Mostly Random, Completely Useless

Okey doke, here's a whole crapload of (mostly) random stuff:

... Hey look! I'm not the only person noticing Quentin Thomas's improved play these last few months. Like I said a couple of days ago, somebody needs to put this dude through the Cylon Detector.

... Here's something I meant to talk about, then forgot, then remembered after it was too late: the all-too-weird doofuses masquerading as Cameron Crazies. I wrote about his last year and it holds now more than ever. Back in the day the Crazies use to be original and occasionally funny (and I hated Duke just as passionately then as I do now), but as it stands, this select group, as best I can tell, is just a bunch of like-minded nerds who don't seem to have any interest in basketball, but are definitely intrigued by blue paint, lycra and bozo wigs. Note to failed-Mathletes-turned-Cameron-Crazy-wannabees: You're in college, which means you should be drinking beer and trying to have sex. And given the large number of nerd-numbing "Crazies" this might not be as tough as it was, say, in high school. Give it a try ... without the blue paint.

OK, I feel a lot better. My intention wasn't that long-winded diatribe, but I just couldn't take it anymore. Actually, I wanted to point out this DJ Gallo observation, which, as usual, was right on the money:

"I have no real rooting interest in the whole UNC-Duke rivalry, so please take this as nothing more than an observation from an impartial fan: I watched part of Saturday's game on ESPNU, which featured a split screen showing continuous shots of the Duke student body and, uh … these are not attractive people. And yes, of course -- many are future millionaires who could buy and sell the likes of me, no doubt. But not a handsome lot. Sort of like a thousand Lee Melchionni's. And those were just the females. I imagine it must be quite hard for Redick to find someone muse-worthy on campus for his poetry."

Lee Melchionni. That's funny.

File this under "I'm guessing Bill Simmons' watched one college basketball game this year and it was Duke-UNC":

"If you missed the UNC-Duke game, not only is UNC for real, but Tyler Hansbrough is the first 2005-06 college player who makes me feel, "All right, there's a guy who's a mortal lock to be an excellent pro." I know he's not coming out this summer … but it needs to be said. The guy never stops hustling. He can create his shot going left and going right. He already has a post-up move. He can use his body in traffic. He has 3-point range. He even seems to play bigger in big games. I love this kid. Twenty more players like him, LaMarcus Aldridge and Adam Morrison and I'd really be excited about the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Anyway, when you're filling out your bracket next week, watch out for the Tar Heels -- maybe they're a little young, but they keep getting better and better, they're athletic as hell, they have a very good coach, they're road-tested, and they have a franchise guy."

Simmons admits to not knowing anything about college football, but I don't know if he's made the same admission about college basketball. If not, he should.

I have no thoughts about Tyler Hansbrough turning pro, primarily because I don't want to think about him leaving early (By the way, if he needs any incentive to stay, I might offer Exhibit A: Marvin Williams, who plays for the Atlanta Hawks; that's all I need to say), but when Simmons writes that "he has 3-point range," I know he's not seen a lot of Carolina games this year. Granted, Hansbrough is shooting 67% from behind the arc, but he's also 2 for 3. If this was the first half of the first game of the season, then I might agree. Instead, it was the very last game of the regular season, and Hansbrough basically had to throw something up from 22-feet because the shot clock was about to expire. Thankfully, Simmons goes on to curse the Heels' tournament chances by giving them the generic, "Anyway, when you're filling out your bracket next week, watch out for the Tar Heels ..." endorsement which can only mean a first round upset to the Winthrop Eagles (or some such lunacy).

Oh yeah, Skip Bayless still sucks.

***
... Well, you can't very well expect me to go a whole 500 words without mentioning the Steelers and some draft-related chicanery. Yesterday there was some discussion about who Pittsburgh should take at 32 even if somebody like Matt Leinart or Vernon Davis were available (yes, I know, it's not likely, but think of it as, uh, a thought experiment). Depending on what happens with this whole CBA deal, the Steelers could be without Kimo, Keisel, or both. And if that turns out to be the case, a guy making his way up the 'ol draft boards is NC State DE Manny Lawson. He had an outstanding Combine (Workout Warrior Alert! Workout Warrior Alert!) and he kinda got lost in the shuffle at NC State because he played opposite Mario Williams and next to DT John McCargo, another Wolfpack player making some noise of late.

Who knows what'll happen between now and the draft, but see if these numbers sound familiar: 6'5", 247 lbs., 4.41-forty. Well, the height and weight sound a lot like Porter and Haggans, but the 40-time sounds a lot more like Willie Parker. Of course, Lawson would join the long line of converted ends making the move to 3-4 OLB, and only two words give me pause: Alonzo Jackson. Other than that, I'm guessing he'll be a Hall of Famer. Either way, my two cents.

... Even more draft-related stuff -- yesterday I again pimped S Donte Whitner as a great pick at 32, especially if Hope takes his ball and goes somewhere else. Here's what Jim Wexell had to say in his daily draft report:

"One publication lists Ohio State safety Donte Whitner as the draft's No. 70 prospect. Yesterday, we named him No. 32 and a favorite to land with the Steelers. Why?

Well, the Steelers like him, for one. The 20-year-old is 5-10, 204 pounds and ran a 4.40 40 at the combine, where expert analyst Mike Mayock had him ranked as the draft's top safety ahead of Jason Allen, Ko Simpson and Darnell Bing.

Whitner was the nation's top-ranked cornerback coming out of Cleveland's Glenville High, but moved to strong safety, where last year, as a true junior, he was third on the team in tackles and showed he could cover, tackle and blitz. Last week he showed he could run … fast. What's not to like?"

I agree. What's not to like? Of course I also like Jason Allen. The Sporting News has Ko Simpson listed as their #2 safety (behind Michael Huff, who may end up playing CB in the NFL) which leads me to believe that he'll probably get taken somewhere near the end of Day 1. According to TSN, Simpson only completed four college semesters, was academically ineligible coming out of high school and doesn't have a lot of game experience in college. Maybe it's no big deal, but then again, maybe it is.

Bing is a USC guy, but he's built more like Larry Foote than a prototypical free safety. That's not a bad thing if he can cover tight ends and slot receivers, but guess what? He struggles in coverage. Then again, what safety coming out of college doesn't? The question is, can he become a good cover safety at the next level? If he can't, there's some talk that he'll move to linebacker.


... We've also had a few conversations about The Next Slash once Randle El cashes in with his next team. I've mentioned guys like Michael Robinson, Reggie McNeal and Brad Smith a couple of times, but inexplicably, Robinson didn't workout at the Combine, and McNeal and Smith insisted on doing only QB drills, even though a lot of teams expressed interest in seeming them work out at other positions. Here's more draft/slash stuff from Charles Robinson:

"Quarterbacks moving to receiver – There are at least three quarterbacks that are going to be forced to wide receiver because of accuracy issues: Texas A&M's Reggie McNeal, Penn State's Michael Robinson and Missouri's Brad Smith. But none of those guys took reps at the position, despite being encouraged to do so by coaches. Robinson didn't even work out, severely agitating a number of teams. These passers may not like the reality that they can't be NFL quarterbacks, but that's exactly what it is – reality."

I keep forgetting that the Steelers will have some compensatory picks, and I'm guessing one (or two, or three) of these guys might be around in rounds 5-7 and Pittsburgh will take a chance. Should be interesting.