To keep Dwight Howard, the Lakers will have to sell him on a vision for 2014 and beyond. As a result, if championships are his goal, the Rockets are the safer bet for a whole host of reasons. Read More. Written by Jonathan Tjarks on May 23, 2013
The event gives front offices the opportunity to evaluate D-League players with the possibility of offering Summer League or training camp invites. Read More.
Tyus Jones, the No. 2 overall recruit for 2014 and an excellent point guard, was selected by Paul Biancardi, Adam Finkelstein and John Stovall. Read More.
Andre Roberson left Colorado a year early so he could develop his game quicker for the NBA, his father said Wednesday.
John Roberson, who played 12 years professionally overseas, shed light on his son’s decision.
“For him, it was just development and where he saw he'd be developing more,” John said from his home in San Antonio. "You look at all the different dynamics. You have what he'd be doing in Colorado versus the NBA. We felt it best for him to forgo his senior year."
John Roberson didn't feel Colorado developed his son to play in the NBA.
"That's the struggle he was fighting," John said. "Was it more about Dre and fulfilling his dream or more about getting wins?
"I think it has to go both ways. If you're going to develop him, develop him. Don't just take the point of view of, 'We need Dre so we can have a Final Four team or a top-10 team.' Now, if you look at it that way, it's selfish as opposed to (Andre) being selfish."
Roberson is currently projected as a second-round pick in this June's draft.
Marcus Smart took on critics who have questioned why he didn’t declare for the NBA draft.
Smart was projected as a top-five pick.
“First thing this morning I hear Skip Bayless say I had to go,” Smart said during a news conference announcing his draft intentions. “In my mind I'm like, ‘No disrespect, but why?' He says it's because the draft class is weaker this year than next year. Well, that's telling me, from a competitor standpoint, you have no respect for my game and my ability to compete with those guys.
“You tell a competitor that, it just fuels his energy to go out there and prove him wrong. It got me fired up. I wanted to go out there and start working out right then. And it definitely fueled my energy to come back here and start preparing for next year and getting better.”
The 2014 draft class is expected to be rich with talent, led by Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.
On condition of anonymity, an NBA scout assessed how Ben McLemore’s skill set will translate to the NBA.
“McLemore is a better version of Ray Allen. He will play shooting guard the way it is supposed to be played,” the talent evaluator said. “The only negative to his game is sometimes he defers. He could definitely use another year in college to learn to take over games.
“Obviously, he had to go (pro),” the scout quickly added. “The draft is only about potential now.”
McLemore’s shooting stroke has drawn raves from NBA observers.
McLemore shot 49.5 percent from the floor, including 42 percent from the three-point line, during his redshirt season at Kansas.
Ben McLemore deferred talk of his NBA future after the Kansas Jayhawks’ 87-85 overtime loss to Michigan.
“No, not at all, I haven’t thought about what I’m going to do,” McLemore said. “Not right now, not yet. I’ve spent this year focused on playing college ball and getting better each and every day.”
McLemore led the Jayhawks with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, further solidifying his projection as a top-5 pick.
Bill Self plans to sit down with McLemore and his family, after gathering pertinent information from league insiders, and go over the pros and cons.
“I’ll support whatever direction (McLemore) and his family wants to go,” Self said. “And he needs to explore. He needs to look into doing what would be potentially great for his family, and if it’s the right time, he needs to go.
“But if it’s not, he should stay. But we’ll discuss it.”
Fred Hoiberg agreed to a 10-year, $20 million deal that will keep him at Iowa State through the 2022-23 season.
“I wanted to be here,” Hoiberg said after the contract was announced. “I’m thankful this deal got done. I’m excited to be the coach of the Cyclones for a very long time.”
Hoiberg acknowledged that he received coaching inquiries from NBA franchises.
“It's been great for me to be home,” Hoiberg told reporters at last week’s NCAA Tournament. “I grew up five blocks from Hilton Coliseum, used to walk to games. I was a ball boy as a kid. I was a ball boy for the football team, and I've just always had such a great passion for Cyclone athletics.
“To be back there coaching now, it's a dream come true for me.”
Amath M’Baye will forgo his senior season of eligibility to enter the NBA draft.
M'Baye, a native of France, is a longshot to make an NBA roster next year.
"I grew up watching the Euro league stuff. I can tell you it's not that bad over there," he said. "They make a great living for themselves. It's a great environment to play in. The NBA is definitely a dream. It's still a goal of mine. But the options are not bad at all."
M’Baye is set to graduate from the University of Oklahoma in May.
Marcus Smart hasn’t decided whether to enter the NBA draft.
Smart was held to 14 points on 5-for-13 shooting in Oklahoma State's first round loss to Oregon.
“I don't know,” Smart said on multiple occasions, brushing off any talk of his draft plans. “I have no idea. We just came off this loss. I'm going to get back home and go from there.”
Travis Ford said the probability was “50/50 at this point.”
“It wouldn't surprise me one bit if Marcus wanted to come back,” Ford said. “Or if he left, it wouldn't surprise me.”
“His intent on winning is the best I've ever seen,” Ford said. “This season he's had a great impact. We had a total team effort, but no question, we had the best freshman in America on our team. The force he played with. He brings it every day in practice.”
Andrew Wiggins is still contemplating his college choice.
"I really don't know when I'm going to sign," said Wiggins. "When I know where I want to go, I'll sign. But I just don't know."
Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford made up an Excel chart for Wiggins, so he could rank his final four schools -- Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina – in areas of interest such as atmosphere, fans, weather, coaching style, play style, campus, general feel and more.
"With the sheet, we want to help him to figure out exactly what is most important to him, what might not be most important and rank them among those schools," Fulford said. "At the end, you add it up and see who is leading. That doesn't necessarily determine the final decision, but that gives you a solid basis to build off of."
Marcus Smart has been named the Big 12 Player of the Year, becoming the first freshman to win the award since Michael Beasley in 2008 and Kevin Durant in 2007.