A Season of Goliath's

Courtesy of MSN Fox Sports

        And they are out! The first Coaches Poll of the 2011-12 Men's Basketball season has been released. At first glance when looking at it, WOW! The college basketball field this year is stuffed with good teams around the nation.

      
First off, the defending National Champion is starting off at #4. Yes, they did lose lottery pick Kemba Walker to the NBA, but they still have Shabazz Napier and Jeremy Lamb returning. They should be tossing aside the diapers and playing some big roles for the Huskies this year. Then there is the Freshman man-beast in Andre Drummond. This 6 foot-10 inch, 270-pound 18 year old straight out of high school will immediately make an impact on the NCAA. And this team only starts at #4?
      
Now I will jump back up to #2 where the NBA factory, Kentucky Wildcats hold ground. With a top freshman returning from last year in Terrence Jones, Coach Calipari has added freshman like Michael Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Anthony Davis, and Kyle Wiltjier. All 4 of them would most likely be starting at any D-I school. And they are topped by the infamous UNC Wildcats.

      
To finish up, I am going to jump all the way down to the #12 Baylor Bears to show you how strong the field this season really is. The Bears have Senior Quincy Acy leading the team along with Sophomore Perry Jones III in the front court. Bringing the ball up the court is going the be another young Freshman Deuce Bello. Deuce was one of the talented youngsters that played along side John Wall on the D-I Sports traveling team that was filled with ridiculous talent. The Baylor Bears have reloaded for another battle in the Big 12 conference, and yet a team with this kind of talent is #12 in the nation.
      
Freshman seem to be getting bigger and stronger with every year that passes. With young kids making such a strong impact on college basketball, it seems the competition is going to continue to grow on the hardwood. It's going to be a great year of college hoops. Happy Watchings!

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How Not To Handle A Press Conference As A Coach

Tyrone Willingham who is also know as Kim-Jong-Illingham around the University of Washington campus seemed to have a rough day on the practice field. Post practice Reporter Chris Fetters was asking about a specific player that seemed to be on Ty's dead list and Ty refused to comment. I suggest not trying this technique as a coach, as you may notice, Ty is no longer in coaching.

Brad Stevens Breaks Down What Makes A Great Team

Courtesy of iHoops.com


It's not a fluke that Brad Stevens is one of the hottest coaches in the NCAA right now. He breaks down the keys to what makes a great team. Stevens has lead the Butler Bulldogs to two consecutive National Championship appearances playing out of a mid major in the Missouri Valley conference. I'm guessing that what he is doing up there in Indianapolis is working.

Evolution of Lebron James: The Shoe

It hasn't been every single shoe, but since the first pair of Lebron's that came out a little over 9 years ago, I have been a fan. I began year one though, with the Lebron 1's. A very comfortable shoe to my liking, but not nearly supportive enough for my ankle. Despite that, it was my second favorite pair of Lebron's to play in.

Next up was this exact pair of the Nike Zoom Lebron III. I had the white with gold trimming, and they were some clunkers. By far one of the heaviest shoes I have ever played in. In addition to that, they way the shoe lace holes were designed, they would cut your shoe strings causing them to rip in the middle of playing. Not my favorite pair to play in, but I dont recommend a pair while wearing some jeans.

The Lebron 6's were not only my favorite Lebron made shoe to play in, it was my favorite basketball shoe I had ever played in. Not only did they have comfort, the durability was just what I needed on the court. It have me the support and sustainability that I wanted in a shoe. Although many people had said they were too heavy to play in, I disagree, stop making excuse and get the job done. Plus, I wasn't a big high-flyer anyways.

After the best, the worst seems to be right behind. The Nike Zoom Soldiers III in my opinion should not have been let off the assembly line. I know a shoe is bad when I go out to practice in them one time and decide immediately that never again will I play basketball in them. It wasn't the design that was the problem, it was how narrow the shoe was. It should never feel like your pinky toe is about to fall off should it?



After 8 years in the league it seems that Lebron's legend is continuing to grow on and off the floor. The Lebron 9's look to be the best shoe of his yet. It combines the durability along with the comfort, and light weight to compete with the best shoes on the market. I will let you check the rest out yourself.

Who's on Top?

Elevate: An ESPN Film

ESPN Films continues to impress. "From a basketball academy in West Africa to the high-pressure world of American prep schools ELEVATE documents the extraordinary personal journeys of four particularly tall West African teenagers with big hearts, open minds, and NBA dreams."

Conference Craziness

Boise State to the Mountain West, we saw them changing conferences with that football powerhouse they have manufactured up there in Boise, Idaho. Nebraska to the Big Ten, ok whats going on? Utah and Colorado to the Pac-12, more conference changes? Now the latest Pittsburgh and Syracuse to the ACC, this is starting to put a damper on college athletics. With all these teams switching conferences, many conference rivalries are being thrown out the window.
It's all coming down to the money. If a school is not happy with the money that they are earning in their current conference, schools are starting to sell their athletics programs to the highest
bidder. In the end it is not laid out that simple, but it has a lot to do with the amount of TV money received per conference. Texas isn't so urgent to leave because they just launched their own network, and other conferences don't want to inherit something that is going to take away from their profits. But when did "conference hopping" become the answer to all of this. It used to be that you would change conference if you wanted to move up in the competition, or vice versa. Now it's all about the money.
Why must we see great rivalries in the Big East destroyed for the simple departure to another conference just for the money. There is no longer going to be those great conference battles as the Pittsburgh Panthers take the court in the Backyard Brawl against West Virginia, or those crazy games against the UConn Huskies, not to mention the wild ones that took place against Notre Dame. What about when Syracuse would play in-state rivals St.Johns in MSG. I can't remember the last time that a Syracuse-UConn basketball game wasn't entertaining. After this season will the Carrier Dome any longer be a Big East arena. With all this flip-flopping, and switch-swapping going on, these schools Athletic Directors should have taken the time to look at some of these great rivalries they would be ruining. In the name of College Basketball I do not agree with all these conference changes.

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Be a Dog, Not a Cat

Coach Bennett Presser of Coastal Carolina has a very exciting way of telling stories. This just goes to show how intense college coaches can get when trying to control a team full of kids just out of high school.

The Time is Now

Practice gear is being handed out, shoes are being broken in, and new basketballs are hitting the hardwood for their first time.We are now less than 12 hours away from the official start of the 2011-12 NCAA College Basketball season. Not the first game, but team's across the nation are allowed to officially practice starting October 15.

This is a time that coaches wait for all year. The chance to get in the gym and do some actual coaching. Though the paperwork must still be taken care of, that other aspect is added to your day, coaching. At first things aren't going to look exactly how you want them, especially for the perfectionists, but that is why it is practice. Most teams have a maximum of 3 weeks before their first real test, a game. As a team, you never really know how good you can or are going to be until that first test. When the lights come on, will you shine? Or will you tuck your tail between you legs and go hide in the corner? As a player, you work as hard as you can to perform, as a coach you prepare your team to the best of your ability so they feel comfortable enough to go lay it all on the line for you.

Another huge factor that plays into this, are the players getting ample rest to be able to prepare at the highest of their ability? If you have practice at 9am and a few of the players are out until 2 or 3 in the morning, how can you stop that? In my opinion there is no way to stop that, it is up to the players to realize how important the TEAM is over their social life. The girls aren't going anywhere. Matter of fact, how about you make them work a little bit instead of chasing them around campus. Next are the players getting the right kind and amount of food before a practice to be able to sustain for a possible 3 hour practice, or longer. It is vital that players eat anything before practice to have that energy. A PB & J, some eggs, bread, a Powerbar, anything will help.  The important thing is to have something in your system so half way through practice your not burnt out. That means your mind is set on getting better, and not set on the next meal that you will get.


Happy Hardwood Coaches and Players, and good luck this season.

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NCAA Basketball Tip-Off Event

        Today, October 11, 2011 the Olympic Club(OC) held their 13th Annual NCAA Basketball Tip-Off Event at their club location in downtown San Francisco. This gives Division I Head Coaches around Northern California, and specifically the Bay Area a chance to get up in front of a crowd and talk about how they think their respective teams will do in this up and coming season. Schools that were represented by their Head Coach at this event included University of Pacific, Santa Clara, St. Mary's, UC Davis, University of San Francisco, San Jose St, Sacramento St, Fresno St, Stanford, and Cal Berkeley.
        The day started off when we arrived a little after 11 am. The meet and greet was taking place in the extravagant lobby of the San Francisco Olympic Club. The Stanford band was playing, the Cal mascot was running around, and the San Jose St cheerleaders were there to greet. Then was the coaches "club room." This was my first time ever meeting Stanford Head Coach Johnny Dawkins. The man is simply a professional in every aspect. The manner in which he carries himself is from head to toe the way you would come to expect of the man leading a team at such a prestigious school such as Standford. The mingling continued as we all made our way to the lower level gym where the actually Luncheon was taking place.
        It began with the smaller conference schools speaking leading up to the newly realigned Pac-12 head coaches last, Johnny Dawkins and Mike Montgomery. Each coach would come up and as they went further and further the coaches would try to throw out more and more jokes. Leading up to the Grand Finale of Mike Montgomery. Other coaches had mentioned when they were on the podium that they knew he would go last, and they were right. Mike came up with a paper with a pretty full list. And the list must have been full of cracks on other coaches because it was stand up comedy in the Olympic Club for the first 10 minutes he was up there. He finally got to his team after that, a team that he thinks has a chance to make a lot of noise in the Pac-12 this year.
        As was stated at the end of the Luncheon, this could be one of the best years for Bay Area college basketball in quite some time. If you are up in Northern California between November and March be sure to make a stop in Berkeley, Palo Alto, Fresno, or even right here in San Francisco as the Dons look forward to taking another step forward this season.

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The calm before the storm.

Welcome to College Hoopers

        With October just beginning, that can only mean one thing to me. The COLLEGE basketball season is right around the corner. With official practices starting October 15 around the country, many teams are wrapping up individual workouts if not early next week, this week. Most upper class players know how tough this time of pre season can be. Waking up early for workouts, immediately followed by weight training. Don't forget the part where you have class after that, followed directly by study hall. When are these young men supposed to find time to eat, sleep, have a social life?

        Welcome to college Freshman. You eat on your break, sleep while you can, and about the social life, well  kiss that goodbye for the time being. Not only college basketball, but college athletics in general helps student athletes realize the importance of time management. Getting work done ahead of time is huge when it comes to college student athletes. If you procrastinate, you pay for it with bad grades and more study hall! 

        Now don't think I am saying that it must be terrible to be a college athlete, that is not it at all. It is actually quite amazing. The traveling, the competition, and the team camaraderie are all great examples of why I would go back and do it again. Knowing you have a whole team behind your back when you are out competing on your perspective field/court is a feeling that is hard to find. Knowing you are putting it on the line for the better of the team is #WINNING in itself.

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Confidence is preparation, everything else is out of your control.