November 2013 | Page 8 of 22 | 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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    • Articles, Kentucky

    NEW YORK — Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

    An embattled Knicks’ coach is fired and one of the first — if not the first — name that comes to mind as a replacement is none other than Kentucky’s John Calipari.

    We saw this scenario play out a year and a half ago when owner Jim Dolan canned Mike D’Antoni and Calipari, with his Creative Artists Agency ties — was touted as a possible savior.

    The drumbeat grew so loud that Calipari was forced to Tweet a response.

    “As I’ve said before, I have the greatest job in basketball at any level,” he Tweeted then.  ”Why would I be interested in another job?”

    He added: “I love being the coach of the commonwealth’s team.  To that #BBN & all the recruits that are coming or want to come, I will be at Kentucky.”

    Articles

    ERICHAMILTON150_082613By JACK LeGWIN

    Special to ZAGSBLOG

    Three players from the class of 2014 committed late on Wednesday.

    Eric Hamilton became the fourth player to pledge to Wichita State, joining power forward Rashard Kelly, shooting guard Corey Henderson and JUCO center Bush Wamukota.

    Hamilton, a 6-foot-8, 200 pound power forward out of North Gwinnett (GA), chose the Shockers over Georgia and Cleveland State.

    Articles, Florida State, St. Benedict's

    Norbertas Giga, a 6-10 senior from Lithuania and St. Benedict’s Prep, on Wednesday signed his National Letter of Intent to attend Florida State.

    “The opportunities Florida State offered, not only in basketball, made the decision the best one for me to make,” said Giga, who hopes to pursue a degree in Sports Management. “I got along really well with the coaches and the school will give me the ability to earn a great education. I really believe coming to St. Benedict’s will definitely prepare me for what’s ahead at FSU.”

    Articles

    Kevin Durant arrived late for Marcus Smart’s 39-point outburst Tuesday night — but he may have been the primary motivation for Smart’s career night.

    “It was crazy,” Smart said after going for 39 points in No. 7 Oklahoma State’s 101-80 beatdown of No. 11 Memphis on national TV. “Coach [Travis Ford] actually told us that he asked to come to the game, but we thought he was playing around. We were like ‘Kevin Durant? Really? Come on.’ Then we looked on the front row and I was like, ‘Oh, whoa. Wait a minute. Am I dreaming?’ That was an amazing experience to be a part of. We saw Kevin Durant, and we just wanted to put on a show for him.”

    Durant, in return, praised Smart, who famously opted to skip becoming potentially the No. 2 pick in this year’s NBA Draft to return to Stillwater for his sophomore season.

    “He was just unbelievable for them tonight,” Durant told Eric Prisbell of USA Today. “He was doing it all for them, rebounding, blocking shots, passing, scoring. He led them. I knew he could do everything pretty well. But I like his demeanor. I like how he handles his teammates. A player like him, he always can burst out and get 30 or 40 points.”

    Articles, UCLA

    On a night when UCLA assistant coach David Grace watched Houston wing Justise Winslow play, the Bruins also landed a pledge from 7-footer Thomas Welsh.

    Welsh, who averaged 12.6 points and 10.9 rebounds as a junior at Los Angeles Loyola, also reportedly considered Cal and Stanford. He is ranked No. 52 by Rivals in the Class of 2014.

    “He felt that UCLA would help him to continue to develop as a player and person,” Loyola coach Jamal Adams told SNY.tv.

    Articles, St. John's

    NEW YORK — Steve Lavin has coached in four Sweet 16s and one Elite Eight at UCLA, so he knows when a team has the potential to go deep into March.

    He has long touted this year’s St. John’s team as having that potential.

    This is clearly the best team of Lavin’s four-year tenure in Queens, a team loaded with future pros in Rysheed Jordan, JaKarr Sampson and Chris Obekpa.

    Yet there they were, teetering on the edge of an unsightly early-season loss and down nine points in the second half to Bucknell at home on Tuesday night.

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