daequan cook – Rush The Court

NBA Finals Features Plenty of College Stars

EJacoby — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 23:42:11 +0000

The 2012 NBA Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat begins tonight in a dream matchup of star-studded teams that is sure to draw huge viewer ratings. The major media narrative of the series centers around the two superstars — LeBron James and Kevin Durant — and all basketball fans should enjoy watching them battle at the highest level. But digging deeper, diehard college hoops supporters are in for a real treat as each team features veteran players that were once stars at the collegiate level for Final Four-bound squads. Thought the Fab Five was a distant memory? Juwan [...]

In 1-and-Done Era, Experience Wins Championships

rtmsf — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 18:52:01 +0000

(special h/t to Luke Winn for inspiring this analysis with his article here)

You may have heard in recent days that Kentucky’s John Calipari has been filling up on the tasty nougat that has risen to the top of the Class of 2010 high school basketball recruiting lists. Five-star prospect Brandon Knight followed an impressive chorus line of 1-and-done Calipari point guards (D. Rose, T. Evans, J. Wall) by committing to the Wildcats on Wednesday, and Doron Lamb, another five-star combo guard ranked in the top 25, committed today. Turkish stud Enes Kanter committed last week, and there are rumors that others, including versatile [...]

Myles Brand’s Solution to 1-and-Dones: 2-and-Dones

rtmsf — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 05:26:11 +0000

We stumbled across an article recently while reading about the latest Sarah Palin tragicomedy, and we were immediately surprised about a couple of things. First, why is the Huffington Post writing about one-and-done basketball players? And second, why is the author of the piece, NCAA head honcho Myles Brand, blogging for the HuffPo and not ESPN, CBS Sports, NCAA News or some other sports-related website? Further investigation revealed that Brand has been writing on this platform since last August – 13 total entries – ranging in topics from the myth of the ‘dumb jock’ to diversity hiring in athletics to pay-for-play. It made [...]

Orlando Pre-Draft Camp Day 1

rtmsf — Wed, 28 May 2008 20:43:48 +0000

This week (Tues-Fri) is the all-important Orlando Pre-Draft Camp, the place where marginal second-round picks can become late first-rounders overnight, and all the other garbage players who weren’t going to get drafted anyway can prove their unworthiness in front of a collection of NBA types in attendance. Still, there’s always at least a handful of players who benefit from this event – last year Jared Dudley and Daequan Cook probably wouldn’t have gone in the first round but for strong showings, and Ramon Sessions, Stephane Lasme and Demetris Nichols may not have been drafted at all. Not [...]

2007 NBA Draft Musings

rtmsf — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 20:58:30 +0000

Note: If you’re looking for the 2008 NBA Draft Musings, look here.

Some post-apocalyptic draft thoughts for your Friday, as we settle into a long summer of waiting for something to happen…

Championship or Bust in Portland?

One and Dones. These players acquitted themselves quite well in this year’s draft, which means they were getting good information from their schools and representatives. Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, Mike Conley, Jr., Brandan Wright, Spencer Hawes and Thaddeus Young were six of the top twelve players taken. Not coincidentally, five of those were among the top seven seniors of the Class of [...]

NBA Predraft Camp Thoughts

rtmsf — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 21:57:13 +0000

Thanks to the guys over at draftexpress.com, we’re just getting our first look at some of the height/weight and athletic numbers coming out of the NBA Predraft Camp last weekend in Orlando. We don’t put a lot of stock in drafting players based on these measurements – after all, if a guy can play, he can play (tip of the hat to Jonathan Givony for making this very point perfectly on draftexpress.com) – but it’s always fun to see who wins for the “incredible shrinking” award (aka the Lonny Baxter Trophy) as well as who appears to be [...]

Vegas Odds: Check-In

rtmsf — Wed, 16 May 2007 21:24:39 +0000

Now that the all the recruits in the Class of 2007 have been tidily gift-wrapped for their respective schools (Patrick Patterson, the lone remaining unsigned star of the class, announced for Kentucky today), we can take a look to see how that impacts the public (read: Vegas) perception of how good teams will be in 2007-08. Granted, we won’t have a true snapshot until the early entry withdrawal deadline has passed next month (June 18), but this should give us a bit of insight into how each team is being evaluated in light of their existing losses and incoming [...]

One and Done (2007) – was it worth it?

rtmsf — Mon, 14 May 2007 18:00:35 +0000

In the hypercompetitive world of college basketball recruiting, last year’s new NBA rule requiring a player to be one year removed from his high school class prior to declaring for the draft sent repercussions throughout the game. Coaches at the elite programs generally fell into two camps – you either recruit players who you expect will stick around for more than one season, hoping to keep stability (and consistency) within your program; or, you recruit the very best talent available year over year, hoping to catch lightning-in-a-bottle Carmelo-style without experiencing the program volatility that such a strategy may entail. [...]

04.23.07 Fast Breaks

rtmsf — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:06:35 +0000

OSU’s Thad Three (Greg Oden, Michael Conley, Jr., Daequan Cook) are going pro – Conley & Cook will not sign with Dad, er, an agent. Chris Lofton is staying at Tennessee for his senior season. This decision undoubtedly pushes UT into the SEC frontrunner position for next year. Nevada’s Marcellus Kemp and Ramon Sessions are set to test the NBA waters, but only Kemp is projected as a first round pick (in 2008). Brandan Wright is expected to declare for the NBA today. Don’t despair Carolina fans, Deon Thompson is probably a better long-term fit for the Heels. Iowa’s second-leading scorer Tyler Smith appears to be transferring to Tennessee, and could possibly play in 2007-08 based upon a family hardship waiver. Luke [...]