NBA star Jamal Crawford and Isaiah Thomas take on 11 year-old Jashaun Agosto

Popularity: 1%

Jeremy Tyler’s Israeli experience thus far a failure

New York Times Pete Thamel filed a dispatch from Haifa, Israel. Why was a college sports reporter filing from Haifa? Thamel was checking in on Jeremy Tyler, the 18-year-old uber-prospect who, in the wake of Brandon Jennings’s now-viewed-as-successful European experiment, decided to forgo his senior year of high school and play overseas for Maccabi Haifa.

Thamel reports that Tyler’s decision is at this point — which, to be fair, is very early in the process — not only regrettable but disastrous. Tyler is clearly immature and distracted by the potential of NBA riches, which he apparently considers a sure thing. His coaches and teammates do not like him. He is struggling to see minutes on the court. And if things keep getting worse, Tyler’s NBA draft status is likely to keep falling. These early returns are not promising. A key graph:

His coach calls him lazy and out of shape. The team captain says he is soft. His teammates say he needs to learn to shut up and show up on time. He has no friends on the team. In extensive interviews with Tyler, his teammates, coaches, his father and advisers, the consensus is that he is so naïve and immature that he has no idea how naïve and immature he is. So enamored with his vast potential, Tyler has not developed the work ethic necessary to tap it.

Of course, as one teammate reminds Thamel, Tyler has been a pro for less than 100 days, and he’s done so in a foreign country with few friends at an unusually early age. He deserves some slack this time last year; people were raising similar questions about Brandon Jennings (though those questions had far more to do with ability and playing time than attitude). Still, while Tyler’s situation is unique among hoopsters, he’s not the first 18-year-old to enter the workforce. He’s not even the first 18-year-old to enter high-level sports; by age 18, top-level soccer prospects are being thrust into intense club matches. 18 isn’t old, but it’s old enough to know when to shut up.

Anyway, Jennings’s situation worked out, and there’s no reason Tyler’s can’t either. So let’s avoid extrapolating Tyler’s situation into an indictment of the European option for recruits. For now, it’s just an indictment of Jeremy Tyler, and things aren’t looking good.

By Eamonn Brennan

Popularity: 7%

Making history: Latavious Williams

FROM HIGH SCHOOL TO THE NBA D-LEAGUE

Williams — a 6-foot-8 small forward rated among the top high school players in the country — will become the first player to jump from high school to the NBA’s D-League.

Why is this such a big deal? Let’s back up one second:

A year ago, Brandon Jennings made his own history when he became the first prep player to spend the traditional “one-and-done” year not in college, but in Europe. So far, it’s worked out nicely.

Why did Jennings go to Italy? Well, he didn’t qualify academically for Arizona, for starters. And Italy presented a pretty good economic proposition. And the competition was very good — good enough that, despite his modest stats, it was a terrific preparation for the NBA.

Jennings had the right idea: Players with every intention of playing in the NBA — and no intention of spending more than a year in college basketball — have no business in college hoops. Their year — or even two — is cynical, as are the coaches who recruit them.

The reason why the top (i.e., NBA-ready-ish) preps spend that cynical year in college is not to get better it’s because they have no other viable options.

Jennings changed that, but it still wasn’t ideal: European basketball doesn’t want to be the one-and-done way-station for precocious American teen players that the NBA won’t let in. Jennings was talented enough, but a novelty. The Europe option simply doesn’t scale.

But what if there was a domestic alternative? A U.S.-based league whose entire reason for being was to train players to succeed in the NBA?

Oh, that’s right: It’s called the NBA, through their D-League.

And while the NBA has made it clear that they do not want players going straight from high school into the NBA Draft — LeBron, Kobe, KG, et al notwithstanding — the NBA has made it clear (if not in bright lights) it is in the business of supporting, directly, the training and development of future NBA players, straight out of high school.

This is a terrific development.

It is in the best interests of the player. Instead of playing for a college coach more concerned with winning games (or maintaining his job security) than the professional development of any individual player, the player is given instruction from pro coaches whose entire job and incentive structure is to prepare and develop players for the NBA. (Here’s a great piece of trivia: 1 in 5 NBA players have spent at least some time in the D-League, and the percentage is growing, not shrinking.)

And while the player won’t make European millions, it is payment to play basketball — and prepare for a year before entering the NBA Draft, presumably increasing their draft value and, ultimately, money they can make. (And, if the player is good enough, shoe money is there immediately.)

It is in the best interests of the NBA. The NBA is better off with a pipeline of the most talented prep players taught how to play and compete in the pro game (against pro players, most of whom have some pro future), rather than players with a year or two being taught how to play the college way (against college players, most of whom have no pro future).

The notion that the NBA needs college hoops to “market” the players through the NCAA Tournament is overblown; ask Bucks fans if, four games into the season, they are excited about Brandon Jennings, even though almost none of them had heard of him — let alone seen him play — before draft night.

Plus: With top preps going pro immediately, the TV exposure for the D-League will increase, and fans will have plenty of chances to see the best one-year wonders before they hit the NBA Draft.

It is in the best interests of college basketball. The one-and-done players might be supremely talented, but ultimately, their college careers are a short-lived — creating an unhealthy dependency on one-year wonders who really don’t care about college basketball. Instead, college coaches can focus on the players who want to play 3-4 years of college basketball — with a pro future an end-game for some, but a “normal” career the result for most.

Don’t worry: College basketball will always survive, thanks to its playoff format — it doesn’t matter WHO is playing; the bracket doesn’t care about the name on the back of the jersey … or the front, for that matter. And even if you remove the Top 50 most pro-worthy freshmen from each incoming class, there is plenty of star power that develops over time.

So let’s use an example: If John Wall’s No. 1 priority is a career in the NBA, he is better off spending a year in the D-League than he is spending a year at Kentucky, even if he wins a national title (which is irrelevant to Wall’s goal of a successful NBA career — just look at Kevin Durant’s Tournament experience).

It simply makes more sense: If your goal is an NBA career and the NBA is willing to give you an earnest path from high school straight into the NBA (albeit the NBA’s minor league), why would you spend a year (or even two) NOT doing that, instead going to college — where the priority is on a half-dozen things that end up as obstacles to your goal of a pro career?

For decades, college basketball has been the best available route to the NBA. But that wasn’t because college basketball actually IS the best route to the NBA; it was because there was a lack of any other viable (or superior) alternatives.

With the D-League, not only is there a viable alternative — I would argue it is superior. Maybe not on Day 1, but I think that as more players realize this is a viable alternative route, more will take advantage of it. You will see that college hoops will not implode, and the NBA development pipeline — through the D-League — will get much much stronger, translating into better prepared young players and a healthier future overall, for the NBA, for college hoops and especially for the top tier of prep players.

Popularity: 1%

Harrison Barnes Chooses North Carolina

The talk of college basketball made his decision on where he’s going to play college ball. Harrison Barnes ended one of the top recruiting circuses of the season with an announcement to play basketball at North Carolina.

In a world of increased online communication and social media, this announcement hits Duke extremely hard. Recruiting in college basketball has become much easier to follow with incredible in-depth access to highly touted prospects just a year or two away from starring in the NBA.

In the moments following Barnes’ declaration to play for Roy Williams, thousands of tweets containing the word “Barnes” filled the social networking site. That’s thousands of people across the nation discussing Barnes. That’s thousands of users following those discussing Barnes instantly reading about Barnes’ decision. Barnes quickly rose into Twitters’ top 10 trending topics.

Twitter is giving other recruits instant feedback on Barnes’ decision to go to UNC. They get reactions from anyone and everyone and most of those reactions are praising North Carolina and trashing Duke. Not trashing UCLA or Iowa State or even Oklahoma and Kansas who were among the finalists for Barnes.

Duke looked like it finally was starting to gain ground in its never-ending war with North Carolina after bringing in a solid recruiting class this season and signing highly touted guard Kyrie Irving.

Barnes’ decision to go with the baby blue just ended that.

Instantly.

Then Barnes seemingly knowing his place in the rivalry already told ESPNU this, “I think it will be one of the greatest feelings to be able to play in front of the Cameron Crazies because I’ve been and I’ve seen the North Carolina rivalry and I think it will be absolutely great, and I think it will be a great game.”

Well yes Harrison, it will be a great game from your perspective when your Heels run-and-gun to an 18-point win.

Barnes joins two more five-star recruits, shooting guard Reggie Bullock and point guard Kendall Marshall in Roy Williams’ 2010 recruiting class.

The addition of Barnes to that class doesn’t just put North Carolina head and shoulders above Duke next season, but it should put UNC in a separate league from almost everyone else. We don’t know who from this current Tar Heels team will bail for the NBA after this season (my gut says just Ed Davis), but UNC will be close to having double-digit McDonald’s All-Americans.

With 2008 and 2009′s recruiting classes focusing on the frontcourt, the 2010 recruiting class gives Roy Williams a full complement of perimeter and wing players that will allow the Tar Heels to run two or three deep at every single position.

North Carolina will be the most versatile, talented team in the country next season.

The one thing North Carolina is probably missing this season is a dynamic long range shooter.

Harrison Barnes is that player.

Barnes is a player who may impact North Carolina directly on the court for one season, but his impact on Chapel Hill starts now. His decision will help lure other five-star McDonald’s All-Americans to Tobacco Road.

He’s not a lock to go pro after one season, but with his skill set and size it’s hard to imagine he won’t be a millionaire in 2011. He’ll be a perfect fit to play the wing in the NBA. Barnes stands somewhere in the neighborhood of 6’7” as now, but remember, Barnes isn’t even 18 years old yet. Barnes could still have two or three years of growing ahead of him.

Source: by Jameson Fleming bleacherreport.com 11/16/09

Popularity: 3%

Guess what shoes you probably can’t own? Yep, the ones pictured. LeBron loves the Yank’s so much that in honor of there 27th Championship win he got with Nike and chose to commemorate the moment via his toes. The major mod to these Air Max Lebron VII’s is the laser etched toe box that has the number ‘27′ and  ’New York’ etched on alternate feet amidst a backdrop of Yankee pinstripes and baseball stitches. Based on the pre existing color way to the shoes this is a match made in heaven. Via Nikebasketball.com

Popularity: 1%

Jermaine O’Neal Growing Up: Columbia, SC Great

Jermaine O’Neal was born on October 13, 1978, in Columbia, South Carolina. His mother, Angela Ocean, already had one son, Clifford. The boys were the only two men in the house. Their father was out of the picture from the time Jermaine entered the world.

Life in Columbia—a city of more than 100,000 located in the center of the state—wasn’t easy for Jermaine and his family. Angela worked around the clock to support her sons, cleaning hotel rooms as a maid during the day and taking phone calls as a customer service rep for a bank at night. Her crushing workload often left Jermaine and Clifford to their own devices. The boys found their fair share of trouble. But Clifford also looked out for his little brother. During high school, he got a job to help Jermaine buy a pair of sneakers.

But Jermaine also discovered the joys of athletics. Tall and lanky, he was fast and quick, but not particularly strong. Jermaine liked football, but basketball was his favorite sport. One of his heroes was Hakeem Olajuwon, the Houston Rockets’ All-Star center who possessed skills that Jermaine likened to his own. He also marveled at the way Olajuwon approached the game, never barking at an opponent or taunting him.

Jermaine was fascinated by Bill Russell, too. He read books about the Boston Celtics great, and studied video of his most famous games. Nothing thrilled Jermaine more than highlights of the Hall of Fame center blocking and controlling a shot, firing an outlet pass, then out-hustling his man down the court to finish the fastbreak. He also loved watching the legendary battles between Russell and Wilt Chamberlain.

Jermaine played hoops every chance he got. Each summer, he suited up for an AAU team, and wowed onlookers with his athleticism. The youngster’s leaping ability was impossible to miss. Just as intriguing was the fact he was ambidextrous. A natural southpaw, Jermaine learned to use his right hand after breaking his left wrist in elementary school. Angela instructed him to write with his opposite hand, and he soon began doing everything that way.

By his 14th birthday, Jermaine stood 6-4, and was ready to take the basketball world by storm. A self-assured guard who liked to bomb away from beyond the 3-point line, he entered Eau Claire High School of the Arts as a freshman in the fall of 1992. Upon his first meeting with varsity basketball coach George Glymph, he pledged to become the best player in school history.

Glymph was skeptical of Jermaine’s boast. In 20+ years on the sideline, he had built Eau Claire into a powerhouse. Underclassmen didn’t normally make a big impact on the varsity. Jermaine learned that lesson his frosh season, spending the entire campaign on the JV.

Over the next year and a half, the skinny teenager grew five inches, and began to see basketball in a different light. With visions of Russell stamped on his brain, he became a monster in the paint. Glymph jokingly called his defensive system, “Hey, Jermaine.” Whenever a Eau Claire player got beat off the dribble, he’d yell to Jermaine, who would swoop across the lane to protect the hoop.

When Glymph teamed the junior with 6-10 Leonard “Bud” Johnson, Eau Claire featured the most imposing frontcourt in the South Carolina. On offense, Johnson bullied his way to the hoop, while Jermaine ran the break and kept opponents honest with his outside jumper. In the spring of 1995, behind the unstoppable duo, Eau Claire captured its third straight 3A state title. Jermaine averaged 18 points, 12 rebounds and nearly nine blocks a game.

The following July, the 16-year-old raised his profile even higher. At an ABCD summer basketball camp, he out-played Tim Thomas, the nation’s consensus #1 prep star. Before long, recruiting letters were pouring in to Jermaine. Kentucky, North Carolina, Maryland, Clemson and South Carolina topped the list.

Jermaine also faced intense scrutiny away from the court. In the fall of 1995, he and his 15-year-old girlfriend were found in bed together. Her father pressed charges, and the D.A. weighed the merits of prosecuting Jermaine for rape. Fortunately for the teenager, the public rallied in support of him. The D.A. eventually dropped the case.

As the intensity of the spotlight increased, Jermaine leaned more heavily on Glymph. He was embarassed by the rape charges, and dealing with the pressure of deciding his future was difficult. Glymph became a father figure to the teen, introducing discipline to his life and making sure his head didn’t swell. Jermaine also benefitted from the advice of a new man his mother was dating. His name was Abraham Kennedy, and he worked as a baggage handler at Columbia Metropolitan Airport. Angela got to know him thanks to all trips she made to and from the airport dropping off and picking up Jermaine for road trips with his AAU team. The two eventually married.

In his senior season at Eau Claire, Jermaine put up big numbers again (22.4 ppg, 12.4 rpg and 5.2 bpg), and was voted First Team All-State, as well as South Carolina’s Player of the Year and “Mr. Basketball.” Named to USA Today’s All-USA Basketball Team, he also earned a spot in the McDonald’s All-America Game.

Jermaine remained one of the nation’s top recruits, but his future in college ball was uncertain at best. An indifferent student, he forfeited his academic eligibility because of dismal scores on the SATs. Though only 18, he began to think that his next address would be the NBA. Glymph was one of many who counseled him not to make the jump, but Jermaine increasingly saw the pros as his best option. A year earlier Kevin Garnett, a fellow South Carolinian, had skipped school for the NBA. Jermaine had competed against him more than once, and always held his own. If Garnett could handle the transition to the pros, he felt he could, too.

Popularity: 2%

By Jerry Tipton / jtipton@herald-leader.com

A player in the position of heralded Kentucky freshman John Wall cannot play in games until his eligibility is certified, an NCAA spokesperson said Friday.

Quoting an NCAA bylaw, Associate Director for Public and Media Relations Cameron Schuh sent an e-mail message that read, “Enrolled student-athletes on campus may practice with the team while their eligibility status is being reviewed, but they may not participate in any competitions.”

Southeastern Conference Commissioner Mike Slive told ESPN.com on Thursday that “amateurism issues” had to be resolved for Wall and Mississippi State freshman Renardo Sidney.

Mississippi State Coach Rick Stansbury said he had not checked the rule, but he would not play Sidney until all questions about the player’s eligibility had been answered.

While Stansbury has repeatedly acknowledged Sidney’s limbo status, UK officials have not confirmed that questions hover over Wall’s eligibility. Even Slive’s admission did not move UK beyond a vague non-declaration on Friday that all UK athletes “are considered eligible unless it is noted otherwise.”

Wall, expected to be UK’s point guard this season, participated in a practice opened to students on Friday. According to The Associated Press, some students in attendance said Coach John Calipari did not mention Wall’s eligibility during his remarks to fans before practice.Wall’s association with his AAU coach, Brian Clifton, casts doubt on his eligibility, ESPN.com reported. Clifton was a registered agent with FIBA, basketball’s international governing body, for nearly a year. The association can be interpreted as Wall accepting improper benefits from an agent.

To regain his eligibility, Wall could repay any expenses paid by Clifton. An NCAA rule says punishment can include an athlete withheld from at least 10 percent of a team’s games.

Wall, who grew up in Raleigh, N.C., played for Clifton’s Greensboro-based D-One Sports team from 2006 to 2008. Tony Edwards, a former D-One Sports coach, said he believed the issue involved a trip Clifton and Wall made to UK before Calipari became coach. Wall made at least two unofficial visits to Lexington before he committed.

D-One Sports and UK share at least one seemingly significant attribute: Nike, the shoe and sports apparel company, sponsors both.

Two high school coaches in North Carolina — Lee Reavis, the coach at Glenn High in Greensboro, and Fred Johnson, the coach at Greensboro Day School — said they did not want their players associating with Clifton.

When asked about Clifton, Reavis said, “Mother always told me, if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. I think he’s in it for the wrong reasons.”

Reavis described Clifton as a self-promoter who exploits players’ NBA ambitions.

In Wall’s case, Clifton had been quoted as saying the player should go to Baylor, which had hired Dwon Clifton, the coach’s younger brother, as director of player development. At the time, Wall told the Raleigh News & Observer that he thought Baylor made the hire to try to entice him. But, of course, Wall signed with Kentucky.

Reavis said Clifton tried in 2005 to persuade one of his Glenn High players, Eric Wallace, to transfer to LeBron James’ high school in Akron, Ohio.

Clifton failed to return repeated phone calls on Friday.

The Greensboro newspaper, The News & Record, reported that Wallace, who also played for D-One Sports, worked out with James.

Clifton suggested to the paper that basketball dreams dwarfed the college experience.

“Right now, Eric is at a school that they’re not set up to cater to a kid of his caliber,” Clifton said of Glenn High. “… The difference here is whether Eric is going to be a future pro-caliber player or whether he’s going to be a great high school player who is going to go on and play four years of college. That’s not where his aspirations lie.”

Wallace was a straight-A student. He ultimately went to Hargrave Military Academy. He then committed to Virginia, changed his mind and went to Ohio State and then transferred to DePaul.

Johnson said Clifton was an “AAU junkie who goes around and gets players from all around and puts them together. And unfortunately, he tries to control where they go to college. …

“There are lots of good AAU programs, and lots of people out there do what’s best for the kids. And people out there just try to latch on to two, three kids and try to guide them to certain programs.”

The ESPN.com report noted that Clifton told CBSSports.com in August of 2008 that he had been an FIBA agent. But he gave up that work to devote his time to D-One Sports.

Source: www.kentuckysports.com

Popularity: 1%

You’ve seen most of them here before: Domino, Renhigotrare, VenomIndustries, Dinoman. They’re mixmaking’s best and most honored hobbyists. Today marks a special day in mixmaking history, as they conclude Prodigies, a massive undertaking that took over a year to complete. This combination of rare high school footage, interviews and highlights easily ranks first among the largest amateur video mix projects in history. Of course, no words can do the project justice, but who better to describe the video than the producers:

“The mix details the careers of three young high school prodigies (Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James) who skipped college to change the NBA game forever. Prodigies is more than an NBA mix, it’s the evolution of three men from young phenoms to superstars. Prodigies goes beyond basketball in its attempt to define three incredible careers that revolutionized the game as we know it. It’s a celebration of their competitive drive, passion and intensity, and is ultimately a story of redemption. More than one viewing of this mix is required to get the full grasp and understanding. It’s not about wins or loses, it’s about the love and passion for the game that drives these individuals to sacrifice so much.”

Source: Slamonline.com 11/2/09

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