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.
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Portsmouth Invitational Tournament got underway on Wednesday and runs through Saturday. The PIT is an annual NBA Draft camp for 64 of the top seniors in college basketball. Each player plays a total of three games in four days. Thus far, everyone has played at least one game. Here’s a breakdown of how each Big East player has looked thus far.
Casey Mitchell, West Virginia: Mitchell caught fire and scored 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range on Wednesday. He didn’t contribute in any way other than scoring, but he really shot the ball well.
Brad Wanamaker, Pittsburgh: Wanamaker (pictured courtesy Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) played primarily off the ball and quietly put together two solid outings. He had nine points and 11 rebounds in his first game and then 14 points and five rebounds in his second game.
As the Coaching Carousel spins on, Manhattan, Miami and UNLV are still seeking coaches. Here’s a brief rundown on where each school is at:
MANHATTAN: The school offered the job to LIU coach Jim Ferry, but the two sides could not agree on the financials. Sources said Ferry was seeking in the neighborhood of seven years at $350,000 per, and the school is willing to pay more like $175,000, plus about $200,000 for the staff.
The administration is now split between Rhode Island College coach Bob Walsh and Louisville assistant Steve Masiello, sources said.
The NBA has fined the Nets $50,000 for Jay-Z’s impromptu visit to the Kentucky locker room following Kentucky’s victory over North Carolina in the Elite Eight in Newark March 27, an NBA source told SNY.tv Friday.
Jay-Z appeared in the Wildcats locker room and met with potential lottery picks Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones, as well as Darius Miller and Josh Harrellson.
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Deron Williams will miss tonight’s Knicks-Nets because he’s undergoing season-ending wrist surgery Friday.
But Carmelo Anthony believes Williams’ presence in New Jersey will heat up the cross-river rivalry down the road.
When asked about the Nets’ new billboard promoting Williams in Times Square, Anthony said, “I’m happy for him. I haven’t seen it but I’m happy for him. He’s gonna be in New York, too, so you’re going to be seeing a lot more of that, the competition thing.
St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin was diagnosed with an early stage of prostate cancer this past fall and will undergo treatment in the coming weeks, the University announced Friday.
Lavin and his family have consulted with medical experts, and the recommended course of treatment allows Lavin to continue his coaching duties without interruption.
“My family feels fortunate that through annual health exams, we detected my condition at an early stage,” said Lavin, 46. “This past fall I didn’t want to distract our team, but with the season behind us, we are now working with medical experts and taking the proper steps to tackle this health challenge head on.”