WASHINGTON, D.C. — The No. 1 prospect in America isn’t rooting for Louisville, Syracuse or Duke to cut down the Nets in Atlanta.
He’s pulling for Cinderella Wichita State.
Andrew Wiggins, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, is hoping the Shockers shock everybody because his older brother, Nick Wiggins, is on the team.
“I’m going Wichita State,” Andrew Wiggins told Bleacher Report in a recent interview.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Jim Boeheim and Rick Pitino began this season jokingly saying each other was full of it.
The old colleagues jabbed and joked about the future of the doomed Big East Conference and Syracuse’s impending departure to the ACC. Later, Louisville announced it, too, was headed to the ACC in 2014, thereby proving Boeheim’s initial point: that Pitino would move to greener pastures if he could.
Louisville and Syracuse were picked 1-2 in the Big East preseason poll and then ended up battling it out for the Big East Championship at Madison Square Garden — where the Cardinals stormed back from a 13-point halftime deficit to smack the Orange by 17 for their second straight tournament crown.
Now here we are on the brink of April, and Syracuse and Louisville are the last two Big East teams standings — and they could be headed for a collision course in the national championship game April 8 in Atlanta.
Louisville will face Wichita State in the first national semifinal on Saturday in Atlanta, while Syracuse meets Michigan in the second game.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Steve Alford-to-UCLA news was coming fast and furious to UCLA’s current players and recruits on Saturday, but Rysheed Jordan is still considering the Bruins after the coaching change.
“Yeah, he’s still considering them,” Philly Vaux Roberts coach Jamie Ross told SNY.tv, before adding, “I didn’t even know that Steve Alford got named.”
Ross said he would “talk to ‘Sheed about it and we’ll let you know. He still is considering them.”
The 6-4 Jordan is also mulling St. John’s and Temple and will announce April 15.
Jordan has already taken an official to UCLA while Ben Howland was coach. Any visit he takes now would have to be unofficial.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — UCLA freshman Tony Parker is hoping to meet with new Bruins coach Steve Alford and remains uncertain about his future, his father told SNY.tv Saturday.
After UCLA had initially targeted VCU’s Shaka Smart and Butler’s Brad Stevens, Alford agreed to a seven-year deal worth $2.6 annually, according to CBSSports.com. The former Indiana star signed a 10-year deal with New Mexico on March 20.
“I don’t know if we’re going to meet with him or he’s going to meet with us, or if he would entertain it,” Virgil Parker said by phone. “I haven’t heard anything from them. I haven’t heard from the athletic director, I haven’t heard from anyone.”
http://web.sny.tv/media/video.jsp?content_id=25913513
By DAN KELLY
Special to ZAGSBLOG
NEW YORK — Jason Kidd didn’t hesitate when asked why J.R. Smith is playing so well as of late.
“He’s putting the ball well,” Kidd said after Smith went for a career-high 37 points on 12-for-18 shooting in the Knicks’ 111-102 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats, their seventh straight victory. “He’s putt-ing.”
There was stifled laughter, but Kidd wasn’t joking.
“He loves golf so we talk golf all the time,” Kidd said. “He’s putting those little 10-footers quite well right now.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Kyle Anderson Jr. “does not have plans” to enter the NBA Draft and will return to UCLA for his sophomore season, his father said Friday.
“Kyle does not have plans to declare on April 10 as an underclassmen and at this time is returning to UCLA,” Kyle Anderson Sr. told SNY.tv in a text message sent to several outlets.
The former St. Anthony star is not on any NBA Draft boards, and at least one veteran NBA scout believes he is making the right move.
“He did the right thing 100 percent,” the scout told SNY.tv.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — It’s the end of the Big East as we know it and Jim Boeheim feels fine.
The 68-year-old Boeheim has already quashed the retirement talk by saying he will return next season, and he has told 2014 stud recruit Chris McCullough he’ll be around for 2014-15, too.
With the way he’s going now, there’s nothing to stop Boeheim from coaching another two or three years, either.
Why else would associate head coach Mike Hopkins — a Southern California native and Boeheim’s longtime heir apparent — be on the brink of taking the USC job if offered?
“[Boeheim] is unbelievable,” Syracuse assistant Gerry McNamara told SNY.tv inside the Syracuse locker room at the Verizon Center.
