Some mock drafts have USC guard O.J. Mayo going third, but I’m not convinced that’s the best course of action for the Minnesota Timberwolves. GM Kevin McHale should take some time and consider these four reasons why Mayo should never wear a Timberwolves jersey.

Reason #4: The Wolves can get more value for the pick by trading down and getting a veteran player. While the Nuggets insist that Carmelo Anthony isn’t on the trading block, he and other desirable veterans such as Ron Artest may be available. While Anthony and Artest may seem a tad out of reach for a third pick, if the Lakers can acquire Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown, anything is possible.

Reason #3: I know it has been talked about a million times, but Mayo’s off the court transgressions have to raise a few red flags. With allegations of Mayo receiving thousands of dollars through improper means, one has to wonder if these types of distractions are worth the trouble. The Wolves are trying to develop an identity in the post-Garnett era; why take the chance of Mayo ruining it?

Reason #2: Mayo isn’t really a good fit for the Wolves to begin with. While they could use his scoring, pairing him with last year’s first round pick, Randy Foye, leaves the Wolves with two athletic slashers who don’t play the point well. A better fit for them would be finding someone who can facilitate the offense and make their teammates better – like Arizona’s Jerryd Bayless or UCLA’s Russell Westbrook.

Reason #1: The drop off from Beasley and Rose is pretty big, and simply put, Mayo isn’t deserving of the third pick for a team that is more than one piece away from competing in the ultra-competitive Western Conference. In Mayo’s most meaningful game to date, the opening round of this past years NCAA tournament, the Beasley led Wildcats absolutely trounced Mayo’s Trojans. Mayo went 6 of 16 from the floor – and take it from someone who was there – failed to impress on every level.

But that’s exactly what University at Buffalo basketball player Andy Robinson did. The junior posted an ad on Facebook.com marketplace in search for a student who could write a term paper for him for one of his courses.

The grammatically incorrect ad read:

“I am paying anybody who have read the book ‘there are no children here’ by Alex Kotlowitz $30-40 which in some classes you have to read at UB (even more money if you have to read the book a little more!!) to write a 3-4 page paper, on a couple of questions which was assigned.”

Robinson, the leading scorer for the team at 13.4 points last season, has been suspended indefinitely and has since completely the paper on his own.

Source: Sports Illustrated

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For all of you Trojan fans out there who were hanging on to every glimpse of hope that O.J. Mayo would hang around for at least one more season, can now let go.

O.J. Mayo announced today that he will be hiring an agent, therefore making him ineligible to return to Southern California next season, making him available for the NBA Draft. Mayo’s announcement would have had him joining his friend and UCLA rival, Kevin Love in the NBA, but a report from the Los Angeles Times website was proved false as he has yet to make his announcement. The Times website jumped the gun saying Love and teammate Darren Collison had announced their decision to go to the NBA.

Mayo first hinted at the jump to the pros when he sported a pair of socks bearing the NBA logo on them in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Mayo and Southern California lost that game to Kansas State, 80-67.

Mayo averaged 20.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in his lone season at USC.

Source: Fox Sports, Fox Sports

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This year’s NCAA tournament did not disappoint and the NCAA championship game was as thrilling as ever.

Mario Chalmers miracle three-pointer with just over two seconds remaining in regulation, propelled Kansas into overtime, defeating Memphis 75-68 in overtime.

The game was a nail-biter to the finish and if Kansas was going to lose the big one, they were going to make Memphis do it with one of their weaknesses. At the free throw line.

Down nine points with a little over two minutes in the game, Kansas put together a relentless comeback. They started fouling right away, making one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the country beat them from the line. And their plan worked. With 1:12 remaining, Memphis missed four of five free throws that could have put the game out of reach.

Despite having the game nearly won, Memphis will now have to wait another year for a potential title run as Kansas takes the trophy back to Lawrence for the first time in 20 years, to the day, that Kansas won their last national title. And beside that trophy will probably be a photo of Chalmers, who now has hit the most memorable shot in Kansas basketball history.

Oh, just to throw it out there one last time, I picked Kansas to win it all. Thank you.

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Kansas Jayhawks at Memphis Tigers

This year’s Final Four in my opinion has not disappointed and I can’t wait for tonight’s championship match-up between Kansas and Memphis. Although my bracket had Kansas going up against UCLA, one out of two ain’t bad. Although I did get a bit nervous when North Carolina was mounting up a second half comeback.

I’ll be rootin’ for my fellow Alaskan Mario Chalmers and Kansas tonight at some local watering hole.

Who are you going for?  Let us know and don’t miss this big game, it’ll be on tonight at 9:21 ET.

What would you say? Write us your caption and post them in our comments!

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Kansas, Memphis, North Carolina and UCLA.

If you didn’t already know, those will be your four teams who travel to the Final Four in San Antonio to compete for the NCAA national title. All four of them were number one in their respective regions and it marks the first time in the NCAA tournament’s history that the Final Four consists of all number one seeds.

I don’t know how all your brackets are going, but I’ll be happy to say that I had all number ones going into the Final Four and Kansas winning it all. More luck than anything, since I put the thing together about two minutes before the first game tipped off. I know the Jayhawks had a nailbiter against Davidson, but a win is a win. It’ll be tough going up against North Carolina, but I think it’s possible to get a win.

Who do you have winning it all? Comment below and let us know! 

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What would you say? Write us your caption and post them in our comments!

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The moment all college basketball freaks and gambling addicts have been waiting for:

THE NCAA TOURNAMENT STARTS TODAY!

Who will be this year’s Cinderella? Will North Carolina take remain at the top? Only way to find out is to watch for yourself.

So pull up your bean bag, stuff your face in some nachos and let the madness begin!

If you need to check out a bracket to see who’s playing who, here’s one from CBS Sportsline. Click here.

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NCAA Memorabilia     UNC Gear   Kansas Gear   UCLA Gear

How do you punish a team that won back to back national championships and failed to make the NCAA tournament the following year?

You ban them from their $15 million practice facility and order them to not wear any school endorsed clothing.

That’s exactly what Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan did to his players after they failed to make the NCAA tournament with a first round loss in the SEC tournament. Despite their invitation into the NIT tournament, Donovan thought that wasn’t enough. He still banned his players from the state of the attire facility and ordered them to keep their school attire off their backs after they became the first time since 1989 that a national champion didn’t make it back to the tournament.

A bold move by the coach, who’s team plays San Diego State on Wednesday. But I’m sure the gators will be alright. Maybe this is the fire they needed to get them playing up to their level after losing eight of their final 11 games.

Hopefully by then, the coach will at least let them wear uniforms so we don’t have to watch them play shirts and skins on ESPN 2.

Source: MSN

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