RealGM Basketball Wiretap

Gordon, Smart Headline Final U19 USA Roster

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:09:55 EDT

USA Basketball has chosen its final roster for the U19 World Championship Team in Prague beginning next week.

The team will be coached by Billy Donovan.

Michael Frazier
Aaron Gordon
Jerami Grant
Montrezl Harrell
Jahil Okafor
Elfrid Payton
Marcus Smart
Jarnell Stokes
Rasheed Sulaimon
Mike Tobey
Nigel Williams-Goss
Justise Winslow 

Greg Whittington May Have Torn ACL

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:48:56 EDT

Greg Whittington injured his knee and the fear is that it is a torn ACL.

Whittington is a junior forward for Gerogetown.

Whittington averaged 12.1 points and seven rebounds in 13 games last season before being ruled academically ineligible.

Andrew Wiggins Impresses With 'Video Game' Like Ability In First Practice With Kansas

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:18:11 EDT

Andrew Wiggins participated in his first practice at Kansas on Monday.

Wiggins arrived in Lawrence on Saturday.

"Wow!" a source close to the Jayhawks' program said. "Like watching a video game. He'd be the No. 1 pick this year."

NCAA To Stop Hosting Regional Finals In Dome Stadiums

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 11:22:44 EDT

The NCAA will no longer hold their regional finals in dome stadiums and instead always opt for regular-sized arenas.

The Final Four will continue to be held in dome stadiums.

The NCAA had used domes in the regional by design and also as dry runs before the venue hosted a Final Four.

Cuban Funding Flopping Study At SMU

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 12:55:55 EDT

Mark Cuban is financing a flopping study conducted by biomechanics experts at Southern Methodist.

"Flopping is a player’s deliberate act of falling, or recoiling unnecessarily from a nearby opponent, to deceive game officials," writes Allen in a press release. "Athletes engage in dramatic flopping to create the illusion of illegal contact, hoping to bait officials into calling undeserved fouls on opponents."

The Cuban-owned company Radical Hoops Ltd. awarded a grant of more than $100,000 to fund the 18-month research study at SMU.

The NBA instituted anti-flopping rules in 2012 to discourage the practice.

Larry Brown Calls NBA Return 'Hypothetical'

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 13:58:07 EDT

Larry Brown dismissed a report that he may return to the NBA as head coach of the Philadelphia 76ers, calling it "hypothetical."

Brown is currently head coach at SMU.

“I love what I’m doing,” said Brown. “But I’m in a situation where I think I can help young people. But I don’t ever want to get back into coaching at the professional level unless I have a great relationship with the ownership and people let me share the knowledge I have learned and work with young people that have the same values that I have.”

Brown was disappointed with the firing of Tony DiLeo.

“They have new ownership,” Brown said. “I think when Tony was let go I don’t think that they would have any interest in somebody like me. I love the team, I love the city. I have always felt that if there was any way I could help as a resource because of the way I was treated I would love to do that. But I think there are probably a lot of great options out there for them.”

Zach Price To Transfer From Louisville

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 15:01:46 EDT

Zach Price has decided to transfer from Louisville.

Price started during the first part of the 12-13 season, but did not play since mid-January as the Cardinals went on a championship run.

Aaron Gordon Expects To Play Small Forward At Arizona

Wed, 29 May 2013 19:43:16 EDT

Aaron Gordon expects to primarily play at small forward for Arizona this season, though he appears to be best suited at power forward on the college level.

Gordon's position in the NBA remains unclear, though he could certainly play minutes at both positions due to how power forwards are evolving.

“As of right now I plan on playing on the wing full time,” Gordon told Jason Scheer of Wildcat Authority. “There will obviously be some times where I’ve got to go down in the post and go to work, but the plan is for me to play on the perimeter, which makes sense when you have players like Brandon (Ashley) and Kaleb (Tarczewski) in the low post. A lot of my training has been done with that in mind. I’ve always been able to dribble pretty well, so I’ve continued to work on that along with becoming a more consistent shooter.”

Katin Reinhardt Transferring From UNLV To USC

Wed, 29 May 2013 13:34:52 EDT

Katin Reinhardt has decided to transfer from UNLV to USC.

Reinhardt left UNLV due to his desire to play point guard.

Reinhardt originally committed to USC in 2010, but changed his mind last May.

Andy Enfield will use Reinhardt in his uptempo offense beginning in the 14-15 season after he sits out one year.

Jerrance Howard To Join Kansas Coaching Staff

Wed, 29 May 2013 13:32:36 EDT

Kansas has hired Jerrance Howard to the coaching staff of Bill Self.

Howard was most recently an assistant coach with SMU after five years with Bruce Weber at Illinois. Howard has a reputation as a good recruiter.

Howard played for Self at Illinois and is close friends with Texas-native Deron Williams. Howard is expected to help Kansas make in-roads in Chicago and Texas.

Krzyzewski Plans To Utilize Jabari Parker Like LeBron

Thu, 23 May 2013 19:55:47 EDT

Mike Krzyzewski gave Jabari Parker an idea of how he plans to utilize him when the two spoke during the star forward's recruitment.

"[We're going to] mirror some of the things we've done on the Olympic team," Krzyzewski promised.

Krzyzewski plans to apply what he learned from coaching LeBron James to how he can coach Parker.

Parker is listed as a small forward, but the Duke freshman-to-be is too versatile to be defined by one position.

Smart, Gordon Headline USA's U19 Roster

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:15:18 EDT

USA Basketball has announced its 2013 U19 World Championship roster, which will be held in Prague.

Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova
Bryce Alford, UCLA
Brandon Ashley, Arizona
Robert Carter, Georgia Tech
Damyean Dotson, Oregon
Kris Dunnn, Providence
Javan Felix, Texas
Michael Frazier, Florida
Marcus Georges-Hunt, Georgia Tech
Shaq Goodwin, Memphis
Aaron Gordon, Arizona
Jerami Grant, Syracuse
Montrezl Harrell, Louisville
Ronade' Hollis-Jefferson, Arizona
Jahlil Okafor, undecided
Rodney Purvis, UConn
James Robinson, Pitt
Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State
Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee
Rasheed Sulaimon, Duke
Devin Thomas, Wake Forest
Mike Tobey, Virginia
Nigel Williams-Goss, Washington
Justise Winslow, undecided 

Krzyzewski To Remain Head Coach Of USA Basketball

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:40:24 EDT

Mike Krzyzewski has decided to remain as head coach of USA Basketball through the 2016 Olympics in Rio, according to a source.

A formal announcement is expected by the end of the week.

Krzyzewski has a 62-1 record with USA Basketball.

Jerry Colangelo has stayed confident since the end of the 2012 Olympics that he could persuade Krzyzewski to return. 

Tarik Black Chooses To Transfer To Kansas

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:12:54 EDT

Tarik Black has decided to transfer to Kansas.

Black also was considering Duke and Oregon before choosing the Jayhawks.

Black will be eligible to play immediately after graduating this year.

Kansas lost all three starters from their frontcourt, giving Black the opportunity to have a huge impact.

Kansas Sold Wiggins On Filling McLemore's Spot

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:36:57 EDT

Kansas was initially considered a longshot to receive a commitment from Andrew Wiggins, even internally.

Wiggins visited the campus for Senior Night on March 4, where the Jayhawks also honored likely one-and-done redshirt freshman Ben McLemore.

“We always thought that our sell to him was, ‘You could step right in here and fill in and do exactly what Ben was doing last year, at even a different level,’” Kurtis Townsend said. “I think it was a pretty good sell for him.”

Bill Self thought Wiggins' visit improved their odds in landing him.

“After he left here, I felt like we were in the game and had a shot,” Self said.

Krzyzewski Reconsidering Return To USA Basketball Through 2016

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:37:45 EDT

Mike Krzyzewski is now giving serious consideration to remaining as head coach of USA Basketball through the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

"There's a chance," Krzyzewski said. "That's correct."

Krzyzewski had said for eight months that he's not returning to his position with USA Basketball, but a final decision has yet to be reached.

Jerry Colangelo said Saturday he and Krzyzewski have been discussing his return "in installments."

"I think it's very close to being resolved," Colangelo said. "That's all I can say for sure."

Krzyzewski has a 62-1 since 2005, a run that includes gold medal Olympic victories in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012. 

Tyus Jones Receives 3 Of 6 Votes From ESPN Experts On Who To Build College Team Around

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:37:20 EDT

With Andrew Wiggins committing to Kansas this week, several of ESPN's writers that follow high school basketball recruiting offered their opinion on who they would choose to build a team around.

Tyus Jones, the No. 2 overall recruit for 2014 and an excellent point guard, was selected by Paul Biancardi, Adam Finkelstein and John Stovall. 

"Point guards make the world go 'round, and Jones is the best in high school right now," wrote Stovall. "Not only can he make plays for himself, he also elevates the games of all of his teammates. Jones is the closest thing you will find to Chris Paul on the amateur level."

Dave Telep selected Harry Giles, a freshman forward out of North Carolina, who has an advanced inside/outside game at 6-9.

Reggie Rankin picked Andrew Harrison, who is a point guard commit for Kentucky.

Joel Francisco selected Wiggins.

Evan Gordon Transfers To Indiana

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:11:49 EDT

Evan Gordon has committed to Indiana, transferring from Arizona State.

Gordon, younger brother of Eric Gordon, will be eligible to play immediately.

“There’s nothing like an Indiana kid playing for IU,” Gordon said. “Coach (Tom) Crean has that program rocking and rolling.”

Gordon began his college career at Liberty for two seasons before transferring to Arizona State. Gordon averaged 10.1 points per game last season for the Sun Devils.

“It’s kind of crazy how I ended up back here (at Indiana),” said Gordon. “When I left Liberty the reason was to play on a bigger stage and it was a better opportunity to do that. This chance at IU just kind of came about and was hard to turn down.”

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.”

Eddie Jordan Uninterested In Ever Returning To NBA As Head Coach

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:58:07 EDT

Eddie Jordan was hired as head coach of Rutgers this offseason, an opportunity he prefers rather than returning to the NBA in a top job.

“After my last few experiences, I did not want to be a head coach in the NBA,” Jordan said.

Jordan led the Washington Wizards to the playoffs in every season between 2005 and 2008. Jordan even coached the Eastern Conference All-Stars in 2007 when the Wizards had the best record in the conference. 

Jordan was fired by the Wizards at the beginning of the 08-09 season after a 1-10 start, and was hired the next season by the Philadelphia 76ers.

Jordan most recently was an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Lakers after being hired by Mike Brown.

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.

Mark Madsen To Become Head Coach Of D-Fenders

Sat, 11 May 2013 20:35:24 EDT

Mark Madsen is finalizing a deal to become the next head coach of the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League, according to sources.

Madsen recently completed his first season as an assistant coach at Stanford.

Madsen was previously an assistant coach for the Utah Flash for the D-League for two seasons.

Reggie Theus coached the D-Fenders last season and left for Cal State Northridge.

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.''

IMG Academy Considering New Models For Developing 7-Footers

Wed, 08 May 2013 13:37:14 EDT

IMG Academy in Florida is attempting to develop seven foot basketball players similar to what they have done in tennis.

Two of their basketball big men are Meng Xiang Yu from China and Satnam Singh from India. Meng is 7-foot-2 and Singh is 7-foot-0, while both are 17 years old.

"What do you do with these big kids at these sizes at these young ages?" asks Nate Vander Sluis, IMG's national varsity team coach. "How do you develop them from a basketball standpoint and from a physical standpoint? Developing a 7-2 Chinese kid is not the same as trying to develop a 6-foot, 16-year-old kid. Those two muscle groups are two different things given how much growth they have already had."

Because both the AAU system and International professional leagues demand a lot of games, many big men are chronically hurt before they hit 20 or soon thereafter.

"I think it's learning from mistakes," says Dan Barto, the head skills trainer at IMG. "Think about a triathlon runner or a marathon runner. You don't go out and run 26 miles, you run 10 one day and 18 another. It's the same thing here. We are taking our time."

Mike Moser Transfers To Oregon

Tue, 07 May 2013 19:23:40 EDT

Mike Moser has decided to transfer to Oregon.

Moser also considered Gonzaga and Washington.

Moser can play immediately for the Ducks since he graduated from UNLV.

Anthony Bennett Out Four Months With Torn Rotator Cuff

Tue, 07 May 2013 14:40:52 EDT

Anthony Bennett will miss four months due to shoulder surgery.

Bennett tore the rotator cuff in his left shoulder.

Bennett complained of pain in his left shoulder in February, but it wasn't deemed serious.

Bennett's draft status as a probable top-10 pick isn't likely be impacted.

“You always would prefer a guy is healthy, works out for you and can play in summer league," one GM told ESPN. "However, I don't think in this case that it will really matter. We got a good feel for his game. He's one of the most NBA-ready prospects in the draft. I wouldn't blink taking him in the top five as long as the surgery is successful."

Krzyzewski Praises Thibodeau For Developing Culture Of 'Tough Character' With Bulls

Sat, 04 May 2013 22:44:07 EDT

Mike Krzyzewski believes the culture Tom Thibodeau has created with the Chicago Bulls is the reason the team is able to persevere through so many injuries.

"I think Thibodeau is one of the great coaches in basketball," Krzyzewski said. "He's developed a culture of tough character.”

Instead of collapsing from the absence of Derrick Rose and other key role players, the Bulls continue to win.

"I know Carlos [Boozer] obviously really well, I've coached him, I coached Luol [Deng], those kids ... they just have great character,” Krzyzewski said. “And the Bulls are a blue-collar team in a blue-collar town, and I think it's one of the great stories right now in the NBA, what the Bulls are doing.

"I think they have a philosophy that they don't talk about being sick all year. They don't talk about being hurt all year, so when the moment of truth comes in the playoffs, they're already accustomed to a certain way of living."

Andre Roberson Left Colorado To Develop Game Quicker For NBA

Thu, 02 May 2013 13:10:41 EDT

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.

John Taylor Signs With Agent, Declares For Draft

Thu, 02 May 2013 13:08:25 EDT

John Taylor has signed with agent Brian Brundage and will declare himself eligible for the NBA draft.

Taylor, a 6-foot-1 and 175 pound guard, may be a longshot to get drafted.

"He needs to put on 15 to 20 pounds of muscle weight because he has a small body frame that he's had all of his life. We need to beef him up into an NBA body," Brundage said. "I know this isn't an easy task and he's going to get discounted by scouts because of his weight.

"Coming out of Fresno, it's a great place, great school and great program but it's not a D-I school and not well-known, and that's the uphill battle we're prepared to climb."

Taylor drew a few scouts this past season at Fresno State, where he averaged a school-record 27.5 points per game.

"He scores," Fresno Pacific coach Chris Wright said. "I think some people will be interested in him. Not too many players score 28 points per game at any level."

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