A spokeswoman for the "Tron: Legacy" actress confirms the couple welcomed son Otis Alexander on Sunday.
Wilde posted a message on Twitter Wednesday with a photo of her cuddling the newborn. It says, "Ladies and gentlemen, Otis Alexander Sudeikis has LEFT the building!" and then notes in parentheses that she's the building.
AP
F — Cliff Alexander, Curie (Chicago) 6-9 Sr. This year’s Mr. Basketball USA joins Kevin Garnett (Farragut), Mark Aguirre (Westinghouse) and Cazzie Russell (Carver) as players from Chicago Public League schools to earn the nation’s highest individual honor. Alexander, who didn’t play organized basketball until the eighth grade, was the nation’s most intimidating presence in the interior with regards to rebounding and shot blocking. The Kansas recruit averaged 24 points, 15 rebounds and six blocked shots per game for a Curie team that won the CPL title on the court but later had all if its wins forfeited for the use of academically ineligible players.
Third Team
F— Kelly Oubre Jr., Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) 6-7 Sr. One of the nation’s best rebounding forwards, when Oubre is hitting from the perimeter, he’s simply one of the nation’s best players because of his overall ability. With injuries and defections negatively affecting Findlay Prep’s regular season, the Kansas-bound Oubre led the Pilots in scoring (22.2) and contributed 6.7 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game for a 31-5 team. When the Pilots’ bench got even shorter at Dick’s Nationals, Oubre stepped up again, leading the Pilots to an upset of then FAB 50 No. 2 Rainier Beach and averaging 20.0 points and 12.5 rebounds in two games.
StudentSports AA Teams
Would Robinson like more such opportunities? Of course. But he's looking forward, not back.
"Things work out like that sometimes," he said. "Everybody doesn't have the same story. My story 10 years from now could be I didn't play my first couple of years."
Robinson is playing now, though, getting six-minute stints in each half, doing what he can do.
"Be active," he said. "Cause havoc. Get defensive stops, rebound, run the floor."
"He brings a lot of energy for us," said Joel Freeland, Portland's other "big" off the bench. "He runs the floor, crashes the boards. He's a great rotation player, and a great guy with great character."
Robinson said he loves his teammates, veterans such as Dorell Wright and Mo Williams, "who have won in this league before." And point guard Lillard, "a superstar who gives me extra motivation to keep pushing."
And especially Aldridge, who has become a mentor.
"L.A. has helped my whole career so far, and this is just the beginning," he said, adding with a grin, "and this summer, I'll definitely try to steal more stuff from him."
"We talk daily," Aldridge said of his understudy. "During practice, I try to point him in the right direction. During games, I'm always pulling him aside. What he brings to the table this team needs. What I mean is, a controlled recklessness -- crashing the boards, being active on the defensive end, blocking shots, kind of being nasty out there.
"He fouls guys and doesn't even know he's fouled them sometimes. That's good for us."
What did Robinson think about Aldridge's 46-point, 18-rebound gem in the Houston series opener?
"Same thing everybody else in the world thinks," Robinson said. "Him, Wilt … but he's capable of that every night. I don't ever think he's going to miss when he shoots."
The Wilt reference is to an esoteric stat that pits Aldridge with Chamberlain as the only players to collect 40-plus points and 15-plus rebounds in a playoff road opener. So give Robinson credit for paying attention to media lists almost as much as what Aldridge is counseling.
"He tries to prep me mentally," Robinson said. "Physically, we're two different players. The offensive side I haven't grabbed yet. That's the next step. Everything else is average or above average -- rebounding, defending. That stuff is already there because of my athletic ability and my mind-set. Offensively, I can learn that. Having a player like LaMarcus at my position, I see no reason why I can't get better."
Robinson has enjoyed playing for Stotts, comparing him to his college coach, Bill Self, who helped polish him from a raw freshman who averaged 2.5 points and 2.7 rebounds to a unanimous first-team All-American as a junior.
Stotts "has been patient with me, active in getting me to learn the process I was expecting to get last year," Robinson said. "He has stuck with me all year, through ups and downs. He has punished me when I haven't done right and rewarded me when I have. I love him for the way he's coaching me. It reminds me a lot of what Coach Self did with me. (Stotts) has brought me from ground zero to be the backup (power forward)."
Portland Tribune
LJW: NBA playoffs roundup
“Pay Heed. The game you love began here. Respect those who came before you. Make their legacy your own. Because destiny favors the dedicated. And rings don’t replace work. In this game you don’t get what you want. You get what you earn. We are Kansas. Together we rise. Rock Chalk Jayhawk!
Big 12 / College News
So UK will have seven guys 6-8 or taller, six top-40 recruits, five McDonald's All-Americans, three skilled 7-footers in the frontcourt.
@KyleTucker_CJ
Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson, Karl Towns, Trey Lyles, Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress. Someone isn't gonna be very happy next year.
@GoodmanESPN
Kansas State will likely return to Kansas City’s Sprint Center for a nonconference basketball game against Texas A&M next season.
Texas A&M basketball coach Billy Kennedy told Texas radio station KZNE late Tuesday night that the Aggies have agreed to the game, according to AggieSports.com.
On Wednesday morning, K-State basketball coach Bruce Weber said the Wildcats and Aggies have discussed a neutral-court series, before adding: “Nothing has been confirmed yet.”
Senior associate athletics director Casey Scott said K-State has “initiated a contract for a game in Kansas City.” But the deal has not been finalized.
Wichita Eagle
Baylor center Isaiah Austin became the latest underclassman to enter the 2014 NBA Draft, with Bears head coach Scott Drew announcing the 7-foot-1 center's intentions on Tuesday.
The Big 12's leader with 119 blocked shots in 2013-14, Austin had two years of college eligibility remaining.
Link
Oklahoma's criminal appeals court has overturned the conviction of a former Oklahoma State basketball player accused of sexually assaulting two women at an off-campus party in 2010.
The Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday reversed the conviction for Darrell (duh-REL') Williams because several jurors made unauthorized visits to the crime scene.
Williams was convicted in 2012 of two counts of rape by instrumentation and one count of sexual battery.
Two women testified that Williams groped them against their will at the party. But Williams' attorneys argued that he was misidentified, noting that the women identified Williams as their attacker after police showed them a lineup of the Oklahoma State basketball team.
AP
Ten years after having her name ripped from a new arena at Mizzou, Walmart heiress Paige Laurie Dubbert is making new headlines with her divorce.
TMZ reports that Paige has filed for divorce from her husband of nearly six years, Patrick Bode Dubbert, the guy she married in a super-secret wedding in Columbia in June 2008.
She’s divorcing him over irreconcilable differences.
Translation: She’s hoppin’ mad.
A civil lawsuit she also filed accuses him of taking thousands of dollars out of a retail center in Malibu they operated.
According to TMZ, the lawsuit alleges that Patrick convinced Paige to let him hire a friend as co-manager, then the two men made themselves general contractors and paid themselves $70,000 a month.
She charges that Patrick also paid himself $250,000 a year to manage the project on top of other fees.
A twist to all this: She’s agreed to pay him spousal support under their prenup.
Paige became infamous in these parts in 2004 when the University of Missouri named its new arena after her when her parents, Bill Laurie and Nancy Walton Laurie, donated $25 million toward the $75 million arena's construction.
Nancy Laurie is the daughter of the late Bud Walton, co-founder of Walmart.
...Paige Sports Arena wasn’t meant to be, though. Paige’s former roommate at the University of Southern California – yep, she didn’t even go to Missouri – told ABC’s “20/20” that Paige paid her about $20,000 over 3 1/2 years to write papers and do college assignments for her.
Once the story broke, Paige’s parents agreed to let the school rename the arena, the building now known as Mizzou Arena. In 2005 Paige also voluntarily surrendered her USC communication degree.
KC Star
April 9: NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee Application Deadline
April 14: NBA Undergraduate Advisory Committee Response Deadline
April 15: NCAA Early Entry “Withdrawal” Deadline
April 27: NBA Draft Early Entry Eligibility Deadline (11:59 pm ET)
May 2: NBA Draft Early Entry Candidates Released – Underclassmen Contact Permitted
May 14-18: NBA Draft Combine (Chicago)
May 20: NBA Draft Lottery
June 16: NBA Draft Early Entry Withdrawal Deadline (5:00 pm ET)
June 26: 2014 NBA Draft
draftexpress.com: Testing the NBA Draft Waters in 2014
Recruiting
The Jayhawk Invitational AAU basketball tournament will be held Friday through Sunday at New Century Fieldhouse, 551 New Century Parkway, New Century, Kansas, 66031.
Some top preps are expected to attend including Malik Newman, a 6-3 junior shooting guard from Callaway High in Jackson, Miss., who is ranked No. 1 in the recruiting Class of 2015 by Rivals.com. Newman’s Mo Williams Academy is slated to meet local team KC Run GMC at 8:20 p.m. Friday and again play at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at New Century Fieldhouse.
No. 3-ranked Diamond Stone, 6-10 center from Dominican High in Milwaukee, who may emerge as a package deal with Newman, is slated to play for the Young Legends at 7:10 p.m. Friday and 12:40 p.m. Saturday at New Century.
2015 (Rivals top 25)
#1 Malik Newman (MoWilliamsAcademy)
#3 Diamond Stone (Young Legends)
#12 Chance Comanche (Earl Watson Elite)
2016 (Rivals top 25)
#1 Josh Jackson (1-Nation)
#10 Terrence Fergusson (MoWilliamsAcademy)
2017 (Future 150 top 25)
#4 Cody Riley (Earl Watson Elite)
#6 Troy Brown (Las Vegas Prospects)
#14 Kristafer Wilkes (grIND)
#19 Mitchell Ballock (KC Run GMC)
#22 P.J. Washington (MoWilliamsAcademy)
Thanks to jayhawkslant.com / @JayhawkSlant for the above info!
Jayhawk Invitational (4/25-4/27) (Schedule of games/brackets now posted)
http://jcprd.com/parks_facilities/newcenturyfieldhouse.cfm
While Konchalski appears sold on Okafor’s NBA readiness more than a year before he can go there, the rest of this big man class has work to do.
Long viewed as a tremendous athlete with plenty of upside, Alexander still has a ways to go.
“Cliff has got to work on his offense,” Konchalski said. “But I mean, talk about an explosive athlete and a guy who has an NBA body right now, but he’s got to elevate his skill level right now. But if he does, he can be an impact player right away in the NBA if he does. But he’s 6-8 1/2 and he’s not going to be a five man at his size. He’s going to be a four man. He’s gotta improve his skills.”
Red flags have already risen on Turner, who has proven to be injury-prone. The uncommitted 6-foot-11 Texas native’s standing as the No. 11 pick in 2015 represents a slip after he had previously been as high as No. 2 behind Okafor and ahead of Alexander.
“Myles Turner, first of all, is a human injury,” Konchalski said. “He’s hurt all the time and that’s a function of his having to get stronger and really work on his body. He’s a long way away physically from being able to play in the NBA. I think he has tremendous potential, but he has a long way away physically.”
Zags Blog
THIS IS GOING TO BE THE HARDEST DECISION OF MY LIFE
@Original_Turner
Basketball fans dream about walking through the tunnels at Allen Fieldhouse or hitting a buzzer-beater against North Carolina at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
But not many imagine hitting a game-winning shot at the Frank Erwin Center.
So why would Myles Turner, the lone uncommitted five-star recruit in the 2014 class, choose to attend Texas?
The 6-foot-10 high school senior, who attends Trinity High School, could potentially transform whatever school he chooses to attend into a legitimate championship contender. He can knock down jumpers, dominate inside and protect the rim.
Seven schools are still chasing him: Duke, Kansas, SMU, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, Ohio State and Texas.
Some reports have Turner leaning toward Texas — he even tweeted admiration of the school last week. But if I were Turner, I would take the nod of recent Texas high school greats and spurn the Longhorns.
…Longhorn fans aren’t the most passionate about basketball. Fans don’t show up for nonconference game, and only games against Oklahoma and Kansas seem to get fans on their feet.
The Erwin Center is devoid of a deafening atmosphere. Even if the crowd is relatively large, seats almost always look empty because of the size of the building.
Wouldn’t Turner rather play at Allen Fieldhouse, the place ESPN ranked as the loudest stadium in college basketball?
…Texas basketball doesn’t get a lot of attention around Austin.
Even though the team was ranked in the top 20 this past season, the only thing Longhorn fans could pay attention to was the beginning of new football head coach Charlie Strong’s program. Part of this is attributable to the Big 12 Conference itself, as it’s not too flashy. The Big 12 is deep, and one could even make the case that it was the best conference last year. But only Kansas was really ever a championship contender.
…Rick Barnes is a good coach. But would people rather play for him than Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Kansas’ Bill Self or SMU’s Larry Brown? Turner will likely turn pro after one year, and, while talented, his game is in need of considerable molding. Barnes is not the best man to do that. Krzyzewski, Self and Brown all have considerable experience preparing players for the NBA.
UT Student Newspaper (Daily Texan)
Devonte’ Graham has been in high demand.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound point guard from Brewster (N.H.) Academy recently trimmed his list to five schools and has visited two of them in recent days — Kansas and N.C. State. Virginia is up next beginning Friday.
As far as Kansas, Graham told SNY.tv, “I like the campus and the atmosphere and the players I really got along with, and all the coaches. Basically, I would come in and have an impact right away is what I was told.”
Kansas has both Naadir Tharpe and Frank Mason returning at the point, but Graham “would play with them and Wayne [Selden] and the people coming in,” Graham said.
Kansas has a two-man class so far of big man Cliff Alexander and wing Kelly Oubre and is also involved with Texas big man Myles Turner, who announces Wednesday.
As for Graham, he said he’s “tight” with Tharpe, who played at Brewster, and Selden, who played at Tilton (N.H.) School.
Zags Blog
Devonte Graham, the top remaining uncommitted point guard in the high school recruiting Class of 2014, completed his official recruiting visit to North Carolina State on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-2 native of Raleigh, N.C., who played for Brewster Academy in New Hampshire this past school year plans to visit Virginia on Friday.
He already has visited Kansas University and told ncstate.rivals.com he might visit Virginia Tech and Providence before selecting a school.
He said he’s in no hurry after finally getting a release from a letter-of-intent from Appalachian State, which he’d sought this entire school year.
“I’m definitely thankful for being released and being able to have another opportunity to go through the recruiting process,” Graham told ncstate.rivals.com Wednesday. “It kind of helped to build me as a person, the whole process. I’m not trying to be in a rush to make a decision because of the whole situation I’ve been through. I’m kind of just waiting. I haven’t set a date of when I’m going to commit. I really could just wake up tomorrow and be like, ‘This is the school that best fits me, and I want to be there,’ and I could commit or I could commit at the end of the month, next month, I really don’t know.”
Graham, who said he had a great time on his visit to N.C. State, said it would be convenient playing in his hometown.
“The family feel was big and so was being close to home, where my family can watch. No matter where I go my family can watch, but it just wouldn’t be the same as if I was here. I try not to base my decision off of that, but it is a big factor,” said Graham, who is not currently ranked in the top 150 by Rivals.com.
…KU coach Bill Self on Wednesday had an in-home visit with Jalen Brunson, 6-1 junior point guard from Stevenson High in Lincolnshire, Ill., jayhawkslant.com reports. He is ranked No. 14 in the recruiting Class of 2015.
LJW
Illinois, Clemson, So Cal, Kansas, Baylor, and Cincy have all been by to see 2015 pg Jawun Evans this week.
@GCRivalsGlenn
2015 F @carltonbragg31 will draw a crowd this wknd in Dallas: Kentucky, UCLA, Illinois, Kansas, UConn, Md, Ohio St, Texas, AZ, Louis, ISU
@AdamZagoria
adidas Uprising Spring/Summer Events
2014 Spring/Summer AAU and camp schedule (compiled by CBS Sports)
Recruiting Calendar
My Late Night in the Phog videos, KU Alumni games videos, 2011-12 Border War videos, Legends of the Phog videos, KC Prep Invitational, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos and more now on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/kcjcjhawk