UPDATE: Harrison Barnes is a Tar Heel

UPDATE: Harrison Barnes has announced his intentions to go to UNC. Huge get for Roy Williams. Not only is Barnes projected as the top pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, but he will be able to slide into the small forward role that UNC is missing this year. If by some miracle, Ed Davis stays another year, can you imagine a front line of Barnes, Henson, Davis, Tyler Zeller, and the Wear twins?

Duke fans must be miserable. Barnes has had a long and close relationship with Coach K, and many thought that he was destined to be a Dookie. Its one thing to lose a recruit to Kentucky (Patrick Patterson, John Wall) or Georgetown (Greg Monroe), but to lose a kid to their Tobacco Road rivals?

Maybe all that talk about the return of Coach K's recruiting prowess was a rush to judgement.


Harrison Barnes, the 6'7" wing from Ames, Iowa, will be announcing his college decision today live on ESPN U. It will happen at some point between 2-4:30 pm during the signing day special. We will update this page when the announcement is made.

One thing to note about today - if anyone says they have inside information about where Barnes is headed, they are lying to you. There may have never been such a high-profile recruit that kept his decision making process so close to the chest.

We've written about Barnes a couple times over the last two weeks (here and here), but given the excitement around college basketball circles over Barnes' decision, we figured it would be best to just copy and paste our thoughts on each of the six schools still on his list after the jump:

• Duke: Assuming that Kyle Singler and Irving both return to Durham, can you imagine a starting line-up of Irving, Seth Curry, Barnes, Singler, (insert 6'10" white guy), with Andre Dawkins, Tyler Thornton, and (insert two more 6'10" white guys) coming off the bench? Can you say national title?
• UNC and Kansas: His effect on both schools will be determined by who actually comes back to school. Will Xavier Henry or John Henson stick around for more than a year? Are Ed Davis and Cole Aldrich locks to enter the draft? Assuming those guys are gone, there will probably be more minutes available at the small forward spot at UNC than at Kansas, but that shouldn't matter as Barnes will likely be a starter from day one at either school. Kansas is probably better equipped to handle not getting a commitment, but both schools are going to be in the national title conversation regardless of whether or not Barnes wears their jersey.
• Oklahoma: Jeff Capel probably isn't going to be lucky enough to have Willie Warren return to school for his junior season, which means that he will be losing a huge number of points (Tony Crocker graduates as well). Barnes will step in and be the Sooners go-to scorer the second he gets on campus, but it is much less likely that he will be a Final Four contender in Norman. Does Barnes want to post huge stats and win a bunch of individual awards (a la a Kevin Durant), or does he want to compete for a national title?
• UCLA: The Bruins are very young this year, but with two consecutive loaded recruiting classes, a season of maturation could be enough to get Ben Howland's team back to national prominence come 2011. Tyler Honeycutt, Mike Moser, and Malcolm Lee will make minutes more difficult to come by in Westwood, but, as is the case with UNC, Barnes should be good enough to start immediately. Without him, they are one of the best teams out west. With him, they are in the national title conversation.
  
• Iowa State: If Craig Brackins returns to school, Iowa State may have the pieces to make a run at the tournament. If not, then, well, Barnes will spend a year playing in anonymity.
  

If you are interested, you can go here to read about all of Barnes' recruiting visits.
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Friday's Pregame Beat

FINALLY!! We have a real night of college hoops, as there is a full slate of games, including 13 ranked teams in action.

The only problem?

There may not be a relevant game that is competitive. For those readers with ESPN 360, there are seven games available tonight, including No. 1 Kansas.

Let's get to the schedule:

6:30 pm: Morehead State @ Kentucky: The Wildcats take the floor for the first time this season without John Wall, who will be suspended for the game after taking money from his AAU coach Brian Clifton. Don't sleep on Morehead State. They gave Louisville a game last year in the NCAA Tournament, and with four returning starters, including double double machine Kenneth Faried, the Golden Eagles are by no means a pushover.

7 pm: Florida Gulf Coast @ Michigan State: Raymar Morgan practiced yesterday, but his status for tonight's opener is up in the air. Both Korie Lucious and Delvon Roe will be playing for the Spartans.

7 pm: Farleigh Dickinson @ Villanova: So how old in Mouphtaou Yarou? Despite Jay Wright's assurances and Villanova's clearing him to play, there are still doubters out there. Let's hope this isn't the first game that is eventually erased from the record books.

8 pm: Hofstra @ Kansas: Kansas in the consensus No. 1 team in the country and will begin their season as home against Charles Jenkins and Hofstra. Jenkins, the reigning Haggarty Award winner (best player in the NYC metropolitan area, the first sophomore to win it since Chris Mullin), looks to help the Pride improve on a disappointing season in which Hofstra was left at home during March. Expect Tyshawn Taylor to have his hands full all night.

9 pm: Georgetown @ Tulane: The Hoyas are the only ranked team to open their season on the road, as they travel to New Orleans in part to give Greg Monroe a chance to play in his native Louisiana. Are the Hoyas going to live up to their top 25 ranking this season?

9 pm: Rider @ Mississippi State: Why is this game significant? Because troubled recruit Renardo Sidney, who cannot seem to find the correct paper work for the NCAA, will not be in uniform tonight. Rider is actually decent this year, with Ryan Thompson, the younger brother of Kings first rounder Jason, leading the way. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one curious to see how good Mississippi State will be this year.

Other notables:

• 7 pm: Cal St Northridge @ Purdue: CSN almost beat Memphis last year in the tournament.
  
• 7 pm: UNC Greensboro @ Duke: Duke will be short handed without Nolan Smith or Mason Plumlee.
• 7 pm: Arkansas Little-Rock @ Ole Miss
• 7 pm: Alabama A&M @ South Carolina
  
• 7:30 pm: William & Mary @ UConn
• 8 pm: Tennessee Tech @ Minnesota
• 8 pm: Presbyterian @ Clemson
• 8 pm: Charleston Southern @ Maryland
• 8 pm: Wofford @ Pitt
• 8 pm: Oral Roberts @ Wake Forest
  
• 8 pm: Loyola (MD) @ Kansas State
  
• 9 pm: Austin Peay @ Tennessee
• 9 pm: Jackson State @ Memphis
  
• 10 pm: Wright State @ Washington
• 11:30 pm: New Mexico State @ St. Mary's
  

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Friday's Shootaround

Ohio State 72, James Madison 44: Yes, I know its early. Yes, I know that Ohio State hasn't played any competition. Yes, I also know that the rest of the country has yet to play a game. But after his first two games, Evan Turner has to be on the short list of player of the year candidates. After notching just the second triple-double in school history on Monday night, Turner followed that up with a 24 point, 17 rebound, 4 assists, and 2 steal game last night.

Evan Turner has 34 rebounds through two games.
(photo credit: AP)

After the Buckeyes jumped out to a 10-2 lead, the Dukes were able to hang around for a while, eventually knotting the game up at 16. A Turner three at the end of the half capped an 11-5 surge for Ohio State, who took a 34-25 lead at the break. They continued that momentum to open the second half, breaking the game open with a 20-5 run that put the Dukes away.

David Lighty once again looked like he was fully recovered from his broken foot as he notched 14 points, slashing his way to the rim. William Buford also added 12 points, but his 0-2 showing from deep puts him at 33.3% on the season. If Buford can become a legitimate three point threat this season, he becomes that much more well-rounded, and it opens that much more space for Turner to create. Buford did have a couple nice drives to the rim, however.

Perhaps the biggest piece of information we got from this game was that center Dallas Lauderdale was back from his broken hand. While he came off the bench and only mustered 13 minutes, he was pretty productive, blocking two shots and grabbing two of his four rebounds on the offensive end. Lauderdale's presence inside is so important for Ohio State. Not only will his shot blocking presence allow the lanky wings of the Buckeyes the chance to gamble more in their 2-3, he provides a tough rebounding and defensive presence in the lane. Nothing against Kyle Madsen of Zisis Sarikopolous, but those two have combined to averaged just 7 ppg and 5.5 rpg in 31 mpg over the first two contests.

As we mentioned Tuesday, one of the keys for Ohio State offensively is the ability of Turner to grab an defensive rebound and lead the break himself without an outlet pass. He did that quite a bit last night as well. With the talent of Lighty, Buford, Jon Diebler, and even Jeremie Simmons running the floor on the wings, the Buckeyes should continue to look to take advantage of this.


Other games of interest:

• NC State 69, Georgia State 53: NC State pulled out the win, but the Wolfpack did not look overly impressive, especially on the offensive end, last night. Tracy Smith posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 boards, while Julius Mays and Dennis Horner added 16 and 15, respectively. Javier Gonzalez had 8 points, 8 boards, and 8 assists, which included a three off an offensive rebound that sparked an 18-5 run to put the Panthers away.

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Friday Morning Dump

The best photographs of nature 2009; I feel like this has happened before; Breaking up an estrogene-filled sloberknocker will get you hired; How Pau Gasol spends his injury time; I expected something different from a "Playboy workout video"; Those kids in college who collect beer caps aint got nothing on this guy; The 10 best comedy movies from the 80's; A site devoted to finding the hottest girl in the world; College football players make very poor crooks; His team might be 1-7, but Devin Harris is still the man; The state of twitter in professional sports Want to be a sports writer? read this; Apparently, Jim Nantz is tappin' this; Product Placement in real life

- Eric Bledsoe has a lot to gain in Kentucky's opener

- Jeff Goodman explains the reason why we had to watch FIU, Alcorn State and Albany on Monday night

- John Feinstein coins "the Gardener-Webb Rule"

- Gary Parrish thinks recruits should wait to sign

- A fantastic read about Pitt's Travon Wooddall and his mother

- Son of former Heat guard signs with Michigan

- Life as a Euro baller

- Tubby Smith is not too pleased with his squad's behavior thus far

After the jump, why you always check your rearview mirror



I don't remember this level in Super Mario 3



Her daughter is probably doing the same thing in the student section



Jason "Mayhem" Miller's intro from Fedor vs. Rogers on CBS



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2009 - 2010 College Basketball Season Preview: Preseason Tournaments Presser

It's not that easy to keep up with the beginning of the college basketball season.

Why you ask? Well, because the first few weeks consist of nothing but tournament play in random venues across the country with nothing really at stake. Well, although the tournament trophies won't be as sought after as net twine in March, a solid performance in preseason tournaments can lead to a fast start.

Name: Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament
Date: Nov. 9-13 (Campus Sites), Nov. 19-20 (New York City)
Teams: California, UNC, Ohio State, Syracuse, Albany, Alcorn State, Detroit, Florida Intl., James Madison, Murray State, North Carlina Central, Robert Morris

Breakdown: The top four teams (Cal, 'Cuse, UNC and OSU) automatically qualify for the semifinals, but that doesn't mean an underdog can't spring an upset. In fact, after watching the first seven games of the season, Ohio State and Syracuse, the two lower seeded teams, seem to be farther along than Cal and UNC. This tourney features some key players to watch for: Cal's Patrick Christopher, Syracuse's Wesley Johnson, Ohio State's Evan Turner, and UNC's Ed Davis.

BIAH's Pick: Syracuse over Ohio State as Wes Johnson and company slow down Evan Turner.


Name: CBE Classic
Date: Nov. 15-18 (Campus Sites), Nov. 23-24 (Kansas City)
Teams: Iowa, Pittsburgh, Texas, Wichita State, Binghamton, Arkansas-Monticello, Duquesne, Eastern Kentucky, Farleigh Dickinsion, UT-San Antonio, UC-Irvine, Western Carolina

Breakdown: Wichita State, Texas, Pitt, and Iowa all advance to the semifinals in Kansas City as this is another one of the Gazelle Group's "tournaments". Texas should have no problem rolling through this tournament as not one of the other three semi-finalists have anywhere near the size to handle them inside. Don't count out Pitt, however, as Ashton Gibbs, Dante Taylor, and company will surprise some people this year.

BIAH's Pick: Texas. Too much size.


Name: N.I.T Season Tip-Off
Date: Nov. 16-17 (Campus Sites), Nov. 25-26 (New York City)
Teams: Duke, UConn, Arizona State, LSU, TCU, Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Colgate, Cal State-Northridge, Elon, Hofstra, Indiana State, Texas State, UW-Milwaukee, Western Kentucky, Yale

Breakdown: I've always been a big fan of the preseason N.I.T. It is one of the few 16 teams tournaments that is actually set up as a tournament. This year's edition is set up for a finals tilt between UConn and Duke, a match up between legendary coaches and programs taking place at the most legendary arena in the world. But the other two hosts - Arizona State and LSU - may not make it to NYC. Specifically, keep an eye on Western Kentucky, with potential Sun Belt POY AJ Slaughter, knocking off the Tigers.

BIAH's Pick: In an excellent battle of styles, UConn knocks off Duke as the Blue Devils have trouble with UConn's athleticism.


Name: Cancun Challenge
Date: Nov. 18-25
Teams: Kentucky, Stanford, Virginia, Cleveland State, Florida A&M, Oral Roberts, Rider, Sam Houston State

Breakdown: For student-athletes, having to play basketball in Cancun must be torture. Hopefully Kentucky has their heads screwed on tightly. If so, they should be able to run through what is essentially a four team tournament - Stanford, Virginia, Cleveland State, and Kentucky. I'm now officially on the Cleveland State bandwagon, and Virginia's Sylvan Landesburg is a scoring machine, but Kentucky is easily the star attraction during this week in paradise.

BIAH's Pick: Take a guess.


Name: Legends Classic
Date: Nov. 18-22 (Campus Sites), Nov. 27-28 (Atlantic City, NJ)
Teams: Florida, Massachussetts, Michigan State, Rutgers, Arkansas-Forth Smith, Cornell, Valparasio, Drexel, Vermont, Toledo, Troy, Georgia Southern

Breakdown: Another Gazelle Group event. Not exactly sure why, but tournament organizers decided that Florida and Michigan State would be the smart match-up in the first round of the four-team play-off. The Gators lost Nick Calathes, but adding Kenny Boynton to a group loaded with potential gives Florida a shot to be good this year. But asking an unproved team to take on Michigan State so early is a tall task. Beware of Rutgers, however, as Mike Rosario and Gregory Echinique look to take this team out of the Big East gutter.

BIAH's Pick: Michigan State is just too good for this group.


Name: Charleston Classic
Date: Nov. 19-22
Teams: Miami, La Salle, Tulane, South Florida, Davidson, Penn State, South Carolina, UNC-Wilmington

Breakdown: Its a shame that the arguably the two best teams in this field - La Salle and South Carolina - will be going head-to-head in the first round. Don't sleep on Miami, who should more than make up for the loss of Jack McClinton with the addition of Malcolm Grant and Durand Scott. South Florida, who will add Ohio State transfer Anthony Crater to a talented duo of Dominique Jones and Gus Gilchrist, and Penn State, led by PG Talor Battle, could also make a run.

BIAH's Pick: South Carolina over Penn State as Battle and Downey both go for 25.


Name: Puerto Rico Tip-Off
Date: Nov. 19-22
Teams: Villanova, Georgia Tech, Dayton, Indiana, Ole Miss, Boston U., Kansas State, George Mason

Breakdown: Puerto Rico will play host to what is the deepest of this year's tournaments. Villanova, Georgia Tech, Dayton, Ole Miss, and K-State could all earn an at-large bid, while few would be surprised George Mason or BU made a run through their respective league tournaments. While Villanova should be considered the favorite, they are going to have their hands full in the second round (if they make it there) as both Dayton and Georgia Tech are huge inside. Speaking of which, Dayton-Ga Tech may be the best first round match-up of all the tournaments. Also watch for a second round match-up of dynamic point guards with Chris Warren and Denis Clemente going toe-to-toe.

BIAH's Pick: I'm going with Dayton knocking off Tech, Nova, and K-State to bring home the chip as Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors average a combined 40 and 20.


Name: Paradise Jam
Date: Nov. 20-23 (US Virgin Islands)
Teams: Boston College, Purdue, Tennessee, Northern Iowa, DePaul, East Carolina, South Dakota State, Saint Joseph's

Breakdown: Purdue heads a solid field in the Virgin Islands. Tennessee, Northern Iowa, and Boston College are all probably headed to the dance as well. Nothing too special in the first rounds here, but potential second round match-ups of Tennessee-No. Iowa and BC-Purdue are quite intriguing. Everyone should be pulling for a Tennessee-Purdue final, as the contrast of styles should be a pleasure to watch with two excellent coaches at the helm.

BIAH's Pick: I think Northern Iowa knocks off Tennessee before falling to Purdue in the finals in a game that barely reaches the 50's.


Name: Maui Invitational
Date: Nov. 23-25
Teams: Chaminade, Gonzaga, Maryland, Arizona, Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Colorado, Vanderbilt

Breakdown: One of the premiere preseason tournaments, the Maui field this year will be just as stacked as ever. The Silver Swords of host school Chaminade will be the fan-favorite and consensus underdog. The guard play in this field is unparalleled - Greivis Vasquez, Matt Bouldin, Lance Stephenson, Nic Wise, and Cory Higgins. The best first round match-up is between Cincinnati and Vanderbilt, who are the two best teams in this field.

BIAH's Pick: I like Cinci winning this thing, taking down Gonzaga in the finals.


Name: 76 Classic
Date: Nov. 26-29 (Anaheim, CA)
Teams: West Virginia, Butler, Clemson, Texas A&M, UCLA, Minnesota, Long Beach State, Portland

Breakdown: Butler is loaded this season, but with West Virginia, Minnesota, and Clemson in this field, this field is wide open. Minnesota and Butler in the first round should be a classic, but Clemson and Texas A&M is also a great match-up. The match-up everyone is hoping for is to see West Virginia and Butler take on each other in the finals, but with the depth of this tournament, don't be surprised to see one of these two teams go down early.

BIAH's Pick: We don't expect that too happen, and our guess is that the Mountaineers take down the Bulldogs in the final as Devin Ebanks gives Gordon Hayward fits with his length.


Name: Old Spice Classic
Date: Nov. 26-29 (Orlando, FL)
Teams: Marquette, Xavier, Michigan, Alabama, Baylor, Creighton, Florida State, Iona

Breakdown: This has to be my favorite tournament out there. The reason? The tourney is played at "the Milk House". There's a good chance that you won't be able to find an arena across the entire country with a better name than "the Milk House". Last season, the Old Spice was the fall's best tournament, but this season the theme is rebuilding. Alabama, Creighton, Baylor, FSU, Xavier, and Marquette all lost important pieces in the off-season. If a favorite has was to be picked, it would have to be Michigan. But with a path that includes Creighton and likely Xavier, the Wolverines will have a difficult road to the title.

BIAH's Pick: With an easy road to the finals, I think Florida State's athleticism and length wins out over Michigan in the finals.
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Carlon Brown - did we rate him too low?

Last week, one of the posts in our season preview series was college basketball's best dunkers. On that list, we rated Utah's Carlon Brown as one of the best of the rest.

A quick youtube later, and I think I may have underestimated the young man. Check it out, he even g0t Blake Griffin.


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Thursday's Pregame Beat

7 pm: James Madison @ Ohio State: On Monday night, Ohio State's Evan Turner made quite the case for himself as a potential national player of the year candidate. Not only did he notch the second triple double in Ohio State history with 14 points, 17 boards, and 10 dimes, but he also added 2 steals and 2 blocks. While playing the point. Turner wasn't alone, however, as the trio of wings (Jon Diebler, William Buford, and David Lighty) all looked impressive. The issue is inside. With Dallas Lauderdale still on the pine, Thad Matta is going to be looking for guys like Kyle Madsen and Zisis Sarikopolous to prove that they can play on the interior.

7 pm: Georgia State @ NC State: NC State fans never seem to be happy playing fourth fiddle to UNC, Duke, and now Wake Forest. Herb Sendek was run out of town after five consecutive NCAA Tournaments, and his replacement, Sidney Lowe, has seemingly been on the hot seat since he arrived, as he has finished 10th or worst in the 12 team ACC all three years. It doesn't look much better this season as the Wolfpack lost their top three scorers from last season. All is not lost, however. Sidney brought in a five man recruiting class, and junior Tracy Smith could be a star in this league. Georgia State landed one of the best centers in the country in Rashanti Harris, but he isn't listed on the roster on the school's website. Is he eligible? Well, I guess we find out tonight.
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Mason Plumlee breaks his wrist

The Duke Blue Devils suffered a set back yesterday as Mason Plumlee fractured his left wrist after talking a hard fall in practice. The injury won't require surgery, and the younger Plumlee should be back in four-to-six weeks, meaning he'll be back in time for ACC play.

But Mason is a freshman.

And freshman always take a while to acclimate to the college game. See his brother Miles last year.

Mason Plumlee fractured his left wrist on Wednesday.
(photo credit: GoDuke)

As with all college sports, the big time basketball schools schedule weaker opponents early in the season. Why? So that the coaches can figure out what they have in their team - what offenses and defenses do they run well, who plays well together, ironing out their rotation.

The early season also doubles as an opportunity for players to learn the system their running, get back into game shape, and figure out their role for the team. It is even more important for freshman, who have the added difficulty of playing at a higher level of basketball.

Mason Plumlee will miss all of that.

Lets say he is out for exactly a month. That means he will be cleared to play on Dec. 12th (which is probably optimistic given the 4-6 week time frame for the injury). Mason would be in uniform for one game (against Gardner-Webb) before the the Blue Devils will face Gonzaga in the semifinals of the Preseason NIT at Madison Square Garden, and then either UConn or Arizona State depending on the way the semifinals turn out. (The opponents mentioned above assumes that chalk holds in the first two rounds.)

The second game of Plumlee's college career will be played in front of a packed house and a national television audience on ESPN.

Talk about being thrown into the fire.

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Thursday's Shootaround: UNC rolls, Syracuse's defense dominates, and Cal's three point shooting comes alive

Syracuse 100, Robert Morris 60: The Orange's defense is devastating. They forced 32 turnovers against Albany, and 28 more last night. And it isn't just their length along the back line that is giving team fits - it is the pesky defenders at the top of the zone. Andy Rautins, Scoop Jardine, and Brandon Triche got their hands on everything last night. Deflecting passes and stripping ball handlers, the Orange gave Robert Morris fits trying to get into their offense last night.

Brandon Triche and Scoop Jardine both looked better handling the ball last night.
(photo credit: Syracuse Post-Standard)

After watching last night's game, I came away very impressed with Andy Rautins. He is a much better defender than he gets credit for, as he had four steals. His offense came around too, scoring 22 points and hitting 7-10 from deep.

The biggest question for the Orange after their first game of the year was point guard play, and last night we may have gotten out answer. While the Cuse still had 23 turnovers as a team, Jardine and Triche looked like different players out there. Both were able to get into the lane at will, finding the numerous big guys Boeheim can throw out there for easy dunks and lay-ups. Jardine inparticular looked comfortable leading the break. All told, the two combined for 18 points, 16 assists, and just 4 turnovers.

Speaking of Rick Jackson and Onuaku, after last night's 11-13 showing, the two are shooting a combined 87.5% from the floor, which isn't all that surprising when you consider that the two may not have taken a shot this year that wasn't a dunk or a lay-up.

UNC 89, North Carolina Central 42: Eight minutes into the game, UNC was clinging to a 21-17 lead. Over the next 32 minutes, the Heels outscored NCCU 68-25. They were bigger, faster, and more athletic, and once the Heels got into a rhythm, there was really nothing the Eagles could do.

UNC is still dealing with some turnover issues, as they committed 19 last night. But as was the case on Monday, much of that can be attributed to young guys learning a new system and new roles.

The biggest difference was the comfort level of the Heels freshman. After looking jittery and nervous against FIU, this group played a much more controlled game last night. Dexter Strickland and John Henson, specifically, showed flashes of being big time players.

All-in-all, not much too take out of UNC's destruction of another extremely overmatched opponents.


Cal 95, Detroit 61: The Bears looked much more impressive last night against Detroit than they did in their opener against Murray State, but there is still a lot that Monty's group needs to work on.

Detroit had this down to a four point game early in the second half, but that is when the Bears finally found their range. Patrick Christopher and Theo Robertson, inparticular, both knocked down a couple threes as Cal used an 11-0 run to open up a 17 point lead and start to pull away. The Bears showed a killer instinct they didn't have on Monday, when they opened up an 18 point lead only to let the Racers back in it.

My biggest issue right now is with Jerome Randle. Yes, he is averaging 20 ppg right now, but he hasn't looked as dominant as he did last season. The biggest issue in my eyes is his inability to effectively use the high ball screen. Randle is not quick in the same way that Ty Lawson is - what Randle excels at is his stop and go quickness. He is deadly when he can get up a head of steam, because he can stop on a dime and hit a pull-up with three point range. Take note, Pac 10 teams. Both Murray State and Detroit crowded and pressured Randle out by half court, which has forced him to be more of a penetrator. Sure, he is able to draw fouls against this level of competition, but will he be able to get by an Isaiah Thomas or a Malcolm Lee in league play?

The other issue I noticed was how poor he is at setting up ball screens. Markhuri Sanders-Frison and Jamal Boykin are both big bodies. Given Randle's ability to shoot the three, a defender is not going to be able to go under those ball screens. But Randle has not really been able to turn the corner off the screen and get into the paint as well as I expected him too. When he did last night (I remember two times specifically), both ended up with open looks for shooters on the wings.

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Kyrie Irving is multi-talented

Kyrie Irving seems to have a pretty good head on his shoulders.

As we mentioned back in August, Kyrie Irving is not only an aspiring point guard - he is an aspring journalist as well. He had his pick of schools to go to, and he ended up electing Duke, which doesn't have the greatest reputation for getting kids to the pros (although, to be fair, they do have the most alums in the NBA right now).

Today, courtesy of the Star Ledger, we find out that Irving may also be an aspiring actor?

Duke basketball recruit Kyrie Irving stars in high school play

Irving seems to have the right attitude. He is just a regular kid looking to have fun. But I don't think he'll be featured on any http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M11SvDtPBhA anytime soon.
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