When I was a young player growing up, my teammates called me “Mookie.” Partly because my favorite baseball player was Mookie Wilson, but also because my point guard skills at the CYO level apparently reminded my coach of the University of Oklahoma’s Mookie Blaylock. Irony would have it my favorite band, Pearl Jam, once called themselves the same name and even called their first album Ten, which was Blaylock’s number. It just so happened to me mine, too. When I think of the
By Tommy Dee Special to SheridanHoops.com As college basketball surges towards March Madness, let’s take a scouting look at how the top 10 prospects are performing. 1. Harrison Barnes 6’8, 223, SF, North Carolina Lost in the hysteria of the Tar Heels’ loss to Duke at the buzzer thanks to an Austin Rivers 3 was the performance of Barnes, who was the best player on the floor all night. No, he didn’t close the game, but the UNC forward continues to show the take-over ability
It is entirely possible that a decision announced this past week at a small boarding school in New Hampshire will have a profound impact on the 2013 NBA Draft. Nerlens Noel, a 6-foot-10 shot-blocker who has been compared to Bill Russell and Anthony Davis, announced that he would reclassify to the high school Class of 2012 from the Class of 2013. “I’m ready to do it,” Noel, out of The Tilton (N.H.) School, told Dave Telep of ESPN.com in reference to reclassyifying.
If the one-and-done rule didn’t exist and high school players were permitted to go straight to the NBA, Shabazz Muhammad might go as high as No. 2 in the 2012 Draft. After Anthony Davis, Kentucky’s 6-foot-11 freshman shot-blocking sensation, Muhammad might be the most attractive option were he to be allowed to come out this year. “He would be in the conversation for sure,” our friend, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com, points out. “He’s a great prospect. Lots of NBA teams have point guards and
By Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog There may not be any NBA basketball this season, but it’s never too early to look ahead to the 2012 NBA Draft (however it will play out) and the potential stars of the future. With that in mind, here’s a look at how five projected top picks have done in the early part of the college season and how they are viewed by NBA scouts. **Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky Through his first two college games under John Calipari, the 6-foot-10 Davis is
By Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog PISCATAWAY, N.J. — John Calipari has had a slew of one-and-done players during his tenures at Memphis and Kentucky. But he has to go back to his UMass days to find a proper comparison for 6-foot-10, 220-pound Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis. “Marcus Camby,” Calipari said Friday at Rutgers at the first annual clinic to benefit The Brayden Carr Foundation. “Marcus Camby, same. [Davis] shoots it better. Marcus was bigger, but they’re both really good.” Calipari said Davis has worked especially well in tandem