It's that time again. March Madness, Win or go home!!! Basketball season is upon us once more and like every other media outlet we have produced what we at Ebonylifestyles.com feel is an accurate assesment of what will happen this year.
Below is a rundown of the teams we feel will make the post season in the NBA as well as the final four in college ball. Also we'll try and pick the All-Stars and All-Americans.

NBA

Eastern Conference Playoff Teams:
Detroit, Cleveland, Chicago, Washington, Boston, Miami, New Jersey & Toronto
Eastern Conference Finals:
Detroit vs Miami
Eastern Conference Champions:
Miami Heat
Analysis:
Okay you're probably saying you don't even have Boston making the conference finals and what about the Bulls? Not to mention LeBron and the Cavaliers, or Agent 0 Gibert Arenas and the Washington Wizards?
Well let's break it down. As much as we all want to see Kevin Garnett get a ring, it won't happen this year. Maybe next year when they acquire a point guard, excuse me, point guard(s). Right now they don't have a point guard that could make a Rec League All-Star team on their roster. It won't show up until the playoffs, but at some point the lack of point guard play will cause their demise. Next? Oh Cleveland! Let's be honest with ourselves, as much as the NBA wants LeBron to mimic MJ's success, on and off the court, King James just doesn't have enough support to get it done right now. Okay you say they made the Finals last year. The moons aligned right for that to happen. Don't count on the same miracle two years in a row. First of all there's no way Detroit will lay down again like they did last year against the Cavs. Also the odds of Dwyane Wade being ineffective come playoff time again aren't good. And you Bulls fans. Good news: Kobe becomes a Bull sometime this season. Bad news: You trade three fifths of your starting lineup to get him and guess what? You end up looking very similar to the team Kobe left in Los Angeles, 42-40 and a number five seed. Washington, New Jersey & Toronto? All seat fillers for television
Now the big question you are asking is why Miami over Detroit? Well as much as everyone wants to write off the Shaq, D Wade, Pat Riley and the rest of their South Florida Posse, one thing keeps coming to the surface. No matter how good everybody else does during the regular season. No matter how much Riley irks his team during the regular season. No matter how many games Shaq and Wade miss during the regular season, the fact of the matter is this, Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade are the two best players in the Eastern Conference and if they are healthy when the playoffs start and remain healthy throughout the playoffs no one in the Eastern Conference will be the Heat, period. Now on to the Western Conference

Western Conference Playoff Teams:
San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, Houston, Denver, Utah, Golden State & Memphis
Western Conference Finals:
Dallas vs Phoenix
Western Conference Champions:
Phoenix Suns
Analysis:
Put Phoenix, Dallas and San Antonio in a hat and toss it up. Whatever name comes out is the Western Conference Champion, that's how close these teams are. And although Phoenix is my pick, there is no doubt in my mind that these are the three best teams in the NBA and whoever wins the West will be crowned NBA Champions. So why the Suns? Just a gut feeling! All three teams pretty much bring back their same rosters, with the Mavericks picking up Eddie Jones, the Suns picking up Grant Hill and the Spurs with no significant changes. But in the end I think Phoenix will come away with the best record and home court advantage and that will be the factor that gets them over the hump. Dallas defeats San Antonio in seven to reach the conference finals and then the Mavericks lose in seven to the Suns. We won't waste space discussing the otherfive teams making the playoffs in the West.

NBA Finals:
Phoenix defeats the Heat in six. Why? Well because they're the better team. Even though Miami got younger with Dorell Wright, Ricky Davis and Smush Parker now in the rotation, the pace at which Phoenix plays will eventually wear down the Heat. SO there you have it. Congrats Phoenix, a Super Bowl and an NBA title in the same year. Now on to college ball.

NCAA

National Player of the Year:
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
All-Americans:
Tyler Hansbrough-North Carolina, Brandon Rush-Kansas, Roy Hibbert-Georgetown, Chris Lofton-Tennessee, Drew Neitzel-Michigan State, O.J. Mayo-USC, Michael Beasley-Kansas State, Chase Budinger-Arizona, Kevin Love-UCLA, Eric Gordon-Indiana
NCAA Tournament Final Four Teams:
North Carolina, Georgetown, Memphis, Louisville
NCAA Tournament Champions:
Memphis
Analysis: This year it seems there are only a few really good teams and even fewer superstars in college basketball. Hansbrough leads the pre-season number one ranked team and gets the nod as player of the year for his intense style of play. He'll lead UNC to the Final Four, but that's as far as they will go, afterwards, Hansbrough will ride into the sunset to become a high NBA Draft pick. Other possible Player of the Year candidates include Rush from Kansas and one of the top notch frosh: OJ Mayo from USC, Michael Beasley of Kansas State and Kevin Love of UCLA. All three could could be one and doners, playing one year of college ball before cashing in on the NBA Draft Lottery.

As for who wins the title, our pick is Memphis. They are 10 deep in their rotation with all five starters returning, plus can't miss frosh point guard Derrick Rose added to their lineup somewhere. they have depth in down low behind Joey Dorsey and Robert Dozier with transfer Shawn Taggert, who impressed in his redshirt year during practices, 6-10 290 lb Hashim Bailey and 6-8 310 lb Pierre Niles. They have great wing play with 6-6 Antonio Anderson and 6-6 Chris Douglas-Roberts who looks to be the leading scorer. 6-5 Freshman Jeff Robinson adds wing depth. Along with Rose, last year's starters 5-10 senior Andre Allen and 6-2 junior sharpshooter Willie Kemp give Memphis a great mixture quickness, athleticism and scoring punch out of their backcourt. Gerogetown has all the tools to cut down the nets as well. Because Memphis returns all five starters and have a plethora of low post bodies to bang with the Hoyas big man 7-2 Roy Hibbert, the slight edge goes to Memphis. let's reiterate slight because JT3 has this former dynasty right on the door steps of rekindling past the past glory that his father brought to this private Washington, DC area school.
Hibbert, who withdrew his name from the NBA Draft, is the top player. But the Hoyas have as much or more depth and balance as Memphis. Along with Hibbert, 6-8 sophomore DuJuan Summers, 6-8 senior Pat Ewing Jr and 6-9 sophomore Vernon Macklin make up Georgetown's frontcourt rotation. 6-1 senior former walk-on Jonathon Wallace and 6-3 junior Jessie Sapp are returning starters in the back court. They will share time with 6-4 sophomore Jeremiah Rivers and two ballyhooed DC area recruits, 6-1 scoring machine Chris Wright and 6-4 Austin Freeman.
In our opinion three other schools have what it takes to run off with the trophy but will come up short: North Carolina, Kansas and Louisville. UCLA has been in the running the last two years, but this isn't football where if the other doesn't score you win. They are going to score and UCLA has problems on offense themselves. Carolina has a lot of talent and depth but there are some question marks about their offense outside of Hansbrough and super quick sophomore point guard Ty Lawson. Kansas has Rush and guards Russell Robinson, Mario Chalmers and fireplug Sherron Collins but they always seem to come up short. And this won't be any different.