March 2014 Basketball Wiretap

Okafor, Turner Headline McDonald's All-American Game Rosters

Jan 30, 2014 12:50 AM

The rosters for the 37th McDonald's All-American Game scheduled for April 2 in Chicago were announced on Wednesday.

Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones, Myles Turner and Cliff Alexander headline the rosters.

EAST TEAM
Cliff Alexander, 6-9, PF, Curie High School (Chicago, IL), Signed with Kansas
James Blackmon Jr., 6-2, SG, Marian High School (Marion, IN), Signed with Indiana
Justin Jackson, 6-7, SF, Homeschool Christian (Tomball, TX), Signed with North Carolina
Tyus Jones, 6-1, PG, Apple Valley High School (Apple Valley, MN), Signed with Duke
Kevon Looney, 6-8, PF, Milwaukee Hamilton High School (Milwaukee, WI), Signed with UCLA
Theo Pinson, 6-6, SF, Wesleyan Christian (Greensboro, NC), Signed with North Carolina
D'Angelo Russell, 6-4, SG, Montverde Academy (Louisville, KY), Signed with Ohio State
Karl Town Jr., 6-11, C, St. Joseph High School (Metuchen, NJ), Signed with Kentucky
Romelo Trimble, 6-2, PG, O'Connell High School (Upper Marlboro, MD), Signed with Maryland
Myles Turner, 6-11, C, Trinity High School (Bedford, TX), Undecided
Isaiah Whitehead, 6-4, SG, Lincoln High School (Brooklyn, NY), Signed with Seton Hall
Justise Winslow, 6-6, SF, Saint John's High School (Houston, TX), Signed with Duke

WEST TEAM
Grayson Allen, 6-4, SG, Providence School of Jacksonville (Jacksonville, FL), Signed with Duke
Joel Berry, 6-0, PG, Lake Highland Prep (Apopka, FL), Signed with North Carolina
Devin Booker, 6-5, SG, Moss Point High School (Moss Point, MS), Signed with Kentucky
Stanley Johnson, 6-6, SF, Mater Dei High School (Fullerton, CA), Signed with Arizona
Trey Lyles, 6-10, PF, Arsenal Technical (Indianapolis, IN), Signed with Kentucky
Emmanuel Mudiay, 6-5, PG, Prime Prep Academy (Dallas, TX), Signed with SMU
Jahlil Okafor, 6-10, C, Whitney Young Magnet High School (Chicago, IL), Signed with Duke
Kelly Oubre, 6-7, SF, Findlay College Prep (Richmond, TX), Signed with Kansas
Reid Travis, 6-8, PF, De La Salle High School (Minneapolis, MN), Signed with Stanford
Tyler Ulis, 5-9, PG, Marian Catholic High School (Matteson, IL), Signed with Kentucky
Rashad Vaughn, 6-6, SG, Findlay College Prep (Golden Valley, MN), Undecided
Thomas Welsch, 6-11, C, Loyola High School (Los Angeles, CA), Signed with UCLA

Adam Finkelstein/ESPN

Tags: Jahlil Okafor, Myles Turner, Tyus Jones, Cliff Alexander, High School, NCAA

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Chris Walker Finally Cleared To Play

Jan 29, 2014 3:52 PM

Chris Walker has been cleared by the NCAA.

Walker becomes eligible to play for Florida on Tuesday.

Walker failed to qualify academically last summer and spent the fall taking online classes to become eligible. Walker joined the team Dec. 14, but has sat out 10 games waiting for the NCAA to clear him.

Jeff Goodman/ESPN

Tags: Chris Walker, Florida Gators, NCAA, NCAA Suspension, NCAA Misc Rumor

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Ivan Rabb Climbs To No. 1 On ESPN's List Of 2015 Recruits

Jan 29, 2014 1:49 PM

Ivan Rabb has moved up ESPN's rankings for the class of 2015 from No. 3 to No. 1. 

Malik Newman dropped from No. 1 to No. 2, while Ben Simmons moved up to No. 3.

Rabb is a 6'9 power forward out of Bishop O'Dowd in Oakland. 

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: California Golden Bears, High School, NCAA, High School B-Ball IQ, NCAA B-Ball IQ

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Kentucky Facing Challenge Of Whether Players Willing To 'Fight' For Wins

Jan 29, 2014 10:56 AM

Kentucky gave a poor effort in their 82-87 loss to LSU on Tuesday.

"We gave (the UK players) a game plan," said assistant coach Kenny Payne, who substituted for Coach John Calipari on the post-game radio show. "We didn't execute. More disappointing, we didn't fight.

"The games we face, it's all about fight. It's not strategy. Not Xs and Os. It's not who's got the better players. It's who will fight. And we didn't come out and fight tonight, and that's very disappointing."

James Young led Kentucky with 23 points.

Jerry Tipton/Herald-Leader

Tags: Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA, NCAA B-Ball IQ

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Chane Behanan Transfers To Colorado State

Jan 27, 2014 12:59 PM

Chane Behanan has decided to transfer to Colorado State.

Behanan has been getting treatment for personal issues at John Lucas' facility in Houston since being dismissed from Louisville.

Behanan has enrolled in online courses at Colorado State and will be eligible on Dec. 14.

Jason King/Bleacher Report

Tags: Chane Behanan, Louisville Cardinals, Colorado State Rams, NCAA, NCAA Recruiting, NCAA Commitment, NCAA Transfer

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Some Scouts Beginning To Prefer Vonleh Over Randle At PF

Jan 24, 2014 12:47 PM

Julius Randle entered the season as a candidate to go first overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, but he has seemingly dropped as scouts have taken a closer look.

Some scouts are beginning to prefer Noah Vonleh of Indiana as a better power forward prospect than Randle.

Vonleh doesn't have the same type of "star" potential, but he is bigger and longer than Randle. Vonleh also has a higher rebounding rate on the defensive glass.

Chad Ford, Kevin Pelton/ESPN

Tags: Julius Randle, Noah Vonleh, Indiana Hoosiers, Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NCAA B-Ball IQ

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McDermott, Smart, Parker Headline Wooden List; Embiid Omitted

Jan 22, 2014 5:18 PM

The Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 was annoucned on Wednesday.

Creighton's Doug McDermott and Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart might be the frontrunners, but Arizona's Nick Johnson, Duke's Jabari Parker, Iowa State's DeAndre Kane, Florida's Casey Prather and Syracuse's Tyler Ennis are viable candidates.

Joel Embiid is the most glaring omission from the list.

Victor Oladipo was not on the midseason list last season and became a finalist.

Myron Medcalf/ESPN

Tags: Joel Embiid, Kansas Jayhawks, NCAA, NCAA Award

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DaJuan Coleman Done For Season With Knee Surgery

Jan 22, 2014 10:51 AM

DaJuan Coleman will miss the rest of the season due to a left leg injury that will require surgery.

"This is a tremendous disappointment, especially considering the amount of hard work DaJuan has been putting in with our basketball team," Boeheim said in a release issued by the school. "We will certainly miss his contributions."

Coleman started the first 12 games of the season, but has played just nine minutes since Dec. 20 due to nagging knee problems.

Boeheim could elect to give increased minutes to defensive-minded big men Rakeem Christmas and Baye-Moussa Keita

Jeff Goodman/ESPN

Tags: DaJuan Coleman, Syracuse Orange, NCAA, NCAA Injury

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Warren Buffett, Dan Gilbert Offering $1 Billion For Perfect March Madness Bracket

Jan 21, 2014 1:21 PM

Warren Buffett is offering $1 billion to anyone who fills out a perfect bracket for March Madness.

Buffett is partnering with Dan Gilbert's Quicken Loans.

The prize will be paid out in 40 annual installments of $25 million or one $500 million lump sum.

"It is our mission to create amazing experiences for our clients. This contest, with the possibility of creating a billionaire, definitely fits that bill," Jay Farner, President and Chief Marketing Officer of Quicken Loans said in a statement. He added: "We've seen a lot of contests offering a million dollars for putting together a good bracket, which got us thinking, what is the perfect bracket worth? We decided a billion dollars seems right for such an impressive feat."

The odds are one in 9.2 quintillion to have a perfect bracket.

Rob Wile/Business Onsider

Tags: NCAA Tournament, NCAA

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Embiid: I Want To Be The Best At My Position One Day

Jan 20, 2014 9:22 PM

Joel Embiid has emerged as one of the top freshmen in college basketball.

Embiid has only been playing basketball for a few years, but has remarkable instincts for the game.

Embiid has also been researching the college tenures of big men such as Hakeem Olajuwon, Tim Duncan and Shaquille O'Neal. The common denominator with those three legendary bigs is that they each spent at least two seasons in college.

"I was curious because I want to be great, I want to be the best at my position one day," said Embiid. "I'm trying to learn everything and what other people did. All of the great big men went to college at least two or three years. I think it's a big factor. I don't know if it will always work, but I think it's the best choice."

"He's the best," Bill Self said. "He wants to know everything. He's so naïve, in a very innocent way. Like certain guys can be naïve to the ways of the world, but he's naïve about everything -- what to eat, everything."

Dana O'Neil/ESPN

Tags: Joel Embiid, Kansas Jayhawks, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Arizona, Syracuse Remain At No. 1, No. 2 In Latest AP Top-25

RealGM Staff Report

RealGM Radio: Hanner, Ramirez, Strauss

RealGM Staff Report

Chier Ajou Transfers To Seton Hall

AP

Legends To Claim P.J. Hairston

Marc J. Spears/Yahoo! Sports

Dante Exum Meets With Several Agents, Expected To Declare For 2014 Draft

Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports

Tyler Dorsey Commits To Arizona

Jeff Goodman/ESPN

Many GMs Would Still Consider Jabari Parker No. 1 Overall If He Went On Mormon Mission

Chad Ford/ESPN

Report: FBI Investigating UTEP Point-Shaving

Barry Petchesky/Deadspin

Chane Behanan To Work With John Lucas

Jeff Goodman/ESPN