To win the NBA Rookie of the Year award, it helps to have the ball in your hands. The rookie race is pretty much acknowledged as down to two players – point guards Kyrie Irving of Cleveland and Ricky Rubio of Minnesota, each of whom were named Rookie of the Month for January, the NBA announced Wednesday. Irving, the top overall pick in the 2011 draft, won for the Eastern Conference. In January, he averaged 18.1 points (tops among rookies) and 4.9
NEW YORK — Kevin Jones tested the NBA waters after his junior season at West Virginia. After getting feedback from NBA executives, the 6-foot-8, 260-pound Mount Vernon, N.Y., native opted to return for his senior season, and it has turned out to be a wise move. Jones leads the Big East in both scoring (20.9 ppg) and rebounding (11.6 rpg) and is the odds-on favorite to be named Big East Player of the Year. “Not once have I really thought about that,” Jones,
BARCELONA — In a couple of years, Augustinas Jankaitis might be a name NBA fans can get excited about. A 6’7″ forward for Lietuvos Rytas who’d rather dribble through you than around you, the Lithuanian has already garnered attention from draftniks far and wide for his versatility and toughness. Yesterday, Jankaitis led Lietuvos Rytas’ junior team to a 72-68 win over Barcelona for first place in the 2012 Ciutat de L’Hospitalet Junior Tournament. Then, he held in his hands much more tangible evidence
The 2012 NBA Draft has the potential to be both very strong at the top and deep because several elite players chose to remain in college this season because of the NBA lockout, and were joined by a number of impact freshmen. The lottery figures to be rich with bigs – scorers, shot-blockers and rebounders. Here is a look at the Top 10 Americans who could be available, including seven power forwards or centers: 1. Anthony Davis, PF, 6-10, 220, Kentucky The consensus No. 1
Evan Fournier, France
NEW YORK — The best thing about the NBA lockout for Austin Rivers was that it brought him even closer to his father. Without the Boston Celtics to coach, Doc Rivers attended his son’s first eight games at Duke, including making that, ahem, tough trip to Maui. “My first eight games he was at every single game front and center supporting me, which is really neat,” Austin said after scoring a team-best 18 points despite fouling out in No. 5 Duke’s 86-80 win over
By Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog Mark Turgeon’s near-term prospects as the head coach at Maryland — as well as the order of the 2012 NBA Draft — could hang on what the NCAA decides about a 7-foot-1, 225-pound man from the Ukraine. Olexiy “Alex” Len enrolled at Maryland in August and then made an impressive 10-minute appearance during Maryland’s March Madness Oct. 14. But at midnight that night, his 45-day window for practicing with the team expired and he is now waiting for the NCAA to rule on
By Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog No one has ever doubted Karron Johnson’s basketball talent. At 6-foot-8, 240 pounds, Johnson, of Division II Shaw University, has drawn comparisons to Tracy McGrady and Marquis Daniels. Johnson’s father was murdered when Karron was 5, and a series of academic and off-the-court issues prevented the Richmond, Va., native from ever making it into the Division 1 basketball ranks. “Karron’s talent has never been an issue,” said James Black, Johnson’s North Carolina-based mentor. “He does have NBA talent. But his path is going to be