- Marcus Landry lifted the No. 25 Wiscosin Badgers to victory against Long Beach State with 23 points and 3 blocks
- No. 5 Duke nearly lost to Rhode Island until Kyle Singler shut down Jimmy Baron with less then 20 seconds left.
- No. 23 Kansas begins to defend their national championship with an easy win against UKMC.
- Hall of Fame coach Pete Newell passed away today at the age of 93.
- Talk of an undefeated season for North Carolina has already begun after only one game. Roy Williams isn't looking that far ahead.
- Draft Express has a detailed scouting report of every major college prospect. Here is part one of "The Best College Prospects in non-BCS schools" and you can find links to every major conference there as well.
Update: Truehoop has a great collection of tributes for Pete Newell
11/17/08
According to The Sporting News and Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer the NBA pre-draft camp in Orlando will be moved to Chicago. It was moved to Orlando in order to use the gym for 5-on-5 games, but there will no longer be games at the pre-draft camp. Instead the camp will consist of physicals and interviews for players.
One reason behind this is probably the lack of talent that came to the pre-draft camp. Few first round draft choices attended the camp, so it was mainly second-round draft choices and players who went undrafted.
11/13/08
Draftnation's Zach Bowers is keeping his eye on the NBA rookies and gives us his Top Five Rookie of the Year canidates and his "Impact Three" rookies.
Read More...11/11/08
NBA teams are beginning to cut their rosters down to 15 players and many of the cuts include NBA D-League players. Ridiculous Upside is quite upset about many of these cuts.
One cut that also surprises me is Julius Hodge who was mentioned a while back here. Hodge was trying to make the New Jersey Nets roster and the direction of the organization, a rebuilding effort, presumably worked in Hodge's favor. However, Hodge was still cut by the Nets despite a strong preseason and training camp performance. He will almost surely catch on somewhere soon.
TrueHoop is finding out why people have a problem with the WNBA. One common response not revolving around gender is that the WNBA loses money . . . money which could be used to improve the D-League.
D-League president, Dan Reed, posted on his blog about the salaries in the NBA D-League. He defends the low salaries (compared to overseas basketball players not everyday jobs), "Where else can you go to obtain a 25% chance of making an NBA roster, play in front of NBA scouts every night, and get world-class coaching and development opportunities??? No other basketball league in the world offers that opportunity."
Higher salaries would help draw in overseas players to the D-League; raising the competition level which would ultimately help D-League players improve their game and chance of making it to the NBA. But currently there is nothing suggesting the NBA doesn't want to continue the WNBA. In fact, the WNBA is looking to grow.
Please comment on your thoughts about the WNBA and NBA D-League.
Zach Bowers
10/25/08
Recently Mike D'Antoni commented on the possibility of sending Danillo Gallinari and Patrick Ewing Jr. to the D-League.
We here at Draftnation are also keeping our eyes on some European and ACC prospects.
Update: Gallinari will not be heading to the D-League.
10/19/08
- Which rookie is going to have the largest impact in the upcoming season? NBA.com and Inside Hoops take a look.
- This year's rookie of the year should be more hotly contested than last years considering Rudy Fernadez and Greg Oden make their NBA debuts (on the same team no less) and Michael Beasley, Derrick Rose, and Russell Westbrook among others will recieve significant minutes for their teams.
- If you think you can pick the ROY winner then go place a bet. Here are the odds.
- NBA prospect and Spanish National Team star Ricky Rubio is undergoing surgery on his wrist.
Update: HoopsWorld informs on the best rookie performances of the preseason.
10/06/08
Julius Hodge and Dermarr Johnson have traveled a similar path during their NBA careers when they were injured in a drive-by shooting and a car accident respectively. Now they are both considered "Fallen Angels" by Kiki Vandeweghe who is giving the two players a second chance at making an NBA roster with the New Jersey Nets. (Courtesy of TrueHoop).
Shaun Livingston also suffered a severe injury (basketball related) and now is seeking another opportunity with the Portland Trailblazers who have one open roster spot. He worked out for them on Friday.
Slam Online ranks future NBA prospects currently in high school: 2009, 2010 and 2011.
Michael Beasley fired his agent over reported disputes over sponsorship deals.
09/15/08
In the championship game of the "Keep Your Picks" Playoff, the Cleveland Cavaliers have knocked off the Minnesota Timberwolves 114-102. SF LeBron James was named MVP of the game. James is also the MVP of the tournament, averaging 28 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists.
For complete game stats, click here.
09/05/08
Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City franchise formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics will now be known as the Oklahoma City Thunder. What do you think? Got a better name for the club? Drop us a comment.
09/04/08
