Some people on Twitter said they were disappointed with The Americans finale, and I wrote down all their names. None of them will ever sup at my table.
SAYONARA, PATIENT 0. Welp. It happened. D'Angelo Russell declared for the dang NBA draft. (Tim compiled a great look at Silk's Top 10 plays.)
The venerable DraftExpress.com projects him No. 4 overall to the Los Angeles Lakers, which would be enough to get me back on the bandwagon, baby! (I was born in L.A. Hi, haters.)
Russell projects as top-5 pick, but lack of athleticism could limit upside
WARP Projection: 2.9 (2nd among players in the top 100)
Comparables: Brandon Knight (92.0), Bradley Beal (91.8), Xavier Henry (90.8), Jerryd Bayless (90.8)
Strengths: Usage, Shooting, Rebound%, Assist%
Weaknesses: 2P%, FTA%Russell tops all NCAA prospects in projected WARP, with one of the 10 best projections for any freshman in my database back through 2003. His strength is his versatility. Per Sports-Reference.com, Russell is the only major-conference freshman to average at least five rebounds and five assists per game since 2009-10. (D.J. Cooper did so as a mid-major freshman.) Russell's statistics suggest he should be able to play point guard in the NBA. In fact, his projected assist rate would put him in the top 25 percent of all point guards in my database.
I bristled at the "lack of athleticism" part of the headline, but upon reflection, it's fair as long as "lack of" doesn't mean "none."
D'Angelo might not have the highest upside in the draft, but any team that drafts him won't regret it. (And that can't be taken for granted in a league where Adam Morrison was drafted No. 3 overall.)
It sucks we only got to watch him in Columbus for a year, but that's the name of the game. Mike Conley only played a year at OSU, and I still love watching highlights of that dude, so whatever.
Good luck to D'Angelo at the next level.
SAYONARA, JEFF HEUERMAN. Since we're talking about Buckeyes cashing in on their talents... Jeff Heuerman posted a heartfelt goodbye to Buckeye Nation:
Last 4 years of my life were amazing and I truly cherish all the memories and friendships. Ohio has been amazing to me, thank you everyone!
— Jeff Heuerman (@JHeuerman86) April 22, 2015
Buckeye Nation you guys changed this kid from Florida and for the rest of my life I thank you and wish the best for each and everyone of you
— Jeff Heuerman (@JHeuerman86) April 22, 2015
It sucks that Heuerman was dinged up most of last year, but him carrying on through it like a boss is a quality of his that I'll always remember. And while my shitty pink carcass would get shattered like a stale saltine cracker if I stepped foot onto the gridiron... I think Heuerman's toughness might just serve him well on the next level.
He's a guy somebody like the Patriots will draft in the fourth round, and he and Rob Gronkowksi will go on to win Super Bowls together and wreck over 50,000 New England marriages. There are worse fates in the NFL.
TALKIN' LACROSSE, A SPORT WHICH I KNOW AND LOVE. The last time we saw the lacrosse team, they fumbled away a lead against Maryland in the run-up to Ohio State's spring game.
Next up, however, is the B1G tournament:
http://t.co/G6AdOoN9Qk's weekly look at @OhioState_MLAX talks the game vs Maryland & looks ahead to the B1G Tourney http://t.co/QEkBigm6u5
— BTN Lacrosse (@BTNLax) April 22, 2015
Uh, Go Bucks!?
DANNY CLARK: THE NEW MR. OHIO STATE. The only way this could get more Ohio State is if he had a CFP trophy amulet dangling from a Buckeye necklace while also holding up a copy of this picture with this right hand.
Running through the 614 with my woes pic.twitter.com/pSBb6XjO1o
— PROTOTYPE (@DClarkQB) April 22, 2015
Call me crazy if you must, but I think Clark played a key role in landing Todd Sibley. (Prayers up to the defenses having to deal with that backfield for the next two six years.)
REMINDER: OSU DOES IT ALL. Sometimes I like to run random stuff that Ohio State does to remind folks that it balls at a lot more than just sports:
From Pam Frost Gorder of News.OSU.edu:
COLUMBUS, Ohio—An international research team is bringing a new weapon to bear against invasive earthworms.
The ongoing research project at The Ohio State University, the University of Alberta and Simon Fraser University uses statistical analysis to forecast one worm species’ spread, in hopes of finding ways to curtail it.
Most recently, they’ve focused on the boreal forest of northern Alberta. No native worms live in the forest whatsoever; the region had been worm-free since the last ice age 11,000 years ago, until invasive European species began working their way across the United States and Canada. The worms have only recently invaded Alberta.
This warmed my ashen heart, because I am extremely, extremely racist against worms. I know "science" tries to tell me that earthworms are good... but I find them pathetic and repulsive. Kill them all, and when we do, we will claim another national title on their graves.
The sooner we do that, the sooner mosquitoes can catch the whooping they've had coming for millennia.
THOSE WMDs. Explosión volcán calbuco... In competitive vaping, contestants vie to create the biggest cloud... Analytics and the market for lemons... This Photographer Spent 1,021 Days Traveling the World... From K.M. Losh: The Legend that is Estaban Weaver... Blake Griffin shimmy.
