Phil Jackson Skips Kentucky-UCLA for Shaq Statue Ceremony | 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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Tuesday / March 19.
  • Phil Jackson Skips Kentucky-UCLA for Shaq Statue Ceremony

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    NEW YORK — The Sweet 16 game between Kentucky and UCLA on Friday night in Memphis will feature five projected first-round NBA Draft picks, but Phil Jackson won’t be anywhere near the game.

    The Knicks President attended the Shaq statue ceremony on Friday in Los Angeles instead of the Sweet 16 game in Memphis that features future pros like Kentucky’s De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Bam Adebayo and UCLA’s Lonzo Ball and T.J. Leaf.

    Jackson won five of his 11 NBA titles as coach of the Lakers.

    Knicks President Steve Mills was expected at the Kentucky-UCLA game, per ESPN’s Ian Begley.

    The Knicks currently have the NBA’s sixth-worst record and will be in the mix for players like Fox, Monk and Leaf, though likely not Ball, a projected top-2 pick.

    DraftExpress.com has the Knicks taking N.C. State point guard Dennis Smith Jr., while other sites have alternative choices.

    Meantime, another former Lakers coach, Pat Riley of the Miami Heat, was working at Madison Square Garden for the Baylor-South Carolina game, likely to scout Baylor’s Johnathan Motley among others.

    Current Lakers President Magic Johnson made it to Memphis for the UCLA-Kentucky game.

     

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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