According to the Washington Post Georgetown juniors Jeff Green and Roy Hibbert will both be submitting their names for the NBA Draft. The two big men were responsible for leading the Hoyas to their first Final Four appearance in 22 years. Green was the player of the year in the Big East, averaging 14.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists. At 6'9" and able to post up or play on the perimeter Green is very appealing to pro scouts and almost certainly a lottery pick if he chooses not to return for his senior season.
Hibbert is also a likely lottery pick, especially after a very impressive performance in the Final Four against Greg Oden. At 7'2" and 278 pounds Hibbert is one of the biggest players in the country and really came on strong in the NCAA Tournament, posting double-doubles in four of five games.
Georgetown reported that neither player will sign with an agent, allowing them to retain their NCAA eligibility. This is fantastic news for the Hoyas who suffer tremendously if both players were to leave.
According to the Dallas Morning News Texas A&M's top recruit DeAndre Jordan is considering asking for a release from his signed letter of intent. This potential request comes after former Aggie coach Billy Gillispie left to take the head coaching position at Kentucky. The 7-foot Jordan, who is the 8th ranked prospect in the class of 2007 according to Rivals.com, isn't sure what step he will be taking next, but said he is trying to feel out the coaching staff right now. He has stated that if Kentucky showed interest he would consider going there, but Gillispie said he would not do that to his former school and will not recruit the player. Jordan is expected to make an announcement on Sunday as to whether or not he will ask for the release.
Signings Of Note From Today
Washington - Venoy Overton: 6'0" PG - Seattle, WA - 21.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.7 apg, 3 spg
Wake Forest - Gark Clark: 6'3" SG - Montverde, FL - 14.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 43% 3P - Ranked as #25 shooting guard by Scout.com
Maryland - Cliff Tucker: 6'6" SF - El Paso, TX - 21.4 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 4.5 apg, 4.4 spg, 2.8 bpg - Ranked #89 overall by Rivals.com
Southern Miss - Brandon Cooks: 6'8" PF - Mendenhall, MS - 19 ppg, 9 rpg
Houston - Milos Klimovic: 6'6" F - Hillsborough CC - 14.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 42% 3P
Cal State Fullerton - Greg Russell: 5'6" PG - Saratoga, CA - 16.8 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 5.6 apg - All-State selection
Friday, April 13, 2007
More Departures and Signings
According to the Chicago Tribune DePaul sophomore Wilson Chandler is declaring for the NBA Draft. This decision comes as surprise to the Blue Demons who were expecting the 6'8" forward to be the centerpiece of their team next season.
"This decision did not come easy for me because of my feelings for DePaul University," Chandler said.
Despite this sentiment Chandler has stated that he is committed to turning pro. This season he was voted second team All-Big East after averaging 14.9 points and 6.9 rebounds; both numbers were tops on DePaul. Even with these accolades many scouts aren't very high on the 19-year old; ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford ranks Chandler 85th on his list of prospects.
The departure hurts DePaul tremendously on the inside where they must now rely on juniors Karron Clark and Wesley Green, neither of who was very productive this season.
According to The Oregonian, Oregon State's Marcel Jones plans to enter the NBA Draft. The 6'8" Jones led the Beavers in scoring with 15.3 points and was second in rebounds with 5.7. It is likely that the junior will be back for his senior season though, as he doesn't plan on signing with an agent, but is merely testing the draft waters.
According to a report in the Dayton Daily News Ohio State freshmen Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., and Daequan Cook are all likely to declare for the NBA Draft. Albert Powell who was an assistant coach for all three players on their AAU team stated that there is a "90 to 95 percent" chance the group will be leaving school. "If it's one," Powell said "It's all of them."
All three players families plan to meet in Indianapolis this Sunday to discuss the future of their sons.
Good news for Oregon fans as The Oregonian reports that forward Malik Hairston will be back for his senior season. Hairston averaged 11.3 points and 6 rebounds for the Ducks this season, and with Aaron Brooks graduating Hairston's return is a big boost for Oregon who will look to improve on their Elite 8 appearance this year.
It was also reported that assistant coach Scott Duncan will be leaving Oregon to take an assistant coaching position at UCLA. Duncan will replace former assistant Kerry Keating who recently took the head coaching job at Santa Clara.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that University of Washington freshman Phil Nelson will be transferring. Nelson was one of four highly touted freshmen for the Huskies, the most prominent being Spencer Hawes who has already declared for the draft and is likely to sign with an agent. Nelson stated that he was unhappy with his role at Washington despite averaging 14.9 minutes and appearing in 31 of 32 games. He averaged 4.7 points. Head coach Lorenzo Romar was surprised at Nelson's desire to transfer.
The 6'7" swingman will transfer to the Big Sky conference where he will play for Portland State under the guidance of former Huskies assistant coach Ken Bone. Nelson will have to sit out a year as a transfer player.
According to The Hartford Courant Connecticut freshman Hasheem Thabeet wants to stay with the Huskies for another season, but because of financial reasons he may not be able to. UConn head coach Jim Calhoun said that Thabeet would be in "true hardship" if he stayed another year in college. The situation which involves Thabeet's mother who has come over from Tanzania is apparently very complex.
The 7'3" Thabeet is very tough to place as a draft prospect because he is so raw. NBADraft.net has Thabeet going as the 14th pick in their latest mock draft. The freshman was mainly a defensive presence this season averaging 6.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks in 24.6 minutes.
It was also reported that Donnell Beverly, a 6-foot-4 point guard from Lawndale, Calif., was expected to make a commitment to UConn. Beverly averaged 19 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists his senior year, and is expected to fight for time as back up point guard behind junior A.J. Price who is expected to be the starter.
According to the Charlotte Observer South Alabama has been granted permission by Charlotte to speak with their coach Bobby Lutz about their open head coaching position. The job has been open since Monday when former head coach John Pelphrey left to take the head coaching position at Arkansas. According to other reports, South Alabama is also showing interest in Lipscomb head coach Scott Sanderson and Alabama assistant Philip Pearson.
Other Signings Of Note From Today
Illinois - Quinton Watkins: 6'3" SG - Compton, CA - 19.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3 apg, 2 spg - Ranked 88th by Rivals.com
Purdue - Greg Hill: 6'2" SG - Merrilville, IN - 17.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg
Utah - Tyler Kepkay: 6'0" PG - Juco Soph (College of Eastern Utah) - 27.9 ppg (led all Juco players) - first team Junior College All-American
Indiana - De'Andre Thomas: 6'8" F - Juco Soph (Chipola Junior College) - 15.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg - Ranked 17th among Juco players by Hoopmasters.com
Butler - Jermain Raffington: 6'8" F - Juco Soph (Southeastern Community College) - 10.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 53% FG
Oregon State - Michael Stovall: 6'5" SG - Chicago, Ill - 20 ppg, 8 rpg, 4 apg - Top 10 Senior in Illinois by several Illinois recruiting sites
Missouri - Justin Safford: 6'8" PF - Bloomington, Ill - 17.8 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 3.1 bpg
"This decision did not come easy for me because of my feelings for DePaul University," Chandler said.
Despite this sentiment Chandler has stated that he is committed to turning pro. This season he was voted second team All-Big East after averaging 14.9 points and 6.9 rebounds; both numbers were tops on DePaul. Even with these accolades many scouts aren't very high on the 19-year old; ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford ranks Chandler 85th on his list of prospects.
The departure hurts DePaul tremendously on the inside where they must now rely on juniors Karron Clark and Wesley Green, neither of who was very productive this season.
According to The Oregonian, Oregon State's Marcel Jones plans to enter the NBA Draft. The 6'8" Jones led the Beavers in scoring with 15.3 points and was second in rebounds with 5.7. It is likely that the junior will be back for his senior season though, as he doesn't plan on signing with an agent, but is merely testing the draft waters.
According to a report in the Dayton Daily News Ohio State freshmen Greg Oden, Mike Conley Jr., and Daequan Cook are all likely to declare for the NBA Draft. Albert Powell who was an assistant coach for all three players on their AAU team stated that there is a "90 to 95 percent" chance the group will be leaving school. "If it's one," Powell said "It's all of them."
All three players families plan to meet in Indianapolis this Sunday to discuss the future of their sons.
Good news for Oregon fans as The Oregonian reports that forward Malik Hairston will be back for his senior season. Hairston averaged 11.3 points and 6 rebounds for the Ducks this season, and with Aaron Brooks graduating Hairston's return is a big boost for Oregon who will look to improve on their Elite 8 appearance this year.
It was also reported that assistant coach Scott Duncan will be leaving Oregon to take an assistant coaching position at UCLA. Duncan will replace former assistant Kerry Keating who recently took the head coaching job at Santa Clara.
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports that University of Washington freshman Phil Nelson will be transferring. Nelson was one of four highly touted freshmen for the Huskies, the most prominent being Spencer Hawes who has already declared for the draft and is likely to sign with an agent. Nelson stated that he was unhappy with his role at Washington despite averaging 14.9 minutes and appearing in 31 of 32 games. He averaged 4.7 points. Head coach Lorenzo Romar was surprised at Nelson's desire to transfer.
The 6'7" swingman will transfer to the Big Sky conference where he will play for Portland State under the guidance of former Huskies assistant coach Ken Bone. Nelson will have to sit out a year as a transfer player.
According to The Hartford Courant Connecticut freshman Hasheem Thabeet wants to stay with the Huskies for another season, but because of financial reasons he may not be able to. UConn head coach Jim Calhoun said that Thabeet would be in "true hardship" if he stayed another year in college. The situation which involves Thabeet's mother who has come over from Tanzania is apparently very complex.
The 7'3" Thabeet is very tough to place as a draft prospect because he is so raw. NBADraft.net has Thabeet going as the 14th pick in their latest mock draft. The freshman was mainly a defensive presence this season averaging 6.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks in 24.6 minutes.
It was also reported that Donnell Beverly, a 6-foot-4 point guard from Lawndale, Calif., was expected to make a commitment to UConn. Beverly averaged 19 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists his senior year, and is expected to fight for time as back up point guard behind junior A.J. Price who is expected to be the starter.
According to the Charlotte Observer South Alabama has been granted permission by Charlotte to speak with their coach Bobby Lutz about their open head coaching position. The job has been open since Monday when former head coach John Pelphrey left to take the head coaching position at Arkansas. According to other reports, South Alabama is also showing interest in Lipscomb head coach Scott Sanderson and Alabama assistant Philip Pearson.
Other Signings Of Note From Today
Illinois - Quinton Watkins: 6'3" SG - Compton, CA - 19.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3 apg, 2 spg - Ranked 88th by Rivals.com
Purdue - Greg Hill: 6'2" SG - Merrilville, IN - 17.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg
Utah - Tyler Kepkay: 6'0" PG - Juco Soph (College of Eastern Utah) - 27.9 ppg (led all Juco players) - first team Junior College All-American
Indiana - De'Andre Thomas: 6'8" F - Juco Soph (Chipola Junior College) - 15.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg - Ranked 17th among Juco players by Hoopmasters.com
Butler - Jermain Raffington: 6'8" F - Juco Soph (Southeastern Community College) - 10.6 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 53% FG
Oregon State - Michael Stovall: 6'5" SG - Chicago, Ill - 20 ppg, 8 rpg, 4 apg - Top 10 Senior in Illinois by several Illinois recruiting sites
Missouri - Justin Safford: 6'8" PF - Bloomington, Ill - 17.8 ppg, 11.5 rpg, 3.1 bpg
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Spring Signing Period Begins
Wednesday was the first day of the college basketball spring signing period. I will be having daily updates of course on as many signings as I can. I will continue posting on any updates in the coaching world as well.
According to the Detroit News Corperryale Harris of Detroit Redford and Kelvin Grady of East Grand Rapids will both be staying with the University of Michigan, honoring letters of intent they had already signed. This announcement ended weeks of speculation as to what the players would be doing after head coach Tommy Amaker was replaced with West Virginia's John Beilein.
The 6'4" Harris averaged 22 points per game during his senior season and is the 12th rated shooting guard in his class according to scout.com. It is believed that the announcement that Wolverine assistant coach Mike Jackson would be staying with the program had a significant role in Harris's decision to stay.
"I'm staying," Harris said. "That's where my heart is. With Jackson back, it made me feel more comfortable. But I still had to make the best decision for me. I talked to Kelvin last week. He's staying."
Grady is listed at 5'10" and is the #27 ranked point guard in the class of 2007. All focus now will turn to a third Michigan recruit, Alex Legion of Oak Hill Academy (VA) who could be making his decision to stay or leave at some point this week. Legion would be another welcome addition to the backcourt in Ann Arbor; a 6-4 shooting guard ranked 11th at his position in the country.
According to Scout.com and AP reports JayDee Luster, one of the most prolific point guards in the history of San Diego High School basketball has signed a letter of intent to play at New Mexico State. Luster, who is listed at 5'9" and will be graduating from Hoover High this spring, is San Diego's all-time leader in career assists with 857 and career steals with 559. His senior year was cut short after 11 games by a car accident, but Luster still finished his career with 1,890 points.
According to the Tulsa World and an AP report, Glenn Andrews, a 6'3" guard out of T.C. Williams High School (VA), has signed a letter of intent with Tulsa. Williams averaged 18 points on 45% shooting from the field, and an impressive 39% from beyond the arc.
"We're excited to have Glenn join our basketball program,"Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik said. "Glenn is an exceptional shooter who will fit in nicely with our returning team. He's an athletic player who has a scorer's mentality."
Andrews will be joining an experienced back court for the Golden Hurricane who will be returning their top two scorers Roderick Earls and Ben Uzoh.
Washington State's official athletic website reports that sophomore guards Mac Hopson and Chris Matthews will be transferring.
"Our program wishes Mac and Chris nothing but good things," head coach Tony Bennett said in an interview. "For the last two years, Chris has helped our program rebuild and Mac was an important part of our 2007 NCAA team. We will help them in any way we can."
Hopson averaged 4.2 points in 16 minutes this year while Matthews averaged 3.7 points in 11.5 minutes.
The Detroit Free Press reports that former Michigan coach Tommy Amaker has accepted an offer to be the new head coach at Harvard. Amaker was fired by the Wolverines in March after six straight seasons of failing to make the NCAA Tournament; he had a 109-83 record during that stretch. He will be replacing former Harvard coach Frank Sullivan whose contract was not extended after 16 seasons with the program. The Crimson were 12-16 last season and haven't made the NCAA Tournament since 1946.
According to The Register-Guard Oregon head coach Ernie Kent agreed to a 5-year contract extension that would keep him with the Ducks through 2011-12. The deal will pay Kent $1 million annually with incentives potentially bringing that total to $1.3 million. In his ten years with Oregon Kent has compiled a record of 193-120; this season the Ducks went 29-8, winning the Pac-10 Championship and advancing to the Elite 8.
According to the Detroit News Corperryale Harris of Detroit Redford and Kelvin Grady of East Grand Rapids will both be staying with the University of Michigan, honoring letters of intent they had already signed. This announcement ended weeks of speculation as to what the players would be doing after head coach Tommy Amaker was replaced with West Virginia's John Beilein.
The 6'4" Harris averaged 22 points per game during his senior season and is the 12th rated shooting guard in his class according to scout.com. It is believed that the announcement that Wolverine assistant coach Mike Jackson would be staying with the program had a significant role in Harris's decision to stay.
"I'm staying," Harris said. "That's where my heart is. With Jackson back, it made me feel more comfortable. But I still had to make the best decision for me. I talked to Kelvin last week. He's staying."
Grady is listed at 5'10" and is the #27 ranked point guard in the class of 2007. All focus now will turn to a third Michigan recruit, Alex Legion of Oak Hill Academy (VA) who could be making his decision to stay or leave at some point this week. Legion would be another welcome addition to the backcourt in Ann Arbor; a 6-4 shooting guard ranked 11th at his position in the country.
According to Scout.com and AP reports JayDee Luster, one of the most prolific point guards in the history of San Diego High School basketball has signed a letter of intent to play at New Mexico State. Luster, who is listed at 5'9" and will be graduating from Hoover High this spring, is San Diego's all-time leader in career assists with 857 and career steals with 559. His senior year was cut short after 11 games by a car accident, but Luster still finished his career with 1,890 points.
According to the Tulsa World and an AP report, Glenn Andrews, a 6'3" guard out of T.C. Williams High School (VA), has signed a letter of intent with Tulsa. Williams averaged 18 points on 45% shooting from the field, and an impressive 39% from beyond the arc.
"We're excited to have Glenn join our basketball program,"Tulsa coach Doug Wojcik said. "Glenn is an exceptional shooter who will fit in nicely with our returning team. He's an athletic player who has a scorer's mentality."
Andrews will be joining an experienced back court for the Golden Hurricane who will be returning their top two scorers Roderick Earls and Ben Uzoh.
Washington State's official athletic website reports that sophomore guards Mac Hopson and Chris Matthews will be transferring.
"Our program wishes Mac and Chris nothing but good things," head coach Tony Bennett said in an interview. "For the last two years, Chris has helped our program rebuild and Mac was an important part of our 2007 NCAA team. We will help them in any way we can."
Hopson averaged 4.2 points in 16 minutes this year while Matthews averaged 3.7 points in 11.5 minutes.
The Detroit Free Press reports that former Michigan coach Tommy Amaker has accepted an offer to be the new head coach at Harvard. Amaker was fired by the Wolverines in March after six straight seasons of failing to make the NCAA Tournament; he had a 109-83 record during that stretch. He will be replacing former Harvard coach Frank Sullivan whose contract was not extended after 16 seasons with the program. The Crimson were 12-16 last season and haven't made the NCAA Tournament since 1946.
According to The Register-Guard Oregon head coach Ernie Kent agreed to a 5-year contract extension that would keep him with the Ducks through 2011-12. The deal will pay Kent $1 million annually with incentives potentially bringing that total to $1.3 million. In his ten years with Oregon Kent has compiled a record of 193-120; this season the Ducks went 29-8, winning the Pac-10 Championship and advancing to the Elite 8.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Durant and Afflalo Gone, Hansbrough and Lawson Back
According to The Daily Texan Texas freshman, and national player of the year Kevin Durant announced he would be declaring himself for the NBA Draft after just one year in Austin. Durant, the Big 12 freshman and player of the year, averaged a stellar 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds. He was one of only three players in D-1 basketball to average better than 20 points and 10 rebounds.
"I enjoyed my year here at Texas," Durant said in a written statement. "All the fans and everyone here at Texas made me feel right at home, considering I was so far away from home. I will always be a Longhorn and never forget what the people at Texas have done for me."
Durant is almost unanimously being projected as a top two pick in the draft, the only thing holding him back from being the uncontested top pick is whether or not Greg Oden decided to declare as well.
Texas, despite losing their star, will still be a very good team come the 2008 season. The Longhorns will be bringing back D.J. Augustin who emerged as one of the nation's top young point guards and fellow guard A.J. Abrams who averaged 15.5 points and was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection. Freshman Justin Mason will bring added depth to the backcourt after showing real promise this past season, and Damion James a G/F like Durant will help on the boards after averaging 7.2 rebounds in 25.9 minutes.
The LA Times reported that junior All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year Arron Afflalo will forgo his senior season at UCLA and enter the NBA Draft. Afflalo led the Bruins to consecutive Final Fours the last two seasons, only to be beaten by the Florida Gators each time.
"At this point in time, it's time for me to move on, do some different things. I hope everybody understands this is a well thought-out decision," Afflalo said today in an interview.
Afflalo who led UCLA in scoring this season with 16.9 points is being projected to fall somewhere between the late first round to the middle of the second round. Bruin head coach Ben Howland had his own thoughts on Afflalo's stock.
"Arron will end up being a first-round pick," Howland said. "I've done a lot of research over the last week, talked to NBA GMs and there's a lot of people very excited about Arron. He will have a long and fruitful career."
Bruin fans now will be waiting to see if Darren Collison and Josh Shipp will be declaring for the draft as well. Both players are likely to return, and with incoming freshman and McDonald's All-American Kevin Love, could make another run to the Final Four next season.
North Carolina fans can breathe a little easier today. The Raleigh News & Observer reported that freshman guard Ty Lawson and sophomore All-American forward Tyler Hansbrough will both be back in Chapel Hill next season. The duo made the announcement Tuesday night at the team awards banquet.
The Tar Heels now have two of their three superstars back for another year, with freshman Brandon Wright still not having made an announcement regarding his decision for next season. With Hansbrough and Lawson back, and a tremendous amount of young talent including Wayne Ellington, North Carolina will be primed for a Final Four run next season.
In other news, the Massachusetts Daily Collegian reported that UMass head coach Travis Ford signed a 5-year extension. Ford who still had three years remaining on a 5-year deal he signed back in 2005, is now signed to coach the Minutemen through the 2014-15 season. Last season Ford led UMass to a 24-9 record and a share of the Atlantic-10 regular season title. The Minutemen lost in the second round of the NIT to eventual champ West Virginia. Ford's name certainly was on some school's lists as a hot commodity with the job he has done so far with the Minutemen.
With optimism riding high at UMass, Ford will be without some of his top players, Stephane Lasme, Rashaun Freeman, James Life and Brandon Thomas are all graduating this spring.
"I enjoyed my year here at Texas," Durant said in a written statement. "All the fans and everyone here at Texas made me feel right at home, considering I was so far away from home. I will always be a Longhorn and never forget what the people at Texas have done for me."
Durant is almost unanimously being projected as a top two pick in the draft, the only thing holding him back from being the uncontested top pick is whether or not Greg Oden decided to declare as well.
Texas, despite losing their star, will still be a very good team come the 2008 season. The Longhorns will be bringing back D.J. Augustin who emerged as one of the nation's top young point guards and fellow guard A.J. Abrams who averaged 15.5 points and was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection. Freshman Justin Mason will bring added depth to the backcourt after showing real promise this past season, and Damion James a G/F like Durant will help on the boards after averaging 7.2 rebounds in 25.9 minutes.
The LA Times reported that junior All-American and Pac-10 Player of the Year Arron Afflalo will forgo his senior season at UCLA and enter the NBA Draft. Afflalo led the Bruins to consecutive Final Fours the last two seasons, only to be beaten by the Florida Gators each time.
"At this point in time, it's time for me to move on, do some different things. I hope everybody understands this is a well thought-out decision," Afflalo said today in an interview.
Afflalo who led UCLA in scoring this season with 16.9 points is being projected to fall somewhere between the late first round to the middle of the second round. Bruin head coach Ben Howland had his own thoughts on Afflalo's stock.
"Arron will end up being a first-round pick," Howland said. "I've done a lot of research over the last week, talked to NBA GMs and there's a lot of people very excited about Arron. He will have a long and fruitful career."
Bruin fans now will be waiting to see if Darren Collison and Josh Shipp will be declaring for the draft as well. Both players are likely to return, and with incoming freshman and McDonald's All-American Kevin Love, could make another run to the Final Four next season.
North Carolina fans can breathe a little easier today. The Raleigh News & Observer reported that freshman guard Ty Lawson and sophomore All-American forward Tyler Hansbrough will both be back in Chapel Hill next season. The duo made the announcement Tuesday night at the team awards banquet.
The Tar Heels now have two of their three superstars back for another year, with freshman Brandon Wright still not having made an announcement regarding his decision for next season. With Hansbrough and Lawson back, and a tremendous amount of young talent including Wayne Ellington, North Carolina will be primed for a Final Four run next season.
In other news, the Massachusetts Daily Collegian reported that UMass head coach Travis Ford signed a 5-year extension. Ford who still had three years remaining on a 5-year deal he signed back in 2005, is now signed to coach the Minutemen through the 2014-15 season. Last season Ford led UMass to a 24-9 record and a share of the Atlantic-10 regular season title. The Minutemen lost in the second round of the NIT to eventual champ West Virginia. Ford's name certainly was on some school's lists as a hot commodity with the job he has done so far with the Minutemen.
With optimism riding high at UMass, Ford will be without some of his top players, Stephane Lasme, Rashaun Freeman, James Life and Brandon Thomas are all graduating this spring.
Monday, April 9, 2007
DeVon Hardin Declares for Draft
According to AP reports Cal center DeVon Hardin declared for the NBA Draft but has not signed with an agent, giving him the option to return to school in the fall. The junior is listed at 6-11, 235 pounds and was considered a possible first round pick this year prior to sustaining a season-ending stress fracture that cut short his season after just 11 games.
"DeVon is using this opportunity just as the rule was intended," Bears coach Ben Braun said. "He will have a chance to test his marketability before his final year without jeopardizing his eligibility, and the feedback he receives should help him considerably."
Hardin averaged 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season and is currently fifth all-time in blocks at Cal. His departure would leave the Golden Bears without a legitimate inside presence for next season.
A story from the Oregon Daily Emerald reports that junior guard Chamberlain Oguchi will transfer out of Oregon, stating lack of playing time as the reason. He started the first 6 games of the year for the Ducks before going down with an ankle injury; he would start 4 more games all season. In all, Oguchi appeared in 32 games and averaged 4.8 points per game.
"I haven't felt like the opportunity to play has been there for me, throughout my career," Oguchi said in the report. "It's a decision I made and will hopefully better my basketball career."
The junior was one of the top free throw shooters for Oregon, but overall was one of the team's weakest shooters, hitting just 31.3% of his shots from the field.
According to the Buffalo News on Tuesday afternoon St. Bonaventure will be holding a press conference to announce their new head coach. Robert Morris coach Mark Schmidt is expected to be named to the position, taking over for former coach Anthony Solomon who was fired after his fourth season with the school.
Schmidt was 82-90 in six season with Robert Morris and guided the team to a 17-11 record this past season. Schmidt has worked as an assistant coach at Xavier, Penn State, and Loyola of Maryland.
"DeVon is using this opportunity just as the rule was intended," Bears coach Ben Braun said. "He will have a chance to test his marketability before his final year without jeopardizing his eligibility, and the feedback he receives should help him considerably."
Hardin averaged 10.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season and is currently fifth all-time in blocks at Cal. His departure would leave the Golden Bears without a legitimate inside presence for next season.
A story from the Oregon Daily Emerald reports that junior guard Chamberlain Oguchi will transfer out of Oregon, stating lack of playing time as the reason. He started the first 6 games of the year for the Ducks before going down with an ankle injury; he would start 4 more games all season. In all, Oguchi appeared in 32 games and averaged 4.8 points per game.
"I haven't felt like the opportunity to play has been there for me, throughout my career," Oguchi said in the report. "It's a decision I made and will hopefully better my basketball career."
The junior was one of the top free throw shooters for Oregon, but overall was one of the team's weakest shooters, hitting just 31.3% of his shots from the field.
According to the Buffalo News on Tuesday afternoon St. Bonaventure will be holding a press conference to announce their new head coach. Robert Morris coach Mark Schmidt is expected to be named to the position, taking over for former coach Anthony Solomon who was fired after his fourth season with the school.
Schmidt was 82-90 in six season with Robert Morris and guided the team to a 17-11 record this past season. Schmidt has worked as an assistant coach at Xavier, Penn State, and Loyola of Maryland.
Turgeon to Aggies; Wright Leaving Kansas
The Houston Chronicle has reported that Wichita State coach Mark Turgeon has agreed to take over as the new head coach of Texas A&M, replacing Billy Gillispie who took the Kentucky job last week. In his seven years with the Shockers Turgeon was 128-90, and led Wichita State to the 2006 Missouri Valley Conference championship and a Sweet 16 appearance as a 7 seed. Turgeon brings plenty of coaching experience with him to the Aggies; he spent time as an assistant at Kansas under both Larry Brown and Roy Williams, was an assistant under Brown for one season with the Philadelphia 76ers, and was head coach of Jacksonville State for two years.
This isn't the first time that Turgeon's name has been in the mix for a high profile job. In the past couple of season's his name has been mentioned for both the Kansas job that was filled by Bill Self, and the Oklahoma position which was filled by Kelvin Sampson.
According to a report from the University Daily Kansas sophomore forward Julian Wright not only will be entering his name in the upcoming NBA Draft, but it appears he will be signing with an agent as well. Wright, who up until Sunday had been stating he would be back for his junior season, is expected to make the announcement this afternoon at a press conference. Wright is expected to be at least a top 10 selection, and has been placed in the top 5 on several mock draft boards.
This isn't the first time that Turgeon's name has been in the mix for a high profile job. In the past couple of season's his name has been mentioned for both the Kansas job that was filled by Bill Self, and the Oklahoma position which was filled by Kelvin Sampson.
According to a report from the University Daily Kansas sophomore forward Julian Wright not only will be entering his name in the upcoming NBA Draft, but it appears he will be signing with an agent as well. Wright, who up until Sunday had been stating he would be back for his junior season, is expected to make the announcement this afternoon at a press conference. Wright is expected to be at least a top 10 selection, and has been placed in the top 5 on several mock draft boards.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Arkansas Finds a Coach and Some Other Moves I Missed From Earlier
After Creighton's Dana Altman pulled a 180 on Arkansas it appears as though the Razorbacks have found another man for the job. According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Arkansas is hiring South Alabama's John Pelphrey as the team's new head coach. Pelphrey agreed to take the position earlier today.
The 38-year old has been the head coach of South Alabama since 2002 and during that time has gone 80-67 with the Jaguars. This should officially end the Razroback's search for a head coach after they fired former coach Stan Heath last month.
According to ESPN.com news services Iona has agreed to buy out the final two years of head coach Jeff Ruland's contract. In 9 years with the Gaels Ruland compiled a 139-135 record, while winning three MAAC championships and making three NCAA Tournament appearances, the last one being in 2006. Iona finished a horrific 2-28 this past season.
To be fair to Ruland, he lost essentially the entire squad that had won the 2006 MAAC championship. This year's Iona team was young, inexperienced, and riddled with injuries.
The Connecticut Post reported that UConn assistant coach Tom Moore will be the new head basketball coach at Quinnipiac. Moore has spent the last 13 seasons as an assistant coach with the Huskies, but this will not be his first head coaching position. Moore coached D-3 Worcester State from 1989-94, compiling a record of 76-59.
Quinnipiac fired head coach Joe Desantis March 7 after the Bobcats finished this past season 14-15. This is a nice addition for Quinnipiac who are getting a guy with some head coaching experience and has spent more than a decade under the guidance of Jim Calhoun, a proven winner.
The 38-year old has been the head coach of South Alabama since 2002 and during that time has gone 80-67 with the Jaguars. This should officially end the Razroback's search for a head coach after they fired former coach Stan Heath last month.
According to ESPN.com news services Iona has agreed to buy out the final two years of head coach Jeff Ruland's contract. In 9 years with the Gaels Ruland compiled a 139-135 record, while winning three MAAC championships and making three NCAA Tournament appearances, the last one being in 2006. Iona finished a horrific 2-28 this past season.
To be fair to Ruland, he lost essentially the entire squad that had won the 2006 MAAC championship. This year's Iona team was young, inexperienced, and riddled with injuries.
The Connecticut Post reported that UConn assistant coach Tom Moore will be the new head basketball coach at Quinnipiac. Moore has spent the last 13 seasons as an assistant coach with the Huskies, but this will not be his first head coaching position. Moore coached D-3 Worcester State from 1989-94, compiling a record of 76-59.
Quinnipiac fired head coach Joe Desantis March 7 after the Bobcats finished this past season 14-15. This is a nice addition for Quinnipiac who are getting a guy with some head coaching experience and has spent more than a decade under the guidance of Jim Calhoun, a proven winner.
Nike Hoops Summit
Had a chance to watch some good young talent compete yesterday in the Nike Hoops Summit game. The US All-Stars pulled away from the World All-Stars in the second quarter and never really looked back, winning 100-80. The amazing thing about this game was how cohesive the US team was. Usually in games of this kind we're used to seeing an every man for himself style of play which leads to lots of turnovers. This team however played very team oriented basketball for the majority of the game and played very solid defensively as well on the other end of the floor.
There were plenty of players and story lines worth mentioning from this game, especially from the World All-Star team, since this is was the first time many people got to see any of those athletes play, but here are a few that I thought were newsworthy.
Derek Rose & O.J. Mayo
For all of the hype that has surrounded the budding rivalry between these two gifted players, they worked incredibly well as teammates. Mayo led all US players with 20 points, and had a much improved performance from the McDonald's game, while Rose was at his usual consistent best. They work so well together for the same reason opposites attract; they complement one another. Mayo loves to shoot and create for himself, while Rose is more of a traditional point guard. Memphis has to be very excited to be getting such an explosive, yet team oriented player to their program next year.
The US team was really playing its best basketball when both Rose and Mayo were on the court. They had 6 steals and 7 assists between the two of them. Several of those steals led to easy baskets at the other end of the floor, and were a big reason the US team was up 40-13 at one point in the second quarter.
Michael Beasley
Beasley certainly didn't play his best game, only going 3-15 from the field, he did manage 9 rebounds though. The real story had to do with his televised interview during the game regarding his future with Kansas State. Beasley said he had spoken with the Wildcat coaching staff, and would like to still play at K-State but would wait to see how things played out. The good news for Wildcat fans is that it doesn't appear as though Beasley has given up the idea of playing for K-State, in fact it seems as though he is leaning in that direction. Beasley's mother has stated that her son will still attend Kansas St in the fall. Despite all of the statements, Beasley still has listed Florida St, NC State, and Memphis as schools that he is considering in addition to Kansas St.
At this point you really can't blame Beasley for looking at other schools, Bob Huggins really dropped the floor out from under this kid. Kansas St can at least take solace at this point that Bill Walker has announced he will stay with the Wildcats rather than have to sit out another year as a transfer player.
Nicolas Batum
After hearing so much about Batum I finally got a chance to see him play yesterday and he didn't dissapoint. The 18-year old out of France is a very gifted athlete, and from what I saw may have the highest ceiling of any player on the court yesterday. Batum is listed at 6'8" and has a 7'1" wingspan which helped him tremendously on end of the court. He didn't seem to be intimidated by the US team, driving and dunking aggressively a couple of times during the course of the game.
Batum is more than just a slasher though; he showed great range on his shot going 3-5 from beyond the arc, on his way to leading all scorers with 23 points in 28 minutes. He is still about a year away from entering the draft which will give him time to add a little more weight (he is 209 pounds), and to continue developing his skills, which from reports he is already doing at an alarmingly fast rate. Batum is being projected by many right now as a lottery pick in 2008, and he should be very fun to watch in the European leagues in the next year.
Omri Casspi
Though he wasn't the most hyped player coming in, nor did he have the most impressive game, Omri Casspi definitely made an impression on the scouts in attendance. The forward out of Israel had a very respectable 14 points in 29 minutes, but it was the way in which he scored those points that made him stand out. With the World team being crushed in the second quarter Casspi decided to become a little more selfish with the basketball and proceeded to score 9 points in the span of just a few minutes.
He displayed a tremendous amount of toughness, clearly not intimidated by the US players as he drove to the basket. Casspi also displayed a very impressive court sense for an 18-year old player. Give him another year or two and Casspi will be a very solid role player in the NBA.
There were plenty of players and story lines worth mentioning from this game, especially from the World All-Star team, since this is was the first time many people got to see any of those athletes play, but here are a few that I thought were newsworthy.
Derek Rose & O.J. Mayo
For all of the hype that has surrounded the budding rivalry between these two gifted players, they worked incredibly well as teammates. Mayo led all US players with 20 points, and had a much improved performance from the McDonald's game, while Rose was at his usual consistent best. They work so well together for the same reason opposites attract; they complement one another. Mayo loves to shoot and create for himself, while Rose is more of a traditional point guard. Memphis has to be very excited to be getting such an explosive, yet team oriented player to their program next year.
The US team was really playing its best basketball when both Rose and Mayo were on the court. They had 6 steals and 7 assists between the two of them. Several of those steals led to easy baskets at the other end of the floor, and were a big reason the US team was up 40-13 at one point in the second quarter.
Michael Beasley
Beasley certainly didn't play his best game, only going 3-15 from the field, he did manage 9 rebounds though. The real story had to do with his televised interview during the game regarding his future with Kansas State. Beasley said he had spoken with the Wildcat coaching staff, and would like to still play at K-State but would wait to see how things played out. The good news for Wildcat fans is that it doesn't appear as though Beasley has given up the idea of playing for K-State, in fact it seems as though he is leaning in that direction. Beasley's mother has stated that her son will still attend Kansas St in the fall. Despite all of the statements, Beasley still has listed Florida St, NC State, and Memphis as schools that he is considering in addition to Kansas St.
At this point you really can't blame Beasley for looking at other schools, Bob Huggins really dropped the floor out from under this kid. Kansas St can at least take solace at this point that Bill Walker has announced he will stay with the Wildcats rather than have to sit out another year as a transfer player.
Nicolas Batum
After hearing so much about Batum I finally got a chance to see him play yesterday and he didn't dissapoint. The 18-year old out of France is a very gifted athlete, and from what I saw may have the highest ceiling of any player on the court yesterday. Batum is listed at 6'8" and has a 7'1" wingspan which helped him tremendously on end of the court. He didn't seem to be intimidated by the US team, driving and dunking aggressively a couple of times during the course of the game.
Batum is more than just a slasher though; he showed great range on his shot going 3-5 from beyond the arc, on his way to leading all scorers with 23 points in 28 minutes. He is still about a year away from entering the draft which will give him time to add a little more weight (he is 209 pounds), and to continue developing his skills, which from reports he is already doing at an alarmingly fast rate. Batum is being projected by many right now as a lottery pick in 2008, and he should be very fun to watch in the European leagues in the next year.
Omri Casspi
Though he wasn't the most hyped player coming in, nor did he have the most impressive game, Omri Casspi definitely made an impression on the scouts in attendance. The forward out of Israel had a very respectable 14 points in 29 minutes, but it was the way in which he scored those points that made him stand out. With the World team being crushed in the second quarter Casspi decided to become a little more selfish with the basketball and proceeded to score 9 points in the span of just a few minutes.
He displayed a tremendous amount of toughness, clearly not intimidated by the US players as he drove to the basket. Casspi also displayed a very impressive court sense for an 18-year old player. Give him another year or two and Casspi will be a very solid role player in the NBA.
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