NC Pro Am Recap: July 7, 2011

7:00 PM Triangle G vs. Next Level Custom

This game started a little one sided as the Triangle G team got out to an early lead. The starting five of Jerry Stackhouse, John Henson, Harrison Barnes, P.J. Hairston, and Ervon Pritchett took the floor and they began to dominate from the start. It was obvious that they had the most talent but they were put to the test as Johnson began to establish his dominance as the premier player on the floor for Next Level Custom. He started with an explosive dunk on the young P.J. Harrison. The then began to exploit John Henson and Harrison Barnes. Barnes showed some flashes of being that guy as he was able to get to the line quite a bit. 

Make no mistake about it though; this game was dominated by John Henson. Henson has a real upside and he is very improved as an inside presence. If the young man gets a consistent midrange jump shot, he might be uncheckable. His defense is already NBA quality from the help side but if his offensive game continues to improve, the sky is the limit for the young Henson. 

The surprise in this game was P.J. Hairston as an offensive player. He won't have any problem getting buckets at UNC but he needs to work on his defense. Several times he was taken to the basket and beat off the dribble. This won't work for Roy Williams, however its going to be hard to keep someone with his offensive ability off the floor. 

The game ended with Triangle G winning by 13. 

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NC Pro Am Basketball Highlights June 30, 2011

Last night’s action at the NC Pro Am didn’t disappoint as a packed house in McLendon McDougald Gymnasium cheered on their local favorites. The title “The Rucker of the South” was appropriate as the games held up to their billing. There was not a weak pushover team to be spotted on the floor last night.

The night began with a women’s game for the first time in league history. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get there in time to evaluate the talent for the women’s game. However everyone seemed pleased that they got to witness the females do their thing in front of the huge crowd.

The men’s action began with Team McGladrey made up of: CJ Leslie, Mason Plumlee, Lorenzo Brown, Alex Johnson, Nathan Len, Devin Thompson, Tyler Thornton, Alex Murphy, and Trey Sumler; taking on CEO Munny who had” Masevai Davis, JT Terrell, Roger Nurse, Jayson Brown, Matthew Koscielny, Jeffrey Smith, Justin Council, Lamont McQueen, Mike Gbinije, Will Burton, and Anthony Boggan. CEO Munny is the only team in the league without any real star power but you couldn’t tell as they played hard and almost pulled out the victory. The duo of Plumlee and Leslie was too much for CEO Munny and Team McGladrey took home the first win of the night.

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Say What You Want About Coach K But The Man Can Coach

Every time I watch the Duke Blue Devils line up and play basketball, I can’t help but ask, “Would I want any of those guys on my basketball team?” Really no one on that roster looks like they should even be as legit as they are. But looks can be deceiving.

Not many in the country have played better than Nolan Smith. Smith is a go getter a finisher and a prime time player. The bigger the game, the bigger he plays. Kyle Singler is now a household name, and I am not even sure I would have picked him up in a pickup game as he was coming out of high school despite all of the accolades that he had as a high school All American.

Mike Krzyzewski does it every year. Every time the critics step up and say that his team is weak or a big name player like Kyrie Irving goes down, Coack K finds a way to continue winning. His players don’t even talk a lot. They just go about the business of destroying the competition in front of them. You have the guys you kind of like on the roster throughout the years, and then you have the guys who you can’t stand because they play with a cocky confidence that makes you sick to the stomach. A guy who you know if you could get him out on the court in the park you would make him your ……!

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Making A Case For Nolan Smith As Player of the Year

Nolan Smith is making a serious case for Player of the Year in college basketball. I have to admit that I was about 100% sure he would falter as Kyrie Irving went down for the Duke Blue Devils. Instead Nolan Smith has put this Duke team on his back, as he did in the NCAA tournament last season, and led them to a ton of wins over some very good competition.

Kemba Walker, Jimmer Fredette and Jared Sullinger have spent the past few months jockeying for position in the national player of the year race. Smith had become the forgotten candidate, but recent performances have him vaulting up the list faster than a car driven by Jimmy Johnson.

Smith has averaged 21.0 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists this season, career highs in all three categories. Since Irving's injury on Dec. 3 against Butler, he has averaged 22.7 points per game and failed to score 18 points or more only once.

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