April 2010 Basketball Wiretap

Arizona's Williams Described As 'Lottery Good'

Nov 25, 2010 3:28 PM

Santa Clara coach Kerry Keating has been very impressed by Arizona's Derrick Williams.

"Oh yea, did I mention that it's a crime that Williams isn't a first-team preseason AA," asked Keating rhetorically. "Best footwork in the country. Period."

Keating believes Williams is "lottery good" and will be able to transition to the NBA as an undersized power forward.

Arizona Daily Star

Tags: Derrick Williams, Arizona Wildcats, Pacific-12 Conference, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Calipari Admits Mistake On Recruiting Kemba Walker

Nov 25, 2010 10:45 AM

Following Kentucky's 84-67 loss to UConn in the championship of the Maui Invitational, John Calipari admitted he made a mistake on his recruitment of Kemba Walker.

Walker was named tournament MVP, scoring 90 points in three games.

"I made a mistake," Calipari said. "Normally I can see something and I say, yes, let's go with it. I missed it with him. I told him last year in warmups [before the Wildcats played the Huskies at Madison Square Garden], 'I missed on you. No question I missed on you.'"

Calipari recruited Tyreke Evans to join Memphis at the time instead.

"It wasn't like Kemba said he would come to [Memphis]. We were recruiting a bunch of guys. We got Tyreke, who was pretty good, too [NBA Rookie of the Year last season]. But I went to look at Kemba because I like his high school coach, think he's a great guy. ... Like I said, I made a mistake. No question, he's terrific."

Hartford Courant

Tags: Kemba Walker, UConn Huskies, Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA

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Barnes Scores 19 Points, Embraces Lofty Expectations

Nov 19, 2010 3:11 PM

Harrison Barnes 19 points in his NCAA debut on Thursday in North Carolina's 107-63 win against Hofstra.

Barnes scored all of his 19 points in the first half.

"His start was sensational for us. That was really the game," Williams said.

Barnes has embraced the lofty expectations.

"I wouldn't call it pressure, I call it having high expectations for myself," he said.

ESPN

Tags: Harrison Barnes, North Carolina Tar Heels, Atlantic Coast Conference, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Michigan State Gives Izzo $500,000 Raise

Nov 19, 2010 2:36 AM

Michigan State just made life a lot more comfortable for coach Tom Izzo.

Izzo's newly amended contract gives him a $500,000 raise, increasing his annual compensation to $3.49M, and use of a private plane for up to 25 hours each year for personal use.

ESPN.com

Tags: Michigan State Spartans, Big Ten Conference, NCAA

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Gonzaga's Harris Receives Good News On Achilles Injury

Nov 18, 2010 11:57 AM

Elias Harris suffered a foot injury in Gonzaga's loss on Tuesday to San Diego State, but his Achilles is not torn.

Harris is expected to miss approximately one week.

Harris heard something in his foot pop when suffering the injury.

Jeff Goodman/FoxSports (via Twitter)

Tags: Elias Harris, Gonzaga Bulldogs, West Coast Conference, NCAA, NCAA Injury

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UConn Women Hold Off Baylor For 80th Straight Win

Nov 17, 2010 2:48 AM

Maya Moore and UConn rallied from a late eight-point deficit and held on for their 80th straight victory, 65-64 over Baylor on Tuesday night, by far the toughest test since the streak started exactly two years ago, according to an ESPN.com report.

ESPN.com

Tags: NCAA

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Kanter Ruled Ineligible For 10-11 Season

Nov 11, 2010 8:56 PM

Kentucky freshman center Enes Kanter has bene ruled permanently ineligible to play for the Wildcats by the NCAA.

The NCAA ruled Kanter received over $33,000 above his necessary expenses for the 2008-09 season.

"Enes took advantage of an opportunity to play at the highest level available to him, but the consequences of receiving payments above his actual expenses is not compatible with the collegiate model of sports that our members have developed," said Kevin Lennon, NCAA vice president of academic and membership affairs.

Kentucky will appeal the decision.

Kanter is expected to be a top-eight lottery pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

ESPN

Tags: Enes Freedom, Kentucky Wildcats, Southeastern Conference, NCAA, NCAA Suspension, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Cody Zeller Chooses Indiana Over Butler, North Carolina

Nov 11, 2010 8:54 PM

Indiana has signed Cody Zeller, the best player available in the incoming 2011 class and approximately 15th overall.

Zeller also strongly considered Butler and North Carolina.

Zeller is 6'11", 210 pounds and gives Tom Crean his first potential star.

ESPN

Tags: Cody Zeller, North Carolina Tar Heels, Indiana Hoosiers, Butler Bulldogs, Big Ten Conference, NCAA, NCAA Recruiting

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LeBryan Nash Officially Signs With Oklahoma State

Nov 11, 2010 5:54 PM

LeBryan Nash, a 6-7 forward from Dallas who is ranked as high as No. 4 nationally, has signed a letter-of-intent to play for Oklahoma State.

“LeBryan is first and foremost a terrific young man who represents himself very well,” said Cowboys coach Travis Ford. “He's also a great basketball player.

“On the court, he's one of the most talented players I've seen in a very long time. He can play multiple positions, from point guard to two-guard to three-guard to any position on the court that you'd like for him to play. He's just great with the ball in his hands, from scoring to passing.”

Nash is the second-highest rated prep player to ever sign with the Cowboys. Gerald Green also signed with Oklahoma State and was rated higher, but ultimately elected to be in the 2005 NBA Draft.

Oklahoman

Tags: Le'Bryan Nash, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Big 12 Conference, High School, High School Recruiting, NCAA, NCAA Recruiting

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UCLA Leads All Colleges With Current NBA Players

Nov 11, 2010 5:01 AM

UCLA leads all colleges with 14 players currently on NBA rosters despite not providing any rookies this season.

Alphabetically, here are the other 13 former Bruins in the league: Russell Westbrook (Oklahoma City), Arron Afflalo (Denver), Trevor Ariza (New Orleans), Matt Barnes (Lakers), Darren Collison (Indiana), Baron Davis (L.A. Clippers), Jordan Farmar (New Jersey), Dan Gadzuric (Golden State), Jrue Holiday (Philadelphia), Ryan Hollins (Cleveland), Jason Kapono (Philadelphia), Kevin Love (Minnesota), Luc Mbah a Moute (Milwaukee) and Earl Watson (Utah).

Duke and Kentucky are tied for the second-most players with 13 each. Kansas and North Carolina have 12. UConn has 11. Arizona and Texas have 10.

Oklahoman

Tags: UCLA Bruins, Pacific-12 Conference, NCAA, NBA

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Top PG Quinn Cook Commits To Duke

News and Observer

Barnes Becomes First Freshman Preseason All-American

Columbia Daily Tribune