Fantastic! One of my rec league teammates played in that league and he says it's great competition. (he'll be in the Sac. Kings training camp in a few weeks-best of luck to him as well!) Good for Ben! I hope Ben develops a dead-on outside jumper with range, puts on the weight and continues to evolve his overall game. I still feel the NBA is a viable option for Ben-this is one of the first steps to getting there. I'll try to stay abreast of his situation as best I can.
Man, gettin' paid to play! Sludge, you must be proud!
BTW, would it be too much to ask what he signed for? I saw that it's a 2 year+options contract. Just curious!

Oh yeah-almost forgot-Sikma used to try and guard a guy named Kareem- ever heard of him?
And Walton, and Parish and Cartwright and Lister and Malone and...you get the idea!
Sikma's over the head shot was pretty close to unstoppable and he backed down from NO ONE-helluva rebounder too!
No, he would NOT be guarding 6'10 perimiter players-he was a friggin' CENTER! A position that seems to be vanishing in the NBA........

And Joakim Noah SUCKS!!! UGH. What a NASTY game he has...and the WORST footwork EVER!!! Don't believe me? Watch for yourself. Not to mention one of the most HORRIBLE shots EVER. Can't stand the guy.  How is he in the NBA?

He is an example of NBA luck and timing-I personally feel Ben Strong has WAY more talent than this stiff. Noah will be out of the league soon enough, hopefully.
Perhaps to make room for Ben! That would be cool!

OK, now I'm outta here!!!

Fellas- I was AT the Pete Newell Big Man Camp this past summer(at 8:30 EVERY morning to be exact! You try that in VEGAS-no mean feat) and I can assure ALL of you that Ben did extremely well, so much so that one of the reps from the Timberwolves(that's right-the NBA) and I were marveling at Ben's talent and ability.
Indeed, we also talked with some of the other scouts and coaches about Ben, and the running joke was 'where in the hell is Guilford?' All were in concurrence that Ben was a diamond in the rough.
Personally, I feel he needs to seriously hit the weights and add 25 lbs to stay competitive. Still, his skill level is extraordinary, and his footwork is magnificent!
Will he be a surprise draft pick? Hmm..I don't know. But a team with a dearth of big men(like the Lakers) could see him as a project PF. If Ben can get a dead-on outside shot, the sky's the limit.
Oh, and 'mybleedinghands': At this particular session of the Camp, there were only 3 pros this year(Solomon Jones, Justin Williams amd Roderick Riley), so yes, eveybody played against each other this year-no delineation between anybody. Bear in mind this is a TEACHING camp, not one of those joke AAU camps where it's only run-n-gun games. At the most, there were 3 on 3's. However, when each player was required to execute solo or team moves and drills,  Ben performed flawlessly. Believe me, some of the D1 players could not do these tasks as effortlessly as Ben, albeit they were much stronger and beefier specimens.
And for Amare and Dwight-these guys are ALL STARS! Very, very few can hold up to them! Also, we all are guilty of NBA draft hype-it takes most players a few years to get up to speed in the league.
So bottom line: I hope Ben gets drafted-I've been a fan since seeing him this summer. But, will it happen? The odds are against him. That being said, getting paid to play ANYWHERE is damn good thing! Europe ain't a bad deal. And, he can still make it to the league in a few years too.
BTW great book recommendation about pro ball at all levels: 'Can I Keep My Jersey?' by Paul Shirley. Getting to the NBA obviously takes talent, but a lot of luck and timing factor in too!
Good Luck to Ben Strong!
-SDBrum

GO LAKERS!!!!!

Hey all sdbrum here-What in the hell happened to Guilford? I just now found out they LOST in the first round! HUH? Can someone who went to the game explain to me how this happened? Man, after seeing Ben Strong kick butt at Pete Newell's Big Man camp this summer, I thought he'd be the proverbial 'big fish/small pond' story. I know it's a five man game, but the Quakers won, what 21 games? I know he didn't do it all himself-I kept abreast via the Guilford website.Wow. Like I said before, survive and advance. I figured Ben would lead them to the D3 final four, at least. What a bummer(reminds me of Princeton beating UCLA).So, does anybody know if the NBA has come knocking for Ben yet? I hope so. The other night I was watching that joke of a center, Joakim Noah, start(!) for the Bulls...are you kidding me? I still think Ben is WAY more talented than that jackass!Still I hope the scouts have a little more saavy and give Ben a serious look-see.

Well, it's another beautiful day here in paradise(aka San Diego)-70 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. Think I'll go for a bike ride 'round Mission Bay. Thought I'd let you all know !
Be cool everybody-I'll try and pop in once in a while!
-sdbrum

Hey all sdbrum is back in the house! I've been monitoring Guilford's success and I truly hope the NBA gives Ben Strong some serious consideration. Nobody here in SoCal knows about the ODAC, but give us some slack-we have the Pac-10, Mountain West, WCC, Big West and WAC to contend with all the time! Kudos to Ben for breaking the scoring record. Now, I would love to hop on a plane and fly out to catch a game, but regrettably, that isn't feasible for me.
Does anybody ever video tape the Quakers games? It would be nice if someone posted something on YouTube! Surely there must have been some great highlights lost to memory-perhaps one of you might be able to get something filmed so we all can enjoy it. That would be awesome.
Good luck to Guilford in the NCAA tourney-just remember what the late, great Jim Valvano always said about the tourney: Survive and advance! Survive and advance!
I add: Make your damn free throws!

BTW-I LOVE the fact that all the teams in the Western conference are making all these panic trades after my beloved Lakers STOLE Pau Gasol! I can hardly contain my glee!

Take it easy everybody!

I'm back! Thanks to those who sent me personal messages-for some reason, I couldn't respond to them, so I will in this public forum. Scottie: The big Aussie did well! sludge: no prob! I'm an aspiring coach/scout, so what better place to learn footwork, then from the master himself? BTW I urge all hoops fans to get: A Good Man-The Pete Newell Story by Bruce Jenkins. A must read for all of you!
To be fair, others at the camp stood out too: Ryan Anderson (Cal), Dwayne Collins (Miami), Ivan Elliott (UC-Santa Barbara), Marty O'Sullivan (Fairfield). And John Bryant (Santa Clara) 6-11/300lbs is a load! This camp opened my eyes, as I was a D-1 snob, and I generally ignored D-3 hoops. I was wrong! GoQuakers: you're probably right, but the camp heavily emphasized footwork and low-post moves, so defense wasn't a priority at this camp. However defense is all hard work: Stay low, and move your damned feet!!!  Since I live in SoCal, getting to the Carolinas will be difficult-I would love to see Ben play live. FYI to all-my younger bro played for UCLA back in the late 80's, and I am a San Diego State alum, so forgive me if my knowledge of your league was non-existent until now. If I do end up being a scout down the road, well, I'm pretty sure I'll know EVERY league in our fair country!
Good luck to all, and I will stay abreast of the ODAC!
God, I LOVE BASKETBALL!! Too bad my Lakers will stink this year!

RE: Ben Strong from Guilford-
Hello all-I'm from San Diego and I'm a Pac-10/Moutain West hoops fan, so I feel my comments will be most objective. I just returned from the Pete Newell's Big Man camp in Vegas and I have to admit I was blown away by Ben Strong's performance. In fact, he was the talk of all the coaches! We all kept asking ourselves: Who is this kid? Where the hell is Guilford? (Nothing personal!) Is it D-1? D-2?
None of us knew! How did he slip thru the cracks? After I googled him I got a lot more info(D-3 player of the year!) regarding his hoops history. His skill level is awesome-yes, he needs more bulk and strength but the NBA is not a pipe dream for this kid. He did hold his own with some of the much bulkier players in the camp in regards to banging in the low post, but I see him as a shooting forward who can create a lot of match-up problems for people his size. And if he gets a smaller player on him, Mr. Strong should feast on him on the inside. And he's a good passer too! If he gets a little more range on his shot-look out! He's incredibly nimble and agile and a great finisher. Too bad I'll probably never get a chance to see him play live.
Yes, I think he'll probably develop his game in Europe first, and then migrate over to the NBA. It's a shame the NBA draft has only 2 rounds, and that lame players like Joachim Noah get a first round draft pick. Believe me folks, Noah is NOT that good-he's merely riding the media hype-and, his footwork is TERRIBLE! Just review his game agaimst UCLA-he stumbles over his own feet and if it's not a dunk, he has no game. If anyone needs to go to Pete Newell's Big man camp, it's this stiff!
But, back to Ben Strong-he has TERRIFFIC footwork! I'll keep an eye on him via internet updates. And to all you Guilford fans-you've got a great one here! Enjoy the upcoming season! BTW- teammate Tyler Sanborn did well at the camp too.
Regards!