1 0 Archive | July, 2009
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Jersey’s Thomas to Big D; Irving Lights it Up Again; Rosario a ‘Diaper Dandy’; Fontan Working Out at Fordham

By Adam Zagoria on July 29, 2009, 11:14AM

The Dallas Mavericks traded for Tim Thomas on Tuesday but you have to wonder if the Paterson, N.J. native will stay there for long.

The 6-foot-10, 250-pound Thomas, 32, signed a one-year deal for $1.3 million with the Mavs, his fourth team since last November.

The deal is low-risk for Dallas, which didn’t use any of its midlevel exception or bi-annual exception to land Thomas.

“Number one, the organization is chasing what I’m chasing, a ring,” Thomas told Keith Idec of The Bergen Record. “And it was important for me to go somewhere that I’m wanted, somewhere that I feel, overall, is just a great fit for me because I can help them in so many different ways. Once my agent told me Dallas was available and how interested they were, it was a no-brainer.”

(more…)

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Coach’s Corner: Arizona’s Sean Miller

By Adam Zagoria on July 29, 2009, 10:05AM

This interview with Arizona Coach Sean Miller at the Reebok All-American Camp is the second in a series of interviews with Division 1 head coaches conducted at camps this summer.

PHILLY –Just a couple of months ago, Sean Miller was the head coach of a Xavier team that had become a perennial NCAA Tournament fixture.

But in April, Miller shifted addresses, moving from Cincinnati to Arizona, where he became the heir to a program Lute Olson built into a perennial national powerhouse.

Arizona won the 1997 NCAA championship under Olson and has appeared in three other Final Fours.

“I’m fortunate,” Miller said at the recent Reebok All-American Camp. “One thing about college basketball, it changes so dramatically with winning and success. And our success at Xavier and so many of the players that did it, they’re the people that really helped me and our staff get the opportunity at Arizona.” (more…)

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Wilpon Says Minaya Made a ‘Very Large Mistake’

By Adam Zagoria on July 28, 2009, 8:15PM

A day after the now infamous Rubin-Gate press conference at Citi Field, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon has come out publicly to apologize and say that Mets GM Omar Minaya made a “very large mistake” in questioning Adam Rubin’s motives in writing the Tony Bernazard stories.

You can say that again.

“I think he really understands he made a very large mistake here. He apologized to ownership, he apologized to the staff,” Wilpon said. “Omar has told me he’s remorseful about what he said.

“I can only apologize from the organization’s standpoint. Omar made a mistake and he admitted to me he made a mistake and he’s apologetic for his mistake.”

Wilpon gave Minaya a vote of confidence as the team’s GM despite its struggles on the field and enough off-the-field distractions to fill a circus tent. (more…)

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Jayvaughn Pinkston Working On & Off Court; Recruit Robs Bank, Still Holds Scholarship Offer

By Adam Zagoria on July 28, 2009, 2:25PM

While many of his friends and teammates were playing at all-star basketball camps in Philadelphia and Akron, Ohio, earlier this month, Jayvaughn Pinkston sat in summer school courses at Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn.

“He’s in Summer School All-American Camp,” joked Kimani Young, the director of the New Heights AAU program and an adviser to Pinkston.

The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Pinkston wanted nothing more than to run up and down the court at the Reebok All-American Camp in Philadelphia in front of hundreds of major-conference Division I head coaches.

Read the full story here.

**Also, here’s a good tale by Gary Parrish about Anthony DiLoreto, a 7-footer facing two felony charges for his involvement in a bank robbery who still holds a scholarship offer from St. Louis.

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Cory Joseph ‘Cuts’ List to 16 Schools

By Adam Zagoria on July 28, 2009, 10:42AM

I spoke with Grassroots Canada coach Ro Russell today after he returned home from Las Vegas.

He says Cory Joseph, the No. 3 point guard in the Class of 2010 out of Henderson (NV) Findlay Prep, has “cut” his list to 16 schools.

Asked how long the list was before he cut it, Russell said, “About 30.”

So here’s Joseph’s list, in no particular order: Villanova, UConn, Kansas, Florida, Texas, Arizona, Cal, Mississippi State, Memphis, Syracuse, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Minnesota, UNLV, Texas A&M and Ohio State. (more…)

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Bruce Pearl: ‘I Don’t Want Somebody that Doesn’t Want to Play for Us’

By Adam Zagoria on July 28, 2009, 12:27AM

Bruce Pearl lost a top commitment recently when 2010 point guard Josh Selby decommitted from Tennessee while Pearl was coaching Team USA to a gold medal in the Maccabiah Games in Israel.

Rumors flew that coaches from other programs were whispering into Selby’s ear and taking advantage of Pearl’s absence.

Selby is now being recruited by everyone from Kentucky to Kansas to UConn to Maryland.

“I think as coaches, we want to ethically make sure that if a guy’s got a commitment, leave him alone,” Pearl told ESPN’s Andy Katz on Monday in Orlando in a segment that appeared on ESPNU. “Now, student-athletes have a right to do what’s in their best interests. (more…)

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Mets’ Minaya Digging Own Grave

By Adam Zagoria on July 27, 2009, 11:41PM

This was supposed to be the day that the Mets moved past the Tony Bernazard fiasco and marched boldly forward without him.

Mets GM Omar Minaya should have just gone into his press conference at Citi Field and made a brief statement.

Something to the effect of: We have investigated the reports of Tony Bernazard’s improper behavior in the minor leagues and after conducting that investigation I decided it would be best for the organization to let Tony go.

Something short and sweet like that would’ve enabled the Mets to move past this embarrassing chapter in their increasingly tumultuous history.

Instead, Minaya rambled along and decided to question the credibility of Daily News reporter Adam Rubin, who covers the Mets for the paper and broke the Bernazard stories.

It looks like Minaya wanted to exact revenge on Rubin for bringing to light the embarrassing stories about his friend Bernazard.

“You got to understand this: Adam for the past couple of years has lobbied for a player development position. He has lobbied myself, he has lobbied Tony,” Minaya said. (more…)

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Summer in the City Condensed to One Day; Jay Pinkston Update; RU’s Chandler, Jackson Going Overseas

By Adam Zagoria on July 27, 2009, 3:25PM

New Heights and Team NJABC announced that the inaugural Summer in the City basketball tournament will be condensed into a one day live NCAA sanctioned event this Friday at St John’s University.

The tournament will focus on quality competition in the 17-under and 16-under divisions and will include programs like New Heights, Team NJ ABC, Playaz, Metro Hawks, Team Philly, Juice, Panthers, Team Phenom, LI Lightning and many more great teams. The games will begin at 10 am and the schedule will be posted on several web sites including www.teamnjabc.com. Please contact Kimani Young at 718 974 7110 for further information.

Speaking of New Heights, Jayvaughn Pinkston is getting some major looks after his stellar play in Las Vegas, where he scored 19 points in an upset of Grassroots Canada. (more…)

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Brooklyn Decker Visits DNL

By Adam Zagoria on July 27, 2009, 2:56PM


Mrs. Andy Roddick talks about how the SI Swimsuit calendar is now available online and discusses her husband’s epic loss to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final.

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Joe Jackson Talks Recruiting

By Adam Zagoria on July 27, 2009, 8:30AM


Memphis point guard Joe Jackson scored 20 points and was named MVP as the Memphis Magic beat the New England Playaz 64-62 to win the adidas Super 64 event in Las Vegas.

Here’s an interview from The Memphis Roar with Jackson, a Memphis native who Tigers head coach Josh Pastner has spent a lot of time recruiting.

“That’s all he’s been preaching since he got to Memphis, even when he was an assistant coach, that I’m the No. 1 guy,” Jackson told the Memphis Commercial Appeal of Pastner. “He’s relentless. He doesn’t give up. He wants you to commit right on the spot every time he talks to you. That’s how he is. I’m just speechless because he wants me so bad. He comes harder than anybody.”

Jackson gives his list as UConn, Kentucky, Tennessee, Memphis and Kansas.

Asked when he will decide, Jackson said “Probably by the half way point of the high school basketball season…or late spring.”

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