We have two pieces of news to pick apart today: The announcement that USA Basketball has released a list of 30 finalists for the 2016 Olympic team, and the “non-commitment” from LeBron James regarding whether he will be part of the party. And yes, it will be a party. The games are in Brazil, after all. And LeBron, whose non-commitment is disingenuous at best, does not miss a good party. So let me tell you a little story about the Brazilians. [Read more…]
LAS VEGAS — It was a warm, muggy morning in Lafayette, Louisiana on Wednesday as Elfrid Payton was going through his usual daily workout when his cellphone rang. It was his agent, telling him he had been invited to Team USA training camp to help fill out the roster for the end-of-mini-camp exhibition game. A two-hour drive to New Orleans followed, then a restless night, then a 6 a.m. flight to Las Vegas where a room awaited him at the Wynn
LAS VEGAS — The next version of Team USA will be chosen in late June, 2016, and there will be no alternates. A dozen players will be named to the team, a training camp will be held in Las Vegas, and the team will take a domestic tour of the United States before traveling direct to Rio de Janeiro from Houston, Team USA executive director Jerry Colangelo told SheridanHoops.com Wednesday. “We don’t want to have any cuts, we don’t want to have
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 have 1,000 stories about coach Mike Krzyzewski, one for each of his 1,000 wins, but I promise to only tell a few of them. I was a Division 1 coach for 18 years and won 200 games, and winning 1,000 games at the highest level of college basketball is an accomplishment that can only be summed up as unthinkable, unimaginable and something coaches, including myself, can only dream of. I have always felt that the best coaches are the ones who can
NEW YORK – The Knicks should put the “tank” in tanking to give the organization its best chance to land one of the most heralded center prospects in recent memory – Duke’s Jahlil Okafor. The Knicks put on a full court press with Carmelo Anthony, team president Phil Jackson, general manager Steve Mills and Allan Houston all on hand at Madison Square Garden to watch Okafor in action. “I like him,” Anthony said. “I think he’s got a great feel for the
After enduring a 15-67 season, there was light at the end of the tunnel for the Milwaukee Bucks. There was a new face of the franchise with the ability to light up a scoreboard like a towering billboard in Times Square. There was Jabari Parker. The November Rookie of the Month spoke exclusively to SheridanHoops.com during coach Jason Kidd’s infamous return to Brooklyn. Parker discussed his transition to the league, his relationship with Kidd, improving his game and comparisons to Carmelo Anthony and