Kentucky, N. Carolina, UCLA, Kansas, and Duke "The Phat 5" of College Basketball at 500 Report Volume #2

(PRWeb) November 22, 2006 -- "The Phat 5" of College Basketball at 500 Report Volume #2

Kentucky 104 years, 1903-2006-07
N. Carolina 97 years, 1911-2006-07
UCLA 88 years, 1920-2006-07
Kansas 109 years, 1899-2006-07
Duke 102 years, 1906-2006-07

"The Phat 5" of College Basketball at 500 Report Volume #2 is dedicated to Dean Smith. Coach Smith who attended Kansas and played for legendary coach Forrest "Phog" Allen is currently the record holder for most victories All-Time (879) in NCAA Division 1 history. Coach Smith led UNC for 36 years from 1961-97. He was a 2-time NCAA Champion 1982 and 93, 4-time NCAA National Coach of the Year (1977, 79, 82, and 93), 13-time ACC Tournament Champion, and 1976 Olympic gold medal head coach.

At UNC he developed arguably the "Greatest" basketball player ever in Michael Jordan. He also coached NBA past and current stars Billy Cunningham, Charlie Scott (first African American player in the ACC 1967), Bob McAdoo, Walter Davis, Phil Ford, Brad Daugherty, Kenny Smith, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Vince Carter, and Antawn Jamison. His teaching has inspired current N. Carolina coach Roy Williams, Larry Brown (the only coach to win an NCAA '88 and NBA Championship '04), and George Karl.

The "Super 5" of "The Phat 5"

Kentucky- Randolph Morris is averaging 15 ppg. and 9.5 rpg.
N. Carolina- Tyler Hansbrough is averaging 22.3 ppg. and 8.7 rpg.
UCLA- Arron Afflalo is averaging 17 ppg.
Kansas- Brandon Rush 16 ppg. and 3.7 rpg.
Duke- Josh McRoberts 10 ppg., 5.8 rpg., and 4.3 apg.

Tyler Hansbrough the sophomore F-C sensation for UNC is clearly the best of the "Super 5" during the first few games of the season he's a man among boys in the low post. Randolph Morris must dominate down low for Kentucky to have a chance against Florida in the SEC. Arron Afflalo leads a well balanced Bruins attack, he needs to be more consistent from the outside to become a 20+ scorer and possibly lead his team back to the Final Four. Brandon Rush has the talent to be the best wing player in the country if he makes his outside shots to set up his explosive moves to the rack. Freshman F-C Darrell Arthur may emerge as the main man for KU. Josh McRoberts will be counted on to deliver an all-around game for Duke, and use his explosive ability around the rim. McRoberts has talented player in DeMarcus Nelson as a sidekick.

Kentucky 3-0 ranked #20 AP Poll and #22 in the 3rd ESPN/ USA Today Poll, the Wildcats have started the season with wins over Miami (OH) 57-46 (11/15), Mississippi Valley State 79-56 (11/17), and DePaul 87-81. The win Monday night (11/20/06) vs. DePaul in the opening round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational sets up a "Phat 5" vs. "Phat 5" showdown of the 2 programs with the most NCAA Championships of All-Time. Kentucky (7) and UCLA (11) have a combined 18 National Championships. N. Carolina (4), Duke (3), and Kansas (2) have a combined 9 National titles only 1/3 of UK and UCLA. Kentucky has a 6-3 edge All-Time record over UCLA. Junior guard Ramel Bradley is leading the Wildcats in scoring and assists 16.5 ppg. and 5.0 apg. UK has a tough stretch for their next 5 games.

11/21- #5 UCLA the number 1 program of All-Time with 11 NCAA Championship titles.
11/22- If necessary vs. winner of #11 Memphis vs. #19 Georgia Tech for Maui Championship.
11/28- College of Charleston
12/02- #2 @ N. Carolina "Phat 5" vs. "Phat 5" at the Dean Dome nationally televised on CBS.
12/05- UT-Chattanooga

N. Carolina 3-0 ranked #2 by the AP and ESPN/ USA Today Poll, the Tar Heels have exploded with two 103 point performances and, a scare from Winthrop. UNC posted big wins over Sacred Heart 103-81 (11/14) and Gardner Webb (11/19), but was pushed to the final minutes (11/15) by Winthrop for a 73-66 narrow margin victory. Tyler Hansbrough is off to a hot start averaging 22 ppg. and is getting some major contributions by freshman standouts Brandan Wright 14.3 ppg.,5.3 rpg., Wayne Ellington 14.0 ppg., and Ty Lawson 9.3 ppg, 3.0 rpg. and apg. William Graves the 6-6 freshman swingman who was going to add more depth to the UNC rotation will sit out the entire 2006-07 season. Graves will have all 4 seasons of athletic eligibility remaining. The Heels will have a steep hill to climb with the next 5 upcoming games.

11/22- #23 Gonzaga
11/29- #3 Ohio State (the Buckeye's will be without 7-2 man-child phenom Greg Oden).
12/02- #22 Kentucky "Phat 5 vs. "Phat 5" UK the program with most All-Time NCAA wins.
12/09- High Point
12/16- UNC Asheville (a backyard brawl with an in-state school).

UCLA 2-0 ranked #5 by the AP and ESPN/ USA Today Poll, the Bruins finished the first half of their season debut down 39-36 to the BYU Cougars, but was able to come out in the second half to secure a 82-69 victory (11/15). During the first round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational Monday (11/20) the Bruins dominated Chaminade and won by 25 points 88-63. Arron Afflalo is again leading the Bruins in scoring at 17 ppg. Afflalo is a possible National Player of the Year candidate. Josh Shipp who missed most of last season with a hip injury is averaging 14.5 ppg. Darren Collison 15.5 ppg. and 8.5 apg is taking over the point guard duties that were vacated by Jordan Farmar who is now a L.A. Laker. The Bruins will face #22 Kentucky Tuesday night for the first of four "Phat 5" vs. "Phat 5" match-ups during the regular season. UCLA has a tough 5 game schedule with some of their West coast longtime rivals.

11/21- #22 Kentucky "Phat 5" vs. "Phat 5" 18 NCAA titles between both programs All-Time.
11/22- If necessary vs. winner of #11 Memphis vs. #19 Georgia Tech for Maui Championship.
11/28- Long Beach State
12/03- UC Riverside
12/05- Cal St. Fullerton

Kansas 2-1 ranked #10 by the AP and #12 by ESPN/ USA Today Poll, the Jayhawks are coming off a shocking loss to Oral Roberts 78-71 (11/15) at home. KU opened the season with a 91-57 win over N. Arizona (11/11). The Jayhawks beat Towson 87-61 (11/19) to get back on the winning track. The loss to Oral Roberts dropped KU from the #3 ranked team in the country to #10 in the AP and #12 in ESPN/ USA Today. Sports Illustrated had Kansas ranked as their #1 in the College Basketball Preview 2006-06. The Jayhawks are led by Brandon Rush 16 ppg. Rush is considered as one of the most talented players in the country. Freshman 6-9 forward Darrell Arthur is the teams leading scorer at 20 ppg. and also graps 6.3 rpg. Julian Wright may be the most explosive dunker in all of college basketball he 's scoring 11.3 ppg. and grabbing a team high 9.0 rpg. Mario Chalmers is a tremendous player scoring 11 ppg. KU has a much talent as any team in the land, and will be get a serious early season test when they meet #1 Florida in one of their upcoming 5 games.

11/21- Tenn. State
11/24- Ball State
11/25- @ #1 Florida defending National Champions
11/28- Dartmouth
12/02- @ DePaul

Duke 4-0 ranked #9 by the AP and #8 by ESPN/ USA Today Poll, the Blue Devils are once again in the Top 10. Duke opened the season with some impressive wins over Columbia 86-43 (11/12). The next night (11/13) it was Georgia Southern 72-48. Three days later it was UNC-Greensboro 75-48 (11/16). Monday night (11/20) Air Force was grounded 71-56. They have played 4 games in 8 nights. Duke for the last 8-10 years has always been mentioned in the National Championship pre-season prediction. They are not expected to be a participant at the Final Four dance party come April 2007. The Blue Devils are led by sophomore standout Josh McRoberts 10 ppg., 5.8 rpg., and 4.3 apg. DeMarcus Nelson who's averaging 15.3 ppg. and 5.5 rpg. is a superb player with explosive driving ability. Duke has 3 freshman sensations in Gerald Henderson, Jon Scheyer, and Lance Thomas who are going get major minutes in the "Special K" rotation. Duke might be the surprise team of the 2006-07 season. The next 5 game stretch for the Blue Devils will test their young, but talented squad.

11/21- #17 Marquette
11/25- Davidson
11/28- Indiana (the Hosiers are the 6th ranked program of All-Time)
12/02- #16 Georgetown (the Hoyas beat Duke last season)
12/06- Holy Cross

"The Phat 5" has a 19-year consecutive Final Four streak from 1988-2006. There has been one or more "Phat 5" programs at Final Four every year since 1988.

"The Phat 5" of College Basketball at 500 Report Volume #3 December 6, 2006

For more information or interview request on "The Phat 5" of College Basketball at 500 Report or "The Phat 5" Final Four streak, contact Derrick E. Vaughan 443-851-5244.

###