May 2013 | Page 16 of 29 | Zagsblog
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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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    • Knicks

    The Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard, the unanimous selection for the 2012-13 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year, headlines the 2012-13 NBA All-Rookie First Team, the NBA announced today.

    Lillard was the lone unanimous First Team selection (58 points, 29 First Team votes), while the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal and the New Orleans Hornets’ Anthony Davis totaled 57 points each, including 28 First Team votes. Rounding out the 2012-13 NBA All-Rookie First Team are Dion Waiters of the Cleveland Cavaliers (50 points, 21 First Team) and Harrison Barnes of the Golden State Warriors (47 points, 18 First Team).

    The voting panel consisted of the NBA’s 30 head coaches, who were asked to select five players for the first team and five players for the second team, regardless of position. Coaches were not permitted to vote for players on their own team. Two points were awarded for first team votes and one for second team votes.

    Lillard, the sixth overall selection in the 2012 NBA Draft, made a clean sweep of the Kia NBA Rookie of the Month Award in the Western Conference this season. Among first-year players, Lillard ranked first in scoring (19.0 ppg), assists (6.5 apg) and minutes (38.6 mpg). According to NBA.com/Stats, the Trail Blazers had an offensive rating of 105.0 points (per 100 possessions) when Lillard was on the court compared with 93.5 points when he was on the bench.

    Articles

    The Big 12 and Southeastern Conferences have announced an annual men’s basketball challenge that will begin during the 2013-14 season.

    “The Big 12 is excited to enter into another partnership with the SEC,” said Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “It will add more quality opponents to our schools’ annually strong non-conference schedules and provide an additional avenue to showcase some outstanding intersectional matchups.”

    The majority of the games are scheduled for December 2-6, with three taking place outside the four-day series window due to scheduling issues. In future years, the two conferences will work with ESPN to schedule all games across consecutive days. ESPN will provide exclusive coverage of all 10 games on it networks. Additional components of the challenge, including start times and television broadcast information, will be announced at a later date.

    The Challenge includes five teams ranked in an early ESPN.com preseason top 25: No. 1 Kentucky, No. 5 Kansas, No. 7 Florida, No. 11 Oklahoma State and No. 19 Baylor. Two games will pit ranked teams against each other: No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 19 Baylor and No. 5 Kansas at No. 7 Florida.

    This will be the first challenge for Big 12 men’s basketball since a four-year series between the Conference and the Pac-10 from 2007-10. The Big 12 held a 28-20 advantage in games played in that event.

    Andrew Wiggins, Articles, Kansas

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrtBi2rxG2M

    The most drawn out and hyped college basketball recruitment in recent memory has finally come to an end.

    And with a surprise.

    Andrew Wiggins on Tuesday announced his plans to play at Kansas, choosing the Jayhawks over the two presumed favorites, Florida State and Kentucky, as well as North Carolina.

    “The other schools were great, but Kansas had my heart,” Wiggins told Grant Traylor of the Herald-Dispatch, the lone reporter permitted to cover the event. “That’s it. I followed my heart.”

    The 6-foot-7 Wiggins made the announcement before his parents and teammates at  Huntington (W.V.) St. Joseph Central Catholic School, choosing a low-key signing instead of a big-time press conference or an announcement on ESPN.

    Wiggins is the consensus No. 1 player in the Class of 2013 and is projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.

    Findlay Prep

    By JACK LeGWIN

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    At 2:02 on Monday afternoon, Namon Wright announced via Twitter that he will join Class of 2016 point guard and AAU Teammate Derryck Thornton at Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) for his senior season.

    “I’m happy, it’s a blessing really,” Wright told SNY.tv. “Findlay is really going to help me with things outside of basketball, as well as on the court. They always seem to want to make kids better.”

    Wright, a 6-foot-5, 185-pound 2014 combo guard out of Los Angeles, currently holds offers from Arizona, UCLA, Oregon, Florida State, Arizona State, Gonzaga, USC and Washington.

    Articles, Recruiting

    By CHIP MILLER & ADAM ZAGORIA

    FRISCO, Texas — Emmanuel Mudiay, the No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2014, is currently working with a list of 10 schools but plans on cutting it down to five sometime in the future, but he may not sign until the spring of 2014.

    The 6-foot-4 point guard has no timeline for trimming his list but has said he would like to visit Arizona, Baylor, Kentucky, N.C. State and SMU.

    His list of 10 also includes Kansas, Louisville, Oklahoma State, St. John’s and Texas.

    Articles, St. John's

    Steve Lavin and St. John’s will open the 2013-14 regular season against Big Ten power Wisconsin on Nov. 8.

    But there’s a twist.

    The game will take place in Sioux Falls, S.D., “in an effort to showcase the newly-built, $19 million Sanford Pentagon facility,” according to a Wisconsin press release.

    Wisconsin’s showdown with the Red Storm will be played on the 3,250-seat Heritage Court, the centerpiece of the 160,000-square foot facility that makes up the Sanford Pentagon.

    “Playing a Bo Ryan-coached Badger team gives us an early-season test and an opportunity to get a report card following an offseason that will include a European tour,” said Lavin. “Having covered the Big Ten for seven years with ESPN, I developed an appreciation for the cohesive brand of basketball Bo Ryan’s teams play. Coach Ryan and I have also partnered in the fight against cancer. We are looking forwarded to competing against Wisconsin and participating in the first-ever college basketball game at The Pentagon in Sioux Falls.”

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