BROOKLYN – Several teams in the NBA cellar had representatives on hand to watch Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere and Jamal Murray at the CBS Sports Classic. Suffice to say it was Murray whose stock rose the most despite Kentucky’s loss to Ohio State. 76ers GM Sam Hinkie, Pelicans GM Dell Demps and other NBA personnel were on hand at Barclays Center for the event. Murray lit the scoreboard up like Times Square on New Year’s with 33 points. Murray was efficient from the
Once upon a time, coach Bobby Gonzalez took an underdog Manhattan team to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, where hey were national darlings and a Cinderella story. This year, the lowest seed to advance out of the first two rounds of the tourney is UCLA, and we would be hard pressed to describe them as a Cinderella in any way, shape or form … not with that school’s history. This year’s Sweet Sixteen is loaded with quality teams, from the
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
Considering that the No. 1 Kentucky Wildcats dominated the No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks, winning 72-40 with relative ease, the question has since been posed as to whether the Wildcats would be able to defeat the hapless Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers are now 0-11. They are statistically among the worst defensively in the NBA and, likewise, also among the worst offensively. Still, for all of the talented, young big men that Kentucky boasts on their roster, Philly still boasts a lineup of grown
Team USA smothered the Dominican Republic at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, the inconsequential final score was 105-62, but the Americans didn’t have the tallest or most intriguing player in the game. In fact, the tallest and most intriguing player in Wednesday’s contest hasn’t even started college yet. Meet Karl Towns, the 7-foot-1 big man from New Jersey who plays for the Dominican team and will soon start his freshman year at the University of Kentucky as one of the top NBA prospects
It is always great going on the air with ESPN Radio in Lexington, Kentucky, because the hosts on that station know more about basketball than most folks have forgotten. Did you know that Anthony Davis used to be a ballhandler extraordinaire before undergoing a growth spurt that has turned him into one of the NBA’s top big men? That nugget of knowledge was one of many pieces of wisdom tossed around in this interview with hosts Chris Cross, Mike Cameron and Matthew
Free agent Shawn Marion is reportedly set to sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Reports have been coming in for days that Marion was leaning towards Cleveland. The four time all-star has been linked to other teams that have been attempting to acquire his services, including the Indiana Pacers. As an NBA veteran it makes sense that Marion was only interested in a contender, and signing with Cleveland will be an ideal situation for someone attempting to win another championship. The 36 year old
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