January 16-31, 2005 | home
 |
GLOBAL SPORTS PROGRAMMING NETWORK
|
January 31st, 2005
WHO IS YOUR WBA MVP FOR SEASON 10?
By Greg Ross WBA beat Reporter
It is always one of the great debates in any sports league who is the best? But M.V.P stands for most valuable player which does inply you need to be great but also means who is of most value to thier given team. Keepin that in mind we take a look at our Top 5 guys we think should be considered. First thing an M.V.P needs to have is the numbers. So let take a look at our 5 choices and how they stack up numbers wise.
THE NUMBERS
(STATS AS OF DAY 78) G MIN FG% FT% 3P% REB A PF BLK TO STL PTS
Wayne Taylor 67 40 46.7 89.7 39.5 7.9 2.9 2.4 0.3 1.6 1.6 27.3
Samir Sheth 74 35 38.5 87.6 17.1 5.3 1.9 3.8 0.8 1.6 1.8 26.4
Lou Gonzales 74 38 75.4 79.7 0.0 6.8 4.0 2.4 3.4 1.9 2.3 24.1
Bishop Stein 67 38 51.2 80.4 38.1 5.3 6.7 1.1 0.8 1.1 2.0 23.5
Dave Williams 75 41 50.7 81.3 38.7 5.5 4.2 2.9 0.7 1.7 1.3 26.0
The one stat that should jump of the page and hit you right between the eyes is Lou Gonzales FG% to put it in simple terms for every four shots Gonzales gets three our in the basket. No one in the history of basketball has every had a percentage like that playing the amount of minutes he does. But what is kind of funny is Gonzales is also the worst free throw shooter of the group at a more than respectable 79%. But when you look at the complete line of stats Gonzales is most well rounded of the group show great offensive and defensive skills. But as we have said this is an M.V.P award not a statistical one. Gonzales is fortunate to have another M.V.P candadite in Stien and vice versa. Which makes Oregon a great team but may not make one of thier guys an M.V.P So that leads to our next topic which is importance to the team. will break this down with some stats you won't see on WBA.Com.
Wayne Taylor- Record when not in line up 5-2 % of team scoring 27.1%
SemirSeth-NA Seth has dressed for all games % of team scoring 24.7%
Bishop Stien- Record when not in the line up 6-1 % of team scoring 21.1%
Lou Gonzales-NA has dressed for all games % of team scoring 21.6%
Dave Williams-NA has dressed for all games % of team scoring 25.6%
It is often said that Wayne Taylor is the heart of Nebraska he sure is the heart of the offence scoring 27% of his teams points. But Nebraska was able to go 5-2 with out him but Oregon went 6-1 without Stien Most Coaches would perfer never to find out how the team would do without an M.V.P type guy in the line up and Williams,Seth and Gonzales have made it that thier coaches don't have to find out. Durabilty is just as big a factor as consistancy. All of these players our for the most part both.
THE X FACTORS
Wayne Taylor- A recent slide by Nebraska may not help Wayne Taylor get much support for an M.V.P vote as many voters see team success and an M.V.P award being two things that go together. But you need only look to the NBA to see for some awards the Rookie of the Year went to Lebron James on a team that didn't make the playoffs. While Carmello and his team went to the playoffs. Wayne Taylor and his team our at least in the playoffs and no one can deny he is a big reason why they made it.
Semair Seth- Some would think that Semir Seth doesn't deserve to be on this list at all.Why? Well looking at his FG% will give you the answer. But that a side he is there for his team night in and night out putting up big numbers at some points and is a guy when hot is as good as anyone in this league. If he won it would be shocking but he's a guy who many teams would like to have.
Bishop Stien- This guy should be a look for leagues most improved player but not an awrad you like on the mantle. An M.V.P may never come his way as long as he plays with Gonzales.He will always be though of as benfiting from playing with him. But he is a great player and could likely do as well with out Lou. But if he wants a WBA Championship staying where he is makes total sense.
Lou Gonzales- He also benfits from having Stien to play with. But Gonzales can play with anyone slap him on any team and you can add 20 wins. Thats how good he is. In all honesty he is hands down the best player in this league and likely the most valuable.
Dave Williams- Playing in the east definately provides a boost for Williams Numbers and his team is near the Bottom of the east playoffs. But He may get the most done with the least help and that says something. If there was an east M.V.P he would be it. But there isn't.
OUR MVP TOP 5
5. Semir Seth
4 Dave Williams
3 Wayne Taylor
2 Bishop Stien
1 Lou Gonzales
You can figure it out however you want no one is more dominate than Big Lou. Thats why we like him as our choice for M.V.P and why when we preview the Play-offs Oregon will be our team to beat. One may say that Cancun players should have made this list but we think Cancun although strong on the court is even stronger in the front office management of that franchise just get it done and they all have rings to prove it.
January 26th, 2005
Dinos Press Conference
Owner James Borbath: I would like to thank all of the media for attending today's press conference I will begin by reading a statement and than answer any questions that you have.
I'd like to say that for me having the chance to own a franchise in the WBA has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. To have a group of people working so hard for one goal all together is truly a remarkable experience. This franchise has made steps to being like it once was which is a upper level team in WBA. I have one goal and that is to win a WBA Championship. I think we have started to lay the foundation to do just that. This has been a season of great change. Well next season will be one as well. I am offically anouncing this franchise will move to Toronto Canada and be known as the Toronto Dinos. I realize that Roswell is an orginal franchise in this league but unfortunately from the mistakes of previous ownership it has made Roswell not the right place for us to be. I think having a losing record at home is an indirect example of the lack of interest in the community and it is a sad day for this Texas community. However being from Canada and living not far from Toronto I know that the passion for basketball a sport invented by a Canadain is huge and can grow even larger. So next season will mark an exciting new begining for this franchise. We will be the first ever WBA franchise to call Canada home and we look forward to have a whole nation not just a city supporting our young talented basketball club. I am so proud of what this team has been able to accomplish. Walt Jackson should be named the Rookie of the year based on his outstanding play in this season. He along with Christbal Dasher, Buck Jones and all the others have shown great heart and hustle and become an exciting team to watch. It is our hope that we can come to some kind of arrangement that will see all 3 players back with us next season. Jack Armstrong has done a great job changing the way we play ball and creating an exciting team that can defend and score. We will be active in trying to improve on what we feel is already a good team. Everyone this off season will be committed to making this team better. From myself the owner to the team mascot Dino. All staff will be offered their postions in the new Toronto Franchise. With that said I will take your questions.
Reporter: It seemed from day one you had no intention of keeping this franchise here in Roswell is that a fair and accurate statement?
Borbath: Well it is and it isn't. Yes I had a desire to move this team to Canada. Which as the owner is my right to do so. Regaurdless of the situation here. However if I had seen support and a reason to keep the franchise here I certainly would have looked at it. I am a businessman and if i believed it made sense to stay here from a cash stand point I would do so. But it doesn't and unfortunately it is time for a change. I realize this is not popular in Texas and I'm sure the fact I'm a cowboys fan won't change that. But life is tough sometimes in Canada cities have lost pro sports teams to the United States and it is a very hurtful thing for a community. So I real understand the pain of people in Roswell that still love and support this franchise.
Reporter: You stated you plan on trying to keep Dasher and Jones. Given the teams cap situation to you think that is realistic?
Borbath: We will have to sit down and crunch some numbers and see what can be done but I would like to make it happen. Will I do it at all cost,well no. But I will give my best effort to ensure that it does.
Reporter: Wesley Phillips has not been used much at all this season and many have said he has been a disruptive force in the locker room would you care to comment regaurding his situation.
Borbath: I will just say this we have a goal and a vision here and if a player coach I guy selling hot dogs does not believe and contribute in that vision than he will not be a part of this organization. So I think if you our smart you can put two and two together. Let's say I don't see Wesley Phillips having to relocate to Canada.
Reporter: What will be the goals for this team as far as the draft and free agents?
Borbath: I think we have a soild core of players and we would like to add some quality depth at some key positions. I think this team could use a swing man or perhaps a point gaurd for the future. It's hard to say at this moment what we would do cause you never know what will be out there for ya. In general I would say the GCBA draft class is weak and thats why we didn't mind trading our pick that belonged to Alaska to move down some spots in the draft. I think there is not that much of a difference talent wise when you get beyond the first couple picks. Much for the same reason we didn't trade our first pick last year is why we did trade a pick this year. I would even go so far as saying we could get a same quality type of player with the pick we aquired from Boston.
Reporter: This is kind of a follow up question. Moving to Toronto do you feel that will hurt your chances of recruiting players through free agentcy?
Borbath: Well with a team in Alaska they can't use the excuse of the weather. Because in Tonronto it gets cold but not as cold as it does in Alaska. I think that if players see a well run organization and place for them to succeed within that organization the will play anywhere. That along with the excitiment the move will have on the city of Toronto makes us an exciting place to be and play.
Reporter: Our you one of the owners in favour of realignment and did that have anything to do with moving the team northeast?
Borbath: I do believe this league could use a shake up but it had nothing to do with the move. We could have just as easily moved to Vancouver or Calgary but in the end Toronto was the best fit. We our prepared to compete in the divison that we our in. If we should be moved to the Eastern conference obviously it helps us. I mean i believe we have a over .500 record verus the east. But I have no control over what the league does. But I think everyone would agree there is a competive inbalance in this league that needs to be addressed for the sake of all fans of the WBA.
Reporter: Your team will end up with a slightly better record how would you rated your teams performance in your first year.
Borbath: Slightly above average which is about what I thought. I believe I was quoted as saying we would win around 30 games and were on target to do just about that. With so much change it was hard for the guys but to thier credit they played through the changes and remained competive on most nights.Once again I'd like to thank everyone for coming out today and thank the media for doing a great job in covering my team and the WBA as a whole. Without you people in the media we Owners, Players and Officals would not be able to have such a great product. So I say give yourselfs a hand. I will miss many of you as we move to Toronto however I hope you continue to cover us for the true fans of this team here in Roswell.
January 22nd, 2005
A look at the EAST(as of DAY 72)
1.XX Budapest 41-27 GB
2. XX Albecete 41-27 --
3. X Washington 40-28 0.5
4. Gabon 36-32 5
5. Sacremento 36-33 5.5
6. Brooklyn 35-33 6
7. Baltimore 35-33 6
8. Rochester 35-34 6.5
What is clear is this 8 teams will make the eastern playoffs. Leaving Boston, New York, Birmingham, Alaska, London and Carolina to wait to try their luck at the WBA lottery for the up coming draft although not all of these teams hold rights to thier respective picks. In fact only Boston retains the rights to thier respective pick. You want to know why the West is better this may be a clue. London will look to steal free agents nex season as they have cleared a huge amount of cap space. As for the rest I have no idea how they can get better without any first round picks. Obviously a lot of the G.M's of these teams will need to be active in trades and or Free Agent Market in order to improve. If nothing is done you may just see a simliar look to the east playoffs next year. Lacking a race for actual playoffs spots does not stop us from having excitment though as 1st through 8 th our within 6.5 games. Breaking it down further 4-8 is 1.5 games. Obviously important is the 4th spot because of home court advatage. Like the West will start at the bottom and work to the top.
8. Rochester- A real up and down year for this squad. But now being safe and in the playoffs it should be time to get it going for Rochester. But 5-5 with a loss in their last contest to Roswell it does not seem that it is possible. But as I said of the top it's been an up and down year and Dave Williams will look to get it going for his club as he is the leader of this band of Snow Men. I realize Alaska our the snow bears but people in Rochester know all about snow as well. So ends our weather channel moment. Rochester will need to ride a high pressure wave if they want to have home court in the playoffs. Ok now it's done the weather references that is not Rochester.
7 Baltomore- They hold the worst road record of all the eastern teams in the playoffs. So being 20-11 at home the goal of Baltimore has to be 4 seed or bust. 7-3 in thier last ten games seems to suggest they our aware that without home court they will likely be exiting the playoffs far sooner than they would like. A game against Brooklyn down the stretch will be key. If Brooklyn wins they win season series and hold a tie breaker edge over balitimore.There will be many tie breaking senerios for all these eastern teams so having a team have an advatage over you could mean a lot as far as matchups and postioning our concerned.
6 Brooklyn- Another team that is a bad road team and needs to go all out for home court in first round.4-6 and losing the last 2 games is not good signs if your a Rage fan. As mentioned a key game with Baltimore remains. The bad news it's AT baltimore. Rochester is also on the menu for Brooklyn. Which also should have some meaning. Winning those 2 games should give Brooklyn a leg up in staying at least where they are currently in 6th. But Brooklyn has a very easy finish for their last 5 of 6 games. Califonia, New York, Birmingham, Baltimore and Alaska. 4 non play-off teams and Baltimore must be nice. Going 5-0 for those games would go a long way for the Rage climbing up the playoff tree.
5 Sacremento- Free falling is not just a song it's reality for Sacremento at the moment. 3-7 in the last ten making them the worst of the teams in the playoffs in the East. Like majority of teams in the East Sacrmento is a less than spectacular team on the road. So they also would like to get the 4th spot or better and have home court advantage But Jaxon McCall going off for 41 points verus Albacete has to be a good sign for Sactown.
4 Gabon- The Giants will need to be large if they hope to hold home court advantage down the stretch. 6-4 in there last ten games is good but with so many teams trying to track them down they may need to be even better than that down the to the end. Another team that if on the road in round one the odds for them would drop to a large degree.Gabon has a game in hand on Rochester and Sacremento. So of the Atlantic Divison teams they have the best shot at home court of the 3 teams mentioned so far.
3 Washington- The really our 2nd seed once playoffs get started as they lead thier divison. They sport the best home record in the Eastern Conference at 27-7. Unless they have a major break down they will be a 2 seed and hold home court advantage til at least the conference championship. However they would like to be the #1 seed and have home court all the way through as they only are 13-20 on the road. In a conference that is so up in the air Washington was rumoured to have a deal to acquire Buck Jones and Christbal Dasher from Roswell but never made the deal. Will they regret it? The playoffs will hold the answer.
2- Albacete- Tied at the top of the Atlantic Divison. Albecete would like to hang on to the divison and 1st seed in the east. The have the best road record in the east which when playoffs roll around could help them finsh off teams faster than many other teams in the east could that our dependent on the home court advantage. 6-4 in their last 10 is good but Budapest has been better than that. With two head to head battles with Budapest left a sweep of those 2 games would almost gaurntee a Divison title. But what ever the result Albacete looks like a strong contender to go as far as the conference championship at the very least.
1. Budapest- They our the hottest team in the Eastern Conference as they have gone 8-2 in thier last ten games. But as mentioned before two loses to Albacete and it won't mean much. The two teams each hold a win in the two games they have matched up so far. These last two regular season match-ups will have huge implications for both teams and may be a preview of the Eastern Conference Championship. They along with Albacete our the only teams in the East with winning road records. This is why both team should have an inside track at seeing each other much more than the two times left on the schedule.
There is no doubt that the Eastern side of the playoffs should be exciting right from the opening round. While in the West it looks like the excitement will wait til later down the line. But any team that wins the east you would have to think will go into the WBA Championship as a definate underdog. If an Eastern team is to have a legimate shot at winning it all they need to finsh opposition quickly and hope that West big boys beat each other silly. But the smart money lies on the West to capture the WBA title.
January 21st, 2005
Birmingham Post
Home of the Birmingham Fury January 21, 2005
bjhadley3@Hotmail.com Issue number 1
THE MAJOR REPLACEMENT.
Well, the transition has begun. The C.E.O. Board members for the Birmingham Fury Voted 6 to 0 in order to remove Coach Ethan Kight and replace him with a young “go-getter” GCBA coach. The head coach of the Kaiserslautern Kobras, Coach B.J. Hadley III (Trey). Ethan will stay on as GM for the remainder of the season to help smooth things over. That relationship didn't last very long. The C.E.O. Board members for the Birmingham Fury did not like the fact that Ethan was still hanging around the players and trying to still give input on coaching matters, so the Board members removed Ethan completely from the organization. ”Coach Trey has a good grasp on how things work in the WBA.
This team was put together so they could win and they fell very short of that goal. The change had to be made and I felt that Coach Trey could do the job.” Said, William Felton a Board members for the Birmingham Fury. When asked, Yuri Vilasny had to say, “It doesn't matter who is the coach we just have to play basketball. The problem is our bench needs to perform under pressure. The most important thing is getting Isaac Rice healthy, because with his talent that could really put our team over the hump.” Also, Isaac Rice had to say, “I understand that I am the reason that my team is suffering with all loosing the games this season. I am trying to do everything in my power to get healthy. I know I can be a difference maker, but I have to be on the court. Coach Trey has informed me that I will be apart of this team in the future and insured that the team belonged to me, so I have to do my part to make this team better.”
THE NEW VISION OF COACH TREY.
Coach Trey has a unique view for this team and it is a little crazy in my view, but could work. The team will be built around Isaac Rice and Yuri Vilasny. This duo has some worked to do, but Coach Trey feels that it can be done with this team. The style of play that Coach Trey will be trying to install is an up tempo scoring a lot of points, but also playing some defense. So far there were a few players that Coach Trey is trying to keep on the team such as, Bob Delaney, Tony Dimateo, Wu Dian-fan, Joe Brennan, and Wong-Wei Wang. It has been reported that Coach Trey has been trying to remove Nike Johnson, Michael Kutak, and Leonel Coles all of them very dependable veterans. These players will be moved before trade dead line or during the draft, but hey have to go. Coach Trey has been given a three season window to turn this team around and get them into the playoffs. When asked, Coach Trey had this to say, “This is not going to be easy, but I am up for the challenge. If I can take Glasgow / Kaiserslautern GCBA from worst to winning the GIT Tournament, I think I can turn this team around. There are ready some good pieces here and it is my job to fill in the missing holes. I just want to give a thanks to Ethan Kight for coming to get my and give me a chance to try to win games. I hope he can find time to come back to the league and provide some fire when he is ready.”
Team Chemistry
Coach Trey has his hands full trying to find playing time for his players. Changes need to be made on this team and Coach Trey did make major changes. Coach Trey started the movement by trading crowd favorite Ramiro Watts, as well as, Bill Blackstone and Jamie Crouch. The players traded were replaced by 3 point shooting specialist Tony Dimateo and also veteran center Bobby Cress and Maurice Evers who was recently cut and replaced by Andres Fernandez. With the new players in place now Coach Trey has to setup some kind of lineup.
So the new starting line up looks like this.
PG-- Yuri Vilasny
SG-- Michael Kutak
SF-- Bob Delaney
PF-- Tony Dimateo
C-- Bobby Cress
The Fury backups are,
Nike Johnson -- SG/SF
Isaac Rice -- PF
Leonel Coles - PF/C
Alton Odom - PG
Vilasny is the key that makes this whole machine run. The league leader in assist has to get everyone involved. New man to the starting lineup is Michael Kutak as the Shooting Guard. Most of the season he has been coming off the bench, but a phone call from a unanimous owner advising Coach Trey to give Kutak a chance. That move put Nike Johnson in the sixth man role again. With the acquisition of Tony Dimateo Bob Delaney moves to Small Forward and the starting Center will be Bobby Cress. Coach Trey is going to try Isaac Rice coming off the bench mostly playing backup Power Forward, but also playing Center. Isaac Rice said, “What do you expect the new coach to do? He has to do what is best for the team. If that involves me coming off the bench then I guess that is what I am going to do.”
Off Season Moves
Coach Trey needs to address the resigning of Yuri Vilasny, Bob Delaney, Tony Dimateo, Wong-Wei Wang, and Andres Fernandez. First thing the ownership needs to do is lock up Yuri Vilasny to a long term contact. After Yuri Vilasny is taken care of the ownership needs to decide how much they are willing to pay Bob Delaney and Tony Dimateo. Delaney already stated that he wanted to stay in Birmingham and finish his career. Dimateo said I would to stay here playing with Yuri Vilasny makes the game so easy. I just want to be in one place long enough to gel the rest of my teammates. I want improve my all round game. This season has been crazy, but I feel it is coming together and this team will be something to reckon' with for the rest of this season and next season.” Coach Trey challenge in front of him we will see if he is up to it.
January 21st, 2005
Nebraska News Conference
Today Coach Morfeld sat down for questions from the local media about how the season has been going.
Reporter: Coach Morfeld, what is the cause of the teams struggles this season?
Coach: Well, I don't think there is any one cause. We have really struggled on the road. I guess when you are an offensive minded team that is bound to happen because you shoot worse on the road. I have tried to break down every stats I can to find an answer, but it just isn't happening. Basically the way I see it we aren't dominating in anything. We are just even in almost every stat area with our opponents. Really, it's kind of amazing that we have the record we do. We just need an overall better effort from the players and the coaches.
Reporter: Expectations were so high for you to start the season. Many thought you may have assembled the best team in WBA history. Have the teams goals changed at all?
Coach: Nope. Our goal is still very much attainable. The big goal that is. The Pacific Division Championship is probably out of grasp, but once the playoffs start anything can happen. I mean you have to beat everyone sometime.
Reporter: What is going to happen in the offseason if this team fails to win a playoff series?
Coach: Hard to say. I can promise that Wayne, Dennis, Dexter, and Roy will all be back. That is a great young nucleus of players that I feel very strongly about. They may not be ready to contend yet, but i am very excited about each of them. Wayne is putting together an amazing season.
Reporter: Is Wayne the MVP?
Coach: Wayne is always the MVP. He just doesn't get the award from the league.
Reporter: How would you rate the play of Dennis Evans this season?
Coach: Dennis has been amazing. He still works on his shooting every day in practice, but once he gets that down then the league better watch out! I think it won't be long before he is the leagues premier SG.
Reporter: So how do you right this ship heading down the stretch and into the playoffs?
Coach: Well, we are going to tinker with some things in the lineup. The starting 5 will remian the same, but we hope to get a better effort from them and we want to get a bit more from our bench. I mean with Bachemann, Morfeld, Adams, Wilson, and Clopp coming off the bench we should be getting a more consistent contribution. Hopefully we start to gel at the right time and can move up a spot in the seedings. I really still feel good about this team and I know that no one wants to face us as a 7th seed. Or a 6th seed for that matter. We're still dangerous. Any team with this much talent is a danger. Thanks guys.
January 21st, 2005
Prospect Preview for WBA Draft
by Brandon Morfeld
This is more of a breakdown of prospects than an actual draft preview. I am going to break down 10 of the best prospects in the upcoming draft. They are listed in alphabetical order below. Hopefully this is some assistance to coaches trying to find the time to do some draft day scouting.
Scott Berger--3--West River; Berger is one of the leagues best offensive players. He can knock down a jumper from every range with some great consistency. He is especially deadly from three point land where he can really get into a groove. Leave him open and he will hurt you bad. He is smart with the ball also. His biggest weakness is probably a lack of dominant rebounding ability and a lackluster defensive effort on most nights. He would be an ideal player to move to SG.
Mark Carr--12--Beijing; Carr has been rumored to be leaving the GCBA early ever since he was a sophomore, but he stuck through college and his draft stock has only risen every year. He is a premier scorer and an excellent shooter. He has excellent ball control and plays a smart mental game. He isn't an outstanding defender, but he gets the job done. He also lacks point guard like vision and isn't ideally suited to pass the ball. He will adjust better as a SG.
Brenden Dawson--2--Langepas; Dawson is a lot like Carr. He is a deadly shooter that really helps his team to score. He is also an intelligent player which is the way many WBA teams are going. He will struggle to defend the premier SG's in the WBA, but they will struggle to defend him also. He is an above average rebounder for a SG which will help out his stats also. He'll make for a nice SG in a couple of seasons.
George Faup--5--Devi State; Faup is our first big man on this list. He is also the first player that plays better defense than offense. Faup can get the job done everyday as a post player. He is great at shutting down opponents and frustrating them offensively. Not to mention that he is also a force on the boards. He does have to watch his foul situations because he is such an aggressive defender, but he has done well managing those in the GCBA. He is an instant impact kind of player.
Justice Grant--5--Westside; It's been a long time since a star player has come out of Westside University, but here he is. Grant will be somewhat of a project player, but he has the talent pool to make it big. He is a great rebounder and has a nice shooting touch around the rim. He doesn't have much range, and his defense needs some work, but he protects the ball well and doesn't get into trouble on defense. He's a risk, but he could be a big payoff for someone.
Vincent Holliday--12--Midwest State; He played two positions in college, but I think in the WBA he will need to focus on playing SG. He loves to have the ball in his hands and has a nice touch on his shots. he can hurt a team from anywhere. He passes the ball very well for a SG and he protects it with his life. His biggest problem is defense which is why he is more suited to play SG in the WBA. He's a scorer that has some PG skills with his passing.
Luca McMillan--1--Williams; Luca may be the best all around player in this draft. He is a great offensive leader who gets his teammates involved and knows when to take over himself. he employs great ball fakes and just a great knowledge of the game. He almost never turns the ball over and is an emotional leader. His biggest downfall is his defense. He isn't a very good defender and he compounds the problem by being slightly foul prone. A lot of people say it is his drive to win that also drives him to foul.
Chad Nolan--34--Midwest State; Nolan could be the next #1 pick to come out of Midwest State. He is a great scorer with range on his shots. He helps himself out a lot by cleaning up everything on the boards and getting easy put backs. His defense is only average, but he is such a smart player that he can get the most out of his ability while committing almost no fouls or turnovers. He knows the game and is able to push himself to the limit and remain in control. This is a factor that many WBA teams have been looking for lately.
Davion Stahl--1--Great Plains; Stahl was a large reason why Great Plains was ranked #1 for a large portion of the early season. It is always great when you have a court leader that gets the whole team going the right direction. Stahl starts it all off with his nice passing ability. It may be a little low for WBA standards, but he has a lot of growth potential. Once he gets teams to back off expecting the pass he really starts to take the game over. Stahl possesses some of the best offensive skills in the draft. He is a damaging force to opponents beacuse of this. He's a smart player that doesn't make mistakes with fouls or turnovers and he is also an underrated defensive player. Look out for Stahl to go high in this draft.
Sam White--4--Beijing; White is another player from Beijing who had been rumored to leave early at one point, but he also stuck it out. He is a great offensive player with a nice jump shot for a PF. He is also a major player on the glass and often influences the entire game plan of opponents. He is a defensive force in the paint with great shot blocking ability. He plays smart with the ball, but at times gets careless without it, leading to some fouls. White is a great WBA prospect though.
January 17th, 2005
Into The Home Stretch of the WBA Season
Western Conference(as of Day 66)
1 X-Cancun 49-15 GB
2 X-Oregon 48-14 1
3 Colorado 46-16 3
4 Texas 45-17 4
5 Capetown 45-18 4.5
6 Andorra 41-21 7
7 Nebraska 37-25 11
8. Miami 30-32 18
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
9 Salt Lake 28-34 2 Games out of playoffs
10 Omaha 26-37 4.5 Games out of the playoffs
11 Roswell 25-37 5 Games out of the playoffs
All the rest would need luck beyond which we have never seeen. Cincinatti on a 16 game slide is making a strong bid to be front runner to win the WBA lottery but judging by thier season they would likely screw this up as well. But at least they hold rights to the loterry pick that would be no worse than 4th. California and Montana our not mathamatically eliminated but in reality have been for quite awhile. Enough about who can't win let's talk about who can will go from bottom to the top.
11-Roswell- A long shot to make the playoffs at best. You would think if they were serious about making a run at the last spot they would have made a deal. However they did not which suggests it isn't a big concern for this season. The only reason Roswell holds a little hope is they our still alive in all tie breaker senerios they could be involved in. If they deafeat Miami this week that would give them the edge 3-1 in head to head. They already have a split with Ohama and still see Salt Lake a few times down the stretch run. If all the Stars aligned the dinos could be the 8 seed which would suit Cancun or Oregon just fine as both have dominated the Dinos this year.
10-Omaha- They like the Dinos have faded and may not stand much of a chance to slide in the playoffs. Washington in the eas will be cheering for them to fail as they hold the Ohama first round pick for this years draft. But that also is a reason to give Ohama a chance seeing as they have nothing to lose by taking a shot at making the playoffs.But if this team is going to do anything they need to turn it around in a hurry. Of the four teams battling for the finally spot they have been the worst as they our 1-9 in thier last 10 games.
9-Salt Lake City- Once going neck and neck with Miami they have fallen back and will loss if in a tie breaker with Miami as the dropped the season series to them 3-1. However they have potiental with 1 win over bot Ohama and Roswell to hold the advantage against both of those teams. No head to Head match ups with Miami will make it a little tougher to gain the edge on them though. This team you would have to think whould be frustrated to miss the playoffs. Salt Lake also does not hold rights to their 1st round pick next season so no excuse not going all out to make playoffs.
8- Miami- They have to be the front runner to hold on to the last playoff spot. 8-2 in their last 10 while all the teams chasing them our below .500 in their last 10. Add in the fact that with Montana First round pick instead of thier own they have a good shot at high lottery pick. Things look up for Miami.That will be until the playoffs get strated than look for them to be road kill for Cancun or Oregon. The fact they have had to battle hard to secure a spot you would thing would leave them with not much energy to be a serious threat in the Playoffs.
7-Nebraska- Once being in the top tear of the conference Wayne Taylor and his squad have been on a free fall and now look to be stuck in the 7th seed playing a division champion in ethier Oregon or Cancun. with Colorado also having an outside shot at the Pacfic Divison Title. Bottom line they our all tough teams and not exactly the type of oppostion Nebraska would have though they would be playing in the first round. Having Just a.500 road record does not help you in thinking Nebraska could pull off an upset. Having said all this Nebraska needs to push hard to try and bump up to 6 seed but that will be tough being 4 games back with only 18 to play and the team playing some of thier worst basketball of the season.
6-Andorra- After a slow start to the year this squad has been one of the nice suprises of the WBA season. They could be a team at the 6 seed that maybe able to pull of a first round upset. This is definately one of those teams no one would look forward to facing in the opening round. With some luck this team with the right match-ups could go far in the playoffs.
5- Capetown- Still in the hunt to win their divison a team that is hard to put a handle on as they seem to play to the level of competition in front of them. A solid team on thier home floor would not mind a bit jumping a head in the standing to be able to host a playoff series. Not to say that this team is not able to be able to steal a game on the road cause they have a decent road record as well. Given the right match-up they should make it through the first round.
4-Texas- Much the same as Capetown they still have an outside shot at winning thier divison. They our currently on a win streak but unfortunately have made no ground on divison leading Cancun. They also would be well served to host a playoff series as they sport an impressive home record. They have potiental to finsh anywhere from 1 seed to a 5 seed so you have to like the chances of them having a good first round match up. If not a on of the top 2 seeds though I would think being at the 4 seed might be better for them than the 3 seed. But ethier match up in the first round will be tough for texas as they our a combined 0-6 verus Capetown and Andorra. This does not seem good for Texas once the playoffs get strated.
3- Colorado- Cancun and Oregon our the conferences to best teams but a close 3rd is this team. Only team with a realistic shot at being a divison winner other than the 2 teams actually leading the respective divisons currently.They have been hot as of late but like the case for Texas trying to catch Cancun it is a similar situation for Colorado. Semair Seth is one of best guys in this league and will be a main piece of the puzzle in how good Colorado can be. A first round series with Andorra most likely should tell us a lot about how good and how far Colorado can go. If they our unable to catch Oregon.
2- Oregon- From the begining of the pre-season Oregon has been perhaps the most dominate team in the league. They have done nothing through out the season that would change your mind about it. Obviously finshing 1st in the conference will be important as Nebraska would be the oppoent for the team finishing second. Nebraska has struggled but not a team you would like to see in a first round match-up. Fans of WBA in general have to be pulling for a Oregon verus Cancun west final. One could almost call it the series that will determine the WBA Champion as both teams will provide each other with a tough test. Tougher than an team in the east could manage.
1- Cancun- Shocking isn't it? Well shocking if you have lived on the moon the past 3 seasons. Cancun once again has stepped to the fore front when it matters most. I pitty any poor 8 th seed that would have to face them in round one. But just like Oregon finishing on top of the conference will be impotant. A series against Wayne Taylor and Nebraska makes life a little more diffcult than facing the likes of a Miami or a Salt Lake. Wrestler Ric Flair always says to be the man you have to beat the man. Cancun our the men and they keep showing it year after year. This year has been no different.
That wraps it up for the west next time we will take a look east and see who if anyone can challenge this tough western conference.