By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
As the list of underclassmen declaring for the NBA Draft continues to grow, one of the more intriguing names out there officially threw his hat in the ring on Friday morning.
University of Texas sophomore point guard and Canadian sensation Myck Kabongo announced he will forego his final two seasons of eligibility. Currently projected as the No. 41 overall pick according to DraftExpress, Kabongo’s defection ends a 45-game tenure in Austin that showed great promise, but also brought its share of controversy.
“He’s fast and physically-gifted, but I’m not sure that he really understands,” one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv. “He’ll go in the second round.”
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Keith Frazier, a 6-foot-5 unsigned shooting guard out of Dallas Kimball, enjoyed his weekend visit to Texas.
“Great visit,” Erven “Big E” Davis, Frazier’s mentor, told SNY.tv. “He really liked the guys on the team.”
Frazier saw Kansas beat Texas, 64-59, Saturday in Big 12 action.
Next up is a visit to SMU Feb. 2-4.
“He is really embracing the process,” Davis said. “He’s watching things closely in all aspects in order to make a good decision.” To read more of this story, click here
By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
After the NCAA crushed the University of Texas and sophomore point guard Myck Kabongo with a one-year suspension for receiving impermissible benefits and then lying about it, the NCAA cut the Longhorns and the Canadian sensation a break.
Early Friday evening, the NCAA announced it has reduced Kabongo’s suspension to 23 games following an appeal being heard by the Division I Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement. Additionally, he will need to repay $475 in impermissible benefits to a charity of his choice.
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Myck Kabongo’s impending year-long suspension for accepting impermissible benefits will hurt him “big-time” in the upcoming NBA Draft, a veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv.
“It hurts him big-time,” the scout said. “He played out of control last year. Most teams need to see him play five-on-five, running his team….His stock goes down.”
As of this writing, DraftExpress.com has the 6-foot-2 sophomore point guard from Texas going with the 31st overall pick, or first in the second round.
Asked what will happen to his draft status, Jonathan Givony of Draft Express told SNY.tv: “Depends what he decides to do between now and the draft. After his poor freshman season scouts needed to see how much he improves as a sophomore. I don’t think he’s shown enough to be considered a definite first rounder based on upside alone. He’ll have to show more somewhere. Unfortunately I’m not sure the D-League is an option for him because he was already enrolled at Texas.”
The news of Kabongo’s suspension was first reported by Yahoo! Sports and confirmed by a source with direct knowledge of the case, who said the announcement will come online on the NCAA site on Thursday. To read more of this story, click here
NEW YORK — Unlike Texas, Georgetown doesn’t have two players sitting out.
But the No. 15 Hoyas — who destroyed Texas in the Jimmy V Classic, 64- 41, at Madison Square Garden — still appear to have a big upside going forward.
“We are a work in progress,” Georgetown coach John Thompson III said after his team improved to 6-1. “I think that we are going to be much better than we are today.” To read more of this story, click here
By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
NEW YORK – As the NCAA continues to investigate whether or not University of Texas sophomore sensation Myck Kabongo received impermissable benefits during the offseason, his best friend and the man in the middle of it all, Tristan Thompson, has no choice but to sit idly by, unable to help as Kabongo has already missed the Longhorns’ first two games.
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Former Penn State commit Brandon Austin took his third straight official visit this weekend, following up trips to Providence and UConn with a visit to Texas.
“It was a good visit,” Austin told SNY.tv. “I liked the campus, the team, the coaching staff and the strength and conditioning coach.”
The 6-foot-5 Austin considers himself a point guard but can play both guard spots. He said Texas is looking at him as a possible replacement for point guard Myck Kabongo, the former St. Benedict’s Prep and Findlay Prep star.
“They just said htey need a big guard like me,” Austin said of his conversation with head coach Rick Barnes. To read more of this story, click here
Former Penn State commit Brandon Austin of Philadelphia leaves Friday for his official visit to Texas.
The 6-foot-5 Austin is coming off back-to-back visits to Providence and then UConn.
“[Texas assistant] Coach [Rob] Lanier called and got in touch with everybody he needed to get in touch with,” Lonnie Lowery, Austin’s AAU coach, told SNY.tv.
“Him and Coach [Rick] Barnes came in to see Brandon a couple weeks ago. They came in and watched him. They’ve been doing a good job of talking to everybody and Brandon was interested so he definitely wanted to take a visit.” To read more of this story, click here
Julius Randle’s mother says her son is still considering Kentucky even after the commitment of Marcus Lee and that he will commit in the spring as originally planned.
“We’re happy for the young man and his family,” Carolyn Kyles told SNY.tv Saturday in reference to the 6-foot-8 Lee, who pledged to Kentucky last week, becoming the fifth member of John Calipari’s 2013 recruiting class.
“That was their commitment [based] on what was best for Marcus. Great players complement other great players on their team. Julius and his family will talk in the spring and decide the best place for him. Nothing has changed his thought about Kentucky. He’s still considering Kentucky.” To read more of this story, click here
Cavaliers forward Tristan Thompson said he paid for Texas guard Myck Kabongo to come to Cleveland earlier this year to work out with a trainer — and was reimbursed by Kabongo’s brother.
Thompson and Kabongo have been friends since their childhood days in Toronto and played together at St. Benedict’s Prep and Findlay Prep, as I covered in this story a few years back from Rivals.
“Did I pay for him? Well, yes and no,” Thompson said, according to The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer. “You know, I actually had to pay for it and then had his brother reimburse me, which is totally fine with the NCAA. We discussed that. Again, we want to respect the process. I think everything’s going to work out. I don’t see no eligibility issues, but that’s for the NCAA to work out.” To read more of this story, click here
As the list of underclassmen declaring for the NBA Draft continues to grow, one of the more intriguing names out there officially threw his hat in the ring on Friday morning.
