Michigan is retiring Glen Rice's number 41 in February...he's still my all-time favourite NCAA player...

You know, I love the NCAA most at the start of the year with all the kickoff tournaments and at the end with the real tournament…

Last night, at the Maui Classic SF Adam Morrison of Gonzaga set a tournament record with 43 points as No. 8 Gonzaga beat No. 12 Michigan State 109-106 in triple overtime in the semifinals of the EA Sports Maui Invitational. He had a great duel with Michigan State SF Maurice Ager who finished with a career-high 36 points. Morrison was 14-for-28 from the field, including 4-for-8 from 3-point range. Ager finished 13-for-27 overall and 7-for-17 from beyond the arc before fouling out in the 2nmd OT. Morrison actually played 52 of the 55 minutes…The previous Maui Invitational record for points was 40 by Terrell Lowery of Loyola Marymount against Chaminade in 1990. It was Gonzaga's longest game since going four overtimes in an 81-78 victory over Boise State in February 1978. It was Michigan State's first triple-overtime game since an 86-84 loss to Detroit in November 1996. other players who played well included Michigan State C Paul Davis who had 26 points and 13 rebounds for the Spartans and SG Shannon Brown had 19 points…while Gonzaga PF Derek Raivio had 26 points for Gonzaga and C J.P. Batista added 22 points and 13 rebounds….

In the other semifinal, Denham Brown had his second straight good game with 17 points on 6-14 shooting, with 3 boards and 2 assists while playing some terrific defence on Arizona guard Chris Rodgers (2-10 from the floor) as UConn beat Arizona 79-70 to advance to the Maui invitational final against Gonzaga…

However, the big NCAA upset of the night was Bucknell beating the ‘Cuse…remember Bucknell, who last year beat then 10th-ranked Pittsburgh giving the Panthers their first loss of the season and snapping the Panthers' 48-game home winning streak against non-conference teams. Then they blew everyone’s brackets by beating the then third-seeded Kansas Jayhawks 64-63 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Now 17th ranked Syracuse falls victim to Bucknell’s deliberate slowdown offense 74-69 last night. ''We never take the underdog role,'' said Kevin Bettencourt who led Bucknell with 20 points. ''We think we can win every game.''

Weakest 7 footer ever…Rasho Nesterovic took 11 games or 190 minutes of actual play to shoot his first two free throws of the season, when he went 2-for-2 last night against the Kings.

The Cavs are white hot…LeBron James scored 36 points for the second game in a row, while Larry Hughes had 25 as the Cavaliers won their eighth straight, 115-93 over the Boston Celtics last night.

Anonymous scouting report on Andre Bogut:

…he hustles his ass off. He runs the floor, sprints back on defense and is active on the offensive glass. According to teammates, he's a good practice player as well. Much more athletic than most think. Against Golden State, he had two monster dunks, the kind of two-hand, down the lane, behind the head haymakers more closely associated with Dwight Howard. He also has very low body fat, is surprisingly mobile for a seven-footer and plays physical (or, as Bucks reserve center Ervin Johnson put it to me, quite animatedly: "He's definitely not finesse. If anybody thinks he's finesse, they're crazy. If they've got that going through their mind, they're CRAZY.") Third, he's a good kid. When Joe Smith usurped his starting spot last week, Bogut said he understood and appeared as if he meant it. He then launched into a passionate discussion of the Australian national soccer team, which had just qualified for the World Cup. "We're on the way up, no doubt about it," he said of the 'Socceroos. "It's a great thing."

1) Chris Broussard of ESPN.com tells us what we as Torontonians already know about VC:

Where's the passion, Vince?

This is what Nets fans have been dreading since the team traded for the league's most exciting player nearly a year ago. Monday night, in a 100-97 loss at Golden State, Vince Carter left with a strained back muscle late in the third quarter. In his brief time with the Nets, Vince had killed his reputation as a soft, injury-prone player. Now that he's once again facing adversity, it'll be interesting to see what the future has in store for him. Will he shake this off quickly and get back on the court? Will this hamper him for the better part of the first half of the season? Or, with the Nets off to a disappointing 5-5 start, will he be traded? I was down on Half-Man/Half-Amazing at this time last season, when he seemed to be tanking it in Toronto. But when he got to New Jersey, I got to see him play on a regular basis for the first time ever. I was amazed. He was flat-out tremendous. I knew he was a great slasher and a good shooter, but his passing ability stunned me. I began thinking Vince's name should be mentioned alongside Kobe's, LeBron's, D-Wade's and T-Mac's as the top swingmen in the league. Here's why it's not: In my opinion, Vince Carter is about 70 percent of the player he should be. From what I see, Vince plays almost completely off of natural ability. Has he added anything since he took the league by storm as a rookie? I look at Vince's body and I see no additional muscle development. That tells me he's not getting after it in the weight room. Look at Kobe -- you can see he pumps the iron. Think of how MJ's body changed over the course of his career. That weight work is almost certainly one reason why Kobe's career isn't hampered by strains, sprains and pulls (and why MJ's wasn't). This is purely speculation, because only Vince truly knows the answer to this, but I see him as a guy who likes the game but doesn't love the game. There are two types of players in the NBA: those who love ball and those who like it. Those who merely like it break down into two categories: those who like hoop, but love the NBA lifestyle -- the fame, the fortune, the females; and those who like hoop and see this more as their job than their passion.
I see Vince as the latter. That is not necessarily meant to be a knock. There are people like that in all walks of life. In journalism, for instance, there are folks who live and breathe their job, who are legitimately passionate about it and who are constantly looking to be the absolute best. Then there are those who are good, even great, at what they do, even as they see it simply as a way to feed their family and have a nice lifestyle. To me, that's Vince. This is incredible considering he's such a great player. If he had the determination and drive of Kobe, Vince would be off the charts. He'd probably be the best player in the league. And he probably wouldn't be on the sidelines in street clothes so much.

2) Mark Berman of the New York Post reports that things have simmered down a bit in NY:

LARRY & STEPH MAKE NICE ... FOR NOW

Conveniently, Stephon Marbury and Larry Brown are suddenly acting like lovebirds. The Knick point guard had expressed frustration with his perfunctory role after last week's Laker loss, asking Brown to be switched to shooting guard. The coach is trying to soften his analysis on Marbury after his 27-point explosion Sunday. Brown pointed out yesterday that it's the little things Marbury has to master, and did vs. Portland. "I don't want him to change," Brown said. "I want him to be aggressive. "I explained to him situations that I see. Hopefully he understands and takes advantage of. We have to have him shooting the ball, being aggressive. He's got to know time and score. He's got to know the clock. When he gets the ball late in the clock, we've got to have him make plays. He was much more aggressive in that regard [Sunday]." Marbury told a TV station the two New York tabloids caused last week's controversy. "I love playing for coach, it's the best thing that ever happened to me as far as being a pro," Marbury said. *With Brown believing he has no legitimate starting small forward (Malik Rose may start tonight), Portland's banished Ruben Patterson, who has asked to be traded, looks better and better. GM John Nash said he will attempt to trade Patterson but said he would not take back a bad contract. Patterson violated curfew before Sunday's Knick clash and had an argument with coaches in the Garden huddle. Knicks had talks with Portland about Patterson weeks ago and are most interested in Antonio Davis' expiring contract, a league executive says. *An internet report suggests Kevin Garnett is making a private push to reunite with Marbury. Garnett's agent did not return phone messages. ... Quentin Richardson will return to lineup after missing Sunday's game with back spasms. Richardson's contract is uninsured because of a prior back injury — a situation that nearly led to the trade being canceled. The Suns threw in their first-round pick (which turned into Nate Robinson) for the deal to go through. *Brown raved yesterday about Bobcat veteran PG Brevin Knight, saying he deserved the Most Improved Player Award last season. Knight would fit into the category of the veteran PG Brown is seeking for the roster. One league executive believes Knight could be had, as the second-year Bobcats are seeking young players...When Brown talked last Friday night about being excited about his "six young ones," C Jackie Butler was in the mix. Butler doesn't expect to start tonight but said, "It would be nice."

3) A fascinating article from former Sixers and Celtics coach Jim O’Brien on rookies for ESPN.com:

Different paths as rookies for Iguodala, Billups

Red Auerbach once told me that he always had a talk with his rookies early in their time with him. Generally, it went something like this: "Can you do 'this'? [This could be any facet of the game.] Don't lie to me! If you can, we expect you to do it! If you can't, we will teach you how to do it. If we can't teach you how, we will not expect you to do it." A very simple, very direct conversation about accountability. The life of a first-year player in the NBA is challenging on a number of levels. The expectations are usually high, especially for first-round picks in general, and for lottery picks in particular. As jazz vocalist Sade sings, the NBA is "no place for beginners or sensitive hearts." First, there is pressure that the rook puts on himself, along with pressure that comes from every front office wanting their draft picks to prove sooner rather than later that their evaluation was accurate. Also, there are social pressures. Most of the time a player comes from being the star on his college or high school team to a situation where he is the youngest guy in the group. Often, he is asked to make his way on a team that might have players 15 years older. Andre Iguodala immediately made a name for himself in his rookie year, unseating a Big Dog in surprising fashion. It was always fun last year to watch Andre Iguodala when Allen Iverson or another veteran told a rookie that his job was to help carry the bags from the bus into the hotel. Or, when Iverson said that he didn't care what Iguodala was called at Arizona, because there is only one "A.I." on the Sixers, and he ain't a rookie. There is also the heavy burden of trying to beat out vets for playing time. This can be a battle that is very, very intense and must be monitored carefully by the coaching staff. In Pat Riley's book "The Winner Within," he makes it clear just how fierce this battle can become: In 1991, New York acquired Xavier McDaniel before training camp. McDaniel -- known as "The X Man" -- was the Ron Artest of the early nineties, tough but unpredictable. Riley relates how his first drill of training camp was a no-contact rebounding drill that matched up McDaniel and first-year player Anthony Mason, an equally tough player who would make a career of not backing down from anyone. In coach Riley's first practice as coach of the Knicks, the "no-contact" drill turned, says Riley, into "a full-blown two-man riot. McDaniel was pounding both sides of Mason's head. Mason was answering with furious, lunging blows. It was one of those traveling fights: they collided under the basket, fought their way over to the sideline, then ricocheted out to the middle of the court. It finally ended in a draw." Definitely, not a career for "sensitive hearts." Last season in Philadelphia, I had the opportunity to coach a rookie who understood right away what it took. When we drafted Iguodala ninth in the 2004 draft, we were surprised to get a player whom our personnel people had rated much higher. Going into training camp I had Glenn Robinson penciled in as our starter at the small forward spot and Iguodala behind him by a large margin. Robinson, a career 20.8 ppg scorer, seemed hungry to get his career back on track and we thought he would win the job fairly easily. What transpired was not what we expected. Robinson had difficulty scoring on Iguodala throughout training camp, and so did the players the rookie guarded during the exhibition games. It became apparent to our staff that it would be difficult for us to open the season without Iguodala starting. He was by the far the best perimeter defender on our team and he brought an energy and the unselfishness to the floor that was a perfect complement for the senior A.I. Iguodala not only started the opener, he started all 82 games and averaged 33.4 mpg. Every night out he would be matched against the opponent's best perimeter player. One night it could be Vince Carter, the next, Paul Pierce. He stayed constantly on an even keel. He added to his experience by starting against the Pistons in the first round of the playoffs. The first day Iguodala came to Philadelphia after the draft, I had breakfast with his parents and his brother Frank, who was moving to town to live with him. In retrospect, it is clear that his family was a large reason that he kept his focus the entire year. His mother was very aware of the potential pitfalls that he had to sidestep. She assured me, in front of Andre, that her son was ready to get the job done, with an assist from his brother, a recent graduate and former player at the University of Dayton. It was still surprising that Iguodala never got close to running into the proverbial "rookie wall." The mythical "wall" gets slammed into some time after the All-Star break. The thought is that first-year players are not used to playing 82 games in such a short period of time. The 48 minutes a game and the constant travel are also contributors. In many cases they hit the "wall" not only because of the demands on their bodies, but because of the challenge to stay mentally in the game over the long haul. As a Celtics rookie in 1997, Chauncey Billups was sometimes taken aback by expectations.In 1997, when I was the associate coach to Rick Pitino, the Boston Celtics drafted point guard Chauncey Billups with the third pick in the first round. The Celtics had won only 15 games the previous year, but missed out on the chance to get Tim Duncan because the ping pong balls did not bounce our way. We also took Ron Mercer with the sixth pick. One of the things that Pitino wanted us to do was stay on top of the young players to make sure they were adjusting well to life in the NBA. On one occasion we were on the road and I took Billups out for lunch after practice. During lunch I asked him what was the most challenging thing he had to deal with as a rookie starting at the point for the Celtics. Thinking he would say something like keeping his turnovers down, or getting us in our offense against the best defenders in the world, or living up to the expectations of being the quarterback for the legendary C's, I remember being shocked by his answer. After much thought, he said, "Coach, it's got to be the game-day shootarounds." I almost laughed, but he continued and said, "Man, there is so much to remember." It was a good lesson for me to learn. Mercer, who played for us at the University of Kentucky the previous two years, was used to intense preparation. Billups was not used to that type of focus that early in his career. Needless to say, with experience that has changed and he is now one of the great floor generals in the league. Irving Berlin is quoted as saying, "Talent is only a starting point in this business." Obviously, Berlin was not talking about professional basketball, but the words definitely apply. You don't get drafted or make an NBA team unless you have a great deal of physical talent. But to be successful, NBA players have to bring a whole lot more to the game. In particular, it is almost impossible to succeed without mental toughness. Before every draft, teams spend a tremendous amount of money and time trying to assess this area. There is no one definition for exactly what mental toughness is but we all know it when we see it in action. Every franchise recognizes that if they make a mistake in reading a prospect's mental toughness, it can be just as damaging as misreading his talent level. When the Hornets selected Chris Paul with the No. 4 pick of the most recent NBA draft, despite his small stature, no doubt his mental fortitude was one reason. Skip Prosser, who coached Paul at Wake Forest, told me that when they recruit a player they view mental toughness as if it were a physical trait. Is there any wonder why Paul, with a special combination of talent and toughness, is ranked in the NBA's Rookie Report as the top rookie performer to date? Bob Knight makes this analogy regarding the importance of having a strong mind: "Mental toughness is to the physical, as four is to one." I believe not many coaches in the NBA would disagree. When I was the head coach at Boston, we drafted Joe Johnson with the 10th pick in 2001. At midseason, we traded him for Rodney Rogers, who gave us added strength on the inside and the ability to play small ball and space the court. The trade helped us get to the Eastern Conference finals. But it turned out to be a mistake when our ownership chose not to sign Rogers because of salary cap issues. Trading Johnson, in retrospect, for part of one year of Rogers, is still a difficult pill for the Celtics to swallow. While he did not yet have the type of body that could take the banging that the NBA dished out night after night, he was developing. And now he has proven that he has both the physical ability and the mental toughness to be a very good player for many years. The NBA season is often said to be a marathon. It will be very interesting to see which of this year's rookies have what it takes for the long haul.

4) From Eric Johnson of KOMOTV.com (channel 4 in Seattle), Shawn Kemp is looking to come back:

Shawn Kemp: The Reign-Man Is Back

He knows he screwed up. And he knows what you think the moment you hear the name "Shawn Kemp". He grew up right before our very eyes -- we met him when he was just 18. We watched a supernova of raw talent explode, and then collapse back into itself like a black hole. We saw him turn his back on Seattle, and then ultimately on himself. He can't take it back. It doesn't work that way. But he desperately wants to change the last chapter; the final act. And that's why Shawn Kemp is back. "When all that stuff was going on, I never got a chance to talk to anybody... no one really asked me... there was so many things written about me that wasn't true... talked about me that wasn't true... and that's the thing as a person that bothers me the most," Kemp said. "Like I said, when you're in that spotlight, and when something like that happens, you get sent off to this rehab place... all these people talking about you as a drug addict... what you find is you kind of go into a shell. You don't want to talk about it because you already know what the person is thinking about it." Do you remember what it was like before he left? Or have you forgotten that the Reign-Man, the man-child, did things on a basketball court that few, if any, ever did before -- or since. If you loved what he was, then you were disappointed by what he became: overweight, overpaid, and then overnight, just over. The last time we saw him was in a courtroom. He'd been picked up in a car with a friend, and a bag of marijuana, a little cocaine, and a loaded pistol. "I've definitely learned from this," Kemp said. "It's not a place I'm familiar with, and you shall not see me back in this position again." Today he swears he didn't know about any of the drugs, and promises the incident changed him forever. "I had already planned to get in shape; I was already working out at that time. And then that happened... "Of all the things I've done -- been out drinking, used drugs... to never be caught, then all the sudden to be caught when you're not doing something... if that don't change you, nothing will ever change you." And so he dropped everything 6 months ago and moved to Houston with a trainer. No drinking. No partying. Just sweat and resolve -- and oatmeal 3 times a day. He's lost 55 pounds. "If you're a professional athlete and you've been to the top, you...you know how to get back there," he said. Still larger than life, Shawn talks openly now about things he's kept locked up for years. Like cocaine. "If anything I could do all over again, I probably should have come out and talked about it a little bit more," he said. "Maybe been a little bit more open. The drug problem has never been that bad. I'm not gonna say I've never done drugs, because I have. But I think my personal demons were more of just my life... mismanaging my life, not just with drugs." Back when everything was falling apart, Sports Illustrated did a cover story that claimed he had 7 children with multiple women. Shawn said nothing. "I mean there's no doubt about it, I have kids. I'm not gonna sit here and deny that," Kemp said. "But I never talked to S.I....they never called me to ask any questions. They put that story in the magazine without getting contact or anything, so... "I'm sitting her in front of you guys and I'm gonna tell you this: Man, when you're growing up as a kid and they tell you this, they say, 'Hey, if you get in trouble and you have a lot of people around, 10 friends, people close to you and you think they're gonna help you out if something goes sour, everybody goes away.' Yeah...and I mean that." To see him walk on a basketball court now, is to believe that he can make it back to the top of the mountain. His face lights up; he grins like a kid, plays hoops like a kid. He's changed. He's the Reign-man again. Very soon, he'll work out for a handful of NBA teams. The motive is not money. Shawn's been wise -- he's financially set. He turns 36 next week, and he says the comeback's not about reputation or redemption. It's strictly between the man and his game. "I'm shooting for the Hall of Fame Eric; that's what I'm going for," Kemp said. "Obviously I owe something to the game of basketball at this point and that's what I'm gonna try to do. "You live and you learn...that's what I've learned. I can't go back and change things...or change myself. But I accept things for what they are, the mistakes I've made, the good things I've done...I'm just a kid that grew up and uh, I'm a grown man now and I mean that, I've strived to get where I'm at now, and I'm gonna try to get better." He's in great shape, he's cleaned up his messes, and he's happy again. And believe this: whether he ever plays another minute in the NBA or not, the Reign-man is back.

5) SI.com’s Chris Mannix ranks the rookies to date:

Building blocks - Paul's progress making Hornet class of rookie field

Larry Brown doesn't like playing rookies. OK, Brown hates playing rookies. Erick Dampier could only coax 14.6 minutes a night out of Brown in Indiana, Samuel Dalembert defined "garbage time" his first year in Philadelphia and, well, we're all familiar with Darko Milicic, right? So if Brown prefers his rookies at the end of the bench, why are the Knicks suddenly the poster children for the NBA's youth movement? For one it's tough to turn a blind eye to success, and the quartet of Channing Frye, David Lee, Nate Robinson and Jackie Butler (as well as 2004 second round pick Trevor Ariza) have been effective offensively and have ratcheted up New York's defensive intensity when playing together. Can a core of rookies take the Knicks to the Promised Land -- or at least the playoffs? Probably not, but this scribe sees a battle for a playoff berth in their future -- or at least a few spots in SI.com's Rookie Power Rankings. (All statistics through Sunday)

1 Chris Paul, PG, Hornets (17.4 ppg, 2.1 spg) Bleary-eyed NBA fans were treated to a rookie shootout on Friday between Paul (25 points) and Atlanta's Salim Stoudamire (30); a 43-minute, 21 point, eight-assist performance the next night against Orlando makes Paul a fixture at the top of the rankings.

2 Channing Frye, C, Knicks (30.1 pts/48 min., 5.7 rpg) Frye already displaced one Isiah Thomas signing -- Jerome James -- in the rotation and another week like last week (three straight 20-plus point games) and he could supplant another. Frye's versatility and willingness to run could also cut into Eddy Curry's minutes.

3 Salim Stoudamire, G, Hawks (11.6 ppg, 42.4 3FG%) Coaches love weapons, and they don't get much more lethal than Stoudamire. A 24-point fourth quarter barrage almost upset the Hornets, but it's Stoudamire's fearless aggression that moves him into the top three. Still too one-dimensional (1.4 apg) for a point guard, he's as deadly a shooter as there is in the league right now.

4 Deron Williams, PG, Jazz (13.8 ppg, 4.3 apg) We told you to take the reins off, Jerry. Utah coach Jerry Sloan inserted the heady Williams into the starting lineup last week and the results (18.0 points, 5.7 assists) speak for themselves. Williams needs to establish a pace for a Jazz team beset by injuries.

5 Charlie Villanueva, PF, Raptors (13.2 ppg, 48.3 FG%) Villanueva continues to dispel doubts about his game while giving Toronto a versatile -- he can play three positions -- scorer off the bench. Still a little too in love with his jump shot, Villanueva's athleticism and post moves warrant a permanent move to the low block.

6 Andrew Bogut, C, Bucks (7.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg) Has the rookie wall claimed its first victim? Getting dropped from the starting lineup doesn't suit Bogut, who hasn't cracked double figures in scoring the last six games. He's still tough to keep off the glass, evidenced by 11 rebounds in only 16 minutes in Milwaukee's win over the Warriors.

7 Sean May, PF, Charlotte (10.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg) Slowly but surely is the motto for this Bobcats rookie, who is the only player among the top eight rookie scorers to average less than 20 minutes per game. He continues to improve despite Charlotte's logjam at the power forward position.

8 Jose Calderon, PF, Bobcats (9.1 ppg, 16.9 rpg) Tough week for the Spanish playmaker, who logged only eight minutes against Boston on Friday. He needs to look for his shot more (5.2 attempts per game) to be effective. Tough tests lie ahead against Steve Nash (Phoenix), Sam Cassell (L.A. Clippers), Mike Bibby (Sacramento) and Baron Davis (Golden State) as the Raptors head out on a four-game Western swing.

9 Raymond Felton, PG, Bobcats (8.3 ppg, 42.9 3FG%) Felton had 18 points, 10 assists and 5 steals in his first start of the season against Indiana (which coincidentally was Charlotte's only win in the last eight games). Still maddeningly inconsistent -- his field-goal percentage (31.4) is more than 10 points lower than his three-point percentage -- but has posted double figure scoring numbers for three straight games

10 Luther Head, PG/SG, Houston (6.8 ppg, 45.5 FG%) Head is the perfect player for Jeff Van Gundy's system and is often the first Rocket off the bench. Doesn't do anything spectacular, but protects the ball (0.9 TO/game) and can stick the open jumper.

6) Chad Ford of ESPN.com with a draft-eligible report from the Maui Classic:

Adam Morrison looks more like Billy Crudup in the film "Almost Famous" than a basketball player. But when the ball was tipped and the game got underway, he quickly proved here in Maui that it's going to be tough to find a better offensive player in college basketball this season. After going off for 25 points on the opening night of the tournament, Morrison really turned it on against Michigan State on Tuesday dropping in an EA Sport Maui Invitational-record 43 points. Morrison was, in a word, awesome. He scored from everywhere. One minute he was launching a 3. The next, he was taking his man off the dribble and weaving his way to the basket. Then he'd pull up for a sweet, 15-foot jumper. Then he'd drive and drop in a beautiful floater. Morrison hit several clutch shots in the triple-overtime victory for Gonzaga and then all of his free throws down the stretch to seal the victory for the Zags. It was one of the best college games I've ever seen and Morrison was a big reason why. Afterwards, several NBA scouts and GMs were buzzing. "At the end of the day, your team needs to score to win basketball games," one NBA executive told me. "He has the potential to be a 20 point a night scorer in the league. He's so versatile, defenses may be able to take away one or two scoring avenues, but not all of them." Scouts uniformly love the intensity, swagger, and, occasionally, downright nastiness with which he plays the game. Morrison doesn't have the physical skills of some of the other top prospects, but few players have the feel for the game he does. While the large majority of scouts and GMs here feel that he's a lock for the top 10 (many think top 5) if he declares for the draft, not everyone feels that way. Said one NBA executive, "Someone's going to take him real high because they're in love with the charisma with which he plays the game. But the truth is he's probably worthy of a mid-first-round pick based on how his skills will translate to the pros." "He won't be able to guard his position in the pros," a different NBA GM told me. "He's not quick enough to guard threes and not strong enough to guard fours. Fans may love him, but I know a lot of head coaches who won't. You've got to be able to play defense in the NBA and I don't think he can." Morrison was repeatedly burned by Michigan State's Shannon Brown and Maurice Ager during the times that Gonzaga switched to man-to-man defense. At one point, after Ager blew by him for a lay-up, Morrison actually turned to Gonzaga head coach Mark Few and made a signal to him to start playing zone. However, both Brown and Ager possess exceptional quickness and project as two guards in the pros. Another GM defended Morrison's defensive ability. "He'll struggle with super quick small forwards," the GM told me, "but he'll be just fine with most of the guys in the league. He's long, he's not afraid to get physical and he has a motor that constantly keeps working. There are ways to hide any individual deficiencies that he has. The bottom line is that the positives outweigh the negatives with him." What else were scouts saying? Michigan State's Maurice Ager has made a major impression on scouts so far in the tournament. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard had a great opening night, scoring 23 points and shooting 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. He followed that up on Tuesday with a 36-point performance, including seven 3s. Three of those 3s were in the last minute of the second half, the final one at the buzzer, sending the game into overtime. As good as Morrison was on Tuesday, Ager was, for the most part, his equal. Ager did miss 10 of his 17 3-point attempts, but he hit all the clutch ones when it mattered. Couple that with good athleticism and the ability to put the ball on the floor and get to the rim and it looks like we have Ager rated way too low on our Top 100. Several NBA scouts and executives in Maui are projecting him as a mid-to-late first-round pick if he continues playing at this level. It's clear that head coach Tom Izzo is giving him the green light to shoot away, meaning Ager could put up big numbers this year. Michigan State's other two intriguing draft prospects, big man Paul Davis and combo guard Shannon Brown, were also good. Davis, a 6-11 forward-center, has been projected as a top prospect since a breakout freshman season. But he never progressed the way scouts had hoped. Davis has great size and good athleticism for a big man, but he's never been as assertive as his talent suggests he should be. That changed a little during the NCAA tournament last spring and it seems to be carrying over to this season. Davis dropped 16 points and 13 boards on Chaminade in the opener and followed up with 26 points and 13 boards against Gonzaga. Davis was aggressive with the ball and had a number of dunks and an impressive five offensive rebounds. While he still projects as a second-round pick right now, this type of production will clearly move him up into the first round. Brown is a little more of an enigma. He is built like a tank, plays good defense and is a phenomenal athlete, but he's undersized to play the two in the pros and doesn't possess real point guard skills. He's averaging 18.5 ppg for the tournament, but he's shooting just 4-for-12 from 3 land. Right now he's a second rounder at best and maybe undrafted.
I made a big deal out of Rudy Gay's dominant, 28-point performance against Arkansas on Monday. On Tuesday, the bizarro Rudy showed up instead. After posting the best game of his career on Monday, he was two late free throws away from posting the worst game of his career on Tuesday. He was tentative on both ends of the floor, his shot looked awful, he committed four costly turnovers, and he drew the ire of head coach Jim Calhoun repeatedly during the game. What's going on? While it's clear that Gay has all the physical tools to be a great NBA player, the old concerns about him bubbled to the surface late Tuesday. "Maybe we were all a little punch drunk after that performance on Monday," one NBA scout said. "As good as Rudy could be, he's not totally there yet. He still doesn't know how to play and sometimes it just looks like he doesn't have the drive to be a great player. Great players show up for every game. I didn't think he showed up tonight." Scouts who were calling him the undisputed top prospect in the draft on Monday began hedging on Tuesday. They pointed out that he's reluctant to put the ball on the floor. His jump shot is inconsistent. He always hesitates when he passes. He doesn't move all that well without the ball. He seems to lose his confidence when he doesn't get it going early. I can't wait to see him go head to head against Morrison in the Championship game on Wednesday. A few random notes ... Scouts all love the potential of Arizona freshman Marcus Williams, especially after he gave Gay problems on both ends of the floor. UConn's Hilton Armstrong is long and athletic, and he had a breakout game against Arizona, scoring 14 points and grabbing eight boards. He's got a lot of talent, but his head is a big question mark. Ronnie Brewer's shot may be ugly, but it's still going in. He was 3-for-6 from 3-point country against Kansas and played another very solid game, ending with 23 points and a victory for Arkansas. Kansas freshman Brandon Rush had a very good game against Brewer, scoring 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting. Of the four super freshmen at KU, he plays with the most maturity right now. Another bad shooting night by Arizona's Hassan Adams had one scout dub him the next "Greg Buckner." No, that wasn't a compliment. Last week we put UConn's Rudy Gay atop our Preaseason Top 100 with a few mixed feelings. Clearly he had as much potential as any player in the draft. But could he live up to the lofty expectations of being a No. 1 pick? Scouts questioned whether he had the drive and the aggressiveness to truly live up to his limitless potential. Even head coach Jim Calhoun wondered aloud before the season began. Rudy got the message and answered his critics here with an amazing 28-point performance against Arkansas on the opening night of the EA Sports Maui Invitational. In front of nine NBA GMs and a host of NBA scouts, Gay put on the best performance of his college career. Gay did it all. He got it going in the first half with several silky-smooth 18-foot jump shots and a nice turnaround 10-foot jumper over the outstretched arms of Ronnie Brewer. Then he grabbed a board and took it coast to coast for a contested layup, wowing scouts with his speed and ballhandling skills. In the second half, it just got ridiculous, with Gay hammering home two spectacular dunks in traffic and then adding a circus shot from behind the backboard in the waning moments of the game. After the game, GMs and scouts declared the obvious. "If he plays like that all year, he's a lock for the No. 1 pick," one prominent GM told me. "His game is tailor-made for the NBA. He's got it all: size, athleticism, skill, and he's a great kid. If he can keep playing with that aggressiveness, he has a chance to be superstar in the NBA." He didn't have a perfect night. Brewer gave Gay some problems when he tried to handle the ball, and he had a couple of ugly misses on his jumper, but all in all, it was the type of buzz-creating performance that Gay needed to secure his stock as the frontrunner for the top pick in the draft. What else were scouts saying? Brewer had a great game. He's added about 15 pounds of muscle and it shows. He was great slashing to and finishing around the basket and was a nightmare in the passing lanes, picking up six steals. He also had some nice passes, though he rarely played point guard. His jump shot mechanics are still terribly ugly, but often enough the ball was going in. Brewer finished with 25 points on 8-for-17 shooting. His aggression on both ends of the floor really impressed several GMs that I talked to and all had him pegged as a top-10 prospect. Gonzaga's Adam Morrison also drew a lot of positive reviews after his 25-point performance against Maryland. GMs called him "smart" "efficient" and "nasty," and all seemed to be backing off their concerns that his athleticism would hurt his draft stock. "He's just so fun to watch," one GM said. "I love the way he plays. You just can't take your eyes off him." Kansas is loaded with as many as six potential NBA prospects, but none looked ready for the NBA against Arizona on Monday. Four are freshmen (Brandon Rush, Julian Wright, Mario Chalmers and Micah Downs) and the other two are sophomores (C.J. Giles and Sasha Kaun). Rush (11 pts, seven boards) and Kaun (12 points, six boards) had the best games, but scouts believe that Giles and Wright have the most NBA potential. Giles is long and athletic and had a respectable 10 boards and three blocks on Monday, but he was very shaky from the field (1 of 6) and has questionable hands. He couldn't hold onto the ball on Monday. Wright is long, athletic and reminds some scouts of a smaller Kevin Garnett, but right now he really doesn't have a game. He just runs the floor and picks up the garbage. In other words, it looks like their entire squad could use another year together before thinking about the pros. Arizona's Hassan Adams is just 6-foot-4, but he outjumped the very athletic 6-10 Giles on the opening tip. Adams played with his characteristic toughness at both ends and his shooting form looked improved, but the ball wasn't going in the basket. Adams ended up shooting 3-for-16 from the field. Danny Ainge (Boston Celtics), Bryan Colangelo (Phoenix Suns), Mitch Kupchak (Los Angeles Lakers), Kevin O'Connor (Utah Jazz), R.C. Buford (San Antonio Spurs), Danny Ferry (Cleveland Cavaliers), Larry Harris (Milwaukee Bucks), Ed Stefanski (New Jersey Nets) and Elgin Baylor (Los Angeles Clippers) were among the NBA execs in attendance on Monday. Overall, I counted representatives from 27 teams in attendance.