By Matthew Maurer
All of a sudden Hasheem Thabeet is ranked a top 10 pick by virtually every mock draft service and no one disagrees. But what was up when these mock draft providers proclaimed that Thabeet was virtually garbage after he contemplated coming out for the draft both as a freshmen and sophomore? The short term memory these so called experts amazes me. What changed guys? Either you're a poor judge of real talent or you just missed the boat. I think it's a little bit of both. Now these so-called experts should do themselves a favor - delete your past Thabeet bashing articles before you proclaim to have any further knowledge of his game.
A week and a half ago Loyola (MD) coach Jimmy Patsos decided to do something no real coach would. He abandoned attempts to win a game and instead focused on freezing Davidson's NBA bound player, Stephen Curry. It obviously wasn't a plan to simply limit Curry since Patsos kept two players on him the entire game regardless of how open his teammates were. And although Curry didn't score a point as he watched his wide-open teammates destroy the poorly coached team Loyola by 30 points, Patsos still felt the urge to gloat in the post game interview about how he kept Curry under wraps. What a bum. This guy doesn't deserve to coach anywhere in Division I, II, III or NAIA. Let's face it, he knew they wouldn't win so he went for the win within the loss. The University of Loyola needs to can this joker. Patsos may have the prized coaching pedigree but he lacks major leadership, integrity, intelligence, and the courage to compete. Patos was a sore loser before the game even started.
After losing big-time recruit Kenny Boynton, Duke has chosen to try its hand at the nation's top prospect, John Wall. Duke's recruitment of Wall has left some Blue Devils fans scratching their heads, especially with the somewhat negative perception that Wall is not the best of students. Regardless of what Mike Kryzewski proclaims, I can read the real story between the lines. Duke is falling short athletically compared to their rival 8 miles down the road in Chapel Hill. A Duke staff member is quoted as saying they "were pleasantly surprised by his transcripts". Translation? "Man, we thought he was dumb but he's not". In my eyes Duke is slowly starting to shed its recruiting morals to keep up with its intense UNC rival who has reloaded once again with the nation's number one recruiting class.
Lastly, say a prayer of hope and recovery for former Wake Forest star and NBA veteran Rodney Rogers. Rogers was involved in a terrible ATV accident several days ago while riding in the woods. His unfortunate fall from the ATV led to his current state of paralysis from the shoulders down. The 12-year former pro was transferred to Sheppard Center in Atlanta for rehabilitation on his spinal injury.