RealGM Basketball Wiretap

Nerlens Noel Hires Catapano, Miller As Co-Agents

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 22:46:03 EDT

Nerlens Noel has hired co-agents Frank Catapano and Andy Miller to represent him.

Noel is a candidate for the Cleveland Cavaliers to draft with the first overall pick. Noel has already visited with the Orlando Magic and will meet with the Washington Wizards this weekend.

Noel tore his ACL in February and is unlikely to make his rookie debut until at least December.

Andrew Wiggins Commits To Kansas

Tue, 14 May 2013 12:07:40 EDT

Andrew Wiggins has committed to Kansas

Wiggins also considered Florida State, Kentucky and North Carolina.

“I just followed my heart,” Wiggins said to Grant Taylor of the Herald-Dispatch. “Kansas had my heart so that’s where I wanted to go.”

Wiggins, a native of Toronto, is widely thought to be the best high school prospect since LeBron James.

Florida State and Kentucky were considered the favorites to land Wiggins, but his father said that it came down to the Jayhawks and Seminoles.

Wiggins didn't reach a final decision on Kansas until the weekend.

“Obviously, everyone in Jayhawk-land is overwhelmed and excited today,” Bill Self said. “This was a pleasant surprise because we never had an idea which way he was leading. Andrew did this the exact way he said he was going to. He played his cards very close to his vest, as did his mother and father.”

Andrew Wiggins To Make College Decision On Tuesday

Mon, 13 May 2013 12:34:02 EDT

Andrew Wiggins will sign his letter of intent on Tuesday at approximately 12:15 PM EST.

Wiggins will choose between Florida State, Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina.

Unlike many prominent high school players, Wiggins will not make a televised announcement.

"He does not want to have a press conference signing," Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford said in a text message. "He wants it private to just his classmates, family and friends."

Wiggins has often been called the best prospect since LeBron James.

Both of Wiggins' parents attended Florida State and the Seminoles are considered the favorite. Kentucky is also in the running due to Wiggins' relationship with John Calipari.

"I have no clue where he's going or leaning, so I'm not much help here," Fulford said.

Kentucky To Use Depth To Play Faster

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:04:12 EDT

John Calipari's incredibly deep recruiting class will give Kentucky a physically stronger frontcourt than he has in past seasons.

"We're going to be much stronger physically at all positions,'' said Calipari. "Our post presence will be there with Dakari Johnson and Marcus Lee. He's a lot like Nerlens in terms of blocking shots and going after balls. He's bouncy with great energy, but he's not as big. Willie is coming back with one thought in mind: He wants to do something on the basketball court and in the tournament. He's got something to prove to himself. He's got a great frame of mind. He understands he's got to do it and do something different.''

Calipari will have more options with putting together lineups than he ever has before while at Kentucky.

"There will be a lot of teams ahead of us, but we'll be deeper and the bench will be a great friend of mine,'' said Calipari. "I'll be able to play like we played at Memphis. We'll be pressing and getting after people because we have more people. We're going to have competition.''

Nerlens Noel 'Ahead Of Schedule' In Rehab From ACL Surgery

Thu, 09 May 2013 13:00:56 EDT

Nerlens Noel underwent surgery on his ACL on Feb. 12 in a procedure performed by Dr. James Andrews.

"There is a trust level when the NBA talks to Dr. Andrews," John Calipari said. "Jon Hood had his surgery here [in Kentucky] and it all went well. But we didn't want the NBA to have any questions. He's going to be fine. He's ahead of schedule. When you have a season-ending injury, you want the NBA teams to feel that he's as good as new.''

List Of 77 Early Entry Candidates For 2013 NBA Draft

Wed, 01 May 2013 11:18:23 EDT

The 2013 NBA Draft has 77 early entry candidates, with 46 players from United States' colleges and 31 internatinoal players.

Players have the right to withdraw no later than June 17 ahead of the June 27 draft in Brooklyn.

College Players
Steven Adams, Pitt
C.J. Aiken, St. Joseph's
Anthony Bennett, UNLV
Vander Blue, Marquette,
Lorenzo Brown, N.C. State
Reggie Bullock, North Carolina
Trey Burke, Michigan
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia
Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse
Adrien Coleman, Bethune-Cookman
Allen Crabbe, Cal
Deweyne Dedmon, USC
Gorgui Dieng, Louisville
Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State
Archie Goodwin, Kentucky
Tim Hardaway Jr., Michigan
Grant Jerrett, Arizona
Christian Kabongo, New Mexico State
Myck Kabongo, Texas
Shane Larkin, Miami
Ricky Ledo, Providence
Alex Len, Maryland
C.J. Leslie, N.C. State
Nurideen Lindsey, Rider
Amath M'Baye, Oklahoma
Ray McCallum, Detroit
Ben McLemore, Kansas
Tony Mitchell, North Texas
Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA
Nerlens Noel, Kentucky
Victor Oladipo, Indiana
Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga
Norvel Pelle, Los Angeles College Prep
Otto Porter Jr., Georgetown
Marshawn Powell, Arkansas
Phil Pressey, Missouri
Andre Robertson, Colorado
Joshua Simmons, Spartanburg Methodist (JC)
Trevis Simpson, UNC-Greensboro
Tony Snell, New Mexico
Tahj Tate, Delaware State
John Taylor, Fresno Pacific
Adonis Thompson, Memphis
Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State
B.J. Young, Arkansas
Cody Zeller, Indiana

International Players
Alejandro Abrines, Barcelona 
Giannis Adetokunbo, Filathlitikos
Francois Affia Ambadiang, Geoplin Slovan
Nemanja Besovic, Partizan
Bogdan Bogdanovic, Partizan
Matias Bortolin, Arkadia,
Linos Chrysikopoulos, PAOK
Laszlo Dobos, Zaragoza
Dorde Drenovac, Biancoblu
Viktor Gaddefors, Oknoplast Bologna
Rudy Gobert, Cholet
Mouhammadou Jaiteh, Boulogne
Livio Jean-Charles, ASVEL
Sergey Karasev, Triumph
Louis Laveyrie, Paris-Levallois
Raul Neto, Lagun Aro GBC
Philipp Neumann, Brose Baskets
Lucas Riva Nogueira, Estudiantes
Alexandre Paranhos, Flamengo
Artem Pustovyi, Khimik
Bogdan Radosavljevic, Bayern Munich
Marko Ramljak, Zadar
Dario Saric, Cibona
Dennis Schroder, New York Phantoms
Strahinja Stojacic, Smederevo
Walter Tavares, Gran Canaria
Daniel Theis, Ratiopharm
Janis Timma, Ventspils
Marko Todorovic, Barcelona
Axel Toupane, Strasbourg
Adin Vrabac, Spars Sarajevo 

Willie Cauley-Stein Wants To Expand Skillset, Return To Kentucky With 'Dominating Mindset'

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:53:36 EDT

Willie Cauley-Stein has been working to expand his skillset as he prepares for his second season at Kentucky.

"(I want to) become more of an all-around basketball player, a guy that can step out, shoot threes, hit the 15-footer, take people off the dribble," Cauley-Stein said. "Just become more of a complete dude, not just a guy that's going to sit in the paint. That's not the way that I wanted to play coming in, it just ended up being like that."

The 7-foot, 244 pound Cauley-Stein requested evaluations from the NBA draft advisory committee after a freshman season in which he averaged 8.3 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.

"I heard anywhere from (picks) eight to 10, 15 to 20, 22 to 25," Cauley-Stein said. "And you're like, 'That's the whole dang scale. That's everywhere.'"

Cauley-Stein plans to bring a different attitude to practice when Kentucky begins its workouts in October.

"I kind of got like a dominating mindset going into this next year," Cauley-Stein said. "I want to be the best in everything I do. Before it was kind of like, 'Eh, I'll come in here and try to do.' This time I want to come in here and do it. I don't want to try to do it."

Wiggins Cancels Home Visits With North Carolina, Kansas, Florida State

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 10:22:38 EDT

Andrew Wiggins has canceled hime visits he had scheduled this week with Kansas, North Carolina and Florida State.

Wiggins is also considering committing to Kentucky.

Wiggins had 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists in Saturday's Nike Hoop Summit in Portland. Wiggins remains in Portland due to travel problems and still plans on speaking with coaches from those schools on the phone.

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Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:17:13 EDT

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