6.30.10 #FREEAGENCY10

1. Lebron James - resigns with the Cleveland Cavs/ Chicago only if they add Boozer not Bosh

simply bc playing alongside Wade in Miami wouldn't be enough shots for the two together

two of the top five players in the league on the same team... thats a little toomuch to me

in Chicago I can see them having very similar problems as Cleveland this year

other than Rose and Noah what other production would there be?

Taj Gibson?

Rose is an offensive minded point guard, without the ball hes your average player and its not like he can spot up and knock down the 3. Unless they sign someone else with James, they're still not a championship contender... still maybe even around the 5-8 seed range. I can only Chicago getting better if they add a Carlos Boozer with Lebron. Boozer needs the ball in his hands less than Bosh allowing Lebron to still have all of his touches.

2. Dwayne Wade -resigns with Miami

D-Wade loves MIA... he just needs some help at the moment and with that said

3. Chris Bosh - signs with Miami

Bosh wants to go somewhere that he can help out and go DEEP in the playoffs

if Miami can pull off a 5 seed with their mediocre squad... imagine what they can do with Bosh + a decent small forward upgrade by trading Michael Beasley (rumors) to empty more cap space or sign a Ryan Gomes (Portland just waived him) career 11ppg scorer primarily off the bench his whole career

Chalmers - Wade - Gomes - Bosh - Oneal

dosen't sound too bad

4. Joe Johnson - resigns with ATL

Can't really see him anywhere else

5. Dirk Nowitzki - signs with Dallas

but you all knew that already

6. Amare Stoudemire - signs with NYK

D'Antoni's system fits perfectly and the re-unite

Amare can run all he wants to and with him increasing the range of his jumpshot as he did last season only makes things that much better

7. Carlos Boozer - either MIA or Chi

I can see him in both places.

IF Lebron signs with Chicago and he does too it can be a very beautiful thing. Bosh needs the ball in his hands more to release his offensive arsenal, Boozer is a downgrade but free's up shots for D-Rose and Lebron so everyones happy. He will gladly hit the boards, go up strong , take the foul and go to the line, as long as their winning... he's fine.

Boozer signs with MIA if Bosh dosen't ofcourse

they need a second option, Boozer can fill that void easily and its Miami... they're already "good" why not make them "very good" a 2-3 seed

8. Pierce - stays in BOS

who else wants him THAT bad...

9. Ray Allen - Resigns with Boston/signs with NY

he's on the decline in his career... nuff said

but he would strive in D'Antoni's system

he'll definately have oppurtunities to knock down threes

Douglass - Allen - Gallanari - Amare - Lee

Sixth Man - TMAC/Wilson Chandler

whoa... that sounds pretty damn good to me

10. David Lee - Resigns with Knicks

if i had a dollar for evertime ive heard of Lee being up on the trading block or going somewhere else i'd have abt 10 dollars haha... it aint happed before and it aint happenin' now

-OJAY FAISON

6.28.10 [INTRODUCING]

Introducing

Elliot Williams . Luke Babbitt . Armon Johnson

-OJAY FAISON

6.24.10 [NBA DRAFT 10...]

NBA DRAFT 2010 MOCK DRAFT

#1 Washington Wizards select JOHN WALL

reasoning: YOU CHOOSE THE BEST TALENT AT #1 REGARDLESS OF WHO IT IS

its simple

Gilbert Arenas will also be a very good veteran player for him to learn from also

both have a very similar build, different playing style

#2 Philadelphia 76ers select EVAN TURNER

reasoning: He's the best All-Around player in the Draft

imagine him and Iguodala playing together O_O man thats trouble...

he has good size for the two 6'7

very good jumpshot (Youtube "Evan Turner NBA Draft Workout")

can rebound and pass with the best of them

he can fill up a statsheet last season alone averaged 20ppg 9rpg 6asts

#3 New Jersey Nets select WESLEY JOHNSON

reasoning: NJ traded Chris Douglas-Roberts yesterday to the Bucks

so he will take CDR's spot at the 3 im guessing

NJ has also said that they will go after a PF during the free agency period leaving them to fill the Small Forward position

He's a pretty good size for the 3 standing 6'7

Has long arms, wingspan is over 7ft

Is an athletic freak that can shoot the ball with the best of them

#4 Minnesota Timberwolves select DERRICK FAVORS

reasoning: He's better and more mature than Demarcus Cousins who analysts everywhere are calling "the biggest risk to Draft out of the whole entire class"

Minnesota has alot of young talent... but it hasn't ended up showing in the Win Column

and they definately need some front court help

Al Jefferson is trying his best to come back from injury and Kevin Love needs someone to hit the boards with him and bang-downlow

Brian Cardinal? NO...

Ryan Collins? too skinny...

Darko Millicic? lol

so we can all say that Favors is an improvement regardless of who hes put infront of on the Wolves roster

#5 Sacramento Kings select DEMARCUS COUSINS

reasoning: Big Cousins...

he's a very talented big man

that plays underneath the basket and grabs boards like hes supposed to

hes abt 6'10/11 and weighs a hefty 292lbs

so he will probably play the 5 at the next level

Sacramento has Spencer Hawes is good but he is more of a role player

Jason Thompson plays better at the sixth man role so that clears space for Cousins

Udrih-Evans-Nocioni-Landry-Cousins

sounds decent to me

#6 Golden State Warriors - Ekpe Udoh (Baylor) PF

will take Anthony Randolph's spot

#7 Detroit Pistons - Greg Monroe (Georgetown) PF

Al-Farouq Aminu would have been selected here but he cancelled his workout with them, has no interest in playing for them

#8 Los Angeles Clippers - Al Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest) SF

Earlier this season they traded Al Thornton to Washington and he's better than Rasual Butler so it makes perfect sense..

oh and i know you all remember on twitter at the beginning of the season when i said this man will be a Lottery pick and i got @ replies of ppl saying "NO WAY"... well guess what? he will be

#9 Utah Jazz - Ed Davis (UNC) PF

Paul Millsap needs a backup that can hit the boards and score from the lowpost and midrange

Ed is long enough to also play the 5 to back up Okur

#10 Indiana Pacers - Xavier Henry (Kansas) SG

Dahntay Jones had a pretty good year and he needs a backup

he can play both the 2 and 3

6.24.10 [NBA DRAFT 10]

Flashback to 1999, NBA DRAFT in Washington DC at the MCI Center

#1 pick - Duke's Elton Brand

#2 pick - UMD's Steve Francis *throws hissy fit for being drafted to the Vancouver Grizzlies

#3 pick - Baron Davis

yes my friends... i was there

my mom and i have been die-heart basketball players for ever since i remember

and in approximately 1 hour 55 minutes the Washington Wizards *how ironic will make their selection

-OJAY FAISON

4.6.10 [CHAMPIONSHIP V4]

91.92.01.10

lastnight...my boys did it again

Duke that is!!

Championship #4 babyy

the trophy still resides in North Carolina

migrating only eight miles away

from Chapel Hill to Durham

even when the odd's were against us

even when Coach K said that this is a "good team...not a great team"

even when analysts everywhere thought Kentucky & Kansas were absolute shoe-in's for the title

we found a way to come out on top

and the run won't stop just yet

right now i'm saying it

WE WILL BE JUST AS GOOD NEXT SEASON

but ill save that for another blogpost...

-OJAY FAISON

10.23.09 [JOHN WALL REEL]

sooo Wildcat Nation is loving the man John Wall

and i'm kinda jealous

i wish i had a basketball team/player to actually look forward to watching play this season at my school

just check out his entrance with the jigg and his phenomenal warm-up dunks

this is a perfect reason to believe why everybody and their momma is saying that this kid will be the #1 draft pick in 2010's NBA Draft

*shrugs shoulders

-OJAY FAISON

9.9.09 [NBA TALK]

i feel like talking basketball right now
bc im super amped for this upcoming season

today Iverson tweeted that he is gonna sign with the Memphis Grizzlies which is very good news
he brings veteran qualities to their very young squad
i expect him to kick knowledge to OJ Mayo so that he can develop even more into the star he already is
and i am currently anticipating my roommate David trying them out in 2k10 later on this fall

on to the real...

so after looking at the depth charts for the Grizzlies and trying to find a fit for Iverson,
i decided to compare my Blazers with other teams in the NorthWest Divison
and i am happy to say that we should have no problem winning 54 games this season again
i gas you not

here's my rankings of the players in our division in the order of best-worst

PG
Deron Williams
Chauncey Billups
Andre Miller
Russell Westbrook
Ramon Sessions

we have the third best point in the division but remember we still have a GREAT backup in Steve Blake (11points 5assists), something that no other team in this division has

SG
Brandon Roy
JR Smith
Rudy Fernandez
Ronnie Brewer
James Harden

there should be no argument here...B-Roy is the third best two-guard in the league and everyone knows it...so im not even gonna go any further

Rudy is def. a top 5 two in this division which once again proves the strength of our bench

SF
Carmelo Anthony
Kevin Durant
Travis Outlaw
Andrei Kirilenko
Nic Batum

Carmelo and Durant obviously run the three-slot in the NW Division
but Outlaw proves himself year in and year our averaging double figures in ppg
Batum is a defensive beast and an athletic freak that has just began to develop coming off his rookie season

PF
Al Jefferson
Lamarcus Aldridge
Carlos Boozer
Kenyon Martin
Jeff Green

Jefferson was injured for most of last year's season making Aldridge the best PF in the NW Division last season. Proving that he has deeper range than many defenders think.
Sill needs to improve his defense and rebounding a tad bit but he is still a very solid player.

C
Mehmet Okur
Nene Hilario
Greg Oden
Kevin Love
Joel Przybilla

Okur is easily the second-best big man shooter in the league, Nene's an absolute monster and Oden is still developing.
After averaging 9ppg 7rpg in 21 minutes of play
you've got to agree that he will produce if given the minutes to do so and working on staying out of foul trouble

Przybilla is a rebounding machine, second in the league in Rebounds-per-48 only to Dwight Howard, he may not do much but just keep in mind that he is 7'1 and plays that D

did i prove my point?

the Blazers are definately a force to be reckoned with...

run with us

-OJAY FAISON

8.10.09 [WALL V. STACKHOUSE]

the internet is buzzin'

as you know John Wall played in the SJG Greater NCProAM this past weekend

and completely went OFF

35pts on QF's

32pts in the Semi's

and im not even sure yet how much had last night in their lost against PJ Tucker

but im sure he nailed atleast five 3's and a handfull of drives to the baskets

here's what makes it all memorable...

HoopMixtape.com has been at nearly 66% of the games this season and has seemed to get the best angle for J. Wall's throwdown on Jerry Stackhouse

#1 Draft Pick in 2010 Draft

quote me

-OJAY FAISON

07.30.09 [TORONTO]

as of this moment im laying on the floor of my room studying the recent aquisitions of various teams over the summer.

a team that really stuck out to me today was the Toronto Raptors.

today they traded Deaven George & a 2nd round pick for Marco Belinelli (sp?) which is a awesome trade IMO

they also picked up Rasho Nesterovic from the Pacers which is also a great addition

what i love about their newly constructed roster is that like it's teams location...(Canada) it is internationally built from the feet up.

check out their Starting 5

1- Jose Calderon-Spain (the best freethrow shooter in the league last year & top five in apg)

2- Marco Belinelli-Italy (came off the bench for GS averaged 9ppg in 21 minutes of play)

3- Hedo Turkoglu-Turkey (led the Magic to the finals with his 3pt. range and point-man skills)

4- Chris Bosh-USA (a member of the Redeem Team, averaged a double-double)

5- Andrea Bargani-Italy (the Italian Dirk Nowitzki, 7 ft. tall, has 3pt. range and defence)

key reserves

Demar DeRozan

Jarret Jack

Roko Ukic

Rasho Nesterovic

shit..thats as international as it gets

if only they played on nat'l television

then we could really appreciate the game ppl play overseas

just my observations,

you may not find them impressive

but just know they will make some noise next season

"quote me"

-OJAY FAISON

7.22.09 [THE DUNK]

as many of you know Lebron got dunked by Jordan Crawford a sophmore from Xavier

on in one of his camp's a few weeks ago

and supposidly there weren't supposed to be any filming during this camp

so to save his image...Lebron & Nike confiscated tapes of the dunk

well earlier today i heard that the video was released somewhere on the interwebz

and...you know i had to find it!

so here you go CLICK HERE to see the video before Nike throws a fit and makes the site remove it

and i seriously lol'ed at the dudes reaction when i saw it

-OJAY FAISON

i literally just typed this shit up in a minutes just bc of what i know Nike will do once they discover it...

7.17.09 [THE HIGHLIGHT REEL]

wass good guys?

it's been a while bc i thought the last post needed to have time to get a few views

anyways as many of you know i am a huge basketball fan

and spend my Tuesdays and Thursdays at NCCU for the NCProAm Summer League from about

6-10PM

i've gotten some pretty good shots of the players in action and my homies at ONEent have put together a lil montage of the this years highlights so far from the tourney so

enjoy :D

Jon Scheyer (Duke), Tyree Graham (Texas Tech)

9th Wonder

the Duke Corner

Ryan Kelly, Nolan Smith, Miles Plumlee, Lance Thomas conversating wit C. Lightner

the homie Dro

John Henson (UNC)

Leslie McDonald (UNC)

Justin Watts (UNC)

Henson at the charity stripe

so yeah...that's about it

Duke & UNC fans around the RDU area check this out

bc its free and you get to see all of you favorite local talent

until next time

-OJAY FAISON

7.5.09 [FANS]

Portland TrailBlazer fans are the best...

it's crazy how we went from loving Turkoglu for agreeing to sign with us

to image's like this

Turkoglu made a mistake IMO by signing with the Raptor's for the following reasons

the Blazer's are a young, unselfish, threat to Western Conference powerhouses

we won 54 games last season

and are trying to improve from there

the Raptor's are middle-aged, have one superstar in Chris Bosh, impressive in the

"international ball players" category, but dont seem to mesh well when it comes to the winning side.

so you decided to go to the bad team because of it's internationally friendly location?

Portland is pretty internationally friendly if I do say so myself,

did we not have the duo Sergio Rodriguez and Rudy Fernandez aka the Spanish Connection?

oh and dont forget our starting Small Forward and phenom from France, Nicolas Batum

did we not draft Victor Clavert with our 22nd pick? a player that is most definately staying in Spain for the next few years to play pro ball and we knew that when we drafted him

did we not draft Patrick Mills with the 55th pick? a player that played on the Australian National Team in the Beijing Olympics and had an amazing year last year at St. Mary's

so please don't pull the international card on us

hopefully we sign either Jason Kidd, Andre Miller or Kirk Hinrich to make-up for Turkoglu's last minute sprint to T.Dot

"internationally known"

-OJAY FAISON

BlazersEdge.com

run with us...

7.2.09 [2009 PRO-AM]

the long awaited NC ProAM basketball league will tip-off at 6PM.

after the very entertaining show last summer, it's only right for Jerry to host the league once again in NCCU's McLendon-McDougal Gym :)

after reviewing the Roster's for this years events i see both familiar and new names.

Duke's whole squad will be in attendance minus Nolan Smith and Czyz

UNC's whole freshy/soph. lineup will be in attendance also which should be very interesting

Team's to look out for include:

Dreamworks

J. Watts UNC SG

John Henson UNC PF Fresh.

Flip Murray ATL/NBA SG

Melvin Scott UNC ALUM.

Dexter Strickland UNC SG Fresh.

Leslie McDonald UNC SG Fresh.

Sean May CHA/NBA PF

Marvin Williams ATL/NBA SF

Issac Smith

Bryan Burrell

Team WR Starkey

Jerry Stackhouse NBA/DAL SG

Bo Ingram Levelland CC

Lance Thomas DUKE PF

Leon Morgan

J'Mell Walters

CJ Leslie Word of God PF

Donald Williams

Ed Davis UNC PF

Reggie Bullock UNC 2010

3 Kinston Players

Team PJ Tucker

PJ Tucker EURO

Clint Deas EURO

Danny Green CLE/NBA SF

Julius Mays NC State ALUM.

CJ Williams

Bryan Ayala

Monroe Faulkner Person 2011

Mike Bell

Jarrett Johnson

Jordan Lawson DA

Kelly Marsh Chavis Prep.

Tyree Graham Texas Tech SG

ohh yeah...and there's a rumor that Lebron James may make a guess apperance

dont believe me? check this out

looks like we wont be seeing another 360 between the legs dunk this year...

Czyz isn't playing but here's footy from last-summer

7.1.09 [ROOKiE CHRONICLES]

I just started following the Portland Trail Blazer's on twitter righttttt?...

right :)

found our late-2nd round pick Patty Mills's official page

oh and btw, getting Patty in the second round was a steal in ALL CAPS

to the point, Patty has a blog along with Demar Derozan (9th pick Toronto Raptors) and Terrence Williams (10th pick NJ Nets) to document their transition from high school/college to the pros.

to me this was blogger worthy bc first...who has ever seen this?

basketball players ---) teaming up with eachother ---) to blog?

exactly...it was a very original idea

and i wish the best to all of them

especially Patty

-OJAY FAISON

rookiechronicles will be added to the blogroll btw :D

hollaaaaaa

4.7.09 [CHAMPIONSHIP]

damn...i must admit it

AJ, Barack Obama and Dre were right

UNC has made it to the championship

but im pretty sure NO ONE guessed that Michigan State was gonna defeat two, number one seeds

in Pittsburg and UCONN other than those diehart MSU fans

Many felt the dynamic trio Pitt had in Fields, Young, and Blair would destroy everybody

Many felt the near All-Star squad UCONN had in Thabeet, Robinson, Adrien, Price and Walker were too deep to and big underneath the basket to be beat

Many felt Louisville won the championship in the best conference in the country which could easily equate to a NCAA title

personally my bracket was destroyed from the beginning because i believed in my ACC schools but they all let me down

In the end, UNC made it to the championship and Duke didn't make it sooo yeah

You Tar Heels will hopefully do a dance tonight because next year

you will be doomed and plagued by a very-youthful all-american squad that lacks experience

...quote me

-OJAY FAISON

2009 NCAA Freshman of the Year Seth Curry

2009 NCAA Freshman of the Year Seth Curry,
originally uploaded by HPUPhotogStudent.

Wow, approximately three days after we (Duke) got destroyed against Villanova by 23 points we are back on the rebound picking up Liberty's ex-star guard and 2009 NCAA Freshman of the Year Seth Curry.

Crazy thing is that while I was in the shower about 40 minutes ago I was seriously facing the facts that Gerald Henderson & Kyle Singler may opt to enter the NBA Draft leaving us with absolutely no legitimate threat on offense (other than our 6-5 sharpshooter Jon Scheyer who was moved to the PG slot but lacks decision making skills in 2/3-1 fastbreak oppurtunities). Until, I thought of Seth Curry, a Point Guard that posses a deadly three point shot, the size to drive to the basket, draw the foul, and sink the free-throws. After toweling off and getting back on my laptop i saw my homie B-Leedy's status that read "SETH CURRY'S GOING TO DUKE" and began to viciously peck the keys in Google "seth curry duke".

After reading Andy Katz little write-up i simply began to chant "YES YES YES" and clap at the same time. btw, as I type this i just noticed that Andy Katz made a typo by saying that Dell Curry (Seth's Father) was a "former star guard with the Charlotte Bobcats" lmao but it's all good Andy...everyone makes mistakes...even super sports analysts.

So i'm very pleased with Coach K's decision to offer a scholarship to an athlete seeking more of a competitive conference that the Big-South didn't offer him. Even though Curry will have to sit out this upcoming season, it's all good because that just gives him more time to hit the weight room and Duke's wonderful practice facility and become the best player he can be.

and if you have time please peep this vid of his freshman season highlight tape...he has pretty good court awareness and some sick passes...his signature move seems to be some kind of crossover whether step-back or ordinary followed with a jumper
thats automatic!



and to think...this is what a person who was only ranked a three-star athelete out of high school with only three colleges showing interest in him (Liberty, Davidson and VT) can achieve...SMH

-OJAY FAISON

3.8.09 [DUKE V. CAROLINA]

this picture is unbelievable

for those of you that don't know...these printout's were created after Gerald Hendersons imfamous elbow into the nose of  the white college basketball savior himself...Tyler Hansborough

this free-throw attempt must have been the toughest of his life...

being face to face with hundred's of fake Wanted sign's of yourslf must have been very nerve-racking

from Jerry Stackhouses reverse-jam on 2 defenders

to Capel's game winning half-court prayer 

to Shane Battier's foul

to Eric Montross's bloody head

to Hansborough's bloody nose

to the consistency of being 1st & 2nd place in the ACC year in and year out

the legacy...

on to the game:

PG Ty Lawson (questionable) PG Jon Scheyer

SG Wayne Ellington SG Elliot Williams

SF Danny Green SF Gerald Henderson

PF Tyler Hansborough PF Kyle Singler

C Deon Thompson C Lance Thomas (questionable)

injury report:

Ty Lawson injured his big toe and didn't practice on Saturday

Lance Thomas injured his left ankle during the Florida State

senior night:

most likely reserves such as Bobby Frasor and Michael Copeland will start on'account of it being their last home game

key's to the game:

UNC

good bench play from Larry Drew b/c if Lawson plays most likely his minute will be very limited which results in Larry Drew stepping up as his back up.

Ed Davis providing energy off the bench and utilizing his long body to hit the boards and blocks.

Drawing fouls to get the white savior to the charity strike

DUKE

also good bench play from Greg Paulus...he needs to knock-down those 25 foot three's he very seldom gives up.

Starter's need to be well-rested b/c with the absence of Nolan Smith (concussion) and Lance Thomas (ankle) and a very un-experienced bench other than McClure/Paulus...we could be in BIG trouble

energy on the defensive end

a big game from Henerson, Singler and Scheyer

Key Match-up:

Danny Green vs. Gerald Henderson

Prediction:

I do not have one b/c everyone know all of the ACC games can swing either way depending on which team comes out and is aggressive for the get-go

LET'S GO DUKE,

-OJay Faison 

3.5.09 [APPLE-SAUCE]

btw new songs 

on the playlist----->

and check out the snapss from the blizzard +):

1.28.09 [WAKE VS. DUKE]

soooo the games tonight!!

7pm on ESPN

Location:

Joel Coliseum

Teams Competing:

4Wake Forest vs. 1Duke

Analysis:

ive been anticipating this game for sooo long..its very similar to the wake/unc game because during that game it was a 1/4 matchup like tonight's game.

in order for wake to come out on top they need

1. a good game from teague and aminu
   
2. key players to stay out of foul trouble ( VT game)
3. guard the perimeter

in order for duke to come out on top they need

1. have a good game out of zoubek b/c wake's deep in the big-men category
2. have good bench play from paulus, thomas and e-mail
3. guard both inside and out (wake has pureeee ballass)

Prediction:

84-80 DUKE

Cameron Crazies...Attack!

-OJAY FAISON

ps: what im listening to?

blogger enemy #one - no escaping

1.7.09 [DUKE VS. DAViDSON]

Duke vs. Davidson

tip-off is in approximately 8 minutes as i type this blog entry and i have been looking forward to this matchup since Saturday. Hopefully my Blue Devils can fight off Stephen Curry's Wildcats of Davidson at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

My predition is Duke over Davidson 82-70,
Final Score 78-67

-OJ[did]IT