Basketball Figure Madness (SOUTHEAST REGION)

Matches for the Upper Half
#1 LeBron James vs. #16 Jay-Z
#8 Rajan Rondo vs. #9 Charles Barkley (I had Kevin Harlan before, but Barkley's better)
#5 Kemba Walker vs. #12 Marynell Meadors
#4 Lauren Jackson vs. #13 Gary Blair

Matches for the Lower Half
#6 Tara Vanderveer vs. #11 Courtney Vandersloot
#3 Phil Jackson vs. #14 Nolan Richardson
#7 Mark Cuban vs. #10 Steve Fisher
#2 Kevin Durant vs. #15 Ted Williams

ABOUT THE SEEDS
#1 LeBron James, G/F, Miami Heat
He changed teams to go after more rings and doesn't care if he lost a lot of his fans in the process. Though he has two other all stars (and a Finals MVP in his prime) with him now, he is still the best player on the Heat, and is still a Top 3 candidate at worst for his third straight MVP.

#2 Kevin Durant, F, OKC Thunder
Leading scorer in the NBA for two years in the row. He's also from DC, and his team is considered to be a potential model on how to build a team with a hard cap in place. For now.

#3 Phil Jackson, Coach of the LA Lakers
He won more titles than Red. He could get the Lakers back to yet another #1 seed in the West when that seemed impossible a month ago.

#4, Lauren Jackson, C, Seattle Storm
2010 WNBA MVP (her third overall) and was also the Finals MVP. Just with her in the lineup for her native Australian team, she'll give the Americans fits in the low post whether she's banging down low or swishing a three.

#5 Kemba Walker, G, UConn
Had a hell of a season this year shooting and dishing his team to the Huskies' 2nd final four in the last three years and all American honors this year.

#6 Tara Vanderveer, Head Coach of the Stanford women's basketball team
Her teams have also made 4 straight Final Fours like UConn. They were the team that beat UConn in the 2008 Final Four right before their 90 game winning streak, and the Cardinal was the team to end that same streak as well.

#7 Mark Cuban, Majority Owner, Dallas Mavericks
Cuban is one of the more outspoken owners in the NBA, and doesn't care if Stern gives him a $100,000 fine when he openly talks about trying to woo LeBron. The man speaks the truth. He has also fielded competitive teams over the past decade, and when you see him constantly sitting right next to his guys supporting them, in a way, the man is overdue for a title. Remember 2006?

#8 Rajan Rondo, G, Boston Celtics
He was considered to be a weak link in the 2007-2008 championship season. Now he's considered to be THE catalyst for the team, averaging only 11 points, but also getting 11 dimes a game.

#9 Charles Barkley, Analyst for TNT
Since he retired from the NBA, Barkley is not afraid to speak his mind on how players and teams are in the league today. I'm not considering his playing ability here.

#10 Steve Fisher, Head coach for the SD State men's basketball team
Fisher first became famous for leading Michigan to a national championship in 1989 as an interim coach as well as runner up appearances in 1992 and 1993 with the Fab Five. Though a lot of the history is now vacated, he still knows how to get talent and win with it. SD State won the MWC this year and advanced to its first Sweet 16 ever while building the Aztecs from a doormat to a national contender now.

#11 Courtney Vandersloot, G, Gonzaga
Vandersloot is not related to Joran Van Der Sloot, the guy who killed Natalee Holloway and won't admit it (and he killed some Latina chick too). Vandersloot led the Zags to their first ever Elite Eight as an 11 seed in the dance this year, as well as earning All America honors, averaging 20 ppg and over 10 apg. How many college point guards average 10 dimes a game? In addition, she received a lot of her training from former Gonzaga great John Stockton!

#12 Marynell Meadors, Head Coach of the Atlanta Dream
In her three years, she led the Dream from expansion doormat in 2008 to the WNBA Finals in 2010. How many expansion teams can do that in such a short period of time?

#13 Gary Blair, Head Coach of the Texas A&M Womens Basketball team
Led the Aggies to a Final Four this year, and it's the second school where he's done this (first was Arkansas in 1998). A&M beat Baylor in the Elite Eight this year.

#14 Nolan Richardson, Head Coach of the Tulsa Shock
He doesn't own the team, but was still very instrumental in getting the Shock to Tulsa. His first year coaching the team last year was not good in terms of wins and losses, but pretty much everyone from Detroit left for other teams when the team moved, so I'd give him some slack. He's also still one of the more notable figures in college hoops, since his Arkansas team beat Duke in 1994 for the national title.

#15 Ted Williams, voice over artist for the Cleveland Cavaliers
He got his break from a video cam recording him improv-ing radio announcements while begging for money more or less. The video was viral, and now he's doing promotion work for the Cavs so I guess he's in commercials. The PA Announcer for the Cavs is still the same guy, Olivier Sedra.

#16 Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter, minority owner, NJ Nets
Carter is one of rap music's most accomplished artists, and hearing him on the pop stations makes him popular with young Americans which current day NBA players are. Though he owns a share of the Nets who are slated to move to his native Brooklyn soon, his attempts to use his celeb status to woo players like LeBron, Dwyane, and Carmelo have all failed.

#1 LeBron James vs. #16 Jay-Z-Jay-Z.
#8 Rajon Rondo vs. #9 Charles Barkley-Barkley
#5 Kemba Walker vs. #12 Marynell Meadors-Walker.
#4 Lauren Jackson vs. #13 Gary Blair-I guess Jackson?
#6 Tara Vanderveer vs. #11 Courtney Vandersloot-Vanderveer.
#3 Phil Jackson vs. #14 Nolan Richardson-PJ.
#7 Mark Cuban vs. #10 Steve Fisher-Fisher.
#2 Kevin Durant vs. #15 Ted Williams-Durant.

#1 LeBron James vs. #16 Jay-Z - LeBron. Don't think highly of Jay Z as a hoops figure....
#8 Rajan Rondo vs. #9 Charles Barkley - Rondo
#5 Kemba Walker vs. #12 Marynell Meadors - Kemba!!
#4 Lauren Jackson vs. #13 Gary Blair - Jackson
#6 Tara Vanderveer vs. #11 Courtney Vandersloot - Vandersloot.. she was the Jackie Stiles of the last few years.
#3 Phil Jackson vs. #14 Nolan Richardson - Jackson
#7 Mark Cuban vs. #10 Steve Fisher - Cuban
#2 Kevin Durant vs. #15 Ted Williams -KD

Matches for the Upper Half
#1 LeBron James vs. #16 Jay-Z- LBJ
#8 Rajan Rondo vs. #9 Kevin Harlan- Rondo
#5 Kemba Walker vs. #12 Marynell Meadors- Walker
#4 Lauren Jackson vs. #13 Gary Blair- Jackson

Matches for the Lower Half
#6 Tara Vanderveer vs. #11 Courtney Vandersloot- Vanderveer
#3 Phil Jackson vs. #14 Nolan Richardson- PJ
#7 Mark Cuban vs. #10 Steve Fisher- Cuban
#2 Kevin Durant vs. #15 Ted Williams- KD