Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello and welcome to the second episode of Full Court, Full field, Full Count. I am Leonardo Mejia and today we will be discussing the World Baseball Classic, my free agency predictions, my weekly mock draft and much more. In the world of sports, mainly going to be dealing with baseball, the NFL.
[00:00:24] When I say baseball, I mean the WBC since that is coming up. Like I said, the NFL. We got free agency, we got the draft and then we're going to be talking about some men's basketball. It's March. March is here. Obviously March Madness is coming up towards the middle of the month. So we're going to get there and then we're going to, you know, obviously talk about the NBA as well.
[00:00:45] So there's some breaking news in the world of football. Trent McDuffie was traded earlier this morning to the rams for the 29th pick.
[00:00:55] A fifth and a sixth this year and a 2027 third round pick.
[00:00:59] So this is a very interesting trade for both sides. Looking at it from the chief's perspective or the chief's point of view, like there were, there was obviously rumors that they wanted to get off of McDuffie and not because he's a bad player, just because they honestly didn't want to pay him. They had, he would have been very expensive. One probably, probably a market setting cornerback contract for him.
[00:01:24] Obviously he's a former All Pro, so it's tough losing a player like him. But I do think they got good value for him. So I'm going to grade the Chiefs in A minus on this deal.
[00:01:36] I think it was a solid deal for the Chiefs just because, you know, you're getting draft capital and we've seen what they've done before with draft capital. Obviously they traded Tyree Kill for the pick that ended up becoming Trent McDuffie who helped them win two Super Bowls. But this is a regime that is not worried about making changes when changes are necessary. Clearly Trent McDuffie, like I said, helped them win two Super Bowls. He's a young player, young All Pro. Yet they're still not going to keep him because they rather get that draft capital because they know what they can do with that draft capital and those picks. As for the Rams, I got them getting a C plus. The Rams rarely make a move where you think, wow, the Rams are clear loser in this move.
[00:02:21] But the issue here is that I just think it's slightly too much for McDuffie, like if he's playing like an All Pro, it's mo most certainly worth it. The 29th pick and a future third and then obviously the two day three picks. But last season he really wasn't, at least in my opinion. I feel like every time we turn on a Chiefs game, you know, Trent McDuffie was just getting fried by the team's best wide receiver. I had a conversation about this earlier about this trade. Just talking about how like McDuffie hasn't been as good on the Chiefs since, you know, legerious need has been gone and that. And that's a fair point to make. Like this dude, he's definitely certainly good enough to be your cornerback one but like I think for this much, I think the Chiefs are winning this deal. They don't have to pay him, the Rams are gonna have to pay him. But at the same time, the Rams are filling a position of need there. There's a zero percent chance they would have got it. Well, not a zero percent chance, but in terms of next year, probably a near to 0% chance that that 29th overall pick is going to be a better player than Trent McDuffie.
[00:03:28] So in terms of that, definitely a good trade. This could change if the Rams win the super bowl. And Trent McDuffie, you know, seems to be one of the main reasons why as like one of the best cornerbacks in the league. Coach could easily see this being a better grade for the Rams. For now though, gonna have to give them a B minus on this trade. I don't think it's a bad trade whatsoever. I think it's a good trade for the Rams, but maybe just a little bit too much in terms of value.
[00:03:55] So now we are going to be projecting where the top NFL free agency free agents will land here.
[00:04:01] So the first one, the number one free agent in the NFL, someone that's only had four sacks last year, but only played seven games and was injured and in the previous two seasons had 17 and a half sacks and both Trey Hendrickson, who I got going to the Tennessee Titans. The Titans obviously needs a need a pass rusher. In my most previous episode I talked about this.
[00:04:28] I mock the Titans to take a edge rusher in Reuben Bain at number four.
[00:04:36] Or actually I think I had them taking David Bailey at number four, not Ruben Bane, but like they needed to edge nonetheless. Trey Henderson would be perfect. Obviously he's a bit older than Those guys, he's 30 years old, but he's one of the premier edge rushers in the league. The Titans need this Robert Salah. This would be the perfect, perfect type of edge rusher for his system. So I think Hendrickson will land with the Titans and a lot of that's just because they have a lot of cap space. Devin Lloyd now I think I'm going to be short and sweet with this one. I think he's going to resign with the Jacksonville Jaguars. He had a fantastic season this year. He was one of the best, if not the best linebacker in the league. Obviously Fred Warner was injured for a good amount of time, but definitely Devin Lloyd honestly had a fantastic season.
[00:05:27] And I think the Jags and Lloyd, that's just two parties that just make sense they should be reunited in free agency. And I think he should resign with the Jags and I think he end up. He will end up resigning with the Jads. The Jags. As for Kyler Murray, this one's an interesting one. Obviously we talked about Kyler Murray last week, but since then we've seen some reports saying that the Vikings might not target a qb, but even if they do, they I feel like they could target a different guy. Maybe like a Kirk Cousins. Like that reuniting him with KOC could possibly be the type of guy that like could push a starting spot against McCarthy. But maybe you're giving more.
[00:06:07] You're. You're leaning into the idea that McCarthy is your future quarterback a bit more. Whereas Kyler Murray's more of. No, Kyler Murray's our future quarterback Most likely and JJ McCarthy's our future backup most likely.
[00:06:20] So I think Murray's going to go with the jets where he will obviously get a chance to prove himself. The jets don't really have a QB right now.
[00:06:29] Justin Fields is under contract, but you know, they're not running that back. That makes no sense. So they're going to have to get a new guy in there, whether that's the rookie in the draft, which is kind of unlikely given where the jets first two picks are. I mean, I guess they could take ty Simpson at 16. Would it be ridiculous? Would be. It would be a bit of a reach in my opinion, but I could see that happening. But I think Kyler Murray will go to jets, but I don't think that's a good move for his career. If he can, I think he should go to a team like the Vikings or maybe the Falcons QB needing teams that actually have thing like good weapons around around the qb. Like yes, Garrett Wilson and Breeze hall are great weapons but at the same time, you know, and that O line's pretty good too. Like this could be a good situation for Kyler Murray. They are. The jets also need to pick up a wide receiver too, desperately.
[00:07:25] Garrett Wilson led them in receiving yards with 395. He only played seven games last season. So, like, pathetic. But yeah, I, I think Kyler Murray definitely could go to the jets. And this really makes sense just because you're looking at the jets timeline like they have three first round picks next year. They, they have two first round picks this year. So they want to develop, they want to get in a guy that maybe has a chance. There's a slight chance that Kyler Murray still could be a franchise QB in the league. If you're the jets, you take that chance. Maybe he is your franchise qb. Most likely he's not. Not because I'm doubting Kyler Murray, just because I'm doubting the jets organization, to be honest.
[00:08:03] So I don't think Kyler Murray will be that franchise guy for the jets, but I think it would still make sense to go there. Even if he's just there for a year. Then they draft, you know, whoever they want to draft the following year, whether That's Dante Moore, C.J. carr, Arch Manning. There's a bunch of QBs that could go in the first round next year.
[00:08:22] We said the same thing this year, so we really don't know yet. But you know, the jets are, they need a QB for this season. Kyler Murray works perfectly in my opinion. To Tyler Linda Ball, I think it's between the Ravens or the Giants. So, you know, Hardball's old team or Hardball's new team. I think he's going to go to the Giants. I think if the Giants are being smart in free agency, they're going to use the bulk of their money and they just released Papio Karake on an offensive lineman. I mean, we could lose Jeraine, Jermaine Luminor, we could lose Wanda Robinson. So it would be pretty risky. But Tyler Linda Balls, he's bet better than both of them. He's one of the best centers in the league.
[00:09:12] He's, he's probably top three center in the league, to be honest, and he'd be a great fit. Obviously going to play for Harbaugh again makes sense too. But just positionally, the Giants really need a center. If they can get Linderbaum, they could get Andrew Thomas. They just kind of have to figure out the guards and hopefully Illuminar comes back.
[00:09:31] But no, this would be a great move for the Giants. As for Jalen Phillips, I have him going back to the Eagles. I don't really want to talk about this one that much. Jalen Phillips got traded to the Eagles and I Just think it's a good spot for him. So I think it's going to stay there. As for Malik Willis, I'm going to the previous Jalen Phillips previous team and that's the Dolphins.
[00:09:54] We've already said this before. It's because you know the Willis was just working with the packers guys that are now in charge of the Dolphins in GM John Eric Sullivan or in Jeff Halfley, the former defensive coordinator for the Packers. So it just makes a lot of sense. Continuity, continuity wise.
[00:10:16] You know that the GM most likely believes in Malik Willis and Jeff Halfley most likely also believes in Malik Willis and the Dolphins desperately need or a, a qb. So I could see that occurring.
[00:10:31] Alec Pierce, I got him going to the Colts here, resigning there. He could go numerous of places. But I have the Titans getting Hendrickson. I could see them get Alec Pierce and need a wide receiver as well.
[00:10:42] We'll get to that though as we do my mock draft. Maybe I'll give him wide receiver in that. But yeah, Alec Pierce, I, I just got him resigned with the Colts. I think it makes a lot of sense. They just got Daniel Jones back.
[00:10:55] Well, they haven't gotten him back officially. Daniel Jones could sign with another team, but the Colts also have a chance to match that deal. Given the transition tag.
[00:11:05] If he doesn't get a long term extension, then he will be playing under the franchise tag of I believe it's $37 million this season. So either way, Daniel Jones is getting paid this year at the very least.
[00:11:18] As for my World Baseball Classic prediction, so we're going to get to this. Before we get into my NFL mock draft and continue with football, I just kind of wanted a little break from talking football. I want to talk a little bit of baseball.
[00:11:31] It's not going to be too long though. I just have who I have winning the pool and who I also have advancing in the pool. So in pool A, I got first place. I think Cuba's going to take it just makes a lot of sense. Cuba obviously has a lot of MLB talent and they have had for years and then coming in second in this pool, I got Puerto Rico.
[00:11:57] For Puerto Rico this. I'm, I'm Puerto Rican and I'm usually so excited for the, for the World Baseball Classic, but the issue is that Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa, who usually gets me so pumped for the World Baseball Classic will not be, will not be attending this one because they couldn't get cleared by insurance, which honestly I'm upset about as a, as a Puerto Rican because You know, Lindor needs surgery. So that, that, that at least makes sense. But the whole like insurance can't clear thing and the same thing's happening with Altuve for Venezuela. It's just like, why are these teams just like not clearing their player? Like, why insurance playing a factor in the World Baseball Classic? Something that only goes around every three years. Something that's like pretty prestigious if you win it for your own country.
[00:12:58] But it, you know, I guess that's just the way it's going to be. And that's why I have Puerto Rico finishing second in this pool. Whereas maybe with Lindor and Korea, I'd probably have him first in pool B. I get the US Finishing first. I mean, this just makes a lot of sense. The United States, they, they have the most stacked roster and obviously they're going to have the most stacked roster.
[00:13:21] The MLB is in the US So the best player, like Aaron Judge, or maybe not the best player because Ohtani exists. But for the World Baseball Classic purposes, where Ohtani won't be hitting, he'll only, I mean, he won't be pitching, he'll only be hitting.
[00:13:38] I think Judge is probably the best player in the world. You also got Bobby Wood Jr. Who is one of the most, one of the best, if not the best all around player in baseball. So just like this Team USA team is just absolutely stacked.
[00:13:52] And then I got Team Mexico finishing second in pool B. I think Mexico's gonna go on a little run here, have a chance to finish second in the pool. Pool C. I got Japan finishing first.
[00:14:07] Obviously we just talked about Ohtani, but Japan over, I mean, just. They've always been good at baseball. Over the last couple years they've, you know, seemingly every year there's a new, there's a new player that's coming from the Japanese baseball league that is a stud. Obviously sh. Otani exists who could go down.
[00:14:27] If he continues down this career trajectory and stays healthy, he could be the greatest baseball player of all time. That's not ridiculous to say that.
[00:14:35] But like, obviously Japan has talent like that. They have Yamamoto, who's one of the best pitchers in the league.
[00:14:42] Roki Sasaki, who was great, was a great closing for the Dodgers last year. But yeah, I see Japan doing it in advancing. And then here I got Korea coming, coming up in second place in pool C. They have not advanced to the knockouts of the World Baseball Classic, I believe since 2017, if not before that.
[00:15:11] But I don't know. I think Korea is just as a. They have a solid roster Obviously you're gonna have a lot of guys from the Korean League. A couple Korean baseball players also like that are in the MLB on their team, like Junko Lee, like Ah Sung Kim, which will be nice for them. And I think they have a good team.
[00:15:36] And then pool D, I got the. The Dominican Republic coming first and I got Venezuela coming second.
[00:15:44] These are two teams that are powerhouses within themselves.
[00:15:48] But I have Dr. Finishing higher. I think the roster is better this time. Venezuela is missing a couple players.
[00:15:57] Just look at doctor's lineup. It's. It's ridiculous. You got Jose Ramirez, you got Juan Soto. It's along with numerous of other all Stars superstars on this team. I think they're gonna come up first in pull D. Whereas Venezuela also has a lot of superstars such as a Ronald Acuna Jr. So this will still be a formidable team in the World Baseball Classic that could make a run in the knockouts. But I don't have them finishing first in the pools.
[00:16:27] And as the World Baseball Player Classic, not playoffs, progresses, we will do more predictions. But for now, that's all I have, just my pull predictions. So just to review, Pool A, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Pool B, United States, Mexico. Pool C, Japan, Korea, and pool D, Dominican Republic. Venezuela being your eight teams advancing to the knockouts in the World Baseball Classic.
[00:16:52] Now we're going to get to my NFL mock draft, which I said we'll get to in a little bit.
[00:16:57] First, I talked about it last week. I'm not talking about this again. Mendoza's going one.
[00:17:04] Until that changes, I probably won't give more insight.
[00:17:08] Number two, I got the jets drafting Arvell Reese. Arvell Reese had a great, he had a great combine.
[00:17:17] He was. I had already penciled it in for number two last week and I mean this week I just kind of like after a good combine, proving that he looks like the best, like edge. Edge rusher in the class, even though he's also hybrid linebacker.
[00:17:33] It's just for Arvel Reese, it's becoming more and more likely he'll get picked at 2. As for number 3, same as last week, Francis Maliaga, offense tackle from Miami.
[00:17:46] And for Cardinals, I mean, it's just, it's just a position of need. Like they desperately need an offensive tackle to pair with Paris Johnson. Mariaga would be good. And if not, they could also move it inside. If they end up finding someone that could play tackle or maybe he's not as good as tackle. He could get moved as inside. He could get moved to in the interior offensive line and that'd be interesting for the Cardinals. As for number four, I got the Titans selecting Carnell Tate, the wide receiver out of Ohio State University. So obviously in the scenario Trey Hendrickson, they signed him in free agency, so wouldn't make as much sense to draft an edge. I mean you still could, especially with Bain and Bailey on the board. But I think the Titans would take a wide receiver in this scenario because Cardinal Tate could be their bona fide wide receiver, one to pair up next to Cam or that'd be a great, you know, sophomore rookie connection. Obviously you got day ball in that offensive coordinator.
[00:18:49] Now Tate, obviously he didn't, he didn't run fast at the combine in terms of 40 time. He ran four or five.
[00:18:58] Now let me just preface this. I'm not comparing him to Jackson, Smith and Jigba at all. He's nowhere near the route runner that Jackson, Smith and Jigba is.
[00:19:07] But Jackson, Smith and Jigba also did run a 4, 5 and he's arguably the best receiver in the league. So if you ask me, it's not, it's not ridiculous to, to say that that 40 time really doesn't matter. And this is what people have been, you know, prefacing over the last couple years that like how much does a 40 time matter in the sport of football?
[00:19:34] Given that, when are you ever running 40 yards at your fastest in the sport of football as a wide receiver, you can never like, unless you're running a go route, you're almost never doing a 40 yard dash.
[00:19:47] So it's not as important as it might seem. But it's also context like it like we got to figure out like Carnell Tate isn't some athletic stud that's super fast, he's average when it comes to speed. But we know how good of a deep route runner he is. We know how he is in the contested catch game. So I think that's why Carnell Tate, despite people saying he didn't have a good combine, I think he would still go number four in this scenario. At number five I got sunny styles, which on the other hand tested very well at the draft combine.
[00:20:26] And now it's going to seem like I might be contradicting myself, but I mean this is a linebacker that just ran faster than Carnell Tate, by the way, 4, 4, 7, 40 yard dash.
[00:20:37] He's also 65245 massive for a linebacker with an 112 broad jump which was tied fourth all time, and a 43 and a half inch vertical which is first all time in terms of linebackers. So Sonny Styles had a great season at osu. I think I talked about this last week where I said that the only tackle that he missed was against Mark Fletcher. Mark Fletcher, who is one of the best running backs in college football. Last year, that's the only tackle he missed. It was an arm tackle, Mark Fletcher.
[00:21:14] He shoved him off. That's the only one he missed all season. So he doesn't miss tackles. He's an athletic free freak. The Giants just released Bobby o', Carrick, so they desperately need a linebacker. Harbaugh coming in, you know, he's going to want a guy that can, you know, captain the defense. And I think this is something Sonny Styles will be able to do at some point in his career. He like, like I've been saying, athletic freak. Like, his physicals make so much sense at the position. And then when you turn on the tape, you realize how good of a tackler he is, how, how well he can be in coverage, especially with how athletic he is. So Sonny Styles, although a linebacker, isn't a very valuable position in the, in the NFL, especially in terms of drafting one high in the first round. Sonny Styles is a different type of linebacker.
[00:22:04] So it makes sense at number five for the Giants to draft him, especially because they really need a linebacker after that OKRK release, which most Giants fans figured was going to happen. But now that that is official, it makes that hole even more gaping for the Giants because with the McFadden injury as well, like they really need linebacker. And McFadden I believe, is also a free agent, so we don't know where he could sign. So we'll see what the Giants do. And free agency, obviously free agency is going to change a lot of my mock draft. So once we figure out where players are signing where, you know, some positional needs are going to get filled up, some are going to become clear if some. Some positional needs are going to still be there and be clear what these teams might want to address during the NFL draft.
[00:22:57] At number six, I got the Browns going. Spencer Fano, second best lineman in this draft. It's a position of need.
[00:23:05] I like Fano. I had him going number five last time. This time I'm going number six just for the Browns. Like, if you, if you're.
[00:23:14] Well, regardless if you're staying with Shirdur Sanders or not next season, you're going to need an offensive tackle. You had one of the worst O lines in the league and you desperately need a tackle. So Spencer Fano ideally is perfect for the Browns at number seven, got the Commanders, which this, I mean, as a Giants fan, this would suck. Reuben Bain, the edge rusher out of Miami, going there. I mean, we know how explosive he is.
[00:23:43] We know he's a fluid pass rusher and yes, the short arms thing, but to be honest, like, the Commanders have so many needs on that D line. They can move him inside, they can move him, you know, keep them being an edge rusher, which he did very well in college. He was a good run defender, like just a lot of things that the Commanders need. Bane as a single player seems to kind of fill that with his versatility.
[00:24:11] At number eight, I got the Saints drafting Jeremiah Love, who I've seen as high as three in mock drive. Well, I've seen as high as two in mock drafts to the jets, but now that Breece hall is back, seen as high as three to the Cardinals. And I could also see, you know, I guess he could slip out of top 10. I don't know if that's going to happen anymore because of how well he tested, how good he did in the running back drills and the receiving drills.
[00:24:35] He just might end up being the best player in the draft. Obviously, running back isn't a very valuable position to draft, but regardless, the Saints need a running back. And Lovin Shuck, you know, the rookie shock, well, the second year shock, the rookie, Jeremiah Love, that'd be a fantastic duo. They need a running back. Kamara, I mean, he's only getting older. Devin Neal was like, all right this year, I guess. But besides that, you don't really have a running back of the future at all. And Jamiah Love is ideally what you want to do. As for number nine for the Chiefs, who obviously just made a trade. So cornerback is a big need. And I thought about it here, but I still decided to go with David, David Bailey because he's too good to be at the bo on the board at number nine. Especially for the Chiefs, who really need an edge. I mean, they straight up just need help on the defensive side of the ball, but they need someone on the other side of Carloftis because Carloftus is a good edge rusher. But I mean, when you have no one productive on the other side, obviously Chris Jones is only getting older, so he's not getting. He's not providing as much pass rush up the middle as he used to.
[00:25:45] The Chiefs need another edge rusher. David Bailey could like, I mean, like I, like I said about Bane, like, this dude is. He's even more explosive and even more fluid pass rusher than Bane and he's, he's got prototypical size as well.
[00:26:02] So I like David Bailey. I think it'd be a great fit for the Chiefs and we know they need help on the defensive side of the ball. And defense wins championships in NFL. We just saw it with the Seahawks. When the Chiefs won their last two Super Bowls, it was because their defense was so good. It wasn't just their offense.
[00:26:22] At number 10 though, I got the Bengals going. Mansood MANSOUR Delane, the first cornerback off the board, in my opinion, ECB1 in this draft, really because of the Jamond McCoy injury. I, I did like McCoy at Tennessee last year, but because, you know, towards ACL, it didn't really play this year. Makes more sense for Man Manure Delane to go number one being the number one cornerback off the board. And then another factor here, Caleb Downs got hurt, which is really unfortunate because I am a fan of Caleb Downs. Well, not that he got hurt, but at the combine they discovered that he has a partially torn meniscus, which isn't good. And he also has an issue with his ACL that could come up later in his career. So that could cause him to slip down draft boards even though he might be the best, if not one of the best defensive players in the draft. And I wanted him at five for the Giants. But if there are going to be long term injury concerns, I understand why you wouldn't want to draft him there and I understand why he may slip down the board even though he is deserving of a top 10 pick.
[00:27:29] So my March Madness top five contenders, we did this list last week and at number five, I got Florida, who's 23 and 26, just entering the rankings for the first time. I have Houston dropping down. I think Florida did enough to be ranked above Houston. Now.
[00:27:48] They've been on a tear recently, haven't really lost many games in the sec.
[00:27:53] And Florida, obviously they won last year and we'll see what they do in the SEC championship or the SEC tournament.
[00:28:03] As for number four, I got UConn. Still, they're 27 and three. They demolished St. John since last time we talked, so that obviously deserved to be on. Well, was that before last time we talked.
[00:28:16] That game was insane though, because St. John scored like two baskets in the second half, which, like, when does that ever happen?
[00:28:28] But yeah, no, I, I believe that St. John's game was like what was like the day we recorded this last week. So I don't believe we had that.
[00:28:39] And then Michigan, I have a number Three. I have them dropping one spot not because of anything they did. They didn't lose actually they went 20 last week, but just because Arizona went 30 and Arizona also had some quality wins in there. So I got Arizona at two and then obviously at number one I have the Duke blue doubles who are 28 and two and they just beat Virginia. So that's another good win for Duke. They were already first. Now you beat a team that was a, you know, borderline top 10 team. They were on the cusp of that.
[00:29:15] So for me, Duke is clearly the number one team currently and are the number one team in my top five contenders for March Madness.
[00:29:25] So now we're going to get into some bracketology debates. So I've heard this.
[00:29:30] Miami Ohio or Auburn. So this has been really weird that this is even a conversation in my head. Miami Ohio 30 0, Auburn 16 and 14.
[00:29:43] Yet there's a conversation that the 16 and 14 team, 14 losses should be in above the undefeated team just because they play in the SEC and you know, I guess 14 losses, like how did like I, I get, I get it. Conferences matter and like the conference Auburn plays in a lot harder and their non conference schedule was a lot harder. They played teams like Houston, they played teams like St. John's who they ended up beating, which is their best win on the season in my opinion. I mean they also had a win against Arkansas, which is a great win. So they have a couple ranks wins on the season. So I see what we're saying there.
[00:30:23] But for Miami Ohio it's not like their best win is bad. Like they beat a 25, 5 Akron team in the Mac.
[00:30:29] Like that's a, that's a good ma, a really good max school team.
[00:30:34] And like they're 30 and 0. You can't leave them out of the March madness. If they're 30 0, they deserve a chance to prove themselves.
[00:30:43] Like I get Auburn lost a lot of close games, but like if Auburn should be in, like they shouldn't have 14 losses, clearly. I mean I get this would be a debate if they were 19 and 11 right now, but they're 16 and 14. Like it's for me at least it's not close. Miami Ohio is literally ranked in the top 25. I don't understand how they could possibly miss the tournament. I guess if they lose in the first round of the, or the first or second round of the Mac championship, maybe. But as for right now, I mean Miami Ohio needs to be in. They're the only team undefeated this season.
[00:31:21] Like what else do you want them to do?
[00:31:23] Now we got this debate who should win the Naismith player of the Year between the two rookies.
[00:31:31] Not rookies, freshmen who are putting up spectacular seasons in AJ Debanza and Cameron Boozer. AJ DeBancer of BYU this season averaging 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists. Rounded up a little bit for all three of those stats, but nonetheless. 52, 35, 76 splits.
[00:31:53] DeBance has, you know, scored the most points in college basketball this season. He's averaged the most points in college basketball this season. He's doing it on really good efficiency from the field.
[00:32:06] Decent enough efficiency from 3, 35% like good. But then again it is a college three point line so it was a bit shorter. So how well will that translate to the NBA? I don't know. We're not really talking about the NBA right now. We're talking about the Naismith player of the year.
[00:32:23] So for this, for these purposes it's hard because booster is also putting up a great season with his 23 points, his 10 rebounds, his four assists. He's averaging 1.6 steals a game by the way as power forward which is pretty impressive. And he's also shooting 58, 40 and 78 splits from the field so. And well 78% from the free throw line that is. But those are splits I, I got Cameron Boozer currently above AJ Devance so demands is now on the BYU team that isn't ranked. Not because of him, the Bance has put up a great season thus far but because you know, they just don't have besides Dan and Wright, like they don't really have as much talent whereas Duke obviously has more talent than them but like at the same time like they're putting up pretty similar statistical seasons. Obviously Boozer favored and he has more rebounds and he even has like, like the same amount of assists. He has more steals, he has almost amount the same amount of points. He's better efficiency and he's on the better team. So I think Cameron Boozer will end up winning the Naismith player of the year as a true freshman which would be sick. But I mean if the Bansa wins it wouldn't be bad for it would like I wouldn't be mad about it and that would be great for him.
[00:33:54] He clearly deserves, you know, some sort of award for averaging 25 points as a true freshman yet not being the number one pick in the upcoming draft or the projected number one pick in the upcoming draft. He certainly can go number one. Especially if Darren Peterson continues to shoot 3 of 18 from the field. I don't know what that was last night, but against Arizona State, an unranked team, Darren Peterson shot 3 of 18 from the field. And Kansas loss.
[00:34:23] But nonetheless, enough about Peterson. Let's get into my predictions for who will win every.
[00:34:33] At least in my eyes. These like top six, like conference tournaments like that will be the most entertaining. That's the SEC, the Big Ten, the Big 12, the ACC, the Big east and the West Coast Conference.
[00:34:44] So starting with the sec, Florida, I, I have them winning it again. They've just been on such a surge.
[00:34:52] It's, it's gonna be hard because to, to select this because a team like Arkansas, I think, I think they're my second best team in the, the SEC this year.
[00:35:06] And then obviously there's Tennessee who's been good at times.
[00:35:10] Alabama's obviously had a great, have had a great season as well. So there's a lot of teams. Vanderbilt obviously ranked. Kentucky could still win it. Georgia who seems like a lock for who, who is now locked for the, for March Madness. Auburn maybe could win it. I mean we've been talking about Auburn. Even though they're 7 and 10 in the SEC and 1614 on the season, they could still win the, the SEC championship. But I have Florida coming away with it. Who by the way, they're 24 6, not 23 6. My apologies I said that earlier and they're on a 10 game winning streak and that's really just what I'm looking at. Like the won 10 straight games against SEC teams.
[00:35:57] I don't think they're gonna lose this, this tournament. Like they're by far the by far and away the best team in the sec. And I, I predict that runner up will be Arkansas. It's hard to predict because I don't know how the bracket is going to go well but I think Arkansas has the second best chance of winning it.
[00:36:20] But yeah, those are my SEC predictions. Let's get into the Big Ten where this one, I mean Big Ten is going to be fun this year. All, all of these are going to be so fun to watch this season. But as for the Big Ten, obviously we have Michigan up there who's 27 2, ranked number two, ranked number three in the nation, who I had ranked number three as well.
[00:36:44] Michigan State who's eighth in the nation. Nebraska who just suffered a bad loss to ucla. Well not bad loss. UCLA is not a bad team but they lost to ucla. But Nebraska is still in the conversation. Illinois still in the conversation. Purdue, Wisconsin, who's beaten Michigan and Michigan State, the top two teams in the Big Ten.
[00:37:06] Ohio State, who, yes, has lost to Michigan, but I mean they've looked much better as of recently. UCLA, as previously mentioned, Iowa, I mean the Big Ten has a lot of teams that could be contenders in it, but I think it's going to be a top contender. So I'm going to narrow it down between the two Michigan schools. Is it going to be Michigan? Is it going to be Michigan State? I think it's actually going to be Michigan State. Not because I necessarily think that they're better than Michigan, but I just think in this particular tournament I think they'll be able to get it done.
[00:37:41] So following that we have the Big 12 where this one same thing, very competitive. There's so many teams that could end up winning the Big 12 this season. Arizona, Houston, Texas Tech, Iowa State. Kansas goes top five teams. I think one of those five teams will win it. So let's narrow it down to that.
[00:38:02] Kansas has been in poor form lately. I don't think they're winning the Big 12. They're on a two game losing streak and they've just kind of fallen off as of recently. Iowa State also on a two game losing streak, also has kind of fallen off as of recently, but definitely contender. So I wouldn't want to rule them out, but I don't think they're going to win it. Now I'm between the three teams that I do think have the highest chance of winning it. I mean, makes sense, Arizona, Houston and Texas Tech. But actually my pick is going to be Texas Tech, who has beaten both teams this season in Houston and Arizona. Had a lot of good wins, had a lot of not great losses, but I don't know, I'm riding with Texas Tech. They, they just lost the tcu, which kind of sucks, but I still think that they will, you know, since TCU isn't really that bad of a team. Like I still think that they will end up winning the Big 12 championship. It'll be hard though. I mean, Houston won it last season, Arizona was the runner up and Arizona came back this year way better than they were last year. Houston's probably a bit worse than last year, but they're still like, still a great team.
[00:39:14] So like the Big 12, I think this is going to be my personal favorite conference tournament to watch because there's just so many good teams, so many tournament teams in the Big 12 that I mean any one of those teams really can win it and we see upsets Like Arizona State over Kansas all the time in the Big 12. Cincinnati beat Houston earlier this season and now for the acc.
[00:39:45] So let's narrow it down. I think obviously Duke is a contender in the acc. Virginia is the contender in the acc, Miami contender in the acc.
[00:39:54] But I don't have them winning the ACC championship. I'm not going to put them in my top five. UNC, contender in the acc, Clemson, Louisville, contenders in the acc, but I'm gonna actually eliminate Louisville. I'll have my top four teams here. Duke, Virginia, unc, Clemson. Don't think Clemson's gonna win it. Duke, Virginia, unc.
[00:40:17] I'm gonna just go with Duke. It's kind of the easy pick, but I mean there we'll see how they play against unc, who's been one of the only two teams that have been able to beat them this season, but which will be this Saturday, which I can't wait for. But I mean, what Duke has lost by the. The two games they lost by, lost by a point and two points. They just beat Virginia. They've beaten everyone in this conference but unc.
[00:40:49] Like I just think that Duke will win this tournament and like I think that the best team in college basketball right now. So obviously I'm going to think that. As for the Big east, for me it's.
[00:41:04] I mean it's a four horse race, like sand and Hall, Villanova, St. John's Yukon. But I mean I don't think Villanova or Satan hall will win it. So I'm gonna go with Yukon. They just destroyed St. John's St. John's beat them earlier this season, but I mean UConn is just looking to continue their stretch of dominance over the last couple seasons. And obviously they're looking to win their third.
[00:41:31] Third.
[00:41:33] Third March Madness in four years, which would be absolutely ridiculous if that does end up happening. And as for the West coast conference, it's between two teams, Gonzaga and St. Mary's I'm predicting St. Mary's here. I'm not the biggest fan of this Gonzaga team this season and they just lost St. Mary, so I'm gonna pick them for the West Coast Conference. So each team that I have Winning for the SEC, Florida for the Big Ten, Michigan State for the Big 12, Texas Tech for the ACC, Duke, Big East, Yukon and the West Coast Conference, St. Mary's those are my predictions for conference tournaments. We shall see if they end up becoming correct or not. But we'll get there when we get there.
[00:42:17] College basketball is just heating up more and more day by day. As we get further into March and we will see these big, big tournaments for the acc, sec, all those conferences. And then of course March Madness, which will be really fun to do. On the podcast, my March Madness predictions. I can't wait.
[00:42:43] So now we're going to transition into NBA just for about the last like 5, 10 minutes of the show. Gonna recap the Knicks game from last night. The Knicks defeat The Toronto Raptors 111 to 95, where Jalen Brunson drops 26 points, 10 assists. Having great night for himself. Carl Anthony Towns 21 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists. Towns really put on a show. And Josh Hart with his usual 12, 7 and 7.
[00:43:10] The Knicks defeat the Raptors 111 to 95. Aldo Ingram dropped 314 and RJ Barrett scored 20 of 9 of 13 shooting, had 4 assists, 3 rebounds. Yet still the Raptors lost by 16 points.
[00:43:27] I'm excited that, I'm excited for tonight's game. For the next they play against the Thunder.
[00:43:34] We, we will see what happens in that game. But Shea's questionable, so. And the Knicks typically don't really beat like top of the tier teams. That's kind of been their thing for the last two seasons. In the regular season, I mean, we hadn't beat like Boston, we hadn't beat the Cavs or the Thunder, those top three teams last year. Now this year it's also becoming a problem where the Pistons have continually beaten us. The spurs, they beat us in the game. That did count in terms of standings and not the NBA cup game, which doesn't count in terms of standings.
[00:44:12] But yeah, no, I, but I still think the Knicks are going to win tonight. They're coming off of a great game. The knicks have are 15 and four in the last 19 games. Like they've been absolutely hot down the stretch of the season and they're going to, you know, continue to push for the first or the, the second seed, but maybe even the first seed in the East.
[00:44:34] As for the NBA as a whole, we're gonna do my top five power rankings, my MVP ladder. And that will wrap up today's episode of full court, full press, full count.
[00:44:47] Not full press, a full court, full field, full count.
[00:44:52] So my top five NBA teams, number five, I got the Boston Celtics.
[00:44:58] They've been greatest as of recently. Also 15:4 in the last 19 games is really interesting. The second seed in the east right now. They've been, I believe they're on three game winning streak.
[00:45:10] The Celtics have just, you know, they've had a great season even without Jason Tatum and all the credit to them.
[00:45:17] But I only have them at number five. Currently at number four, I have my New York Knicks, who, you know, beat the Celtics most recently, and I think they've done enough to be above the Celtics. We didn't do this rankings last week, but I'll, I'll do my top five MVP ladder, my top five teams every week to end the shows.
[00:45:39] So, yeah, I got the Knicks there at number four. At number three, top team in the east, got the Detroit pistons, who are 45 and 15, you know, is having a great season. They just lost the Cavs, though, who could be in the top five next week. They were on the borderline for me. So were the Rockets.
[00:45:57] But yeah, the Pistons still having great season nonetheless. At number two, I got the Spurs. It's hard to rank them above the Thunder right now. Maybe the Thunder drop a couple games this week, but they've been good in February and March and so has the Spurs. They've also been really good in February and March.
[00:46:15] But yeah, I got the Thunder still at number one. Pretty obvious why they have the best record in the league.
[00:46:23] And even without Shay, they were winning games.
[00:46:26] So my MVP ladder, I actually didn't change it at all. It's still Edwards 5, Kade Cunningham 4, Luca 3, Jalen Brown 2, and Shay Gilligious Alexander 1. So those are still my predictions for how if the MVP hat if we had to vote on the MVP today, who that's who it would be.
[00:46:48] And I just want to give an update on Shay if he's going to be eligible or not for the MVP this season. So he's played 51 games, which means he needs to play 14 more games for the Thunder. If we look at their record, they're 48 and 15.
[00:47:07] So Shay doesn't have very much room to miss. I mean, we, we've already discussed this with Jokic. He has, like, no room to miss. Shay can miss a couple games, but if he's going to want to be MVP and he missed another game against the Cavs, he can't miss much more. But we'll see if he if he won't qualify for the MVP race. But for now, that'll do it for myself. Leonardo Mejia on this episode of Full Court, Full Field, Full count.
