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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Wednesday / December 11.

  • By MATT FALKENBURY

    Special to ZAGSBLOG 

    GREENBURGH, N.Y.

    With the Knicks mired in their first three-game losing streak of the season, the news on the injury front took a surprising twist at practice on Saturday.

    One day after saying Iman Shumpert may not be going to London, Knicks coach Mike Woodson reversed course, saying that not only would Shumpert make the trip, but has been cleared to play in the Knicks’ game Thursday in London against the Detroit Pistons.

    “He’s been cleared,” Woodson, whose team faces the New Orleans Hornets Sunday at MSG, said after practice at the Knicks training facility. “He’ll practice on Monday and if we get the two practices in, for sure one in London, and there’s no setback, he will be cleared, probably, to play in the Detroit game.”

    NEW YORK — Georgetown coach John Thompson III doesn’t know exactly how the new Catholic 7 league will shake out, but he’s in favor of expanding the conference out West to include perennial power Gonzaga.

    “They’re obviously a great program, great tradition,” JT3 told SNY.tv exclusively following No. 19 Georgetown’s 67-51 beatdown of St. John’s at Madison Square Garden.

    “[Gonzaga coach] Mark [Few’s] done a great job out there. I’d be for that but I don’t know whether that’s realistic.”

    NEW YORK — Despite playing without second-leading scorer Greg Whittington and coming off their worst home lost since 1971, No. 19 Georgetown just hammered St. John’s, 67-51, Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

    The Hoyas (11-3, 1-2 Big East) were coming off a 28-point home loss to Pittsburgh and managed to avoid their first 0-3 Big East start 1998-99.

    “It was a dominating performance by Georgetown,” said St. John’s coach Steve Lavin, whose team dropped to 9-7, 1-3 in the Big East with No. 17 Notre Dame visiting Tuesday. “They took us to the woodshed in all aspects of the game.”

    He added: “Woodshed, got waxed, I don’t know how many different ways I can say it.”

    Remember all those Kentucky players chosen in last year’s NBA Draft?

    Six of them altogether.

    Well, three of them are now in the NBA D-League after the Milwaukee Bucks sent Doron Lamb down to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants on Saturday.

    Lamb joins Terrence Jones (Houston Rockets) — the No. 18 overall pick — and Darius Miller (New Orleans Hornets) — the No. 46 pick — as members of the 2012 NCAA champions on D-League rosters.

    NEW YORKLuol Deng has only seen the Knicks up close three times this season, but it’s plain to him that they are not the same team offensively without Raymond Felton.

    “I think Felton was doing such a great job for them in the pick-and-roll and spreading the floor,” Deng told SNY.tv after putting up a season-best 33 points as the Bulls handed the Knicks their third straight loss, 108-101, Friday at Madison Square Garden.

    Since Felton fractured his right pinkie during the Christmas Day loss to the Lakers, the Knicks (23-13) are 3-5 and have dropped three straight. He is projected to be out 4-6 weeks.

    Their offense looked stagnant against the Bulls. Instead of moving the ball and finding open shots, they settled too much for isolation plays involving Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith.

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