Kristopher Belman directed this documentary about LeBron’s high school years. The film isn’t solely about him; it’s revolves around his high school team at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio. And it looks pretty darn good.
Month: April 2009 (Page 16 of 53)
Take one look at Darrius Heyward-Bey and it’s not hard to see why the University of Maryland prospect turns so many NFL scouts’ heads.
A muscular 6’3”, 206 pounds, Heyward-Bey has blazing speed. He ran the fastest 40-yard dash of any player at this year’s NFL combine. Had he wanted to, coming out of high school he would have had a good chance at winning an NCAA championship and possibly even qualifying for the Olympics in track. Instead, Heyward-Bey turned his attention to burning rubber on the field.
Despite having to play in the Terrapins’ struggling offense for three seasons, Heyward-Bey didn’t take long to establish himself as one of college football’s elite playmakers. Throughout his career, he turned out eight plays of 50 yards or more, scored 15 touchdowns (13 receiving, 2 rushing), and consistently averaged 15 yards per catch. He was able to do so all while being the only real offensive threat on a team that failed throughout his career to consistently move the ball.
The NFL is a league that values its playmakers. “Scoreboard changers,” as analysts dub them, are always one play away from ripping off a big play for their team. Players like Reggie Bush, Devin Hester, Chris Johnson and Steve Smith are valued greatly for their game-breaking abilities with the football in their hands. Heyward-Bey is cut from the same cloth, with his eye-popping athleticism, and it’s for this reason that NFL teams have stopped to take notice.
They’ve also noticed a few of his flaws, however. Heyward-Bey is not considered a consistent route runner at this point in his career, and he has frequently gone through slumps where he’s had trouble catching the ball consistently. These are two very undesirable qualities for an NFL receiver, where speed and playmaking ability alone do not guarantee success (see: Peter Warrick).
2009 has not been kind to Andre Smith.
His year got off to a rotten start, as he was suspended from the University of Alabama’s embarrassing Sugar Bowl loss to Utah. This incident caused questions about his character to surface, and the offensive tackle who had at one point been thought of as a potential no. 1 overall pick was suddenly on the defensive.
He didn’t help his cause any by showing up to the NFL scouting combine out of shape, then refusing to take part in drills before leaving the combine altogether without informing anyone. In just two months, Smith had gone from the draft’s hottest prospect to its most dangerous, as projections began to put Smith somewhere late in the first round.
Since then, however, teams appear to be warming back up to the mercurial lineman. They are remembering how dominant Smith was on the field last season, playing a huge role in the Crimson Tide’s surprise run to the top of the polls. They are remembering his unreal size-quickness combination, that the 6’4”, 332-pounder mauled defenders in the running game and was an impenetrable wall in keeping quarterback John Parker Wilson upright in the passing game.
Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plan Dealer is reporting that the Browns will pass on Michael Crabtree at No. 5.
The Browns have all but crossed off Michael Crabtree as a candidate for the No. 5 overall pick, said a source.
The Texas Tech receiver brought a diva attitude on his visit to the club facility last week and did not impress coach Eric Mangini and others, the source said. In fact, Crabtree was described by some in the building as “not nice.” After Crabtree left, Mangini secured last-minute workouts with borderline first-round receivers Hakeem Nicks of North Carolina, Kenny Britt of Rutgers and Mohamed Massaquoi of Georgia.
What’s funny is that the same paper reported just yesterday that the Browns are still in love with Crabtree, so who knows. Rumors are going to run rampant for the next couple days leading up to the draft.
The fact that the Browns are looking at Hakeem Nicks, Kenny Britt and Mohamed Massaquoi would lead me to believe that they’re going to wait on addressing their wide receiver need until later in the draft – even if they do wind up trading Braylon Edwards.
Cleveland will be one of the more interesting teams to follow on draft day. Their biggest needs are at linebacker (more outside than inside), cornerback and wide receiver, but what they do at No. 5 will obviously depend on what prospects come off the board in front of them. If Aaron Curry falls into their lap, it would be hard envisioning them passing on the best talent in the draft. If they have plans to trade quarterback Brady Quinn, then Mark Sanchez is a possibility at No. 5 if Seattle doesn’t take him at No. 4. And if they can get out of the No. 5 pick altogether in order to acquire more picks and get better value for their first round pick, then that remains a logical option, too.
Either way, Mangini and new GM George Kokinis are doing a fantastic job not revealing their hands.
Update: ESPN’s Michael Smith also says that the Browns won’t take a receiver at No. 5 and his information is usually pretty solid.
There were three games last night and the best one was on NBA TV, so nobody saw it. The Cavs beat the Pistons (Cavs lead, 2-0), the Lakers beat the Jazz (Lakers lead, 2-0) and the Blazers nipped the Rockets (series tied, 1-1). Here are a few random observations about Tuesday’s action:
– It’s a bad idea by the NBA to schedule both 1/8 matchups on the same night. Moreover, TNT aired both games while the best action (Blazers/Rockets) was relegated to NBA TV. The Jazz made a game of it against the Lakers, but could never quite get over the hump. Deron Williams was outstanding (35 points, nine assists, four rebounds, four steals, two blocks), nailing six threes but turning the ball over seven times. Six Utah players scored in double figures, but when you allow the Lakers to shoot 60% from the field, you’re going to have a tough time winning. (Sorry, I just channeled Hubie Brown’s third-person shtick there for a minute.)
– Where in the world is Jordan Farmar? He played just four minutes last night, and has seen his playing time decline from 20.5 minutes per game in November to 16.1 minutes in April. Year to year, his PER has fallen off a cliff — 15.29 last season vs. 9.93 this season — and he’s being outplayed by Shannon Brown. Farmar is battling some tendinitis, but he’s looking less and less like a future starter and more and more like a career backup.
– Speaking of Brown, he has played at least 14 minutes in each of the last six games, averaging 8.0 points, 2.2 assists and 2.3 rebounds over that span. Brown is really athletic, plays pretty good defense and has an improving offensive game. Interestingly, he was originally drafted by the Cavs, so if he continues to play well, it might come back to bite Danny Ferry in the bum. Mitch Kupchak acquired Brown as part of the Vladimir Radmanovic/Adam Morrison trade a few months ago.
– After dropping Game 1, Portland was in “must-win” mode and they got a much needed victory to tie the series. Brandon Roy came up big (42 points, 7 rebounds) and LaMarcus Aldridge posted a nice game (27 points, 12 boards) after scoring just seven points in Game 1.
– The Rockets will be without Dikembe Mutombo for the remainder of the playoffs (probably forever, actually) after he suffered a knee injury.
– Greg Oden had a nice follow up dunk, but he’s a fouling machine. He had six fouls in 12 minutes. Wowsers.
– The trade that sent Rafer Alston to the Magic hasn’t hurt the Rockets at all. They also acquired Kyle Lowry from the Grizzlies and he and Aaron Brooks are providing good play at the point. The two combined for 33 points, six assist and five boards on Tuesday night.
– The Pistons cut the Cavs’ lead to eight with about four minutes to play, but a Cleveland 9-2 run put the game away. I get confused when I look at the box score and see the Pistons’ best perimeter defender — Tayshaun Prince — only played 26 minutes and wasn’t in any foul trouble. Meanwhile, LeBron goes for 29/13/6 — do you think Prince should get a little more run?
– In other news, there are reports flying that Derrick Rose will win ROY and Jason Terry will win the Sixth Man award. No surprises there.
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