I once heard the statement in coaching, “if you are a great coach but a weak recruiter, you will get fired. But if you are a great recruiter and even a fair coach, you will survive.” Obviously, the goal is to be both. But it does explain the importance in college basketball of getting the best players. Ever since I started coaching, I have always been compared to John Calipari more than any other coach. I guess it’s because I made
CHICAGO – If there was anything to be learned at the 2014 NBA Draft combine, it is that when discussing prospects, positions are somewhat blown out of proportion. Despite their size, a prospect must must become very well-rounded in order to reach true star status at the next level. “It’s not new to see guys playing multiple positions,” Tom Penn, an ESPN analyst, told the Wall Street Journal in 2012. “But we’ve never seen this many elite players play multiple positions at an elite
NEW YORK — Nerlens Noel grew up fixated on playing in the NBA. “Since I was a little kid, like 8 years old, I’ve wished for this to come true, to play in the NBA and now it’s finally here,” said Noel. “All the hard work has paid off.” Meanwhile, halfway around the globe in Ukraine, Alex Len didn’t know what basketball was all about until he was a 13-year old who was still participating in gymnastics. “Dude, you don’t belong there,” explained
When it comes to the NBA draft, sometimes it’s the team, not the player. Take Thomas Robinson, for example. He was a consensus All-American as a junior and led Kansas to the national title game. By virtually all accounts, he was projected as a solid NBA player. But Robinson, a power forward, was drafted by the Sacramento Kings, who already had DeMarcus Cousins, Jason Thompson and Chuck Hayes manning their big positions. So Robinson languished on the bench for half a season before
CHICAGO — It was not a make or break situation, but when you walked into the gym for the NBA pre-draft camp on Chicago’s west side – filled with scouts, general managers, coaches, media and everyone in between – you could feel the intensity in the air. [Read more…]
A busy week in the NBA continues to get busier. As the draft boards and playoff scenarios continue to change, we’ll keep you updated every day at 6 O’Clock. Here’s the latest news around the league: [Read more…]
The first weekend of the NCAA Tournament is pure mayhem; games begin and end simultaneously, buzzers sound from TV’s, iPads, iPhones, and computers, celebrations are loud … and defeat is inevitable for more than three-quarters of the field… Which brings us to these next four days of college basketball: Games are fewer than the week before, but the stakes continue to rise as the Sweet Sixteen turns into the Elite Eight, and, eventually the Final Four. [Read more…]
It was an exciting and historic first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament over the weekend, with the blue bloods of college basketball reaching the second week of the tourney along with surprise teams including LaSalle, Wichita State and No. 15 seed Florida Gulf Coast. But what did it really take for the teams to win two, and in LaSalle’s case, three, games last week? [Read more…]