STF Summer Outlook - The NBA Draft Early Entries

The second part of STF’ s Summer Outlook series takes a look at this year's very deep and very talented crop of NBA Draft Early Entries. We here at STF claim to know absolutely nothing about how certain college player will perform in the NBA (I had high hopes for Adam Morrison) , but since early entries will have such a dramatic impact on the 08-09 season, we need to cover it. A staggering 69 collegiate players have entered their names so far, a number that is clearly inflated thanks to the new rules that allows players to return back to school if they don't sign with an agent. Expect this list to be cut in half or even two-thirds by the time the June 14th deadline rolls around.

The Early Entry List

Rock Solid Lottery Picks

Jerryd Bayless, Arizona
Michael Beasley, Kansas State
Eric Gordon, Indiana
DeAndre Jordan, Texas A&M
Brook Lopez, Stanford
Robin Lopez, Stanford
Kevin Love*, UCLA
O.J. Mayo, USC
Anthony Randolph, LSU
Derrick Rose, Memphis

Chris Douglas-Roberts^, Memphis


Likely First Round Picks, Staying for the Cash

Kosta Koufos, Ohio State
Darrell Arthur*, Kansas
D.J. Augustin, Texas
Chase Budinger*, Arizona
Mario Chalmers*, Kansas
JaVale McGee, Nevada
Brandon Rush, Kansas
Bill Walker*, Kansas State
Russell Westbrook*, UCLA

The Battle for the Three Year Guarantee (Late First, Early Second Round)

Joe Alexander*, West Virginia
A.J. Abrams*, Texas
Jamont Gordon*, Mississippi State
Richard Hendrix*, Alabama
J.J. Hickson*, N.C. State
George Hill*, IUPUI
Davon Jefferson*USC
Ty Lawson*North Carolina
Jerel McNeal* Marquette
Trent Plaisted*BYU
Marreese Speights*Florida
Danny Green* North Carolina

Donte Green, *^ Syracsue

One-Dimensional Stars, Stay in School In Hopes of Becoming Multi-Dimensional

Josh Carter* Texas A&M (shooting)
Lee Cummard*BYU (shooting)
Wayne Ellington*North Carolina (shooting)
Lester Hudson*Tennessee-Martin (scoring)
Stefon Jackson*UTEP (scoring)
Shawn James Duquesne (shot blocking)
Jeremy Pargo*Gonzaga (passing/ball-handling)
Josh Shipp*UCLA (shooting)
Ronald Steele*Alabama (getting injured)
Robert Vaden*UAB (shooting)

Tremendous Athletes, But Need Isiah to be Re-Hired if They Want to be Drafted

Josh Akognon*Cal State Fullerton
Antonio Anderson*Memphis
Derrick Caracter, Louisville
Robert Dozier*Memphis
Michael Podobinski# Penn State
Alonzo Gee* Alabama
C.J. Giles Oregon State
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute*UCLA

Never a Good Sign If I Need to Look You Up to See If You Are Real

DeMarre Carroll*Missouri
Reggie Huffman*UAB
Leo Lyons*Missouri
Kalen Grimes* Missouri
Kojo Mensah*Dubuque
Courtney Pigram* East Tennessee State
Lorrenzo Wade*San Diego State
Gordon WattHouston Baptist
Eric Angevine# Old Dominion
Walter Sharpe*UAB

* - did not hire an agent
# - not a real college basketball player

^ - Player lost in the shuffle of tranfering this list from a word doc while at work

*Just wanted to make an observation that somehow, Missouri coach Mike Anderson has an influence on six(!) players making terrible decision to possibly enter the draft. Three from current Missouri team and three from his former team UAB. It should also be noted that neither team made the NCAA Tournament last season.

Random, gut feeling on boarderline players.....

Staying

Abrams

Gordon

Hill

McNeal

Going

Green

Alexander

Hickson

Jefferson

Chris Lofton Played 2008 Season While Battling Cancer

I don't think I'm alone in feeling like an absolute ass this morning for my in season criticisms of Chris Lofton's play after leaning last night via the excellent article by ESPN's Chris Low that the Tennessee guard played the entire season recovering fromm testicular cancer. Lofton's play all season always seemed a bit off, particularly late in games when he always looked fatigued and was prone to costly turnovers and bad shots. Now with this news, it all makes sense.

Truly must read article from Low about Lofton's fight to get back on the court. What amazes me almost as much Lofton's quick recovery was that no one knew about it until now.

"It was a very tight circle of people who knew. That circle included Lofton's parents, the Tennessee coaches and medical staff and a handful of others.The only teammate Lofton told was fellow senior guard Jordan Howell, and that was late in the season. Lofton and Howell roomed together on the road. Even Lofton's other family members -- aunts, uncles and cousins -- didn't know."

I'm curious to know how many college hoops writers or reporters knew about this and just kept it under wraps for Loftons' sake. Either way, simply amazing in this day and age that this story wasn't leaked until one month after the season. Stay healthy Chris, we are all rooting for you

Going Pro in Something Else, With NCAA Money

Here at STF, we are plugged in to college basketball year round. The various conferences send news updates into our email box whenever there's something to report. Last night, we got one that actually gave us new information on an aspect of the NCAA that we were previously unaware of. Apparently the NCAA really does help student-athletes go pro in something else, as their public service announcements proclaim.

The NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship is awarded to 87 men and 87 women who have completed their collegiate eligibility while demonstrating academic excellence. The awards are given to athletes in any NCAA sport, and are spread from Division III up to Division I based on merit. The $7500 scholarships can be used at any accredited graduate school, domestic or foreign.

This year's sole DI men's basketball winner is Jack Leasure of Coastal Carolina, who made several academic all-america teams while averaging 16.8 ppg. Last year, two-time NCAA champion Florida Gator Lee Humphrey took home the cash. Some guys have all the luck, talent, brains, and hard work, eh?

In this case, I'm inclined to give the NCAA some credit for putting money where their mouths are. Yes, most of the time they muddy the student-athlete waters more than they clarify them, but this is a good thing. I'll be looking into this story further - I'd love to find out what some of these athletes have done with the money. Who knows? Your doctor could be a former NCAA hoops star.

[NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Program]

Quite A Week for Carolina Basketball

Still questioning Tyler Hansbroughs' decision not to test the NBA waters? Instead of tirelessly working out for scouts without much of a desire to really leave school, Hansbrough got to play basketball with a presidential candidate Barack Obama and...... jump off a roof into a swimming pool like he was the god damn king of Chapel Hill. Looks pretty damn fun to me. That is, of course, as long as he doesn't snap his neck in the process.


Also joining in the fun was Carolina reserve Bobby Frasor, who is coming off a season ending knee injury. If it's any consolation Roy, it looks like Frasor isn't going to be afraid of re-injuring his knee when he steps back on the court.




See Buzz, we are humanizing these players, not making fun of them. Honestly, I'm freakin' jealous of them.

In the Offseason, You Get Link Dumps

OK, it's the offseason, and Marco and I hate recruiting, but we'll still find stuff to post about every few days or so, so keep us in your favorites. For now, I've piled up a few links that have been sent my way over the past few days and will now forcibly eject them onto your monitors.

Hansbrough is transferring!!!! OK, it's younger brother Ben Hansbrough, heading from Mississippi State to Notre Dame. [ESPN.com]

STF friend of the program Jacob E. Osterhout (of CBS College Sports Going Mad fame) chimes in on Johnny Dawkins heading to Stanford as well as other college related goodies over at his weekly column for SI on Campus (SI on Campus)

Our Big East correspondent Ted Bauer got a big interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. The anchor waxes poetic about baseball and sports movies amongst other things, but of most interest to us, he names a certain 1995 college basketball game as his favorite in-person experience. [ESPN the Magazine]

Stet Sports calls Grievis Vasquez the Telemundo version of Gilbert Arenas - with all that entails, I suppose. Anyway, General Grievis will be back at Maryland next year. Good choice, methinks. [Stet Sports]

After a contentious, up-and-down '07-'08 season, the folks in Lexington are starting to see what Billy Gillispie brings to the table. [A Sea of Blue]

Am I the only one who read this Quin Snyder-falls-on-hard-times article as a comedy piece? [ESPN.com]

Hansbrough for Vice President?

Barack Obama is trying to regain his momentum with a win in the North Carolina primaries, and he chose wisely by attending a UNC practice. This clever political ruse will force Hillary Clinton to align herself with the Duke Blue Devils, which will doom her candidacy.

Check out Hansbrough pretending that he can't reach that Obama shot. That kid's got a future in politics.

You may remember that STF endorsed Obama back in February.

A Match Made in Arkansas

College basketball fans were stunned when LSU coach John Brady was fired partway through the 2008 season. The first words out of the knowledgeable fan's mouth were usually "What? A Final Four isn't good enough?"

Coach Brady has landed on his feet... sort of. He's taken over at Arkansas State in the Sun Belt conference. Let's take a look at the matchup of coach to school:

Coach John Brady

Record: 273-203 (.574)

Prior Head Coaching Experience: Samford University 1991-1997 (89-77)

Louisiana State University 1997-2008 (192-139) with two NITs, four NCAA appearances, and one Final Four.

Former Players: Stromile Swift, Jabari Smith, Glen "Big Baby" Davis.

Arkansas State University

Location: Jonesboro, Arkansas

Nickname: Red Wolves (recently changed from "Indians")

Conference: Sun Belt

2008 Record: 10-20

NCAA Appearances: One - 1999, #15 seed lost to #2 Utah in first round.

Brady will likely have a very rough road in his first two seasons in Jonesboro. The real question is, when is another big-time program going to come calling? Brady has said all the right things about staying at ASU, but his resume is bound to excite some interest before too long.

Is it a match made in heaven? Or a marriage of convenience? I don't want to be a cynic, but I've been to Arkansas, and it's not for everyone. Especially in the summertime.