Latest Carolina Stories
Posted: Jul 3rd 2008 4:16 PM ET by Matt Moore (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Bobcats, Eastern, Carolina
Lost in the dismal implosion of the Bobcats last season, which was neither a bang, nor a whimper, but a kind of depressing grunt, was the myriad of injuries they were forced to endure. The biggest of which was
Sean May.
Now, May wasn't exactly lighting the world on fire before his succumbing to microfracture surgery last October on a knee that's been bothering him since he was drafted, but he is a valuable asset to the new Bobcats regime. On top of that North Carolina connection that the Cats are so fond of, May provides them with a scoring presence inside, which will help to ease the dismay held by Bobcats' fans after their selection of
D.J. Augustin.
So it's good news then, that May is r
eported to be cleared for basketball activities, will be hanging around the team in Las Vegas for Summer League, and will "definitely be at camp in October." May may not be the key to unlocking the puzzle of the Bobcats' stagnant growth, but he could be a significant improvement for the team under new head coach
Larry Brown.
Posted: Jun 30th 2008 11:46 PM ET by Will Brinson (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Bobcats, NBA Media Watch, Charlotte, Carolina
Prior to the recent announcement that
Michael Jordan would be the 2008 Citizen of the Carolinas, his greatest accomplishment in life was his minor league batting title. Well, whew. Now we don't have to worry about MJ's self confidence, as the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce
awarded him the title this past weekend.
The basketball legend is this year's Citizen of the Carolinas, joining the ranks of his former Tar Heels coach, the Federal Reserve chairman and other VIPs with Carolinas ties, the Chamber announced Friday.
The award is given annually to a person from North Carolina or South Carolina who has brought positive recognition to the states.
Jordan made the cut because of his success on and off the court and his charitable contributions, Chamber officials said in a press release.
And because the Bobcats have been so freaking good since he got there! Zing! (What? It was way more appropriate than making some "Free Lexus to College Students Program" joke.)
Now, it is interesting and great and all that Jordan won this award. My issue is that the award really only seems to focus on glad-handing a famous celebrity, since it, by very definition, requires previous public recognition to actually be achieved. Plus, all charitable donations aside, it totally fails to acknowledge the recent less than stellar news about Jordan regarding his personal life that have come forward. Oh. And the Bobcats.
Posted: Jun 28th 2008 11:13 AM ET by Sportz Assassin (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Duke Basketball, ACC Basketball, NCAA Basketball Coaches, Carolina, USA Basketball, Americas
One of the biggest complaints about the announcement of USA Basketball's 12-man roster is the lack of big men. We are sending just one true center (
Dwight Howard) along with two true power forwards (
Chris Bosh and
Carlos Boozer).
There are quite a bit of guys that excel at slashing to the basket (
Kobe Bryant,
Dwyane Wade,
LeBron James,
Chris Paul, Deron Williams,
Carmelo Anthony) ... who also need the ball in their hands a lot. We also will send a gutty, defensive point guard in
Jason Kidd.
Hmmm. This sounds an awful like how
Mike Krzyzewski ... coach of Team USA ... constructs his usual team: the Duke Blue Devils.
Anyone who has followed Duke knows that they team has really had issues with depth and talent in the frontcourt in recent years ... while running a bunch of same-sized players on the perimeter. It works alright for a while, but them crumbles as the season wears on.
It could happen in Beijing as the group that Team USA will be in is rather weak, but they will see the big dogs in single-elimination play.
Posted: Jun 10th 2008 12:09 PM ET by Sportz Assassin (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Wizards, Nuggets, UNC Basketball, ACC Basketball, NBA Prospects, Charlotte, Carolina
Let me tell ya: this whole Ty Lawson saga just keeps getting weirder. After announcing he will enter the NBA Draft, he's had nothing but drama.
Mind you, he still has a week to make a decision on whether or not to come back to North Carolina (he hasn't signed with an agent, keeping his eligibility), so lord knows what else could go wrong.
Well, add this to the list: Lawson rolled his ankle while working out for the Washington Wizards. The Wiz hold the #18 pick and ... let's just say ... they have a thing for UNC players (Antawn Jamison, Brendan Haywood, assistant coach Mike O'Koren).
Remember that Lawson has hurt his ankle during the past season at UNC.
Posted: Jun 8th 2008 1:07 PM ET by Sportz Assassin (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Suns, NC State Basketball, NBA Prospects, Carolina
The NBA Draft has taken another "one-and-done" player: NC State forward
J.J. Hickson. Hickson, who had been testing the draft waters,
announced that he's going to dive on in:
"I would say that I'm definitely in the draft. I came out just testing the waters but since I'm hearing a lot of good things about my game I'm not going to pull my name out."
"I'm not really hearing anything, but I think I've given a bunch of good showings. I'm coming in here and I'm trying to impress the scouts and that's why I think I'm going to keep my name in. I think I'm having good showings."
Now this announcement came courtesy of the
Phoenix Suns official web site after Hickson worked out for the team. Phoenix has the #15 pick in the draft and it's curious that he'd choose to make this announcement now. After all, it really
wasn't any shock that he'd keep his name in the draft ... just that he chose now to make it official.
He has worked out for Sacramento (#12, #42, #43), Seattle (#4, #24, #32) and Cleveland (#19) with trips to Denver (#20) and Philadelphia (#16) coming up.
NBADraft.net has him selected with the final pick in the first round (Boston) while
DraftExpress has him as the first pick of the second round (Minnesota).
Posted: Mar 21st 2008 6:30 PM ET by Will Brinson (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Bobcats, Gonzaga Basketball, Eastern, NBA Media Watch, Charlotte, Carolina, Davidson Basketball
In case you were curious where Adam Morrison and his 13% shooting percentage and total and utter disdain for defense have been hiding, well, it's probably Charlotte. His alma mater Gonzaga played and got beat by the Davidson Wildcats earlier today, and since the game was in Raleigh, it means it was just close enough for him to crawl out of bed, take a shower, comb his mustache and drive the two and a half hours to the RBC.
Unfortunately for
Jeebus Morrison, the Zags apparently can't play well when they're not a sub-nine seed, and were sent out of the tournament in the first round, primarily because Stephen Curry did his best Morrison imitation, but with a taste of defense. Fortunately for Morrison, the cameras neglected to let us know whether or not he actually
wept following the L this year. Odds are probably good he did.
And in case you're curious, here is Morrison's final stat line for 2007-08: 0 GP, 0 PPG, 0 RPG, etc. Needless to say he's
not playing quite as well as
Brandon Roy or
Danny Granger. Or
Rudy Gay. But hey, he does have a smaller head than
Shelden Williams. And a mustache too boot! Sigh.
Posted: Feb 7th 2008 3:49 PM ET by Sportz Assassin (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Suns, Duke Basketball, ACC Basketball, Carolina
You want to see how the NBA's Phoenix Suns run their offense? Just watch the Duke Blue Devils. They do it pretty darn well. A team filled with a bunch of 6-6 guys who all can dribble, drive, pass and shoot may be the best team in college basketball.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski doubles as the USA Basketball head coach where he works alongside the Suns' coach Mike D'Antoni. Coach K came away from that experience with an idea of how to incorporate what the Suns do to the college game ... where three pointers are shorter and zones are more prevalent.
Does it work? Watch Duke's spanking of North Carolina last night. The Blue Devils spread the Tar Heels out used movement and high screens to create mismatches and ended up with any shot they wanted. It also negated the Tar Heels' biggest advantage -- their size. UNC had to go smaller and ended up so spaced out that they weren't in good rebounding position.
Posted: Jun 3rd 2007 11:24 AM ET by Sportz Assassin (RSS feed)
Filed Under: Nets, Duke Basketball, ACC Basketball, Eastern, NBA Draft, NBA Prospects, Carolina
According to
Yahoo! Sports, the New Jersey Nets are liking what they see out of Duke forward Josh McRoberts. So much so that they may tell McRoberts that they'll draft him with the #17 selection if he's there.
Josh McRoberts is intriguing to the New Jersey Nets at No. 17, so much so there was some discussion within the franchise of guaranteeing the 6-foot-11 Duke forward the spot.
The Nets do need help at the forward spot. Clifford Robinson will turn 41 years old this year; Mikki Moore is a free agent; Jason Collins and Josh Boone are all that's left. Plus, McRoberts is more of a playmaking forward with great passing skills, a decent jump shot and plays tough defense.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
