Knicks forward Danilo Gallinari and Nets center Brooke Lopez are headed to Dallas for NBA All-Star Weekend.

Gallo, who leads the NBA in 3-pointers made, and Lopez will participate in the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam to be held on Friday, Feb. 12.

Gallinari could also join the 3-point competition and assist Nate Robinson in the Dunk Contest.

“He better go,” Robinson said of Gallo before the announcements were made.

Among those joining the Sophomores in the Rookie-Sophomore game are Derrick Rose of the Bulls, O.J. Mayo of the Grizzlies and Eric Gordon of the Clippers.

The Rookie team features former Big East stars Jonny Flynn of the T’Wolves (Syracuse) and DeJuan Blair of the Spurs (Pitt). Brandon Jennings of Milwaukee, Tyreke Evans of Sacramento and Stephen Curry of Golden State are also in the Rookie Game.

Knicks forward David Lee will learn Thursday whether he was chosen to the main All-Star Game.

Full rosters below: (more…)

Click the Video Player at right for my interview from Wednesday with Rice senior guard Shane Southwell and senior center Kadeem Jack, seen here throwing down a dunk courtesy of the Daily News.

Rice plays in the SNY Invitational this weekend at LIU-Brooklyn and will open up against Boys & Girls on Friday night. The championship game takes place on Saturday at 4.

“I think this is big for us as a school. It gives us a chance to play on TV, which is very big for us as basketball players,” Southwell said. “It gives the whole city a chance to know who we are and prove that we’re the best team in New York right now.” (more…)

NBA commissioner David Stern suspended Wizards guards Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton without pay for the rest of the season after both players brought guns into the Verizon Center during a Dec. 21 incident.

Arenas will end up serving a 50-game suspension. Crittenton has missed most of the season with a foot injury.

Here is Stern’s statement:

“The NBA has conducted a thorough investigation of events relating to this matter.

“It is not disputed that, following an argument on the team’s flight home from a game in Phoenix, both Mr. Arenas and Mr. Crittenton brought guns to the Verizon Center locker room and – with other players and team personnel present or nearby – displayed them to one another in a continuation of their dispute.   The players engaged in this conduct despite a specific rule set forth in the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the Players Association prohibiting players from possessing a weapon at an NBA facility, and reminders of this prohibition given annually by the NBA to players both in writing and in person. (more…)

Joe Susan, the Rutgers recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach, will be named the new head coach at Bucknell University during a press conference at 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to multiple reports.

A South River, N.J., native, Susan was the offensive line coach at Bucknell from 1981-88. He then became associate head coach for two seasons with the Bison. During his tenure at Bucknell, Susan recruited Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano to play for the Bison. He also recruited offensive lineman Jay Butler, Rutgers’ assistant director for strength and conditioning.

Susan, 54, spent one year as head coach at Davidson in 2000, leading the team to a 10-0 record. He joined Rutgers as the offensive line coach in 2001, the same year Schiano came to Rutgers.

Read the full story here.

And read Aditi’s story about how Rutgers must now fill the void left by Susan’s exit a week before National Signing Day.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

Minnesota Timberwolves GM David Kahn says Ricky Rubio isn’t likely to wind up in New York via a trade.

“I mean no disrespect to the Knicks or Donnie [Walsh],” Kahn told Alan Hahn of Newsday before the Knicks hammered the Wolves, 132-105, “but what kind of trade could they propose?”

As we reported Monday, former Knicks international scout Tim Shea says there are several reasons Rubio isn’t likely to land in New York. First, multiple teams would be interested in landing Rubio via a trade and the Knicks hold no special chips. Second, Rubio would prefer a warmer climate. And Shea also pointed out that Rubio wants to win Euroleague championships before coming to the NBA (which may only delay his arrival, not impact where he lands.) (more…)

You’ve heard of the Sports Illustrated jinx.

Is this the Barack Obama jinx?

Before newly-minted No. 1 Kentucky played at South Carolina Tuesday night, John Calipari and company received a phone call from Obama thanking them for raising money for Haiti.

“There is that tendency, once you get to be No. 1, to start letting down a little bit and a it’s a tough place to play, so you guys stay focused. I expect to see you guys in the championship game at some point,” Obama told the then-Wildcats on a conference call.

So what ended up happening?

Devin Downey scored 30 points and grabbed 5 rebounds as the Gamecocks won their first-ever game over a No. 1 team, 68-62.

“It feels great, it feels great,” Downey told ESPN. “My team been fighting so hard  and I told them, ‘Never give up, never give up. Just keep fighting and good things are going to happen.’ And tonight it paid off.” (more…)

It’s no secret that Mike Rosario is going through a shooting slump.

A prolonged one.

Through Rutgers’ first seven Big East games, Rosario is shooting 25 percent (26 for 105) from the field and 28 percent from 3 (14 for 51).

He is averaging just 10.4 points per game in conference outings, less than Jonathan Mitchell (14.1) and freshman Dane Miller (12.7).

And it is no coincidence that Rutgers is the lone winless team in the Big East, either.

The frustration seems to get to Rosario at times. He declined to speak to the media after the team’s last home game, a blowout loss to Villanova. For a guy who lost one total game his last two years at St. Anthony, it’s got to be tough. (more…)

Despite a published report indicating the Knicks are showing renewed interest in Spanish point guard Ricky Rubio, a representative for Rubio’s agency in Spain says he isn’t likely to land at Madison Square Garden anytime soon.

“Minnesota knows what they have so I don’t see his rights getting traded so easily,” said Tim Shea, a former Knicks European scout and a representative for Rubio’s agency in Spain. “The New York Knicks are not any better off in getting him than anyone else in the league.”

Minnesota, whom the Knicks host Tuesday night, drafted Rubio with the No. 5 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, but Rubio opted to stay in his native Spain instead. After switching teams, he now plays for FC Barcelona.

Read the full story here.

Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter.

Brandon Knight took his final official visit to Miami this weekend and the nation’s No. 1 prospect is set to decide this spring.

“There’s a lot of pressure on him [to go there] because it’s in Florida,” one source close to the situation said.

Knight, who did not immediately return a phone message, lists Kentucky, Kansas, Florida, Miami and UConn among his possible destinations.

“Those schools are still in the mix,” Knight recently told Jody Demling of the Louisville Courier Journal. “They’re still pretty even.”

Another source said he believes Knight will ultimately land at Kentucky, the new No. 1 team in the nation, (more…)

It was quite a week for Curtis Kelly.

First his current team beat No. 1 Texas. Then his former team did.

In the span of six days, Kelly helped Kansas State hand Texas its first loss and then Connecticut gave the Longhorns their second.

“It feels great. It was a great game. It was great win for me and my team. To beat the No. 1  team in the country and to contribute the way I did, I owe it to my teammates and God,” said Kelly, a Bronx, N.Y. native who had 17 points and 8 rebounds in K-State’s 71-62 win Jan. 18 over then-No. 1 Texas.

Kelly added 13 and 7 Saturday when the No. 9 Wildcats lost to Oklahoma State, 73-69. That same day,  UConn knocked off the Longhorns, 88-74, in Storrs, Conn. (more…)