Lawrence Bound ! http://instagram.com/p/Z-tvUOIpZK/
https://twitter.com/WayneSeldenJr

Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self announced Friday that Jerrance Howard will join his staff as an assistant coach for the Jayhawks.

Howard comes to KU after one season in the same position on Larry Brown's staff at SMU. He replaces Joe Dooley who left KU after 10 seasons to become the head coach at Florida Gulf Coast in April.

"Jerrance has great energy, is unbelievably positive and in a short amount of time has established himself as one of the better recruiters in college basketball," Self said. "Having worked for one of my former assistants, Billy Gillispie, and my former mentor Larry Brown, I'm totally comfortable with him coming in here, having a smooth transition and having an immediate, positive impact on our program."

Prior to SMU, where the Mustangs were 15-17 in Brown's first year, Howard spent the previous five seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Illinois. While at UI he earned a reputation as one of the top young assistant coaches in the country and one of the nation's best recruiters. Before Illinois, Howard spent three-plus seasons on Billy Gillispie's staffs at Texas A&M and Kentucky.

"Being around Coach Brown and hearing all the great stories about when he was at Kansas, I've been overwhelmed," Howard said of becoming a KU assistant. "Coach Brown talks about the great players like Danny Manning, the tradition and the history. Kansas is the mecca. I've been excited and haven't slept in two days. It's a great feeling to be at Kansas and with my former coach.

"I am really grateful to learn and coach under Coach Brown this past year at SMU," Howard said. "He's a Hall of Fame coach and I will take a lot from my time on his staff."

A Peoria, Ill., native, Howard was a four-year letterwinner for the Fighting Illini from 2001-04, including three seasons for Self. During his career, Illinois compiled a record of 104-31 overall and 48-16 in the Big Ten Conference. The Illini won three Big Ten championships (2001, 2002, 2004), a Big Ten Tournament title (2003) and appeared in the NCAA Tournament all four years, advancing to the Elite Eight in 2001 and the Sweet 16 in both 2002 and 2004.

"I'll bring energy and enthusiasm every day," Howard said. "I've been in the trenches like the other coaches, fighting with that energy every day in practice, preparation and all aspects of the program. I have a great relationship with Norm Roberts and I love Kurtis Townsend. I'm really looking forward to and am excited about being on staff and learning from those guys. They are two of the best guys in the business."

Howard brings with him a strong playing career, over half of which was spent under Self. He played point guard for the Illini, backing up All-Americans Frank Williams, Dee Brown and Deron Williams.

"Jerrance is one of my all-time favorite players," Self said. "Even though he didn't play a lot, he found a way to impact our program and probably had as much to do with us winning games as anybody on our team in the years I was at Illinois."

Howard developed a reputation as the program's inspirational leader was a team captain his junior and senior seasons. He also was a two-time winner of the Kenny Battle Award, an accolade voted upon by the players and coaches and given to an Illini who earns the respect of his teammates through hard work and effort in games and practice each day.

"This came about from me playing for Coach Self at Illinois," Howard said. "We did some special things - winning Big Ten titles and going to the Elite Eight - but it was Coach Self who inspired me to coach basketball. I remember him after practice one day asking 'have you ever thought about coaching?' and I said 'not really' and he said 'well you need to think about it.' I credit Coach Self getting me started in my coaching career."

Howard earned a bachelor's degree in speech communication from the University of Illinois in 2004. He is married to the former Jessica Wordlaw, who also is an Illinois graduate. The Howards have a son, Jerrance Jr., and a daughter, Jaya Brooklyn-Rose.

"One of the important fits for me in selecting an assistant coach is that I wanted someone who is loyal, a tireless worker, has great contacts and will bring something to the table recruiting-wise," Self said. "From a basketball standpoint, I wanted someone that through their experiences could also add to what we are doing and Jerrance can certainly do that. We have an unbelievable staff and I wanted someone who fit well with Norm (Roberts) and Kurtis (Townsend) and both those guys are very excited about adding Jerrance to the mix."
KUAD


Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self on Doc Sadler joining Iowa State’s staff as an assistant coach. Sadler joined KU’s staff July 2012 and served as the director of men’s basketball operations for the 2012-13 season.

Bill Self: “I’m excited for Doc. He did a great job here. All the players loved him, respected him and certainly he added a great additional set of eyes and mindset to our staff. He will definitely be missed.

Doc is a terrific coach and wants to be on the floor. Fred’s (Hoiberg) position at Iowa State opened up and he wasted no time in coming after Doc. Doc will be a huge asset for their team not only from a recruiting standpoint, but also as an on-the-floor coach. He’s a terrific coach that loved what he did last year but missed getting a chance to work with the guys in practice. I think this is a win-win for everybody.

I have several scenarios (about a replacement) playing out. In a perfect world I would like to have it done next week, but I’m not sure that is possible. I do anticipate announcing what we will do with that position in the next week or two.”
WIBW


Today is the deadline for submitting 2014 #FinalFour tix app. for games at @CowboysStadium - hosted by #Big12
@Big12Conference


Space available for Bill's Basektball Boogie


RockChalk Roundball Classic on June 13


“Kansas is so basketball centric that it creates problems. I’m not saying it creates problems, it’s problematic.”
Kevin Kietzman, 810 AM

“The things that become troublesome at Kansas I think is that their fan base is so big and so many people are Kansas fans that the basketball (overtakes everything) and there’s kind of fake energy put into football. Come on, most people don’t care (about Kansas football)!”
Kevin Kietzman, 810 AM

“I’ll tell you where K-State has an advantage over Kansas – it’s in its Kansas-ness. Kansas State is Kansas through and through. They are salt-of-the-earth people through and through.”
Kevin Kietzman, 810 AM

“If you’re a Kansas State fan – you went to Kansas State. … (The University of) Kansas is more cosmopolitan and has people that are from places that are nowhere near here. It’s difficult to create that same kind of feeling that you have in a place like Manhattan.”
Kevin Kietzman, 810 AM
Link


A BIG WIN for the Kansas Jayhawks turned into a big win for the Battle 4 Atlantis and for the Bahamas as the island-nation will be one of the first to see one of the most sought after recruits in college basketball history in the 2013-14 season.

When the “Andrew Wiggins Sweepstakes” ended on May 15 and the top player in the Class of 2013 signed a letter of intent with Kansas, he also joined the programme expected to headline the third edition of the B4A when it tips off this November.

The 2013 field finally rounded out earlier this month with the edition of the Big 10s Iowa Hawkeyes who will join the Jayhawks (Big12) Villanova (Big East), Wake Forest (ACC), Tennessee (SEC), Southern California (PAC-12), Texas El-Paso (Conference USA) and Xavier (A-10).

The Jayhawks, who ended the 2012 season ranked fourth in the Associated Press poll, were already pegged as favourites with their incoming class, including five star recruit Wayne Selden, Joel Embiid (four stars), Brannen Greene, Conner Frankamp (four stars) and Frank Mason (three stars).

The addition of Wiggins now makes the Jayhawks one of the most highly anticipated teams to watch this season.

…The B4A has built a reputation as one of the toughest early season NCAA tournaments with its tough field and lengthy list of star power.

In year one, the B4A featured what organisers called a “dress rehearsal” to evaluate Atlantis’ ability to host an NCAA tournament where Georgia Tech featured current New York Knick Iman Shumpert, while Virgina Tech was led by current first round draft prospect Erick Green.

In 2011, it transitioned to a full eight-team tournament, featuring then defending National Champions, the UConn Huskies and NBA lottery pick Jeremy Lamb, now of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The 2012 B4A featured arguably the most stacked early season NCAA field ever with four ranked teams Louisville (2), Duke (5), Missouri (13) and Memphis (19), plus unbeaten Minnesota, which was ranked 26th.

Louisville went on the win the NCAA National Championship and the field included seven players projected to be selected in next month’s NBA draft
The Tribune


The conversations leaned late into the night as Dee Brown and Deron Williams contemplated a new home. In their estimation, the situation at Illinois after their first season was not what they had signed up for.

"When coach (Bill) Self left (for Kansas), those guys felt betrayed and cheated," Jerrance Howard said Wednesday when he was hired as an assistant coach at Illinois. "They were real emotional. You could have brought Michael Jordan in there and it wouldn't have changed their mind."

Their minds were reeling. The prospect of transferring to a different school was very much in the picture. Brown, a Chicagoan, was clashing with a new and unfamiliar coaching staff. Williams, a Texan, didn't like the cold weather or the middle-of-nowhere locale, and he was miffed at Self's exit, Howard said.

"I sat down with those guys for three nights in a row," he said. "It was deep, heart-to-heart stuff."
The meetings took place in Howard's apartment in Savoy. He told Brown and Williams, the flash and smash of a promising backcourt, they would experience three stages in their time of uncertainty after Bruce Weber replaced Self.

First, he said, they would be angry. Second, they would be hurt. Third, they would get to work.
"I told them we had something special going on with Coach Weber," Howard said. "The rest is history."

Sure, you say, but can Jerrance Howard recruit?Can he recruit the elite players?

Shoot, he handled the most important recruiting pitch in Illinois basketball history. As an upperclassman before the 2003-04 season, Howard gathered a pair of future NBA guards and convinced them to stay at Illinois.

You've heard of a commitment, or a decommitment. He got the re-commitment that led to a school-record 37 wins in 2004-05.

"Deron was in my wedding (Aug. 11)," Howard said. "He stood up and said, 'Jerrance is the reason I stayed at Illinois.' "
9/20/2007 News Gazette


Every year, I put together a "Best Available List" for ESPN's coverage of the NBA draft. For the past 11 years, this list has been based not upon a player's expected draft position, but on which players are the best prospects and project to be the best NBA pros.

For this year's Top 30 best available players, I have broken down each player with his "Success Piece" (the attributes the player exhibits that will most likely lead him to success in the NBA), his "Fail Piece" (the things that could hold the player back from having success in the NBA), his projected fit in the league, and a brief overview.

1. Ben McLemore, SG, Kansas
Success Piece: Elite shooter and transition athlete.
Fail Piece: Assertiveness, overall toughness and maturity, ability to defend in isolation.
Projected Fit: Starter to All-Star

Overview: McLemore is the player in this draft who is most likely to mature into an All-Star. His talents are considerable. The only question is whether he has the temperament and assertiveness to be a star performer on the NBA level. If selected by a team with an established star, McLemore can have the room to mature into one himself.
ESPN Jay Bilas ($)


If the Cleveland Cavaliers use the first pick to select University of Kentucky center Nerlens Noel, then the Magic would be able to pick McLemore, whom many experts regard as the best shooter in the draft and one of the top overall prospects.

"The Orlando Magic, I think that's a great program," McLemore said. "I think I could fit perfectly in that system and that organization and help that team in different kinds of ways."

On May 16, McLemore met with Magic GM Rob Hennigan, assistant GMs Scott Perry and Matt Lloyd and coach Jacque Vaughn during the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago.

That 30-minute session served as a get-to-know-you meeting.

McLemore said he "can't wait" to visit Orlando, work out individually for the Magic and have additional conversations with Magic officials.

He said a specific date hasn't been set up yet, but it will occur.

McLemore already feels a kinship with Vaughn, who attended Kansas and played four seasons for the Jayhawks during the mid-1990s.

"It was great just walking in [during that May 16 meeting] and just seeing that face and seeing that connection as soon as we saw each other," McLemore recalled. "Big smiles came on our faces. He was great."
Orlando Sentinel


Former Kansas University basketball guard Terry Nooner has been hired as assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of Alabama, Crimson Tide coach Kristy Curry has announced.
Curry worked the past seven seasons as head coach at Texas Tech. Nooner worked last season as an assistant on Bonnie Henrickson’s KU staff.

Nooner, a former guard and team captain for the KU men’s team from 1997-2000, helped KU to a 20-14 overall record in 2012-13 while advancing to the fourth NCAA Sweet 16 in program history and its first in back-to-back seasons. He came to KU after working as an assistant for one year at Southern Illinois.
LJW


James Naismith home for sale

Ronald Holmes, father of former UCLA basketball star Shabazz Muhammad, was indicted Thursday on federal bank fraud and conspiracy charges.

Holmes’ address listed in the federal indictment matches one given by the family in a Dream Vision traveling basketball team program.

Muhammad and his younger brother, Rashad, both played for Dream Vision, an Amateur Athletic Union team.

The indictment states that Holmes and his partners obtained “mortgage loans by fraudulent means to buy houses,” from 2006 to 2009.

The U.S. attorney’s office is seeking to recover $2.5 million from Holmes. Shabazz, 20, played one year at UCLA before declaring for the NBA draft. UCLA recruited him while he played for Bishop
Gorman High School. Rashad, 18, who also played for Bishop Gorman, will attend San Jose State on a basketball scholarship in the fall.

According to the court documents, Holmes is being detained pending a detention hearing.

This is an all too familiar path for Holmes.

In 1999, he pleaded guilty to using fraudulent bank statements in order to obtain mortgages. The plea agreement noted that Holmes paid a restitution fee of approximately $78,000 to banks and credit unions that he committed the crimes against.
Las Vegas Review Journal


In the weeks leading up to the June 27 NBA draft, we’ll be taking a look at the 20 schools that have produced the best pros in the modern draft era (since 1989, when the draft went from seven to two rounds). Click here to read Eamonn Brennan’s explanation of the series, which will be featured in the Nation blog each morning as we count down the programs from 20 to 1.
ESPN Path to the Draft: No. 20 Syracuse
No. 19 Ohio State


The president of Ohio State University said Notre Dame was never invited to join the Big Ten conference because the university's priests are not good partners, joking that "those damn Catholics" can't be trusted, according to a recording of a meeting he attended late last year.

Gordon Gee also took shots at schools in the Southeastern Conference and the University of Louisville, according to the recording of the December meeting of the school's Athletic Council that The Associated Press obtained under a public records request.

The university called the statements inappropriate and said Gee is undergoing a "remediation plan" because of the remarks.

Gee was on a long-planned family vacation and unavailable for comment, Ohio State spokeswoman Gayle Saunders said. He apologized in a statement released to the AP.

"The comments I made were just plain wrong, and in no way do they reflect what the university stands for," he said in the statement. "They were a poor attempt at humor and entirely inappropriate. There is no excuse for this and I am deeply sorry."

Gee, who has taken heat before for uncouth remarks, told members of the council that he negotiated with Notre Dame officials during his first term at Ohio State, which began more than two decades ago.

"The fathers are holy on Sunday, and they're holy hell on the rest of the week," Gee said to laughter at the Dec. 5 meeting attended by Athletic Director Gene Smith, several other athletic department members, professors and students.

"You just can't trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or a Friday, and so, literally, I can say that," said Gee, a Mormon.

The Big Ten had for years courted Notre Dame, but the school resisted as it sought to retain its independent status in college football. In September, the school announced that it would join the Atlantic Coast Conference in all sports except football and hockey but would play five football games each year against ACC teams.

In the recording, Gee referred specifically to dealing with the Rev. Ned Joyce, Notre Dame's longtime executive vice president, who died in 2004.

"Father Joyce was one of those people who ran the university for many, many years," Gee said.
Gee said the Atlantic Coast Conference added Notre Dame at a time when it was feeling vulnerable.
"Notre Dame wanted to have its cake and eat it, too," Gee said, according to the recording and a copy of the meeting's minutes.

…During his comments to the Athletic Council, Gee also questioned the academic integrity of schools in the Southeastern Conference and the University of Louisville.

The top goal of Big Ten presidents is to "make certain that we have institutions of like-minded academic integrity," Gee said. "So you won't see us adding Louisville," which is also joining the ACC.
After a pause followed by laughter from the audience, Gee added that the Big Ten wouldn't add the University of Kentucky, either.

Louisville spokesman Mark Hebert said the university accepted Gee's apology but planned to forward Gee information about the upward trajectory of its academic and athletic programs. Kentucky president Eli Capilouto declined to comment.

During the meeting, Gee also said he thought it was a mistake not to include Missouri and Kansas in earlier Big Ten expansion plans. Missouri has since joined the SEC.

"You tell the SEC when they can learn to read and write, then they can figure out what we're doing," Gee said when asked by a questioner how to respond to SEC fans who say the Big Ten can't count because it now has 14 members.
AP


2013-14 Early-season events schedule

5/30/13, 7:54 PM
Duke has a BIG weekend starting tomorrow hosting 2014 wing Justise Winslow (@Chief_Justise) through Sunday. Blue Devils making their move.
@JayJayUSATODAY


Well, by now most of you have seen my final list of eight schools which are: Arizona, Baylor, Duke, Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State and Ohio State.

First, I want to say that some people on Twitter are crazy.

Everybody was coming at my head because I said it was in no particular order but people looked at it real quick and were calling me dumb because they thought it was in alphabetical order.

Well, for everyone who doesn't know, A comes before E. So, like I said, there's no particular order.

My dad thought that was funny too. It's sad what people on Twitter worry about.

OK, well moving on, I always knew that Baylor, Duke, Michigan State, Ohio State and Kansas would make the list because I had such great in-home visits with all of those schools and I've gotten really close to them. They left a huge impression on me and my family.

With Illinois I just love what Coach (John) Groce is doing there and I really believe in what he's done and what he's capable of. Then Arizona is a school that's always been there with Coach (Sean) Miller. I went out there my freshman year and I just love everything about it.

Kentucky speaks for itself.

I talk to Coach (John) Calipari and Coach Orlando (Antigua) often and we've got a great relationship. It just speaks for itself there.

Obviously, I've left a lot of quality schools off my list.

To be honest, I didn't want to make a list because I knew it would be impossible with all the great schools recruiting me. But I knew it was something I had to do.

Like North Carolina; they were my favorite school growing up but I had to cut them.

I pretty much knew in my mind that I wasn't going there. They were recruiting me pretty hard but they backed off of me a little with them getting a great point guard in Joel (Berry) and everyone knowing that me and Tyus (Jones) are playing together in college.

I guess they felt like that wasn't gonna happen. But I still love North Carolina.

Then Georgetown was another school I liked a lot but I just had to go in another direction. Louisville was the same way. I love Coach (Rick) Pitino and they were coming off the national title but I just wasn't feeling it strongly enough there. They were another school that backed off a little too.

Florida was tough to leave off because I really liked them. Same with schools like N.C. State, DePaul... There were a few more.

It's hard!

People don't understand how hard it is. You definitely have to nit-pick a little because the smallest thing could make the difference. That said, I'm so happy to have my list cut down. It's a load off.
Me and my dad are talking about the next steps now. We've talked about cutting it down to four or five, but we're not sure just yet. I'll keep you guys posted as I think it through.
USA Today Jahlil Okafor blog


Recruiting Calendar


2013 Spring/Summer AAU & Camp Schedule


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

Congrats to Coach Howard for joining the party. Guess we are all ready to go for next season now.. #10straight
@LandenLucas33


SMU assistant basketball coach Jerrance Howard is Bill Self’s choice to replace Joe Dooley as full-time assistant on Self’s Kansas University basketball staff.

Howard, 33, who played for Self at Illinois from 2000-2003, is expected to be named in a news release sometime today, once all the university paperwork is complete.

“We have talked seriously the last few days, but nothing officially has been done. If everything comes true, it’s what I’ll do,” Self said Wednesday, referring to hiring Howard.

…KU soon may be officially in the market for a director of basketball operations. Doc Sadler, according to various published reports, is a leading candidate to become a full-time assistant on Fred Hoiberg’s Iowa State staff and soon could be named to that post.

Self said he has not begun looking for a replacement.

“Doc is with his family on vacation. He is currently visiting with some people about some different opportunities. I’m sure he’ll have a decision real soon on what he’s going to do,” Self said.

Self said recently he believes Sadler would want either a head coaching or full-time assistant’s job next season, meaning he likely would not be back at KU.

…Self said seven members of his eight-man recruiting class would be starting summer school at KU next week. Andrew Wiggins will visit with Self in Canada this weekend about his summer schedule.

“We think Andrew will come at some point in time (to school this summer). We don’t think it’ll be now. We’re going to put the calendar down and look at everything,” Self said. “We’re going to visit with he and his family to generically talk about laying out the summer and what plans are and that kind of stuff.”
LJW


Howard, 33, is nationally regarded as one of the top young assistants, particularly when it comes to recruiting. He was instrumental in helping SMU land four-star shooting guard Keith Frazier, the first McDonald's All American in school history. He also helped the Mustangs sign coveted center Yanick Moreira, the country's top-ranked junior college post player.

Howard replaces longtime Kansas assistant Joe Dooley, who left last month to become the head coach at Florida Gulf Coast. Dooley had been with Self since he arrived in Lawrence back in 2003.

It may seem surprising that Self filled the vacancy by plucking one of the top assistants from Brown's staff. Self views Brown as a mentor and close friend, and Brown has always been among Self's top supporters.

Self, though, was determined to make the best possible hire to replace Dooley, who was one of KU's top recruiters. He specifically wanted someone who could fare well in the state of Texas.

Howard certainly fits the mold, and it doesn't hurt that he's close friends with Brooklyn Nets star and former college teammate Deron Williams, a Texas native.

Howard also gained vital experience recruiting talent-rich Chicago during his time at Illinois.
ESPN King


Howard spent the past year at SMU, where he helped the Mustangs land their first McDonald’s All-American in Dallas shooting guard Keith Frazier. But Brown, who counts Self among his close friends, said he didn’t hire Howard solely for his recruiting abilities.

“He's a head coach now in my mind,” Brown told ESPN.com in 2012. “He has everything you want in a head coach. He had a tremendous background with coach Weber, Bill Self, Billy Gillispie. He loves basketball. He loves coaching.

“If you look at everywhere I've been, everyone has become a head coach. I look at Jerrance the same way. If someone had a coaching opening, I would recommend him in a minute. He has the whole package.”
TCJ


5/29/13, 4:23 PM
I have a feeling Bill Self's going to hit the Powerball number soon. Stay tuned!
@franfraschilla


Less than two months after being hired to replace Andy Enfield, the New Jersey native with the slicked-back hair is fitting in quite nicely in Fort Myers, where the only thing he loves more than the beautiful surroundings is his new job.

Dooley couldn't have inherited a better scenario.

…Dooley's name surfaced as a potential candidate at other schools nearly every offseason. But each time he chose to remain in Lawrence.

"After our fourth year at Kansas, I had a couple of opportunities," Dooley said. "My wife said, 'You've talked all this time about wanting to coach in the Final Four and winning a national championship. You're so close.' She made a great point.

"Then all of a sudden we won it all in Year 5 and had to retool it in Year 6 after losing eight guys. I just got immersed in it. I just put my head down and kept working until the right opportunity came along."

…Now 47, Dooley said his experiences in Lawrence prepared him for what's ahead at FGCU.

"[Self] reinforced a lot of things I believed in," Dooley said. "What he does the best job of … he gets on guys, and gets on them hard, but then he can bring them right back [mentally].

"He wouldn't settle, and he wouldn't let players settle. He wouldn't give an inch about things that mattered. It made those guys want to get tougher and more competitive. He brought a confidence to those players without being arrogant."

…"A lot of the actions that they ran offensively were similar to what we did at Kansas," Dooley said. "Seriously, who threw the ball at the rim [for a lob] more than we did at KU?

"Their stats got better as their defense improved during the latter part of the season. A lot of their lobs were in transition. A lot of their highlights came because of steals and broken plays on the other end. They were very good off of ball screens. I think the style is very similar. We'll tweak some things, but there is no reason to make a major overhaul, either."
ESPN


The high-profile challenge games between the ACC and Big Ten and the SEC and Big 12, neutral-site single games and neutral-site tournaments are making it harder for elite programs to set up true home-and-home series. Take Indiana, for example: The Hoosiers will play Notre Dame in Indianapolis at the Crossroads Classic, go to Syracuse in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and play in the 2K Sports tournament with Connecticut, Boston College and Washington. That gives the Hoosiers four games away from Bloomington -- probably enough for a program that has to fund a number of sports. Kansas is one of the few top-10 programs that still plays true home-and-home series. KU had a series with Ohio State that wasn't tied to anything, and now has one with Georgetown. The Hoosiers have one game left to give, but likely will buy a home game instead of starting a new series on the road.
ESPN Katz


100 basketball strength coaches met at the Mendenhall Center on UNLV’s campus for a seminar geared to help everyone involved.

“A gathering of the minds,” said Jason Kabo, the UNLV men’s basketball team’s strength coach.

This is the sixth year for the event, headed by Utah strength coach Charles Stephenson, but the first time it’s been held at UNLV. Stephenson recently left North Carolina State for Utah, which led to him looking for a West Coast destination for the seminar. Enter Kabo, who was more than happy to host the event.

Not only did Kabo enjoy making sure the gathering went off without a hitch, he also sees the brand benefit of making UNLV a destination for some of basketball’s best in the business.

Some of the panel speakers included Kansas’ Andrea Hudy, Baylor’s Charlie Melton and VCU’s Daniel Roose, whose work to prepare players for the Rams’ “Havoc” full-court press is far from traditional. Kabo said Roose uses very few weight room workouts, instead having his players run drills like bear crawls across the court while pulling 45-pound plates.

Other speakers highlighted the benefits of TRX Suspension training or the different ways to use a Keiser machine.

The best drills, Kabo said, started with one coach explaining something, like how she warms players up before a game, and then people from the group offering up their own variations. Because while Kansas likely will have better athletes than Virginia, Hudy can still learn a new trick from the Cavaliers’ Mike Curtis, and vice versa.

“That’s the whole premise behind it,” Kabo said.
Las Vegas Sun


NBA.com VIDEO: Travis Releford
http://www.nba.com/nets/video/teams/nets/2013/05/26/526relefordMOV-2488517/index.html

5/29/13, 12:41 PM
Any study that would identify Texas as a top-10 basketball fan base might want to examine its methodology.
@austin_meek
I hope they got an F on this analytics drivel


Colorado athletic director Mike Bohn is resigning after eight years in charge of a Buffaloes program that struggled on the football field and soared in hoops.

In an email sent to his athletic staff and acquired by The Associated Press, Bohn wrote: "They want to go in a different direction and that is their prerogative. This is a very disappointing, troubling and shocking development as we have made so much progress together over the past 8 years."

His resignation is effective June 3. The university announced late Tuesday night that former CU women's basketball coach Ceal Barry will be the interim director of intercollegiate athletics upon Bohn's departure.

Bohn also wrote in his email to the staff: "I want to ensure you know, as my official separation agreement states, that I have not engaged in any impropriety, NCAA rule violations, university policy violation or any immoral, dishonest, or other sort of misconduct."
AP


A straight shooter. That is what you get when you talk to WVU men’s basketball coach Bob Huggins. You will not get a sanitized, politically correct answer that skirts around the question, you get the facts.



At the recent WVU Coaches Caravan in Princeton Huggins was asked to talk about the school’s first season in the Big 12. He had a three word answer.



“Well, it sucked.”



Huggins continued, “We were awful. I think we learned a lot. We didn’t know as much, I don’t think, going in as maybe we thought we did. The style of play was different. Officiating was different. Travel, of course, was different. We’re going to have to do a lot better job with adapting to the way they want you to play in the Big 12.”



West Virginia’s first year in the Big 12 was a tough one as the Mountaineers played to a 6-12 conference record and 13-19 overall mark.

Four players have left the Mountaineer program since season’s end and Huggins does not see that as an indication the program is in disarray.



“They probably weren’t as successful as they wanted to be and probably weren’t as successful as we wanted them to be and I think everybody has to be happy,” Huggins said. “I’m not one who thinks transferring is a terrible thing. I think if you can transfer to a level where you’re productive and where you’re happy, I think that’s a positive thing.”

Link


It didn't take Jason Collins for Jallen Messersmith to come out as gay.

Messersmith is a 6-foot-7 shot-blocking specialist from tiny Benedictine College in Atchison, Kan. He also is believed to be the first openly gay active player in U.S. men's college basketball.

Messersmith told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he revealed his sexual orientation to his coach last summer and his teammates before the season. He later told his story to Outsports.com, a website that covers gay issues in sports, and its story was posted Tuesday -- a month after Collins, a Washington Wizards reserve, came out in a Sports Illustrated article as the first openly gay active player in the NBA.

…The 20-year-old from Blue Springs, Mo., will be a junior for the Ravens next season. He appeared in 28 games this past season, starting the last eight, and averaged 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds. He blocked 53 shots, and his average of 1.89 a game ranked third in NAIA Division I.

Messersmith said he comes from a basketball family. He also plays piano and likes to draw in addition to playing video games and listening to music. He's an accounting major who is involved in student government and serves as manager for the Benedictine women's lacrosse club team.

Messersmith said he's received more than 100 texts, emails and messages through social networks since Tuesday, one from as far away as South Africa. He said he couldn't imagine what the public's reaction would be if he played in a major-college basketball program.

"For sure it would be a bigger story, and this seems pretty big," he said.
Link


At a time when college athletics is overrun with rogue agents, unscrupulous coaches and handlers who exploit athletes for money, it's reassuring to know not every unrepentant rule-breaker goes unpunished.

Hearty congratulations to the NCAA for penalizing a student-athlete from a West Coast Conference school for the unspeakable crime of washing her car with the university's water and hose.

Portland basketball coach Eric Reveno tweeted about the violation Wednesday after he learned of it during conference meetings, punctuating his message with the hashtag #stopinsanity. A spokesman for the WCC did not know any further details, but a source familiar with the circumstances revealed what happened.

A WCC school self-reported an extra benefits violation to the NCAA when university officials caught one of their women's golfers washing her car on campus, according to the source. The NCAA ruled a secondary violation had occurred because the water and hose were not available to regular students and requested the golfer pay back $20, which was deemed to be the value of the water and use of the hose.

That school administrators actually reported the violation and NCAA officials followed through with a penalty is equal parts hilarious and exasperating. What's next? Charging athletes by the sip at drinking fountains? Or by the gallon after locker room showers?
Yahoo


2013-14 Early-season events schedule

In no particular order: My final 8
Arizona
Baylor
Duke
Illinois
Kentucky
Kansas
Michigan state
Ohio state
@jahprobound


Congrats to Howard Pulley's Tyus Jones (@Tyusjones06), your 2013 regular season leader in points, assists & steals #EYBLHallOfFame #RESPECT
@D1Circuit


Baylor is working on the Okafor/Winslow/Jones visit for Aug. 30 but it's "not 100%," source tells @SNYtv. @Tyusjones06 said he is going
@AdamZagoria


A top priority for many college programs, Winslow will consider 10 destinations: Arizona, Baylor, Duke, Florida, Houston, Kansas, North Carolina, Stanford, Texas A&M and UCLA. He insists he’s still considering all of them equally. Although other schools continue to reach out to him, he said he hopes to narrow his list at least down to seven before USA camp starts.

Though Winslow briefly touched on his options, he made it clear that he has a lot to take care of before committing.

“I gotta figure out what I want,” he said. “Every school’s been recruiting me real hard. I’m looking for good academics, somewhere that can contend for a national championship and develop me for the next level, and somewhere I’m comfortable.”

Winslow has also been part of the speculation surrounding the connected decisions of top 2014 point guard Tyus Jones and elite center Okafor, whose desire to play together has been well-publicized. Winslow said he has spoken with them about joining forces, as did Chicago’s monster of a big man, Cliff Alexander.

Still, all four of them have some thinking left to do. And though any potential team-up between them is an exciting prospect, Winslow made it clear that his own decision will come first.

“We all just gotta do what’s best for ourselves,” said Winslow. “And if that means going to school together, then that’s what we’ll do.”
Zags Blog


Here were the top 10 things I learned from the UA Invitational.

1. If you haven’t bought stock in Turner, it’s not too late

Here was my situation with fast-rising 2014 big man Myles Turner: You hear the buzz all spring long and know it won’t be until mid-May when you can see for yourself. You’re getting more impatient by the weekend and then you finally see your target and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Turner is in the midst of developing his basketball ego. He’s good, getting better and has the ceiling of a top-10 player in the Class of 2014. Defensively, you have to account for his ability to alter shots and block the rest. Inexplicably, his guards don’t let him eat often enough, but when he feeds off the scraps it’s a good look. This is a prospect who’s essentially running downhill and by mid-July, in my opinion, he’ll have one of the most impressive school lists you’ll see all summer.
ESPN Insider ($)

AUDIO: Andy Katz and Seth Greenberg talk to Coach Self


For the Freshman Impact series, Insider's college basketball and recruiting experts will be teaming up to examine how 15 of the nation's best recruiting classes will fit in with their teams in the 2013-14 season.

Seth Greenberg and Dave Telep look at the Kansas Jayhawks.

Bottom line

Seth: This is a freshman class that is self-assured but not self-absorbed. The respect that Selden and Wiggins will have for each other will be tremendous, and that maturity will pay off on the court. It's not often that you find a class this gifted without a sense of entitlement, but I think that's what the Jayhawks have.

The keys to their season will probably be Tharpe at point guard and whether he can embrace his leadership role and Ellis being able to step up.

But I think by season's end this could be an Elite Eight team, and maybe even a national championship team. Self has the patience to coach this group. He coaches teams as hard as any coach in the country, but he has a way of getting guys to want to play for him.

Dave: My only worry with this team is its point guard situation. I don't know what Mason is going to look like when he arrives, so the role of running the offense will likely fall to Tharpe. He had some highs and lows last season, and this season, consistency is needed -- not in points necessarily, but in decisions. This team can't afford a roller coaster at that position. He needs to understand the nature of the weapons around him and deploy them the right away.

If they can get steady point guard play, this is a team that could be a real threat to make the Final Four. College basketball is going to be really young next season, so KU's one weakness, youth, is the same one a lot of top programs are dealing with. The Jayhawks not only have talent but also pieces that fit together. This will be a late-blooming team that come February nobody is going to want to face.
ESPN ($)


It's an exciting time to be a Kansas fan.

That sounds a little silly, doesn't it? Really, when isn't it a good time to be a Kansas fan? In 10 seasons under Bill Self, the Jayhawks have won or shared the last nine Big 12 regular-season titles, a ridiculous streak no program in the country, not even the most dominant mid-majors, can match. They've won six conference tournament titles, and averaged 30.6 wins per season in that span. In 2008, Kansas won the program's third national title thanks to one of the most thrilling shots in college hoops history. They've been seeded No. 1 in the NCAA tournament bracket in five of the last seven seasons.

This success didn't come after some extended period of suffering; it came after an already very successful coach (Roy Williams) made the difficult decision to take his dream job (North Carolina), which ended up working out for everyone. The Jayhawks play in arguably the best --and probably the loudest -- building in the country. "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk" is one of the best sporting songs this side of English football.

Should we go on? The point is, it's always good to be a Kansas fan. Even in the darkest, Ali Farokhmanesh-induced days, the Jayhawks faithful have it better than just about any other program in the country.

And despite all that, I am still willing to argue that this is an especially exciting time for Kansas, mostly thanks to two words:

Andrew Wiggins.

…Because of those freshmen, it has been easy to gloss over how important Kansas' returning players always are to the Jayhawks' success, and how little that will change next season. There are three returning contributors likely to play big minutes: sophomore forwards Perry Ellis andJamari Traylor, and junior guard Naadir Tharpe.

Tharpe is easily the most important of the three.

That's not to say he's the best. Ellis, a four-time class 6A Kansas state champion at Wichita Heights High School, had by far the most efficient season of the three in his rookie campaign, posting a 114.1 usage rate and comparable offensive and defensive rebounding percentages to Withey. He played just 33.4 percent of the Jayhawks' available minutes, and he struggled at times, but more often than not he was good. He will be good. Traylor, for his part, is extremely raw and athletic, which also makes him extremely exciting.

But Ellis and Traylor are forwards and with Wiggins, Black, Selden and Embiid, Kansas has at least four guys who can play some combination of the traditional 3, 4, and 5 spots. Ellis will play plenty; he's something close to a lock to start at the power forward spot, thanks to systemic experience alone. It's not that Ellis isn't good. It's that Self doesn't need Ellis to be good -- at least as much as he needs Tharpe.

That's because Tharpe is a veteran point guard on a team noticeably short on both veterans and point guards. Unless mostly untouted freshman Frank Mason surprises, four-star freshman Connor Frankamp, the No. 10 ranked point in the class, is the only other option at the spot.

…The 2013-14 season is new territory for both Self and the Jayhawks. It is extremely exciting, yes, but like anything worth getting excited about, it's a little scary, too. Tharpe is a three-year veteran at a veteran-led program that is suddenly devoid of veterans, in the most important position on the floor. It's his job to minimize the scary parts and maximize the excitement, to represent the solidity that has defined Kansas in one of the more successful decades in the sport's history.
ESPN Brennan


It was, in Bill Self’s words, a pretty good spring.

In the aftermath of an NCAA Tournament meltdown, and the loss of five starters from a Sweet 16 team, Self added the final pieces to what could be considered his finest recruiting class at Kansas.

Kansas lost freshman Ben McLemore, a prospective top-five pick, to the NBA Draft on April 9. Thirty-five days later, they picked up Andrew Wiggins, who could be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft.

Senior center Jeff Withey is gone. And Self filled the hole by beating out Duke for the services of Tarik Black, a coveted graduate transfer from Memphis.

This, of course, came after Self had signed a five-man freshman class that featured four players in the top 40 of Rivals’ national rankings. Add in Arkansas transfer Hunter Mickelson, who will sit out next season, and the Jayhawks have cobbled together an infusion of talent that goes eight players deep — the biggest roster turnover since Self has been at Kansas.

In 2009, the year after Kansas won its third NCAA title, the Jayhawks lost all five starters and added seven newcomers to the program. This class is one bigger. And for now, with no remaining scholarships available, it’s complete.

…Yes, the list of impact returners is pretty short. Junior guard Naadir Tharpe and sophomore forward Perry Ellis will add a tinge of experience to the fold next season, while sophomores Jamari Traylor and Andrew White III also played minutes.

And with seven of the eight newcomers expected on campus in the first week of June (Self says Wiggins is still planning his duties around his Canadian national team duties), here’s first glance at Kansas’ new class.
KC Star


He's the top-ranked recruit in the country, a likely preseason All-American who has been pegged as the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft despite never playing a college game.

Still, Andrew Wiggins wants to get better.

That's why he chose Kansas, where coach Bill Self isn't the only one eager to offer advice.

"I can't wait until he gets here," forward Perry Ellis said of Wiggins. "Not just him, but all the freshmen. We're going to tell them how hard they have to work and how much they have to sacrifice to get things done. Nothing going to be given to you. You have to earn it."

…Although he wasn't tabbed as a one-and-done like Wiggins, Ellis is similar in that he arrived in Lawrence a year ago as the most high-profile member of KU's 2012 recruiting class. Midway through the season, though, Ellis -- the nation's 35th-ranked prospect -- could hardly get off the bench.

"There was some pressure on him -- probably more self-imposed than anything," Self said. "He wanted to be perfect and do everything right. But nobody does. Sometimes you play not to make mistakes as opposed to playing to make plays. He played safe."

Ellis averaged just 2.9 points in his first 13 conference games and was all but an afterthought entering Kansas' most crucial stretch. But then things started to click.

He had 12 points in the regular-season finale at Baylor, 23 against Iowa State in the semifinals of the league tournament and 12 the next night in a title-game win over Kansas State.

"He was a much more confident player late," Self said. "He started playing with reckless abandon."
Ellis' freshman campaign ended with an eight-point, five-rebound effort in a loss to Michigan in the Sweet 16.

"I definitely kept my spirits high," Ellis said. "I knew I had to get better. Everything coach was saying was right. I just kept working.

"Toward the end of the Big 12 season, I started feeling a lot different. It started at practice, just not thinking about what I had to do, just playing. Good things started happening. I tried to carry that over into the games."
ESPN King


6. Perry Ellis (Kansas) – Well, a lot has changed in recent weeks for Kansas. The Jayhawks ended last season with question marks. They’d lost all five starters once Ben McLemore declared for the NBA draft. So perhaps the Big 12 title streak – nine in a row – would be in jeopardy entering the 2013-14 season? That was then. Andrew Wiggins signed with Bill Self’s program and squashed all doubts. The addition of Tarik Black certainly helps, too. But Kansas has historically benefited most from depth. And they have that inside now. Ellis is in a great position as the projected starter at power forward. He’s surrounded by playmakers, so he just has to continue to be the efficient threat he was in 2012-13 (5.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 48 percent from the floor, 13.6 MPG). Kansas has suddenly become a national-title contender again. Self’s freshman class is uncanny now, and Black is an instant boost for the program. If Ellis is as potent as his prep accolades suggested he’d be at this level, KU will be in a position to reach Arlington next April.
ESPN Top 10 Impactful Sophomores


I’m not sure there is a coach in the country that is better at developing players in his program than Bill Self at Kansas.

Over the years, the best players that have come through Lawrence during his tenure have been moderately recruited — i.e. somewhere around the top 40 or top 50 of most lists — and have spent two or three years on campus, slowly-but-surely getting better before heading off to the NBA Draft’s first round.

Think Thomas Robinson and the Morris twins, Cole Aldrich and Jeff Withey. Sherron Collins was a five-star recruit, but it took him a few years to be more than a bench player. Even Ben McLemore belongs in that conversation, as Kansas and McLemore used his redshirt season turned him from another top 50 kid into a top three pick in the NBA Draft.

In fact, Self does more with redshirts than just about anyone.
NBC Sports

5/24/13, 2:03 PM
Took advantage of the boring plane ride to watch some tape on past KU bigs. Learning process
@LandenLucas33


On the afternoon of May 14, Wayne Selden found himself watching ESPN like many other college basketball fans, anxious to learn the fate of top prospect Andrew Wiggins.

Selden, the rugged, 6-foot-5-inch, 220-pound, five-star recruit from the Tilton School (N.H.), who signed with Kansas last October, was sitting with friends in one of the prep school’s dormitory common rooms, simultaneously monitoring his Twitter account.

“Somebody tweeted at me as soon as it happened,” said the Roxbury native in a phone conversation earlier this week. “When (Wiggins) decided on Kansas, I was happy.

“But I was definitely surprised. We all were when it happened.”

Phone conversations ensued.

“We’ve talked a couple times,” Selden said of his communication with Wiggins since May 14. “We’re both excited to get down there on campus and start working out together, and have classes. We’re just excited to come together for the opportunity.”

Selden also reached out to the coaching staff, which was equally thrilled by the development.

Almost immediately, however, conversation surrounding next season’s Kansas team shifted from being a borderline preseason top 20 team to a top five power expected to reach the Final Four.

“I feel like we just have to come together as a team,” Selden said. “We don’t want to put too much pressure on ourselves because everyone else (will be). I feel like if we come together as a team and work hard enough, we can live up to expectations.”

…As for Wiggins and Selden, the two became friendly competing at various camps and showcases on the recruiting circuit the past few years. They also had the opportunity to team up twice in the past two months. In early April, they hung out – on and off the court – at the McDonald’s All-American game in Chicago. A week later, they reconnected in Brooklyn at the Jordan Brand Classic.

At both venues, Selden saw firsthand the media attention Wiggins attracted over his looming decision.

“He had a lot of people pulling him in different ways,” Selden said. “I made a couple of hints every now and again, but I never put any pressure on him to make a decision.”

In Chicago, Wiggins described Selden as "a joy to play with. He's unselfish and likes to pass, but score at the same time. He's a good player. He likes to win; he's a competitor.” But Wiggins’ comments never hinted that he viewed Selden as a potential college teammate.

For at least a year, however, with Wiggins, the 6-foot-7-inch, 205-pound small forward from Ontario, Canada, expected to leap to the NBA before his sophomore campaign, the two will team as Jayhawks.

“I’m used to playing alongside great players (like Nerlens Noel, Georges Niang and Dominique Bull) being at Tilton these past three years,” said Selden when asked what it will mean to play with Wiggins. “It always helps to have a lot of great players around you. His athleticism, ability to score the ball and ability to dribble will all help me out.

“It (also) means we’re going to have a better team and we’re going to have more weapons.”
ESPN

5/25/13, 12:17 PM
Momma I made it !!!!!!!
@WayneSeldenJr


5/26/13, 7:31 PM
Me and my bro brannen roommates @b_greene14 #KUCMB
@F_Mason15

Andrew Wiggins thanks Huntington


Here's my list of the top 25 draft-eligible players. Unlike a mock draft that takes into account team needs and draft position, players here are ranked regardless of position.

1. Ben McLemore, Shooting Guard, Kansas

McLemore made the most of his only season at Kansas. He was third in the Big 12 in scoring (15.9 points per game) and showed that he has a ready-made NBA game. McLemore has good size and is very athletic. His smooth and polished shooting stroke is what sets him apart. He's one of the best shooters in the class. If I had to bet on one player being an All-Star from this year's class, it would be McLemore. He has that kind of potential. And the 20-year-old will only continue to get better as his game matures.
Cleveland Plain Dealer


Former Kansas University basketball center Jeff Withey worked out for the Boston Celtics, who have the No. 16 pick in the 2013 NBA Draft, on Friday in Boston. He was joined by Marquette’s Vander Blue, Virginia Tech’s Erick Green, Providence’s Ricky Ledo, Louisville’s Peyton Siva and Colorado State’s Colton Iverson.

Withey, a 7-footer from San Diego, recently met with executives from 12 teams at the NBA Combine in Chicago.

“Dallas (No. 13 pick) was a good interview,” Withey told FOX Sports West. “Atlanta (Nos. 17, 18) was a good one, and Utah (No. 14, 21). They all went really smoothly for the most part. Those ones stood out to me. I got a good feel from every team. Every team said I presented myself well, and the whole thing, I felt like I got what I wanted out of it.”

Withey is working out with the Wasserman Group and trainer Rob McClanaghan in Los Angeles as the June 27 Draft approaches.

Of his skill set, Withey said: “I don’t have the best offensive game, but defensively, I feel like a guard-driven game helps me out with blocking shots. That’s what I do best. Going into the NBA, hopefully I’ll feel very comfortable doing what I did in college at the NBA level.

“Also, I have a jump shot that I’ve been working on and trying to perfect. It’s my 15-foot jump shot. So pick-and-pop, I think that’s something that can be very strong for me and that I’m working on.”
LJW


The Tulsa Shock waived veteran center Courtney Paris, meaning rookie point guard Angel Goodrich has made the team.

Shock management liked both players, but had to make one final cut to reach the roster limit of 11 when Liz Cambage joined the team Thursday morning.

Paris, the former four-time University of Oklahoma All-American, was drafted No. 7 overall by the Sacramento Monarchs in 2009. Tulsa was her fourth WNBA team. Signed as a free agent last June, she averaged 3.5 points and 3.3 rebounds in 23 games with the Shock.

Goodrich, a former Tahlequah Sequoyah standout, was the Shock's third-round pick in 2013. She finished as the University of Kansas' leader in career assists with 771, and was a first-team All-Big 12 selection as a senior.
Tulsa World

Cancun Challenge field officially announced. Four main teams: Wisconsin, Saint Louis, ODU, West Virginia. Tourney scoring records are safe.
@EditorEdge


Big 12 teams Baylor, Texas, TCU and Oklahoma will be part of a season-opening men’s basketball tournament that will be held Nov. 8 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, according to ESPN.com.

The matchups include Baylor-Colorado, Texas-LSU, TCU-SMU and Oklahoma-Alabama.
Waco Tribune


Former Lawrence High basketball player Brad Frederick, who has been an assistant coach the past 14 years at Vanderbilt, will be joining Roy Williams’ North Carolina staff, the website Inside Carolina reported Thursday night.

Vandy announced Frederick’s resignation Thursday morning, and, at the same time, reported the hiring of Harvard’s Yanni Hufnagel as new assistant on Kevin Stallings’ Vandy staff.

A UNC official could not confirm Frederick’s hiring when reached by Inside Carolina on Thursday night.

UNC has been advertising for a director of operations/director of player personnel for men’s basketball. It is unclear whether Joe Holladay, the current director of basketball operations, is remaining on Williams’ staff.

Frederick, the son of former KU athletic director Bob and Margey Frederick of Lawrence, played on the Lions’ 1995 state championship team before walking on at North Carolina, where he played for both Dean Smith and Bill Guthridge.

Frederick, 36, was a member of former KU assistant Stallings’ original Vandy staff.
LJW


2013-14 Early-season events schedule

Q&A with Tyus Jones

I know you have a visit to Baylor schedule – is that it for you right now?
Yep, that’s the only official I have planned.

What’s the next step for you? Do you want to take all five officials?
I think so, I’m going to try to just take the process slow, so we’ll see where it goes. I’m looking to take all five, more than likely.

Do you plan on taking them all by fall?
I’m taking Baylor at the end of August and that will be my first one so, I’m planning on doing them all in the fall.

As far as your final list of schools – do you think you are going to narrow it again?
At this point I’m not going to be narrowing again. If I feel like I need to then I will but at this point, I probably won’t narrow it.
Star-Tribune


When it comes to point guard play, it’s easy to get excited about Tyus Jones (Apple Valley, Minn./Apple Valley) and Emmanuel Mudiay (Arlington, Texas/Prime Prep), who are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 among Class of 2014 point guards, respectively.

Each impacts the outcome of a game by controlling the flow of his team’s offensive attack, putting points on the board and handing out assists. Each also possesses uncommon talent, leadership and competitive spirit, along with excellent knowledge of the position and the game at a young age.

Since they are so close in the rankings -- they are also No. 2 and No. 3 overall in the ESPN 60 -- let’s take an in-depth look at five important point guard qualities and compare how Jones and Mudiay are similar, different and who has the edge. Here’s the tale of the tape on Tyus Jones versus Emmanuel Mudiay.
ESPN Insider: Tyus Jones vs Emmanuel Mudiay ($)


Tyus Jones | @Tyusjones06 | Junior
Apple Valley (Minn.) High School | PG | 6-1/171 | ESPN 60 Rank: No. 2

Previous BlueChipBattles rank: No. 2

Who wants him? Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ohio State and Minnesota

Front-runner: Duke

Dark horse: Minnesota

@DaveTelep with the buzz: We've made a lot about the package deal with Jahlil Okafor, and I still think it goes down that way. Through the EYBL season, I've watched these guys continually gravitate toward each other. Their friendship is genuine. There's chatter that Duke leads for Jones. Other programs acknowledge that, but they absolutely are not ready to cave regarding Okafor, believing Okafor to Duke is the tougher sell for the Blue Devils.


Jahlil Okafor | @Jahprobound | Junior
Chicago Whitney Young | C | 6-10/270 | ESPN 60 Rank: No. 1

Previous BlueChipBattles rank: No. 3

Who wants him? Michigan State, Ohio State, Duke, Baylor, Kansas, Illinois, Kentucky and plenty more

Front-runners: Duke, Michigan State and Ohio State

Dark horse: Baylor

@ReggieRankin with the buzz: Okafor is preparing to try out for the Team USA Basketball U-19 USA squad in a few weeks, so he may look to trim his list either before leaving or immediately after he returns. He has no official visits set beyond a trip to Baylor along with Tyus Jones. "I have been in constant contact by phone and text with all the schools on my list on a consistent basis," Okafor said.


Ivan Rabb | @YoungIvee | Sophomore
Oakland Bishop O'Dowd | PF | 6-9/205 | ESPN 25 Rank: No. 1

Previous BlueChipBattles rank: Unranked

Who wants him? Arizona, Arizona State, California, Connecticut, Kansas, UNC, North Carolina State, Oregon, Ohio State, UCLA, UNLV and Washington

Front-runners: Arizona, UCLA, Cal, North Carolina State, and Ohio State are recruiting him the hardest.

Dark horse: UNC and Kansas

@DaveTelep with the buzz: Rabb is one of those players who keeps the details of his recruitment close to the vest. He strikes me as an individual who is not caught up with all of the glamor that comes along with the process. He's taken a couple of visits to Cal and Stanford, but it looks as if a college decision will not be unveiled until at least a year from now. Nonetheless, he is a talented 4-man who gobbles up rebounds and is an ambidextrous finisher within five feet of the basket. Now what coach wouldn't want that type of guy on his roster?


Emmanuel Mudiay | @EMudiay7 | Junior
Dallas Prime Prep | PG | 6-4/190 | ESPN 60 Rank: No. 3

Previous BlueChipBattles rank: Unranked

Who wants him? Baylor, Kentucky, Kansas, Arizona, Louisville, NC State, Oklahoma State, SMU, St. John's

Front-runner: Kentucky and Baylor

Dark horse: Oklahoma State

@DaveTelep with the buzz: At the last EYBL session, a funny thing happened. Marcus Smart and teammate Phil Forte showed up to watch some guys hoop. In the building was Mudiay, a prime Oklahoma State target. Travis Ford will have an opening at the point. It may be a long shot but you can see the pitch coming from the Cowboys.


Kevon Looney | @Loon_Rebel5 | Junior
Milwaukee Hamilton | PF | 6-8/190 | ESPN 60 Rank: No. 7

Previous BlueChipBattles rank: No. 8

Who wants him? Duke, Florida, Michigan, Michigan State, Kansas, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Marquette, Maryland, Georgetown, Louisville and several others

Front-runner: Duke, Florida and Michigan

Dark horse: Wisconsin

@DaveTelep with the buzz: His mom wants him to visit Duke at some point, that much he's admitted already. Florida and Michigan State are in there as well. This kid is impossible not to fall for. He's a blue-collar, lengthy forward who consistently plays hard.


Cliff Alexander | @humblekid11 | Junior
Chicago Curie | C | 6-8/240 | ESPN 60 Rank: No. 8

Previous BlueChipBattles rank: No. 4

Who wants him? Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State, Illinois and pretty much every team in America

Front-runners: Michigan State and Kentucky

Dark horse: Illinois

@FinkelsteinNERR with the buzz: Kentucky has long been considered the favorite, but Michigan State is building steady momentum. The Spartans are in desperate need of a quality frontcourt talent to replace rising senior Adreian Payne, who spurned a jump to the NBA draft, and Alexander would be an ideal fit. The point guard position is their other top priority in the 2014 class, and while they'd obviously prefer the tandem of Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones, they've also offered another point guard, Tyler Ulis, while making an increased push for Alexander, showing that they now have more than one scenario for their future inside-out tandem.
ESPN ($)


Most Outstanding Performers

Myles Turner
Texas Select
2014 | C | 6-11
Turner is a game-changer on the defensive end because of his shot-blocking talents, as he possesses the perfect frame to reject shots. He is long, lean and athletic with quick bounce. Had a few games of double-digit blocks. He is unique because his skill set -- shooting 3s and post passing -- is ahead of his low-post game. Turner improves after every contest, and this post player is oozing with potential. Big 12 schools have made him a priority throughout the season. Arizona, Auburn, Baylor, Houston, Kansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Oregon State, SMU, USC, TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, UCLA, UNLV and Vanderbilt all have offered. He expects to take unofficial visits to Arizona and UCLA soon.


Best Effort Player

Leron Black
Team Thad
2014 | PF | 6-7
Most of the time his motor is on high and he impacts the game in the painted area. His game consists of being active on the glass, running the floor looking for scoring opportunities and knocking down short jumpers. He does a great job of staying in his lane in the low and high post. Black enjoys finishing plays and gives his team a shot of energy and intensity.


Best Underclassman Post

Diamond Stone
Young Legends
2015 | C | 6-10
He is special at a young age because out his terrific set of hands, great touch around the rim along with range to make jumpers from the arc. His demeanor will enhance his development because he cares about his performance and his teammates. Playing and dominating Under 16 competition with some triple-doubles, it's now time for Stone to compete at the Under 17 level.
ESPN Under Armour Invitational Recap ($)


Many call him the best player on the West Coast.

Over the weekend, the argument could have been made that Stanley Johnson was the best player in the gym, period.

The 6-foot-6, 200 pound man-child of a wing was the picture of consistency for the Oakland Soldiers at the Minneapolis EYBL session.

The Soldiers were without highly rated 2015 big man Ivan Rabb, but hardly missed a beat. Johnson led his squad to a 4-1 record on the weekend and sealed a berth in the Peach Jam in July, where they’ll defend their 2012 championship.Always a tough competitor, the rising senior gave a particularly gritty performance against The Family on Saturday morning, totaling 19 points and seven rebounds as he dominated the game’s final minutes. The Soldiers opted to spread the floor and let Johnson go to work at the top of the key.

…In April, Johnson narrowed his list of schools down to seven: Arizona, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Oregon, UCLA and USC. Johnson was certain he would take unofficial visits to the SoCal schools due to their proximity, and said he would definitely take officials to the other five schools on his list come fall.

Another school that has come on strong of late is Kansas, who Johnson called the “wild card” in his recruitment. The Jayhawks have certainly captured his interest of late, as he told SNY.tv earlier this month. Though he isn’t planning on visiting yet, his developing relationship with them could shake things up down the road.

“I really like what Coach [Bill] Self said to me on the phone, I’ve talked to him a couple of times,” said Johnson. “The assistant coaches are really cool, they showed me how Ben McLemore was so effective in their system.

“They picked up another good wing in Andrew Wiggins, and I’m sure they’ll use him well,” he continued. “With Wayne Selden there and Brannen Greene, they’ll have a great team and I’m excited to hear about them.”
Zags Blog


The third annual Super 16 Showcase served as a forum for some of the northeast’s top under-the-radar talent, both rising seniors and underclassmen alike. In particular, the event showcased several up and coming young point guards, with the potential to be high level lead guards down the road.

Best Rising Senior
Pascal Chukwu (Westport, Conn./Fairfield Prep)
2014 | C | 7-1, 200 pounds
Recruitment from Connecticut, Boston College, Providence, Notre Dame, Texas, and Kansas
The mark of any impactful player is their ability to win games, and winning games is all that Chukwu has done so far this spring. He and his Connecticut Basketball Club won their fourth title of the grassroots season. While Chukwu is still lean and in just the infancy stages of his offensive development, he’s extremely agile for a 7-footer and consequently able to make pinpoint rotations on the defensive end. He’s an outstanding shot-blocker, both on and off the ball, and also has the quick second jump to contest shots and then bounce right back up for defensive rebounds.
ESPN ($)


Jayson Tatum, a 6-6, 180-pound freshman point guard from Chaminade High in St. Louis, Mo., who is expected to be ranked in the Top 5 in the Class of 2016, tells Zagsblog.com he has scholarship offers from KU, Kentucky, Florida, Missouri, Illinois, Memphis and St. Louis.

“Obviously, he’s talented and has size,” ESPN recruiting analyst Reggie Rankin told Slam Magazine. “But his skill level is so far developed at this stage. He can make plays usually kids his age are not that advanced to do. He’s got great size and a feel for the game, and ahead of his time for his grade. Being a 6-7 wing player, and versatile, will give him the opportunity to be a special player. I think he’s a lock high-major player. If I’m an assistant coach at an elite program, I’m offering that kid based on what I know right away.”
LJW


Skal Labissiere is the definition of a “versatile big man.”

The 6-foot-11 2015 Center from Port-au-Prince, Haiti turned some heads at the Nike Memorial Classic over the weekend in wins over the Boca Raton (FL) Vipers, E1T1 Flash and Team Impacts.

With the ability to shoot with range, Labissiere has gotten the attention of many colleges all across the country, which has earned him offers from the likes of Kentucky, Kansas, Memphis, Georgetown, Auburn and Tennessee, and he knows that his perimeter game will help him at the next level.

“It will help me a lot,” Labissiere told SNY.tv. “Most of the time I play bigger and stronger guys, so if I can’t go inside, I can step outside and knock down some shots to help my team.”
Zags Blog



Recruiting Calendar



2013 Spring/Summer AAU & Camp Schedule


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

Enjoyed the heat game with the family. Great to catch up with the Chalmers especially Rio
@CoachBillSelf

Ronnie Chalmers, the father of Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers, is being sued by his former business partner for allegedly stealing property from and illegally competing against their jointly operated sports agency.

The lawsuit, filed Monday in Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, seeks nearly $65,000 in damages, plus unspecified punitive damages to be determined at trial.

The elder Chalmers is being sued by David Sugarman, who jointly operated the SugarTime sports agency with Chalmers from December 2012 until April 2013. Sugarman alleges in the lawsuit that Chalmers did not pay his half of agency expenses during that time and was caught on video surveillance stealing documents and files containing propriety information from the agency's Miami offices the night before he resigned from the firm.

The elder Chalmers is a former director of basketball operations at the University of Kansas, where his son played. When he joined SugarTime, the elder Chalmers had expressed a desire to deliver his son as a client to the agency, though the Heat guard continues to be represented by Sam Goldfeder of Excel Sports Management.

Mario Chalmers is not a party to the lawsuit. Ronnie Chalmers could not immediately be reached for comment.

Sugarman also alleges the elder Chalmers breached his fiduciary duties to the agency by, among other things, taking meetings with potential clients without the agency's knowledge. In one such meeting, Ronnie Chalmers met with a potential client's college coach at the Final Four in Atlanta this year and damaged the agency's chances of landing the prospect as a client because he forgot the player's name, the lawsuit alleges.

Chalmers also is accused of delaying the signing of another potential client because he “had an intention to sign the potential client to a competing sports representation agency,” the lawsuit says.
Since emailing Sugarman on April 18 that he was resigning from the agency, Ronnie Chalmers has violated a non-compete clause in his contract by continuing to recruit potential clients, including 2013 draft prospects C.J. Leslie, Ben McLemore, Travis Releford, Elijah Johnson and Brandon Davies, according to the lawsuit.

The night before resigning, Ronnie Chalmers and an unknown accomplice were captured on video surveillance removing items from the agency's offices in Miami Beach, the lawsuit says. Chalmers returned “numerous items” upon request by the agency's attorneys at Wolfe Law Miami, P.A., the lawsuit says, but “continues to possess valuable, confidential and proprietary information that belongs to the Agency.”

Sugarman also is suing Ronnie Chalmers for defamation, accusing his former partner of making false and defamatory statements to third parties about Sugarman in violation of his contract. The lawsuit asks the court to issue an injunction preventing Ronnie Chalmers from working for any sports agency and representing or recruiting clients for one year from the date he relinquished his stock interest in the SugarTime agency.
CBS


1. The two biggest free agents on the market, Andrew Wiggins and Tarik Black, are off the market and at the same school, Kansas. Reassess just where you think the Jayhawks belong in the Top 25 after this haul. Surely not 16th?

DeCourcy: I find it interesting that oddsmakers have moved Kansas to what the English call “second favorite” as the result of Wiggins choosing KU. As much as I admire Wiggins, and I wrote recently that he will be one of the greatest pure athletes in NBA history, it seems a lot to ask for any player to elevate a team that does not have a returning starter to being expected to reach the Final Four.
I’d put KU on the fringe of the top five, given Bill Self’s accomplishments as coach and the talent – however inexperienced it might be – collected on the Jayhawks roster. I’d give KU a great chance to reach the Final Four and an outside shot at a national title. That’s always going to be in reach with a future pro star such as Wiggins in the rotation.

The greatest concerns with the Jayhawks are that they won’t have a true defensive stopper at the back and, more important, that point guard Naadir Tharpe might not have championship stuff. But Wiggins can block shots and Wiggins can make plays, so maybe neither ends up mattering.

2. Speaking of Black, the graduate transfer rule has essentially created free agency for some quality players looking for new homes. Black is the most recent and prominent example. Should players like him even get that chance, when the spirit of the rule calls for any move to be for academic reasons?

DeCourcy: I’ve had this argument with coaches I respect, but there are so few rules in the NCAA handbook that are written to benefit the athletes that I just can’t see a problem with this one giving young men freedom of choice if they meet the standard of earning a degree.

If I’m a basketball player who earns a degree with eligibility still to spend, I’ve got a lot of great options. I can leave to turn professional if I’m gifted enough. If I’m happy with how my career has progressed, I can stay at my current school and either seriously pursue a second major or graduate degree, or I can essentially loaf through the year academically and just play ball. The academic requirements for a graduate can be really slender.

Or, if my career has not progressed well -- and it certainly did not for Black – then I can see if there’s another place where I might be coached differently, where I might be used differently, where the needs of the program might suit what I can provide. If I find the right place, I can transfer and play immediately.

Nearly all of the arguments against the grad transfer rule are made by coaches. Most of those complaints involve bad behavior by coaches – such as tampering -- that results. Is the problem the rule, then, or that coaches behave badly when given the chance?
TSN DeCourcy


5. KANSAS

The Jayhawks will be young but talented. Bill Self will have five new starters next season after Ben McLemore declared for the NBA Draft, but the Jayhawks have put together a terrific recruiting class that should be Kansas’ foundation for the next few seasons. Andrew Wiggins was the consensus top player in the Class of 2013 and should immediately give this team an alpha dog at small forward. Freshman wing Wayne Selden is an impact scorer at 6-foot-5, while fellow first-year players Joel Embiid (6-foot-11), Brannen Greene (6-foot-6) and Conner Frankamp should all be able to make contributions at their respective positions. Embiid has big-time upside while Frankamp should be able to immediately extend defenses with his shot-making ability. Naadir Tharpe returns to run the show at point guard while Perry Ellis and Jamari Traylor figure to be two key pieces on the interior. Andrew White should be a ready for a bigger role as a sophomore, and red shirt freshman Landen Lucas could also be in play for a regular spot in the rotation thanks to his size (6-foot-10).
CBS Rothstein's Top 25



The twins and Anthony Davis?


It’s been decades since a true shooting guard went No. 1 overall. (Depending on how you categorize Allen Iverson, you probably have to go back to David Thompson in 1975.) And McLemore would be the first Jayhawk to go first overall since Danny Manning in 1988. But does McLemore have a chance?

The NBA Draft lottery took place on Tuesday night, and the Cleveland Cavaliers walked away with the top pick for the second time in three years. Last season, the Cavs used the No. 4 overall pick on former Syracuse shooting guard Dion Waiters (he averaged 14.7 points in 61 games), while point guard Kyrie Irving continues to emerge as one of the league’s best young players.

So perhaps the Cavaliers will find McLemore appealing, but they certainly don’t have a gaping hole at the guard spot.

After Tuesday’s lottery, draft expert Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com projected McLemore to go No. 2 to the Orlando Magic, while ESPN’s Chad Ford pegged McLemore to go No. 4 to the Charlotte Bobcats. Both Givony and Ford projected former Kentucky center Nerlens Noel to go No. 1 overall.
(Meanwhile, Givony projects former KU center Jeff Withey to go No. 22 overall to the Brooklyn Nets, and former MU guard Phil Pressey to go to Atlanta with the 50th pick.)

If McLemore doesn’t go to Cleveland, here are four other places he could land.
KC Star


There’s a strong possibility Kansas University’s Ben McLemore will be coached by a Jayhawk in the NBA next season.

DraftExpress.com’s latest 2013 Mock Draft has Jacque Vaughn’s Orlando Magic selecting the 6-foot-5 McLemore with the No. 2 overall pick in June 27 draft, following Cleveland’s projected selection of Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel at No. 1.

“I just think McLemore has real superstar quality,” Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix told the Orlando Sentinel. “I think he’s a more athletic version of Ray Allen. He certainly finishes better than Ray. After a couple of years, he could really blossom into one of those franchise 2-guards.”

Mannix believes McLemore is just too talented to pass up, even though Orlando needs a point guard and Michigan’s Trey Burke is available.

“The Magic have needs everywhere. They have a lot of good, young talent, no question about it, but there’s not anybody on that roster where you say, ‘We’re not going to take this specific position.’ I think you have to take the best player on the board,” Mannix told the Sentinel.
LJW


Draft Express/Yahoo mock draft

Great to see Cole and Xav this past weekend. Congrats to @colea45 for graduating
@treed14

USA Basketball U19 rosters announced (Also high schoolers Jahlil Okafor and Justise Winslow)


Some of America’s best young basketball talents will play college basketball next season at Kentucky. You’ve probably heard about this by now. Today, you might have learned none of these young men will play for America this summer in the FIBA U19 World Championships.

According to UK coach John Calipari, that is not by his design.

"Most of it is, they didn’t want to play. I’m not forcing kids to do anything,” Calipari told Sporting News. “I think the reason they all turned it down is, they want to get started.”
TSN


With Yanni Hufnagel going to Vanderbilt, longtime assistant Brad Frederick is leaving the Commodores. Interested to see where he winds up.
https://twitter.com/jeffborzello


Will Yeguete has battled injuries throughout most of his career at Florida, and he will have to recover from another surgery heading into his senior season.

Yeguete had arthroscopic surgery on his knee in early February, but returned to play in the team's final six regular-season games and the NCAA tournament. During his sophomore season, he missed the final nine games due to a broken foot.

A four-month recovery period would put Yeguete on track to return at the end of September, coinciding with the start of the team's preseason practices. The 6-foot-7 forward from France averaged 5.5 points and 5.8 rebounds last season.

Florida is expected to be a top-10 team this upcoming season. The Gators return starters Scottie Wilbekin and Patric Young, and bring in talented transfers Damontre Harris (South Carolina) and Dorian Finney-Smith (Virginia Tech), along with five-star recruits Kasey Hill and Chris Walker. Role players Casey Prather and Michael Frazier are also back. Eli Carter announced he was transferring to Florida last month, and there's a chance he gets a waiver to play immediately.
CBS


For now, let's focus on the fact that after Alford flubbed his opening news conference, Guerrero assured reporters he had asked his new coach about something the coach later said never came up. Whoops.

As unfortunate as that anecdote is, it was just one slightly embarrassing detail in an otherwise not-unflattering story more about Alford's overall life in basketball than his hiring at UCLA. It gained steam among understandably grumpy UCLA fans in no time, but would have likely gone away shortly after that. Guerrero was caught out. It happens. It's over. You take your lumps and live to fight another day.

Here's how a backlash really starts to take form: That's not what Guerrero did. Instead, he issued a statement. No, seriously! He issued a statement! That really happened! Let us bask in its glory:

"It is unfortunate that Chris Foster's Los Angeles Times article on UCLA men's basketball Coach Steve Alford focuses only on issues and opinions from long ago and ignores what he has accomplished since arriving at UCLA. In addition to assembling a phenomenal coaching staff, every student-athlete chose to remain a Bruin and play for Steve. I should also note that despite an exclusive interview with Chancellor Gene Block on the subject of Coach Alford, Foster failed to mention any part of the interview, including the chancellor's repeated and unequivocal support for Coach Alford and his firm belief that Steve is committed to being a Bruin and embracing the values of Coach John Wooden. Finally, contrary to the impression left by the story, Steve has been warmly welcomed by the Bruin family and the Los Angeles community. We are all excited to have Steve as our coach and are looking forward to the new season. Go Bruins!"

Yep, that's right: Not only does Guerrero apparently not understand that reporters are under no obligation to include specific portions of their reporting in any given story, he also wants everyone to recognize what Alford -- who hasn't coached a single game at UCLA -- has already accomplished at UCLA.

Self-inflicted backlash: complete.

Perhaps the silliest part of all of this is that UCLA expected Alford to be greeted with open arms. Forget the Pierce story. Alford had just lost to Harvard. He's been to one Sweet 16 in his career; the Bruins had just fired a coach who went to three consecutive Final Fours. Worst of all, his name wasn't Shaka Smart or Brad Stevens. Where does this whole open-arms idea even come from? DeCourcy nails it:

OK, so maybe Guerrero was expecting “open arms.” Maybe that’s what he has deluded himself into perceiving. But it’s not what has occurred at UCLA since Alford became the fallback choice to run the Bruins program. And the only thing that will change the mood will be an NCAA championship the Bruins seem a long way from achieving.

That's exactly right. Unless Alford builds a consistent national title contender in Westwood, Bruins fans' sky-blue-adorned arms will remain leerily folded across their sky-blue-adorned chests. In a weird way, this should be freeing. What matters for Alford and Guerrero now is whether UCLA wins or loses, and how. It's really just that simple. Little else matters.

In the meantime, maybe write fewer angry, backlash-inducing news releases? I'm just spitballing here.
ESPN


The bribery and game-fixing case involving former San Diego Toreros star Brandon Johnson has been sewed up. Johnson was sentenced to six months in jail on March 1, a sentence he'll begin on May 31. But the FBI this week released details on its investigation and what Johnson earned while intentionally altering the outcome of final scores in certain games.

The investigation -- endearingly titled "Operation Hook Shot" -- took three years, and on the sports end, centered around Johnson and former USD coach Thaddeus Brown, who was involved in illegal gambling circles and convinced Johnson to fix. Johnson left San Diego in 2010 as the school's all-time leading scorer and assist man.

Eight people were involved in the scheme, all of whom were sentenced to jail time, the final and most recent being a bookie who was sentenced in April to two years in federal prison. The FBI's details of the case and its process of investigation, shedding more light to Johnson's role and what the game-fixing meant for him, prior to being caught, are below. The details are pretty interesting.
Brown had placed bets with the illegal gambling business operated by Garmo and two partners-in-crime. Though no longer with the team, he still had contacts among the USD players. During the 2009-2010 season, he recruited Johnson—USD's starting point guard—to influence the outcome of basketball games in exchange for money. Brown was paid handsomely for his role in the conspiracy—up to $10,000 per game.

During that season, it's believed that at least four games were “fixed” with Johnson's assistance. Perhaps the senior point guard would miss a free throw now and then or draw a technical foul. Or he would just pass up a shot—at one point Johnson was heard on electronic surveillance talking about how he wouldn't shoot at the end of a particular game because it would have cost him $1,000.
The co-conspirators routinely got together to discuss the predictions of oddsmakers and to pick which games to fix. They would then make their bets—often on the other team (USD was usually favored to win)—which would enhance their winnings even more. And with Johnson manipulating the games, they usually won their bets, netting them more than $120,000.
CBS


2013-14 Early-season events schedule

With Andrew Wiggins committing to Kansas this week, several of ESPN's writers that follow high school basketball recruiting offered their opinion on who they would choose to build a team around.
Tyus Jones, the No. 2 overall recruit for 2014 and an excellent point guard, was selected by Paul Biancardi, Adam Finkelstein and John Stovall.

"Point guards make the world go 'round, and Jones is the best in high school right now," wrote Stovall. "Not only can he make plays for himself, he also elevates the games of all of his teammates. Jones is the closest thing you will find to Chris Paul on the amateur level."
Link


Like most top-recruits from the class of 2014, Kaleb Joseph has been inundated by interest from high-level Division 1 coaches.

Whether receiving calls, texts or messages via social media, the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Nashua, NH product – who suits up for Cushing Academy during the school year and Mass Rivals throughout the AAU season – has remained the object of affection for coaches seeking a long and lanky point guard with the ability to break down defenders off the dribble, hit a midrange pull-up jumper, penetrate and find open teammates, and display lockdown, on-ball defense.

So when the 2013 April live period kicked off – the first opportunity for Division 1 coaches to evaluate players, in-person, since last July – it wasn’t surprising just how great the demand was on Joseph’s time.

“It’s really stressful. A lot of schools are calling all the time and texting,” Joseph said in a phone interview a few days after the two-week window concluded. “It’s a lot to deal with sometimes, but I can’t really be upset about it because a lot of kids would like to be in this position.”

The list of schools that have offered Joseph now includes Boston College, Delaware, Fordham, Georgetown, Marquette, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Seton Hall, St. Bonaventure, Syracuse, TCU and Tennessee. In the live period alone, he added high-major offers from Georgetown, Minnesota, and Marquette.
 
Asked to identify the schools that have shown the most interest, Joseph replied, “Georgetown, Minnesota, Marquette, Kansas State, Kansas, West Virginia, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Providence.”

“I just want to build a good relationship with the coaching staff and just player development,” Joseph said about the criteria he’ll use to make his decision. “At the end of the day, I just want to get better. That’s what it is all about – to get me to where I want to be by the time my college career is over. And I want to be around good people who care about me off the basketball courts as well as on the court; (a place where) they’re going to develop me into being a better person.”
NERR


Diamond Stone rotated to block a shot, corralled the loose ball and snapped a three-quarter court outlet pass to a streaking teammate who finished with a layup on the other end in a matter of seconds.

“The thing that makes him special is his skill,” ESPN National Recruiting Analyst Reggie Rankin said. “He’s got excellent skill—he can score with his back to the basket, he can score facing the basket and he can make passes out of double teams when he draws multiple defenders. When you have a post player who can do those three things at 6-10, 250 pounds that puts him in a special category from a skill standpoint.”

The big man finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 blocks as his Young Legends cruised by the Milwaukee Spartans 62-41 on Sunday during the quarterfinals of the NY2LA Sports Invitational in Milwaukee. Stone & Co. then went onto beat Chicago Lockdown in the semis and DTA by 20 points in the Platinum Division championship.

He was named co-MVP of the 16s division by NY2LA Sports, and added yet another trophy to his collection as he has been part of Dominican’s last two Division 4 Wisconsin state championship squads.
Link

When we spoke with Theo Pinson in late April, he said he wanted to trim his list soon. And then suddenly last Saturday, reports surfaced that Pinson was cutting his list to five -- and ready to make a decision.

That decision came on Wednesday afternoon: Pinson is headed to North Carolina.
The 6-foot-5 wing from Wesleyan Christian Academy (NC) chose the Tar Heels over primary competition from Indiana, although Louisville, Georgetown and Duke were also in his final five.
CBS


Recruiting Calendar


2013 Spring/Summer AAU & Camp Schedule


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

Check out my interview with @TrueHoop @TrueHoopTV for the inside scoop on all things draft and look out for my blog coming soon #nbadraft
@Humb1e_Hungry23

The Orlando Magic learned Tuesday night that they'll pick second overall in the 2013 NBA Draft. With the order of picks settled, many media outlets--including ESPN--have begun publishing new or updated mock drafts, and Sports Illustrated is no exception to that rule. Chris Mannix posted a new mock early Wednesday morning, and he has Orlando selecting Kansas Jayhawks two-guard Ben McLemore.

Mannix believes "it will be difficult for the Magic to pass on McLemore" despite the fact that they already employ Arron Afflalo, a six-year veteran with three years remaining on his contract, at the position. Mannix compares McLemore to future Hall-of-Fame sharpshooter Ray Allen, and also notes that Oklahoma St. Cowboys guard Marcus Smart would have been "a natural fit" for Orlando had he elected to declare for the Draft.

Overall, Mannix concludes that second is "an interesting spot" for the Magic. Michigan Wolverines point guard Trey Burke could also be Orlando's pick, but Mannix expresses doubt that the Magic would select him so high in the draft.
Link


The Cavaliers now have many options. This draft remarkably balanced, with at least four players considered potential top picks. Cleveland has its franchise player in All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving, the top pick in 2011 but could use help at several other positions.

Kentucky center Nerlens Noel and Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore are considered the favorites for the pick, but Cleveland's biggest weakness last season was at small forward, the position of Georgetown's Otto Porter.

"This isn't a draft where there's a clear-cut obvious no-holds barred No. 1 choice," Dan Gilbert said in a teleconference. "Obviously we're going to have workouts between now and the draft. I don't think there's a direction that franchise is leaning."
USA Today


From May 22nd to May 23rd 44 prospects will participate in a group workout organized by the Brooklyn Nets, Houston Rockets, and Los Angeles Clippers.

Format:
The 44 players will be divided into four group sessions of eleven players each, two on Wednesday and two on Thursday. They will be measured and put through agility tests similar to the NBA Combine in Chicago, except they will also play competitive five on five basketball. Prospects will also will conduct interviews with the media and teams.
DraftExpress.com(Travis Releford attending)


In case you missed it: I wrote a diary of NBA Combine. If nothing else, read it so "FRASCHILLA'D" can become a thing
@clubtrillion

The words “big, strong and physical” appeared on the University of Tulsa’s scouting report of former Memphis center Tarik Black last college basketball season.

“It’s pretty much what everybody else is talking about. His physical presence stands out more than anything,” said former Kansas University guard Brett Ballard, second-year assistant coach on Danny Manning’s TU staff. He was referring to Black, the 6-foot-9, 262-pound forward/center, who on Monday announced plans to transfer to KU. Memphis played, and defeated, Tulsa twice during the 2012-13 season.

“He’s not afraid of contact, likes a physical style of play, is not a threat to make any type of outside shot, an average free-throw shooter, good defender who gives them size, strength — a guy who played a lot of minutes at a high level,” Ballard added.
LJW


In theory, it sounds like an excellent fit. Kansas is returning Perry Ellis at power forward and has blossoming freshman seven-footer Joel Embiid coming in, as well as other frontcourt options like sophomore Jamari Traylor and redshirt freshman Landen Lucas. Still, Black has more college playing experience than that entire quartet combined. He was a very solid rebounder on the offensive end for Memphis all three seasons he was there, and was much improved last season on the defensive glass. Black’s shotblocking was considerably less pronounced last year, but he has a solid track record in that area over his career, as well. In sum, he should be able to help this particular Kansas team in those areas, and shouldn’t have to be asked to do more than what he is fully capable of doing.

…Maybe this will be one of those cases where a kid needs a change of scenery, especially when he’s been in the crucible of his hometown team. And Kansas has had a solid recent development record with project big men, so this is a decent landing spot. And maybe Black will find some urgency now that he’s down to his senior season and got to pick where he was going to play it. Kansas doesn’t need Black to be a star (like Memphis may have). If the Jayhawks simply get anything close to sophomore-year Black, they have landed another crucial piece to a potential Final Four puzzle.
SI Glockner


Last week, North Carolina lost a coveted prospect to Kansas when forward Andrew Wiggins – the nation’s top high school recruit – chose the Jayhawks over the Tar Heels and two other schools.
This week, it’s Duke’s turn to lose out on a key addition to coach Bill Self and his program.

Although Memphis transfer Tarik Black isn’t close to being on Wiggins’ level as an impact player, the 6-foot-9 center would have been a major addition to a Blue Devils frontcourt that is thin in both experience and stature.
Link


LJW: Wayne Selden sizes up KU recruits


Our 2013 Mr. Georgia Basketball has been named to the @parademagazine All-America Team! Congrats Brannen! @b_greene14
https://twitter.com/NaismithAwards


KU announces new cheerleaders


The Bill Self Kansas Basketball Camps still have openings in each of the individual camp sessions, June 9-13 and June 16-20, for boys ages 8-18. Additionally, coach Self's Parent/Child Camp, for boys and girls ages 4-7, also has openings. The Parent/Child camp runs June 14-15.

For more information regarding all of the Bill Self Kansas Basketball Camps and to register log onto billselfbasketballcamp.com.
KUAD


These days, if your favorite college athletics program isn’t all over social media, it’s playing the game at a disadvantage. Players routinely use and check Twitter, Facebook and Instagram more than ever before.

While many schools have just one main athletics account on Twitter, others go the extra step to create separate handles for each of their teams. Someone has to monitor each of these accounts, so it’s a lot of work and manpower for a program.

Per usual, some schools are better at it than others. Some of it is purely based on the program’s reputation, but much of it is boils down to putting the time and effort into building a readership.
Below are the 20 men’s basketball programs with the largest Twitter followings.

5. Kentucky - @KentuckyMBB – 34,220 followers
4. Michigan State - @MSU_Basketball – 45,346 followers
3. Kansas - @KU_Hoops – 47,773 followers
2. Michigan - @umichbball – 67,555 followers
1. North Carolina - @UNC_Basketball – 126,091 followers
Link

Legends Classic field announced -- Pittsburgh, Stanford, Texas Tech and Houston will play at Barclays Center.
@jeffborzello


Former Rutgers coach Mike Rice has spent the past two weeks at John Lucas' Wellness and Aftercare Program in Houston, Lucas told ESPN.com on Monday.

Lucas said Rice is receiving counseling for anger management and that there is no set timetable for his stay. Rice is also working with former college players who are going through Lucas' pre-NBA draft camp.

"He's doing great," Lucas said. "His attitude has been phenomenal, and our kids love his intensity and his passion for the game. He's happy to be having this chance to give back a little bit."

Lucas declined to answer further questions and said Rice will not be granting any interviews during his time in Houston.
ESPN


2013-14 Early-season events schedule

Rivals' Eric Bossi: Southern Jamfest - What we learned


Rivals: Class of 2016 shows its promise


Recruiting Calendar


2013 Spring/Summer AAU & Camp Schedule


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

Kansas coach Bill Self grew up just north of Oklahoma City, attending high school in the suburban enclave of Edmond, Okla. So on Monday afternoon, as a mile-wide tornado ripped through the area and flattened parts of Moore, a southern suburb, Self’s mind turned toward his home state.

Self was set to announce the addition of Memphis transfer Tarik Black to the KU program, but his thoughts, like many others, were with the victims and families in Oklahoma.

“Our enthusiasm is tempered by what is happening just south of Oklahoma City in Moore,” Self said.
“We wish nothing but the very best for them,” Self said of the victims, “and our thoughts are with them.”
KC Star


Sad & tragic event, prayers go out to those affected in Oklahoma
@WayneSeldenJr


Best way to help tornado victims is to donate to the Red Cross at redcross.org or text REDCROSS to 90999. #okwx
@redcrossokc

Tarik Black will spend last year at Kansas. Was there ever a doubt? His visit started a few hours after Wiggy committed. Festive joint
@DaveTelep


We got Tarik? yessir! Got a good feeling about this upcoming year... I'm ready for this grind
@b_greene14


Tarik Black will fill a HUGE need for KU down low. I think he'll average 20-25 minutes per game. Could be a @JeffGraves42 kinda x-factor.
@JasonKingESPN


LJW: They said it…about Tarik Black


Kansas University’s 2013-14 basketball team, which is being billed as one of the youngest squads in school history, added experience Monday afternoon: University of Memphis transfer Tarik Black.

The 6-foot-9, 245-pound senior-to-be, who averaged 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds while starting five games and coming off the bench in 27 contests last season, chose KU over Duke, Oregon, Ohio State and Georgetown. He’s taking advantage of an NCAA rule that allows players to switch schools their senior seasons and be immediately eligible, provided they have an undergraduate degree.

Black graduated in the field of organizational leadership earlier this month, thus will be eligible to play in games in 2013-14 — his one and only season at KU.

“We are thrilled he has chosen to play his final year of college basketball at KU,” said Kansas coach Bill Self, who has seven scholarship freshmen, three sophomores and two juniors on the roster, with Black the only scholarship senior. “He will be a huge addition both physically and emotionally, especially from a leadership standpoint, as he will be the most experienced guy on our team entering next season.”

…“Tarik is a very good player. I expect him to have a really good year with Kansas and coach Self. He gets to play for a Hall of Fame coach, and I wish him nothing but the best,” Pastner told the Journal-World on Monday in a phone interview.

Describing Black the player, Pastner said: “He is a banger, a big body. He seals you deep. He’s hard to get around.”

He said Black’s free-throw-shooting percentage wasn’t necessarily a huge problem.

“He hasn’t been a real good free-throw shooter here,” Pastner said, “but he’s made some free throws when he needed to.”

According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Black lost his starting spot after an incident in which he walked out of practice. He never made his way back to that position.

...“It is critical that I find a program that offers me the greatest chance of taking what I have learned over the last three years to the highest level,” Black said when he announced his decision to leave. He did not comment on his decision to transfer Monday.

“Could I remain at Memphis and achieve the same? Quite possibly. But since as a graduate student I can play ball immediately next year, why not take advantage of this unique situation to gain a new perspective so that I can combine what I’ve learned at the U of M and what I will learn wherever I am next year in hopes of enhancing my versatility as a student-athlete?”

Black at the time said: “I do not consider this a farewell. It’s just a brief intermission until I come back home. I love my hometown and want you to know that wherever I go, my heart and soul will always be right here in Memphis.”
LJW


It's a testament to the laws of supply and demand that Black had all these powerhouse programs pursuing him considering he lost his starting job at Memphis last season and averaged a modest 8.1 points and 4.8 rebounds off the bench.

One reason he was in such high demand is there simply weren't many available big men with size and athleticism that teams could plug into their rotation right away. The other is that teams felt he has untapped potential he was never able to fully utilize at Memphis.

Once projected as a potential NBA draft pick early in his college career, Black fell out of favor in Memphis because his production plateaued after his freshman season and he was often foul-prone and inconsistent. His NCAA tournament performance was a microcosm of his Memphis career: 12 points and seven rebounds on perfect 5 of 5 shooting against Saint Mary's in a round of 64 victory gave way to six points, two rebounds and four fouls in a loss to Michigan State two days later.

Nonetheless, Black may yet be a significant addition for Kansas if a change of scenery and Self's history of success developing big men can help.

With all five starters from last season graduating or turning pro and a wealth of young talent set to play immediately, Kansas had a clear-cut need for a veteran big man it can plug into its rotation.
Black will team with promising sophomore Perry Ellis, reserve Jamari Traylor and shot-blocking freshman Joel Embiid to form a talented and versatile frontcourt nucleus.

It's a bit surprising Black would choose Kansas over Oregon or Duke simply because those programs appeared to have a greater need for him. The Blue Devils are lacking a true back-to-the-basket big man and Black would only have had to beat out Waverly Austin to start alongside fellow transfer Mike Moser for the Ducks.

Credit Self for being able to persuade him to come to Kansas anyway. Now the Jayhawks are even better positioned to start the season in the preseason top six and to make a run at another Final Four.
Yahoo


There's a saying in baseball that goes, "There's no such thing as a bad one-year contact."

If you were wondering why teams like Duke and Kansas were in on Memphis forward Tarik Black, who started just five games for the Tigers a year ago, it's mostly because of this same concept.

Because Black has graduated and will be eligible immediately, he essentially became like a one-year contract player. A team with a hole on its roster — and an extra scholarship it wasn't going to use anyway — had nothing to lose in recruiting Black.

The commitment gives KU additional depth in the post, where the Jayhawks have quite a few options but not many proven ones.

As you'll see from his numbers, Black comes to KU as an interesting project: A player that has shown distinct strengths while at the same time being held back by glaring weaknesses.
LJW Newell blog


Remember when the 2013-14 Kansas Jayhawks were going to be a shaky proposition? I do!

Just two weeks ago, Kansas was the team losing all five of last season's starters, among them four seniors and one freshman top-five draft pick. Left in their wake was an unusually young team. Sophomore Perry Ellis would have to be a star. Naadir Tharpe would have to develop into a less erratic distributor. A crop of promising freshmen would have to step up right away.

After nine straight titles, Kansas' stranglehold on the top of the Big 12 must be taken as an article of faith. But with Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart back, and Baylor looking plenty talented in its own right, said stranglehold appeared to be straining at the knuckles. Would this finally be the year?

Those were the days, weren't they? Of course, that was before Kansas landed arguably the best young prospect in the past decade in Andrew Wiggins, and also before Monday evening's news that Memphis senior Tarik Black had chosen to play his final year of collegiate eligibility -- available immediately via the graduate transfer exemption -- in Lawrence, Kan.

Black's decision is more icing than cake. Whereas Wiggins was a revolutionary addition, by all accounts the type of player who could have lifted an 18-16 Florida State team into ACC title contention, Black is merely a nice bonus.

…In any case, any thoughts you might have had about the Jayhawks two weeks ago are essentially irrelevant. Kansas is still young, sure, but not as young as it was. It is more talented than ever now, with the exact thing it lacked -- a veteran in the frontcourt -- signed up for the ride. The end result is another KU team that will enter the season as the Big 12 favorite and a national title contenders. Same as it ever was.
ESPN

Our annual mid-April HS All-American photo shoot is always one of the more exciting shoots we get to do every year. But this one was special. See, the guys you see in the photo above and in the gallery below (scroll through it!) collectively have expectations that are way higher than those in any of the All-American classes we’ve had in recent memory. All are projected to be top 10 picks in next year’s NBA Draft. This has even been referred to as the best prep class since 2007—which featured the likes of Derrick Rose, OJ Mayo, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin and James Harden—and next year’s Draft class has already been projected by many to be the most talented since the 2003 LBJ/D-Wade/Melo-led group. Ultimately, the group shot above has the chance to be a classic one somewhere down the road.
SLAM

5/21/13, 12:57 AM
Out here in Vegas for some workouts.
@LandenLucas33


I love the KU fans already #KUCMB
@F_Mason15


So whom would the Pistons select if Drummond provides the luck needed to parlay a 3.6% chance into the No. 1 pick when the draft is held June 27?

Teams looking for perimeter help — like the Pistons — might turn to Kansas shooting guard Ben McLemore.

McLemore, 20, who spoke to reporters at the NBA predraft combine last week, knows he is close to realizing a lifelong dream.

"I definitely think about it a lot," McLemore said at the Attack Athletics gym just a short distance away from the United Center, where the Chicago Bulls play. "At this point, right now I'm just trying to get through it and try to get to that day ... special day and walk across that stage and I say to myself, 'I made it.'

"How my career goes and down the road, I'm going to continue to work hard each and every day."
The comparison you hear the most associated with McLemore is Heat shooting guard Ray Allen.
He weighed 190 pounds and measured nearly 6-feet-5 in shoes when tested last week in Chicago, and he impressed athletically with a 42-inch maximum vertical leap.

But what makes him an elite prospect is a pure jump shot with an easy three-point range. He shot 42% from the three-point line during his only season at Kansas.

He averaged 15.9 points and was a Wooden Award finalist as a freshman.

The Pistons desperately need shooting and athleticism on the perimeter, and McLemore could fit the bill.

…For all the acclaim he received when he scored 33 points in an overtime victory against Iowa State, just as many eyebrows were raised when he averaged only 6.5 points in the first two NCAA tournament games.

But McLemore's inconsistency is common among young players.

Allen had a huge junior season at UConn when he was a model of consistency in averaging 23.4 points. But he averaged 12.6 points as a freshman coming off the bench.
USA Today


McLemore got a positive response from GMs for his athletic ability (he ended with a 42-inch maximum vertical) and for the candid interviews he gave NBA teams.

"You could tell that an agent hadn't got to him yet and hadn't coached him on what to say," one GM told ESPN.com. "I was really wowed by how candid and open he was. I felt like we got to see is heart a little bit. He's a wonderful young man. He's naïve and he really needs someone with some experience guiding him, but he was one of my two or three favorite interviews."

Interviews matter. In fact, in some cases they matter more than any on-the-court stuff players do at the combine. But I'm not sure that they'd put McLemore ahead of Noel right now. If McLemore had a stronger motor on the court, he'd be a no-brainer for the No. 1 pick, but his "niceness" actually might work against him.

"You want a player who's going to be great with teammates off-the-court and a role model in the community," one NBA scout said. "But on the court, I want an [expletive]. Ben has zero [expletive] in him. I'm not sure how he'll fare as a rookie if he isn't going to demand the ball and try to prove to his peers he can play with them. But the upside is really there if he gets that he's an elite player."
ESPN Insider ($)

Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith is taking on another transfer. Deuce Bello, a 6-foot-4 reserve guard for Baylor the last two seasons, will transfer to Missouri, he said Monday in a phone interview from his native North Carolina.

“I really like their style of play,” said Bello, who verbally committed to Mizzou over Florida and Florida State among others.
St Louis PD


Oklahoma State is also trying to put together a strong slate with a team that can contend for a conference title. The Cowboys will host Memphis and South Carolina, play at South Florida, are in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, and play Colorado at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The game is a prep game for the Buffaloes in advance of the Pac-12 tournament at the same site, while the Cowboys get a quality NCAA-like game against a former Big 12 rival. The Cowboys host Robert Morris, the NEC champs and slayer of Kentucky, but are still looking for a quality opponent for the all-college classic in Oklahoma City.
ESPN


2013-14 Early-season events schedule

FoxSports: Phenoms' God complex is our fault (Writer tries to draw correlation between following daily updates on recruit college choices creating young men who think they are "special" with the rapists in Steubenville. )


5/20/13, 9:17 PM
Feeling really disrespected right now! Guess I gotta remind them...
@Chief_Justise


Recruiting Calendar


2013 Spring/Summer AAU & Camp Schedule


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

5/19/13, 6:07 PM
Congrats to my big bros @elijahjohnson15 @T_2releFOUR @KevinYoung40 @JeffWithey graduating from KU today love y'all boys
@MervDiggity22


“It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do,” says Aldrich, who finished his degree by taking nine credits this past semester through online classes. “And (it’s) something that I really can be proud of the rest of my life.”

The graduation should be the beginning of a busy summer for Aldrich, who will marry his longtime girlfriend and fiancé Britt Claflin in July. He’ll also have to worry about his day job. After playing sparingly during his first three seasons in the NBA, Aldrich is now an unrestricted free agent and will be looking for another NBA opportunity.

Selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 11th pick in the 2010 draft, Aldrich played just more than seven minutes per game in his first two seasons before being included in the deal that sent James Harden to Houston. The opportunity for playing time Houston was limited as well, and Aldrich was sent to Sacramento in a midseason deal that also included former KU forward Thomas Robinson moving from Sacramento to Houston.

“When you don’t get that opportunity,” Aldrich says, “people maybe don’t see what you can do all the time.”

Aldrich finished off the season with back-to-back double-doubles in the Kings’ final three games, and he’s hopeful he can find the right opportunity in free agency this summer.

"The fun thing is," Aldrich says. "There’s some opportunities some place, and other opportunities other places. And that’s a good thing for me being an unrestricted free agent. You really get exposed and see where those opportunities are for me to get out there and play."
KC Star


If Andrew Wiggins was at the Dick Vitale Gala, he likely would've pointed to Bill Self as the reason he chose Kansas.

It's all about keeping things in perspective.

…Those who spent time with Self at Friday's gala could see how heart played a role in Wiggins' decision.

Self has won a national title, has been to two Final Fours and earns a base salary is close to $4 million annually. But in many ways, he is your average Joe.

He wanted to talk more about the gala than landing a player who could win him a national title and boost his reputation as a recruiter.

"It's humbling to be here at the gala. What it does for everybody who leaves here is make you stop and think whether we are really worried about the right things," Self said. "We need to slow down, appreciate life and love on each other as opposed to be being caught up in the day-to-day hustle that we think is so important, but in the big scheme of things is irrelevant."

Wiggins figures to make the biggest splash at Kansas since Wilt Chamberlain and Danny Manning.

…Self wants people to look at Wiggins as a kid just out of high school, but concedes that's going to be tough, especially at Kansas, where basketball passions run high 24 hours a day.

"In our neck of the woods, he is the biggest thing that has come to Kansas since Manning or even Chamberlain," Self said. "There is pressure on him, but I don't think you temper expectations. You might as well embrace them. He is just a kid, but I think it will make him tougher and hopefully prepare him for the future."

Self knows he likely will have Wiggins for only one season. He doesn't like the NBA rule that forces high school players to wait a year after graduation to join the league.

"I wish the kids could go if they wanted to, though there is a lot of misinformation going around. A lot of kids are ill-informed and want to believe they are ready for the NBA when they are not," Self said.

"But first of all, I am humbled to be a very small part of this (gala). As a coach, there is a next game and another season. We are very competitive with each other, so why can't we join forces and be competitive against this disease."
Bradenton Herald
Photo Gallery Dick Vitale Gala


Congrats to Conner Frankamp, Brannen Greene and Andrew Wiggins on being named to the Parade Magazine All-American Team! See story in Recruiting below.


Coaches stress that in recruiting, like baseball, strikeouts are part of the game. Losing Randle still stung, in part because it diminished KU’s chances of landing a bona fide one-and-done star in 2013.
With Randle off the board, the only other candidate was Andrew Wiggins, the soft-spoken Canadian phenom considered the consensus No. 1 recruit in his class. Wiggins was a wild card, though; he communicated sporadically, mostly in text messages, and offered no hints about which way he was leaning.

The Jayhawks already had a strong class headlined by McDonald’s All-American Wayne Selden and five-star center Joel Embiid, but Wiggins was considered a game-changer. When KU’s coaches gathered Tuesday morning to learn Wiggins’ decision, they realized it could be a historic day or just another disappointment.

“I didn’t have a clue that he would pick us,” assistant coach Kurtis Townsend said.

As KU fans know by now, Wiggins picked the Jayhawks and immediately became one of the most celebrated recruits in school history. In the realm of perception, a rebuilding squad on the fringe of the top 25 was transformed into a team capable of contending for a national title, all because of one moment in the life of a teenager.

Here’s how it happened, constructed from interviews with coaches involved in Wiggins’ recruitment.
TCJ


The specific pitch to Wiggins, a 6-foot-8 guard/forward from Huntington (W.Va.) Prep, went something like this: “The opportunity, the need, the exposure, the style of play, the success we’ve had of late,” Self said of selling points. “The programs he considered (Kentucky, Florida State, North Carolina) have all got it going, and others have it going as well.

“We’ve had it going pretty well, too. We’ve been able to sell what we’ve done and been able to sell a track record. That said, you have to have a connection with people, and Kurtis Townsend did a great job with he and his family. I’d like to think he (Wiggins) has a comfort level with our players and recruiting class coming in. It was a team effort, without question.”

Self has some stats ready to present during in-home visits with prospects.

“We have won as many or more games than anybody of late. We’ve won the league (Big 12) nine years in a row,” Self said. “We’ve had lottery picks in the league (NBA). We’ve graduated every kid we’ve had here as a senior except one. I think we’re 27 out of 28 now. We’ve not played to less than a sellout in 12 years. There are a lot of things we can sell.”

Self sometimes gives a history lesson to recruits. Last week, ESPN radio host Doug Gottlieb was amazed Self said he mentioned Jayhawks Ralph Miller and John McLendon, who are not on the radar of current high schoolers.

“Dr. Naismith was our first coach. Adolph Rupp did play here. Dean Smith did play here. Ralph Miller was here, and John McLendon was from here, and Wilt (Chamberlain) was from here. Start adding that all up, there’s a lot of positive things that have taken place here,” Self said, proud of KU’s tradition and tree of coaches.

“There are so many people that impacted our game historically that basically got their start here. It’s an easy sell, a great product. Still yet with players in today’s time and immediate gratification and things like that, you have to be able to sell opportunity too.

“I think we can plug Andrew in and utilize him similar to Ben (McLemore, last year’s leading scorer as freshman who is off to NBA), plus some, and I think that’s something he was attracted to.”
Wiggins had a great time during his campus visit — during which he attended KU’s Senior Night game against Texas Tech. Wiggins left with a lasting impression of KU’s Allen Fieldhouse and its fans.

“Once kids get out here and visit, it’s different. Everybody that experiences it, even though you may expect it to be good, it’s usually better than what you expect,” Self said.

“Andrew liked getting to know the coaches (of schools recruiting him). His ego didn’t bother him where he had to be recruited like a lot of people feel they have to be recruited. He’s not one of those guys you had to talk to every day or write a note to every day. He’s one of those kids you know says, ‘I got my information. Coach, you do your deal. I’ll do mine.’ That’s how it played out.”

…“We’ll have bigs and guys who can score on the perimeter, and we’ll have length and be athletic. We’ll just be very young,” Self said of the upcoming 2013-14 season. “We may not win as many games (as last year’s 31-6 team), but from a talent standpoint, we have a chance to be very good and by the end of the season hopefully a team that plays for high stakes.”
LJW

12 days left #KansasBound
S/O to all my KU fans lets get ready to win this championship #KUCMB #Loyalty #Jayhawk4life !
https://twitter.com/F_Mason15


Kansas freshman Ben McLemore said Thursday he knew nothing about any payments that AAU coach Darius Cobb told USA Today he received from Rodney Blackstock, he founder and CEO of Hooplife Academy in Greensboro, N.C., to direct McLemore to an agent. Cobb said in the report that he took $10,000 in two separate payments. "I think this was just to attack Rodney Blackstock," McLemore said while he was watching the draft combine in Chicago. McLemore said he did not personally take any money and that he did not commit an NCAA violation. McLemore said he was one of Andrew Wiggins' hosts at Kansas and said Wiggins will fit in perfectly with coach Bill Self. "I know if I was there we would have had one of the best backcourts in the country with me, Wiggins and Naadir Tharpe," McLemore said, adding that he would have loved to have played with Wiggins, but he knows he'll see him in the NBA in a year.
ESPN Andy Katz


SI interview with McLemore


He could become the first St. Louis player to be picked No. 1 in the NBA draft, a battle that most consider to be between McLemore and Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel.

…Although he was not in St. Louis as a high school senior, he was part of a stellar area 2011 senior class that featured Washington Wizards rookie Brad Beal (Chaminade), the consensus No. 4 player in the country that year as well as Arkansas’ BJ Young (McCluer North) at No. 20 and McLemore at No. 41. Georgetown’s Otto Porter Jr., who was born in St. Louis but played at Scott County Central High in Sikeston, was No. 34.

“Me, Ben and Brad always had a rivalry growing up, and we knew each other really well,” Young said. “Other people would say, ‘Who is this guy?’ But this is not surprising.”

McLemore spent two days at the pre-draft combine interviewing with as many teams as he could. On Thursday night alone he was scheduled to meet with officials from six cities.

Because the selection order among lottery teams won’t be known until Tuesday, teams made sure to cover their bases. And just by chance, the Washington Wizards announced that Beal will represent the franchise at the lottery.

McLemore could become the first shooting guard to be taken No. 1 in more than three decades, and the chance to earn that status has meaning.

…After Beal was picked No. 3 overall a year ago, McLemore and Porter are considered locks to go among the top five next month and Young is expected to be taken in the second round.

McLemore has been playing the role of an unsuspecting phenom, saying the experience is “like a dream” and “I can’t believe I’m in this position.”

But when you think about it, the trek from being a player without a high school to a soon-to-be millionaire is not quite ordinary.

“Just coming from nowhere, coming from nothing and being able to have an opportunity to get the No. 1 spot is a blessing,” he said. “I’m going to work for it the same way (Noel) is going to work for it. It’s definitely neck and neck.”
St Louis PD


Former KU center Jeff Withey, who is regarded as a first-round pick, did work out at the combine.
“It’s similar to games at LeBron (James camp),” Withey told hoopsworld.com. “I’m used to being around top names. We play against a lot of great players in the Big 12. I know a lot of these guys from camps and stuff.

“Human nature you are looking to your left and see a guy hit a shot, you want to match that,” Withey added. “If you don’t you kind of get down on yourself. But I am not too worried about everyone else. I’m trying to focus on myself and get better. If I miss a shot I know I’m going to make the next one. It’s the mentality I have.”
LJW


Official Pre Draft Measurements


Draft Express analyzing the combine measurements

After the loss of Jerrett and Chol, the Wildcats added Kansas transfer Zach Peters to the mix.
“Timing sometimes is everything and in this case it really was,” Miller said. “It worked out.”

Miller added that he didn’t even know of Peters until a few months ago. The loss of two forwards created an area of need, though, and Peters was someone to fill that role.

The 6-foot-9 Peters was a three-star recruit and the 27th-ranked power forward in the 2012 recruiting class, according to ESPN.com. Yet, his time at Kansas was anything but special.

Peters left Kansas in late November to try and recover from injuries, including two concussions and a rotator cuff injury during his time with the Jayhawks. Peters has had four concussions starting with his senior season in high school, according to the Associated Press. He never played a game at Kansas.

“I think any young freshman who deals with that many injuries all in a short period of time; you can see why he moved on to get healthy. That was his reason,” Miller said. “Now that he’s healthy, he regained in his mind that thirst to be a college basketball player and pursue his dreams and it just so happened that the timing of that coincided with us.

“I don’t think we could have added a more quality player for what we needed.”

By the time the 2013-14 season starts, it will have almost been a year since his Peter’s last concussion which Miller said is a good sign. Still, the coach added that Arizona has done its due diligence to research and medically clear Peters.

Because of the medical hardships, there is a chance Peters could play this season but the NCAA still has to review his case. If he does receive special clearance, Peters could fill a role very similar to the departing Jerrett.

“He’s a very skilled player, he can shoot the ball from the perimeter,” Miller said. “One of the things that I was excited about is that he’s not small … He gives that skill level that maybe we had with Grant [Jerrett] moving forward.”
Arizona Daily Wildcat


It's been an offseason of personnel changes for Kansas State.

Already having lost Rodney McGruder, Martavious Irving and Jordan Henriquez to graduation, the Wildcats also saw starting point guard Angel Rodriguez, backup big man Adrian Diaz, and seldom-used guard Michael Orris all transfer.

Coach Bruce Weber countered those losses with a five-man recruiting class -- and the acquisition of Justin Edwards, who transferred from Maine after averaging nearly 17 points. On Friday, Weber officially announced the addition of another transfer.

Brandon Bolden, a 6-foot-10 center from Georgetown, is heading to Kansas State.

"With such a large incoming freshman class, we really wanted to add a more experienced player to our team plus we needed someone with his kind of size and length,” Weber said. “I think the year off will be great for Brandon to not only develop and improve his game, but also to get stronger in the weight room. He will be a great asset next season just as a practice player to make our guys better."

Bolden, a South Carolina native, played one season at Georgetown. He appeared in four games, registering only a missed shot in five minutes.
CBS


T-shirts are already rolling off the line. By Saturday morning, a shirt featuring the three Big 12 championship banners was available on the school’s website for $19.95.

K-State should take advantage. Capturing league titles in the major men’s sports spread across the academic year isn’t quite Halley’s Comet infrequent.

But it’s rare.

Louisville departs the Big East with a three-bagger this year. Texas is the only other Big 12 team to accomplish the feat and Stanford did it in 1999-2000. That’s it for programs from the automatic qualifier conferences of the BCS era, which started in 1998.

Kansas State turned the triple play on Friday night when Coach Brad Hill’s baseball team defeated Oklahoma 6-5. The teams entered the three-game series with the title on the line with K-State requiring one victory and the Sooners needing a sweep.

When Tanner Witt scored from third on a passed ball with one out in the ninth, the Wildcats had a walk-off victory and most improbable of the three championships, based on expectation.

…Even K-State president Kirk Schulz raised his eyebrows at the across-the-board achievement.

“If you had told me in August that we would win Big 12 titles in the three major men’s sports I don’t know if I’d have believed you,” Schulz said. “But it’s been a truly special year, and it’s something we’ll take plenty of pride in.”

Also satisfaction knowing the accomplishment was crafted on a middleweight budget. Kansas State’s athletic revenues of $63 million for the 2011-12 school year, the last year federal figures are available, place the Wildcats in the lower half of Big 12 schools. Texas leads the nation at $163 million.

But K-State isn’t exactly winning on the cheap. The school has invested some $130 million in facilities in recent years, including a new basketball practice center and the West Stadium Club, the expansion of luxury seating at Snyder Family Stadium that’s on schedule to open this season.

Smaller upgrades are no less important. Two years ago, Kansas State spent $950,000 to resurface its baseball playing field, including outfield turf where grass had been. The result? During a season where weather played havoc with some Big 12 schedules, K-State didn’t lose a home game and could finish with the league’s best home record.
Link


Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski acknowledged in a phone interview Saturday that he's in discussions to return as head coach of USA Basketball through the 2016 Olympics.

"There's a chance," Krzyzewski said. "That's correct."

Krzyzewski said he hasn't made a final decision, but his openness to the position represents a significant change. For eight months, Krzyzewski has maintained he's not returning as USA Basketball's head coach.

On Saturday, Krzyzewski said he and USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo have been talking about his return "quite a bit."

Colangelo said Saturday he and Krzyzewski have been discussing his return "in installments."
"I think it's very close to being resolved," Colangelo said. "That's all I can say for sure."

He added: "Give it another week and it should be resolved."

Since winning the gold medal in the 2012 London Olympics, Krzyzewski consistently insisted he would not return to coach USA Basketball. As recently as February, he publicly dismissed the notion in an ESPN Radio interview saying his "stance hasn't changed."

While his return isn't final, there's a strong feeling in basketball circles Krzyzewski will come back for a final run with USA Basketball that will include the 2014 World Championships in Madrid and the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro.
SI


UCLA and Steve Alford.

A basketball program of unmatched pedigree led by a former prodigy who became a national champion and Olympic gold medalist before making a steady climb up the coaching ladder.

On paper, a harmonic convergence.

How they came together, a choreography of those themes, would make for a dazzling introduction, which UCLA held at center court in historic Pauley Pavilion last month.

The aura of John Wooden, his contributions to sports and society — and those 10 national titles — was thick. Alford mentioned Wooden three times in his first three minutes at the microphone.

"We found a coach that not only represents and honors the treasured history of UCLA's place in college basketball, but also a coach who will bring a brand of unselfish basketball," Athletic Director Dan Guerrero gushed.

What could go wrong?

Plenty.

When the news conference was over, what was supposed to be a breezy, feel-good event quickly turned sticky and uncomfortable.

During a one-on-one interview, Iowa came up. Alford, who coached the Hawkeyes for eight seasons, was asked about his staunch defense of Pierre Pierce, a player accused of sexually assaulting another student in 2002.

"I totally believe he's innocent," Alford had said at the Big Ten Conference's basketball media day that year. "I believed it from Day One, and I still believe it." Days later, Pierce, a star guard, agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanor assault and also sit out one basketball season.

Three years later, Pierce would go to prison after assaulting another woman. He pleaded guilty to two charges of first-degree burglary, assault with intent to commit sexual assault and fourth-degree criminal mischief.

Now, asked to explain his actions and comments so many years later, Alford took a defensive stance after the news conference last month.

He said he had handled the situation the way his bosses at Iowa had instructed him to. "I really didn't do anything," he said. "The university made the call on everything."

So, they told him to say Pierce was innocent?

"When those comments came out, it was just about supporting your player," he said sternly. "But you have no idea what's going on."

UCLA athletic administrators were stunned. They had signed Alford to a seven-year, $18.2-million contract with the expectation that his hiring would invigorate an apathetic fan base. They expected him to be greeted with open arms.
LA Times


Long before he met with coach Sean Miller to discuss joining the Arizona Wildcats' coaching staff this spring, Damon Stoudamire's image was already on a McKale Center hallway, his name was in the rafters and his numbers were prominently in the school record book.

Stoudamire tried to separate all that from what he is now.

"I told Sean, 'I'm here as a basketball coach - I'm not here as an 18, 19, 20-year-old young man playing for coach (Lute) Olson,' " Stoudamire said.

"My responsibilities have changed. I'm here to help this program compete at the level that it's been and try to make it even better."

Miller apparently agreed.

"I'm hiring Damon not because he's one of the all-time great players here, though that's part of what makes him special," Miller said Friday, after Stoudamire was formally named an assistant coach. "I'm hiring him because he's absolutely the answer as a coach. His relationship with players, his ability to teach, his ability to connect with today's student-athlete in the recruiting process or with players here, he's been there and done it at the highest level.

"To me, who he is as a coach speaks way louder than what he did years ago here at the University of Arizona. That's what's most exciting for me - we're getting a heck of a coach."
Arizona Daily Star


The battle against homophobia took a giant step forward recently when Jason Collins came out — the first openly gay American male professional athlete to do so while still in the game. It was courageous. It was needed. And, with the exception of a few ignorant souls, it was supported by most in and out of professional sports.

Since then, however, one sad, clear message has also been sent:

The battles rages.

Brittney Griner, one of the most dominant women’s college basketball players ever, said in a magazine interview her Baylor coaches suggested that Griner not make her homosexuality public knowledge out of fear that it might hurt recruiting.

“The coaches thought that if it seemed like they condoned it, people wouldn’t let their kids come play for Baylor,” Griner told ESPN The Magazine.

It would be easy to throw Baylor, a Baptist university in Waco, Texas, under the bus, but that would be narrow-minded and parochial thinking. Baylor lists homosexuality under the subheading of sexual misconduct in its student handbook.

It espouses, “purity in singleness and fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman as the biblical norm. Temptations to deviate from this norm include both heterosexual sex outside of marriage and homosexual behavior.

“It is thus expected that Baylor students will not participate in advocacy groups which promote understandings of sexuality that are contrary to biblical teaching.”

Baylor coach Kim Mulkey has yet to respond to Griner’s comments. Based on the university’s handbook, her career at Baylor might be in jeopardy if she disputes Griner’s comments.
New York Post


Nearly a month after Jay-Z inked former NCAA basketball star Skylar Diggins to his newly launched Roc Nation Sports, Young Hov reportedly treated her to a pricey Mercedes Benz.

College graduation is a day to celebrate accomplishments and toast to the future. Some people may even get thoughtful gifts from friends and family. For former Notre Dame basketball player Skylar Diggins, graduation day will certainly be unforgettable. Diggins currently plays guard for the WNBA's Tulsa Shock and graduated Sunday from Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. Her agency, Jay-Z's Roc Nation, surprised her with quite the gift. Diggins left her graduation ceremonies and was surprised in the parking lot with a brand new white Mercedes, complete with a red bow and a handwritten note from Jay himself. Diggins posted a collage of photos of the car on her Instagram account with the caption, "Got surprised with a new Mercedes! Thanks so much to Jay and @rocnation, and @dancyautogroup!" (NESN)
Link


2013-14 Early-season events schedule

For all the accolades heaped upon Kansas signee Andrew Wiggins (and deservedly so), Parade Magazine went with another player for its 2012-13 Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year.

Semi Ojeleye, a Duke signee from Ottawa, Kansas, averaged more than 38 points per game this season while also getting the job done in the classroom to the tune of a 4.0 grade-point average.
Because of those achievements, Ojeleye was named the recipient of Parade’s highest individual honor on Saturday.

This past season, Ojeleye’s high school team went 25-0 and captured its state title, while he set career and senior-year scoring records (2,763 and 952 points, respectively) for the state of Kansas. No mean feat, especially when you consider that the career mark had stood for 17 years. Along with his ability to score, he also averaged nine rebounds, two assists, and two steals a game. He also shot 38 percent from 3-point range and 82 percent from the free-throw line.

The other finalists for the honor were Wiggins, fellow Kansas signee Conner Frankamp, Arizona signee Aaron Gordon, and Oklahoma State signee Stevie Clark.

Parade also announced its All-America Team, which traditionally is a long list that includes players headed to a variety of schools. (Brannen Greene, Conner Frankamp, Andrew Wiggins selected)
Link


Okafor is being recruited by mostly the same schools as Jones, expect for Okafor has North Carolina and Louisville on his list and Jones has Minnesota, which has its campus only about 20 miles from his home.

"We're letting each other have really their own recruiting process," Jones said. "At the same time, we're still kind of talking with each other on what schools we have in common and where we think we can go together and feel like we'll be successful."

Jones plans on playing AAU ball all summer and then concentrating on his college choice. He's already scheduled one of his NCAA-allotted five official campus visits, heading to Baylor along with Okafor at the end of August.

"I would like to have a decision by (November) so I can just concentrate on my senior year and have it out of the way," Jones said. "If I'm not ready to make a decision, then I'm not going to force anything or rush anything because it's such a huge decision and a very difficult one at that."

One thing that Jones is confident about is that he will play with Okafor at the next level.

"I'd probably say like 99 percent," Jones said. "It's just really something that we've focused on and really want to do."
Max Preps


Rivals' Eric Bossi recaps EYBL Dallas (Video at the link)


Final weekend of the EYBL regular season, last chance to qualify for the Peach Jam


Recruiting Calendar


2013 Spring/Summer AAU & Camp Schedule


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

Former Kansas University basketball guard Billy Thomas is one of 63 KU athletes who will take part in graduation ceremonies on Sunday in Memorial Stadium.

Thomas, who played at KU from 1995-98, will receive his degree in African and African American studies. Also, former KU center Cole Aldrich of the Sacramento Kings will graduate. Thomas, who had a long professional basketball career, has coached boys basketball at Barstow School in Kansas City, Mo., the past two years.

Draft picks Whitney Berry (soccer, FC Kansas City), Maggie Hull (softball, Chicago Bandits) and Angel Goodrich (women’s basketball, Tulsa Shock) will also be on hand. Joining Goodrich from the KU women’s basketball team will be fellow 1,000-point scorers Carolyn Davis and Monica Engelman.

Kansas men’s golfer Chris Gilbert, who is currently participating in an NCAA regional, will also receive his diploma on Sunday, while KU’s No. 1 starting pitcher Thomas Taylor will also earn his degree as the Jayhawks play a three-game nonconference series at Utah.

Second-team All-Big 12 honoree Bradley McDougald from the KU football team will also participate in the ceremony, along with four-time Big 12 Conference long jump champion Francine Simpson.

A complete list of graduating KU student-athletes:

Baseball - Jordan Dreiling, Thomas Taylor

Men’s Basketball - Cole Aldrich, Elijah Johnson, Travis Releford, Jeff Withey, Kevin Young

Women’s Basketball - Carolyn Davis, Angel Goodrich, Monica Engelman

Football - Tunde Bakare, DJ Beshears, Justin Carnes, Randall Dent, Gavin Howard, Prinz Kande, Dexter Linton, Christian Matthews, Bradley McDougald, Chris Omigie, Toben Opurum, Tyler Patmon, Nick Sizemore, Huldon Tharp, Kevin Young

Men’s Golf - Chris Gilbert, Alex Gutesha, Paul Harris

Rowing - Danielle Adam, Molly Boehner, Olivia Catloth, Katy MacCormack, Amber Malone, Paige Stephens

Softball - Morgan Druhan, Maggie Hull, Rosie Hull

Soccer - Whitney Berry, Nicole Chrisopulos, Amy Grow, Kat Liebetrau, Sarah Robbins

Swimming & Diving - Brooke Brull, Svetlana Golovhun, Danielle Herrmann, Iulia Kuzhil, Alyssa Potter, Brittany Potter, Cora Powers, Erin Savas, Madison Wagner

Tennis - Vika Khanevskaya

Men’s Track & Field - Isaac Bradshaw, Kevin Hays, Kaman Schneider

Women’s Track & Field - Tessa Cole-Turcotte, Sara Hedberg, Kathryn Lupton, Rebecca Neville, Francine Simpson, Kathleen Thompson

Volleyball - Morgan Boub
LJW

5/16/13, 11:28 AM
Kelly Olynyk on Andrew Wiggins to Kansas to @ESPNAndyKatz "He's amazing...Canadian basketball is on the rise."
@AdamZagoria


Just 15 minutes after Andrew Wiggins completed his Tuesday ceremony and interviews following his announcement that he would attend the University of Kansas, he sat and stared at his phone in the office of Huntington Prep basketball head coach Rob Fulford.

He was silent at first with his eyes glued to the screen. Then, as he scrolled some more he kept reading and even muttered some things aloud.

"Wow, this is bad," Wiggins said while still scrolling through his phone.

These weren't congratulatory texts he was receiving.

They were Tweets -- or messages sent through the social media site Twitter, for those who aren't aware of the latest craze in interactivity.

And, these messages directly attacked Wiggins, wished him personal harm including death and also called him a plethora of racial and socially unacceptable terms.

Unfortunately, it is a growing trend in recent months and years involving athletes.
Herald-Dispatch: Scary effects of social media


When Wiggins shocked a lot of people by signing with Kansas instead, many reacted as if he had just passed up an opportunity to win a national title. How could he be so selfish as to pick a school where, God forbid, he would be the clear-cut star instead of sharing the spotlight with arguably the finest freshman class ever assembled?

The college basketball-watching populous — particularly those in Lexington, Chapel Hill and Tallahassee — has to wake up to the fact that Wiggins isn’t exactly joining a batch of scrubs in Lawrence. In fact, even before Wiggins signed with the Jayhawks, they already had the second-best haul in the land.

While Kentucky’s recruits were grabbing all the headlines, Bill Self and his staff had to “settle” for four recruits ranked 34th or higher nationally in the Rivals150. Even if Wiggins had gone elsewhere, that’s worth popping champagne for. And yet … how often have you heard pundits and fans salivating over them, particularly in comparison to the new Wildcats?

Here’s all you need to know about Kansas’ “other guys.” If they join forces with Wiggins to lead the Jayhawks to great heights, don’t act so surprised.
Lost Lettermen: Kansas has Fab Five Potential

Kansas University basketball players/fantasy-camp assistant coaches Andrew White III and Landen Lucas have been more than willing to offer their input in one-on-one conversations with members of “Team Vaughn” during this weekend’s Bill Self Basketball Experience.

They’ve been pretty silent during huddles, however, letting former Wake Forest, Loyola and Army head coach Dino Gaudio orchestrate the offense and defense.

“It’s fun because he is coaching it seriously. He is drawing up plays in the huddle. He’s getting on guys, benching guys, so it’s for real,” said White III, KU’s freshman forward from Richmond, Va.
White said Self’s fantasy camp, “is fun just because they (players 35 and older) are so competitive.
Everybody is taking it seriously. I’ve gotten to know all the guys by name. We know who does what well. We’re undefeated, 3-0 right now, just trying to win the championship.”

This is the first year White and Lucas have worked the camp. Gaudio, an ESPN color announcer, also was here a year ago.

“They are in the huddles,” Gaudio said of White and Lucas, a 6-foot-10 freshman from Portland, Ore. “I think what’s good is when they hear me telling our guys what we need to do, I’m certain it’s the same thing coach (Bill) Self is telling them in those huddles and environment.

“Hearing it from someone else (can be a positive),” he added. “Like when I was coaching, I’d love to bring other people in so they (players) were not listening to the same voice all the time, namely me. When they hear things from other people who have been successful, I think that’s good as well.”
LJW


Will be in Lawrence June 2nd
Needed my number #34 but Perry got it so i decided to take #21
@jojo_embiid


I need to get stronger Is coach @A_Hudy ready for me? Or the real question is Am i ready for her? She might kill me. I might cry too
@jojo_embiid


#smartwork @jojo_embiid let's get this rockin!!! Can't wait
@A_Hudy

Victor Oladipo said he measured at 6-4 1/4 with shoes. Ben McLemore told me he was 6-3 without shoes
@GoodmanCBS


He spent the last several months lobbying through actions, with his play as a Kansas shooting guard, and then Ben McLemore finally said it.

He is the best player in the draft.

“Deep down I think I am,” he told NBA.com as the pre-Draft combine got underway with physical testing in advance of most players, but not McLemore and other top prospects, taking the court Thursday and Friday. “I have that mindset that I am. Just going out there and showing my abilities.

“People know what I did in college and know what I can do throughout my career. A lot of people know I really haven’t reached that point in my basketball life, so I know deep down inside that I have it in me. I’ve just got to keep working.”

The pre-Draft combine will be televised on ESPNU (10 a.m.-2 p.m. ET) and ESPN2 (2-3 p.m. ET) on Thursday and again on Friday at the same times and on the same channels.

Whether McLemore is actually first off the board on June 27 will depend partly, if not largely, on the results of the lottery – the winner will likely go for Nerlens Noel of Kentucky if it needs a big man and for McLemore if it needs a shooting guard. Neither has distinguished themselves enough to be the dominant figure of the Class of 2013.

Some teams might take Noel regardless of position because of the value of a defensive-presence at power forward or center, but others could be scared away by the risk of using the No. 1 choice on a player coming off knee surgery. On health reasons, McLemore is a safer bet and has a lot of upside as well.

“I think it’d be important to me, especially being the No. 1 draft pick and that a shooting guard [hasn't] been a No. 1 draft pick for a while, for years,” McLemore said. “It’d be very important to me to make history to me. It would be great to be No. 1, being able to help my family out.”
nba.com (Video at the link)

Feels great to be back in Kansas. Missed this place.
@colea45


Lawrence this summer can't wait
@joshselby32


When KD had 25 in12min n AFH..Coach Self called a TO & ask staff wht we should do Coach Manning said "I dont know but thats a bad boy". lol
@brettballard3


KUAD Throwback Thursday: Terry Nooner

It looks like late basketball great Wilt Chamberlain could have his photo on a United States postage stamp according to an article in the latest edition of Linn’s Stamp News, the world’s largest weekly stamp newspaper which covers the postal service, stamp collection and stamp information.

Chamberlain, a former Overbrook High and NBA legend, could join a number of well known public figures the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee is scheduling for 2014 according to the story.

The list tentatively includes Chamberlain along with R&B singer James Brown, jazz singer Sarah Vaughn, the Beatles, actress Elizabeth Taylor, Apple’s Steve Jobs and others. These were some of the proposed selections from the CSAC meeting according to the committee’s minutes from the Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 meetings that were obtained by Linn’s Stamp News from an anonymous source.

Chamberlain is tentatively slated to receive a stamp in his honor in February 2014, which happens to be Black History Month, along with Ralph Ellison, author of “The Invisible Man,” and The Beatles according to the story. Of course, the official announcement has to come from the U.S. Postal Service.

“The subjects are not final until they’re announced by the postal service,” said Roy Betts, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service.

The official announcment will come later this year.
Philly Trib

The University of Kansas Historic District is now listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the National Park Service has announced.
 
The district comprises the heart of the Lawrence Campus and was added to the Register of Historic Kansas Places in February.
 
The only campus historic district in Kansas, it covers the period of 1863-1951. The district includes buildings such as Watson Library, landmarks such as the World War II Memorial Campanile and landscapes such as The Hill, which graduates walk down during Commencement.
 
“This national designation reflects the historic importance of Mount Oread as a center for teaching and scholarship. It will also help preserve the campus for future generations of Jayhawks who will call KU home,” said Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little.
Link

The inaugural Big 12/SEC Challenge is a combination of existing games already scheduled along with new matchups created for this event during November and December. The two conferences and ESPN will attempt to schedule matchups over consecutive days in future events.

“The ability to showcase SEC basketball in this kind of conference competition makes this a unique and exciting event for our coaches, student-athletes and fans,” SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said. “We are pleased to be able to work with the Big 12 and ESPN to highlight the sport of men’s basketball.”

Here is the schedule of this year's games, with times and networks to be announced later:



Thursday, Nov. 14    

Texas Tech at Alabama



Monday, Dec. 2        

Vanderbilt at Texas

Auburn at Iowa State



Thursday, Dec. 5    

Ole Miss at Kansas State

West Virginia at Missouri

TCU at Mississippi State



Friday, Dec. 6            

South Carolina at Oklahoma State

Kentucky vs. Baylor (Arlington, Texas)



Tuesday, Dec. 10     

Kansas at Florida



Saturday, Dec. 21     

Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma (Houston, Texas)
Link


Note from MBB coaches meeting today - #Big12 had more of its regular officials work NCAA regionals, Final Four than any conference
@Big12Conference


Kansas State has played a nonconference basketball game at the Sprint Center in each of the past six years, but that streak is unlikely to continue.

On Wednesday, Bruce Weber said the Wildcats are close to finalizing their 2013-14 schedule. And their first trip to Kansas City won’t come until the Big 12 Tournament.

“Part of the problem with Kansas City is, if you are going to go there you want a good game,” Weber said by phone. “What happens the year after? You have to go on the road and play a quality opponent. Next year (2014-15) we have the Maui Invitational and the Big12/SEC challenge on the road. We already have some road games and a tough tournament.

“That was part of our dilemma. We looked for maybe the possibility of some teams playing us in Kansas City without a return, but we just couldn’t find a good enough opponent. I don’t think that is going to happen.”
KC Star


For the second time this week, a Baylor Bears player has decided to transfer.

A source told ESPN.com that point guard L.J. Rose asked for and was granted his release during a meeting with head coach Scott Drew on Tuesday afternoon.

Rose's decision comes 24 hours after sophomore guard Deuce Bello informed Drew of his decision to leave the team.
ESPN


Texas guard Julien Lewis has been granted his release and will become the third player to leave the Longhorns since they finished a disappointing season 16-18 and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 15 years.

The school announced the departure Tuesday.

Guard Sheldon McClellan, who led Texas in scoring most of the season but clashed with coach Rick Barnes, left the team earlier this year. Myck Kabongo, who was voted the team's most valuable player despite sitting out a 23-game NCAA suspension, left school to enter the NBA draft.

Lewis started 21 games and averaged 11.2 points. Texas is now without its top three scorers from last season.
AP


Fred Hoiberg gets new contract


Texas Tech men’s head basketball coach Tubby Smith spoke about his new job and how he wants to build the men’s basketball program Wednesday before he met with about 500 Texas Tech boosters at the Tri-State Expo.

Smith, who won the 1998 NCAA national championship with Kentucky, was fired from his head coaching job at Minnesota at the end of the 2012-13 season. He succeeds interim coach Chris Walker. Walker replaced Billy Gillispie, who quit in September.
Link


It was nearly 40 minutes of classic Calipari. There were challenges to his players and fans. There were swipes at Louisville and Indiana without either school ever being mentioned by name. And there was the tone set for the next edition of Kentucky basketball, which is as bold as any he’s set forth before.

Kentucky coach John Calipari sat down with the media Wednesday now that all matters could be discussed, given that the final recruit the Wildcats were pursuing, forward Andrew Wiggins, on Tuesday chose to play college basketball at Kansas.

“We’re chasing perfection. We’re chasing greatness. We’re chasing things that have never been done before in the history of this game,” Calipari said. “It’s never been done … in the modern era.”

…“You have to have more than eight scholarship players,” Calipari said. “I was trying to protect players in the program. What you learn is you can’t protect players. They don’t have to play 30 minutes to reach their dreams. If I had to do it over again, we would have had a couple more players.

“I don’t have any regrets where I gave guys more than one chance to make it and it hurt our team. It’s about each individual player. I can tell you, guys got the full season to prove themselves. If I’m going to err, it’s going to be on the side of the player. If it were your son, what would you want me to do?”

Calipari was asked how he’d handle the overwhelming expectations that will be accorded the Kentucky team, including the suggestion the Wildcats should just be handed that title. That’s a hard notion to quantify; they are only a 4-1 favorite to win the title, according to Linemakers, which hardly is prohibitive.

“I don’t buy into any of that. If anybody thinks this is easy, we’ve got a lot of coaches that have taken the elite prospects, and it hasn’t worked out,” Calipari said.
TSN


The Trojans made one big splash this offseason, signing Andy Enfield fresh off a trip to the Sweet 16 with the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. Now, the men’s basketball squad has secured a bid to participate in the “Battle for Atlantis” non-conference tournament, which awards schools $2 million for their participation in the event.

The tournament will take place from November 27th-December 1st on Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The field will feature Kansas, who is coming off huge news after signing the nation’s top recruit Andrew Wiggins. Tennessee, Villanova, Xavier, Iowa, Wake Forest are among the other participants in this years bracket.

The most intriguing matchup however, would square the Enfield’s-led Trojans against a former coach of USC, and head man who expressed interest in running the program this spring, in Tim Floyd and his UTEP Minors.
Link


CBS Sports and Turner Sports have announced the programming schedule for their exclusive joint television coverage of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship in 2014 and 2015. In each of the two years, TBS will televise the NCAA Final Four national semifinals and CBS will broadcast the NCAA National Championship game.

Additionally, beginning in 2014 through 2024, coverage of the Regional Semifinals and Regional Finals games will be split by TBS and CBS.  Earlier round coverage of the tournament will continue to be televised across four national television networks — CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV with the First Four airing exclusively on truTV.

In 2010, Turner Sports and CBS Sports entered into a 14-year exclusive media rights partnership with the NCAA to present the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship from 2011-2024. As part of that agreement, CBS Sports and Turner Sports will alternate coverage of the Final Four national semi-final games and National Championship game between TBS and CBS. The rotation begins on TBS with the network televising the Final Four and National Championship in 2016 with CBS broadcasting the games in 2017.
NCAA


So when the NCAA rules committee met in Indianapolis last week, they had the chance to make a real difference. And there was buzz. In an ESPN story preceding the gathering of the brain trust, it was reported that the committee would "vote on moving the shot clock from 35 to 30 seconds." Not a cure-all, of course, but a great start. The article polled 37 coaches, and the majority were in favor of shortening the shot clock, including — are you sitting down? — WISCONSIN'S BO RYAN. That just about staggered me.

So what happened in Indianapolis? Well, let's allow yesterday's headline to speak for itself:

Panel votes for late-game replays

Wait, what?

What?

Surely you are playing a grand jest on us, Andy Katz, you inveterate, unrepentant prankster!

Because college basketball is in crisis, and the rules committee can change the rules only once every two years, so surely the main thing they accomplished this week wouldn't have been something that actually fucking prolonged the game, right? RIGHT?!

But no. That's what they did. Their big change was that refs can now go to the monitor in the final two minutes to review out-of-bounds calls or shot-clock violations. And instead of waiting for a TV timeout, they'll now be stopping the game in its tracks in the final four minutes if someone makes a shot and they can't tell if it was a 2 or a 3.

To get metaphorical for a second, imagine college basketball were a man in tattered clothing, crawling in the desert and dying of thirst. The rules committee recognized his suffering, dropped in from a helicopter, and offered him a cupful of salt.

But what about the shot clock? Wasn't there supposed to be a vote? Surely there was a reason why it never even made the committee's agenda. Let's see what they had to say about that:

Rules committee chair John Dunne, the head coach at St. Peter's in New Jersey, said Thursday after concluding the three-day meeting in Indianapolis that surveys of coaches in Division I, II and III failed to bring a consensus on whether to change the shot clock.

"There wasn't a vote taken since it was a 50-50 split, so we felt it wasn't the right time to go in that direction," Dunne said.

Right, right, that makes sense. It's a divisive issue, and at least half of all surveyed coaches (and way more in the initial ESPN survey) were in favor of changing the clock, so the logical thing to do is not have a vote. I get it.

OH WAIT, NO I DON'T. I DON'T GET IT AT ALL.
Grantland


If Josiah Turner thought the low point of his basketball career was being asked to leave Arizona last spring amid drug and alcohol problems, the highly touted point guard quickly learned things could get tougher.

The Hungarian pro team he originally signed with last fall housed him in a filthy, bedbug-infested apartment so dilapidated his agent removed him from the team after only one month. The Canadian pro team he joined after leaving Hungary informed him in January his services were no longer required after he repeatedly clashed with the head coach. And even after a successful second-half of the season with another Canadian team, Turner still had to return to Arizona and serve two days in prison as a result of a DUI charge from the previous year.

"Everything I've been through has served a purpose because it has humbled me and forced me to mature," Turner recently told Yahoo! Sports. "I'm more focused and disciplined now. I'll never go down a bad path again."

"He has an uphill battle for sure," an NBA scout familiar with Turner said. "Lot of baggage with him and not sure the talent level trumps it either. Maybe a second-round pick for someone but he will need to prove he has been humbled."
Yahoo Sports


2013-14 Early-season events schedule

Brewster Academy (NH) 2014 SG Jared Terrell scored two major offers from Kansas and Florida;

Kimball Union Academy (NH) 2014 PF Abdul-Malik Abu has added offers from Kansas, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Minnesota, Marquette, Florida State, and Texas;
New England Recruiting Report


I had a really good talk with Coach (John) Calipari about a week ago. Kentucky has been hitting me up a lot lately. The talk with Coach Cal was cool. He was telling me about how he felt about last season and how that went. Then he was telling me about how he gets disrespected by a lot of the other coaches in recruiting, which is actually true because I've heard a few things myself.
He really explained a lot to me and I learned a lot.

I talked to Coach (Bill) Self two nights ago and I talked to Coach (Tom) Izzo the other night too. I love talking to those guys. It's always a cool conversation.

Coach (Mike) K (Krzyzewski) text me on Sunday on Mother's Day and that meant a lot to me because he was checking on me because he knows that my mother passed. I thought that was really cool of him.

All of the coaches at Duke hit me up; Coach (Jeff) Capel and Coach (Steve) Wojo. Ohio State coaches (Thad) Matta and (Jeff Boals) checked on me too. That definitely meant a lot to me to have them take time out of their busy days and check on me.

Of course I heard the news about Andrew Wiggins signing with Kansas and I really liked that move for him. He wouldn't be there if I was to go there but that still makes them really attractive.

A lot of people say that Kansas doesn't want a freshman to just come in for a year and have a huge impact then leave. I've never believed that, but I know Andrew will prove that it's not true so that's why it's big.

I'll definitely be watching close to see how they handle a player of his talent level. I know Coach Self will do a good job with it.

I thought Andrew handled his whole recruitment really well. He took his time and made the right decision for him. I do think I'll end up committing much sooner than he did though.

I've got a pretty full summer ahead of me.

In June I'm headed to Team USA Camp in Colorado. That means I'll miss most of the skills camps in June, but I can't wait to play in Czech Republic. Me and Tyus will team up there so, like I said, that will be a better experience.
Other than that school is going pretty well. We get out June 24, but I'm gonna take my finals a little earlier because of the Team USA obligations. I talked to my teachers and they're all OK with it so that's good.
USA Today Jahlil Okafor blog


Recruiting Calendar


2013 Spring/Summer AAU & Camp Schedule


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

VIDEO: Wiggins Signing Ceremony

For someone who has said not to like all the media attention, Andrew Wiggins seemed as comfortable as ever Tuesday in front of friends, family and classmates at St. Joseph Central Catholic School in Huntington.

There was no waver in his voice.

There was no indecision.

There was simply a proclamation that the nation’s top boys basketball prospect would be attending the University of Kansas.

And the decision was his — no one else’s to make.

“The other schools were great, but Kansas had my heart,” Wiggins said as he sat relaxed in Huntington Prep head coach Rob Fulford’s office following the ceremony. “That’s it. I followed my heart.”

...He stayed true to his word, having a small, much more intimate ceremony with only people from the Huntington area and his family attending.

And he certainly enjoyed the day, as evidenced by the beaming smile that never left his face.

“I didn’t really want to open up to the public,” Andrew Wiggins said. “I knew it would be jam-packed in here and I wouldn’t have the people I appreciate just watching.

“I wanted the people that appreciate me and the people I appreciate to be here watching while I made my decision because they are the ones who helped me out throughout the last two years and my mom and dad throughout my lifetime. I didn’t really want a lot of random people here. I wanted more people I knew.”

Not only did the ceremony fit Wiggins’ style, but so does Kansas, according to his father, who had spoken to his son about Kansas and why he was choosing them over his alma mater, Florida State. Mitchell Wiggins said the Seminoles were No. 2 out of the four teams.

“They run a lot of pick and-roll, pick-and-pop — a lot of stuff as he goes to the next level, he’s already ready for,” Mitchell Wiggins said. “The system was probably the biggest thing and the coach. (Kansas) Coach (Bill) Self is a very good coach and Andrew had a good feel for him. I think it’s going to be a great fit.”
Herald-Dispatch


VIDEO: WSAZ 6pm News Report on Wiggins

VIDEO: WSAZ Raw video from Wiggins Signing Ceremony/Interviews

Herald-Dispatch Photo Gallery of Signing Ceremony

Herald-Dispatch Photo Gallery of Wiggins in Huntington

@22wiggins It's been a blessing watching you grow and mature. What's even more special is the way you… instagram.com/p/ZTGz8GqiXs/
NW15
@Wiggys_WORLD15


Jahlil Okafor on Wiggins: "Never believed it but ppl say Kansas doesn't want freshmen to come in, star & leave; Andrew will change that."
@jayjayjordan


5/14/13, 4:41 PM
Happy to have @22wiggins as a part of the family! Great addition... #KUCMB
@b_greene14


5/14/13, 7:20 PM
@22wiggins welcome bro hold it down !
@Trobinson0


Kansas is now 10-1 to win the national title, second only to Kentucky. Jayhawks were 25-1 yesterday
@golfodds


The ATL Tipoff Club is proud to have honored two great young men! 2013 Naismith HS POY @22wiggins joins Mr GA BBall @b_greene14 & @KU_Hoops
@NaismithAwards


All smiles for @22wiggins as he spoke with @JRaby_AP and I following the announcement.
Best part was looking in @22wiggins eyes during the interview & being able to see he was happy & confident that he'd made the right choice.
@GrantTraylor


The state of Kansas will have @Wiggys_WORLD15 and @22wiggins in the same state next year.
@GrantTraylor


AUDIO: Coach Self on The Doug Gottlieb Show Tuesday afternoon


VIDEO: ROME discusses Wiggins' decision with Bruce Feldman and Jim Trotter


VIDEO: Rivals' Eric Bossi analyzes Wiggins to Kansas

On Tuesday afternoon, the best high school basketball player on the continent -- the most hyped prospect since LeBron James, and probably the best, too -- proved he is possessed of not only otherworldly basketball gifts but also a preternatural ability to keep the world from knowing a singular piece of information.

Wiggins' parents, both former Florida State athletes, were reportedly in the dark as late as Tuesday morning. Even the Kansas coaching staff could do little more than cross its communal fingers until the final phone call. According to ESPN senior recruiting analyst Dave Telep, the Jayhawks not only didn't know; they hadn't even been in "much contact recently" with the player who, in the matter of a few words in a West Virginia gym, would morph KU from a promising but inexperienced group into one that will compete for the 2014 national title.

…Indeed, the only thing more impressive than the kid's public relations discipline might be his ability on the basketball court. At 6-foot-7, 205 pounds, Wiggins melds the skills and grace of a guard with the power and size of a forward. He isn't just an athletic specimen who can do things like this (although I highly recommend you spend the rest of your afternoon with Wiggins dunks on YouTube); he's also a speedy, tightrope ball handler with court vision and a consistent perimeter shot. Scouts believe he could play the 2, 3 or 4 at the college level; he will be every opponent's matchup nightmare no matter where he lines up.

…If any player in the one-and-done era is destined to live up to his immense hype, it's this one. Self is too good a coach not to maximize his eight months with the future No. 1 overall pick, too savvy and too ruthlessly competitive not to modify his system wherever and whenever he should. Wiggins is too versatile and too overwhelming to fall flat. Whether Maple Jordan is a generational talent, an NBA All-Star or merely very good remains to be seen. The number of NBA teams already planning how best to tank their own 2013-14 seasons should give you some indication, but anything could happen. You never know.
ESPN Brennan


VIDEO: ESPN Telep on Wiggins' Decision


On his Twitter page, @22wiggins, Andrew Wiggins says that he is "Just a average kid trying to make it."

My niece is an average kid. She has 384 followers.

Wiggins has 80,000 followers and counting, mostly because on the basketball court he is anything but average. In fact, he is freakishly amazing, a generational talent ranked the top player in his recruiting class.

On Tuesday, the average kid declared that he would play at Kansas. He did it quietly -- no television appearance, no grand gestures of tinkering with various ball caps before making his choice.

That didn't stop the news cycle from churning out thousands of words (this column included) about his decision, following up on the tens of thousands of words written in advance of his decision.

…Now that we know where Wiggins is headed and the party has officially commenced in Lawrence, we can move on to the next phase of the Andrew Wiggins Experience: seeing whether he can live up to the hype.

Which is, of course, preposterous. He would have to be a mad scientist's concoction of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant and LeBron James to complete the expectation-to-ability ratio.
That he chose Kansas, where high-profile players are typical, instead of, say, Florida State, where he would have been a cape-wearing savior, helps ease the burden to a degree -- but only slightly so. Within minutes of Wiggins' decision, the Twitterverse elevated the Jayhawks from a possible second-place finish in the Big 12 to conference winners and Final Four contenders.

…Wiggins was the last top-100 player to announce his decision, and he's been chided in some circles for dragging things out.

But shouldn't he take his time with this decision? It's a big one. High school seniors all across the country wrestled with their college choices, some waiting until the day before deposits were due to make their pick. That's how it should be. Whether Wiggins goes to college for one year or four, it's his future.

Yet by waiting and making a deliberate decision, Wiggins has singled himself out from the pack for more scrutiny. A year ago, Sports Illustrated tabbed Jabari Parker the best high school player since James. Parker announced he'd go to Duke in December.

No one's talking about Parker anymore, except to point out that he and the Blue Devils will play Wiggins and the Jayhawks next season in Chicago.
ESPN O'Neil


Watching Wiggins and Selden running the wings on the break in Allen Fieldhouse will be a scary sight for opponents. If KU fans thought Ben McLemore was exciting in transition, wait until they get an up-close look at Wiggins, who often appears to be looking down at the rim on finishes. This class has it all: length, elite athleticism, strength, skill, upside and a number of immediate impact players. Once Self and his staff get this recruiting class on the same page -- look out.

…He is a coast-to-coast threat after securing a defensive rebound, and he attacks the rim from the wing and along the baseline with an excellent first step in half-court action. His physical frame allows him to draw fouls in the lane, score through contact or simply elevate and finish over nearly any defender. He can spot up for kick-out 3s and will knock it down when his feet are set.

In transition, he will sprint the floor for easy baskets or rebound and ignite the break with a bust-out dribble. In the half-court set, Self can run Wiggins off screens leading to curls in the lane, or create isolation opportunities for him to attack off the dribble. Even when Kansas goes to its power high-low game, Wiggins will have space to operate. When Self posts Wiggins against smaller defenders, it will be no contest because of Wiggins’ ability to outjump his man to convert.

Wiggins competes on the defensive end as well, using his length and athletic ability to defend all three perimeter positions in switch-off situations.
ESPN Rankin ($) (Also video at the link)


While Wiggins heads to Lawrence as a potential top overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft and with a far superior resume (consensus No. 1 ranking, Gatorade National Player of the Year, among other accolades) than what McLemore had as an incoming freshman, Wiggins was wise to look at how his predecessor developed himself into a lottery pick during his tenure as a Jayhawk.

I believe one of the reasons he waited so long was to fully analyze the rosters of each of his finalists (Kansas, Florida State, UNC and Kentucky) to see which school would allow him to be the centerpiece, while also offering the requisite supporting cast to abet his national championship pursuit.

Ultimately, Kansas afforded him the best opportunity to do that. I truly think that McLemore's declaration to go to the NBA finally made up Wiggins’ mind. McLemore was the top recruit in an unheralded 2011 Kansas class that just sneaked into the ESPN final class rankings at No. 23, and he redshirted his first year after failing to receive academic clearance. In that year, he improved his game and became Kansas’ go-to guy, putting himself in serious consideration for the Naismith Player of the Year award this past season. McLemore, much like Wiggins, already boasted incredible athleticism but made a concerted effort to improve his jump shot and overall skills.

Wiggins already is viewed as a potential No. 1 pick, but looking at how Kansas made a top-5 player out of McLemore, Self’s staff could work wonders in preparing him for instant success as an NBA rookie.

…When you look at Self’s teams, they’ve always been one of the best in defensive field goal numbers due to their stifling man-to-man defense. With Wiggins and Selden guarding the perimeter, Perry Ellis defending the high post and Joel Embiid protecting the rim, you have a lot of power, length and ability to get after people on defense. All those aspects should better prepare Wiggins for his foray into the NBA.
ESPN Biancardi ($)


Q: Would Wiggins really be the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA draft?

Every GM and scout in the league with whom I've spoken believes Wiggins would be the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA draft if he were eligible. Every one.

"Noel is a really good NBA prospect. He's just not a franchise-changing player," said one GM whose team will be in the draft lottery. "[However,] Wiggins is one of the three or four best prospects in the last decade. He has the ability to completely turn around a franchise. All 30 teams would take him with the No. 1 pick if they could."

Q: Well, sure, he'd be No. 1 in this draft. The 2013 NBA draft is one of the weakest in memory, right?

"No," the same GM said. "In every draft since 2007. [Greg] Oden would've went ahead of him. If Kevin Durant couldn't beat him out, no one could. But Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, John Wall, Kyrie Irving, Anthony Davis? Wiggins goes ahead of all of them. I'm not saying he'll be better than all of them. I'm just saying knowing what we know about them when they were in the draft and knowing what we know about Wiggins, he'd beat out all of those guys."

Q: Is any player really worth that much hype? What makes Wiggins so special?

"[Wiggins is] a lethal combination of crazy athleticism and skill," one NBA scout said. "There just aren't a lot of holes in his game right now. Whenever he's on the court, even the untrained eye can pick him out immediately and say, 'That guy is special.' Maybe not LeBron James special. But close to that."
ESPN ($) Chad Ford


There is a more specific kind of pressure, the kind Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg described to Andy Katz after Wiggins made his decision Tuesday:

"When you go against a guy compared to LeBron James, that's a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a lot of guys in our league," Hoiberg said. "The hype surrounding him is the main story. I'm sure everyone is taking note of that and the opportunity to play against him."

Allow me to translate for the unflinchingly polite native Iowan: We're all coming for Andrew Wiggins.

This is hardly a surprise. Every college player in the country knows who Wiggins is. They know what people say about him. They've heard the comparisons. They know he's already a near-lock to go No. 1 in the 2014 NBA draft. No one is going to be scared. Most are going to be convinced they're better than Wiggins, that all of their hard work and college basketball experience adds up to more than his talent. Any team with Kansas on its schedule just got an extra reason to put a bull's-eye on the Jayhawks' back.

This is nothing new for Kansas, of course, and it's nothing new for Wiggins, who has been the best player on the court in every possible setting -- the target of other players' attempts to boost their own profile at every recruiting event and high school game -- for as long as he can remember. But college basketball isn't easy for even the most talented freshmen. Imagine how much harder it must be when every single player in the country wants to prove you aren't as good as everyone seems to think you are.

That is the challenge Wiggins faces in 2013-14. It's not just high expectations and scrutiny from fans. It's not just about accomplishing as much as possible in a short period of time. It's about playing an entire freshman season with a target on your back, about being specifically challenged by every opponent every time you put on a uniform. It's the pressure of taking everyone's best shot every night. It's the peril of superstardom.
ESPN Brennan


When I saw Bill Self at the Final Four in Atlanta, I speculated that it was down to Florida State and Kentucky for the top player in the Class of 2013, Andrew Wiggins.
"We're still in it," the Kansas coach replied.

That was all Self could say, by NCAA rules, but he said enough. The confidence in his voice was not just false bravado. He believed the Jayhawks had a good chance at landing the 6-foot-7 wing player from Toronto by way of Huntington (W.Va.) Prep.

…By Monday, word on the hoops grapevine was that Kansas looked like the choice. By Tuesday morning, when Kentucky coach John Calipari started tweeting about his team's grade-point average, it appeared certain the Wildcats were out. But nobody on the outside was certain what Wiggins would do until the news was broadcast to the Twittersphere, courtesy of Huntington Herald-Dispatch writer Grant Traylor – the only reporter invited to the school.

By modern standards, this was a shockingly publicity-free recruitment. Wiggins all but went underground, and those close to him persuasively claimed not to know anything. So it was hard for the recruiting media (a 21st-century phenomenon in its own right) to know where Wiggins was leaning.

…How he handles the burden remains to be seen. But Kansas will welcome that burden and everything else that comes along with Andrew Wiggins when he arrives in Lawrence. After many people were counting him out, Bill Self got his man yet again.
Yahoo Forde (Video at the link)


Suddenly, new starting point guard Naadir Tharpe doesn't have to work as hard to initiate the offense and can focus on making sound decisions. Suddenly, promising sophomore forward Perry Ellis doesn't have to be the No. 1 scoring option and can remain a complementary scorer. And suddenly, McDonald's All-American Wayne Selden and the rest of the freshmen can ease their way into their college careers instead of being needed to emerge as impact players immediately.

That Wiggins chose Kansas is a tremendous coup for a Jayhawks program that had to make up ground late to land him. Though the proximity of older brother Nick Wiggins at Wichita State probably helped Bill Self's cause, he still didn't have as many advantages as some of Wiggins' other suitors had.

…Older brother Nick Wiggins said at the Final Four he gets asked where Andrew is going to school at least a few times a day. Host mother Lesley Thomas had to ask her kids to stop asking Wiggins about it because she wanted her house to be a safe zone. And Huntington Prep coach Rob Fulford has sometimes had to turn off his phone or screen his calls because he has been bombarded with so many questions about Wiggins.

All the digging by fans, friends and reporters led to few answers. Not only were the college coaches in question in the dark about his decision Tuesday morning, even those in his inner circle were left guessing until he sat down alongside his family at a table in his high school gym and shared that he intended to be a Jayhawk.

Once Wiggins made his announcement and the stress of a laborious decision-making process was finally off his shoulders, those in the room with him said he smiled as wide and carefree as they had seen him in a longtime.

Only in Lawrence, Kansas were the grins any bigger.
Yahoo Eisenberg


"Everyone last year was trying to figure out a way to get him next year," a longtime NBA scout and ex-player told Yahoo! Sports. "Teams are plotting and preparing for when he gets out of school. Character. Demeanor. Athleticism. Coachable. He makes the game look like it's insanely too easy. While everyone is sweating, he isn't and he jumps over your head. The total package."

A little more than a year ago, Chicago high school star Jabari Parker was viewed as the top recruit in the class of 2013. But that changed when the 6-foot-7 Wiggins stole the spotlight at the annual Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Ore., last year.

The Hoop Summit pits the top 10 American high school players against 10 elite international teens. The alumni list includes Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki and Tony Parker since the event's inception in 1995. The Americans, led by UCLA-bound swingman Shabazz Muhammad, were expected to win the 2012 Hoop Summit, but Wiggins stole the show with 20 points, two assists, seven rebounds and two steals to lead the World Select team to a surprising 84-75 triumph. The Toronto native also had 17 points, nine rebounds and four assists as the World Select team beat the U.S. again 112-98 in last Saturday's Summit.

"[Muhammad] was viewed as the No. 1 player in the country [in 2012] and me playing well showed I could play with the best when I was that young," Wiggins said. "I've enjoyed and don't mind the attention. It's something I've gotten used to the past couple of years."

…One NBA general manager told Yahoo! Sports that Wiggins might be the No. 1 pick in this year's draft if he were eligible.

"The athleticism. The ability to get from Point A to Point B with his speed and quickness," the GM said. "He finishes above the rim. I love his composure. Love his poise on the floor."

In October, Wiggins, who at the time was a member of the 2014 recruiting class, decided to reclassify into his original 2013 class because he felt he was ready for the academic and athletic challenges.

…Wiggins has the ability to own dual Canadian-American citizenship, but he cannot play for the United States' national team because he has already played for Canada internationally. Frankly, he prefers it that way.

"I'd never want to turn my back on my country like that," Wiggins said of Canada. "That's where I'm from. I have good times here. The program treats me right. USA already has a name for itself as a basketball country. Canada has not really established that yet. I want to be one of the reasons why we establish that."
4/23/13 Yahoo

Sonny Vacarro on @610SportsKC says @CoachBillSelf "took words out of my mouth, compares @22wiggins to Tracy McGrady, George Gervin #NEXT
@RAWFoxSports


AUDIO: Coach Townsend on 810WHB


VIDEO: Louisville CJ talks with Wiggins after his announcement


VIDEO: Coach Self on the Tim Brando Show


Mario Chalmers, like everyone else, wasn’t sure where Andrew Wiggins would go.

The Canadian-born prep star was choosing between Florida State, Kentucky, North Carolina and, the university that has retired Chalmers’ jersey, Kansas.

“Welcome to the family,” Chalmers said.

Wiggins said he had the best connection with Kansas coach Bill Self.

“That’s just the person Coach Self is,” Chalmers said. “He’s a players’ coach, he’s going to have your best interests at heart, and he’s going to do whatever he can for you.”

For Wiggins to get his jersey hung near Chalmers’, he will need to stay more than one season.
Wiggins spent some time with Heat players following a game earlier in this season in Toronto, but Chalmers wasn’t one of them.

“I’m sure I’ll meet him when I go back this summer,” Chalmers said.

Naturally, since Wiggins will need to meet all the Kansas legends.

“Yeah,” Chalmers said, smiling.
Palm Beach Post


2. What will this do to Kansas’ style of play for this season?


There will be a number of questions to answer, but defensive excellence is an annual thing at Kansas. Per KenPom.com, the Jayhawks have ranked in the top 10 in adjusted defensive efficiency in each of the last eight seasons, and have been in the top four in defensive 2-point FG% in seven of those eight years. So while it’s easy to look at Jeff Withey’s departure and assume losing his shotblocking prowess will hurt (and it does), Bill Self has established this as his footprint. With the various pieces at his disposal, this season shouldn’t be any different, at least once the team matures and gels over the course of nonconference play.

The offensive side of the ball has been where the Jayhawks have been more variable, with the last two seasons being relatively less potent (and moderately slower in tempo) than the two before that, where Self had the Morris twins, Cole Aldrich, Sherron Collins and other efficient offensive talents to use. Eyeballing both the inexperience and style of players Self will have at his disposal, you’d have to believe this team is going to run more and be very, very potent in transition. In the halfcourt, there likely will be a heavier move into earlier high and off-ball screening to create space for a team that may be better going to the rim than it may be shooting from the perimeter, at least when they’re challenged. This roster also should be better on the offensive glass than the last two seasons, getting closer to where KU historically has been under Self.

3. What does this do to the college landscape now?


Well, Oklahoma State has a problem, and the games between the Jayhawks and Cowboys are now absolute must-see TV. At the very least, with Self’s track record and Wiggins in the fold, Kansas now has to be considered the favorite to keep its league title run going. In the bigger picture, the Jayhawks are now a legit threat to make the Final Four, joining Louisville, Kentucky, Michigan, Michigan State, Duke, North Carolina, Arizona and others in what is an increasingly competitive and compelling list. If these teams come anywhere close to living up to expectation next season, it’s going to be incredible, and that’s without mentioning any surprise teams of the sort that make college hoops so much fun.

It also makes the Jayhawks’ incredibly loaded nonconference schedule that much more compelling to follow. Kansas plays Duke in Chicago in the Champions Classic, so now we get to see Wiggins and Jabari Parker square off (as well as Kentucky’s wunderkinds against loaded Michigan State — what a doubleheader!) right out of the chute. The Battle 4 Atlantis now has a cornerstone team. Games against New Mexico (in Kansas City), Georgetown and San Diego State, along with trips to Colorado and Florida all grow in overall watchability and competitiveness.

…Wiggins’ game, which like any prep player’s isn’t fully developed, will be picked apart by media, fans and scouts. He’ll be on national TV a ton. There will be comparisons to other elite freshmen and how they’re playing, and to the teams he snubbed and whether he should have gone there instead. He’ll have to deal with team expectations created by his own presence. There’s going to be a lot on his plate as he navigates his way through a high-level college season and, lest we forget, a college environment for the first time.

From a fan’s standpoint, though? We couldn’t ask for anything more. This freshman class is absolutely loaded and we may be seeing a once-in-a-decade prospect in his formative years. Much like we knew with LeBron and with Durant and with Greg Oden (pre-injuries), we know with Wiggins. We don’t know exactly what we’ll see from him next season, but we do know it’s just the start of what should be a sensational basketball career. He’s that kind of prospect, and it’s that kind of celebratory day for Kansas.
SI Glockner


I'm not exactly sure when it turned into the wildest recruiting announcement Twitter has ever seen. But there's no denying the hour leading up to Andrew Wiggins' public proclamation that he'll attend Kansas this year was a lesson on the impact social media can have in elevating a story.

Don't believe me?

Just ask Grant Traylor.

He's a writer from the Herald-Dispatch in West Virginia.

He was the only reporter allowed to attend Wiggins' announcement.

"Congrats Twitter ... you all broke my phone minutes after his signing," Traylor tweeted about 30 minutes after the announcement. "Twitter app is done. LOL."

LOL, indeed.

Traylor had 1,962 followers on Twitter two days ago. Then it was learned that he'd be the first reporter to know Wiggins' college destination, at which point his follower account ballooned to 17,800, and each 140-character burst of information was treated as breaking news. Literally everything Traylor tweeted was retweeted hundreds, if not thousands, of times. My favorite was a picture Traylor posted of Wiggins and his mother walking into the gym at Huntington Prep that featured Jesus Christ himself photobombing because, honestly, why wouldn't JC make an unscheduled appearance?

It was that kind of day.

This recruitment that started as a battle between Florida State (because of his parents' connection to the school) and Kentucky (because it's Kentucky) ultimately swung to Allen Fieldhouse, the latest example of Bill Self out-maneuvering his old boss Leonard Hamilton. Within minutes of the announcement, countless fans who don't spend their days pulling for KU attacked. They tweeted at Wiggins to express their disappointment by telling him they hope he does everything from "tear his ACL" to "die in a plane crash." Some also wanted him to "burn in hell" because, in their opinions, he's a "bitch" who is "fu--ing retarded" and a "piece of sh-t" who should have his "neck snapped."
Andrew Wiggins is just 18 years old, by the way.

He is, by all accounts, a nice and respectful young man.

And yet this is how he spent Tuesday -- being told that he should die in various ways.

I could use the next few hundred words explaining why this is ridiculous, sad and embarrassing to college sports fans, if not the human race in general. But what's the point? Idiots are idiots. If it were possible to eliminate them from the conversation, we would've done it by now. So I guess my advice to Wiggins would be to get used to it. Because though he did his best to downplay this announcement -- no TV, no national audience, just family and friends and one reporter from a local newspaper -- his stature in this sport combined with the buildup to his unusually late announcement made all of this unavoidable, and things will only intensify from here.

Yes, Wiggins is the nation's top prospect.

Everybody knows as much.

But it should be noted he's much more than that.

Every high school class has a No. 1 player by definition. But in the same way that all national champions aren't considered equals, all top prospects shouldn't be considered equals either. Point being, Wiggins is a special kind of athlete and talent. It's not unreasonable to call him the best prospect since LeBron James. He'll be our preseason National Player of the Year. He'll be the No. 1 pick in next June's NBA Draft. Between now and then, he'll be the biggest star in college basketball based on what he does and what people think he'll probably do years from now. Wiggins' mere presence will make KU the Big 12 favorite (again) and a legitimate contender to bring Self a second national title.
CBS Parrish

Kansas made up a lot of ground in the latter parts of Wiggins' recruitment after being something of an afterthought during the early stages. Self made a major impression on Wiggins, and he loved his visit to Lawrence. Wiggins has a chance to be the go-to-guy right off the bat, and he could be the missing piece between a borderline Top 25 team and a Final Four contender. Throw in the fact that Wiggins' brother, Nick, plays at nearby Wichita State, and it made sense for Kansas to put on the full-court press.

And it paid off.

Wiggins is immediately a leading candidate to be an All-American next season, as he is also the heavy favorite to be the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA draft. Yes, he's that good. The 6-foot-8 small forward has the ability to play multiple positions, creating matchup problems all over the court. He's supremely athletic with great length, and he plays with smoothness in his game that separates himself from his peers. Wiggins can knock down shots from the perimeter, and is also adept in the mid-range. Of course, his ability to finish at the rim and attack in transition is also elite.

On the other side of the floor, Wiggins has the tools to be one of the best defenders in the country. His length and size enable him to guard every position on the court, whether on the perimeter or in the post. That's what makes him scary -- and so tantalizing. Wiggins has the ability to be a lockdown defender, but he has plenty of room to improve on the offensive end.
CBS Borzello


The basics on Wiggins:

DOB: Feb. 23, 1995 (in Toronto).
Height: 6 feet, 8 inches
Weight: 195 pounds
Stat line: 23.4 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 2.6 BPG, 2.5 APG, 2.4 SPG
Position: Combo forward
Awards: 2013 Naismith Prep Player of the Year and Gatorade National Player of the Year
High School: Huntington Prep School (Huntington, W.V.)
AAU team: CIA Bounce (Anthony Bennett, Tyler Ennis, Rathan-Mayes have also played for Bounce)

A year early. Last October, Wiggins reclassified to the Class of 2013. He was originally on pace to graduate in 2014, which would've made Duke's Jabari Parker the No. 1 recruit in this class. Why, it wasn't even a year ago that Sports Illustrated proclaimed Parker to be the best prep recruit since LeBron James. Now he's not even the best in his class. The Wiggins-Parker storyline is one that I'd like to keep an eye on, though. Both will be on teams playing with good Final Four hopes.

He doesn't like attention. No, it's true! And that adds to the irony of this. Wiggins has taken a really long time to decide, but he made his pick in relatively private quarters on Tuesday, signing a letter of intent while surrounded by family and classmates -- and just one media member. We should note that Kansas is a heavy college hoops media market, though. Wiggins will be stepping into a whole new kind of life a few months from now.

Skill set. Well, being the No. 1 overall recruit in this class and perceived as the best in a decade, naturally, Wiggins does so many things well. Watch the video below as proof. One thing that stands out to me: The kid cracks off the floor and adjusts his body to dunk with such ease. And he's a premier defender. The dunks get the lion's share of the video, but Wiggins will be one of the best without the ball next season, too. At this moment, defense is his forte.

He's not LeBron James. Just because he's considered the best prospect since James doesn't mean he has the same game. Wiggins most certainly doesn't, and no one (thankfully) has gone so far as to say Wiggins will be as good/better than James. He's a tantalizing athletic prospect with a natural feel for the game. Though his body has matured, his game has a ways to go before he's truly elite. James was better at this point than Wiggins is.
CBS


5/14/13, 3:00 PM
We know you're hype about @22wiggins v. @JabariParker22 @championclassic. We are too! Tix in sale in Oct
@championclassic


AUDIO: Telep on Wiggins


ZagsBlog Archive of all things Wiggins

Everybody welcome the newest member to the family @22wiggins ! Time to get to work
@WayneSeldenJr

BIG Welcome to the Family @22wiggins let’s get to work and win all next year #KUCMB #KUbball
@jojo_embiid

I just landed in Atlanta and found out Andrew Wiggins is coming to KU!!! What a great day!#RockChalk
@RobRiggle

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK - KU now legit top 10 team with Andrew Wiggins!
@DickieV

Andrew Wiggins is another example that every school would take a player for one year if they could get him. Remember this is an NBA rule,” tweeted
@ESPNAndyKatz

Heading into the day, Kansas was likely second in Big 12. Now, Jayhawks are a Final Four contender. Wiggins effect
@JeffBorzello

Welcome to the fam @22wiggins. ... next season needs to hurry up and get here
@landenlucas33

Congrats to Coach Self, staff and team. Wow. Welcome Andrew to the Jayhawk family. Rock Chalk!
@CoachWeisKansas

Great day to be a Jayhawk! Congrats to @22wiggins on his decision. A great feeling knowing where your going to be playing ball!! #RockChalk
@jtheaps9 (Jake Heaps)

Congrats to Coach Self and staff on a great recruiting year!!! Rock Chalk!!!”
@davecampo2

@22wiggins hey welcome to the family #rockchalk #kubball and #kufball
@ReillyJeffers


Over a month ago Huntington (W.Va.) Prep sophomore point guard Nevell Provo said that teammate Andrew Wiggins had Kansas No. 1 on his recruiting list. That came as a bit of a shock because the logic was that Kentucky and Florida State were the leaders for the nation’s top high school prospect.



However, Provo’s proclamation came true Tuesday when the 6-8 Wiggins announced he was going to Kansas and not UK, Florida State or North Carolina.


So why Kansas? Provo said at the time Wiggins had listed the pros and cons of each team on his recruiting list and Kansas was the clear winner. Norrie (Clevenger) Price, a Mercer County native and the host mother for Provo and Huntington teammate Montaque Gill-Ceasar, thinks it might have had more to do with Kansas coach Bill Self and his similarities to Huntington coach Rob Fulford.



“I think he absolutely loved Bill Self. I think if (UK commit) Julius Randle had gone there, there’s no question he would have been at Kansas. He really liked Julius Randle,” said Price after attending Wiggins’ announcement. “Honestly, I believe there was ongoing discussions as late as last night with his parents. He seemed very relieved and happy, so I am happy with him.



“I know he loved Self from prior conversations he had with my husband. My husband loves him (Self), too. His host mom said Bill Self was more like Rob than (Kentucky coach) John Calipari and that is how Andrew is. He is not a flashy kid. He is not about pomp and circumstance. He’s just a humble kid.”

…“I think those that were not close to the program did not know how much he liked Bill Self,” she said. “I would not have predicted Kansas because no one really had an idea, but it’s not a big surprise to me.



“I think the longer things went on, it probably hurt Kentucky. A year ago, it was Kentucky and Florida State. The more players Kentucky signed and then going through the all-star games, I just think too many things stacked up against Kentucky in the long run. I think if he had made a decision early, it would have been Kentucky. By waiting, he changed his mind.”



Some are speculating that Wiggins might not have had a warm and fuzzy relationship with twin guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison, two of UK’s six signees he played with in various all-star games. Fulford also coached the twins in the Jordan Brand Classic.



“I don’t think he really knew Harrison twins. I think playing in all-star games with them probably clarified things for him about them when he had a chance to be around them,” Price said. “But the biggest thing, I think, is just that he felt comfortable with Bill Self.”
Larry Vaught's Views


Wednesday seemed a lot like the day after Christmas to Kansas University basketball coach Bill Self.

“My birthday falls two days after Christmas. I always got underwear or T-shirts for my birthday,” Self said during an appearance on Colin Cowherd’s ESPN radio show. “This was better than a Christmas and a birthday present combined.”

…The signing of Wiggins, who chose KU over Kentucky, Florida State and North Carolina, classified as huge national news, hence Self’s appearance on various national talk shows.

Tim Brando of CBS radio asked Self about losing one top-three NBA Draft pick in Ben McLemore with another filling the void in Wiggins.

“The situation with Ben, he handled himself beautifully while he was here. He’s an unbelievable kid. We lose him. We should have lost him (after one season). He should go because he has a chance to provide for his family,” Self said on Brando’s show. “You wake up and have somebody like Andrew Wiggins step in to go with five other guys (in KU’s recruiting Class of 2013), and you are, ‘Wow. Did we deserve this? This is unbelievable.’ We’re all ecstatic around here.”

Wiggins has been praised for announcing in a private ceremony at his high school attended by just one media member.

“It drives me nuts. You spend a lot of time recruiting a kid, and a kid picks a hat (off a table), which is fine. It’s how TV wants to play it up to be a big deal,” Self said of signing ceremonies in which a top high school player places hats of his finalists in front of him and puts the hat of one school on his head, signifying the winner.

“You have schools that invest so much time, energy and money sitting there watching it go down and not have a clue because they (network executives) tell them (prospects), ‘If you tell anybody, we won’t have you on TV.’ This was the high school beat writer, family, friends, teammates ... perfect. I thought it was very refreshing.”

…“Comparing him to LeBron is not fair,” Self said. “From a physical standpoint, they are both about the same height. LeBron is obviously much thicker and bigger physically. Andrew is extremely long at 6-8. His wingspan may be 7-1, 7-2, and they can both fly. There are some similarities in that. Both are freakish athletes.”

As far as how Wiggins will be used ...

“We’ll plug him in and do a lot of things we did with Ben plus add a whole bunch of more things,” Self said. “I think he’s a slasher who can shoot. You can post him. You can play really small with him at the 4, which we probably never will do, and of course he can be your 2-guard, which is his natural position.”
LJW


Of Wiggins the person, Fulford said: “Unbelievable kid. I texted coach Self and told him, ‘Congratulations, you are not only getting a great basketball player, but even better person.’ It’s been an honor to have him here. He’s one of the most respectful kids you’ll ever meet. He gets a bad rap for not wanting to handle media, but I think the part of the media he didn’t like to deal with is over. He didn’t like to talk about recruiting, comparing colleges. Talking basketball, he’s fine.”

As far as Wiggins the player, the coach said: “He has off the charts ability. It’s unfair to compare anyone to (Michael) Jordan or LeBron (James). I hope people don’t do that and set him up. He has unbelievable potential. His future is very bright. If he stays healthy, he will have a great NBA career. But comparisons are unfair at this point.

“He showed up at Huntington Prep as an elite athlete; he’s leaving an elite basketball player. He’s gotten so much better in the couple years he’s been here. He has room to improve certain things. It will be fun to sit back and watch how he develops at Kansas and into the future,” Fulford noted.

…Wiggins played for the Canadian team that won bronze at last summer’s Americas qualifying tournament for the Under 19 worlds. The U19 Worlds will be contested June 27-July 7 in Prague.
The qualifying tournament for the FIBA World Cup will be Aug. 30-Sept. 11 in Venezuela. Wiggins said Tuesday his immediate plans are to take finals, return home to Canada to relax with friends and family.

“He has some desires, which I totally support 100 percent, of playing on the Canadian 19 and under team,” Self said. “Whatever he wants to do I’m cool with, as long as it’s a situation where he’s getting better. One of the advantages of being here (in summer) is for camaraderie and chemistry with teammates. If he has a chance to do some things from a worldwide competition standpoint, we’ll support that 100 percent. To have the opportunity to play for one or, even better, both teams I think would be a remarkable experience for him.”
LJW


“I’ve got a weight lifted off my shoulders. I can relax now,” said Wiggins, who will be playing one year of college ball just up the road from his brother, Nick, a senior-to-be at Wichita State.

“That’s another positive in going there. We talked about all the possibilities. My brother is right there with me. Wichita State is like an hour-and-a-half travel away, so I can be close to my brother. I just look forward to having fun (at KU) and competing,” he added.

Wiggins — the last ranked player in the Class of 2013 to announce his college choice — didn’t keep anybody waiting on Tuesday morning.

His press conference, which was scheduled for 11:15 a.m., started at 11:09. That’s when Traylor’s tweet came out, KU coach Bill Self and lead Wiggins recruiter Kurtis Townsend not immediately noticing that they’d won the biggest recruiting battle of their careers.

Recruiting analyst Shay Wildeboor of Rivals.com called Townsend with the news.

“Shay asked Kurt, has he heard? We said, ‘No, he hasn’t done it yet,’” Self said. “Shay said, ‘He just did it. He’s coming to Kansas.’ It’s how we found out. Everybody started running in the office saying it was out everywhere he signed. Then my phone started blowing up. I probably got 150 texts in 10 minutes.

“There wasn’t jubilation,” Self added. “It was kind of a surreal feeling. I was so happy. It was a humble happiness. I was so proud we were able to land Andrew. There were some high fives, but not that much celebration. There will be a time we do celebrate. Hopefully that’s after we win a lot of games next year,” Self added.

Self admitted he went to bed on Monday night apprehensive about Tuesday’s announcement.

“I didn’t think it was great,” he said of KU’s chances. “I kept texting him. I couldn’t get him to respond. In the morning I text him and said, ‘Hey man, have a great day today.’ He texted back, ‘Thank you.’ That’s been my limited contact with him in recent days because he shut it all down and wanted to think about everything. We had no communication with the family until after he signed the papers.”

…“I thought it was the longest long shot,” Self said, “at least when we first got involved and everything. The more we hung around, the more we felt he liked us. There was a little bit of a connection. Kurtis (Townsend) played a huge role in making sure that occurred.”

Self said KU caught a break in Wiggins visiting for Senior Day.

“He saw what this place was about,” Self said. “The game wasn’t a huge high intensity game (vs. Texas Tech) but he was able to see how the players are beloved here. After he left, I felt we were definitely in the game and had a shot.”
LJW


Wilt, Danny and Wiggins can’t be compared as basketball players because of their different styles and positions and because nobody can be compared to Wilt. But Johnson did point to traits shared by Chamberlain and Manning and to early signs that Wiggins might have them as well: class and humility.

“Wilt and Danny, really good people who came from wonderful families,” Johnson said.

Wiggins didn’t invite ESPN in for a news conference choreographed by the network, replete with baseball caps from all four schools facing the TV cameras. Great sign.

“It tells me a lot about him,” Johnson said. “He wasn’t doing it for the glory or for the attention the way most of them do it.”

Instead, he let a reporter who had covered him in high school break the news via Twitter.

“That’s very telling about what type of person he is,” Johnson said.

Throughout his recruitment, Wiggins appeared to think all the speculation about his college choice, all the importance placed on it, did not make sense. He seems to get that just because he happens to be really good at something that generates huge audiences on TV and in person doesn’t make him more important than heads of state.

Manning’s the same way and, according to Johnson, so was Wilt, who to that point was the most talented basketball player ever.
LJW Keegan


One sportsbook opted to not even post college basketbal future odds until Andrew Wiggins signed.
Another had Kansas as a 30-1 longshot a week ago and just 10-1 this morning.

Such is the impact the Canadian high schooler has had on college basketball and on college basketball betting.

"We were waiting on him to sign before opening these odds up," said Kevin Bradley of Bovada sportsbook. "He is the biggest impact player we have seen in a long time and he is an immediate difference maker on college basketball future odds."

Indeed, the decision by the son of former NBAer Mitchell Wiggins shot Kansas to second spot on the Bovada odds list at 11-2. That is just behind Kentucky at 5-1.

In addition to the improved odds on the Jayhawks, Wiggins was also the subject of a few college basketball props Wednesday morning. Bovada made him a -300 bet to be the first player taken in next year's NBA draft.

And his point-per-game over/under for next season was set at 18.
philly.com


Bill Self knew after witnessing an emotional senior day that Andrew Wiggins was considering Kansas, even if the Jayhawks' coach was in the dark like everyone else while the superstar recruit made certain of his future.

For one thing, Wiggins saw on that visit in March just how beloved players are at Kansas, where icons such as James Naismith and Phog Allen have become deified.

Wiggins also saw just how many players were departing.

Four senior starters delivered farewell addresses that night. A few weeks later, star freshman Ben McLemore announced he would be declaring for the NBA draft, leaving the nine-time defending Big 12 champions looking for a bunch of guys to plug into the lineup next season.

Undoubtedly, Wiggins saw in Kansas a place where he could shine.

…"I felt like there was a connection," Self said, "but basically, he picked a good night to visit. He visited on senior day and kind of saw what this was all about, a game that wasn't a huge high-intensity game, but a game he was able to see how players are beloved here."

…"If anything," Self said, "it gets me excited to go to work."

Wiggins said the most difficult part of his decision was informing the three other finalists that he'd be going elsewhere. As for why he chose Kansas, well, he's keeping most of those reasons private, though he did say having his older brother Nick Wiggins at Wichita State was nice.

His father, former NBA player Mitchell Wiggins, said fit was also a big part of it.

"He liked their system. A lot of pro offence, the pick and roll," the elder Wiggins said. "The system is probably the biggest thing, and [Bill] Self is a pretty good coach."

Self is the first to admit he wouldn't be nearly as successful if it wasn't for his players — that's where it all starts, of course. But in luring Wiggins to Kansas, even Self acknowledged he's never coached another player like him.

"He doesn't really fit the mold of some of the guys we've had in the past," Self said. "He's a tremendous talent and a terrific kid. Probably an even better kid than he is a talent. We think he has a chance to be about as good a prospect as we've ever had."
AP

KUAD Press Release announcing signing of Andrew Wiggins

“He is soft-spoken,” said Roy Rana, the Ryerson University coach who has coached Wiggins internationally and at the Nike Hoop Summit. “But it’s not that he’s not assertive. He’s an assertive young man. When he feels strongly about something, he will let you know and he will stand up for himself. I think his adjustment will be fine. I think he’s going to step in to wherever he goes to college and have a great experience as a student and have a huge impact on the court. As he continues to mature he’s going to be much more confident in who he is and what he wants.”

The hope is that his year in Kansas will help him get there. Wiggins is at the top of a loaded class of potential 2014 draftees, including Kentucky commits Julius Randle, Andrew Harrison and Aaron Harrison, as well as Duke’s Jabari Parker and Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart. Thanks to his superior athleticism, Wiggins is ranked the top prospect of them all, but he does not have a free ride to the top pick in 2014. He has never dealt with the consistent competition that he will face this year, and his jumper and work ethic are still points of concern.

In that sense, going to Kansas, where he will play with Cameroonian centre Joel Embiid and Boston shooting guard Wayne Selden, will help him. Kentucky will likely be the favourite to win the NCAA championship heading into next year, but Kansas will be very competitive. A dominant year for Wiggins would certainly help that cause.

But the main priorities are clear: avoid injury and avoid controversy. Those would have remained the same, no matter where he chose to spend eight months of his life.
National Post

Wiggins had long ago narrowed things down to four schools — three bluebloods (Kansas, North Carolina and Kentucky) and a sentimental choice (Florida State).

In Kansas, he took the Goldilocks option.

Kentucky is too stacked with incoming freshman talent. Had Wiggins chosen the Wildcats he’d have created a Fab Five maelstrom guaranteeing blanket coverage for the next year. More than anything, what this kid needs is space to breathe, not new excuses for the media to pile on.

UNC isn’t quite as good, but still maintains the most pressurized atmosphere in college sports that isn’t football in Texas. Also, attending Michael Jordan’s alma mater would set the bar rather high.

Though both his parents attended Florida State, it has a depressingly average basketball set-up.
Kansas is just right — a historic program with a track record of shuttling youngsters into the pros; a powerful team, but not so oversold that it might overshadow him. Kansas is bigger than the player, but smaller than his ambition.

Kansas will know its role in all this — to take gentle hold of Wiggins and deliver him to his next team without breaking anything.

If there’s any significance to this decision it’s in the way it was taken.

The done-thing for a recruit of Wiggins’ stature is to announce his choice like the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Only 18, Wiggins is already an FOL (Friend of LeBron). He and his handlers learned something from that example about how acres of goodwill can be undone by one Caligulan pronouncement.

Rather than a big reveal, Wiggins instead chose to do it in his high school gymnasium in front of family and friends. There was no camera bank or pep squad squealing in the background. Only one reporter was invited — the local scribbler from Huntington, West Virginia’s Herald-Dispatch.

As soon as he tweeted out word, ESPN.com made it their top story. And not just one story. They posted five. They also re-released their pre-season top 25, bumping Kansas from the fringes to fifth overall.

Whether or not it’s true, Wiggins’ coaches told reporters that as of two hours before he announced his destination, he hadn’t yet told his parents. Kansas officials only learned of the choice when the words came out of Wiggins’ mouth. The overriding message: “I’m my own man.”

Wiggins seems aware that the three losers here were just as important an audience as the one winner. That’s heady judgment from a high-schooler.

He isn’t going to college to win championships, though he just might. He isn’t even going there to develop as a player. What Wiggins needs more than coaching is a quality trainer. The reedy 6-foot-8 forward can’t compete at the next level until he’s gained 30 or 40 pounds.

Everything else in his arsenal is already pro-rated. He is the best amateur player on the planet, and already one of the dozen-or-so best wings in the game.

Wiggins is instead going to Kansas on an extended promotional campaign. He’s there to impress upon NBA GMs that he’s as advertised, and that that quality extends primarily from character rather than genetics.

He’s also making a low-key sizzle reel for advertisers who can’t yet sign him. This is a job interview. Wiggins is the one holding the interview.

When he came up to Hamilton to barnstorm in front of a packed gym at McMaster in February, Wiggins was all shy reserve. He speaks in whispers, head tucked into chin. Someone asked him that day what he would like people to know about him.

“That I’m only 17,” Wiggins said then.

He’s age of majority now. He has next to nothing to prove in the NCAA. But the message is changing. He needs people to know that he is an adult.

In the way he hurdled all the stumbling blocks to making this first defining choice of his professional life, that message was amplified. The kid is a lot better than alright.
Toronto Star

USA Today: Will Wiggins be the best Kansas player ever?

Baylor, nice try.
Same for Oklahoma State.

Just when the Big 12 was ready to crown a new men's basketball champion for the first time since 1934, Kansas just had to step in and go all Kansas on the conference yet again.

In a highly, highly anticipated decision, top prep basketball prospect Andrew Wiggins said he will attend the University of Kansas to play basketball beginning in the fall.

Wiggins is listed as a 6-foot-7 small forward; he has been called one of the top recruits in the past decade.

HOORAY FOR KANSAS, and specifically the institution of higher learning and edumicashion.

This has to be KU's biggest name recruit since Larry Brown hired assistant coach Ed Manning so his son, Danny, would play basketball in Lawrence. Ed apparently was a dynamite coach.

Wiggins is the best prep player in the country, and he was attracting interest from every blue blood program in the nation. He picked KU over Kentucky, North Carolina and Florida State to play college basketball.

He may even attend class, although I don't why.

(* It should be noted that I am a KU undergrad alum, class of ... just very recently.)
This guy is so gone to the NBA this time a year from now the only classes he should be taking are How to Change My Cell Phone Number Every 15 Minutes, The History of Groupies and Entourage Studies.

KU could potentially have the No. 1 pick in the 2013 NBA draft - Ben McLemore - and '14 draft, Wiggins.

Both Baylor and Oklahoma State should have an edge in terms of preseason conference ranking because of the number of quality returning players, but the addition of a talent like Wiggins to Kansas changes everything.

Just prepare now for another KU Big 12 title.
Star-Telegram Blogs

Here's a look at the highlights of Wiggins' winding recruitment, from his roots in Canada to his big day in West Virginia:

August 2011: Wiggins, who had been a student at Vaughan Secondary School in his native Ontario, transfers to play for Huntington Prep in Huntington, W.Va. About that time, he makes his debut as the consensus No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2014.

Sept. 24: Wiggins makes his first unofficial visit to Kentucky, taking in the campus with Huntington Prep Coach Rob Fulford and teammate Xavier Rathan-Mayes.

Dec. 3: Wiggins takes an unofficial visit to UK to see the much-hyped matchup between the Wildcats and North Carolina. Freshman star Anthony Davis blocks a shot in the final seconds to help UK secure a victory in front of a raucous Rupp Arena crowd. "I thought it was amazing," Wiggins later told Scout.com.

July 20, 2012: Wiggins faces off against fellow top recruit Julius Randle, with Calipari and assistant coach Orlando Antigua in attendance, at the Nike Peach Jam Finals in North Augusta, S.C. Wiggins outplayed Randle down the stretch, finishing with 28 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks in an 81-80 overtime victory.

July 30: AAU coach Mike George tells the Herald-Leader that UK and Florida State are recruiting Wiggins the hardest after both Calipari and FSU Coach Leonard Hamilton attend his basketball camp in Canada. George says that will be a big factor in Wiggins' decision: "It's who's recruiting him hardest. That's what counts. That's what he wants to see. If he's playing, you better have a coach there front and center. And it better be the head coach. And if it's not — you have a problem."

Oct. 13: Xavier Rathan-Mayes — Wiggins' longtime friend and teammate — commits to Florida State. Rathan-Mayes, a four-star shooting guard, has been mentioned as one of the reasons Wiggins might choose the Seminoles.

Oct. 22: Wiggins makes it clear in an interview with Scout.com that he has opened his recruitment to schools other than perceived favorites UK and Florida State. "My options are still wide open," he says. "People think they can dictate or know where I'm going, but they might be in for a surprise." Kansas, North Carolina, Ohio State and Syracuse are among the schools that express interest.

Oct. 25: Fulford announces that Wiggins will join the class of 2013. He is immediately listed as the No. 1 overall prospect in the senior class.

Nov. 18: Wiggins leads Huntington Prep to a 61-44 victory over Christian Faith Center (N.C.) at Scott County High School in Georgetown. The crowd of more than 2,000 includes Calipari, Antigua and several current UK players. "The atmosphere was great," Wiggins said. "All of the fans loved me and supported my team. It's a great place to play basketball here. People love basketball ... the desire for the game. So I appreciate that."

Nov. 30-Dec. 1: Wiggins plays two games at the Marshall County Hoop Fest in Benton, Ky., and averages 27 points and 13 rebounds in the two victories. There were more than 5,000 fans — many of them wearing blue — for each game. Among the spectators was UK commitment Derek Willis. "He's a freak. He's probably the best player I've seen in my entire life," Willis tells the Herald-Leader.

Dec. 5: Wiggins and his parents attend the Florida State-Florida game as part of the official visit to Tallahassee. The Gators trounce the Seminoles, 72-47, but Wiggins' parents are honored with a halftime celebration of their past accomplishments as FSU athletes. "(FSU's coaches) talked about the legacy," Wiggins told Rivals.com. "It's appealing. It's something that I could look forward to (if I went there)."

Feb. 7, 2013: Sports Illustrated publishes a lengthy article with the headline, "The Canadian Jordan, Andrew Wiggins the great hope north of border." The piece questions Wiggins' work ethic, mentions several Canadian prospects who have fizzled in the past and references his father's two-year drug suspension from the NBA. Later that night, Wiggins goes off for 57 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks, while making 24 of 28 field goals in a victory over the Marietta College JV team. Wiggins and Fulford said after the game that the performance was sparked by the "negative" SI article.

Feb. 25: Wiggins is named the Naismith Player of the Year, beating out fellow finalists Jabari Parker and Aaron Gordon for the honor.

Feb. 27: Wiggins and his parents attend the UK-Mississippi State game as part of their official visit to Lexington. "That was a good visit. It was crazy. The game I went to the fans were crazy. They're always crazy. My parents liked it."

March 2: A crowd at Boyd County Middle School in Ashland looks on as Wiggins scores 40 points in the final game of his high school career.

March 4: Wiggins and his parents travel to Kansas to see the Jayhawks play Texas Tech as part of their official visit to Lawrence.

March 9: Wiggins takes his final official visit to see the Tar Heels play archrival Duke in their regular-season finale. His parents also accompanied him to Chapel Hill. "It was a crazy experience," Wiggins said. "For some people a once-in-a-lifetime experience to see Duke and UNC go at it. That rivalry is crazy. I have a lot of family in North Carolina and my dad was born there. So it was good."

March 20: Julius Randle — who some services consider the best prospect not named Andrew Wiggins — commits to Kentucky. A couple weeks later, Wiggins is asked what his reaction was when he first heard of Randle's commitment. "I don't remember," he says with a smile.

March 27: NBA great Alonzo Mourning surprises Wiggins at his school with the national Gatorade Player of the Year Award, which recognizes athletic excellence, academic achievement and exemplary character on and off the court.

March 28: The Hamburglar and Grimace stop by Wiggins' high school to acknowledge the player's selection to the McDonald's All-American Game. Standing in for Mayor McCheese was Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, who proclaims the date Andrew Wiggins Day in Huntington. Calipari also drops in on Wiggins for what Fulford later described as a "pretty informal, laid-back talk." It turns out to be the final face-to-face meeting with a college head coach during his recruitment.

April 2: Wiggins talks to reporters about his recruitment during the McDonald's Game media day. He outlines the positives of each of his finalists, specifically mentioning the appeal of playing with other top recruits at UK. "They'll all probably be superstars when they go to the next level. It's always good to surround yourselves with guys who you know are going to make it too."

April 3: Wiggins scores a team-high 19 points in the McDonald's All-American Game in Chicago, but his East team falls to the West, 110-99.

April 12: ESPN's Keith Jenkins tweets, "Source tells me Andrew Wiggins ... will commit to Florida State. Nothing official as of yet." Wiggins, who is attending the dinner banquet at the Jordan Brand Classic, responds almost immediately with a tweet of his own, "Lol if you ain't in my family you know nothing about my recruitment, lol stop with the rumors." Jenkins' tweet is later deleted.

April 13: Wiggins scores 19 points in the Jordan Brand Classic in Brooklyn. His team, which includes Randle and the Harrison twins, loses 102-98 to a squad featuring James Young, Dakari Johnson and Marcus Lee. Wiggins is asked by an ESPN sideline reporter when he thinks he'll make a college announcement. "No clue," he says with a shrug.

April 20: Wiggins scores 17 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists in the World's 112-98 victory over Team USA at the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland, Ore.

April 22: Twitter nearly breaks with the news that Wiggins has canceled in-home visits with coaches Leonard Hamilton, Roy Williams and Bill Self. The reason for the cancellations: Wiggins is exhausted from a grueling three weeks on the all-star circuit followed by travel problems getting back to Huntington from the Hoop Summit in Portland. Instead of face-to-face meetings, he talks to all three coaches on the phone before the end of the contact period April 24.

May 3: A Maryland seafood restaurateur with the Twitter handle Johnny Crabcakes posts a letter showing his connection to North Carolina Coach Roy Williams and declares that his sources tell him Wiggins will sign with the Tar Heels later that day. The tweets go viral. When the deadline passes, Crabcakes says he might be off on the timeline, but reiterates that "Wiggins to UNC is a done deal." Fulford responds to the Herald-Leader with incredulity: "I can promise you Roy Williams would tell me Andrew is committing before he did the guy that gets his crab cakes," he says.

May 12: Fulford tells several media members that Wiggins will make his college announcement May 14 during a private signing ceremony at his high school. Sticking with the theme of the highly secretive recruitment, Fulford says: "I have no clue where he's going or leaning, so I'm not much help here."

May 13: The predictions start rolling in, and the consensus seems to be Florida State. Among those who pick the Seminoles are ESPN's Dave Telep, 24/7 Sports analyst Jerry Meyer, Rivals.com's Eric Bossi and CBS Sports' Jeff Goodman and Gary Parrish.

May 14: Decision Day.
Lexington Herald-Leader