Nerlens Noel talks recruiting, his game, and more

By: Kevin Duffy

He has the old school flat top. He has a "real good" snapback game. Now the class of 2013 big man, Nerlens Noel, has a scholarship offer from Kentucky.

On each major recruiting website, he is among the top ten players in the country.

"I'm very appreciative and humble about the scholarship and will keep working",says Noel after Coach Calipari came to see him play at open gym and discussed the opportunity to play for him at Kentucky.

“Kentucky is a good school,” he stated. “They have pros that go in and out and are consistently running with a deep team in the tournament.”

The Tilton School(MA) star was originally a member of the 2012 class until an injury made him sit out for a long period of time last year. He is being coveted by several other teams already, including Syracuse, Florida, Pittsburgh, Providence and UConn who have all offered. "I plan to develop in college as long as that is and then be in the NBA and be successful", added Noel.

However he is not all too worried about recruiting at the moment, he will make a list in the fall and schedule some visits by the summer. This summer he will also attend the Amare Stoudemire camp and the LeBron James camp.

Noel is one of the top defensive players in the 2013 class, if not the country. He says his best characteristics that he brings to a team are that he is,"humble, hardworking, respectful, loyal, and a good leader".

Nerlens who compares his game to that of Kevin Garnett is very hardworking and determined like KG because of his "intensity,will to win, and his game.". Many may be shocked that a sophomore dares to compare himself to the Boston Celtics forward but it really isn't out of stretch.

Nevertheless the 6'10 center knows he still has a lot to work on. He says,"I think I have to improve my strength. I'm currently doing that now by hitting the gym a lot. I also have to improve my offensive and outside game"

ESPN says, "He may already be in the best shot-blocker in the country with absolutely uncanny physical gifts and defensive instincts. With a rapidly expanding offensive game, and solid work ethic and good court demeanor, the sky is absolutely the limit" about this shot blocking machine. Keep notice of this outstanding player.

NCAA Final Four Preview and Predictions

This year's Final Four features two remarkable Cinderella stories, a Danny Manning esque run, and a freshman dominated team with a controversial coach.

For the first time in the history of the tournament, there is not a one or two seed in the final four. Eight seed,Butler, and eleven seed,VCU, are competing for the chance to go to a national title.

Both teams are very defensive minded.Virginia Commonwealth is very athletic and their pressure is very good. They play various differences too. If you start beating the press, they’ll switch up presses on you. One of the things they’ve done a great job of in the NCAA tournament is they’ll use that zone to change momentum a little bit.

Butler is also an excellent defensive team. They can defend at pretty much every position. That’s the quality you have to have at this time of year, and they certainly have it. They have good interior defenders and good perimeter defenders and a great defender on the ball.

On the other side, you have two elite programs with big-name coaches and a constant flow of NBA talent in UConn and Kentucky.

Connecticut is led by point guard Kemba Walker, who has been one of the best players in all of college basketball this year. The Huskies guard is on a tournament run reminiscent of Danny Manning's in 1988. In this UConn nine-game winning streak, Walker is averaging 26.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 38.2 minutes a game.
The Huskies have been arguably the hottest team in college basketball over the last four weeks, winning five straight games in the Big East tournament and now competing in the Final Four.

Kentucky lost seven players to the NBA last year, but head coach John Calipari managed to put together a squad that started slow but won the SEC conference tournament and now has a chance to go to the title game. Led by freshman guard Brandon Knight, the Wildcats have won some close games against some very good teams on their way to the Final Four.

Prediction

I think the leadership of Calhoun and Walker is going to lead the Connecticut Huskies to the championship. Walker will keep dominating teams both on the perimeter and with his ability to penetrate. As good as Kentucky freshman guard Brandon Knight is, Walker knows how to play and set up his opponents. Freshman Jeremy Lamb has come on of late, and provides a second scorer to complement Walker.

I like Butler’s experience to end VCU’s magical run. Brad Stevens, head coach of Butler, is among the elite coaches in college basketball and he gives his team the edge of experience, an edge that Shaka Smart, head coach of VCU, lacks.

Ater Majok: Journey to the NBA

By: Kevin Duffy


Ater Majok has traveled a long way since he was born in Sudan in 1988.

The New York times featured an article on him and his journey before he played at the University of Connecticut. "Refugees from the war in Sudan, Majok’s family moved to Egypt when he was a child.The scar on his left ear came from a Muslim gang member’s knife when he attacked Majok, a Catholic, after his family was moved to Egypt. The wound on his right thigh came similarly. To communicate, he had to learn four Arabic dialects. Majok never forgot his father’s command, 'Don’t back down.' "

At practice, the Times reported: Majok nearly got in a fight with UConn's most intimidating player, Jeff Adrian. Majok said: ''They call you the Horse, but I'm the psycho maniac. I don't run.''

On top of his difficulty to get to Uconn, his complicated academic journey led to an NCAA ruling that he was a partial qualifier. He could practice with UConn, but couldn't play in games until he finished exams. He then explored early entry into the NBA draft, but decided to stick it out at UConn.

Now two drafts later, Majok is in the draft for good. Having left UConn before his sophomore season the 23 year old went to play professional overseas. "It was good I learned how to be a pro and I improved my skills a lot and it was fun." Majok ,who compares himself to Kevin Garnett, is looking to impress teams with his energy, shot blocking and shooting. He is "just trying to get drafted and get on to an NBA team." It is a journey that could well see Majok end up in the biggest basketball show on earth, the NBA. Remember, he won't back down.