A player is eligible to be signed to a D-League contract if he is or will be at least 18 years old during the calendar year in which the D-League draft is held and his high school class has graduated. Also, the player may not have attended college in the United States in the academic year that takes place during the season covered by his D-League contract.

"While we believe that the college game is the best choice for the majority of players coming out of high school, not every player will have the ability or desire to pursue that route," D-League vice president of player development Michael Curry said. "This new rule will now give players the option of playing minor league professional basketball in the United States.""

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story/?ID=162442&hubname=nba

The company said the deal includes providing uniforms and other products for the WNBA and the NBA Development League starting with the 2006-07 season.

Adidas, which has been a marketing partner with the NBA since 2002, said the deal came about as a result of last year’s acquisition of Reebok International Ltd., which had been the NBA’s uniform and apparel provider since 2001. "

http://www.tsn.ca/nba/news_story/?ID=162119&hubname=nba

No. 2 Ohio St. Buckeyes Vs. No. 15 Davidson Wildcats
Pick: Ohio St.
Both teams play similar styles of play in their own frontcourt but Ohio St. has the definate edge in their commanding back court play. Look for that to be the deciding factor in a Ohio St. victory.

No. 3 Florida Gators Vs. No. 14 South Alabama Jaguars
Pick: Florida
Florida is a very good athletic and strong team. They have the skill to crush their opponents as they averaged a 15 point margin over their oppenents when they beat them. South Alabama is not a strong or athletic team without any major standout players.

No. 4 Boston College Eagles Vs. No. 13 Pacific Tigers
Pick: Boston College
Boston College is a strong veteran team that knows what to do when the pressure is on. The lack of depth will hurth the Tigers as they cant rely on much other than their starting 5, and even then, only Maraker is their only sure bet.

No. 5 Nevada Wolfpack Vs. No. 12 Montana Grizzlies
Pick: Montana
Montana has one of the strongest defensive games in this region but they can also fool many by being able to score in transition as well. Look at this to be their advantage in a win over Nevada.

No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners Vs. No. 11 UW-Milwaukee Panthers
Pick: Oklahoma
Look for this to be one of the best games of the first round. Both teams play very similar types of basketball with no clear cut edge for either team. But with having a great coach behind the Oklahoma bench, he has set his players ready for sucess. Look for Oklahoma to take this close game.

No. 7 Georgetown Hoyas Vs. No. 10 Northern Iowa Panthers
Pick: Georgetown
Both these teams have seen better days but both are teams with similar styles. The only difference in this, is the backcourt play of Georgetown. They play a great backcourt game, which should give them the edge over a very similar Northern Iowa team.

No. 8 Arizona Wildcats Vs. No. 9 Wisconsin Badgers
Pick: Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a tough and confident team. They had some struggles midway through the season but that didnt phase them. Look for their confidence to be a big factor over the "we love shooting the 3 ball but can barely hit one" Arizona team.

So there you have it, those are my picks for the Midwest. Look for my last installment of the West region next!

Pick: Duke
The top team in this tournament with two of the top players in this tournamet in Redick and Williams, look for Duke to make a run all the way to the finals if they can play a smart game.

No. 2 Texas Longhorns Vs. No. 15 Pennsylvania Quakers
Pick: Texas
Texas has one of the most balanced starting 5 in this tournament. Look for them to take advantage of this weaker Penn team. But dont look for Texas to go all the way in this tournament, their lack of depth will put a strain on their starting 5 and will hurt them the further into the tournament they get.

No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes Vs. No. 14 Northwestern St. Demons
Pick: Northwestern
With a balanced scoring and a hard nosed aggressive defence, look for Northwestern to steal the show from Iowa and pull an upset.

No. 4 LSU Tigers Vs. No. 13 Iona Gaels
Pick: LSU
With the uptempo style of play that LSU enjoys to play, look for the LSU tigers to beat the young and inexperienced Iona Gaels. Iona is not consistent enough to make a big run for this tourney and LSU is looking to take advantage of that.

No. 5 Syracuse Orange Vs. No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies
Pick: Texas A&M
Although both teams play similar stlyes of ball in the backcourt, look for Texas A&M’s strong frontcourt play to prove the advantage over Syracuse.

No. 6 West Virginia Mountaineers Vs. No. 11 Southern Illinois Salukis
Pick: West Virginia
WV has one of the best offensive styles that any team has in this tourney. They can free up players in no time giving them many open men to shoot the 3, and they can shoot. Look for WV to be too hard to stop on the offense for SIS.

No. 7 California Golden Bears Vs. No. 10 NC State Wolfpack
Pick: California
Although this is looked to be a close and entertaining game, NC State’s lack of size is going to be their weakness, which should give Cali the slight advantage, which should help them into the next round.

No. 8 George Washington Colonials Vs. No. 9 UNC-Wilmington Seahawks

Pick: George Washington
George Washington is such a balanced team. From scoring to rebounding, they have it all. And with the trouble rebounding that UNC-Wil. has, GW will look to take full advantage of them on both the offensive and defensive boards.

So these are my picks for the South. Look for parts 3 & 4 later tonight for my picks of the final two regions.