TUESDAY

Kansas Jayhawks

Terrence Ross gets 14th Green Room invite w/Davis, T-Rob, Beal, MKG, Barnes, Lillard, Waiters, Rivers, Drummond, Lamb, Henson Zeller Leonard
Jonathan Givony ‏@DraftExpress


Only one player in Kansas basketball history amassed more rebounds in one season than the 463 Thomas Robinson pulled down last year.

That was Wilt Chamberlain.

No one in the country had more double-doubles last season than Robinson, who had a school-record 27 of them. And in the national championship game, Robinson had 18 points and 17 rebounds against Anthony Davis and the Kentucky Wildcats.

…Scouts love Robinson because of his maturity and dependability. NBA teams believe they can count on him to produce every night, as he said, and love his strong character and makeup.

Robinson is a bit undersized, measuring at 6-9 in shoes at the combine, making him about the same height as the Cavs' Thompson. But where Thompson's best quality is his tremendous athleticism, Robinson relies on brute strength.
Akron Beacon Journal


Since landing the 2nd overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft Lottery the Charlotte Bobcats have made no secret of their desire to move down from the #2 spot and try to secure multiple assets in this draft in efforts to rebuild the team around a youth movement.

The Bobcats met with Kansas big man Thomas Robinson over the weekend and are debating their options with the #2.

Sources say the team understands that Robinson is likely a can’t-miss prospect, but they do not appear to be sold that he is the franchise changer the team desperately needs. The same is being said of Kentucky forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Like Robinson, he is said to be a solid NBA prospect and really has a limited downside, but like T-Rob he’s not going to get the Cats into contention all by himself.

Enter the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Cavs hold the #4 and #24 picks in the 2012 NBA Draft and do not appear to want either pick. The Cavs have eyes for Florida’s Brad Beal and they know that if they stay at #4 they know the Wizards are taking Beal with the #3.

League sources say there is a standing offer of the #4 and #24 to Charlotte for the rights to the #2 pick and it seems if something better does not surface they may trigger a deal.
Hoops World


The Atlanta Hawks will wrap up announced workouts on Tuesday with a couple of point guard prospects in Tony Wroten and Tyshawn Taylor.

Its interesting that Wroten is in the final workout for the team as most early mock drafts projected him to Atlanta then moved off of him. Chad Ford's latest mock draft once again projects Wroten to the Hawks.

…Taylor is another interesting prospect that could be in play in the second round should Atlanta focus on drafting a big or a wing in the first round. Wroten fits the combo guard profile and could potentially slide into the reserve role that Kirk Hinrich was in last season.
Link


CBS Mock Draft


With eight new scholarship freshmen on the roster, it's hard to predict exactly how the Kansas men's basketball team's offensive roles will establish themselves for the 2012-13 season.

If history is any indication, though, KU fans shouldn't expect seniors Elijah Johnson and Jeff Withey to do the same heavy lifting offensively that departed players Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson did in 2011-12.

…Though Pomeroy told me it's not impossible for players to make possession percentage leaps from the teens into the high-20s, more than likely, both players will end up in the 20-24 percent range.

That would leave a lot of possessions unclaimed for KU.

So who might pick those up?

Kevin Young is a possibility (19.3 percent), though he needs to improve his defense and reduce his fouls to pick up increased minutes.

Travis Releford, meanwhile, seems unlikely to take on a huge role, as he posted the second-lowest possession percentage of KU's regulars last season (13.9 percent).

It appears, then, that there is an opportunity for freshmen Ben McLemore and Perry Ellis (and potentially Anrio Adams and Andrew White) to make a big offensive impact for KU in their first years.

In all likelihood, KU's offense will be more balanced in 2012-13, with the Jayhawks needing a few good freshmen to immediately step into scoring roles.
LJW


Former Kansas University basketball assistant coach John A. Pfitsch died Friday at age 92 according to an obituary appearing in the Des Moines Register.

As a graduate assistant, Pfitsch served two years as KU’s freshman team basketball coach starting in 1940. After serving in World War II, Pfitsch spent one year as an assistant coach for Phog Allen during the 1945-46 season. He was Allen’s first assistant coach.

Pfitsch also met his wife, Emily Hollis, during his time at KU.
LJW


Kansas 2012-13 Schedule

Big 12/College News

In the grand scheme of crimes committed by former Baylor basketball players, this one is fairly tame.

But it’s still intriguing.  And perhaps troubling.

According to KWTX.com, former Baylor basketball player Richard Hurd has been arrested for allegedly attempting to extort Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, who played college football at Baylor.

Hurd is in federal custody, due to appear before a magistrate judge at 2:00 p.m. CT.
NBC


Richard Khamir Hurd, a former Baylor basketball player, is charged with extortion following his Friday arrest by FBI agents.

Court documents unsealed following Hurd’s 10 a.m. arraignment describe Hurd contacting an representative of a St. Louis, Mo., agency, identified only as “B.D.” on June 18.

“Hurd communicated that he had derogatory information on a client of B.D., and that he intended to release that information to the media to damage or injure the reputation of B.D.’s client unless the client paid Hurd a substantial sum of money,” states the affidavit.

Griffin is not named in the document, but sources said Sunday that the Heisman Trophy winner was the target of the alleged extortion attempt. His manager’s name is Ben Dogra.

According to records, a man appointed by "B.D." to represent the agency and Hurd met at a Waco business on Friday, where Hurd “signed a non-disclosure agreement, turned over his derogatory information and was give a check representing the lump-sum payment.”
Waco Tribune


Former Ohio State star and two-time all-American Jared Sullinger will watch the NBA draft inside a Columbus restaurant, not in the green room in Newark's Prudential Center, after the NBA declined to invite him to Thursday's draft.

NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson told ESPN.com that Sullinger would not be invited based on the reports the league had received that Sullinger wouldn't be selected in the top 15.

"He's more likely to go in the teens or in the 20s," Jackson said. "We continue to have contact with teams, but at this late date we don't anticipate inviting him."
ESPN


Frank Haith of Missouri and Billy Kennedy of Texas A&M have both spent time in the region of the country their teams will now call home.

Kennedy hails from Louisiana and worked his way up the coaching ranks before he got the Aggies gig a year ago. He was coach at his alma mater, Southeastern Louisiana, for six years, then at Murray State in Kentucky.

"The biggest difference is the SEC is more athletic, it's more up-and-down (the court),'' Kennedy said Monday on an SEC teleconference.

"The Big 12 tends to be a grind, especially when you play people for the second time. It's a physical, grinding league.

"Both of 'em are great leagues and you have to have great players to win.''

Haith coached at Miami and was an assistant at Wake Forest.

"We do have some recruiting ties back that way,'' he said.

"The biggest adjustment for us is getting adjusted in terms of travel. We've got a longer distance to go to get where we're playing. We had five bus trips last year and we're not gonna have any this year.''

Frank Martin, who comes from Kansas State in the Big 12 to South Carolina in the SEC, says the SEC is getting an upgrade.

Missouri was a top-five, 30-win team last year. Injuries were a factor in ending A&M's NCAA tournament run of five consecutive years.

"They bring two tremendous programs and have tremendous homecourt advantages,'' Martin said.

"Those two buildings are just a whole lot of fun to be in.''
Link


Charter Big 12 members Missouri and Texas A&M will be abdicating the conference on Sunday for their new home in the Southeastern Conference.

The Big 12 isn’t giving up the fight — at least until that day arrives.

Shoppers on the Big 12′s merchandise page can still purchase Aggie and Tiger-themed merchandise.

That’s right, Big 12 fans. You, too, can buy coaching shirts just like the ones that Gary Pinkel and Kevin Sumlin will be wearing across SEC sidelines this fall. You can even buy Aggie and Tiger flip-flops like their fans will be wearing into new stadiums to watch their teams.

Most are being offered for full price. But cost-conscious Missouri fans can buy Santa hats at $14.99 – down from their original price $18.95 — if they buy by Friday. It will be for their first holiday apart from the Big 12 family in a long time.

And Aggie fans can pick up price-slashed 2011 commemorative pennants from A&M’s victory at the NCAA women’s basketball championship.

The Big 12 probably won’t acknowledge that championship by the time basketball season arrives. Even if after his first swing through SEC road venues Gary Blair might want to go back.

The only item missing is a giant blinking blue light and a countdown ticking down the number of hours the Aggies and Tigers have left as Big 12 members.
San Antonio Express blog


2012-13 Early Season Events List

Recruiting

If there was any doubt, go ahead and install the United States as the favorite in the FIBA U17 World Championship, which begins Friday in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Playing without top-ranked Class of 2013 star Jabari Parker, the USA throttled Latvia by 36 points Sunday and Australia by 25, 89-64, Monday to capture the Gran Canaria U17 International Invitational – a tune-up event for the competition in Lithuania later in the week.

The event was played in Las Palmas, Canary Islands.

…The Americans will be one of six teams pooled into Group A in Lithuania along with Australia, China, Czech Republic, Egypt and France. The USA will play each of those teams in preliminary action with the top four teams in Group A and Group B reaching the knockout phase beginning July 6.
MaxPreps


FIBA U17 World Championship official site


USA Basketball story, stats, etc


The North Seattle Community College Summer League begins tonight. Here's a look at which teams feature Washington Huskies and prominent players.

LAKERS - Andrew Andrews and Shawn Kemp Jr. (UW) and D'Vonne Pickett, Jr. (Seattle University).

BOSTON - Abdul Gaddy and Martin Breunig (UW).

KNICKS - Jernard Jarreau and Mark McLaughlin (UW).

SUNS - Desmond Simmons and Hikeem Stewart (UW), Anrio Adams (Kansas), Mitch Brewe (UC Santa Barbara) and John Steinberg (University of Chicago).

76ERS - Scott Suggs and C.J. Wilcox (UW) and Riggs Yarbro (University Puget Sound).

BLAZERS - Sterling Carter (Seattle University), Ben Eisenhardt (Whitworth), Geoff Mcintosh (Cal State) and Nate Walker (Central Washington).

TONIGHT'S SCHEDULE

6 p.m. - Chicago vs. 76ers
7 p.m. - Suns. vs. Boston
8 p.m. - Knicks vs. Blazers
9 p.m. - Lakers vs. Miami
Seattle Times


NSCC SUMMER LEAGUE REPORT

--- Washington newcomer Mark MacLaughlin flushed a breakaway Statue-of-Liberty dunk and drained several long shots while entertaining fans Monday at the North Seattle Community College Summer League. He played against a team led by Seattle University guard Sterling Carter.

--- Husky senior Abdul Gaddy paired against Anrio Adams, the Kansas recruit, and Andrew Andrews and Shawn Kemp Jr. were on hand to play in the nightcap.
Seattle Times


Ever since reclassifying to the Class of 2013 from 2014, Wayne Selden’s recruitment has sped up significantly.

Instead of having to pick a school a year from now, the 6-foot-4 Tilton (N.H.) School small forward will try to select a school this year.

“The schools coming the hardest probably would be Florida, Ohio State, Missouri, UCLA, Harvard and Kansas,” Selden said from the Kevin Durant Skills Academy in Chicago. “[They are] coming at me the hardest.”

Selden has no visits planned yet, but said,  ”I’m going to visit some schools but I’m not sure which ones at which times.”
Zags Blog


Morgan County High rising junior big man C.J. Turman traveled to the 19th-annual National Basketball Players Association Top 100 High School Basketball Camp, last week, at the University of Virginia.

The camp, which ran June 13-16, was created by the NBPA in 1994 to assist elite high-school student-athletes in the development of their basketball and life skills.

For the 6-foot-9 Turman, it provided an opportunity to test his skills against some of the best players in the nation regardless of classification, as well as show off his talents for college scouts and recruiting services.

Count Reggie Rankin, a former college coach for 14 years and current scout and analyst for ESPN Recruiting since 2007, among those who were impressed by the power forward prospect from Madison.

Rankin posted some quick impressions of Turman on Twitter, describing the player as “strong,” “physical,” “explosive around the rim” and “active.”

“Body like a grown man!!,” Rankin wrote. “My kind of [power forward]. Great upside!”

Turman was joined at the camp by five other players from Georgia, including the top-ranked player in the state and a top-50 player nationally for next year’s class in Brannen Greene. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard recently transferred from Mary Persons High in Forsyth to Tift County High for his senior season.

…Turman lists Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee as schools that have shown interest in him thus far. He hopes to eventually secure scholarship offers from his dream schools--Kansas, Kentucky and Duke.
Link


Summer Event Schedule


adidas Grassroots schedule


Nike EYBL Schedule


Check here for the NCAA Recruiting Calendar


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