On vacation this week, see you back here next week!

Scott Howard Cooper of NBA.com projects he'll be the No. 2 pick behind Davis. ESPN Insider Chad Ford, DraftExpress.com and SwishScout.com all have Robinson going No. 4, NBAdraft.net thinks he'll go seventh and Yahoo! Sports predicts he'll be the eighth pick.

That obviously has a lot more to do more with Robinson's talent and potential than his inspiring story.

"He's dramatically improved in every facet of his game. While he still needs some polish, what college player doesn't?" Ford wrote on his ESPN.com pay site. "Many scouts believe Robinson is one of the most NBA-ready players in the draft. What Robinson should provide right away are athleticism, toughness, an NBA-ready body and a motor that won't quit on both ends of the floor. He's been a monster rebounder for KU and is aggressive looking for his shot around the rim. 

"Robinson surprised scouts this year with his ball handling ability and a solid midrange jump shot. He's not afraid to get the ball at the top of the key and create his shot there. His quickness for a player his size and his explosive leaping ability make him a formidable threat offensively down the road. Scouts know that Robinson can handle adversity. He lost his grandmother, grandfather and mother in the span of a few weeks during his sophomore year and stoically played through it.

"That sort of mental toughness will come in handy at the next level."

…David Aldridge of NBA.com has Robinson ranked as the No. 2 power forward in the draft behind Davis.

"Scouts across the board compared Robinson to Nuggets rookie big Kenneth Faried in terms of the energy and effort he brings to games – Faried's motor is a little stronger, though his motor is stronger than just about everyone's –  while Robinson's skill level is higher," Aldridge wrote. "Robinson did some posting at Kansas, but he scored most of his points off of cuts, running the floor and energy plays.

"'He's not a David West type of guy,' a Western Conference general manager said. 'He's more a high energy guy. He could be anywhere from a Faried to a young Horace Grant. Like most young guys, he'll get in foul trouble early (on defense) and figure it out by year two or three. He's a physical specimen, now. When you look at his build, he's body beautiful.'"

Robinson's body, however, is one of his question marks.

While he's listed at 6-10, there's some speculation that he's closer to 6-9 and some observers think he might actually be 6-7. The mystery should be cleared up at the NBA pre-draft camp June 6-10 in Chicago. That said, Robinson is widely regarded as having a 7-foot-1 wingspan regardless of his height.
MLive


Kansas had struggled to find a quality home game, so the Jayhawks went to an old friend, former player and league rival. Colorado and Tad Boyle, who played at Kansas and coaches Colorado, are finalizing a deal with the Jayhawks to do a two-year home-and-home series, starting in Lawrence. The Buffaloes reached the NCAA tournament third round last season, losing to Baylor in Albuquerque. Kansas had no ill will toward the Buffaloes when they left the Big 12 for the Pac-12, unlike rival Missouri. Re-starting this series is good for both leagues and programs.
ESPN Katz


So I have this idea. I run it by Reid Gettys, mostly because he's a lawyer and heck of a lot smarter than me. Also, because he played with Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon and has been calling college basketball games for 22 years now.

I don't always agree with his take. But I respect it.

"So," I ask, "what would you think about Bill Self coaching the Olympic men's basketball team?"

And to this, Reid Gettys chuckles. Gleefully.

"Let me make a statement you can quote me on," he replies. "Bill Self is the best coach on the planet."

Now I'm the one chuckling.

"I'm serious," he continues. "I would run out of adjectives trying to describe the job that I think Bill Self does coaching."
FoxSports Midwest


Former KU forward Darnell Jackson’s BC Donetsk team swept Azovmash four games to none to win the Ukranian Superleague title. According to box scores, Jackson did not play in any of the championship round games, though he did play in the semifinals.

Jackson during the Ukraine regular season averaged 7.8 points and 4.9 rebounds while logging 17.7 minutes a game. In 14 Eurocup games, he averaged 8.0 points and 3.6 boards in 17.9 minutes a game.
LJW


According to the financial report presented by senior associate athletics director Sean Lester at Thursday’s meeting, the cost of team travel is expected to increase by half a million dollars during the coming school year.

“There are several areas that the team travel budget is up,” said chief financial officer Pat Kaufman, who replaced the retired Susan Wachter and began working at KU on April 2. “The primary reason is the cost of fuel. That will impact both air and bus transportation.”

Kaufman was at Thursday’s meeting to help clarify the report he spent countless hours working on during the past couple of months. He also received high praise from Lester.

“Patrick brought several nuances to this,” Lester told the board. “After having the same person look at it for so many years, now we’ve got someone new looking at it, and that’s refreshing.”

To this point, KU has shelled out nearly $4.5 million on travel expenses for the fiscal year. The budgeted amount for next year is just under $5.1 million.

Lester offered another reason for the expected increase — the Big 12’s addition of West Virginia, which is located in more remote Morgantown, W.V., roughly 900 miles away from KU’s campus.

“You want to talk about costs of team travel,” Lester said. “That’s a big one.”

…After mowing through the first few agenda items in less than 20 minutes, the board went into executive session for 56 minutes and emerged with a motion to allow Zenger to sign off on the designing and planning of athletic facilities. The motion passed. At one point, Brad Nachtigal, associate AD for capital projects, left the executive session briefly and returned with an oversized sheet of paper folded in half. It was not known whether Thursday’s executive session discussion related to the Olympic Village proposal of the past or more recent talk about a new facility in northwest Lawrence.
LJW

Former Kansas State basketball player Victor Ojeleye has been chosen as the male winner of the 2012 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award. He was selected from over 600 minority candidates, including 10 finalists. Four other Big 12 athletes were finalists: Emmanuel Acho (Texas, football), Chelsea Garcia (Oklahoma State, softball), Krista Lopez (Oklahoma State, soccer) and Beth West (Texas A&M, soccer).

“This award is not something I would have ever dreamed of receiving, but because of God’s grace and the support of family, friends and K-State, I have been honored to receive it,” said Ojeleye, who’s from Ottawa, Kan. “I am truly in the company of great past recipients and I am fortunate to be able to represent my family with such a distinction. I am very thankful for this and appreciate it greatly. It is an honor and a privilege.”

The Sports Scholar Award was established in 1992 by Black Issues in Higher Education, now Diverse, to honor undergraduate students of color who exemplify the standards set by tennis great Arthur Ashe Jr. To be nominated, student-athletes must compete in an intercollegiate sport, maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2 and be active on their campuses or their communities.
KC Star


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Future Kansas University basketball players Brannen Greene and Conner Frankamp are listed Nos. 33 and 72 respectively in ESPN.com’s new top 100 rankings of the high school recruiting class of 2013.

Greene, a 6-7 wing formerly of Mary Persons High in Forsyth, Ga., who is headed to Tift County High in Tifton, Ga., for his senior year, is ranked No. 31 by Rivals.com. Frankamp, a 6-0 point guard out of Wichita North, is No. 42 by Rivals.com. Both have orally committed to play at KU.
LJW


Jahlil Okafor has been asked a lot of questions by media, coaches, recruiting analysts and fans since he emerged as one of the most celebrated high school basketball players in the country. But Whitney Young's 6-foot-11, 265-pound center had never been asked anything like this.

Would you rather be (1) the best basketball player who ever played the game, (2) President of the United States or (3) the richest man in the world?

The 16-year-old sophomore didn't hesitate to respond.

"I want to be the best basketball player of all," he said.

"President doesn't appeal to me, all that pressure, people loving you and hating you. And being the richest man doesn't mean you are happy.

"But if I'm the best basketball player, I'd be happy. I would take great joy in it. That's what I want to be."

…What is so amazing about Okafor is he has accumulated scholarship offers from more major Division I programs and is rated more highly than Simeon's Jabari Parker at the same stage. Yet, like Parker, he remains down-to-earth and grounded with a degree of maturity that turns critics into believers.

"He is the same person he was when he came in as a ninth grader -- except he is three inches taller," Whitney Young coach Tyrone Slaughter said. "His demeanor and the way he handles himself haven't changed.

"It has to do with his upbringing. His father has done a phenomenal job. He has great values. He is positive, very respectful. What is important to him? Having fun and being able to play. He recognizes the enormity of his skills and the opportunities ahead of him."

Okafor credits his father, his aunts and uncles and his family for keeping him grounded. "They keep me away from all the media and the hoopla. I'm aware of it but my dad keeps me away from it. They make sure I don't get big-headed. My dad tells me: 'The taller they are, the harder they fall.' They try to keep me humble," he said.

…He has scholarship offers from Illinois, DePaul, Duke, North Carolina, Florida, Arizona, Michigan State, Ohio State, Nebraska, Iowa, Connecticut, North Carolina State, Georgetown, Arkansas and...well, the list just keeps getting bigger. Kentucky and Kansas also are expressing interest. Remember, he has two more years to impress recruiters. And he has no timetable.

"I'm not in a hurry. I'm taking it all in, taking my time, making sure I make the right decision," he said. "What am I looking for? I want to go to the NBA. I want to make an impact right away. I want to have great players around me. I want to be Player of the Year and win a national championship. Then I won't stay for another year."
CSN Chicago


One of the top five prospects in the Class of 2013, San Jose, Calif., power forward Aaron Gordon is currently sidelined with a fractured toe.

But that hasn’t stopped the 6-foot-8, 200-pound Gordon from thinking about colleges. Several reports have a different top five for Gordon, who mentioned the following schools – Kentucky, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina and New Mexico – in a recent interview with The Courier-Journal.

Gordon is in no hurry to make a decision.

“I think I want to stay on the West Coast, but I’m not sure,” Gordon said. “I want to visit a lot more, watching a lot of games next year and see how my friends at each of these schools are doing. I probably won’t make a decision until after my senior season.”

Gordon had a sensational run earlier this spring with the Oakland Soldiers.
LHL


Though college basketball recruiting is amid its dead period, that doesn't mean prospects are taking any time off. Plenty of top players continue to stand out, and many should see increased attention once visits and evaluations start again on May 27. Here's a look at the latest headlines in high school and AAU hoops.

…Dallas-based Urban DFW Elite will be in New Orleans for an upcoming tournament. Once they're done playing, at least two star players are expected to make a side trip to Baton Rouge to check out LSU. Class of 2013 four-star prospects Jordan Mickey and Karviar Shepherd are expected to visit at the tail end of the Memorial Day weekend, and the nation's No. 35 and No. 44 recruits, respectively, could come as a package deal. Mickey and Shepherd are also high school teammates at Arlington (Texas) Grace Prep.
Rivals Bossi via SI


Spring/Summer Event Schedule


adidas Grassroots schedule


Nike EYBL Schedule


Check here for the NCAA Recruiting Calendar


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Jeff Withey set a record for blocks in a single NCAA tournament with 31 total in the 2012 edition of the Big Dance. He’s returning for his senior year as a key leader for a Kansas team that lost lottery pick Thomas Robinson and talented veteran Tyshawn Taylor.

Withey talked about basketball, the national title game and next season in a Q&A with ESPN.com.

What kind of player would you like to be for the Jayhawks next year?

Jeff Withey: I definitely want to be a scorer next year. I feel like I have to be with Thomas leaving. That’s going to be a big gap. I’m definitely working on my game. My post moves. My midrange game. Last year, I felt like people backed off me whenever I caught it at the high post. I definitely want to be able to hit that open jumper. It’s going to be tough with coach [Danny] Manning leaving, but we’ve got some good coaches. … I’m pretty much just worried about gaining weight right now, going to the gym to shoot a ton of shots. But I definitely want to become that guy who can hit that open jump shot and give it to me on the block and be able to make a move. I definitely want to play that role.

I’m going to be doing a lot of stuff later in the summer. I’m going to Amare Stoudemire camp. I’ll definitely learn some things there.

…How will this team change without Robinson and Taylor?

JW: We’ve got some really good young guys coming in. We’ve got Perry Ellis coming in. We’ve got this guy named Zach [Peters] that’s coming in. We’re excited about our team. We still have a strong core of seniors: me, Elijah [Johnson], Travis [Releford] and Kevin Young who came off the bench last year is going to be a senior also. We’ve got some good experience. Going that far in the tournament, I feel like you learn so much about basketball and just, we’ll be able to kind of coach the young guys and help Coach [Bill] Self in getting them right and what to expect. I feel like, hopefully, we’re going to be right back in it next year. I’m excited.
ESPN


Withey established an NCAA tournament record with 31 blocks, and Davis -- who tied for No. 2 with 29 blocks in the tourney -- earned Most Outstanding Player honors even though he hit just one shot in 10 attempts against KU. But he also finished with 16 rebounds, three steals and six blocks on that final night.

It was a throwback moment as the national stage belonged to big men who specialized in rim protection. They're difficult to identify and nurture in the era of Post Player 2.0, a 21st-century athlete that tends to pursue finesse and versatility over a commitment to the paint. But the national title game emphasized the value of big men who block shots.

Any player can do it. But the elite post guardians mold the flow of a game, and proved it in the Big Easy.

"By the time we were in the Final Four, I felt like I had a ton of confidence," Withey said. "I felt like I played with a different swagger."

…Withey recognized his shot-blocking ability as a beach volleyball player in San Diego. At one point in his youth athletic career, he played more volleyball than basketball. The sport helped him develop the proper timing to block shots on the hardwood.

After transferring from Arizona to Kansas, Withey's daily battles with Cole Aldrich and the Morris twins (Markieff and Marcus) made him tougher. Today, he's the nation's top shot-blocker -- having sported the highest block percentage in the nation last season, per Pomeroy.

Like the other block artists throughout the country, he's still perfecting the craft.

But he's always had the gift.

"I think it's a quality or a characteristic that you have in your athletic makeup," said new Tulsa coach Danny Manning, once a prolific shot-blocker himself who taught Withey as an assistant at KU. "To me, a lot of times, it's just a matter of learning how to harness it."
ESPN


Incoming Kansas University basketball forward Perry Ellis served as one of four valedictorians at Wichita Heights High School’s graduation ceremony on Sunday.

Ellis, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound McDonald’s All-American, completed his prep career with a perfect 4.0 grade-point average. He served as secretary of his school’s National Honor Society chapter and volunteered for the Wichita Children’s Home with the Real Men, Real Heroes’ Teen Hero program. He also was part of multiple youth literacy-outreach initiatives and worked as a motivational speaker to youth athletes.

The four-time Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year last season averaged 25.8 points and 9.4 rebounds per game for the four-time state champs. He shot 67.0 percent from the field, 43.4 percent from three-point range and 78.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Rivals.com’s No. 24-rated player in the Class of 2012 told Jayhawkslant.com he will report to KU for summer school sometime between June 1 and 4.

“A lot of good people around basketball have been through Kansas. I’m thankful that I’m going to be a part of it and I’m ready to get better,” said Ellis, who said he will wear his high school number of 34 at KU.
LJW


Rustin C. Dodd (@rustindodd)
5/23/12 4:44 PM
Still a ways away, of course, but Self said the newcomers could play more than the returners during the Euro Trip this summer. #kubball

The Texas Tech basketball program has a new radio voice.

Brian Hanni will begin his role as the new play-by-play radio broadcaster for the Red Raiders this upcoming season, Tech announced Wednesday. Hanni replaces Mark Finkner, who stepped down in April after 18 years with Tech athletics to spend more time with his wife and two children.

Hanni joins the Red Raider broadcast team from Kansas, where he spent the last 10 seasons broadcasting Jayhawks athletics. He was the play-by-play voice for the Kansas baseball team during his entire tenure and spent eight seasons broadcasting for the women’s basketball team.

Through his association with Kansas coach Bill Self, Hanni said he has always head a great respect for Tech coach Billy Gillispie and is eager to be at the call for a program he believes will be on the rise in the immediate future.

“It’s been a life dream to broadcast Division I basketball,” Hanni said, “and to do it in a great conference like the Big 12, at a program like Texas Tech, is something I’m very excited about.”
RedRaiders.com

The irony is truly remarkable. A year ago, the Big 12 was a whiff from the end of days.

Now it merely holds the future of the ACC and the new college football postseason in its hands.

“The Big 12 has been and will be a key factor in college football,” interim commissioner Chuck Neinas says.

Only now do we see just how key.

TCU athletic director Chris Del Conte, speaking Wednesday morning on the Texas Tech campus, said the Big 12 has Florida State, Miami and Clemson trying to get into the conference, according to a Lubbock, Texas radio station.

Later in the day, Del Conte told the Fort Worth Star Telegram that he was referring to the “rumor mill”—not confirming interest from other schools.

I’m not buying it.

The president of the board of trustees at Florida State recently said his university should take a hard look at its athletic options, all but daring the Seminoles to evacuate the ACC ASAP. At the same time, conference commissioners for the ACC and Big East and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick all said the same thing during spring meetings over the last week: We’re monitoring the situation.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 and SEC spring meetings begin next week, with college football staring at two significant issues: the power conferences eating (another) one of their own, and the yet to be completed four-team playoff. Here’s how it could play out:

If Florida State and another ACC team leaves for the Big 12, it will start a chain reaction of proactive protection that will separate the SEC, Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 from the rest of college football. It’s survival mode for everyone involved.

The SEC can’t sit and watch the Big 12 encroach its television markets without responding, and that response will be a run at Virginia Tech and the Holy Grail of the ACC, North Carolina.

One television industry source said Virginia Tech “wasn’t interested” in leaving the ACC last summer when the SEC was expanding, but that “the writing will be on the wall” if FSU and another ACC team leave for the Big 12.

Only one move needs to happen to set it all in motion: FSU to the Big 12. If that happens, the SEC—knowing the Big 12 will need (at least) a 12th team—will pursue Virginia Tech to strengthen its television brand potential. Once that happens and the ACC is mortally wounded, North Carolina—one of the nation’s strongest athletic programs—will be available.
TSN


Clemson's Board of Trustees will meet Thursday in Columbia to discuss the recent swirl of speculation regarding the latest wave of potential conference realignment.

Board chairman David Wilkins tells the Tigernet.com website that the meeting is designed to get all board members on the same page.

Wednesday, Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips told 7 On Your Side he's committed to keeping Clemson viable in major college football and is currently working to do the same for the ACC.

He reiterated that the school has not had contact with the Big 12, despite that suggestion in various media reports in recent days.
WSPA


Let’s be clear: The ACC has work to do. But that’s not nearly the same as being doomed, which is how some have characterized the conference after the double hit of Florida State’s (apparently overstated) flirtation with the Big 12 and the announcement of the SEC/Big 12 New Year’s Day bowl. As a public service, we attempt to distinguish flaming hyperbole from colder reality.

…Swofford should go hard at UConn and Louisville, schools that graced the past two Final Fours and play competitive football. (Kansas would be a target if it hadn’t pledged to forfeit Big 12 TV money if it leaves.) Those two would stretch the ACC map and would make this the basketball league to end all basketball leagues. Marketing slogan: “You might not want to coach here, but you’ll darn sure watch our games!”
AJC


Kentucky coach John Calipari didn't want to continue UK's longstanding rivalry with Indiana as a home-and-home series. Indiana coach Tom Crean didn't want to play on a neutral floor. Turns out, fans of both teams, and fans of college basketball in general, aren't the only ones incensed with the turn of events.

The Coalition on Intercollegiate Athletics -- a group of 59 faculty senate members from Football Bowl Subdivision schools, whose mission is to "provide a national faculty voice on intercollegiate sports issues" and which supports the traditional student-athlete model -- is none too pleased, either. This week, the COIA released a scathing statement on Calipari's justification of his new scheduling strategy, saying Kentucky's refusal to play on campus sites marks "the type of warning sign we would expect to see on the path toward a full professional model." An excerpt:

Consistent with COIA policy, the Coalition Steering Committee calls for strong opposition to such policy changes from the NCAA leadership, conference commissioners, and Division-I schools, and we urge NCAA member schools to refrain from signing contracts with Kentucky on such terms. [...]

Now Kentucky is taking its professional model to the next level. By demanding as a matter of policy that non-conference games be moved to neutral sites that emulate professional conditions it is breaking the connection between campus and school sports and insisting that contracted opponents do likewise. Programs designed with the balanced goals of the collegiate model cannot compete with this approach, and UK’s actions will place schools under enormous pressure to follow suit.

We call on all those who support the collegiate model of athletics to speak out against this further move to professionalize college sports, and -- most importantly -- to decline to participate in such a separation of competitions from campuses. Even a “non-traditional” sports program needs opponents to play.
ESPN


John Calipari announced a handful of big-event games for upcoming seasons Wednesday including a multi-year series with Duke, a resumption of the North Carolina rivalry and a matchup in Cowboys Stadium against Baylor.

"When we schedule, I want to create experiences, not just games," Calipari wrote on his website. "The thing about Kentucky basketball is it's passed down from father to son. I want to schedule events that grandfathers and grandsons will be talking about 25 years from now. That's part of what Kentucky basketball is about; part of what has made this place so unique."
Yahoo


Baylor picked up a road game with Kentucky, adding again to the Bears' solid schedule. Bears coach Scott Drew said Baylor will also play at Gonzaga in a return game from two years ago in Dallas, and also will host Northwestern and BYU. The Bears are one of the marquee teams in the Charleston Classic with Murray State, Colorado, St. John’s and Dayton. Auburn, Boston College and the College of Charleston are also in the field. Baylor will get plenty of power-rating pop for this schedule, especially with the addition of Kentucky. No one should be surprised that the return game is in a neutral setting at Cowboys Stadium. Duke and North Carolina have done similar scheduling agreements many times.
ESPN


Nearly two months after a Sports Illustrated story painted him in a negative light, former UCLA men’s basketball player Reeves Nelson has sued the magazine.

The suit, filed Wednesday in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, names Sports Illustrated’s parent company, Time, Inc., and writer George Dohrmann as defendants. Nelson’s complaint alleges defamation, false light and intentional infliction of emotional distress after Dohrmann wrote an expose on the UCLA basketball program titled “Not the UCLA Way.”

Nelson is being represented by attorneys Keith Fink and Olaf Muller of the firm Fink & Steinberg. Fink is also a professor in the communication studies department at UCLA.

The suit claims damages in excess of $10 million. Reached late Wednesday, a spokesperson for Time declined comment, saying the company had yet to receive the suit.

The expose depicted Nelson as abusive, which 18 of his UCLA teammates dispute in sworn declarations attached to the suit.

In the declarations, current and former players deny some of Dohrmann’s anecdotes: that Nelson bullied Matt Carlino, which led to the guard transferring to BYU; that Nelson and former forward Mike Moser came to blows during a practice; and that Nelson tried to go after James Keefe’s already injured shoulder in practice.

Carlino, Moser and Keefe were not among the players who signed declarations for Nelson’s suit. However, a handful of players denied they were victims of Nelson’s alleged abuse, according to declarations.
Daily Bruin


The Big East announced its format for an expanded 18-team men's basketball tournament beginning in the 2013-14 season and featuring two play-in games with the lowest-seeded teams.

Those play-in games would take place on the Monday of tourney week at a site yet to be determined in the New York area. Madison Square Garden, which hosts the Big East tournament, is an option, but further evaluation must be done before any decisions are made on a host site.
ESPN


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Heading out to Cali in 2 weekends! #pangoscamp
https://twitter.com/CFrankamp_23/status/205492738093887488

Olympic High basketball star Allerik Freeman will play his senior year at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., a suburb of Las Vegas.

Findlay Prep head coach Michael Peck confirmed that Freeman, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound junior, would be leaving Charlotte and heading west for his senior year of high school. Freeman initially tweeted “Findlay Prep bound” on his Twitter account Wednesday afternoon.

Freeman and Olympic coach Ty Baumgardner did not return calls to the Observer.

ESPN ranks Freeman the nation’s No. 13 overall recruit in the class of 2013 and the No. 5 shooting guard. ESPN has ranked Freeman as high as No. 9 nationally. He was a first team All Charlotte Observer and Associated Press all-state pick this season. He has narrowed his potential college choices to Duke, Kansas, Ohio State, Villanova and UCLA.

Freeman averaged 17.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 1.3 steals at Olympic last season, helping the Trojans to a 28-2 record and a second straight appearance in the N.C. 4A Western regional tournament.
Charlotte Observer


Karl Towns already has a Middlesex County championship as well as a New Jersey Non-Public A State championship in his freshman season at St. Joseph-Metuchen.

What could possibly top accolades such as those?

The only answer is a possible Olympic appearance.

The 6-foot-11 high school freshman was named Tuesday to the Dominican Republic Senior National Team roster by head coach John Calipari.

…With Towns on the roster, Calipari gains a one-up in his recruitment. The Kentucky coach will get to coach Towns at an early stage which will definitely play a roll in Towns’ recruitment.
Zags Blog


Spring/Summer Event Schedule


adidas Grassroots schedule


Nike EYBL Schedule


Check here for the NCAA Recruiting Calendar


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Former Kansas University power forward Thomas Robinson, who is projected as the No. 2 pick overall in the NBA Draft by nbadraft.net and Hoopsworld.com — and No. 4 selection by draftexpress.com — still thinks he has a shot at the top spot.

“I think I’m very capable of being the No. 1 pick,” Robinson told Hoopsworld.com on Tuesday following a workout at an undisclosed location. “No disrespect to Anthony Davis (of Kentucky). He’s a great player. But at the same time, as a competitor, I do feel that I’m worthy of the No. 1 pick.”
LJW


In a private workout on Tuesday afternoon, Robinson displayed his full skill set and showed why there are NBA executives around the league raving about his game. Not only is Robinson an athletic freak with a relentless motor, he also displayed an improved jump-shot that extends out to the NBA three-point line.

“It’s just a confidence thing,” Robinson said. “I feel like I’ve been a good shooter, I just needed the time and reps to get it up and now is the time to do it since I’m going to the next level. I just want to show people that I can step out and hit the shot too.”

Robinson was one of the most productive players in the nation last season, averaging 17.7 points and 11.9 rebounds at Kansas. He led the Jayhawks to the national championship game, was named the 2012 Big 12 Player of the Year and received First Team All-American honors.

Now, after a successful college career, he’s looking forward to taking his game to the next level and focusing primarily on basketball.

“It’s a great feeling,” Robinson said. “Nobody who’s doing what they love to do every day should feel bad about it. This is what I love to do and I get to do it for a job now. This is definitely a great feeling. No matter how hard the work is, I’ll get through it.”
Hoopsworld


KU’s Thomas Robinson and Tyshawn Taylor are two of 60 college players invited to the NBA Draft combine June 7-8 in Chicago, according to zagsblog.com. Missouri’s Marcus Denmon and Kim English, Baylor’s Quincy Acy, Quincy Miller and Perry Jones, Texas’ J’Covan Brown, A&M’s Khris Middleton and Iowa State’s Royce White have also been invited.
NBA Draft Combine participants list


…The fourth-annual Rock Chalk Roundball Classic will be held at 7 p.m., June 14, at Free State High’s gym.

Over 20 former KU basketball players will participate in a game to raise money for three local families fighting cancer. There will be a pregame concert beginning at 5:30 p.m. and a postgame autograph and pictures session, plus a chance to win a car at half-time from BriggsAuto.com. For information go to www.facebook.com/rockchalkroundballclassic
LJW



The 2011-12 lockout-shortened season had its fair share of ups and downs for second-year guard/forward Xavier Henry. Henry, who was acquired by the Hornets on Jan. 4 from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for a 2013 second-round pick, began the season missing the first 17 games, mostly due to a lingering injury suffered a season ago.

Henry made his Hornets debut coincidentally in his hometown, Oklahoma City, on Jan. 25. Throughout the 45 games that Henry played in he averaged 5.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 16.5 minutes of play, recording double-digit points on six different occasions.

The 45-game season was the most games Henry has seen in his short NBA career, as he only played in 38 games his first season with Memphis, missing 34 due to a right knee injury.

…As the Hornets push toward the future with two draft picks in the lottery portion of the draft, ‘X’ has plans to remain with the young franchise, while continuing to improve his overall game and participate in NBA Summer League in Las Vegas coming up in July. “I plan on working on everything,” Henry said. “Once I get back into it, I start working on everything that I’ve noticed throughout the year that I can get better at and so it should be a good summer for me. I’m going to take a little bit of time off right after the season, pretty much how everybody does because their body’s recovering after the season. I plan on playing summer league with the team, so it should be a fun summer for us.”
Hornets.com

Announced in January 2012, ICYMI big change for summer sessions, practices now allowed:

The Division I Leadership Council approved the final elements of the men’s basketball recruiting model and will forward its recommendations for both summer access and on-campus evaluations to the Division I Board of Directors for its consideration Saturday.

The Council approved a summer access model that will allow an entering or continuing men’s basketball student-athlete a maximum of eight hours of athletics activities per week during the summer in which institutional staff members may conduct or supervise. Of that, no more than two hours can involve skill-related instruction, for a maximum of eight weeks, under the following conditions:

• All entering freshman and transfer (two-year or four-year) students must be enrolled in summer school to be eligible for summer access.

• After completion of the first  year, access would be permissible to student-athletes enrolled in summer school or those who are not enrolled in summer school but have met the following academic standards:

• After the freshman year: 2.2 GPA and 30 credit hours.

• After the sophomore year: 2.2 GPA and successfully completed 50 percent of degree program requirements.

• After the junior year: 2.2 GPA and successfully completed 75 percent of degree program requirements.
NCAA


Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said Tuesday he is fine with a 10-team Big 12 conference, but also admitted the Big 12 has approached Notre Dame about joining the league.

"I don't think it needs to expand," Dodds told CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd. "It certainly can expand because there will be people that will want to be a part of it. That's another good thing."

Andy Haggard, FSU's Board of Trustees chairman, said recently FSU needs to look into moving to the Big 12. Since then other ACC schools -- Clemson, Miami and Virginia Tech -- have been speculated as possible Big 12 targets along with Louisville of the Big East.

"We could expand to some number," Dodds said. "You name the number -- 12, 14, 16. We could expand but the question is 'do we need to expand?' In my mind, 10 is perfect because you play everybody in football and there is a double-round-robin in basketball.

"When we get into whatever system we get in for a championship, I think those coaches that play in a conference championship are going to say 'What in the world are we doing?' "

One expansion target of the Big 12 remains Notre Dame. On Monday, Notre Dame basketball coach Mike Brey told CBSSports.com that the Fighting Irish have "contingency plans" if they decide to leave the Big East.

Dodds said league representatives have had discussions with Notre Dame as far back as August 2010 about putting the Irish's Olympic sports in the Big 12. Notre Dame's Olympic sports have been in the Big East since 1995.

"Notre Dame has options," Dodds said. "I think they love their position. I certainly think they can continue to do what they're doing and do it well and be a major player. But they have options.

"We've talked to Notre Dame about the Big 12 ... They could put some football here [by playing a few non-conference games against Big 12 opponents]."
CBS


In realignment politics, college basketball programs are the constituents with less cash, and therefore the constituents with little-to-no juice. They are forced to operate within the conference framework that football has wrought -- and football does not care about the quality of any other sport. All of this short-sighted gerrymandering is bound to have a serious effect on the hoops landscape.

What I aim to do, at least before Clemson and Florida State get lassoed up by the Big 12, is use the 2013-14 alignments to forecast a new conference pecking order in college basketball. Will there still be six dominant leagues, cycling in and out of power? Will the gains made by a few conferences offset the losses of others?

My preferred measure of conference strength is using the Pythagorean expectations formula from kenpom.com, which averages the adjusted offensive and defensive efficiencies for an entire league, and generates a projected winning percentage. (There are other, less scientific methods -- say, comparing leagues' NCAA tournament bids and wins each season -- but this is the best way to gauge top-to-bottom quality of play.) The idea is to compare what actually happened over the past 10 seasons against what the stats say would have happened, had the past 10 seasons played out under the new alignments. Would the realigned Big East have been in the same ballpark as the actual Big East? No, it turns out, not at all.
SI Luke Winn


Don't be surprised if Kansas State becomes next year's Missouri. Wildcats return a ton of key parts + should flourish under Bruce Weber.
https://twitter.com/#!/JonRothstein/status/205119747195547648


It's not identical but Bruce Weber's situation in taking over Kansas State is similar to when he took over Illinois. Both teams ready 2 win.
https://twitter.com/#!/JonRothstein/status/205119920160247810



TSN Mike DeCourcy's preseason Top 25 (KU #15? OK Mike. Did you sleep through 2011-12?)


Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford embraced the expectations when he was named men's basketball coach.

So, when those expectations are not met, Ford is the first to admit it.

"I wanted to do better," said Ford during an interview following the season.

OSU suffered through its first losing season in 24 years.

The Cowboys were wrecked by what seemed to be an unending number of injuries and got hammered during a challenging nonconference schedule.

"It was too much," said Ford.

Ford gets mixed reviews after four years as OSU's coach.

Expectations for next year's team are likely to be rather lofty. OSU's got a handful of talented players coming back to go with another highly regarded recruiting class.

Next year's Cowboys will have two high school All-Americans (Le'Bryan Nash and Marcus Smart) for only the second time in school history (Byron Eaton and James Anderson played together for two years).

Although OSU loses Keiton Page, the Cowboys should have their most athletic team since perhaps the 2005 Sweet Sixteen team.
Tulsa World


SI: Top 10 impact transfers


A year after a late-game fight between rivals Cincinnati and Xavier led to multiple suspensions, the two sides will meet on a neutral court, according to a report by the Cincinnati Enquirer‘s Bill Koch.

The game will be held in U.S. Bank Arena in mid-December and broadcast on ESPN, Koch reported.

After last season’s brawl, the schools agreed to move the game to a neutral court for two years and then reevaluate the situation.
Link


2012-13 Early Season Events List

One of Trinity Christian basketball coach Heath Vandevender's young daughters, Aubrey, is sitting on the front row of bleachers in the Pine Forest High School gym on a recent weekday night.

She looks at the court, then turns back to face her father, who is a few rows higher.

"It's like a family reunion," Aubrey says.

Wearing dark jerseys are members of the North Carolina Force travel team, a group of rising seniors coached by Rodney Scott. The players in white Force T-shirts are noticeably bigger and older. Many are alums of both Trinity Christian and the Force, guys who are home from college and in Pine Forest's gym for a friendly scrimmage.

The standoff for the opening tip involves Damontre Harris and Dalvon McDaniel, the first a 6-foot-9 Division I standout and the latter a 6-6 prospect with Division I potential.

Past vs. present.

Not surprisingly, Harris wins the tip, although Scott, acting as an official, calls Harris' team for a three-second violation on the first possession.

…Harris throws down a two-handed dunk to put his team ahead 13-7. He subs out shortly thereafter, sitting alone near the baseline on the fourth row of bleachers.

He's the shining example of what's possible, a role model for many of these teenagers, some who have had missteps along the way but continue to chase their dreams.

Harris earned a scholarship to South Carolina and made the SEC all-defensive team as a sophomore. A coaching change precipitated his decision to transfer, and here he is, one day after his 21st birthday, playing pickup ball with old friends while a life-changing decision looms.

He's choosing between Kansas and Florida, major-conference powers that have combined for three of the last seven national championships.

"They're both great programs," Harris says. "Wherever my heart takes me, wherever my heart feels I need to be, that's what I'm going to go with."
Fayetteville Observer


When Jabari Parker walks onto a basketball court, all eyes turn his way. Fans, media and coaches from all the major college powers are not far away when he’s playing on the AAU circuit.

“I’m getting used to it,” Parker said with a smile.

The Chicago Simeon Career Academy forward is rated the No. 1 player in the 2013 class by all the major scouting services, some analysts even calling him the best high school player in any class.

All the elite colleges want Parker, but he doesn’t often talk about recruiting and has not floated a list of favorites. He confirmed he is considering “about 15” schools, including Duke, Michigan State, Kentucky, Kansas and Louisville. He says it is “too early to say” he has a leader.
Louisville CJ


Spring/Summer Event Schedule


adidas Grassroots schedule


Nike EYBL Schedule


Check here for the NCAA Recruiting Calendar


My 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, KU Alumni games, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos and more now on Youtube

The two first stepped out as a couple for a University of Kansas basketball game in December. Sudeikis is known to be a Kansas Jayhawks fan.

It was a big weekend for Sudeikis, who was in the city filming the season finale of "Saturday Night Live."

It's rumored he will not be returning for another season of the popular late night show.
NY Daily News (More photos at link)

Big week for Jayhawks in NYC! I wonder if Mario Chalmers got a kick out of this SNL skit?

Former KU center Sasha Kaun’s CSKA Moscow basketball team last week rolled to its 10th straight Russian PBL League championship, beating Khimki Moscow three games to none.

Kaun, a 6-11, 250-pounder from Tomsk, Russia, scored three points and grabbed six rebounds while playing 12 minutes in the 90-75 title-clinching Game Three victory. For the season, Kaun averaged 4.3 points and 2.0 rebounds while logging 11 minutes a game. CSKA Moscow played the final two games without Euroleague MVP Andrei Kirilenko.
LJW


In the market for a new home? Unafraid of some chilly winters? Interested in owning a one-of-a-kind piece of basketball history?

Well, this may be the house for you.

The Georgian-style three-bedroom, two-bathroom house in Almonte, Ontario, where James Naismith grew up is on the market for $1,195,000 Canadian ($1,170,000 USD). Built in 1850 but renovated to meet modern standards, the stone house sits on 45 acres of sprawling farmland replete with three farms.

Naismith left Canada to enroll in YMCA training school in Springfield, Mass., one year before he invented basketball in December 1891, but the farm house in Almonte is where he cultivated his interest in teaching physical education.
Yahoo

CBS Sports has reached a deal with ESPN that will allow it to broadcast ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 basketball games.

The multi-year agreement begins with the 2012-2013 college basketball season, CBS announced Monday, although the network did not disclose how many years it will run.

Under the agreement, CBS will broadcast 20 games -- including six from the ACC -- from among the three leagues next season. In later seasons, the number of games will increase to 26, including 12 from the ACC.

In addition, CBS will broadcast the Missouri Valley Conference championship game for the length of the agreement and the Atlantic 10 Conference title game in 2013.
Link


Meanwhile, everyone continues to watch the Big 12. The chair of Florida State's board of trustees popped off more than a week ago that the Seminoles should consider leaving the ACC for the Big 12, but so far no one in the Big 12 -- which won't have a permanent commissioner until Bob Bowlsby takes over June 15 -- has indicated whether that league would want to expand. If it does, any poaching from the ACC probably would result in similar poaching from the Big East by the ACC. And don't forget that Big East member Louisville has already once tried to bolt for the Big 12 only to be outmaneuvered by West Virginia.

The contingent that seems the happiest with the Big East at the moment is the one that could most easily defect to another league. Notre Dame's Brey said he loves the league and the opportunity to play and recruit on the East Coast, where Notre Dame has a huge alumni base. "We're in with both feet," he said. "I don't want to lose the Big East." Brey is lucky. Notre Dame wants badly to remain independent in football, so unlike his counterparts at Louisville, UConn and Rutgers, he doesn't have to worry about the conference whims of the sport that drives the train at most schools. (That could change if NBC doesn't want to keep paying top dollar to televise Notre Dame football, but those negotiations have yet to happen.) "I've not been concerned about where our football program is going to yank us," Brey said. "At least not now."

Meanwhile, the rest of the Big East members wait to learn if realignment will yank them or their league again. "When these people make these moves, you don't want to come out and be critical," UConn's Auriemma said. "Because, you know what? Your president could come out and do the same thing tomorrow."

Auriemma said the realignment waves have battered college sports so hard that he has almost become numb to the constant fretting over conference membership. He worries that frequent change may simply be the new normal. "Two years from now, you may be back down from here talking to some other people," Auriemma said. "That's just the nature of where everything is right now."
SI


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Ottawa High senior-to-be Semi Ojeleye will make an unofficial basketball recruiting visit to Duke on May 31, Rivals.com reports.

Ojeleye, a 6-foot-6, 215-pound forward who is ranked No. 37 nationally, has 11 schools on his current list. Arizona, UCLA, Stanford, Kansas State, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin and Oregon have offered scholarships; Duke, Kansas and Indiana have not yet offered.

Ojeleye averaged 32.5 points a game this past season in leading Ottawa to a second-place finish at the Class 4A state tournament. He exploded for a career-high 50 points against Spring Hill.

“I’ll cut it down a little toward July,” Ojeleye told Rivals.com, referring to having a workable list.

“This is a blessing. You have to take it in stride,” the Mo-Kan Elite AAU player added of all the attention.

The brother of former Kansas State player Victor Ojeleye, Semi hit 18 of 37 three-pointers at the Boo Williams AAU Tournament in Hampton, Va.
LJW


Spring/Summer Event Schedule


adidas Grassroots schedule


Nike EYBL Schedule


Check here for the NCAA Recruiting Calendar


My 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, KU Alumni games, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos and more now on Youtube

Kansas University sophomore walk-on guard Christian Garrett will join former KU guard Jordan Juenemann on an Athletes In Action all-star basketball team that will tour Poland and Germany in late May and early June.

They will be joined by Baylor’s Deuce Bello and Brady Heslip, Memphis’ Drew Barham, Mercer’s Daniel Coursey, Marquette’s Jamil Wilson, Tennessee’s Josh Richardson, Texas-Arlington’s Jordan Reves and Karol Gruszecki. Baylor assistant Tim Maloney and Liberty’s Pawel Mrozik are the coaches.
LJW


Former Kansas University basketball guard Keith Langford continues to dominate overseas.

The 6-foot-4 Fort Worth, Texas, native recently was named MVP of the Adriatic League’s Final Four tournament.

Langford, who plays for Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv, scored 21 points, grabbed four rebounds and had three steals in an 87-77 championship-game victory over Cedevita. He scored 17 points in the semifinals.

Maccabi this week will begin play in the Israeli Final Four.

He will return to the United States on May 28 and figures to spend at least some time in Lawrence in June to work out with his brother, KU junior-to-be Justin Wesley.
LJW


I heard this audio on the radio Wednesday and it's too crazy not to share.

Missourinet.com downloaded the full audio of Missouri Rep. Stephen Webber's impassioned speech to the Missouri House earlier this week, saying the state should not allow KU-themed license plates.

I would try to describe the speech, but whatever I say won't do it justice. Just give the link a click and be sure to sit down for the whole 3 1/2 minutes.
LJW


Former Kansas University basketball guard Terry Nooner and his wife, Tracy, are expecting the birth of the couple’s first child — a girl — on Aug. 30.

“I’m trying to breed the next women’s phenom at KU,” Nooner said Thursday, with a laugh.

Who knows? In 18 or so years, he just might be tutoring his own daughter in Allen Fieldhouse.

Nooner — he played at KU from 1997-2000 — on Thursday was named assistant coach on Bonnie Henrickson’s KU women’s hoops coaching staff. The Raytown, Mo., native spent the last year as an assistant women’s coach at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill.

“I’m so excited. You know how much I love this place,” Nooner said Thursday. He will officially begin his new job today. “I’ve been hanging around for years (working Henrickson’s camps and bringing Kansas City-area youth players to Late Night in the Phog).

“To be able to work at KU is a dream come true. I know how much passion fans have for the University of Kansas and basketball in general, and I’m excited for the opportunity to be a part of it again. To work with a great coach like Bonnie Henrickson and these players ... I’m just thankful and grateful for the opportunity,” Nooner added.

At KU, Nooner will work with Jayhawk perimeter players in addition to recruiting responsibilities. Prior to his one season at SIU, he coached the girls 13-and-under and 15-and-under teams for the Lady Phenom AAU organization (2007-2011) and coached the Earl Watson Kansas City Bruins 17-and-under boys team in 2006.

Nooner also coached boys basketball at Southeast High School (2002-03, 2007-08) and Raytown High School (2008-09) during his six years of teaching special education at the two schools.

In addition, Nooner served as president of KC Pro Am Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides basketball instruction, and served as a personal basketball instructor at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City.
LJW


LJW Keegan: This year's top Jayhawks


Thank goodness for Mario Chalmers on Thursday night. Who knows how bad it would have been for the Miami Heat without him.

As it were, the Heat was run out of the gym 94-75 by the Pacers as Indiana took a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference semifinals. Chalmers led all scorers with 25 points — thisclose to the 27 points LeBron James and Dwyane Wade (five) combined for.

“It’s good to see him be aggressive and that’s what we need from him,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We need him to be offensive minded, get into the paint and make plays as another ballhandler and playmaker. He also has to run the team. He has a lot of responsibility. This will help moving forward.”

Chalmers, coming off a rough outing in Sunday’s loss in Miami, turned up his game on Thursday, as his eight points in the first quarter were almost as many as he scored in the opening two games of the series (nine). Chalmers’ 25 points set a personal postseason record, topping the 20 he scored against Boston (2010) and Philadelphia (2011).

With both James and Wade struggling from the field, Chalmers was Miami’s unexpected offensive force, carrying the Heat to what was a short-lived comeback midway through the fourth.
Miami Herald


Krysten Boogaard stands at the biggest moment of her young basketball career, on the verge of making the national Canadian women’s team, which itself is on the verge of clinching a berth at this summer’s London Olympics.

But as the 24-year-old, 6-foot-5 centre competes to reach the Olympics, she wrestles with much more than the typical young athlete: It was a year ago that her older brother, hockey enforcer Derek Boogaard, died at age 28 of an overdose of alcohol and prescription painkillers.

…Joanne Boogaard this week flew to Vancouver from the family home in Regina to watch her daughter play. She’s made such trips before – to France, where Krysten played her first pro season last winter in Nice, and to the University of Kansas, where Krysten was a force.

“Derek would have been so proud,” Joanne Boogaard said. “That’s what’s driving Krysten, he’s a little guardian angel on her shoulder. I’m so proud. She’s trying out for the Olympic team. How much higher can she go, than to play for Canada? She’s one of the younger ones but we’re all crossing our fingers and hoping she makes it.”
Globe and Mail

In the shape-shifting world of college athletics, the eye can no longer be trusted. There is beauty, to be sure, but most of the beholders wear the realignment equivalent of beer goggles.

How else can you explain a sinking ship turning into a lifeboat overnight? Or a notorious bully and a benevolent benefactor becoming one and the same? Or one group's intolerable dysfunction looking like another's enviable harmony?

Thus is the state of the Big 12, and of Texas, these days. It wasn't long ago that the conference was known for buffoonery, and its biggest school was everyone's villain, but things change. Now they sit in a position of power and riches, with the option to make even more while they play savior, if they choose.

It's unclear if Florida State really wants to join the Big 12, but when college sports is involved, it's unclear if water is really wet.

Ever since FSU board of trustees chairman Andrew Haggard publicly criticized the ACC's media rights deal last week and told a fan website the Seminoles should consider the Big 12, we've been drenched in speculation, but little else.

Officially, FSU's president has questioned the wisdom of leaving the ACC, Seminoles football coach Jimbo Fisher has said he's open to it, and athletic director Randy Spetman has walked away — literally, down a hotel hallway — from questions about the matter.

On the Big 12 side of things, incoming commissioner Bob Bowlsby declined to comment on FSU but told USA Today “the topic of expansion will be on every agenda going forward.” UT athletic director DeLoss Dodds has maintained there has been no contact between FSU and the Big 12 and that he prefers the league stays at its 10-team alignment.

But like Bowlsby, Dodds said expansion will always be a possibility. Asked by the Express-News whether the conference would contact potential members or vice versa, Dodds spoke in general terms, making it clear he wasn't talking specifically about FSU.

“There would be some reaching out, and there would be some reaching in,” Dodds said. “To say that hasn't happened would be incorrect. There's been some reaching in.”

And that, incredibly, summarizes how far the Big 12 has come. Last summer, when Texas A&M and Missouri bailed, and UT and Oklahoma were looking elsewhere, it was on the verge of collapse. Now, with a new TV deal poised to pay each member $20 million per year and a proposed 13-year commitment of media rights, it's not just a survivor but a desirable destination.
SA Express


However, the Pac-12's full ownership of national and regional networks that have lined up substantial distribution before their scheduled launch in August, indicates that the conference is on track to generate at least $30 million a school per year over the 12-year term of agreements with ESPN and Fox that begin later this year ($4.3 billion total). Only the money from ESPN and Fox — about $21 million a school per year — is guaranteed, though. And because of the networks' start-up costs the actual per-school revenue the first few years is likely to be well below the projected annual average.

The estimates come from Navigate Research, a Chicago-based firm that is not currently working with the SEC or Pac-12 but has done multimedia rights valuations for schools in various power conferences.

"People expect the SEC to be on top," says Navigate president A.J. Maestas. "The Pac-12 is the real story here."
USA Today


The bottom line is that the Big Ten's financial numbers are strong amid talk that college football's top four conferences -- SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 -- are distancing themselves from the pack.

It's about winning championships for the Big Ten, but it's also about positioning for the next TV negotiation. The Big Ten's current deal expires after the 2015 season.
ESPN


West Virginia University president Jim Clements said on Thursday athletic director Oliver Luck is staying in Morgantown for the foreseeable future.

Luck's name has been mentioned as a candidate for the open athletic director job at Stanford, among others. The Mountaineer A.D. did not end speculation when asked about the opening on May 8. He told the Gazette, "I'm not going to comment." He also refused to comment on the opening to other media outlets.

On Thursday, however, Clements met with Luck over the matter.

"I sat down with Oliver," Clements told the Gazette. "I told him I need to know because I've been getting inquiries, calls and texts, and he said, 'Jim, I love it here; I'm a Mountaineer; I'm staying.' "
WV Gazette


SMU athletic director Steve Orsini was fired Thursday, just four weeks after he and the Mustangs hired Hall of Fame basketball coach Larry Brown.

The move was announced by SMU president R. Gerald Turner in a news release, and was effective immediately.

"After several discussions over the last few weeks, it became apparent to me that it was necessary to make this change," Turner said. "While we both are committed to the support of our student-athletes and coaches, a unified effort is required for future progress in our athletics programs."

Orsini had been SMU's athletic director since 2006. In January 2011, he had been given a contract extension through May 2015.
AP


Inspired by a program that has been wildly successful on the field and among Monarchs supporters, Old Dominion announced Thursday that it is leaving the Colonial Athletic Association for Conference USA, which will elevate the football program to the Bowl Subdivision level.

That ascension, university President John R. Broderick said, made the move desirable.

"Football certainly was a driving consideration is this decision, and the success of coach (Bobby) Wilder and his teams have provided us the confidence that we can make this bold step,'' Broderick said at Foreman Field, where about 100 ODU supporters attended a press conference.

Their excitement merely mirrored what athletic director Wood Selig was feeling.

"Today's announcement, simply put, is a game-changer,'' he said to rousing applause.
Link


Incoming freshmen should anticipate major adjustments at the Division I level. The players are bigger, stronger and faster.

But the uptick in competition is only part of the transition from high school to college. The 21st-century college basketball player should understand off-court expectations, too.

They're all about adhering to proper swagger etiquette.

I hope you all have notepads ready. Here’s what you’ll need to get ready for Division I basketball off the floor:
An Instagram account: Twitter is so 2011. These days, college basketball players send messages through photos via Instagram. It’s a cool tool. You take photos, attach a brief memo and ship the image to the world. Or if you’re Jared Sullinger, you send photos of text-message exchanges with other All-America forwards. You need this. Trust me.

Friendships with rappers: Blame Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins. Lil Wayne’s highly publicized crush on the talented guard dramatically increased her street cred and Twitter follower count. Jay-Z sat behind Kentucky’s bench during the Final Four. Romeo Miller (the onetime Lil' Romeo who now just goes by Romeo) didn’t just support USC basketball. He actually joined the team. Find a rapper. Become his friend.

Fashionable specs: I know. You have 20/20 vision. Doesn’t matter. This is all about style. I learned about this recent development in college basketball fashion from Michigan State’s Adreian Payne. He says his black glasses project sophistication. It’s either that or an affinity for Clark Kent.
ESPN: Must-haves for 2012's incoming freshmen


Organizers for the Battle 4 Atlantis -- the top non-conference tournament -- won’t decide on the bracket until August for the November event. The event, at the Atlantis Hotel on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, could put all eight teams in the NCAA tournament. They are: Louisville, Duke, Stanford, Missouri, Minnesota, Memphis, VCU and Northern Iowa.
ESPN


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Damontre Harris, a Trinity Christian graduate who played two seasons at South Carolina, likely will pick his new school in the next few days. He has narrowed his list of transfer options to Kansas and Florida.

"They're both great programs," Harris said Thursday night at Pine Forest High School, where he participated in a scrimmage between former and current members of the North Carolina Force travel team. "Wherever my heart takes me, wherever my heart feels I need to be, that's what I'm going to go with."

Harris, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 6.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks last season, when he was named to the SEC All-Defensive team. South Carolina fired coach Darrin Horn in March and hired Frank Martin away from Kansas State, then granted Harris permission to explore transfer options to any school but N.C. State.

Assistant coaches from Florida, Kansas and Virginia Tech flew to Columbia, S.C., on the last day of a live recruiting period in mid-April. Harris visited Florida in late April and went to Kansas a week later.

"They're great programs; they're all winning programs," Harris said. "I really don't see any negativity with either program. It's a comfort level and the coaches I think I can mesh with the most."
http://blogs.fayobserver.com/accbasketball/May-2012/Damontre-Harris-likely-to-decide-between-Kansas,-F


Great workout w @J30_RANDLE @T_2releFOUR@Austin_Chatman they went in #GrindMode
https://twitter.com/#!/TylerRelph10/status/204352053835857920


From the Team Loaded bench came the call.

"He can't shoot."

Thirty second-half points later, yes, Anthony Barber can shoot.

The Hampton High School standout, the reigning Group AAA high school player of the year, scored 30 of his game-high 32 points in the second half as Boo Williams' 17-under team cam from behind to eliminate the Richmond-based team 85-71 in the championship bracket quarterfinals.
Daily Press


TOP PERFORMER
Anthony Barber: The 6’2 point guard out of Hampton (VA) was absolutely sensational for Boo Williams in a blowout victory over the Stafford Hoyas to open up the event. Barber did basically anything he wanted with the ball and was nearly unstoppable when it came to getting to the rim. He scored at the basket, hit open teammates for layups, knocked down 3-pointers, and displayed a nasty crossover. Barber, an elite prospect in the 2013 class, had the look of a top 10 player as he dominated the game from start to finish in a number of different ways.

...Anthony Barber listed scholarship offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Alabama, Syracuse, and Missouri to go along with interest from Duke. He has no favorites, but said Kansas and Alabama are coming at him the hardest. Barber has no timetable for a decision and said that neither location nor conference affiliation will be factors for him.
NBE Basketball


SLAM 2012 HS All-Americans


ESPNHS profile: CIA Bounce


Rivals: Five for Friday


Spring/Summer Event Schedule


adidas Grassroots schedule


Nike EYBL Schedule


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My 2011-12 Border War, Legends of the Phog, KC Prep Invitational, KU Alumni games, & Jayhawk Invitational Videos and more now on Youtube

Nearly two decades ago, when he was informed that Andrea Hudy had been hired to oversee his team's strength and conditioning program, Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun placed a call to his wife.

"Guess what," Calhoun told her. "We've got a female strength coach. This will last about two weeks."

Bill Self was even more pessimistic in 2004, when then-Kansas athletic director Lew Perkins suggested he tap Hudy for the same position with the Jayhawks. Self flew in four other candidates before finally granting Hudy an interview.

"I didn't want to hire her," Self said. "Lew would say, 'If you just meet her once, you're going to love her.' But I kept saying, 'I don't want to hire a woman to be a men's strength coach. Who does that?'"

Self eventually caved.

Eight Big 12 championships and two Final Fours later, he says adding Division I basketball's only female strength coach to his staff was one of the best decisions he's ever made.

"I don't know where we'd be without her," Self said.

Indeed, just as she did at Connecticut -- where she helped the Huskies win a collective seven NCAA men's and women's basketball titles -- Hudy has made a mammoth imprint on Kansas' program. The Jayhawks won the national championship in 2008 and reached the title game this past season. In the past six seasons, no team in America has averaged more victories (33) than KU.

Hudy, players say, is one of the main reasons.

Center Jeff Withey labeled Hudy as Kansas' "secret weapon" during this past season's Final Four run. Marcus Morris, an All-American in 2011, said she was the main reason he became an NBA lottery pick last spring. Former point guard Sherron Collins even referred to Hudy as a "second mom."

The comments couldn't be more uplifting to Hudy, who has helped produce more than two dozen NBA players at Kansas and Connecticut, where she worked from 1995-2004.

"I think I have something to teach people," Hudy, 39, said. "If there's an athlete who is willing to work, I'll work with them. With me it's all about, 'Who wants to get better? Who wants to compete?'"

…"She's been far more than what I ever thought a strength coach could be," Self said. "Our guys' bodies have changed. They look good. They enjoy stretching themselves as far as they can because of her.

"Maybe there's a correlation between how she trains our guys and how few games our guys miss. Our flexibility, our core strength and our ability to stay on the court and not the training room has been escalated tremendously since she came on board."

One of the most famous Hudy stories occurred when she challenged former player Jeremy Case to complete four repetitions on the bench press. Case thought he'd be unable to press the weight because it was too heavy.

"If you do it," Hudy said, "I'll do 30 reps [with a lighter weight]."

Case responded to the challenge and actually did six reps. He rose from the bench and immediately called for Hudy to live up to her end of the bargain.

"I'm old," she said, "let me warm up first."

Case and his teammates weren't having it.

"No," they said. "Do it right now."

Hudy took the bar off the rack, brought it down to her chest and heard a pop in her shoulder. The Jayhawks all heard it, too, but they prodded her to keep going. Twenty-nine repetitions later, Hudy had completed the challenge with a torn labrum and rotator cuff. She underwent surgery and was in a sling for six weeks. She had no regrets.

"I talk to them all the time about being tough," she said. "I couldn't back down."
ESPN


Six weeks after his team finished a somewhat-surprising season with a march to the NCAA title game, Kansas coach Bill Self ducked out of Lawrence last weekend for a vacation with a couple of buddies.

Destination: Cabo San Lucas.

“It wasn’t awful,” Self said of his trip. “I promise you that.”

It was tough for staff members not to be jealous of Self when he returned to work at Allen Fieldhouse Monday, tanned, refreshed and relaxed.

Self is glad he snuck the trip in when he could. The Jayhawks hosted a recruit on Monday and Tuesday, Self’s basketball camps are slated for next month, and most of July will be spent on the road recruiting.

Kansas has won eight straight Big 12 titles and averaged a national-best 33 wins over the past six seasons. As difficult as it’s been to reach that level of excellence, Self knows maintaining it will be even tougher.

“We’ve set the bar pretty high around here,” he said.

Self spent some time Tuesday answering questions from ESPN.com.

…What sort of feedback have you received since your march to the NCAA title game?

Bill Self: From recruits, the [response] has been positive. We probably won’t know as much from them until the November signing period, because that’s when we’ll hopefully capitalize on our run to the finals. I think the fans are excited around here. Everyone is disappointed we lost to [Kentucky] but, on the flip side, I think this is a team that really got a lot further than everyone probably anticipated we would have. So with that, everyone thinks it was a great campaign.

…Since you mentioned newcomers, Ben McLemore, who redshirted last season, has received a lot of hype of the last 12 months. Is he as good as advertised?

BS: From an athletic standpoint, he’s about as impressive of a kid as we’ve had. He’s got great feet. He could be a good defender. There aren’t too many guys that can score that want to be told they could be a great defender. But he could be. He could be a terrific defender. We think he’s going to be really good. We think Jamari Traylor is going to be really good, too. But these guys don’t know what they’re doing. Even though they’ve been here for a semester practicing with us, it’s still going to be all brand new to them. But they both have a chance to impact this program in a big way, and I would anticipate it being next year.

…The NBA draft is less than two months away. Everyone knows Thomas Robinson will likely be a top five pick, but what about Tyshawn Taylor?

BS: We’ve been in a situation like a lot of schools have, where NBA scouts get a chance to see your guys in practice and in multiple games. There’s no telling how many (NBA) teams watched our last eight or nine games. You come away impressed [with Taylor], but once you see him in person, and in an individual workout, you’ll be even more impressed. He’s a good workout-guy. He’s good technique-wise, he’s got great fundamentals, he’ll show that he can shoot it, because he can. He just didn’t shoot it well in the tournament, but he shot it well for us, for the most part, all season long. He’s definitely a first-round talent. Whether he’s able to get in there ... that remains to be seen because of what certain teams may be looking for. But I’ve had some good players, and he’s definitely a first-round talent.
ESPN


Andrew J. White III (@AndrewWhite_34)
5/16/12 7:19 PM
Talked to the assistant coach and decided I will be wearing #3 for my college career at KU.
Looking forward to it


#TeamRio (@THAREALRIO2KU)
5/16/12 8:46 PM
I Will Be Attending Kansas On JUNE28th also I Will Be Wearing #2 this Year J-hawkation! I Got a Composite Score of 18 i passed #JAYHAWKFLOW



Anrio Adams, the Associated Press Class 3A basketball player of the year in the state of Washington, should be able to make an immediate, major impact at Kansas University during the 2012-13 season.

So says Seattle Rainier Beach High coach Mike Bethea, whose squad rolled to a 28-2 record and state title in 2011-12, thanks in large part to Adams, a 6-foot-3 senior combo guard who averaged a team-leading 23.0 points and 6.0 assists a game.

“The guy is such a big-time talent. If he does what he’s supposed to do, he’ll be the starting point guard (at KU) next year,” said Bethea, who stands by an earlier statement that Adams reminds him of Miami Heat phenom Dwyane Wade.

“No question about it. Anybody who sees that kid. He has ... oh my goodness, the kid is so talented,” Bethea added. “He is gifted with the ball. He had three to four double-assist games for us. He knows how to get people the ball in the right position and knows how to score as well.”

…“He’s really fired up about being a Jayhawk,” Bethea said of Adams. “There’s history with his godbrother, Rodrick (Stewart, Rainier Beach High graduate and former KU guard). Rodrick told him how things are down there (at KU). He’s pretty amped about going there.”

Bethea said he can understand why Adams hasn’t inked a letter-of-intent, considering freshmen Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor were ineligible a year ago.

“That’s why we’re approaching this here with kid gloves,” Bethea said. “Coach (Bill) Self and those guys have to make sure everything is all lined up in a row before they can physically commit to signing him. It’s one of those things when we learn he’s good to go ... coach wants him to be there. He wants to be there.”
LJW


Thomas Robinson, Kansas, junior power forward (6-9, 240): Robinson joins Davis in the top tier in this group in terms of prospect predictability. The breakout star of the 2011-12 college season, Robinson's production soared after the Morris twins, Marcus and Markieff, left Kansas for the NBA last year. He's slightly undersized for the power forward position, but he's made believers out of most executives not only because of his speed, strength and scoring skills but also because he's a relentless worker and phenomenal rebounder.

One executive deemed him a better version of Nuggets rookie Kenneth Faried, a high-energy forward who led the nation in rebounding in his senior season at Morehead State but still had his doubters entering the NBA as the No. 22 pick in the 2011 draft. Faried thrived in the second half of the season and helped Denver push the Lakers to seven games in the first round of the playoffs.

"Thomas Robinson is the same kind of guy -- undersized, big motor, but more skilled," the executive said. "Maybe you put him in the star category."

Or, as Markieff Morris told ESPN The Magazine in a November 2011 story, "He has the speed of Kobe and a body like LeBron's. Sky's the limit."

The Jayhawks' strong finish to the season helped boost Robinson, who had 18 points and 17 rebounds in their loss to Kentucky in the national championship game. He averaged 17.6 points and 11.9 rebounds (second in the nation) in 31.8 minutes for the season, a big jump from his sophomore averages of 7.6 points and 6.4 rebounds in 14.6 minutes. Robinson, who can score with his back to the basket and when attacking in face-up situations, is inconsistent as an outside threat but has some range.
SI


This story originally appeared in the May/June issue of ESPNHS Magazine.

The shot was perfect, featuring a form and touch that would have made James Naismith proud. But while Maggie Meier could still shoot with the best of them, she had lost control over the rest of her life.

A rare brain infection had left Meier in a coma for more than two months during the fall of 2008. Most of the time, Meier was a shell of her once-vibrant self and could barely open her eyes. Yet during brief moments, when her family eased a beach ball into her hands in hopes of stimulating her brain, the Maggie everyone knew would resurface.

"Sometimes she'd open her eyes and shoot the ball into the air for a few minutes and other times she'd keep her eyes shut and do the motion, and then go right back into her coma," Meier's mom, Margaret, recalls. "It was amazing and reassuring to see her shoot the ball because she couldn't do anything else. It gave us hope."

Just months before, Meier had eagerly begun her freshman year at Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, Kan.), where she hoped to build on a successful basketball career that already included an Under-11 AAU national title.

But a constant, piercing headache kept her off the court and in bed during the first week of November. By Nov. 8, she could barely eat dinner with her family, telling them, "I don't feel good," as she gently laid her head on the table. Two days later, with Meier barely coherent and unresponsive, her parents rushed her to the hospital. The moment Meier arrived, she had a grand mal seizure, the first of what would be more than 20 episodes throughout the night.

Meier was suffering from mycoplasma meningoencephalitis, an aggressive form of meningitis that causes the brain to swell. Her family spent both Thanksgiving and Christmas at the hospital, and by late December, things looked grave. Meier had endured dozens of seizures, seven trips to the ICU and -- worst of all -- two separate code blues, when the hospital's rapid response team had to rush in and resuscitate her.
ESPN

We already knew the Sprint Center would have NCAA Tournament second- and third-round games (round of 64 and 32) in March, but the event didn't have a host.

Now we do. It's the Missouri Valley Conference, which is based in St. Louis and plays its basketball tournament there at the Scottrade Center.

Usually the Big 12 would serve as host for NCAA games at the Sprint Center but it is already host for the South Regional semifinals and final, which will be at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. So that left Sprint Center's games, which coincide with the 75th anniversary of the NCAA Tournament, without a host.
KC Star


It’s only natural to think that, after an 8-23 season that saw his Texas Tech team go 1-17 in the Big 12, Billy Gillispie would want to start over with a new roster.

Based on the way that players are defecting from his program, it seems like Gillispie is doing just that.

For the sixth time this offseason, a Texas Tech player has left the program. This time it is Kevin Wagner, who started six games this season, averaging 2.5 points, but missed the second half of the season with a knee injury. Wagner — who follows Jaron Nash (North Dakota), Terran Petteway (Nebraska), DeShon Minnis (Rhode Island), Javarez Willis (Ohio) and Cameron Forte (Northern Arizona) out the door — will enroll at a Junior College in Waco.

With Robert Lewandowski graduating, that frees up seven scholarships for next season. Believe it or not, that may not be enough. Tech has nine players signed for the Class of 2012, and while one (who has remained unnamed) has agreed to walk-on, that still means that Gillispie has one player more than he has scholarships available.

What makes this turnover even crazier is that Gillispie’s nine-man recruiting class isn’t even the biggest in his tenure at Tech. The Red Raiders brought in ten newcomers prior to last season. Five of them left in the past month and a half.

Now THAT’S roster turnover.
NBC Sports


Atlantic Coast Conference Commissioner John Swofford said Wednesday that the possibility of Florida State leaving the league was not brought up ''in any formal way'' during this week's meetings.
AP


After Amile Jefferson’s announcement Tuesday that the McDonald’s All-American would play for Duke, the Blue Devils can look forward to the relative tranquility of the summer feeling comfortable with the way its somewhat tumultuous spring unfolded.

Since the Blue Devils lost to Lehigh in their opening game of the NCAA basketball tournament, Austin Rivers has declared for the NBA draft, Michael Gbinije has transferred to Syracuse and Andre Dawkins has decided to take a sabbatical from the team. Duke also missed out on recruiting targets such as Shabazz Muhammad and Tony Parker, who both opted instead for UCLA.

Even when the Blue Devils received good news in the form of Mason Plumlee returning, there were “buts” attached – Plumlee’s high school coach added his voice to the chorus of people who have criticized the way Duke uses its big men.

Yet, although they have not had much chance to exhale, Duke’s coaches don’t think there was anything too unique about the spring it has endured.

“It’s kind of the way the landscape is with college basketball now,” assistant coach Chris Collins said recently. “You’re seeing so many defections whether it’s the NBA or transfers. Really, in the last five years or so, it’s seemed like every spring has now become like this where you’re going to have defections for multiple different reasons.”
Charlotte Observer


Arizona State, Arkansas and Creighton will be on the same half of the bracket as the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team in the 2012 Las Vegas Invitational.

The two-round tournament will be held Nov. 23-24 at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
Link


Larry Scott, Commissioner of the Pac-12 Conference, announced today that Ed Rush will join the conference as the Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officiating. The long-time National Basketball Association’s Director of Officiating is currently one of the NBA’s recruiting and development directors for officials.

“I am delighted that we have been able to attract someone of Ed's experience and expertise to lead our officiating program,” Commissioner Larry Scott said. “He has been an expert and leader at all levels of basketball officiating, and the training program he developed for us is considered state-of-the-art. We look forward to taking our men’s officiating program to the next level under Ed’s leadership.” he added.
Pac-10.org


The wife of a fired Syracuse University assistant basketball coach claims ESPN trampled her reputation by broadcasting salacious and false stories about molestation claims against her husband.

A lawyer for Laurie Fine says she will file a libel lawsuit in federal court Wednesday against the sports network and two employees. ESPN in November broke the story of two former Syracuse ball boys who claimed they were molested by coach Bernie Fine decades ago.
AP


If not quite a mulligan – and only because Krzyzewski did an absolutely marvelous job after an initial burp in the 2006 FIBA World Championship – Colangelo and members of USA's selection committee should be pounding on Popovich's door and demanding a follow-up visit.

Popovich, who was runner-up for the position after George Karl and Larry Brown faltered in the 2002 FIBA World Championship and 2004 Athens Games, respectively, is to the NBA what Krzyzewski is to the NCAA: the premier coach.

Back in 2005, Popovich had guided the Spurs to three NBA championships. He now has four, with a reasonable chance at a fifth. But it's other aspects of his portfolio that distinguish him from other potential candidates, including his unique international experience. After earning a degree in Soviet studies at the Air Force Academy, he served five years of active duty, mostly working intelligence along the Russian border. Don't bother asking for details, though; his lips are sealed.

The two-time NBA Coach of the Year will tell you, however, that he captained the U.S. Armed Forces team that toured Eastern Europe in 1972, and that the relationships he developed overseas have proven invaluable during his years as an NBA assistant and, more importantly, during his 16 seasons as the Spurs' coach and eight as general manager.

"If you recall, Mike and Pop were my two choices in 2005," Colangelo said in a phone interview. "When I talked to Coach K, he almost jumped through the phone. I didn't sense that same enthusiasm in my conversation with 'Pop.' Afterward, he sent me a letter and said I misinterpreted what he said. He felt I had misjudged him, and maybe I did. But that was a long time ago. How can anyone argue with his record, his performance? With him as a great coach?"

While the topic remains a sore spot with the Spurs, Colangelo is as good at maintaining and repairing relationships as anybody in the business. Disagreements are forgotten and perceived slights forgiven. If he wants Popovich, he'll get Popovich. Any lingering tension between the two – real or imagined – adds intrigue, but it won't dictate who takes over the national team.
Sac Bee


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Milton Doyle, a 6-4 senior from Chicago’s Marshall High, had a great time on his visit to KU.

“I had never seen Allen Fieldhouse up close, so that was a cool experience for me,” he told Rivals.com. “Being able to see Allen Fieldhouse just allowed me to see how much history the program has. Everybody already knows what Kansas basketball is and what it’s about, but it was good for me to see some of the history for myself.”

Doyle, who averaged 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals last season, wants to attend KU, which his mom Lisa calls his “dream school.”

“I really don’t know what I’m going to do next,” he said. “Kansas is definitely at the top of my list.”
LJW

He wears double zero. He’s a southpaw. He attacks the rim with ferocity. He sees the floor like a hawk. He’s wet from range. He’s one of the nation’s top quarterback prospects. He has Coach Cal watching his games. He plays alongside top rising senior Julius Randle for the Texas Titans and Prestonwood Christian. He’s Mickey Mitchell, one of the nation’s top players in the Class of 2015.
SLAM (VIDEO ABOVE)


Three of the nation’s top 11 basketball players nationally, according to Rivals. com, will play in the 2013 Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in January.

The national prep basketball showcase will return Jan. 17-19 at Missouri State University’s JQH Arena for its 29th edition.

Rivals, a recruiting website, has Julius Randle of Plano (Texas) Prestonwood Christian as the third-best player nationally in the rising senior class.

Randle is a forward who is being courted by many of the top programs in the country, including Kansas, Missouri, Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky and Ohio State.

Florida commit Kasey Hill of Monteverde (Fla.) Academy is rated No. 8, and Isaac Hamilton, an uncommitted player from Bellflower (Calif.) John Bosco, is No. 11 according to the site.

Hamilton, brother of Denver Nuggets rookie Jordan Hamilton , is considering Arizona, Baylor and Kansas. His younger brother, Daniel, is a highly regarded junior on John Bosco.

The field also includes Fairfax (Va.) Paul VI, Mount Washington (Ky.) Bullitt, Little Rock (Ark.) Hall, along with local teams Nixa and Hillcrest high schools.

“On paper, if looks like one of the best groups we’ve had come in,” said Tournament Director Mark Fisher, the athletic director for Springfield Public Schools.
Springfield News Leader


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Damontre Harris, a Trinity Christian graduate who played two seasons at South Carolina, likely will pick his new school in the next few days. He has narrowed his list of transfer options to Kansas and Florida.

"They're both great programs," Harris said Thursday night at Pine Forest High School, where he participated in a scrimmage between former and current members of the North Carolina Force travel team. "Wherever my heart takes me, wherever my heart feels I need to be, that's what I'm going to go with."

Harris, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 6.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks last season, when he was named to the SEC All-Defensive team. South Carolina fired coach Darrin Horn in March and hired Frank Martin away from Kansas State, then granted Harris permission to explore transfer options to any school but N.C. State.

Assistant coaches from Florida, Kansas and Virginia Tech flew to Columbia, S.C., on the last day of a live recruiting period in mid-April. Harris visited Florida in late April and went to Kansas a week later.

"They're great programs; they're all winning programs," Harris said. "I really don't see any negativity with either program. It's a comfort level and the coaches I think I can mesh with the most."
Fayetteville Observer


ESPNHS profile: CIA Bounce


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In the shape-shifting world of college athletics, the eye can no longer be trusted. There is beauty, to be sure, but most of the beholders wear the realignment equivalent of beer goggles.

How else can you explain a sinking ship turning into a lifeboat overnight? Or a notorious bully and a benevolent benefactor becoming one and the same? Or one group's intolerable dysfunction looking like another's enviable harmony?

Thus is the state of the Big 12, and of Texas, these days. It wasn't long ago that the conference was known for buffoonery, and its biggest school was everyone's villain, but things change. Now they sit in a position of power and riches, with the option to make even more while they play savior, if they choose.

It's unclear if Florida State really wants to join the Big 12, but when college sports is involved, it's unclear if water is really wet.

Ever since FSU board of trustees chairman Andrew Haggard publicly criticized the ACC's media rights deal last week and told a fan website the Seminoles should consider the Big 12, we've been drenched in speculation, but little else.

Officially, FSU's president has questioned the wisdom of leaving the ACC, Seminoles football coach Jimbo Fisher has said he's open to it, and athletic director Randy Spetman has walked away — literally, down a hotel hallway — from questions about the matter.

On the Big 12 side of things, incoming commissioner Bob Bowlsby declined to comment on FSU but told USA Today “the topic of expansion will be on every agenda going forward.” UT athletic director DeLoss Dodds has maintained there has been no contact between FSU and the Big 12 and that he prefers the league stays at its 10-team alignment.

But like Bowlsby, Dodds said expansion will always be a possibility. Asked by the Express-News whether the conference would contact potential members or vice versa, Dodds spoke in general terms, making it clear he wasn't talking specifically about FSU.

“There would be some reaching out, and there would be some reaching in,” Dodds said. “To say that hasn't happened would be incorrect. There's been some reaching in.”

And that, incredibly, summarizes how far the Big 12 has come. Last summer, when Texas A&M and Missouri bailed, and UT and Oklahoma were looking elsewhere, it was on the verge of collapse. Now, with a new TV deal poised to pay each member $20 million per year and a proposed 13-year commitment of media rights, it's not just a survivor but a desirable destination.
SA Express


West Virginia University president Jim Clements said on Thursday athletic director Oliver Luck is staying in Morgantown for the foreseeable future.

Luck's name has been mentioned as a candidate for the open athletic director job at Stanford, among others. The Mountaineer A.D. did not end speculation when asked about the opening on May 8. He told the Gazette, "I'm not going to comment." He also refused to comment on the opening to other media outlets.

On Thursday, however, Clements met with Luck over the matter.

"I sat down with Oliver," Clements told the Gazette. "I told him I need to know because I've been getting inquiries, calls and texts, and he said, 'Jim, I love it here; I'm a Mountaineer; I'm staying.' "
WV Gazette


SMU athletic director Steve Orsini was fired Thursday, just four weeks after he and the Mustangs hired Hall of Fame basketball coach Larry Brown.

The move was announced by SMU president R. Gerald Turner in a news release, and was effective immediately.

"After several discussions over the last few weeks, it became apparent to me that it was necessary to make this change," Turner said. "While we both are committed to the support of our student-athletes and coaches, a unified effort is required for future progress in our athletics programs."

Orsini had been SMU's athletic director since 2006. In January 2011, he had been given a contract extension through May 2015.
AP


Inspired by a program that has been wildly successful on the field and among Monarchs supporters, Old Dominion announced Thursday that it is leaving the Colonial Athletic Association for Conference USA, which will elevate the football program to the Bowl Subdivision level.

That ascension, university President John R. Broderick said, made the move desirable.

"Football certainly was a driving consideration is this decision, and the success of coach (Bobby) Wilder and his teams have provided us the confidence that we can make this bold step,'' Broderick said at Foreman Field, where about 100 ODU supporters attended a press conference.

Their excitement merely mirrored what athletic director Wood Selig was feeling.

"Today's announcement, simply put, is a game-changer,'' he said to rousing applause.
AP


Incoming freshmen should anticipate major adjustments at the Division I level. The players are bigger, stronger and faster.

But the uptick in competition is only part of the transition from high school to college. The 21st-century college basketball player should understand off-court expectations, too.

They're all about adhering to proper swagger etiquette.

I hope you all have notepads ready. Here’s what you’ll need to get ready for Division I basketball off the floor:
An Instagram account: Twitter is so 2011. These days, college basketball players send messages through photos via Instagram. It’s a cool tool. You take photos, attach a brief memo and ship the image to the world. Or if you’re Jared Sullinger, you send photos of text-message exchanges with other All-America forwards. You need this. Trust me.

Friendships with rappers: Blame Notre Dame’s Skylar Diggins. Lil Wayne’s highly publicized crush on the talented guard dramatically increased her street cred and Twitter follower count. Jay-Z sat behind Kentucky’s bench during the Final Four. Romeo Miller (the onetime Lil' Romeo who now just goes by Romeo) didn’t just support USC basketball. He actually joined the team. Find a rapper. Become his friend.

Fashionable specs: I know. You have 20/20 vision. Doesn’t matter. This is all about style. I learned about this recent development in college basketball fashion from Michigan State’s Adreian Payne. He says his black glasses project sophistication. It’s either that or an affinity for Clark Kent.
ESPN: Must-haves for 2012's incoming freshmen


Organizers for the Battle 4 Atlantis -- the top non-conference tournament -- won’t decide on the bracket until August for the November event. The event, at the Atlantis Hotel on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, could put all eight teams in the NCAA tournament. They are: Louisville, Duke, Stanford, Missouri, Minnesota, Memphis, VCU and Northern Iowa.
ESPN


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Damontre Harris, a Trinity Christian graduate who played two seasons at South Carolina, likely will pick his new school in the next few days. He has narrowed his list of transfer options to Kansas and Florida.

"They're both great programs," Harris said Thursday night at Pine Forest High School, where he participated in a scrimmage between former and current members of the North Carolina Force travel team. "Wherever my heart takes me, wherever my heart feels I need to be, that's what I'm going to go with."

Harris, a 6-foot-9 forward, averaged 6.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocks last season, when he was named to the SEC All-Defensive team. South Carolina fired coach Darrin Horn in March and hired Frank Martin away from Kansas State, then granted Harris permission to explore transfer options to any school but N.C. State.

Assistant coaches from Florida, Kansas and Virginia Tech flew to Columbia, S.C., on the last day of a live recruiting period in mid-April. Harris visited Florida in late April and went to Kansas a week later.

"They're great programs; they're all winning programs," Harris said. "I really don't see any negativity with either program. It's a comfort level and the coaches I think I can mesh with the most."
http://blogs.fayobserver.com/accbasketball/May-2012/Damontre-Harris-likely-to-decide-between-Kansas,-F


ESPNHS profile: CIA Bounce


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Refreshed after last week’s golf excursion to Cabo San Lucas — and energized after watching three of his Kansas University basketball players graduate on Sunday — an upbeat Bill Self returned to work bright and early Monday.

“I love it here,” Self said Tuesday afternoon, acknowledging he’s eager for his 10th season as Jayhawk coach to officially begin with the start of summer school classes on June 5.

He’s not the only member of his family rather fond of KU.

Self on Tuesday was pleased to report that his youngest child, Tyler, will join daughter, Lauren, as a member of KU’s student body. Free State High graduate Lauren is a senior-to-be; fellow Firebird Tyler an incoming freshman.

…Tyler, a starting guard on the FSHS basketball team, may yet join KU’s team as a walk-on.

“I’ve opened the door for him to do that, but he hasn’t made a decision yet if that’s what he wants to do or not,” Bill Self said. “I like the fact he would even consider it. At this point in time, he doesn’t know. He is going to be a Phi Delt. He wants to be a normal college kid. If he wants to come and walk on, he may have to adjust that a little bit. As of right now, he’s not decided to do that (play for KU).”

…Self has an opening on his staff for director of basketball operations.

“I haven’t interviewed anybody, but I do plan on giving it some attention and hopefully get something done in the next couple weeks,” Self said. “I’ve got a guy or two in mind that I think would fit our needs and provide some things that would benefit our staff. It’s going to be a situation I’ll definitely hire somebody that I know.”

He said Brennan Bechard (assistant director of basketball operations) and Jeff Forbes (video coordinator) would return “in a similar capacity that they are at present.”

…It’s believed former KU guard Terry Nooner will soon be named assistant coach on Bonnie Henrickson’s KU women’s staff. Nooner worked last season as an assistant at Southern Illinois. KU had no comment on the matter Tuesday.
LJW


Kansas men’s basketball has numerous current streaks and for the 26th-consecutive year the Jayhawks have led their conference in home attendance as the NCAA recently announced its final attendance figures for the 2011-12 season.

Dating back to the 1986-87 season, Kansas has led the Big Eight/Big 12 in men’s basketball home attendance. This past season, KU averaged 16,445 fans per home contest, which ranked 10th nationally. This average included 16 games in historic Allen Fieldhouse with a home average of 16,300 and one game at the Sprint Center in Kansas City which had 18,757 fans witness the KU-Davidson meeting in the M&I Kansas City Shootout on Dec. 19, 2011. The event is part of the KU home ticket package, hence is added to the home attendance average. KU has led its conference in home attendance average for 31 of the last 35 seasons dating back to 1977-78.

Since the 1977-78 season, the Jayhawks have ranked in the NCAA Division I top 10 on 18 occasions and 31 times in the top 15.

For all games (home-away-neutral), Kansas ranked sixth in 2011-12 with 682,680 fans attending contests, also first in the Big 12. Included was Kansas’ single-game record of 73,361 in the NCAA semifinal against Ohio State in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on March 31, 2012.

 Here are some of KU men’s basketball current impressive/mindboggling streaks:
--KU has led its conference in home attendance each of the last 26 seasons, dating back to 1986-87.

--Since 2004-05, the Jayhawks have won eight-straight Big 12 regular-season titles, the longest active streak in NCAA Division I.

--KU has sold out of 180 consecutive games in Allen Fieldhouse, which started the second game of the 2001-02 season.

--Kansas’ 23 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, from 1990-2012, is the nation’s active longest streak.

--KU has won 23 or more games each of the last 23 seasons dating back to 1988-89.

--Kansas has won 10 or more conference games the last 18 seasons, starting in 1994-95.

--Each KU four-year senior has won at least 100 games for his career since the 1986-87 season, a span of 26 years. The 2012-13 class of Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford and Jeff Withey enters its season with a 100-13 record. Note: Kevin Young will also be a senior in 2012-13 but is a transfer.

--Kansas has gone 243 games without consecutive losses, the longest streak in the nation. The last time KU lost consecutive games was during the 2005-06 season.

--Under head coach Bill Self, Kansas has won more conference championships (eight) than lost home games (seven). Kansas is 145-7 (95.4 percent) in Allen Fieldhouse in the Bill Self era, since 2003-04.

--Kansas posted its 17th undefeated season in Allen Fieldhouse by going 16-0 in 2011-12. The Jayhawks have had four undefeated home records in the last five seasons.
KU AD


If I had to guess on next college coach to coach Olympic Team, it would be KU's Bill Self. Excellent coach, master-button pusher & motivator
https://twitter.com/#!/franfraschilla/status/202495510970507264

Sitting at his locker after the 78-75 loss to the Pacers, Heat point guard Mario Chalmers felt that Darren Collison clipped him on the arm on the potential game-tying 3-point attempt with three seconds left.

"I had a good look at it," Chalmers said. "I felt like I was fouled on the three that I shot but they didn’t call it. Darren got me for sure. It is a shot I usually knock down."
ESPN


“I said to Markieff this is the most important summer of his career,” said president of basketball operations Lon Babby. “He’s got to come back a better player. If he doesn’t come back a better player than he left than that’s on him, but it’s also on us to give him that kind of development.”

Head coach Alvin Gentry gave Morris an average of 19.5 meaningful minutes per game and that experience should go a long way toward his first true offseason as a professional where his development as a defensive specialist could blossom.

The skill set is just icing on the cake.

While Morris averaged 7.4 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.7 blocks per game, it was his effort on the defensive end that stood out.

During his rookie campaign, Morris was third on the Suns team in defensive win shares and second in defensive rating, according to BasketballReference.com.

“I definitely think I can be a great defender in this league,” Morris said. “I just want to be a part of this team, come in with energy always.”
Link


Members of the Missouri House of Representatives have passed a bill that would prevent efforts to create a Missouri license plate with the University of Kansas Jayhawks logo without the approval of the Legislature.

An effort has been under way to create a license plate featuring the Jayhawk. Supporters said many University of Kansas graduates live in Missouri and would want to show their school pride.

Existing law allows for an administrative process to create new license plates. Critics said the long-running rivalry between the Kansas Jayhawks and Missouri Tigers means that a Jayhawk plate would be unpopular in the Show-Me State.

"The athletic rivalry between MU and KU has been very important to both states and especially the Kansas City region," said Rep. Steven Webber, D-Columbia. "It is a shame that KU leaders have chosen to abandon more than a century of tradition by refusing to compete against Mizzou for the foreseeable future. This snub makes now the absolutely wrong time for Missouri to honor Kansas with a specialty license plate."

Webber said his provision has been attached to Senate Bill 563 as an amendment. The bill goes back to the Senate for further consideration.
KMBC

The Longhorns took in a little more than $150 million in 2010-11, the most recent year for which public schools' filings with the NCAA are available. That outdistanced second-place Ohio State by $18.5 million. The 'Horns' outlay for football and 19 other varsity sports was $133.7 million, almost $11.5 million more than Ohio State put into its 36 teams.

Texas' program is one of only 22 across Division I that operate in the black — it generated enough revenue to cover athletics expenses — an increasingly touchy issue in times of shrinking state allocations and economic stress in higher education. Moreover, the Longhorns kicked $6 million back to the school's academic side a year ago. For five years, half of the take from their new statewide, 24-hour cable television venture, the Longhorn Network, is earmarked for academics.

The school's unabashed athletics growth comes, however, as the NCAA continues to preach fiscal temperance, particularly to schools spending beyond their means in the chase for athletics success. Their bar — for coaches' salaries, for cushy facilities — is ever higher.

And the Longhorns underscore a long and growing criticism of major-college athletics, that it's more big business than ancillary educational activity. Ten programs, all anchored by football, made or spent better than $100 million a year ago, USA TODAY Sports' findings show. Nearly two dozen topped $80 million on one side of the ledger or both.
USA Today


NCAA college athletics department finances database (Revenues & expenses 2006-2011)


 The (NCAA) rules committee recommended “more stringent adherence to officiating guidelines regarding bench decorum by coaches and bench personnel next season”. What does that mean? The committee wants to see more technical fouls for things like cursing, prolonged arguments, threatening or derogatory remarks and references to the integrity of the official.

- Also, the committee wants to see officials eliminate “running or jumping ‘in disbelief’ over a call/non-call” and “emphatically removing one’s coat in response to a call/no-call”. Priorities, you know.

- The committee believed that the block/charge call was missed on too many occasions. Some of the guidelines they approved to improve the impact of the call are expected, but the most important is this: “it appears that a defender is being rewarded solely for being outside the arc, without considering the other aspects of the rules.” The implementation of the three-foot arc resulted in referees focusing on the defender’s feet more than whether or not he was actually set to take a charge.

- Perhaps the most interesting discussion revolved around allowing coaching staffs to have mobile devices — i.e. laptops, iPads or other tablets — on the bench. On the one hand, it would make it easier for those staffs to chart statistics and call out plays. On the other hand, it would allow teams to break down what an opponent is doing during the game. It is not difficult to pull video from a internet stream of the game, which means that if, say, a particular defense is bothering a team, they would be able to watch it over and over on film on the bench.
NBC Sports


Nebraska men's basketball coach Tim Miles has announced that Terran Petteway (tur-RAHN PET-eh-way) is transferring from Texas Tech to play for the Cornhuskers.

Petteway will have to sit out this coming season and then will have three years of eligibility.

Petteway played in 27 games at Texas Tech as a freshman, making 11 starts and averaging 3.3 points and 2.1 rebounds. He had a season-high 13 points in 15 minutes against DePaul.

Petteway was suspended for one game in January for elbowing Kansas' Conner Teahan and getting ejected.

Petteway was ranked among the top 10 prospects in Texas when he was a senior at Galveston Ball High School.
AP


Brad Korn, a former player and assistant at Southern Illinois, has officially joined Kansas State's basketball staff as director of operations.

"Brad is a terrific young coach and a great addition to the staff," coach Bruce Weber said. "Brad played for Matt Painter and me at Southern Illinois and then got his start in coaching as an assistant to Chris (Lowery)."

Korn, a 6-foot-9 forward, was part of three straight Missouri Valley titles as a player at SIU from 1999-2004. He then spent the next eight years as an assistant under Lowery, now Weber's top assistant at K-State.
TCJ


VCU President Michael Roa says the university Is leaving the Colonial Athletic Association and will join the Atlantic 10.

The president said at press conference Monday to announce the move that "premier universities are premier across the board and that include athletics.''

Roa says the switch will take effect in all sports on July 1, 2012.
AP


With fans, media and an ill-informed board chairman parsing the ACC’s new media package with ESPN, a network executive chimed in Tuesday.

“Over the weekend, there was widespread speculation and confusion regarding ESPN’s recent rights agreement extension with the Atlantic Coast Conference,” Burke Magnus, the network’s Senior VP for college programming wrote online. “In response, we want to take the opportunity to explain a few key facts related to our ACC agreement.”

Magnus debunked Florida State Board of Trustees chair Andy Haggard’s angry assertion that the ACC had ceded third-tier football rights to ESPN while retaining them for men’s basketball. Magnus also confirmed what sources told me Sunday, that escalating payments, a back-loaded contract as many described, are commonplace.

“This arrangement is not unique to the ACC,” Magnus wrote. “The pre-existing agreement between ESPN and the ACC (that carried through 2023) had an escalating rights fee schedule and the deal we announced last week contains a similar schedule. There is nothing unusual about how ESPN is paying the ACC over the life of this deal. It’s the industry standard.”

The 15-year ACC-ESPN contract, which gooses conference schools’ average annual media revenue from $13 million to $17 million, took on a life of its own Saturday. That’s when Haggard, in an interview with Warchant.com, cited it as reason Florida State should consider leaving the ACC for the Big 12, casting a cloud over this week’s ACC spring meetings.

Regional and national media pounced, and FSU president Eric Barron took to email in defense of the ACC.  Odd doesn’t begin to describe.

Magnus adds to the strange narrative. With investments in the ACC, Big 12 and other major conferences, ESPN figures to tread lightly in realignment matters. But given the just-completed agreement with the ACC, you have to believe the network would prefer the Seminoles and their football program, in decline of late but still a national brand, remain part of John Swofford’s posse.
Daily Press


Former Kentucky starter Michael Porter -- who was with the team from 2006 to 2009 -- was arrested early Tuesday morning and put into a Lexington jail on charges related to sex acts with minors. The information is still coming out, so the story is in its initial stages, but what we do know, according to Lex18.com, is that the 25-year-old Porter allegedly was inappropriate with a 15- and a 14-year-old girl.

He met the girls while doing community work at a church. He was a "group leader," which sends a shiver down your spine.

Porter was charged with six counts of sodomy and two of outright sexual abuse, per Lex18.com.

Porter averaged 4.1 points and 2.5 assists per game while at Kentucky, like that matters at all with this story. He wound up leaving right before John Calipari started coaching the team, ironically citing the desire to spend more time with his wife and child.
CBS


ESPN: A final ride on the coaching carousel


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Marshall senior guard Milton Doyle was prepared to commit to Kansas on Tuesday, but he was told to hold off because the Jayhawks are still waiting on the status of other recruits, Doyle’s mother said.

Doyle, a 6-foot-4 guard, made an official visit to Kansas on Monday and Tuesday and is set to return to Chicago on Tuesday night. He met with Kansas coach Bill Self on Tuesday afternoon.

“They told him they were waiting on other recruits and whether they would qualify,” Doyle’s mother Lisa Green said. “He’s disappointed. We have no choice but to wait because it’s late in the game. They told him they’ll let him know by Friday. We will be talking to other schools.”
ESPN


Why no offer to the unranked Doyle? KU will likely have no scholarship space if former South Carolina forward Damontre Harris chooses KU over Florida sometime this week. KU currently has 11 players on scholarship, not counting Justin Wesley, who received a scholarship last year because one was available.

A commitment from Harris, combined with an oral commitment from Anrio Adams, a 6-4 guard from Seattle who has not yet qualified, would put KU at the NCAA maximum 13 scholarships. It’s believed Adams will not sign a letter-of-intent today — the final day of the early signing period — as he and the Jayhawks await his test scores. One does not have to sign a letter to play college ball.
LJW

Amile Jefferson might have been the highest-ranked player yet to make a college decision -- but that changed when he announced for Duke on Tuesday afternoon.

Once Jefferson made his choice, Devonta Pollard was immediately the next one on the clock. The 6-foot-7 forward from Kemper County (Miss.) is ranked No. 22 in CBSSports.com's Top 100, and he is still taking his time. The four finalists for Pollard are: Alabama, Texas, Georgetown and Missouri. However, Missouri doesn't have any scholarships at this point, and Georgetown assistant coach Robert Kirby is leaving for LSU, which could hinder the Hoyas.

Big man Chris Obekpa, a 6-foot-8 shot-blocker from Our Savior New American (N.Y.), is still considering Oregon, Providence, DePaul, Cincinnati, St. John's and Connecticut. The Bearcats have been considered the leader, but Oregon is making a push as well. The other Big East schools on his list are still involved as well.

Former Virginia Tech signee Montrezl Harrell has been one of the hot names in the recruiting world since the Hokies made a coaching change. Once he officially is released from his letter of intent, expect schools to heat up their pursuit of Harrell. Kentucky has been one of the schools linked with him in the past couple of weeks.

The other top-100 recruits available -- Norvel Pelle, Michael Chandler, Torian Graham and Savon Goodman -- might need to reclassify and take a prep year to clean up any academic hurdles. Former top-100 prospect Nino Jackson is back on the AAU circuit and is exploring prep school options, but junior college might have to be his route.
CBS

The “best high school player since LeBron James” places more than a little pressure on Parker’s 6-9 shoulders. SI reserves its cover for pros and the occasional phenom. (Bryce Harper was one a few years ago.) To associate his name with LeBron ensures everyone’s already high expectations for Parker rise even more among hoopheads.

Meanwhile, this is certainly the first time most casual fans will have heard of him. Some will shrug off the LeBron association. But most will automatically expect Parker to be that good.

(Not to mention the wrinkle that Parker, a Mormon, may leave for a two-year mission when he’s 19.)

It’s not quite the same loaded headline LeBron received (“The Chosen One”) but it’s plenty. Saying Parker’s better than Anthony Davis, Greg Oden, Kevin Durant, John Wall, Derrick Rose (or take your pick of any other touted prospect since 2004) is a strong statement. Sometimes, the comparison backfires.

Hope Parker’s ready for it.
NBC Sports


Ernest Lorch, the founder of the prestigious Riverside Church Hawks basketball program whose legacy was tainted by sexual-abuse allegations, died Sunday at Sunrise Senior Living in Yonkers, N.Y., according to a female staff member at the assisted living facility.

David Sullivan, the Northwestern (Mass.) district attorney who prosecuted Lorch last year on a sexual abuse charge, told the Daily News his office received a call Monday from Lorch's attorney, Fred Cohn, and Cohn said Lorch had died.

…Lorch was once known as the most powerful man in New York City basketball, a youth coach with deep ties to St. John's and other schools who could get a player a college scholarship with a phone call or two. Dozens of his players — including Mark Jackson, Chris Mullin and Ron Artest — became NBA stars. Scores more played for top Division I basketball programs. Lorch helped launch the Riverside Church Hawks in 1961 as an outreach program for underprivileged kids. Lorch's program was known for decades as a high-class organization in an amateur basketball world filled with struggling community center teams and bandit street agents.

"Riverside was the yardstick we measured ourselves against," AAU coach Gary Charles said. "Mr. Lorch was a pioneer in this AAU thing. They don't make guys like him no more."

The wealthy corporate lawyer was the go-to guy for hoops players who needed cash, and supporters say Lorch was a benefactor for kids from New York's poorest neighborhoods, a father figure who paid for sneakers, coats and rent for scores of needy families.

"I grew up in the projects and (Lorch) had me coaching in Paris, France," said Kenny Pretlow, a Riverside assistant coach for 15 years. "I'll never forget the influence he had on me. He taught me about responsibility and how to talk with people."

Lorch was also known as a passionate supporter of the St. John's basketball program and frequently sat behind the university's bench during home games at Madison Square Garden. Former St. John's player Erick Barkley was suspended in 2000 after the NCAA ruled that Lorch's $3,150 payment for Barkley's prep school tuition violated its rules.
NY Daily News


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