A New Beginning

Today marks the start of the college basketball season practice sessions. Next week the NBA will begin practices and in the weeks following hordes of high school basketball players will try out for their school teams in hopes of making it. This is my time of year. Year after year several stories begin to bubble during the early fall months in anticipation for upcoming seasons. All three levels of basketball will intertwine as high school studs look to sign on with their dream schools, college players look to extend their seasons in to March in hopes of impressing the scouts and earning a spot in next June's NBA draft.

My wife probably dreads this time of year because I will morph in to a basketball crazed UBER FAN for the next 9 months until the NBA season comes to an end. While actual basketball won't get started until the end of October, I will get my fix from preseason games and detailed reports from practice. This basketball season in particular has several headlines across the three primary levels of play and they will all be closely watched by many. So what are the headlines I am most interested in, below I break them out. Enjoy!



NBA

Defending the Crown: The Miami Heat will begin the season attempting to become the first team since the Shaq and Kobe Lakers to 3 peat. They had a pretty interesting off season, winning the Greg Oden sweepstakes and if that pays off it could be the deciding factor. They parted ways with often injured, big game player Mike Miller but potentially replaced him (at low cost and no risk) with former first round pick Michael Beasley. If Beasley can avoid the pitfalls of being back in South Beach he could be in for a breakout season. Even if Beasley sheds his bad boy ways and Oden emerges from his injury riddled past, it all hinges on the shoulders of the reigning MVP. LeBron has to play like a man possessed to achieve something few have and cement himself among the Giants of the game.

Return To Action: Several players will be returning from gruesome season ending injuries. None bigger than Derrick Rose who missed the entire 12/13 season. From what I hear, the former MVP is back in great shape and ready to return ASAP. Russell Westbrook will also return after being injured in the first round of the playoffs. His return will relieve the large burden that will be placed on the back of Kevin Durant. Rajon Rondo will return to lead a rag tag bunch to the lottery. If Danny Ainge has a heart he will trade the hyper talented point guard as a favor. Finally the Black Mamba himself, Kobe Bryant is also expected to make his return after a freak injury. While Bryant is in the twilight of his career he continues to amaze us all. I don't believe he will be at the height of his powers until after the All Star break, but I do believe he will find a way to impress as usual.

Tank Ex 2013/14: The upcoming season will have lots of story lines, but none may be more interesting than the race to tank. With the 2014 draft class expected to be the best since 2003, several teams are expected to play with less motivation. Philadelphia, Boston, Orlando, Phoenix and Utah will all play without one Star Player. Which means they will all play to draft one. Charlotte acquired Al Jefferson in the off season giving them a star player, however I fully expect them to join the aforementioned teams in the race for a top draft pick to help change their fortunes.


NCAA

Freshmen Mayhem: As I mentioned above many people believe the 2014 NBA draft could end up being one of the best ever. Reason number 1 for that, the freshmen class. This class is loaded with potential lottery picks and they "should" all lead their respective teams to the tournament. The other exciting aspect, many of the players will meet during the course of the season so we will get a chance to  gauge the legitimacy of each player. This will be fun and I for one am stoked!!!!

The Mighty State of Michigan: DUH!!!! Why wouldn't I be super excited about both Michigan and Michigan St. They both return star talents (MICH: Mitch McGary and Glen Robinson III/MSU: Gary Harris and Adreian Payne). They both have future hall of fame coaches and they will both begin the season ranked in the top 10. I fully expect them both to remain there and then make a serous push in the spring for Championship glory.


Big School Dominance: So in previous years small schools have managed to sneak in to the National picture and wrestle away headlines. Schools like Wichita St., Gonzaga, BYU, San Diego St and VCU have challenged for tops in the nation over the last few seasons however this year I predict they will all take a back seat. All of the power schools (Duke, Kentucky, UNC, Michigan, MSU, Indiana, Kansas, Arizona, UCLA, Syracuse, Louisville) had monster recruiting years and return a lot of veteran talent. I am not saying that a small school won't dethrone one of those programs, just saying its not likely this year. The talent disparity combined with the coaching and traditional rankings love will place these schools further ahead than in previous years. I for one can use a season with the old guard returning to dominance, its good for the sport.


High School

Only one story truly matters, where will the dynamic duo of Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones go to school. The top ranked Center and top ranked PG announced that they will be choosing the same college. This makes them the most coveted duo since Jalen Rose and Chris Webber. They will certainly bring with them certain expectations and if they remain healthy they could assure a team a place in the Final Four during the 14/15 college season.

So as you can see there is plenty to be excited about this year. I only mentioned what I am looking forward to, there are additional stories that combined with mine will make for a huge year in basketball. HAPPY WATCHING!


The Draft Fanatic.