  Washington and WSU also lost considerably, especially at WSU where the Tony Bennett exit will be exacerbated by a youthful squad.  So what’s the result of all the commotion?  As you would expect, a watered down conference.  But conference play should be competitive and open.

So who’s going to win the conference?  The top two positions are clear and relatively interchangeable in my mind.

1.  Cal

2. Washington

After that things get a bit hairy.

3. Arizona

4. UCLA

5. Oregon

6. Oregon State

7. ASU

8. Stanford

9. USC

10. Washington State

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Better yet, which college team lost the most in the 2009 NBA draft?

Posted on June 28, 2009 by Dino Gomez

It’s fun to discuss the NBA draft in terms of which NBA team will benefit the most from their picks as well as which players were drafted too soon or too late. However it is rare that a rookie comes into the league and dominates right away. They may snatch a starting position and put up impressive numbers in their first year, but they almost never make a huge impact right away. They have to develop first. That is why after the NBA draft it is more fun to discuss the NCAA. Imagine losing an NBA quality player at the college level? Now that makes an impact on your team. So instead of further dissecting where the draft picks are headed, were taking you back to where these players came from to see which programs have gaping holes to fill next season. The rules of this evaluation are simple: Two NBA players that leave the NCAA affect the college they attended more than if just one player left. So below are all the colleges that lost 2 or more players this year to the 2009 NBA draft.Louisville Media Day Basketball

  • Arizona – Jordan Hill (8) and Chase Budinger (44)
  • Arizona State- James Harden (3) and Jeff Pendergraph (31)
  • Uconn- Hasheem Thabeet (2) and A.J. Price (52)
  • Louisville- Terrance Williams (11) and Earl Clark (14)
  • Memphis- Tyreke Evans (4) and Robert Dozier (60)
  • North Carolina- Tyler Hansbrough (13)/ Ty Lawson (18)/ Wayne Ellington (28)/ Danny Green (46)
  • Oklahoma- Blake Griffin (1) and Taylor Griffin (48)
  • Pittsburgh- Sam Young (36) and Dejuan Blair (37)
  • UCLA- Jrue Holiday (17) and Darren Collison (21)
  • USC- DeMar DeRozan (9) and Taj Gibson (26)
  • Wake Forest– James Johnson (16) and Jeff Teague (19)
  1. North Carolina wins or technically loses this contest. Four players from their team left the Baby Blue behind. They have by far the most work to do if they are to match the caliber of their championship team this past year.
  2. Louisville loses the second most.  Terrance Willams and Earl Clark closed business deals for them on the court and losing them hurts.
  3. Arizona State and Wake Forest tie for third. ASU will have a tough time in the Pac-10 without Harden’s scoring and Pendergraph rebounding and blocking shots. Wake Forest finished poorly this last season but will be hard to recognize without James Johnson and Jeff Teague.

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