March 2005 Basketball Wiretap

Seton Hall's J.R. Morris Declares For Draft

Mar 31, 2005 9:59 PM

Seton Hall has announced that guard J.R. Morris has declared for the NBA draft.

Morris, a junior shooting guard, averaged eight points and 3.5 rebounds in 79 career games with the Pirates. He was averaging 10.1 points and 5.8 rebounds through 21 games in the 2004-05 season before coach Louis Orr suspended him for academic reasons.

"This is something I have been preparing for my whole life," Morris said. "I sat down with coach Orr and told him that I felt I was ready to take my game to the next level. I feel I am ready to take this step."

USA Today

Tags: NBA, NBA NBA Draft

Discuss
NBA Scouts And Analysts Give Their Take On McDonald's AA Game

Mar 31, 2005 7:53 AM

One of the best McDonald?s All-American games EVER left us with a lot to think about tonight. The #1 high school prospect in America delivered the goods and put some insurmountable ground between himself and the rest of his class. The undersized SG matchup we heard so much about fizzled, and some unexpected future college stars stole the show. DraftCity was there, and after consulting between ourselves and calling on some outside help, we?ve made the following observations.

Gerald Green- 24 pts (8-12 FG, 6-9 3pt, 2-3 FT),1 reb, 1 stl, 1 TO, 20 min

Once again showed the insane natural tools that make him a lock lotto pick in this draft. Has more hops than any HS guy in last year's draft, and tonight he showed that he has the shot. He gets his shot off quickly, and my oh my is it pretty! Quite frankly, I don't see why Green can't go in the top 5. Nearly everybody in the lotto at the moment has some serious downside, and Green is ALL upside. He blew every other prospect out of the water, and that driving dunk that he got fouled on and still threw down on was just unreal. What a prospect!

An NBA scouts take: ?Green helped himself more than anyone tonight. He left no doubt in my mind who the best player on the floor was. If he wants to go to college that?s fine, but he?s probably a top 10 pick should he decide to come out?.

DraftCity.com

Tags: NBA, NBA NBA Draft

Discuss
Green And McRoberts Shine At All-American Game

Mar 31, 2005 1:34 AM

In a closely fought McDonald's All-American game, the East squeaked by the West by a final score of 115-110

Gerald Green, who many believe will declare for the NBA draft was the game's high scorer with 25 points.

"My teammates just told me to shoot, so I did what my teammates wanted," Green said.

However it was Josh McRoberts who was named the game's MVP with 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting with a game-high 12 rebounds.  He has committed to Duke for the fall.

McRoberts, who is from Carmel, Ind., was surprised when he heard he was named the MVP.

"I never even thought about it during the game. I was just trying to go out there and play hard," he said.

Yahoo!

Tags: NBA, NBA NBA Draft

Discuss
Gonzaga's Morrison To Return For Junior Season

Mar 30, 2005 3:51 PM

Gonzaga's Adam Morrison averaged 19 points per game this season and many scouts believe he is ready for the NBA, but he has decided to stay in Spokane, Washington for one more season.

"It's a chance to get stronger, work on his handle (ballhandling) and work on his three-point percentage," said his father, John Morrison, a former junior-college coach. "And you know, with the team coming back, potentially he can just take it up another notch."

Morrison, a sophomore, scored 52 points over two NCAA Tournament games.

"I just think he's got room to improve," his father said. "And he's the kind of kid who will work at it. I think he made a good decision. I've seen too many people swallowed up in those numbers (of draft status)."

Seattle Times

Tags: NBA, NBA NBA Draft

Discuss
Louis Williams Is The Talk Of South Bend Heading Into All-Star Game

Mar 30, 2005 4:53 AM

Louis Williams is the fast becoming the most recognized name in the high school basketball class of '05.

He is currently in South Bend, Indiana for the McDonald's All-American Game.

Williams is listed at 6-foot-3 and he is a shooting guard from South Gwinnett High in Georgia and is also learning to play the point. Williams has committed to the University of Georgia, but appears to be inching closer toward the NBA Draft.

Philadelphia Inquirer

Tags: NBA, NBA NBA Draft

Discuss
Charlie Villanueva Set To Declare Himself Eligible For Draft

Mar 29, 2005 6:08 AM

The official announcement of Charlie Villanueva's early departure from the University of Connecticut to the National Basketball Association (NBA) is expected to come this Tuesday afternoon. The Connecticut sophomore is likely to announce that he will make himself eligible for the 2005 NBA Draft.

Villanueva, a 6-foot-11, 240-pound forward, returned home to New York City over the Easter weekend and talked about the decision with his family. Villanueva felt strong about his decision after having several conversations with Head Coach Calhoun and was seeking his family's blessing over the weekend.

"I was not going to make any decision what so ever without talking it over first with Coach [Jim Calhoun], I have tons of respect for the man and I value his thoughts," Villanueva said. "I knew what I felt in my heart was right, but I just needed to talk it over with Coach and my family".

Calhoun and Villanueva met twice last week and again yesterday afternoon and it was expected that Calhoun would give his blessing for the early departure. Villanueva, who is projected to be a mid-to-late first-round selection, will join Caron Butler as the only UConn players to leave for the NBA after their sophomore seasons; coincidently, they both wore jersey number #3.

CharlieVillanueva.org

Tags: NBA, NBA NBA Draft

Discuss
Bogut To Declare For The NBA Draft

Mar 28, 2005 2:18 PM

Andy Katz is reporting that Utah sophomore Andrew Bogut will declare for the NBA draft today at 5:30 p.m. EST.  

Bogut was ESPN.com's National Player of the Year and lead the Utes to the Sweet 16.  

Bogut averaged 20.4 points per game, 12.2 rebounds per game, and 1.9 blocks this season.  Bogut is projected to be a top pick in this upcoming draft.

ESPN

Tags: NBA, NBA NBA Draft

Discuss
Brown And Ager Lead State To Fourth Final Four In Seven Seasons

Mar 28, 2005 12:27 AM

For the fourth time in seven seasons, Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans will appear in the Final Four where they will face North Carolina on Saturday.

Shannon Brown scored 24 points, 5-6 from the 3-point line, in one of the most impressive performances of the tournament.  Brown was named MOP of the Austin Regional.  The sophomore was a high school teammate with Illinois guard Dee Brown, setting up a potential reunion in the Championship game.  

Maurice Ager scored 21 points, including 2-4 from the 3-point line.

Brown and Ager follow in the long line of Michigan State stars that have excelled in the tournament, including Magic Johnson, Mateen Cleaves, Jason Richardson and Zach Randolph.  Only time will tell if they will have NBA careers that resemble Cleaves or the other three Spartans.

Christopher Reina/RealGM

Tags: NBA, NBA NBA Draft

Discuss
UNC Heads To The Final Four, Sean May Improves Draft Value

Mar 28, 2005 12:13 AM

With NBA scouts drooling over several North Carolina players, a scrappy Wisconsin team nearly prevented Roy Williams from returning to the Final Four.  The Tar Heels escaped with an 88-82 win over the Badgers at the Carrier Dome.

Sean May had a monster game, scoring 29 points with 12 rebounds, while Rashad McCants had 17.  McCants picked up the slack for the highly touted Marvin Williams who had just 6 points in 21 minutes.

May said earlier this week that he would be back in Chapel Hill next season, but after his performance on Sunday on the biggest stage in college basketball, his stock is at an all-time high.  At 6-9 with a wide-body, May will be able to play big in the NBA, and might be a better alternative at the frontcourt as a future role player than a Channing Frye.

Christopher Reina/RealGM

Tags: NBA, NBA NBA Draft

Discuss
Olson Expects Adams To Declare For Draft

Mar 27, 2005 2:48 PM

Arizona head coach Lute Olson said he thinks Hassan Adams will declare for the NBA draft.

"I would expect Hassan, the way he's played lately, to also be gone,'' said Olson of his junior's future, who it appears will join seniors Channing Frye and Salim Stoudamire in the NBA Draft.

Arizona was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament on Saturday by Illinois 90-89 in overtime.

Tucson Citizen

Tags: NBA, NBA NBA Draft

Discuss
Stoudamire And Garcia Improve Draft Value With Stellar Sweet 16 Games

ESPN

Bogut, Garcia, May And Head; NCAA Stars, Future NBA Draftees

Mike Leffman/RealGM

Bogut Leads All-American Team

Yahoo!