Scout.com ranks Braxton Ogbueze in the top 40 high school prospects overall in the nation. While this is a high ranking, Ogbueze would be a top 5 or 10 prospect if he was 6'3." On a YouTube video I posted, I expressed my thoughts that Ogbueze was not quite six foot. A family member of Ogbueze posted a comment in response to my estimation of his height,
"Braxton is actually measured at 6'1 (shoes) and 175"
The "6'1(shoes)" comment proves my point Ogbueze is not a big guard, but that is his only glaring weakness. Ogbueze is a player and has everything you want in a guard except for height. Ogbueze is quick, strong, athletic, and aggressive. You can see from the footage that Ogbueze is impressively build from head to toe, the 175 lbs. is most likely accurate. He seems to be a leader on and off the floor, as well. I wasn't blown away by Ogbueze court vision, but Ogbueze seems to be more of a scoring point guard. He also, can make good things happen for others and himself with his ability penetration. So, Ogbueze has the talent and the intangibles to match. The question that puzzled me about Ogbueze was why did he choose Florida when #3 PG, Kasey Hill(Class of 2013) is committed to the Gators. So, I asked his family member that very question,
"Thanks for the update, Scout.com must not be up to date, they have Braxton listed at 6-0 & 160 lbs. I saw Braxton play and was very impressed! I felt Braxton should have been a McDs' All-American, instead of Tyler Lewis who is going to State. Plus, I saw how well Braxton played head to head against the bigger Rodney Purvis who is a McDs' All-American. I was wondering if you could shed some light on why Braxton picked Florida when Kasey Hill who is #3 PG of 2013 has committed to Flordia, as well?" NCSportsGenius1 ("Middle Class" Matt)
So, Ogbueze family member wrote me back. This comment from a family member shows me Ogbueze is one of these young athletes who is being bred for success. This could be a really good thing, which could mean Ogbueze will be mature beyond his years. It also, could backfire and cause problems, like we have seen so many times in sports. Here is the response they sent me, it reads like a press release and never mentions Hill,
"Braxton committed first but there are no worries. As you have seen Braxton will compete with anyone and will earn everything that is given to him. We appreciate your support."
In these highlights Braxton Ogbueze(red jersey #3) is many times, going one on one with Rodney Purvis(white jersey #5). Purvis is a McDonalds All-American, who is a 6'4" 205 pound guard, who is committed to N.C. State. Ogbueze not only has no problem with the bigger Purvis, he destroys Purvis on the offense and defensive side of the ball. Even though Obgueze is four inches shorter(at least) and gives up 30 pounds, he outduels Purvis head to head and gets the win on Purvis' home court.
Here are some videos taken at J.F. Webb High School of UNC's top verbal commit Isaiah Hicks, who is the number eight overall prospect of the class of 2013. Hicks is listed at 6'8" and 210 lbs., in reality Hicks might be 6'8" maybe 6'7", and only about 195 or 200 lbs.. Hicks is very slender, but does have a more developed lower body. Hicks' body is more of a prototypical swing forward. Hicks is listed as a power foward and may have to play PF at the college level. Still, Hicks is just a junior in high school, so he has time to develop his game and body. You can already see Hicks has some guard skills and could one day, with work develop into a nice three forward. Hicks physically reminds me a little bit of another high ranked recruit from the Tar Heels' past, Marvin Williams.
Hicks has long arms and big hands. Hicks moves efforstlessly down the court and has pretty good body control. Hicks can also shoot and handle the ball well for a player his size. Hicks has tons of potenital, but doesn't seem to be the guy who would come to UNC and dominate, imediately. Sorry, UNC fans Hicks may need sometime to develope. Another negative about Hicks, is that his high school doesn't play the top level competition all the time. In these clips below you will see Hicks(#4) is head and shoulders taller than everyone one the court. Still, Hicks has NBA level athletism and that you can't teach, the other stuff can be learned with hard work and practice.
The coaching job that Tony Bennett has done at Virginia is very impressive. Bennett's team has overachieved and deserves credit for it, but Mike Scott will not be enough to help Virgina move on. Florida has too much talent and has an elite coach who is Tournament tested. Virginia goes home after just one game.
N.C. State Wolfpack
Round of 32
The Pack may go to the Sweet 16 and they could go down to San Diego State in the first round. So, it may be wise to split the difference. State is very talented and athletic. Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Leslie are future NBA players who can create match up problems for any team. State, when focused, is dangerous, there's a lot of doubt if they can bring that focus for 40 minutes for 2 or 3 games in a row.
Duke Blue Devils
Sweet 16
Duke has been a good team all year, but "Duke is not elite." Duke relies too much on the three ball, has no one to distribute the basketball, and has an inconsistent inside attack. Still, Coach K will have his team ready and Duke has a team of McDonalds' All Americans that should be enough to win at least two NCAA tournament games. Austin Rivers needs to have a big time tournament or Duke may go home before this weekend is over!
Florida State Seminoles
Final Four
The Seminoles have been given a gift with Fab Melo not being able to play. With that loss, the Noles should be able to overwhelm the Orange or Ohio State inside. FSU is a veteran team with big physical post players and clutch guards. The Seminoles will have to watch out for an ACC Tournament hangover, but if they bring the same intensity to this tournament that they did in the ACC they should move on to the Final Four!
North Carolina Tar Heels
National Champions
The Tar Heels are a complete team with tournament experience. The Heels are big and long at every position, which creates nightmare match up problems for almost every team in the nation. Kentucky might be the rare exception to the match up problems UNC forces. Yet, Kendall Marshall, if UNC and Kentucky would square off for the national championship, would be an advantage over Marquis Teague at the same position. Kendall Marshall has become a complete point guard in the second half of this season. It could be argued that Marshall, of late, has been the best point guard in the nation. So, Marshall may give UNC an match up adavantage over every point guard they face and usually guards win NCAA Tournament Championship!
The 2012 ACC Basketball Tournament was a return to the glory years of the ACC! Many games were decided by a basket. The ACC Tournament used to be so much fun! I hope the 2012 ACC Tournament will be the beginning of the tournament being the most exciting in the nation again! I didn't pick Flordia State to win, but I can still say "I told you so." CLICK THE VIDEO FOR THE WHOLE STORY!
In this entry I recap the UNC vs. Duke game(March 3rd), talk about UNC's chances for a national championship, and explore idea that "Duke is not Elite." CLICK THE VIDEO below to see the whole story!
Check me out on YouTube, my channel is NCSportsGenius1 and on Twitter @NCSportsGenius1
The last Duke vs. UNC game was a classic! The Tar Heels allowed the Devils to steal one in Chapel Hill by not taking advantage of easy opportunites during the last few minutes of the game. What also helped Duke was the referees swallowing their whistles, and this is not just UNC fan bias, Doug Gottlieb pointed out the missed calls on ESPN today! Check out my preview of the No. 6 UNC vs. No. 4 Duke rematch, should be another good one!
Click the video below to play!
Check out my comments about the game and I will be making comments during the UNC vs. Duke game at Twitter @NCSportsGenius1
It's "Middle Class" Matt at it again, just having a little fun at Wolfpack's expense! CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO WATCH THE SHORT VIDEO and check out the sign!
This is a report and review on the recent events going on in the ACC. The basketball season is really heating up so check out my new ACC video blog entry. Click the link below
Dick Baddour is the former Athletic Director of the Unversity of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Baddour retired in the wake of the UNC football scandal, that cost Butch Davis his job. If you look at the numbers Baddour did a great job. While, Baddour was the AD, UNC won 13 National Championships as a program. Baddour had some great moments as AD, like when he convinced Roy Williams to come home to UNC. Many applauded his desicion to hire Butch Davis as the football coach. Now the Davis hire doesn't seem like the right move, but at the time it brought a seriousness to UNC's football program it had not had since the Mack Brown era. Here is a video of Dick Baddour receiving an award at halftime of the Boston College game, January 7th. Roy Williams presented Baddour to the crowd and said some really nice things. It seems they had a great relationship. Click the video below and see the award presentation.
Go Heels!
Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller, and Kendall Marshall
The Tar Heels warming up at halftime. Check out how effortless the 7 foot Tyler Zeller moves for a big man! He is so light on his feet.
The referees cheat N.C. State by making calls for Duke(Thursday Feb. 16). This isn't really news to most, but I am tired of it and something needs to be done. The ACC referees have made some pretty bad calls this week, and most of them during the two N.C. State games. I may do another video entry about the two former State basketball players ejected from the FSU game. I have to gather more information. I called the N.C. State vs. Duke game, early on. I knew the fix was in. Check out my comments about the State game at Twitter @NCSportsGenius1
