NCAA WiretapMarch 2015 NCAA Wiretap

Cliff Alexander Out Indefinitely Due To NCAA Eligibility Issue

Feb 28, 2015 4:50 PM

Cliff Alexander missed Saturday's game for Kansas due to an NCAA issue.

"The NCAA has alerted us to an issue that could affect Cliff's eligibility," Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger said in a statement. "As a precautionary measure, Cliff will not take the court until we have resolved the issue."

Alexander is averaging 7.1 points and 5.3 rebounds in 17.6 minutes per game this season.

Jeff Goodman/ESPN

Tags: Cliff Alexander, Kansas Jayhawks, NCAA, NCAA Misc Rumor

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Phil Jackson Likely To Be Fined For Commenting On D'Angelo Russell

Feb 27, 2015 10:55 AM

Phil Jackson will likely receive a fine for commenting on D'Angelo Russell of Ohio State.

Russell is a freshman for the Buckeyes and a probable high lottery pick if he declares for the draft.

Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports

Tags: D'Angelo Russell, New York Knicks, Ohio State Buckeyes, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA Fines

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Louisville's Chris Jones Pleads Not Guilty To Rape Charges

Feb 26, 2015 11:05 AM

Chris Jones has pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sodomy, days after being dismissed from the team.

Jones was released on home incarceration in lieu of a $25,000 bond.

The Louisville Courier-Journal reported Thursday morning that Jones had been charged with raping one woman and sodomizing another. The alleged sexual assaults took place Saturday night, according to the report, and one of Jones' alleged victims, who was hospitalized on Sunday, identified him as the suspect.

Jones' alleged victims are 19 and 20.

Jones had been suspended by Louisville coach Rick Pitino on Feb. 17 before the team's game at Syracuse. At that time, Jones was cited in a report by university police for sending a threatening text to a former girlfriend. That woman is not one of Jones' alleged rape victims.

Jones then played in the Cardinals' win over Miami on Saturday afternoon, before the alleged sexual assaults.

On Sunday, the university announced without further explanation that Jones had been dismissed from the team.

 

ESPN

Tags: Chris Jones, Louisville Cardinals, NCAA

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LeBron James Jr. Already Has Received College Offers

Feb 25, 2015 11:33 AM

LeBron James Jr., son of LeBron James, has already received interest from colleges despite being just 10 years old.

“Yeah, he’s already got some offers from colleges, it’s pretty crazy," said James. "It should be a violation, you shouldn’t be recruiting 10-year-old kids.”

James continued to talk about his son’s game.

“It’s crazy, he plays just like I did. He has great awareness and he’d rather pass first and set guys up. Most kids nowadays just want to score.”

Mike Sullivan/CBS Detroit

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, High School, NCAA, NBA

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Ben Simmons Headlines Naismith High School POY Finalists

Feb 24, 2015 1:18 PM

The finalists for the Naismith Trophy Boy's High School Player of the Year have been announced.

Ben Simmons, Jaylen Brown, Dwayne Bacon, Malik Newman and Allonzo Trier are the five finalists.

Simmons and Brown are currently ranked first and second on ESPN's Top 100 list, while Newman is fourth. Trier ranks 15th and Bacon is 20th.

Simmons, an Australian native, will attend LSU next season.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Ben Simmons, Dwayne Bacon, Jaylen Brown, Malik Newman, Allonzo Trier, LSU Tigers, High School, NCAA

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Thon Maker Reclassifies For 2015

Feb 18, 2015 1:20 PM

Thon Maker plans to reclassify from the class of 2016 to 2015.

Maker's decision is not surprising; the idea had been discussed within basketball circles since last summer.

"That's what we're trying to do," Maker's guardian, Ed Smith, told ESPN.com last month regarding the reclassification. "We've been pretty forward with that."

Maker grew up in Australia after being born in South Sudan. Maker play high school basketball at Orangeville Prep in Ontario, Canada.

Kansas and Kentucky are the schools most mentioned, although Missouri, Duke, Louisville and Maryland have all received visits. Indiana, Wake Forest and UCLA are also recruiting him.

"I've been watching college ball for a while," Maker told ESPN.com recently. "And it just causes me to think about that, reclassifying. So I can get ready for college ball.

"The college decision, I can't wait for that. That's what I'm really focused on."

Maker could also play overseas before entering the NBA Draft or even remain at Orangeville as a postgraduate student and then go straight to the NBA in 2016.

Jeff Borzello/ESPN

Tags: Thon Maker, High School, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Dick Vitale Won't Call Duke-UNC For First Time Since 1979

Feb 16, 2015 7:02 PM

Dick Vitale will not call this week's game between Duke and North Carolina.

Vitale had been part of the broadcasting team for every game between Duke and North Carolina since joining ESPN in 1979.

Jay Bilas will call the game with Dan Shulman.

Bilas has already replaced Vitale during ESPN's Saturday night prime time slot games this season.

Ricky O'Donnell/SBNation

Tags: North Carolina Tar Heels, Duke Blue Devils, NCAA

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Kentucky Beating NBA In Terms Of TV Viewership

Feb 13, 2015 2:04 PM

Kentucky remains undefeated at 24-0 and are beating the NBA in television ratings.

The Wildcats drew 3.2 million viewers last Saturday against Florida and 2.4 this week against LSU.

On the next night, the Cleveland Cavaliers drew 1.59 million when they played the Miami Heat.

According to figures provided by Sports TV Ratings, only three NBA games on cable this season have reeled in more viewers than Kentucky/Florida.

Jason McIntyre/The Big Lead

Tags: Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA, NBA

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LeBron To Watch McDonald's All-Americans Simmons, Briscoe, Diallo

Feb 13, 2015 10:51 AM

LeBron James is expected to watch Ben Simmons, Isaiah Briscoe and Cheick Diallo on Friday night in the Metro Classic at Kean University.

All three high school seniors will play in the McDonald's All-American Game on April 1.

DraftExpress projects all three players as top-10 picks in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Adam Zagoria/ZagsBlog

Tags: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers, High School, NCAA, NBA

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Jerry Tarkanian Passes Away At 84

Feb 11, 2015 12:43 PM

Jerry Tarkanian has passed away at the age of 84.

Tarkanian led UNLV to four Final Fours and the 1990 championship.

From the start of his Division I coaching career at Long Beach State in 1968 to his final season at his alma mater Fresno State in 2002, Tarkanian carried the reputation of a rogue who would take in student-athletes other schools passed on.

Tarkanian coached briefly in the NBA with the San Antonio Spurs.

Eric Prisbell/USA Today

Tags: San Antonio Spurs, UNLV Runnin' Rebels, Fresno State Bulldogs, NCAA, NBA

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ACC, Pac-12, SEC Have Most Players Currently In NBA

RealGM Staff Report

Dean Smith Passes Away At 83

RealGM Staff Report

Syracuse Self-Imposes Postseason Ban

ESPN

Tyler Dorsey Commits To Oregon

Jon Rothstein/CBSSports.com