6/1/13, 8:49 PM
#RockChalk instagram.com/p/aCek7lRxq6/
@CFrankamp_23
6/2/13, 8:42 AM
Lawrence bound!!!!!
@jojo_embiid
Just got some nice work in with @WayneSeldenJr and @F_Mason15 ... What's up Lawrence?
https://twitter.com/b_greene14
https://vine.co/v/b3haiXKUYmj
https://twitter.com/b_greene14
https://vine.co/v/b3haiXKUYmj
6/2/13, 11:40 AM
Morningstar's NY pizza donating 100% of sales, wages & tips to OKC Sal army for tornado relief on Tues June 4 Be there, make a difference!
@CoachBillSelf
the 2014 draft could be historically strong.
We’re talking 2003 strong.
Remember 2003?
That’s when the first five picks went like this: LeBron James, Darko Milicic, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade. (Who would have thought that three of those five would one day end up playing for the same franchise?)
The 2014 draft is so loaded, one NBA GM said there are half a dozen players in it that would go No. 1 this year.
That group includes a slew of current high school seniors who are headed to campus next season before their (likely) one-and-done seasons end.
Without further ado, here are our top 10 picks for 2014:
1. Andrew Wiggins – Grassroots sneaker guru Sonny Vaccaro told ZAGSBLOG he projects a three-company sneaker war for the 6-7 Wiggins next spring, with Nike, Adidas and Under Armour all battling to sign him.
All Wiggins needs to do to guarantee his payday, Vaccaro said, is to avoid any major injuries or stumbling blocks at Kansas.
“If he doesn’t hurt himself while he’s in college, physically or mentally or whatever, he’s got it locked,” Vaccaro said.
“The only way he could help himself is if they [Kansas] win the national championship.”
SheridanHoops.com
Marita Payne ran for Canada all over the world. She was a track star and more than 20 years after retirement still holds the Canadian record for the 200 metres and 400 metres. She won two silver medals at the Los Angeles Olympics of 1984 in relay events. She’s 52 years old now, mother of six, and no woman in the Olympic history of this country, has more won more track and field medals than she did.
That’s who Marita Payne is.
But to the kids in the park, or on the streets, or just about anywhere around Toronto, the name doesn’t resonate.
“And she would rather you not know her, that’s Marita” said Molly Killingbeck, the national team coach, who was part of the 4x400 team that won silver with Payne, Jillian Richardson and Charmaine Crooks in 1984.
“She was very quiet, still is very quiet, and very unassuming. But on the track, she was a fierce competitor and I mean fierce.”
The park in her name, not far from where she grew up just north of the city, is one of Greater Toronto’s best kept secrets. There’s a baseball diamond and games almost every night of the summer and a playground and a bocci court and bike and walking paths and trees everywhere and seemingly the park goes on and on and on.
Not far from there, near Steeles Ave. W. and Dufferin St., is where Marita Payne’s three boys — she also has three girls — began to play meaningful basketball. The kids were good, just like their dad. Way beyond those playing around them in Vaughan. The little one, though, Andrew, he was spectacular.
“Who’s Marita Payne?” one of the men’s league ballplayers asked.
“Ever heard of Andrew Wiggins?” I answered. Most of the guys nodded yes to the name recognition of the basketball phenom. “Marita Payne is his mom.”
“We raced against each other a lot,” said Killingbeck. “And we raced together a lot. We were a team and probably best friends off the track. Marita was always so poised, quiet, she had this way about her, she always did all the right things.”
Payne had her sprinting breakthrough at the world track and field championships in Helsinki in 1983. She pushed to notoriety in the 400 metres event. She put herself on the map as a track and field contender at a time when the East German women were doping their way to dominance.
“We knew going into Los Angeles, with the Eastern bloc boycott, we had a chance to win a medal,” said Killingbeck. “Marita was the fastest of us. Then Charmaine. Then Jillian and I.” They lost in the final to a record-setting American team, losing gold, winning silver.
…Marita’s youngest son will go to Kansas for his one season of college basketball before becoming an NBA star. That seems to be assumed about now. Not since LeBron James has the development of any one player been so anticipated. The athletes coming out of this city — Joey Votto, Steven Stamkos, Akeel Lynch, get better with each passing year. This is a whole new level on the world stage.
But ask Marita Payne about Andrew and she’ll remind you she has two other boys, three other girls, all of them gifted in their own way. She doesn’t care to be a story or the story or garner any kind of publicity. She didn’t respond to requests to be interviewed for this piece.
“Andrew’s a lot like his mom,” said Killingbeck. “He’s humble the way she’s humble. Like her, he has lots to brag about but he doesn’t brag.
“Kids pick up so much from their parents. In this case, you have well-grounded people, who aren’t going to get caught up in the hype. They’re going to protect him, the way they protect all their kids.
“It’s obvious that Andrew is very gifted, and the whole thing is pretty amazing but I think he’ll always land on his feet, because he has good, strong grounded parents. And the whole family has that way about them.”
In quiet Marita Payne Park, isolated north of Steeles, west of Dufferin, the young men took in their history lesson, surprised by their new found knowledge. When one of their teammates arrived just before game time, he was greeted with the words:
“You know who this is park is named after?
“Andrew Wiggins’ mom.”
Toronto Sun
Kansas center Jeff Withey, who's projected to be a late first-round pick, will work out for the Knicks and Nets before the June 27 draft, his agent, Darren Matsubara, confirmed to ESPNNewYork.com.
Most pre-draft workouts for NBA teams start on Monday.
Both the Nets and Knicks could use another backup big man, and Withey, 23, is noted for his shot blocking. The 7-0, 235-pound center averaged 3.9 swats last season -- third-best in Division I men's basketball.
"Mike Woodson is very defensive-oriented and Jeff is going to protect that rim," Matsubara said. "I think he will show some people a little bit that he can shoot from the perimeter, but that wasn't what he had to do when he was at Kansas."
The Knicks have the 24th pick in the draft, and Matsubara likes that positioning for his client, while the Nets have the 22nd pick.
"I've known Mike for a while now and [the Knicks] could be a pretty good fit," Matsubara said. "He's someone that could maybe step in there and give Tyson [Chandler] a breather when he needs it."
ESPN
LJW: A look at best point guards in Bill Self era
Coaches of five future NBA champions and three NCAA title teams passed through Lawrence in those years.
“It was an incredibly stimulating environment for basketball,” Buford said. “It’s among the most unique in the country, and you took great pride being part of that. The level expected to perform there challenged everybody involved, the coaches, the players, everybody.”
The roll call of full time assistants, graduate assistants, players who became coaches and administrators – all the way down to a one-year observer – reads like a who’s who of hoopage.
Bill Self and John Calipari each own NCAA championships. Alvin Gentry and Bob Hill became NBA head coaches. Bill Bayno, John Robic and Mark Freidinger became or were college head coaches.
So, again, is Brown, who at age 72 just finished his first year at SMU.
Among the players of the era, Mark Turgeon is Maryland’s head coach, Tad Boyle has taken Colorado to the NCAA Tournament and Danny Manning just completed his first year at Tulsa. Milt Newton is a vice-president with the Washington Wizards.
Should Indiana pull off the Game 7 surprise tonight at Miami and win the Eastern Conference, the NBA Finals would match general managers from the Brown era – Buford against former KU point guard Kevin Pritchard of the Pacers.
Even managers scaled the ranks. Bill Pope became the head coach at Lincoln University (Mo.) and is now an assistant coach and advance scout for the Pistons.
…It’s not difficult to see common threads between the programs that produced Buford’s championship rings.
“I take great pride in Kansas basketball, and in the culture that has been created with the Spurs,” Buford said. “There are similarities in purpose.”
KC Star
Kansas head women's basketball coach Bonnie Henrickson announced the hiring of assistant coach Shay Robinson Sunday. Robinson replaces Terry Nooner, who took a similar position at Alabama.
Robinson spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach at the Air Force Academy, which was fitting since he served more than eight years on active duty in the Air Force. While enlisted, he deployed on numerous tours of duty, including three tours in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, spending time as a Weapons Load Crew member on F-16s, as well as Special Operations Senior Command Post Controller.
"We are excited to add Shay to the staff," Henrickson said. "He will bring tremendous energy, national recruiting contacts, a background in player development and a strong work ethic as a result of his military background. He will work with our perimeter players and with his player development background we are looking forward to the ideas that he will bring to our program."
Prior to his arrival at the Academy in 2011, Robinson served for five years as the assistant director and head instructor at EDGE Training Facility in Orlando, known as the premier training facility in the state of Florida. In conjunction with former Boston Celtic Dee Brown, Robinson managed daily basketball operations while performing individual and team skill development sessions, camps and clinics. His vast clientele ranged from beginning players to elite high school, college and professional athletes in the NBA and European Leagues.
KUAD
Jerod Haase turned down Mark Horvath three times before he finally agreed to let him write “Floor Burns: Inside the Life of a Kansas Jayhawk.”
Turns out, Horvath, the former Andrean basketball coach who died last Sunday, was quietly persistent.
Haase, now the coach at UAB, said that Horvath initially wrote after he arrived at Kansas and told him he liked his hustle.
He asked if he could do a book and Haase said, “No thanks.”
He wrote back again about a year later and asked again and Haase turned him down again.
Finally, after Haase finished school and started working on his master’s degree, he agreed to do the book after Horvath asked for the third time.
…Horvath and Haase struck out on the last part of the project: Finding a publisher.
So, Horvath, who was an entrepreneur as well as a teacher (he owned a painting business) decided to self-publish the book.
Haase said that basically meant the two of them went to Kinkos and had the book bound up and sealed.
The first printing was 30,000.
“We got in a van and went to Newton, Kan., and picked them up,” he recalled.
They did a few book signings over Thanksgiving and eventually sold the first printing.
Haase said he recalls printing about 8,000 more books, with most of them being sold.
In the book business, selling 38,000 is a solid effort for a self-published book. On Amazon.com, there are nine reviews of “Floor Burns.” Eight of them are positive.
…“To this day, people still come up to me and tell me they read it and they talk about how much they enjoyed it,” he said. “I just had one of my neighbors tell me she did a book report on it. It was just a neat thing Mark did with me.”
Link
KU Homecoming theme
Space available for Bill's Basektball Boogie
RockChalk Roundball Classic on June 13
Big 12/College News
The Big 12 Conference has gone from the brink of collapse only a few short years ago to record revenue.
Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said Friday that the league's 10 schools will share a record $198 million for the 2012-13 school year, an amount expected to increase significantly going forward.
The eight continuing members of the Big 12 — Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas Tech — will get about $22 million each this time. Newcomers TCU and West Virginia will get half-shares for 2012-13, about $11 million each from their first year in the Big 12.
"We like the amount of money that we're distributing on an institution by institution basis. There's a lot to like about our current circumstance," Bowlsby said at the end of the league's spring meetings "And I can understand some uneasiness, especially based on what has gone on the last couple of years. ... I think our league is rock-solid and we have done everything we can, in the near term and in the long term, to keep this group of 10 schools together in perpetuity. And I think we also have done that and maintained a full set of prerogatives should circumstances change in the future."
Big 12 teams shared $183 million in revenue in 2011-12, the last year in the league for Texas A&M and Missouri before their departures to the Southeastern Conference.
TCU and West Virginia will get higher percentages each of the next two years before being fully-vested Big 12 members in 2015-16, by which time Bowlsby said the league's 10 teams should be getting about $30 million each from the conference. That could reach $40 million within another decade after that over the length of the Big 12's TV contract with ESPN and Fox Sports.
And those figures don't even include third-tier broadcast rights, such as Texas' agreement with ESPN for the Longhorn Network. That 20-year, $300 million partnership between Texas and ESPN began before the 2011 football season.
The SEC said Friday that its 14 teams will get about $20.7 million each from league revenue of about $289 million.
…"The Big 12 payout ... even with a half a share, is much more than it was in our previous conference," West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck said this week before the figures were announced.
Luck said West Virginia's department had about $60 million in revenue before the Big 12, and was close to $80 million this year. He sees that growing to the $100-million range in "probably a five-, six-year period."
Bill Powers, the Texas president, said he is happy about the strength of the 10-team Big 12, considering the prevailing thought of the league's instability two and three summers ago.
"I don't know if vindication is the right word, but some recognition that, as the winds were tracking to the mega-conferences and we sort of resisted it, that we made a choice that was good for the conference and (am) absolutely convinced the choice is good for the student-athlete," Powers said. "I'm proud of what the conference did on that. Pleased, but not overly surprised. "
The Big 12 last September announced a new $2.6 billion, 13-year deal with ESPN and Fox Sports. That agreement also allows the Big 12 to retain the media rights and accompanying revenue of any school that leaves the conference. There is also an upcoming signing bonus from ESPN, along with television money that will be generated through the new College Football Playoff that begins with the 2014 season. And there is the Sugar Bowl matchup against the SEC that will generate another $40 million a season for the Big 12.
Bowlsby said the Big 12 likes the nine-game conference football schedule where everybody plays each other without a championship game, and the double round-robin schedule in basketball. Plus, the TV contracts go through 2024-25, providing plenty of stability for things to remain as they are.
"Until we get to the point that some of these television contracts are starting to expire, I just don't think there's going to be much conversation about major change," Bowlsby said.
AP
A Kansas Jayhawk on Show-Me state license plates? Missouri lawmakers resoundingly said “no way.” But an Arkansas Razorback? That still might be OK.
Officials in Missouri are trying to ease restrictions on specialty license plates from out-of-state colleges after a prohibition aimed at the University of Missouri's traditional nemesis, the University of Kansas, appears to have inadvertently affected budding rival in the University of Arkansas, as well as Pittsburg State University in southeastern Kansas.
Missouri Rep. Lyle Rowland, whose state House district abuts the Arkansas border, said the prohibition approved last year has been interpreted to apply to all out-of-state schools and that some people already have a Razorback on their license plates.
“I had a lot of my people – since I border Arkansas – down here that were alumni of the University of Arkansas, and they love their Hog plates,” said Rowland, R-Cedarcreek.
…Democratic Rep. Chris Kelly, whose district includes part of the University of Missouri-Columbia campus, joked during the House's debate that preserving a specialty license plate for Arkansas is in some Missourians' interest.
“If this is not passed and people cannot get Arkansas Razorback license plates, no one in Greene County will be able to have pizza delivered,” Kelly said.
KC Star
The scoreboard has been hung and most of the red cloth seats have been anchored at the new arena that will be the home for Nebraska basketball.
Nebraska already has sold every ticket for the 2013-14 men's basketball season, and a media tour revealed a steep seating configuration that could make for an intimidating home-court advantage.
''It's right on top of the court, so it'll be a great building for basketball,'' said John Hinshaw, project manager for Minneapolis-based M.A. Mortenson Co.
About half of the seats are in the lower bowl, with a portion of them retractable to make room for convention space or other sporting events. The floor is equipped for ice equipment, meaning the arena could be used for ice hockey if Nebraska chooses to add the sport someday.
The main entrance was specifically designed to offer a view of the State Capitol rising to the southeast. There also is an outdoor deck that will be open during warm weather.
A total of 36 suites ring the arena, each equipped with three rows of four seats, a drink rail, wet bar, cook top and television. There also are 20 mini suites with seating for four. The seats in the arena are 20 inches wide. Unlike the old Devaney Sports Center, which had bench seats in the upper levels, every seat has a back at the new arena.
Hinshaw said the Panasonic high-definition center-hung scoreboard will be one of the finest in college sports and better than in most in NBA arenas. The four-sided scoreboard is 16 1/2 feet tall and 22 feet wide and is topped by another full video board that is 6 feet tall and 22 feet wide.
Link
Pac-12 school presidents took no action Sunday after learning the results of a conference-commissioned investigation into the Pac-12 Tournament basketball officiating controversy.
The Indiana-based college sports law practice of Ice Miller LLP said it interviewed 42 people at the Pac-12 and UA, watched video, and pored over documents before coming to many of the same conclusions that the conference's own investigation did in April, when the Pac-12 said former officials coordinator Ed Rush improperly tried to prod officials into more closely monitoring Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller.
"The Pac-12 CEO Group fully reviewed and discussed the Ice Miller report and agreed that is was an objective analysis of all known facts surrounding the officiating dispute at this year's Pac-12 Men's Basketball Tournament," said Oregon State president Ed Ray, the chairman of the CEO Group. "The CEO Group accepted the report, agreed there is no further action required, and determined that this independent review brings closure to the matter."
Ice Miller's report said that comments regarding a "bounty" from Rush were not meant literally and that the conference's $25,000 fine against Arizona coach Sean Miller was justified because of his actions following the Wildcats' March 15 loss to UCLA in the Pac-12 Tournament.
Miller has paid the fine, and a Pac-12 spokesman said it went toward a post-graduate fund.
"The disciplinary sanctions, including the fine … were within the commissioner's authority and were reasonable," the report concluded.
However, the report said there were widely varying stories about how Rush delivered his comments. It also said that the conference should have allowed Miller to directly respond before punishing him and given him more than an hour to decide whether he would pay the fine or face alternative disciplinary action.
Arizona Daily Star
The Sons of Westwood chronicles the UCLA dynasty period from 1964 until 1975 when the Bruins won 10 national championships.
That supernova of achievement obscures anything done before or since by the usual suspects in college basketball's pantheon. Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, Indiana and Kansas must cede center stage. But UCLA has receded in recent decades. So is UCLA really the most significant college basketball program?
"Without question," said Smith, who teaches American history at Georgia Tech. "Maybe some Kentucky fans would disagree with me. UCLA ushered college basketball into the modern age."
Smith uses the most-significant label not in tribute to mere victories or even championships. He sees those UCLA teams and players as having an unprecedented and unmatched impact that transcends merely keeping score. For instance, college basketball went from regional television programming to national network prize during this period.
Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) actively participated in the Civil Rights movement, arguably the country's most significant social transformation in the 20th century. Bill Walton marched in student protests of the Vietnam War, arguably the most significant student resistance in U.S. history.
Lex HL
2013-14 Early-season events schedule
Recruiting
New Kansas University basketball assistant coach Jerrance Howard’s connections in Chicago might be paying off in recruiting already.
Recruiting analyst Scott Phillips of NY2LAsports.com reports that Charles Matthews, a 6-foot-4 junior-to-be from Chicago’s St. Rita High, has recently “been in touch” with coaches from KU, Kentucky and Michigan State. He told Rivals.com he has offers from DePaul, Illinois, Wisconsin, and SMU.
Remember, Howard was an assistant at SMU prior to taking over for Joe Dooley at KU. A native of Peoria, Howard has ties in Chicago after attending the University of Illinois.
“SMU has already offered me. I talk with coach Jerrance Howard and head coach Larry Brown. It’s a good relationship because coach Jerrance coached at Illinois, which I know a lot about. My dad really likes coach Brown a lot,” Matthews, who is ranked No. 9 in the Class of 2015, told Rivals.com on May 15.
KU is also in the hunt for top-ranked senior Jahlil Okafor, a 6-10 center from Chicago’s Whitney Young, who has a final eight of KU, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Arizona, Duke and Baylor.
No. 5-ranked Cliff Alexander, 6-8 senior from Chicago Curie, at one point was considering KU. It should be interesting to see if KU ultimately secures a campus visit from Alexander now that Howard is on board.
LJW
The nation's top-ranked Class of 2014 recruit, Jahlil Okafor, cut his list to eight schools Wednesday, with Arizona, Baylor, Duke, Illinois, Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan State and Ohio State remaining in the mix for the ridiculously talented center. But like every other great post, Okafor will be dependent on a player -- primarily the point guard -- to deliver the post feed or drop-off pass on time and on target for him to be in the best position to score.
Let’s take a look at how the eight finalists may sell Okafor on how he’ll receive the ball in their half-court sets.
Kansas
High-low action: Kansas’ power game is its high-low offense, where one post will come high in between the top of the key and the free throw line (think Marc Gasol in Memphis). The shooters are wide on the wings and the point guard is in a designated corner to take help away from the top of the key area. Okafor will be in the low post getting wide and low to create a large target for the ball handler.
ESPN($)
Emmanuel Mudiay (Dallas, TX/Prime Prep Academy) and Josh Perkins (Aurora, CO/Regis Jesuit) are generally thought to be two of the half-dozen or so best point guard prospects in the Class of 2014.
And, during the second set of three games late Friday night, Court 3 was the place to be to see them hook up as their respective Washington (Mudiay) and USC (Perkins) teams played.
Who “won” the confrontation?
Well, I’m sure each had his supporters in that regard afterward.
Certainly, there was no “knockout” or clear-cut “winner on points” – and that’s the last time you’ll read me or hear me making boxing analogies this weekend.
First and foremost, the bottom line analysis of a PG’s performance has to be in found in the won and loss columns.
And Mudiay’s team prevailed, 53-45.
In terms of “how they looked”, a few things were apparent to me:
For one, Perkins is a much better jump shooter than is his Dallas counterpart.
Perkins drilled three 3s while showing off terrific lift and a crisp release – range and accuracy didn’t seem to be issues at all for Perkins.
Mudiay, on the other hand, seems to be a “last-resort jump shooter” – reluctant, at best. He doesn’t have the comfort level, form or accuracy of Perkins.
Both, obviously, have strong handles – with either hand – and are comfortable directing things while jetting the ball or walking it up methodically and surveying the landscape in front of them.
Each saw cutters several times in transition and made the attempt to get the ball to them – Mudiay with a bit less flare than Perkins, but a bit more accuracy.
Fundamentally, Perkins got into trouble a couple of times, notably leaving his feet on a pass attempt (on which Oak Hill Academy guard Terrence Phillips positioned himself perfectly and drew the charge), and delivering the ball not quite where the shooter/cutter needed it.
At times, Mudiay got caught up being too “rushed” instead of waiting for teammates to get into position.
Neither was particularly impressive on defense, playing way too high in their stances when checking one another.
Finally, as big an advantage as Perkins has as a jump shooter/perimeter scorer appeared to have on Mudiay, the Dallas guard has that kind of edge on Perkins in terms of size, strength and innate quickness.
Mudiay looks to be 6-3 plus and about 210 pounds – slap him in a Cowboys’ uniform and he could pass for a strong safety – while I’m assuming Perkins goes about 6-2ish and maybe 185.
And Mudiay’s seems to have the kind of feet a cornerback would envy – once, in transition, Perkins had the ball going full speed, attacking a retreating Mudiay who was, basically, back-peddling.
Perkins tried to change directions a couple of times yet never could blow by Mudiay in the open court.
Overall, I’d give a slight nod to Mudiay for being “more impressive” (and “impressive”, as we all know, can be a nebulous term and also one that is subject to the eye of the beholder) Friday night.
Frank Burlison
Rivals VIDEO: Pangos Friday
Josh Perkins has been one of the hottest names in the class of 2014 in the spring, vaulting himself into five-star status as one of the premier point guards in the country.
That reputation was put to the test Friday night at the Pangos All-American Camp when he opened up in his first game against Emmanuel Mudiay, one of the top three prospects in the class.
Perkins held his own, and probably had the edge for the majority of the game. However, Mudiay asserted himself down the stretch, using his strength to get to the rim at will -- and lead his team to a victory.
“In my eyes, if it means anything, he's the best point guard in the nation,” Perkins said of Mudiay. “It's tough to play against him, because he's so much stronger than everybody. I gotta step my game up every time I play against him.
“I thought I played well, but he got the win.”
Perkins, a 6-foot-3 Colorado native who recently decided he will attend Huntington Prep (W.Va.) next season, has seen his recruitment go to a new level in the past two months. UCLA recently offered, while USC, Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, New Mexico, Gonzaga, Houston, Baylor, Syracuse, Connecticut and others are all coming after him.
Arguably the most skilled passer in the country, Perkins said he hasn't been doing anything differently -- people are just finally seeing him.
“I'm just getting noticed,” he said. “I've been working hard, and the hard work is paying off.”
Perkins began a string of visits, checking out the UCLA campus before the Pangos camp began.
“It was great,” he said. “I loved it."
He said UCLA was among three schools pursuing him the hardest, along with Gonzaga and USC. Interestingly enough, he will visit the other two schools very soon, planning to stop at USC after this weekend and then take a trip to Gonzaga next weekend.
CBS
If Stanley Johnson had his head in the clouds after winning most outstanding player honors Sunday at the prestigious Pangos All-American Camp, it didn't take long for the reality of being a teenager to humble him.
Shortly after being handed the showcase event's most coveted piece of hardware, Johnson's father scolded him about the placement of his vehicle in the Cabrillo High School parking lot.
Turns out the 6-foot-6 power guard power parked in front of a fire hydrant.
"That's my dad for you," Johnson said. "He's the guy that says, 'Great job but you didn't do your homework this weekend.' He's great though."
…He also set off a bit of a firestorm by showing up to the gym Friday night wearing a USC sweatshirt. Don't read too much into it, Johnson says.
"I have to wear a college sweatshirt or a Mater Dei sweatshirt to school and that's just the one I wore to school," Johnson said. "I came from school straight to my high school basketball game to the camp. I wasn't thinking of it until I walked in and people started taking pictures. It wasn't a statement. I like the school, they are on my list and I liked the sweatshirt."
The Trojans are in the mix for his services at the next level along with Arizona, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Oregon and UCLA.
Also honored following at the conclusion of camp were Emmanuel Mudiay and Rashad Vaughn, who took home most outstanding player honors for their respective teams in the Cream of the Crop Top 25 Game.
MaxPreps
Following a three-day training camp featuring 30 members of the 2013-14 USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team, 16 finalists were today announced for the 2013 USA Basketball U16 National Team. The roster will be pared down to 12 before the squad departs on June 7 for the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship, which will be played June 11-15 in Maldonado, Uruguay. The finalists, who must be 16-years-old or younger (born on or after Jan. 1, 1997) and a U.S. citizen to be eligible for this team, were selected by the USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National Team Committee.
Named as finalists to the 2013 U.S. U16 squad were: Thomas Bryant (Bishop Kearney H.S. / Rochester, N.Y.); Bryant Crawford (Gonzaga College H.S. (DC) / Kensington, Md.); Henry Ellenson (Rice Lake H.S. / Rice Lake, Wis.); Terrance Ferguson (Prime Prep Academy / Flower Mound, Texas); Daniel Giddens (Wheeler H.S. / Mableton, Ga.); Harry Giles (Wesleyan Christian Academy / Winston-Salem, N.C.); Mustapha Heron (Wilbraham & Monson Academy / West Haven, Conn.); Josh Jackson (Consortium College Prep / Southfield, Mich.); V.J. King (St. Vincent - St. Mary H.S. / Akron, Ohio); Malik Monk (East Poinsett County H.S. / Lepanto, Ark.); Malik Newman (Callaway H.S. / Jackson, Miss.); Ivan Rabb (Bishop O’Dowd H.S. / Oakland, Calif.); Devearl Ramsey (Sierra Canyon H.S. / Los Angeles, Calif.); Diamond Stone (Dominican H.S. / Milwaukee, Wis.); Jayson Tatam (Chaminade College Prep / St. Louis, Mo.) and Seventh Woods (Hammond School / Columbia, S.C.).
USA Basketball
6/2/13, 10:18 AM
Woke up to me and My brothers @Tyusjones06 @jahprobound on the front page of ESPN. #LaFamilia
@Chief_Justise
Justise Winslow (Houston, Texas/Saint John’s H.S.) visited UCLA on June 2 on an unofficial visit. The 6-5 small forward is rated as the 10th best prospect in the class of 2014 by ESPN.
Winslow’s visit to UCLA was his second unofficial visit to the school, he also visited the school on August 1, 2012. Bruins head coach Steve Alford visited Winslow (at his place) on April 14, 2013.
Link
During the autumn of 2010, Malcolm Dinwiddie returned for the evening to the family home in Woodland Hills, Calif. A note on the door said a neighbor had a FedEx package that had been left on the Dinwiddies' front porch.
"It was shaped like a shoe box," Malcolm Dinwiddie recalled.
Knowing how hard Colorado men's basketball coach Tad Boyle was recruiting his son, Spencer, Dinwiddie assumed it probably came from CU.
"I thought, 'Boyle can't give us shoes. That's against NCAA rules,' " Malcolm said. "I opened it, and there must have been 100 letters for Spencer. We read some of them together as a family, but then I let Spencer take the box to his room so he could read them himself."
Every letter was handwritten.
Boyle's relentless approach to recruiting has helped him land an unprecedented flow of talent into the CU program, leading to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and a likely top-25 national ranking to start next season.
CU recently received anoral commitment from Dominique Collier of Denver East, a junior guard named the state's best player by The Denver Post. That's further evidence that the Buffaloes now are the program to beat for in-state talent.
CU also is getting out-of-state gems, such as Spencer Dinwiddie, who will enter his junior season as one of the Pac-12's top talents.
Denver Post
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2013 Spring/Summer AAU & Camp Schedule
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