NBA Draft Update

So what’s the best part of the incredibly long and dull Major League Baseball Draft? No, it’s not getting the chance to hear Bud Selig say Notre Dame University is in Notre Dame, Indiana, although that’s close. It’s not even the incredible Shelby Miller interview in which the 18-year-old 19th pick in the draft blew any chance at leverage in negotiations and ever being referred to as humble in one fell swoop. No, the best news is that it means the much more interesting (Take note of the impact of trades, Mr. Selig) and shorter NBA Draft is only two weeks away.

Everyone knows Blake Griffin is going #1, and everyone else is talking about who the other lottery picks are going to be. But that’s not what this blog is for. It’s time to take another look at two of the best Missouri prospects since Linas Kleiza (yeah, that’s a knock on you, Thomas Gardner), Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll.

Anderson to share expertise at USA team trials

The honors and recognition continue to roll in for Missouri’s Mike Anderson. This time, it’s USA basketball that has come calling, giving the coach a chance to be a court coach at trials for the 2009 USA U19 World Championship and 2009 USA World University Games teams. The trials will occur June 16-18 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Full rosters of the teams in the trials are listed below, and will include some familiar names.

A day with Mike Anderson

Last Friday in St. Louis, I was fortunate enough to spend a good part of my “Mike Anderson Day” with the man of the hour as he was recognized by several different groups in the Gateway City. It was a fun experience that allowed me to see a side of the Coach I had rarely seen and also enabled me to have some candid conversations with some other members of the Mizzou staff and the Anderson family. The Mizzou athletic department was kind enough to grant me some excellent, exclusive access, and for that I am very grateful.

Anderson to get key to St. Louis

Mike Anderson, the 2009 NABC coach of the year who led Missouri to a Big 12 tournament championship, the Elite 8 and a school-record 31 wins, is being rewarded again this Friday. St. Louis, a town rich with current, former, and surely future Mizzou students, will be welcoming Anderson with open arms this Friday.

Missouri to face Oregon in Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series

Missouri may have caught a break in the Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series, as the Tigers are slated to play Oregon for the next two years, starting with a game at Mizzou Arena on December 5 next season. The Ducks — who beat Kansas State the last two years in the series (don’t call it a challenge, the conferences will get angry) — return their top nine scorers. But that may not be a good thing for a team that finished in last place in the Pac-10 by four games this year.

Jarrid Famous turns down Missouri

(must….resist…..making…..bad…..pun…..) Westchester Community College star Jarrid Famous has decided where he’ll be playing basketball next season. Though speculation had been made the 6-foot-11 forward who averaged 25.2 points and 13.7 rebounds per game last season  would either go to Missouri or tradition-rich Arizona, he decided he would rather go to South Florida, who finished 14 out of 16 teams in the Big East last season.

The Best Tigers Ever?

With Mike Anderson’s contract finalized and all of the team awards handed out, it’s a good time to take one final look back at Missouri’s incredible and – no matter what Kim English says — improbable season that ended one game short of Detroit with a school-record 31 wins.

Carroll wins Portsmouth MVP

Most people still don’t think DeMarre Carroll has the skills necessary to be a great NBA player, and the Honorable Mention All-American and First-Team All-Big 12 Selection doesn’t get nearly as much attention in the national media as he deserves. But the “Junkyard Dog” continues to dominate and put up big numbers everywhere he goes, no matter who the competition is.

After a 20-point, 16-rebound, 3-assist performance in his team’s 92-74 victory in the third place game, Carroll was named the tournament’s MVP. Carroll played a team-high 29 minutes and provided more evidence that his superior work ethic and intangibles make him a better player than the scouts think and actually trump pure talent in some cases. It doesn’t seem far-fetched that an NBA team will invite Carroll to a tryout and be pleasantly surprised, if not astonished, by how much his energy and competitiveness makes him a special player. It wasn’t hard to notice this season that Missouri was a much better team when Carroll was on the court, even when he wasn’t scoring or grabbing rebounds. That might be slightly less valuable in the NBA where individualistic play is more important, but it’s something that can be a crucial piece to the puzzle.

Certainly, Carroll’s excellent tournament can only help his draft status. But without having actually watched any of the games and seen how he scored, it’s hard to gauge just how much his stock will go up. Either way, his confidence must be soaring and this surely helped him to get some of the bad taste out of his mouth from losing in the Elite 8.

Meanwhile, Leo Lyons struggled shooting the ball in his last game, making only four of 12 shots (he missed the only 3 he took). But the Tiger who most often looked like he wasn’t giving 100% this season still made his presence known on the stat sheet and wound up with another double-double, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Lyons probably improved his draft status slightly, and with his pure talent, maybe it wouldn’t be such a surprise if some team decides to take a chance on him with a second-round pick. If there’s one area he improved upon this season, it was his maturity, and that might be the key to his ticket to the next level.

Carroll and Lyons continue to excel in Portsmouth

DeMarre and Leo’s may have both lost on Friday, but unlike during the season, the team’s result didn’t matter as much as their individual performances. Lyons scored 16 points on five of 11 shooting in his team’s loss. But as he did several times during the season for the Tigers, he disappeared on the glass, grabbing only 2 rebounds in 31 minutes. Apparently the confident forward is trying to show off his three-point shot to the scouts, but he failed to impress Friday afternoon, missing all three attempts. Carroll’s shooting percentage was down as he made just five of 12 shots, but he still managed 11 points and fell just one rebound short of a double-double. Perhaps more impressively, Carroll’s stat sheet shows the unselfishness that made him far and away Missouri’s most valuable player this season. Carroll finished with five assists, although he also committed three turnovers.

It’s important to note that although the Portsmouth tournament features some 64 quality seniors, the most talented players didn’t make the trip to Virginia. The 15 seniors projected to be drafted in the top 42 by nbadraft.net are all preparing elsewhere. However, that site and I don’t necessarily agree. The latest mock draft actually has Lyons as the 13th selection in the second round, meaning they must be seeing something that I’m not. Lyons needs some serious work on his consistency and his physicality in the paint if he’s going to survive at the next level, but maybe this year’s draft class really is that weak. Incidentally, Lyons is slated one spot ahead of Kansas’ Sherron Collins (I think he’ll return to Lawrence) and six spots ahead of Memphis’ Robert Dozier, who outplayed Lyons in his team’s loss to Missouri (19 points, 16 rebounds = end of discussion). Also, in what must be a mistake, Micah Downs, the former Kansas reject who was a senior at Gonzaga, is slated to get drafted 55th. My sympathies to any team who actually spends a draft pick on the 6-7 forward who wouldn’t be good for much outside of an occasional three-pointer.

Carroll and Lyons both play their last game in Portsmouth tomorrow.

Leo Lyons and the NBA

Last year, Lyons tested the waters of the NBA draft only to fiind out his chances of getting to the league weren’t good enough for him to forgo his senior year of college. Unfortunately for Missouri’s most talented player, a lack of consistency and a one-game suspension kept him from reaching his full potential this season, and left his draft stock about the same, if not even lower than where it was last year. Although his range has been slightly expanded and his athleticism allows him to beat most forwards off the dribble, a lack of size and a less that imposing defensive presence will likely keep Lyons from seeing much time in the NBA.

Carroll’s future prospects

It still seems highly unlikely that Missouri’s DeMarre Carroll will hear in his name announced in this June’s NBA draft, even with this year’s relatively weak class. His relative lack of size (for a forward) and leaping ability will make it tough to find a spot on an NBA roster full of taller, more talented players. Still, the new range of his jump shot and improved all-around scoring ability may give him a chance.

Offseason Starts Well for Tigers

Mike Anderson is going to be in Columbia for quite some time, and all three Missouri seniors get to play some more basketball (or at least shoot a few threes) before their collegiate careers officially end.

UConn too strong for Tigers

Missouri to play a near-perfect game Saturday in Glendale to beat an excellent Connecticut team. The Tigers came close and even had the Huskies rattled before faltering down the stretch in 82-75 loss. While Missouri struggled to hit jump shots in the second half (they hit just 6 of 20 shots outside the pain), UConn regained its composure in time to hit some huge shots and all 10 of its free throws in the second half.

Leo Lyons and DeMarre Carroll held up fairly well against the Connecticut big men, but freshmen Marcus Denmon and Kim English made just 1 of 7 field goals on the night. Justin Safford and Keith Ramsey almost made up for the lack of production from the youngsters with inspired offensive performances (9 for Safford, 8 for Ramsey), but it wasn’t quite enough. A lackadaisical start may have doomed the Tigers, who looked like they might get blown out in the game’s first 3 minutes. As they have all season, though, this team never quit, all the way up until Zaire Taylors’ 3-pointer with 9 seconds left.

Missouri did what they wanted to in terms of containing Thabeet and forcing turnovers (17 of them), but they couldn’t quite get the breaks like they did Thursday night against Memphis. The worst part about the NCAA tournament is that 64 out of 65 teams have to end their season with a loss, which always seems to stick out more than the wins, no matter how impressive they were.

It’s going to be a long trip back to Columbia for this team and the impressive number of fans that made the trip all the way out West, but upon further reflection, it should be clear that Missouri excelled this year in a way that seemed impossible at the beginning of the season. Plenty of credit goes to Coach Anderson and the seniors who led this team every step of the way, and before you start thinking about next season, Missouri fans should take the time to reflect on the incredible year that was. Regardless of what happens with Anderson and the team in the next few seasons, this year was one to savor.

Of Huskies and History

The upstart Missouri Tigers will take the court once again Saturday night to face a team who has been one of the most dominant in the entire tournament thus far. If they survive, they’ll head to Detroit next weekend for the first Final Four in school history. A loss would end the career of three beloved seniors who also happen to be Missouri’s leading scorers (Leo Lyons, DeMarre Carroll and Matt Lawrence).

Tiger fans can breathe a little easier

Mike Anderson will not be coaching at the University of Alabama next season.