Trust me
Every time someone says “trust me” you immediately become suspicious of that person. That might be the case here, hopefully you believe I‘m telling you the truth. Emmanuel Mudiay will make known his college choice this evening on ESPNU. This is written prior to his official notice; I intend to run it on Monday morning whether I am right or wrong. Rivals awards him 5-stars and rate him the number two prospect in the Class of 2014. ESPNU also awards him 5-stars however they rate him number five on their list of prospects. This 6-5 197 pound point guard from Prime Prep Academy in Arlington received offers from Kansas, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Kentucky and Southern Methodist.  The list was reduced to Kentucky and SMU only.  It’s my belief Mudiay will opt for the 40 or so interstate miles between his Arlington home and the Dallas campus of SMU. I’m offering no proof for you other than my gut feeling however part of the feeling is based on history. Can you think of any period of time SMU was vying with Kentucky for any athlete in any sport? 73-year old Larry Brown has bested John Calapari, can you believe it?

ADDENDUM Hope you had an opportunity to view the Under Armour Elite 24 game.  Sure enough Mudiay made a verbal commitment to SMU. The youngster then went on to to be named MVP of the game. 

Last week
I omitted what I think is significant information regarding Allen Iverson’s career. He will likely be excluded from the Collegiate Experience (college basketball hall of fame). It’s easily explained he left Georgetown after his sophomore year. The James A. Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield (MA) definitely waits for this diminutive guard. There is no doubt the 14-year veteran former MVP and 11-time All-Star will be enshrined, the only question is when. The time period for Iverson’s selection is unanswered, this we know he will be enshrined.

Denzel
Did you have an opportunity to view the Denzel Washington interview on ESPN SportsCenter; he was promoting his movie “2 Guns.” Most fans don’t realize the 58-year old Washington and two times Academy Award winner was an athlete back in the day. It should be of note he played freshman basketball at Fordham for P.J. Carlesimo. He played football in high school so it’s not difficult to see Washington in the role of football coach in “Remember the Titans.” In the movie “He got Game” he was Jake Shuttlesworth the father of Jesus (Ray Allen) Shuttlesworth. The father-son shootout wasn’t necessarily staged Washington proved he’d picked up a basketball previously. It seems almost every Laker game the television cameras locate at least three or four celebrities who are generally in attendance. Jack (no last name required), actor Andy Garcia and Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. can be spotted by the cameras.

　
Chris Broussard
It is extremely difficult to detail the entire ESPN First Take debate. As usual Broussard is entitled to his view on any subject manner. It just seems the positions he often takes I’m on the opposite side however in this instance so was his studio counterpoint. The debate was regarding the recent dialogue surrounding the all-time Top 3 players. Broussard (as his usual position) defending his man LeBron James. Broussard said; “LeBron 3-peat this upcoming season and winning 2 or 3 more championships if he returns to Cleveland will justify his all-time best status.” Freddie Coleman his counterpart disagreed; “it’s about creating a legacy, he (LeBron) can’t go from team to team chasing a ring and then be considered an all-time great.” Coleman is correct; there have been a number of athletes in the twilight of their careers that left teams to contend for rings. There is no need for LeBron to resort that posture he’s only 28-years old far from the end of his career.

Charles Barkley might be the first player that comes to mind, Barkley retired without the ring. The later edition of Shaq might have been after rings as he moved from the Suns to the Cavs and finally the Celtics. Although Broussard didn’t elaborate I believe he might have been looking to the future of the Heat and its aging roster. The future would be quite bright for the Cavs with a veteran LeBron added to the youthful team currently assembled. For those who believe this is hatin’ on LeBron thread forget it. My belief you don’t create any type of legacy moving from team to team. No need to point out Kareem won a championship prior to his arrival in Los Angeles. Does anybody reflect on the players Milwaukee days? Regardless of the future LeBron James will go down in history for his Miami accomplishments. There is no guarantee in Cleveland or anywhere else for that matter.