2012 NBA Draft Diary

It's 10:11.. the NBA high-5 bench guys are probably getting picked now and I'm just starting my 1st draft diary.. why? Well, because Kayla wanted to go out to eat for our anniversary first. That's all I'm going to say about that.  Without further ado, I've got some catching up to do (See what I did there?)

Anthony Davis isn't very attractive even if he whittles out some of that huge unibrow. On a side how, how can you have a basketball team without a gym? Do you really expect me to believe this team brought a hoop out from the building to the parking lot to practice.. don't they play in the winter in Chicago?

Anybody else completely shocked by MKG going #2? I thought it would be Bradley Beal for sure. Pretty cool to see this interview though.

Good to know Jay Bilas can make fun of himself. Wingspan, Wingspan, Wingspan tip back, America! Haha.. that's classic.

How annoying is Heather Cox? I'm about ready to fast forward her interviews already.

Bradley Beal is a high energy guy? Hard to believe these first 3 picks are all relentless. Also.. how about the comment "Washington must know what they want to do!" Really? Somebody with the 3rd pick has a good idea of what they want? That's crazy.

I'm going to start doing 5 push-ups everytime relent is used somewhere in a word.

Um. Who is Chris Broussard? I mean, really.. is he related to Michael Jackson in anyway? That's where I'm leaning right now. The tone is really throwing me off and making me think Young Michael Jackson right now. I might have to research this later.

If there is one player I don't like in the top 4.. it's well.. Dion Waiters. "I went to college a boy and left a man." Eh.. we shall see, tough guy.

After that Heather Cox interview with Thomas Robinson's sister I think we can officially fast forward her interviews from now on.. that was one of the worst on-air things I have ever seen. "Did you know it's closer to Disney?" "No." "Well, it's closer now than you were before." as she puts the mic in the girls face.. then pulls it away awkwardly. HOW IS SHE SUPPOSED TO RESPOND TO THAT? SHE IS 9 YEARS OLD.

*Yawn* Even I called the Lillard/Barnes picks. Also called Drummond and Rivers. Who did I call them to? Well.. Kayla til she fell asleep then Schatzi, but she doesn't seem to care.

By the way.. how about the Jonas cat for the Raptors. They say he can play.. but I haven't seen him post-up a chair yet.

Did Austin Rivers mean to shave one side of his face and leave the other? Looks like a bad moustache.. I'd expect to see something like that in Blazing Saddles.

Meyers Leonard will be a better pro than college player. Cash it.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.... that should be the Bucks pick. Jeremy Lamb. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.. I might quit watching. I backed the Dalembert trade because they only moved down 2 spots. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I don't anymore. I'm going to go boo Dalembert this year.

Jay.. the wingspan doesn't make him 6'11. If it did, he wouldn't be 6'5. Duh.

What if Mark May actually asked 2 questions that were related to each other? What if he asked a question.. then waited for an answer.. then asked a follow-up question? I thought that's what interviews were supposed to be like? I'm not getting that from Mark.

10:31: PJ3? Henson? Jones? Zeller? Oh my.. options galore for the Bucks at 14. Lamb was choice #1. At this stage how can you go wrong with any of the 4? Henson and PJIII probably biggest ? marks but also highest upside. Lets just hope the pick doesn't get traded for some 14 PPG high volume shooter and headcase.

10:33: No Heather. That's not funny. Neither is Huckleberry Hound.

10:35: David Stern still getting the boo's from the crowd and loving it. John Henson it is. I guess Hammond really wanted the length they talked about after getting destroyed by the Pacers late in the season. Now you have Dalembert, Udoh, Sanders and Henson. That's a lot of defense and not a lot of offense. We'll see how this works out. Naturally, as a Bucks fan.. I want to see what Henson can do vs. a chair as well. Can he back a recliner down? Can he spin off of it and hammer it down?

10:39: You really want to go by Maurice? I think of Maurice Taylor. That's not a compliment.

10:43: Some other brutal ESPN interview going on.. they were talking about Austin Rivers. Doesn't he seem kinda like a punk? Here is what I think of him.

10:44: How can Anthony Davis trademark a phrase with unibrow or brow in it? Did he actually come up with them? I doubt he was sitting around thinking of sayings that he could use.. somebody else told him some of these sayings so shouldn't THEY trademark them? Sounds like a typical Kentucky cheater to me.

10:45: Stern still getting the boo's. He continues to laugh at all the money he is making.

10:45: I'm a few hours behind but I think Bill Simmons just cried. Royce White to the Rockets, not the Celtics.

10:46: I shoot free throws better than Royce White and Andre Drummond. I should put my form up on youtube so they can work out to it a little bit.

10:48: Doing a draft diary alone isn't very much fun. Too bad T-Razzie was in Minnesota and allegedly at some horse races or this could be much more interesting. We could be intventing water drinking games besides the obvious Jay Bilas ones that could include: Everytime David Stern is booed, whenever an awkward question is asked, relentless, holes in his game, Chris Broussard using slang or lazy english are my original ideas.

10:53: I don't care about Kentucky vs. UNC draft board. Outside of those schools, who does? Jay Bilas made a good point the other day.. as far as a staff "developing NBA talent" most of these guys are freshman or sophomores.. can they really be turned into an NBA player in that little of time? Ugh, no.. not if they weren't already heading that way.

10:56: Worst GM draft thought: Lets get Jared "Not from Subway" Sullinger to go with Big Baby and just beat people up on the low block with fat guys.

10:57: Tyler Zeller just got traded for 3 guys. Really? Is Roy Williams going to get a Cavs hat now and pose with a high-5 and a stupid looking grin?

11:00: Andrew Nicholson.. yes, the 2nd senior drafted already. Jay Bilas just said wingspan and "good hands" Thankfully I didn't bring any water downstairs with me. He's canadian? Y2J better get a hold of him.

11:04: I think I'm going to do the draft diary until my man, PJIII gets picked. We're at pick 20 right now. I'm hoping it's the Nuggets. Nope, it's some French guy.. well, we know 1 thing about him.. he's soft.

11:10: Jared Sullinger to the Celtics? I cannot wait to see Simmons real draft diary tomorrow. This will be classic. It has to be something like this.

11:12: I'm really tired.. but they just called Jared Sullinger a wide body. That's funny. I hope PJIII is the next pick.

11:14: Kevin McHale looks like a wax statue. Is it just me or does he have a weird lisp too? That's not really the guy that did this, was it?

11:15: This stupid ESPN twitter thing just had a KingJames tweet.. good work trying to recruit more guys. "Is Ray Allen gonna play for the Heat, daddy?" I said, "I dunno, I hope so." Smooth LeBron, smooth. Isn't your recruiting budget up for the next few years?

11:18: Not sure why the Celtics took Fab Melo, they already have Greg Steimsma.

11:19: Stop it. "STRAIGHT UP, SHOOTER. John Jenkins can FLAT FILL. IT. UP." Just stop it, ESPN. Just curious.. how'd John Jenkins shoot against the Badgers?

11:20: Whatever happened to Heather Cox? She's not hanging around Mark Jackson is she?

11:21: Is Mike Dunlap related to Ben Stein?

11:23: I'm at the 24th pick and they're talking about MKG still? Come on, man. I know he was the 2nd pick but you couldn't get everything in that you wanted in the last 20-some picks? Wow. Jared Cunningham just got picked. This is killing me, I'm never going to make championship Friday at camp this week just because PJIII won't get picked.

11:25: Chris Broussard just hit me with some knowledge.. here in the mid-20s there are players with talent but some issues that have made them fall. Obviously.

11:28: Fingers crossed this is PJIII to the Grizz. I think Schatzi is alone and scared upstairs. She just growled down the stairs twice.

11:30: I am Uncle Drew.

11:31: Larry Bird is leaving the Pacers but that doesn't stop the white guys from the ACC rolling in. Miles Plumlee. I wouldn't take him in the 1st round. Not this year nor next year or ever. Jay Bilas just said "freak athlete" Add that one to the game for next year.

11:34: I'm willing to stay up awhile so PJIII doesn't end up on the Heat bench and tainted by LeBron, Wade, Battier, and Bosh. I wouldn't want that to happen to my guy. What a horrible place to be.. that's the Siberia of the NBA.

11:36: David Stern thinks he's Vince McMahon. There is no doubt in my mind. He loves being a heel.

11:37: Whew. So glad I don't care about Arnett Moultrie. PLUS, what if OKC took PJIII. Westbrook, Harden, Durantula, Ibaka, PJIII. Say it ain't so.

11:42: Rece Davis annoys me with the Kentucky/UNC theme. Is this on his own or is ESPN pumping him up to do this?

11:42: YESSIR. PJIII TO THE THUNDER! The only way this could have been better for me if he became a Buck! What a way to end my 1st draft diary.. flyin solo. Next year I'll have company. I promise.

Season: Over.

Like "March Madness" only one team ends their season with a "W".  Well, this is a little different because the 3rd place game also finishes with a win, but only one team wins with the Aaron Rodgers championship belt.  Sadly, our 7th graders made it to the dance only to leave empty handed.  That game is difficult for me to recall being blasted 27-49 isn't a great feeling.  Crazy, huh? 

Our 8th graders also just made it to state and played last Saturday.  The game, we were told, was one that we didn't stand a chance in.  Little PPMS from the west side of Springfield played the "city boys" from East St. Louis; a classic match-up.  Our staff was nervous about their size and speed; they had a great full court pressure defense, the ol' diamond and 1.  Plus, their players, across the board were bigger than ours.. including the 6'5 kid in the middle of their zone and the 6'1, 185lb middle linebacker with a gotee.  No lie, his face was like Jared Sullinger's... before he got spit on, ALLEGEDLY.  Either way, they were big and fast.  Funny little secret though, we were probably a more athletic team across the board than they were.  We have some kids that can run and jump; and a flat out thief at PG.  He had them rattled into switching PG's possession after possession. 

When all was said and done, size at the 8th grade level makes a huge difference.  We were intimidated and missed too many lay-ups, floaters and shots in the lane because we didn't want to get blocked.  They crushed us on the boards and two defensive miscues on back to back possessions were the difference.  Down 11 going into the 4th, our kids fought back with a determination the staff didn't see all season long.  It was great being a part of a team that cut a 22-33 difference to 33-34 with 56 seconds left!  After all was said and done, however, they hit a few FT's got a big steal and outlet after a miss and that was the game.  36-40. 

After the game we talked about how great is was to see the kids not quit, to play through their fear, to play intimidated and then to see their confidence soar when they realized they could play with anybody.  This team has the POTENTIAL to be very, very scary.  As I mentioned a PG that is a thief and solid ball handler, an undersized SG that doesn't think twice to take it to the lane against bigger players, a developing wing, the most athletic 8th grader we saw all year that can run and sky and a few members of the bench with very solid potential.  Of course, it comes down to what it always does.. hard work and determination.  A lot of the kids play baseball all summer long and the question remains:  "How much basketball will they play?"  If they develop skills, with their athletic ability it will be a force in central Illinois small school basketball.