The NBA has invited 60 players to the 2012 NBA Draft combine June 7-8 in Chicago.

All six Kentucky players who entered the draft were invited, including presumptive No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis.

Notable players not on the invite list include Wisconsin All-American point guard Jordan Taylor, Gonzaga’s Robert Sacre and Villanova’s Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek.

The Draft lottery is slated for May 30 and the NBA Draft is June 28 in Newark.

Here’s the list:  (more…)

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Adam Morrison carries the heavy emotional burden of belonging to a select club that no one wants to be a part of.

NBA bust.

The No. 3 pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, Morrison was out of the NBA last season and playing for Turkish club Besiktas Milangaz, the same team Nets point guard Deron Williams briefly played for before returning to the NBA after the lockout.

Now Morrison is back trying to get one more shot to live up to his potential. He was the star attraction among 22 players at the first day of the Nets’ free agent mini-camp Monday.

“When they asked me, ‘Do you want to talk to the media?’ [I thought] Christ, you guys haven’t seen me in three, four years,” the 6-foot-8 Morrison, sporting hair well below his shoulders, said with a chuckle.

“I understand that I’m never going to shake being a bust or being a failure in some people’s eyes, but I’ve experienced a lot of highs in basketball,” added Morrison, who turns 28 in July. “So I guess you can call it a hardship but it’s really not. I get to play basketball for money and it’s pretty good.” (more…)

By JOSH NEWMAN & ADAM ZAGORIA

Special to ZAGSBLOG

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Former Iona point guard Scott Machado was the most impressive guard in the building Saturday when 44 draft eligible players worked out for representatives of all 30 NBA teams.

Machado proved perfectly capable of running an offense, penetrated into the lane at will and did most of it at the expense of explosive Xavier guard Tu Holloway, another diminutive guard looking to secure draft positioning. (more…)

Former St. John’s freshman Moe Harkless will sign with agent Happy Walters within a week or so, his mentor, Nate Blue, tells SNY.tv.

“It’s a great agency,” Blue said of Rogue Sports. “They have tons of young clients and will work to get Moe in the right situation as he did with Iman [Shumpert] and others. He’s very smart and respected and will give him great advice.”

As first reported by SNY.tv in early February, Walters attended a St. John’s game and scouted Harkless then. (more…)

In the last organized basketball game they played, the Seton Hall senior duo of Jordan Theodore and Herb Pope lost an NIT game to UMass in the cozy confines of Walsh Gym.

With both players now at the Portsmouth Invitational in front of a slew of NBA scouts, Pope sprained his ankle Thursday night after managing just 4 points and 4 rebounds and is done for the rest of the event.

Theodore, meantime, was anxious to get a win under his belt.

“That was was a point of emphasis,” Theodore told SNY.tv by phone Friday morning. “I told the guys in the locker room, ‘Let’s get a win coming out in my first professional game.’” (more…)

Given how weak this draft is after Anthony Davis, Florida’s Bradley Beal is an intriguing choice anywhere from No. 2 through 5 or 6.

DraftExpress.com has him at No. 5 after Davis, Andre Drummond, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Thomas Robinson, and ahead of Jared Sullinger, Harrison Barnes and John Henson.

“I like him at 6th to 10th,” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv following a report by CBSSports.com that Beal was turning pro following his freshman season.

Listed at 6-foot-3, Beal averaged 14.8 points on 45 percent shooting and 34 percent from deep. He also averaged 6.5 rebounds. (more…)

If Dominic Cheek hears his name called at all during the June 28 NBA Draft, it will likely be from Adam Silver and not David Stern.

The 6-foot-6 Villanova junior wing may well go undrafted but is turning pro in order to help financially support his grandmother, Izaphine “Ice” Howard, who helped raised him from the age of 5 in the rugged city of Jersey City, N.J.

“She’s getting old now,” Cheek told SNY.tv Thursday during a phone interview. “She’s taking care of two of my brothers and I guess it’s just time for me to try to pay her back, try to help her out.

“Just try to help her out any possible way and just try to pursue my pro career.” (more…)

Andre Drummond will go in the first five picks in the June 28 NBA Draft, one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv following the news that Drummond is headed to the pros.

“Andre Drummond’s going 2 to 5,” the scout said. “That’s all based on potential because physically he’s probably the best physical specimen in the draft. He’s probably the most gifted guy in the draft physically, run, jump, strength, size, quickness. He’s other-worldly.”

Kentucky freshman Anthony Davis is the presumptive No. 1 pick and as I wrote in this column from the Final Four, whoever gets the No. 2 pick will be disappointed.

Still, after Davis the choices include Drummond, Kentucky’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (who has yet to declare), North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes, Kansas’s Thomas Robinson and Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger, among others. (more…)

Florida International’s Dominique Ferguson declared for the NBA Draft Tuesday, saying the school would not release him after Isiah Thomas was fired as coach.

Ferguson told The Associated Press that his request to be released from his scholarship was denied by Pete Garcia, the school’s executive director of sports and entertainment. A subsequent appeal process that Ferguson said included a meeting with university President Mark Rosenberg also did not bring the release he sought.

The school had no immediate response to the AP’s request for comment.

“It’s been very confusing,” Ferguson said. “I’m getting through all this mess. It’s a big mess going on right now.” (more…)

It comes as no surprise after the way his season ended, but Syracuse sophomore center Fab Melo has officially announced his plans to enter the NBA Draft.

“After meeting with my mother, my family and Coach [Jim] Boeheim, I have decided to enter my name in to the 2012 NBA Draft,” the 7-footer said in a statement.

“Being able to play professional basketball has been my dream since I first starting playing this game and now I have the opportunity to accomplish that dream. Coach Boeheim, Coach Hopkins and the rest of the Syracuse staff have helped me develop as a player and as a man and I will always be appreciative for what they’ve done for me. I wish Syracuse University, the basketball program and the Syracuse fans nothing but the best.” (more…)