Poppin the blog cherry...

On July 31, 2009 at 11:43 a.m. I created a blog.

I know...I know...it's pretty ridiculous. I never thought I would actually have an interest in one of these, but I've been reading blogs from some of the people that inspire me, so I figured...why not? I don't expect many people to read this, but it should be an interesting way for me to post some thoughts at least for the season. I will try and cover as many teams as possible but certain ones will creep up more than others, and there's really nothing I can do about that. I blame the media!

So without further ado...my first batch of thoughts...

-I've been attending the NC Pro Am over this summer, and I must say that some of the incoming talent here in the ACC is gonna be IN-CRE-DIBLE. The fact that they have this tournament...free of charge...to people here in the triangle is a welcome addition. I think the turnouts speak for themselves, people in this area love their college basketball. To get a sneak peek of incoming freshmen, returning underclassmen, and seasoned vets is a great way to spend any weekday night. Kudos to them.

-CJ Leslie (#3 Ranked PF in the country according to scout.com) will be a force to contend with down the road. He is a lean 6'8", but he makes up for it with some aggressive play, especially around the basket. Some of the major players in his recruitment are UNC (obviously), Kentucky, NC State (where he decommitted from), and Tennessee. You could see Oregon and Wake Forest get in the mix, but it's doubtful at this point. After a recent visit to UNC, Leslie was asked if there were any negatives to the visit, to which he responded, "no...no negatives at all." I think it's safe to say this is gonna be a UNC-UK battle. We'll see if CJ wants to stay home or if he will be one of the many kids flocking to Lexington with the rest.

-Duke bigs coming in: Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly will be a welcome addition in Durham. They both provide quality skill sets and talent at the post position, and will probably quickly pass a disappointing Brian Zoubek and an under performing Lance Thomas quickly. While they will be very good players on the next level, the question still remains, who is gonna bang down low and get dirty for the blue devils? They don't have anyone to fit the bill. And there is that whole problem with not having a reliable PG too... Should be an interesting season for the dukies, but I will touch on that in later posts.

-UNC's got some players coming in too, but I will mainly touch on the one I've seen the most of thus far: John Henson. Now, Mr. Henson is generously listed at 200 lbs. on his scout.com profile, but I must say, That can't be right. This kid is super frail. I mean, I feel like he might get broken in half if there were some sort of collision at the basket. The problem is, there isn't. This kid is incredible. He glides through the lane, dunks EVERYTHING, and cheeses on his way back on defense like a 13 year old. Because well...he LOOKS like a 13 year old. A 6'10" one that is. There was one point in the game I watched where it seemed like he was missing shots on purpose to go dunk-tap them in. He's already got incredible timing on the defensive end and sent a couple shots FLYING. Kid's gonna be a stud. Enjoy him folks, because you'll likely only see him on the ACC hardwood for one season.

Well, I think that's a pretty successful first post. I'll try and cover some more topics soon, but I mainly just wanted to bang the first entry out. In closing I wanted to thank everybody who's ever supported any of my basketball endeavors, and also Jimmy Bowen for talking me into this blog finally. Good Looks, Jimbo!

I also will admit, I'm stealing Mark Titus' idea of a youtube clip at the end of every entry. So if you're reading this Mark, thanks for the inspiration. And If you're not Mark, you should go to his blog. It is pretty sweet.

So here it is, your Letter of Intent clip of the day...



(Of course I'm gonna start with the greatest college basketball shot of all time!)