Stock Report: NCAA Tournament

College basketball's national championship game is tonight, which means that nobody will care about the sport in 24 hours. With that in mind, I thought I'd give you my thoughts on the mammals who saw their NBA stock rise/drop during the rather large event we call Mega March Millennial Madness.

Stock Falling...

Tyler Hansbrough: I've killed this guy routinely throughout the season, saying he'd be nothing but an end-of-the-bench guy on a decent NBA team. I never backed off that. As of right now, I feel like I went too easy on him. His performance against Kansas was laughable. Really, I can't remember the last time I saw a player with feet as bad as Hansbrough's; he couldn't stay upright. He plays basketball like an angry drunk (i.e., really agreesive, terrible balance). I used to think Hansbrough had a chance to be a serviceable backup post player in the league, but now I'm not so sure. If he can't develop a consistent 17-foot jumper he's going to have a tough time getting off the bench at the next level. Bad feet = bad feet = ineffective professional athlete. I don't care how big your heart is, fella. Perhaps you can star in Rudy 2.

DJ Augustin: As someone who loves tg penetrate and finish, Augustin has no shot at being a good NBA point guard. None. He's probably only 5'11, he's not that athletic to begin with and he doesn't exactly finish near the rim. Watching him struggle against Memphis told me all I need to know. While Memphis is very athletic, they'd be the least athletic team in the NBA. DJ Augustin will be nothing but a backup at the next level.

Eric Gordon: Here's what I wrote about the guy in my Nine Things To Watch During March Madness column: Indiana's Eric Gordon will not carry his team anywhere. Unlike the fellas I mentioned earlier, Gordon is a guy who will see his stock drop. To me, he's DaJuan Wagner with a jumper. He doesn't have the bounce in his step that you need to play SG in the NBA. Sure, he'll stick in the league, but you can forget about him averaging anything more than about 12 ppg in any one season at the next level.

So after a 3-15 shooting performance in a round one loss to Arkansas I felt pretty good about my prediction. Still do, actually. Gordon is headed pro after one college season. Good luck, foolish NBA teams!

Stock Ehhhh...

Joe Alexander: Look, I know I slurped this guy quite a bit, but I was wrong. Well, kind of. He remains an immense talent, but he needs to refine his game. Alexander is the equivalent to the pitching prospect who throws 8 million MPH but with lousy mechanics. A.) He needs to learn to go left, and B.) he needs to learn how to use his athleticism to the fullest. Just because you can jump over everybody doesn't mean a fade-away is a bad idea. And try squaring up every now and again, Joe.

AJ Abrams: This might seem like an odd inclusion, being that Abrams did nothing during the tournament that he hasn't already been doing for two years (i.e., coming around screens and raising up with the quickest release on the collegiate level). Listen, way too many undersized shooting guards get compared to Eddie House, but with Abrams, I think the comparison is pretty close. I could be wrong about this dude, but I think he makes an NBA roster some day.

Stock Rising...

I was going to write some bullshit about the Lopez brothers, or Russell Westbrook or even Stanley Burrell--really, I was. But I'm hungry. And I'm going to GABP in a few minutes to watch Jeff Keppinger hit nine more gap shots.

That said, the best player I've seen all tournament--and it's not even close--has been Derrick Rose. Big shocker, I know. But anyway, I was lukewarm on Rose all year long, for two reasons: 1.) His jumper is below average (but fixable), and 2.) I'm an OJ Mayo apologist, and Mayo never received the credit he deserved this season, so I took it out on Rose. Don't ask, I'm weird.

But anyway, if it weren't for Michael Beasley, I'd seriously consider taking Rose No. 1 overall. Big athletic (and intelligent) point guards who defend like crazy and rise to the occasion are hard to pass up. Especially since the NBA is becoming more up-tempo by the day. Atlanta went big over small when they took Marvin Williams over Chris Paul...how's that working for them?

One final thing about Rose: The single most impressive display of athleticism that took place during the tourney was one of Rose's many dunks in the Texas game. When it took place, I nearly peed myself. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I called everyone I knew, and told them to rewind their televisions. They did, and we talked about it over and over again.

Midway through the first half, Rose stole the ball near--actually, why don't you watch the video for yourself and see if you are blown away the way I was.

(Pay attention to the steal Rose makes at the :41 second mark.)

Two dribbles! From halfcourt! Starting near the sideline! Finishing with an effortless dunk! He's a 6'4 point guard, people! And a basketball court is 94 feet long!

Think about that for a second.

And I realize this dunk doesn't make Rose a heady leader, but--as I explained earlier--I believe he already is a natural point, so the mind-blowing athleticism is just icing on the cake.


Edinson Volquez/Johnny Cueto thoughts coming later.

-Brad Spieser (Brad@TwinKilling.com)
4/7/08