"It" and More

THE "IT" FACTOR

So I have read articles in the past about athletes having "it". It's that rare attribute that the great ones seem to have and the good ones seem to be missing. This past week I watched Kobe drop 115 pts in 2 games, and I watched Kevin Durant lose in the second round of the tournament and then say something later to the effect of "A second round loss is unacceptable, this loss is on me". It got me thinking... does Durant have "it"?
First, let's take a look at Kobe. The Lakers has been in a terrible slide after being hit with the Luke Walton and Lamar Odom injuries. Coach Jackson tells Kobe he wants him to put the team game to the side and be aggressive from the start. Kobe responds with 65 and 50 in the next two games, both wins, and suddenly the Lakers who got Walton coming back and Odom already back are looking like the darkhorse threat they were in the beginning of the season. Point being, Kobe has this extra gear that is undeniably a reflection of his competitiveness. Jackson put the challenge in front of him and Kobe ate it up. We use to hear about MJ making things up in his mind to motivate him, like the coach of the next game said something about a part of his game. I think Kobe plays with this same kind of fury. This witch hunt the NBA is on to punish him for his elbows, etc. will only make him angrier and more of an assassin.
Now Durant. I think in the end, the $$$ will win out and he will make the jump. However we have all heard the reports of how he's fallen in love with college so who knows. I have watched a number of games this year of his, and I think he has that passion and desire to be the next "it" athlete. The man wants to win, he is a great teammate and takes responsibility (this is the key one, because as we have seen athletes missing the "it" like Peyton and Arod have often been accused of throwing teammates and others, under the bus). Remember he is 18 years old and possibly on the brink of a Hall of Fame career. But these attributes dont get you to Kobe's level on the "it" scale it takes more. If you have watched Durant this year though he seems to feel the moment, and feel the game in his hands. I remember watching his second half against Texas Tech where he finished with like 37 and 21. He scored in every way imaginable, and he went after rebounds like it was him against 5 Red Raiders. I dont think he had teammates (and coach) who understood the game well enough for them to go further. It was performances like those though that make me think he does have "it"

SWEET 16
The upsets are great and all, and they give the public a collective favorite but what we have here is 16 of the best teams in the country. Minus my Dukies and Durant, we really have the best of the best left. One interesting story I heard... Kruger of UNLV, the pg who plays for his dad actually graduated from Arizona St and found an NCAA loop hole which allowed him to transfer to UNLV, not sit out a year and play. Good thing for that loop hole, because without his clutch 3's down the stretch, UNLV is long gone. Questions I look forward to finding out the answers to:

Will Oden be able to elevate his offensive game when Ohio St struggles to score?
How good is Collison of UCLA, some say he's the best pg in the country?
Can AC Law IV put this team on his back against the most athletic team I saw play all year in Memphis?

No questions asked, if I'm an NBA GM i'm drafting Hortford over Noah. Everyone credits Noah for his motor, but Hortford has one of his own too. There was about 6 consecutive possessions against Purdue where he was on the floor, guarding guards, crashing the boards, diving, etc.
Along the same note, is there a person who hits more "dagger, game over three's" then Humphrey of Florida?

I could go on all day with NCAA stuff, but please if you haven't seen him play, check out Byars of Vanderbilt, you won't be disappointed.


My picks:
Kansas over SIU- close game in the first half, love SIU's swarming defense, but kansas pulls away in the second half with their barrage of talent

UCLA over Pitt- Aaron Gray comes back from the dead, but Affalo and Collison show why they are the best backcourt in the country. UCLA in a close one, the guards hit their free throws late

Florida over Butler- Florida does not put this game on snooze for even a half, blowout city

UNLV over Oregon- I don't like teams who can only shoot, UNLV presses up on the guards and makes Oregon play a little but uglier ball then they would like

UNC over USC- I actually like this USC team, i was very impressed with their all around play against Texas, but much like Kansas... too many weapons, and too few masks on Hansborough

Georgetown over Vandy- I said earlier how much i Love Byars... but one many is not enough against this monster front line and wing players of Georgetown

Ohio St over Tenn- this is the game i pick with the least amount of confidence. Ohio St beat them by 2 earlier on a Lewis 3 pt shot with 11 seconds to go. I heard Bruce Pearl on PTI yesterday and I think he'll have a good game plan for Oden (like Xavier). I like COnnelly to have a big game in this one.

Texas A & M over Memphis- still don't know how Douglas-Robertson's ankle is going, and Law IV is one of those guys I never feel comfortable picking against.

RANDOMS
-Anyone see OJ Mayo- up 41, last minute of his final high school game, fast break throws it off the backboard to himself, dunks it, throws the ball into the stands and gets a technical. (This guy going to survive even one year in college?)
-How about Ronaldo Balkman's 3rd quarter against Toronto?
-Who has lived up to the hype more Sid the Kid or Lebron?
Crosby is leading the NHL in pts in just his second season. Youngest player ever to score 100pts in his first two seasons. I would say Lebron had more hype because of the sport he played, but Crosby has the weight of an entire league on his shoulders and has lived up to it. Ok that's enough hockey.

Knicks hosting Portland tonight.... please don't let this be another bad loss. Orlando and Indiana are tanking, Knicks just got to take care of the games they are suppose to and they'll be in.