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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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Monday / December 16.
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    • Breaking News, Duke, NBA Draft

    By ADAM ZAGORIA

    Knicks fans may be fantasizing about landing Duke’s Zion Williamson in the NBA Draft in five months, but Knicks owner Jim Dolan says he’s no fan of tanking.

    “I’ll never tell a team to lose,” Dolan told reporters, according to the Daily News. “I think teams that tank are giving away something really big. I think they’re giving away that emotional development for the team. You can see how important that is.

    “You have responsibility to the fans; fans pay for tickets and they deserve (the) best game you can give them. That’s probably No. 1. But when you go in and tell a team, even if you’re just telling the coach, to lose the game, you’re dispiriting your team. That hurts more than getting a better draft pick helps. It’s hard to reignite the spirit of the team.”

    Breaking News, Duke, NBA Draft

    By ADAM ZAGORIA

    Duke’s loaded freshmen class will yield four first-round picks in the 2019 NBA Draft, according to the latest mock from ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.

    Zion Williamson and R.J. Barrett remained as the top two picks to Cleveland and Phoenix, respectively, with Cam Reddish now at No. 5 to the Knicks. Freshman point guard Tre Jones is now projected at No. 22 to the Rockets.

    Only one team in the last 50 years has had three players taken in the Top 10 of the Draft, and that was Florida in 2007.

    As for Kentucky, freshman Keldon Johnson is projected at No. 9 to Boston, while sophomore forward P.J. Washington is at No. 18, also to Boston.

    St. John’s junior Shamorie Ponds, the preseason Big East Player of the Year, is projected at No. 42.

    Breaking News, Duke, Knicks, NBA Draft

    By ADAM ZAGORIA

    Zion Williamson has never played a game at Madison Square Garden.

    In fact, none of Duke’s heralded freshmen — Williamson, R.J. Barrett or Cam Reddish — has ever played at the World’s Most Famous Arena.

    But that will change on Thursday night when No. 2 Duke and Zion Mania meet No. 12 Texas Tech at the Garden (7 p.m., ESPN2).

    Fans at the game and those watching on TV will be waiting with baited breath for Williamson’s next set of highlight dunks and blocks.

    “There has never been anyone like Zion at any level,” ESPN’s Jay Bilas told The New York Times this week. “There has never been anyone of his size who can move like him.”

    The latest example of that came Tuesday night when the 6-foot-7, 285-pound Williamson and his 45-inch vertical leap elevated for this block against Princeton and hit his head on the backboard.

    NBA Draft, Recruiting

    By ADAM ZAGORIA

    NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Akok Akok is one of two players at the National Prep Showcase eligible for the 2019 NBA Draft because of his age and the fact he’s one year removed from his graduating class.

    But unlike N.C. State commit Jalen Lecque, the 6-foot-8, 175-pound Akok has not yet committed to a school. And also unlike the 6-4 Lecque, Akok is not on ESPN’s 2019 mock draft while the bouncy Lecque is a projected first-round pick.

    “I’m just taking it day by day,” Akok told the New Haven Register before going for 8 points and 6 rebounds in a 78-68 win over CBD Montverde Academy Saturday night at Albertus Magnus College. “Considering the NBA is just an option. School is an option, too. It doesn’t mean I’m going to the NBA, maybe it does mean I’m going to the NBA.”

    ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, for one, believes Akok isn’t ready for the NBA.

    Copyright 2016 Zagsblog. Partner of iOne Digital / Cassius Network
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