boardsanddimes

2007-09-21T09:34:00.000-04:00

I wish I was in the original ABA...check out the pants on the Memphs Tams from 1974...

Ok…what have I missed…

Oden Microfracture surgery? Very bad…of course have you seen the dude walk? He walks like my Dad, who is 75 years old by the way…

AK-47 wants out of Utah? Weird…can’t imagine how they’d move him, but he would be better in a less rigid system…speaking of AK-47 here’s translation of what he said:

“For the week to come to the club, but if honest, special joy on this occasion did not have. Last season was disappointing for me and very seriously disappointed. Many thought about it and came to the decision - I want to leave the "Concept". European soccer ended was a peculiar litmus test, and it was all for me to their seats. Coach Sloan is one of the reasons, but not the only one. Six of the NBA years, I, of course, has enormous experience. It is clear that the NBA-strongest league world. Every game makes you better as a player only because it is a challenge. Call for battle. Such conditions zakalyayut. All these words have been fair to me, except for the last two seasons. I now feel that progressiruyu not as a player. I try, but fails. 5 40NB. Do not give. Do not get support coach and the club. I am convinced that the methods Sloan had a negative impact on me. His main method of motivating players - care guilt. Our wages, our mistakes in the games, our actions outside the track is always cause for criticism. I want to play basketball, I want to enjoy it and not be a robot, piece of Sloan. Therefore, do not see their future in the team, "Utah Jazz."”

This is awesome… http://mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?q=120

And so is this answer to Spygate… http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=snibbe/070920&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos2

Allan Houston’s comeback is for real…he has worked out for the six teams [Knicks, Nets, Cavaliers, Spurs, Mavericks, Heat] and gotten very positive feedback…expect a contract offer soon…

2007-09-05T09:31:00.001-04:00

A watershed day for agent/player – team negotiations passed on the day that the Bucks finally signed PF Yi Jianlian...why you ask? Well it turns out that deal was sealed by Bucks owner Herb Kohl guaranteeing that Yi would average 20-25 minutes a game as a rookie…how many other agents are going to point to this deal in the future and say, my guy has to play or he’s not coming? There is some though that Kohl may have done this without the blessing of current head coach Larry Krystkowiak, which will be really awkward in January when Yi is stinking it up, but still being subbed into games for more productive players because of the guarantee…considering how little Raptors rookie Andrea Bargnani played at the start of the year, and Bargniani is way more talented than Yi folks, this might get ugly…So Yi guaranteed minutes don’t materialize? Apparently the deal is such that Yi can head straight to Kohl and demand to be traded…ugly…

Way to go Tommy and all the sales guys at the Raptors…The Raptors, coming off a 47-35 season in which they returned to the playoffs for the first time in four years and won the first division title in franchise history, have had about a 98 per cent renewal rate on season tickets.

Bucks free agent PG Charlie Bell, who averaged 13.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 3.0 APG and 1.2 SPG in 34.7 MPG last year is still negotiating with Milwaukee and apparently things are not going well...hard to imagine with so many teams needing PG help, especially a 6’3” 200 lb PG who plays defence and come into the league the hard way…

Great story about the next big thing, from Luke Winn of Si.com:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/luke_winn/08/30/sidney/index.html

Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com has lost his mind:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=sheridan_chris&id=3002943

Terrific idea here by Henry Abbott of Truehoop, asking Michael Ray Richardson about Eddie Griffin:

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-27-88/Micheal-Ray-Richardson-on-Eddie-Griffin-and-Addiction.html

Sean Deveaney of Thesportingnews.com with his list of the “Big Country” list:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20593136/

2007-08-22T08:36:00.001-04:00

A sad end to a sad story…former Seton Hall 1 and done star and ex-NBAer Eddie Grffin has died after the SUV he was driving ran into the side of a moving train and caught fire in what appears to have been a suicide…apparently the wreckage was so gruesome that investigators had to use dental records to identify him…Griffin, who lasted five years in the NBA was the No. 7 pick in the 2001 NBA draft…he came out of the Hall as a tremendous shot-blocker and rebounder who’s offensive game needed work, but would have blossomed had he been able to hold it together…Griffin had battled substance abuse and emotional/mental illness his entire career…"Everybody tried to help him from the top to the bottom of the organization," said Dwayne Casey, who coached Griffin for 1 1/2 seasons with the T-Wolves. "He just couldn't get it straight. It's a tragic ending for a beautiful kid. He had a beautiful heart."

Nice article here from JA Adande of ESPN.com:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=EddieGriffin

Other stuff:

In the category of weird…Nolan Richardson is the head coach of the Mexican National Basketball team…

My favourite rumour of the summer? That the Cavs have stalled trying to trade for Kings PG Mike Bibby or re-signing PF Anderson Varajao and SG Sasha Pavlovic because their parent company Quicken Loans is taking a bath in the market due to the current mortgage and loan crisis in the US…

Baseball note…Too funny…http://www.bugsandcranks.com/the-clubhouse/meet-the-brewers/

Great interview here with Bill Russell:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/ian_thomsen/08/20/russell/index.html

2007-08-16T09:30:00.001-04:00

Boy…post Garnett trade, the NBA sure is boring right now…to wit:

Clips signed PG Brevin Knight and PF Josh Powell…who knew Brevin Knight was even alive?

Here’s a name to remember…Renardo Sidney, a 6’10” 245 lb. junior at Artesia High School in California, who is thought by some to be the best player in the at the high school level in the United States, if not the world…

Local Raps star Chris Bosh left the US Olympic qualifying team with plantar fasciitis, which bothered him all of last year…here’s hoping he gets lots of rest before training camp…

The Jazz have signed 7’2” centre Kyrylo Fesenko to a three-year, $2.45 million contract which includes a $500,000 buyout paid to his former club.

Small forward Ime Udoka, late of Portland expects to sign two-year guaranteed deal for around $2 million to be the eventual Bruce Bowen replacement…

Reggie Miller told ESPN's Dan Patrick yesterday that he still hasn't made up his mind on coming back with the Celtics: "I have no idea what I'm going to do…I'm working out twice a day. It would be irresponsible of me not to go full bore now to see what I can do. I'll make a decision soon. Six or seven days ago I started two-a-days, and I probably have 10 days left of that…By the middle of September I should have an answer."

Sacramento continues to explore trading PG Mike Bibby to the Heat, but would want PG Jason Williams and PF Udonis Haslem to complete the deal…word is, the Kings might want to do a bigger deal and package in SF Kenny Thomas or PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim.

Oh my god…http://www.dailymotion.com/Herbert-Leonard/video/x2r09s_massive-mouth_fun…that’s all you can say is Oh my god…

2007-08-10T09:08:00.000-04:00

Wow…college is tougher than it used to be…http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/george_dohrmann/08/08/montana.state/index.html

This is a very, very, very big dude…http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070808/ap_on_re_eu/ukraine_tallest_man_2

Oh my, Kevin McHale interview here…http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_6577691?nclick_check=1

My favourite exchange from this interview:

BS: Did you try to get K.G. to be more physical? Is that an area of his game that he never gave you, and you hoped he would?

KM: Kevin is such a gifted player. He rebounds like he's 8 feet tall. But he plays offense like he's 6-4. That was the game that was best suited for him.

A backhanded slap in the face for sure…

Oh boy, Cheryl is thinking comeback…"I'm always flattered when my name is mentioned as someone who can still help an NBA team win a championship," Miller said Wednesday in a statement relayed to The Associated Press by the TNT network. "I've had limited discussions with Celtics management about their roster and a potential role for me. At this time, I'm enjoying my role as an analyst with TNT." OK, Reggie, who is 13th on the league's career scoring list with 25,279 points and the career leader in 3-pointers made and attempted. Has not played for 2 seasons…

Marc Stein of ESPN.com on who else is thinking comeback this year:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=comebacktrail

Stein’s blog also listed these names as possibilities: Darvin Ham, Bryon Russell, Dajuan Wagner, Bo Outlaw, Nikoloz Tskitishvili, Chris Andersen (who landed a two-year suspension for using a "drug of abuse" that resulted in his contract with the Hornets being voided with $14 million unpaid -- is eligible to apply for NBA reinstatement in January 2008) Roy Tarpley, Chris Webber, P.J. Brown, Dikembe Mutombo, Gary Payton, Dale Davis, Clifford Robinson, Doug Christie, Vin Baker and the ageless Kevin Willis.

The best personnel move made in the NBA this off-season (aside fro KG to Boston)? Got to be Houston picking up the draft rights to Luis Scola (along with center Jackie Butler) from the Spurs in exchange for Greek guard Vassilis Spanoulis, a future second-round draft pick and future detritus…Scola, who is like a beter shooting Buck Williams is a good rebounder and defender and a very crafty scorer who shoots very, very well from the floor (60-65%)…

2007-08-01T09:26:00.000-04:00

Picture from the AP

I am so ordering a green Celtic’s number 5 jersey…

OK…here’s what I think:

The T-Wolves are now the worst team in the league…your starting lineup is now Randy Foye PG, Gerald Green SG, Ricky Davis SF, Al Jefferson PF and Mark Blount C…with SF Corey Brewer, SF Ryan Gomes, PF Mark Madsen, PG Sebastian Telfair and SG Rashad McCants as the bench…that is just awful…plus what to do with Juwon Howard, Trenton Hassell and Marko (polo…I can’t resists) Jaric?

Rob K is the happiest guy ever right now…

Mark Scalabrine is the new Mark Madsen…

The Pressure on Rajon Rondo is going to be immense, now with 3 all stars to feed the ball to and for him to hit open shots when defences focus on the big three of Allen, Pierce and KG…

The Celtics are not quite the favourite in the East just yet….although the starting lineup of PG Rajon Rondo (or Brevin Knight if the free agent rumours are true) SG Ray Allen, SF Paul Pierce, PF Kevin Garnett and C Kendrick Perkins (yikes) is very good, it’s not necessarily better than Detroit, Chicago or Miami’s starting 5, not to mention Cleveland’s if only because Perkins is terrible and Rondo is still so green…

And the bench? SF/PF Leon Powe has marshmallow knees and is undersized, SG Tony Allen is cmong off of major knee surgery and is a player that relies on his athleticism to be good, rookie PF Glen "Big Baby" Davis is three ho’ho’s and a bratworst away from weighing 458 pounds, SF Brian Scalabrine is the best player at the local YMCA, rookie PF Brandon Wallace was a summer league delight and rookie SG Gabe Pruitt is a rookie SG…

What happens when Allan or Pierce gets hurt? Allan played 55 of 82 games last year and Pierce 47…

How will this work from a cap perspective being as the Celtics will be paying around $58 million to three players, leaving around $5 million for the rest…

With such great scorer’s around him, Garnett will have his best defensive year ever and will lead the league in blocks…

2007-07-31T09:04:00.001-04:00

Wow…PF/C Kevin Garnett to Boston for PF Al Jefferson, SF Ryan Gomes, SG Gerald Green, PG Sebastian Telfair, PF Theo Ratliff’s expiring contract, a 2009 lottery protected No. 1 pick, and the return of the pick Minnesota gave up in the Ricky Davis-Wally Szcerbiak deal…My initial reaction is wow, how will Doc Rivers screw this up? Here’s some links to ponder while I think about it a little more…

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/ian_thomsen/07/30/garnett.trade/index.html

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/steve_aschburner/07/30/garnett.minnesota/index.html

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070730

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=TradeKicker101

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7075382

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7073920

2007-07-30T11:25:00.000-04:00

So long to Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser, who died too young at age 56 of an apparent heart attack…Prosser was a terrific coach who guided the Demon Deacons to the number 1 ranking in 2004, the 1st and only such ranking in school history… Seth Davis of SI.com with a nice article here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/seth_davis/07/26/prosser.obit/index.html

Apparently talks between the Celtics and the T-Wolves around the Kevin Garnett to Boston for Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff’s expiring contract, random picks and other detritus trade have resumed…still don’t see it, especially since Garnett can opt out in 2008…

Erstwhile Raptor PF Charles Oakley has a book in the works about which he told the Toronto Star: "I'm not pulling any punches, true stories. It ain't one of those Charles Barkley fake books, it's a Charles Oakley book," Oakley said. "It's not an O.J. book, it's an Oakley book." Still incoherent after all these years…

Free agent notes:

- PG Smush Parker signs with the Heat
- Mavs to meet with Chris Webber this week
- SG Michael Pietrus set to sign a two year deal around $3 million per with the Warriors
- PG Charlie looks to re-sign with Milwaukee, terms not announced
-

So first Antoine Walker is robbed in his home at gunpoint and now Eddy Curry? I’m thinking if I’m a Chicago-based NBA player (both of these guys grew up in Chi-town) I’m getting some security or moving…

Wow…I mean wow…designating athletes as learning disabled in order to get them into a college basketball powerhouse?All I can say is wow…fom Gary Parrish of CBSsportsline.com, this is truly unbelievable: http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10263119

2007-07-25T15:26:00.000-04:00

My favourite picture of former NBA Ref Tim Donaghy...he's such a weasel...

OK…have you had enough of Ref-Gate yet? Me too…until there is an actual report from the Feds, we really don’t know the extent to which this is either a conspiracy involving a number of people, or just the action of one man…However, I have to say, one quote that David Stern came forward with was very telling:

"Doing the best you can,'' he said, "doesn't always mean that criminal activity by a determined person can be prevented.''

Stern as much as admitted in the press conference (transcript here http://proxy.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2947534) that his screening process for refs does not screen out criminal behaviour or addiction. Well, his next iteration of that process better accomplish just that, otherwise public (not to mention player) confidence in the NBA will never recover. Plus, watch the fallout on having a team in Vegas now. Stern will have a much harder time making peace with sports betting now that his life’s work has been victimized by it, but he’ll have to focus on the problem: gambling as an addiction. Addiction in medical terms is defined as “…compulsive repetition of a behaviour with a disregard for outcome of consequence.” I see the problem here as not one of sports betting, but one of the trouble that resulted from a person not able to stop sports betting. It’s no different than an addiction to alcohol. Plenty of folks drink without becoming alcoholics…plenty of people bet without becoming bet-aholics…

Here’s Charley Rosen (who I generally can’t stand) of Foxsports.com with a reminder that this has happened before:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/7048994

Great Newark Star-Ledger article from Dave D’Alessandro with former official Mike Mathis expressing himself about failures in regulating officials with Stern as commissioner:

http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-2/1185337745294500.xml&coll=1

Oops…one more item…Frank Deford of SI.com with his opinion on Ref-Gate:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/frank_deford/07/25/gambling/index.html

Other notes:

Here’s a “Wow, where did all the shooters go?” note: Casey Jacobsen has resurfaced with a free-agent deal in Memphis…Jacobsen played in Germany last year where he was league MVP…

Interesting archive of best games by writer at SI.com:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/writers/best_game/archive/index.html

2007-07-16T09:10:00.000-04:00

And the new centre for your Canadian National Basketball teams is…Jamaal Magloire? Nope, try Sixers C Samuel Delambert, who although he was born in Haiti, grew up in Montreal…

Quick baseball note: This in one of the best blogs on the net…here they are with their all time Canadians in MLB

http://bugsandcranks.com/the-clubhouse/team-canada/

Great article on Ron Artest from Marc Stein of ESPN.com

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=2937882

Joke of the day…Joe Smith (2 years, $10million!!!) is the new low-post presence in Chicago…insert punch line here…

Milwaukee Bucks PG Mo Williams has reportedly agreed to a six-year, $52 million deal with the Bucks…apparently the lure of playing with Shaq and Wade on a perennial title contender, were not enough to make up for the $20 million difference based on the five-year, $31.4 million deal that Miami offered…

Alonzo Mourning does not want to go out like that: "I want to redeem myself and try to help this team redeem ourselves as an organization and try to get back on track," Mourning said. "That wasn't the Miami team you saw in the playoffs last year. ... I was embarrassed. I was truly embarrassed by that outcome. I know for a fact we're a better team. It left a sour taste in my mouth and it's time to really end it all on the right note. It will definitely be my last year…and with Alonzo Mourning, who averaged 8.6 points last season for the Heat (not to mention an absurd 5.44 blocks per 48 minutes) announced he is returning for a 15th season, not counting time off for bad kidneys…

Goodbye Mikki Moore hello Jamaal Magloire…the Nets signed the big Canuck Saturday with the deal contingent on Magloire passing a physical…terms not announced…Magloire averaged 6.5 points and 6.1 rebounds last year with the Blazers…Magloire has career averages of 9.0 points and 7.5 rebounds…

So Charlotte owner Robert Johnson elects to finally spend some money on SF Gerald Wallace $57 million/six years; SG Matt Carroll to $27 million/5 years; the remainder of SG Jason Richardson's $50 million/4 years, and C Emeka Okafor ready for a (promised) extension of around $70 million/5 years…good right? Well, after all that patience (some say miserly tight-fistedness) he now has practically no money to spend next year when Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis, Allen Iverson, Elton Brand and Pau Gasol are all eligible to become free-agents…oops…

2007-07-11T09:35:00.001-04:00

Wow…the Washington Post is reporting that the Portland Trailblazers will $30 of the $33.6 million left on Steve Francis’ contract in a buyout that will release the unwanted PG as an unrestricted free agent…look for Francis to sign with the Clippers, where his best friend Cuttino Mobley is the main drawing card…

Forgotten PG Marcus Banks had 42 points in the Suns summer league loss (93-89) to Cleveland on Monday…it’s worth noting that this performance come in the Thomas and Mack centre in Las Vegas, where Banks played as a collegian at UNLV…it’s a very positive step for Banks who fell out of the rotation, if not off the face of the earth, for the Suns last year after signing a 5 year $21 million contract to be Steve Nash’s backup…a positive step for the Suns too, who are aggressively shopping him…

The Raptors have signed Jamario Moon Early to a 2 year deal…the 6’8” SF was an entry candidate for the 2001 NBA Draft out of Meridian Community College (20.8 PPG and 8.7 RPG but was kicked out of school after 12 games), but was not selected. He originally signed out of high school with Mississippi State, but was academically ineligible…he’s bounced around a number of minor leagues (CBA, WBA, USBL and NBDL) without showing too much…

The Magic have withdrawn their qualifying offer (1 yr. @ $6.8 million) to C Darko Milicic, which effectively renounces thri rights to him and makes him an unrestricted free agent…Magic GM Otis Smith’s quote: He’s moved on and we’ve moved on.”

Good report here from the other summer pro-league in Orlando where JJ Redick seems to have re-discovered his game:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?page=orlandosummerleaguesday2&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos2

Fantastic article here from Tom Friend of ESPN.com about basketball in Northern Ireland:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?page=espnmag_peaceplayers&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab5pos2

Look out…one of my favourite players last year was Pistons PF Jason Maxiel, a 6’7” 265 lb. jumping jack with Mr. Extendo arms who tries to dunk EVERYTHING…well, Maxiel has come into summer league down 25 lbs. (!!!) and is quicker off the floor, which seems impossible given his play last season…expect several nasty dunks from Maxiel this year, and several other missed dunks that will be just as exciting…

Very touching story out of Portland where SF Darius Miles has reached out to pay for the funeral expenses of 5-year-old Ethan Hansen who died after a tree limb fell on his tent while he was camping…apparently Miles was reading the paper (which is news in itself, but I digress) and after reading the story, he and his wife, who is expecting, were so touched by it they contacted the family with the offer…

2007-07-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

Free agent rumour deluxe: Bucks PG Mo Williams is going to sign with Miami, leaving more money on the table in Milwaukee…

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/10/SPGJ9QTJCS1.DTL

Quote of the week comes from Channing Frye as told to an assemblage of reporters in Portland: “I bring everything…a little personality, a little leadership, a little shooting, a little defence…I’m a buffet of goodness.”

Hello Portland my name is Greg Oden…goodbye Gred Oden’s tonsils…goodbye summer league for the number 1 overall draft pick…

Vetgas Hotel, The Luxor, has posted odds to win the '08 NBA championship:

Dallas Mavericks 7-2
San Antonio Spurs 7-2
Phoenix Suns 4-1
Miami Heat 8-1
Cleveland Cavaliers 10-1
Chicago Bulls 12-1
Detroit Pistons 15-1
Houston Rockets 15-1
Utah Jazz 15-1
Denver Nuggets 20-1
New Jersey Nets 22-1
Golden State Warriors 22-1
Toronto Raptors 25-1
Washington Wizards 28-1
Los Angeles Lakers 30-1
Portland Trail Blazers 30-1
Seattle SuperSonics 30-1
Indiana Pacers 35-1
Los Angeles Clippers 35-1
Orlando Magic 40-1
New Orleans Hornets 45-1
Sacramento Kings 50-1
Milwaukee Bucks 60-1
Minnesota Timberwolves 75-1
Boston Celtics 80-1
Charlotte Bobcats 80-1
New York Knicks 80-1
Philadelphia 76ers 100-1
Atlanta Hawks 150-1
Memphis Grizzlies 150-1

2007-07-09T09:55:00.001-04:00

Notes from watching Greg Oden in a summer league game against the Celtics last night…the good: 13 points, five rebounds, four blocks and only 9 fouls this time (as opposed to 6 points and 10 fouls the other night)…the bad: Oden has only really played well offensively against fellow rook Nick Fazekas (Dallas), who is a little faster than a glacier and Leon Powe (Boston) who is 6’7” in shoes if he’s lucky, while being well guarded by Mavs centre DaSagana Diop, who although he is a good defender, is not exactly the second coming of Nate Thurmond…the ugly: Oden is 1-for-8 from the foul line and has committed 19 fouls in 38 minutes over 2 games…

I also caught Yi Jianlian playing for Team China during a 85-84 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers…the good: Yi scored 17 points in the 4th including a tough 10 foot turnaround off the glass for the win as time expired…the bad: in the 4th quarter, he was mostly defended by non-drafted rookie free agent Ryvon Covile, who is terrible…the ugly: Yi made just 2 of 14 shots in a 26-point shellacking against Sacramento the day before…and while were at it Yi’s averages are 17.3 PPG on 30% FG…with 20 fouls and 12 field goals in three games…

Wow…Golden State's Marco Belinelli scored 37 points on 14-for-20 from the floor against New Orleans on Saturday…Monta Ellis, may not get J-Rich’s SG spot just yet…

Free Agent notes: Bulls SF Andres Nocioni agreed to a 5 year $38 million contract…Pistons PG Chauncey Billups has reportedly agreed to a 5-year deal worth $60 million, with the fifth year of the deal as a team option.

Free Agent rumour: Darko Milicic to the Grizz…Gerald Wallace about to re-sign with the Bobcats for 5 years and $60 million….

Great article from Randy Hill of Foxsports.com on how being a good player doesn’t necessarily means you’ll be a good GM:

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6991754

2007-07-06T09:54:00.000-04:00

Oh boy…this is gonna get worse before it gets better…check out these quotes from those involved in the growing scandal that is Yi Jianlian, the 6th pick in the draft by the Bucks:

From Zhao Gang, one of Yi's representatives, as told the official China Daily newspaper Tuesday: "[We] won't sit here and do nothing just because he was picked by Milwaukee…We are considering Yi's future at the Bucks and are looking at trade possibilities."

From Bucks GM Lenny Harris, as told to SI.com: "We're not trading him…We like him and we think this is a great opportunity for him. He'll get a chance to play a lot of minutes right away for a good team. What more could [he] want?"

From Yi himself, who is in Dallas with the China National Senior Team: "I don't want to talk about that…" And with that he walked away from reporters.

Oh and the inimitable Dan Fegan, Yi’s American agent has said exactly nothing…My bet is Yi sits out the whole year with this thing at loggerheads…

I don’t know what else this little French dude (6 feet max) can do, but he sure can dunk…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lMCu-2tq8Q

Jerry Stackhouse said the two sides had reached an agreement in principle on a contract to keep the sixth man with the Mavericks. Sources on both sides said the deal is for three years and the salary will start at more than the mid-level exception, which is expected to be about $6 million. If it starts at $7 million, the deal would be worth nearly $24 million for three seasons.

Good deal for the Suns? Absolutely. Between Grant’s basketball IQ and Steve Nash’s passing ability, he’ll get a ton of open layups. Obviously Hill can still play (14.4 ppg this year); he’ll give Phoenix another ball-handler, smart passer and guy who won’t rock the boat ’cause his only goal is to win a ring. Plus, he’s coming to them super-cheap …

Sounds like Nocioni to Memphis is dead…Bulls seem to have landed him for 5 years and $38 million…

Trade Rumour: Knicks send PF David Lee and SF Jared Jeffries to the Kings for SF Ron Artest…

Congrats to PJ Carlesimo for overcoming 7-plus years of bad press and career purgatory in becoming the new coach of the Sonics…here’s hoping that in all that time (which wasn’t so bad considering he won 3 rings as a SA assistant) he’s learned to be a better communicator, which was the main complaint in his previous stops in Portland and Oakland…

2007-07-04T16:41:00.001-04:00

Ok…Parental leave over...back to reality…here’s my belated draft thoughts…

Wow…I’m about to praise Danny Ainge…so your franchise player Paul Pierce needs a sidekick…how about Ray Allen? He’s only league's best jump shooter with in the gym range…he’ll turn 32 next month and will open up the paint for Pierce in the mid range and Al Jefferson in the post…plus they got rid of Wally Szcerofihdfkjhbewybiak, who sucks and is a locker room cancer and Delonte West's who can go with the emergence of Rajon Rondo…then they pluck USC PG Gabe Pruitt and PF Glen "Big Baby" Davis…plus they don’t give up uber-athletic SF Gerald Green…great draft…

Did MJ just trade Brendan Wright for a broken down Jason Richardson? Yikes…I hear J-Rich’s knee will never be better…oh, and if Gerald Wallace does not re-sign, there could be trouble…

Funniest thing in the draft…the Pacers, who had no picks traded into the 2ND round to pick a guy named Stanko…

The Nets picking 6’10” C Sean Williams formerly of Boston College is interesting…if it doesn’t pan out he can always get high with PG Marcus Williams and go out an steal some laptops…

How exactly do the Knicks run an offence with Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry both trying to plant themselves in the post? Plus both are black holes on offence and neither guy defends a lick…weird trade…

By drafting Joakim Noah (what was with the clown suit) the Bulls now have 3 guys (Noah, Ben Wallace and Tyrus Thomas) that if you locked them in the gym by themselves for a week, could not make an unguarded 8-foot jumper…

Al Thornton welcome to the Clippers…Corey Maggette welcome to the trading block…

GM rankings from SI.com…Raptors GM Brian Colangelo is 4th…http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/kelly_dwyer/06/25/gm.rankings/index.html

2007-04-30T18:47:00.001-04:00

No big update, just three the links to Lang Whittaker of SI.com (and Slamonline.com) with his lists of funniest NBA stories...

This year:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/lang_whitaker/04/30/organized.noise/index.html

Last year:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/lang_whitaker/04/17/nba.oddities/index.html

and the year before for good measure:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/writers/lang_whitaker/04/25/the.links/index.html

2007-04-30T18:47:00.000-04:00

2007-04-29T13:11:00.000-04:00

Whew…just started my parental leave and have been getting used to being at home with my daughter all day…must tell you, it’s the funnest thing ever…

Marcus Camby is the defensive player of the year? How about the blocked shot player of the year, but Bruce Bowen and Shawn Marion make guys disappear with one on one defence…I would have given the award to one of them…even the “Big Boring” Tim Duncan would come before Camby, especially when he had 5 blocks against the Nugs last night…by the way, the Spurs got the homecourt back with a 96-91 win sparked by Manu Ginobili’s 10-11 from the line (flopper extraordinaire…) and Iverson’s 7-20 from the field…of course, if the Nuggets don’t go 22-30 from the line (Carmelo Soprano went 6-11) than they win…

Magic got swept (97-93 loss to the Pistons last night) for a lot of reasons (like shooting 57.9% from the free-throw line in the series), but most of them originating from the fact the Detroit is a better team…however, some things continue to amaze my like:

How is it that Dwight Howard still does not have a single post move or even a little 8 foot jumper? He has one mover, a dunk…that’s it…

Why is Tony Battie playing and Darko Milicic is not? Milicic blocked Rasheed Wallace’s jumper 4 times in the series, and that’s the only 4 times Wallace has had his jumper blocked all year…

Jameer Nelson is not a starter…please, please, please play Carlos Arroyo…

Other than Hedo Turkoglu, nobody on this team can make a jumper outside of 15 feet (yes that’s you Grant Hill!), yet JJ (the Chronicles of…) Redick sits on the bench while the Pistons pack it in…

Speaking of Grant Hill, he is apparently contemplating retirement. Hill, who scored 17 points in Orlando's season-ending 97-93 loss to Detroit yesterday said: "We'll see how I feel in June and July," Hill said. "The desire, of course, is to always play. But you don't want to live on anti-inflammatories and so forth. We'll just see, at least in my case, how I feel."

Here’s a DARKHORSE for Pacers coach next year…Reggie Miller…you heard it, or rather read it here first…

Hmmm…the whole Celtics nullifing Sebastian Telfair's contract idea will probably not fly…remember, the Raptors tried that on weak-kneed centre Nate Huffman to no avail…and then there’s the Warriors failing in their bid to get rid of convicted choker Latrell Sprewell…

Ok Raptors…here are your 2 commandments…1) double Vince Carter and 2) clear some room for Chris Bosh…you cannot win if Vince Carter penetrates past Anthony Parker/Mo Pete every time he gets the ball…and you cannot win if Chris Bosh gets 11 point on 10 shots…Carter has to get banged by defenders off the ball, maybe bring in converted tight end Joey Graham for a bit to use his bulk, but Carter cannto have a free pass to the basket or he’ll go for more than 37…as for freeing up some space for Bosh, maybe make Calderon the post passer into Bosh instead of Ford, being as Calderon went 6-6 from the floor in the game and might keep his defender from sagging in on Bosh in the post…

2007-04-20T11:15:00.001-04:00

First round Playoff predictions keeping in mind that since 2001, the non-homecourt advantage team has only won 21% of postseason series…this basically makes the NBA playoffs easily the most predictable playoffs in all pro sports. (For comparison road teams have won 60 percent of the baseball playoffs and 36 percent of the NFL playoffs over the same period):

East

Heat-Bulls…Heat in 7…Bulls well and Dwyane Wade is not 100%, but the Shaq is the ultimate equalizer…
Wizards-Cavaliers…Cavs in 4…no Arenas, no Butler equals no wins for the Wiz…
Magic-Pistons…Pistons in 5…Magic steal one win because the Pistons get bored…
Nets-Raptors…Raps in 7…Nets big three of Carter, Kidd and Jefferson will make this the best series of the playoffs, but Bosh and co are too deep and too cohesive to fall apart…

West

Lakers-Suns…Suns in 5…Kobe will be all world, but the Suns are too good…
Warriors-Mavs…Mavs in 5…G-State and former Mavs coach Don Nelson make it interesting, but this Mavs team is too deep…
Jazz-Rockets…Rockets in 6…T-Mac n’Cheese in the 1st round? Not this time, Rockets will beat the slumping Jazz with large helpings of Yao Ming…
Nuggets-Spurs…Spurs in 7…A terrific matchup, where Tony Longoria vs. Allen Iverson will be amazing, the big fundamental vs. Cambyland will match up the best big against the probable defensive player of the year and where the very annoying Bruce Bowen will have to contend with Mr. Slap-happy himself, Carmelo Anthony…Spurs are better team., but this one will be close…

Here are a couple of good playoff previews…

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/specials/playoffs/2007/04/19/east/index.html

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/specials/playoffs/2007/04/19/west.first.round/index.html

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2007/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=2007PlayoffPreview

Random thoughts:

Eric Musselman will be fired in Sacramento by the end of next week…

Kevin McHale will be around for another year and Garnett won’t be traded…

Troy Hudson, Marko Jaric and Mike James will begin whining their way out of Minnesota any minute now…

Rashard Lewis will sign in Charlotte and the Bobcats will trade Adam Morrison and resign Gerald Wallace…

Vince Carter will be a Knick, after the Knicks will also go after Jermaine O’ Neal and Kevin Garnett…

Kiki Vandeweghe will be name Grizzlies GM by end of summer…

Pacers will fire Rick Carlisle and trade Jermaine O’Neal to the Grizz for Pau Gasol…

This story is unbelieveable…

http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/basketball/bulls/all-jordan-apr19-cn,1,7639325.story?coll=cs-home-headlines

Crazy trade rumour for next year…if the Suns don't win it all and if they end up with the No. 4 or No. 5 pick in the draft (via Atlanta) the Suns will trade Amare Stoudemire to Chicago for Luol Deng and Tyrus Thomas…

2007-04-16T09:59:00.001-04:00

Wow…watching Tim Duncan get ejected in the 2nd half last night’s 91-86 Dallas win over San Antonio was unreal…however, the real juice was the comments post-game (which I stole from Marc Stein of ESPN.com’s insider blog) from both Duncan and Crawford:

Duncan on the ejection: "Was I surprised? I was sitting on the bench laughing about a call and he throws me out of the game? Yeah, I was surprised, of course."

Duncan on Crawford: "Joey knew exactly what he was doing. He came into this game with a personal vendetta against me -- it had to be -- because I didn't do anything the entire game. As I said, I said three words to him and the three words were that I got fouled on a shot. There was one shot I took against Dirk. I pump-faked and got hit on the arm and I said, 'Joey, I got hit on the play.' I probably said it again when I came back down the floor and that's all I said to him the entire game."

Duncan on his history with Crawford: "The last game we played against Indiana, I got a tech from him there also. So I kind of imagine it stems from that or whatever. I don't know what his deal is. . . . You'd have to ask him that question, because obviously he's got a problem with me. I don't have a problem with Joey. He's got a problem with me, so that's a question for him."

Duncan on playing in future playoff games reffed by Crawford: "You've got to be aware of it, but I don't know what else they want me to do. If he wants camera time, then he's going to call the techs and he's going to get the camera time he wants. So I don't know what his deal is."

Duncan on fighting: "Joey Crawford came to me and said, 'Hey, do you want to fight?' ... Before he gave me the two technical fouls, he made a call and I was shaking my head, and he walks down and stares at me. He says: 'Do you want to fight? Do you want to fight?' I didn't say anything to him then, either. ... I [know] no reason why in the middle of a game he would yell at me, 'Do you want to fight?'"

Crawford's comments were issued before Duncan's postgame interview. NBA rules generally forbid referees from speaking to the media after games, but there are provisions -- in controversial cases like this one -- to send a pool reporter into the referees' quarters to get an explanation, in most instances on a rules interpretation.

Crawford on the ejection: "He was complaining the whole time. And then he went over to the bench and he was over there doing the same stuff behind our back. I hit him with one [technical] and he kept going over there, laughing, and I look over there and he's still complaining. So I threw him out."

Crawford on giving technicals to someone sitting on the bench: "He's complaining. He was constantly complaining. He was complaining when he was on the court. Then he got on the bench and kept doing the same stuff. So I just ejected him."

Crawford on Duncan's contention that he said nothing to warrant two technicals: "That's his opinion. He said nothing when he was walking off the court and he called me a piece of [blank]? Is that nothing?"

2007-04-11T09:15:00.000-04:00

In the wake of the Gators NCAA tourney win there’s been a lot of chatter about how they’re one of the best teams of all-time…OK…I guess that makes me think, are they better than any of these teams? Well, let’s just assume they are NOT better than any of John Wooden’s teams at UCLA which featured Gail Goodrich, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Walton, all three of which are Hall of Famers and which won 10 of 12 NCAA titles from 1964 to 1975…so, sticking to teams from 1980 onwards (approximately when I became basketball aware) are they better than the last team to repeat, that being the Duke team than won the 1991 and 1992 championship? Nope…Laettner, Hurley, Grant and Thomas Hill, Brian Davis, Antonio Lang, Billy McCaffrey are better than the Gators…are they better than the 1990 UNLV championship team? Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Anderson Hunt, Greg Anthony, David Butler, Moses Scurry are better than the Gators, and this team destroyed the same Duke team (minus freshman Grant Hill) in the final…are they better than the 1989 NCAA Champ Michigan Wolverines? Glen Rice, Rumeal Robinson, Terry Mills, Sean Higgins, Loy Vaught are better than the Gators…are they better than the 1984 Georgetown Hoyas? Patrick Ewing, David Wingate, Reggie Williams, Michael Graham, Michael Jackson are about even, or slightly less talented…so there you go, I’ve picked out at least 3 teams in the last 27 years that are better than these current Gators…so settle down folks, they’re good, but not all-time good…

While were in college, with Billy Gillespie taking the Kentucky job, I cannot understand that everyone seems to think Tubby Smith underachieved at Kentucky…In the 10 years Tubby Smith was coach of the Wildcats here’s what they accomplished:

Record: 263-83
1998 national championship
five SEC titles and five SEC tournament titles.
Average of 26 wins per season
10 straight NCAA Tournament appearances
three Elite Eights and three more Sweet 16s

You can’t help thinking that if Tubby was a white guy he’d be coaching there the rest of his life…

Speaking of college coaches, here’s the couching carousel…

School Out Years Record In
Kansas State Bob Huggins 1 23 Frank Martin
Texas A&M Billy Gillispie 3 70-26 Mark Turgeon
Utah Ray Giacoletti 3 54-39 Jim Boylen
Georgia State Michael Perry 4 62-75 Rod Barnes
Illinois State Porter Moser 4 51-67 Tim Jankovich
Marshall Ron Jirsa 4 43-74 Donnie Jones
South Florida Robert McCullum 4 40-76 Stan Heath
St. Bona. Anthony Solomon 4 24-88 Mark Schmidt
Arkansas Stan Heath 5 82-71 John Pelphrey
Evansville Steve Merfeld 5 54-91 Marty Simmons
Liberty Randy Dunton 5 66-85 Ritchie McKay
Long Beach St. Larry Reynolds 5 63-83 Dan Monson
New Mexico Ritchie McKay 5 82-69 Steve Alford
Radford Byron Samuels 5 58-87 Brad Greenberg
West Virginia John Beilein 5 104-60 Bob Huggins
Butler Todd Lickliter 6 131-61 Brad Stevens
Denver Terry Carroll 6 79-99 Joe Scott
Drake Tom Davis 6 54-66 Keno Davis
Michigan Tommy Amaker 6 109-83 John Beilein
North Dak.St. Tim Miles 6 99-71 Saul Phillips
N. Illinois Rob Judson 6 74-101 Ricardo Patton
Binghamton Al Walker 7 92-108 Kevin Broadus
Colorado State Dale Layer 7 103-106Tim Miles
Iowa Steve Alford 8 152-106Todd Lickliter
Minnesota Dan Monson 8 118-106Tubby Smith
Iona Jeff Ruland 9 139-135Kevin Willard
Wyoming Steve McClain 9 157-115Heath Schroyer
Bowling Green Dan Dakich 10 156-140Louis Orr
Indiana State Royce Waltman 10 134-164Kevin McKenna
Kentucky Tubby Smith 10 263-83 Billy Gillispie
Colorado Ricardo Patton 11 184-160Jeff Bzdelik
Quinnipiac Joe DeSantis 11 118-188Tom Moore
San Diego Brad Holland 13 200-176Bill Grier
Southern Utah Bill Evans 15 209-223Roger Reid

I know there’s a lot of hand wringing about how the Eastern conference is inferior, but the Raptors record of 45-33, which is good for 3rd in the East, would be good for 6th in the West behind Dallas, Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston and Utah…before this season started, if I told you that the Raptors would have a record good enough to be 6th in the West, you would have thought me delusional…

Great quote from Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, on the precipitous decline of Lakers centre Andrew Bynum: “I don't know. I didn't have that problem…This is probably his fourth or fifth year in competitive basketball. My fifth year of competitive basketball was the eighth grade. He's got to learn a lot on the fly and that's tough. I don't envy him. I think Andrew wants everything to work and unless it works, he's not going to try, so he's become very tentative." In other words, Bynum needs to get his ass to work…

Quick link here about Anthony Parker’s great season with the Raps…

http://cbs.sportsline.com/nba/story/10119588
Good article on the international draft prospects for this year’s draft…

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/chris_ekstrand/04/02/international.prospects/index.html

2007-04-03T10:57:00.000-04:00

AD...overlooked again...

Florida beat Ohio State 84-75 in a game that was never really close…Greg Oden was phenomenal scoring 25 points (on 10-of-15 from the field), with 12 boards and had four blocks in 38 minutes, but it was not enough to match the balanced attack of the Gators (6 players with at least 8 points)…plus the Buckeyes could not hit anything (4-of-23) from 3-point range, while the Gators hit nearly everything (22-of-25 from the free throw line…some interesting additional notes from the post game NCAA press release:

The Florida starting lineup of Corey Brewer, Joakim Noah, Al Horford, Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey is the first starting five to repeat as national champions.

Florida guard Humphrey connected on 4-of-7 3-pointers against Ohio State, extending his NCAA Tournament career record for made 3s to 47. The previous mark was 42 by Duke's Bobby Hurley. In his four career Final Four games, Humphrey shot 18-of-32 (56.3 percent) from 3-point range.

Horford (18 points), Green (16), Humphrey (14) and Brewer (13) scored in double figures for Florida, marking the second straight national title game in which four Gators had at least 10 points. In 2006, Brewer, Horford, Humphrey and Noah were all in double figures.

In the two title-game victories, Florida held UCLA (2006) and Ohio State (2007) to a combined 7-of-40 (17.5 percent) from 3-point range. The team with the higher 3-point field goal percentage is 17-4 in title

Oh my…the Hall of Fame is once again the Hall of Shame…seriously, the game is about a lot of things, but primarily it’s about the players…and yet, when this years list of the new HOF’s was announced yesterday, there was nary a player in sight…Look, Phil Jackson (nine NBA titles, including three separate three-peats) is a no-brainer…the 1966 NCAA champion Texas Western team is a good selection (although the Loyola of Chicago team the year before had 4 black starters, but I digress)… Roy Williams as a kind of a lifetime achievement award is a stretch (only 1 title and several masterful choke jobs in the Tourney), and you can slot four-time WNBA championship coach Van Chancellor, international coaches Pedro Ferrandiz of Spain and Mirko Novosel of Yugoslavia into the category of “Whatever” and longtime NBA Referee Mendy Rudolph into the must get guys with odd first names into the Hall…thanks god annoying mouthpiece Dick Vitale and longtime NCAA cheat coach Eddie “the Emory Envelope” Sutton did not get in…meanwhile, deserving players like Adrian Dantley, Artis Gilmore and Bernard King did not get in…I could prattle on endlessly, but ESPN.com columnist Ken Shouler does a great job of it here:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=shouler_ken&id=2822048&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos2

and here

http://proxy.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?id=2394981

Don’t look now, but Yao Ming’s leg is feeling better…In his first 15 games since returning from his broken leg, the 7’5” center is averaging 31 points and 10 rebounds while leading them to a 11-4 record…

Talking with a friend about who the most impressive Raptor has been this season…I think you have to pick the coach, Sam Mitchell…after starting the season 13-19, the Raptors have gone 28-13 and Mitchell’s ability to motivate and juggle a lineup where his best players have been out with injuries has been nothing short of remarkable…to wit, aside from Rasho Nesterovic, four of the Raptors starters have missed 6 games or more this season…Chris Bosh, the Raps top score and rebounder missed 12 games, but the Raptors went 6-6…T.J. Ford, the Raps leading assist man, missed 7 games, and Toronto was 4-3 without him…The Raptors were 4-4 Anthony Parker, 5-1 without Jorge Garbajosa, and even 6-3 without Andrea Bargnani…simply a masterful job from a coach who’s come a long way from challenging Reefer Alston to a fistfight in the locker room…

2007-04-02T10:31:00.000-04:00

Phi Slamma Jamma...

OK…so I thought Jeff Green would show up in G-Town’s 67-60 loss to Ohio State, being the Hoyas best player an all…apparently not…in the end it was too much Mike Conley Hr. as the little Buckeye PG scored 15 points on 7-for-12 from the floor with 5 boards and 6 assists…he was at his best in the first half with Oden glues to the pine with foul trouble, scoring 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting…the vaunted Oden-Hibbert matchup added up like this: Oden 13 points and 9…Hibbert 19 points and 6 rebounds…however, Oden had the play of the night with a ridiculous dunk attempts with about 6½ minutes left….he basically broad-jumped about 2 feet inside the foul line, with his right hand cocked WAY behind his head, and tried to dunk over Jeff Green with the ball hitting back of the rim, but Green getting called for a blocking foul…

As for Florida’s 76-66 win over UCLA, they were too big, too good and too timely…too big: Noah and Horford both drew a lot of attention inside and then passed out to open shooters all night...plus big man Chris Richard went 7-7 for 16 points…too good: Gators best player, SF Corey Brewer finished with 19 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including 4-for-5 on 3-pointers, while harassing UCLA’s best player, SG Aaron Afflalo into a 17 point, 5-14 shooting night and 5 fouls…too timely: with a 29-23 at the half, the Gators hit 4 threes in the first 7 minutes of the second half, three of those by SG Lee Humphrey to sprint ahead to 47-30 with 13:20 to go…

Tonight? In a rematch of the NCAA football championship, albeit with the script flipped (meaning Florida is the favourite now…duh) the questions will be:

Can Greg Oden stay out of foul trouble? Oden played a total of 161 seconds in the first half against Georgetown…in fact in his last three tournament games he's logged only 18, 24 and 20 minutes of court time respectively…Florida has three bigs in Noah, Al Horford and Chris Richard that will all pressure Oden on both offence and defence…in order for the Buckeyes to have a chance to win, Oden must play at least 30 minutes…

Will history matter? On Dec. 23 in Gainesville, Florida blew open a very close game with a 31-7 run, during which the Buckeyes panicked, towards winning 86-60…

Will Florida’s guards be better? In the abovementioned December matchup PG Taurean Green scored 24 points on 9-for-12 shooting (with four threes) with Brewer (18 points on 7-for-13), and Humphrey (12 points, two 3-pointers) making tremendous contributions…meanwhile, OSU PG Mike Conley Jr. is all world right now, averaging 18 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals per game in the tourney…while SG Ron Lewis is averaging 21 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal…although…

Corey Brewer vs. Ron Lewis? After making Aaron Afflalo disappear can Brewer do the same to Lewis? The 6-foot-4 Lewis shoots poorly against bigger defenders such as Georgetown's 6-foot-8 DaJuan Summers, who blanketed him on Saturday as well as the 6-foot-9 Brewer, who harrased him into a 3-10 for 9 points in their last matchup in December…

Is Florida due for a stinker? Remember, the Buckeyes have won 22 straight dating back to January 9th, while a little over a month ago, Florida crapped the bed by 10 points against both LSU and Tennessee…and a little over a week ago, they almost spit the bit to Butler…

I’m going with the Gators, who are too experienced and really rolling right now…make it Florida 84, OSU 79 with Corey Brewer as the MOP…

Terrific April Fools Day joke here by Suns owner Robert Sarver who called Suns coach Mike D'Antoni on his cell phone yesterday morning indicating that after Nash and Nowitzki went out to dinner Saturday night, Nash was arrested for DUI and needed to be bailed out…apparently he had D'Antoni going for a minute or two before he realized what day it was…

The Raptors are in the playoffs for the first time in 5 years and that’s no April fools…

Wow….Pacers PF (playing C, but only because Jermaine O’Neal is too chicken to play it) Ike Diogu went for 18 points and 13 rebounds in 32 minutes in a 100-99 win over the visiting Spurs…

Interesting story on who graduates their players and who doesn’t…

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/03/post_61.html

Given the Hall of Fame inductees will be announced today, good article here about which current players should get in…

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/marty_burns/03/30/hall.worthy/index.html

Great story (thanks for the forward Noel), and you MUST PLAY THE VIDEO…Drexler’s dunk over the guy from Memphis is out of this world…

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=jamfest83&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

Mike Freeman has clearly lost his mind…

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10102396

2007-03-30T14:45:00.000-04:00

Couple of good links...

Carter sucks...
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/basketball/nba/03/29/bobcats.carter/index.html

Good highlights
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/ivp/index?id=2818481

Great comparison...
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-22-143/Tex-Winter-Compares-Kobe-Bryant-and-Michael-Jordan.html

Looks like Kevin Willis is about to ride the Mavericks bench to a title…

Reporter question: “So Donnie (Nelson, Mavs GM), how did Kevin Willis look in today’s workout?”

Answer: "He looked good. Body wise, he still looks like he's in his young 30s. We came away pretty impressed…”

Ah the Final Four…

Ohio State vs. Georgetown

Ohio State is good because…Senior SG Ron Lewis is clutch saving the Buckeyes twice in the final seconds in this year’s NCAAs…Freshman point guard Mike Conley Jr., who is averaging 11.0 ppg and 6.1 apg is the best athlete, best decision maker and best PG left in the final four…C Greg Oden (15.4 ppg, 9.5 rpg) is a defensive menace, with long arms and excellent athleticism, blocking or changing every shot within 10-12 feet of the basket, plus he’s a terrific help side defender and has a mean streak to boot…they are a team who can push tempo, make threes and score inside on drives to the basket…they change ends quickly, this sounds rudimentary, but they capitalize on turnovers or missed baskets well, especially Oden who runs very well for a 7 footer…

Ohio State struggles because…Oden gets in foul trouble and is a rudimentary offensive player, shooting a flat jump hook or dunking is the extent of his offensive repertoire…as a team the Buckeyes can go cold from the perimeter, which means defences pack it in against them…they do not have an in-between game, which could help space the floor…they are an average defensive team outside of Oden…they do not rebound as well as they should considering how athletic they are…

Ohio State X Factor…Ron Lewis…if he’s making threes, Ohio State will force Georgetown to guard more open space and open up drives to the basket, plus the younger players seem to feed off of his confidence…

Ohio State Coaching…I like Thad Matta’s ability to make adjustments…his teams are prepared, but do not always execute consistently, especially this one, mostly because of their youth…Matta will have to be prepared, because G-Town will change up defences a lot and the Hybrid Princeton is very hard to guard the first time your players see it…

Georgetown is good because…Jeff Green, who plays the point forward position in G-Town’s hybrid Princeton Offence (14.4 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 3.2 apg) is the team's best everything…passer, post scorer, defender and rebounder, he’s the New Jack Scottie Pippen…he’s just a winner who makes plays…C Roy Hibbert, at 7’2” (12.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg) is the first actual peer Oden has ever faced…Hibbert has learned to be a perfect position player on defence, playing with his hands up, showing exceptional footwork for a guy who is really only an average athlete, and not committing silly fouls…on offence he can roll to the basket into a classic hook with either hand, drop step to both sides and uses his size (and bulk) much better than Oden and he’s an excellent interior passer both in the high and low post…in short he more schooled and much more experienced…Guards’ Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp supply shooting and strong drives to the hoop respectively…and more importantly do not take bad shots…as a team the Hoyas allowed opponents to score just 56.9 points per game this season, which ranked then fifth in the nation…

Georgetown struggles because…Hibbert does not change ends well in transition, Oden (well actually so could my sister) can outrun him all day…Rivers off the bench is turnover prone…foul trouble can plague strong defensive teams like G-Town…

Georgetown X Factor…while freshman DaJuan Summers is the trendy pick (probably their best athlete and when he scores well, they win), Patrick Ewing Jr. is the hustle guy, who brings tremendous energy to a team that is very controlled and focused on executing…if Ewing Jr. is making all the “little” plays, than that frees Green and Hibbert up for the big plays…

Georgetown Coaching…John Thompson III has his team playing the Hybrid Princeton offence to perfection…they defend well, and are committed to help side defence and switching on every player but the opposing C…they mix zones well with their man to man defensively…they execute better than any team in the nation…

Prediction…it’s very hard to play G-Town well the first time…today’s player is simply not used to a team that screens up high and cuts backdoor on EVERY possession…in the second half and overtime of the UNC game, the Tar Heel players were looking over their (sore) shoulders for the screener instead of focusing on the man they were guarding and the Hoyas executed their offence in overtime to perfection, outscoring the Heels 13-3…plus G-Town forces tempo so well…if they could slow down UNC, the fastest team in the nation, they can certainly slow down Ohio State… Oden clearly a better athlete than Hibbert and if he turns to face him up with a hard dribble drive, instead of posting him, he could destroy him for sure, same if Ohio State is able to run and make Hibbert chase Oden in transition…however, in the end, I think Georgetown will dictate tempo, execute on offence and win the game…make it G-Town 72, OSU 69

Florida vs. UCLA

Florida is good because…everyone can handle the ball…this might be the best overall ball-handling team since the 1989 Illinois tournament team…Taurean Green is a streaky shooter but can heat up fast (13.3 ppg, 3.6 apg)…Lee Humphrey can really shoot it an takes mostly good shots…Al Horford (13.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg) is a man amongst boys, using his Anthony Mason-esque game to dominate inside…Joakim Noah (12.2 ppg, 8.5 rpg) is like Mikki-Moore on crack, all manic energy and hustle, although he is very limited offensively…Corey Brewer is their best on the ball defender and can score in the mid-range, a rarity in the NCAA…Florida defends out to 25 feet with all 5 players…as a team they mix well on offence, with anybody being able to contribute 30 points on any given night…they are terrific rebounders, averaging 15.8 more boards per game than opponents through this year’s tourney…

Florida struggles because…they turn the ball over like crazy, with the Gators have turned the ball over 96 times in the tourney, and have forced only 77 turnovers…they do not pass well out of the double team, especially in the post where Horford is a turnover waiting to happen when doubled…

Florida X Factor…Corey Brewer’s defence on Aaron Afflalo…if Brewer makes Afflalo disappear, the Gators will win…period…

Florida Coaching…Billy Donovan has had another great year, however, in the loss to Vanderbilt, he was out-coached by Commodores coach Kevin Stallings who exploited the Gators with a lot of zone, closing out on the perimeter shooters, but leaving the bigs alone if they were outside of 8 feet, exposing that Noah and Horford are not great shooters facing up….Donovan will have these guys prepared, and they’ve been there before…

UCLA is good because…they play defence and can lock you down inside and out…they have great guards in Aaron Afflalo (16.9 ppg) who is as tough a guard (think Bobby Phills) as they come, a good scorer from anywhere, and very strong going to the basket, while Darrin Collison (12.8 ppg, 5.7 apg, 50% FG, 46% 3ptFG, 80% FT) is truly a remarkable player who combines his tremendous efficiency and speed with very strong on the ball defence and hawking in the passing lanes…in the post, Lorenzo Mata, Lu Richard Mbah a Moute and Alfred Aboya are all long, tough defensive players and excellent rebounders, especially on the offensive glass…

UCLA struggles because…the bigs are not scorers….Mata and Aboya’s hands leave something to be desired, while Mbah a Moute has regressed, reportedly from sore knees…Afflalo and Josh Shipp can go cold, and when they do there is nobody to pick up the slack…as a team they did well upping the tempo a little bit vs. Kansas, but generally like to slow it down…so when get sucked into a faster tempo, they end up being exposed as a very unbalanced scoring team…Collison sometimes gets impatient with his teammates who sometimes cannot keep up on the break because he is so fast…

UCLA X Factor…SF Josh Shipp, who sat out last season's NCAA tournament with a hip injury, is the glue guy and third scorer (13.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg) who can create his own shot and score in the midrange…with Brewer on Afflalo, either Humphries or Green will have to guard him, which is a mismatch, since he’s too big and strong for either…

UCLA Coaching…Ben Howland is a defensive coach at heart and has instilled the bruising, Big East-coast, defensive, ball control style he had success with at Pitt…he has never had a better defensive team at every position…he will need to use his timeouts judiciously to slow down any lf those patented Florida scoring sprees, but his team is experienced and eager to erase the memory of last year’s title game loss…

Prediction…My head says Florida is more talented, faster, and returns everyone from the squad that won it all last year…My heart loves an upset and thinks UCLA will be tougher, grittier and get a superlative performance from Afflalo, or even a wildcard performance from Mbah a Moute…my head wins, with Florida being too much for UCLA, which is a shame cause I’m really getting sick of all that poncey fist pumping from Noah…call it Florida 77, UCLA 62

2007-03-29T09:59:00.000-04:00

Oh Michael Ray...what were you thinking...

Well, a few days after the Raptors sh_t the bed in a loss to the Celtics and in the process lost their glue guy, Jorge Garbajosa, to a devastating leg injury, they come up with a huge win last night at home beating Miami at home 96-83…the Raps were especially impressive because:

Chris Bosh only had 13 points and 17 rebounds…Bosh has now passed Kendra Davis as the all time leader in double doubles with 111…

Anthony Parker, who with Bargniani and Garbo out is the key as a scorer, had 20 points for Raptors

Toronto out-rebounded Miami 53-35…which is ridiculous…

The Raps shot 46 percent from the floor…

Afterwards, Shaq was not happy: ''Our problem is we're all shooting and we just keep shooting instead of mixing it up and going to the hole. I don't have to tell them, we should know. The Spurs know it, the Mavericks know it, so we should know it.''

Interesting press release from Starbury shoes: “Four-time NBA All-Star Ben Wallace is best known for a strong work ethic that has resulted in four Defensive Player of the Year awards, multiple NBA rebounding titles, and an NBA blocked shots title. With today's announcement that the Chicago Bulls center is the first athlete endorser of Starbury, he will put that legendary work ethic to use on and off the court by helping get kids and parents to join the Starbury Movement. Wallace - aka Big Ben - will wear Starbury basketball shoes on-court this season. Wallace's Big Ben signature Starbury sneaker is currently being designed and will debut next season during Wallace's games.”

Fantastic matchup of young wing players last night in the Bobcats 101-97 win over the Hawks…’Cats SF Gerald Wallace goes for 31 points on 12-of-16 from the floor, 9 rebounds, 4 blocks and 4 steals…while Hawks SF Josh Smith had 25 points, 15 boards and 6 blocks…

Everybody knows the Knicks are spending a lot of money for a very mediocre team, but check the numbers on how much they are spending on guys who don’t even play for them anymore: Jalen Rose - $14.6 million, Maurice Taylor - $7.5 million, Shandon Anderson - $7.2 million, Jerome Williams, - $7.0 million…that’s $36.3 million in total, which would be 50% or more of the total payroll spending of 26 of the NBA’s 30 teams…which is ridiculous…

Speaking of NBA Salary, the bigger you are, the better the gig…from USAToday.com the average NBA salary by position:

Point guard $3,672,966
Shooting guard $4,504,900
Small forward $3,767,771
Power forward $4,273,758
Center $4,666,934

Watched the McDonald’s All-America game last night, and it was a different game tan usual, as guys actually defended a little bit and it ended on a missed O.J. Mayo game-winning 3-point attempt in the final seconds…Michael Beasley, who’s off to play for Coach Hugging at Kansas State, scored 23 points for the West and was named the Most Valuable Player….Mayo was booed in pre-game intros, and the crowd chanted “O-ver-ra-ted (…clap, clap, clap-clap-clap)” for most of the time he was on the floor…Mayo pretended not to notice, but he missed six of his first seven attempts and finished with 12 points on 4-of-17 shooting….of course, he was often double-teamed…Oregon-born PF Kevin Love had 13 points and six rebounds for the West…Love, who is bound for UCLA, was my favourite player, a true post player with terrific hands and feet and a wonderful passer out of either the high or low post…

Oh my goodness…Former NBA All-Star Michael Ray Richardson has come a long way from his lifetime suspension from the NBA in 1986 for drug use. Richarson has been coaching in the CBA and is currently got his team, the Albany Patroons, in the playoffs…however, the team has suspended Richardson for the rest of the year for these comments he made to reporters who had asked him about his contract: "I've got big-time lawyers," Richardson said, according to the Times Union. "I've got big-time Jew lawyers.” When told by the reporters that the comment could be offensive to people because it plays to the stereotype that Jews are crafty and shrewd, he responded with, "Are you kidding me? They are. They've got the best security system in the world. Have you ever been to an airport in Tel Aviv? They're real crafty. Listen, they are hated all over the world, so they've got to be crafty. They got a lot of power in this world, you know what I mean? Which I think is great. I don't think there's nothing wrong with it. If you look in most professional sports, they're run by Jewish people. If you look at a lot of most successful corporations and stuff, more businesses, they're run by Jewish. It's not a knock, but they are some crafty people." Wow…ignorant? Yes…Prejudiced? Yes…Mean-spirited? Not sure…but considering how hard Richardson has worked to come back from the brink of disaster, very unfortunate…

Crazy rumour that just may be right: Pat Riley will step down after this season and be replaced by…Florida Gators coach Billy Donovan…wow…not saying it’s true, but if they win the NCAA title again, what else does he have to prove as a college coach? Not to mention his incoming recruiting class is not in the top 10…

In the category of weird…44 year old former Raptor (former everything if I remember correctly) Kevin Willis and his little dinosaur arms are going to work out for the Mavs today…

Word on the street (I hate that expression, but I really did talk to someone who knows on the sidewalk, which is close to the street…) is that Dirk’s Ankle injury is a lot worse than the Mavs are letting on…

In the category of very weird…Iowa has asked Tennessee permission to interview coach Bruce Pearl to fill the coaching vacancy created by the departure of Steve Alford to New Mexico. Why is this very weird? Think back to years ago when Pearl was working as an assistant at Iowa…Pearl was vilified for years in coaching circles for taping a telephone conversation with a potential recruit…on tape the kid alleged that (former) Illinois assistant Jimmy Collins offered him cash and cars to come to Illinois…at the time it was thought that Pearl had violated some sort of code amongst coaches and that he would never get a job as a coach because of it…strange now that he would even consider going back…

Interesting links:

Great article from Peter May of the Boston Globe on Garbo…pre-injury… http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/articles/2007/03/25/melting_pot_team_has_raptors_cooking/?page=full

Andy Katz of ESPN.com on the Oden-Hibbert Matchup… http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney07/columns/story?columnist=katz_andy&id=2815442&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1

Krista Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press with a great article on Pistons strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander…

http://freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070328/SPORTS03/703280326/1051

Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star thinks Garbo’s a tough guy…

http://www.thestar.com/Sports/article/197269

2007-03-26T11:42:00.000-04:00

My favourite game of the weekend was Georgetown’s 96-84 win over UNC…some observations:

With all the hype surrounding the Tar Heel guards it was Georgetown's backcourt of Jonathan Wallace and Jessie Sapp that played like stars, combining for 34 points (12-of-20 FG) and 15 assists (with only three turnovers) including the “dagger” three by Wallace that sent the game into OT…Carolina's vaunted starting guards, Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson, shot 4-of-20 and finished with 10 points combined…

Georgetown went to a 2-3 zone which Carolina could not do anything with…heck, with all of those McDonald’s high school All-Americans the only guy who can hit the 3 is Wes Miller…a former walk-on who transferred James Madison….

Jeff Green will be a terrific NBA player, he is the most well rounded player since Shane Battier, and a much better athlete…nuff said…

The Hoyas outscored the Tar Heels 15-3 during the overtime period…in fact the Tar Heels are now 0-7 in overtime games this year…why? Because they play such a flexible offence, and in OT you need to execute set plays, not have freshmen make decision or have options…The Hoyas just continued to run their offence, back screening and cutting to the basket exactly as they did at any point during the game…

The Hoyas are balanced…All five Georgetown starters scored at least 13 points….

Other game notes:

I wonder if Tigers C Joey Dorsey has completed his meal of crow…before the game with Ohio State Dorsey said, "This is the game I wanted…Oden is overrated as a big man...and he might be as good as Joey Dorsey…I think it's going to be David versus Goliath." So how did it work out? Oden went 7 of 8 from the field for 17 points, 9 rebounds, and 1 block all against Dorsey in the Buckeye’s 92-76 win over Memphis….Dorsey finished with 0 points, 3 rebounds and 4 fouls…he left the game with 3:47 remaining and Memphis down by 10 never to return…

Oh boy…Tajuan Porter scored only 10 points on 2-for-12 in Oregon’s 84-77…this on the heels of his 33-point performance in the Ducks' regional semifinal win over UNLV on Friday…and can anyone guard Taurean Green and Lee Humphrey? Humphrey scored 23 points and 7-of-13 long-distance shooting, while Green had 21 points on 4-of-8 three-point shooting

Randolph Morris is a New York Knick…the Raps tried to sign him…Morris is the first player to go from playing in the NCAA Tournament to being on an NBA roster in the same week. The 6-foot-11, 260-pound Morris originally declared for the 2005 draft but was not taken and had not signed with an agent. He returned to school and played two more seasons as a free agent who was ineligible to be drafted. Morris averaged 16.1 points and shot 59 percent from the field this season for Kentucky.

If you haven’t noticed, Kobe Bryant has lost his mind lately, leading the Lakers to 5 straight wins while averaging 53.6 PPG on 91-173 or 53% from the floor, 21-44 or 48% from three and 65-71 or 92% from the free throw line…which is bananas…of course for perspective, in 1962 Wilt Chamberlain averaged 50.4 PPG for an ENTIRE SEASON…

Huh? http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/144157.html

In case you didn’t notice, in 34 games with the Nuggets, Iverson is averaging 26.3 points on 45.4 percent shooting to go along with 7.4 assists since he moved to Denver…

2007-03-22T15:55:00.000-04:00

Well, as the tournament continues, here’s how I see the next round shaking out:

Thursday, March 22

West

No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 4 So. Illinois 7:10 p.m.

The Jayhawks have now won 13 in a row…they hit 60.5 percent of their threes (23 of 38) against Niagara and Kentucky in the first two rounds…they are long, fast, athletic and have multiple scorers, however they only shoot 66% from the free throw line…the Salukis are the best defensive team in the nation…they held Holy Cross and Virginia Tech to an average of 49.5 points in the first two rounds…however, if Jamaal Tatum has an off shooting game, SIU suffers, as he is their only perimeter scorer…it’s a matchup of offence vs. defence on paper, but in fact the Jayhawks play pretty good D themselves and will limit the Salukis scoring opportunities just enough…I see it KU 68, SIU 61

No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 3 Pitt 9:40 p.m.

UCLA is a terrific defensive team, especially closing out on shooters, evidenced by their holding Indiana to 13 1st half points…however, their scoring has been spotty, they are poor foul shooters (66%) and they have no player taller than 6’9”…Pitt is big, tough and balanced…centre Aaron Gray is 7 feet and 280 lbs. and should dominate the smaller Bruins…they love to pass, having led the Big East in assists…however, they are prone to blowing big leads (a 19 point lead blown in the 2nd round against VCU) and have a bit of a rep for not being up for big games…I see Pitt’s size and strength being the difference because both teams play essentially at the same tempo…Pitt 74, UCLA 71

South

No. 2 Memphis vs. No. 3 Texas A&M 7:27 p.m.

The Tigers are very deep and very talented and were not challenged in the first two rounds by North Texas and Nevada…they play fast, defend hard and aver very fast and athletic…they are not good decision makers at the PG spot and often caught late in the shot clock wondering what to do…their go to player, SG Chris Douglas-Roberts has a sprained ankle…Aggies PG Acie Law is the New-Jack Sam Cassell, with the skills and the nuts to take and make any shot when it counts…plus playing in San Antonio (only three hours from College Station) will be a home game for them…I see a close game, but the long arm of the Law takes over in the final minutes…make it Texas A & M 81, Memphis 79

No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 5 Tennessee 9:57 p.m.

The Buckeye’s are big (Oden) and fast (Conley) but VERY vulnerable…if Ron Lewis does not make a ridiculous 25-foot three with a hand in his face, they lose to Xavier…Oden has not shown good decision making as a passer out of the double team…Thad Matta will have to make adjustments on offence in order to get good looks for his shooters, because Tennessee will pack it in on Oden…the Vols have one of the great shooters in the country in Chris Lofton, who has in-the-gym range…Vols are small, with former PG Dane Bradshaw (6’4”) playing the 4 spot in some sets…I see Ohio State being a little too big and too talented…call it Ohio State 79, Tennessee 73

Friday, March 23

Midwest

No. 1 Florida vs. No. 5 Butler 7:10 p.m.

The Gators, the reigning NCAA champs, have looked a little disinterested so far, especially centre Joakim Noah, who has been very ineffective through the first two rounds…however, this team has 3 guys who will be 1st round draft picks (Noah, Horford, Brewer) and 2 other starters who will play in the NBA (Green and Humphrey) so there is talent to burn…However, the Gators have put themselves in a 1st half hole twice in the tourney going 14-of-31 from the field in the first half against Jackson State and 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) and trailing 31-29 to Purdue at the break…the Bulldogs are right out of Hoosier’ central casting, in fact their home gym, the Winkle Fieldhouse, was in the actual movie…No active player stands taller than 6-foot-7, and PG Graves, their best player generously listed at 6-1 and 155 pounds…the advantage Butler has is that they execute better than any team in the nation…they commit the nation's fewest turnovers at 9.5/game, rank 7TH in free-throw shooting at 76%, 5th in scoring defence at 56.9 points per game allowed and 17th in threes with 9/game…however, Butler does not play anyone over 6’7”, so I think Florida’s size and speed will overwhelm them…Florida 78, Butler 72

No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 7 UNLV 9:40 p.m.

The Ducks have great guards including the most clutch player in all of college basketball in guard Aaron Brooks who has scored the game-winning or tying points in the final minute or in overtime six times this season and little (5’6”) TaJuan Porter who had 61 points in 3 games of the PAC-10 tournament and was named MVP…they have 2 other G/F’s that can score in Bryce Taylor and Malik Hairston…the 4 guard offence means they attack off the dribble constantly, run the floor with abandon, all while taking very good care of the ball (12.6 turnovers/game)…the Rebels have the psychic connection of the father-son coach-PG connection with Lon Kruger and his kid Kevin Kruger…athletic wings Wendell White and Wink Adams play in your pocket D and are always get the ball in good scoring position from Kruger…So it’s UNLV’s D vs. Oregon’s O…I think that UNLV, who is the much hotter team (they’ve won 9 of their last 10) takes it…UNLV 83, Oregon 77

East

No. 2 Georgetown vs. No. 6 Vanderbilt 7:27 p.m.

Georgetown is white hot having won 17 of its last 18 heading…the Hoyas also beat Vandy 86-70 earlier this season…for G-town it’s all about ball control, rebounding and defence…oh and centre Roy Hibbert who is a 7’2” shot blocker supreme…and SF Jeff Green who is a Scottie Pippen-esque player and a winner who can do everything and anything it takes to win…Vandy has Derrick Byars and Shan Foster (both top 10 in the SEC in scoring) who both lit up Florida earlier in the year…however, the Commodores do not rebound well, which is what Georgetown does better than anyone else…I think it’s a blowout…call it Georgetown 78, Vanderbilt 54

No. 1 North Carolina vs. No. 5 USC 9:57 p.m.

North Carolina runs the devastating secondary break and is the best team in the nation at capitalizing on turnovers, with lightning quick guard Ty Lawson running the secondary break (sometimes by himself) to perfection…Tyler Hansborough had a monster game against Michigan State last round with 33 points and 16 rebounds and Rayshawn Terry and Julian Wright give the Heels lots of length inside…so they’re fast and long…the Trojans are very balanced with scoring and defence coming in equal parts from PG Gabe Pruitt, SG Nick Young and PF Taj Gibson…they play terrific defence, having let Texas phenow Kevin Durant do his thing, but shacking the rest of the Longhorns in a 87-68 drubbing in the last round…so is that what they do here? I think so…here’s your upset with USC 80, UNC 79…

I’ll preview the Elite 8 on Saturday…

Here’s a bunch of interesting articles I found about how coaches make themselves more money by having good tournaments:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/19/sports/19vandy.html?_r=1&em&ex=1174449600&en=6aa7d8854a12c617&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/mensbasketball/tourney07/2007-03-20-coaches-incentives_N.htm

http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/10071660

http://msn.foxsports.com/cbk/story/6591198

2007-03-19T10:23:00.001-04:00

Wow…great tourney so far…I had 20 brackets and as of today, 18 of them are toast…here are some random thoughts on the 44 hours of NCAA basketball I watched since Thursday’s noon tipoff:

1st 2 days kind of went to form, with favourites emerging victorious in all but these three…

VCU beating Duke was an easy pick…the Dukies can’t dribble and Eric Maynor, VCU’s fabulous PG was top 5 in the nation in steals and HATES Duke, the school he grew up 10 miles away from but did not recruit him…fantastic game with the requisite chippy-ness (Duke has to be one of the all time dirtiest teams) and Maynor draining the winning jumper from 17 feet with 2 seconds left on a little right handed dive dribble and step back to the left move (think MJ’s pet move to go to the his jumper from the top of the key) was classic…

Davidson gave their all against Maryland losing 82-70 with Dell Curry’s kid Stephan going for 30 points and throwing up crazy jump shots ( he hit a three off of 1 foot in the 2nd half!!! It was like Rick Mount-esque) like Vernon Maxwell on his 6th can of Red Bull…

Winthrop beating ND 74-64 was a gimme…the Irish were putrid from the foul line going 4-13 (31%) and disgusting from three going 4-22 (18%)…As for Winthop they out-assisted Notre Dame 20-10 and out-rebounded them 40-32…it was domination…

Louisville obliterates Stanford 78-58 and you know Syracuse, Drexel, Appalachian State and Kansa State are sitting there fuming at being left out of the tournament…

Saturday

Boston College never had a chance in the 62-55 loss to Georgetown that was not as close as the score indicates…for the Hoyas, Roy Hibbert was too much especially in the second half where he scored 15 of his 17 total points, 10 boards and mad a nifty little interior pass to a cutting Patrick Ewing, Jr. for a very nasty reverse dunk in traffic and 1…but the star was forward Jeff Green, who dominated with 11 points, 12 rebounds and 5 blocks, including a ridiculous tip dunk in the second half…Tyrese Rice continued his terrific PG play for BC, contributing 22 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists and BC forward Jared Dudley was his usual steady self with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, but the missing piece was designated shooter Sean Marshal who basically disappeared…

Yawn…UNC beats Michigan State an 81-67 victory continuing its NCAA tournament dominance over the Spartans…UNC is now 4-0 lifetime against Mich. State in the Tournament…UNC PF Tyler Hansborough had a monster game with 33 points and 9 rebounds, but the game was never close…Hansborough might be the most annoying player in all of college basketball with all his yelling and fist pumping every 2 seconds…he;s so annoying, I’m still surprised Duke did not recruit him…

Ohio State survives Xavier 78-71 in overtime but only because Buckeye guard Ron Lewis made a loooooonnnggg three to send the game into overtime and then PG Mike Conley Jr. lost his mind in the overtime Conley dominated the extra period. He scored Ohio State's first seven points, then four free throws in the final 1:03….Super frosh centre Greg Oden fouled out with 9.3 seconds left on a weird bodyslam of Xavier forward Brandon Cole which should have been an intentional foul (2 shots and the ball) but ended up being a 1-1 which Cole making the front end to give Xavier a 61-58 lead with 9.3 seconds left, leaving the door open just a crack for Lewis’ loooonnnng three to tie…

Texas A&M’s 72-69 win over Louisville was the game of the tournament…Cards PG Edgar Sosa was en fuego hitting everything and anything totalling a career-high 31 points…however he missed a pair of free throws with his team down one with 29 seconds left and then missed a potential game-winning three-pointer at the end...the other star of the game, was Texas A&M's All-America point guard Acie Law, who had 26 points and hit 13 of 15 attempts from the line, including the final two at the end to seal the deal…he’s the closest thing to Sam Cassell since, well, Sam Cassell…

Pitt beats tourney darlings VCU 84-79 in OT…VCU’s full-court pressure ignited an amazing 19-point comeback over the last 12 minutes of regulation and sent the game into overtime, but the Panthers went on a 7-2 run to start overtime…Very balanced scoring for Pitt, but Canadian PF Levon Kendall, who fouled out with 3:42 left in overtime, had a terrific all round game with 8 points, 8 boards and 3 blocks, including a highlight real blocked layup in the 2nd half…

Butler beats Maryland by moving the ball, controlling pace and moving the ball via the pass on offence like they’re auditioning for Hoosiers or something…Playing the Role of Jimmy Chitwood was Butler PG AJ Graves who went for 19 points which included 4-9 from three…Maryland needed to hit Free throws to win and they only went 7-15, which in a close, ball control game, sealed the win for Butler…Interesting note, Maryland out-rebounded Butler 36-21, including 14-7 on the offensive boards…

UCLA beats Indiana 54-49 in the most boring game of the year so far, so boring that I watched about 30 seconds of it and flipped to the Food Network…that’s all you need to know, that and UCAL is not as good as they were last year, Pitt should destroy them in the next round…

Now Vandy beating Washington State 78-74 in double OT was a thrilla…for Vanderbilt Derrick Byars and Shan Foster (20points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals) were unstoppable in the 2nd half and OT, combining for 47 points, 27 of them by Byars (also 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block)…the star was Byars, who was 5-of-9 from three-point range, and was so hot in the second half and OT that even a spectacular, game-saving block by Cougars F Ivory Clark of a Byars layup near the end of regulation did not cool off the should have been SEC Player of the Year…Byars made a game-saving left-handed block of his own on a Taylor Rochestie breakaway in the first overtime….

Sunday

UNLV’s 74-68 win over Wisconsin was the battle of the PG’s with Vegas’ Kevin Kruger (coach Lon Kruger’s son) going for 16 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists, while the Badger’s PG Kammron Taylor had 24 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists…Kruger junior shook off a shooting slump, a 1-of-15 in the NCAAs before he hit three straight late in the second half…By the way this was the best free throw shooting NCAA game I’ve ever seen with UNLV going 16-20 (80%...duh) and Wisconsin going 21-27 (78%)…

Kansas rolled past ninth-seed Kentucky 88-76…Kansas was too fast, too deep and too athletic for Kentucky as Julian Wright (21 points, 8 rebounds), Brandon Rush (19 points), Mario Chalmers (16 points, 8 assists) as Kansas led wire to wire, and was up by 20 at one point…the Tubby Smith watch begins now…I predict he’ll be fired by June 1st…

My goodness…nobody wants to play Southern Illinois…The Salukis incredible man to man defense held Virginia Tech to 2-of-13 3-point shooting while going 12-of-21 from three themselves in an easy 63-48 second-round victory over Virginia Tech…how good is the Southern Illinois man defence? They have not played 1 minute of zone all year…wow…

Florida beat a very game Purdue team 74-67 behind Al Horford and Corey Brewer (17 points apiece)…vaunted Florida centre Joakim Noah laid an egg (9 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 blocks) while getting dominated by 6’7” Carl Landry (Purdue's tallest player by the way) who’s 18 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists had Noah looking for an ark…Noah’s whote to the press on Landry:”I give [Landry] a lot of respect…He's a warrior. There was not a single play when he gave up going for the rebound or for the shot. I feel bad for him because I know how hard it is to lose in the tournament." The people that should feel bad are the NBA team that drafts Noah in the top 5 this year…he’s basically Mikki Moore with an uglier jumpshot…listen, when you are an athletic 6’11” and a 6’7” guy is guarding you, you need to call for the ball and back him in…instead Noah spent most of the time on offence counting the animals two by two and not pressing Landry at all…

OK, enough with the Old Testament jokes…

USC destroyed Texas 87-68 …even with Durant going for 30 points and 9 rebounds, the Trojans got a balanced attack with 22 points from Nick Young, 20 points from Daniel Hackett and 17 points and 14 rebounds from Taj Gibson, who was dominant on the boards and also made 9 of 14 free throws…why was this such an easy win for USC? Because other than 20 points from AJ Abrams, nobody else from Texas showed up…

All you need to know about Memphis’ forgettable 78-62 win over Nevada (other than another Nick Fazekas Choke job…I’m telling you he’ll be Matt Bullard in the NBA, but that’s another matter…) is The Tigers came in making only 61 percent of their free throws, which is the worst among all tournament teams and in the bottom 10 of all 336 Division I schools…Memphis went 26-of-34 (76%) from the line in this game, which means they are playing over their heads right now and will crap out for sure in the next round against Texas A&M…

Tennessee beating Virginia 7-74 was all about the Vols PG Chris Lofton…Lofton hit all six of his free throws in the last 27.7 seconds, keeping Tennessee ahead and finishing with 20 points…it was an odd game for Lofton who went 4-of-16 from the field but 9-of-10 on free throws…it was a very tough finish for Virginia with guards J.R. Reynolds (26 points) and Singletary (19 points) playing well, but with Singletary missing an open three at the buzzer to tie…

2007-03-13T09:07:00.001-04:00

Quick Raptors notes before we get to the tournament:

T.J. Ford had 19 points and 9 assists, while Chris Bosh had 26 points and 9 boards as the Raps pelted the Milwaukee Bucks 108-93 victory last night…Ford, who was obviously motivated against his old team, had 12 points and 6 assists in the first quarter...so, for all the doubters how’s that trade going so far this season…Charlie Villaneuva had 1 point in 10 minutes last night and did not play in the second half, as whispers of his dogging it in practice are starting to filter out of Milwaukee…oh and I loved Ford sticking his nose in there after Bucks centre Andrew Bogut gave Chris Bosh a 2-handed shove in the back as Bosh drove by him for what would have been an uncontested monster dunk…Bogut was immediately T’d up and ejected, but Ford got right in his face about the foul, getting a T of his own telling Bogut what a punk move it was…Stat-head note: this was Toronto's fifth road win by at least 15 points this season; they had only four such wins over the previous five seasons combined…not important, but the fellas at Elias have to do something to pass the time…

OK, now on to more important things, like the tournament…First off, Syracuse (lost at home to Wichita Sate), West Virginia (beat UCLA, but only 4-8 against the top 100 RPI), Kansas State (no big wins outside of Big 12) stop whining…you deserve the NIT, not the NCAA..

Now the real snubbees:

Drexel: The Dragons beat Syracuse, Villanova and Creighton all on the road and goes 13-5 in their conference and they don’t get in? Brutal…

Appalachian State: They beat Wichita State, VCU, Davidson, Virginia and Vanderbilt on the road…for a mid-major, that’s ridiculous…

These 2 teams should be in instead of:

Arkansas: a 7-9 record in a very average SEC, 2-8 in road games and the only significant win was Vanderbilt on the road…

Stanford: 18-12 overall and only 10-8 in their conference…

Good Article here about pro prospects for all 65 teams:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/chris_ekstrand/03/12/draft.prospects/index.html

Interesting results from a study of Division 1 basketball freshman graduation rates (FGR)…some highlights:

10% of Ohio State's basketball players received degrees at the school, according to a study that examined the freshman classes entering from 1996-99.

Using the yardstick Graduation Success Rates -- which accounts for players who transfer to other schools and receive degrees _ players entering from junior colleges and those who receive degrees more than six years after enrollments, 9 percent of Florida A&M players, 19 percent of Eastern Kentucky and 50 percent of Oregon players were graduated…

Other NCAA tournament-bound programs with low FGRs were: Tennessee (8 percent), UNLV (10 percent), Maryland (13 percent), Texas A&M (15 percent), Virginia Tech (17 percent), Gonzaga and Louisville (22 percent), Georgia Tech, Kentucky and Oral Roberts (23 percent), Memphis and North Texas and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (25 percent).

At the other end, the schools with the highest FGRs were Holy Cross (86 percent), Butler (82 percent), Creighton (78 percent), Davidson and Michigan State (75 percent). Penn and Air Force didn't report FGRs.

Based on the GSR formula, 68 percent of teams bound for the NCAA men's basketball tournament graduated 70 percent or more of their white players, but just 30 percent graduated 70 percent or more of black players. While 76 percent of white basketball players receive degrees, just 51 percent of black players do.

Lapchick said 41 Division I schools, including seven headed to the tournament, didn't graduate any black players. Twenty-one schools, including tournament-bound Eastern Kentucky, didn't graduate any white players.

2007-03-09T16:18:00.000-05:00

Random info…

The Atlanta Hawks Joe Johnson will be out for up to a month with a right calf contusion suffered when teammate Estaben Batista kicked him in the leg during Monday's 88-81 loss to the Miami Heat…

Don’t know if you caught this but Don Nelson, the coach of Golden State Warriors, who makes $6 million (!!) a year had this to say in a press conference after the Warriors were pasted by the Bulls last week…Q: “Coach, were there any adjustments you were trying to make out there?” A: “I didn't know what to do." Huh? $6 mill a year and you don’t know what to do? Time for a refund…

Best quote I’ve heard recently from an in-game commentator came from Tommy Heinsohn during a Celtic’s broadcast…here’s ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons with his version: Coming out of commercial, we see a replay of Yao's finger getting bent back on a rebound and Yao screaming in pain, followed by Gorman reporting that Yao went to the locker room to get it checked out, then Tommy joking, "That was his chopstick finger, too, he may not be able to eat anymore!" and Gorman changing the subject as fast as humanly possible…oh my God, I may never stop laughing…

Look, I know nothing, and everyone is innocent until proven guilty, but for some context around Ron Artest being arrested Monday on suspicion of domestic violence and using force or violence to prevent a woman from reporting a crime….turns out the police have responded to five separate 911 calls from Artest's home since August of 2006 including two domestics between Artest and his wife…

With the NBA average salary at $4.5 million, there’s not too many bargains out there, but here’s a list of fantastic bargains…guys in the league making under a million but who are starting in the NBA:

Portland Trailblazers 6’6” SF Ima Udoka’s $744,551 salary, 8.8 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.5 APG, 0.9 SPG, 40.3 3PT%, 48.0 FG%...terrific defender and hustling “glue” guy who can stick the three…worked his way up from the D league…plays like an undersized Shane Battier…

Golden State Warriors 6’3” PG/SG Monta Ellis $664,209 salary, 17.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 47.2 FG%...the best bargain of the bunch…a candidate for most improved player, his tremendous quickness and leaping ability give him great separation going to the basket, plus he can shoot it and is emerging as a terrific defender…at 20 years old he’s only going to get better…

New Orleans/OKC Hornets 6’5” SG Devin Brown $585,212 salary, 11.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 2.9 APG...hard nosed player brings championship experience from his days in San Antonio…ended up here after opting for free agency and grossly overestimating his value…Kevin Garnett makes this much money every two games…

Los Angeles Lakers 6’4” PG Smush Parker $798,112 salary, 11.8 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.5 SPG…a big guard in the triangle in LA, Parker is useful, but best known as Steve Nash’s bitch…In 2 games this year: Parker averaged 6 points, 4 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 1.5 steals on 33% from the field and 50% from the line…Nash averaged 19 points, 3 rebounds, 11.5 assists, 1.5 steals on 48% from the field, 40% from three and 90% from the line

Milwaukee Bucks 6’3” PG Charlie Bell $744,551 salary, 13.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.3 SPG…Bell has played well and came up from the minors and has come a long way from his being undrafted by Michigan State…

By now you’ve all seen the gruesome footage of Clippers guard Shaun Livingston’s knee injury, well the fabled torn ligament wizard, Dr. James Andrews operates on him today…Anders compares the injury to the one suffered by former NBA PF Tom Guggliotta, which if you remember him post injury, basically ended his career as an effective player… according to the latest reports Livingston tore the anterior cruciate ligament, posterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament and lateral meniscus in his knee. He also dislocated his patella, and his tibia-femoral…

The main reason why Eddy Curry is better this year? Mark Aguirre…apparently after Curry’s overall production declined under Larry Brown last year, the Knicks sent to work with Curry for five day stretches a number of times over the summer…

Remember this trade? Boston acquired PG Sebastian Telfair, PF Theo Ratliff and a second-round pick in 2008 from Portland for PG Dan Dickau, PF/C Raef LaFrentz and the draft rights to Brandon Roy…let’s see how that’s working out:

Brandon Roy: 34.4 minutes, 15.6 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.1 APG, 44.7 FG%, 36.0 3PT%, 82.8FT%, 1.2 SPG
Sebastian Telfair: 21.3 minutes, 6.9 PPG, 1.4 RPG, 3.1 APG, 38.7 FG%, 28.7 3PT%, 83.5 FT%, 0.56 SPG

Yeah…way to trade Danny…

2007-03-07T09:40:00.000-05:00

1 rebound…Chris Bosh had 1 rebound in the 129-109 Raptors loss to the Wiz last night…Defensively, the Raps were atrocious, but 1 rebound Chris? Yikes…

Did you see Ricky Davis last night in the Wolves double overtime 117-107 win over the Lakers? Ricky Buckets had 33 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists and that includes a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line…all of it accomplished in 56 minutes of playing time…

SI.com asked Shaquille O’Neal if he thought Ohio State phenom centre Greg Oden's impact would be as much as Shaq’s was as an NBA rookie…Shaq’s response: "No,'' said O'Neal, who averaged 23.4 points, 13.9 rebounds and 3.5 blocks as a rookie for the Magic. "Because of the way the game is played today, and because I really don't know how much he can do offensively. See, I was a freak of nature: I had always been a prolific scorer. I know he can play defense and block a couple of shots, but I don't really know what he can do offensively. Unless he has great feet and offensive moves, I don't see him being the type of force that I was.''

Quick NFL note…not counting repeat offenders (yeah, that’s you Pacman Jones and Chris Henry) over 50 NFL players have been arrested in the past year…

Tremendous sequence at the end of the Colonial League final on ABC the other day…Virginia Commonwealth University beat last year’s final four darlings George Mason 65-59 on the strength of an unbelievable 2 minutes of play by VCU point guard Eric Maynor…with two minutes left to play, George Mason was up 57-52 and was bringing the ball up the court off of a defensive rebound and the mostly pro George Mason crowd is going wild…all of a sudden here is what happens:

Maynor strips George Mason PG Dre Smith on a reverse dribble and gets the layup and 1 for an old fashioned three point play…

Five seconds later Maynor’s remarkably quick hands and anticipation come into play again where he reads the crossover dribble from Mason's SG Gabe Norwood, he pokes the ball away and dribbles in for an uncontested layup…tie game…

GM finally gets the ball over halfcourt, misses a short jumper and Maynor rebounds the ball and dribbles the length of the floor and hits a funky little “Jeff Malone” leaner to take the lead 59-57…

Now with 19 seconds left GM misses a wide open three and Maynor gets the rebound and is intentionally fouled…he makes both free throws for a 61-57 which VCU never relinquishes…

That’s a personal 9-0 run for Maynorin the toughest game of the year and the most critical part of the game…a truly superlative performance…by the way Maynor finished with 20 points, 7 boards and 4 assists in 37 minutes…

Great article here about hating the Dukies, which naturally I do…

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=neumann/070306&sportCat=ncb&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab6pos2

ESPN.com continues it’s greatest ever by position with the centres…I also added the past articles about the PG’s and PF’s

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-GreatestCenters

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/dailydime?page=dailydime-GreatestPointGuards

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2074360

Veteran Foxsports.com’s 10 things column continues to be a winner

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6530552#1

Uh-oh…Ron Ron is suspended from the Kings indefinitely…and if the allegations are true, rightly so…

http://www.sacbee.com/351/story/133222.html

Check this boxscore…I know the Miami Hurricanes suck this year, but 45 points for Al Thornton? Can you say 1st round pick?

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=270622390

2007-03-05T10:01:00.000-05:00

Did it look like a foul to you? In one of the most bizarre endings I have ever seen, the Wiz are down 106-104 with 2.9 seconds to play when Gilbert Arenas catches the inbounds pass near the top of the key, drives right to the basket, and as the horn sounds he lofts an off-balance 1 handed jumper which misses everything…but…a whistle blows, the refs huddle and the verdict is: foul on Golden State's Mickael Pietrus with .1 seconds left…Warriors coach Don Nelson immediately loses his mind and storms onto the court spewing profanities, his face a tortured mask of rage á la George Brett and the pine tar…he is immediately assessed a technical foul, resulting in Gilbert Arenas toeing the line for 2 free throws for the foul and 1 more for the technical…Arenas makes the first two, and then Golden State calls time out to ice him…no matter, Arenas calmly sank the third foul shot for the win…unbelievable…Arenas’ comment after the game? "It was bizarre," Arenas said. "You've got to thank the refs for that one."…indeed…

The other bananas game from last night had two players combine for 1 Wilt Chamberlain…the Bulls Ben Gordon scored a career-high 48 points last night in a 126-121 comeback/overtime defeat of the Bucks who got 52 points from Michael Redd in the losing cause…Gordon was en fuego making 18 of 32 shots, including six 3-pointers…he 20 in the fourth quarter to key the comeback from an 18 point deficit...For the Bucks it marked the second time Redd has scored 50 points in a losing effort this season…Coincidentally, Redd also made 18 of 32 shots, including eight of 13 3-pointers…

How good are the Mavs right now? Well, according to Elias, the Mavericks have won 50 of their last 55 games after starting the season 0-4. They are only the second team in NBA history to win 50 of 55 games within one season: the 1995-96 Bulls also won 50 of 55 games at one point. (By the way, no team in the history of either Major League Baseball or the NHL has ever won 50-of-55 in one season, either.) The next logical question is if the Mavs are the leagues best team, is Dirk Diggler the Mavs leagues best player? Well, here’s some food for thought:

Nowitzki has scored 30 or more points in 12 of the past 27 games, shooting a shade under 52 percent over that span…

The Mavs are 16-0 when Dirk scores 30 or more…

Nowitzki also has already eclipsed last year's total of 35 double-doubles, notching 36 and barely missing a 37th as he had 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists Saturday night vs. Orlando.

Nowitzki is shooting a career-high 50.4 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from 3-point range after posting career-best percentages in both those categories a year ago, when he finished third in MVP voting for the second consecutive year.

Nowitzki is shooting an astounding 53 percent in the second night of back-to-back games, leading the Mavs to an 11-0 record in such games.

OK I’m convinced…

Here’s the 1st of many mock drafts, and for the record, drafting Durant before Oden is lunacy…http://www.hoopshype.com/draft.htm

2007-03-02T08:54:00.001-05:00

Wow…the Raptors absolutely dominated the Rockets in Houston Wednesday night winning 106-90…some thoughts:

The Raptors were so unselfish last night…their passing, which included 6 assists each from Chris Bosh, TJ Ford and Jose Calderon, resulted in 26 assists on 44 field goals…folks anytime you get more than 50% of your field goals resulting from assists (59% in this instance) you’re playing a remarkably unselfish game…

Good passing makes for easy baskets, which puts away teams early…The Raptors, who led by as many as 22points, shot 57% (44-of-77) from the field for the game, including a scorching 69% (29-of-42) in the first half, which included and absurd 80% (16-of-20) in the second quarter alone…

When they out-rebound teams they win…last night they out-rebounded the Rockets 36-33…

Andrea Bargniani is the sure can shoot…8-12 from the floor, including 4-5 from three for 20 points…

Andrea Bargniani cannot however rebound…an athletic 7 footer who gets 2 rebounds in 33 minutes is embarrassing…

Chris Bosh’s effort is always there, but he’s also such an intelligent player…his line last night

Joey Graham’s minutes do not make sense…his last 10 games: 7, 9, 7, 19, 10, 3, 6, 8, 12, 1…the 10 before that? 28, 20, 11, 22, 15, 9, 21, 17, 15, 16…ver odd, although probably related to how he’s practicing…certainly couldn’t be a matchup thing, not with such a difference from one 10 game stretch to the next…

Although the Raptors are winning, including 13 of their last 17, so maybe I should stop whining and let Joey Graham take care of himself…

Did you hear what Boston Celtics radio analyst Cedric Maxwell said after a Violet Palmer call during the Celtics' 77-72 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday? He said she should:”…go back to the kitchen…Go in there and make me some bacon and eggs, would you?" Oh boy…his weak retraction soon followed: "If I said anything that might have been insensitive or sexist in any way, then I apologize because she worked extremely hard to get where she is now, end of quote…This really has been a fire storm…” Maxwell the declined further comment…imagine the furor if Palmer had been gay…

Good link…I would pick Paul…http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jack_mccallum/02/27/choosing.sides.paul.williams/index.html

2007-02-27T14:25:00.000-05:00

Los Angeles Lakers forward Vladimir Radmanovic has fessed up and admitted that he was snowboarding when he separated his shoulder, not the “slipped on ice” excuse he had originally offered…"I lied about what happened, but I just couldn't keep it to myself," Radmanovic told reporters at his locker before Friday night's game against Boston. "I did a silly thing by snowboarding -- and then I panicked about what was going to happen. I felt really bad about it. I let my teammates down and the whole organization down by not letting them know what really happened. So yesterday I decided to step forward and bring out the truth, no matter what the consequences, and I'm glad I did it. I don't want to be a liar. It's not something that I am. It's embarrassing. I hope people will have some understanding and some forgiveness for it. Unfortunately, before I stepped on that board, I wasn't really thinking about the things that could happen and that it could become something that could finish my career," said the 26-year-old forward, who was snowboarding for the first time and fell while coming down a slope. "I mean, things happen, but you don't think they're going to happen to you." Jackson’s comment about the violation of Radmanovic’s five-year, $30.2 million contract? "It does list behaviour that's in the standard NBA player's contract -- motorcycles, skydiving and various other `risk' behaviour," Jackson said. "Snowboarding is not mentioned, per se, but I think it's an activity that's probably there. We'll discuss it internally in the next couple of days. If it's something that needs to be shared (publicly), we'll share it. If not, we'll keep it internally." Don’t forget, Jackson has experience here…remember when Luc Longley separated his shoulder body surfing during the Bulls days? Too funny…

Quick baseball note, if only because it’s so incredible…one of the most compelling set of facts from Game of Shadows, the book on steroid use in baseball is the outrageous growth of Bonds' body parts as a result of his use of human growth hormone, since he has been with the Giants…case in point:

Jersey size has gone from a size 42 to a size 52 jersey, basically a medium to an extra large

His shoes size has gone from size 10 1/2 to size 13

And most incredibly, his hat size from a 7 1/8 cap to size 7 1/4 cap…even though began shaving his head when he joined the Giants…

And this is the comment from the book…"The changes in his foot and head size," they write, "were of special interest: medical experts said overuse of human growth hormone could cause an adult's extremities to begin growing, aping the symptoms of the glandular disorder acromegaly." Acromegaly is the gigantism disorder that produced Andre the Giant’s exceptional size or the NBA’s Georghe Muresan…

This is just plain great writing: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=neel/070223

It happened yesterday, just 30 years ago…on February 25, 1977 "Pistol" Pete Maravich scored a career-high 68 points as the New Orleans Jazz defeated New York 124-107. Only five NBA players have ever scored more than 68 points in a game…

Ouch…After former Suns star and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley criticized D'Antoni's short rotation and challenged him to use his reserves more, D'Antoni said he wasn't sure he should take basketball advice from someone who "choked" away championships and had his own playoff conditioning questioned.

2007-02-23T09:56:00.001-05:00

I love this picture of Dennis Johnson, who died suddenly yesterday of a heart attack at age 52…Johnson, who many believe to be a hall of famer is widely regarded as one of the great clutch players in NBA history…this is supported by the fact that he averaged 14.1 points per game in the regular season during his 14-year NBA career but in 37 games in the NBA Finals he averaged 18.3 points per game….in fact among the 65 players in NBA history who played at least 800 games in the regular season and 15 games in the Finals, only two had a larger increase in their Finals ppg average over their regular-season mark than Johnson's 4.2: Hakeem Olajuwon, who was plus 5.7 (21.8 to 27.5), and James Worthy, who was plus 4.6 (17.6 to 22.2)…he’s also one of the most adaptable players I’ve ever seen, starting off as a long armed, super quick, high jumping scorer for the Sonics (1979 MVP of the Finals) and ending up as a defensive stopper (11 times 1st or 2nd team All-defence) and clutch shooter (Bird stole the ball from Isaih, but DJ Made the cut to the basket and witched hands on the layup to get by Dumars) for the Celtics…

Anyways, here are some terrific writer’s who remember him fondly:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070222

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jack_mccallum/02/22/dennis.johnson.remembered/index.html

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6496228

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003585164_a1kelley23.html

http://www.courant.com/sports/hc-dj0223.artfeb23,0,7610078.story?coll=hc-headlines-sports

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2007/02/23/he_always_rose_to_the_occasion/

2007-02-22T14:10:00.000-05:00

Bosh had 24 points and 10 rebounds but the Raptors lost 86-85 to Cleveland last night because Bosh can not box out…Anderson Varejao slammed home teammate Sasha Pavlovic 's missed shot with 16 seconds to give the Cavs the win…Varejao had 16 points and 15 rebounds and finished 8-for-9 from the field…

Manu Ginobili went bananas in the Spurs 103-96 win over the Hawks last night scoring 40 overall and a ridiculous 24 straight that went like this: Entering the game late in the first quarter, Ginobili missed two of his first four shots before hitting six in a row from the field and all seven attempts on free throws. The Spurs led 39-23 at the end of his flurry, and Ginobili had 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting before halftime….of course if the Hawks could hit more than 21 of 35 free throws, they’d have won easily…

Trades that have already happened:

Toronto Raptor's send SG Fred Jones, to Portland for PG/SG Juan Dixon…
Atlanta sends a 2nd round pick to Mavs for PG Anthony Johnson…

Trade Rumours:

NJ Nets send Vince Carter to the Knicks for PF Malik Rose, PF/C Channing Frye and SF Renaldo Balkman...
Portland T-Blazers sends PF Zach Randolph to Chicago for SF Andres Nocioni, PF P.J. Brown and a pick…
Sacramento sends PF Shareef Abdur-Rahim to Chicago for same…
Portland sends C Jamal Magloire to Washington for SG Jarvis Hayes and PF/C Etan Thomas…
Dallas sends PG Anthony Johnson to Denver for PF Eduardo Najera…
Sacramento sends PG Mike Bibby to Cleveland for PF Drew Gooden and something else, maybe with a third team involved…
Minnesota sends PG Mike James to Houston for anything…
NJ sends SG Vince Carter to the Clippers for PG Shaun Livingston and SG Corey Maggette…
Phoenix Suns send PG Marcus Banks to Cleveland for SG Damon Jones…
Houston Rockets send SF Bonzi Wells to Chicago for PF Michael Sweetney…OR Houston sends Wells to Detroit for PF Dale Davis and SG Flip Murray…
.
Phoenix sends SG Raja Bell, PF Kurt Thomas and a 1st rounder to the Nets for PG Jason Kidd…to block the Lakers from getting him I presume…
Kings send PG Mike Bibby and PF Kenny Thomas to Nets for PG Jason Kidd…
Portland sends C Jamal Magliore to the Lakers for C Chris Mihm and SG Aaron McKie…
Nets send SG Vince Carter to Orlando for C Darko Milicic, SF Hedo Turkoglu and SG JJ Redick…

Oh Boy, we’re going to find out if Shaq is healthy now…Dwyane Wade dislocated his left shoulder in the 4th quarter of Miami’s 112-102 loss to the Rockets…

2007-02-19T13:35:00.000-05:00

Comments on All-Star weekend:

Dwight Howard got jobbed by the judges…his sticker dunk was creative, and for God’s sake he almost got the top of the backboard…Gerald Green (Yawn!!!) may have won the contest, but a year from now, the only dunk anyone will remember is Howard’s sticker dunk…

Did you see the highlight of Gilbert Arenas getting into the line of Elvis Impersonators and dunking off the trampoline? Awesome…

There was a lot of talk about Scottie Pippen making a comeback, but here’s the real reason: He has to pay a bank more than $5 million in a breach of contract lawsuit involving a loan for a business jet…the Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a ruling in St. Louis County, where a judge found last year that Pippen owed U.S. Bank just over $5.021 million in principal, interest and attorneys' fees…

David Lee going 14-for-14 from the field and scoring 30 points to lead the sophomores to a 155-114 victory over the rookies…nice coming out party for Lee who has been the best player Isaih Thomas has never heard of for the Knicks this year…

Jason Kapono hit for 24 points in the final round of the 3 point contest, beating Gilbert Arenas who copped out by shooting the last rack one handed…

Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki were the only two players not to slap hands/man-hug before the opening tip…a sign that the little tiff they’ve been maintaining through the media is still on…

You’ve got to catch the video of Shaq and Dwight Howard break-dancing…it is too funny…

Commissioner David Stern and players union director Billy Hunter announcing that former players who spent three or four years in the NBA, or its predecessor, the BAA, prior to 1965 will now receive $3,600 a month per year of service, compared to the $2,400 per year of service they received under the previous pension program…a terrific gesture for a bunch of guys who set the groundwork for the millions players make today…

Dick Bavetta diving for the finish line in his race against Charles Barkley…Bavetta even bloodied his knee…although

Other notes:

A little gossip on the bitter divorce of Jason and Joumana Kidd…last year, after Allen Iverson torched Jason Kidd for 40+ points in a Sixers win over the Nets, apparently Joumana Kidd went out and bought all three kids Iverson Jerseys so that when Jason came home from the road game in philly the next day, his kids were all wearing the AI Jerseys…wow, that’s cold…

From SI.com…Thirty years ago this month, Pete Maravich of the New Orleans Jazz scored 68 points in a game against the New York Knicks. New Orleans was bad (35-47 that season) and the Knicks (40-42) were past their prime, but on Feb. 25, 1977, Maravich livened up an otherwise nondescript game by scoring the most points by a guard to that point in NBA history. As a 12-year-old living in the New York area at the time, I was fortunate enough to watch history unfold on Channel 9 as Maravich not only threw in a few of his trademark improbable one-handed flip shots, but also nailed several shots from 27 or 28 feet (the three-point shot didn't come into the NBA for another three seasons). "I was just happy there wasn't a three-point line because he would have gotten 100," Walt Frazier, who guarded Maravich for part of the game, told the New York Post. "Most of his shots were deep anyway, coming off screens. He was throwing up hook shots. He was doing everything that game."

Oh my goodness, much better stuff from SI.com…http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/2007_swimsuit/beyonce/

2007-02-14T10:59:00.000-05:00

First off, I think every month should be Black History Month, or history of any other colour, race, orientation or creed…but being as I don’t make the rules, let’s all remember that in the world of sports, nobody suffered more than Jackie Robinson, pictured above…Of course, most people associate Robinson breaking the colour barrier in baseball with his playing for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947…in reality, he broke the colour barrier as a member of the Montreal Royals the year before and always spoke fondly of his time amongst us canucks…

Wow…what a game…Chris Bosh’s two free throws with 2.1 seconds left saved the Raps from a blown 12 point 4th quarter lead to beat the Chicago Bulls 112-111. Bosh finished with 25 points and 14 rebounds whie Andrea Bargnani added 22 points… Bargnani 1st half was remarkable as he went 6-for-7 from the field, including 3 threes and a very nice two foot one handed dunk for 17 points at the half…
Bosh had 12 first-quarter points and the Raptors surged to a 33-26 lead.

By now I’m sure you’ve heard/read the reports of Gonzaga forwards Josh Heytvelt and Theo Davis being arrested for possession of pot and mushrooms…I don’t know much about Heyvelt, other than he is a key player for the Zags, but Theo Davis’ promising NCAA career seems to stall every few years…My favourite part of the police report ands subsequent AP article is that this was the evidence from the scene: A strong odour of burnt marijuana and a small used roach found in Davis’ pocket…A bag of psychedelic mushroom caps and stems… Also in the bag were "three foil-wrapped brownie muffins" that the officer contended contained hallucinogenic mushrooms…The items have been sent to the state crime lab for analysis….

Do we really have to call the mushrooms psychedelic? What is this the sixties? I think we get the point, and why do the mushrooms need to be classified as caps and stems? Is the whole mushroom somehow a more egregious offence? And are they brownies or muffins? Brownies I’ve heard of, but muffins would be creative for sure…and do we really have to send these to the lab for analysis? I’m thinking we save a whole lot of taxpayer money by just trying them…heck, we could get Portland F Zach Randolph to do it, he’s a “pro” in more ways than just basketball…OK I’ll stop now…

I include this link just to torture Rob K, a noted Celtics fan…

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/chris_mannix/02/13/state.of.the.celtics/index.html

Not sure what to make of this…Apparently Spurs forward Bruce Bowen gave line-dancing lessons to 15 elementary students last week to celebrate the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo…

The new Prez…Utah guard Derek Fisher will take over from the retired Kendra…oops I mean Antonio Davis as president of the NBA Players Association…

The Replacements: Seattle's Ray Allen and Utah's Mehmet Okur were chosen Tuesday by commissioner David Stern as injury replacements for the All-Star game. They are replacing Suns PG Steve Nash and Nuggets SG Allen Iverson…Okur over Zach Randolph (24 PPG and 10 RPG) is tough to swallow…

Golden State PG Baron Davis will undergo surgery on his left knee Tuesday to “…clean out some debris in his left knee.” The over/under on how fat he’ll get is around 20 pounds…

Yawn…The San Antonio Spurs traded former Raptors malcontent SF Eric Williams and a draft pick to Charlotte for PF/C Melvin Ely…

2007-02-12T10:17:00.001-05:00

Remember Gilbert Arenas wrote on his NBA.com blog that he was going to score 50 points against Portland on Sunday in retaliation for Portland coach Nate McMillan's involvement with Arenas being left off the U.S. national team last summer? Well, not quite… the Wizards lost to the Trail Blazers 94-73 with Arenas going 3-for-15 from the field, including 0-for-8 on 3-pointers and tallying a whopping nine points…Portland PG Jarrett Jack had something to say about it after the game: ''Thats like a dude saying he's going to punch you in your face. With a guy like him, Kobe or LeBron, the easy way to guard him is don't let him get the ball back when he passes it. We did a good job of trying to deny him when he was one pass away, and my big guys did a great job of helping me whenever he got by me.'' It’s worth noting that Jack guarded Arenas for most of the game…

Here’s a CSI worthy mystery…Lebron’s free throw percentage by month:

November 2006 71.15%
December 2006 69.57%
January 2007 66.96%
February 2007 56.10%

I’ve always thought LeBron form was a little shaky…he bends his too much on the pull-back phase of the shot, which lengthens his motion and can make for an inconsistent release…plus he’s a little flat footed on the release…

Italian magazine Superbasket awarding it’s annual Best Euro award to Toronto’s own Jorge Garbajosa…Garbo was MVP of the Spanish league last year for Unicaja Malaga, leading them to the Spanish national title…he also played exceptionally well for the Spanish national team in the FIBA world championships, pairing with the Grizzlies Pau Gasol to lead Spain to the FIBA World Championship…the 29 year old Garbajosa is averaging 8.5 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 2.1 APG and 1.2 SPG in 28.9 MPG for the Raptors this season…

Trade Rumour: Cavs send PF Drew Gooden to the Kings for PG Mike Bibby…

It’s getting bitchy out there…Dwyane Wade had this to say about Dirk Nowizki in the Miami Herald last week: ''At the end of the day you're remembered for what you did at the end. ... Dirk says they gave us the championship last year, but he's the reason they lost the championship, because he wasn't the leader that he's supposed to be in the closing moments. That's because of great defense by us, but also he wasn't assertive enough as a leader's supposed to be.'' Nowitzki didn't comment on the controversy until yesterday, when he spoke with Newsday before Dallas played the 76ers. "All I said two weeks ago when we played them was, we feel like we gave them the championship," Nowitzki said. "... That's really all I said, and I don't know why he got all sensitive about it."

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban’s reaction to the announcement by former NBA player John Amaechi that he is gay…speaking to the Fort-Worth Telegram on the business prospects of an openly gay NBA player: "From a marketing perspective, if you're a player who happens to be gay and you want to be incredibly rich, then you should come out, because it would be the best thing that ever happened to you from a marketing and an endorsement perspective. You would be an absolute hero to more Americans than you can ever possibly be as an athlete, and that'll put money in your pocket. On the flip side, if you're the idiot who condemns somebody because they're gay, then you're going to be ostracized, you're going to be picketed and you're going to ruin whatever marketing endorsements you have. "When you do something that the whole world thinks is difficult and you stand up and just be who you are and take on that difficulty factor, you're an American hero no matter what. That's what the American spirit's all about, going against the grain and standing up for who you are, even if it's not a popular position."

2007-02-06T17:25:00.000-05:00

Before we get to the All-Star picks and snubs, this ridiculous stat from Elias: Gilbert Arenas has scored 97 points in two games against the Lakers this season, including 37 on Saturday. Arenas' average of 48.5 points per game against the Lakers this season is the highest by one player against one team in a season since Karl Malone averaged 50.5 points in two games against Milwaukee in 1989-90 (minimum: two games played).
The NBA "record" for such a thing belongs to Wilt Chamberlain. Chamberlain averaged 54.5 points in 12 games (654 points!) against the Knicks in 1961-62…

Now that the All-Star starters and reserves are in, here’s what I think…

2007 NBA All-Star Rosters

Eastern Conference

Starters

Guard
IS: Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
SHOULD BE: Dwyane Wade…28.4 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 7.8 APG…Flash continues to amaze and is the most dangerous player in the league going to the basket…

Guard:
IS: Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards
SHOULD BE: Gilbert Arenas…29.6 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 6.3 APG…having an unbelievable year and has established himself as the most clutch shooter on the planet right now…

Forward
IS: LeBron James, Cleveland
SHOULD BE: LeBron James…26.7PPG, 6.8 RPG, 6.0 APG…Occupying the traditional ”small” forward spot would seem to be a misnomer in this case, LeBron is generally considered to be having a down year (which considering his averages is ridiculous) but Bron is all-world all the time, although slowed recently by a sore toe…

Power Forward
IS: Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors
SHOULD BE: Chris Bosh…22.8 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.2BPG…Bosh is now in the top 3 discussions when it comes to the PF position (Garnett, Duncan) and is still improving…

Centre
IS: Shaquille O'Neal, Miami
SHOULD BE: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic…16.8 PPG, 12.0 RPG, 1.8 BPG…this is where fan voting goes off the rails with Shaq being hurt most of the year and averaging a very pedestrian 12.0 PPG and 6.5 RPG, while Howard has exploded for Orlando and has become the best centre in the East while only scratching the surface of his Shaq-like (Shaq-esque? Shaq-a-licious?) potential…

Reserves

ARE:
Chauncey Billups, Detroit Pistons…18.1PPG, 3.5 RPG, 7.6 APG
Caron Butler, Washington Wizards…20.6 PPF, 8.0 RPG, 3.9 APG
Vince Carter, New Jersey Nets… 25.0 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 4.4 APG
Richard Hamilton, Detroit Pistons…22.7 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.6 APG
Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic…see above
Jason Kidd, New Jersey…14.9PPG, 8.2 RPG, 8.8 APG
Jermaine O'Neal, Indiana Pacers…19.5 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 2.8 APG

SHOULD BE:
Emeka Okafor, Charlotte Bobcats…14.8 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 2.9 BPG…Seeing as I removed Shaq from his starting spot for Dwight Howard, I will remove him entirely by putting Emeka Okafor as the backup centre for the East…I pick him over Eddie Curry (19.5 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 0.5 BPG) of the New York Knicks, who since he’s laid off the Twinkies has really established himself as a low-post scorer, but who is an atrocious rebounder and shot blocker for someone so big…

Note: I’d like to remove Vince Carter for Joe Johnson (25.7 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 4.3 APG) just because Carter is so annoying, but his numbers are great even as most observers acknowledge that he’s still not getting the most out of his talent and the fact that the Hawks suck a little harder than the Nets, which is saying something…Luol Deng (17.0 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.2 SPG) was also a possibility here, especially as a defender and a master of the disappearing mid-range game, but who is still more of a “glue’ guy than an All-Star…Oh, and if Michael Redd had not gotten hurt (27.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.2 APG, 1.3 SPG) hurt, than I would also have considered him as a worthy substitute for Vicki Carter…

Western Conference

Guard
IS: Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets…
SHOULD BE: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns…19.6 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 11.8 APG…Although McGrady should still be an All-Star with averages of 23.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 6.3 APG, Nash is the best player on arguably the best team in the NBA, especially when you factor in that he’s shooting a collectively and individually preposterous 53.6% from the field, 49% from three, and 88.2% from the free throw line…

Guard
IS: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers…
SHOULD BE: Kobe Bryant…28.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.5 APG…no question, he’s the most dangerous player not named Arenas, although his stupid self-imposed nickname (“Mamba”) almost disqualifies him from my list…

Forward
IS: Kevin Garnett, Minnesota Timberwolves
SHOULD BE: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks…25.1 PPG, 9.5 RPG, 3.2 APG…Although Garnett remains a superstar player with averages of 22.7 PPG, 12.4 RPG, 4.3 APG, Nowitzki is just more dangerous, in that he could go for 50 points at any time…

Forward
IS: Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs
SHOULD BE: Tim Duncan…20.4 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.4 APG, 2.4 BPG…Yawn…one day we’ll wake up and miss the Big Fundamental…

IS: Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
SHOULD BE: Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns…18.6 PPG, 9.3 RPG, 1.4 BPG… Yao (25.9 PPG, 9.4 RPG, 2.2 BPG) has a broken leg, so Amare, who has made a remarkable comeback from micro-fracture knee surgery, gets the nod here…

Reserves

ARE:
Carlos Boozer, Utah Jazz…22.1 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 3.0 APG
Allen Iverson, Denver Nuggets…28.9 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 7.5 APG
Shawn Marion, Phoenix Suns…18.9 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 1.6 APG, 2.1 SPG, 1.5 BPG
Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns…see above
Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks…see above
Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs…19.0 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 5.6 APG
Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns…see above

SHOULD BE:

Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets…31.0 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.2 SPG…An easy replacement for Boozer who is hurt, Anthony (Madison Square Garden slapfest notwithstanding) is having a career year…I pick him over Josh Howard of the Dallas Mavericks (19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.9 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.0 BPG) who is similar to Deng in his “glue” guy role…

Ray Allen, Seattle Supersonics…26.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.6 SPG…I pick Allen over Parker because he is simply a better player who is, unfortunately, on a far inferior team…

2007-02-02T09:21:00.000-05:00

Break up the Raptors…PF Chris Bosh was named Eastern Conference Player of the Month, while Raptors coach Sam Mitchell and rookie C Andrea Bargnani were named January's Coach of the Month and Rookie of the Month, respectively…

Off Season Free Agency Rumour: Pistons PG Chauncey Billups signs with the Bucks…think of it…Billups, Redd Bogut, Simmons, Villenueva…that is the starting 5 of a 50 win team…

Look, I love the Suns…love watching them, and think Steve Nash is the MVP again…but the people who are comparing them with the 80’s Showtime Lakers have lost their minds…forget the stats people, the only stats that matter are these: The Showtime Lakers won five titles (1980, '82, '85, '87 and '88) and lost four (to the Philadelphia 76ers in '83, the Boston Celtics in '84, the Detroit Pistons in '89 and the Chicago Bulls in '91)…look at that again…in 12 Finals from 1980 to 1991 the Lakers won five, and lost four…they appeared in 75% of the NBA Finals over a 12 year span…that is absolutely ridiculous…Oh, and by the way, the Suns have appeared in 0 finals, winning 0…

Game of the Weekend: Lakers at Wizards on Saturday Feb. 3…last time these teams met, Gilbert Arenas scored 60 points and Kobe whined in the press after the game about Areas’ poor shot selection, which is hypocritical to the nth degree…

Fantastic Article from Wright Thompson of ESPN.com on 2 NBA players learning about what Dr. Martin Luther King was really about:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blackhistory2007/columns/story?columnist=thompson_wright&id=2748078&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos1

From Forbes.com, NBA teams overall value and “profit”…note that only 7 teams last money last year, according to Forbes…

Rank Team Current Value($MIL) Operating Income in 2005-06 ($MIL)
1 New York Knicks 592 -39
2 Los Angeles Lakers 568 33.3
3 Dallas Mavericks 463 -24.4
4 Chicago Bulls 461 48.5
5 Houston Rockets 439 21.4
6 Detroit Pistons 429 21.8
7 Phoenix Suns 410 34.5
8 Miami Heat 409 20.5
9 San Antonio Spurs 390 11.7
10 Cleveland Cavaliers 380 23.9
11 Sacramento Kings 379 16.4
12 Philadelphia 76ers 375 -6.2
13 Boston Celtics 367 15.7
14 Indiana Pacers 340 -12.5
15 Washington Wizards 334 14.8
16 New Jersey Nets 325 -8
17 Toronto Raptors 315 8.4
18 Memphis Grizzlies 313 -18.5
19 Denver Nuggets 309 9.4
20 Minnesota T-wolves 308 4.6
21 Utah Jazz 297 1.4
22 Los Angeles Clippers 285 15.7
23 Orlando Magic 283 -20.4
24 Charlotte Bobcats 277 11.9
25 Atlanta Hawks 275 12.9
26 Seattle SuperSonics 268 3.6
27 Golden State Warriors 267 6.3
28 Milwaukee Bucks 260 1.5
29 New Orleans Hornets 248 12.9
30 Portland Trail Blazers 230 -15.2

2007-02-01T08:41:00.000-05:00

Nice Raptors win last night over the Wiz to get back to the .500 mark… PF Chris Bosh was unreal (34 points, 15-for-19 FG) hitting 15 in a row at one point, and he even threw in a buzzer-beater from 60 feet after stealing an inbounds pass at the end of the third quarter…

In the “Like a bad rash” category: former Raptors (and everywhere else) coach Lenny WIlkens is rumoured to be heading back to the bench in Seattle, as Bob Hill finds his seat getting hot…

Ooooh…same category, former Raptor SF Doug Christie has signed at 10-day with the Clippers…

Trade bait:

PF/C Pau Gasol – bad foot, bad hair, any trade deal needs to include an extra “l” for that 1st name…
SG Corey Maggette – on the trading block forever…
PG Mike Bibby – if he gets any slower…
SF Ron Artest – un-tradeable…
C Brad Miller - see Bibby…
C Jamaal Magloire – see Bibby or your local Glacier…
SF Grant Hill and his expiring contract ($16.9 million) – possible…
SF Vince Carter – only his mother knows for sure…

Kobe Bryant reaction to being suspended for smacking Manu Ginobili in the face? "I'm blown away by it. I really am," Bryant said. "It just makes no sense."…I say hallelujah…finally one of the league’s most egregious cheap-shot artists gets penalized…ask Raja Bell what he thinks…If you recall in last year’s playoffs, Bell took five or six solid elbows to the head and face from Bryant over the course of the Lakers-Suns series, none of which resulted in even a foul for Kobe…of course, Bell’s emotions boiled over in game 5 of the series when he clothes-lined Bryant in the lane and was ejected and suspended for Game 6…

SG Eddie Jones (who’s getting a fat head, have you seen him lately? Dude looks a little puffy) was released by the Grizzlies yesterday and is rumoured to be heading to the Miami Heat…

2007-01-26T16:31:00.001-05:00

Congrats to Chris Bosh, All-Star Starter for the first time this year, as the starters were announced yesterday…

Here are some great Gilbert Arenas quotes I found:

About playing in the All-Star game as told to Dan Steinburg of the Washington Post: “I don't think I'll ever actually win MVP at All-Star, 'cause I'm always looking around at who came out that year. You don't know who's going to show up. I'm like, 'That's Jay-Z! Is that Bow Wow?! I don't get to see celebrities during my regular days, so at All-Star, I forget about the game. When I go out there to play, I'm not really doing anything; they may as well sub me out.”

We all remember that Arenas is using his being cut from the US Olympic team this summer as motivation, the coaches of that team being Duke’s Mike Kryzewski as head coach with the Phoenix Suns’ Mike D’Antoni and the Portland Traiblazer’s Nate McMillan…Arenas scored 54 points against the Suns last month and has said his next 50-point game will come against the Trail Blazers on Feb. 11, which prompted Suns coach Mike D'Antoni to say: "I can't wait to see what he does against Duke. He's gonna kill Duke."…Arenas then posted this in his NBA.com blog…”He'd like to see what I'm going to do against Duke…I thought it was funny because if I have the chance to go back to college, I'll give up one NBA season to play against Duke. One college game that's five fouls, right? ... 40-minute game at Duke, they got soft rims I'd probably score 84 or 85. I wouldn't pass the ball. I wouldn't even think about passing it. It would be like a NBA Live or an NBA 2K7 game, you just shoot with one person."

Remember Patrick O'Bryant? He’s the 7 foot centre the Golden State Warriors drafted 9th overall last year after a couple of terrific performances in the NCAA Tournament for Bradley University…well things are not working out so well…right now he’s the only NBA lottery selection playing in the NBDL and is averaging 6.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks, while fouling out twice and shooting just 40% from the field…not good for a 7 foot first rounder in the D-League…to that end, his coach is not impressed: `I told him if he goes down to the D-League and isn't a dominant player, there should be red flags all over the place, and he should be the first to notice,'' Nelson said. ``He's not only not dominating, he's not playing very well. He's a long-term project. I really liked him the first week of training camp, but I assumed there would be great progress. He hasn't gotten better one bit. I'd like to go to dinner with him, but I wouldn't like to put him in the game I'm coaching.''

OK this is funny… If you listen to the Thursday night TNT broadcast you inevitably have heard Charles Barkley chiding veteran NBA ref Dick Bavetta for being old (he’s 67) and too slow to get up and down the floor anymore…Barkley, with some prodding from host Ernie Johnson and partner Kenny Smith, even issued a challenge to a foot race with Bavetta, even trash talking a little when he saidthat Bavetta's tombstone will read: “He keeled over while racing the Chuckster."…Now USA Today reports that TNT has proposed that Barkley and Bavetta on Feb. 17, the day before the NBA All-Star Game…this sounds so ridiculous I might actually watch…

On this date in NBA history January 26, 1991…and yes I do remember this, Maxwell being one of the all-time knuckeheads in NBA history…Houston guard Vernon Maxwell became the fifth player in NBA history to score 30 points in a quarter, joining Wilt Chamberlain, David Thompson, George Gervin and Michael Jordan. Maxwell, who finished with 51 points, hit for 30 in the final quarter of the Rockets' 103-97 home win over Cleveland.

Trade Rumour: Nets seriously thinking about trading Vince Carter and Marcus Williams to the Clippers for Shaun Livingston and Corey Maggette? Doesn't this deal benefit the Clips more?

Good reads here:

Chris Ballard of SI.com on the lost art of shot-blocking:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/chris_ballard/01/24/shot.blocking/index.html

Mike Waters for ESPN.com with a story that reminds you of the upteen times you’ve been knocked down playing basketball and how you just get up…well sometimes it doesn’t work that way:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?id=2740441&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos2

2007-01-24T09:48:00.000-05:00

(This is how I prefer to remember Kevin McHale)

Losing Minnesota…Someone needs to explain to me how it is that Dwayne Casey got fired…I guess because GM Kevin McHale was not about to fire himself…I guess because Randy Wittman, a former head coach for the Cavs, was brought in as an assistant, or really as a standby replacement for Casey’s inevitable firing …I guess because Casey “lost” (coach-speak for could no longer get said player to play hard for or even listen to the coach) shooting guard Ricky Davis, which is like saying you’ve lost Atlantis, Davis being a an executive level member of the NBA’s all-knucklehead 1st team…I guess it’s because Casey was seemingly the first coach ever to get 7 foot space-cadet centre Mark Blount to actually play hard (averaging 13.2 PPG and 6.6 RPG vs. career averages of 8.0 PPG and 4.7 RPG) and fulfill maybe an ounce or two of his 250 lbs. of potential…I guess because winning 7 of your 1st 8 games in January to move into the last available playoff spot in the very tough Western Division and then losing 4 straight is McHale’s definition of “inconsistent” the main reason for the firing offered in a rambling press conference the other day…I guess because you go 7-5 in the month of January, during which three of your 4 losses come to Utah, Detroit and Phoenix (3 of the toughest teams in the NBA) and one of those losses comes with Garnett suspended (for trying to spank Antonio McDyess in the face…come on people, NBA “punches” are more like the patty cake spank you use to put baby powder on an infant’s behind…meaning without really trying to make much contact and soft as, well you get it…)…I guess because the T-wolves as an organization feel that they’ve surrounded Garnett with sufficient talent to go all the way and a 20-20 record was not going to cut it, even tough they lead the league in combo guards (Bracey Wright, Rashad McCants, Marko Jaric, Mike James, Troy Hudson, Randy Foye, Ricky Davis) with nary a real point guard to be found…I guess because they steadfastly refuse to blow this team up and trade Garnett while he still has value (read: knee cartilage) and before he becomes a giant version of Ernie Banks…Anyway…I’m though guessing, because it’s just another delusional cracksmoker move (delusional cracksmoker…as opposed to all of those self-aware ones I guess) from T-Wolves land that reeks of a desperate GM who’s duped his owner into overpaying for average talent that can’t be fired so oops, there goes the coach…

OK I feel better…

How good are the Phoenix Suns right now…it’s more of a statement than a question, and they made a huge statement last night overwhelming the Washington Wizards 127-105, shooting 60.8% from the floor, with our very own Stevie “Canuck” Nash going fore 27 points on 11-13 from the field including 3-4 from three with 14 assists and 3 rebounds…more how good are they? Consider three things:

1) If Gilbert Arenas doesn’t bank in a three with 30 seconds left from the top of the key on December 22nd to win the game for the Wiz in OT…
2) and 2 nights later Dirk Nowitzki doesn’t hit a desperation fadeaway 19 footer with 1.3 seconds left to give the Mavs a 101-99 victory…
3) The Suns are currently on a 31 game winning streak…

Daily link…Great feature here from NBA Veteran writer extraordinaire Jack McCallum on choosing between Blazers PF Zach Randolph and Grizzlies PF/C Pau Gasol…for the record I take Gasol, if only because with Randolph’s incarceration always seems imminent…

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/jack_mccallum/01/23/choosing.sides.randolph.gasol/index.html

2007-01-22T10:08:00.000-05:00

Welcome back Alvin Williams, my favourite Raptor ever…the Clippers signed Williams to a 10-day contract, the team announced Saturday. Williams, an eight-year NBA veteran who played with Portland and Toronto, has averaged 9.1 points and 4.1 assists in 458 career regular-season games.

Accountability from an odd source…Sebastian Telfair is not a happy man at all that he’s gone from starter to thirds string at the point guard position…First Delonte West took the starting spot, then Rajon Rondo was given the backup role… “Oh, I’m overly pissed,” Telfair said. But surprisingly not at coach Rivers…“I’m pissed at myself,” he said. “I can’t be pissed at nobody else. Me being on the bench now, I can’t possibly see it having to do with anybody besides myself.”

February 11, 2007…why is this date important? Well, Gilbert Arenas, who since Dec. 17, 2006 has scored 50, 54, 60 and 30 (7 times) has predicted on his website that he will drop 50+ against Portland on this date…

Interesting glimpse into Elton Brand’s life…http://www.usatoday.com/sports/basketball/nba/clippers/2007-01-17-brand-buddy_x.htm

This is just awesome…http://mavswiki.com./index.php?title=Main_Page

And this is just sad and weird all at the same time…http://michaeljordansmistress.blogspot.com/

Trade Rumour: Bulls send SF Luol Deng and PF P.J. Brown'(and his expiring contract) to the Grizzlies for C Pau Gasol…

In the wake of the Broncos' Darrent Williams' murder in Denver the NBA ordered its security forces in all 29 cities to come up with a list of clubs and other night spots that should be made off-limits to players. Once the clubs are identified, with the help of local law enforcement, the league will send a directive to teams mandating that players avoid those spots or be subject to a substantial fine…

Quick football note: how remarkable was the Colts win over New England? Well, New England entered the game having never lost when it lead at halftime in the playoffs (15-0). Brady was 9-0 himself in that situation, and 62-2 in all games when he had a halftime cushion to protect….

Reason number #4857 that we need to send some NBA history books to Lithuania right now…Sarunas Jasikevicius asked for No. 13 once he got to Golden State…Strangely it wasn't available…"I totally forgot that was (Wilt) Chamberlain's number" which has been retired by the Warriors, Jasikevicius said. "They told me, 'Yeah, can't do that, buddy.'”

1) Marty Burns of SI.com with a great interview with Scott Skiles:

In his own words: Scott Skiles

The Bulls' outspoken coach provides the last word on Chicago's prohibition on headbands and its meaning in the larger world, his refusal to invent excuses for anyone and the unexpected lesson of Michael Jordan.

On the Bulls' rule against headbands, which led Skiles to briefly bench Ben Wallace in November: "We view ourselves as being ahead of the curve a little bit. It was clear a couple of years ago when we put the rule in that the league was moving in the direction of shorts above the knees, stand at attention at the national anthem, get your hands out of your pockets, all the things that were coming about -- I'll call it 'game decorum.' "And we felt like a couple of things like having your shirt tucked in, things like that, were small symbols of sacrifice that mean, 'I'll go with the group on this one.' Nothing more than that. It's not that we view guys with headbands as bad guys, or not good players or team players.''

On the shrill national reaction to the headband controversy: "I always get labeled old school, but I just got done playing not that long ago. I was in the era when the salaries started going up; I was a beneficiary of that. And I was a beneficiary of what I'm about to say.
"Every team has an unbelievable practice facility now with a swimming pool, a steam room, a Jacuzzi and their own personal trainers who are the strength coaches. They can have massages every day, our masseuses are there every day. We have a chef who makes lunch. We drop our bag off at the airport and we never see it again until it gets in our Ritz-Carlton room. We provide a hotel for the guys to stay in on the day of the game downtown. "I think pro athletes should be treated like that. I don't have a problem with any of that. I was treated like that. "But then we make just two or three small rules and everybody goes, 'What are they doing?' There's a disconnect that we all stop and say, 'What's going on?' What's going on is not much; it's just two or three rules. "These are elite athletes, and just like the elite actors they have a right to the perks that come with that. But then we need to stop for a second and realize, 'Hey, you know, a couple or three rules that are minor, that have to do with the togetherness of the team, it doesn't seem like that big a deal.' ''

On the difficulties of young players trying to earn their next contract: "The way this system is right now, your first contract for these guys is sort of for getting on your feet in the league, and it's the second contract where you really make your money. So we undoubtedly have some typical NBA-type stuff going on, where it doesn't make guys bad guys or anything. Guys are in this business to be professionals and make money and get paid for playing basketball. "We've got [Andres] Nocioni and [Luol] Deng and [Ben] Gordon, and all three are eligible to be up next summer [for new contracts]. We're trying to set a standard here where if we win, we'll take care of guys. If we don't, we won't. We want that to be the important thing, not your individual stats and all that. That can be a tough sell in today's NBA, though.''

On whether the Bulls will try to develop a superstar, or whether they will seek to emulate the Pistons with a balanced team devoid of an MVP-caliber scorer: "It's a good question. I would answer it honestly by saying right now we're open to both. "Would any coach or GM love to be able to pencil 25 points every game into your lineup? Absolutely. You know, the guy who gets all the attention so that maybe some of your other guys can fly under the radar: They don't want the heat and maybe that one guy allows the others to play well.''

On whether Deng could become their leading star: "That could be possibly the hardest thing there is to know in the league today. You've got a young player, you like him or you love him, to whatever the degree that your fondness of him is, and you try to estimate where that's going to go. "We think all of our guys still have an upside. Where it ends up, who knows? Our key players are 25 or under, most of them. Some of them have 11 playoff games under their belt, which is basically just dipping your toe in the water. That's why we've got to get out of that first round at some point. We've got to get in a couple or three six- or seven-game series, and really slug it out with somebody and really see who steps up. I think that's where you really start learning about people: When the heat is really on, what do your young people people do? Then you may see some separation. But it's very difficult to judge. "You just don't know when you're going to get a star. I know for a fact because of talking to people around here, the Bulls didn't know what they were getting when they drafted Michael Jordan. They knew they were getting a good player but they had no concept of that. How could you?''

On his players' participation in offseason tournaments: "Every time somebody does anything in the summer as far as playing [in FIBA tournaments], everybody's like, 'Oh my God, are you going to rest him?' I feel like if you're trying to give people an easy way out, they're going to take it. Then guys will start questioning it and one guy will say, `Yeah I'm really tired,' and then another guy will say it.
"I respect those guys who represented our country and played over there. But I saw the schedule. The travel is grueling and I hate to travel -- I'm in a bad job for that -- but the guys were home in time. Our guys had three weeks off [before training camp], Kirk [Hinrich] and Nocioni. I don't know how much time you have to have off.''

On whether limitations on training camp have hurt the NBA product: "I know there are a couple of coaches in the league I talk to who think that a lack of conditioning is one of the reasons for the poor starts of teams. I can't speak to that myself, because our guys work. We believe in practicing and our guys do extra work -- they're in the pool, they're on the bikes. But I do know that's one school of thought.''

On his close relationship with GM John Paxson: "They talk about coaches being a 'players' coach,' which is an overused term. But John is a 'coach's GM,' if there is such a thing. And not just for me, because I'm not going to be here forever and somebody else will be here at some point. "It would be hard for me to imagine somebody -- no matter what your style is -- not liking to work with John. He knows the game, he played the game. When he talks to you about the game, he sees what went on out there. There are some guys who just don't. But he's into it. Obviously his situation is unique because of his loyalty to the Bulls -- this is not a guy who is just doing it for the money and when he's done here he'll go be a GM someplace else. And on top of it, philosophically we look at the game so much alike. We don't really have any disagreements, nothing major anyway, so it's good.''
2) Anonymous scouts comments on some current NCAA players:

On Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh senior center: "I know a lot of people don't like him, but I do. People don't give him credit for his skills. He's not athletic, but he's really big. He's a legitimate five."

On the Pittsburgh players outside of Gray: "I don't see any definite pros there. Maybe Sam Young in a couple of years, maybe Tyrell Biggs. Maybe [Levance] Fields, though he has to address his body. I talked to a coach who played them, and he said they're really good but they just don't have that one perimeter guy that puts the fear of God into you."

On Hasheem Thabeet, UConn freshman center: "I don't think he can play. I think he's a stiff. He's obviously very long, but he's not a great runner. He doesn't have a high motor at all. It's a given he wouldn't have the technical stuff down, but watch him, he doesn't run gracefully and he doesn't have a lot of energy out there."

On Ivan Radenovic, Arizona senior forward: "Let me tell you something, he's a pretty good basketball player. Everybody's looking at the other kids on that team, but this guy is versatile, he shoots it, he has some toughness inside. I like him a lot more on that team than Marcus Williams, who's on everybody's list but I think he's soft and a little mechanical."

On Mustafa Shakur, Arizona senior point guard: "His decision making is much better this year, without a doubt. His shot still looks terrible; the mechanics change every time I see him. But he's got nice size, and if he keeps making decisions like he's making, he's definitely a draftable guy."

On Josh McRoberts, Duke sophomore forward: "He's just a blend player in our league. He's a really good passer, but he doesn't seem to want the responsibility of being the guy at Duke. Maybe he's incapable of it. Maybe he can be Toni Kukoc, but Kukoc could really make shots to stretch the defense. I guess McRoberts could become a good shooter in time, but right now I don't see it."

On Paul Harris, Syracuse freshman guard: "I really loved him in high school, but there's no doubt he's taken a step backward as far as trying to find his niche in that system. He's an NBA combo guard who will be in the league for sure, but unless he improves his jump shot it's going to be a problem."

On Eric Devendorf, Syracuse sophomore guard: "I don't think Devendorf can play in the league. He has a rep for being a good shooter, but he has the ugliest jump shot I've seen in my life. He has sidespin on the ball."

On Terrence Roberts, Syracuse senior forward: "He'll sneak onto somebody's team because he's so long and active, but the kid has no offensive touch whatsoever. He can't finish a sandwich."

On Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina sophomore forward: "I'm not a big Hansbrough fan. He's an unathletic, fundamentally tough kid who is getting it done on effort and intensity. He plays under the rim. He's not going to be able to do those things as successfully in our league. Somebody's going to take him 15 to 25, but I think his stock will continue to go down."

On Josh Heytvelt, Gonzaga sophomore forward: "He shows you athleticism, he's got versatility. His jump shot is nice. I'd like to see him get down on the block more, but he has shown he has the potential to do that. That's our game."

On Jared Dudley, Boston College senior forward: "He's a three man who can't put the ball down. He has a really good post up game and he's tough. I'd love to coach him in college, but he's not an NBA player. Then again, I said the same thing about Craig Smith, and so far he's proving me wrong."

On Sean Singletary, Virginia junior point guard: "I was disappointed in him the night I saw Virginia play. When the game got into the half-court, he couldn't get by anybody. In the open court, everybody can play in transition, but in the half-court, it was different. That bothered me a little bit."

On Alando Tucker, Wisconsin senior forward: "Tucker definitely has to be rising on people's radar screens. He's a tweener, sure, he doesn't have a true position. Some reporter asked me if he can be another Josh Howard. That's a pretty strong comparison, but Howard wasn't that highly thought of coming out of Wake Forest, so maybe there's something to it."

On Nick Fazekas, Nevada senior forward: "I'm not a big fan of his, but he'll probably play in the NBA because he's long and he can shoot it. But talk about a bad body."

On Julian Wright, Kansas sophomore forward: "Some people think Wright is the truth. I'm OK on him. His shooting scares me, but he is very skilled and very active. The guy I like on that team is Sherron Collins. I tell you what, he's like Quinn Buckner reborn. Stocky, though, makes plays, defends. I was pretty impressed with him."

On Arron Afflalo, UCLA junior guard: "I like Afflalo. He's strong, solid, sort of like a Keith Bogans-type, probably better. He'll play in the league for sure."

On Brandan Wright, North Carolina freshman forward: "He's the best pro on that team without a doubt. He's got great length, he's quick off the floor. He's got to become a better scorer from 12-to-15 feet, and like all these kids he has to get stronger. But he's got all the other attributes you look for. I'd say he's definitely a lottery pick if he comes out."

On Ronald Steele, Alabama junior point guard: "He's a solid player. I think he'll be a good player. The biggest thing with him is, how bad is his injury? Some people say it's a high ankle sprain, some people say he's got tendonitis in his knee. They're not giving out a whole lot of information. He certainly hasn't played anywhere near where he played last year. If that continues, he'll have to come back to school because this is a very deep draft."

On Richard Hendrix, Alabama sophomore forward: "Maybe he's a pro down the road, but not right now. He could end up being like a Chuck Hayes. He's probably a better athlete than Chuck, but Chuck just kind of hung in there and got a shot with Houston and went to the NBDL. A guy like Hendrix might have to go that route because he's undersized."

On Glen Davis, LSU junior forward: "I love him. I think he's going to be special. He'll end up as a really good shooter. You'll be able to run pick-and-pop with him forever. He's going to be like Charles Oakley, but Oakley couldn't pass or dribble like this kid can."

On Chase Budinger, Arizona freshman: "I know a lot of people at Arizona, and I don't think he's coming out. He's good, but he hasn't had a 'wow' year. Shoot, they lost at home to Oregon and he only had four points. Williams is going to leave, Radenovic and Shakur are seniors, so next year Budinger's role will expand. Now, that said, he would still go in the first round, but I'm pretty certain he's going back to school."

On Spencer Hawes, Washington freshman center: "He's really good. He's not the greatest athlete, but he's got tremendous hands and he works really hard. The kid is always moving defensively and offensively. He knows how to play, he's a good passer, he can step off the block. He almost looks ambidextrous with the way he can score around the basket with both hands."

On Brandon Rush, Kansas sophomore forward: "I'm not as big on Rush as some people may be. There's just something about his game I really don't like. I'm worried about his left arm, which was broken when he was young. He's a pretty good athlete, but I'm not sure how good a scorer he can be at our level."

On Wayne Ellington, North Carolina freshman guard: "Every time I've seen him, he just hasn't shot the ball real well. I don't know if he had off nights or what, but I've seen him more than once and he hasn't shot it well yet. He's a very smooth athlete, he can create a shot, but it just hasn't gone in."

On J.R. Reynolds, Virginia senior guard: "He'll have a chance, but I see him as a volume shooter. I'd have a hard time coaching him because he wants to score. He looks to me like he's a two guard in a point guard's body."

On Javaris Crittenton, Georgia Tech freshman point guard: "I want to like him, but I think he's a little selfish. He's definitely a pro because he's got a great body and he's really talented. But he'd make me nervous if he was my point guard. If he plays with other scorers and he's taking shots all the time, that could be a problem. If he could be a Gilbert Arenas-type where he's your point guard but you want him to get you 30, he could do well."

On Thaddeus Young, Georgia Tech freshman forward: "You know, people put him in the same class as Kevin Durant or Greg Oden, but he's definitely not there. When I saw him, I wanted to see Lamar Odom, but I don't see it with Young. He does have upside and will be a good player someday, but right now he can't dribble or pass. He's a first rounder for sure if he comes out, but I don't think he's a difference maker."

On whether there's a chance Oden will return to Ohio State: "There's no way he can go back to school. That's just a smokescreen. He got injured once already. There's just too much money involved with someone like that.

On whether there's a chance Durant will get drafted ahead of Oden: "Not a chance. I'm not drafting small forwards in front of centers. Oden can dominate the game for the next 15 years. Durant is a star, but unless a team already has a young, great center, I don't see it."

"Rodney Stuckey (sophomore guard) at Eastern Washington is a star. He's got a pro body, an unbelievable basketball IQ. He's a great -- not good -- passer. Can really handle. He's an average shooter but he's a 90 percent free-throw shooter, so the stroke is there. He just needs the reps. Remember, Dwyane Wade didn't make threes in college.

"I'll give you a guy nobody other than about 20 NBA scouts knows about: Jahsha Bluntt at Delaware State. I guarantee you he'll be in the league, and if this wasn't an unbelievable draft he'd be a late first rounder. They list him at 6-6, but he's probably 6-4 1/2. He's 215 pounds, he's strong, he's athletic, he can shoot the heck out of the ball. His coach is a John Chaney disciple, so they play a lot of zone and walk it up, so he's averaging 13 or 14 a game. Put him in a track meet, he'd have 24 a game.

"The best under the radar basketball player in America is Jared Jordan. Go see Marist play. He's as good a passer as anybody I've seen in a long time. He's much more athletic than people give him credit for. He just goes where he wants, he knows all about spacing, he changes pace. He's a pure point, and if he's open, the college three is easy for him. He's as good a point guard as there is in college.

"I went to see Nevada play and their point guard, Ramon Sessions, was really good. I asked some other guys and they liked him too. I don't know if that's just the game I saw, but I tell you what, he was really good. He's got nice size, he's a true point guard, he can really pass it. He didn't shoot it much when I saw him, but when he did, he looked pretty good.

"Trey Johnson at Jackson State has a chance. He's a scorer. The question I have is, how big is he really? They have him listed at 6-5, but I don't know if he's 6-5. But he has an NBA body and he can score, so somebody will probably take a chance on him in the second round.

"Rice's Morris Almond is a big-time shooter. Not a great athlete, not a particularly good ballhandler, but he knows how to play. He uses screens and can put the ball in the hole with range. I'd say he's a borderline first-rounder."

2007-01-18T14:08:00.000-05:00

Nice win last night there Raps. Especially Jose Calderon who had the Kings on a string all night…love the nappy head on Chris Bosh too, although he looks a little like a giant version of Marquis Daniels…

Thought….Is it just me or do the Pistons lead the league in Flips? Speaking of Flips, apparently Pistons PF Rasheed Wallace and head coach Flip Saunders are no longer speaking or at least Rasheed is no longer listening…

Did you know…Dirk Nowitzki and Larry Bird are the only players in NBA history to have average 20 PPG, 9 RPG, and make 75 3-pointers in a single season. Nowitzki has done it four times compared to Bird's three ... and in four fewer seasons.

This is awesome…http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_blogs/scorecard/jimmys_blog/2007/01/most-unforgettable-musical.html

Quick football note: I read that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was now dating supermodel Gisele Bunchen, which after a couple of years of Actress Bridget Moynihan is simply not fair…if he somehow ends up with Halle Berry, I may have to put a contract out on him…

Weird…The Pacers traded SF/PF Al Harrington, SG Stephen Jackson (shooting guard…that’s funny), PG Sarunas Jasikevicius and SF Josh Powell to the Warriors PF Troy Murphy, SF Mike Dunleavy, PF Ike Diogu and PG Keith McLeod. Other than being the 2nd Sarunas (as in Marciulionis) to play for Don Nelson, this seems to be an un-eventful deal…well, on second thought, for Golden State maybe Harrington is an ideal Nelson-player who can swing 2-3-4 positions in the small ball alignment that Nellie likes so much…Jackson is full-court kind of a guy, so he might work, while Nelson’s son Donnie has coveted Jasikevicius for years since he’s the Lithuanian team national coach…Powell started in Dallas and is a transition player who might be useful…for Indiana, Murphy is a similar player to Jermaine O’Neal in that he’s not a classic back to the basket 4/5…Dunleavy is just not good and not tough and not deserving of an NBA roster spot, period…McLeod is a classic journeyman PG…Diogu, on the other hand is a talented scorer and rebounder, albeit undersized, or maybe just under-tall, kinda like a poor-man’s Zach Randolph without the jail time…he might flourish in Rick Carlisle’s half-court oriented offence…

Oops…now the Pacers are trying to send Dunleavy to the LA Clippers for SG Corey Maggette, who has been a target of the Pacers since Artest was on the trading block last year…

Bill Simmons continues to be funny…http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/070117&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos2

2007-01-16T10:01:00.000-05:00

"Joining the Pistons will allow me the opportunity to play the game I love in my hometown of Detroit surrounded by my family," Webber said in a statement yesterday…so how will this homecoming go for Webber, who might be my favourite NCAA player ever…

Pros:

A) at 6-foot-10 he’ll probably start at center next to power forward Rasheed Wallace, which will free up Wallace to roam the perimeter on offence and pick his spots in the post as Webber is a high post player now anyway…

B) Webber has career averages of 21.4 points and 10 rebounds and may be motivated to play somewhere close to that form, keeping in mind that last year he averaged 20.2 points and 9.9 rebounds in 75 games -- the most he played since the 1999-00 season with the Kings…

C) Being a high post centre and an excellent passer, he might help the Pistons free up some movement on offence…certainly he’ll facilitate for Wallace and Billups as spot up shooters and Richard Hamilton will love Webber’s passing as he stays in perpetual motion cutting to and fro…

D) He still has the best hands in NBA History…

Cons:

A) His legs are gone…he cannot dunk in traffic anymore and he does not rebound his area nearly like he used to…

B) He’s become a very 1-dimensional jump shooter from the elbow…even the jump hook

C) His footwork is still atrocious and now that his athleticism has left him, he does not have the fundamentals to fall back on, so as a post up player he has a very weak jump hook and that’s it…

D) Never a great defensive player in his prime, Webber is now positively glacial on defence…he is also not an “aware” help/team defender…

Webber has learned to play without the eye-popping explosiveness of his prep and college days. He won state high school titles at Detroit Country Day and led Michigan's "Fab Five" to NCAA championship games in 1992 and 1993.

Here’s what I think will happen…Nazr Mohammed will request a trade…the Pistons will score more and more easily with Flip Saunders installing some high post sets to work to Webber’s strengths as a passer…the Pistons will play team defence well enough to cover for Webber’s defensive shortcomings…

Of course, when we talk about Chris Webber we can’t forget how badly he screwed Michigan: Webber pleaded guilty to a federal criminal contempt charge in July 2003, a day before jury selection was scheduled to start for his trial on a perjury charge. He was ordered in 2005 to pay a $100,000 (which is less than a game’s wages) fine after he completed 330 hours of community service. Webber acknowledged lying to a grand jury in 2000, when he said he didn't recall giving money to Martin. Webber also admitted that he gave Martin about $38,000 in cash in 1994 as partial repayment for expenditures Martin made on his behalf. Martin, who died in 2003 at 69, pleaded guilty in 2002 to conspiracy to launder money and told federal prosecutors he took gambling money, combined it with other funds and lent $616,000 to Webber and three other Michigan players. Martin said he gave Webber and his family $280,000 from 1988-93, a period extending from his freshman year in high school through his sophomore season with the Wolverines. Because of NCAA violations connected to the case, Michigan was not eligible for postseason play for two years, lost scholarships and was placed on probation. Michigan took down the banners Webber helped the Wolverines earn as part of its punishment and removed his name and likeness from its media guide and basketball arena. In 2003, the NCAA also forced the school to dissociate itself for 10 years from Webber.

Oh…and cue the Trade Rumour: Pistons send Nazr Mohammed to Minny for PG Marco Jaric…

Wow…Gilbert Arenas scored 51 points last night, including the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer in the Wizards' 114-111 win over the Jazz…if you’re counting that’s the third time in the past 30 days that Arenas has crossed the 50 point threshold; he scored 60 against the Lakers on Dec. 17 and 54 at Phoenix five nights later (both of those games went into overtime)….other Arenas news from Elias…Arenas also celebrated a birthday recently: he turned 25 on Jan. 6. Get a load of this: In the history of the NBA, only three other players as young as Arenas have produced three or more games of 50-plus points over a 30-day span. The names are as regal as this league can offer: Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Michael Jordan. The last NBA player to hit a game-winning shot in the last five seconds of a game in which he scored 50 or more points was Jamal Mashburn for the Hornets against the Grizzlies in an overtime game in which he scored 50 points in 2003. Before that, you go back to Karl Malone, in a game in which he scored 56 points for the Jazz against the Warriors in 1998.

Oh boy, somebody is going to get fired… Charlotte guard Jeff McInnis was ejected in the first quarter of the Bobcats' game against Philadelphia on Saturday because a Bobcats employee turned in an official roster before the game that did not include McInnis as an active player. McInnis entered the game with 3:15 left in the first quarter. The 76ers called attention to the error eight seconds later during a break in play after a foul was called. Referee Dick Bavetta called an official timeout and players from both teams went to the bench for several minutes before it was announced the Bobcats were called for a technical foul and McInnis was ejected. Bobcats coach Bernie Bickerstaff looked at the incorrect roster before slamming it to the table and walking back to the bench…

1) Jim O’Brien of ESPN.com with his opinion on the Webber trade:

Webber can still pass, but ...

When I was a young man just out of college, I bought my first car. I believe it was a late '60s Chevy Camaro. The price was right, it looked good and it had a radio that worked. When I took it for a test drive, it ran beautifully and that radio sounded so good. I paid cash and took it from Philadelphia to a new job I had in North Carolina. Three hours into my 500-mile journey, it started to smoke. To make a long story short, it took six pints of oil to get me to my job because the engine block was cracked. I should have had a master mechanic look under the hood before laying down my money. Chris Webber might have some engine problems of his own, but he is going to a team that should be the absolute best fit for his aging game. Joe Dumars is a smart guy who kicks all the tires before driving off the lot with a used car. You can bet he has looked under the hood and knows exactly what he is getting. The deal Dumars pulled to get Rasheed Wallace is still fresh in everybody's memories. It is not an easy job to coach in the NBA, but Flip Saunders has just been given a piece that should make his Pistons a much more difficult team to guard. Webber is the best passing big man in the league, and you do not need young legs to be a great passer. The thing that makes it an even better marriage is that Webber will be dishing the ball to what is clearly the top offensive lineup in the East and maybe in the whole NBA. Saunders is a coach who always seems to maximize the offensive talent he coaches. As Webber moves into the starting lineup, the Pistons become a team that will be just murder to defend. It will take Saunders some time to get this engine purring, but when it starts to run smoothly, look out. The Pistons are going to put up some gaudy offensive numbers because their opponents are going to be challenged at every position. Opponents are not going to be able to trap anyone because all five starters will be able to hit the outside shot. This is a luxury for Saunders and the envy of any coach. Last time Webber had this type of firepower to pass to he led his Sacramento team to the conference finals. Another positive factor for the Pistons is that they just traded for a player who grew up in Detroit and will not have the normal off-court transition period that is an overlooked downside of many trades or midseason deals of this kind. Detroit is home for Webber, and he will be eating home-cooked meals from day one. The high expectations of this area's fan base should not be a problem either because there have been enormous expectations of Webber since he was in high school and later as a Wolverine at Michigan. So what is the downside of this signing? Webber is a slow, disinterested defender who will burden any man-to-man defense. But even this has a bright side. Saunders has had a lot of success playing a matchup zone. The coaching staff would prefer it to be a high-energy, pressure-type zone, but it can hide the weaknesses that are the baggage of Webber's defensive indifference and ailing legs. When I coached Webber, after we traded for him in Philly, we did not have a zone, nor do I believe in zones as a steady diet, so Webber was exposed at that end of the court. The big fellow will like playing for Saunders more than for me. If Saunders can make his team really buy into becoming a good matchup zone team, and limit the temptation players have to just stand around when a coach calls for the zone, the Pistons again could be the team heading to the NBA Finals from the Eastern Conference. One other potential downfall of this signing is Webber's ability to adjust to not being the man in the locker room. This is Chauncey Billups' team, and the Pistons' point guard has been a very effective leader. Webber did not adapt to joining an Allen Iverson-led Philadelphia team despite what was put out there in the media. Webber must find his niche in this new locker room and use his influence in a positive way. If he can do this, Saunders and Dumars will make this work.

2) Marty Burns of SI.com thinks Webber is a mistake for the Pistons:

Risky business - Webber's defense could end up hurting Pistons

Three years ago Pistons GM Joe Dumars took a bold gamble by acquiring the temperamental Rasheed Wallace at the trade deadline. The move paid off huge dividends as 'Sheed behaved himself on the court and helped lead Detroit to the 2004 NBA championship. Now Dumars is rolling the dice again. Looking to shake up his listless team, he's bringing in veteran power forward Chris Webber. Dumars hopes that Webber's passing and shooting -- and his desire to win a ring before he retires -- can provide the same kind of spark that Wallace did. But there's only one problem with Dumar's rationale: Webber is no Wallace. At least not anymore. Five years ago Webber was one of the best power forwards in the league. He could shoot. He could pass. He could run the floor. And, yes, he could defend. Or at least move his feet well enough to stay in front of his man. Now Webber is more like a statue on defense. Ever since undergoing microfracture knee surgery a few years ago, he just has not been able to move laterally. Foes attack Webber with pick-and-rolls, forcing him to come out and move his feet so they can blow past him on the way to the basket. For the Pistons, a team that prides itself on defense (or at least used to do so), it's a major problem. Detroit already lost Ben Wallace before the season. Now it is taking another step toward ridding itself of its defensive identity. Ah, you say, but now the Pistons will be better offensively. They will have another passing big man to run Flip Saunders' multiple sets. They will be able to outscore foes on a nightly basis.
Maybe. Or maybe not. Webber averaged nearly 20 and 10 last year with Philadelphia, but it was misleading. He gave up that many points on the other end with his poor defense. Meanwhile, his insistence on playing the No. 2 role behind only Allen Iverson took away shots from Andre Iguodala and made the Sixers more predictable. One Western Conference scout who sees the Sixers regularly as part of his work duties told me last week he'd be surprised if Webber made any impact. "Have you seen him this season? He's been awful," the scout said. "He can't play anymore." Even if Webber gets rejuvenated before his hometown fans, his arrival creates all sorts of other potential potholes. Where does he play? Whose minutes does he eat up? Will he butt heads with Saunders the way he did with Jim O'Brien and Maurice Cheeks in Philadelphia?
Keep in mind, the Pistons already have looked like a somewhat shaky group this season. In recent weeks Tayshaun Prince has talked about the team's lack of chemistry on the court. Then Wallace began showing up late for practice and was yanked from the starting lineup. Nazr Mohammed, who also lost his starting role, now says he wants to be traded if he's not going to play major minutes. Imagine what will happen if Webber's arrival doesn't go as planned. Will C-Webb, bright and outspoken, live up to his reputation as a clubhouse lawyer? Will he and 'Sheed begin to tune out Saunders? Meanwhile, the Pistons are now talking about possibly breaking up their chemistry further by making a trade that would create more playing time for C-Webb. Mohammed and Dale Davis are the likeliest candidates to be dealt, but neither is going to bring back the quality backcourt help the Pistons are seeking. More likely it would require giving up Antonio McDyess, the team's best frontcourt scorer.
When told Monday about rumors that McDyess might be on the trading block, a Bulls starter who shall remain anonymous said that was "crazy." His teammate seated a few feet away echoed the sentiment. Although both said Webber was still a good player, they couldn't believe the Pistons would consider giving up McDyess to make room for him. Meanwhile, at the other side of the United Center, the Spurs basically had little reaction to the news of Webber's signing. While Webber originally had put San Antonio on his list of five teams he would consider playing for, the Spurs never appeared to be a serious candidate. For one, coach Gregg Popovich was an assistant to Don Nelson at Golden State when Webber had his celebrated feud with his coach there. For another, the Spurs couldn't really offer him any more money or playing time than he could get in Detroit.
At any rate, San Antonio's coaches and players seemed more worried about a looming ice storm in Texas than they did any looming potential threat from Webber joining the Pistons. "I don't know what to say," Popovich shrugged when informed of the news. "Yeah, he's a very talented player. ... I think he's a fantastic passer and there are some guys on that team hard to guard who move well without ball. [Rip] Hamilton and Prince are really tough coming off picks, and with Webber out there passing the basketball he's going to find those guys. He can help them offensively a great deal." "I have no reaction," Michael Finley said. "I haven't really seen Detroit so I can't say." Robert Horry also said he hadn't seen Detroit enough to say how Webber might help, but he didn't sound as if he was ready to pencil in the Pistons as Eastern Conference champs. "The thing with Detroit is they're the type of team that if they do have him they could be better but they're going to be good regardless, because they have a great nucleus," he said. "He's a great player. He can adapt to any situation. I think the only team he couldn't play for is Phoenix because they run too much for him. He's not an up-and-down player like he used to be." Horry is being too kind. Webber has lost more than his ability to get up and down the floor. He has lost his explosiveness and his defensive mobility. He might be able to help the Pistons, but he just as likely will have the same effect he had on the Sixers. It's worth remembering that at the time of Webber's trade to Philadelphia, many pundits were hailing the move as a great one for the Sixers. Iverson was finally going to have the second scorer he needed, they said. We all know how it turned out. The big difference, of course, is that Dumars isn't investing too much in this deal. For the veteran's minimum ($1.2 million, pro-rated), Webber is at least a low-cost risk. But if the Pistons wind up losing McDyess or their chemistry in the process of trying to make C-Webb fit, they will be sorry.

3) Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News with the Michigan perspective:

WEBBER COMES BACK HOME

The ovation began as he emerged from a tunnel in a corner of The Palace. By the time he entered the light of the arena, many were standing and most were cheering, and when P.A. announcer John Mason asked fans to welcome "Detroit's own Chris Webber," the noise grew. It was not thunderous, but appreciative. And as Webber, the newest member of the Pistons, took a seat in the front row, a swarm of cameras marked the moment, a homecoming of mutual necessity. Finally, after fates twisted in all sorts of directions all these years, we reached the perfectly ironic conclusion: Webber needs the Pistons, perhaps as badly as they need him. The Pistons aren't rebuilding, but Webber, 33, is. This is the only place he could do it, and do it completely. By agreeing Monday to sign with the Pistons, the 6-foot-10 Webber immediately provides inside impact, high-level experience and a spark the Pistons crave. Heck, if his left knee and right ankle are healthy, Webber could re-establish the Pistons as prohibitive favorites to reach the NBA Finals. No doubt, they need a boost, falling to the Timberwolves, 94-90, for their seventh loss in 10 games, although Chauncey Billups' absence because of a leg injury explains some of it. What does Webber get out of this? Maybe more. It takes more than a nice ovation to make this work, but it looks like a fine fit, the only place Webber could reinvent his career, rehabilitate his image and reconnect with his hometown. And let's get this out of the way right now. Webber made many mistakes while at Michigan, helping put that program on probation. He damaged his school and he damaged himself, pleading guilty in 2003 to criminal contempt for lying to a grand jury. Of course, he should have been more responsible, more forthright. But Webber did pay his debt -- a $100,000 fine and 330 hours community service -- and although the past doesn't disappear, it does fade. Webber can further bury it with a heartfelt admission of his mistakes, although I'm not sure it matters. What can he say now? More important: What can he do now? The man is allowed to move on, and all Webber owes is passionate effort. He doesn't need to be a star. He needs to be the good teammate we always thought he'd be when he came out of Detroit Country Day High as one of the most-celebrated players in the state's history. "The players are excited, I'll be excited (when it's official today) and there's no question the town is excited," coach Flip Saunders said. "It's going to be a good mixture for our team because he's an unselfish player. I think he'll be hungrier, and I think the town is going to embrace him." It's really this simple: People will embrace him if he does well and the Pistons win. The Pistons can't formally introduce Webber until he clears waivers Tuesday. But really, he made the only choice he could after the 76ers bought out his contract. Other teams muted their interest and none could offer what Detroit could offer. The Pistons provide a starting position. They'll give him significant minutes and a significant role. They'll give him a shot at the championship he never has gotten in the NBA or in college. The charge could be felt everywhere at The Palace, from the stands to the bench to the locker room. The fans welcomed Webber at the first opportunity, when he walked in with his father, Mayce, during the first quarter. Saunders is eager to throw him into the lineup and the players can't wait to play with him. Webber's first game? Possibly against Utah on Wednesday night at The Palace. "His passing is phenomenal, his shooting is phenomenal -- there's nothing he can't do," said Billups, due to return any day. "This is a tough, blue-collar city, and I don't see why they wouldn't welcome him back with open arms. He's always had nothing but love for this city. Everywhere he's at, he always talks about Detroit. He did some things at Michigan when he was young, but I don't think that should destroy his character." Billups talked to Webber the past few days, recruiting him to return home. But let's be honest here. It's not the Pistons' job to polish Webber's standing in his hometown. Joe Dumars wants him primarily because the Pistons need him, mostly to compensate for the loss of Ben Wallace. Nazr Mohammed hasn't filled the role and likely is on the trading block. Webber is an upgrade, and everyone understands that. He's not the player who dominated in Sacramento, but let's not forget, Webber averaged 20.2 points and 9.9 rebounds last season in Philadelphia. He is older. You hope he's more mature, not the guy who had trouble fitting in with coaches and teammates. You hope he's smarter. You hope he'll learn what his friend, Rasheed Wallace, learned. "Nothing but positive things," Wallace said. "Coming here re-energizes you." When Wallace came to Detroit, he was branded an incorrigible malcontent. He has become a good teammate and fan favorite, although too many times this season, he has looked uninterested. Webber's arrival might rejuvenate Wallace and others, while rejuvenating himself. That is the plan, at least part of it. "It's very similar to the Rasheed situation," Billups said. "It's an unbelievable luxury to have two guys like that. Chris has made all the money in the world and been to All-Star games. "He's done everything you can do, except win that ring." Besides the ring, Webber can win back the devotion of many, completing the story. Of all the reasons to come home, that's a pretty good one.

2007-01-11T09:12:00.000-05:00

I can’t decide if this picture is funny or creepy…

Gentlemen…fill out your ballots…http://www.nba.com/allstar2007/dance/

More News on the Arenas favourite Hamburger front…in a recent ESPN.com interview, Arenas claimed that the best hamburger he’d ever eaten was from Toronto…speculation was rampant about the location of this Shangri-La of Hamburgers, until the other day in an online chat, again on ESPN.com, Arenas indicated that the burger was from the Ritz-Carlton, which was the team hotel whenever the Wiz were in Toronto…only one problem, as pointed out by my friend Mark, the Ritz-Carlton Toronto is still being built…

Don’t look now, but the Phoenix Suns have won 22 of their last 24 games

I can see the finger waggle from here…Dikembe Mutombo blocked five shots in a win over the Lakers and moved into second place all-time with 3,191 blocks, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar….of course, in Kareem's first four NBA seasons blocks weren't counted, because blocks didn't become an official stat until 1973-74. Hakeem Olajuwon is the all-time leader at 3,830….still Mt. Malaria’s achievement should not be discounted…

Magic center Dwight Howard lost his mind last night…He had a career-high 30 points and season-high 25 rebounds in a 91-76 win over the Warriors. Howard, who leads the league' in rebounding with 12.5 RPG, posted his fourth game this season with at least 20 points and 20 boards.

I know all you hear is Greg Oden this and Greg Oden that, but did you see Texas freshman Kevin Durant (6’10” SF/PF) against Colorado on Saturday? Check the line: 37 points on 13-23 from the floor, including 5-7 from 3 and 6-6 on free throws, 16 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block…he’s still a little skinny, but he’s basically a taller version of Carmelo Anthony…

1) From the AP, Webber is gone:

Webber accepts buyout from Sixers

C-ya, C-Webb. The Philadelphia 76ers completed the paperwork to buy out the remaining 1 1/2 seasons on Chris Webber's contract Wednesday, ending two disappointing years for the former All-Star who did not want to be part of the franchise's rebuilding process. Webber missed 11 of the last 14 games, officially with foot and ankle injuries, but the 33-year-old forward had become frustrated both with his reduced role and the Sixers mired in last place in the Eastern Conference. He will be waived officially on Thursday. Webber was due nearly $21 million this season and $22 million next season. "I thank Chris for everything that he did for this organization," team president Billy King said. "This move was made to help this organization move in a different direction and allow Chris to move on." Webber's agent, Aaron Goodwin, did not immediately return a phone message. Acquired in a stunning blockbuster deal from Sacramento on Feb. 23, 2005, right before the trade deadline, Webber seemed unhappy in Philadelphia almost from the start. He clashed with former coach Jim O'Brien in the last half of the 2005 season, calling the final 21 games "timeout times 50," a reference to his infamous gaffe at Michigan in the 1993 national championship game. Webber bounced back under coach Maurice Cheeks last season with solid averages of 20.2 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 75 games, the most games he'd played in the last six seasons. He said in training camp he was feeling as strong physically as he had since undergoing microfracture surgery on his left knee in June 2003. But Webber appeared to fall out of favor with Cheeks early this season, and was benched in several fourth quarters with little explanation. His minutes and production dramatically declined, and Webber eventually met with King to express his unhappiness over his situation. Webber made it clear several times this season he wanted to end his career with a contender. With Allen Iverson traded to Denver last month, that's two All-Stars off the roster in a matter of weeks. The Sixers have three first-round picks in the draft and are rebuilding through youth. Webber, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1993 draft, averaged 11 points and 8.3 rebounds in 18 games this season. Webber has career averages of 21.4 points and 10 rebounds in 779 career games.

2) Marc Stein of ESPN.com has Webber’s wish list:

Webber's wish list: Heat, Pistons, Mavs, Spurs, Lakers

With his buyout from the Philadelphia 76ers on the verge of completion, Chris Webber has established a Fab Five wish list of high-profile teams he'd like to play for. Webber told ESPN.com on Wednesday night that 17 of the league's 30 teams have already called to register interest in his services, but the free agent-to-be hopes to sign with one of the following contenders: Miami and his hometown Detroit Pistons in the East; San Antonio, Dallas and the Los Angeles Lakers in the West. "This is the best I've felt in three years," Webber said in a phone interview. "Now the thing I want to do most is win a championship, put myself back on that kind of level." Webber didn't divulge any order or preferences when listing those teams but did acknowledge that the Mavericks, believed to be offering less playing time than anyone in the group, was the least likely destination. Early indications in San Antonio, meanwhile, suggest that the Spurs -- whose desire to get younger and more athletic and the swing positions is well-chronicled -- are unlikely to pursue Webber. Each of the other three teams on Webber's list, by contrast, does have a need and an interest. Miami has major depth issues even when Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade are healthy and pursued Webber's former Michigan teammate Jalen Rose when Rose was bought out by New York in November. The Heat, possessing their full mid-level salary-cap exception worth in excess of $5 million, also have the ability to outbid any of the aforementioned suitors, although Miami will stray into luxury-tax territory if it spends, say, $2 million to bring Webber in for the rest of the season. The Pistons, sources said, immediately thrust themselves into the running, intrigued by the idea of adding the local legend as they continue to revamp their front line in the wake of Ben Wallace's free-agent defection to Chicago. Webber's experience, size and game are also bound to appeal to the young Lakers, who recently lost two frontcourt starters to injury (Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown) and run an offense (coach Phil Jackson's triangle) that could make the most of Webber's passing skills. "My father said I haven't smiled on the court in about three years," Webber said. "I just want to get back to playing with a smile on my face and playing with a team that can really vie for title. I want to be an integral part of a championship team." The 33-year-old added that he hopes to have his new address "by Monday, even though three or four teams want me by Friday." A new deal can't happen that quickly because Webber must wait two business days to clear waivers once his buyout from the Sixers is made official. Webber said he expects paperwork on the buyout to be completed by Thursday morning at the latest.

2007-01-08T10:02:00.000-05:00

Gilbert Arenas is such a whiner…last night he blamed the Wiz 116-111 loss to the Raptors to the 1 o’clock starting time…''I don't think we've ever played well on 1 o'clock games,'' Arenas said after Bosh had 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Raptors to a 116-111 victory over the Wizards on Sunday. ''In the NBA that's a weird time, especially for your body because that's usually your practice time. A 1 o'clock practice, you know how that goes.'' It’s worth noting that Arenas had 33 points and the Raptors won despite shooting just 22 free throws compared to 41 for the Wizards.

Interesting article here on whether playing on offseason national teams affects play during the NBA: http://www.82games.com/pelton25.htm

The Chicago Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons 106-89 on Saturday night with Luol Deng scoring 30, while Ben Wallace finished with 12 points, 14 rebounds and a season-high six blocks in his first game against his former team…Rasheed Wallace had some fun at his former teammate's expense during pregame warmups, when he tried to hand Big Ben a headband. Ben Wallace, who was benched for wearing one during a game at New York in late November, jokingly tossed it aside. "Just messing with him," Rasheed Wallace said. "That's my man. We've got to mess with him”…”I think the whole team came out with headbands," Ben Wallace said, smiling. "That was premeditated on their part."

This is just plain funny…The New York Kincks are over the salary cap just in terms of bought out or retired players…Allan Houston, Shandon Anderson, Jalen Rose, Maurice Taylor and Jerome Williams account for over $60 million this season…now some of that money is covered by insurance (Houston’s cash for example) but it’s still incredible…

Trade Rumour: Bulls send PF Tyrus Thomas, SF Luol Deng, PF P. J. Brown and a 1st round pick to Minnesota for PF Kevin Garnett…Nets send PG Jason Kidd to Dallas for PG Devin Harris, SG Jerry Stackhouse, and PF Austin Croshere

Sleeper NBA first round pick…Eastern Washington sophomore guard Rodney Stuckey had 25 points, 10 assists and 3 steals in Eastern Washington's 88-87 win over Northern Colorado…Stuckey, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound native of Kent, Wash., averaged a Big Sky Conference freshman-record 24.2 points per game last season and was the Big Sky player of the year. Stuckey is averaging 23.3 points and 5.2 assists per game this season….

1) Can you believe that Juwan Howard is the only one leftBy Chad Ford
ESPN.com
Archive of the Fab Five still making a significant contribution? From Sam Smith of the Chicago Tribune:

This Rocket never rocks boat - Veteran Howard respects game, all about the team

Juwan Howard knows disrespect, the chestnut for general player unhappiness. Like, "He's making $12 million and I'm only making $10 million and I'm better. You're disrespecting me." Or, "He gets a three-room suite on the road, and I just get a two-room suite. And his lobster is from colder water. You're disrespecting me." Let's see if we can count the times. There was Howard's rookie season, when the power forward averaged 17 points and 8.4 rebounds for the Washington Bullets. So the Bullets used their first-round draft pick for a power forward, Rasheed Wallace. Then there was after Howard's third season, when the Bullets declined to match a free-agent offer from the Miami Heat, only to have the NBA disallow the offer and force him back to Washington. Then there was the trade to Dallas for a bunch of backups, which landed Howard with his best team ever—and the only time he moved past the first round of the playoffs—only to be traded before the end of the next season to the rebuilding Denver Nuggets. Then it was on to Orlando as a free agent for a season. Then he was shipped with Tracy McGrady to Houston, where a virus resulted in a heart ailment that could have been fatal and a recovery that found the Rockets already having traded for Stromile Swift to replace him. And then this season playing behind Shane Battier, then Chuck Hayes, and then not at all. But as the Rockets play the Bulls here Monday night with Yao Ming out with a broken leg, Juwan Howard is back in the starting lineup. He still is not very athletic, not much of a jumper, long shooter or dunker. But Howard is the only member of Michigan's famed Fab Five still playing a significant NBA role. "I don't get into all that [disrespect talk]," says the Chicago native and Vocational High School grad. "You have to go out and earn your respect, in practice, in game situations, when your name is called to be ready to go in the game and provide what the team needs. "Why go out and speak publicly about situations? Why should I ever go out and speak about some displeasure when I can go out and compete and enjoy what I'm doing? The best part of all this still is 1994 when I was drafted. It's been a dream of mine from when I was a little kid. I wanted to play in the NBA and I have. That day is still the high point in my career." No, you don't hear much about Howard, who still doesn't jump much, run too fast or shoot too well. But in his 13th NBA season, Howard carries career averages of 16.3 points and 7.2 rebounds. And though he's averaging 7.4 points and 6.0 rebounds this season, he was averaging 15.2 points and 8.2 rebounds in five straight wins without Yao going into Sunday, when the streak ended with a 103-99 loss at Minnesota. Howard kept up his solid play with 19 points and five rebounds. Howard has played in an All-Star Game and earned a third-team all-league honor one season. He doesn't show up on highlight shows, or in the police blotter. Perhaps he never says much interesting or clever, but he works on his game like he's not a multimillionaire and appreciates every day like it was the first. Howard is the kind of player who makes you feel proud to be a fan of the NBA. "I look back and I can't believe it's 13 years," Howard said one day last week after practice. "And now the fact I'm playing a lot and playing well, I thank God because I've worked hard at it." It wasn't really coach Jeff Van Gundy's plan. In fact, Howard was startled when Van Gundy told him before the start of the season he wasn't even in the rotation anymore. The Rockets wanted the deep shooting of Battier at power forward. Then they decided they needed the rugged rebounding of Hayes next to Yao. "I didn't like the idea," Howard admits of going from starter to DNP. "But I figured coach Van Gundy researched it and felt it gave us the best chance to win. It so happened it lasted three games. Then he wanted to start the young guy, Hayes. I disagreed with that. Yao and I had won a lot of games. But I respected the coach's decision. He studied this more than I did." And then Yao went down and they needed Howard starting again. "Juwan has been one of the best professionals I've ever had the chance to coach," Van Gundy wrote in an e-mail. "He didn't play the first game this year, but instead of questioning, he just kept preparing. He is the same guy every day: comes in, works hard, totally committed to the team, enthusiastic.
"Most veterans lose the love of the game before they actually lose their game. Juwan still loves the gym, the preparation that goes into being a quality player." It has certainly been lucrative for Howard, who signed a contract worth more than $100 million when he was returned to Washington. But it never has been easy. He was overshadowed by Chris Webber and Jalen Rose in college and by Webber, Rod Strickland and Mitch Richmond in Washington, dumped by Michael Jordan in Washington when his contract supposedly was an albatross for the franchise, and disposed of further by Dallas along with Tim Hardaway, who would later smash a TV set on the playing floor one game. "Yeah," Howard recalls with a laugh. "Tim didn't take it as well." Howard called that a low point, but never protested. He played another season with a 17-win Denver team, leading the Nuggets in scoring and signing with the Magic, only to be shipped out with McGrady after playing a team-high 81 games for Orlando, an ironman known for his heart, but even that became uncertain. "It was life-threatening," Howard said of the viral myocarditis he contracted late in the 2004-05 season when he was sidelined by a knee injury. "At times I thought my career might be over. I couldn't do any conditioning for six to eight months. I couldn't take my heart rate over 120. "But I came back the next season and played 80 games and there's been no aftereffects. I didn't allow it to beat me." And, remarkably, hardly anyone has been beating the Rockets lately even without Yao, who was having an MVP season. It mostly seems to be because of McGrady, who has been producing big offensive numbers again after a return from back problems. And with very respectable play from Juwan Howard.

2) Chad Ford of ESPN.com with his draft watch:

Draft Watch: 13 freshmen with first-round potential

We said in July that much of the strength of the 2007 NBA Draft was in a stellar incoming freshman class that boasted as many as four potential lottery picks and several other excellent NBA prospects down the road. Turns out stellar was an understatement. This year's freshman class is having a bigger impact than anyone predicted and has the potential to produce a whopping eight lottery picks and 13 first-rounders altogether in this draft. To put this into historical perspective, the most freshmen ever drafted in the first round was four in 2001. However, that was back when high school players could come directly to the NBA without meeting a minimum age requirement. To get a handle on the most NBA-ready high school class ever, you have to combine the number of preps-to-pros and college freshmen who were drafted from that class. That distinction belongs to the high school class of 2004 which placed eight high school seniors in the first round of the '04 draft and one college freshman in the '05 draft. This year's freshman class should exceed that amount if all of the top freshmen declare. After talking with numerous NBA scouts and executives, here's a look at the top 13 freshmen in the country:

1. Kevin Durant, F, Texas - Greg Oden may be the consensus No. 1 pick in the draft because he's a center, but he's not the best freshman in the country. That honor goes to Durant. You'll have to go back to Carmelo Anthony to find a more dominant freshman in a major NCAA program.
Durant has been nothing short of spectacular in almost every area of the game. He can score both inside and out, and has been nearly a double-digit rebounder despite his wiry frame and outside-in game. He's been a fearless leader on the court and has drawn comparisons, from some scouts, to Kevin Garnett with a jump shot. Barring injury, he's a lock for the No. 2 pick in the draft and will likely go No. 1 if Greg Oden decides to stay at Ohio State as a sophomore.

2. Greg Oden, C, Ohio State - He's only played five games and is doing it basically one-handed, but it's easy to see that Oden is already the best big man in college basketball. Oden is still healing from a broken wrist injury he suffered this summer, but he has still looked great. Defensively he's already a nightmare for opponents, and once he gets the flexibility back in his right wrist he should be more effective on the offensive end of the floor. His poor game against Florida probably says more about the excellent draft prospects of juniors Al Horford and Joakim Noah than it does about Oden. Barring a torn ACL or some other serious injury, he'll go No. 1. The big question on everyone's mind right now is whether he'll actually declare this spring.

3. Brandan Wright, F, North Carolina - As a high school sophomore and junior, Wright was mentioned in the same breath as Oden. However, a so-so senior year hurt his draft stock a little as scouts questioned his drive and work ethic. Wright has erased most of those doubts this year with his great play at UNC. North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough came in as an early pick for NCAA Player of the Year, but after watching Wright's first 11 games, it looks like Hansbrough isn't even the best player on his own team. Wright's combination of length, athleticism and versatility reminds some scouts of LaMarcus Aldridge. He's ranked No. 3 on our Big Board and looks like a lock for the Top 5.

4. Bill Walker, G/F, Kansas State - Walker couldn't play high school ball this fall because he used up his eligibility. So he graduated early and enrolled at Kansas State. He became eligible to play on Dec. 16 and has had an immediate impact on the Wildcats, averaging 14.5 ppg and 5 rpg in his first five games. Walker's uberathletic game draws immediate comparisons to Vince Carter. But will he even be eligible for the 2007 draft? NBA rules say no because his high school class doesn't graduate until June. Still, Walker has a good case if he wants to appeal his eligibility.

5. Darrell Arthur, F, Kansas - Arthur waited until the last minute to pick Kansas and the early indications were that he'd take a back seat to a number of talented sophomores already on the KU roster. But Arthur had different ideas and has been putting up big numbers in limited minutes for KU. Given his size, athleticism and position, he should be a Top-10 pick.

6. Chase Budinger, SG, Arizona - Lute Olson calls him one of the best prospects he's ever coached and for good reason. Budinger has a lethal combination of athleticism and a jump shot. He's also an excellent rebounding guard. After a red-hot start, he's cooled off a little, but at 17.4 ppg on 55-percent shooting, there isn't much to complain about. He should be a lottery pick for sure, with a great chance of landing in the Top 10.

7. Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn - If Mouhamed Saer Sene, a raw, unproven prospect from Senegal, can go in the Top 10 (to Seattle in 2006) … what are Thabeet's chances? Compared to the rest of the prospects on this list, Thabeet is raw and unproven. However, he is 7 feet 3 inches tall, has long arms, is athletic and has already established himself as one of the best shot-blockers in the NCAA. The fact that he reminds so many scouts of Dikembe Mutombo doesn't hurt his chances either. He's a guy who could really use another year or two at UConn, but if he declares, he'll go high.

8. Spencer Hawes, C, Washington - Hawes is the bizarro Thabeet. He's not particularly long or athletic, but he's very skilled in the low post. He knows how to score in a variety of ways and he's an excellent passer. He has scored 20 points or more in four of his last five games. He's not a great rebounder or shot-blocker yet, but given the NBA's dire need for big guys who can score in the post, Hawes becomes the eighth NCAA freshman with a legit shot at the lottery in '07.

9. Thaddeus Young, F, Georgia Tech - Young was one of the more heralded high school prospects last summer but his NBA future is a little blurry now. He's been pretty inconsistent this season, looking absolutely dominant at times and terrible at others. His biggest issue is position -- is he a 3 or a 4? He's got the length and athleticism to play the 4, but spends much of his time hanging around the perimeter when he should be taking the ball to the basket. He went three straight games without shooting a free throw before last week's game against Georgia where he got to the line 12 times. He reminds scouts a lot of Al Harrington and is going to have to figure out his game (or have scouts figure it out for him) before he'll be considered a lottery prospect again. Still if he's on the board in the mid-first round, someone will grab him.

10. Daequan Cook, SG, Ohio State - Cook looks to be next in the line of smaller 2-guards with explosive athleticism and sweet jumpers who could make the jump to the NBA. He got off to a red-hot start, but his production has dwindled a bit since Greg Oden started playing. Still, his stellar shooting numbers (55 percent from the field, 49 percent from 3) combined with his rebounding should make him a first-round lock. If he attacked the basket more, his stock would rise even higher.

11. Javaris Crittenton, PG, Georgia Tech - NBA scouts love big point guards and Crittenton is a rare one who fits the mold. He's a legit 6-foot-5, pass-first point guard with excellent leadership skills. The knock on him coming out of high school was his jump shot, but so far this season he's shooting 47 percent from the field and from 3. However, turnovers are a big issue, especially when playing against smaller, quicker guards. Regardless, he's a mid to late first-round pick whenever he decides to declare.

12. Matt Bouldin, G, Gonzaga - He's got the Adam Morrison/Dan Dickau hair … and some scouts feel he might have a little John Stockton in him, too. But the best comparison may be a non-Gonzaga alum -- Deron Williams. Bouldin is another big guard who shows exceptional court vision and leadership on the floor for a freshman. Right now, Gonzaga has him playing mostly 2-guard and small forward which has hurt his stock a little. And his play has been pretty up and down. He was great against North Carolina and Washington and then threw up a terrible game against Duke.
Of the Top 13, he's the guy most likely to stay in school for another year or two. But if he comes out, someone will grab him in the late first round.

13. D. J. Augustin, PG, Texas - He's little, but he's been on fire of late for Texas. Augustin is a super-quick point guard who sees the floor well and can shoot lights out from NBA 3-point range. He wasn't as heralded as some of the other freshmen who came onto the scene this year, but he's been rising quickly on draft boards and has a good shot of going in the first round if he declares in '07.

After these 13, there are a number of other talented freshmen who should make it into the first round -- some as early as next season. Here are 10 names you should start familiarizing yourself with: Wayne Ellington, SG, North Carolina; Paul Harris, G/F, Syracuse; Tywon Lawson, PG, North Carolina; Mike Conley, PG, Ohio State; Quincy Pondexter, F, Washington; Ryan Anderson, PF, Cal; Gerald Henderson, SG, Duke; Lance Thomas, PF, Duke; Robin Lopez, C, Stanford; Stephen Curry, G, Davidson

Stock Watch: Horford's rising; Noah's slipping

While NBA fans have been focused on the 30 pro teams, NBA scouts have been watching the best group of prospects seen in years. Now that the college season is half over, and most teams are beginning conference play, it's time to recap the first half and preview the second half of the regular season. Last week we looked at 13 freshmen who have a shot to be lottery picks in June. Now we're examining the college sophomores, juniors and seniors. Which ones have helped themselves? Whose stock is falling? Read on.

STOCK RISING

Al Horford, PF, Jr., Florida - Horford was a potential late lottery pick last season after Florida's amazing tournament run, but some scouts questioned whether he was anything more than a serviceable rotation player in the NBA. Furthermore, an ankle injury this season has slowed his progress a little. But when he's been healthy he's shown a great combination of toughness, basketball IQ and athleticism. And what really has given his stock a boost was his performance against consensus No. 1 pick Greg Oden. Horford dominated Oden on both ends of the floor, and has his stock now planted firmly in the Top 10.

Marcus Williams, SF, So., Arizona - Some questioned Williams' decision not to declare for the 2006 draft after a stellar freshman year. But by all accounts, Williams' game has matured and his stock continues to rise. Williams reminds scouts of former NBA star Steve Smith. He is long and fairly athletic, can defend multiple positions and doesn't need the ball to be effective on offense. He's improved his rebounding and shooting percentage dramatically this season, despite being the focal point of the defense. He should be a late lottery pick on draft night.

Sean Williams, PF/C, Jr., Boston College - No one has improved his stock more than Williams this season. I've been talking about him since his freshman year, but he showed only glimpses of NBA potential his first two years of college. Lately he's been on a tear, establishing himself as the best shot blocker in college basketball. Against Duquesne he put up an amazing triple double: 19 points, 10 rebounds and 13 blocked shots.
He's also beginning to show talent as an offensive player and rebounder. Given his size, athleticism and improvement, he's turned himself into a lottery prospect. The only thing holding him back? Several offcourt incidents the past few years have scouts seriously questioning his character.

Dominic James, PG, So., Marquette - The 2007 NBA draft looks amazing in all but one area: point guard. It appears that there won't be one lottery-caliber point guard prospect for a second straight year. The best of the group appears to be James. He isn't a pure point guard, a great perimeter shooter or even quite 6-foot, but his combination of athleticism, strength, defensive prowess, scoring ability and explosiveness have scouts intrigued. Given the new uptempo style of play in the NBA, James should be a good fit as a mid-to-late first-round pick.

Morris Almond, SG, Sr., Rice - Almond declared for the NBA draft last year and impressed scouts with his play at the Orlando predraft camp. It wasn't enough to get him a first-round promise, however, so he returned to Rice -- on a mission. So far, he's been amazing, averaging 30 points per game -- shooting 52 percent from the field and an impressive 46 percent from 3-point land. Considering his size (he measured 6-6 in shoes at Orlando), athleticism (he has a 35-inch vertical and ran one of the fastest three-quarter-length sprints at the predraft camp) and his consistency (Rice averaged 20 ppg and shot 44 percent on 3s last season too), he should be the first college senior off the board on draft night. How high he goes depends on workouts. Were he at a big-name school like Duke, he'd be in the lottery. Right now, scouts have him in the mid-to-late first round. But he could rise.

STOCK SLIPPING

Joakim Noah, PF/C, Jr., Florida - This was inevitable. Noah had a Cinderella run for Florida last season and most likely would have been the No. 1 pick in the 2006 NBA draft had he declared. With a number of super freshmen coming into the game and NBA scouts now going through Noah's game with a fine-toothed comb, we expected him to fall a notch or two. Noah is still ranked by most scouts as a top-five player in the draft, but lately I've been hearing a chorus of questions about his position, offense and failure to improve much this season. I'm not necessarily buying it. When you focus on Noah's strengths (size, athleticism, energy, ballhandling, passing and ability to create off the dribble), he's still an excellent prospect. If Florida plays deep into March again, and Noah's the leader again, it's hard to see him falling out of the top four or five.

Josh McRoberts, F, So., Duke - Most scouts believed that McRoberts, sans J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams, would have a monster year at Duke. So far, it hasn't materialized. McRoberts has struggled, especially against top competition. His shooting percentage is way down this season, as are his per-minute numbers. He still has the talent of a lottery pick, but he's going to have to put together better numbers in the second half (which he's done the last few games) to move back into the high lottery.

Jeff Green, SF, Jr., Georgetown - Scouts still love Green's overall game, but his numbers, across the board, have been disappointing. Scouts appreciate his versatility, point forward skills, and defensive play. But most scouts expect potential lottery picks to average more than 11.7 points, especially when the team is struggling. Green took just two shots against Old Dominion, four against Oregon and six versus Duke -- all losses for the Hoyas. You can blame a lot of this on Georgetown's offense, which is a bad fit for a player like Green (in this aspect he reminds me a little of Rajon Rondo at Kentucky last year -- good player, bad fit). Still, he has to assert himself more to get his stock back up into the late-lottery range.

Tyler Hansbrough, PF, So., North Carolina - Hansbrough's numbers continue to impress, and he remains one of the toughest, most aggressive low post players in the NCAA. However, he's struggled in games against bigger, more athletic power forwards and centers, and that alarms scouts. Hansbrough is already an undersized four who doesn't have particularly long arms and isn't that athletically gifted. He'll face long, athletic players almost every game in the NBA. So, when you compare him to teammate Brandan Wright, I don't think there's any question who the better NBA prospect is.

Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, F, So., UCLA - Mbah a Moute was another March Madness wonder who helped spark UCLA all the way to the final game. His combination of size, athleticism, strength and defensive tenacity earned him comparisons to a young Ron Artest -- without the personality issues. Much was made this summer about his improving jump shot and offensive game & but scouts haven't really seen that in games yet. Mbah a Moute remains an athletically gifted defender who excels in the open floor. But once the offense grinds down into the half court, his effectiveness is severely limited. He's still a first-round prospect, but talk of him in the lottery has faded to a whisper.

SECOND-HALF SLEEPERS

Darren Collison, PG, So., UCLA - Collison took scouts by surprise with his MVP performance at the Maui Invitational. Given his incredible acceleration, he may be the quickest point guard in the NCAA right now. He's also proven to be a capable leader for UCLA. He has been shooting lights out from 3-point range, is a tenacious defender and can be spectacular in the open court. Like a lot of other point guards in this draft, he's undersized, but given the success of smaller point guards right now, Collison could be a steal in the late first round.

Mario Chalmers, PG, So., Kansas - Chalmers has been the most consistent offensive weapon on the Jayhawks of late. He's not a pure point guard, but he has enough skills to play that position in the pros. He has a steady hand, shows good range on his jump shot and plays like a leader on the floor. If he puts it all together in the second half of the season, he's got a shot at the first round.

Mustafa Shakur, PG, Sr., Arizona - Shakur has been touted as a top draft prospect since his freshman year, but has been mostly a disappointment for NBA scouts. He declared for the draft last spring and didn't get much interest from scouts, forcing him to return to Arizona for his senior year -- something that neither Shakur nor Lute Olsen really seemed to want. But Shakur has been a different player this year. He's playing under control and racking up the assists, and even his ugly jump shot is going in with more regularity. Given the lack of talent at the point guard position, scouts are talking about Shakur as a second-round prospect. If he continues playing this well and leads Arizona deep into the tournament, he has a chance to go even higher.

2007-01-04T09:49:00.001-05:00

Bye for now composite ball, we barely knew ya…Now that the leather ball is back not everyone is happy: "I'd rather just finish it out this year and go back to the old ball next year, especially since they are sending us brand new, old (leather) balls," Bobcats forward Sean May said despite showing deep cuts on his fingertips. "They still have to be broken in."…The Wizards showed a very funny video between the first and second quarters with the microfiber ball exploding like the Death Star, complete with "Star Wars" theme music, followed by the leather ball getting out of bed, crossing a street, getting into a cab, punching some meat in a meat locker and victoriously climbing the steps of the Lincoln Memorial…all to the theme from "Rocky."

Speaking of the Wiz, did you see Gilbert Arenas win the game last night? Gilbert Arenas gets the ball inbounds under his own basket with the score tied and 6 seconds to play….he dribbles downcourt and seeing Charlie Bell backing off, he stops about 8 feet behind the three point line (or around 32 feet from the basket!!!) and pulls up for the winning 3-point jumper…"Once I let it go, I'm like, 'That's in," Arenas said. "I don't even need to look at this one." …and then he barely watched it go in before walking back the other way nodding his head giving the Wizards a 108-105 victory over the Bucks…"I thought he would take one more dribble," Bell said. "I give him credit. They say he has no conscience, and he doesn't."

Speaking of Gilbert Arenas…you have to go here and check out his birthday party…I especially love the invitation or the “Arenas Express card”
http://www.arenasexpress.com/

The Grizzlies beat the Warriors 144-135 last night…Mike Miller made 9 of 12 three-pointers for Memphis, his third straight game with at least seven three-point field goals, matching the longest such streak in NBA history. The only other player to do that was George McCloud, for the 1995-96 Mavericks…another remarkable stat? Both teams scored more than 30 points in each quarter for the first time in 15 years…

Mike Kahn of FOXSports.com with his weekely 10 things:

Happy New Year NBA fans! With apologies to the Hall of Fame rocker Peter Townshend, meet the new ball … same as the old ball.

1. Item: The NBA officially announced Sunday that the league is dumping the microfiber basketball it imposed upon the league at the start of training camp without consulting the players prior to the season, and returning to the leather ball it has been using for generations.

What this really means: It's hard to fathom that NBA commissioner David Stern actually believed dropping a new ball on the players without discussion would ever fly. The league never even explained why the change was made, which leads everybody to believe it was just a favor to Spalding to put a new ball on the market for sale because the NBA uses it. The players association even filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board about it (along with the way technicals and fines were being handed out), while the players struggled to control the ball when damp and found cuts on their hands when it was dry. Yeah, great move. Anyway, Stern conceded his error on Dec. 11 and three days later, Spalding sent 10 leather balls to each to provide ample time to break them in after passing NBA specifications. A week later, 10 more new balls and four used ones were sent – providing each team with a minimum of 24 balls. By the end of the month, all NBA teams will have at least 50 leather balls, and each game the crew chief will check the game ball for specifications and it must be approved by a designated player from each team. Amen.

2. Item: The Memphis Grizzlies fired coach Mike Fratello last week after a league-worst 6-24 start — despite a franchise best 95-83 mark overall — and replaced him for the rest of the season with Tony Barone, the Grizzlies director of player personnel the past seven years. What this really means: This franchise is a mess and it was inevitable that Fratello would take the fall. Their lone All-Star Pau Gasol didn't play until just a couple of weeks ago, featuring a bunch of guys too young or too old to be consistently productive – with perhaps the exception of Mike Miller. But that's not the point, really. Legendary president Jerry West will retire after this season and the once thrilled legion of fans in their new digs have already tired of the organization. Despite the posh new FedEx Forum to help revitalize the city, carpetbagger owner Michael Heisley moved after a year in Vancouver, and the majority of the team has been for sale almost since he landed the team in Memphis. The purported sale of that majority to former Duke teammates Brian Davis and Christian Laettner has the appearance of a total sham, with everybody in and around the organization very much aware of it. The biggest reality of it all comes from the Grizzlies at 7-25 entering the week and that was enough to send Fratello back to the telestrator. The hazard pay isn't as good, but at least he always had stability with his sidekick Marv.

3. Item: Now that the first coach has taken a hit, invariably it opens the door for another organization to make a move. Rumblings have quieted in both Toronto with Sam Mitchell and Dwane Casey in Minnesota — despite early contentions to the contrary. The real problems are manifesting in Atlanta, where the young Hawks are gaining speed in the downhill fast and Mike Woodson is struggling to find answers. What this really means: The Hawks have lost seven in a row, nine of 10, and since Joe Johnson got banged up last month, he has lost the edge that made him look like one of the best floor players in the league. And now, they can't seem to figure out how to win. This is when coaches become casualties. It has nothing to do with fair. General manager Billy Knight has been continuously rebuilding this team and made a horrible mistake in the 2005 draft when he passed up two exceptional point guards in Chris Paul and Deron Williams for forward Marvin Williams – ignoring the needs of the team for the old-fashioned view that you can always get point guards. Well, Tyronn Lue has done fine this year, Speedy Claxton is still injury prone, and the Hawks keep losing. It is Woodson's responsibility to eliminate the pall of a losing culture. But if everybody else in management keeps making mistakes and they lack the veteran leadership of having won – there is little he can do.

4. Item: The Milwaukee Bucks now have won seven of their last eight games and now have the seventh best record in the East – as the fifth team in the Central Division to be above .500 in a conference that has only seven teams with winning records. What this really means: The Bucks are forever destined to be the poor stepchild in the one impregnable division in the East considering their own financial restrictions. Give credit to Sen. Herb Kohl for hanging in there with this team, despite his limited financial resources and hanging on to super-scorer Michael Redd with a huge contract. But how long can this go on? They have every reason to be excited about young center Andrew Bogut and maybe even Charlie Villanueva. And yet, they overpaid free agent forward Bobby Simmons going into last season, and now he's out for this season with no contribution after an erratic first year with the club. On the surface, most of the pressure falls on underrated coach Terry Stotts, but ultimately it is up to Kohl. He got his new term as senator, so now it is time to face the future. He reneged on selling the majority to a group headed by Michael Jordan a few years ago, and now the buzz has begun again with the outdated Bradley Center a huge issue. That's not the legacy he wants, but sooner than later, Kohl has to come to terms with the big picture and get out before future prospects fade into oblivion.

5. Item: Sacramento Kings president Geoff Petrie continues to be reminded on a daily basis the conundrum that is forward Ron Artest. What this really means: Evidently, both the Kings and the Los Angeles Clippers have cooled on the Artest for Corey Maggette trade, but that's not to say the problems with Artest are resolved. They are always just below the surface, whether it's with teammates, management or just himself. Whether or not point guard Mike Bibby is fed up with Artest apparently is open for interpretation, but there are only two certainties when it comes to dealing with Artest: He'll make the defense better and he'll drive everybody crazy on offense — latter carrying into the locker room. There are other teams that want him simply because he makes a team tougher. But his delusional decision-making continuously outweighs what he contributes to the good of the team. His head is in the game only as long as he wants it to be. In other words, he's uncoachable for a large percentage of the time and it erodes the effectiveness and consistency of the entire team. For all the issues Maggette causes with his lack of defense and penchant for cranking up too many shots – there is potential for sanity there. With Artest … just ask the struggling Indiana Pacers about the long-range ramifications of having Artest on your team.

6. Item: In his first three games with the Denver Nuggets, Allen Iverson recorded double-doubles, averaging 31.3 points and 11.0 assists, as the Nuggets won two of them despite not having starters Marcus Camby (broken finger) and suspended Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith. Nonetheless, coach George Karl became the 12th coach to earn his 800th career victory. What this really means: Camby returned Sunday night, but the Nuggets fell to 2-3 since Iverson joined the club. Smith returns in five games, but Anthony has 10 more before his suspension is lifted from the Dec. 16 brawl in New York. Meanwhile, the diminutive backcourt of Iverson and 5-5 Earl Boykins must hold down the fort. So far, the move has been a breath of fresh air to Iverson and the Nuggets — not to mention their fans — are thrilled to have him and awaiting the return of Anthony with baited breath. It revitalized Karl after the hassles with Kenyon martin last year and Iverson's desire to run will help maintain the excitement and should validate his ability to help Anthony on his quest for success among he NBA elite. Of course, there is no guarantee Iverson and Anthony can co-exist because they need the ball so much – then again, they're both just stubborn enough that it will help energize the duo to prove everybody wrong.

7. Item: 2006 rookie of the year Chris Paul joined the already crowded shelf of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City shelf that includes Peja Stojakovic and David West. What this really means: When Paul badly sprained his ankle last week in a loss at Seattle, and it was difficult not to imagine the blood draining out of coach Byron Scott's face. Early on, just like last year, they were one of the surprise team. Then Stojakovic went down with a disc problem that has him out of the season. West isn't healthy yet and neither is third guard Bobby Jackson. It's a mess and there is little hope now for the team to compete for a playoff spot. So where does the future lie for this organization? The NBA and owner George Shinn are committed to New Orleans for a full return from Oklahoma City next season, but the unknown lingers. When a team overachieves and is novel to a city, there is no question about its popularity and the fans will come. But mediocrity or worse, plus an indecisive owner such as Shinn who moved from Charlotte to New Orleans, and now is playing in Oklahoma City (due to Hurricane Katrina), and uncomfortable with the financial instability about moving back … well, support over the large scheme of things won't come easy. But in the immediate future, it is Byron Scott who needs the support. And considering the circumstances, the picture isn't pretty.

8. Item: The Dallas Mavericks went to Denver Sunday night and escaped the wind, snow and ire of the Nuggets for a four-point win for coach Avery Johnson's 100th victory in his first 131 games. That is the best start for a coach in NBA history – getting there four games faster than legendary Red Auerbach. What this really means: As if their 12-game winning streak that stretched through November to Dec. 1 wasn't impressive enough, the Mavericks extended their present run to 10 games at the Pepsi Center. More striking is the simple fact they did it with Dirk Nowitzki home and ailing with a sinus infection. Clearly, Josh Howard is working his way back into the dominating impact-style that made him one of the bright young stars last year. But at this particular time of the season, this is about Johnson, who has lifted this franchise from having peaked at a tad below the elite level with Don Nelson, and now will be considered challengers to win the NBA title over the next few years at least. Most of the attention has centered on how much Johnson has lifted the defensive intensity. That's part of it. But he's also given them an energy and focus that has put them in a different category. And that brings a word of warning to the rest of the league. From a 1-6 mark to the NBA-best 24-7 they took into Monday's games, they're just getting started.

9. Item: It's nearly impossible to get a handle on the very sad Atlantic Division, but the irony is that the perplexing New York Knicks are just one game out of first place and are 5-3 since their brawl with the Denver Nuggets. What this really means: On the surface, it's hard to tell. What we can tell, though, is that president-made-coach Isiah Thomas is putting passion back into their game. Sure, Steve Francis appears to have quit on the team – which is hard to fathom for a $16 million a year guy – and he'll yank impressive David Lee for some odd reason or another, but the finally appear to be headed forward instead of swimming in the tank. Certainly 13-20 is nothing to gloat about, even if they are just a game out of first place, but they are better. With Larry Brown's incessant lineup changes and bickering with players behind closed doors and in the media, last season was the ultimate nightmare. And whether it's Thomas screaming at opposing players such as Bruce Bowen, or perhaps inciting the brawl as some have insisted, he is at least getting them to play hard. And considering how bad they were a year ago, that's progress.

10. Item: The Houston Rockets won three out of four games last week as Tracy McGrady has returned a seven-game back-spasm hiatus to average 27.0 points to keep the Rockets among the top six teams in the West. What this really means: It's huge that they got T-Mac back and he's contributing significantly. But they'll be without Yao Ming for probably two months after breaking a bone in his leg, and the inevitable question is how long McGrady is physically capable of carrying this team without Yao. McGrady will get his points, if healthy, but for them to remain in contention, guys like Shane Battier, Rafer Alston, Juwan Howard and Luther Head must consistently raise their performance so McGrady doesn't have to carry too much weight on his shoulders. Otherwise, he very well could suffer the consequences, and have little to offer by the time Yao returns.

2007-01-02T10:17:00.000-05:00

The General finally passed Dean Smith as the winningest coach in men’s NCAA Basketball history…my opinion? I’ve always liked Knight…I like his motion offence that forces players to share the ball…I like his commitment to man defence…I love his hard-ass style but I don’t think it’s the only way to coach…I love the fact that de graduates almost all of his players…I love the fact that he was the greatest single fundraiser in the history of Indiana University, single-handedly procuring funding for the Indiana University Library, which is one of the finest in the world…and I must admit, that boorish as he is, I like his insistence on being himself, like it or not, take it or leave it…however, some of the language being used to describe his accomplishment is a little bit out there…one writer called him “one of the all-time winners”…for perspective, all time winners in the NCAA are people like John Wooden (10 NCAA titles) or my favourite, Iowa wrestling coach Dan Gable…as a college wrestler, Gable was the best ever being both a national and Olympic champion who only lost 1 match in four years of college…Gable was then the head wrestling coach at Iowa for 21 seasons where the Hawkeyes won 15 national titles, 21 Big Ten Conference crowns and completed seven perfect seasons…again, don’t get me wrong, I love Knight and what he’s accomplished, but the hype is as much about personality as it is accomplishment…

Men’s basketball Coaches with 700 victories who have spent a minimum of 10 seasons in Division I

Coach Wins
x-Bob Knight, Texas Tech 880
Dean Smith, North Carolina 879
Adolph Rupp, Kentucky 876
Jim Phelan, Mt. St. Mary's, Md. 830
Eddie Sutton, Oklahoma State 798
Lefty Driesell, Georgia State 786
Lou Henson, New Mexico State 779
x-Lute Olson, Arizona 772
x-Mike Krzyzewski, Duke 765
Henry Iba, Oklahoma State 764
Ed Diddle, Western Kentucky 759
Phog Allen, Kansas 746
x-Jim Calhoun, Connecticut 744
John Chaney, Temple 741
x-Jim Boeheim, Syracuse 737
Jerry Tarkanian, Fresno State 729
Norm Stewart, Missouri 728
Ray Meyer, DePaul 724
Don Haskins, Texas-El Paso 719

x-Active coaches

A few things before we address all things Knight:

NFL…Deion Sanders comments about Vince Young during Saturday night’s telecast: "Vince young is insationable' out there!” What?

Wow…Boise State over Oklahoma 43-42 in overtime…this was simply the best college bowl game I have ever seen, and I estimate I’ve seen over 100 in my lifetime…

Ben Gordon is bananas…Only two sixth men in history have averaged 20 points for a whole season: Ricky Pierce and Eddie Johnson. Gordon entered Friday's play at 20.1 ppg after hanging 40 on Miami…

1) From the AP:

Knight breaks record - The General sets men's D-I mark with victory No. 880

Bob Knight won 880 games doing things his way. And he sure celebrated it his way. Long appreciated for his strategy and long questioned for his methods, Knight added the crowning achievement to his Hall of Fame career by becoming the leader in Division I men's basketball victories when Texas Tech beat New Mexico 70-68 on Monday. Having finally reached the pinnacle he's long insisted didn't matter, Knight proved otherwise by soaking in every moment of the party that followed -- especially the soundtrack. "I've always thought that if there's ever an occasion for a song to be played on my behalf, I wanted it to be Frank Sinatra singing My Way," said Knight, whose usually glaring facade showed hints of cracking during the outpouring of emotions. "I don't expect you people to have agreed with what I've done -- and, if I did [care], I would have asked your opinion. And I have never asked the opinions of very many. I've simply tried to do what I think is best in the way that I think you have to do it. I think I've put myself out on a limb at times, knowingly, simply because I thought what I was going to do or say was the best way to get this kid to be the best player or the best student." Knight has been a college coach for 41 of his 66 years, having broken in at Army and made his mark by winning three national titles in 29 years at Indiana. Fired by Indiana after administrators could no longer tolerate his behavior, he resurfaced at this college basketball outpost in 2001 and has guided the Red Raiders to unprecedented heights. He's a complex package, someone who can hit a policeman, throw a chair across the court or be accused of wrapping his hands around a player's neck, yet never gets in trouble for breaking NCAA rules, always has high a graduation rate and gave his salary back a few years ago because he didn't think he'd earned it. All facets of Knight's personality were on display during a half-hour postgame ceremony and the nearly 20-minute soliloquy he gave instead of a news conference. He lovingly singled out a player whose hustle helped pull out this victory, which wasn't easy; Tech blew a 20-point lead and trailed by four points with 6:25 remaining. The Red Raiders (11-4) finally went back ahead with 2:04 left and managed to hold on. The first person to congratulate him was his son and successor-to-be, Pat. He later held his two grandsons from his other son, Tim. He introduced his wife and repeatedly thanked her, although he later broke a promise to her by cussing. "The first 15 minutes of the game was Karen's game plan," he said of his wife, a former high school coach. "The rest of it was mine, unfortunately." He praised Tech's current chancellor by noting "what an improvement you are" over the predecessor Knight had sparred with at a salad bar. He called his current athletic director one of the best friends he's ever had. "I've had the chance to work with some really great athletic directors and some really bad ones," he said. "I appreciate what I learned from the bad ones." He introduced as "our prized student" the player he suspended for academic reasons at the start of the season. He jokingly tapped the chin of the player whose chin he had jerked earlier this season and told all his players, "If you guys still love me after everything I say to you and everything I put you through, that's a hell of a compliment to me." Not interested in answering reporters' questions, Knight instead went on a trip down memory lane that was filled with anecdotes and name-dropping, from the famous such as Red Auerbach, Pete Newell and Clair Bee to the obscure, such as Jake Pryne, the bus driver at Army when Knight was 24 and the nation's youngest coach. He seemed close to tears at times. Though none fell, he backed away from the microphone a couple of times while on the court, seemingly unable to speak. His eyes moistened while talking to reporters. In the coaches' locker room later, Knight was asked whether his emotions got the best of him. Gently rocking his head, with his hands clasped over his hair, he paused and said, "Well, I don't know. Maybe." Knight summoned an Associated Press reporter after the news conference because he was upset that he'd forgotten to thank Dean Smith, whose record he broke. He also had a parting piece of advice. "You make damn sure you put Frank Sinatra's song in your article," Knight said. Earlier, he explained why My Way was so fitting. "I've simply tried to do what I think is best," Knight said. "Regrets? Sure. Just like the song. I have regrets. I wish I could done things better at times. I wish I would have had a better answer, a better way, at times. But just like he said, I did it my way and when I look back on it, I don't think my way was all that bad." The celebration began with as much relief over the win as the fact Knight got the record on his second try. The game wasn't decided until a long 3-pointer by New Mexico's J.R. Giddens bounced off the rim at the buzzer. Red and black confetti fell and the song played. There were speeches by Knight and administrators, plus videotaped tributes from Smith, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Texas' Rick Barnes, and statements from several NBA coaches who played for Knight. He also received two trophies and the game ball; a banner was unfurled marking this achievement. "You are the best there's ever been," said Krzyzewski, who played for Knight and served as his assistant. "I'm so glad you've been my mentor, you've been my coach and you've been my friend." Knight's career record is 880-354. He recently agreed to a contract extension through the 2010-11 season, which doesn't bode well for anyone hoping to break his record. Consider this: Krzyzewski has 765 wins and is 59; he'll be 64 in 2011 and might still be 100 wins behind. Knight admits the record is a byproduct of longevity. The ultimate standard of college basketball coaching excellence is the 10 national titles won by UCLA's John Wooden, all in a 12-year span. Also worth noting: Tennessee women's coach Pat Summitt has won the most NCAA games, 925; and Harry Statham of NAIA McKendree College in Lebanon, Ill., has won the most men's games at a four-year college, 925. Tony Danridge led New Mexico (11-4) with 17 points and Giddens had 14. Jay Jackson and Martin Zeno led Tech with 22 points each.

2) From USAToday.com:

A look throughout the career of Texas Tech coach Bob Knight:

1960— Was 'sixth man' on Ohio State University's national championship team.
1965-66— First season as head coach at Army.
Feb. 27, 1971— Leads Army to 64-50 victory over Navy for 100th career win.
March 27, 1971— Hired as head coach at the Indiana University
March, 1973— Leads Indiana to first of 11 Big Ten titles and reaches Final Four for the first time, where Hoosiers fall to UCLA in national semifinals.
Dec. 19, 1975— Hoosiers beat Georgia 93-56 for Knight's 200th career victory.
1975— Named National Coach of the Year for the first time.
March 29, 1976— Indiana topples Michigan 86-68 to complete undefeated season (32-0) and claim the first of Knight's three NCAA Championships. Knight is also named National Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and becomes the only coach to win a national title as a player and a coach (North Carolina's Dean Smith joins him in the coach-player national championship feat in 1982).
1976— Upset over two turnovers in a Big Ten game, Knight grabs sophomore Jim Wisman by the jersey and jerks him into his seat.
1979— Knight is charged and later convicted in absentia for hitting a policeman before practice at the Pan American Games in Puerto Rico.
Feb. 7, 1980— Indiana tops Northwestern 83-69 for 300th career victory.
1980— Playfully fires a blank shot at a reporter. A week later, Knight and his wife take turns chiding an Assembly Hall crowd for not cheering enough during a game.
March 30, 1981— Led by Isiah Thomas, Knight's Hoosiers jolt North Carolina 63-50 in Philadelphia for Knight's second championship and the school's fourth national title.
1981— Uses his weekly program to show films of a "sucker punch" involving Isiah Thomas and Purdue's Roosevelt Barnes, which he said proved Thomas' innocence. Brought a donkey wearing a Purdue cap onto his TV show. In Philadelphia for the Final Four, Knight gets into a shoving match with an LSU fan, who says the coach stuffed him into a garbage can.
1983— Knight criticizes Big Ten officiating by standing at midcourt and cursing at Big Ten Commissioner Wayne Duke, who is in the press box. Two days later, Knight assails the referees for the "worst officiating I have seen in 12 years."
Dec. 8, 1984— Tallies 400th career win with 81-68 triumph over Kentucky.
1985— Tosses a chair across the court during a game against Purdue, prompting his ejection and a one-game suspension.
1986— Receives technical foul for shouting at the officials during a game against Illinois, then kicks a megaphone and admonishes Indiana cheerleaders for disrupting a free-throw attempt by Steve Alford.
March 30, 1987— Keith Smart's late jumper gives Knight's Hoosiers a 74-73 victory over Syracuse for coach's third national championship with school. Is also named National Coach of the Year for the third time.
1987— Bangs fist on the scorer's table after being assessed a technical foul during a game against LSU. NCAA fines university $10,000, and Knight receives a reprimand. Refuses to let his team finish an exhibition game against the Soviet Union after he was ejected for arguing with a referee. He's later reprimanded by the university.
1988— In an NBC interview with Connie Chung, who asked how he handles stress, Knight says: "I think that if rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it." He explains he was talking about something beyond one's control, not the act of rape.
1989— Named National Coach of the Year for the fourth time after Hoosiers go 27-8 and win Big Ten Championship before falling to Seton Hall in Sweet 16.
Jan. 14, 1989— Notches 500th career win as Indiana trips up Northwestern 92-76.
1991— Asks not to be renominated to the Basketball Hall of Fame, calling the voters' rejection of him in 1987 a "slap in the face." Nevertheless, he was elected and inducted into the Hall. Publicly feuds with Illinois coach Lou Henson, who called him a "classic bully" who thrived on intimidation. Bars a female Associated Press reporter from the locker room, saying it was inappropriate for her to be there and also against university policy. All reporters subsequently were barred from the locker room.
1992— Gives a mock whipping to Calbert Cheaney, a black player, during practice for the NCAA West Regional, offending several black leaders. Knight denies any racial connotations and notes the bullwhip was given to him by the players.
Jan. 6, 1993— Reaches 600 wins with a 75-67 victory over Big Ten rival Iowa.
1993— Is suspended for one game after a sideline tirade in a 101-82 victory over Notre Dame in which he screams at his player son, Pat, and kicks at him. When fans behind the Indiana bench boo, Knight turns and responds with an obscenity.
1994— Head-butts Sherron Wilkerson while screaming at him on the bench but says it was unintentional. After the next game, the Hoosiers' home finale against Wisconsin, Knight tales the public address microphone and recites a profane verse directed at his critics.
1995— Is reprimanded and fined $30,000 by the NCAA for an outburst at a news conference at NCAA tournament. Upset that an NCAA media liaison erroneously says he would not attend the news conference, Knight lashes out at him.
March 5, 1997— Earns win No. 700 with a 70-66 triumph over Wisconsin.
1998— Is fined $10,000 by the Big Ten for berating referee Ted Valentine, whose officiating Knight calls "the greatest travesty" he had seen in his coaching career. Knight receives three technical fouls and is ejected by Valentine during the second half of a loss to Illinois.
1999— Is investigated for possible battery after allegedly choking a man at a restaurant. The man reportedly confronted Knight as he was leaving, contending he heard Knight make a racist remark. Prosecutor refuses to file charges. Assistant Ron Felling is fired after Knight allegedly throws him out of a chair after hearing him criticize the program.
2000— Is investigated in March by university after former player Neil Reed says Knight choked him at a practice in 1997. In May, Knight's suspended for three games, ordered to pay a $30,000 fine and barred from having physical contact with a player or university employee by IU President Myles Brand after an investigation found a pattern of inappropriate behavior. Is accused on Sept. 7 of grabbing a student by the arm, cursing and lecturing him about manners after the coach was addressed "Hey, Knight, what's up?" Three days later, Knight's fired for violating "zero-tolerance" policy and for what university President Myles Brand calls a "pattern of unacceptable behavior."
March 23, 2001— After a year away from coaching, Knight is hired to lead Texas Tech's program.
2001— General manager at the Compaq Center in Houston says Knight, now coach at Texas Tech, offered to fight him over remarks the coach made about the arena's locker room — it "would have been very, very cramped with four midgets."
Feb. 5, 2003— Becomes youngest coach – at 62 – to reach 800 victories as Texas Tech downed Nebraska 75-49.
2003— Launches into a profanity-filled tirade after an ESPN reporter asks about his relationship with former player Steve Alford, who also was participating in the interview. Alford's Iowa team was playing Texas Tech in Dallas. Knight later apologized.
2004— Gets into a loud verbal spat with Texas Tech's chancellor at an upscale Lubbock grocery store. Is reprimanded — but not suspended — by the university.
2006— Approaches sophomore Michael Prince, using his hand to push his chin, apparently in an effort to get him to look up while talking to Knight during a timeout.
Dec. 23, 2006 — Ties Dean Smith's record of 879 victories when Texas Tech defeats Bucknell 72-60. Knight downplays the feat, saying "I'd like to have hit 62 home runs. Then I think I would've accomplished something."
Jan. 1, 2007— After failing in his first attempt to break Dean Smith's record, Bob Knight becomes the all-time leader in wins with a 70-68 defeat of New Mexico.

3) From Steve Wieberg of USAToday.com:

Knight still standing on his principles

LUBBOCK, Texas — For nearly 40 years, the hell of Army Ranger training has stuck with Dick Murray. Traipsing through swampland. Scraping down cliffs. Surviving on C rations and an hour or two of sleep a day, all too often beneath pelting rain or falling snow. "I think we started with 227 students. We graduated with 87," remembers Murray, a former basketball captain at the U.S. Military Academy who says he made it through the nine-week ordeal because of one man. Murray was a sophomore when the coach destined to become college basketball's all-time wins leader joined the Cadets as an assistant in 1963. He was a senior when Knight took charge of the program, insisting on maximum effort and precision, grabbing jerseys and whistling balls at the heads of players who failed to deliver, always pushing, plumbing their physical and psychological depths in much the same way he knew the military would. Knight was only 24 and already brilliant but mercurial, headed for the Hall of Fame and critics' cross hairs. "I've never worried," he says, "about how I try to get a kid to be the best player possible. I do some things I'm sure that a lot of people wouldn't want to do." Murray saw no such ambiguity. Only months removed from the basketball court and West Point, he was a young officer testing his special-forces mettle in the mountains of Georgia and the muck of the Florida Panhandle. "The values system and the mental toughness that come from being associated with Coach Knight were what gave me — I want to use MacArthur's words — the indomitable spirit that says I'm not quitting this thing despite all these guys falling out around me," he says. "He was the one who really taught me to be a man."
It is but one measure of Knight's four eventful decades on the sidelines. He has won more games than John Wooden and Henry Iba and everybody in his sport except Adolph Rupp and Dean Smith. With three victories, he'll surpass Rupp's 876. With six more, he'll break Smith's record of 879. Beyond that are 27 NCAA Tournament appearances, five Final Fours, three national championships and an Olympic gold medal over a career that has taken Knight from Army to Indiana to Texas Tech. He has done it all without so much as a brush with NCAA rules, while graduating players. That's only part of the spell he casts, of course. Knight has warred with referees, with opposing coaches, with his own assistants and players. He has been convicted in absentia of striking a Puerto Rican police officer, tossed a chair across the court during a game against Purdue and refused to let his team finish an exhibition against the Soviet national team. Indiana had its fill six years ago and fired him. Texas Tech, coming off four consecutive losing seasons and an 11th-place finish in the Big 12 Conference, snatched him up a year later, and Knight has responded with 110 wins and three NCAA berths in five-plus seasons. He, too, sees West Point's imprint. "The way those kids learned to compete in basketball, what better training was there for an officer who had to go into combat and had the lives of other people at stake?" says Knight, who stayed six years as head coach and a total of eight seasons at Army. "I thought it was really important there. And when I went on, that stuck with me. I want a kid to think back that the best class he had in college was playing basketball. I don't worry about how I accomplish it." People think he's overly tough? Imperious? A bully? They grumble that he crossed the line of proper behavior yet again when he gave Texas Tech sophomore Michael Prince a bop to the chin during a timeout two weeks ago? Knight cares little. Not a star player Knight wasn't a great player himself but was good enough to make an Ohio State team that reached three NCAA title games and won one. He has absorbed a lifetime of coaching lessons from fellow Hall of Famers Joe Lapchick, Clair Bee, Fred Taylor and Pete Newell, among others. And he is supreme in his self-belief. A voracious reader, Knight's attention to one detail of David Halberstam's best-selling account of the country's descent into the Vietnam quagmire, The Best and the Brightest, is telling. "That was a frightening thing for me to read," he says, "because the Kennedys, every decision they made, was based on polls and how they thought it would affect the next election. "Do what's right and do what you think you have to do and don't worry about what somebody says. That would be about as simply put as my philosophy could be. If I've felt I needed to get on some kid's ass during a game rather than after the game ... I think I've kind of exposed myself (to critics). But it's never bothered me, because I've thought that's the thing I had to do." Texas Tech athletics director Gerald Myers, the Red Raiders' former coach, paints his old friend as misunderstood: "I think a lot of people who don't know him make judgments about him (based) on what they've heard or what they've read or what they've seen. You know, none of us are perfect. His good qualities far outweigh his bad." It is the credo of Knight's allies. He clashed with Tech's chancellor during a happenstance meeting at a lunchtime salad bar early in 2004, drawing a reprimand from the school. Since then, his famous temper has been in abeyance. (Knight ascribed his exchange with Prince during the Nov. 13 win vs. Gardner-Webb to motivational technique, not anger, and Meyers and the player backed him up.) Knight nonetheless waves off any suggestion that, at age 66, he has mellowed. Yes, things have been a little quieter here in West Texas but, "I don't think I do things any differently," he says. "I think what happens here is you're a little more removed from things. People don't come out here as much." The game, he says, is much the same as it was when he broke in. You prepare kids; you try to get them to compete. What was it the Army used to preach? Be all you can be. Basketball is about that, too. And Knight is as obsessively about that as any individual the sport has seen. It may be interesting to gauge the reaction outside of Lubbock to his impending record-setting 880th win. Knight always has had a prickly relationship with the media, and he hardly gets — and refuses to court — the unconditional love accorded a Wooden and a Smith. Pat Knight, who played for his father at Indiana and, like his dad, is starting his sixth season at Texas Tech, sees the mark as "redemption in a way from all the negative publicity he's gotten over the years. ... "It's not warm and fuzzy love (that matters). I think it's respect. Even the guys who don't like him, they're going to have to respect him for what he's done." His dad will take that. Knight's well-known idol was baseball great Ted Williams, who aspired, he told a friend, "that when I walk down the street, folks will say, 'There goes the greatest hitter that ever lived.' " Knight has his own version of that wish. Twenty-some years ago, he says, he was being courted to coach the NBA's Phoenix Suns and called Newell, his friend and mentor and, at 91, still an esteemed basketball consultant. "He asked me, 'What do you want to get out of coaching?' " Knight recalls. "And I told him, 'I want to be thought of by (other) coaches in the same vein that you're thought of by coaches.' "That," he says, "is the most important thing I could ask for in terms of a legacy in basketball." For everybody else — the writers who wonder if the end justifies Knight's means, the dads who debate whether they'd put their kids in his coaching care — there is indifference. "You're sitting there ... and you say, 'Boy, I wouldn't want my son to play for him,' " Knight says. "Well, if you want your kid to be a goddamn success, you probably ought to want him to play for me."

4) From Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star:

Here is a lot of what I read now as Bob Knight surpasses Dean Smith on the all-time wins list in Division I basketball coaching. I read revisionist history. I read how Knight he really isn’t such a lout after all, how he’s just another misunderstood genius, that great men are allowed great flaws as they pursue greatness. It’s as if the number — now 880 after Texas Tech’s victory Monday over New Mexico — obviates all the behavioral lapses that make him one of the most polarizing, perplexing, frustrating figures in sports history. First things first: If he was going to break this record — and hold it until his old player, Mike Krzyzewski, breaks it someday — I’m glad it was Anywhere But Indiana University. Whether it was Texas Tech or New Mexico or Minnesota hardly matters. For all the great things Knight he did for my alma mater, by the end, he was an embarrassment whose continued presence revealed the president and trustees as invertebrates who could be intimidated like so many others through his near-three decades. For those who now say he should have broken the record in Bloomington, I would suggest they hearken back to the summer of 2000 and recall the ugliness that Knight engendered. Can you imagine if he’d been allowed to slide — again — after the whole Neil Reed mess? Or the Kent Harvey situation? If Knight had been enabled once again through those sets of circumstances, I can promise you, he would have ended up sadly, like football icon Woody Hayes at Ohio State, forced to retire in shame well short of the all-time wins mark. He is where he should be. At Texas Tech, where they were begging local Lubbock fans to fill their arena to celebrate Knight’s great accomplishment. In exile. He had everything a college basketball coach could want in Bloomington:, a supportive administration, a loving fan base, a mostly malleable media corps (with the exception of my predecessor, Bill Benner) and a run of the house. And he blew it. Blew it with his own arrogance. Blew it chance after chance after chance. He got the mother of all second chances after the Neil Reed fiasco, and blew that. What was “zero tolerance”? It was common sense. Don’t be a (bleep) to people. He couldn’t hold the line. Never could. That’s what’s has always bothered me about Knight, why I can’t separate the great coach from the great bully. I hear he graduates players, wins games, doesn’t cheat, supports his university. Well, a lot of coaches do that, luminaries like Smith and Krzyzewski leading the way, and yet they’ve done it while maintaining their humanity and a semblance of humility, done it without leaving scorched earth behind them. I cannot separate the guy who wins basketball games and the one who insists on leaving behind him such a trail of human destruction. I cannot separate the guy who does good things for others and the guy who viciously tears down anybody who challenges his hegemony or black-and-white sensibility. Of course, I didn’t play for the man, and, in most cases, if you played for the man, you loved him, appreciated or at least slowly came around to understanding the method to his madness. “I love the man,” Isiah Thomas said recently when the New York Knicks were in town to play the Indiana Pacers. “I’ve said time and again, I don’t think I would be the person I am or the player I was if it hadn’t been for him. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t always good times. But I appreciate what he did for me. And I understand it better now than when I did when I was younger. “Most of the time when he was on our tails about something, it never really was about basketball;, it was always about helping you become a better person in your life. It wasn’t, ‘Isiah, you need to become a better passer or rebounder.’ His thinking was, if you make the man, the player will come.” But there was always that dark side, which cannot be conveniently expunged from the catalogue simply because Knight has passed a milestone. For me, the seminal Knight moment came after the Hoosiers lost to Missouri in the first round of the 1994-95 NCAA Tournament in Boise, Idaho. Moments before Knight was supposed to address the media, Rance Pugmire, the poor sap who was volunteering as a media liaison, told us that someone he believed to be with the IU basketball program told him Knight was not going to appear. When The General ascended the podium minutes later, he verbally laid into the man, who was doing nothing more than his job and was guilty, at the very most, of a completely innocent mistake. Typical. More typical than the public really knows. That was, and is, the odd duality of Knight: He demands discipline, but he has so little himself. Make no mistake: He’s one of the greatest basketball coaches who’s has ever lived. As has been mentioned thousands of times before, he wins, he graduates players, he plays by the rules and he usually stands for the right things. He didn’t change as much as he needed to over the years; that probably explains why his later IU teams stumbled so badly. But like his old friend and idol, Ted Williams, who wished only to hear fans say, “There goes the best hitter who ever lived,” Knight has earned similar acclaim. “There goes the best college basketball coach who ever lived.” Although there will be some very good arguments from the Dean Smith faithful, who will note that Smith won his games in fewer years, and from the Krzyzewski camp, who will extrapolate the number and say that Coack K will turn the Knight record into a historical speed bump. So now the big man in the big sweater gets his day, and, like a lot of people, I am torn, faced with something of a conundrum: How do I applaud and hold my nose at the same time?

5) From Luke Winn of SI.com:

Back where it started - Bob Knight built a legacy with his first team at Army

Eight of them came to Lubbock in November to witness the start of the season in which their coach, Robert Montgomery Knight, would break the all-time record for Division I wins. These particular visitors were in their early 60s, just a few years younger than Knight. They played golf with him, ate barbeque, and told old basketball tales; some even sat in on Texas Tech's meetings and film sessions. Most stayed to see Knight record victories 870, 871 and 872. Forty-one years ago, those men were on the floor for win No. 1 as members of the 1965-66 Army team. The reunion crowd in Lubbock (Bill Helkie, Paul Heiner, John Mikula, Dick Murray, Mike Noonan, Bill Platt, Bill Schutsky, and Bob Seigle) along with five others who weren't present (Townsend Clarke, Jack Isenhour, Ed Jordan, Dan Schrage and Mike Silliman) won 18 games for Knight that season, which he began at the ripe old age of 25. Knight won 102 games at West Point, 622 at Indiana, and the last 156, including Monday's victory over New Mexico, at Texas Tech. The Internet generation of hoopheads -- many of whom were born in the late '70s or early '80s -- was raised on the red sweater-wearing Knight who won the 1987 national title with Keith Smart and Steve Alford ... as well as the Knight of many explosive lowlights, including chair-chucking, ref-berating, journalist-cursing and Neil Reed-choking. They remember the "zero-tolerance" policy at Indiana and Knight's eventual ouster from Hoosierland. That Knight has been covered ad nauseum. But what about the young coach who, just four seasons after graduating from Ohio State, took over the reins of the Army basketball program while the U.S. was on the brink of the Vietnam War? Over the past two weeks we spoke with four members of Knight's first team -- men who played under Knight when he was an actual, enlisted Army private, not a Dick Vitale-nicknamed "General" -- and asked them to tell stories that help develop a portrait of the polarizing icon as a young man. The coach who would eventually surpass Dean Smith and Adolph Rupp in the record books was still developing his style back in 1965, and he favored a coat and tie instead of the trademark sweater, but his passion and volatility were already evident.

Chip off the Locke - By the winter of '65, Knight already had a strong reputation for both his basketball acumen and fiery behavior at West Point, after spending '63 and '64 coaching the plebe team and serving as Tates Locke's varsity assistant. (With a draft in effect, Knight said in his autobiography, Knight: My Story, that he came to Army "thinking about getting my military obligation out of the way and doing some coaching, too.") Locke had a Knight-like intensity level, and the two coaches were hellishly physical players -- to the point of causing fights -- in the Army's noontime faculty league. (Locke, who left for Miami of Ohio, once gashed open his hand by punching out a wire-and-glass gym window after losing a pickup game.) Knight performed his advance-scouting duties under Locke with fervor and attention to minute detail. Says 6-foot-2 guard Dick Murray, who was Knight's first captain: "I always contended that [Knight] meant at least eight points every ballgame to us because of his scouting reports." It was an era in which game film was not widely available, and Murray recalls that Knight would stand before a blackboard in the locker room, draw out a court, "and tell us exactly what they were going to be doing" -- everything from offensive sets to the smallest of individual habits, such as shot-fake tendencies or susceptibilities on defense. "We would have those other teams down to a T," says Murray. "After Knight's reports, we would go through drills on how we were going to take them out of their rhythm, and how we were going to beat them down."

Valuable lesson - After going 21-8 the previous season under Locke and losing in the NIT semifinals, Knight's first team went 18-8 and also lost in the NIT semis. The coach who went on to win 880 games was not victorious in his first contest however, losing 70-49 at Princeton while his All-America forward, Mike Silliman, sat out after an appendectomy. (The first win came in game No. 2, against Worcester Tech.) Knight did learn a lesson about pre-game ritual on that day, though. In his autobiography he said, "I wasn't sure what to do [in the locker room], so I thought we should say a little prayer. I said, 'Let's bow our heads and say The Lord's Prayer.'" Ed Pillings, the team trainer, came up to Knight as they were walking up the stairs and said, "For whatever it's worth, let me tell you: you and prayers just aren't a good mix." Knight took the advice. It would be the last time his team said the Lord's Prayer. In his book Same Knight, Different Channel, 1966 reserve forward Jack Isenhour follows the Lord's Prayer story with a quote Knight used years later on Alford: "God couldn't care less if we win or not." (The second half of which is, "He is not going to parachute in through the roof of this building and score when we need points.") Isenhour's book, published in 2003, provides a thorough history of that '65-66 season -- but it also resulted in him being no longer welcome at Knight's yearly reunions, because of its frank commentary on Knight's temper. Isenhour believes that some of that temper and intensity was fueled by working with Locke, but not all of it. "He did take some cues from Tates -- those guys were like two peas in a pod," Isenhour said this week. "But Tates was charming, and Bob was never charming. He never tried to be charming."

Early success - During Knight's record-tying win over Bucknell on Dec. 23, ESPN displayed a graphic with an all-time Knight team, and the first unit included one Army player: 6-foot-6 center Silliman, a former Mr. Basketball in Kentucky who went on to become Army's all-time leading scorer and the captain of the 1968 Olympic squad. Silliman, who died in June of 2000 of a heart attack at the age of 56, "got hidden somewhat at West Point, but he was the best player in the country [in '65-66]," according to teammate Bill Helkie. Knight said in his autobiography that Silliman "may still be the best player I've ever coached on a college team." It was a coup that Silliman was at West Point. Locke had beaten out Bluegrass juggernaut Adolph Rupp for his services, and with Silliman leading the charge (averaging 22 points and 11 boards per game), Knight's team was 10-4 heading into a January home date against Rutgers, which featured a guard named Jim Valvano. Army played its Wednesday games at 4 p.m., to small after-class crowds, and Isenhour says the 5,000-seat bleachers at its field house were "all but empty" when the Scarlet Knights visited. Which meant there were very few witnesses for the first major setback of Knight's coaching career. Helkie, a 6-3 sharpshooter from South Bend, Ind., who was the team's second-leading scorer and later went on to work with Alan Greenspan at the Federal Reserve, recalls what happened to Silliman as a "freaky" injury. "I can remember it vividly," Helkie says. "I drove up the court getting ready to pass the ball to Mike -- and I threw it and it went right over him, because he was on the floor, and there was no one around him." Silliman, then a senior, said that he felt something snap -- and the diagnosis was torn cartilege in his left knee, which brought an early end to his college career. A somewhat distraught Knight called mentor Clair Bee that night. Bee, the legendary Long Island University coach, had been in the stands for the Rutgers game and according to Knight, his only advice was, "Okay, who are we going to replace him with?" After losing Silliman, as well as starting guard Paul Heiner (due to academics), Knight would do more than salvage the rest of the year, going 5-2 to close the regular season with Helkie and Schutsky handling much of the scoring. "It was probably [Knight's] greatest coaching accomplishment that year," says Schutsky, who now works in Army's compliance office. "To lose his star player and have everyone come together to pick up the pieces, and have us play as well as we possibly could."

Getting defensive - In '65-66, Knight had yet to develop the motion offense for which he became famous. Helkie recalls that they ran a continuous set the coach called "reverse action" -- but he knew it was borrowed heavily from one of Knight's future mentors, ex-California coach Pete Newell. Why? "Because when we came down the court and started running it, other teams always called out 'California,'" Helkie says. A lack of size (Army's starting lineup was made up of players 6-3 or smaller) and scoring power (with Silliman out) forced Knight to place emphasis on a brand of in-your-face D that wasn't common during that era. Isenhour says that, "In those days, if you had the ball far from the basket, the guy guarding you often was 4-5 feet away. Well, you could be out at the halfcourt line, and somebody [on Army] would be in your shorts. It was so different of a defense that some teams thought we were dirty." Some of Murray's favorite moments of the season came in the second and third games after losing Silliman -- victories in which Army held Penn State to 39 points and Bucknell to 38. The Nittany Lions, who were 11-3 and coming off an NCAA tournament appearance the year before, were held to just seven first-half points on 2-of-24 shooting. As Murray recalls, "Their coach, John Egli, said to one of his assistants as he was walking off the court, 'It's a good thing we kicked the extra point.' That was the kind of defense we played in those days." Two days after the Penn State win, a game against Bucknell brought out some vintage Knight. Murray says that Knight and Bison coach Don Smith, "were chatting before the game, and Smith made some disparaging remark about how Penn State only scored 39 points" -- which Knight took as a serious insult against the Army defense. "Coach walked into the locker room and laid it on us," Murray says. "He was steaming. He said, 'I want you to show them what you did Penn State.' Well, Bucknell ended up with one point less -- 38."

Knight time in N.Y. - At halftime of the greatest game the Black Knights played that season, Knight vomited. Army came into the NIT semifinals as a heavy underdog against San Francisco, which had two future NBA second-round draft picks, Joe Ellis and Edwin Mueller. Helkie came out gunning in Madison Square Garden, scoring 25 in the first half to put Army up 39-24. Knight said in his autobiography that Army's athletic director, Colonel Raymond Murphy, came into the locker room and yelled, "I've never seen basketball played this well!" Knight said he got so nervous that he went into the shower room and threw up. The queasy coach and his Black Knights hung on to win 80-63, setting up a date in the semifinals against 19th-ranked BYU. Knight saved the season's biggest explosion for the biggest stage. Army was up 58-56 with just over two minutes left, when Helkie stepped in front of the Cougars' All-America guard, Dick Nemelka, to attempt to take a charge. And even to this day, Helkie says, "It's one of those things that you don't like to think about. I was the guy who got the bad call. The ref who was right behind me [Lou Eisenstein] started to call charge ... and then the ref who was blocked off from the play by about 4-6 players [Bud Fidgeon], ran up and overruled him. It was clear to me that it was a bad call." As Isenhour recounts in his book, the game may have hung on this play. Helkie and Nemelka each had four fouls, and Helkie would have shot a 1-and-1 on a charge call to put Army up four, after which -- due to the fact there was no shot clock -- they could have hit more free throws and iced the game. But Eisenstein let Fidgeon's blocking call stand, and BYU rallied to win 66-60. Knight, Isenhour said, "went ballistic." Knight admits to smashing a water cooler, and Isenhour says there are accounts of him also punching a locker, kicking a door, slapping a wall and cursing out Eisenstein. Same Knight, Different Channel reprints a Knight quote in the New York Times which read, "Never have I ever said anything about officiating. But that was a gutless call tonight. Gutless." Locke, who was in attendance, told Isenhour that Knight bolted into the officials' locker room to go after Eisenstein, who was the only ref to ever work the NBA, NCAA and NIT finals in the same year. In the book, Locke says, "Eisenstein looked like a deer in the headlights. ... [Knight] grabbed him. He was tryin' to grab him, but Eisenstein was so fat he couldn't lift him off the floor." Eisenstein , though, discounted that story in the New York Post, saying that Knight merely stopped by "to tell us he was sorry that he had popped off." Knight dedicated a few lines to the incident in My Story, saying, "I thought that call cost us the game and said so very emphatically in the press conference after the game. That was my first major encounter with the press; I just got blistered in the newspapers." It would go down as the first on-the-record instance of Knight publicly criticizing officials -- a fitting coda for his first season as head coach. Over the 40 seasons and 862 wins that followed, he would experience greater successes, play on bigger stages, and find himself at the center of much more heated controversies, and yet coach's defining characteristics were all there in 1965-66. Army was only the beginning of the run at 880, but the players at West Point experienced Bob Knight in full.

6) From Mark Smith of the Albuquerque Journal:

Knight did it his way, and Lubbock's happy

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Maybe Bob Knight didn't care. But 15,098 others at United Spirit Arena did. So did a little thing called history. And in the end, even the crusty old General -- with confetti falling upon him and "My Way" blaring on the sound system -- had to admit that this New Year's Day was special. "I can't think of a better athletic situation in America," Knight said over the public address system after his Texas Tech Red Raiders beat New Mexico 70-68. "Where a president [Jon Whitmore], an athletic director [Gerald Myers] and now [chancellor] Kent [Hance], all three are great." With a nationally televised audience tuned in to witness the crowning of a new college coaching king, the Lobos (11-4) nearly put the coronation on hold again. J.R. Giddens' 35-foot desperation 3-pointer at the final horn was just long, though, and Tech (11-4) held on after blowing a 20-point first-half lead. Knight acknowledged the crowd, one that was announced as a sellout, even if some empty seats were noticeable.The victory was the 880th in the 41-year career of the Red Raiders' coach -- the most in the history of men's Division I college basketball, eclipsing the mark of Dean Smith. It touched off a wild celebration. For all but a few, that is. "He's done a lot for college basketball, congratulations to him, but it's too bad it had to be against us," said New Mexico sophomore guard Chad Toppert, whose trio of second-half 3s helped the Lobos erase the big early deficit. "… It had to be over somebody, but we tried to make sure it wasn't us." The UNLV Rebels made sure it wasn't them, beating Tech 74-66 in Lubbock last Thursday. A grand party was set for that night, but it had to be postponed until Monday. The fans were ready again, and this time were able to carry the Red Raiders down the stretch as Knight's club was forced to come from behind in the final minutes. "I'm here to see the record," said Tech fan Ann Martin. "The whole town has been looking forward to this all season -- especially since Thursday." Many of Knight's cohorts who came to Lubbock for Thursday's planned commemoration had since departed, but a number of statements -- from the likes of Smith, Rick Barnes, Mike Krzyzewski and Dick Vitale -- were read. Vitale, the color analyst for ESPN's coverage of the game, was present and said the moment "was a great one to witness." There were several presentations, including the unveiling of a banner that read: "Bob Knight NCAA men's all-time career victory leader - 880." Knight spoke to the crowd a handful of times, initially after being introduced by Hance. The chancellor said how much he appreciated Knight, and the coach reciprocated. "I appreciate you a lot more than the other guy," said Knight, referring to former chancellor David Smith, with whom Knight was involved in a much-publicized argument at a Lubbock grocery store. Some of the big names present Thursday didn't come back, but Knight's extended family was in full force.While looking uncomfortable only briefly during the ceremony, the cantankerous coach gave accolades to many -- including his wife, Karen, and Lubbock itself.
"I have great respect for the community where Karen and I really enjoy living," said Knight, whose team at one point led 33-13. "…The first 15 minutes of the game was Karen's game plan … the rest was mine, unfortunately. I say, 'Thank you, Karen.' " In a touch of irony, nearly two decades ago New Mexico men's basketball fans hoped Knight would help them make history instead of it being the other way around. Knight teased UNM by interviewing for its basketball coaching vacancy in 1988. He turned the offer down, however, to stay at Indiana and instead recommended his former assistant, Dave Bliss, who UNM then hired. Knight, who also hired ex-UNM coach Norm Ellenberger as an assistant at Indiana, came to Tech in 2001 after being fired by the Hoosiers in 2000. Knight, in his 41st year in coaching, has spent much of the season denying that he gave a hoot about the record. But by the more than half-hour postgame ceremony -- which included Knight getting choked up on a number of occasions -- it obviously meant something. "I've always been kind of a Frank Sinatra fan, of his music," Knight said to the media following the ceremony. "And I've always thought, if there's ever an occasion when a song should be played on my behalf, I wanted it to be Frank Sinatra singing 'My Way.' Because I don't expect you people to have agreed with what I've done. And if I did, I would have asked your opinion. I have never asked the opinions of very many. I've simply tried to do what I think is best. The way I think you have to do it, to do what's best. I think I put myself on the limb at times -- to get this kid to be the best player or the best student. "Regrets? Sure, just like the song, I have regrets. Not necessarily to have done things different -- I wish I could have done things better, at times. I wish I would have had a better way at times. "Like he said, I did it my way. When I look back on it, I don't think my way was all that bad."

7) From Mark Kreidler of the Sacromento Bee:

Emotional Knight - Bob Knight does show emotions other than anger and rage.

The Texas Tech head coach was adamant that passing Dean Smith wasn’t any big deal, but that was clearly a lie after watching him literally on the brink of tears in a postgame celebration on the court after earning the 880th win of his coaching career. Knight was overcome with emotion as Frank Sinatra’s My Way blared over the speaker system at United Spirit Arena. He was choked up standing on the court as confetti surrounded the arena, but then quickly turned back to the coach – talking about his players. Knight isn’t the only one glad it’s over. Those in the Knight camp are happy that the Texas Tech head man didn’t have to prolong the inevitable en route to his record-breaking 880th victory. The anti-Knight fans are also content now that they won’t have to hear from the white-haired coach from Lubbock anytime soon. The bottom line is that Knight was – and still is – a terrific coach. He won 880 games with just one NBA All-Star. He was successful in three different places – both on and off the court. He has a trio of national titles to his credit. He graduates his players and prepares them for life with and without basketball. In a day and age when coaches are more concerned with getting kids eligible at any cost, Knight’s focus is on getting the most out of his players and making certain they actually go to class. The words student-athlete are thrown around, but Knight makes his players earn it both on the court and in the classroom. Knight can say that the record doesn’t mean much to him, but that’s definitely not the case. All you had to do was look at his face on Monday afternoon. He didn’t want the march for the record to be a distraction for his current team, so he downplayed it. After the Red Raiders fought off New Mexico on New Year’s Day, Knight was first class. He actually let his guard down at times. He showed varying emotions and the world was able to see the softer side of the hard-nosed former Army coach. Knight brought current players and even his wife onto the court, then spoke highly of AD Gerald Myers and past players. Believe it or not, it’s rare that you’ll find one of his former players that doesn’t speak highly of Knight. There are guys like Neil Reed, but they are the exception. Knight is tough as nails and can be ornery, but he sticks by his guys. Although Knight will be the all-time winningest coach for the next decade or so, a former protégé, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, will likely pass him at some point. Coach K has 765 victories, is seven years younger, puts up 30 wins nearly every season and is still going strong. Knight, 66, has an average Texas Tech team that will be fortunate to get into the postseason. Knight’s legacy should be one about winning, but that’s not the case – at least not to the general public. Instead, he’ll be remembered for his outbursts – most notably the time he threw the chair onto the court in 1985.
What he should be remembered for is getting the most out of his kids – and that has absolutely nothing to do with basketball.

2006-12-29T09:20:00.001-05:00

What a great game…Mavs 01, Suns 99 on a bloodless stepaway jumper by Nowitzki with 1.3 seconds left…however, the play of the night, maybe of the year was the ridiculous pick and roll that Nash and Stoudamire ran with around 55 seconds left in the game, where Off the Pick Nash penetrated about a foot past the foul line and then threw up an alley-oop pass to Amare who caught it 1 handed in stride and dunked it off of one foot from about 8 feet out right on Dirk’s head…a really crazy play…

Actually, the pick and roll that Nash runs with Amare is very interesting…instead of sealing off and rolling straight to the basket, Amare seals and waits for an extra second for Nash to go a little deeper with his dribble so that Nash is actually ahead of Stoudamire on the play…this forces the Amare’s defender to shade a bit to the basket and then all of a sudden Nash feeds a bounce pass or a lob that actually leads Amare as he cuts to the basket, thereby giving him more momentum towards the basket than if he had simply rolled straight there off the initial pick…it’s a great play and really difficult to defend…especially if the pick defender doesn’t shade Nash, who is such an excellent finisher…

AI went for with 44 points in his 700th career game, a 112-98 win for the Nuggets over the Sonics, which also gave Denver coach George Karl his 800th win... Iverson’s 1st 40-pt game with the Nuggets was the 77th of his career which ties him with Oscar Robertson for fourth all-time for most career 40-pt games in NBA history:

Most Career 40-Point Games
Wilt Chamberlain, 271
Michael Jordan, 173
Allen Iverson, 77
Oscar Robertson, 77

Frank Deford with some interesting insight:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/frank_deford/12/27/nba.fights/index.html

Sad but funny…and sad…http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hruby/061228&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab3pos2

No surprise here…Memphis Grizzlies fired coach Mike Fratello on Thursday after a league-worst 6-24 start…Tony Barone Sr., the Grizzlies' director of player personnel, was selected to be the interim coach. Grizzlies GM Jerry West (and resident NBA logo) has felt for some time that the team needed a change. Fratello did a pretty good job overall in his two-plus seasons in Memphis after taking over for the much loved Hubie Brown. However, he chafed at implementing the more uptempo style that management wanted after All-Star power forward Pau Gasol went down with a broken foot.

Stupid…now that headband-gate seems to have abated, I think Bulls coach Scott Skiles' edict against wearing headbands is ridiculous when closer inspection of the Bulls’ season-ticket brochures reveals a picture of Ben Wallace wearing, you guessed it, a headband…

1) Shira Springer of the Boston Globe with an article on the “Powe-Show”…one of my favourite NCAA players, now plying his trade with the Celtics’:

Powe is a proven rebounder - Rookie overcomes childhood adversity on his way to NBA

Just before the Celtics' team bus arrives at The Arena in Oakland for tonight's game against the Golden State Warriors, Leon Powe will look across the street at the Coliseum flea market and catch a glimpse of his past. Powe spent a considerable amount of his childhood at the flea market, helping his mother, Connie Landry, sell trinkets, toys, and used clothing from the back of a van. That was how the single mother supported six children after a fire burned down the family home and before Alameda County Child Protective Services placed Powe and his siblings in foster care. At the time the agency knocked on the door, the family lived in a crowded, one-bedroom apartment in East Oakland, struggling to pay rent with unpredictable earnings from the flea market. No money meant another move. Sometimes Powe spent nights in motels, cars, and homeless shelters. When food ran low, Powe went without dinner so everyone else could eat, grabbing breakfast at a friend's house the next morning. Powe missed large portions of elementary school when he needed to watch his younger siblings. "You just wanted to get somewhere where you could get settled and stay in one neighborhood," said Powe, 22. "But I didn't get to do that because we moved from place to place. I understand why we moved because sometimes we overstayed our welcome. Sometimes it just didn't work out between the people who collect the rent and us. It just didn't work out." But Powe always believed somehow, some way everything would work out. Homelessness, foster care, the death of his mother, a best friend in prison, two ACL tears, and a slide to the second round in the 2006 NBA draft never limited the scope of his dreams. When Powe plays in Oakland tonight for the first time since the Celtics acquired him with the 49th overall pick (via Denver), his life will have come full circle. Even as a former top-ranked high school prospect and California-Berkeley star who sits at the end of the Boston bench, Powe has succeeded. Ask anyone in Oakland who knew Powe as a tall, awkward kid shouldering adult burdens and they will tell you it was never about basketball. It was about Powe breaking the cycle and creating a better future for him and his family. But as it happened, the adversity Powe overcame translated into the toughness and tenacity that made him attractive to NBA teams. Now, he leads a life that less than a year ago seemed unimaginable and less than five years ago would have been unfathomable. "I've got my own stuff," said Powe. "I control the lights, the furniture, and everything. Pay the rent. That's the cool part about it, knowing that things can happen for anybody if you work hard. I remember when I was younger and we used to always say, 'That only happened to this fool because he knew how to shoot real, real good,' not knowing that he'd been in the gym, shooting over and over. I worked hard to get here. I didn't just sit down and pray and wish it would come." As kids, Powe and Shamare Freeman were almost inseparable, "pahtners" as Powe likes to say. Freeman would come up with a plan for some mischievous, pre-teenage fun. Powe and other friends would follow. But when Freeman one day suggested committing a robbery, Powe heard a voice telling him to go home. Powe made up an excuse, mentioning something about helping his mother cook dinner. "They tried to rob somebody and got put in jail," said Powe. "That's where they've been ever since. It could have went either way for me because [Freeman] was my best, best friend. And he was one of the baddest fools on the block." While Freeman and Powe went separate ways, Freeman's half-brother, Bernard Ward, became the most important influence in Powe's life. A former Oakland Tech high school basketball standout, Ward spent time in prison before turning his life around and taking a job as a probation counselor. He saw a chance to make a difference with Powe and make up for a missed opportunity with Freeman.
"My little brother had gotten in trouble, so I took Leon under my wing," said Ward, who is now Powe's legal guardian. "I was trying to teach him about life. I wanted to make sure he didn't make the mistakes my little brother and myself made. It was about showing a young man how to be a good citizen growing up in the community." When a 13-year-old Powe asked Ward for help with his game, Ward decided to test Powe. Ward hears a lot of people ask for help, but few demonstrate the drive necessary to change. Ward wanted to see how much work Powe was willing to do. So, he asked Powe to run 20 laps around a nearby schoolyard and then practice his shot until sunset. Ward waited 20 minutes, then hid across the street from the schoolyard and watched Powe. "The kid ran 20 laps," said Ward. "He shot till the sun came down. I was like, 'Wow, he's serious. He really wants to get his life together.' It took off from there. Once I saw that [at the schoolyard], I knew he had the discipline. He just needed guidance and to be pushed, a big-brother, father-figure thing. I just wanted to show support because you knew deep down the kid had been scarred by life." Ward first made sure Powe improved his grades, seeking out Oakland Tech teacher Jonas Zuckerman as a tutor. Powe spent long days with Zuckerman, raising the 1.5 grade-point average that made him ineligible for six weeks of his freshman season to 3.2 by graduation. Powe would need good grades and good board scores when he decided to attend Berkeley, a university that did not honor scholarships to partial academic qualifiers. As Powe worked toward better grades, Ward researched the best basketball options in Oakland. Powe would play for Oakland Tech during the school year and the Oakland Soldiers in AAU tournaments across the country. With his toughness and talent for rebounding, Powe quickly developed into one of the top prospects in his high school class, with some scouting reports ranking him just behind LeBron James. Ward was also there for Powe at his lowest point when he lost his mother, who had a fatal heart condition, four days before playing in a California state high school championship game his junior year. Ward pulled Powe out of class, gave him the news, and encouraged him to "turn a negative into a positive." Although he briefly considered not playing in the title game, Powe finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds in a losing effort. Just as back then, the memory of his mother remains a constant source of motivation. "He's had a lot of tough luck," said Mark Olivier, who coached Powe on the Oakland Soldiers. "But he's had some real good luck with the people who have been in his corner." The motto of the Oakland Soldiers is "Just get it done." No player in the history of the program may better embody that motto than Powe. The summer before Powe started his sophomore year at Oakland Tech, Olivier scheduled practice for 6 p.m. One of the most important team rules is that every player be on time. Powe was never late. But two weeks into workouts, Powe surprised Olivier by asking if he could arrive at 6:30 p.m. two days a week. At first, Olivier said absolutely not. Then, the coach asked why. Powe told Olivier that dinner at his foster home started at 6 p.m. House rules. By the time he returned home after practice, there was hardly any food left. Olivier immediately switched the start of practice to 7 p.m. Just getting it done, Powe pushed mounting fatigue from his mind and body as he traveled to Las Vegas, then Houston, for AAU tournaments following the state championship game. He fought through double and triple teams. He guarded the opponent's best player. Long days were filled with game after game after game. Playing alongside James and Kendrick Perkins during the Houston tournament, Powe did not feel like himself. He couldn't run as fast or jump as high as usual. Then, competing against a team led by Dwight Howard, Powe went up for a fast-break dunk and felt something pop in his left leg. He stayed in the game, ran back on defense with a slight limp, then tried and failed to grab a rebound over a much-smaller guard. Powe knew something was terribly wrong and asked to come out of the game. Upon returning to Oakland, Powe learned he had a torn ACL. "It put everything in perspective," said Powe. "I just started looking at things different. I didn't know if I was going to come out of high school [and go straight to the NBA], but I was in the top 10, top five players in the country in my class. [Tearing my ACL] just eliminated all of those ideas. I was just going to go to college, and try to get [my knee] better before I went to college." Powe rushed through his rehabilitation in five months, returning for the final portion of his senior season at Oakland Tech. He reported to Berkeley for his freshman season still wearing a brace, though confident his left knee would soon be as healthy as it was before the injury. Powe earned All-Pacific-10 and Freshman of the Year honors, and also became the first freshman in history to lead the Pac-10 in rebounding (9.5 per game) and first Golden Bear freshman named team MVP. In retrospect, those accomplishments are astonishing considering Powe tore his left ACL again at some point during his freshman season. With the second tear, Powe took his time coming back, sitting out his sophomore year at Berkeley to make sure he took all the right steps. He told himself, "If it doesn't work this time, it's never going to work." Last season, in his return from the second tear, Powe reestablished himself by leading the Pac-10 in scoring (20.5 points per game) and rebounding (10.1). "I think I'm pretty much back," said Powe. "I'm going out there and I'm playing all out, but there's still something in the back of my mind where I'm like, 'Man, I hope I don't do it again' because I can't go through another rehab like that anymore. Those two rehabs, especially the second one, that was crazy. I worked so hard. It was tough. Sometimes you can't even pick your leg up. You can't even move. Sometimes you're just in pain and you can't do anything about it." As accolades poured in after his second season at Berkeley, Powe set his sights on the NBA. After all that he had been through, falling to the second round was only a minor disappointment, another obstacle in a life filled with them. Auditioning for the Celtics during the Las Vegas summer league last July, Powe found himself awed by the NBA lifestyle. Going from homeless in Oakland to the Four Seasons in Las Vegas proved a curious adventure. "I stayed in a room with a flatscreen TV," said Powe. "I ain't seen one of those up close like that. It was in my room. Imagine me, I was staying in the room most of the time just watching TV. I called up everybody and told them where I was at and told them, 'I'm in a room with a flatscreen.' " Powe laughs at the not-so-distant memory. For his one extravagant purchase since signing a conditionally guaranteed three-year deal with the Celtics worth potentially $1.9 million, Powe bought a flatscreen TV for his suburban Boston home. He enjoys watching basketball in high-definition. While Powe also does his share of watching from the Boston bench, he possesses precisely the qualities the team needs; the same qualities that saw him through a difficult childhood. Toughness. Tenacity. Ability to deal with adversity. Red Auerbach, who always appreciated the kind of character instilled by a difficult upbringing and looked for instigators, was enamored with Powe. The 6-foot-8-inch, 245-pound forward may prove a steal in the second round. In just less than 10 minutes a game (which many observers argue is far too little time), Powe has shown the ability to rebound (2.6 rebounds per game) and score (3.3 PPG). His constant hustle makes good things happen. "Coming from a situation where he basically didn't have a childhood and he got into Berkeley, that speaks volumes about who he is," said assistant executive director of basketball operations Leo Papile, who scouted Powe extensively. "He can be a 15-year NBA player, high-rotation or starter, a guy who puts up numbers wherever he goes. He's a survivor."

2) Randy Hill of Foxsports.com asks:

Who won Shaq-Kobe split?

It should be ranked No. 2 among history's in-house feuds, eclipsed just slightly by Heather Mills vs. Paul McCartney. This celebrated crisis gripped Los Angeles for years, dividing an entire city much like the allegiances involved in USC-UCLA, Crips-Bloods, Rolls-Bentley and Tommy's-In-N-Out. When the inevitable showdown occurred, the Lakers took sides with Kobe Bryant and sent Shaquille O'Neal to south Florida. With this controversial divorce screaming toward its third anniversary, we're here to determine which team claims victory in the growing aftermath of the blockbuster Heat-Lakers trade. Well, a fine case can be made for both teams. Selling the Shaq-Heat marriage is easy; Miami seized its first NBA championship just two years into the relationship. It should be noted that O'Neal provided a sufficient sidebar domination threat to provoke Dwyane Wade's ascension into superstar status. But, thanks to kicking Shaq to the curb, the Lakers (despite the Christmas Day hiccup) are restoring their seemingly indigenous swagger. And while they don't appear to be a title threat this season, Showtime certainly may be within sniffing distance. Ridding themselves of O'Neal was the key. For starters, it enabled Kobe Bryant to step away from his interesting threat to reach free-agent accord with the L.A. Clippers. Losing Bryant to the hallway neighbors would have been quite a Q-ratings hit in Lakerland. If the Lakers had kept Shaq — and his enormous contract-extension demands — Kobe would have left without compensation. A commitment to O'Neal would have kept the Lakers miles over the luxury-tax threshold and teamed up Shaq with the likes of, oh, Payton and Kareem Rush. With their heavier-set post man continuing to pull down about $30 million per season, free-agent help would not have been on the way. Instead, the Lakers suited up Kobe with Miami-trade spoils named Lamar Odom and Caron Butler. Odom (currently riding the injured list) now has emerged as Bryant's above-average, stat-sheet-stuffin' sidekick. After one season in L.A., Butler was traded to the Washington Wizards for all-airport superstar Kwame Brown. OK, so all of the Lakers' maneuverings haven't exactly been on point. But pairing Bryant and Odom gave the Lakers a solid base while preventing them from winning enough games to avoid the draft lottery. That playoff miss allowed the Lakers to choose promising center prospect Andrew Bynum with the 10th selection in the 2005 NBA draft. Then again, keeping O'Neal may have allowed the Lakers to stockpile enough defeats to qualify for the '05 draft's first pick. That would have put Andrew Bogut in L.A. and Jack Nicholson in the line for Clippers' season tickets.
Anyway, Shaq continues bringing quite a bit to the table in Miami. Unfortunately, he leaves that table with more than he brought. He also has managed to continue encountering as much injury as Wile E. Coyote. To be fair, O'Neal's regular-season vacation may not prevent Wade and his cronies from staying alive in the league's junior varsity conference. But it should be noted that Wade, Odom and Butler may have had the capacity make a Finals run of their own. We're not sure how the Kobe-Shaq commitment — if reversed — would have impacted a crucial Lakers personnel decision. That decision was made by coach Phil Jackson, who left long enough for the Lakers to reach the lottery and returned in time to transform Kobe into commissioner of the shot-selection police. It also provided us with another fine sports book to read

3) Grant Wahl of SI.com ranks the best teams of the modern era of the NCAA tournament (1985-onward) to not win an NCAA title…I think he’s omitted the Illinois team of 1989 (Kendall Gill, Kenny Battle, Steve Bardo, Lowell Hamilton, Nick Anderson, Larry Smith and Marcus Liberty:

1. UNLV 1991. The greatest team of the modern era that didn't win the title. Undefeated until Duke took down the Rebels in the national semis. Alums: Larry Johnson, Greg Anthony, Anderson Hunt, Stacey Augmon and our favorite, Moses Scurry.

2. Georgetown 1985. Patrick Ewing's star-crossed Hoyas had swept Villanova during the season before being taken down in the most memorable title game of the 64-team tourney era. Alums: Patrick Ewing, Reggie Williams, David Wingate.

3. Kansas 1997. The Jayhawks had only lost once before upstart Arizona made the the first of its three top-seeded victims on the way to the title. Alums: Raef LaFrentz, Paul Pierce, Jacque Vaughn, Scot Pollard.

4. North Carolina 1994. The defending national champs got picked off by Boston College in the second round. Alums: Rasheed Wallace, Jerry Stackhouse, Eric Montross, Donald Williams, Jeff McInnis.

5. Duke 1999. The Blue Devils hadn't lost since November when UConn pulled off the monumental upset in the title game. Alums: Elton Brand, Trajan Langdon, Shane Battier, Corey Maggette, William Avery.

2006-12-27T10:40:00.000-05:00

Well…happy holidays…

Unstoppable…Tim Duncan has been absolutely dominant lately having made 52 of his last 68 shots which amounts to 76.5% over his last seven games…for the year he is averaging 21 points, 10.1 boards and 1.7 blocks in just 34 minutes a game…my friend James is now in full froth…

Funny exchange from the Pistons-Nets game: Flip Saunders had a discussion with a heckler during the second quarter. After the fan called for Carlos Delfino to be benched, Saunders replied ''You guys complain when I don't play the bench, and now you don't want me to play them. Make up your minds!'' Saunders also had some wise words during a press conference after the Pistons beat Atlanta on Saturday…when asked about recent chatter on TNT comparing Maxiell to Hall of Famer Charles Barkley: "Size, that's where (the comparison) ends," he said. "Charles was a Hall of Fame player. Charles could shoot the 3-pointer, handle the ball in the open floor, make assists and he was a play-maker. He and Maxey, they look similar size-wise, and Maxey is dynamic around the basket like Charles. But as for how they play, they are not similar. Let's squelch that rumor right now."

This is ridiculously funny: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hruby/061226&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1

Here’s a classic Isaih Thomas-started rumour: Knicks SG Steve Francis will retire due to bad knees…whatever...

Did you see Hawks coach Mike Woodson and PF Marvin Williams yelling at each other the other day? Oh Boy, you have to like Woodson taking the youngster to task, but with a very young team going nowhere, his days appear numbered…

1) Mark Kramm of the Philadelphia Daily News with a terrific article on Kobe’s former high school teammates:

10 years out of Kobe's shadow - Supporting cast of Lower Merion's state champs reflects on a great teammate and a great team

THE BIG STORY 10 years ago in Philadelphia was Kobe Bryant. He had just come out of Lower Merion High School and had signed in the early summer of 1996 with the Los Angeles Lakers. No one could agree then if it was a wise decision on his part to bypass college, but the ensuing years have proved it to be a correct one. He has become one of the top players in the NBA. But with the stature he has secured have come some unseemly episodes, including an ugly feud with former teammate Shaquille O'Neal and a sexual-assault prosecution in Colorado that was subsequently dropped. No one has been more interested in the comings and goings of Kobe than his former teammates at Lower Merion, who 10 years ago won the PIAA Class AAAA basketball championship at HersheyPark Arena. Under coach Gregg Downer, the Aces (32-3) topped Erie Cathedral Prep, 48-43, that March evening in 1996 to capture their first title in 53 years. Bryant averaged 32 points that season. But even if he had yet to announce his intentions to enter the NBA draft that spring, he appeared certain for stardom, if not immediately at the pro level then in college. As Bryant continues to prosper in his 11th NBA season - and prepares to play the Sixers this Sunday in Los Angeles - the Daily News caught up with six of his former teammates at Lower Merion. None became the pro players they once dreamed of, but they have by and large settled into successful careers outside of sports. Each remains intensely interested in basketball, and has followed the unfolding career of Bryant from afar. And they remember that championship year they had with him at Lower Merion with increasing pride.

JERMAINE GRIFFIN Senior forward - The emotion of those days came back to Jermaine Griffin as he walked into the Giant Center in Hershey last March. Lower Merion was playing Pittsburgh Schenley for the state championship and suddenly Griffin found himself overcome with jitters, just as he had been 10 years before when he and Kobe were "the one-two punch" who led Lower Merion to the same title. It was special then but somehow has become even more with each passing year, the way the accomplishments of youth occasionally do under the increasing pressure of adulthood. "Can it be 10 years? asks Griffin, 29. "Wow, time flies. Somehow it seems like it should be no more than 5 years. Being there to see them do it again reminded me that I am part of a legacy." Griffin had what he called "huge basketball aspirations" as a player at Lower Merion. They never panned out. He attended Wagner College in New York for a year but did not play. He transferred to SUNY-Farmingdale on Long Island. He played part of one season but quit in order to keep his 11 p.m.-to-7 a.m. job stacking dairy products in a grocery store. Eventually, he got a job as a salesman for Geico. He worked there for 7 years before leaving to become a mortgage broker in Mastic, N.Y. He is single with three children and says, "I feel blessed." While he has not spoken with Kobe since 2002, when Lower Merion honored Bryant by ceremonially retiring his jersey, Griffin still considers the two of them to be on solid terms. "People go their own way once high school is over," says Griffin, who says he knew even then that Kobe would go far as an NBA player. He says that Bryant had an unparalleled work ethic and that it became clear he had the tools to play at that level when he began outplaying pro and college players in informal workouts. Says Griffin: "He was an amazing player." So Griffin is not surprised how well Kobe has done, even if he is somewhat saddened by the allegations that his former teammate faced in Colorado. "He has had a wonderful career," says Griffin. "But it was unfortunate for him to have that situation, which has tarnished it somewhat. He is in a Terrell Owens-, Barry Bonds-type of spotlight because of what happened there." But the Kobe he remembers is the one he exchanged a vow with at the end of their junior season. Lower Merion had just been beaten in the second round of the state playoffs when they told each other in the locker room: "This is not going to happen again." Says Griffin: "So from that point we just had a refuse-to-lose attitude."

BRENDAN PETTIT Junior center - Brendan Pettit remembers the fun they had that season. Whenever they traveled, you could not find an empty seat in the gym. "People would be going crazy," says Pettit, 28. "But we would go in there, and we just knew we were going to win. We just had an excellent team that year. Even without Kobe. There was one game, Kobe fouled out. And we were down. But we still came back and won." Pettit pauses and adds, "I have such vivid memories of that season." While Pettit had a fine career at Lower Merion, cold reality set in when he graduated a year later: College recruiters are less than enthralled by 6-4 centers. Pettit spent a year at a prep school in Connecticut and then played three seasons at Wesleyan University. He worked as a bartender for a year and then settled down in New York, where he got a job in the bridal industry. Work as a temp later led to his current position as a sample manager for Polo-Ralph Lauren. He is single. And while he has not spoken to Bryant since that ceremony at Lower Merion, he has closely followed the trajectory of his career. "The better and better he gets, the bigger deal it becomes that we once played on a championship team together," says Pettit. "And he was very accomplished as a high school player. He wanted it more than anyone else. Even when I watch on TV I can see that. He does some things with the ball that just leave you shaking your head and just saying, 'Wow.' " Pettit remembers Bryant as a "good guy," someone whom he would like to see again if the occasion arose. But he also thinks Kobe has become someone whom fans "kind of hate," if only because he has been so extraordinarily successful at such a young age. Pettit says that the Colorado affair did not win Bryant any fans, and that it "caused people to have second thoughts about him, I guess." Says Pettit: "But he is definitely one of my favorite players." Pettit chuckles and says, "What does he have now - three NBA championship rings? Time has just flown by. It seems just like yesterday that he was bringing the ball up court and I was setting picks for him."

EMORY DABNEY Sophomore guard - Emory Dabney was a 15-year-old starting point guard that season. "There was a lot of pressure on me," says Dabney. "But it was easier because we were such a close team." And that is what Dabney remembers, even beyond whatever glory endures from winning the state championship. He would play for other teams in the years to come, but none surpassed the experience he had at Lower Merion. "What I have come to realize as I have gotten older is how special that team was," says Dabney, 26. "We were like brothers. If one of us had a problem, we helped each other out. And we never bickered. Very rarely do you ever see teammates behave toward each other the way we did." Dabney played two more seasons at Lower Merion and attended Oxnard Junior College in California, where he played with high school teammate Omar Hatcher. Dabney later played at Pittsburgh and the University of Tampa and has since settled down in Philadelphia, where he operates a mortgage company. He is single. He still plays basketball recreationally, which he says is somewhat less taxing on his body than playing in college or even high school. He came to appreciate the work ethic Bryant observed to get where he is today. Says Dabney: "He is extremely talented, but what separates him from other players is how hard he works. And he exhibited that every day in practice." Dabney remains fond of Bryant. While he has not seen or spoken to him since in 4 years, he remembers how Kobe always "made an effort to show me the ropes." Dabney came to look upon him as an older brother. He concedes Kobe has come off as "kind of confused" publicly, but says he knew Bryant would be cleared of the charges that faced him in Colorado. Says Dabney: "I knew the truth would come out eventually." Dabney has people come up to him and ask, "How was it playing with Kobe?" And he remembers the summer before Bryant played his senior year at Lower Merion, when he watched Kobe work out with the pros at a local college. "I think he was using that summer to gauge where he was as a player," Dabney says. "And he just used [then-Sixer] Jerry Stackhouse as practice dummy. I knew then he was going pro."

DAN PANGRAZIO - Sophomore guard
OMAR HATCHER - Junior guard
CARY WALKER - Sophomore forward/guard

Downer summoned a small group of players before the championship game, among them Omar Hatcher and Cary Walker. Starting guard Dan Pangrazio had sprained an ankle in the Eastern finals at the Palestra and would be replaced in the lineup by Hatcher. But Walker remembers that Downer told them, "You are going to have to step up." Lower Merion had a deep bench. Currently a fourth-grade teacher in Connecuticut, Pangrazio had been a fine shooter. And he remembers that season so vividly now, saying: "I remember every game, every practice and every drill." While he says no one would deny Bryant "took us to the championship that year," he adds that the team as a whole had a unique chemistry and that "coach Downer tied it all together." "Coach Downer was a superb teacher," says Pangrazio, who transferred from Lower Merion at the end of his sophomore year and played for the Connecticut state champion Fairfield Prep the following year. He played one season of college ball at St. Mary's College of California before his career ended because of a back injury. He graduated with honors from there with a double degree in Eng-lish and communications. While he has not been in contact with Bryant either, he continues to hold him in high regard. "Kobe was not just an exceptional individual player, but he was a leader out there on the floor," says Pangrazio, who is 27 and married. "Anyone who would place his body on the line during a rebounding drill on some random Wednesday is someone other players just naturally follow. And we did." And Walker says he is just getting better. "The development of Kobe just never stops," says Walker, 28, who is single, lives in Upper Darby and works in advertising. "He works so hard. He has always been that type of person. As a high school player, we always watched Michael Jordan. I did not realize I was playing with someone of that caliber." Hatcher says Bryant was "very polished for his age." Currently the president of a cleaning company in Philadelphia, Hatcher, 26, became a junior-college star at Oxnard and later played at St. Francis in New York. Single with a daughter, he says he is still occasionally in contact with Bryant, who he says "showed character through a tough time" in Colorado. Hatcher says that as he gets older, the championship just increases in significance. "Because I now understand how hard it is to be successful, it has become more precious to me," he says. "I value it more." What Hatcher hopes is that he and his teammates will come together at some point. He thinks that will happen. "All of us are still young," he says. "But 10 years from now, I am sure we will come together and enjoy the fruits of our labor."

2) Maura Lerner of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that Randy Foye’s heart is in the right place…sort of:

His ticker's a tocker: It beats on the right, not left - Timberwolves rookie Randy Foye has a normal heart. It's just unusually placed.

Randy Foye has been a professional athlete only six months. But he's already made history. The 23-year-old basketball player is almost certainly the first sports figure who can say his heart is truly in the wrong place. Foye, a Minnesota Timberwolves rookie, was hoping nobody would notice. But he was born with a rare condition called "situs inversus" in which his heart and other internal organs are reversed -- a mirror image of the ordinary body. As an athlete, he has never been held back by the condition. But for a while this past summer, the star from Villanova University was worried it might sink his career. "I was trying not to say anything," said Foye, afraid that it might scare off teams before June's National Basketball Association draft. "I was going to let them find it. If they didn't find it for themselves, I wasn't going to say anything." His secret came out at the annual pre-draft camp in Orlando, Fla., where teams check out the top talent. He aced the fitness tests, but when the medical exams began, he saw a puzzled look on the nurse's face. And he 'fessed up. "Everything's reversed," he told her. "My heart is on the other side."Wow," he remembers her saying. Before long, nurses and doctors from every team were swarming around him. "I was in there an extra hour and a half," he said. "They wanted to know everything about my condition." Situs inversus occurs in only about one of every 10,000 people, and is believed to be caused by a recessive gene. When the heart is on the flip side, it's known as dextrocardia. In this case, it's the heart and more: the liver, gallbladder, blood vessels and so on. Typically, experts say, people with the condition live a normal life. But it can cause confusing symptoms, such as appendicitis pain on the lower left, not right, or heart attack pangs on the right, not the left. Foye, who was born in Newark, N.J., didn't know about it himself until age 7, when he was hospitalized for two weeks with pneumonia. His doctors discovered it by accident, and told his grandmother, who was raising him. "They said everything is normal, there's nothing to worry about," Foye said. But he remembers that his grandmother waited until he was home from the hospital to tell him, and that she tried to soften the blow. "She said, 'Your heart is on the other side. You're not the only person in the world like this.' " If she was worried about him playing sports with his unusual condition, she tried to keep that to herself. "I just had so much love and passion for sports, she wouldn't take that from me," he said. Back at school, he tried to keep it quiet.
"I didn't want anybody to say, 'Oh, he's different,' " Foye recalled. But word started to get around. One day his second-grade teacher, Mrs. Goldstein, announced that he had something "really special" to tell the class, and so he did. "Everybody wanted to touch me," he said, and feel his heart beat on the "wrong" side. Eventually, the fascination died down. A plan that wasn't needed Meanwhile, Foye grew into a stellar basketball player and won a scholarship to Villanova, in eastern Pennsylvania. There, he told the team's physician about his condition, and nobody seemed concerned, he said. If anything, they joked that he played so well that "if his heart is on that side, keep it over there." As a senior, he was named 2006 Big East Player of the Year. Then in June, on the verge of turning pro, Foye started getting nervous. How would NBA teams react? Foye and his agent hatched a plan: If any team raised a concern, "we were going to get the best cardiologist, like, in the world, to put out a statement ... to say I'm perfectly fine," said Foye. "I've played with this forever. Why is this going to stop me now?" In fact, it shouldn't be a reason to disqualify an athlete, said Dr. Barry Maron, a cardiologist at the Minneapolis Heart Institute who has advised professional teams on screening athletes for heart conditions. "Having your heart on the wrong side is itself not a problem," Maron said, as long as it's a healthy heart. As it turns out, Foye's worries were unfounded. "Not a single team called me to express concern," said Steve Heumann, his agent. On June 28, Foye was the seventh player picked in the NBA draft. Chosen first by the Boston Celtics, he was traded twice that night and ended up as a member of the Timberwolves.
Jim Stack, the Wolves' general manager, said the team did its own research and "came to the realization that this was a nonissue." Foye, he said, "is one of our best guys in terms of endurance and stamina," adding, "that's one of the things that appealed to us." Since the draft, Foye's medical condition has been mentioned in Sports Illustrated magazine. And now he's a footnote in the online encyclopedia Wikipedia. Under "Situs inversus," it lists just one "notable person" with the condition: Randy Foye. "It's good to be a part of history, " said Foye with a smile, "and not just basketball."

3) Eric Neel of ESPNJ.com’s Page 2 reports on the continued maturation of the games best young centre:

The kid ate them up. I sat courtside for the Magic-Sonics game in Seattle a couple of weeks back and watched it happen. He took balls a clean foot above the rim. He worked quick reverse-pivot moves for little banks. He ran the break and sent guys scurrying with alley-oop dunks. He blocked four shots and changed another eight. He was a perfect 8-for-8 from the floor. He bounced like Tigger in the Hundred Acre Wood and muscled the post like Shaq did once upon a time in Orlando. It was a spyglass night. A revelation. I was looking at Dwight Howard, but I was seeing the future. "You think he knows how good he is?" I asked a friend sitting next to me. "You think he has any idea how good he can be?" He's just a baby, barely 21, so maybe he doesn't realize it. He's quiet and unassuming, so maybe it hasn't occurred to him. He has all the respect in the world for the esteemed Mr. Grant Hill, so perhaps he defers. But if it's starting to dawn on him … if, at 17.1 points and 12.7 rebounds a night, Dwight Howard is getting an inkling, the league had better look out. Because with all the ink we've been spilling on LeBron, Carmelo and Dwyane Wade, this is the guy who can truly dominate. This is the guy who can shred the scenery. This is the unstoppable force. This is the man. Remember that feeling you had watching the young David Robinson and the young Hakeem Olajuwon – that lithe sense that they were capable of anything? That's how watching Howard feels. He's active on every ball off the rim or the glass (a third of his rebounds every night are on the offensive boards), and it isn't just a spring thing. He's eyeballing it while it's still in the shooter's hands, gauging spin and angle on a possible miss. He doesn't tire or take plays off. It's the same deal on offense: quick feet to the spot, a broad-shouldered call for the entry pass, and an aggressive turn, left or right, toward the hole. He's chockablock explosive. He dunks and boards and blocks with equal pop, and can't nobody slow him down.
Along press row, he's all anyone's watching. Guys are shaking their heads, rolling their eyes and whistling as if they'd just seen a cherry Corvette roll down Main Street. There's work to do. He turns the ball over too often, struggles with the double from time to time and needs a go-to post move or three. He finds his offense in the gaps, off the glass or on a cut. The Magic aren't running the offense through him (he scores his 17 a game on just 10 or 11 shots; Robinson and Olajuwon were averaging 16 and 18 attempts per game in their third seasons in the league, though both were older and had four years of college experience each) and with steady production out of Hill, Orlando probably shouldn't be. It's too early. Howard's too raw. But even without a completely reliable move down low, he's growing. His points per 40 have climbed steadily through 2½ seasons, from 14.7 to 17.1 to 19 so far this season. Beyond the numbers, you can see the development in his look, in the quick confident smile he flashes after busting by somebody on his way to the basket, or after turning away somebody's shot like it's nothing but a thing. There's a lot of talk about Howard's being too timid, or too polite, about his maybe lacking a necessary mean streak. But don't mistake that for a lack of swagger, because the kid I saw the other night is feeling it. He may not trust it every trip yet, and he most definitely needs to test it in some playoff fire walks, but it's in there. He needs to know that. He needs to believe it. Because I want more of it. Right now, on the cusp between his truckload of talent and drive and the prospect of true greatness, he's the most captivating player in the league for me, bar none. Playmakers like James and Wade inspire me, make me want to move, remind me why I love basketball. But Howard's thing is some other thing, some tremble-before-me, shock-and-awe sort of thing. He could own this league if he keeps working it. He looks like he has no ceiling. He's going to get stronger physically, and he's going to get bolder. At some point real soon, he's going to be a straight-out unsolvable problem for every team he faces. I see a 10-year run as the East's All-Star center. I see trophies and rings. I see a plaque in the Hall. Am I getting ahead of myself? Screw it. That's how good he looks to me. He looks like I should get ahead of myself just to keep pace. I look at a player like Howard, someone with work to do but with clear, unmistakably scary potential, and I can't help but want more. I picture the jump hook he doesn't quite have yet and envision the up-and-under fake he doesn't yet use to make grown men cry. Does he see it too? Does he know it's out there for him? I don't know. But I can't take my eyes off him while waiting to find out.

4) Kelly Dwyer of SI.com reports on a reconstituted trade and other notes:

An Artest trade that needs to happen and more notes

The NBA was rocked to its core on Sunday when news of a sensible trade that would seemingly benefit both sides hit the street in the form of the Los Angeles Times' Sunday edition. The scuttle says that Ron Artest, who can't be persuaded to take the court these days in Sacramento purple, could go to the Clippers for scoring swingman Corey Maggette in a swap Los Angeles nearly consummated with Artest's former team in Indiana last winter. The deal needs to go down. It will hardly act as a panacea for either squad, but it will recharge both and serve as a bit of motivation as things start to get serious. Both the Kings (11-14 through Monday) and Clippers (11-15) are underachieving, as both of the burly players in question have fallen into distraction mode. Maggette far less than Artest, of course. Maggette has been dealing with trade rumors for a year and a half and has been pretty professional through the whole thing. His play has been quite good, but this didn't stop him from asking for a trade via his agent. Artest has been throwing lobs through the media at point guard Mike Bibby (struggling, to be sure, but also playing through injuries) and new coach Eric Musselman. He pulled out of a nationally televised loss to Washington just minutes before tip-off last Thursday, and has worn out his welcome after a 10-month test drive. The Kings should send Artest and defensive point guard Jason Hart (Sam Cassell has plantar fasciitis, an injury that just doesn't go away) to the Clippers for Maggette and Yaroslav Korolev, a former lottery pick who has shown nothing in limited minutes.
Nobody gets hurt in a deal like this. Until, of course, the Kings realize that Maggette (despite all his talent and dogged determination) isn't the answer to making them a strong playoff team, and the Clippers realize just how much Ron Ron thinks of his offensive repertoire.

Back in February 2005, the Denver Nuggets took a little heat for sending Rodney White and Nikoloz Tskitishvili to the Golden State Warriors for Eduardo Najera, Luis Flores and Dallas' 2007 first-round pick (which the Warriors owned). The Nuggets weren't lambasted for losing White and Skita, who were hardly great shakes, but for the cap implications behind the deal. Had Denver been able to dump its own first-round pick in 2005, and passed on trading for Najera, the salary-cap space afforded by White's and Tskitishvili's expiring contracts (coupled with the cap increase in the 2005 offseason) could have allowed the Nuggets to chase a free-agent shooting guard like Ray Allen, Michael Redd or Larry Hughes. Who would know, nearly two years later, that a lower-rung first-round pick would be one of the deciding factors in eventually netting the Nuggets Allen Iverson? The lesson, as Orlando's Otis Smith (in acquiring eventual cap space and Trevor Ariza from New York), Toronto's then-GM Wayne Embry (who cleared cap space by sending Jalen Rose to, you guessed it, New York) already know: You can always bank on an overmatched fellow GM -- usually working out of New York, Minnesota or Philadelphia -- to help make up for past missteps.

Undersized Kings forward Kenny Thomas (he's undersized when they put him at center, too) made his rep as a strong scorer on the interior who can rebound. And though he's doing solid work on the glass (7.8 in 26.8 minutes a game), he's killing the team on offense. What happened to his touch? It's still there -- he's shooting 49 percent -- but he can't hold on to the bloody ball. According to Knickerblogger.net, 22.2 percent of the possessions he takes part in end up with a Thomas turnover, a putrid number for someone who is supposed to be a scorer. By comparison, the oft-maligned Eddy Curry turns it over "only" 17 percent of the time.

Watching Houston's Yao Ming crumple in a heap on Saturday night was bad enough, but it was especially painful in light of his sublime play the night before. Yao, who will be out six weeks with a broken bone under his right knee, played about as complete a game as he'd ever delivered against the Spurs on Friday night: 22 points, two blocks and seven rebounds in just 26 minutes. And his long arms forced Tim Duncan into missing nine of 13 shots in the Houston win. Meanwhile, the Rockets will not only field the most offensively challenged roster in the NBA, but they'll also have coach Jeff Van Gundy to steer them through the tough times. Van Gundy could turn the 1984-85 Nuggets into an 85-point per game outfit, so it remains to be seen what he'll do with Dikembe Mutombo, Chuck Hayes, Shane Battier, Luther Head and Rafer Alston. Tracy McGrady is set to return and could go off at any time, but so could his lower back. Should McGrady take to the shelf again, there's a possibility of a 52-point evening for Houston.

Having a hard time trying to figure out just how the Cleveland Cavaliers are "underachieving." The team's hot start masked its offensive limitations, and when LeBron James' internationally drained legs start to go out on him, who is he supposed to rely on? Zydrunas Ilgauskas is starting to fade; he could use more shot attempts, but that's not the answer. Larry Hughes, who turns 28 next month, is who he is (inconsistent, and not a great shooter), and guys like Eric Snow and Daniel Gibson don't belong in a 55-win team's rotation. The Cavs are 15-11, on pace for 47 wins, and that sounds about right.

Boston rookie Rajon Rondo, as expected, is off to a poor start, averaging 3.6 points and 2.2 assists in 15.5 minutes. We'd heard about him dominating one-on-one workouts leading up to the 2006 draft, but those sorts of competitions often hide a player's weakness from the perimeter. In five-on-five matchups, teams can slack off the poor shooter, which stinks for Rondo, because he can't shoot. However, the kid's defense, as promised, is phenomenal. Boston is a much better defensive team with him on the floor.

Midway through the second quarter of Charlotte's "clash" with New York last Wednesday, a fan chosen from the crowd nailed a three-pointer during a timeout that netted him $10,000. The fan, clad in a Stephon Marbury jersey, then tried to pump up the crowd before dashing over to the Knicks' bench, flicking his jersey at the hometown cagers and exhorting them to do better (New York ended the half down 11 to the Bobcats). The exhibition was pretty silly, but quite poignant and telling. Coupled with the standing ovation the MSG crowd gave to Michael Jordan a little later, it's clearer than ever that New York fans know what good basketball is all about, and they deserve much, much better. By the way, the Knicks won. In double overtime. Against the Bobcats. Bully for the bullies.

We're not sure what to think of Washington's new alternate uniforms; we've had an uneasy feeling about alternates (of the non-throwback variety) since the Chicago Bulls debuted their black-and-pinstripe road get-ups during the 1995-96 season. Though the idea of the old-timey two-color scheme seems appealing on paper, Washington probably shouldn't have chosen black and gold. Gilbert Arenas, on the other hand, seems to be fully in favor of Washington's cash grab, er, stylistic departure. In the five games the team has played in the alternates (road contests against Philadelphia, Phoenix, Houston and the Lakers and a home game against Cleveland), Arenas has averaged an astounding 46.4 points on 61 percent shooting. Washington has won four of the five games.

5) Mike Kahn of Foxsports.com with his terrific “10 things” column:

Wade dazzles while Shaq, Jackson trade barbs

Dwyane Wade provided a spectacular Christmas present for the Miami Heat and all the NBA junkies who couldn't resist watching Monday. His 40 points, 11 assists, four steals and two blocks in a 101-85 win over the Los Angeles Lakers showed he has surpassed Kobe Bryant as the pre-eminent guard in the game today. But whenever the Lakers and the Heat are involved, there will always be peripheral drama, and that's the Christmas tradition — NBA style.

1. Item: Lakers coach Phil Jackson took a veiled shot at his former center Shaquille O'Neal, currently rehabilitating another injury (this one his knee) for the Heat, by saying that during the Lakers championship run (three titles and four trips to the finals in five years), it hurt them because Kobe Bryant was the only star on the team who kept himself in good physical condition. O'Neal responded by calling Jackson, "Benedict Arnold."
What this really means: Actually, they both were right. O'Neal consistently became exceedingly heavy and in their disappointing 2003 season when they were blown out by San Antonio in the conference semifinals (and could have lost in the first round to Minnesota), O'Neal waited three months to have surgery on his foot — keeping him out until December. He used getting different opinions as an excuse, but three months? Then again, it was Jackson who resigned after the 2004-05 Finals loss to the Detroit Pistons, then wrote about the tumultuous relationship between O'Neal and Bryant, plus his own problems with Bryant. Ironically, it is Bryant who has suffered the brunt of all the problems that team had, when all three had egos the size of California, including the Baja. And that's what got in the way. Bryant was just out there, and considered a petulant child, while Jackson intellectualized his way out of the blame and O'Neal played the "Big Buddy, woe-is-me" card because owner Jerry Buss would only pay him the sun and the moon and not throw in the rest of the planets. And from the NBA's perspective, from Hollywood to South Beach, this is just the kind of soap opera that removes the Dec. 16 brawl in New York between the Knicks and the Denver Nuggets from the consciousness of the fans. Ho, ho, ho.

2. Item: Gilbert Arenas and the Washington Wizards took their show on the road this week having won eight of 10 while moving to within 1½ games of first place Orlando in the Southeast Division. What this really means: Arenas has lingered on the cusp of superstardom, but the past two weeks may have put him over the top — the crowning accomplishment being a franchise-record 60 points in the stirring 147-141 overtime win over the Lakers in Los Angeles last Sunday night, followed by 54 points to end the Phoenix Suns' 15-game winning streak Friday night. Over the past 10 games, he has averaged 37.7 points a game — moving to 30.1 for the season. Arenas' talent never has been in question. His consistency and defense always has caused people to pause. In fact, the same thing can be said about the Wizards in general. At some point, coach Eddie Jordan has to get them to make stops when it matters most — something that hasn't happened despite the Wizards making the playoffs two years in a row for the first time in almost 20 years. To reach the next level, it will be up to Arenas, Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler to not only score a lot of points, but get in opponents' faces down the stretch of games. No doubt, the "new NBA that scores a lot," suits the Wizards just fine — particularly in the East. But if they can't make stops, they'll become a traditional first-round and out team — so if Arenas really wants to be held in the same esteem as the other superstar guards, he'll have to set the tone on both ends.

3. Item: The Phoenix Suns set a franchise record with their 15th consecutive win before giving up that overtime loss to the Wizards on Friday night. What this really means: It is becoming abundantly clear on a daily basis that this team is eminently capable of winning the Western Conference. Point guard Steve Nash continues to play at a magical level, keeping everyone involved with high intensity — which only adds to the confidence the team gained by reaching the conference finals two years in succession. It's particularly noticeable in youngsters Leandro Barbosa and Boris Diaw, while Shawn Marion and Raja Bell are veterans with a track record of success. But the big difference is center Amare Stoudemire is getting stronger every game in his recovery from surgery on both knees last year that virtually kept him out the entire season, and the return of Kurt Thomas from a foot injury that incapacitated him the final third of the season as well. In fact, they are essentially two much-needed additions at the power positions without any subtraction. It required all of two weeks for them to fit in, and now we again see what a magnificent coach and assessor of talent Mike D'Antoni is. After wondering how this would all fit early in the season, in the new NBA where offense is king, this could be the year the Suns win their first NBA title.

4. Item: With All-Star forward Richard Jefferson already contemplating surgery on his right ankle to remove bone spurs, the New Jersey Nets lost rapidly emerging 7-footer Nenad Krstic for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. What this really means: Even in the pathetic Atlantic Division where the Nets' 11-16 record has them just a half-game out of first place and last place Philadelphia (7-19) is just four games out, there are rumblings of sweeping changes with the Nets — also because All-Star Vince Carter can opt out of his contract after this season. But keep in mind that all the rumblings about how much money Orlando is under the cap to coax the Florida native has been overblown. Clearly, he'd be giving up tens of millions of dollars to leave and that's a bit hard to believe. It just depends how important this season is to president Rod Thorn and ownership. Because the division is so bad, the Nets can still win the division built around Carter and Jason Kidd — with Jefferson presumably returning healthy for the second half of the season. Already positive momentum seems to be building again for owner Bruce Ratner to get his wish for the megaplex featuring a new arena to bolster Brooklyn. And that means they just need to remain competitive now, but certainly with an eye to a move that is a good four years away. But, again, do you trade Vince Carter?

5. Item: As if the entire process wasn't stormy enough, the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers had to agree to pay for private planes to get Allen Iverson to Denver and Andre Miller to Philly despite Denver International Airport being closed due to a snowstorm. What this really means: When the Sixers dealt their superstar and (since released rookie) Ivan McFarlin to the Nuggets for Andre Miller, Joe Smith and two No. 1 draft picks, they were more in the market for expiring contracts than talent. But soon enough they realized Miller's floor leadership experience could be the best thing that happened to them in years. In Denver, it was an entirely different circumstance. Not only was the DIA closed because two feet of snow dumped on the city, but in the first game after Carmelo Anthony (15 games) and J.R. Smith) (10 games) were suspended for their roles in the brawl in New York on Dec. 16, center Marcus Camby broke a finger and will be out for at least another week. So the team did everything conceivable to get Iverson out on the floor, and despite the loss to Sacramento — the ball is rolling for a new future in Denver. Successful or not — before Anthony returns and when it does — this is guaranteed to be fun for coach George Karl, the Nuggets, their fans and everybody else who gets to watch them play.

6. Item: Life with the Sixers has been strange enough with their 12-game losing streak and the trading of Iverson, and now it appears Larry Brown is going to return to the payroll. What this really means: It has been no secret that Brown has been in close consultation with president Billy King and owner Ed Snider over the handling of the team and the entire Iverson trade in general. It's hard to know whether Brown left the Sixers to coach the Detroit Pistons for two years because he was tired of dealing with Iverson or the organization was just plain tired of Brown after six years. It was more likely the former than the latter, but that's not the point. Brown spent two years with the Pistons and the second one — despite winning a title in the first season and reaching the finals the second year — with rumors of him going anywhere and everywhere right into Game 7 of the finals. That led to the biggest nightmare of all, last season with the New York Knicks. As a tactician, he is without peer and unquestionably worthy of his Hall of Fame credentials, but as a 66-year-old man having coached eight NBA teams in 23 years — it is completely unfair to have him looking over the shoulder of coach Maurice Cheeks, whom he has championed in the past. The one thing we do know about Brown is if he loves you today, he'll hate you tomorrow before he loves you again the day after that. And the rebuilding Sixers, like every other NBA team, need more stability than the 42 different starting lineups Brown used last season with the Knicks.

7. Item: The Los Angeles Clippers continue to fade and now the real excitement seems to be stemming from the loud discussions of dealing discontented swingman Corey Maggette to the Sacramento Kings for the highly flammable Ron Artest. What this really means: Considering the huge extensions given to coach Mike Dunleavy and center Chris Kaman — plus the decision not to include guard Shaun Livingston in the trade discussions for Iverson — last season's trip to the second round may turn out to be a fluke after all. Floor leader Sam Cassell, now 37, will be in street clothes for an unspecified period of time with plantar fasciitis, and that will leave the bulk of the responsibility on the floor to Livingston, still only 21 and with limited experience running the team. Once again, the Clippers are at a crossroads, only this time after renowned scrooge Donald Sterling had opened up his wallet in unprecedented fashion. A lot of the problems have stemmed from selfishness and not running the offense through All-Star Elton Brand as the team did so successfully last season. And for all the obvious talent and potential of Livingston that created arguably far too much preseason hype — he has yet to prove he can successfully lead the team without Cassell to guide him. But to add the capricious Artest to the mix at this uncertain juncture is tantamount to nitroglycerin.

8. Item: As if they haven't had a difficult enough time dealing with the unknown quantity — better known as Tracy McGrady's incessant back problems — All-Star center Yao Ming broke his leg last week and will be out for up to a couple of months. What this really means: The Rockets have gone from a serious contender for that fourth seed in the Western Conference to a team that will be in danger of missing the playoffs for the second year in a row. While so much has been said about the physical instability of McGrady — and rightfully so — Yao very quietly has built an impressive (unimpressive?) litany of battle scars himself along the way. The 7-foot-6 center has solidified himself as the best at his position in the NBA this season (25.9 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.2 blocks), but missing two months this season makes it very likely he will duplicate the 25 games missed during the 2005-06 season with toe and foot injuries. None of that creates a positive situation for coach Jeff Van Gundy. It's not his fault that McGrady and Yao are hurt, but the problem has been the lack of talent around them to keep the team afloat. McGrady is supposed to return this week, and that will help, except that he clearly is a cut below the same T-Mac who was capable of dominating any game at any time. In the grand scheme of things, perhaps this period of time is an aberration with the two stars going down. Nevertheless, once players become injury prone, most have a tough time stabilizing again over the long haul. Consequently, it adds intrigue to how the careers of these two stars and the next few years of the Rockets play out.

9. Item: The Seattle SuperSonics remain riddled with pain and confusion, whether it's the unknown future of the club due to the new ownership group from Oklahoma City or the revolving door of injuries that have crippled their starting lineup. What this really means: On the day after All-Star Ray Allen returned to the practice floor after missing nine games with an ankle injury, high-scoring forward Rashard Lewis tore a tendon in his right hand and will be out approximately eight weeks. To a team that already has the second worst record in the Western Conference entering this week, the immediate future does not bode well. Seattle lost young starting center Robert Swift to major knee surgery during the preseason, and have had three different centers try to replace him — all are virtually ineffective. The only saving grace is even at six games below .500 they are only 2½ games out of the eighth spot in the West. Still, they must deal with reality. Allen going down altered their already fragile chemistry, and now Lewis — who is eligible for a two-year extension and could opt out of his contract this summer — has done likewise. Because he is such a superb shooter and scorer, there has been plenty of buzz around the league about him because the Sonics are in such a state of flux. And that leaves coach Bob Hill and general manager Rick Sund in even more unstable positions with the future so murky. And in the really big picture, the lack of success on the floor almost without fail leads to a lack of support for public funding for a new arena. Majority owner Clay Bennett has to know that as he prepares his proposal to the Washington legislature that will make or break the future of the Sonics in Seattle.

10. Item: Now that the circus has left Chicago, the Bulls are back and apologies are in order for prematurely crushing them over the handling of Ben Wallace's headband, the performance of Wallace and the future of the team with him. What this really means: To be sure, it's hard to fathom that Wallace is worth $60 million over four years with his aging body and offensive limitations, On the other hand, consider that the Bulls have won 13 of 15 and climbed back into the lame Eastern Conference race. Perhaps more importantly, Wallace quit pouting and whining to his former teammates on the Pistons and started to play like the uber-defender/rebounder that earned him all that money in the first place. During the past 10 games, Wallace has averaged 9.2 points, 13.7 rebounds 2.7 blocks and 2.2 steals — including games of 27 and 20 rebounds. The good news for the Bulls is Wallace has proven he can still dominate a game defensively and on the boards, while igniting fast breaks and offense the rest of the time. He is the decider of how far defense will carry this team. Granted, the Bulls still lack the go-to guy in the frontcourt at the end of games, and are counting too heavily on the perimeter shooting of Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Andres Nocioni. But if Wallace really is motivated to play at this level the rest of the season and his teammates respond in kind, then they really are contenders in a weak conference. And should they get to even the Eastern finals, even money says the Bulls will reconsider their headband rule and let him wear one next season — as long as he matches team colors.

2006-12-21T09:10:00.000-05:00

Tennessee’s Candace Parker had another dunk in the Vols 66-51 win over West Virginia last night and she even got a T for taunting after the dunk…but check the picture, it was a no doubter…

More brawl fallout…Northwest Airlines Corp. has pulled the December issue of its in-flight magazine in the wake of an NBA brawl involving the magazine's cover subject, Denver Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony. Anthony was suspended for 15 games earlier this week for his part in Saturday's brawl between the Nuggets and the New York Knicks. "Northwest does not want to appear to condone in any way the behavior of some of the players during Saturday's game, including Mr. Anthony, by continuing to offer the current edition of WorldTraveler," the airline said in a statement. The January issue of the free magazine was being rolled out early as a replacement, the airline said. Northwest spokesman Dean Breest declined to comment beyond the statement.

Hilarious quote from Suns guard Steve Nash on that sucker punch thrown by Anthony: "Typical NBA punch. In hockey, your own team would beat you up for that."

Good and slightly funny comparison here: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/basketball/nba/12/20/carmelo.iverson.tale/index.html

Did you see Jazz center Mehmet Okur last night? Dude dropped 30 points on the Hawks, including 4-of-5 3 pointers, in a 112-106 comeback win at Atlanta…in fact, the Euro-mulleted one has been averaging 57.1 percent from three for the month of December…

Great stat from Elias…of the nearly 100 players in NBA history with at least 15,000 points, only Bob Cousy and Dolph Schayes have a lower career field goal percentage than the newest Nugget, Allen Iverson.

Player Pts FG%
Bob Cousy 16,960 .375
Dolph Schayes 19,247 .380
Allen Iverson 19,583 .421
Paul Arizin 16,266 .421
Latrell Sprewell 16,712 .425

Fascinating article from Rick Telander about the Jayson Williams shooting scandal from a few years back…Telander is a former SI writer and the author of “Heaven is a Playground”, one of the best hoops books ever written:

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=2703590&name=telander_rick

The Lakers have nominated coach Phil Jackson to be inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Assuming nine championships and a career 893-361 record are qualification enough, Jackson would become a member of the Class of 2007. The Hall will announce its 24 finalists Feb. 16 as part of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Those finalists will then be voted on by the 24-member honors committee. It takes 18 votes to be elected and the newest Hall class is announced at the Final Four. To be enshrined while he is still active, Jackson had to have coached for 25 years…

1) Kyle Whelliston of midmajority.com reports that the apple does not fall far from the tree:

Ex-NBA shooter's son is star frosh at Davidson

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Unwelcome visitors at the Roundhouse, more formally known as McKenzie Arena, have long had to deal with a small but throaty group of Chattanooga Mocs fans on the sideline directly across from the team benches. And on this Monday night, for a revenge rematch of last March's Southern Conference title game against Davidson (won by the Wildcats in an 80-55 rout), the local rowdies unleashed every possible insult they could think of. "Hey number 30!" one leather-lunged Chattanooga fan bellowed as the teams took to the floor. "This is a college game. You're not old enough to be out there!" At first glance, No. 30 in Davidson dark red, Stephen Curry (pronounced STEFF-in), certainly looks every bit a freshman -- a high school freshman, maybe. Or at the very least, his photogenic charm seems more likely suited to wooing young ladies with soulful R&B ballads instead of hooping it up with the big boys. At the time being, there's very little about his frame (a lithe 6 feet and 180 pounds, soaking wet) that announces intimidating basketball prowess. That is, until the ball goes up. Three minutes into the contest, Curry offered Chattanooga his calling card, a long-distance 3 that silently slinked through the twine. Less than a minute later, he drove the lane for a poster-perfect finger roll. When he wasn't finding teammates open for 3s of their own or directing traffic, he was putting together a few clips for his YouTube highlight reel; halfway through the first half, Curry sneaked into the paint to scoop an offensive rebound off the floor, then used expert upper body control to maneuver the ball into the cylinder around jutting and waving tree limbs. This was no fresh-faced kid -- what we had here was a baby-faced assassin. "Steph has the green light for anything," said Davidson head coach Bob McKillop. "He's earned it. And to have earned it in such a short period of time ... you can throw out the jump shot and the dribble and the ballhandling; you can start with the foundation of accountability that his parents have taught him. It's that accountability that makes him coachable and team-oriented and getting better every game." Curry does indeed have a not-so-secret genetic edge. Fill in the parts of his name edited for brevity and you get "Wardell Stephen Curry II." You probably remember Wardell Stephen Curry I simply as Dell Curry, No. 30 in Charlotte Hornets teal, one of the deadliest long-range bombers in NBA history. During a 16-year pro career, Curry the elder connected on 1,248 3-pointers, and his 40.1 percent mark from beyond the arc ranks him as one of the NBA's all-time top 10. Not even his dad's alma mater wanted to give Stephen Curry a scholarship as a freshman.But Curry the younger wasn't born with his dad's silky 3-point shot. He had to learn it the hard way. Once he'd fully committed himself to basketball in high school after a promising youth baseball career (at 10, he played with McKillop's son Brendan on a state championship team), he spent a lot of development time with his father. "It was the summer after his sophomore year," recalled Curry the elder, wearing a Davidson sweatshirt and sitting among a small group of Curry family members who all made the five-hour trip from Charlotte to alternately cheer Stephen on and tally his points on scorecards. "I had a talk with him. He was shooting from his waist. I told him that if he wanted to be a college player, he needed to bring his shot up higher." "That summer was the worst time shooting I ever had," said Stephen. "I mean, I could shoot it before, but because I was so short, I had to change my shot. He helped me with that, but the transition was real hard." Curry's reconstructed shot eventually translated into a blistering 48 percent mark from downtown during his senior year at Charlotte Christian High, and he's currently clipping at 39.8 percent on 3s as a young collegian (39-for-98). But he's no one-dimensional bombardier; intense sessions of one-on-dad have paid off on the defensive side of the ball, as well. On Monday against Chattanooga, he collected three steals, pulled down 10 defensive rebounds and also brought about caroms for his teammates by playing in-your-shorts perimeter defense on the Mocs' guards, forcing a number of bad shots and redirecting a handful of others. "Stephen has rare traits for a freshman; he isn't focused on just one end of the court," McKillop said. "Defensively, he is years ahead of what a freshman is. Most kids in freshman years come in, they've played AAU basketball for 80 games a summer where they run up and down the floor and shoot. Steph came to us with a real sense of defensive understanding and a willingness to commit to play." All of which begs the obvious question: How did a promising recruit with a budding all-around game -- and an NBA pedigree no less -- not end up attending a high-major school? Virginia Tech (alma mater of both Dell and Stephen's mother Sonya, a former Hokies volleyball star) showed interest, but there were steep conditions. "[Virginia Tech] wanted him to redshirt or walk on," Dell said. "He wanted to play right away. [Davidson] was his decision ... it has strong academics and background, and we're glad it worked out." So instead of following directly in his father's footsteps, Stephen took his résumé -- high school all-conference, all-state and team MVP -- to Belk Arena instead. "That was a tough time," Stephen said. "Virginia Tech kinda left a bad taste in my mouth. But Davidson was a much better situation. They were on me from the start ... I knew they wanted me, and I knew I could have an impact right away." Curry's college debut certainly made an impact on the stat sheet -- in a negative way as well as positive. It came in a fast and loose 81-77 Wildcats win over Eastern Michigan on Nov. 10 at the John Thompson Foundation Classic in Ann Arbor, Mich. Curry scored 15 points but coughed the ball up a staggering 13 times; so far in 2006-07, no D-I player has racked up more turnovers in a game. But Curry shook it off like a seasoned veteran the following day, torching the nets for 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting in a loss against host school Michigan. The freshman ended up with 63 points over the course of the three-day tourney and later was named Southern Conference Player of the Month for November. "I don't want to confuse my game too much," Stephen said of his development. "I want to keep my game where it is but keep moving forward. I do want to improve my leadership on the court and work on being a good point guard, because in my junior year, after [Jason] Richards graduates, I'll probably have to move from the two to the one." And while Curry undergoes his transformation from man-child to man, the Wildcats are quietly winning games they aren't supposed to. Davidson came into the season coping with the graduation losses of 76 percent of its scoring from a squad that followed up a SoCon championship with an eight-point loss to Ohio State in an NCAA 2-vs.-15 game. Since there were only 30 D-I starts among its 13-man 2006-07 roster, the media and coaches picked Davidson to finish a distant fourth in the league's South Division. But the Wildcats now find themselves 9-3, and their pair of consecutive 20-win seasons just might end up turning into a full-fledged streak. "Surprised is the right word for it," McKillop said of his team's fast start. "But I have a group this year that loves to play together and doesn't get bored with practice, guys like [sophomore guard] Max Paulhus Gosselin and [redshirt freshman forward] Stephen Rossiter and Stephen Curry." When the Wildcats broke open the game on Monday for that ninth victory, their superstar-in-waiting was front and center. A no-look assist to sophomore forward Andrew Lovedale in the lane opened a seven-point lead at the eight-minute mark of the second half, and then Curry's long 3 gained Davidson its first double-digit lead seconds later. When Chattanooga rallied late to pull within four, a key Curry steal with two minutes left in regulation broke the momentum for good, helping lift the Wildcats to a 90-82 win.
And once the shot clock went dark, Curry dribbled out the clock at the timeline and then left the ball on the floor near half court with three seconds left, before the buzzer broke the fallen hush of the arena. His final numbers for the night: 30 points, 11 rebounds (his first college double-double) and six assists. Nobody, not even the Roundhouse hecklers, had any sort of snappy comeback for that.

2) Robert Sanchez of the Denver Post with a hip-hop and hometown view of the trade:

Arrival of modern anti-hero - In Iverson, Nuggets get an immense talent with a star-crossed résumé

He's the original provocateur of the NBA, the man who made cornrows and tattoos almost as important as the jerseys. To some, he's the model of a professional basketball player, the greatest small man of his generation, the reason to shell out big bucks for a good seat. To others, he's a reason to stay home, the face of everything wrong with basketball today. Whatever he is, Allen Iverson has always fashioned himself the anti-hero. And now he's coming to Denver. When the Nuggets made the trade Tuesday to bring the 6-foot, 165-pound guard on board, they were getting more than an uncompromising basketball player whose nose for controversy is exceeded only by his penchant for putting points on the scoreboard. "Allen's the trend-setter, someone who changed an entire culture (of basketball) because of who he is," said Todd Boyd, a professor at the University of Southern California who authored the book, "Young Black Rich & Famous," which used basketball and hip-hop to study the impact of black, urban culture on contemporary America. "Allen's been the face of the merger between hip-hop and basketball. He's the athlete who most embodies the characteristics of his generation. "He doesn't apologize for that." The product of a teenage mother and a father who was incarcerated for most of Allen's youth, Iverson is dubbed "A.I." and "The Answer" by fans and teammates. But those who know him have referred to Iverson as "Tupac with a jump shot," an homage to the slain rapper Tupac Shakur, whose mixture of thug style, impoverished upbringing and artistic talent made him a voice for millions of inner-city youth. Like Shakur, Iverson is African-American. His inked chest and arms - with themes such as "Hold my own," and "Only the strong survive" - have been on display since he broke into the NBA in 1996, when the Georgetown University product became the league's rookie of the year. His hair is pulled into tightly wrapped, crop-circled cornrows. His shorts are baggy. He wears gold ropes and fat diamond-stud earrings. The 31-year-old also plays hurt, has undergone multiple surgeries, has averaged more than 28 points per game in his career and is a former NBA most valuable player who has played in seven all-star games. Not that Iverson cares. "Allen is the most present- tense person I've met, because people say he's a symbol for a culture, that he's a star, but Allen just sees himself as himself," said Larry Platt, author of the book, "Only the Strong Survive: The Odyssey of Allen Iverson." "He just wants to be the guy who plays ball and hangs out with his friends." But he's also had a penchant for finding trouble. As a 17-year-old high-schooler in 1993, Iverson was convicted of helping incite a brawl at a Hampton, Va., bowling alley and was sentenced to five years in prison. He served four months in jail and then was granted conditional clemency. An appeals court eventually overturned the conviction. Four years later, after being named rookie of the year in 1997, Iverson was arrested on drug-and-gun possession charges after the car in which he was riding was pulled over for speeding in Virginia. He was sentenced to probation and 100 hours of community service. And in 2002, Iverson allegedly threatened two men with a gun following a domestic dispute. All 14 counts against him later were dropped or dismissed. Add those legal run-ins to his frequent criticisms of coaches, his now-famous rant about why he didn't need to practice, and an unreleased rap album that was pulled in part because of lyrics that were considered misogynistic and homophobic, and Iverson has at times been considered a menace to his team and community. "In terms of the business of basketball, he's been an opportunity missed," said Kenneth Shropshire, director of the Wharton Sports Business Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania. "People will look at him and see what could have been, but he's a large reason why that didn't happen. He didn't want (the attention), and a player has to be involved and want to carry the league forward." And now, after years of embracing Iverson and the hip-hop persona he helped usher into professional sports, NBA executives are trying to backpedal. No more do-rags or baggy T-shirts in postgame interviews; no more complaining to officials or you'll be tossed. In recent interviews, though, Iverson has assumed a more understated persona. While he criticized the league-wide changes, the husband and father of four has said he wants to be a team leader - an elder statesman of sorts - and wants to remain a family man. "If you're getting older and not getting wiser, something's wrong," Iverson said earlier this season. "If I'm there early in practice and I'm leaving late, I really want to lead by example, just use everything I have on my résumé." And his play remains intoxicating. He ranks second in the NBA in points per game - behind only his new teammate, Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony - and is a leading All-Star Game vote-getter, despite having not played for nearly two weeks after hinting that he was ready to leave the 76ers. "He is one of the greatest players of his generation, that one player at the end of the game who you want that ball in his hands because good things are going to come from it," said Alex English, a former Nuggets great who helped coach Iverson during the 2003-04 season. "He's cat-quick on the court, so quick that you feel sorry for the guy who has to guard him. He's gonna go up against anybody, and he won't back down." Said Dan Issel, the former Nuggets player and head coach who coached against Iverson several times: "He's so good simply because of his toughness. You can knock him down, but he bounces back up, and the next time, he's right back at you."