Category: College Basketball (Page 59 of 153)

      What’s really going on with Tim Floyd’s resignation

      June 10, 2009 /

      Tim Floyd resigned as head coach of the USC basketball program, and SoCal Sports Hub put together a good piece about the real reasons behind his “resignation.”

      1. Floyd didn’t resign because he lacked enthusiasm

      In his resignation letter, Tim Floyd wrote that he no longer had the level of enthusiasm necessary to remain in coaching. Sorry, but if you actually believe that, than you are about as naive as a third grade schoolgirl. Are we really suppose to believe that Floyd was all of a sudden dispassionate about his job just after he had been complaining about his players’ departures to the pros and saying he wanted to build his own traditions at USC? Ya, right.

      The notion that Floyd, who was well-known for his sideline antics, has all of a sudden become an apathetic old man is absolutely ridiculous. This is the same coach that nearly took a rebuilding job at Arizona and had been begging his players to stay at USC in order to make a run at the Final Four. Now, a month later, it seems rather odd than he would be suddenly disinterested in building a basketball program.

      Read the rest of the article here.

      The program has been on the rise for a while now, but it’s unclear what kind of a tailspin Floyd’s departure will create. Half of his team is leaving to play pro ball, so with the NCAA watching closely, he was going to have a tough time reloading anyway.

      College Basketball, News, Rumors & Gossip

      What do the Cavs do now?

      May 31, 2009 /

      This is not how it was supposed to go.

      The Cavs were destined to make the Finals and face the Lakers, with LeBron turning in a fantastic Game 7 performance in front of his loyal fans at the Q to bring the city of Cleveland its first championship since 1964. With a title already under his belt, and a few more on the horizon, he would happily re-up for another four or five seasons. Or at the very worst, the Cavs would lose to the more talented Lakers, leaving fans with the feeling that “one more piece” would be all that is needed to finally bring a title to Cleveland. Under that scenario, there would be no way that LeBron could leave, right? Not when the Cavs were thisclose to a title…

      Just over a year ago, I wrote that “The Cavs have failed LeBron James,” which was posted about three months before GM Danny Ferry pulled the trigger on the trade that brought Mo Williams to Cleveland. That trade, along with LeBron’s renewed focus and an improved work ethic (which was inspired by his seeing first hand how Kobe prepared during the 2008 Olympics), pushed the Cavs to a league-best 66 wins this season. Williams was named as an alternate to the All-Star Game (after grousing about not being voted in by the coaches) and all was well with the world.

      The Cavs received some more good news when Kevin Garnett struggled with injuries down the stretch of the regular season and was eventually shut down for the playoffs. At the time, the Celtics were considered the Cavs’ biggest threat in the East, but KG’s injury might have allowed the Magic, one of four teams that beat the Cavs twice during the year — the Celtics, the Lakers and…um…the Wizards were the other three — to advance to the Conference Finals when they otherwise wouldn’t have survived to face the Cavs. The Magic were a very bad matchup because the Cavs simply didn’t have anyone that could cover Dwight Howard. When they didn’t double-team him, he would make a living on the post, and when they did send another guy, it would free up the Orlando sharpshooters for open jumpers.

      Continue reading »

      College Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, NBA Finals, Rumors & Gossip

      Wright withdraws name from Sixers coaching position

      May 24, 2009 /

      A day after Villanova head coach Jay Wright removed his name from consideration in becoming the next coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, add Chris Ford to the list.

      Philly.com is reporting Sixers general manager Ed Stefanski has interviewed six candidates for the team’s vacant coaching position.

      Wright said of his conversation with Stefanski:

      “He is a longtime friend of mine whom I have great respect for and is someone I talk to often,” Wright said in a statement. “We had a lively conversation about the vision Ed has for the Sixers organization. As a lifelong Sixers fan, I was honored to be part of the process.”

      Wright said he called Stefanski after the meeting and requested removal from consideration.

      “I love Villanova and it is where I want to be,” Wright said.

      Team sources have confirmed the five candidates in the mix are Eddie Jordan, Dwayne Casey, Kurt Rambis, Tom Thibodeau, with Ford’s interview being the last of the first phase in the selection process. Stefanski reiterated that there is no timetable for his selection, as he will continue conducting interviews, extensive research, and in-depth background checks before naming his choice.

      College Basketball, March Madness, NBA

      2009 NBA Mock Draft Version 1.0

      May 21, 2009 /

      With the NBA Draft Lottery behind us, we now know the exact order of the first 14 picks. The Los Angeles Clippers hit paydirt when they won the right to draft Oklahoma forward Blake Griffin with the first overall pick. The Grizzlies moved up from #6 to #2, and the Thunder moved up one spot to pick #3. The big losers Tuesday night were Sacramento and Washington, who had the best and second-best shot at the top pick, but instead fell to #4 and #5, respectively.

      Mock drafts are tough for me because I’m usually thinking about what teams should do instead of trying to predict what they will do. This mock will be more predictive, but if I disagree with a selection, I’ll say so. Over the next few weeks, I’ll update this mock to jive with the latest news from around the league. It’s still very early in the process so things are very fluid. One mock has a player going #11 while another may have him going #29.

      I’m just going to make picks for the first fourteen slots on the first go-round and then provide the picks of a few different mocks that I respect for #15-#30, along with a short writeup for each team.

      #1 LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
      Even Mike Dunleavy can’t screw this one up. Barring something obscenely out of the blue, Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin will be the first overall pick. The Clippers could use a power forward to replace Elton Brand, and Griffin is the only “sure thing” in this draft. He’s strong, skilled and athletic, and he has an improving offensive game. He has star written all over him.
      Pick: Griffin, PF

      #2 MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
      The Grizzlies were reportedly one of the few teams more interested in UConn’s 7’3” center Hasheem Thabeet than they were in Blake Griffin. The Grizzlies already have 7’1” Marc Gasol, so Thabeet wouldn’t fill a need like Jordan Hill, Ricky Rubio or Brandon Jennings would (assuming the team isn’t sold on Hakim Warrick or Mike Conley), but Thabeet has the potential to become a dominant defensive center along the lines of Dikembe Mutombo. But will he be willing to put the work in to become an effective post player?
      Pick: Thabeet, C

      Continue reading »

      College Basketball, MLB, NBA, NBA Draft, Rumors & Gossip

      John Wall picks Kentucky

      May 19, 2009 /

      After a long dance, top high school recruit John Wall is headed to Kentucky to play for John Calipari.

      Wall, ranked the No. 1 point guard, No. 5 overall, on the ESPNU 100, informed Miami coach Frank Haith Tuesday morning that he had committed to Kentucky. The reasoning, according to a source, was because he just wanted to play for Calipari.

      If Calipari had stayed as coach at Memphis, there would have been no drama in Wall’s commitment. Privately, Calipari was convinced Wall would have chosen the Tigers, but the coach’s departure to Kentucky created a soap opera in the renewed recruiting chase.

      Wall teased Duke, and actually gave Miami an informal commitment last week, according to a source close to the situation. But ultimately, the Word of God Christian Academy playmaker out of Raleigh, N.C., didn’t stray from his original plan: He chose to play for Calipari, except the pursuit for a national title will be out of Lexington instead of Memphis.

      According to sources, this had been an issue for Wall’s adviser, Brian Clifton, who likely will be the one to represent Wall when the player eventually declares for the NBA draft.

      A source close to the situation at Duke said multiple times that if Clifton were making the call, Duke would have been selected. But Wall, according to sources, made the decision.

      Dajuan Wagner, Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans…It’s clear that Wall sees Calipari as a conduit to the NBA, not that he’d have much problem becoming a lottery pick at Duke or Miami. It will be interesting to see how Calipari uses both Wall and Eric Bledsoe, who also recently committed to Kentucky.

      College Basketball, High School Sports, NBA, NBA Draft, News

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