Former New Jersey school boy star Derrick Caracter has made a few stops during his basketball career.
Now he’s headed to the NBA D-League.
The Lakers on Wednesday assigned the 6-foot-9 Caracter to their D-League affiliate, the Los Angeles Defenders.
Caracter, the 58th pick of the 2010 NBA Draft, appeared in 41 games for the Lakers last season, averaging 2.1 points and 1.0 rebounds in 5.2 minutes. (more…)
NEW YORK – Lost in all the news coverage of Louisville junior power forward Terrence Jennings hiring an agent and remaining in the NBA Draft is is the identity of that agent.
Jennings’ agent is none other than Eddie Lau, the infamous New York-based basketball personality who was a mentor to former New Jersey prep star Derrick Caracter and an alleged runner for NBA agent Dan Fegan.
“I’ve been working with Eddie for a while now,” the 6-foot-10, 235-pound Jennings, a Sacramento, Calif., native, said in an exclusive interview Wednesday morning after a workout at Baruch College. “He’s helped me through this whole process.” (more…)
Lakers forward and former New Jersey high school standout Derrick Caracter was arrested in New Orleans, accused of public drunkenness and shoving a cashier at a pancake restaurant.
Police said Caracter, 22, was arrested early Sunday and booked into jail on charges of battery, public drunkenness and resisting arrest.
The former Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick and Fitchburg (Mass.) Notre Dame Prep standout allegedly grabbed and shoved the cashier at an International House of Pancakes after he was refused service and became belligerent. The woman wasn’t injured. (more…)
Three and a half years ago, Louisville coach Rick Pitino sent Derrick Caracter home to Fanwood, N.J., during the Christmas break.
The troubled Caracter was serving one of several suspensions related to conditioning, academic problems and disobedience that dotted his career at Louisville.
Figuring it was time to send him a message, Caracter’s mother and grandmother left a Dunkin’ Donuts employment application where he couldn’t miss it.
Dexter Strickland had a breakout performance against a team from his home state.
The former Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick star scored a career-high 18 points Monday to lead No. 9 North Carolina to an 81-67 victory over Rutgers at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Rutgers (9-3) closed within four points with about 2 minutes left, but Strickland hit a 3-pointer with 1:54 left that pushed the lead to 74-67.
“I mean, down four points with two minutes to go, we really gave ourselves a chance,” Rutgers head coach Fred Hill said. “But we made a mistake on the defensive end there. We didn’t pick up Dexter Strickland in transition, we made him hesitate, but he still got an open look. But you have to give him credit, he knocked down a big shot.” (more…)
Derrick Caracter was planning on continuing his basketball career at Long Beach State when his mother received a phone call last December that changed his life.
Derrick Caracter on Saturday was academically cleared to play at UTEP and the 6-foot-9, 275-pound Fanwood, N.J. native will suit up Sunday when the undefeated Miners (5-0) face New Mexico State.
“He made it,” UTEP coach Tony Barbee wrote by text.
Barbee had previously said if Caracter’s grades were certified, ”I expect him to have a big role.”
“He’ll bring a tremendous inside presence to our team to go along with Arnett Moultrie, Jeremy Williams, Claude Britten and Wayne Portalatin. We’re big already and I think we’ve got a very productive front line. We’re athletic and long and all those attributes get better when you add Derrick to that mix.” (more…)
Derrick Caracter is enrolled at UTEP and head coach Tony Barbee says the 6-foot-9 Fanwood, N.J. native will be eligible to play in the second semester of the 2009-10 season.
Caracter, who spent two seasons at Louisville, still needs one class at UTEP to become eligible.
“He’ll be eligible to play at the end of first semester next fall when the final grades are posted. He’s one class short of getting eligible,” Barbee said by phone. “He’s on track to graduate.”
Barbee first recruited Caracter when he was an assistant at Memphis from 2000-06, but Caracter chose Louisville instead. (more…)
Derrick Caracter’s basketball tour has taken him to UTEP.
“Derrick really enjoyed his visit to the school and liked what their staff had to say,” said Anthony Ray, an adviser to Caracter.
The 6-foot-9 Caracter, out of Fanwood, N.J., is currently enrolled in classes at UTEP and will likely have to sit a year after transferring. He would then be eligible second semester of next year.
I’m trying to track down an official comment from the UTEP coaching staff, but haven’t heard back from them yet.
Caracter spent the last two years at Louisville and was suspended for a total of 17 games. He did not return for this season after repeated conflicts with head coach Rick Pitino over his weight and attitude.
He was linked to several options over the summer — NAIA school Oklahoma City, Division I Southern Miss and the Rochester RazorSharks of the Premier Basketball League.
NEW YORK — Blake Griffin has done it again.
Oklahoma’s 6-foot-10, 251-pound sophomore forward dropped 32 points and 15 rebounds on UAB in a 77-67 victory in the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden.
No. 11 Oklahoma meets No. 10 Purdue in Friday’s championship game at 3:30. The Boilermakers downed Boston College, 71-64, behind 19 points from E’Twaun Moore.
Griffin has now recorded double-doubles in all five games for the Sooners (5-0). He had career highs of 35 points and 21 rebounds Sunday, when Oklahoma looked sluggish before pulling out an 80-76 victory over Gardner-Webb. He entered the UAB game averaging 26 points, 19.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
Against UAB, he had 19 points and 7 rebounds in the second half, when the Sooners stormed back from a 34-29 deficit. (more…)
“Adam Zagoria sees the story behind the daily happenings.”
~ St. Anthony Coach Bob Hurley
Zagoria covers the New York Knicks and Big East hoops for NBA.com and SNY.tv. He also appears as a Big East Basketball Insider on SNY and 1050 ESPN Radio.
He is an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, SI and Basketball Times.
