March Madness

It's that time of year again where all college basketball fans cheer for their favorite team to make it to the NCAA tournament and make that quest for a national championship. As of now there have been no cinderella stories this year. No small staged teams like Davidson or Butler have come to play this year. All one seeds, two seeds, and three seeds are all in the championship race. Also two four seeds, fifth seeded Purdue, and the only real surprise Arizona, a twelve seed, remain in the tournament. Arizona, a team that had to fight there way into the tournament has had big wins against Utah and Cleveland State. Although their time looks as though it will end friday night when they face up against the favored Louisville Cardinals, no one could be more proud of this team. They were a bubble team that many expected would not make the NCAA tournament and they proved those people wrong by making it to the sweet sixteen. Teams such as North Carolina, Pitt, and UConn has continued to do their job and perform at a very high level. UConn has blown out every team they have played and won by a margin of 56 points in their opening round game. The highly favored Tarheels has got back their star point guard and senior leader, Ty Lawson. His play has picked up right where it left off and has been far from disappointing. Some games to look forward to this week would include a great match up between the Duke Blue Devils and Villinova and also the Oklahoma/Syracuse game. Many expect a few upsets coming with Mizzouri playing at a high level over the Memphis Tigers and also the possibility of Gonzaga upsetting the one seeded Tarheels.

Andre Young

Andre Young, a former Deerfield Windsor standout is now apart of the Clemson Tigers basketball team. Andre had a spectacular high school career at Deerfield Windsor, leading the Knight's to four Region Championships and Runner-up in the GISA State Championship. Andre left Deerfield holding the record for points, steals, and assists in his career. Not only was Andre a tremendous athlete, he was also among the top of his class in academics. Andre is listed at 5-9/ 160 pounds and currently competing for the point guard position at Clemson University. When asked about the reason Andre chose Clemson over other major programs such as Maryland, Florida State, and Auburn; He responded by saying, "Combination of athletic program and its recent success, academics, coaches, players are sociable and fun, and beautiful campus. It was just the best situation for me out of all my other options."

The life of a college basketball player seems very time consuming especially with practice, games, and trying to maintain the proper grades to achieve the major of a person's choice. One upside is the amount of friends and support you receive when playing on such a big stage. I asked Andre how it felt to have the love and support of so many fans from Deerfield as well as other friends and family and he responded by saying "The support that I receive from Deerfield fans is incredible. It is always good to know that someone is out there thinking about you and is there for you. Deerfield has truly been a blessing for me because I would not be where I am now without the love and support from friends, fans, and faculty members." Andre continues to enjoy his first year at Clemson with the success his basketball team has had and the number of friends he has received throughout this experience. The coach at Clemson, Oliver Purnell considers Andre a "winner", one who gets after the ball and works hard in practice to get better and succeed. When asked what sort of impact Coach Purnell has had on him so far in the season, he replied, "Coach Purnell has taught us to overcome adversity and to have a positive attitude about different situations. Because everything is not going to go the way I want it to." The life of a college basketball player can seem overwhelming, but with good character and a good attitude Andre has had major success in all aspects of his life.

Stephen Curry

#30, Stephen Curry, a junior at Davidson has continued his steller play this year and has led his Wildcats to a 22-5 and 15-2 record in conference play. This prolific scorer is averaging 29.0 points, 5.8 assists, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.7 steals per game. If any team in college basketball rely's on one player to carry the load, it is definitely the Davidson Wildcats. Stephen Curry busted out on the scene his freshmen year when he averaged 21.5 points per game and carried his team deep into the NCAA Tournament. From his freshmen to junior year, all of his stats from points to steals have increased. He is a force in the college level and will soon be in the NBA. If anyone deserves Player of the Year honors in 2009, it is Stephen Curry.

Davidson as a team hit a bump in the road Wednesday night when they faced off against The Citadel, losing 64-46 with no Stephen Curry in the lineup, due to an ankle sprain that will keep him out for only a week to two weeks.  Although the injury is not serious, it will effect the play of the team, as witnessed Wednesday. "It's a sprained ankle; he's resilient, and we've got a great medical team," Davidson coach Bob McKillop told the newspaper. "I'll have to wait until we get back to Davidson before we get any kind of evaluation." Without Curry in the lineup Davidson has no one to score the basketball and set up other guys. Curry draws double and even triple teams at times, which allow for open shots for the rest of his team. Davidson is surely a lock for the NCAA Tournament, I'm only anxious to see how well they perform under the wings of Stephen Curry.

North Carolina Tarheels

The North Carolina Tarheels are enjoying, yet another successful season under head coach Roy Williams. They are currently sitting at #3 in the AP poll with a record of 23-2 overall and 10-2 in the ACC conference and looking for another #1 seed in the 2009 NCAA Tournament. Player of the Year candidate, Tyler Hansbrough has been providing a steady dose of offense averaging 21.4 points and 7.5 rebounds a game. All starting players are averaging double digits in points for the Tarheels. Guard, Ty Lawson is averaging 15. 9 points and 6.5 assists per game and guard, Wayne Ellington is also averaging 15.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. The Tarheels have one of the deepest bench in college basketball. With their ability to pull players such as Bobby Frasor, a prolific 3 point shooter and defensive player, Marcus Ginyard, an experienced senior with good ball handling skills, and Ed Davis, a freshman averaging 6.5 points and 7.3 rebounds a game with a bright future; the Tarheels could make a serious run at a national championship this year and for many years to come.

Uconn Huskies

The Uconn Huskies, #1 in the AP poll right now, are having a spectacular year with a record of 24-2 overall and 12-2 in conference play. They are led by forward Jeff Adrian, who is averaging 14.0 points a game and 10.0 rebounds and Center Hasheem Thabeet, who is averaging 13.2 points, 10.6 rebounds, and 4.6 blocks a game, which leads the NCAA. Another significant piece is A.J. Price, a guard averaging 12.4 points and 4.6 assists a game. After the loss of Jerome Dyson, a key component to Uconn's success, many expected the Huskies to suffer. He was a big factor to the Huskies high octane offense and steller defensive play. He was averaging 13.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.2 assist per game until a knee injury occured, which will keep him out for the rest of the season.
Dyson's presence was missed February 16 when the Huskies matched up against division rival Pittsburg, who at the time was #4 in the country. The Huskies fell to Dejuan Blair and the Pittsburg squad by a score of 76-68. They could not keep Blair off the boards, who finished the game with 22 points and 23 rebounds. Blair's presence affected the play of Hasheem Thabeet and kept him to a season low, 5 points and 4 rebounds. Another key to Pitts success against Uconn was the play of forward Sam Young, who finished the game with 25 points.

Oklahoma Sooners Star

#6 Oklahoma Sooners star power forward, Blake Griffin has been on fire this season averaging 22.3 points and 14 rebounds per game. He has led his team to a 20-1 record this season with their only loss coming to Arkansas by 8. He was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma where he attended Oklahoma Christian Highschool and led his team to four state championships. The McDonald's All American is listed at 6-10, 251 pounds and is projected a #1 draft pick in the 2009 NBA Draft. Not only was he a McDonald's All American, he also won the slam dunk contest in Louisville, Kentucky in 2007. As a member of the Oklahoma Sooners he is accompanied by his older brother Taylor Griffin. The two on the basketball court are amazing to watch. Growing up together playing basketball has allowed them both to succeed in college. During his freshman year of college he suffered a sprained knee injury, which prevented him from performing at the rate he has this year. Although injuries got the best of him in the 2007-2008 season, he was named to the First Team All Rookie Big 12 and also First Team All Big 12 team. This dynamic sophmore is in the running for Player of the Year and is looking to lead his team to an NCAA championship. The Youtube video posted in this blog is only a few examples of what this kid is capable of doing. His athleticism and leadership is what will allow him to have a successful career in the NBA.

#1 Spot

If your a Duke Blue Devil's fan you'd be glad to know that they have captured the number one spot in both of the college basketball poll's. Duke has continued to roll throughout the season with a record of 18-1 with their only loss coming from Michigan by 8 points, earlier in the season. They handed Maryland a 41 point loss earlier in the week to prove their power and make a bid for the number one spot. Duke is led by their explosive guards Greg Paulus and Jon Scheyer and also their forwards Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler. With these players and other key players contributing, this team could dominate during tournament time. You can catch number one Duke playing number four Wake Forest on ESPN, Wednesday January 28 at 7 PM/ET.