Austin- Basketball Seasons Heat Up (V)

It's that time of the year again. High school hoops is nearing it's finale, as we are entering the week of the state finals. The only local team remaining is East High School. I couldn't tell you much about them, so let's move on. College basketball is next, and things are heating up here as well. Canisius lost this week, as did Vermont. Today, Kansas, without star big man Joel Embiid, fell as well. As you know, my Syracuse Orangemen have had some tough times as of late. they lost 4 of their last 5 coming into this weekend, with upset losses coming from Boston College and Georgia Tech, and Crucial ACC losses coming from Virginia and Duke. I can only assume that a large reason for their recent troubles are the injury to Jerami Grant. He's been having some back problems, and his play time and production have been limited. However, Grant returned to the lineup today as the Orangemen traveled to Florida State to take on the Seminoles. Cuse picked up a solid, much needed victory. CJ Fair led the Orange with 26 points. Elsewhere in the college word, Andrew Wiggins dropped 40 points today, and Jabari Parker scored a career high 30. We're exactly a week from selection Sunday, And like always, it's going to be a crazy month of March. 

In the NBA world, we saw quite the extraordinary day of basketball as well. Last week LeBron James scored 61 points. since then, in 3 games, he's scored just 51. Why such a turn of events you may ask? Well here's your answer. First of all, LeBron scored 61 against the Charlotte Bobcats. Some basketball conspirators have said 'if James scored 61, but it was against the Bobcats, did he really ever even score 61?' I might actually be the first person to ever say that, but I'm not the biggest LeBron fan if you haven't noticed, so theres that. Second, the Heat were upset by the Bulls in overtime today, and LeBron had another tough day, Bulls guard Jimmy Butler stripped James of the ball at the end of the game to prevent a chance of the Heat scoring, and sending the game to over time. Perhaps the most shocking part of the entire game is that for the first time since December of 2009, LeBron didn't attempt a single free throw. On the western side of the league, the Lakers upset the Thunder as Jodie Meeks scored a career high 42 points. Durant recorded his 3rd career triple double. The Thunder have been a roller coaster of a team since the return of Russell Westbrook, which leaves the lingering question about the future of his time in Oklahoma City. Speaking of futures, rumors have swarmed the league regarding Carmelo Anthony and his possible future with the Knicks. Chances of him playing for the Bulls in the future. This is quite the interesting topic, but in order for this to go through, Carlos Boozer would likely have to be traded to the Knicks, as would another role player, most likely a Jimmy Butler or Ronny Brewer type of player. As expected, Melo denied these reports, but with a 21-40 record, it's unlikely that Anthony will remain in New York, unless they have a top notch off season. In other terms of basketball, my good friend Austin Hopcia brought up an interesting point. He said that Anthony Davis in the 3rd best player in the league right now. Interesting to say the least. Obviously James-Durant go 1-2. But Davis at 3rd? Now obviously this is arguable, considering theres not an official way to figure this out. But if i had to make a list, I think Davis would likely be farther down on the list. James is obviously the best player in the league, and Kevin Durant isnt far behind. however, i think Paul George deserves the 3 spot right now, and Carmelo Anthony the 4. James Harden is also up there on the list. In terms of big men, LaMarcus Aldridge has got to be up there, as does Roy Hibbert and Dwight Howard. Kyrie Irving would probably be the last player to slip in there in front of Davis. Let me know what your rank is. Az Out.