The NBA Play-Offs Scond Round is Set!!!!!!

West

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Are the Grizzles ready to finally win two series in a row for the first time ever in their franchise history. After only being the fourth team ever to upset a 1st seed, will they have enough energy to out last the young Oklahoma City Thunder!!!!

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After the Mavericks lost their 23 point lead in the fourth quarter due to a historic comeback by the Blazers, the question is, are they really who we think they are, or they will live above the hype in order to beat the two time defending champions Lakers.

East

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Is this the year the Bulls can make a run for the title?

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This is the waited series, can the Heat pull it of!!

NBA Playoffs Ready for Tomorrow!!!

In a year characterized by an unprecedented congregation of NBA superpowers in the major American markets, April 16, 2011 marks the first pyrotechnic explosion of a 60 day, world-class fireworks show. The 2011 NBA Playoffs kickoff this Saturday and promise to be a new brand of exciting.

What else can you expect after an NBA regular season that has provided more thrills and adversity than than a summer blockbuster. That has received more attention than any in the history of the sport. The fact is, these playoffs might not be suitable for pregnant women, children under 12 and people with back or heart conditions. Because unlike past years, there aren't only two or three contenders. Even for the favorites, the Los Angeles Lakers, objects in the rear view mirror may be closer than they appear. There are no longer as many illusions as there are expectations. And remember, hope is only as alive as it is mortal.

Your emotional fitness will be tested.
Most of our dreams will be crushed. Only one team and its tiny minority of NBA fans will taste that sweet champagne called victory. The rest of us must take solace in the uncertainty of next year.
For the basketball purist, the dream will suffice. For the celebrity consumer, the spectacle will satisfy. But make no mistake about it, this postseason, everyone is getting their fix.
Below you will find a schedule designed for your bookmarking and printing pleasure. It tells you where and when you can catch all of the action:
EASTERN CONFERENCE
Chicago vs. Indiana
Game 1 - Sat April 16, Indiana at Chicago, 1:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 2 - Mon April 18, Indiana at Chicago, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 3 - Thu April 21, Chicago at Indiana, 7:00 p.m. ET, NBA TV
Game 4 - Sat April 23, Chicago at Indiana, 2:30 p.m. ET, TNT
*Game 5 - Tue April 26, Indiana at Chicago, TBD, TBD
*Game 6 - Thu April 28, Chicago at Indiana, TBD, TBD
*Game 7 - Sat April 30, Indiana at Chicago, TBD, TNT
Miami vs. Philadelphia
Game 1 - Sat April 16, Philadelphia at Miami, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 2 - Mon April 18, Philadelphia at Miami, 7:00 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 3 - Thu April 21, Miami at Philadelphia, 8:00 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 4 - Sun April 24, Miami at Philadelphia, 1:00 p.m. ET, ABC
*Game 5 - Wed April 27, Philadelphia at Miami, TBD, TBD
*Game 6 - Fri April 29, Miami at Philadelphia, TBD, TBD
*Game 7 - Sun May 1, Philadelphia at Miami, TBD, TBD
Boston vs. New York
Game 1 - Sun April 17, New York at Boston, 7:00 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 2 - Tue April 19, New York at Boston, 7:00 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 3 - Fri April 22, Boston at New York, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 4 - Sun April 24, Boston at New York, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
*Game 5 - Tue April 26, New York at Boston, TBD, TBD
*Game 6 - Fri April 29, Boston at New York, TBD, TBD
*Game 7 - Sun May 1, New York at Boston, TBD, TBD
Orlando vs. Atlanta
Game 1 - Sat April 16, Atlanta at Orlando, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 2 - Tue April 19, Atlanta at Orlando, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV
Game 3 - Fri April 22, Orlando at Atlanta, 8:00 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Game 4 - Sun April 24, Orlando at Atlanta, 7:00 p.m. ET, TNT
*Game 5 - Tue April 26, Atlanta at Orlando, TBD, TBD
*Game 6 - Thu April 28, Orlando at Atlanta, TBD, TBD
*Game 7 - Sat April 30, Atlanta at Orlando, TBD, TNT
WESTERN CONFERENCE
San Antonio vs. Memphis
Game 1 - Sun April 17, Memphis at San Antonio, 1:00 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 20, Memphis at San Antonio, 8:30 p.m. ET, NBA TV
Game 3 - Sat April 23, San Antonio at Memphis, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 4 - Mon April 25, San Antonio at Memphis, TBD, TBD
*Game 5 - Wed April 27, Memphis at San Antonio, TBD, TBD
*Game 6 - Fri April 29, San Antonio at Memphis, TBD, TBD
*Game 7 - Sun May 1, Memphis at San Antonio, TBD, TBD
L.A. Lakers vs. New Orleans
Game 1 - Sun April 17, New Orleans at L.A. Lakers, 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Game 2 - Wed April 20, New Orleans at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 3 - Fri April 22, L.A. Lakers at New Orleans, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 4 - Sun April 24, L.A. Lakers at New Orleans, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT
*Game 5 - Tue April 26, New Orleans at L.A. Lakers, TBD, TBD
*Game 6 - Thu April 28, L.A. Lakers at New Orleans, TBD, TBD
*Game 7 - Sat April 30, New Orleans at L.A. Lakers, TBD, TNT
Dallas vs. Portland
Game 1 - Sat April 16, Portland at Dallas, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 2 - Tue April 19, Portland at Dallas, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 3 - Thu April 21, Dallas at Portland, 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 4 - Sat April 23, Dallas at Portland, 5:00 p.m. ET, TNT
*Game 5 - Mon April 25, Portland at Dallas, TBD, TBD
*Game 6 - Thu April 28, Dallas at Portland, TBD, TBD
*Game 7 - Sat April 30, Portland at Dallas, TBD, TNT
Oklahoma City vs. Denver
Game 1 - Sun April 17, Denver at Oklahoma City, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 20, Denver at Oklahoma City, 8:00 p.m. ET, TNT
Game 3 - Sat April 23, Oklahoma City at Denver, 10:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Game 4 - Mon April 25, Oklahoma City at Denver, 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT
*Game 5 - Wed April 27, Denver at Oklahoma City, TBD, TBD
*Game 6 - Fri April 29, Oklahoma City at Denver, TBD, TBD
*Game 7 - Sun May 1, Denver at Oklahoma City, TBD, TBD

* - Only in necessary
TBD - To be determined

UCONN Wins 2011 NCAA Championship!!!

HOUSTON -- The only thing that could stop Kemba Walker and Connecticut's amazing run was the final buzzer.

On a night when the massive arena felt like a dusty old gym, UConn made Butler look like the underdog it really was, winning the national championship Monday night with an old-fashioned, grinding 53-41 beatdown of the Bulldogs.

Walker finished with 16 points for the Huskies (32-9), who won their 11th straight game since closing the regular season with a 9-9 Big East record that foreshadowed none of this.

They closed it out with a defensive showing for the ages, holding Butler to a 12-for-64 shooting. That's 18.8 percent, the worst ever in a title game, which made for an ugly overall night but turned into the kind of game a grizzled old coach like Jim Calhoun could love.

At age 68, he became the oldest coach to win the NCAA championship and joined John Wooden, Adolph Rupp, John Krzyzewski and Bob Knight as only the fifth coach to win three NCAA titles.

He did it by accepting the reality that the rim was about as wide as a pancake on a defensive-minded night in Houston, by making his players pound the ball inside and insisting on the kind of defense that UConn played during this remarkable run, but which often got overshadowed by Walker's theatrics.

Connecticut outscored Butler by an amazing 26-2 in the paint. The Bulldogs (28-10), in their second straight title game and hoping to put the closing chapter on the ultimate "Hoosiers" story, went a mind-numbing 13 minutes, 26 seconds in the second half without making a field goal.

During that time, a 25-19 lead turned into a 41-28 deficit. This for a team that never trailed Duke by more than six during last year's epic final.

That time, Gordon Hayward's desperation halfcourt heave bounced off the backboard and rim, barely missing. This time, UConn was celebrating before the buzzer sounded, Calhoun pumping his fists and hugging an assistant while the Huskies ran to the sideline and soaked in the confetti.

The version of "Hoosiers" with the happy ending is still available on DVD.

UConn, meanwhile, gets the real celebration.

Joining Walker in double figures were Jeremy Lamb with 12 points, including six during UConn's pullaway run, and Alex Oriakhi with 11 points and 11 rebounds.

It's been a rough year for the Huskies and their coaching lifer, whose season was tarnished by an NCAA investigation that found Calhoun failed to create an atmosphere of compliance in the program. He admitted he wasn't perfect and has begrudgingly accepted the three-game suspension he'll have to serve when the Big East regular season starts next year.

Then again, given this performance, it's clear UConn does its best work when it's all-or-nothing, one-and-done.

Counting three wins at the Maui Invitational, Connecticut finished 14-0 in tournament games this year -- including an unprecedented five-wins-in-five-nights success at the Big East tournament, then six games -- two each week -- in the one that really counts, one of the most unpredictable versions of March Madness ever.

NCAA Championshi Is Set!!!!

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With both of these two teams unexpected to go the finals, they are now here. Will Conneticut achieve something no one has ever done before or will Butler redeem themselves with a championship this year.

State players show talents in McDonald's All-American Game

Apr 1, 2011  |  

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Written by

Kyle Neddenriep
kyle.neddenriep@indystar.com

Their West team lost 111-96 to the East late Wednesday night in the McDonald's All-American Game at Chicago's United Center, but the trio of Indiana high school basketball stars had their moments on the big stage.
In front of a sellout crowd of 19,909 and a national ESPN audience, Washington's Cody Zeller beat the defense down the court for three dunks, Pike's Marquis Teague dazzled the crowd with a dominant five-possession stretch and Gary Wallace's Branden Dawson attacked the basket for six offensive rebounds.
The 6-5 Dawson, a Michigan State signee, said it was "a big honor" to take the floor with two other stars from the state.
"Cody Zeller is a great kid," he said. "He's a winner. Marquis Teague also. We came out here together and wanted to get it done. Unfortunately, we didn't get the win."
The 6-11 Zeller came into the game with tempered expectations. The Indiana recruit joked before the game that all-star games usually feature guard play. But the guards on his team, including Teague, Duke recruit Austin Rivers and Texas signee Myck Kabongo, consistently found him open behind the defense. Zeller finished with 10 points, three rebounds and three assists.
"I wasn't expecting to do a whole lot," he said. "Traditionally the big guys don't do a whole lot in this game, but I was kind of letting the game come to me and see what happens. Our guards were very talented and weren't selfish."
Playing on a team filled with stars, Zeller said "it was kind of nice not being double- and triple-teamed like in high school." He was just four days removed from leading Washington to a 61-46 win over Culver Academies in the Class 3A championship game.
"I think it was somewhat of an advantage because I was still in shape," Zeller said. "Some of these guys have been done for two or three weeks. I was fine out there running up and down. Some of them were sucking wind a little bit."
Teague said he's still not 100 percent recovered from injuring his left knee late in the high school season, but it was hardly evident. The 6-2 Teague had six points and two assists in one five-possession blur in the first half, including two alley-oop passes to future Kentucky teammate Anthony Davis, a 6-9 Chicago native.
"That was the first time I've played with him, so we got to learn each other's games," Teague said. "I know he likes to run the floor and I'll throw it up to him. You're going to see a lot of that next year."
Teague finished with nine points and three assists. Dawson had nine points and eight rebounds. Marshall Plumlee, who grew up in Warsaw but attended high school in North Carolina, had five points and eight rebounds for the East. The East's James McAdoo (North Carolina) and Michael Gilchrist (Kentucky) were named co-MVPs.
Teague said McDonald's All-American experience was worthwhile on and off the court.
"I got to meet a lot of new people," he said. "I got to see (fellow Kentucky recruit) Kyle Wiltjer. I'd never seen him play. But the most fun and best experience was going to the Ronald McDonald House and meeting the kids. We played Wii with them and colored with them and cooked cookies. That was a lot of fun."

Etc.

Pike's R.J. Hunter will stay at the school for his senior year even though his father, former IUPUI coach Ron Hunter, will coach at Georgia State.
Howe senior Kenny Enoch has committed to Vincennes.
The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) will launch its first All-American Basketball Skills Academy series in June with camps in Charlotte, N.C.; Hampton, Va.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Orlando, Fla. The AAU will also evaluate and rank individual players nationally. The inaugural 2011 AAU All-American Senior Boys and Girls teams will be named later this month and top 100 rankings by grade for underclass boys and girls will be announced at the end of the summer. For information on the AAU All-American Skills Academy, visit aauallamerican.com.

Austin Rivers now thinks he's a Rapper

Thu Mar 31 09:29am EDT

Duke recruit Austin Rivers raps during McDonald’s All-Star game

By Chris Chase

Now I have a story that I'd like to tell,
about this guy named Austin who plays ball real well,
he's No. 1 in Rivals and is going to Duke,
his dad is Doc Rivers, so his game's no fluke!
Much like J.J. Redick, Austin likes to write rhymes
and, just like Redick's words, his are poetic crimes.


During a brief halftime segment during ESPN's Thursday night broadcast of the McDonald's high school All-American game, Duke recruit Austin Rivers talked about his love of rap, R&B and hip-hop. Then he dropped some rhymes for the cameras:
Today I woke up with a mindset that I have to be the best
these dudes coming after me, they don't want this test.
Every time I go to the court, man, I give it my all,
these dudes underrate me, they don't think I can ball.


Remember that "Cosby Show" episode where Theo and Cockroach rapped a retelling of "Julius Caesar"? Compared to Rivers, they sounded like 2Pac.
Not that there's anything wrong with that. Rivers is a high school basketball player who likes to rap. It's his hobby. Golf is my hobby and I'm just as proficient at it as Austin is at writing rhymes. I certainly don't mean to throw stones at somebody's part-time passion.
My question is, why showcase your "skills" in the first place? You're already going to Duke, ensuring that you'll be heckled mercilessly during every road game. Do you really want to give more fodder to Maryland fans who are probably creating cardboard cutouts of Vanilla Ice as we speak?
A word of advice to all future recruits, Blue Devil or any other: When an ESPN producer asks you to rap during an interview segment, politely decline. If a magazine reporter wants to see your poetry, say you keep it locked up in your dorm room. And if you choose to ignore that advice, at least buy a rhyming dictionary. "All" and "ball"? Come on, Austin. You're better than that.

NEWARK, N.J. – John Calipari brought Kobe Bryant to New Jersey three times that spring to work out.

Kobe Bryant may have changed the trajectory of John Calipari's career 15 years ago when Calipari didn't draft him.
(Jae C. Hong/AP)

This was 1996. Cal was the new coach of the New Jersey Nets, fresh out of the college ranks at Massachusetts. Bryant was a high schooler from suburban Philadelphia, the first modern player who was academically qualified for college to say he was jumping straight to the NBA anyway.
The Nets had the eighth pick overall, too high, many said, for an unproven 18-year-old. With each drill Cal ran Bryant through at the Fairleigh Dickinson University gym, he grew convinced otherwise.

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“If you watched the workouts, you’d say either this kid has been taught to fool us in the workouts or he’s ridiculous,” Calipari said, back here in Jersey, now preparing his Kentucky Wildcats for a Sweet 16 game Friday against Ohio State.
“I worked him out three times and I thought I was losing my mind. Obviously I wasn’t. He was really good. I’d brought him in a third time because I just said, ‘I’ve got to see this kid again because this is ridiculous.’ “
This was no simple choice, though, and it can be argued it was a choice that 15 years later still reverberates throughout basketball – from the Nets to the Los Angeles Lakers to Kobe and Cal and, indeed, all the way to the University of Kentucky.
The circumstances made things tricky. Calipari was just weeks into his NBA life. Kobe wasn’t Kobe yet. The league’s prevailing wisdom was to choose experience – college juniors or seniors. It was a man’s league, and Bryant was a cocksure kid trying to buck the system.
Bryant also had powerhouse representation, rising agent Arn Tellem and Adidas rep Sonny Vaccaro, who had staked millions on Bryant right out of Lower Merion High School. At first, Tellem wanted Cal to draft Bryant and kept sending Kobe to FDU to cause jaws to drop.
Then the Lakers stepped in and requested a workout. L.A. was picking 24th, but Tellem was interested – better franchise, bigger market, more Adidas flying off the shelves. The Lakers set it up at the old Fabulous Forum in Inglewood, Kobe matching up with Dontae Jones, a big, physical, 6-foot-8 senior who had just led Mississippi State to the Final Four. It was no contest; Kobe destroyed Jones from the word “go.”
“I remember [Lakers general manager] Jerry West coming down from the stands after just a little while and saying, ‘Shut down the workout,’ ” Vaccaro said. “He didn’t need to see any more. That was it. Game over.”
There was no way to get Bryant to drop all the way to the Lakers, so West began working potential trades. If Kobe could get to Charlotte at 13, he said, the Lakers could trade Vlade Divac for the young phenom. Team Bryant wanted it to happen.
Only Calipari still was enthralled. Tellem spun a 180 and now began claiming Bryant wouldn’t show up in Jersey, began saying they’d send the kid to play pro ball in Italy, where he’d spent much of his youth. Everyone now admits it was an idle threat.
“Arn [wanted the Nets to draft him] until he knew he could get him to the Lakers,” Calipari said. “Then he was against it. Arn was all over me, and then all of a sudden [I] get the call the day before the draft.”
Some people told Cal to stand strong and not get pushed around. Others suggested the safe pick – promising Villanova senior guard Kerry Kittles. It was the call of a lifetime.
“Everybody knows that I was talked out of [it],” Calipari said.
He picked Kittles, a good player with bad knees. Bryant went to Charlotte, then L.A. The Lakers have won five NBA titles and counting with him. The Nets have won zero. Calipari was fired in 1999, his shooting star of a career suddenly plummeting to earth only to slowly be rebuilt.

John Calipari has another Kentucky team loaded with stars like Brandon Knight.
(Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Now Cal is back in Jersey, standing in a back hall of the Prudential Center, recounting this 15-year-old draft-day decision on the eve of a big NCAA tournament game.
It’s funny because no one else has to answer for not picking Kobe Bryant in the 1996 lottery – not the Clippers, who took Lorenzen Wright; not the Cavaliers, who took Vitaly Potapenko; not the Grizzlies, who took Shareef Abdur-Rahim; not the Warriors, who took Todd Fuller; not the Mavericks, who took Samaki Walker; and so on and so on.
Cal’s sin was almost taking Kobe Bryant. He shrugs. It’s a lot easier to discuss now, when he’s on top of his game at Kentucky, when his career is back in the stratosphere.
“Look, it all played out for everybody,” he said. “I’m telling you I enjoyed coaching Kerry Kittles. Could it have turned out differently? Would [Kobe] have stayed in New Jersey? How about he says, ‘I’m not staying here. I’m not going to be here; I’m going to get traded in a year or two.’ All sorts of stuff could’ve happened.”
Besides, Bryant was a handful to coach early in his career. He still can be. Hindsight offers no guarantees.
Calipari has long gotten over the bitterness of getting fired. It was humiliating – he wanted to spend the day after with the covers over his head, until his wife, Ellen, made him get up and go out in public. She took him to Positano’s, an Italian restaurant near their then-home in Franklin Lakes so he could realize life goes on. Rather than being met with scorn, Cal was told by a guy who came over to his table that he’d never buy a Nets ticket again.
From that day, Calipari has rebuilt his whole career.
“It was the best experience,” he said. “Two things. I’m a better coach to better prepare these young people, which is what my job is. And two, it’s a humbling thing when you step in and they say, ‘We don’t want you. Just beat it. You’re out. You can’t do this job.’
“Now there’s some self-reflection. Where did this go south? What do I need to do to improve? And I’m still learning that.”
Calipari is in his second season at Kentucky, “one of those jobs that you work your entire career to be a part of.”
He has a young, dangerous team, yet in many ways this is what passes for a rebuilding year for him. He’s in the Sweet 16 as a four seed, not a one seed like he’d prefer. He has the nation’s top recruiting class coming in next season, when the Wildcats will be a favorite to win it all. At UK, he’ll always be a player on the national scene.
Yes, it played out fine in the end. No regrets. Yes, he should’ve picked Kobe Bryant 15 years ago, should’ve pushed back and called the Italy bluff, should’ve hoped he could’ve gotten that young superstar to carry him and the Nets’ franchise to unimaginable heights.
One door closed that day. But the one that eventually opened and brought John Calipari back here to Jersey has been pretty good, too.