SportsCenter Anchor Neil Everett sported KU gear as he took the mic at center court before tip-off of the fourth annual Rock Chalk Roundball Classic.
It gives me chills every time I turn on to Naismith Drive. You must travel this road in Lawrence, Kan., to reach one of basketball's most storied gyms, Phog Allen Fieldhouse. I have covered many games here as reporter for ESPN. But today, I will be in a different role, assistant coach at the Bill Self Basketball Fantasy Camp. I am the only woman, with 48 men, participating. I am given a bag of coaching gear complete with whistle. Coach Self has won eight straight Big 12 Championships and is one of four coaches in NCAA Division I history to have led three different teams to the Elite Eight. I have accepted this fantasy camp invitation to learn from one of the best coaches in the country. I hope it will make me be better at my job. But, in the end, I learn much more.
…Our record is 3-0. We are getting some respect from the other campers. Self stops talking trash.
Next, we sit down with Self for an in-depth film session, breaking down a Missouri-Kansas game from this year, play by play. Self has the clicker and stops the tape to tell us what play or defense Kansas was running, who was supposed to do what, when. Then we see what actually happens. It is fascinating. So many details go unnoticed -- a wrong defensive switch or player out of position changes the entire play. Self remembers it all months later.
That night, Bill Self presents the, "Phog Allen Coach of the Camp" award. I am stunned when he announces my name.
"When she interviews me at half time, I didn't think she knew much about basketball," Self joked. "But she really does. Great job."
I am thrilled. I get a beautiful trophy. I have worked hard and the guys listened to me, treated me like a real coach. This is the most fun I have had in years.
ESPN Holly Rowe
Kansas, Milton Doyle’s dream school, wants the 6-foot-4 Marshall guard in a Jayhawks uniform next season.
The Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World reported Friday on its website (KUsports.com) that Doyle will be attending Kansas on scholarship next season. But according to his mother, Lisa Green, Doyle has one more hurdle to clear.
Green said Doyle has the grades and test scores to be eligible next season, but he’s awaiting approval of two courses he took online because of complications following his transfer from Tilden to Marshall after his sophomore year.
Neither Doyle nor Green spoke to the Journal-World for its report.
“I didn’t want to release anything,” Green said. “I wanted the people in Chicago to have this first. I was waiting on his eligibility because every time I get ready to say something, something else comes up.”
Doyle missed all of his junior season with an injury, so few basketball insiders knew who he was when he committed to then-Florida International coach Isiah Thomas before the 2011-12 season.
Doyle proved to be a coup for FIU with a great senior season -- 19 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals per game. But he was back on the market when FIU fired Thomas in April after three seasons.
He impressed Bradley’s coaches on a visit to Peoria in late April, but another player accepted the Braves’ remaining scholarship first.
Then Kansas coach Bill Self came calling. Doyle visited Lawrence on May 14 ready to commit.
The offer came and Doyle signed financial aid papers, but Green said the scholarship is pending NCAA clearance.
Chicago Tribune
Milton Doyle, the newest member of KU’s recruiting class of 2012, arrived on KU’s campus Sunday afternoon. His Jayhawker Towers roommate is fellow freshman Tyler Self. Doyle, a 6-4 combo guard from Chicago’s Marshall High, averaged 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals a game his senior season. The second-team Chicago Tribune all-stater is unranked by Rivals.com.
LJW
“Fast,” Cotton said, asked to describe Doyle, who averaged 19 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals a game his senior season.
“Dunks, crossing over, breaking (players) down, pulling up. I’ve seen him do it all,” Cotton added in a Saturday phone conversation with the Journal-World. “He can shoot the three, shoot deep, get to the basket, has a mid-range shot.
“He’s a very good distributor. He can do things ... take over when he needs to, make plays when he needs to.”
Cotton said Doyle’s only weakness is his slight frame, which can improve once he hits the college weight room.
“Once he puts some weight on, a couple pounds, that’ll be it,” Cotton said, noting Doyle played point guard and shooting guard at (24-8) Marshall, where he earned second-team all-state honors. “You put some weight on him and the sky’s the limit.”
Cotton said personality-wise, Doyle is “a quiet kid, a very humble kid. It’s a great fit. They (KU fans) are going to love him there. I’m really excited for him.”
LJW
Kansas University sophomore basketball player Christian Garrett is seeing the world during a memorable spring/summer of 2012.
The 6-foot-3, 185-pound walk-on guard from Los Angeles recently spent two weeks in Poland and Germany with former KU guard Jordan Juenemann as a member of Athletes in Action’s college all-star team.
In August, he and the Jayhawks will be heading to Switzerland and Paris to play six exhibition games.
“I’m definitely excited to go back with my teammates and see another part of Europe that I haven’t seen. I think the food will be better where we’re going than Poland and Germany,” Garrett said with a smile.
“Some places were nice. Some not very good at all. That’s how it is,” he added of restaurants overseas. “It’s definitely fun to travel, but it makes you appreciate America more. The United States is so special. Traveling makes you appreciate it.”
The Athletes in Action squad, which was coached by Baylor assistant Tim Maloney, went 6-0 on its trip against pro teams in Germany and Poland’s national team.
“We won every game by 40 (points) at least,” Garrett said. “We did really well. It was really fun. I was backing up Brady Heslip of Baylor at point guard. He’s a really good player. I got a lot of assists, which was good. I did fine. I played my role.”
LJW
Kansas Athletics has announced times and ticket information for the Kansas Jayhawks basketball games in Switzerland and France during the team’s European tour later this summer. Admission to the two games in Switzerland is free but tickets will be available for purchase at the door for the two games in France.
All of KU’s games will occur in the evening, with a match-up against the Swiss National Team starting the four-game exhibition slate on August 7 at Fribourg Olympic Arena at 7 p.m. The Jayhawks will play the Swiss again on August 8 at 5 p.m. Both games are free to the public and space is limited to the first 2,000 fans.
Kansas then travels to Paris where it will match-up with a French club team at 7 p.m. on Saturday, August 11, and again at 8 p.m. on Sunday, August 12 at Halle Georges Carpentier. Tickets will be available at the door the day of the event for 10 euro (or roughly $12.50), and are limited to the first 4,000 fans.
Anthony Travel will have seats blocked off in both arenas for those that have booked the tour with Kansas Athletics. The 8 p.m. start on Sunday is to allow everyone to watch the Olympic Gold Medal game at 4 p.m.
Ticket inquiries should be directed to Anthony Travel via email at International@AnthonyTravel.com or through its website at www.AnthonyTravel.com/Kansas.
• August 7th – Fribourg Olympic Arena – 7 p.m. – Fribourg, Switzerland
• August 8th – Fribourg Olympic Arena – 5 p.m. – Fribourg, Switzerland
• August 11th – Halle Georges Carpentier – 7 p.m. – Paris, France
• August 12th – Halle Georges Carpentier – 8 p.m. – Paris, France
http://www.kuathletics.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/061412aaa.html
Russell Robinson, who has played professional basketball in Spain and Turkey the past two seasons after a stint in the NBA Developmental League, says he’s thoroughly enjoyed competing overseas.
“The money is good. The competition’s good everywhere in Europe,” said Robinson, starting point guard on Kansas University’s 2008 NCAA championship team.
There’s been one huge drawback to earning six-figure paychecks, however.
“I miss home. That’s the biggest thing,” said Robinson, a 26-year-old native of New York. “I get away and enjoy it a little bit, but then I get homesick.”
The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder returned from a six-month stay in Trabzon, Turkey in mid-May. He spent a few weeks with family members in New York, before heading to Lawrence on Thursday for the Rock Chalk Roundball Classic charity basketball game — one in which he scored 21 points off 7-of-17 shooting. He hit five threes.
“I’ll be here two weeks. I booked a one-way flight here. Maybe I’ll stay longer,” said Robinson, who plans on working out with KU’s current players, who are in town for summer school.
“I love to come back any chance I get. It’s always good to be around some love. With KU fans, you feel a lot of love,” Robinson added.
LJW
Continuing our NBA Pre-Draft Tour, the next destination to stop at was Houston, TX, to see what John Lucas Enterprises had to offer. Along with right-hand man Brian Merritt, Lucas offered an incredibly strong group of potential draftees, starting with Kansas point guard Tyshawn Taylor.
Fresh off of taking KU to the title game against Kentucky two months ago, Taylor wrapped up an outstanding college career with his most productive season by far. His averages of 17 points and 5 assists per game while running point supplanted him on NBA Draft boards as a guy who’s going to get looks in the late first round with his package of size, speed and athleticism. More of a combo guard by nature, it’s been a learning process for the Jersey native in his time in Houston with Coach Lucas.
“I’ve really been working on my decision making,” Taylor admitted to SLAMonline. “I’m really becoming more consistent from NBA three-point range and am becoming more comfortable as a playmaker.”
SLAM
6/15/12 12:43 AM
Mario Chalmers on facing fellow @KU_Hoops Jayhawk Nick Collison: "It means another ring is going back Kansas. We both love Kansas to death"
Shane Ewing (@ShaneEwing)
In Game 2 on Thursday, Bosh yelled at Chalmers because “he thought I was somewhere I wasn’t” on defense. “I was explaining I was there in a unique way. Our opinions, it’s not always going to come out the right way.”
But why is Chalmers seemingly the only one subjected to public floggings?
“It comes with being a young guy,” Bosh said. “He’s Mario. It has always been that way since the team came together. It’s a little brother mentality. We stay on him because we want him to be better.”
Wade said “if he couldn’t take it, we wouldn’t do it.”
When did Wade decide he could talk harshly to Chalmers?
“After his rookie year,” Wade said. “Rookie year, with him, Deaquan [ Cook] and [ Michael] Beasley. Oh my God! It was tough. Once Daequan and Beasley weren’t around, he came and said, ‘I know I’ve got a lot to learn. I want you to teach me. I want you to be honest with me.’ He said it every year. When you give us that green light, we’re going to use it every now and then.”
When Chalmers spoke back to James during a playoff game at Madison Square Garden, Juwan Howard started laughing. “I don’t really hear when Rio responds,” James cracked.
Wade said that particular exchange “kept going for a long time and I thought LeBron was holding on to it too long, and I was like, ‘Hey, squash it.’ I went to Rio and said, ‘It’s over with. Move on.’”
Wade added: “I like when we talk to Rio and he fires back. … Not saying anybody is going to listen. One day, I’m not going to be playing with him. We don’t know if LeBron is going to be playing with him. One day, he’s going to lead other guys. We’re teaching him.”
Miami Herald
Kansas 2012-13 Schedule
Big 12/College News
An in-depth Journal-World study of Big 12 athletics, including the incoming and outgoing teams this year, found widespread clustering — defined by researchers as 25 percent of a team sharing one major — in men’s basketball and football programs.
Some of the more significant cases of clustering found in the study include:
Baylor football team: 51 percent of players major in general studies, compared with just 1 percent of all other undergraduates.
Texas A&M: 37 percent of the men’s basketball players and football players major in agricultural leadership and development, compared with less than 1 percent of nonathletes.
Iowa State: Seven of 11 men’s basketball players majored in liberal studies.
The study also examined the majors of all Kansas University athletics teams. In the last season, student athletes’ majors appear fairly distributed at KU.
But a closer look at the KU men’s basketball team through the years tells a different story.
Between 2004 and 2012, 43 players who’ve indicated a major in media guides have passed through the KU men’s program. Of those, 61 percent have majored in communications, African and African-American studies, or American studies.
Think of the best players to come through Lawrence over the past few years, and there’s a good chance they majored in one of those three.
Mario Chalmers, TyShawn Taylor, Sherron Collins? All African and African-American studies majors.
Brandon Rush, Cole Aldrich, Julian Wright? Communications majors.
Thomas Robinson and the Morris twins? American studies.
Of the 17 KU players since 2004 who have been drafted or signed by an NBA team, 13 have majored in those same three majors.
Those majors were disproportionately high among basketball players compared with the total undergraduate student body, as well as among KU student athletes.
Such clustering, though, is not against any NCAA regulations, and it’s not even clear whether, or how, the NCAA monitors clustering.
So what’s the problem?
…What about Texas A&M, with 37 percent of football and basketball players majoring in agricultural leadership and development?
According to the school’s website, the program is designed for those who plan to venture into the world of crops and farming. In Texas, that makes sense.
But many of the basketball players who choose that major come from places associated with anything but agriculture.
There’s guard Dash Harris, from Los Angeles; forward David Loubeau, from Miami; and guard Naji Hibbert, from Baltimore.
Representatives from Texas A&M declined an interview request, but did provide an email statement.
“There are a number of agriculture majors who are doing well in their respective fields and careers. The variety of these degree paths provide many options for our students, as well as our student athletes,” said John Thornton, interim director of athletics, in the statement. “It is not the specific degree that makes the student, but it is what the student does with that degree.”
LJW
Alex Etherington, a 6-foot-6 small forward from Hamilton Heights High in Arcadia, Ind., gave an oral commitment Sunday to Kansas State.
Etherington, who became K-State’s first commitment in its 2013 recruiting class, is lucky to be playing basketball at all. As a sophomore, he suffered a concussion in February last year after being undercut on a breakaway dunk and was temporarily paralyzed.
“I was scared,” he told the Topeka Capital-Journal. “I’ve never been that scared in my life.”
His recuperation kept him out until July and off the AAU circuit for part of last summer.
KC Star
The Arizona Board of Regents on Friday approved an extension of Arizona head men's basketball coach Sean Miller's contract through the 2016-17 season.
Wire
2012-13 Early Season Events List
Recruiting
Conner Frankamp at USA Basketball tryouts
Following four sessions featuring 28 of the nation’s top prep players age 17-and-under (born on or after Jan. 1, 1995) at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo., 14 finalists for the 2012 USA Basketball Men’s U17 World Championship Team were announced today.
Headlined by 2011 USA Basketball Male Athlete of the Year Jabari Parker (Simeon Career Academy / Chicago, Ill.), the list features eight athletes who won a gold medal at the 2011 FIBA Americas U16 Championship and one who was on the 2011 USA Basketball 3x3 Youth World Championship Team.
Named as finalists for the 2012 USA Basketball Men’s U17 World Championship Team were: Beejay Anya (DeMatha Catholic H.S. / Gaithersburg, Md.); Joel Berry (Lake Highland Prep School / Apopka, Fla.); Dominique Collier (Denver East H.S. / Denver, Colo.); Stephen Domingo (Saint Ignatius Prep / San Francisco, Calif.); Conner Frankamp (Wichita North H.S. / Wichita, Kan.); Rondaé Jefferson (Chester H.S. / Chester, Pa.); Dakari Johnson (Montverde Academy, Fla. / Brooklyn, N.Y.); Stanley Johnson (Mater Dei H.S. / Fullerton, Calif.); Tyus Jones (Apple Valley H.S. / Apple Valley, Minn.); Kendrick Nunn (Simeon Career Academy / Chicago, Ill.); Jahlil Okafor (Whitney Young H.S. / Chicago, Ill.); Parker; Johnathan Williams (Southwind H.S. / Memphis, Tenn.); and Justise Winslow (St. John’s School / Houston, Texas).
“Of the four years I’ve been involved with the USA Developmental National Team, I think this has been by far the most competitive camp,” said Don Showalter, USA and Iowa City High School head coach. “Players came in in great shape. They came in with the idea that they’re going to show what they can do. You look at the roster and you see we have six new faces from last year’s U16 team. That just shows you that some of the guys who didn’t make the team last year used that for motivation to improve their game in order to make this team.
“We still have 14 because there’s still some question about players fitting in, who best fits for international competition. We’re going to take a look at that over the next two or three days. It also makes for a great practice situation with 14 guys, because we have some who are banged up a little big. So, we have two extra guys for practice, which will be a help.”
USA Basketball
http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/u17/12_mu17_finalists.html
One of the 12 holdovers from the 2011 USA U16 team is Conner Frankamp (Wichita North H.S./Wichita, Kan.), who averaged 8.6 points per game in Cancun, including a game-high 22 points in a 118-46 triumph over Costa Rica to close preliminary play.
USA Basketball
6/17/12 6:05 PM
Love Conner Frankamp's intelligence and shooting ability. Pure stroke and solid all around player in general.
Jerry Meyer (@3starmeyer)
Brannen Greene shined at #top100camp #allstar #Kansas a perfect fit. Favorite thing hanging with family @b_greene14 pic.twitter.com/VVoCgUhW
https://twitter.com/TMcCormickESPN/status/214362119255228416
The other point guard on display at the NBPA Camp that has an offer from Virginia is Anthony Barber. Barber is from Hampton. He has offers from Virginia, Virginia Tech, Connecticut and Kansas to name a few. He's rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals. Barber recently called Duke his dream school, but he hasn't gotten an offer from the Blue Devils yet.
Both point guards are just tying to showcase their skills.
Barber says, "I think I played good. We played as a team. I came out, and got my teammates going, and then when it was my time to score, I was scoring. Coach told me, he said he heard about me a lot. He said he knew when it was down to the wire, it's my time to go. He told me to get to the bucket, so that's what I did."
http://www.nbc29.com/story/18793111/uva-recruits-showcase-skills-at-nbpa-top-100-camp
Anthony Barber, a 6-1 guard from Hampton, Va., scored 37 points in the first three games here. Only two players averaged more points. Only 11 others averaged double-digit points.
UK coaches called his father to touch base two weeks ago, Barber said.
...Wayne Selden, a standout guard prospect, has not heard from UK for a while.
"I'm not sure where that stands," he said. "It is what it is."
If UK has a greater interest in twins Andrew and Aaron Harrison, Selden will look elsewhere.
"They're good players," he said of the Harrisons. "I can't see myself going there if they go there. I'm just saying."
Selden, who sounded sure he will be reclassified from the class of 2014 to 2013, listed Florida, Ohio State and UCLA as three programs "for sure" as college possibilities.
A native of Boston, Selden also listed Harvard as a possibility.
"I work out in their gym a lot," he said. "It's just down the street."
Lex HL
Just like he started it, Anthony Barber finished camp as the best point guard in attendance. The 6-foot-2 jitterbug from Hampton (Va.) has solidified himself as the No.3-ranked point guard in the class of 2013 behind Andrew Harrison and Kasey Hill. Barber will next take an unofficial visit to Alabama.
Rivals
The premier event for high school basketball players is taking place this week at U.Va., but it's more than just a chance for them to show their skills.
The NBA Players Association runs the Top 100 Camp, five days filled with basketball, but also off-the-court development for players, parents and coaches.
…The state's best player, Hampton's Anthony Barber, won't play for the Cavaliers. His college finalists are Alabama and Kansas.
Richmond Times Dispatch
Jordan Mickey of Grace Prep in Arlington (TX) is one of the better frontcourt prospects in the nation in the class of 2013.
A 6-foot-7, 215-pound power forward, Mickey is a long and athletic player with some major upside. It is clear that colleges agree that the Texan is a talented prospect, as he is being looked at by schools across the country.
On Friday at the NBPA Top 100 High School Basketball Camp, Mickey said he holds scholarship offers from Louisville, Ohio State, West Virginia, Providence, Kansas, Texas, Florida State, Texas A&M, and Missouri. Additionally, he mentioned that he is receiving interest from Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina.
Mickey has gone on a recent visit spree, taking trips to Louisville, Ohio State, West Virginia, and Kentucky.
…With Friday being the first day that coaches could text players, Mickey said he received messages from coaches at Louisville, Alabama and LSU. It was Alabama head coach Anthony Grant who was the first to send him a text, doing so right at midnight.
Of what Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said in his text message, Mickey remarked, “Said he was happy to have me on campus when I came and he [will see me in] July.”
As aforementioned, Mickey also recently took a visit to Louisville’s archrival, Kentucky. He shared his thoughts on UK head coach John Calipari from while he was on the trip.
“He was excited to have me on campus to look around [and he was] . . . proud of all the things that he accomplished,” Mickey said.
The Lone Star State prospect also touched on the head coach of the team that Kentucky beat to win the 2012 national championship, Kansas.
“Coach [Bill] Self, I like his attitude and I like what he stands for,” Mickey said, adding, “[He] wants to win.”
NBE Basketball
A tired basketball cliché has the teacher noticing a big kid walking a school hallway and figuring anyone that size should play the sport. The teacher encourages the kid to try out for the team. Pituitary typecasting produces a diamond-in-the-rough story.
That scenario fits Cliff Alexander, a player whose rapid rise in youth basketball put him in Charlottesville, Va., last week for the Top 100 Camp.
Three years ago, Alexander was the kid walking down a school hallway. Basketball meant little to this eighth-grader.
"I just wasn't interested," he said last week. "I was more a football guy."
…Recruiting analysts say Michigan State is the school to beat for Alexander. When asked for the schools on his list, he mentioned Michigan State first, then added Indiana, Illinois, DePaul, Tennessee, Connecticut, Kentucky, Louisville, Florida State, Providence and Kansas.
Lex HL
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