Bleacher Report - Articles by Alex Martin

Immediate Impact Players of the 2009 NFL Draft

Alex Martin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:30:25 -0400

The 2009 NFL Draft is complete. Teams have made their selections of former college football standouts whom they hope will take their teams to the next level this season. Some players that have been taken will need a couple years in order to become steady players, others will never pan out at all. However, there are some key players taken in this draft that will make an impact starting on Week 1. Here are those players.

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Live Blog During the Cavs/Pistons Game

Alex Martin — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 22:50:59 -0400

8:04 - Watching TNT's pregame show. 8:04 - Why is Charles Barkley still employed? 8:06 - Why does the commercial for Gatorade Tiger feature a brown bear as opposed to an actual tiger? I love tigers - sending Gatorade a complaint e-mail. 8:08 - Mike Brown gets Coach of the Year - he should immediately give the trophy to Lebron James, who is solely responsible for the award.

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MLB Out of the Box - Biggest Performances of Week One

Alex Martin — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:08:36 -0400

The first week of the 2009 Major League Baseball season is in the books. The division races are close and all teams are trying to play their best baseball after Spring Training has come to an end. Here is some much-deserved love for the top players in each division that are helping their teams off to a great start. If these players keep playing at such an esteemed level, their team will keep putting up numbers in the win column.

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Horrid Free Throw Shooting Ends UConn Huskies' Title Run

Alex Martin — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 23:55:24 -0400

The UConn Huskies have let me down. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how it happened. It would be too easy to blame homefield advantage for our loss; we did this to ourselves.

Maybe it was A.J. Price’s lack of finding the open man.

For a guy who averaged nearly five assists a game this season and over five during the tournament, Price only dished out one against Michigan State—on the Huskies' first possession of the game.

Maybe it was the Huskies all around dismal perimeter offense. Craig Austrie and Price, both seniors, combined for over 100 three-balls during the season. Against the Spartans, they were a combined 1-5.

The lone three-pointer was hit less than three minutes into the first half by Mr. Price. The Huskies were 2-6 on the night from behind the arc; athletic freak Stanley Robinson made his only attempt less than five minutes into the first half.

No. It wasn’t Price’s lack of assists. It wasn’t the Huskies’ not hitting three pointers that ended their title run. What was the cause of this most epic meltdown: missing 12 free throws.

There’s a reason it’s called a “free” throw. It’s supposed to be a guaranteed point. It’s supposed to be the easiest shot in the game. It’s supposed to be the most fundamental and one of the first things a young basketball player learns from his first basketball coach.

For whatever reason, the Huskies could not hit from the line against the Spartans.

Free throw shooting was the achilles’ heel for Jim Calhoun’s squad this year. The Huskies made 552 free throws this year, third in the Big East and 23rd in the nation. But they were also 14th in the country in getting to the line, and when they did, they only hit the shot 67.7 percent of the time, which made them worse than over 150 other Division I schools.

Out of the five starters against the Spartans, only Price and Austrie average better than 70 percent from the line, and that’s not even that good.

The seniors were 6-6 from the line that night, and Robinson, who averaged just 63 percent from the line, hit all four of his attempts. The rest of the team did not follow suit. The rest of the team shot 11-23, a mere 48 percent.

Calhoun’s gameplan all season has been driven by getting the other team into foul trouble early. It worked against the Spartans. The Huskies got into the bonus with nearly nine minutes left in the first half.

They were in the double bonus with over two minutes left. In the second half, the same thing happened. They got into the bonus at around the same time-mark as the first half, but they were in the double bonus for over four minutes left when they were trailing 66-58.

The Spartans were in foul trouble the entire game it seemed. Five players had at least three fouls, three of which were starters, one of which was their best player, Goran Suton, one of which was their second leading scorer of the night, Raymar Morgan, one of which fouled out with less than two minutes left in the game, Draymond Green.

Despite all of that, the Huskies could not capitalize.

At the end of the night, the Spartans had seven more team fouls than the Huskies, and 13 less attempts from the charity stripe. However, getting 13 less attempts is usually neutralized when the other team misses 12 of their attempts.

It’s hard to swallow a loss of this magnitude knowing that you simply gave it away. This game was for the Huskies’ taking. It was right there—all night. Sorry for being so very blunt about this, but key players just did not step up.

Jeff Adrien, a man who is the most intense player alive who always plays as hard as possible, missed four of seven attempts from the line. Sure, he only averages about 60% anyway, but in your last game of your college career, how can you not put the ball in the net?

Kemba Walker, coming off of a career break-out game against Missouri, was 1-6 from the line at one point and finished 3-9. He averages over 70 percent and hit 9-10 against the Tigers to send the Huskies to the Final Four.

I don’t know what to say about him. Maybe he got cold feet. Maybe he remembered he was a freshman and the entire college basketball world was looking at him. Maybe he glanced at the baseline while shooting his foul shots and notice “Final Four” painted in enormous letters and that made him kinda nervous.

Whatever the case may be, Walker could not find his rhythm at the line.

Now, I know that I’ve bashed the hell out of the team I love, the team I adore, the team I will defend at great lengths against whomever so chooses to disrespect them.

But here’s the thing; they bailed on their season. They shot 22-33 from the line that night—and I can’t even tell you how many of those misses were front-ends of 1 and 1’s that could have turned into more attempts.

Had the Huskies made more foul shots early on, it would have been a different game completely. The Spartans could have been chasing us in the closing minutes.

The Huskies could have had the momentum. The Huskies could have attained an 11 point lead with less than three minutes to go. The Huskies could have been playing the Tar Heels Monday night for the National Championship.

I’m sure Calhoun is more upset than I am. I’m sure the team itself is more upset than I am. I’m sure many UConn fans are more upset than I am, although when the game was over I tore every UConn poster off my wall and ripped them into a million tiny piece in a fit of rage.

I actually jumped against my life-size Thabeet/Price poster and ripped it down with my hands and teeth. I landed on the floor on my back and proceeded to rip apart the two men's picture with every ounce of energy I had left. I then threw the pieces in to the hallway, just to give you a mental picture of my anger.

I’m sure there are experts out there that saw this coming. I’m sure they knew that horrid free-throw shooting would ultimately hault my beloved Huskies in their tracks. I’m sure they predicted that Walker would go cold from the line and from the field in the biggest game of his career.

I’m sure of a lot of things. But I’m not sure if I even want to wear my Jeff Adrien jersey around campus anymore. I’m not sure if I should return my UConn Final Four t-shirt. I’m not sure if UConn will be in title contention again while I am a student here.

I’m not sure if Thabeet will stay, if Robinson will stay, or how our team will look next year with the players that do stay.

I’m not sure if I will EVER talk to a Michigan State fan the rest of my life. I can add them to a list of fans from Duke, Syracuse, and, sonofabitch, George Mason.

How They Got Here: Breaking Down the Final Four Teams

Alex Martin — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:38:15 -0400

The 2009 NCAA tournament has seen its share of great match-ups. The upsets and the blowouts, the last minute heroics and the last minute melt downs, the unbelievable shots and the rim-rattling dunks, the battles in the trenches and the perimeter dominance, the veteran players and the young guns, the joy and the pain, the winner moves on and the loser goes home. After four rounds of play, only four teams remain. This is how they got here.

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UConn Support During a Recruitment Violation

Alex Martin — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 23:57:37 -0400

It is with great anger that I write this article.

On the eve of a basketball match-up with Purdue, the University of Connecticut is involved in a recruitment scandal. One in which they probably will lose.

According to a Yahoo! Sports investigation, Josh Nochimson, a professional sports agent and former student-manager of the basketball team at UConn, former assistant coach Tom Moore, and head basketball coach Jim Calhoun have violated NCAA rules in the recruitment of Nate Miles.

Miles reportedly received transportation, food, and lodging from Nochimson. All of which are NCAA violations because of Nochimson's role as a “representative of UConn's athletic interests.”

The NCAA forbid Nochimson from even contacting Miles, but that did not stop him. During December 2006, Miles' junior year in high school, Nochimson made 27 phone calls to the basketball player's family and three to Miles himself.

Moore, now the head basketball coach at Quinnipiac University, reportedly showed Nochimson who Miles was and who his family was so that the recruitment process could start and go smoothly. From the night Nochimson met Miles, he and Moore were in constant contact.

Calhoun reportedly made 16 phone calls to Nochimson personally during a two-year period up to and after Miles' recruitment. The week that Miles was set to make a visit to the Storrs' campus, Calhoun talked on the phone with him for nearly an hour.

How will this effect the team's game against Purdue?

It probably will not. Jim Calhoun is a Hall of Fame coach who knows how to get his team into the game. The Huskies are led by veteran players A.J. Price and Jeff Adrien, who know how to put other thoughts aside for 40 minutes of basketball.

I truly believe that this basketball team will take care of business against the Boilermakers from tip-off to the closing seconds.

How will the fans take the news of this alleged violation?

For me, it hurts. It shows very little respect for the NCAA, and portrays the Huskies as having as little class as possible.

We are the University of Connecticut for crying out loud! Two titles in the last 10 years, 13 players currently playing in the NBA, and enough banners to cover the inside of Gampel Pavilion.

Why on earth would we need to violate rules to recruit a player?

Although the main people in question are no longer a part of this staff, I am deeply ashamed in our basketball staff's choices. Moore is at Quinnipiac, Nochimson is not even a sports agent anymore, and Miles never even put on a Huskies uniform.

Amidst this scandal, I am proud of the men and women that do put on the UConn blue and white. Their passion and intensity for the game they love, and the institution they represent is to be commended.

It is those players, and the players at all other schools, that make college basketball survive problems like this.

What Does It Take To Be ELITE?

Alex Martin — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 17:42:58 -0400

Here’s what you should be watching for in the Sweet 16 games. The winners will advance to the Elite Eight, the losers will go home.

Louisville versus Arizona

Two incredibly athletic teams face off in this Midwest Regional game. The match up of Earl Clark of Louisville and Jordan Hill of Arizona will be particularly intriguing. Hill is having a better overall tournament (16.5 ppg and 10.5 rpg) but don’t count out Clark who was among the best forwards in the Big East this year.

The biggest question in this game is if the Wildcats can contain Terrence Williams. Williams is coming off a 24 point 15 rebound game against Siena and is, arguably, the best create-for-yourself player in the Big East. Williams can shoot, drive the lane, pass, and rebound.

If Arizona cannot stop him, they will not be able to stop the Cardinals.

UConn versus Purdue

The Huskies are on a roll and may be the hardest team to beat right now. What makes it so difficult to stop them is their depth and balanced offensive attack.

A.J. Price is averaging 23.5 ppg to go with 5.5 assists and rebounds per game in the tournament. Jeff Adrien is averaging 18 points and 12 rebounds and is shooting considerably well in this tournament (65 percent).

As if that were not enough, Stanley Robinson has come into his own since the Big East Tournament and is averaging 18 points and six boards in the first two rounds. Although he had a quiet second-round game against Texas A&M, Hasheem Thabeet is not to be taken lightly.

E’Twaun Moore of Purdue is playing well this tournament, averaging 15.5 points and four assists despite getting into foul trouble against Washington. JaJuan Johnson is a scoring threat, averaging 18 points a game in the tournament, but his production stops there.

For the Boilermakers to make this game even close, Robbie Hummel must step up and take on Thabeet. He’s only 6'8", 212 pounds, but Hummel needs to assert himself in the paint on both sides of the ball for Purdue to stand a chance against the high-powered Huskies.

Oklahoma versus Syracuse

Can anyone stop Blake Griffin? So far, the answer is no. Syracuse might be able to work around him and shoot the three-ball, but the Sooners are not one-player deep.

On the season, Oklahoma had all five starters averaging nearly double figures in points with Blake Griffin leading the way with 22.5. In the tournament, Griffin is averaging over 30 points and 15 boards a game.

It would be unwise for Syracuse to even attempt to stop this man-beast; unless they can get him into foul trouble.

For Syracuse to stay in this game, they must pass the ball around the perimeter and hit the open shot. Avoid driving to the hole against the Blake and his brother Taylor, although Johnny Flynn has my blessing if he desires to do so.

Eric Devendorf can shoot from long range, so can Andy Rautins, and even Flynn has been known to drop his share of treys, though he’s only hit one in the tournament so far. Devendorf hit five against Arizona State and is shooting almost 40 percent from behind the arc for the year.

Rautins hit three against ASU, but is known to knock the shot down in the clutch; just refer to the 6OT thriller against UConn.

If the Orange can control the pace of the game by being very selective with their shots, it will open up the lane for Flynn to drive to the hole. Watch out for Blake Griffin, though. I hear he eats Oranges for breakfast.

Villanova versus Duke

As I said before, this will be the very best game of the tournament. Two completely opposite schemes that are executed to the most effective ways possible will clash for a spot in the Elite Eight.

Villanova is a very athletic team, known for slashing to the basket and drawing fouls. Duke uses a spread offensive attack to hit the mid-range jumper and open up the floor for easy buckets.

The best matchup of this game will be between Dante Cunningham of Villanova and Kyle Singler of Duke. Both guys are of the same stature, 6'8"/230ish, but play very different games.

Cunningham is known to post up and punish people in the paint, Singler is known to step away from the basket and knock down shots. Look for the transition of Singler to a post-up forward against Cunningham as the key to the Blue Devils success or lack thereof.

Big East Teams

All five teams from the Big East in the Sweet 16 have the chance to make it to the Elite Eight. Pittsburgh has a tough matchup against Xavier, Villanova has an impending epic basketball game against Duke, and Syracuse will have their hands full with Oklahoma.

I see UConn and Louisville advancing easily, Villanova advancing barely, but Pittsburgh and Syracuse heading home.

No. 1 Teams

Will we have another Final Four consisting of all No. 1 seeds? God, I hope not. Though there are no Cinderellas from smaller conferences left this year (if Arizona wants to call themselves a Cinderella, they should not even show up to play next season), I do believe that two No. 1 seeds are vulnerable.

Pittsburgh is up against a very solid shooting Xavier team that is looking to extend their run in the tournament. North Carolina is up against a very good Gonzaga team that, as a program, has never made it to the Final Four. Look for Gonzaga to pull the upset and Xavier to bring the Panthers to their knees—vengeance for this UConn fan.

Ten Comments on The First Two Rounds Of The NCAA Tournament

Alex Martin — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:50:39 -0400

The first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament are history and only 16 teams remain. Some are favored, some are underdogs, some are darkhorses - but their all ready to play some basketball. Here are my thoughts and observations on the teams that fought to get to the Sweet 16.

1.) Ty Lawson could probably play basketball with only one leg and an over mitt for a hand. Why in the world did I pick Butler to go to the Elite 8?

2.) The Big East has proved to be the best conference in basketball this year. With a record of 11-2 in the tournament as a conference, the Big East has advanced five teams to the Sweet 16 - UConn, Louisville, Villanova, Pitt, and Syracuse. Each team has a shot to advance to the Elite 8.

3.) The ACC is only as good as Duke and UNC. Florida St.? Upset by Wisconsin (called that), who went on to get beat by Xavier (called that, too). Wake Forest? Beat by Cleveland St. (called that), who went on to lose to Arizona (definitely did not call that). Maryland? Abused by the Memphis Tigers who, surprising to me at least, can actually play against decent competition. Clemson? Too easy.

4.) To everyone who said that Arizona did not belong in the tournament (myself included): the Wildcats are now in a Sweet 16 match-up with top seed Louisville with the Elite 8 on the line. Never underestimate a team playing with a chip on its shoulder.

5.) Ameer Ali went bush league on Blake Griffin. He must have been taking notes while watching the Pitt/UConn game last month. Body slamming the opponent's best player did not work the same way it did against Hasheem Thabeet. Ali got ejected - the Sooners moved on. Good job, moron.

6.) Do the referees know what their jobs are? No foul on Eric Maynor's shot at the end of the UCLA-VCU game? I know you're supposed to let them play, but give me a break. Maynor should have been at the line and sent it to at least overtime. UCLA advanced and was slashed by Villanova.

7.) Besides UConn, the top seeds aren't looking too strong. UNC almost got taken out by LSU, Louisville played down to the wire against Siena, and Pitt nearly lost both of their games. Last year's tournament advanced all four number 1 seeds to the Final Four - the first time in history that its happened. Don't be surprised if only two, or even one, make it this year.

8.) The 1, 2, and 3 seeds of each region all advance to the Sweet 16. So much for the year of the upset.

9.) Can anyone stop UConn? Sure, I go there, but honestly no one has come close to knocking them off. The Huskies blew out Chattanooga by 56 and beat Texas A&M by 26. Seniors A.J. Price and Jeff Adrien are showing supreme leadership and consistency. Stanley Robinson is coming into his own and putting a real hurt on the competition. Could it be that they're peaking at just the right time?

10.) What the hell is a Boilermaker?

A.Martin

I Have a Ph.D in Bracketology

Alex Martin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:02:39 -0400

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, March Madness. The Big Dance. The 2009 NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Road to the Final Four.

I remember filling out my first bracket ever way back in 1999 when I correctly picked UConn over Duke in the Championship at the mature age of 11.

Since then, I have correctly chosen six of 10 National Champions and at least two of the Final Four teams in seven tournaments.

I correctly chose UConn over Georgia Tech in the 2004 championship, with a predicted combined score just four off the actual result. I could show you the brackets from over the years to verify this, but if you don’t believe it from my words here I doubt you will believe it on paper.

That being said, please refer to me as Dr. March Madness for the duration of the tournament.

For your benefit, I will breakdown the entire bracket before it starts. I will analyze the No. 1 seeds, each region, the probable Cinderellas, the best games, and the biggest upsets. If you have already filled out a bracket, I hope you did so in pencil.

The Number One Seeds

Most years I argue about the committee’s choices for the top seeds in each region, but this year they nailed it.

Louisville was the regular season champ and tournament champ of the best conference in basketball this year—The Big East—so they’re a no-brainer.

UConn and Pitt traded the number one overall ranking throughout the year and played two of the best games all year against each other.

UNC started out the year as the favorite to win it all. They stumbled midway through but regained their footing and ended the year atop the rankings. The four number one seeds are legit.

To those who think Memphis should be a No.1 seed, get your brain examined. Memphis is terrible and the two seed they received in the West region is a joke. They play in Conference USA and dominate. Awesome. That’s like beating your nine-year-old cousin and his friends in drinking games.

What are Memphis’s key wins this year? They beat the Gonzaga Bulldogs and an underachieving Tennessee Volunteer squad. However, they lost against Xavier at a neutral site, they lost at home to Syracuse in December—well before Syracuse showed signs of being of the elite teams in the country— and lost on the road to Georgetown who, let’s face it, has proven to be a terrible team. Memphis only beat three tournament teams this year (one of which is lowly No. 1 seed Chattanooga) and played in the most overrated conference in basketball. A No. 2 seed is a gift. Stop complaining, Tiger fans.

They only team that can make an argument for a No. 1 seed is Oklahoma, who would have been there had Blake Griffin not gotten injured at the end of the year. Duke possibly could argue, but their ACC tournament title is blemished by a not-so-stellar regular season consisting of losses to Boston College, Michigan, and oddly inconsistent Clemson. Two seeds for them and Michigan State are good choices.

Best Games

Midwest Region - Siena versus Ohio State

This region has the most good games and biggest potential upsets but the Siena/Ohio St. game will be a great first-round match-up. Though I do believe Siena is the better team, I’m favoring Ohio St. because the game is played in Dayton, Ohio. The Buckeyes will then get slashed by Louisville in the subsequent round, so winning their firt round match-up is like a person eating his or her last meal before lethal injection.

West Region - Missouri versus UConn

This game will decide the winner of the region, which was the toughest region to predict this year. I love UConn’s depth and consistency, but Missouri is explosive and is on a roll as of late. UConn’s loss of Jerome Dyson will hurt their chances at a national championship, but I believe they prevail over the Tigers in this Elite Eight match-up.

South Region - Syracuse versus Oklahoma

This Sweet-16 match-up will be one of the best of the tournament. Both teams are hungry and are waiting to prove themselves after falling in their conference tournaments. I’m not positive if my judgment over the outcome of this game was more affected by my love for Blake Griffin or my hatred for all things Orange, but I do believe the Sooners win this game and advance to the field of eight.

East Region - Villanova versus Duke

This may be the best game of the entire tournament. Two powerhouse teams that play drastically different styles of basketball fighting for a spot in the Elite Eight. Nova, a slash to the hole/man-defense kind of team, versus Duke, a perimeter shooting/zone-defense squad. I think Nova will win this game because of their ability to spread zone defenses out and penetrate to the paint. Scottie Reynolds will shine.

Biggest Upsets

Midwest Region - Cleveland State over Wake Forest

Like it or not, Wake Forest is not the No. 1 ranked team they once were. They have holes in their game and they rarely play to their full potential. If Cleveland St. comes into this game confident, Wake will fall. The Vikings. will advance all the way to the Sweet-16, where they will inevitably fall to the Louisville Cardinals.

West Region - Maryland over Memphis

We already know that Memphis is drastically overrated, but what we don’t all know is that the Terrapins of Maryland are drastically underrated. They have regular season wins over Michigan St. and North Carolina, No. 2 and No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament respectively. They also beat Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament before losing a heart-breaker to Duke for the title. Don’t count out the Terrapins and don’t count on the Tigers.

South Region - Butler over North Carolina

The biggest shocker of the tournament this year will be the fall of UNC. The Tar heels are the favorite to win it all by many analysts and announcers. However, the Ty Lawson injury still troubles me. Without him at full-speed, UNC is average to above-average at best. If Lawson isn’t at 100 percent due to his foot, the Heels are a slower team and a less explosive team. Butler can shoot the three-ball (35 percent on the season), crash the boards, and force turnovers. UNC is the better team by far but the Bulldogs will be on top of their game when they face off for a chance at the Sweet-16.

East Region - Xavier over Pittsburgh

Another No. 1 seed will fall. Xavier is a very strong four seed. If they hadn’t lost to Temple in the Atlantic-10 championship game, they would have a strong argument for a two seed. Xavier shoots nearly 40 percent from behind the arc and, because of Pitt’s lackluster perimeter defense, this will be the key to the Muskateers’ victory and eventual advancement to the NCAA Championship Game in Detroit.

Cinderellas

Midwest Region - Cleveland St. will advance to the Sweet 16.

West Region - Maryland will advance to the Sweet 16.

South Region - Butler will advance to the Elite Eight.

East Region - Xavier will advance to the National Championship Game, if you can call a No. 4 seed a Cinderella.

The Final Four

The Final Four will consist of Louisville, Xavier, Oklahoma, and, after a hard faught battle with the Missouri Tigers, UConn. This will be a delightful break from last year’s Final Four of all No. 1 seeds— the first time in history that that had happened.

Since it is nearly impossible to beat a team three times in one year, Louisville will finally knock out the Huskies of Connecticut to reach the Championship Game against Xavier, who will have defeated a very powerful Sooners team. Louisville will cut down the nets in Detroit this year, ending an excellent basketball season.

During their celebration, Rick Pitino will be crying knowing that Terrence Williams and Earl Clark will be heading to the NBA as lottery picks in the upcoming draft.

A.Martin