Sports News and Humor at SportsNewGuy.com

The Tar Heel and National Player of the Year has announced today that he will stay at the school for his senior season and one last opportunity to win the National Championship. Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson announced that they will declare for the draft but will not hire an agent. If Ellington and Lawson return to school the Tar Heels should be the pre-season favorite to win it all next season.

Damn it’s depressing that we have to wait so long for college basketball. In other news I will be watching the Suns try to fight their way back against the Spurs who are up 2-0 in their series.

Go Suns, Go Heels!

It’s being reported that UNC’s Ty Lawson will declare for the draft today, but will not hire an agent. This comes as a surprise since many assumed he would wait for National Player of the Year, Tyler Hansbrough to declare first. There is still no word on whether Hansbrough or Wayne Ellington will declare but with the Sunday deadline looming we should hear something in the next few days. Lawson is not expected to be picked in the lottery but could go late in the first round. Without hiring an agent, Lawson keeps his options open to return to school if he wishes.

Michael Beasley 
Beasley is expected to be in the lottery and he is the first major player to declare his eligibility for the NBA draft. Beasley was runner-up for many of the National Player of the Year awards and led Kansas State to the second round of the NCAA tournament, as well as an impressive victory over Kansas to end the 24-0 streak they held over Kansas State. He is a skilled player and should be great in the pros.

Derrick Rose
Rose declared his eligibility after an amazing season with the Memphis Tigers. The freshman led his team to the championship game and, if it weren’t for some choked free throws at the end of regulation, would be the champion. It would appear to me that either him or Beasley would go first in the draft, but for me it’s Rose first. His leadership skills on the court have been amazing and he took the team farther than they’ve been in a long time.

Kevin Love
Announcing his eligibility didn’t surprise me, but I don’t think Love is ready for the NBA. He was out hustled and out played by Memphis in UCLA’s Final Four loss and it’s unfortunate to see players go before their time. Much like Brandan Wright of UNC the year before, I don’t see Love getting much playing time in the NBA, but money talks I guess.

Still waiting…
As a Tar Heel fan I am still waiting to hear whether Ty Lawson, Tyler Hansbrough, and Wayne Ellington will declare. While I don’t feel any of them are ready for the NBA, I also think that they lost worth by getting completelly dominated by Kansas. That sort of loss completelly overshadows the amazing season they’ve had and if those three return, Carolina could be a heavy contender for the Championship next year.

I’m sure the next few weeks will have a lot more players declaring or staying, it should be interesting to see how oppionions of next years NCAA contender teams change as more and more players begin to take off.

I don’t know if it’s an honor or a jinx but Rivals.com, Dick Vitale, and Sports Illustrated’s Luke Winn have picked the Tar Heels to be the best team at the beginning of next season. Of course these numbers can change completelly within a few weeks depending on what teams lose players to the NBA. Here’s a look at the Top 5 from each site.

Dick Vitale

1. North Carolina
2. UCLA
3. Louisville
4. Texas
5. Georgetown

Luke Winn of Sports Illustrated

1. North Carolina
2. UConn
3. UCLA
4. Purdue
5. Kansas

As you can see, with the exception of UNC and UCLA, Luke disagree’s with Dick Vitale.

Rivals.com

1. North Carolina
2. UCLA
3. Memphis
4. Texas
5. Kansas

Rivals is the first to include the National Champion Jayhawks and the runner up Memphis Tigers, Rivals rely’s more on the fact that players aren’t leaving but they will update these once draft declarations are made.

Andy Katz from ESPN has a different take all together.

1. Texas
2. North Carolina
3. Pitt
4. Kansas
5. Notre Dame

So what do I think? I think the Tar Heels become stronger than ever if Hansbrough, Lawson, and Ellington stay with the team next season. I think Memphis will again be looked over but will remain a strong team making a reasonable run come tournament time next year. I think that Kansas will lose at least 3 of their star players and while they will be good next year, they will not match the caliber of this years championship team. UCLA will lose Love and time will tell how UCLA comes back from losing the big man.

I hate these early predictions, it just reminds me that I have to wait until November to see College Basketball again. It reminds me that all summer if I have a hankering for sports, the best I can do is watch a Baseball game on TV or, god forbid, I can turn Futbol on Telemundo. Worst of all it reminds me that soon Phoenix, where I reside, will be the temperture of the Sun and there’s nothing I can do to escape it.

Here is a look at four crazy things I have read or heard today. Some of this is second hand information, relayed to me by people who had the day off today and have taken the time to watch ESPN all day and call me occasionally to remind me that I’m at work and they aren’t. Luckily they can report things to me, so that helps take away the sting.

1. Roy Williams to Return To Kansas

Apparently Jim Rome said on his show today that there are rumors that Carolina Coach Roy Williams was sporting the Jayhawks sticker last night for more reasons than just supporting his old team. With Coach Self most likelly taking a position at OSU, there are rumors that Roy will leave the Tar Heels and go back to Kansas where, much like his last two seasons with the Tar Heels, he will get far in the tournament and choke at the end. I’ll believe it when I see more.

2. Chalmers’ Tying Shot, It was actually a 2 pointer

Apparently a few people from ESPN have said that if this shot was reviewed, like the Derrik Rose shot earlier in the game, that Memphis would have won in regulation by 1 point. I’ve watched the replay and it looked to me like he was behind the line. I unfortunately am at work and can only view it on YouTube though so I’ll have to reserve judgement until later on this one.

3. Coach Calipari may go to the Knicks

It’s no surprise that Memphis fans are grieving this morning over the loss last night, what was surprising is the many fans that have called for Calipari to be fired. More surprising than that though was a report from SportsByBrooks.com that says Calipari may be interested in Coaching the New York Knicks. It would really surprise me to see Calipari leave the Tigers after the great years he has put up so far, but with some of his stars most likelly headed to the NBA maybe he wants to skip the re-building. Time will tell.

4. Tyler Hansbrough is Definitely Going Pro

I’ve seen and heard a few rumors that Hansbrough has made his decision and he will not be a Tar Heel next season. I think this is crap, I don’t think he’s made a decision and I don’t think he will for at least a few weeks. Tyler has said before that he won’t leave until he wins a National Championship and next year would be his last chance. He seems like the type to stick around next year, especially if he reads everyone saying he’ll be a terrible pro.

So that’s it, if you have any stories to add feel free to comment.

I’m speechless, an overtime National Championship game that came down to free throws. Memphis had this game won and the talk that’s haunted them all year loses them the National Championship. I had Memphis winning one of my brackets, thanks to my Step Dad Anthony, and a loss like this really sucks. I would be $400 richer, instead the free throw line kills Memphis. Not only did UNC lose, but now I didn’t win money either. What a depressing yet exciting game.

Just a note, any “Rock Chalk Jayhawk” comments will be considered spam. Not a hater but it’s just kind of annoying.

Kansas is your National Champions

So I’m sitting here watching Kansas and Memphis for the National Championship when I see Roy Williams, UNC Coach, wearing a Kansas sticker on his shirt and smiling. Why does he have to do this to me? He just got his team stomped into the ground by Kansas, yet he’s sitting there cheering. I don’t give a shit if he used to coach them, the fans didn’t like him when he left and if this is some sort of attempt to get back in good graces then f*ck you Coach. You’re a Tar Heel now dammit!

Well time to drink more, which I said I wouldn’t do. Expect my posts later this week to come from The Meadows Rehab facility in Wickenburg AZ if my depression keeps up. Feel free to comment or e-mail me if you’d like to contribute to my well being.

Over the last few days it is still confusing for me. The Tar Heels played so well over the course of the season and yet we still came up short. For the first time this season I was truly disappointed. Sure the losses to Maryland and Duke hurt, but nothing hurt this bad.

I was so convinced that this was our season, I watched every game, continued my superstitious ways of changing hats, drinking beer out of only one mug, covering items in my apartment with the opposing teams colors, yet nothing worked. All season I watched and all season I KNEW that the Tar Heels would be champions come April 7th. Now I sit here still in shock that tonight it is not the Tar Heels playing, but it is Kansas.

For the first time this season…

For the first time this season I was speechless, I couldn’t cheer, I couldn’t cuss, I couldn’t do anything but drink my beer. With seven minutes left in the first half I had seen enough, I just turned the TV off and my girlfriend and I headed to a going away party. The going away party was supposed to be a split party, at least in my mind, we’d say goodbye to a friend and celebrate a North Carolina victory. Instead we said goodbye to a friend and I drank to cope. When we got to the party I wondered if I had seen the same game I was watching only a short time ago. When I left UNC was down by 20+ points, now I see a game with UNC only down by five and I couldn’t believe it. With my superstitious ways I decided that UNC would win if I didn’t watch the game. That was not the case and I remained in shock all evening until the booze finally kicked in and I forgot that the game was even played.

The next morning I woke up with a pounding headache, a dry mouth, and a nauseous stomach. The nausea wasn’t from the extreme amounts of keg beer I drank the night before, but from the realization that it all wasn’t a dream, UNC had really lost and my favorite time of the year had come to an abrupt end.

I wish there was an excuse I could come up with, but there’s none. UNC was outplayed by a better Kansas team and we looked confused and rightly so, we had our asses handed to us. The worst part is that now I have nothing to look forward to until the NBA playoffs. It won’t be until Football season that I get to watch my other favorite sports team choke. Go Raiders.

Tyler Hansbrough was named Associated Press men’s college basketball player of the year. This is his 4th player of the year honor after winning Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, The Rupp Award, and now Associated Press.

Hansbrough was presented the award today, the day before the Tar Heels play Kansas in the Final Four. He received 56 votes from the 72-member national media panel that selects the weekly top 25. The runners up were Michael Beasley of Kansas State who had 15 votes and Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis who received one vote.

Hansbrough has had a record season averaging 22.8 points, and 10.3 rebounds. Hansbrough also led the Tar Heels with 57 steals and was credited with drawing 42 charges from opponents. He was chosen as MVP of the ACC tournament and NCAA’s East Regional leading the Tar Heels to their 17th Final Four appearance.

This still won’t silence the haters I’m sure, but this is a great accomplishment for Hansbrough.

As always, Go Heels!

Just a few days before Memphis is set to take on UCLA in the Final Four Saturday. Memphis back up Guard Andre Allen has been suspended. Team spokesman Lamar Chance confirmed the suspension, first reported by television stations WMC and WREG, but declined to say what rule or rules Allen violated. Allen is averaging 3.3 points and 14.1 minutes per game. Coach Calipari told the Commercial Appeal, a Memphis newspaper, “We’ll be fine”.

Hopefully we will find out more details on the suspension in the next few days.