Forecasting The Future: March Madness, Bulls, Luck
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) – With March Madness right around the corner, here are some teams that could make some noise in the tournament and a few that could be headed home early.
Ready to Roll:
- North Carolina
- Missouri
- Florida
Early Exits:
- Baylor
- Ohio State
- Louisville
College football fans should be preparing for the end of the SEC dominance in National Championship games.
With Urban Meyer taking the job at Ohio State, USC's probation ending under Lane Kiffin and the eventual turnaround for Mack Brown and Texas, a number of major programs are on the cusp of returning to elite status.
When you combine that with downfall of Florida and Auburn, the SEC's six straight national title streak will come to an end in the next two years.
Recent reports have indicated that the Mavs are shopping guard Roddy Beaubois.
While we don't think this is a good idea for Dallas, it may be the best thing for Beaubois. Our prediction for Roddy B is that he'll become a 14-15 ppg player once he is given a steady roll.
His skill set is actually similar to the Mavs sixth man Jason Terry. Both guys are undersized shooting guards (who were forced to play point guard) that can provide instant offense.
Beaubois scores to easily to be an average player in the league and he'll eventually become a really solid piece to a puzzle.
Last season, a lot of fans fell in love with the Chicago Bulls and their 62-20 record (best in the league).
Some experts actually picked them to win the NBA title. But here's a friendly warning in 2012: Be sure not to make the same mistake again this season.
The Bulls are the same team that got destroyed by Miami in 5 games. So what does that mean? They are a bunch of good, not great, players around Derrick Rose. If they match up with the Heat in the playoffs, it will be the same result as 2011. Miami moves on.
My Bill Jones Argument of the Week.
Background:
Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III ran a 4.41 in the 40 (fastest among quarterbacks) and had a vertical of 41 inches at the recent NFL Scouting Combine.
Stanford's Andrew Luck ran a 4.67 and had a 36-inch vertical leap of his own. These two are projected as the top 2 picks in the upcoming NFL Draft with Luck likely to go No. 1 to Indianapolis and Griffin likely to be taken with the second pick.
The Claim:
I made the statement that Luck had a more impressive combine because experts (and anyone with a pulse) expected Griffin to be the most athletic quarterback in the class.
With Luck running the fourth best 40 among QBs and having the top broad jump among signal callers, the Stanford QB made the statement that he's not only prepared mentally, but he'll also be one of the more athletic quarterbacks in the NFL.
The Response:
Mr. Jones replied with "anybody who was surprised by Luck's athleticism didn't watch him play." He then went off on an unnecessary tangent comparing Luck to former Texas A&M (and current Dallas Cowboys) QB Steven McGee a few years ago and finished by saying Luck did what he was expected.
Why I'm Right:
Google the phrase "Andrew Luck surprise athletic combine" and count the numerous articles from NFL writers detailing their level of surprise, if not shock, when seeing Luck's results.
At 6'4 and 235 lbs, Andrew Luck was known more for his accuracy and football intelligence, but now he's shown he's the most NFL ready quarterback to come into the league since John Elway.
