Louisville Defense Impressive Early

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

With teams like Duke, Kansas, Michigan State, and Ohio State stealing the spotlight early, a team like the Louisville Cardinals (6-0) go unnoticed.

The Cardinals are off to their best start since beginning the '05-06 season with six straight victories.

Louisville has yet to be tested with an average defeat of 25.2 points a game. The Cardinals six early wins include key wins over then-No. 18 Butler, and Florida International.

Rick Pitino's scrappy young squad is doing it with defense.

The Cardinals have forced 114 total turnovers this year. That is an average of 19 per game. Louisville is also tied for fourth in the nation with 12 steals per outing.

Senior guard Preston Knowles leads the Cardinals with 2.0 steals per outing, with five other players checking in with at least one steal per game.

Knowles also adds 11.5 points, and 4.0 rebounds per outing. With such a balanced attack on offense, four other players are in double-figures for the Cardinals.

After a 23-point outing against South Alabama, Mike Marra is now the leading scorer for Louisville with 13 points, 3.8 assist, and 3.3 rebounds.

Sophomore Peyton Siva, the former McDonald's All-American, has made his mark thus far. He is averaging 10.6 points, 3.8 assist, and 1.8 steals per game.

Coach Pitino's team doesn't just play tough defense, it also attacks the glass pulling down 41.8 a game, which also ranks among the top in the nation.

Once the Cardinals get the rebound, Siva is looking to push the ball up court in transition. The Cardinals have a good transition offense that allows them to dish out 19.1 assist per game.

Their assist total also helps Louisville become one of the best scoring teams in the nation. The Cardinals are now the sixth best scoring team in the nation averaging 87.5 points per game. Louisville as a team is also shooting 48 percent from the field.

More impressively, the Cardinals have done most of this without their prized freshman Gorgui Sy Dieng. Dieng hasn't learned to play without fouling which limits his minutes to around 12 per game.

With Dieng on the court, it certainly is a lift for Louisville in the post. However, the Cardinals have been able to cover up his loss with the emergence of sophomore Rakeem Buckles, and junior Terrence Jennings.

Buckles currently averages 11 points along with 8.5 rebounds per outing. He is one guy that gets it done on the glass for Pitino, coming away with two double-doubles on the season.

Jennings chips in his 10.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks per game. In my eyes, Jennings is one of the top post defenders in the Big East. He has excellent size at 6-foot-9, and always tracks down the ball.

Nonetheless, if the Cardinals continue to play this well all around their isn't a reason why Louisville shouldn't be considered contenders in the Big East.

The Cardinals have another opportunity to prove they are for real at home against the No. 23 UNLV Rebels on December 11th, 12 PM ET.

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Player Gets Saved by iPhone App

Posted by CoHoops Josh Dhani

It's amazing how technology has come over the years. With all the cool new phones that are extremely beneficial to us humans, like the iPhone, Android, Smartphone, and others, some even save people's lives.

California high-school basketball star, Xavier Jones, was one of those lucky people saved by technology. In fact, it just took a single iPhone application.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Jones' coach downloaded an app called "Phone Aid" to help him perform CPR on Jones. Jones collapsed during a team practice, but was breathing again soon after the doctors arrived.

"When it happened, that was too much of a coincidence for me," the head coach said.

The star basketball player was at the edge of death.

"I'm just thankful and happy to be here," Jones said. "Things could have been a lot worse.

"I'm just happy to be alive."

Good thing they have a coach like him.

"I can't thank him enough for being there for my son," Xavier Jones' mother, Linda Jones said.

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Kemba Walker Records Triple-Double on Historic Night

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

If there was any question about Kemba Walker being the best player in the nation, he answered all the questions tonight.

Walker lead the No. 9 Connecticut Huskies (7-0) to their seventh straight victory over the UMBC Retrievers (0-7) 94-61, and recorded his first ever triple-double.

After scoring the game's first points from the free-throw line, the Huskies never gave UMBC the lead and soared to victory.

Walker accumulated 24 points, 13 rebounds, as well as 10 assist, and became the eighth player in UConn history to record a triple double.

Walker also joined good company a few minutes into the game reaching the 1,000 point plateau.

Jim Calhoun also reached 830 wins, which is tied for the sixth most in NCAA history.

Completing the historic night, the Huskies as a team pulled down 41 rebounds, 13 offensive, as well as dishing out a season-high 26 assist on 33 made field goals. UConn also drained 12 three-pointers, as well as blocking 10 shots.

All around, it was a very good night for the Huskies with everyone clicking on offense.

Jeremy Lamb scored 12 points, added six rebounds and two blocks. Roscoe Smith, Alex Oriahki, and Niels Giffey all chipped-in 11 points, while sophomore Jamal Coombs-McDaniel reached double-figures for the first time this season with 10 points.

UMBC had two players in double-figures with Travis King pacing the Retrievers with 14 points. Chris De La Rosa added 13 points, five rebounds, and five assist, as UMBC racks up a 0-7 start for the second straight season.

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Jeff Capel's Seat at Oklahoma Getting Hotter

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

There are a lot of upset Oklahoma Sooner (3-4) fans this season. The Sooners started off with a (3-0) record, but stepped outside of Oklahoma and watch their flawless record drop under 500.

That includes a loss to Division II Chaminade 68-64.

Jeff Capel, with former-Oklahoma Sooner Blake Griffin, led his team to an impressive 30-6 (13-3) record in '08-09.

His 30-win season was accommodated by a trip to the Elite Eight where Oklahoma fell to the eventual National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels.

Just two years following his Elite Eight berth, Capel has turned in a disappointing 13-18 (4-12) season with talented players like Tommy Mason-Griffin, Willie Warren, Tiny Gallon, and Cade Davis.

With most of his significant players gone, Capel looked on to his 2010 recruiting class to uplift his roster. However, the Sooners have got off to a disappointing 3-4 start, and racked up 14 straight losses away from home.

Granted, this is an Oklahoma team with only one senior, Davis who leads the Sooners in scoring with 15.6 point per game, and nine new faces that joined Capel's roster this season.

Capel has yet to utilize the ability of his talented freshman Cameron Clark. Clark is more suitable for a half court system, that runs in transition. He excels in transition, and could spark the Sooners if allowed.

Nonetheless, the season is very early and Capel has a chance to turn things around for Oklahoma. However, the talent is there, now it's Capel's turn to lead his team to a victory.

Capel has come from a pair of 12 game win streaks, to a 14 game losing streak away from home, and off to the worst start in the decade. Oklahoma is certainly on pace to miss the tournament for the second straight time, which doesn't sit well with the Oklahoma fan base.

His 2011 recruiting class isn't helping his cause either. It has been two years, and he does have plenty of time to turn the season around, but continuing to lose with a celebrated program like Oklahoma isn't acceptable.

Athletic Director Joe Castiglione could be watching how Capel handles things this year with his current basketball team, and recruiting wise. That could certainly dictate his job security in the future.

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College Hoops: Top Five Point Guards in the Nation

Posted by CoHoops DeAnte Mitchell

In this past decade, the last five National Championship teams embraced a talented point guard that led the way. Think of Jon Scheyer and what he did for Duke.

How about Ty Lawson and his ability to take care of the ball. Taurean Green was apart of the Florida Gators when they won back-to-back National Championship, and helped them stay consistent with scoring, and defense.

There isn't a team in the top-5 currently that can say they'd survive without their lead guard.

Point guards are a great necessity and to be successful, they'll need to be able to handle the ball, and create offense for their teammates.

Additionally, point guards are looked on to lead the way for the offense and always put his team in position to win the game.

I've witnessed these traits throughout the first month of November, and some point guards have caught my eye. As the debate rises of who the nations top-point guard is, here is my stance on the top-5 guards in the country.

5. Chris Wright - Georgetown Hoyas

Chris Wright has the Georgetown Hoyas (7-0) undefeated and off to their second straight undefeated November. Wright came through with the key three point basket against Mizzou that sent it into overtime, and was the one to finish the Tigers off with free-throws in OT.

Wright has blossomed into a great lead guard. He is up to 7.4 assist per game, with two double-digit assist outings.

Wright has been held to double-figures in two games this season, but also turned in an eight, and nine assist nights, which shows you his ability to impact the game without scoring.

4. Kalin Lucas - Michigan State Spartans

Kalin Lucas isn't 100 percent after injuring his achilles tendon last year, but you wouldn't be able to tell if you watched him in action. Lucas' Spartans (5-2) have dropped two games but both to respectable squads.

Lucas is currently averaging 17 points, 3.1 assist, and two rebounds. He is also shooting 46 percent from the field taking an average of 12 shots per game.

Michigan State survived last year without Lucas, but this season he is very beneficial. He helps Michigan State stay competitive with many teams, and is one of the reasons the Spartans were able to stay in the game against Duke.

Without being at full strength, Lucas is still one of the best lead guards in the country.

3. Demetri McCamey - Illinois Fighting Illini

Seeing that McCamey and Deron Williams attended the same college everybody wants to throw out the comparisons. I don't see many key traits, but what I do see is a better decision-making guard.

McCamey averaged 3.4 turnovers last year, but is now averaging 2.3 per outing. That is an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.44, which is more than his first two seasons combined.

He has great court vision, and finds his teammates in their sweet spots for the score. McCamey is currently second in the nation in assist with 7.8 per game.

McCamey scores, gets his team involved, and leads the Illini to victory. McCamey is a polished college point guard with the ability to be something great at the next level.

2. Kyrie Irving - Duke Blue Devils

You want to know how Kyrie Irving is good? Try leading the No. 1 team in the nation over then-No.3 Kansas State, and the No. 6 Michigan State Spartans by outplaying two experienced guard in Jacob Pullen and Kalin Lucas.

Irving has the unique talent to push the ball up and down the floor without your defense doing much about it. His speed and quickness is just flat out amazing, and Irving always makes plays in the open court.

Irving just dropped a career-high 31 points on Michigan State, and is now on pace to join freshman like Carmelo Anthony that led Syracuse to the National Championship as a true freshman.

1. Kemba Walker - Connecticut Huskies

Kemba Walker, hands down, is the best point guard in the country. You cannot name a point guard that has the ability to lead an average team over two top-10 opponents in a span of two days.

Walker has the ability to take over games with his scoring ability and leadership. During their most recent win against New Hampshire, Walker put UConn on its back and carried them to victory.

Walker benefits UConn on the boards (4.3 rpg), the assist column (3.4 apg), and steals (2.2).

He does everything you want a point guard to do and more. He gets the team involved, takes over games when needed, very consistent, and play defense.

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