Many will write off the teams as they please but could we possibly see a
Many will write off the teams as they please, but could we possibly see a Turkey vs Russia final?So as we head into the penultimate rounds of this years championships, who is your money on? Which team has stood out the most and will have the biggest chance of lifting the trophy next Sunday in Vienna? Germany: From being firm favourites at the very start of the tournament, the Germans head into the semi final with Turkey still in pole position.After a 66% win record in the group stage, followed by a quarter-final win over Portugal, Germany will be hopeful of progressing to the final and winning the tournament.Star man so far: Lukas Podolski. Odds: Runners up. Turkey: Starting as one of the less likely teams to progress out of the group stages, Turkey have surprised many by making it to the semi finals. After a last minute goal against the Czech Republic to keep there hopes alive, Turkey have gained a lot of followers and are not to be written off just yet.Star man so far: Nihat, but will be truly missed in the semis. Odds: Lose to Germany in the semis. Russia: The other surprise outfit in this year's tournament.
Their for ever travelling manager Guus Hiddink managed to out-think and outplay the shining lights of Holland and outclass Sweden, leaving an interesting end to the tournament. Again another side not to be written off.Star man so far: Roman PavlyuchenkoOdds: Won't progress to the final.Spain/Italy: The last quarter final line up has the promising Spaniards battle for a semi final place against the under-performing World champions. Spain have had a great start to the tournament so far, finishing top of the group with nine points, whilst Italy haven't had a compromising start, after losing against Holland and scraping past France to the quarters.Star men so far: Spain: David Villa. Italy: Gianluigi BuffonOdds: Spain to progress to the semis and will end up eventual winners. After looking at the favourites for the tournament, be sure to stay tuned into any electrical device possible as the Euros aren't over yet and there is sure to be more entertaining games that will be keen to keep you on the edge of your sofas, no matter what country you are rooting for!. Let's go back to four months ago.The college basketball season is winding down, and Michael Beasley is posting the best numbers of any freshman in a long time.
He is carrying a Kansas State team to the NCAA tournament and is the consensus No. 1 pick in most NBA mock drafts.Does anyone remember that? When Beasley was playing, people saw a strong, active big man with unbelievable scoring ability. He could score with both hands, inside and outside, and he was also a fantastic rebounder.Let's rewind the tape back to a year ago now.Greg Oden and Kevin Durant, like Derrick Rose and Beasley this year, are the consensus top two picks in the draft. Durant was the super-productive big man whose team bowed out to USC early in the tournament, just like Beasley. Oden was the hyped up center with a charming personality and the appearance of someone who had played in the NBA for years.Oden helped carry his team to the NCAA finals, only to lose in the championship game, just like Derrick Rose did.When the draft came around, Oden went first and Durant went second.This year, people are ignoring Beasley's entire season's body of work and focusing more on Rose's postseason heroics. Rose was a top player all season long, but Beasley was usually considered the better prospect.There's also a major difference between Oden and Rose: Oden is a big man.
The NBA has always been about building around a center in the mold of Duncan, Shaq, Hakeem, or Robinson.You have to go back to 1996 if you want to find a player below 6'8" who has been taken No 1 overall (Allen Iverson). Since 1996, all but one player taken first has been a power forward or a center, with LeBron James being the exception.At 6'7" or 6'8", Beasley does not have the prototypical size for a power forward, but his rebounding ability, strength, and wingspan should allow him to play the position fine. He's not the best defensively, but his play on defense improved as the season went on.Rose is a great prospect. He actually reminds me of another player from that Ohio State team, Mike Conley. Rose is bigger and slightly more athletic than Conley, but Conley was a similar prospect who played better defense than Rose.Oden, Durant, and Al Horford all went ahead of Conley, whose stock only soared that high because of his postseason play.The only reason Rose is probably going to be picked first is because Beasley may have minor character issues.