Lebron for Mayor

Tuesday was extremely busy in the world of basketball, with several college games capturing my undivided attention.

The first part is true. Unfortunately, I slept in and out of some really good games. But thanks to the power of the Internet and an uncanny ability to wake up at just the right time, I didn't miss too much.

Rundown:

• Obviously the big news within the past week in the NBA was that the New York Knicks are clearing space for LeBron James' possible arrival, officially pulling the trigger on the second of two big trades Tuesday afternoon when they decided they'd be willing to deal with Cuttino Mobley's heart condition (hell, it's only a year and change). With that trade going down, the Knicks have assured themselves of having approxiamately $27.4 million to spend on that free agent class, meaning they'd have enough to get James and possibly another solid player. And, if the Cavs somehow hang on to James, which ESPN's Chris Broussard says might--gasp--actually happen--there's other sexy options out there for them, like Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh or Amare Stoudemire. No matter what, the Knicks have something they haven't had since Patrick Ewing was taking four steps to the hoop: hope. All New York fans have to do is be patient, and in the mean time enjoy the young but exciting team they have currently.

• I have no affiliation to them other than picking them to win the national title (and being right) in 2003 and thinking they were a possible destination for journalism in 2001, but the Syracuse Orangemen have been my sleeper pick to go deep in the tournament for the last two years. Don't remember them being in the tourney? That's because they weren't. They got screwed two years ago, and last year they lost two of their best guards in Eric Devendorf and Andy Rautins and still probably should have at least been in the conversation. But this year, with everybody healthy, I expect this team to be in the top half of an absolutely loaded Big East. Jonny Flynn is on the short list of best point in the country, and Arinze Onuaku is an animal inside. Throw in a versatile, diesel-looking Paul Harris and this team could--here we go again--be a team to watch out for in March.

• I mentioned that incredible Big East, and it's funny how a year changes things. Last year I felt like they were overrated, but in this year's landscape of college basketball they're going to be far and away the best conference in America. I watched bits and pieces of the Texas/Notre Dame game last night, and while I came away impressed with a Texas team still trying to find themselves without D.J. Augustin, the Fighting Irish are going to be a problem. I think I said in my tournament preview last year that it was all Luke Harangody and a bunch of players who couldn't start at mid-level Division I schools. Now that I have more of a handle on the pulse of college basketball, I take that back (prediction: I'm making a comeback this year). You won't find too many better shooters in the world in Kyle McAlarney, and I can't believe more people aren't mentioning Tory Jackson as one of the better point guards in the country. The Big East is going to re-emerge this year as the conference of conferences, and when it's all said and done Notre Dame will definitely have a say in who wins it. Of course, UConn, Pittsburgh and Louisville, among as many as seven others, will have a fair amount to say about that.

• Nick Calathes is the truth. I didn't get the chance to see him much last year, but the dude can play. His basketball IQ is off the charts. As a Maryland fan, skill for skill I don't see much difference between him and Grievis Vasquez except for maybe a more consistent outside shot, but when it comes to his ability to run a team efficiently and minimize mistakes, Calathes is everything that Vasquez wishes he was.

• There's a tie for weirdest story of the night. I'll go for the straight up basketball story first. This game wasn't on TV, but apparently Loyola (MD), coached by former Maryland assistant Jimmy Patsos, decided to go with bring the triangle and two out of the old coaches' book of tricks against Davidson and Stephen Curry. For the non-basketball inclined, it's akin to the box and one, where four players stay back in a zone while the remaining players shadows the other team's star. Back in high school I had a brief three game run where I scored close to 70 points in three games at the JV level, and in the second half of my final JV game Long Reach High School threw one at me. I struggled but I took it as a compliment: that's the defense teams use when they want to truly shut a guy down. Okay, so take that box and one and add another defender. They double-teamed Curry the entire night, and effectively took him out of the game, leaving him scoreless. The problem was Davidson was left with four players operating against three, and contrary to popular belief they can actually play. Despite their best efforts, Loyola still got trumped by 30. Pastos defense?

"We had to play against an NBA player tonight. Anybody else ever hold him scoreless? I'm a history major. They're going to remember that we held him scoreless or we lost by 30?"

Good point. But, I have a feeling the fans are going to remember them losing by 30 in the short term.

• The second one I actually found out the night before while watching the Washington Huskies play the revamped Kansas Jayhawks. The Jayhawks won the game handily, but I was intrigued by the Huskies' freshman point guard Isaiah Thomas. Different spelling, but definitely a familiar name, right? Some people remember him as an insane owner or horrific coach, I remember Isiah Thomas as a problem for opposing NBA point guards. Apparently he's a problem for Los Angeles Laker fans, too. During the game Doris Burke, sideline-reporting, shared an interesting anecdote on how Thomas got his name. Apparently his father, a Lakers' fan, was watching an NBA Finals' game where his team was playing the Pistons. His friend, a Pistons' fan, proposed the following bet. "If we win this series, you gotta name your unborn son Isiah." Guess who won that series?

Gambling is bad.

Finally, a shout-out to my Mavericks. Everybody was screaming lottery a week and a half ago, and now we're back to .500. It's going to be a Black Friday for the Lakers.

If they lose this early-season match-up with the Lakers, I will name my unborn son Sasha.*

By the way, check out my new NBA Live blog, http://www.quikcadence.blogspot.com/. It basically details the trials and tribulations of an up and coming Live player. My latest entry shows that I'm well on my way.

*While Sasha Cherot does not have a bad ring to it, I am just joking.