Tamika Catchings was named 2011 WNBA MVP

Tamika Catchings was named MVP of the WNBA, after 10 season consistent hard-work Tamika you well earned this award.  

Tamika Catchings is the only WNBA player in history to have reached 5,000 points, 2,000 rebounds, and 1000 assists. She is also the only player in WNBA history to be defensive player of the year 4 times. Tamika may not score the most points in the league or get the most rebounds in the league, but she does something more than that. She averaged 15.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 3.5 apg, and 2 spg. Overall she does everything on the court at a 110% all the time. 

At a young age Tamika was born with a speech impairment and lost most of her hearing in both ear. Growing up as a child she had to wear hearing aids, which most of the kids at school would make fun of her because of it. Being different at a young age is always hard because you always want to be the same as everyone else; however, her impairment actually made her work even harder at school from being in the front desk in class to reading ahead so that she knew what the class was talking about that day to staying after class and talking to the teacher to see if she missed anything. As Tamika got older she became great at basketball and play college basketball at the University on Tennessee with Pat Summit. One day in the weight room Pat told Tamika that she needed to go back to wearing hearing aids and working with the university speech therapist so that she can reach her goals. Now a days she has hearing aids to wear in the game, but she really prefers not to wear them because she feels it makes her more aware of her surroundings. Through her diversity she became a role model for all children who are hearing impaired. 

Tamika has also been awarded: Rookie  of the Year, member of the All-Decade team, member of the Top 15 Team, Olympic Gold medalist (2004, 2008), 7 time WNBA All-Star Player, 4 time Defensive Player, and the Kim Perrot Sportsmanship Award. But out of all of her awards what she wants the most is a WNBA championship. It’s great having a ton of awards, but nothing beats having a WNBA championship like all the other greats. Tamika you have deserved this award for some many year, and I am happy to say that you are now a WNBA MVP.  

2012 mock draft

        2012's draft will definitely be loaded unlike the 2011 draft. This year's draft had a lot more foreign talent rather than US talent, and the fear of the NBA lockout made a lot of players want to stay in school which I think is a great idea. With another year of school for these players will make them better. So these are my top 5 draft picks for the 2012 draft:

                                                                      At number 1

Andre Drummond is a monster on the court for being only 18 years old. Some compare him to Dwight Howard and Amare Stoudemire. Andre makes a lot of his points in the post, but he is now creating his own offense. This kid is a monster it is unbelievable how talented he is at a young age. Hopefully he will keep working harder every day rather tha relying on just his talents. Take a look for yourself at how good he is.

                                                                       At number 2

Harrison Barnes was to most hyped player of 2011, but was a little inconsistent his freshmen year. But he had some big highlights, like his 40 point game in the NCAA. Overall he has a strong body with great muscle tone and doesn't show any bad body language when he is tired. His shot is great, but still developing. Overall he is a great player on both sides of the court and still has a lot more potential.
    

At number 3

Jared Sullinger was Freshmen of the Year for college basketball.  His persistences was amazing throughout his freshmen season. At 6'10 and weighing 280lbs, he was a solid post player averaging 17ppg and 10rpg, and he led Ohio State to the NCAA. His size crushed his opponents in the post making him unstoppable. This summer he worked a lot harder to lose some weight making him quicker and more versatile. Hopefully this season we will see him win an NCAA championship.




At number 4

James Mcadoo, incoming UNC freshmen, is 6'9 and 226lbs. He has a good fame work and is deadly in the post making quick, swift decisions. His Uncle was Bob Mcadoo, former NBA star, who won 2 championships and averaged 22.1ppg and 9rpg over his 14 year career.  Look at how skilled this kid is!

                                                                      At number 5 

Marquis Teague will be the number one point guard in his class. His speed and quick thinking makes him a deadly passer and scorer. His older brother, Jeff Teague, who exploded in the playoffs with the Atlanta Hawks, says that his younger brother, Marquis, is a lot better skilled than he was at his age. Marquis will be another point guard product from John Callipari, who will be successful like John Callipari's other NBA point guards, like: John Wall, Brandon Knight, Tyreke Evans.

Rookie of the Year for the WNBA.....Maya Moore!

Maya Moore on September 16, 2011 won the Rookie of the Year award, another award for her huge trophy closet. Maya averaged 13.2 ppg, 28 mpg, 4.6 rpg, 2.7 apg and 1.4 spg over the entire season. She also lead all rookies in minutes, points, and steals. Out of a panel of 40 judges 38 of them voted her ass rookie of the year. Maya Moore is not new to getting awards, over her basketball career she has won awards for basketball than anyone else has. Just take a look at how many things she has achieved in her basketball career that not many basketball players (men's or women's) have achieved (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_Moore#Awards_and_honors).  Hopefully tonight when the Lynx take on the Silver Stars for the last spot in the Western Finals Maya Moore will help lead her team to victory. 

ACC strong once again!

Pittsburg and Syracuse trying to join the ACC? Oh yea! 

Pittsburg and Syracuse have been accepted as members of the ACC. Not only will this help with football, but it will also help with the depth of basketball in the ACC. Last week I read an article talking about how the ACC has lost its depth, and that only UNC and Duke are the only real talented teams in the ACC. However, now with Syracuse and Pittsburg (who are both top 25 teams) the ACC will have life once again, not saying it ever left just now it will be even bigger. There is also a rumor that two other schools may bring their programs to the ACC. Who could they be? University of Connecticut and Rutgers possibly. University of Connecticut would be another title contending basketball team that would also make the ACC even better. These changes will not happen until 2014, but when they do it will be a great year in basketball for the ACC.

Tribute to Tayshana Murphy (aka Chicken)

Tayshana Murphy, or as her friends call her Chicken, was shot in the head at the hallway of her home in the Harlem MorningSide Projects. Tayshana was ranked 16th at the point guard position in the nation, and she was planning on playing basketball at the University of Miami and one day go pro. She wanted to go pro so that she could make money to take her family out of the projects. She would have been the first in her family to graduate high school and go to college. Basketball meant everything to this girl. She would be the only girl playing against a bunch of dudes for hours and hours holding her own against them. Her tenacity was unparalleled even when she torn her ACL and missed her junior season. She was more determined than ever to get back to playing the sport she loved. Unfortunately, the reason why she was shot was because of mistaken identity! Some believe that it was due to the feud between the two projects and she looked like one of the guys caught in the feud. The violence needs to stop!! Tayshana's life was cut short because of some stupid argument and now her family is in great pain because of it. Violence will only lead to pain and sorrow.
RIP Tayshana Murphy (aka Chicken)

 

WNBA Scores for 9/11/11

                                   9/11/01 a day to remember for the people who lost their lives

New York Liberty 63, Connecticut Suns 69
Today the New York Liberty took on the Connecticut Suns. The final score NYL 63 Conn 69. Tina Charles led the Suns with 18 points and 11 rebounds securing the 2nd seed in the playoffs and setting a new double-double record of 23, which she also set that record last season as a rookie. Tina Charles is one of the most aggressive centers in this league today. In her 2nd season she will be one the best centers all time and hopefully this year she might win the regular season MVP. On another note Cappie Pondexter unfortunately went 5-21 from the field goal and wound up on having 12 points. I love Cappie and her ability to make her own shot with her little MJ step back, but she needs to facilitate more if she is having an off shooting night.

Atlanta Dream 93, Indiana Fever 88
Angel McCoughtry had a great game with 32 points leading Atlanta to secure the number 3 seed in the playoffs. Katie Douglas lead the Fever with 30 points (without Tamika Catchings) in the lost. These two teams have MVP candidates  with Tamika Catchings and Angel McCoughtry. Angel is an incredible player with tremendous talent, but the key to her success is how she is always relentless and never gives up. On the other side, Tamika Catchings is an all around great player in every category even Larry Bird believes that she should be the MVP. In my opinion I want Tamika to win the MVP because she has put up the same kind of numbers every year and never gets noticed. Angel is young and will hopefully win the championship this year, unlike last year when the Seattle Storm beat Atlanta for the championship.

Minnesota Lynx 96, Phoenix Mercury 90
It was not the Mercury's night tonight, Diana Taurasi lead her team with 19 points, but it was not enough to stop the Lynx. The Lynx has really come together because Monica Wright, Maya Moore, and Seimone Augustus all lead the Lynx with 15 points. I feel that all players on the Lynx team realize what their role is and are all ready to win a championship. Maya Moore come to Minnesota with the mentality to win a championship and that work ethic really helped shaped this team into a title contender. Phoennix Mercury need to find more depth to their team besides their offense because offense wins games, but defense wins championships.

San Antonio Silver Stars 102, Tulsa Shock 92
Danielle Robinson made herself noticed tonight in the Rookie campaign with a career high 36 points leading theSilver Stars to victory. Unfortunately this lost made the Tulsa Shock the most losing team in WNBA history with a record of 3-30, which for anyone would be hard to swallow. Hopefully Tulsa will return next year with a vengeance to win.

Chicago Sky 70, Seattle Storm 81
WNBA veteran Katie Smith and Camille Little lead the Storm with 17 points over the Sky. Sylvia Fowles lead her team with an impressive 30 points and 13 rebounds, but was not enough to beat the defending champs. Sylvia Fowles has had an impressive season averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds, but toward the other half of the season she started getting a little tired playing an average of 34.5 minutes.  It seems that the Sky need more scoring talent to help take all of the stress off Fowles so that they can finally make it to the playoffs  

Shabazz Muhammad

A man among boys Shabazz Muhammad is the most prolific scorer in his class. His explosiveness and speed is amazing especially since he is left hand with the ball! Shabazz is compared to Kobe Bryant and James Harden with his style of game. He is considering Kentucky, UCLA, Duke, Louisville, Kansas, Memphis, and Texas A&M. Just take a look for yourself how good he is.

Altanta Dream's lost to the Washington Mystics

The Mystics have been struggling all this season and have only won 5 out of 29 games, but tonight Crystal Langhorne went into over time and had 25 points and 10 rebounds leading the Mystics to an 85-81 win over the Atlanta Dream, the Eastern Conference Champs. Angel McCoughtry lead her team with 30 points, but it wasn't enough to beat the Mystics.

Personal note: I feel that the teams who win championships are the teams that have multiple top 10 players.

For example, the Seattle Storm have players like Lauren Jackson, Sue Bird, and Swin Cash who are all amazing players, together they have won two championships.

The Phoenix Mercury have won two championships with talented players like Diana Taurasi and Cappie Pondexter, but ever since Cappie Pondexter left for the New York Liberty neither have Diana or Cappie have won a championship since then.

The first Dynasty in the WNBA was the Huoston Comets, who won the first four championships with the core group of Sheryl Swoopes, Tina Thompson, and Cynthia Cooper. Those three players are all in the top 15 all time greatest.

The only team that I can think of that won two championship with one key player is the LA Sparks. Lisa Leslie, former all-time scorer, won two championships.

It seems that now the Minnesota Lynx will probably be the next team to win multiple championships with the core group of Maya Moore, Lindsay Whalen, and Seimone Augustus.  

WNBA Rookie of the Month

For the month of August, Maya Moore was named rookie of the month for the second month in a row. She averaged 12.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.8 spg, and 27.2 mpg. From setting the most records in college basketball history at Uconn, Maya Moore has brought a winning mentality to the Minnesota Lynx making their record 23-6 and leading them to a playoff birth in the Western Conference with the #1 seed. In her last game she scored 19 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in a win over the San Antonio Sliver Stars. Personally I think Maya Moore is the best all around player because not only can she score from beyond the 3-point arch, but she can get to the rim for the lay up, rebound, steal the ball, and make amazing assist to her teammates.  

Basketball's Future

So it does not seem like the NBA Lockout is going to end anytime soon. So most people have either been watching old NBA games, playing NBA2K11, watching Euro Basketball or decided to watch the WNBA. But on Tuesday August 30th Baltimore got a taste of NBA basketball once again when the Goodman League played against the Melo League. The Goodman league had All-Star player Kevin Durant, who had score 66 points in his last game in New York. The Melo league had All-Star players Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul, which made this match up very lop sided. Kevin Durant scored a game high 59 points, but unfortunately that was not enough against Lebron James 38 points in a 149-141 loss.  This was an exciting game for any basketball lover, there have been some rumors that there will be another match up in LA coming soon.