Updates

A couple of things of note leading into the weekend:

The latest episode of the ShoreBall Podcast Show is now online. Check it out here.

We are a little behind on updating the high school and college news on our website. We will be working on making the updates this weekend. Stay tuned!

Lastly, get to watch one of my favorite players of all-time tonight in the Celebrity All-Star Game . . . Penny Hardaway. Definitely can't wait to see him back on the court - Penny for MVP!

General Thoughts from the Basketball World - 02/16/12

Hindsight - In addition to everyone jumping on the Jeremy Lin bandwagon, it appears that a bunch of teams are now saying that they were very close to acquiring Lin after he was released by the Warriors and Rockets. There were reports that the Lakers were interested and now the Celtics (Lin played his college ball at Harvard) have stated that they wanted to acquire Lin off the waiver wire. Hindsight is always 20/20.

Speaking of Lin - He recently took over the top ranking in jersey sales for the week of Feb. 4 - 12. The NBA is now clamoring to find a way to include him in the upcoming All-Star festivities. He is expected to become part of the Haier Shooting Stars competition. In a side note, there are now reports that Kim Kardashian is now interested in arranging a date with Jeremy Lin. Hopefully, he will use his Harvard education and does not fall victim - i.e. Kris Humphries.

Carmelo not selfish, but . . . - There are now questions concerning whether Jeremy Lin and Carmelo Anthony can coexist. Many have hinted that Carmelo is a selfish player - something that he addressed in an interview with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. I will say this - Melo is not a selfish player, but he is what's known as a "ball-stopper". Carmelo like to get the ball in isolation situations and size his defender up with a series of jab-steps and fakes. By doing this, ball movement stops and players tend to stand around and watch. Melo does also excel in catch-and-shoot situations, which he is more likely to get now with Lin running the show.

So, while I will agree that Melo is not selfish, he is going to have to adjust his game some in order to have success. We have seen him have success with a solid point guard in the past. The year that the Nuggets advanced to the Western Conference Finals was the year that they added Chauncey Billups. I'm sure Carmelo and the Knicks are hoping for the same type of success.

Is it cheaper to keep her? - Vanessa Bryant filed for a divorce from Lakers' star, Kobe Bryant in December 2011. According to the divorce settlement, Kobe agreed to surrender $75 million and three of their homes, worth another $18 million - even though she wasn't with him shooting in the gym. The settlement is not final until June and there is talk now that the two are working towards reconciliation. After the Colorado situation, Kobe purchased a $4 million ring to make amends. I'm sure he will do something similar - it's probably better to do that, than give up $93 million!

This Is Hilarious!

Kevin Hart playing basketball against the UConn women's basketball team . . .

The Knicks Have Found Their Point Guard

The New York Knicks were thought to be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference coming into this NBA season. In the offseason, they made a big splash adding center Tyson Chandler to a frontline that already included Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. However, in order to make that addition, the team had to get rid of a huge piece off their team - management chose to release point guard, Chauncey Billups, under the league's amnesty provision.

The loss of Billups has proven to be a costly decision. The team struggled with a variety of point guards - Toney Douglas, Mike Bibby, and Iman Shumpert. They also acquired injured point guard, Baron Davis, from the waiver wire after he had been waived by the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, their biggest acquisition has proven to be a young point guard out of Harvard University.

Jeremy Lin went undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft after averaging 16.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.4 steals per game during his senior season at Harvard University. After playing in the 2010 NBA Summer League, Lin received four contract offers but he decided to sign with his hometown Golden State Warriors, signing a two-year deal with the team. Lin spent time during his rookie year bouncing from the Warriors to their D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. Lin finished his rookie year averaging only 2.6 points per game.

However, on the first day of the 2011 training camp, Lin was waived by the Warriors. He was eventually claimed by the Houston Rockets but was waived by the Rockets prior to the start of the season. He was then picked up by the New York Knicks after an injury to rookie, Iman Shumpert. It was thought that Lin would compete for a backup spot with the team. However, Lin had other ideas.

On February 4th, Jeremy Lin saw his first significant amount of playing time with the Knicks this season, playing 36 minutes against the New Jersey Nets. He scored 25 points and added 7 assists and outdueled All-Star point guard Deron Williams in a 99-92 Knicks' win. The Knicks have won four consecutive games (including the win over the Nets) and in those four games, Lin has averaged 28.5 points and 8.0 assists per game. Also, these four wins have come without All-Stars Carmelo Anthony (out due to injury) and Amare Stoudemire (out due to the death of his older brother). Last night, Lin scored a career-high 38 points in a 92-85 win over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

It looks as though the Knicks have found their point guard of the future. Lin can become a restricted free agent after this season, meaning that the Knicks can match any contract offer that Lin receives. He has the city of New York and the NBA buzzing and he has taken Yao Ming's spot as the face of the Asian community within the league, which will prove to be valuable from a marketing standpoint, especially in a big city like New York. More importantly, on the basketball court, Lin has provided the direction that the Knicks have needed from the point guard position. The question now will be can Lin provide the same leadership and can the Knicks continue to have this success once Anthony and Stoudemire return?

Score Updates - 02/07/12

I have some quick score updates from a couple of tonight's high school basketball games on the Eastern Shore:

Boys' Basketball:

Nandua 92, Northampton 90 (OT)

Nandua junior forward, Thomas Brown led the scoring tonight with 45 points.

Girls' Basketball:

Northampton 62, Nandua 40

2012 NBA Mock Draft - Picks 16-30

Last night on The ShoreBall Podcast we finished our 2012 NBA Mock Draft by completing the final 16 picks of the first round. Again, we based the order of our picks on the standings as of Sunday night. To listen to last night's show, click here.

Listed below is a summary of our picks from last night:

Team	Mike
15.  Milwaukee	Jeremy Lamb – G, Connecticut
16.  Dallas	Kendall Marshall – G, North Carolina
17.  Boston	Patric Young – F, Florida
18.  Portland	Austin Rivers – G, Duke
19.  LA Lakers	Tony Wroten – G, Washington
20.  Minnesota	Arnett Moultrie – C, Mississippi State
21.  Denver	Mason Plumlee – F, Duke
22.  Orlando	Dion Waters – G, Syracuse
23.  San Antonio	Jeff Taylor – F, Vanderbilt
24.  Boston	Damian Lillard – G, Weber State
25.  Atlanta	CJ Leslie – F, NC State
26.  Indiana	Doron Lamb – G, Kentucky
27.  Philadelphia	Tony Mitchell – F, North Texas
28.  Miami	Festus Ezeli – C, Vanderbilt
29.  Chicago	Evan Fournier – G, France
30.  Oklahoma City	LeBryan Nash – F, Oklahoma State

Team	Brad
15.  Milwaukee	Terrence Jones – F, Kentucky
16.  Dallas	Arnett Moultrie – C, Mississippi State
17.  Boston	Austin Rivers – G, Duke
18.  Portland	Tyler Zeller – C, North Carolina
19.  LA Lakers	Kendall Marshall – G, North Carolina
20.  Minnesota	Patric Young – F, Florida
21.  Denver	Tony Wroten – G, Washington
22.  Orlando	Marquis Teague – G, Kentucky
23.  San Antonio	Tomas Satoransky – G, Sevilla
24.  Boston	Mason Plumlee – F, Duke
25.  Atlanta	Festus Ezeli – C, Vanderbilt
26.  Indiana	William Buford – G, Ohio State
27.  Philadelphia	Ricardo Ratliffe – F, Missouri
28.  Miami	Fab Melo – C, Syracuse
29.  Chicago	Dion Waters – G, Syracuse
30.  Oklahoma City	Myck Kabongo – G, Texas

2012 NBA Mock Draft - Lottery Picks

On last night's edition of the ShoreBall Podcast Show we discussed the first edition of our 2012 NBA Mock Draft. Last night, we covered the Lottery Picks (Picks 1-14) of our mock draft. We based our picks on the standings, as of Sunday afternoon. Also, many of our picks are underclassmen and may not decide to declare for this year's draft. So as the draft draws closer, we will revisit and update our picks accordingly. Tonight, we will also finish up the first round by discussing out last 16 selections. To listen to last night's show, click here. Also, for more information on the show and upcoming episodes, check us out here.

Listed below is a recap of our selections from last night.

Team	Mike
1.  Charlotte	Anthony Davis – PF, Kentucky
2.  Washington	Andre Drummond – C, Connecticut
3.  New Orleans	Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – SF, Kentucky
4.  Detroit	Harrison Barnes – SF, North Carolina
5.  Toronto	Thomas Robinson – PF, Kansas
6.  New Jersey	Perry Jones – PF, Baylor
7.  Sacramento	Jon Henson – PF, North Carolina
8.  Houston	Jared Sullinger – PF, Ohio State
9.  Utah	Terrence Ross – SF, Washington
10.  Phoenix	Bradley Beal – SG, Florida
11.  Cleveland	Terrence Jones – SF, Kentucky
12.  Memphis	Quincy Miller – SF, Baylor
13.  New Orleans	Cody Zeller – C, Indiana
14.  Houston	Meyers Leonard – C, Illinois

Team	Brad
1.  Charlotte	Anthony Davis – PF, Kentucky
2.  Washington	Harrison Barnes – SF, North Carolina
3.  New Orleans	Andre Drummond – C, Connecticut
4.  Detroit	Thomas Robinson – PF, Kansas
5.  Toronto	Michael Kidd-Gilchrist – SF, Kentucky
6.  New Jersey	Perry Jones – PF, Baylor
7.  Sacramento	Jared Sullinger – PF, Ohio State
8.  Houston	Cody Zeller – C, Indiana
9.  Utah	Bradley Beal – SG, Florida
10.  Phoenix	Jeremy Lamb – SG, Connecticut
11.  Cleveland	Meyers Leonard – C, Illinois
12.  Memphis	Quincy Miller – SF, Baylor
13.  New Orleans	Jon Henson – PF, North Carolina
14.  Houston	Terrence Ross – SF, Washington

Eastern Shore Basketball Score Updates

I have the scores from a couple of last night's high school basketball games on the Eastern Shore.

Boys' Basketball:  Arcadia 52, Nandua 49

The win by Arcadia tied the season series between the two teams at 2-2. Both teams are battling for the top seed in the district tournament - both teams only district losses have come to each other. Barring an upset in the district tournament, both teams will likely matchup in the tournament championship in order to break the season tie between the two teams.

Girls' Basketball:  Nandua 42, Arcadia 27