Chris Smith expects to play with his brother, J.R. Smith, on the Knicks next season.
“I will be back with my big brother @TheRealJRSmith … Will be a blessing to wear my Knicks uniform,” Chris Tweeted Sunday.
Chris Smith was waived by the Knicks on Oct. 26 after undergoing left patella tendon surgery. The former Louisville and Manhattan player spent the season rehabbing his surgically-repaired knee at the Knicks’ facilities, and told SNY.tv in January he hoped to return to the team next season.
The younger Smith recently parted ways with agent Marc Cornstein and signed with Leon Rose, who also reps J.R. The To read more of this story, click here
In this Golden Age of men’s tennis, there are not one, but two players who could conceivably be considered the Greatest of All Time.
Roger Federer, winner of a men’s record 17 Grand Slam singles championships, is considered by many to be the GOAT.
But Rafael Nadal is charging hard on Federer’s heels, if he hasn’t already surpassed him.
After dominating and embarrassing Federer, 6-1, 6-3, Sunday to win the title in Rome, Nadal has now won 20 of 30 career matches with his Swiss rival.
Nadal will enter next week’s French Open as the overwhelming favorite to win his eighth title at Roland Garros and his 12th career Major. To read more of this story, click here
By JEREMY WOO
Special to ZAGSBLOG
CHICAGO – Who’s No.1?
Ben McLemore certainly has a case in next month’s NBA Draft.
One of several names thrown around as the potential top overall pick, the smooth shooting guard from Kansas made his case at the Chicago Pre-Draft Combine.
The consensus seems to be that this year’s draft is historically week, and the confusion at the top of the class reflects that. To read more of this story, click here
Memphis transfer Tarik Black is headed to Kansas.
“He’s going to Kansas, it’s done,” one coach at another school recruiting Black told SNY.tv. “He called us.”
The 6-foot-9 Black also considered Duke, Georgetown and Oregon, among others.
The news was first reported by CBSSports.com.
Eric “Cowboy” Robinson, Black’s AAU coach with the Memphis Magic, said as of Monday morning no decision has yet been made.
“He told me this morning he hasn’t made his mind up, Robinson told SNY.tv.
Black did not respond to a text message. To read more of this story, click here
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Despite failing to reach their goal of making the Eastern Conference Finals, Carmelo Anthony believes the Knicks are “right there” going forward.
“We right there, I mean we right there,” Anthony said Monday following the Knicks’ season-ending loss at Indiana in Game 6 Saturday night.
“When you recap this whole season, it’s just some detail-oriented things that we kind of gotta fix. But we right there. I believe we right there as a team, as a unit, the guys that we have on this team, we right there. I’m a believer in that, I’m very confident.”
His teammate, Iman Shumpert, gave the most blunt assessment of the Knicks’ postseason failure to get past Indiana in the conference semifinals. To read more of this story, click here
Isaiah Briscoe, the talented sophomore combo guard from Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s Prep, has picked up offers from Indiana and Ohio State, his father told SNY.tv.
The 6-foot-3 Briscoe is the Rivals No. 16 player in the Class of 2015 and has been consistently recruited by Syracuse, Arizona and Florida, among others.
“With Ohio state and Indiana, me personally it’s an honor to hear from both of them,” George Briscoe told SNY.tv. “But secondly I wouldn’t be surprised if they make his top five down the road, both of them. To read more of this story, click here
Kansas coach Bill Self told SNY.tv he “expects” prized recruit Andrew Wiggins to play with the Canadian Junior National Team this summer.
“Working on all that now,” Self added by text.
The 6-foot-7 Wiggins last week shocked the basketball world by picking Kansas over Florida State, Kentucky and North Carolina. He is the No. 1 prospect in the Class of 2013 and is projected as the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
The FIBA U19 World Championship is set for June 27 – July 7 in Prague. To read more of this story, click here
By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
GREENBURGH, N.Y. – By all accounts, Tyson Chandler was outplayed by Roy Hibbert in the Knicks’ six-game loss in the Eastern Conference Semifinals as part of a forgettable postseason for the 7-foot-1 center. Despite that sentiment, Chandler does not feel he let his team down.
“You can’t let the team down if you give them 100 percent, I gave my teammates everything I had and I’m fine with that,” Chandler said on Monday morning as the team conducted exit interviews following Saturday night’s Game 6, season-ending loss at the Indiana Pacers. “I haven’t slept the last two days or the last two nights thinking about what could’ve been, this and that, but you can’t do that. You’ve gotta move on and at the end of the day, it was a a successful season. I think the organization took a step in the right direction.”
To read more of this story, click here
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Knicks guard Iman Shumpert says he plans to play in the Vegas Summer League July 13-22 to work on his game.
“Yeah, I think I’m going to play,” Shumpert said here Monday.
A year ago, Shumpert was coming off an ACL tear in the first round against Miami. After coming back from the ACL in January, he wants to play in summer league to continue to develop his game.
“I’m happy that I got a summer to get everything right, know what I have to work on and not have to sit out due to injury,” he said. To read more of this story, click here
Matt Ryan, a 6-foot-6 sophomore shooter from Iona Prep pictured above on left, has picked up offers from Davidson and Creighton, New Heights coach Chris Alesi told SNY.tv.
“His most recent offers were Davidson and Creighton in the last two weeks,” Alesi said.
Davidson joins the Atlantic 10 Conference in 2014-15 and Creighton joins the Big East this coming season.
With the addition of former UConn and Fordham assistant Patrick Sellers to their staff, Creighton is increasingly recruiting in the New York area. To read more of this story, click here
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — While the future of the Knicks’ roster remains unclear, Kenyon Martin says he would like to return next season.
“Would I love to be here again, yes,” Martin, 35, said here Monday. “But we’ll see. Stranger things have happened. I would definitely love to be back.” To read more of this story, click here
By JEREMY WOO
Special to ZAGSBLOG
CHICAGO — In what was a stressful week for many, nobody at the NBA Draft Combine had more fun than Steven Adams.
Seven feet tall in shoes and weighing over 250 pounds, the New Zealand native cuts an imposing figure — but Adams was all smiles Friday as he discussed his draft preparations. The Pitt product enjoyed himself all week, particularly going through interviews with potential employers.
“It’s been awesome,” Adams said. “[Teams] just want to get to know me and my background. They all have their own interview styles. Dallas had a sports psychologist who tries to mentally torment you — I found that fun, it was really different.” To read more of this story, click here
