I Bleed Blue and White

Jeff Goodman of FoxSports just released his Top 20 transfers for the upcoming season, and a couple of familiar names are on the list. Goodman lists Taylor King at #13 on his list, which includes 7 players who are transferring into Big East schools.

“Taylor King, 6-7, 225, F, Soph., Villanova: The former Dookie will give the Wildcats a perimeter shooter.”

One spot ahead of King is where former Wildcat Malcolm Grant resides. You’ll recall he transferred to Miami (FL) following what I thought was a solid freshman campaign. Grant saw the writing on the wall though, and left for greener pastures.

“Malcolm Grant, 6-1, 185, G, Soph., Miami: After hardly playing at Villanova, Grant will start at the point for Frank Haith and the ‘Canes.”

…There are a lot of questions surrounding King and how he’ll fit in Jay Wright’s system…nobody is denying he can scorch the nets, but he’ll be relied upon to do some of the heavy lifting in the post as well…

…As for Grant, I wish him all the best…I loved him in his short time with us…who can forget that LSU game…he’ll do well in the ACC…

Dante Cunningham was just selected with the 33rd overall pick by the Portland Trail Blazers! Cunningham was the 3rd pick of the 2nd round in this year’s draft.

Cunningham joins a solid young nucleus for an up and coming team. Really, you have to love how things worked out for Dante (assuming he stays there). He went higher than expected, and landed in a great situation.

…Obviously, Dante will most likely come off the bench behind Greg Oden and LaMarcus Aldridge to start his career…that’s a great situation for him though…

…On a completely random side note, Commissioner Stern handed over the duties of announcing the draft picks to his Deputy Commissioner…this guy is so excited to be in the limelight that after every sentence he puts on this clownish grin and looks around the room for approval…high comedy…

UPDATE: The Blazers just took Jon Brockman out of Washington. They then ended up trading Brockman to Sacramento for the rights to Jeff Pendergraph. That makes a crowded frontcourt that already included Joe Pryzbilla in addition to Oden and Aldridge. Still, I think there is a huge opportunity for Dante to grab some serious PT. His game fits that team perfectly and he should be able to provide a lot of energy off the bench in addition to his solid defense and improving offensive game.

Patrolling over a couple of the draft sites tonight, it appears things are looking good for Dante Cunningham as the NBA Draft approaches. Not that there was ever any doubt in my mind that he would get drafted, but you know how these things are. Sometimes it just doesn’t make sense.

Right now, it appears that Cunningham is going to be a solid 2nd round pick. The more I think about it, I don’t see him sneaking into the 1st round. That’s nothing to be ashamed of though. In my mind, he’s the type of player that Championship teams fill out their benches with. He’s high energy, he can guard inside and out on defense, and he’s got a developing offensive game. What’s not to like about a guy like that in the 2nd round?

In any case, NBADraft.net’s latest mock draft has Dante being taken by the Minnesota T’Wolves with the 47th pick. I’m sure nobody hear would mind Dante rejoining Randy Foye.

According to DraftExpress’s mock, Dante is going to fall a bit further, and will be taken by the Charlotte Bobcats with the 54th pick. I do not wish that on Dante. That’s all I’m going to say on that issue.

According to ZagsBlog, the relatively new Big East/SEC Invitational games have been set for next season.  Here are the matchups:

• UConn vs. Kentucky – Dec. 9th at Madison Square Garden
• St. John’s vs. Georgia - Dec. 9th at Madison Square Garden
• Syracuse vs. Florida – TBA in Tampa Bay, FL
  
• DePaul vs. Mississippi State – TBA in Tampa Bay, FL
  

These games are always fun to watch, and we can all remember former Villanova player Malcom Grant’s heroics against LSU two seasons ago in the Big East/SEC Invitational.  I can’t wait to see UConn vs. Kentucky too, as two great coaches in Calhoun and Calipari square off under the bright lights of MSG.

"Strong...to the goal!"

I got a comment today from Ray on the Bilal Benn article that I posted, and it got me to thinking about the other players that have transferred out of the program. Malcolm Grant transferred to Miami (FL) at the end of last season and is currently sitting this year out, and Casiem Drummond transferred to Marist earlier this year, and will sit out for a year as well.

Andrew Ott, on the other hand, is actually playing for Penn State this year, albeit in a very limited role. The crazy thing is, I was watching the Providence-Louisville game tonight and at halftime they showed highlights from the Penn State-Illinois clash (if you heard about that game, I’ll address that in another post, don’t worry) and low and behold Mr. Ott made the highlight reel!

ESPN showed Ott running the pick and roll like freaking Karl Malone, finishing the play off with a silky smooth drive that would make his momma proud. I actually did a double-take when they flashed Ott’s face as he took off down the court.

Anyways, just wanted to provide an update on Ott. This season he is averaging 1.8 points per game for Penn State. In the win over Illinois tonight he had 4 points, 4 rebounds and a steal. You go, Andrew Ott.