Hoop Untold

One of the most winningest and legendary organizations in basketball, the Los Angeles Lakers, are coming off of one of their most frustrating seasons yet. The trio of Lebron James, Anthony David and Russell Westbrook failed to reach any type of success. Anthony Davis only played 40 games last season and Russ failed to find any rhythm or mix at all with the Lake show's playing style. And while Lebron James still proved to be one of the best players in the World, he also only played 56 games. When you couple those things with the fact that this team failed to shoot the ball well or defend, it's easy to see why they failed to have any success last season. BUT this year their roster is promising and this team could have some success if Lebron and AD are healthy. Kendrick Nunn is healthy this season, and he’ll be competing for the 6ht man of year award. The Lakers will need him to score the ball and he’ll most likely receive a lot of minutes in crunch time. This summer the Lakers ...

Many have picked the Los Angeles Clippers to pose the biggest threat to the Warriors coming out of the Western Conference in back to back seasons, and there are a lot of different reasons for that. Kawhi is Back! And assuming he’ll have a healthy season, that means the Clippers have one of the best 2-way basketball players in the world, along with Paul George, who is one of the best offense generators in the world. The Clippers gained a big acquisition this Summer in signing John Wall, who, even though isn’t the same athlete he once was, I believe he can possibly still average in the ballpark of 17 and 7 assist, which is great for your point guard on a team with that type of talent. They return a slew of role players including one of my favorite combo guards Reggie Jackson, who will most likely be coming off of the bench for John Wall. They’ll continue to start the solid Ivan Zubac, at center, while spacing the floor with either Marcus Morris or Nicolas Batum. The Clippers have a pleth...

  The New Orleans Pelicans are a super exciting and underrated team in the Western Conference this season. They’re coming off of their first playoff appearance since the Anthony Davis era, and they did this without their 2021 season leading scorer, Zion Williamson. Speaking of Zion, he looks lean, healthy, and primed to have a redeeming 2022-23 season. Brandon Ingram is coming off of a very impressive and intriguing playoff display. His bag looked very lethal. He was hitting back to the basket and face-up mid range shots, pull-up 3’s, catch and shoot 3’s, broke down his defender and drove to the basket frequently. He got to the free throw line a ton and averaged about 6 assists as well, so he was getting his teammates involved. So basically, Ingram is a 6’9 3-level scorer and play maker: 2K Create-A-Player. We all know CJ is a bonafide killer, combo guard bucket getter who can also create for others. He also gives the Pelicans a true leader and someone with playoff experience. One ...

          Who is Shaedon Sharpe?!  Well, he is possibly the best prospect in the 2022 NBA Draft that no one has heard of. The 6'6 shooting guard did not play one minute this past season at the University of Kentucky, although he was enrolled. Due to his potential based on his pre-collegiate enrollment, measurements, shot creating skills, athleticism, and production at Kentucky practices, the 18 year-old (will be 19 on May 30th) is predicted to be a lottery pick. According to ESPN's 2022 NBA Mock Draft, Sharpe is predicted to be the #6 pick going to Portland. Obviously, we don't know what the results of the draft lottery will be, but ESPN is confirmed to believe that Sharpe will be a top 10 pick.       Shaedon Sharpe is a super intriguing prospect. Like I said before, standing at 6'6, he is a big guard, who uses his athleticism and offensive skillset to create scoring opportunities on the court. According to The Sports Rush, " NBA Dr...

     In the last 2 College Basketball seasons we've lost 3 of the best coaches of all time to retirement: Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, and Jay Wright. College basketball will never be the same without these 3 guys, and the game will deeply miss them. Due to their age, Coach K's (75) and Roy Williams' (71) retirements could've been predicted, but Jay Wright's retirement came as a surprise to most college basketball fans. Many fans, including myself, were shocked about the news, but I think I have an idea of what could've caused Jay Wright's exit from College Basketball.     Jay Wright is 60 years old, and his Villanova program has been on the top of college basketball as of late. The Villanova Wildcats won the NCAA Tournament in both 2016 & 2018, made the 2022 Final Four, won 4 of the last 7 Big East regular season titles, and won the 2022 Big East Conference Championship. So, with all of this recent success, it is sort of confusing on why he would ret...

The 2021-2022 NBA regular season came to an end a couple of weeks ago, so it's time to reveal the NBA's post-season awards. The NBA's Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year Awards have been revealed, but there are still many awards still yet to be disclosed. Here are my takes for who should get which awards to wind down 2021-2022.  MVP: Joel Embiid Joel Embiid is my MVP. Joel dominated the 2022 season on both ends of the floor and his team's success reflects that. In the big man's 6th season, he led the league in scoring by averaging 30.6 points per game. Embiid is the first center to lead the league in scoring since Shaq did during the 1999-2000 season. Shaq won the MVP that season by the way. Embiid also averaged 11.7 rebounds per contest, 4.2 assists (which is very impressive for a center), 1.1 steals and 1.5 blocks. The big man shot 50% from the field, 37% from beyond the 3-point line, and 81% from the free throw line. Needless to say, he did all...

Each season the NBA gives a specific award that rewards a player for their hard work in the off season that translates to vast improvement on the court. Player such as, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jimmy Butler, Paul George, Gilbert Arenas, Jermaine O'Neal, and Tracy McGrady have all been given this award in the past. As a trainer, the Most Improved Player award is one of my favorite awards that can be given, because it shows that anyone can reach their goals with some hard work, and it places an emphasis on climbing up that never ending ladder, which is one of the focal points of success. This season we've seen guys like Jordan Poole,  Tyler Herro  and Mikal Bridges boost their roles on their teams and increase their scoring load dramatically. We've seen DeMar DeRozan re-impose himself into the top of the league. Young guards like Darius Garland and LaMelo Ball have opened our eyes to the potential they have. But, there are a final four guys that I believe have shown the most ...