I have been very fortunate to have worked with a lot of players on the development of their shooting stroke.  One such player is Kemba Walker.  I worked with Walker at a basketball camp.  During this week long camp about three years ago, I was able to work with him on multiple occasions.  I want to share with you what I saw when I worked with Walker at that camp along with what I saw in him during Monday night's NCAA Championship game against Butler. 

How will this translate to the NBA?

The Timbers will be returning home with their heads held high after yesterday’s 1-1 draw versus the New England Revolution.  Despite the odds stacked against them, the team was able to weather the storm, and gained their first point in the MLS standings as a result.

Revolution head coach Steve Nicol expressed his frustrations after the match: “We’re just disappointed all around. There were very few things about tonight. I guess if you’re not on your game and you pick up points then you should be happy. But obviously we’re at home and we want three points. We don’t want one point.”

Portland had already played a game earlier in the week, was playing for the third time on the road, and could have easily given up after falling behind early on in the match.  But the players kept fighting and, after a well timed strike by Jack Jewsbury, were able to even the score 1-1 just as the first half was coming to an end.

After finishing last season with a 9-5-16 record, the New England Revolution are off to a hot start in 2011.  The team currently boasts a 1-0-1 record that includes a draw against the Los Angeles Galaxy and a home win against DC United.  Both the LA Galaxy and DC United are quality clubs that will more than likely be competing for the MLS Cup and, although two games is a small sample size, the Revolution appear to be markedly improved this season.

The main player the Timbers will be tasked with shutting down will be midfielder Shalrie Joseph, who has already scored two goals and added one assist through two games.  He is currently only one of two MLS players this season who has been involved in every one of his club’s goals, the other being San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski.

Joseph has been instrumental in leading the offense in a new 4-5-1 formation that the team implemented earlier this year.  Said Joseph, "It's a formation we still have to work on.  We've only been playing it for the last three weeks so we have to work out the kinks."

Even with the kinks, it’s been working out well for them so far, and the Timbers should have their hands full in what will be their third straight MLS road game to open up the season.  Once this one is over, however, the Timbers will return home to play two consecutive matches at JELD-WEN Field on April 14^th and April 17^th.

It might not have happened the way Dana Altman would have liked, but his Oregon Ducks sent senior Joevan Catron out with a win by defeating the Creighton Bluejays 71-69 in Game 3 of the College Basketball Invitational final. Fittingly, Catron scored a career-high 29 points in his last collegiate game.

The victory, which was ultimately sealed by E.J. Singler's game-winning bank-shot with two seconds left, was made possible because of a Macolm Armstead-induced call on Creighton with 17 seconds remaining. The Ducks guard was defending Antoine Young, who had 21 points and seven assists, when he noticed the Bluejays guard step over the minimal white half-court line as he dribbled down the clock. He pointed to the infraction, and the referee heard his exclamations and signaled for a deflating turnover.

“This is a beautiful building, a great atmosphere,’’ Creighton coach Greg McDermott said, according to The Omaha World Herald.

“You just wish there was a visible halfcourt line. Tough way to lose this game."

LaMarcus Aldridge scored 32 points, his most since February 16th, and Nicolas Batum added 19 points off the bench to help the Portland Trail Blazers keep pace in the Western Conference’s wild playoff race with an impressive 98-91 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Thunder dominate glass, build first-quarter lead

Portland started a bigger lineup than usual, inserting Marcus Camby in as center and putting Batum on the bench. This change didn't help the Blazers in the rebounding category, as Oklahoma City grabbed 12 of the first quarter’s 14 rebounds.