Right Above It | March Madness Breakdown | Jets 7-Round Mock | YouTube Rabbithole
Alright @YouTheReader,
Today’s tune on this March Mock Draft Monday is Lil Wayne’s Right Above It featuring Drake.
To be honest, I always thought the intro said “Haters in the building” which never made much logic to me with this song. Kane makes a ton more sense being that it’s his beat.
This song came out in ‘10, but would also be used in the HBO series Ballers with The Rock. It was defintiely the best part of the show. Fair play to them trying to go for Entourage with athletes. Who knew they made 5 seasons? Might have to give it another chance.
Hollywood Cole here is rapper, J Cole. Drake and J Cole are friends. Marley G is Lil Wayne’s right-hand man. Hollygrove is a neighborhood in New Orleans so Drizzy must have met more of Lil Wayne’s friends and flown them to Hollywood. How thoughtful of him!
Week to Week Notes is breaking down this year’s men’s March Madness Bracket. If you flip a coin on every matchup, your odds are 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 to get every pick correct. Even if you claim to know a bit about College Hoops, your odds of a perfect bracket are 1 in 120.2 billion. That said, I think my bracket has a Slumdog Millionaire Bollywood flow to it.
Sorry for spoilers, but in the movie Slumdog Millionaire, there is a famous scene where the contestant is told the wrong answer to one of the trivia questions. The game show host, leaves the wrong answer in the mirror. I always got the impression that the line before about his real friends was about the people in your life that you don’t necessarily have to hear from all the time, but that when you do see you pick up right where you left off.
It’s always important to have a circle of family and friends you can trust. Of course, you should value their opinions a bit more from strangers, but I will say that meeting different people and crews is very important as well. Never a bad thing to network out, you can learn a lot by meeting people. Having people in your circle with their own shoes to fill and different views on the world is a strength. Always thought those lines were clever.
I'm almost positive this Lil Wayne quote was in every high school yearbook when this song came out.
Mr. Carter gave way to Drake’s rise, serving as his mentor. Those are some creative lines because this was around the time the trick play Wildcat Offense in football was quite topical with Running Backs taking the snap. Drake is also a gigantic Kentucky Wildcat basketball fan.
Lil Wayne is from New Orleans, home to the gumbo shrimp.
Let’s get to the sports…
Before getting into the March Madness Bracket Breakdown, I just gotta say that the Indiana State Sycamores were done dirty! According to the NCAA NET Rankings, they were ranked 29th in the nation. They are the highest-ranked NET team to ever be left out of the Big Dance (NET Rankings came about in ‘19 Source: mid_madness). Even head coaches like Matt Painter have expressed, "Do feel bad for Indiana State. They deserve to be in the tourney. Don't think it’s fair. Tough to schedule and they picked up intent to schedule." Full disclosure, the Sycamores were going to be my Cinderella team, so if my bracket gets busted, I blame the NCAA for not having the perfect bracket.
East Region
Final 4 Team: UConn
My Cinderella: Drake
UConn will look to defend their NCAA ‘23 Title. My hot take is they won’t lose to the #16 Seed in the Round of 64. They may face a bit of a challenge if FAU advances to play them. With PG Johnell Davis (18.2 ppg, 43% 3-pt) and C Vladislav Goldin (15.6 ppg, 6.8 rebounds) leading the way, the Owls have some March Madness experience as they were a 9-Seed last year that made it to the Final Four. San Diego State’s Jaedon LeDee and Aurburn’s Johni Broome would be one helluva matchup at power forward if both teams don’t get upset in the 1st Round. I hadn’t watched a single game of Duquesne until yesterday when they beat VCU in the A10 Championship so we’ll roll with them over BYU. Iowa State’s PG Tamin Lipsey could be one of those classic college PGs who goes on a big tournament run that helps boost his NBA draft stock.
Drizzy University has a star named Tucker DeVries. He was named the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year in ‘22 and followed that up last year by being named the Larry Bird MVC Player of the Year. He averaged 18.6 points per game as a sophomore. This season, DeVries averaged a career-high 21.8 points per game. He has a very nice balance to his game as a scorer with a great jump shot, good post-game, and is crafty on drives. He dropped 27 points to beat the Sycamores in the MVC Championship.
West Region
Final 4 Team: Dayton
My Cinderella: Grand Canyon
Surely UNC won’t be losing in the 1st Round regardless of the 16-seed. Week to Week Notes has always fondly respected Michigan State’s gritty program so we’ll have Tom Izzo knocking out the Tar Heels in the Round of 32. I had no idea that Grand Canyon had a college until this morning, now I got them knocking off Saint Mary’s. Alabama will prevent them from going on a run because of the PG play of Mark Sears (21.1 ppg). Clemson’s senior C, PJ Hall, was 1st-team All-ACC, averaging 18.8 ppg and can shoot from 3 for a big man. I’m a little worried about how fast I chose Baylor over Colgate, usually, those are the type of split-second picks that go wrong. Arizona’s PG Caleb Love has a ton of experience from his days at UNC, but I have Dayton upsetting them.
DaRon Holmes is from Goodyear, Arizona. He was a four-star prospect and top 50 recruit from high school, the highest-ranked high school recruit to ever sign with Dayton. Holmes immediately started for the Flyers as a freshman as he averaged 12.8 points per game and set the school’s single-season block record of 81. As a sophomore last season, the 6’10” forward was the A-10 tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as he averaged 21.7 points, 10.1 rebounds, and 4 blocks in the A-10 Tourney. He reset the record for blocks with 89 last year. Holmes also had 89 dunks as a sophomore, the most in College Basketball during the regular season last year. This year might just be Holmes’ best year yet as he is averaging 20.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 39% from beyond the arc. Holmes is a human highlight reel, a fun player to watch.
South Region
Final 4 Team: Kentucky
My Cinderella: James Madison
Houston has become a great basketball program this past decade, going 30-4 this season. I don’t know much about Nebraksa this year, but I remember that Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor viewed the @You_The_Reader story tag months ago so we’ll side with the Aggies. Since 1985, at least one 12-seed has upset a 5-seed in 32 of 38 tournaments (ESPN). Between JMU and Grand Canyon, one of them has got to do it. I nearly forgot that Coach K retired 2 years ago and wrote this was their first March without him. Surely the Blue Devils won’t get upset by Vermont. Expectations were once again high for John Calipari’s Kentucky. He had a strong freshman class who have been led by the play of Rob Dillingham. After scouting them at the Iverson Classic last year, it would be nice to see their other freshmen, DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards, break out a bit more.
Player to watch: T.J. Bickerstaff, JMU, PF
T.J. Bickerstaff is from Atlanta, Georgia. He started his collegiate career at Drexel University back in ‘19. As a sophomore, he earned a starting role for the Dragons and averaged 10.2 points with 5.2 rebounds per game. After his solid sophomore campaign, Bickerstaff transferred to Boston College. For 2 seasons for BC, Bickerstaff made 43 starts while scoring 5.8 points and rebounding 6.3 boards per game. This past offseason, Bickerstaff used the transfer portal once again and decided on James Madison. At JMU as a graduate student, the 6’9” power forward is having his best season yet with 13.4 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He’ll need to hold his own against Wisconsin before facing Kyle Flipkowski.
Midwest Region
Final 4 Team: Purdue
My Cinderella: Saint Peter’s
The NCAA Tournament committee knew what they were doing when they put Purdue and Saint Peter’s in the same region after the Peacocks famously upset them back in March of ‘22. I was very annoyed that I didn’t think to take Jersey City’s school. Even with a new coach and a whole new cast of players, I refuse to overlook the Peacocks this season. That said, we’re going to flip the script this tournament with Purdue avenging their loss by defeating Saint Peter’s in the Elite 8. To be honest, I didn’t do much research on Samford or Akron here, so I 100% expect them to win. Purdue has reached the Sweet Sixteen 3 times and Elite 8 once in the past 5 tournaments. With it being Zach Edey’s senior season, I think they make it to Phoenix, Arizona in the Final Four.
Corey Washington flew up to Jersey City from Arkansas on his own dime to try out for the Peacocks. He had no scholarships after his senior season in high school. He would make the team last season and averaged 6.8 points with 4.8 rebounds per game. This year, he took a huge leap forward, averaging 16.5 points per game with 6.6 rebounds. Washington was 1st Team All-MAAC and helped the Peacocks win the MAAC Tournament.
Full Bracket
UConn running it back!
NY Jets 7 Round Mock
Apologies to the fans of other teams, but this week we’re focusing on just the Jets in a 7 Round Mock Draft. They do not have a 2nd Round or 5th Rounder this year due to trades but have multiple 4ths & 7ths.
Jets add the top pass catcher on the board after Marvin Harrison Jr., Malik Nabers, and Brock Bowers get taken before Rome Odunze. The Washington star WR and Garrett Wilson would be a dynamic duo of young WRs for Aaron Rodgers.
Rome Odunze is from Las Vegas, Nevada. In ‘22 he was an All-American 3rd Team, All-Pac-12 First Team, and made the Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll. Last year playing with Michael Penix shaped Odunze’s breakout season on the college football scene. He had 75 receptions for 1,145 receiving yards and 7 TDs. Odunze led the Pac-12 in receiving yards and was 2nd in receptions per game. His 1,145 yards were the 5th most in Washington single-season history and 75 receptions were 7th most in school history. Odunze at 6’3” runs a 4.3 40-time with a freakish ability to go up and get the ball while only having 3 drops in ‘22. Last year, he was even better, as he set a Washington record for receiving yards with 1,640. While being named captain in ‘23, he had 92 catches with 13 TDs. Rome Odunze was a huge reason for Washington’s CFB Championship appearance.
In the 3rd Round, New York goes with a QB that can sit behind Aaron Rodgers for a few years. The Jets haven’t been able to develop a QB correctly since Chad Pennington. When Pennington joined the Jets, he sat behind Vinny Testeverde for 2 seasons.
Michael Pratt is from Boca Raton, Florida. As a freshman in ‘20, Pratt burst onto the College Football scene as one of the top QB newcomers when he made 9 starts and had 1,806 passing yards with 20 TDs. The 20 TDs were the most of any true freshman that year. Pratt also showed he could run as he rushed for 8 more TDs on the ground. In ‘21, Pratt backed up his strong freshman year with 2,544 all-purpose yards and 26 TDs, not too shabby. Last year with Tulane, Pratt had RB Tyjae Spears (who now plays for the Titans) so I remember reading about this kid last fall as Tulane was making its unprecedented way up the AP Top 25. In ‘22, Tulane went 12-2 with an upset win over USC in the Cotton Bowl and as a result, the Green Wave ranked #9 in the nation. Spears was a great RB for Tulane, but Pratt was also just as important to their success as he threw a 64% completion percentage for 3,009 passing yards, and 27 passing TDs while rushing for 478 yards & 10 scores on the ground. Pratt currently has the lowest interception rate in Tulane history at 2.28 TD to INT. He will have the opportunity to set all the QB records at Tulane with a strong finish this year. Due to COVID, Pratt also has at least another year of eligibility under his belt if he decides that he can improve his draft stock in the ‘25 QB class. If Michael Pratt decides to enter the NFL Draft in ‘24, this is a very deep QB class that could make him overlooked. I like the fact that he plays for a smaller school, puts up good stats, makes winning plays, and seems to make the players around him better against tougher competition. Pratt to me seems to fit the Brock Purdy type of overlooked college QB who falls in the NFL Draft to Day 2 or 3 and excels in the right situation in the pros.
Here we got the Jets selecting a local kid to boost their big guys up front.
Christian Mahogany is from Elmwood Park in Bergen County, New Jersey where he attended Paramus Catholic High School. After Redshirting as a freshman in ‘19, Mahogany became a starter for the Eagles in ‘20 where he played LG in all 11 games. He did not miss a single snap that season. In ‘21, Mahogany was All-ACC 2nd Team and an All-New England honoree, starting in 11 games and allowing QB pressure on only .5% of his pass block snaps. Unfortunately last season the Jersey boy suffered a torn ACL that cost him his ‘22 year, but the 6’3” and 333 lbs lineman is back to being healthy. NFL teams will love his tenacious attitude and the fact that he loves to maul defenders as a run-blocker. At the ACC Kickoff this week, Christian Mahogany while talking to the media said, “From the first play of the game this season September 2nd. It’s going to be nasty football. Everything that we didn’t have last year, we’re going to have this year. I promise, from me, quote it, whatever you want to do. It’s going to be nasty football, people aren’t going to like it but I will.” In ‘22 without Mahogany, Boston College was dead last in the ACC in team rushing yards. With Mahogany back in the lineup, he helped the Eagles come in 2nd in the ACC in rushing yards in ‘23.
The Jets backfield could desperately use another young stud RB. Shipley and Breece Hall would be fun.
Will Shipley is a dynamic and versatile running back who enters the ‘23 College Football season as a junior. As a freshman in ‘21, Shipley was All-ACC Academic which made him Clemson’s first true freshman to earn the honor since Trevor Lawrence in ‘18. He rushed for 738 yards at a 5-yards-per-carry clip and scored 11 TDs. His 11 rushing TDs were the 2nd most by a Clemson freshman since the NCAA permanently made freshmen eligible to play in 1972, trailing only Travis Etienne’s 13. Oh yeah, he also threw a TD pass on a trick play. In ‘22, Shipley became the 1st player in ACC history to earn 1st Team all-conference honors at 3 different positions, collecting 1st Team honors at RB, all-purpose, and specialist categories. He rushed 210 times for 1,182 yards and 15 touchdowns while catching 38 passes for 242 yards. The kid from Weddington, N.C., was the only player in the country with 1,150+ rushing yards, 200+ receiving yards, and 300+ KR yards in ‘22. The only other ACC player to do such since this millennium was C.J. Spiller. (Source: @ClemsonFBRoss) Last year, Shipley totaled 1,271 All-Purpose yards with 7 scores. He also became the first Clemson scholarship football player to graduate in 3 years with a 4.0 GPA.
Iowa’s Erick All has had major injuries throughout his collegiate career, which could have him fall in the NFL Draft. If the Jets want to take a flier on a player in hopes that he can stay healthy in the pros, adding All to Conklin and Ruckert would make sense here.
Erick All is from Fairfield, Ohio, which of course was bought by the Continental Congress in the Miami Purchase of 1788. Judge John Cleves Symmes of Morristown, New Jersey, swindled 311,682 acres at a $1 per acre. Out of high school, Erick All decided to play for Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines. During his 1st 2 seasons at Michigan, All was a reserve TE who didn’t get a real opportunity to see touches until his junior season. In ‘21, All made 13 starts as he had a career-high 38 catches for 437 yards and 2 TDs. Last year was his last year with Michigan as he got injured 3 games into the season and would not return to the program as he decided to transfer to Iowa. All’s Iowa career this past season got off to a nice start as he made 21 catches for 299 yards and 3 TDs in 7 games. Unfortunately, All injured his knee making a catch over the middle, which ended his collegiate career. Despite the injury, All was still named an honorable mention on this year’s Big Ten Team. While his college career may have not gone exactly how he’d planned, All still has a ton of potential and should be a late-round steal in the NFL Draft if he can recover from his injury. He’s a 6’5” TE with speed.
Thank goodness the Jets signed Tyron Smith to be Aaron Rodgers’ blindside. Gottlieb Ayedze would be a late-round developmental prospect who could learn from the veteran.
Gottlieb Ayedze is from Germantown, Maryland. Before playing for the Maryland Terps, he had a 4-year career with Frostburg State. Ayedze in some ways is still learning some of the nuances of football, as he just picked it up late in high school in ‘18. Previously he was a soccer player, but the football coach noticed 6’5” & 320 lbs. At Frostburg State, Ayedze was a 3-year starter. In ‘20, Gottlieb was named All-MEC 1st team. He won the recognition again in ‘21 as a junior and followed up his senior year with another All-MEC 1st team as well as AFCA 1st Team All-American. Frostburg had the 2nd best-rushing offense in his conference running behind Ayedze. This season, Gottlieb Ayedze raised the stakes as he transferred to Maryland, playing in 10 of the Terps' 12 games. His blocking helped Taulia Tagovailoa break several passing records for the Big 10 and Maryland. Ayedze was named honorable mention All-Big 10, just 6 years after first putting on the helmet and pads.
With the Jets losing Jordan Whitehead and Ashytn Davis likely to not return either, New York will need to add some safeties. This pick would make Trey Taylor Mr. Irrelevant as it as the Jets have the last pick in the ‘24 Draft.
Trey Taylor is from Frisco, Texas. Taylor has good football blood in his genes as NFL Hall of Fame Safety, Ed Reed, is his cousin. After not seeing any action in ‘19 or ‘20 at Air Force, Trey Taylor became the starting safety in ‘21 where he recorded 62 tackles. In his 2nd season as a starter in ‘22, Taylor led the team in tackles with 69 along with 2 INTs. This past season, Trey Taylor was awarded the Jim Thorpe Trophy which goes to the top defensive back in College Football. Taylor had 74 tackles, 3 INTs, and 1 Pick 6. PFF gave the free safety an 82.6 overall grade while he only allowed 18 catches on 31 targets.