Saw this at both The 700 Level and VUhoops.com, which had it up first. Enjoy your weekend.

Let’s get this out of the way first: We’re not fans of any drafts, in any sport. It’s speculation of the highest order, and while such chatter frequently holds the interest of many sports fans for weeks on end, it usually just leaves us cold. Do you really know whether, say, Jrue Holiday was a good or bad pick for the 76ers, or that Temple’s Dionte Christmas deserved to be drafted by someone, anyone? Talk amongst yourselves. We’d like to think that people who get paid to do this know what they’re doing, even if they work for the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Big 5-wise, all you need to know is that Villanova’s Dante Cunningham was picked 33rd last night by the Portland Trail Blazers — the third pick in the second round. And Saint Joe’s Ahmad Nivins was picked 56th overall (26th in the second round) by the Dallas Mavericks. According to numerous news accounts, both really are happy to have been picked. Shocker, no?

As for Temple’s Christmas, the fact that he wasn’t drafted certainly doesn’t mean it’s the end of the line for him. Your Philadelphia 76ers have already invited him to play for their combined summer league team with the Noo Joisey Nets, according to Tom Moore at phillyBurbs, and Christmas is expected to report to play in Orlando next Thursday. We think he has a chance to latch on with someone, somewhere, but what do we know? We also thought he was definitely going to get picked.

Link: Christmas to play for Sixers-Nets (Nets-Sixers?) [phillyBurbs.com]

We took the tour of the new Ramsay Basketball Center today. The place is so impressive, Saint Joe’s coach Phil Martelli found himself saying, “The biggest fear that I have is that (the players) will develop a sense of entitlement. We need to remember where we came from.” More after the jump.
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His name is Langston Galloway, he hails from Baton Rouge, La., and he’s the nephew of Saint Joe’s assistant coach (and former player) Geoff Arnold. From Ray Parillo’s story in today’s Inquirer:

Arnold is also a reason why the 6-3 guard turned down offers from LSU, Baylor, Cincinnati and Texas A&M, among others, and gave St. Joe’s an oral commitment.

Parillo goes on to note that at least one wild guesser scouting service has Galloway ranked No. 98 in the the Class of 2010. He is that class’ third “Top 150″ player to commit to Saint Joe’s, following 6-9 C.J. Aiken and 6-7 Darius Quarles.

Link: Top 100 recruit from Louisiana commits to Hawk Hill [The Inquirer]

La Salle’s Karon Burton, who was arrested in April for allegedly dealing drugs in his native Chester, waived his preliminary hearing Monday in exchange for having the felony charge of possession with intent to deliver withdrawn, according to The Delaware County Daily Times. No word on a trial date.

Links: Burton arrested [BIG FIVE POST]
Burton’s most serious charge withdrawn [Delco Times]
Photo credit: [Delco Times]

We have our doubts, but then again, we’re not an NBA general manager. The Inquirer’s Keith Pompey, however, relates that numerous mock drafts have Saint Joe’s Nivins being taken in the second round of tomorrow’s NBA draft. All of which, of course, is nothing but speculation rooted in wild educated guessing.

Link: Nivins could get picked. Or maybe not. [The Inquirer]
Photo credit: [Saint Joseph's University]

According to a report on OwlsDaily.com, coach Fran Dunphy is close to landing Carmel Bouchman, a 6-9, 200-pound power forward (pictured) who has spent three years playing on Israel’s national youth team. The story requires a subscription, but you can also read this report from today’s Daily News, if you’re really that interested. From the looks of things, Bouchard is a sound rebounder and shot-blocker.

Links: Who is Carmel Bouchman? [OwlsDaily.com] (subscription required)
Another foreign player to come to North Broad? [Daily News]
Photo credit: [OwlsDaily.com]

This week’s Philadelphia City Paper cover story by E. James Beale takes an inside look at Temple’s Dionte Christmas as he readies for the draft. It’s an insightful look at what it’s like for a tremendous college player whose NBA prospects straddle the line between the guarantees of first-round money and the uncertainties of possibly going in the second round. After the jump, a few nuggets.
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Your Saint Joe’s Hawks have landed their first recruit from the Class of 2010: C.J. Aiken, a 6-9, 185-pound really skinny big man from Plymouth Whitemarsh High in Montgomery County. Interestingly, Aiken’s other finalists were the two Big 5 schools in North Philly, and all three really wanted him, based on various reports.

Obviously, as today’s stories in The Inquirer, the Daily News and The Times Herald of Norristown make clear, Aiken will need to put on some weight by the time he gets to Hawk Hill. But we saw him play as a sophomore, when he was still at La Salle High, from which he transferred before his junior year. He’s got the requisite big-man skills (shot-blocking, rebounding), but he’s also got a nice touch around the basket. There is potential here — rivals.com ranks him No. 42 in his class, for whatever that’s worth — and Phil Martelli has shown the ability to take individual players with potential in recent years and help them improve (see also: Calathes, Pat; and Nivins, Ahmad).

One interesting side note: Aiken had lived in the Abington School District when he attended La Salle, but all three stories now say he lives in Conshohocken, which is PW territory. The transfer (and move) had raised a few eyebrows among coaches around the Suburban One League last summer, but Aiken’s transfer never would up being challenged through the proper channels.

Links: Aiken to 54th and City Ave. [The Inquirer]
Ditto [Daily News]
Ditto ditto [Times Herald]

SLAMonline has published its Fresh 75, a look at the top incoming freshmen for the 2009-2010 season, and the Big 5 is well-represented. The House That Glanville Built linked to this first, with a look at the Philly-area connections on the list, regardless where they’re headed. All told, six Big 5 recruits are among the 75, including four bound for Villanova.

Links: Fresh 75 for 2009 [SLAM]
Philly, Philly, Philly on the Fresh 75 [The House That Glanville Built]