The playoffs have been defined by lopsided first-round series and calls to abolish the Hack-a-Shaq strategy from NBA fans across Twitter to this point. Meanwhile, the Oklahoma City Thunder – who failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2009 – made news recently by firing head coach Scott Brooks. The move was made with a long-term view to hopefully retain franchise cornerstones Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Both players were taken selected in the draft, which is only
BROOKLYN – The Jordan Brand Classic introduced us to the country’s top recruits. From the looks of it, the future of college basketball is bright. Top recruits from Kentucky, Florida State, Arizona and more starred during the event, giving schools hope they can wrestle the NCAA title away from Duke next season. Speaking of wrestling a title away, France’s Jaylen Hoard and Bosnia’s Njegos Sikiras took home MVP honors during the International Game – which has been dominated by the Canadians in
The road to the Final Four is complete after an epic March Madness filled with defining moments that gained tournament immortality. Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter hit the shot of the tournament that had his coach – and dad – Ron Hunter literally falling out of his seat. People still debate whether UCLA should have advanced due to a goaltending call against SMU. Most significantly, Kentucky is two wins away from a perfect 40-0 season, which would be the first perfect
Editor’s Note: Whether coaching or forecasting, Bobby Gonzalez knows college basketball. He went 8-0 picking games in the Sweet Sixteen a year ago, 7-1 in that round this year and 3-1 in last weekend’s regional finals. This is not some Bozo. It’s Gonzo. He knows what he’s talking about. It was 1991 and I was standing in the crowd at the Final Four as a New York City high school coach, watching All-American Larry Johnson of the dominant, unbeaten UNLV team
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
Have you been watching the Knicks and Lakers this season? Yes, it’s hard. Two of the NBA’s biggest spenders in the league’s two biggest markets are playing awful basketball, and it doesn’t look like either one has the personnel or the sense of purpose to turn things around. Both teams will miss the playoffs and land in the draft lottery, again. There’s good news for the Knicks. They were somehow smart enough to keep their first-round pick and should have a chance
The Jordan Brand Classic introduced us to the game’s future stars. And from the looks of it, the future is bright. Top recruits from Duke, Kansas and Kentucky dazzled in the All-American Game and showed why each program has drawn considerable buzz heading into next season. Seton Hall – which had five recruits named to the Jordan Brand Classic – dominated the Regional Game. Canada shined in the International Game once again thanks to Jahvon Blair’s MVP performance with the help of his