Ray Mernagh

NBA TOP 3 DRAFT PICKS (WHY NOT COUSINS?)

by RAY MERNAGH

Kind of an interesting bit of info came out recently — I think on SI.com — about the who the top 3 picks of the next NBA draft will be. The picks were John Wall, Wes Johnson and Evan Turner — with Wall probably being the top choice (something I’ve believed for a long time). But here’s the question I have: If you watched DeMarcus Cousins the last few times he’s been on TV, wouldn’t you be hard-pressed to maybe pull the trigger on him after Wall goes first?

The guys a monster offensively and he’s still learning how to play. His motor seems to be just fine. the thing that really stood out to me about his game against South Carolina was, even though Downey broke his ankles, and he got his shot blocked once, he was the one guy on Kentucky that made a big-time play down the stretch. He plays hard, or at least seems to everytime I watch him.

Now he allegedly popped a fan in South Carolina but hey, I told you he was nasty!

He’s 6′11″, 260 pounds and nasty. How many offensively truly gifted post players are there in the NBA right now? Shoot, how many gifted post players are there in college hoops?

I believe by the time the tournament is over Cousins will crack that top 3.

BLAIR WATCH PROJECT: VIDEO EDITION

Guarding Rasheed Wallace.

Going at KG and Sheed.

Crashing the glass. Read more

IVERSON DID THIS – NOBODY ELSE

by RAY MERNAGH

First of all I need each and every one of you to understand something — I never wanted to write this column.

I was riding with Allen Iverson until the end, ready to debate/yell at anyone — including friends and family — with the audacity to knock the best small guard since Zeke.

Why?

Because you, his critics, didn’t understand.

You couldn’t get past the noise around him. The press conference performances and sound bites that, classic as they were, covered up the only sound that ever should have mattered when it came to AI’s game: The squeak his sneakers made when he stepped on the hardwood to ball. Distinct and different, Iverson’s wheels were Perelli’s in a race with Sears and Roebucks. Each time I saw Iverson play in person I kept waiting for his shoes to blow out, that’s how violent the dude’s cuts and stops sounded.

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THE BLAIR WATCH PROJECT (VOL 1.1)

by RAY MERNAGH

In the coming months we at NBE will be keeping an eye on DeJuan Blair’s progress during his rookie season in the NBA in a new feature we’ll call the “Blair Watch Project.”

The reason?

So we can continually remind most of the NBA teams that they passed on a 19-year-old kid who physically dominated the best basketball conference in the country for two seasons straight. A young man who may be undersized for the post but also possesses a 7-foot-2-inch wingspan. And most importantly, a player who was better than anyone else at the one skill that experts tell you always translates to the next level from college — REBOUNDING.

To quote a Big East assistant I talked to last week while traveling — “Did they not watch any of his games the last two years? Did they not see him stay healthy? Do they not understand they probably just gave Tim Duncan and Pop a really good shot at two or three more titles?”

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