CWS and NBA Draft coverage

Hey everybody, it's been a very long time since I've had a chance to write. My time has been greatly diminished in the past few weeks starting a new job and with my trip to Omaha. I promise to start writing more frequently in the coming months. 

There has been a multitude of stories that have been out there in past few weeks. The USA soccer team in South Africa (disappointing), TCU making the semi-finals of the CWS (exhilarating), the NBA draft, Vince Young getting in trouble, and the Texas Rangers becoming the hottest team in all of baseball led by MVP candidate Josh Hamilton. I can't catch up on everything right now so I'd like to hit on 2 things tonight. I want to start with a few thoughts on the CWS and the TCU Horned Frogs. 

• First off, I am ecstatic that I was able to see the final CWS at historical Rosenblatt Stadium. The stadium architecture is from a different era similar to the styles of Fenway and old Tiger Stadium, albeit on a smaller scale. The atmosphere of the college game is much different than a pro game. The players all have a sense of awe and excitement when they play that is different than the professional athletes. Whether it's the left fielder throwing a beach ball back into the stands to wild applause from the crowd or Kyle Parker actually acknowledging a fan's question on whether or not he would go pro, the college players act as if they are just living a dream. It's a great thing to witness and I would recommend it to anybody considering going. 
• Now as to what I saw while I was there. TCU was obviously the fan favorite from the time they arrived in Omaha. All of the shops were selling out of TCU shirts and hats by the 2nd day. Matt Purke started the Series off with a dominating performance in game 1 of Florida State. Purke, a left-hander, throws in the low to mid 90's and looked to have an extremely advanced breaking ball. He threw his change-up in all counts and looked confident in all 3 pitches. He pitches with a certain confidence that borders on arrogance, but in a good way. Purke sprints on and off the field and is an extremely high energy pitcher who reminds me of CJ Wilson. This was obvious in the Super Regionals against Texas as well. There is little doubt in my mind that Purke should be a top 10-15 pick in next year's draft, and a guy that the Rangers will very much wish they had been able to sign. 
• TCU is a very deep team who will be very good next year as well. They have a few legit prospects for next year's draft behind Purke. Soph OF Jason Coats, Soph SS Taylor Fetherston, Soph P Kyle Winkler, and Soph P Kaleb Merck all impressed this season, and should be key cogs next year as well.  TCU will have to replace three great players in 1B Matt Curry, C Bryan Holaday (maybe the best C in the NCAA), and SP Steven Maxwell (MWC Pitcher of the Year). These 3 won't be easy to replace but expect TCU to continue to recruit well, and stay on the national radar for the near future. 
• UCLA has the best pitching staff in all of College Baseball. I know they lost tonight to South Carolina, but I believe they are the best team there. Former Yankee first rounder Gerrit Cole (Soph), Trevor Bauer (Soph), Rob Rasmussen (2nd round pick this year by Marlins), Garret Claypool (SR), and Closer Dan Klein (Soph) make up the best staff in college baseball. I saw Bauer, Cole, and Klein pitch, and all looked unhittable.  Bauer and Cole both hit 96 on the radar gun as late as the 6th inning. Cole's slider looked unhittable against TCU, and Bauer curveball looked nearly as filthy against Florida. I would not be surprised at all to see Bauer and Cole in the 1st round mix next year come draft time. 

I could write all day about what I saw in Omaha last week. I could give a detailed outlook on every team as well as a good number of players. I would love to write about 1st round pick Kyle Parker's showing, or the power that Rangers 18th round pick Garrett Buechele displayed but I can't do all that here. If you have any specific thoughts or questions, drop me a comment and I'll get to em. 

The 2010 NBA Draft

Next let's take a quick look at what the Mavs did in the Draft this year. For a team coming in with no 1st round picks they did extremely well. The Mavs gave the Grizzlies $3 million for the rights to the 25th pick where the Mavericks drafted SG Dominique Jones from South Florida University. The Mavericks used their 2nd round choice on C Soloman Alabi but immediately sent him to Toronto for a 2013 2nd round pick. That could be a good deal as Toronto is expected to slide after losing Bosh via Free Agency. GM Donnie Nelson called Mark Cuban the "MVP of the draft"  after the deal that allowed the the Mavericks to get Jones. Here's why:

Dominique Jones is a huge sign for the Dallas Mavericks. Jones could quickly become the guy I think we've been missing on the wing for years. Jones, a 6' 4" 215 pound 2-guard, proved he could be a big time scorer in the toughest conference in college basketball, the Big East. Jones led USF in scoring all 3 years he was there and is 5th all-time. Jones was a 1st-Team All Big East player and a finalist for the Wooden and Naismith Awards. Jones was also the only player at the Division 1 level to average 21 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists per game this year. 

Jones already has an NBA ready body, and has proven he can handle physical play. Jones was without a doubt the best player on his team in college and frequently saw face guarding and double teams from some of the best Defensive teams in the country while still putting up tremendous numbers. One thing that Jones gives Dallas is the ability to drive the basketball and get to the line. Jones is 1st in school history in free throws attempted while shooting 75%. Jones is able to use his size and physicality to get to the rim and get fouled. The only guy the Mavs have who can break down an opponent and get to the rim consistently is Roddy B. Jones could be the athletic scoring 2-guard the Mavs have been looking for ever since Finley left in 2005. 

Jones does have some weaknesses. He has never been considered a lock down defender. In order to play the 2 in the NBA he's going to have to guard guys like Kobe, Ray Allen, Joe Johnson, Wade and others. The Mavericks have Caron and Marion who can guard some of those guys now, but at some point Jones is going to have to be the man. He also is going to have to work on his shooting range. Jones was only a 31% shooter this year from 3. Jones is going to need to be able to at least hit in the mid 30 %'s to keep people honest and take his game to the next level. 

Dominique Jones was a guy I really fell in love with during the college season. I loved watching him play the few times USF was on TV. He's a guy who can be a dynamic scorer and a game changer. He is one of the few guys I watched this year at the college level where I really wanted to see what he was going to do next. There was a span in early January where his point totals went like this: 26, 30, 28, 20, 21, 48, 28, 37, 29. In all of these games, except 1 vs Cincinnati, Jones went to the line more than 10 times!! 

Jones has the ability to make a difference in Dallas for the next many years. Jones has already been assigned to play in the Vegas summer league where he will pair up with Roddy B at the starting guard positions. Don't be surprised if they are suiting up in the Dallas starting lineup for the majority of the next decade.