Know Your ... Heat

Welcome to the first of the feature series, "Know Your Team". With the NCAA tournament coming to an end, I thought the best pilot for this series would be the NBA team with the most use for Final Four talent, the 14-64 Miami Heat.

Now most of you think that you know the Miami Heat. A little older than their 2006 NBA Champions, but they still have Dwyane Wade, Jason Williams and Udonis Haslem, right? Well, technically correct, but no. Here is an examination of the team that beat the Chicago Bulls last night 95-88 to eliminate the Bulls from playoff contention.

The starters for the team included veterans Ricky Davis from Iowa and center Mark Blount from Pittsburgh. Both of those players should be familiar to NBA fans, since they have been contributors for several years, and in Davis' case, a decade. Familiarity goes downhill from there. Some college fans may remember starting point guard (Yes, I said starting point guard), Chris Quinn from Notre Dame. For those that don't remember Quinn, just find the absolute slowest player on the court, that's him. Opposite Davis was Earl Barron out of Memphis and opposite Quinn was rookie first round draft pick Daequan Cook from THE Ohio State University, who actually spent some time in the NBA Developmental League this year.

Speaking of the D-League, the star of the game was reigning D-League MVP Kasib Powell. Powell (pictured) is a 6'7", 218 pound forward out of Texas Tech who scored 18 to lead the Heat last night. He actually looks like he has NBA caliber game. He already is the best Kasib in the history of the NBA. Also playing minutes was forward Stephen Lasme, a 6'8", 220 pound forward from Port-Gentil, Gabon by way of UMass. On the roster, but earning the dreaded DNP-CD was point guard Blake Ahearn, a rookie from the basketball prowess that is Missouri State.

So for those of you wondering what happened to the Heat, here is a good answer. Look at the names above and spot the NBA players, and when you see that the answer is all of them, you know why the Heat have won only 14 games this year.

If you actually are a Heat fan, keep thinking that you will have Wade and Haslem back next year, playing with either Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley. That, might be a team worth knowing.