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Tuesday, March 15, 2011

2011 NCAA Tournament preview.

Photo taken from thesportsbank.net.

It's time to cuddle up with your bracket, memorize the lyrics to Luther Vandross's "One Shining Moment" and come up with a sickness to skip work on Thursday and Friday. Yes, it's time for the NCAA Tournament; my favorite sports spectacle of the year.

Last year's tournament was a very memorable one, as we saw two five seeds in the Final Four, a mid-major in Butler advance to the National Championship game, and saw multiple jaw-dropping upsets throughout every round. In the end, Duke took home their fourth championship and are a favorite to repeat this year.

The number one seeds are...
- Ohio State: Consistently at the top spot of the AP poll, the Buckeyes stormed out of the gates and won their first 24 games, before slipping up to a Wisconsin team who was very good at home. They fell once more, at Purdue, but with a deadly inside-outside combo of Naismith candidate, freshman Jared Sullinger and senior Jon Diebler, who is shooting an unreal 50% from behind the arc. The only flaw they might have is that they only go seven deep, but that hasn't been a problem all season.
- Duke: Last year's champion looks for a repeat behind senior All-ACC players Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler. Smith, like Sullinger of Ohio State, is a Naismith candidate, while Singler won the Most Outstanding Player award in last year's Final Four. Behind them, they have Seth Curry, a sophomore transfer from Liberty who has lit it up at times from three-point range this season. The weakness the Blue Devils possess is their frontcourt, which doesn't rebound as well as last year's bunch, nor is a huge offensive threat.
- Kansas: After losing Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich, the entire team took their game to the next level en route to a Big 12 championship. The Morris twins have been nothing short of outstanding, with Marcus leading on the scoring front and Markieff handling more of the rebounding duties. John Selby hasn't made the impact many thought he would, but he's still a capable guard who could explode onto the scene with a huge tournament. Their weaknesses consist their inconsistency from behind the arc and their reliance on Marcus Morris for offense. They really don't have a consistent long-range threat like the other top seeds do and if you can shut the one twin down, then you have a good chance at winning.
- Pittsburgh: Once again, Jamie Dixon has his team in the tournament after a very strong showing in conference play. The Panthers won the Big East and were consistently a top five team in the AP polls all season. They're really deep with up to 11 guys getting meaningful playing time, but the offense runs through their two guards Ashton Gibbs and Brad Wanamaker. Wanamaker does everything for the Panthers, while Gibbs is extremely efficient from three-point land. The weakness for Pittsburgh is not only their tournament history, but on strictly a playing scale, their transition defense. They're very easy to run on and if you can get the big guys in trouble, they're much more vulnerable.

The players to watch are...
- Kendall Marshall, freshman guard, North Carolina: How is a player averaging 6.1 points per game a player to watch in the NCAA Tournament? Because he's possibly the best passer in the nation already. Ever since Marshall slid into the starting lineup, he has raised the Tar Heels to an elite level, as they just lost two games to Duke in the 16 games he has started. He also can stroke it from three at times, which makes this rising frosh a dangerous threat for whoever has to play against him.
- Kemba Walker, junior guard, Connecticut: Ask Gary McGhee of Pittsburgh if his ankles are still broken. "Cardiac" Kemba has been showing up on highlight reels all season, whether it's a scooping lay-up between two defenders or a game-winning shot with the clock running down. A Naismith candidate like Smith and Sullinger, Walker has carried this team who was unranked in the pre-season to a number three seed and the Big East Tournament championship. Something tells me there's still some magic left in that jumpshot of his.
- JaJuan Johnson, senior forward, Purdue: After Robbie Hummel was lost for the season with a torn ACL, Purdue's Final Four hopes took a huge nosedive...or so they thought. Already an All-Big Ten performer, Johnson stepped his game up even more and averaged over 20 points and eight rebounds per game, claiming the conference's Player of the Year award, but also the Defensive Player of the Year award too. He fills up the stat sheet every game, which the Boilermakers will need if they want to make their once shattered dreams come true.
- Jimmer Fredette, senior guard, BYU: His name has constantly been used as a verb. There's been a song made about him. Jimmer Fredette has taken over the college basketball landscape this season and looks to go out with a big bang. Fredette has scored 30+ points 13 times, including games of 42, 43, 47 and 52. He can single-handily carry a team in any game, but with the loss of Brandon Davies to an honor code violation, BYU's Final Four dreams were crushed. Enjoy Jimmer-mania while you still can.

The potential Cinderellas are...
- Washington: The Huskies come into the tournament riding an emotional last-second overtime win in the Pac-10 Tournament championship over Arizona, after junior guard Isaiah Thomas's game-winning shot. Thomas is one of the best point guards in the nation and with the return of Venoy Overton, Washington adds another piece to their already deep team.
- Oakland: Oakland played very tough non-conference schedule, with tournament teams West Virginia, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan State, Tennessee, Michigan and Ohio State all before Christmas. Four players are averaging over 10 points a game, with senior big man Keith Benson leading the Golden Grizzlies charge with 18 and 10. They drew a tough match-up in Texas, but if they can get by the Longhorns, watch out.
- Richmond: Owning a non-conference win over Purdue, the Spiders won the underrated Atlantic-10 conference and its tournament and have won 11 of their last 12 games. Seniors Justin Harper and Kevin Anderson lead Richmond in scoring, while they rotate in and out eight players. They'll get Vanderbilt in the first round, who has seemed to always lose as a four or five seed to begin the tournament the last few years.
- Michigan State: Never, ever count a Tom Izzo-coached team in March. This isn't the same team as the past two squads, who each made the Final Four, but they're still a threat just because they are on the bracket. Kalin Lucas and Durrell Summers have been great throughout their careers in East Lansing and don't want to end them on a sour note, but the team still misses Korie Lucious, who was kicked off in late January.

Don't bother taking...
- (15) Long Island over (2) North Carolina: This is not a redux of Robert Morris/Villanova from last season. North Carolina is a much better team than last year's Wildcat squad and Long Island comes into this game with zero tournament experience, while last year's Colonials fell by 15 to eventual 2008 runner-up Michigan State. The Tar Heels have probably one of the best front courts in the nation with Tyler Zeller and John Henson and they'll give Long Island's strong frontcourt trouble all game. It might be close for a little while, but eventually Carolina will pull away.
- (14) Bucknell over (3) Connecticut: I thought this could be another 2006 Syracuse situation; a team rides a hot guard throughout the Big East tournament, then falls in the opening round. However, it's not going to be. Yes, Bucknell beat Richmond and played close with Boston College, but they also lost to two NEC teams and the Patriot League isn't very strong. I just can't see Kemba letting Connecticut slip up here.
- (14) St. Peter's over (3) Purdue: Purdue is very battle-tested and knows how to win in the NCAA Tournament, while the Peacocks of St. Peter's are a surprise automatic bid. Yes, they beat some good teams like Alabama and Long Island, but they were also held to just 30 points in a loss at Robert Morris and watching that game live, I thought they were just awful.
- (12) Utah State over (5) Kansas State: Utah State's record looks very sexy, but if you look into it more, you'll see their underlying flaw; they haven't beaten anyone. They were destroyed by Georgetown and lost to BYU by six, then played dominated a weak conference. Kansas State on the other hand, seems to be hitting their stride at the right time, winning their last eight games that didn't involve Colorado. Jacob Pullen was great in last year's big dance and Curtis Kelly is a load inside.

First Round Predictions...
- (11) Marquette over (6) Xavier
- (9) Tennessee over (8) Michigan
- (11) Missouri over (6) Cincinnati
- (10) Penn State over (7) Temple
- (12) Richmond over (5) Vanderbilt
- (11) USC/VCU winner over (6) Georgetown
- (9) Old Dominion over (8) Butler
- (13) Belmont over (4) Wisconsin
- (11) Gonzaga over (6) St. John's
- (10) Michigan State over (7) UCLA

Sweet 16 Predictions...
- (1) Ohio State over (4) Kentucky
- (3) Syracuse over (2) North Carolina
- (5) Arizona over (1) Duke
- (2) San Diego State over (3) Connecticut
- (1) Kansas over (4) Louisville
- (3) Purdue over (2) Notre Dame
- (5) Kansas State over (1) Pittsburgh
- (2) Florida over (3) BYU

Elite Eight Predictions...
- (1) Ohio State over (3) Syracuse
- (2) San Diego State over (5) Arizona
- (1) Kansas over (3) Purdue
- (5) Kansas State over (2) Florida

Final Four Predictions...
- (1) Ohio State over (2) San Diego State
- (1) Kansas over (5) Kansas State

National Championship Prediction...
- (1) Kansas 73, (1) Ohio State 70

Sunday, March 6, 2011

LASERS review.

Album cover taken from sidewalkhustle.com.

Before I dive into this review, let me state something. I am not, nor have ever been a Lupe Fiasco fan. I enjoy a few songs of his and respect his actual skills as a rapper, but to me he just doesn't make very enjoyable music. I've listened to both his albums before copping his third release, LASERS, and although I was impressed with the rhymes and lyrics throughout those CDs, I could always point out a flaw or two in the actual song which severely affected by enjoyability.

With all of that being said, I did make the decision to review this album a few months ago while the drama between Lupe and Atlantic Records was a major headline in hip-hop. I blocked out my bias and went into this album with a clear mind, in hopes of finally enjoying Lupe, not only as a rapper, but as an overall artist.

What I got in return was an abortion of a product. Garbage hooks, extremely weak production; most of this album was just a worse version of what I've heard from Lupe over the last few years. There were exceptions and I will get to them, but you can tell that Atlantic Records did have their hands in the creation of the final project.

However, not everything should be blamed on the record label; Lupe definitely deserves part of the backlash. An album I want to use in comparison is one that was delayed five years before its release last month; The Greatest Story Never Told by Saigon. Although I haven't officially did a track-by-track review of it yet, it's second on my list of hip-hop/R&B albums this year so far behind Frank Ocean's Nostalgia, ULTRA.

In Saigon's case, his former record label (which ironically was Atlantic Records) didn't want to release his debut major release because not enough of the songs were commercial. Instead of giving into the masses at the label, Saigon eventually got his release, found a different label that would release his album and it has gained plenty of praise throughout the hip-hop community. Obviously the circumstances are different in regards to Lupe's fanbase and the demand of LASERS, but there's no saying he could have held out for a release so he could release the album in its own way.

The problem with Lupe is that he should have known what he was going into when signing with a major record label. With his old label, 1st and 15th Entertainment, he had the freedom to do whatever because not only was he the co-founder, but he was the main attraction. On Atlantic, he wasn't going to be the top dog ever, which would allow the leniency he wanted for his music. He's the one who put himself in this position, especially with all the speaking out against the label that he did. I'm happy he stood up for himself, but you know with all the negative comments he made towards the label would end up affecting his music in the end. The victim card he's pulling in every article now is pretty annoying though.

Anyways, this is an album review and not a rant about Lupe Fiasco, so let's get to reviewing LASERS, shall we?

"Letting Go" leads off the adventure and it's a decent song, but what knocks it down is the distortion effect in his verses. Lupe said in an interview that the label wanted him to be Kanye, but he couldn't and it showed because this is nothing like Kanye's distortion effect on "Gorgeous". It's actually pretty tough to hear at times, even with good headphones. Sarah Green should have gotten the hook duties, not Lupe.

"Words I Never Said" has a clear message and good hook, making it one of the best songs from the album. The production by Alex Da Kid is mediocre at best and he continues to show me his deficiencies as a producer, but luckily the verses make up for it, especially the shorter third one. I am a fan of Skylar Gray's hooks, but not to the point where I would willingly check out her albums.

"Till I Get There" is simply just okay. The simple beat just doesn't work for me in terms to Lupe's rapping but for an other artist, I think it would be better suited. The lyrics are nothing special though. "I Don't Wanna Care Right Now" is an absolute abortion and is coming to a Jersey Shore soundtrack near you. Everything just sucks about it.

"Out Of My Head" is a song that Lupe actually wanted for the album, as he teams up with record labelmate Trey Songz. This, like "Till I Get There", is simply just okay, but gets a notch up because of Trey Songz's hook. The lyrics aren't special and frankly I find it weird hearing Lupe rapping about women. "The Show Goes On" was the first single and I hated it at first, but it has slightly grown on me. The "Float On" sample is an okay touch, I guess.

"Beautiful Lasers (2Ways)" would be the best song on the album, if it weren't for another horrendous hook. I like the lyrics to the actual hook, but the group or person MDMA just sounds terrible and makes it tough to listen closely to the actual words. This song documents Lupe's suicidal thoughts while going through the process of making this album, which I actually didn't know about before listening.

"Coming Up" is catchy, has a good MDMA hook for once and is a decent song overall. What I want to briefly touch on after listening to all of MDMA's hooks is that I really miss Matthew Santos in these spots. One of my favorite Lupe songs, "Shining Down" (which is a bonus track on the album, but I don't review bonus tracks), is brought to a higher pinnacle because of Santos' hook. "State Run Radio" has another horrible hook and is more bashing of the media and the government.

I'm feeling Lupe's verses on "Break The Chain" even though they're not the most lyrical, but the hook is just...I shouldn't even have to say it. And who is this Sway character; the guy from MTV? "All Black Everything" has some good production and even a good hook, but honestly by now I'm tired of the government bashing and history lessons. It seems like he's doing this on every other song and frankly (not trying to be racist), the subject matter isn't going to hit me like it would an African-American listener. I completely respect their heritage and everything they've gone through, but in a song it's just not an enjoyable listen.

Atlantic Records does something right in the last song, "Never Forget You", a somber closing track dedicated to his father. Lupe reminisces on his time growing up, while John Legend delivers a powerful hook and wins the irrelevant award for best guest spot on the album. The production is again shaky, but the rest of the song makes up for it.

LASERS is not a good album and it definitely doesn't live up to the hype it was getting, but like a lot of mediocre projects you can find some gems here and there. Songs like "Letting Go", "Words I Never Said", "Out Of My Head", "Beautiful Lasers (2Ways)" and "Never Forget You" are going to be played by me a bit in the near future, but the overall LP itself is just very forgettable.

1.) Letting Go (ft. Sarah Green) | 3 - 3.75
2.) Words I Never Said (ft. Skylar Grey) | 4
3.) Till I Get There | 3 - 3.25
4.) I Don't Wanna Care Right Now (ft. MDMA) | .25 - 1
5.) Out Of My Head (ft. Trey Songz) | 3 - 3.75
6.) The Show Goes On | 2 - 2.5
7.) Beautiful Lasers (2Ways) (ft. MDMA) | 4 - 4.75
8.) Coming Up (ft. MDMA) | 3 - 3.5
9.) State Run Radio (ft. Matt Mahaffey) | 1.5 - 2
10.) Break The Chain (ft. Eric Turner & Sway) | 2 - 2.25
11.) All Black Everything | 2.25 - 3
12.) Never Forget You (ft. John Legend) | 4.5 - 5

Overall: 2.97/5

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

2011 NEC Tournament Preview.

Image taken from RMUColonials.com.

It’s that time of the year again; March Madness is upon us. The NEC tournament kicks off on Thursday with the four top seeds Long Island, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris and Central Connecticut State hosting first-round playoff games. The second round will be played on Sunday at the higher seed’s home arena, then the championship game will be next Wednesday on ESPN2. Over the past few years, this conference tournament has brought a lot of surprises and close finishes, and this year’s shouldn’t be any different.

1.) Long Island (24-5, 16-2 NEC)
The best team I’ve watched live in the NEC this year, Long Island comes into the conference tournament as the top seed by some margin. They’re a balanced team that has four players averaging more than 10 points a game. Their two big men, Julian Boyd and Jamal Olasewere, are a sophomore and junior and have been making a living on the boards, as the Blackbirds team is ranked third in the country with 42.1 rebounds a game.

Long Island doesn’t have many weaknesses. In their two conference losses (home vs. Robert Morris, @ St. Francis (PA)), they shot poorly from the field in one and went 12-26 from the charity stripe in the other. Besides that, 11 of their 16 conference wins have been from double-digits. It’ll be tough to slow them down and it’s no shock that they’re my favorite to secure the NEC’s automatic NCAA bid.
2.) Quinnipiac (21-8, 13-5 NEC)
The pre-season favorite, Quinnipiac went through a stretch of games without their best player, senior forward Justin Rutty, and that might have made them even better coming into Thursday’s game. Besides Rutty, the Bobcats are led on the offensive end by junior guard James Johnson, who goes off every single time he plays Robert Morris (28 points @ RMU in 2010, 38 points vs. RMU in 2011). He has one of the best shots in the conference and when he’s hot, watch out.

Quinnipiac comes into the tournament riding a six-game winning streak, but their only win against a tournament team in that stretch was a 68-67 decision over Central Connecticut. The lack of competition at the end of their schedule could hurt them and cause a slip-up in the opening round game, but then again their battle-tested after last year’s run in the tournament. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them in the NCAA’s.
3.) Robert Morris (16-13, 12-6)
My future alma mater, Robert Morris, has been an up and down team all season who has finally hit their stride it seems. They’ll be without their best player and last year’s favorite NCAA tournament guard with a mohawk, sophomore Karon Abraham, as he was lost for the remainder of the season after the Monmouth game with an Achilles injury. However, redshirt freshman Coron Williams (ironic first name, right?) has done a good job stepping in place for Abraham, and he recently just came off a career-high 26 points in a win against Wagner.

Another team coming into the tournament with a six-game winning streak, Robert Morris also looks like they’re going to do damage in the tournament. Their guard play is the strength of the team, as redshirt sophomore Velton Jones has done a great job taking over as the leader, while Williams joins senior Gary Wallace and freshman Anthony Myers as sparkplugs. Lijah Thompson has been a surprise at forward, but he’s still too inconsistent. The X-factor for the Colonials is redshirt sophomore Russell Johnson, who at times looks like the NEC’s best player but suffers from a lot of offensive and defensive lapses. Could this be a third straight trip to the NCAA tournament for the Colonials? I really hope, but I’m not going to crown them as the favorite.
4.) Central Connecticut State (18-11, 11-7 NEC)
This team has the likely conference player of the year in redshirt junior forward Ken Horton, but they have been struggling mightily lately. To be fair, they have had to play three tournament teams in a row, but they were one of the best teams in the NEC all season and should know how to play up to tougher competition. Junior Robby Ptacek and senior Shemik Thompson can get hot at any time, and if all three players are stroking it, this team is extremely tough to beat.

I can see the Blue Devils winning the entire tournament, but it also wouldn’t surprise me if they lost in the first round. That’s how inconsistent they’ve been lately. Usually getting hot means a lot going into the tournament, but then again Robert Morris went into March riding a two-game losing streak and ended up securing the automatic bid. Flip a coin to see if you want to name them a favorite, or an early exit.
5.) St. Francis (NY) (15-14, 10-8 NEC)
As long as they have Ricky Cadell, they’ll be a tough out for whoever they match up with. Cadell has only really been shut down by Long Island, but yet they competed in both of those games. Fellow senior Akeem Bennett gives the Terriers a one-two duo that matches up with any other duo in the conference. After their first six players, they don’t get much offensive production, so that’s a definite concern heading into the tournament.

St. Francis (NY) won’t be a player to win it all, but they can definitely knock off Central Connecticut in the first round, especially after recently beating them 75-65 at home. Cadell can carry a team and keep them in a game and if junior forward Stefan Perunicic gets hot from outside, that’ll open up so much more of their offense, but it all depends which team shows up.
6.) Wagner (13-16, 9-9 NEC)
Dan Hurley has done an incredible job turning around a Wagner team picked to be 11th in the conference during pre-season. The Seahawks rely on two guards for most of their points; junior Tyler Murray and freshman Latif Rivers. Murray can hit from any part of the gym while Rivers does it all on the court. Fellow junior Chris Martin was suspended for last Saturday’s game at Robert Morris, but he’s also had his big games throughout the season.

This guard-oriented team can possibly cause an upset, but like Central Connecticut, they come in cold with four straight losses. Their big men are the weak spot of the team, so a team like Quinnipiac or Long Island should have their way with them if they were to match up later in the rounds.
7.) Mount St. Mary’s (11-20, 9-9 NEC)
This year’s Mountaineer squad is no where as dangerous as last year’s bunch, but they can definitely catch Quinnipiac in a first-round upset. They fell to the Bobcats in December after a last-second James Johnson basket, then went on to beat them at home by nine points. Senior forward Shawn Atupem has been a huge disappointment this season, but he still has the skillset to burn someone in this tournament, while junior guard Lamar Trice showed me a lot when they played the Colonials last week.

If you shut down Atupem, you’ve got Mount St. Mary’s beat. This is not a deep team at all offensively and usually rely on Atupem and Trice for most of their baskets. Freshman guard Julian Norfleet looks like he can be a pretty good player in the future, but he’s been shaky on the big stage so far with only three double-digit point games against NEC tournament teams. Their aforementioned success against Quinnipiac this season could make them a trendy pick for a first-round upset, but don’t take them farther than that.
8.) St. Francis (PA) (9-20, 7-11 NEC)
Poor Bryant; it’s unfortunate for them that they beat almost every top team in the conference and are still left out of the tournament because they’re not eligible until 2013. That gives the Red Flash a crack at pulling the first eight over one seed upset in NEC tournament history, but don’t count on it despite a win against Long Island this season. Sophomore guard Umar Shannon is a very good player and looks like another Devin Sweetney type for St. Francis, but after their starting five, they don’t have much production.

Shannon is the key in order for the Red Flash to catch Long Island sleeping. If he starts off hot, it’ll be a dog fight to the end, but he can also start off ice cold and put his team in a huge hole. Even though fellow sophomores Will Felder and Chris Johnson give them a nice nucleus for the future, this is the present and they’re going into the tournament extremely overmatched. Good luck.
PREDICTIONS
#1 Long Island over #8 St. Francis (PA)
#2 Quinnipiac over #7 Mount St. Mary’s
#3 Robert Morris over #6 Wagner
#5 St. Francis (NY) over #4 Central Connecticut

#1 Long Island over #5 St. Francis (NY)
#3 Robert Morris over #2 Quinnipiac

#1 Long Island over #3 Robert Morris

Long Island has consistently been the best team this season and I don’t see them slipping up. They’ll give whoever they match up with in the NCAA Tournament an absolute fit.