Cole Aldrich's wedding this weekend
7/20/13, 10:24 PM
Haa i bleed burnt orange forever!!
RT @CoachBillSelf: Big shot Reed having fun oh and also some guy named Durant. pic.twitter.com/LxvywHOoIQ
@KDTrey5
Haa i bleed burnt orange forever!!
RT @CoachBillSelf: Big shot Reed having fun oh and also some guy named Durant. pic.twitter.com/LxvywHOoIQ
@KDTrey5
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A pair of larger-than-life Jayhawks were roaming the court at the Thomas Jefferson Fieldhouse on Friday afternoon.
Perry Ellis, a sophomore forward for Bill Self’s Kansas team, and Greg Dreiling, a former KU center and 10-year NBA veteran, were on hand to give their expertise and encouragement at the Thomas Jefferson Advanced Basketball Skills Camp.
The camp was hosted by Bill Carter, current director of development at Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School, and former coach who is in the MBCA Hall of Fame and the Texas A&M-Kingsville Hall of Fame.
He coached Dreiling and Wichita-Kapaun Mt. Carmel to a state title in the 1980s.
“When Coach Carter calls, I come running,” Dreiling said. “He said he had a bunch of young kids who wanted to learn basketball and the lessons it can teach, so here we are.
“He could call me over to China or South America. Wherever he is, coaching or teaching, I’ll be there for him.”
Dreiling was on hand all week to help instruct the campers, but Ellis was the main attraction on Friday.
…Dreiling, who played for the Indiana Pacers, Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers, had similar words when discussing Ellis’ game, even referring him to Celtics great Kevin McHale at one point.
“He’s developing an all-around game. I love his ability to turn around and hit the jump shot,” he said. “ He’s got nice up-and-under moves, kind of McHale-like down in the low block. You have to honor his jump shot and he can give you head fake after hitting a couple and then swing it through and finish with jump-hooks the other direction.
“And he’s just going to keep building on that. He has a nice foundation.”
…The Jayhawks made big news when they secured Andrew Wiggins, the top recruit in the 2013 class, earlier this summer.
“He’s a great kid, a humble kid,” Ellis said of Wiggins. “He’s similar to me in that he’s real quiet. He’s a great kid and he’s doing great up there right now. I’m looking forward to seeing him play.”
The Jayhawks will send a young team onto the court this season, but Ellis said he had high hopes for the squad.
“This is going to be a real athletic team. We’re going to be able to run and get up and down the court a lot,” he said. “It’s going to be different. We’ll have a lot of new faces so we’ll have to get adjusted well. It’s going to be great.”
Joplin Globe
Kansas played 37 games last season. With the requisite five players starting each game, that represents 185 starts through the year. Sophomore power forward Perry Ellis made four of those, sophomore power forward Jamari Traylor one. The players who made the other 180 starts are all gone from the roster, with four of them completing their eligibility and All-American guard Ben McLemore filing for early NBA draft entry.
So that means KU is starting over with players who accounted for 2.7 percent of last season’s starts.
“Perry, without question, even though he didn’t start, in my mind he’s the equivalent of a starter,” Self said. “But with all that being said, it’s still the youngest team that we’ve had.”
…What was learned during KU’s summer-session practices:
—Wiggins must improve his conditioning to equal his athleticism, which is no great surprise. It’s rare for high school athletes to arrive in the kind of shape that has become common for college athletes who are exposed on a daily basis to elite strength training. Wiggins will need to learn to use his burst more efficiently; he’ll get to the rim more often than most but will be more dangerous if he pulls up for short jumpers or to feed teammates who become open when defenders collapse.
—Center Joel Embiid, a 7-0 native of Cameroon who attended high school in Florida, impressed Self with his skill and potential. “When we recruited him, I thought he had a chance to be pretty good. And then we watched him with his high school team and thought he had a chance to be real good,” Self said. “And then after coaching him for a while … he’s just so young in the game, but I think he’s got a chance to be one of the best big guys I’ve ever been around.”
“He’s just got it. He just doesn’t know how to do it yet.”
—The pressure on Tharpe to be a functional point guard might come as much from freshman Frank Mason of Massanutten Military Academy as from the responsibility inherent in such a high-profile position. “Naadir and Frank Mason and Conner Frankamp, they’re all guys definitely better than what I’ve thought, but still a long way to go to run a team, to being the primary guy,” Self said. “There’s definitely competition there. Mason’s going to put pressure on everybody to be better. He wants it so bad … Our workouts have been so competitive.”
—The abundance of athleticism, which includes freshman wings Wayne Selden and Brannen Greene, will allow KU to play a more ferocious defensive style. “I think we’ve got to defensively do things to pressure more because for the first time in years we can actually pressure the ball,” Self said. “We’ve got wings that can run through passes. I think we’ll have to do more stuff full court.
“And then also, we haven’t played any zone, but I think we can have an unbelievable zone team. I’m not saying we’ll do that a lot. I definitely want to investigate it.”
Sporting News DeCourcy
ESPN’s Myron Medcalf on Monday listed KU freshman Andrew Wiggins as the country’s most “indispensable” college player, that is, the most important to the success of his team.
Wiggins was ranked No. 1, followed by Doug McDermott, Creighton; Jahii Carson, Arizona State; Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State; LaQuinton Ross, Ohio State; Cleanthony Early, Wichita State; Alex Kirk, New Mexico; Russ Smith, Louisville; Davante Gardner, Marquette and Mitch McGary, Michigan.
“No high school recruit has ever arrived with this much hype. He might not live up to it. If he does, however, it’ll be easy to see why he’s so indispensable,” Medcalf wrote.
…Former Kansas University basketball players Marcus and Markieff Morris combined for 27 points and 13 rebounds in the Phoenix Suns’ 91-77 loss to Golden State in Monday’s finals of the Las Vegas Summer League.
Small forward Marcus Morris had 17 points and six boards; power forward Markieff Morris 10 points and seven boards. The Suns finished with a 6-1 record to Golden State’s 7-0 mark.
LJW
Ben McLemore, Kings 15.8 PPG, 5 RPG, 0 APG, 33.3 FG%, 19.4 3P%
The good: McLemore had two strong games at summer league, most recently downing a talented Hawks squad with a 19-point third quarter. When he's on, he moves with uncommon grace and power, both on and off the ball. He's also been a terror in transition because of his ability to outpace defenders and throw down reverberating dunks.
When balanced, McLemore's shot can evoke Ray Allen memories, especially when he sweeps along the baseline, through screens, to get an open look. Because of his athletic prowess, not much room is needed for a clean jumper. The kid rises quickly off the floor, unfurling a rainbow arc that eludes closeouts. Even if his shot hasn't been going in this tournament, the form looks good.
The bad: He hasn't been good at that which he's supposedly good at. For a shooter, McLemore hasn't shot especially well, converting only 33 percent of his attempts. Though the form looks good, his balance appears to be off, to the point where he airballed consecutive jumpers against the Warriors. He's yet to demonstrate an ability to reset his legs and square up when shooting off the dribble.
Shaky as the shot's been, his handle is more concerning. McLemore's dribble is loose, and often stolen. He carries the ball with nearly every dribble, often losing the rock on the way up or down. He's especially bad at dribbling left, which teams have taken advantage in this chaotic setting. Defenses are shading McLemore leftward, daring him to attack open driving lanes.
Bottom line: Despite his glaring flaws, I certainly wouldn't give up on McLemore because his positive qualities are just as striking. He's probably the most powerful dunker in Vegas, and if the college stats are any indication, he'll grow into a sharpshooter from deep.
ESPN: Top Summer League Rookies
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/61680/final-word-summer-leagues-top-rookies
7/20/13, 3:16 PM
Going back to school next summer
@BRush_4
Big 12/College News
No longer is the Big 12 just trying to survive, like it was during the seismic shifts of conference affiliation in previous summers when the league lost four schools and added two others to settle into its 10-team configuration.
Bowlsby, the former Stanford and Iowa athletic director, acknowledged that much of what has been accomplished in his first year leading the Big 12 was the result of things that were already in motion when he got there. That included the framework of the $2.6 billion TV deal with ESPN and Fox Sports that goes through 2024-25 with each school granting its TV rights to the league.
"We got done the things that needed to be done in the first year, most of them were previously started," Bowlsby said. "This year may be a little more ground-level logistics and tactical things, as opposed to some of the high-level things we had to deal with."
AP
While it's not a full-on breakaway from the NCAA that's coming to college football, the look and feel of the sport will never be the same. Frustrated at a bogged-down, ineffective NCAA, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said Monday he and his BCS conference peers favored "transformative change" in college athletics.
He later identified that change as the possible establishment of a so-called “Division 4” of the highest level of football-playing schools.
"We've made it too easy to get into Division I," Bowlsby said Monday at his conference's media days, "and too easy to stay there."
...What we'd been hearing for those months now seems to be heading for reality. There is going to be a further subdivision at the highest level of college football. It last happened in 1978 when FCS (Division I-AA) was created. That relegated 250 or so schools to the non-revenue purgatory that is I-AA.
Get ready for an expansion of that purgatory for the have-nots. The message was as clear as the division between the BCS and non-BCS conferences. ACC commissioner John Swofford said it could come within six months. Bowlsby said an NCAA special convention may be needed.
…So the time has finally come, the time we've been hearing about for months, years. We knew that financially the BCS conferences were about to flex their significant muscle. Now they're gaining further control of college athletics. By the way, don't get in their way because complete secession from the NCAA is possible, Bowlsby said, though only as “a last resort.”
Somewhere you can hear saber rattling. The commissioners are using gummed-up NCAA legislative process as an excuse, but really this about them making their own rules so they spend their own money the way they see fit.
The player stipend debate has been disaster and perhaps the last straw for the BCS schools.
Northern Iowa has almost nothing in common with Texas but has the ability to vote down a stipend because it can't afford it. What the BCS commissioners are saying: Why is Northern Iowa voting on the issue in the first place?
“Northern Iowa and Texas aren't much alike,” said the same Bob Bowlsby, who also spent eight years as AD at … Northern Iowa.
CBS Dodd
Basketball is the main reason that despite their objections to the current system, schools from the SEC, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac 12 would not cut ties completely with the NCAA. Though its growth has slowed considerably in recent years, the men’s tournament is still a cash cow that provides plenty of revenue. And it would be difficult for the BCS schools to produce a popular tournament without the likes of Cinderella schools that help give the event its charm and appeal.
…Bowlsby told the media covering the Big 12 event that the five commissioners have “unanimity” about what should happen, meaning we are probably close to the day in which like-minded powers join together to make their own rules and share their own revenue.
Lexington HL
What Bowlsby is saying is what Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski feared when he sat down with The Post about a month ago and was asked if he thought the “Big Five” power conferences would split from the NCAA.
“What happens when people get more money?’’ Coach K asked. “They move out of the neighborhood. They form their own neighborhood.’’
The new neighborhood would comprise the schools from the five power conferences: ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and Pac-12. They’re the conferences that are getting filthy rich TV contracts.
And if that happens, the blue-blood schools in those conferences — Arizona, Duke, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Syracuse, UCLA — the ones that often get the top seeds, the ones we love to see toppled, won’t be in the NCAA Tournament.
They would be in another neighborhood, a neighborhood with all Big Fellas and no Cinderellas.
Big-time college football already lives there. It’s dragging basketball with it.
“Football is really outside the NCAA,’’ Krzyzewski said. “They go by the NCAA rules, but they don’t share money with the NCAA.’’
The big-time football schools share little with the rest of their NCAA brethren, which is why a split seems inevitable. As Bowlsby said, “It’s unrealistic to think that we can manage football and field hockey by the same set of rules.’’
NY Post
The men's tournament selection committee was in Park City, Utah, this week and into the weekend to review the tournament, tweak where needed and assess the future of the NCAA's grand event.
Remember, the NCAA has no control over the football playoff since that is being run by the five major conference commissioners. The men's basketball tournament is still the gem for the NCAA and its most protected asset.
The tournament doesn't need to be overhauled, but there are a few moves that will be discussed and, in the long term, could be enacted to potentially enhance the tournament.
1) Protect the true seed
2) Family consideration
3) Arenas for regionals
4) Fan experience
5) Tournament leadership
ESPN
North Carolina athletic officials have ordered a company that makes designer mouth guards to stop using a Tar Heels basketball player to promote its brand.
The university has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Iceberg Guards about rising senior guard Leslie McDonald, who until recently had been listed on the company's website as a user of its products. It's the second off-court issue involving a UNC player the school has faced this offseason, following leading scorer P.J. Hairston's June arrest on a misdemeanor drug charge while driving a rental vehicle.
That vehicle was linked to a man with a criminal history — who also has a business connection to one of the founders of Iceberg Holdings LLC.
NCAA rules generally prohibit athletes from endorsing or promoting a company or product.
"We sent a cease-and-desist letter to Iceberg regarding Leslie McDonald," said Steve Kirschner, UNC's senior associate athletic director for communications. "They took his name off their site as a customer last week."
North Carolina has spent much of the past three years dealing with off-field issues that began with an NCAA investigation of the football program. Now the school is trying to determine whether there are issues with its men's basketball program.
News Observer
The misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession and driving without a license that P.J. Hairston faced after his June 5 arrest in Durham have been dropped, a Durham County clerk of court said Monday. Even so, Hairston, the UNC-Chapel Hill junior guard, still faces questions about how he came to drive rental cars paid for by a felon with a long criminal history, and what impact that might have on his NCAA eligibility.
A court clerk said Monday that Hairston had produced his license, which led to the dismissal of that charge, and also completed a state drug assessment program, which led to the dismissal of the marijuana possession charge.
After his arrest, Hairston, who had been driving a rented 2013 GMC Yukon, told Durham police he received the vehicle from “Fats” – a reference to Haydn “Fats” Thomas, a Durham resident and felon who faces felony drug and gun charges.
The rental receipt confirmed Thomas paid for it. Before the June 5 arrest, Hairston received a speeding ticket in another rental car, a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro that has been linked to Thomas. Hairston faces an Aug. 2 court date for the speeding ticket.
Using a rental car paid for by another person could be considered an impermissible benefit under NCAA rules.
News Observer
One of the more recognizable faces and names to any college basketball fan in the 1990s was Jeff Sheppard.
The guy was a critical player for Kentucky in its three straight runs to the national championship game, helping UK win national titles in 1996 and 1998. Sheppard won the 1998 NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player award, to boot.
He's beloved in Kentucky circles, naturally.
Today, maybe just slightly a little less so? I'll explain. Sheppard did the one thing Kentucky fans are guaranteed to blench at: he criticized John Calipari. Well ... sort of. Speaking recently at convention for Kentucky -- in the state of Ohio, nonetheless -- Sheppard lamented how players in Calipari's tenure have been so fleeting, coming and going and making millions in the NBA, using Kentucky as the stepping stone.
…“The last thing I want to do is take away from the run that coach Calipari has put together over the last several years,” Sheppard said. “It's been phenomenal. I personally think there's maybe a little too much emphasis first-round draft picks. I'd rather be celebrating national championships.”
CBS
Former Tennessee guard Trae Golden is headed home to Georgia Tech to play his final season.
ESPN
Former Auburn men's basketball player Korvotney Barber died from an apparent drowning in the Gulf of Mexico off Panama City Beach, Fla., police said Sunday evening.
Barber, 26, went swimming with his wife and a friend on the beach behind the Boardwalk Beach Resort on South Thomas Drive and went missing about 7 p.m. Saturday night, according to Panama City Beach Cpl. Jason Gleason, and his body washed ashore at 3:49 p.m. Sunday between the Boardwalk Beach Condominiums and the neighboring Top of the Gulf Condominiums.
USA Today
abqjournal: Fraschilla years a 'disappointment'
Up to 15 former Oakland University women's college basketball players allege their ex-coach, Beckie Francis, used various forms of intimidation and imposed her religious views before she was ultimately fired on June 12, according to a USA Today report.
CBS
2013-14 Early-season events schedule
Recruiting
Emmanuel Mudiay
Oh and I want everyone to know that everything is good with Prime Prep too. We've met about everything and everything is cleared up so everything is fine academically. I guess there's some source saying things, but we're fine with the NCAA.
Trust me, my boys Jordan (Mickey) and Karviar (Shepherd) will be fine to play next season. You'll see.
So, yes, I will definitely be returning to Prime Prep next season and everything's fine academically there. We're gonna do everything we can to win the national title next season. And we'll still have some big time talent coming. Stay tuned.
My recruitment is still going pretty well too.
Most of you may already know that I've decided to go visit Kentucky for Big Blue Madness. I'm definitely excited about that. My Twitter has been blowing up with their fans hitting me up. I think they even have a countdown and everything so I know it's gonna be really fun.
I think Stanley (Johnson) and Devin (Booker) are gonna be visiting that same weekend so it'll be good to hang out with them.
I've also been talking to my boy Myles Turner lately about maybe teaming up in college. We're from the same area and we both want to win right away so it makes sense. Myles is a great player, but people just didn't know about him. Now they're seeing how good he really is.
Some people can be Hollywood and not really work hard, but Myles isn't like that at all. He goes hard and I like that because I want someone to go hard with me training and getting better. Nothing is set in stone or anything like that. We're not as sure as Tyus (Jones) and Jahlil (Okafor) are right now, but we're definitely starting to talk about it more and more. It could happen.
…When I cut my list down I do know that Kansas will make the cut. They've got great coaching over there and that's what I'm basing my decision on. Some people pick schools for the name, but not me. I want to learn as much as possible.
USA Today Emmanuel Mudiay Blog
Trust me, my boys Jordan (Mickey) and Karviar (Shepherd) will be fine to play next season. You'll see.
So, yes, I will definitely be returning to Prime Prep next season and everything's fine academically there. We're gonna do everything we can to win the national title next season. And we'll still have some big time talent coming. Stay tuned.
My recruitment is still going pretty well too.
Most of you may already know that I've decided to go visit Kentucky for Big Blue Madness. I'm definitely excited about that. My Twitter has been blowing up with their fans hitting me up. I think they even have a countdown and everything so I know it's gonna be really fun.
I think Stanley (Johnson) and Devin (Booker) are gonna be visiting that same weekend so it'll be good to hang out with them.
I've also been talking to my boy Myles Turner lately about maybe teaming up in college. We're from the same area and we both want to win right away so it makes sense. Myles is a great player, but people just didn't know about him. Now they're seeing how good he really is.
Some people can be Hollywood and not really work hard, but Myles isn't like that at all. He goes hard and I like that because I want someone to go hard with me training and getting better. Nothing is set in stone or anything like that. We're not as sure as Tyus (Jones) and Jahlil (Okafor) are right now, but we're definitely starting to talk about it more and more. It could happen.
…When I cut my list down I do know that Kansas will make the cut. They've got great coaching over there and that's what I'm basing my decision on. Some people pick schools for the name, but not me. I want to learn as much as possible.
USA Today Emmanuel Mudiay Blog
Stanley Johnson
The national stock of Stanley Johnson continues to rise.
The powerful 6-foot-6, 220-pound rising senior from Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) had 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists on Saturday to spark USA West to a 98-95 victory over USA South in the championship game of the Nike Global Challenge at Trinity Washington University. He was named co-MVP with D'Angelo Russell of Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), who had 10 points in a losing effort.
Johnson was backed up by home-schooled Texan Justin Jackson, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The South was led by 6-foot point guard Joel Berry from Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.), who had 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
MaxPreps
At 6-7, 200 pounds, Kelly Oubre is hard to miss. With a bleach-tipped mohawk atop his head, it's even harder.
Then you watch him play basketball and there should be no doubt.
Oubre, a Texas native and Georgetown target who will play his senior year at Findlay Prep (Nev.), scored 14 points and added five rebounds in a 93-77 win for Team USA West over Canada on Thursday at the Nike Global Challenge in Washington, D.C.
The performance came one week after he averaged 14.4 points and 5.5 rebounds for Houston Hoops at Nike Peach Jam in South Carolina.
Georgetown head coach John Thompson III was in attendance on Thursday to watch Oubre, knowing that he is in an eight-team race for the 2014 prospect's commitment.
The Hoyas join Kentucky, Connecticut, UNLV, Louisville, Oregon, Kansas, and Florida in Oubre's final list.
"[Georgetown] is a great school," Oubre told CSN at Nike Global. "Coach Thompson is a great coach. He develops a lot of big guards and, you know, everybody who goes to his program is successful in his offense."
CSNwashington
The Under Armour Summer Jam presented by NY2LA Sports was one of the must-see July events for college coaches. More than 900 college coaches from all over the country made the trek to Milwaukee for last year’s event and the arena was packed just as packed this time around, as coaches piled in to get a firsthand look at the elite talent.
Here’s a breakdown of how the elite bigs and others top prospects performed during the five-day event.
Best Player
Cliff Alexander (Chicago/Curie)
2014, PF, 6-foot-8, 225
AAU team: Mac Irvin Fire
Status: Alexander’s list is down to 10 with Arizona, Baylor, DePaul, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Memphis and Michigan State still in the running.
Alexander has a great motor and is a powerful rebounder and finisher in the paint. He has improved his shooting to add range behind the arc and touch in and around the lane.
Myles Turner (Euless, Texas/Trinity)
2014, C, 6-11, 225
AAU team: Texas Select 17
Status: His list features 26 of the nation’s top teams with Kansas, Louisville, Ohio State, Duke and UCLA among his suitors.
Turner has the requisite length, motor, skill and shot-blocking abilities to dominate the game. Like Towns Jr., he is a tough cover for opposing centers due to his excellent face-up game and range out to the 3-point line.
Isaiah Whitehead (Brooklyn/Lincoln)
2014, SG, 6-4, 195
AAU team: Juice All-Stars
Status: Schools like Louisville, Syracuse, Arizona and Kansas are all lining up to land Whitehead.
This four-star guard has taken his game to the next level in terms of playing under control, improving his shot selection and being consistently productive.
ESPN Insider (4)
For more than two years, Jones and Okafor have made clear their intentions to be what is commonly referred to as a "package deal." They want to go to the same college -- for a year, at least -- and see if they can get to a Final Four. Their desire to play together is not a Miami Heat-style marketing ploy. Rather, it stems from a deep and abiding friendship that sprung from the hardwood. Call it "Love and Basketball," bro-mance style.
…"There's always a chance that it won't work out, but we feel like it's going to happen," Okafor says. Adds Jones, "We look for the same things, the same coaching styles and philosophies. We both like the same type of stuff. That's why we figure we want to go on this journey together and try to make something special happen in college."
…Earlier this spring, Jones and Okafor hosted the exact same five schools for in-home visits -- Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Michigan State and Ohio State. They have taken an unofficial visit to Duke together, and they are both scheduled to go to Baylor on the same weekend in late August. Though Jones and Okafor will not necessarily take all five of their allowed official on-campus visits together, they will act as each other's eyes and ears. "You know if you visit one, he's going to call the other and tell him about it," says another coach involved in their recruitment.
Lately, some other top players have hinted that they'd like to be a part of this package. "I get texts all the time. Guys are like, 'Can you tell his coach to hit me up so I can go to school with you guys?' " Okafor says. Most recently, Justise Winslow, a 6-6 forward from Houston who is ranked No. 16 in the Class of 2014 by Rivals.com, has said he wants to make this duo a trio. Jones and Okafor say they would like to play with Winslow or other top players, but they are not ready to make the same type of commitment. "We would like [Winslow] to go to school with us, but it's so hard to find three different families and have all the situations add up," Okafor says.
SI
UTEP coach Tim Floyd and his staff received a pleasant surprise when highly-regarded recruit Isaac Hamilton chose to play for the Miners over the likes of UCLA, Washington and Baylor.
Luring in a McDonald's All-American is never easy, especially at a program that that's only reached the NCAA tournament three times in the last two decades.
The latest surprise to the program isn't so pleasant.
Floyd announced this past weekend that Hamilton won't be playing for UTEP anymore, telling The El-Paso Times that Hamilton requested to be released from his letter of intent signed last November.
Because if the peculiar timing, Floyd said UTEP would deny the request.
"He had two choices - one, not to sign the letter of intent or two, to file an appeal. I'm not releasing him," Floyd told The El Paso Times. "We have made our schedule based on having Isaac. People have bought season tickets based on our having Isaac. It's too late. He can appeal and we'll wait to see what happens."
…"If he is allowed out, we might as well not even have letters of intent," Floyd said.
USA Today
adidas Super 64 Brackets Posted
When: July 24-28
Where: Las Vegas
Why it’s important: We head back to Vegas for the final major July event as college coaches get a chance to make final evaluations at the end of the live period. It also allows coaches an opportunity to confirm what they saw at the two weeks earlier at the adidas Invitational.
What makes it unique: The field may be the largest coaches will see this month with close to 450-500 teams from various age groups and playing levels. Also, adidas welcomes players and teams from other shoe brand companies to make the talent base the best it can possibly be.
Players to watch: SG Jalen Coleman and PF
Dante Buford.
AAU Super Showcase and National Championship
When: July 24-29
Where: Orlando, Fla.
Why it’s important: More than 1,000 college coaches pack the first-class facilities at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports to take in some of the best AAU talent in the country.
What makes it unique: The nation’s premier AAU squad compete for a national championship after qualifying by winning their respective districts, meaning these teams truly have to earn the right to play at this event.
Players to watch: PG Tyus Jones, PG Joel Berry and PF Chris McCullough.
Las Vegas Fab 48
When: July 25-28
Where: Las Vegas
Why it’s important: The talent pool is extremely deep and attracts more than 1000 college coaches, providing prospects a packed arena to showcase their talents.
What makes it unique: There are over 300 reported teams participating with teams from all over the country and a spattering of international squads.
Players to watch: PG Jordan McLaughlin, SG/PG Tyler Dorsey and SG Daniel Hamilton.
Hal Pastner Bigfoot Hoops Las Vegas Classic
When: July 24-28
Where: Las Vegas
Why it’s important: Arguably the largest event of the month, the Las Vegas Classic draws 450 teams from America, New Zealand, Australia and Mexico to name a few.
What makes it unique: The sheer number of talented prospects from a wide range of ages essentially turns this setting into a buffet for college coaches to evaluate and for players to earn college scholarships.
Players to watch: C Jahlil Okafor, PF Ivan Rabb and SF Kameron Chatman
ESPN Insider ($)
The Metro Sports / KC Prep Invitational, July 25-28, 2013.
Recruiting Calendar
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
The powerful 6-foot-6, 220-pound rising senior from Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) had 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists on Saturday to spark USA West to a 98-95 victory over USA South in the championship game of the Nike Global Challenge at Trinity Washington University. He was named co-MVP with D'Angelo Russell of Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.), who had 10 points in a losing effort.
Johnson was backed up by home-schooled Texan Justin Jackson, who had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The South was led by 6-foot point guard Joel Berry from Lake Highland Prep (Orlando, Fla.), who had 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
MaxPreps
At 6-7, 200 pounds, Kelly Oubre is hard to miss. With a bleach-tipped mohawk atop his head, it's even harder.
Then you watch him play basketball and there should be no doubt.
Oubre, a Texas native and Georgetown target who will play his senior year at Findlay Prep (Nev.), scored 14 points and added five rebounds in a 93-77 win for Team USA West over Canada on Thursday at the Nike Global Challenge in Washington, D.C.
The performance came one week after he averaged 14.4 points and 5.5 rebounds for Houston Hoops at Nike Peach Jam in South Carolina.
Georgetown head coach John Thompson III was in attendance on Thursday to watch Oubre, knowing that he is in an eight-team race for the 2014 prospect's commitment.
The Hoyas join Kentucky, Connecticut, UNLV, Louisville, Oregon, Kansas, and Florida in Oubre's final list.
"[Georgetown] is a great school," Oubre told CSN at Nike Global. "Coach Thompson is a great coach. He develops a lot of big guards and, you know, everybody who goes to his program is successful in his offense."
CSNwashington
The Under Armour Summer Jam presented by NY2LA Sports was one of the must-see July events for college coaches. More than 900 college coaches from all over the country made the trek to Milwaukee for last year’s event and the arena was packed just as packed this time around, as coaches piled in to get a firsthand look at the elite talent.
Here’s a breakdown of how the elite bigs and others top prospects performed during the five-day event.
Best Player
Cliff Alexander (Chicago/Curie)
2014, PF, 6-foot-8, 225
AAU team: Mac Irvin Fire
Status: Alexander’s list is down to 10 with Arizona, Baylor, DePaul, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Memphis and Michigan State still in the running.
Alexander has a great motor and is a powerful rebounder and finisher in the paint. He has improved his shooting to add range behind the arc and touch in and around the lane.
Myles Turner (Euless, Texas/Trinity)
2014, C, 6-11, 225
AAU team: Texas Select 17
Status: His list features 26 of the nation’s top teams with Kansas, Louisville, Ohio State, Duke and UCLA among his suitors.
Turner has the requisite length, motor, skill and shot-blocking abilities to dominate the game. Like Towns Jr., he is a tough cover for opposing centers due to his excellent face-up game and range out to the 3-point line.
Isaiah Whitehead (Brooklyn/Lincoln)
2014, SG, 6-4, 195
AAU team: Juice All-Stars
Status: Schools like Louisville, Syracuse, Arizona and Kansas are all lining up to land Whitehead.
This four-star guard has taken his game to the next level in terms of playing under control, improving his shot selection and being consistently productive.
ESPN Insider (4)
For more than two years, Jones and Okafor have made clear their intentions to be what is commonly referred to as a "package deal." They want to go to the same college -- for a year, at least -- and see if they can get to a Final Four. Their desire to play together is not a Miami Heat-style marketing ploy. Rather, it stems from a deep and abiding friendship that sprung from the hardwood. Call it "Love and Basketball," bro-mance style.
…"There's always a chance that it won't work out, but we feel like it's going to happen," Okafor says. Adds Jones, "We look for the same things, the same coaching styles and philosophies. We both like the same type of stuff. That's why we figure we want to go on this journey together and try to make something special happen in college."
…Earlier this spring, Jones and Okafor hosted the exact same five schools for in-home visits -- Baylor, Duke, Kansas, Michigan State and Ohio State. They have taken an unofficial visit to Duke together, and they are both scheduled to go to Baylor on the same weekend in late August. Though Jones and Okafor will not necessarily take all five of their allowed official on-campus visits together, they will act as each other's eyes and ears. "You know if you visit one, he's going to call the other and tell him about it," says another coach involved in their recruitment.
Lately, some other top players have hinted that they'd like to be a part of this package. "I get texts all the time. Guys are like, 'Can you tell his coach to hit me up so I can go to school with you guys?' " Okafor says. Most recently, Justise Winslow, a 6-6 forward from Houston who is ranked No. 16 in the Class of 2014 by Rivals.com, has said he wants to make this duo a trio. Jones and Okafor say they would like to play with Winslow or other top players, but they are not ready to make the same type of commitment. "We would like [Winslow] to go to school with us, but it's so hard to find three different families and have all the situations add up," Okafor says.
SI
UTEP coach Tim Floyd and his staff received a pleasant surprise when highly-regarded recruit Isaac Hamilton chose to play for the Miners over the likes of UCLA, Washington and Baylor.
Luring in a McDonald's All-American is never easy, especially at a program that that's only reached the NCAA tournament three times in the last two decades.
The latest surprise to the program isn't so pleasant.
Floyd announced this past weekend that Hamilton won't be playing for UTEP anymore, telling The El-Paso Times that Hamilton requested to be released from his letter of intent signed last November.
Because if the peculiar timing, Floyd said UTEP would deny the request.
"He had two choices - one, not to sign the letter of intent or two, to file an appeal. I'm not releasing him," Floyd told The El Paso Times. "We have made our schedule based on having Isaac. People have bought season tickets based on our having Isaac. It's too late. He can appeal and we'll wait to see what happens."
…"If he is allowed out, we might as well not even have letters of intent," Floyd said.
USA Today
adidas Super 64 Brackets Posted
When: July 24-28
Where: Las Vegas
Why it’s important: We head back to Vegas for the final major July event as college coaches get a chance to make final evaluations at the end of the live period. It also allows coaches an opportunity to confirm what they saw at the two weeks earlier at the adidas Invitational.
What makes it unique: The field may be the largest coaches will see this month with close to 450-500 teams from various age groups and playing levels. Also, adidas welcomes players and teams from other shoe brand companies to make the talent base the best it can possibly be.
Players to watch: SG Jalen Coleman and PF
Dante Buford.
AAU Super Showcase and National Championship
When: July 24-29
Where: Orlando, Fla.
Why it’s important: More than 1,000 college coaches pack the first-class facilities at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports to take in some of the best AAU talent in the country.
What makes it unique: The nation’s premier AAU squad compete for a national championship after qualifying by winning their respective districts, meaning these teams truly have to earn the right to play at this event.
Players to watch: PG Tyus Jones, PG Joel Berry and PF Chris McCullough.
Las Vegas Fab 48
When: July 25-28
Where: Las Vegas
Why it’s important: The talent pool is extremely deep and attracts more than 1000 college coaches, providing prospects a packed arena to showcase their talents.
What makes it unique: There are over 300 reported teams participating with teams from all over the country and a spattering of international squads.
Players to watch: PG Jordan McLaughlin, SG/PG Tyler Dorsey and SG Daniel Hamilton.
Hal Pastner Bigfoot Hoops Las Vegas Classic
When: July 24-28
Where: Las Vegas
Why it’s important: Arguably the largest event of the month, the Las Vegas Classic draws 450 teams from America, New Zealand, Australia and Mexico to name a few.
What makes it unique: The sheer number of talented prospects from a wide range of ages essentially turns this setting into a buffet for college coaches to evaluate and for players to earn college scholarships.
Players to watch: C Jahlil Okafor, PF Ivan Rabb and SF Kameron Chatman
ESPN Insider ($)
The Metro Sports / KC Prep Invitational, July 25-28, 2013.
Recruiting Calendar
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
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