((Elev8TheGame))

LeBron James (27 years old, 8 year veteran)

As the leader of the NBA’s best Miami Heat, James is having a career year in 2011-12. Averaging 27.6 ppg, 8.1 rpg, and 6.8 apg, LeBron is the obvious pick for best complete player in the league. James has been known as a great teammate, and many say his greatest quality is his ability to make the ones around him better basketball players. The only knock against James is his recent late game struggles, most notably the fourth quarter collapses in the NBA Finals last season vs Dallas.

Kobe Bryant (33 years old, 15 year veteran)

Bryant, one of the greatest scorers in NBA history is having another outstanding season in the purple and gold. Known as the best closer in the NBA, Bryant has often drawn many comparisons to Michael Jordan for his leadership and will to win. What separates Bryant from most players in the league is his killer instinct late in games, and his ability to hit clutch shots. The only negative aspect surrounding Kobe is that he is on the wrong side of 30, and with deep playoff experience, Bryant has an intense amount of mileage on his legs. (2012 stats, 28.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 4.9 apg)

Kevin Durant (23 years old, 4 year veteran)

Durant, the back to back scoring champion in the NBA has infinite potential. In leading the Oklahoma City Thunder from obscurity to tops in the Western Conference in just a few short years, Durant is the pick for many NBA experts as the next megastar. Last Sunday, Durant had the highest scoring output of the season against Denver, in which Durant shot 18-25 from the field for 51 points in an overtime win. The one thing that Durant has going against him is the fact that many analysts believe Russell Westbrook has control of his team, which should not happen with a player of Durant’s caliber. (2011-12 stats, 27.7 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 3.4 apg)

Derrick Rose (23 years old, 3 year veteran)

Rose, the defending MVP, has helped bring Chicago basketball back to glory. After a career season in 2010-11, Rose and the #1 seeded Bulls were eliminated in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat. Returning another talented squad, Rose has been a big part of Chicago’s success thus far this season. Although Rose is battling a back injury, the lightning quick point guard has put up very good numbers. All he needs is another scorer to play alongside with, and Rose could bring the first championship to Chicago since the legendary Michael Jordan. (2011-12 stats, 21.8 ppg, 7.7 apg)

These are our four candidates we feel are worthy enough to be chosen for the #1 overall pick in a theoretical fantasy draft, but it’s now up to you to decide who you think should be chosen with the first pick. Leave your choice in the comment box and tell us why you think your player deserves to be the top pick. Your choice not listed? That’s fine, choose a different player and tell us why you would choose them first overall. It’ll be interesting to see who the people think is the most valuable player in the league.

Topics for today:

• Lebron vs Linsanity tomorrow night, discussing who we think will win and why
• High school basketball tournament heating up, who will win the Columbus regional
• A brief overview of Buckeye basketball
• Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck: Who to stick with?
• Major League Baseball, predictions for the Reds and Indians
• And much more!

If the embedded clip does not work, here is the extra link: http://soundcloud.com/behindtheboxscore/the-behind-the-box-score-show

After nearly two weeks of Linsanity, Jeremy Lin and the Knicks will get their true test in the Eastern Conference, as New York travels to Miami to play LeBron and the Heat on Thursday. Following a 100-92 loss at the hands of Deron Williams and the Rocafella Nets, oops, I mean, New Jersey Nets, Lin and the Knicks hope to upset the surging Heat. Miami, at 25-7, have won 14 of their last 16 games, with the previous six coming by 10 or more points. The ironic aspect of the Heat’s success this season is the incredible amount of undercoverage the team is receiving. As James continues to have arguably his best season thus far in his career, the successes of LeBron and Miami have been minimized due to Lin’s comet like crash on the scene, taking the entire world by storm. It will be interesting to see the outcome Thursday in Miami when these two meteors collide.

In other news…

• Retired slugger Manny Ramirez has come to an agreement with the Oakland Athletics. The contract is set for one year, at $500,000, a tremendous pay cut considering Ramirez was making $20 million in each of his two years with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Ramirez, who turned his back on the Tampa Bay Rays following a second positive test for banned substances, was slated to serve a 100 game suspension for the 2011 season. With his retirement, league officials have reduced his suspension to 50 games for this season, saying the retirement was virtually “a 140 game suspension.” ESPN’s Pedro Gomez, who has been around Manny all offseason, says the Manny the A’s signed, is “a changed man.” 
• The New York Yankees have handed all of their troubles on the mound over to the Pittsburgh Pirates. New York dealt overpaid pitcher AJ Burnett to Pittsburgh in exchange for two prospects and a signed Terry Bradshaw helmet, according to multiple sources. Burnett, who was 11-11 last season with a 5.15 ERA, has $31 million remaining on his contract, in which New York will pay $20 mill. 
• In the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings look to extend their record home winning streak to 24 games on Thursday against the defending Western Conference champion, Vancouver Canucks. Detroit is fresh off a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks, who have lost six straight. All is well in Detroit sports at the moment. 
• Boston Celtics PG Rajon Rondo has been suspended for two games following his ejection Sunday night in a 96-81 loss to Detroit. Rondo, who received his second technical foul late in the third quarter after throwing the ball at an official, was upset over a foul not being called. The timing of Rondo’s suspension is detrimental to the Celtics, as the talented point guard will miss games at Dallas and a rematch vs Oklahoma City. 

Moving and Shaking

The 2012 field is different that the 2011 field in many regards, mainly in the teams that are actually in the field. Perennial City League powers Brookhaven and Beechcroft have dropped down to Division 2. Ex D2 members Hilliard Bradley (9-11), Canal Winchester (10-10) and Olentangy (10-10) have moved up a level, with Bradley getting their first taste of Division I tournament experience.

No Power Change at the top

 The top seed three of the last four years, the Northland Vikings, finished their season at 19-1, with their only loss to Huntington Prep (WV) early this year. The Vikings won the Columbus City League Championship again this year for the sixth time in a row, their 89th consecutive CCL win, a 66-55 win over Walnut Ridge. Walnut Ridge is the second seed in the tournament, also finishing 19-1.

The annual discovery of Cinderella

Every year, without a doubt there is one team, low seeded or no seeded, that gets hot just at the right team and breaks the hearts of teams in their path. Last year, unseeded Westerville Central ran through the Columbus 2 regional, knocking off 12th seeded Mount Vernon, 10th seeded Olentangy Orange, culminating with an upset of 3rd seeded and 19-1 Upper Arlington, 59-55. The Warhawks then faced Northland in the district final, giving the Trey Burke-led Vikings all they wanted, but fell in the end 65-62.

This year’s tournament has the potential to be upset happy, with there being many good unseeded and low seeded teams in the field. One team that stands out would be 10th seeded Grove City. The Greyhounds have a favorable route to the district final, and could possibly fly under the radar, much like they have all year, finishing 14-6.

Can Northland Repeat?

Coming off the mentioned 66-55 win over 2nd-seeded Walnut Ridge in the Columbus City League championship, the Vikings are flying high, looking for a 3rd regional title in 4 years. Northland is led by their bigs in the middle, a pair of 6’8 centers in Jalen Robinson and Devon Scott. The guard play for Northland, which was a trouble in their only regional loss 2 years ago, a 71-45 upset by Gahanna, has been improved the past two years, with Trey Burke handling the duties last year. This year, seasoned veterans Jordan Potts and Ke’Chaun Lewis dominate as the guards.

The Vikings run to another title begins Thursday against winless Central Crossing, then a match-up with another winless team in West the following Wednesday. Northland won’t face a seeded team until the district final, where they could possibly face 9th seeded Olentangy Orange or 10th seeded Grove City. The chances of a repeat are very high, considering the biggest hurdle they would face would either be a rematch with Walnut Ridge, or 3rd seeded Olentangy Liberty, team that started the year 17-0 but lost 2 of their last 3. There is no reason that the Vikings shouldn’t win the region again, and here are my final predictions:

Columbus District 1: #1 Northland over #10 Olentangy Orange, 71-57

Columbus District 2: #3 Olentangy Liberty over #2 Walnut Ridge, 61-55

Columbus District 3: #4 Pickerington Central over #6 Newark, 59-50

Regional Semi #1: #1 Northland over (Canton Regional #1) Canton Timken, 80-68

Regional Semi #2: #3 Olentangy Liberty over #4 Pickerington Central, 65-59

Regional Final: #1 Northland over #3 Olentangy Liberty, 52-45

Just a few hours north, the Seattle SuperSonics were a franchise going in the opposite direction. With obvious talent in 20 point scorers Ray Allen, and Rashard Lewis, the Sonics finished the 2006-07 campaign with a 31-51 record, one game worse than the year before. Hoping to start fresh, obvious changes were going to be made by the front office, and with their lottery chances, Seattle liked what the future had to offer.

On the college landscape, Ohio State C Greg Oden was dominating all draft chatter, and right up there with him was Texas SG/SF Kevin Durant. Oden and Durant were the obvious top two prospects for the draft, and rightfully so. As both players were leading their teams to successful seasons, each represented a different style of play. Oden, averaging 15.7 ppg, and 9.7 rpg was an obvious force to be reckoned with. Causing havoc for any defender opponents tried to throw his way, most NBA scouts saw the next great big man in the making.

In the Big 12, Kevin Durant was the catalyst on an explosive Texas offense. Averaging 25.8 ppg and 11.1 rebounds, Durant was of a different breed. Measuring in at 6’9″ and 225 pounds, the forward showed remarkable shooting touch along with incredible ball handling skills for someone his size. The only knock against Durant among scouts was his frail frame, which many thought would be an obvious determent to his development once he reached the NBA.

As June 28th approached, fans in each city were anxious to see how their respective teams’ futures were to be changed for the better. Portland would go on to draft the consensus #1 pick, Greg Oden, and Seattle had an even greater day, as the Sonics not only drafted Durant, but in the process, traded star player Ray Allen to Boston for the rights of the fifth overall pick, Jeff Green. With the move, Seattle initiated an obvious youth movement, and the Celtics after acquiring not only Ray Allen, but Kevin Garnett that day, became one of the premier forces in the league. As we reflect on the monumental moves made that day, one can only wonder how the league’s landscape would have been changed had Portland changed it’s mind. Let’s take a look at what could have been.

June 29, 2007

NEW YORK, NEW YORK- With the first pick in last night’s draft, the cellar dweller Portland Trailblazers drafted Kevin Durant. Durant, with his superior shooting ability and versatility looks to pay dividends for the Blazers offense, only adding to the length of LeMarcus Aldridge and Channing Frye. With Roy at the point, and Durant on the wing, the Blazers look to have one of the youngest and most talented offenses in the league. With an adequate balance of inside and outside scoring, the future is bright in Portland.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK- Selecting second in last night’s NBA Draft, the Seattle SuperSonics were blessed to acquire the talented center out of Ohio State, Greg Oden. Oden, who brings obvious length to the Seattle front line, hopes to return the Sonics to the glory days of Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp. Along with Oden, Seattle looks to rely on F Jeff Green to bring more scoring to an offense that looks to be depleted following the departures of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis.

November 16th, 2007

PORTLAND, OREGON- Squaring off against the West perennial power and defending champion San Antonio Spurs, the young Blazers took down the defending champs, 108-94. Led by rookie Kevin Durant’s 27 points and 6 rebounds, the Blazers did a great job at containing Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. With the victory, Portland improved to 4-3 on the young season. Durant is off to a wonderful start in his career, averaging 17.3 ppg, while Brandon Roy (19.4 ppg) and LaMarcus Aldridge (15.8 ppg) are each averaging double digits.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON- In a 94-78 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, the Sonics suffered an even greater loss Friday night. Midway through the 2nd quarter, rookie big man Greg Oden went down with an apparent knee injury. Oden, who had injury problems in his only season at Ohio State, is waiting on x-ray results to see whether or not his season is in jeopardy. For Seattle, Oden’s injury is threatening to not only the team’s immediate future, but the long term future as well. Coach PJ Carlesimo said following the loss to Atlanta, “Greg’s a strong kid, and we hope he can get back on the court very soon. We need him out there if we want to make any moves this season.”

February 23rd, 2008

CLEVELAND, OHIO- In a 104-99 loss to the defending Eastern conference champ Cleveland Cavaliers, the Blazers saw significant contributions out of their young stars. Led by Kevin Durant’s season and career high 34 points, the Sonics fell just short to LeBron James and the Cavs. James, who earlier in the week was asked about the remarkable season Durant was having, was quoted as saying, “Kevin reminds me alot of myself. He has really put that team on his back, and I’m excited to play against him.” Cleveland jumped out to an early 56-38 halftime lead, but a surge in the final period led by Durant and Brandon Roy evened the score at 94 with three minutes to play. Cleveland would rely on James for scoring in the 4th, and a 10-5 run proved to be the final nail in the coffin. James, who finished with 41 points and 12 rebounds, had his way all night in the lane, getting by Durant and LeMarcus Aldridge. With the loss, Portland falls to 24-20, while Cleveland improves to 28-16.

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON- Brutally outmatched by the size and scoring of the Los Angeles Lakers, the league worst Sonics fell to a 10-36 record Wednesday night, after a 110-88 loss. Greg Oden’s season ending injury is excruciating for the Sonics, as the young and inexperienced team has looked for more contribution out of Nick Collison and Jeff Green. The Sonics struggled to score in the paint, as newly acquired Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum dominated Seattle on the boards. Green led Seattle with 20 points, but Kobe Bryant’s 38, and Gasol’s 32 proved to be too much for the home team. Along with the apparent struggles on the court, Seattle fans have been even more troubled lately, as reports are surfacing that team owner Clay Bennett has been exploring options to move the team to Oklahoma City. Bennett had been adamant about the deteriorating Key Arena, and unless a new arena is in the works, odds are the team’s bags are packed. This is the team’s 41st season in Seattle, and many fear it will be their last.

April 17th, 2008

PHOENIX, ARIZONA- Although the Portland Trail Blazers were on the wrong end of a 100-91 loss to the Phoenix Suns, the young team is on their way to the playoffs. Finishing the season with a 50-32 record, Kevin Durant is the consensus pick for Rookie of the Year. Behind Durant’s 22 ppg, the Blazers featured one of the league’s best offenses, ranking sixth in points per game at 103. Coming in to the playoffs as the sixth seed, Portland will be squared off against these same Suns. Coach Nate McMillan likes his chances against Phoenix and it will be interesting to see how this inexperienced squad responds to the pressure the playoffs tend to bring.

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA- The Sonics wrapped up a horrendous 2007-08 campaign and their history in Seattle with an embarrassing 103-70 loss at the hands of the mediocre Sacramento Kings. With the loss, the Sonics finished the season with a 17-65 record, including a 14 game losing streak to end the year. Without rookie Greg Oden in the post, the Sonics suffered on both sides of the ball for the majority of the year. The fans in Seattle were visibly distraught as the year progressed, as the rumors in February became truth regarding the team’s future. Watching your team lose 65 games is one thing, but to watch your team leave your city on such terms is another. Maybe someday a franchise will return to the great state of Washington.

Back to the present day….

It’s quite interesting to think about how one draft could have changed the fortunes of two franchises. Portland, who has been competitive for years, is still lacking a franchise game changer to become a contender. With Durant, that certainly would have happened, and it’s crazy to think just how good that team could have been. Barring injury, Greg Oden’s presence in the paint could have also paid huge dividends for Portland, who is still to this day searching for a true center. Seattle’s selection of Durant is arguably the best draft pick the team has ever had. Durant, a two time scoring champion, has led the now Oklahoma City Thunder, along with Russell Westbrook, to the best record in the Western Conference. This was only a sneak peak at what we could have seen in the NBA had Portland chosen Durant ahead of Oden. It is also difficult to predict that Oden would have had the injuries that he has suffered from. What do you think would have happened in the league had Portland been given the chance to rethink their decision?

CLEVELAND, OHIO-In LeBron James’ third return to Cleveland Friday night, the place where the King once dominated court, hatred and animosity stilled loomed over the 20,500 seat Quicken Loans Arena. But this time, the hatred didn’t feel as real. In a drama filled week from a media standpoint, LeBron, who was quoted on Thursday saying he wouldn’t “rule out returning to Cleveland” felt no love from his hometown crowd.

While the boos and occasional rants from hecklers still remained, the outcome was eerily similar to that of LeBron’s first return to Northeast Ohio on December 2nd , 2010. After Miami jumped out to a 11-0 lead early on, all energy that was pent up prior to the start of the heavily anticipated game, was instantly gone. And from that point on, Miami never looked back. Scorching the Cavs for points inside and out, the Heat were literally on fire, shooting over 70% from the field midway through the second quarter. Unable to get anything going offensively, the only impressive part of the game Friday from a Cleveland fan’s perspective, was the half time show, in which two acrobats tumbled each other in the air using only their feet. Leading by 25 after the first half, Miami would roll to a convincing 111-87 victory.

The Cavaliers, shooting 39.5% from the field, were led in scoring by rookie Kyrie Irving, who totaled 17 points, including a few eye opening drives to the hoop. Outside of Irving, Antwan Jamison, Ramon Sessions and Tristan Thompson each scored double digits. For Miami, LeBron James finished with 28 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Dwyane Wade racked up 22 points, and Chris Bosh recorded a double double, collecting 16 points and 12 rebounds. With the loss, Cleveland drops to 11-17, while Miami continues a strong push to a number one seed in the East, improving to 24-7 during this lockout shortened campaign.

Following the win Friday, James was quoted as saying, “It’s always special coming back here. I know these fans, they know me. They know how competitive I am. I just try and lead my team to victory every night. It’s definitely special every time I come back here.” For someone who is as hated as he is in Cleveland, those are humble words from James. While Cavs fans continue to belittle James for his decision from over a year ago, it’s clear LeBron has moved on, and so should Ohio. In December 2010, there was no chance of seeing a James jersey in the crowd, but tonight, there were dozens of LeBron supporters prevalent throughout the Q. As the boos dominated the environment, the fan base almost seemed confused when James finished multiple buckets with thunderous dunks. When lovers conclude a relationship with a brutal breakup, in order to find love again, each person needs to move on and forget the past. For Cleveland to ever have a clean conscience, it’s clear they need to just let LeBron be. I understand he left Cleveland on national television and ran a franchise into the ground, but everyone needs to be broken in order to grow stronger. And with the comments from earlier this week, there is a possibility the confused fans might find love again, this time in the essence of a rekindled flame. Until then, Cleveland should focus on this team, and the progression the city has to look forward to. Even after a bitter loss Friday night, the future is still bright in Northeast Ohio, regardless of whether or not the King finds his way back home.

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/QTSmG8jE7JA” frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen></iframe>

Coming into the game, Olentangy Liberty was 18-1 and ranked fourth in the latest OHSAA Division I poll. With the loss, they finish the season 18-2 and champions of the OCC-Cardinal, despite losing 2 of their last 3, with their previous loss to Westerville Central last friday. The Wildcats finish the regular season 16-4, 11-3 in the OCC-Cardinal, 1 game back of the Patriots.

Here is a video of the shot:

Coming into the game, both teams had been going in opposite directions, with Scioto (9-10, 5-8) losing 5 of their last 6. Hilliard Bradley (8-11, 5-7) came into the game winning 7 of their last 10, including a home thriller over 9th-seeded Olentangy Orange last Friday night.

The teams struggled to score out of the gate, combining to shoot 1-11 from the field with 4 turnovers in the opening three minutes. The Irish missed a chance to take advantage of the absence of Jaguar senior guard A.J. Dixon for most of the first quarter, who had to sit after picking up two fouls early. Without Dixon, the Jags found a way to grab the lead and control the game leading 12-7 after one.

The first half would be more of the same defensive struggle that was seen in the first quarter. The quarter was played inside of a four point window, with Bradley leading for the entirety of the frame. Bradley lead 21-19 at half, but not before Irish senior Gabe McGlone beat the buzzer with a shot from the wing, rebounding Josh Ashwill’s missed three. The Jags avoided the Irish’s three point attack in the first half, as Scioto shot 0-for-10 from beyond the arc in the first half, behind their average of 5 per game.

Bradley would use an 8-2 run over the first 4 and a half minutes of the third quarter to extend their lead to 29-21, even with losing Jacob Starinsky for a few minutes to an ankle injury. That elusive first three-pointer was finally knocked down by Antonio Bisutti, cutting into the lead. Starinsky would return at the end of the quarter, knocking down a three assisted by Dixon to give the Jags their biggest lead of the night at 36-27.

Scioto would finally put the three point line to good use in the fourth quarter, knocking down 3 in a row to open the fourth quarter, a 9-2 run that was capped by a Bisutti three. The Irish kept the lead down to 2 at 42-40 until the final minute and a half of the game. Free throws by Dixon extended the lead to 4, and Bradley in total would cash in their final 9 points of the game at the charity stripe, going 9-for-11 over the final 1:15.

As they were subbed out with 9 seconds left, the Bradley seniors would get a standing ovation from the home fans, with the student section wishing them farewell with a “Thank You Seniors” chant.

Trent Weaver for the Jags would lead all scorers with 17 points, also collecting 15 boards to seal a third straight double-double. Leading the Irish was Bisutti, scoring 15 points on 5 of 12 shooting.

Top 12 Seeded Teams:

1. Northland (18-1)
2. Walnut Ridge (18-0)
3. Olentangy Liberty (17-1)
4. Pickerington Central (16-2)
5. Westerville North (15-4)
6. Newark (15-4)
7. Upper Arlington (15-3)
8. Westerville South (15-4)
9. Olentangy Orange (14-5)
10. Grove City (12-6)
11. Gahanna (13-6)
12. Mount Vernon(13-5)

Boys Division I Bracket