More fun than stealing computers.

6:59pm
The draft coverage is about to start. I have to say I don’t normally watch the draft, but I find myself interested this year because of the many stories coming to light in the draft. Such stories as Sheldon Williams’s massive forehead, JJ Redick drinking and driving, will Gerry get drafted, and Adam Morrison’s Richard Kiel like mustache. If you don’t know who that is, look it up. It makes sense.

7:02pm
Toronto is deciding and the drama begins. It appears that they will pick Andrea Bargnani from Rome, but the announcement will occur once we start. Also, it should be interesting because there are no high schoolers this year.

7:04pm
Jay Billis still sounds like an ass.

7:06pm
Fran Fraschilla said “Put some ice cubes in my Kook-Aid Dan.” What?!?

7:10pm
They are talking about Adam Morrison going to the Charlotte Bobcats with the #3 pick. He looks even more disheveled then he did all season with the Zags.

7:21pm
They talk to JJ Reddick. Talking about his resume, Dan Patrick says “also on that resume a DUI a couple of weeks back”. Excellent.

7:32pm
Here we go. First pick. Toronto now has 5 minutes and is on the clock.

7:36pm
With the first pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, the Toronto Raptors select Andrea Bargnani from Italy. Woo. I’ve never heard of this guy before really. And every NCAA baller feels dissed I’m sure. I just don’t think anyone that usually plays with a trapezoidal paint should be a number one pick. Chicago is on the clock.

7:41pm
The Bulls have 40 seconds left and the NY fans are booing uncontrollably.

7:42pm
The Bulls select LaMarcus Aldridge from Texas. However, there is a reported deal that Chicago and Portland have made a deal to send Aldridge to the Blazers, and the 4th pick will go to Chicago, trading Khryapa and giving future considerations.

7:45pm
Gerry McNamara hasn’t been seen on any video, nor has his name been mentioned. I wonder if he is even in MSG right now. Answer: NO.

7:48pm
Third pick: Charlotte selected Mr. Mustache himself, Adam Morrison from Gonzaga. Mr. Jordan made a nice pick I think. He led the nation in scoring, a nice scorer, and gives gutsy performances. He can’t guard, but I guess you can still be a big time player if you can score.

7:54pm
Portland selects Tyrus Thomas from LSU, the leading scorer from the SEC. He will be heading to Chicago. This guy is a pretty spectacular athlete. Also, Jay Billis’ best available list includes a lot of Big East players with names like Mike Gansey from West Virginia, Randy Foye from Villanova, Rudy Gay and Marcus Williams from Connecticut, and Quincy Douby from Rutgers.

8:00pm
Atlanta picks Sheldon Williams from Duke. This was a given, as they basically already had a deal with him that he would be drafted if he was still available. Nothing really exciting to report here. I still want to know how the hell he got that forehead though. The hat he’s wearing barely fits him. Plus, he sounds like he has had a brain injury. And much like many college basketball fans, I hate everything out of Duke.

8:07pm
Minnesota picks Brandon Roy, the Pac-10 player of the year. The first guard selected. Boston has the next pick. They just made a deal to get Sebastian Telfair so they are basically picking for Portand. Matt Glaude was upset at this trade. I’m sure you’ll hear from him about this.

8:12pm
Rudy Gay is still sitting there and he is nervous saying “it ain’t looking good”. Boston has the next pick, so he could be heading to Portland, Houston, or Orlando.

8:15pm
Boston (Portland) selected Randy Foye from Villanova, the Big East player of the year. This is a great player and probably the most talented Big East player in the draft. I don’t think I would want Sebastian Telfair over Foye any day. Jay Wright, the coach of ‘Nova is on hand looking very dapper as he always does. If he’s not connected to the mob, he sure dresses like he is.

8:21pm
With the 8th pick in the draft, Houston selects Rudy Gay of Connecticut. The rumor is that he will be headed to Memphis in a proposed trade. Rudy Gay playing with Hakim Warrick could be very excited and an excellent show of Big East talent. While showing highlights of Rudy Gay I saw my fiancé playing in the UConn Pep Band. I’m wierded out that my fiancé was on the NBA Draft.

8:28pm
With the 9th pick, Golden State selects Patrick O’Bryant from Bradley. He’s a sophomore and I have never heard of this player. Do I suck for not hearing of this guy, or does he suck and this is a crazy pick. With very quality players still remaining I am going with the second choice.

8:34pm
Big trade news. Minnesota and Portland trade the 6 and 7 picks. They swap Brandon Roy and Randy Foye, Foye actually heading to Minnesota. Seattle also selects as the number 10 pick Saer Sene from Senegal. This guy is tall. This guy is black. This guy has a huge wingspan. This guy will suck for about 2 years before he’s any good. With the 10th pick in the first round I don’t think I would have picked this guy until free agency. Now that the top ten are done, I’m just going to report on Big East picks, major trades, and interesting things going on.

8:41pm
I spoke too soon. Something interesting happened. JJ Redick goes to the Orlando Magic with the 11th pick. The NCAA Player of the Year and resident Ted Kennedy impersonator will no longer be taking abuse in Krzyzewskiville.

8:47pm
New Orleans selects Hilton Armstrong from Connecticut, the Big East Defensive Player of the Year. I personally didn’t expect him to go this high, however he vastly improved his game this year at UConn. He used to suck hardcore, but this year he decided to get his head out of his ass or listen to Jim Calhoun finally. This is the second pick from Connecticut in the draft, and probably not the last.

8:58pm
Dan Patrick and Commissioner David Stern have a lovers quarrel before announcing the 14th pick. Just precious.

9:15pm
They are talking about how Marcus Williams is the best Point Guard prospect in the draft and how he hasn’t been drafted because of “character issues”. Its delicious. Guys like this who are suspended and do things like steal shouldn’t be rewarded in my opinion. Who knows when he will get picked though? It could be anytime really.

9:20pm
The Pacers make their pick, and Dan Patrick tries to talk to Larry Bird about it, but the video conferencing technology doesn’t cooperate. We could hear him, but not see him. Therefore, what does Dan Patrick do? Put Larry Bird on hold. Dan Patrick put Larry Fucking Bird on hold. Un-fucking-believable.

9:24pm
They finally throw to Larry. This is after the 18th pick was taken by Washington. It was Oleksiy Pecherov from the Ukraine, who I think looks exactly like Craig Forth. Check out the picture.

9:28pm
The Sacramento Kings selected Quincy Douby from Rutgers with the 19th pick. This guy can shoot and will probably be a pretty great 2 guard in the NBA. As many would agree, a steal this high in the draft.

9:39pm
Spike Lee looks drunk. Dan Patrick keeps refering to trades they put up on the screen as “paperwork”. No Dan.

9:46pm
Marcus Williams is finally picked by the New Jersey Nets with the 22nd pick. He is the 3rd Connecticut player picked, and is only the second point guard picked. East Rutherford better buy some locks to secure your laptops. He’s on the prowl

9:50pm
Son of a bitch if NJ just picked Josh Boone with the next pick. They will be playing together in Jersey. Boone is taken pretty high here. It’s not a bad pick, but I’m not sure his game is polished enough to be taken this high. Will he be a good fit? Probably. But he’s still going to miss more free throws then Shaq will in his lifetime. This is the 4th player from UConn drafted this year and yet another Big East player.

9:56pm
The Memphis Grizzlies with the 24th pick select Kyle Lowry from Villanova. Another guard from the Big East selected, and he will be playing with Syracuse alumnus Hakim Warrick. He should be a nice fit, and if his shooting improves even more, he will be excellent for that team.

10:13pm
Portland is rumored to be in a 4th trade, this being for Phoenix’s 27th overall pick for cash. Portland is all up in that trade situation tonight. Is your game MVP like Steve Nash? Obviously not enough Sergio Rodriguez.

10:19pm
Syracuse Assistant Coach Rob Murphy is sighted hugging Michigan State player and Dallas Mavs pick Maurice Ager at number 28. Apparently he coached him in high school.

10:35pm
The first round is over. The Commish is done. The second round begins. The New York fans are still extremely rowdy.

10:38pm
Portland selects James White from Cincinnati with the 31st pick. This guy is a great, dominating player who did very well in Big East league play. I saw him in person twice last season and he is very impressive. Portland is making some great moves tonight.

10:41pm
With the next pick, Houston picks Steve Novak from Marquette. To that I say… who? I really don’t know this guy, nor did Marquette do much this year except perhaps beat Georgetown during league play.

10:45pm
The Atlanta Hawks selected Solomon Jones from South Florida next. He played well against Connecticut this year, however he’s small and who knows how he will shake out in the NBA. He will probably improve Atlanta however, and be a good fit because they need that position it Hotlanta. It’s possible he will complement Sheldon Williams nicely as well.

11:02pm
Denham Brown from Connecticut is selected 40th overall by the Sonics. This is the 5th UConn player in the draft selected and another Big East selection. Doo Doo Brown headed to the west coast, a long way from Storrs, and a long way from Toronto where he is from.

11:10pm
It is reported Randy Foye is headed to Boston in a trade. Probably a great move for Boston after the trade they made early on in the night.

11:13pm
Israel gets a pick for the first time ever. Lior Eliahu is the 44th pick from Orlando. He won’t play in the NBA for a while, plus he still has an army commitment. Bad pick by Orlando I think.

11:24pm
James White is traded to the Pacers in another trade by Portland. I’m not sure I agree with this trade as I like the athleticism of James White from Cincinnati. Denver picks 49th and they select not Gerry McNamara. My hopes and dreams of a 2003 Reunion of Gerry and Melo are dashed. Hopefully he will be picked later in the round.

11:33pm
We are on the 53rd pick and I’m getting nervous for Gerry. Also, Portland completes its sixth trade of the night. Ridiculous, but smart in the end I think.

11:55pm
With the 59th pick, San Antonio selects Damir Markota from Serbia. He actually waited in the green room to get drafted. He was there when he got picked and went to the stage. Ridiculous.

11:58pm
The 60th and final pick in the draft to Detroit is Will Blalock from Iowa State. Gerry McNamara remains undrafted. 6 out of the last 10 picks in the draft were foreigners. After 5 hours of coverage, the draft is done. Let’s break it down by numbers:

Conference Picks:
Big East – 11
ACC – 7
Pac-10 – 7
Big Ten – 5
Big XII – 4
SEC – 4
CUSA – 2
Atlantic 10 – 2
Missouri Valley Conference - 1

Big East:
Connecticut – 5 (Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, Marcus Williams, Josh Boone, Denham Brown)
Villanova – 2 (Randy Foye, Kyle Lowry)
Cincinnati – 1 (James White)
Marquette – 1 (Sean Novak)
Rutgers – 1 (Quincy Douby)
South Florida – 1 (Solemon Jones)

Connecticut:
First Round – 4 (Gay, Armstrong, Williams, Boone)
Second Round – 1 (Brown)

All said and done, the Big East clearly demonstrated it has the most NBA ready talent and is a true power conference. Obviously, Connecticut had the strongest showing, and an unexpected showing I would say. Josh Boone taken at 23 seems early and surprising, along with the drafting of Denham Brown in the second round. Where was Reshad Anderson though?

The big losers of the Big East are Gerry McNamara for Syracuse, but really it’s West Virginia’s Mike Gansey and Kevin Pittsnogle, and Louisville with Tequan Dean.

Memphis picks up Rudy Gay and Kyle Lowry, which is interesting because Hakim Warrick is also there, making it a nice mix of Big East talent. The New Jersey Nets also pick up Williams and Boone, along with Hassan Adams from Arizona, which should help pick up that franchise with some talent out of UConn. Marcus Williams needs some polish and guidance from Jason Kidd before I’m convinced he’ll be great. Also, he needs to keep his nose clean and away from laptops. Boone I feel will under perform in the NBA but we shall see.

Also, what is the deal with all these foreign players getting picked when they suck and won't be NBA talent for 2 to 3 years. There was plenty of domestic talent fairly ready to tackle the rigors of the NBA that went undrafted. 6 out of 10 of the last picks of the draft were foreign. Too many wasted picks if you ask me.

That’s pretty much the goods from the NBA Draft regarding the Big East and everything relating to Syracuse. The full draft board can be found here. If you read this you must really care about the NBA, the Big East, Syracuse, or you were so bored that you had nothing else to do. Or maybe you just needed a diversion from studying for the bar exam.