LaMarcus Aldridge was one of the few lottery prospects to back up the hype on the biggest stage he's played in so far. Mustafa Shakur exploded for what might have been his best game of his career at the best possible time for the Arizona Wildcats. Tyler Hansbrough looked like a senior leading his team to victory behind 24 points and 9 rebounds individually, and Brandon Rush finished off his college career on a very sour note that murks his NBA draft future up considerably.
Note: This was a fairly disappointing day from most of the major and minor draft prospects, as well as their respective teams. Rather than talk about average and typical performances from most of the top players we've been writing about all year long, we instead prefer to wait and see how they will perform in the next round and beyond.
Stock Up
LaMarcus Aldridge, 6-11, Sophomore, PF/C, Texas
19 points, 11 rebounds, 2 blocks, 7-13 FG, 5-6 FT
Mike Schmidt
Throughout the season, Aldridge looked dominant at times, but still made many question his consistency and ability to be the number one option in big games. Aldridge answered the second question tonight by leading Texas over a pesky Penn team.
Aldridge started out the game in dominant fashion once again, scoring 8 of his teams first 9 points in the opening 9 minutes of the game. Playing very unselfishly, he didnt force any bad shots, and passed out of the post when he was double teamed, which lead to some good ball movement and easy shots for teammates. In the second half, Aldridge continued where he left off, scoring efficiently and unselfishly, and finished the game with a double-double.
In addition to the good numbers, Aldridge started showing a little bit of passion. Playing passively has been a knock against him for the entire season, so coming out with some intensity is very helpful in his chances of being the top pick in the draft. If he can come out and continue to lead Texas with some aggression through the rest of the NCAA tournament, it will vastly improve his chances of hearing his name called first at the draft in June.
Aldridge started out the game in dominant fashion once again, scoring 8 of his teams first 9 points in the opening 9 minutes of the game. Playing very unselfishly, he didnt force any bad shots, and passed out of the post when he was double teamed, which lead to some good ball movement and easy shots for teammates. In the second half, Aldridge continued where he left off, scoring efficiently and unselfishly, and finished the game with a double-double.
In addition to the good numbers, Aldridge started showing a little bit of passion. Playing passively has been a knock against him for the entire season, so coming out with some intensity is very helpful in his chances of being the top pick in the draft. If he can come out and continue to lead Texas with some aggression through the rest of the NCAA tournament, it will vastly improve his chances of hearing his name called first at the draft in June.