Friday's Tidbits: June 26

1. NBA Draft News and Notes...

The day some of us have been waiting for came and went Thursday evening as the 2009 NBA Draft once again filled our television screens with great picks, surprising trades, and head scratching selections. While the talent pool was considered down this year, with the exception of Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, anyone could have be drafted at any pick, which in many ways helped viewership, but forced team G.M.'s to flip a coin on certain selections. Yes, the field was that wide open.

Listed below are a few selections from the draft I found interesting last night...

-Ricky Rubio to Minnesota with the 5th pick. I thought he would not fall beyond Sacramento, or someone would trade up for his services. He may not be fully ready for the league, but his jersey will sell like crazy in Spain.

-Sacramento selects Tyreke Evans. ESPN commentator Jay Bilas had been praising Evans all week, and it's possible Bilas got into the heads of the Kings front office. Evans is a stud and possible future All-Star.

-DeJuan Blair falling to the second round was the biggest surprise of the night. Teams were apparently afraid of his past health issues, which included two ACL surgeries in high school. Another reason may have been his 6-6 1/2 height, which is considered small in the NBA at the power forward position. Both of these reasons may be valid, but the draft is about taking chances, and Blair has proven to be a banger. He may not be a future All-Star, but he knows how to play the game.

-Back to Minnesota......four point guards??? Ok, two will make the team and start (Rubio and Johny Flynn), one was trade bait (Ty Lawson was sent to Denver for a future first round pick) and the other, Nick Calathes, will tryout for the team and most likely be shipped overseas.

*Another option for the Timberwolves is to trade Rubio to a team willing to give up a future first round pick and cash considerations. New York, anyone?

-Pacers selecting Tyler Hansbrough was in hindsight a good pick, but I thought it was a reach. Indiana could have traded down a few spots, received something in return, and Hansbrough would've still been sitting there. But I'm no G.M or Larry Bird. Hansbrough did impress scouts this past month, showing he could translate his blue-collar work ethic to the pro game. There's not argument he can play, but he will not dominate to the level he did in college. Not even close actually. He will be a solid role player, who will rebound and hustle every night. And maybe hit a few open jumpers.

2. Vince Carter to the Orlando Magic

Early yesterday afternoon the New Jersey Nets sent Vince Carter and Ryan Anderson to the Orlando Magic for Rafer Alston, Tony Battie and Courtney Lee. After thinking about this trade and its implications, you have to believe the Magic's starting five is the best in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland may have the best duo in Lebron James and Shaquille O'Neal and Boston may have the 'Boston Three Party' plus Rajon Rondo, but take a look at this starting lineup....

PG: J. Nelson
SG: V. Carter
SF: R. Lewis
SF/PF: H. Turkoglu (if he resigns..)
C: D. Howard

This starting lineup is built for a championship run. Each of these guys have All-Star potential, and besides Carter, they're all young. It's going to be another three-team race next season in the Eastern Conference, between Orlando, a healthy Boston squad, and a Cleveland team now filled up with the 'Diesel.'

3. Notre Dame Football Recruiting

When it appeared recruiting was getting tough for Charlie Weis, he comes back the next day and picks up two solid prospects. Both players committed to the Irish this past Wednesday after making trips to South Bend. As we are starting to see more often, getting players to campus is essential.

-Finally, Cincinnati Mueller quarterback Andrew Hendrix made his pledge to the Irish after visiting campus on Monday and Tuesday. The committment didn't come as a surprise, but as another victory for Notre Dame in their recruiting efforts over Ohio State. Hendrix is the first quarterback to commit to the Irish in the 2010 class, and he will most likely redshirt his first year at Notre Dame.

-On the same day as Hendrix's committment, Zionsville linebacker Blake Lueders gave his committment to Irish after visiting South Bend this week. Many scouts and people who have seen Lueders play describe him as an "animal." Lueders chose Notre Dame over Stanford, Boston College, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

Both Lueders and Hendrix are listed as four-stars, according to Rivals.com.

-Chris Martin News....

Earlier this week, Notre Dame's 2010 prize commitment, Chris Martin, said he was going to start looking around, just to make sure he had made the right decision. Well, apparently, he has changed his mind, and is now solid with the Irish, according to Pete Sampson of IrishIllustrated.com. Here's the story link.

4. Indiana Basketball Recruiting

-Stacey Poole, a four-star small forward from Jacksonville, Florida, recently put Indiana in his top two, along with Clemson. After an outstanding performance last week at the NBA Top 100 camp, it's likely Poole's stock is on the rise. Here's a breakdown of Poole's performance from the camp from Jerry Meyer of Rivals.com.

"One of the best finishers in the camp, Poole has an explosive first step and doesn't slow down from there on his attacks on the basket. A physical player with a tremendous physique, Poole also rebounds and defends at a high level. How high he takes his stock depends largely on the development of his outside jumper."

-2012 prospect Ron Patterson out of Indianapolis recently said he was going to make his college decision at the end of his sophomore season. According to Mike Pegram of Peegs.com, Patterson's finalists include Indiana, Tennessee and Ohio State. A lot can change in a year, but I believe, like Mr. Pegram, he's an Indiana lean.

-No new news on Kyrie Irving and Marquis Teague. This could be a good thing for the Hoosiers....

5. Purdue Basketball Recruiting

-Donnie Hale, a 6-8 power forward from New Albany, Indiana, finally gave his pledge to Matt Painter this past week, after months of speculation he would end up in West Lafayette. Hale is a three-star prospect according to Rivals.com, and he chose Purdue over Xavier.

The interesting part of this committment is that Purdue did not have an open scholarship to offer Hale, but gave him the option of playing a year in prep school before coming to Purdue in 2011. Unless someone on the current roster leaves the team, Hale won't suit up for the Boilermakers until 2011.

-A prospect Purdue fans should take note of is 2011 small forward Brandon Dawson, out of Gary, Indiana. I have seen some film on the kid, and he's a legit Division-I standout, and this is why Georgetown, Indiana, UCLA and Purdue are all after him. He has set no timetable for a decision, but it could come as early as this fall. If you like athleticism, Dawson is your guy. Purdue is the early leader in this recruiting race.

6. Fort Wayne's Finest

I understand most of my readers live and work in the Fort Wayne area, so this tidbit is dedicated to the Summit City. I have made a list of the top basketball players in the area that are receiving high interest from major Division-I programs.

-Incoming senior Deshaun Thomas, Bishop Luers High School: Committed to Ohio State
-Incoming senior Russell Byrd, Blackhawk Christian: Committed to Michigan State
-Incoming junior Evan Blackmon, Bishop Luers High School: Receiving letters from Big Ten and MAC schools. Stock is rising.
- Incoming junior Tony Springman, Bishop Dwenger High School: Receiving letters from Big Ten and MAC schools. Stock is rising.
-Incoming junior Ken Mullen, Bishop Luers High School: Receiving letters from Big Ten and MAC schools. Stock could rise with a good season.
-Incoming sophomore Rapheal Davis, South Side High School: Committed to Purdue


7. Kellen Lewis to Valdosta State

This is probably old news by now, but former Indiana quarterback Kellen Lewis has transferred to Division-II powerhouse Valdosta State. Lewis, who was on his way to setting every major Indiana passing record, was dismissed from the Hoosier program after breaking unspecified team rules. Ben Chappell is now the man under center for Bill Lynch.


Enjoy the weekend!