April 2013 Basketball Wiretap

Izzo Thinks Gary Harris Will Bypass NBA Draft, Return To Michigan State

Mar 30, 2013 3:27 PM

Tom Izzo thinks Gary Harris will return for a second season at Michigan State.

Harris had perhaps his worst outing of the season against Duke – six points on 2-for-11 shooting – while allowing 29 points to Blue Devils fifth-year senior Seth Curry.

"I don't know if it was the pressure of being home, the pressure of the tournament, but I love the kid,” Izzo said after the Spartans' 71-61 loss to Duke. “He's going to grow and learn from this. That's what you do. That's why this tournament is so brutal."

Harris hinted at a possible return.

"We've got a lot of people coming back," Harris said. "We're only losing one player, so we're going to have a talented team next year, so we're just going to get ready to put in all the work in the offseason and preseason."

Izzo indicated Harris might need surgery to repair a lingering shoulder injury.

"You have not seen the Gary Harris I recruited yet," Izzo said. "Now he performed better in some ways than I thought he would as a freshman, but as far as the aggressive, take-it-to-the-hole, go-get-a-rebound, we haven't seen him yet."

Diamond Leung/Michigan Live

Tags: Gary Harris, Michigan State Spartans, Big Ten Conference, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NCAA Misc Rumor

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McLemore Defers Decision On NBA Draft

Mar 30, 2013 3:25 PM

Ben McLemore deferred talk of his NBA future after the Kansas Jayhawks’ 87-85 overtime loss to Michigan.

“No, not at all, I haven’t thought about what I’m going to do,” McLemore said. “Not right now, not yet. I’ve spent this year focused on playing college ball and getting better each and every day.”

McLemore led the Jayhawks with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, further solidifying his projection as a top-5 pick.

Bill Self plans to sit down with McLemore and his family, after gathering pertinent information from league insiders, and go over the pros and cons.

“I’ll support whatever direction (McLemore) and his family wants to go,” Self said. “And he needs to explore. He needs to look into doing what would be potentially great for his family, and if it’s the right time, he needs to go.

“But if it’s not, he should stay. But we’ll discuss it.”

Tony Adame/Wichita Eagle

Tags: Ben McLemore, Kansas Jayhawks, Big 12 Conference, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NCAA Misc Rumor

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Scout: Entering Draft 'No-Brainer' For Victor Oladipo

Mar 30, 2013 1:39 PM

Indiana's Victor Oladipo has a big decision to make in the coming weeks regarding his basketball future.

According to a handful of NBA scouts and front office personnel, that decision should be an easy one.

"It's a no-brainer for Victor to head to the league because his value won't get any higher than what it is. Returning will likely hurt him," said one scout.

Mike Wells/Indianapolis Star

Tags: Victor Oladipo, Indiana Hoosiers, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NCAA Misc Rumor

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Anthony Bennett To Announce NBA Draft Intentions Monday

Mar 29, 2013 8:11 PM

Anthony Bennett will announce Monday whether he’ll return to UNLV or enter the NBA draft.

Bennett, a freshman, led the Runnin’ Rebels in points (16.1) and rebounds (8.1) while earning Wooden Award finalist honors.

A source confirmed Bennett will forego his remaining eligibility and turn pro.

Taylor Bern/Las Vegas Sun

Tags: Anthony Bennett, UNLV Runnin' Rebels, Mountain West Conference, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Mason Plumlee Growing More Comfortable With Hook Shot

Mar 29, 2013 7:29 PM

Mason Plumlee scored 23 points and made three running hook shots in Duke’s first-round win over Albany last week.

“I’m not overpowering,” Plumlee said. “I play against guys who are 250-plus. I can’t just back people all the way under the rim. So I have to have something I can go to and use touch and shoot over people.

“I think really at the end of last year, I felt like it was more of a go-to move for me.”

Plumlee often practices the shot during team workouts.

“We call it a running hook,” said Duke assistant Steve Wojciechowski, who coaches the Blue Devils’ post players. “We don’t specifically say we’re trying to teach Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s sky hook. It’s very similar.”

Pat Borzi/New York Times

Tags: Mason Plumlee, Duke Blue Devils, Atlantic Coast Conference, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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Kyle Anderson Has No Plans To Enter NBA Draft

Mar 29, 2013 7:09 PM

Kyle Anderson “does not have plans” to enter his name in the June NBA draft.

"At this time, (he) is returning to UCLA," Kyle Anderson Sr., his father, said via text message on Friday.

The 6-foot-9 Anderson struggled to play in the post this season after spending most of his life as a point guard.

Anderson appeared in 35 games for the Bruins and averaged 9.7 points on 41.6 percent shooting, along with 8.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists.

Ryan Kartje/Orange County Register

Tags: Kyle Anderson, UCLA Bruins, Pacific-12 Conference, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General

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BJ Young Declares For NBA Draft

Mar 29, 2013 9:51 AM

BJ Young will enter the NBA draft, forgoing his final two years of eligibility at Arkansas.

“This is his dream and as a coach I encourage him to pursue that dream," Razorbacks coach Mike Anderson said in a statement. "I gave him the pros and cons of his decision and he chose to enter the draft. BJ has become a well-rounded player, leading us in scoring and assists and he became a more active rebounder.”

The 6-foot-3 guard led the Razorbacks in scoring this season at 15.2 points per game and shot 44.9 percent from the floor, including 22.7 percent from the three-point line.

Young is projected as a second-round pick in the June draft.

Matt Jones/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Tags: B.J. Young, Arkansas Razorbacks, Southeastern Conference, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA Draft Declarations

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Lorenzo Brown To Enter NBA Draft

Mar 28, 2013 1:56 PM

Lorenzo Brown will skip his final college season and enter the NBA draft.

A 6-foot-5 guard, Brown averaged 12.4 points, 7.2 assists and 4.3 rebounds in 33 games for N.C. State this season.

Brown is projected by some to be a late first round pick in the June draft.

Joe Giglio/Raleigh News & Observer

Tags: Lorenzo Brown, NC State Wolfpack, Atlantic Coast Conference, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA Draft Declarations

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Tony Snell To Test Draft Stock, Unlikely To Return To New Mexico

Mar 27, 2013 10:01 PM

Tony Snell will enter the NBA draft.

Snell is unlikely to return to New Mexico next season, sources with knowledge of the player’s thinking confirmed.

Snell was selected to the Mountain West All-Conference third team this season as a junior.

Geoff Grammer/Albuquerque Journal

Tags: Tony Snell, New Mexico Lobos, Mountain West Conference, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NBA Draft Declarations

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Amath M'Baye Forgoes Senior Season, Enters Draft

Mar 27, 2013 9:56 PM

Amath M’Baye will forgo his senior season of eligibility to enter the NBA draft.

M'Baye, a native of France, is a longshot to make an NBA roster next year.

"I grew up watching the Euro league stuff. I can tell you it's not that bad over there," he said. "They make a great living for themselves. It's a great environment to play in. The NBA is definitely a dream. It's still a goal of mine. But the options are not bad at all."

M’Baye is set to graduate from the University of Oklahoma in May.

Guerin Emig/Tulsa World

Tags: Amath M'Baye, Oklahoma Sooners, Big 12 Conference, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, International, NBA Draft General, NBA Draft Declarations

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Marshawn Powell Declares For Draft

Logan Wilson/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Trey Burke Will Likely Declare For Draft If Michigan Wins Title

Dan Patrick Show (via Mark Snyder/Detroit Free Press)

GMs Leaning Toward Nerlens Noel As Top NBA Draft Prospect

Chad Ford/ESPN

Norvel Pelle To Declare For NBA Draft

Marc J. Spears/Yahoo! Sports

Shabazz Muhammad Answers Questions About Birth Certificate

Eric Prisbell/USA TODAY

Riley Scouting NCAA Tournament Despite Heat Lacking Draft Picks

Ira Winderman/South Florida Sun-Sentinel

NBA Talent Evaluators Question Whether Muhammad Can Make Teammates Better

Scott Howard-Cooper/NBA.com

Marcus Smart Defers Decision On NBA Draft

Anthony Slater/Oklahoman

Shabazz Muhammad Actually One Year Older Than Previously Believed

Ken Bensinger/Los Angeles Times

Ainge: Celtics Put Little Stock In NCAA Tournament

Ben Rohrbach/WEEI

Shane Larkin Returning To Miami For Junior Season

Michael Casagrande/South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Dwight Powell Forgoes Draft, To Stay At Stanford

Contra Costa Times

Noel Undergoes Surgery To Repair Torn ACL

ESPN

Jazz Willing To Take Step Back Next Season For Better 2014 NBA Draft Pick

Zach Lowe/ESPN

Source Expects Fewer NBA-Caliber International Players In Coming Years

Ric Bucher/Comcast

Howland: 'No Doubt' Muhammad Leaving For NBA

Peter Yoon/ESPN

Anthony Bennett Expected To Play Through Nerve Inflammation In Shoulder

Matt Youmans/Las Vegas Review-Journal

McLemore Overcame Extreme Poverty To Become Top Prospect

Eric Prisbell/USA TODAY

Muhammad Overcomes Tourette Syndrome

Sam Strong/Daily Bruin