NCAA WiretapMarch 2014 NCAA Wiretap

Jalen Adams Commits to Connecticut

Jun 30, 2014 4:26 PM

Jalen Adams has committed to Connecticut as a member of the 2015 class.

The 6-foot-2 guard chose the Huskies over a narrowed list of Louisville and Kansas. He joins fellow guard William Jackson as members of the 2015 recruiting class.

Adams is rated as a four-star prospect by every major scouting service.

Evan Daniels/Scout.com

Tags: UConn Huskies, High School, High School Recruiting, NCAA, NCAA Recruiting, NCAA Commitment

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Napier Ranks UConn Graduation Ahead Of NCAA Title, Draft Night

Jun 25, 2014 6:58 PM

Shabazz Napier led the Connecticut Huskies to an unlikely NCAA title in April, but he also earned his degree from UConn this spring. Napier will be drafted into the NBA on Thursday.

"I’ll tell you something that’s funny and people may think is weird -- I feel as though me walking across the stage for my graduation was more important than me winning a national championship,” Napier said Wednesday. "That put the icing on the cake for me, to have my degree is something that I always worked to. It’s definitely cool to be here, but I stayed my fourth year just to get my degree."

Napier was a fixture on the Dean’s List during his time in college, majoring in sociology.

"At the end of the day I was always told that basketball can bring you many places, which is true, but you can probably only play competitive basketball until you are 40 or so,” Napier recalled. "My mother always told me that education is always going to stay with you, no matter what happens. God forbid anything happen to you on the basketball court, your education will always stay with you."

Andrew Perna/RealGM

Tags: Shabazz Napier, UConn Huskies, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Tyler Dorsey Decommits From Arizona

Jun 14, 2014 5:43 PM

Tyler Dorsey has decommitted from Arizona.

Dorsey wants to be a point guard, but some believe he is better suited as a shooting guard.

Dorsey committed to Arizona in January and is ranked No. 12 in the incoming class of 2015.

Dinos Trigonis said he expects schools like UConn, Kansas, Duke, UCLA, Washington, Cal, Arizona State, Louisville, Texas, SMU, UNLV, Marquette, St. John's, Florida State, Oregon, Oregon State and Tulsa to get involved now that Dorsey is back on the market

Jeff Borzello/CBS Sports

Tags: Tyler Dorsey, Arizona Wildcats, NCAA, NCAA Recruiting, NCAA Commitment, NCAA Misc Rumor

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Antoine Mason Transfers To Auburn

Jun 11, 2014 12:59 PM

Antooine Mason will transfer from Niagara to Auburn.

Mason, a 6-foot-3 guard who averaged 25.6 points last season, will be eligible this season for Pearl and the Tigers due to the NCAA's transfer rule, which allows players who have graduated and have eligibility remaining to be able to play immediately.

Mason is the son of Anthony Mason.

Mason chose Auburn over Providence.

"It was a tough decision," Mason told ESPN.com. "It came down to intangibles."

Mason is the third transfer Pearl and his staff have added since he took over for Tony Barbee.

Jeff Goodman/ESPN

Tags: Providence Friars, Niagara Purple Eagles, Auburn Tigers, NCAA, NCAA Transfer, NCAA Misc Rumor

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Donovan In Contact With Cavs But Not Expected To Leave Florida

Jun 9, 2014 11:47 AM

Billy Donovan has remained in contact with the Cleveland Cavaliers in regards to their head coaching vacancy.

Sources say that nobody connected to the process believes he is comfortable enough to make the leap from Florida to the Cavaliers.

Donovan accepted a head coaching position with the Orlando Magic in 2007, but quickly decided to change his mind to remain at Florida.

Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Florida Gators, NCAA, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NCAA Misc Rumor

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Sources: Harrisons Staying At Kentucky Had Big Impact On Calipari's Decision

Jun 9, 2014 10:30 AM

John Calipari was linked to the NBA after the NCAA championship game, but a strong recruiting class and the decision by Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison to stay at Kentucky made leaving Kentucky a difficult proposition, according to sources.

Kentucky will have nearly 60 percent of its scoring return despite losing Julius Randle and James Young.

There's a strong belief that Calipari would have accepted a $60 million offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers had those key players declared for the draft.

Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NCAA Misc Rumor

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Calipari Seriously Considered $60M Deal With Cavaliers

Jun 9, 2014 2:22 PM

John Calipari and the Cleveland Cavaliers advanced deeply into negotiations on a seven-year, $60 million contract to become president and head coach, according to sources.

Dan Gilbert had been persistent in pursuing Calipari.

Gilbert and Calipari had discussed a package in the range of $8 million-plus a year, sources said, and it wasn't until midweek that Calipari finally rejected Cleveland and fully committed to his seven-year, $52 million extension at Kentucky.

David Griffin would have worked with Calipari in the front office, but the latter would have final say on all personnel decisions.

Beyond the financial incentives, Calipari had some intrigue with the infrastructure of All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving and the possibility of the No. 1 overall pick in the June draft.

Update: Marc Stein of ESPN reports that the Cavaliers' offer to Calipari was closer to $80 million over 10 years. The Cavaliers thought that landing Calipari would give the team a much better shot at convincing James to return. Wojnarowski reported a follow-up that there was talk of a transition for Calipari to become strictly president of the club and that the offer was strictly $60 million over seven years.

Adrian Wojnarowski, Brett Dawson/Yahoo! Sports

Tags: Cleveland Cavaliers, Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NCAA Misc Rumor

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Calipari Becomes 2nd Richest Coach In NCAA With $52.5M Extension

Jun 6, 2014 11:44 AM

John Calipari reached a new deal with Kentucky, becoming the second-highest paid coach in college basketball.

Calipari's deal runs through March of 2021 and he would make $52.5 million in guaranteed compensation.

Calipari made $5.2 million annually under the old deal and will average $7.5 million under the new one.

According to USA Today's salary database, he passed Louisville's Rick Pitino ($5.76 million) and trails only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski ($9.68 million) on the highest-paid list.

Calipari has also been linked to NBA coaching jobs in recent seasons.

Kyle Tucker/Courier-Journal

Tags: Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA, NBA, NCAA Misc Rumor

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Saunders Thought He Was Close To Deal With Izzo

Jun 6, 2014 11:41 AM

At one point during his search for a new head coach, sources say Flip Saunders thought he had convinced Tom Izzo to take the job with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Izzo has also been linked to the Cleveland Cavaliers' job over the years, but he's ultimately always remained at Michigan State.

Saunders decided to take the head coaching job himself after being unable to agree to terms with Izzo and Dave Joerger.

Jerry Zgoda/Star Tribune

Tags: Minnesota Timberwolves, Michigan State Spartans, NCAA, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NCAA Misc Rumor

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McCants Alleges Bogus Classes While At UNC, Known By Roy Williams

Jun 6, 2014 11:34 AM

Rashad McCants told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that tutors wrote his term papers, he rarely went to class for about half his time at UNC, and he remained able to play largely because he took bogus classes designed to keep athletes academically eligible.

McCants told "Outside the Lines" that he could have been academically ineligible to play during the championship season had he not been provided the assistance. Further, he said Roy Williams knew about the "paper-class" system at UNC. 

McCants also told "Outside the Lines" that he even made the Dean's List in Spring 2005 despite not attending any of his four classes for which he received straight-A grades.

McCants' allegations mirror and amplify many of those first made public in 2011, when the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer began to report about widespread academic fraud at UNC. 

Steve Delsohn/ESPN

Tags: Rashad McCants, North Carolina Tar Heels, NCAA

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Lakers Interested In Larry Brown, Scott Skiles

Ramona Shelburne, Marc Stein/ESPN

Shane Battier To Join ESPN As College Basketball Analyst

Jason McIntyre/The Big Lead

Pistons To Hire Jeff Bower As GM

Adrian Wojnarowski/Yahoo! Sports

Danuel House Transferring From Houston To Texas A&M

Jeff Borzello/CBSSports.com