Disclaimer - I make mention of innumerable Maryland high schools and players in this column. But, I'm also not including some schools and players (including my old HS), because there's just TOO many to note. That should be a testament to this article's argument.

Maryland High School Basketball Represents

I watched the McDonald's All American game last night, as any dedicated college basketball fan would. I came into the pre-game competitions imagining I would see some of the studs I'd heard about from my native state, Maryland, but I didn't know I'd see that many.

Michael Beasley (Kansas State), Donte Green (Syracuse), Chris Wright (Georgetown), Austin Freeman (Georgetown), and Nolan Smith (Duke) all represented the state of Maryland in the all-star showdown.

Five out of 26 players in a state as small as Maryland? Not only did Beasley take home the game MVP, but Smith won the team-ball competition and Chris Wright hoisted the three-point championship. Wow, must be some decent basketball there, right? Wait, there's more.

There are six other players in the Rivals.com 2007 Top 150 from Maryland - Anthony McClain (UCONN, Florida, Cincinnati, Tenn.), Malcom Delaney (VaTech), Augustus Gilchrist (VaTech), Darnell Dodson (Pittsburgh), and John Flowers (West Virginia).

Don't think this is just an "up" year for the state that borders Washington, D.C., another basketball haven. Here are a couple of schools you might, or should have heard of if you're an avid hoops fan:

• Dematha Catholic High School - Sports Illustrated granted Dematha the acclaim it deserves in 2005 - the No. 2 high school athletic program in the United States. Who went there? Mike Brey (Notre Dame Head Coach), Sidney Lowe (N.C. State head coach), Dereck Whittenburg (former N.C. state player), Jordan Collins (former N.C. State player), Travis Garrison (former Maryland player) as well as Keith Bogans (Orlando Magic, U. of Kentucky) and Joe Forte (former UNC standout), who played together at Dematha.

The Stags' history also features possibly the best high school basketball coach - Morgan Wooten - who was immortalized when he was put into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

Check the rest of the former college and NBA players from Dematha

• Montrose Christian High School - This school's most famous player is this guy named Kevin Durant...he hasn't been in the news much lately, has he? Maryland point guard Greivis Vasquez and many other former D1 players have emerged from old Montrose lineups.
  

If you'd like to see some Maryland players in action - check out Georgetown's team this weekend. Jeff Green, Roy Hibbert and DaJuan Summers are all from MD.

This is all to say that Maryland basketball is on the same level as California, New York, Illinois, and Florida (forgive me, I know I'm missing others). Just ask Carmelo Anthony, whose hometown of Baltimore I feel has boundless potential to separate Maryland from the middle of the pack.

Tre' Kelley Gets a LITTLE Respect

I didn't know the NCAA awards were this expansive...until my school's best player earned one of these awards. The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award goes to the nation's best player under 6'0 tall. All hail Tre' Kelley.

Basketball | Kelley earns ‘little’ honor

Frances Naismith award goes to nation's best male player who stands 6-feet or shorter

By Seth Emerson
The State
Published: March 29, 2007

Tre' Kelley can add his name to a list of "little man" award-winners that includes some big names.

The USC guard won the Frances Pomeroy Naismith award, given to the nation's best college basketball player who is 6 feet tall or shorter. The award, which has been given annually since 1969, is sponsored by the Basketball Hall of Fame and named after the daughter-in-law of James Naismith.

Past winners include Tyrone "Muggsy" Bogues (1987), Tim Hardaway (1989) and Tyus Edney, who helped lead UCLA to the national title before winning the 1995 award. Jameer Nelson, Nate Robinson and Dee Brown the past three winners ח play in the NBA, as do previous winners Brevin Knight (1997) and Earl Boykins (1998).

"Those are great names to come behind," Kelley said. "Those guys I've looked up to in the past, looked for different moves, different skills and different things they do on the basketball court."

The senior is the first SEC player to receive the men's version of the award and the first from a South Carolina school. He was selected by a panel from the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

"In my mind, it was a landslide," USC coach Dave Odom said. "The Pomeroy Naismith award panel saw, I think, what we saw for four years, which was a terrific basketball player who has gotten better each and every year."

Kelley also was announced as one of four finalists for the Chip Hilton award, which combines on-court performance and character. The other finalists are Acie Law of Texas A&M, Alando Tucker of Wisconsin and Adam Haluska of Iowa.

The nine-man selection committee for the Chip Hilton award includes Texas Tech coach Bob Knight, former North Carolina coach Dean Smith, former Big East commissioner Dave Gavitt and analysts Jay Bilas, Billy Packer and Dick Vitale.

Kelley was a first-team All-SEC pick by both The Associated Press and the coaches after averaging 18.9 points and 5.1 assists per game. The Gamecocks finished 14-16, their first losing record since the 2003-04 season.

Kelley was hobbled for nearly two months with a right knee injury, and he had surgery on Saturday. The timetable for his return to basketball is four to six weeks, so he will miss next week's Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational, an NBA tryout camp that teammate Brandon Wallace is set to attend. The NBA draft is in late June.

"I'm going through therapy every day. I'm doing what I'm told from the doctors and from the trainers and everybody I have to deal with it on that," Kelley said. "I'm just trying to move along every day."

-Courtesy of GoGamecocks.com

Day 1 Reactions-

Rick Pitino is just THAT good- Do not doubt Pitino in the tournament, he will prove you wrong. And perhaps, he'll unpredictably take his team to the Final Four.

The analysts tagged this as a potential upset and a wire-to-wire game. Stanford never led in the game. Louisville led by up to 33 points.

Analysts critcize Pitino's pressure defense until the NCAA Tournament begins. Pitino is then referred to as an ingenuis defensive mastermind. Analysts fail to acknowledge that pressured, team defense is impossible to achieve overnight. Give Pitino the regular season, he'll make you pay when it counts.


The Duke Loss - As a life-long Duke fan, this was dissapointing. But, it wasn't as upsetting as last year's senior-laden team giving into LSU's physical defense.

This Duke team has only had this year to mature. The team relied heavily on Sheldon Williams and J.J. Redick last year. The duo put up impressive stats religiously to put the Devils over the top in close games.

Josh McCroberts, Greg Paulus and DeMarcus Nelson were not asked for much offensively until this year. At year's end, they have all made extensive strides - particularly Paulus. Paulus's turnovers are inexplicable at times. But his shot is lethal and his distribution has never been so good.

Remember, this team started two freshmen, two sophomores and one junior in its final game. Next year should be nice.

Reflection on my predictions: Michigan State and Kentucky pulled off the 8-9 victories.

I underestimated UNLV's athleticism and ability to match up with Georgia Tech. I thought Georgia Tech would either win this game and win several rounds, or lose in the first round. The Ramblin Wreck' chose the latter.

Breaking Down the Brackets – Part I

The following are my reactions to the seeding, locations and match ups of the ball that begins in less than 48 hours.

Georgia Tech - Getting a No. 10 seed might be the best thing that happens to Georgia Tech all year. I've seen this team many times on TV, and once live at Cameron Indoor. The talent is immense in Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young. But even more encouraging is the balance GT gets from Ra'Sean Dickey inside and Anthony Morrow on the perimeter on the perimeter. Tech's not a lock, but I have no doubt saying they could snip UNLV, Wisconsin (Yep, I said it), and Notre Dame/Winthrop/Oregon. The Elite 8 would probably be Tech's brick wall - the Florida Gators. The Gators are more talented and possess the chemistry that has escaped Tech this year.

Kentucky vs. Villanova - This one stands out as I my eyes glance down the bracket. Scottie Reynolds is my Freshmen Player of the Year if Greg Oden and Kevin Durant were allowed to take their immeasurable talent from high school à NBA. Reynolds has secured Nova’s relevance with Mike Nardi and Curtis Sumpter’s injury-proneness. He’s kept them steady.

Kentucky is more talented than its 21-11 record indicates. Kentucky always plays team basketball. When Randolph Morris dominates inside and Ramel Bradley, Joe Crawford and Bobby Perry T-it-up from outside, they are tough to stop. Don’t forget about the Cats’ unrelenting ball pressure, either. Lastly, I imagine the junior leaders will come out with great passion to embrace Tubby Smith and prevent his firing.

My Pick: Kentucky – My Tourney picks are greatly influenced by tournament-experienced coaches. Tubby Smith defines that and Jay Wright is quickly catching up. Despite the Kentucky AD’s comments, Tubby will be motivated to quell his doubters. This team is also well balanced inside and out.

Marquette vs. Michigan State – Tom Crean confronts his mentor with a slightly better team. This is an engaging match up because Dominic James is a great college player who has not been playing like one. I expect him to revert back to penetrating and getting to the line.

But, Drew Neitzel has got all the will in the world. This kid elevates his game in the big ones – i.e. 10-17 for 28 points in a victory over Wisconsin. Tom Izzo is an impassioned tournament coach who finds a way to get it down – i.e. championships. But to continually compare, Tom Crean got Marquette to a Final Four before it reached national prominence.

My pick: Michigan State – This one’s real tough for me, but Izzo always finds a way to win. I think Marquette is the better team, but I’m not sure the pupil can make this happen.

With the imminent beginning of the NCAA Tournament, I was inspired into a rebirth of this blog. Spring break offers a little extra time, too, which never hurts.

I hope to supply as much insight, analysis and comical youtube videos as I can.

Enjoy.