CHICAGO — No, Andrew Wiggins. No Jabari Parker. No Joel Embiid. Since most of the projected upper-echelon 2014 NBA Draft Lottery picks chose not to participate in drills at the combine, the door was open for other players to come in and catch the attention of GMs and scouts in attendance, who were, of course, out in abundance doing their due diligence and networking with just over a month until draft day. [Read more…]
Big wins are nice. They make players feel great, and they make fans happy. Big losses? Those are the things that stick in players’ heads for years and years and years. That truism comes from ex-player Danny Schayes, whose column this week deals with Kentucky’s loss in the NCAA championship game and how it will impact those five freshmen going forward. As Schayes notes, the games and the moments that stick out in his mind the most are games in which he ended
UCONN upset Kentucky Monday night in the National Championship game, defeating the wildcats 60-54 in an up-and-down game that they led buzzer-to-buzzer. There were big shots and highlight plays made all night by NBA level talent. The game could have gone either way until UCONN wrapped things up with just under two minutes to play. The presentation, broadcast and atmosphere were A-plus. Shabazz Nappier and Ryan Boatright were phenomenal. Kentucky’s heralded freshman class flashed NBA talent. Especially James young. It was the second fantastic title
Media pundits argue all of the time about which athletes contain the “clutch gene.” Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Ray Allen, Tom Brady, John Elway rank among the greats in the respective sports. Even players like Tim Tebow have garnered acclaim for playing big in the clutch moments. Kentucky Wildcats guard Aaron Harrison has proven himself to be a major “clutch” player with ice in his veins. For three games in-a-row heading into the NCAA National Championship game, he has hit the go-ahead three-point
You’ve heard the saying: “The kids are alright.” Well, these kids are more than alright. As the NBA’s ever-evolving landscape of perimeter-oriented and multifaceted skill sets take the basketball world by storm on a nightly basis, the youth who aspire to compete against their heroes (in 2015 or beyond, thanks to the one-and-done rule) have keenly paid attention to the changes in the game and what they mean for their own personal development as players. SheridanHoops caught up with nine of the 24
As it often does, the NCAA Tournament provided a wild first weekend. Mercer saved Warren Buffett $1 billion, Dayton won the state of Ohio and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in 30 years, Stanford sent Andrew Wiggins and Kansas packing, and the young Kentucky Wildcats ended Wichita State’s dream season. So out of the 32 second and third-round games won by the 16 teams still in contention for the national championship, what statistical trends and insights can we gain
CHICAGO — Three headlining freshmen. Three spectacular performances. Julius Randle? All he did was take his youthful Kentucky Wildcats and rally them with a dominant second half performance of 23 points and eight rebounds against Michigan State, one of the more consistently well coached and talented teams in college basketball. [Read more…]
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