Former Hawkeyes - Scott Chandler

While checking on Nate Kaeding’s preseason stats, I noticed that Scott Chandler is doing pretty well for himself so far.

6 catches for 59 yards and 1 touchdown in the first two preseason games. He didn’t have any receiving stats for the third game so I’m not sure if he played or not.

The Chargers have to be thrilled to be developing another threat for the linebackers to have to pay attention to which will only help LaDainian Tomlinson continue compiling the yards and touchdowns.

If Chandler can prove to be a capable blocker and get rid of the random moments where he drops an easy pass, he might just find himself getting a lot of playing time for one of the best places to be a TE in the NFL and with Antonio Gates leading team in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns, they clearly know how to make use of a TE that can catch the ball.

The NBA Draft

There are only 4 people that interested me in the NBA draft this year. Haluska, Noah (or, more accurately, whoever the Bulls ended up drafting with their first pick), Durant and Oden.

Haluska - I’m obviously thrilled to see Haluska get drafted. I think he is going to make the Hornets pretty happy. He can do just about everything. He can shoot, he can drive well enough to be a threat, he can pass, he can play so defense, he athletic, he’s tough, and he gives a ton of effort every night. He also has shown that he can handle the scoring load when needed but can also blend in and let others do the scoring like he did two years ago.

He’s also one of those guys that you never expect to hear about getting in trouble and he seems like he’ll be active in the community. He’s just one of the good guys that every coach loves to have on the team.

Noah - I’m a Bulls fan so I was pretty interested in what they would do with their draft pick. The biggest concern for the Bulls is inside scoring. Noah probably isn’t going to be the answer there. But you have to love somebody with his energy, aggressiveness and hair. It sounds like the Bulls are still going to have to work on getting someone to do some inside scoring through free agency or trade. Maybe Noah will be gone before he hits the court. Or maybe they will feel more comfortable trading somebody else because Noah is around. Who knows. The Bulls don’t really seem to do anything without being 200% sure they are making the right choice so maybe they will just start the season with the current roster.

Durant - This guy is going to make a lot of money selling shoes. He is going to be a really big name in the NBA very soon. His ability to put the ball in the basket is amazing. He should give people a reason to stay up once in a while to watch a west coast game. I hate the Big 12. I hate Texas. When I accidentally turned on one of their games last year, I couldn’t turn it off.

Oden - I think this guy might actually be 40? Just look at that head. That doesn’t look like the head of a 19 or 20 year old. He’ll probably be a very solid superstar. He’ll probably help his team win quite a few games. He will also give people a reason to watch west coast games. I expected more out of him in college, though. He didn’t ever seem to be the go to guy on Ohio State and how could a guy that is supposed to be an NBA legend have so much trouble staying out of foul trouble in college?

I can’t imagine how bummed the NBA big shots must have been to have the two “next big things” go to the TV death valley that is the northwest US sports. But maybe Duran and Oden can help turn that around.

Tom Davis coaching news

Tom Davis has decided hand over the reigns of the Drake coaching job to his son.  He must have figured that now that he has beaten Iowa, there is really nothing left for him to accomplish.

Seriously though, Davis is one of my coaching heroes.  I have talked with him at basketball camps when I played during high school.  He is an amazing coach and mentor and college basketball will miss him whether they know it or not.

But, maybe he isn’t really retiring and heading off into the sunset.  Maybe he is buying into the rumors of Alford heading to New Mexico State and has decided to make himself available to come back to Iowa.

Just kidding of course.  Enjoy the golden year, Tom Davis.  You have definitely earned some rest and relaxation.