No one was more fun to watch in college basketball last season than Kentucky freshman point guard John Wall.

Let’s take a look at the first five picks of Thursday’s 2010 NBA Draft and see what they bring to the table.

1. Washington Wizards – John Wall (6-4, PG, Kentucky).
Strengths: Gifted athete, playmaker and brings size to PG position. Weaknesses: Needs to improve FT (Shot 75.4 percent at Kentucky), inexperience.
Impact on Wizards: Not only will he bring fans to the arena, Wall gives Washington a player they can immediately build around and put past troubles with the franchise.

2. Philadelphia 76ers – Evan Turner (6-7, SG/SF, Ohio State).
Strengths: Clutch, seasoned (played three years in college) and shoots a  high percentage  (shot 51.9 percent from the field last season). Weaknesses: Turnover prone and not as explosive around the rim in terms of finishing in traffic.
Impact on 76ers: Will have to play small forward, but teaming up with Andre Iguodala will give the 76ers two very good perimeter defenders. Has a very competitive edge, which Philadelphia has lacked in recent years.

Read the rest of this entry »

Aminu has averaged 19.3 points and 9.2 boards in his nine games with Bakersfield since Erie traded him for Blake Ahearn.

The Sun Sentinel out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is reporting former Erie BayHawk Alade Aminu will make his NBA debut with the Miami Heat on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors.

Aminu, an All-Star D-League power forward who was traded to Bakersfield for guard Blake Ahearn, will be on a 10-day contract with the Heat. Out of Georgia Tech, Aminu was in Miami’s training camp last fall.

I got in touch with Aminu on Friday morning and he confirmed the news to me then. Then later that night after the BayHawks beat Fort Wayne, I talked with Erie rookie point guard Cedric Jackson about it.

“He sent me a text message the other day at like 2 o’clock in the morning,” said Jackson, who has received two NBA call-ups this season with the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs.

“I’m like, OK. He said, ‘I’m going to call you tomorrow.’ I know he was excited. I told him I was extremely proud of him. Just told him to work hard and make sure he focuses and do what he do because that’s where he belongs.”

Center Greg Monroe will lead Georgetown to championship glory this season.

Just filled out my bracket. It’s so much fun, you just want to enjoy every pick.

As most people who follow my work know, I’m a risk taker on these things. Why do it and play conversative?

Might as well pick some first-round upsets. So here are mine for this year’s NCAA Tournament. (seedings in brackets)

Midwest: (13) San Diego State over (6) Tennessee. Don’t trust the Vols.(10) Georgia Tech over (7) Oklahoma State.

West: (12) UTEP over (5) Butler. Just like UTEP’s style. (10) Florida over (7) BYU.

East: (10) Missouri over (7) Clemson. Definitely don’t trust Clemson. Maybe it’s the orange.

South: None here unless you count (9) Louisville beating (8) California.

My bracket gets even crazier after that, but at the end, these are my Final Four picks.

Read the rest of this entry »

For those who missed Erie’s 92-88 overtime win against Reno in the D-League Showcase at Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho, Erie rookie power forward Alade Aminu put in some serious work.

The Georgia Tech product scored a game-high 30 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field and grabbed 23 rebounds (7 on the offensive boards). The 23 boards tied a franchise high set by Erik Daniels last season in Erie’s expansion year.

Aminu played 44 minutes and 44 seconds and only turned the ball over once. And he did all this coming off the bench.

Yeah, he put in work.

Read the rest of this entry »

Jeff Potter is excited.

The Fort Wayne team president giddily blogged about adding guards Oliver Lafayette and Rod Wilmont after the Erie BayHawks waived them the final day of training camp last week. Check out his blog post.

In the process, he waived two players – Andres Sandoval and Brandon Cotton – who shot just 11-of-37 from the field in Fort Wayne’s first two games, which ironically were against Erie.

The BayHawks won the opener and lost the rematch last weekend.

Read the rest of this entry »

Forward Ivan Harris has shaved his head since last season with Erie and no longer rocks the braids.

The Erie BayHawks have to make their final two cuts by Wednesday at 5 p.m. to get their roster down to 10 players for the season opener Friday at Fort Wayne.

On Monday night, the BayHawks had a controlled scrimmage at East High School that revealed quite a bit about each of the remaining 12 players. The White team consisted of guards Cedric Jackson, Oliver Lafayette, Rod Wilmont, forwards Ivan Harris, Kyle Goldcamp and center John Bryant.

That team beat the Black team, 34-32. The black team consistead of first-round pick, guard Donell Taylor, guards Zach Sowers and forwards Jackie Manuel, Martin Zeno, Alade Aminu and Jarvis Gunter.

Very competitive game, but here’s what I noticed about each player in the scrimmage.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Erie BayHawks released Erie native Joe Jones earlier today and kept former Gannon power forward Kyle Goldcamp.

Jones’ downfall was his lack of strength. At 6-foot-3 and 180 pounds, Jones just didn’t match up physically with the bigger guards in camp.

I talked to Erie coach John Treloar today and he simply said Jones, who starred at Edinboro and Cathedral Prep,  needs to get in the weight room.

Now Jones doesn’t have to become this big ol’ brut. That would take away his quickness. With those broad shoulders, Jones could put on at least 15 to 20 more pounds.

Read the rest of this entry »

If Alade Aminu (44) can finish at the rim with force like this for the Erie BayHawks, now they have a legit inside presence in the paint.

After watching Tuesday night’s practice at East High, this is what I’ve noticed about some of the new guys in training camp for the Erie BayHawks.

The team must cut one more to get its roster down to 12 by 5 p.m. Wednesday. The BayHawks have a noon practice at LECOM Health and Wellness Center.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ivan Harris is safe from getting cut Wednesday. Who else in Erie's training camp is secure as a blanket?

The Erie BayHawks must make one more cut to get their roster down to 12 before 5 p.m. Wednesday.

The way I see it, six spots are already secure, I think.

Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a look at the remaining five players  that are in training camp for the Erie BayHawks that includes Georgia Tech big man Alade Aminu, who the D-League got in a draft day trade with Fort Wayne.

Check out a previous post on a look at guards Rod Wilmont, Donell Taylor, Ryan Troutman, Cedric Jackson and center John Bryant and continually check back here for training camp updates.

Read the rest of this entry »