Originally Posted by tmay407
Check his Bracketology from the night before, then compare to his Bracketology that was released an hour before the Selection Sunday show...it's magical how much they change.Originally Posted by DOWNTOWN43
Originally Posted by blazinjkid
Wasn't every single one of his picks correct last year?don't fall for Lunardi's BS. he always gets inside information right before selections come out and changes his picks. he sucks.
That's fine and dandy, but he makes it seem like they're legitimately his picks...which they aren't...
Let's Get It NovaOriginally Posted by Al3xis
See ya Irish
impressive by Nova bouncing back on the road Sat/Monday schedule, particularly @ the Joyce Center.
Completely different team than the one on Saturday.
No depth whatsoever... I read somewhere they were like 314th in the country in bench minutes the last two seasons...
Sneaker wars over Stephenson?
Maryland may have committed NCAA violations on Lance's visit
NEW YORK -- Lance Stephenson plays basketball in Nike Air Jordans and competes for an Adidas-sponsored program at Lincoln High School in Brooklyn.
Yet it is Stephenson's association with Under Armour, a Baltimore-based sports apparel company trying to become a player in the high-stakes world of grassroots basketball, that has drawn the most scrutiny in recent weeks.
The University of Maryland is investigating potential NCAA violations connected to Stephenson's official visit in January to its campus and the nearby Under Armour facilities.
The Washington Post on Sunday reported that Maryland may have violated NCAA rules by allowing the 6-foot-5 Stephenson and his family to visit and tour the Under Armour site. The company is owned and operated by Kevin Plank, a former Maryland football player and member of the school's Board of Trustees. Under Armour has donated more than $1 million to Maryland and has an exclusive deal to outfit the school's athletics teams.
The Post also reported that Byron Mouton, a former Maryland basketball player, spoke to Stephenson on the visit and encouraged him to join the program, a potential violation of NCAA recruiting practices.
In a statement on its Website, Maryland said it was "diligent in regards to following NCAA rules and regulations" and added that its "business relationship with Under Armour, as the department's exclusive apparel provider, is a relationship common throughout collegiate athletics."
As far as Mouton's contact with Stephenson, the University said: "If this situation did occur as described in the Post story, it would most likely be a minor violation, per NCAA rules, not likely impacting the eligibility and/or recruitment of the recruit."
The Under Armour Connection: Stephenson, the No. 1 senior in the nation according to the Hoop Scoop and No. 9 by Rivals, is one of the few elite seniors who has yet to pick a college and will likely choose from among St. John's (a Nike school), Kansas (adidas) and Maryland (Under Armour).
Yet the young man they call "Born Ready" has repeatedly said that the style of play (he prefers an up-tempo approach), the talent level of his future teammates and his relationship with the coach will be the determining factors. The sneaker affiliation of the school, he said, will have no bearing on his choice.
"Ah, no," he said in a recent interview. "I'm just going in there and see what's best for me and my family and how do I fit in the program. That's it."
Stephenson's Lincoln teammate, 6-8 forward James Padgett, has already signed to play for the Terps and that could also be a factor.
"He loves playing with me and he said I always motivate him to play harder in all the games and at practice," Stephenson said, "so he said that would be a good look."
Stephenson said he could announce March 21 after the PSAL championship game at Madison Square Garden. Lincoln is the three-time defending PSAL champ and is seeking a record fourth straight.
Under Armour signed a four-year, $2 million deal with Brandon Jennings, the American point guard who skipped college to play professionally in Italy and could be drafted into the NBA this June.
"The endgame is for Brandon to make it the NBA and be the impact player that everyone is predicting that he'll be," said Steve Battista, Under Armour's senior vice president of brand.
Under Armour has deals with over 70 collegiate programs and has all-school deals with Texas Tech, South Florida and Auburn, in addition to Maryland. The company won't have sneakers on sale for retail until 2010, yet it wants to establish relationships with Stephenson and other high school players so they can represent the company should they ever make the NBA.
According to an insider from another sneaker company who requested anonymity because he didn't want to appear to be taking sides, he would not be surprised if other top players were advised to consider Maryland because of its relationship with Under Armour.
"Kevin Plank wants to get basketball shoes out there so he can attack the basketball world," the insider said. "He wants [Under Armour] to be a global sports brand and basketball is a huge, huge category to be in to prove that you're relevant."
Sonny Vaccaro, who has worked for Nike, adidas and Reebok and has also met with the Stephenson family, said Stephenson would be a natural player to target in this year's class.
"Absolutely, when you look at it," Vaccaro said in a phone interview. "He's athletic. He plays the right position. If I were in the business, Lance would be someone I would consider talking to."
Still, given the present economic climate, Vaccaro said the money available to Stephenson would pale in comparison to what Jennings makes, let alone the millions Kobe Bryant and LeBron James signed for.
"The endorsement money is a pipe dream," Vaccaro said. "To think people are going to get the LeBron money in the near future, even Kevin Durant, that kind of money is not available."
In addition to targeting specific high school basketball stars, Under Armour has also targeted various high school teams, including Lincoln and Boys & Girls of Brooklyn. Boys & Girls has a specific line of sneakers, while Lincoln has "wear-tested" various Under Armour products.
"Our partnership is with Lincoln high school and the coaches/players have helped us garner key product insights as Lincoln is one of the elite high school programs in the country," Ryan Drew, an Under Armour spokesman, wrote in an email. "We are always evaluating up and coming talent."
Air Jordans over Under Armour: Stephenson wears Air Jordans even though he was not invited to the prestigious Jordan Brand Classic game at Madison Square Garden on April 18. Some have speculated that he wasn't invited because of Lincoln's relationship with Under Armour, but the exact reason remains unclear.
"You see Lance wear Under Armour?" asked Lincoln coach Dwayne "Tiny" Morton at the recent Nike Super 6 at Fordham University. "If you [haven't] seen it, then we can't even talk about it...He continues to wear the Jordan shoes."
In any event, Stephenson was invited to the McDonald's All-American Game on April 1 in Miami, which he views as the more prestigious game.
Despite all the talk about Stephenson and Under Armour, he is seriously considering two schools with no ties to the company: Kansas and St. John's.
Moreover, if Stephenson does choose Maryland, the source said it won't be simply because of the school's five-year, $17.5 million deal with Under Armour.
"It does a complete disservice to [Maryland coach] Gary Williams to think that this kid is going to go to Maryland just because of what kind of shoes that they wear," the insider said. "And not because of his coaching resume of being one of the best coaches in college basketball. He has as many championships as [Kansas'] Bill Self or [North Carolina's] Roy Williams does.
"If Lance goes to Maryland it's not going to be because of Under Armour. A player in the caliber of Lance Stephenson, with the resume of basketball accolades that he has, is going to pick his college very, very carefully and not on what shoes the program wears because the stakes are too high."
Stephenson agreed.
"I just play ball," he said. "I just want to accomplish my goal and that's to go to college and be a successful player and go to the NBA."
Can't say that I'm not surprised....
Gary needs an extension
Updated: February 25, 2009
Les Bentley for ESPN.com
Lakeem Jackson is South Carolina's top 2009 recruit.
[h3]Jackson Out To Show He Has Elite Skills[/h3]
By Jason Jordan
Special to ESPN.com
Early evening Dec. 29, Lakeem Jackson walks through the double doors at Broughton High School in Raleigh, N.C., to play in the GlaxoSmithKline Holiday Invitational.
He's smack dab in the middle of a group of Christ School basketball players.
At 6-foot-5, he's easily one of the tallest people in the crowded lobby, yet all the "that's him" glances go to teammate Mason Plumlee, a 6-11 McDonald's All-American who has signed with Duke.
No one reveres Jackson.
No one waves or wishes him luck or even shakes his hand.
That's because no one knows who Lakeem Jackson is.
"I'm used to it," he said. "I just keep my headphones on and keep it moving. I figure I'll make them know me."
Two hours, a game-high 18 points -- on rim-rocking dunks and acrobatic fadeaways -- and a 76-59 win over Kinston High, and Jackson's mission is accomplished.
Perhaps even more impressive is that he's held Kinston guard Reggie Bullock, a North Carolina commit, to just 17 points, after Bullock had managed 33 in the opening round.
Now Jackson is not wearing his headphones. Now he's shaking hands and signing autographs and taking pictures. Now they get it. "When people don't know you, you have to make them know you," said Jackson, a senior who is rated the No. 15 overall small forward in the ESPNU 100. "That's how I play every game. I feel like I have a lot to prove to a lot of people. I feel a little underappreciated." He'll admit this much: When it came time to decide where he'll suit up for college, he "was a little bothered" he was void of the option to select an in-state ACC school.
It's relative. Jackson grew up in Charlotte, N.C., and the unwritten rule for North Carolina prep stars reads: Big-time ballers from said state must strongly consider the big four -- North Carolina, Duke, North Carolina State and Wake Forest.
"Naturally," Jackson said.
Problem was, the big four never came calling, thus leaving a basketball-sized chip on Jackson's shoulder.
"You can see it when he plays. 'I never even got a call from Duke, Carolina or Wake. State called me once, but no serious interest there.' He's out to prove them wrong," said Jackson's oldest brother, Elrico.
On one play against Middle Creek High in the Glaxo opening round, Jackson went to the baseline, rose up and threw down arguably the dunk of the tournament.
Before trotting down to the other end of the court, amidst the animated "oohs" of the capacity crowd, Jackson stared blankly in the direction of N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe, who was standing courtside, to make sure he saw it.
"I thought about how he didn't offer me a scholarship," Jackson said. "I just wanted to show him why he should've rethought that."
Now don't get him wrong, Jackson is not staging a one-man "I'll show them" exhibition every time he plays.
When he committed to South Carolina in July, he was ecstatic. "I'm in the best situation for me," he said. It's just that being overlooked by big-time in-state schools left Jackson feeling a bit jaded.
Plumlee can understand why.
He said that after playing with Jackson for just a few games last season, he couldn't understand why the in-state ACC schools weren't fawning over him.
Clemson and Georgia Tech offered Jackson, along with Charlotte and Marquette.
"I just knew one or two had to be recruiting him," Plumlee said. "He's such a good player and does so many things well. I couldn't understand it."
It bothered him so much that he even nudged the Duke staff about potentially recruiting his teammate.
"We were recruiting Leslie McDonald at the time, and they wanted to see what he was going to do," Plumlee said. "Lakeem committed to South Carolina while they were waiting, and Leslie ended up going to North Carolina. I would've loved to have played with Lakeem in college, but he's going into a good situation at South Carolina. He's proven what he's capable of."
Still, Jackson, who averages 16 points, five rebounds and four assists per game for the Greenies, is far from feeling like he's arrived.
Blame it on being the youngest of four brothers, all of whom played college basketball -- Elrico at Barber-Scotia in Concord, N.C.; Donavon at Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte; and Lavonte at St. John's River in Palatka, Florida. "We never gave him anything on the court growing up," Elrico said. "He earned everything, and he had to show us that he could play every game."
Added Lakeem: "They definitely pushed me around a lot, roughed me up and all of that. Big brother-little brother stuff, I guess. But I can remember thinking back then that I was gonna show them I could play. It's just stuck with me."
South Carolina coach Darrin Horn had similar staying power.
Last March, when he left his head coaching job at Western Kentucky to head up the Gamecocks, Horn made Jackson priority No. 1. "[Horn] had offered me when he was at Western Kentucky," Jackson said. "And he had been there from the beginning. We'd built a close relationship."
Granted -- and Jackson knows this will sound cliché -- the thing that really helped Horn's cause was South Carolina's accredited college of pharmacy, which is among the nation's upper echelon.
"I know a lot of times guys say that they look at academics first and don't really mean it," Jackson said. "Well, I've always wanted to be a pharmacist. Yeah, I want to go to the NBA, but that's my backup plan. I'm concentrating on being a pharmacist at South Carolina." Jackson went on to talk about his interim goal of "continuing to prove myself every time I hit the floor. It doesn't really bother me that people don't know me like that."
The latter part of his ploy is less than convincing. He's guarded, yet honest. Withholding, yet open.
And then, suddenly, vulnerably transparent.
"I always think that one day people will consistently watch me play and say, 'That kid is special,'" Jackson said. "That's all I want. That's all I've ever wanted. And I'm not giving up hope. I know it will happen for me. It's got to."
Jason Jordan writes for ESPNRISE.com and ESPN The Magazine.
Donavon at Johnson C. Smith in Charlotte; and Lavonte at St. John's River in Palatka, Florida
Donovan and 'Vonte were terrors on the court
This is news to me.
