Duke is always a lock to make the NCAA Tournament and usually a good team to pick making the Final Four in your office pool. The school also churns out plenty of talented players who have long, successful careers in the NBA. Here are some names of Duke alumni who have played professionally, along with their agents of record.
Grant Hill – James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
Christian Laettner – Lon Babby (Williams & Connolly). Babby is now the President of Basketball Operations for the Phoenix Suns.
Elton Brand – David Falk (FAME)
Shane Battier – James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
Carlos Boozer – Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sports Agency)
Chris Duhon – Kevin Bradbury (BDA Sports)
Mike Dunleavy – Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Dahntay Jones – Aaron Mintz (Priority Sports)
Daniel Ewing – Thad Foucher (Wasserman Media Group)
J.J. Redick - Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Shelden Williams - Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Corey Maggette - Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sports Agency)
Luol Deng – Jason Levien (LSR). Levien became general counsel and assistant GM of the Sacramento Kings and it is likely that Deng has either hired a new agent or is still in the market for one.
Josh McRoberts - Bob Myers (Wasserman Media Group)
This year, the #1 overall pick in the NBA Draft could be coming out of Duke. Kyrie Irving is projected to be one of the top picks in the Draft. The talented freshman suffered a toe injury that has kept him out of much of this season. Other Blue Devils expected to be selected are seniors Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler. It is assumed that Smith will go ahead of Singler. If Mason Plumlee decides to leave early, he could be a first rounder.
Looking at the list of Duke players along with their agents, Wasserman Media Group stands out from the pack. Tellem, Myers, and Foucher do work! And they also have B.J. Armstrong to assist in recruiting. If you are not one of the big name agencies, it is doubtful that you have a shot securing a top Blue Devil. Good luck competing against WMG, BDA, Landmark, FAME, Priority Sports, and Williams & Connolly (who takes more of a “lawyer approach” and charges by the hour up to a certain percentage of the player’s contract).
紳士的選擇方案：杜克大學籃球
杜克始終是一個鎖，使NCAA錦標賽，通常一個好的團隊來接使四強在你的辦公室池。學校還批量地生產出大量的有天賦的球員誰長，在NBA成功的職業生涯。這裡有一些名字杜克校友誰發揮專業，以及他們的代理人的記錄。
希爾 - 詹姆斯坦納（威廉姆斯和康諾利）
基督教萊特納 - 巴比（威廉姆斯和康諾利）。雛鳥哩現在是籃球運營總裁的菲尼克斯太陽隊。
布蘭德 - 大衛福爾克（名譽）
巴蒂爾 - 詹姆斯坦納（威廉姆斯和康諾利）
卡洛斯布澤爾 - 羅布 Pelinka（地標體育局）
杜洪 - 凱文布拉德伯里（北京經濟技術開發區體育）
鄧利維 - 阿恩Tellem（Wasserman媒體集團）
Dahntay瓊斯 - 阿倫明茨（優先權體育）
丹尼爾尤因 - 薩德 Foucher（Wasserman媒體集團）
J.J.雷迪克 - 阿恩Tellem（Wasserman媒體集團）
謝爾爾登威廉姆斯 - 阿恩Tellem（Wasserman媒體集團）
馬蓋蒂 - 羅布 Pelinka（地標體育局）
羅爾鄧賈森 - 萊維恩（LSR的）。萊維恩成為總法律顧問兼總經理助理的薩克拉門托國王隊，這是鄧小平有可能要么聘請了一位新的代理或仍然在市場之一。
喬希麥克羅伯茨 - 鮑勃邁爾斯（Wasserman媒體集團）
今年，＃1順位選中，在NBA選秀可以走出公爵。主啊，歐文預計為首選之一，在該草案。天才大一遭受了腳趾受傷，他一直保持了本賽季的大部分。其他藍魔預計將所選的老人諾蘭史密斯和凱爾辛格勒。據推測，史密斯將提前辛格勒。如果梅森普拉姆利決定提前離開，他可能是第一個圓。
望著公爵的球員名單以及他們的代理人，Wasserman媒體集團脫穎而出的不二法門。 Tellem，邁爾斯和Foucher做的工作！而且他們也有北京阿姆斯特朗協助招聘。如果你是不是一個名字的大機構，這是令人懷疑你有一個鏡頭保護一頂藍色魔鬼。祝你好運同台競技渥達營銷集團，北京經濟技術開發區，置地廣場，名譽，優先體育，威廉姆斯和康諾利（誰需要更多的是“律師辦法”按小時收費達到一定比例的球員的合同）。
สถานการณ์การเลือก Gent : Duke บาสเกตบอล
Duke เสมอล็อคเพื่อให้ NCAA Tournament และมักจะเลือกทีมที่ดีที่จะทำให้ Final โฟร์ในสระว่ายน้ำที่ทำงานของคุณ โรงเรียนยัง churns ออกมากมายของผู้เล่นที่มีความสามารถที่มีความยาวอาชีพที่ประสบความสำเร็จในเอ็นบีเอ ที่นี่ชื่อบางส่วนของศิษย์เก่าที่มี Duke เล่นมืออาชีพพร้อมกับตัวแทนของการบันทึกเป็น
แกรนท์ฮิลล์ -- Tanner James (วิลเลียมส์และ Connolly)
Laettner คริสเตียน -- Babby Lon (วิลเลียมส์และ Connolly) Babby ขณะนี้กรรมการผู้จัดการใหญ่การดำเนินการของบาสเก็ตสำหรับซันฟินิคซ
ยี่ห้อเอลตัน -- Falk ดาวิด (เกียรติคุณ)
Shane Battier -- Tanner James (วิลเลียมส์และ Connolly)
Carlos Boozer -- Pelinka Rob (Landmark กีฬา Agency)
Duhon คริส -- Bradbury Kevin (กีฬา BDA)
'Ñ ¹ ÅÕÇÕ ไมค์ -- Tellem ยืม (Wasserman Media Group)
Jones Dahntay -- Mintz Aaron (กีฬาลำดับความสำคัญ)
Daniel Ewing -- Foucher ทัด (Wasserman Media Group)
เจ.เจ. Redick -- Tellem ยืม (Wasserman Media Group)
วิลเลียมส์ Shelden -- Tellem ยืม (Wasserman Media Group)
Maggette Corey -- Pelinka Rob (Landmark กีฬา Agency)
เติ้ง Luol -- Levien เจสัน (LSR) Levien กลายเป็นที่ปรึกษาทั่วไปและผู้ช่วย GM ของ Kings Sacramento และมีโอกาสที่เติ้งได้ว่าจ้างทั้งตัวแทนใหม่หรือยังอยู่ในตลาดสำหรับหนึ่ง
McRoberts Josh -- ไมเยอร์ Bob (Wasserman Media Group)
ปีนี้เลือก # 1 โดยรวมใน NBA Draft อาจจะออกมาจาก Duke คีรี่ย์ Irving คาดว่าจะเป็นหนึ่งในด้านบนเลือกโดยในร่าง น้องใหม่มีความสามารถรับความเดือดร้อนได้รับบาดเจ็บนิ้วเท้าที่มีการเก็บเขาออกของมากของฤดูกาลนี้ Blue Devils อื่น ๆ คาดว่าจะได้รับเลือกเป็นผู้สูงอายุและ Nolan Smith Kyle Singler นั้นสันนิษฐานว่าสมิ ธ จะไปข้างหน้าของ Singler หาก Mason Plumlee ตัดสินใจที่จะกลับก่อนเขาอาจจะกลมแรก
มองดูรายชื่อของผู้เล่น Duke พร้อมกับตัวแทนของพวกเขา, Wasserman Media Group ยืนออกจากแพ็ค Tellem, ไมเยอร์ส, และ Foucher ทำงาน! และพวกเขายังมี BJ Armstrong เพื่อช่วยในการรับสมัคร ถ้าคุณไม่ได้หนึ่งในหน่วยงานที่ชื่อใหญ่ก็เป็นหนี้สงสัยจะสูญที่คุณได้ถ่ายภาพการรักษาความปลอดภัยบน Blue Devil ขอให้โชคดีจากการแข่งขันกับ WMG, BDA, Landmark, ชื่อเสียงลำดับความสำคัญกีฬาและวิลเลียมส์และ Connolly (ซึ่งจะใช้เวลามากกว่าวิธีการ"ทนายความ"และค่าใช้จ่ายเป็นรายชั่วโมงได้ถึงอัตราร้อยละของการทำสัญญาของผู้เล่น
gent Keuse Scenarios: Duke Basketball
Duke is altyd 'n slot die NCAA Toernooi en gewoonlik' n goeie span te maak om af te haal om die laaste vier in jou kantoor swembad. Die skool churns ook uit baie van die talentvolle spelers wat lang, suksesvolle beroepe in die NBA het. Hier is 'n paar name van Duke alumni wat professioneel gespeel het, saam met hul agente van die rekord.
Grant Hill - James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
Christian Laettner - Lon babby (Williams & Connolly). Babby is nou die voorsitter van Basketball bedrywighede vir die Phoenix Suns.
Elton Brand - David Falk (FAME)
Shane Battier - James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
Carlos Boozer - Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sport Agency)
Chris Duhon - Kevin Bradbury (BDA Sport)
Mike Dunleavy - Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Dahntay Jones - Aaron Mintz (Prioriteit Sport)
Daniel Ewing - Thad Foucher (Wasserman Media Group)
J.J. Redick - Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Shelden Williams - Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Corey Maggette - Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sport Agency)
Luol Deng - Jason Levien (LSR). Levien het algemene raad en assistent GM van die Sacramento Kings en dit is waarskynlik dat Deng óf gehuur het 'n nuwe agent of is nog in die mark vir een.
Josh McRoberts - Bob Myers (Wasserman Media Group)
Hierdie jaar is, kan die # 1 algehele pluk in die NBA Ontwerp kom uit Duke. Kyrie Irving word geprojekteer om een van die top optel in die Konsep. Die talentvolle onbekende slagoffer van 'n toe besering wat hom uit gehou van baie van hierdie seisoen. Ander Blue Devils verwag om gekies te word is seniors Nolan Smith en Kyle enkelresidensiële. Daar word aanvaar dat Smith sal voor enkelresidensiële gaan. As Mason Plumlee besluit om vroeg die lokaal verlaat, kon hy 'n eerste rounder word.
Kyk na die lys van Duke spelers saam met hul agente, Wasserman Media Groep staan uit van die pakket. Tellem, Myers, en Foucher doen die werk! En hulle het ook BJ Armstrong te help in die werwing. As jy nie een van die groot naam agentskappe, is dit onwaarskynlik dat jy 'n skoot beveiliging van' n top Blue Devil. Sterkte meeding teen WMG, BDA, Landmark, roem, voorrang Sports, en Williams & Connolly (wat meer van 'n "prokureur benadering" en heffings neem deur die uur tot' n sekere persentasie van die speler se kontrak).
Gent Výběr Scénáře: Duke Basketbal
Duke je vždy zámek, aby se NCAA Tournament a obvykle dobrý tým vybrat dělat Final Four ve vaší kanceláři bazénu. Škola také víří ven spoustu talentovaných hráčů, kteří mají dlouhé, úspěšné kariéry v NBA. Zde jsou některá jména absolventů Duke, kteří hráli profesionálně, spolu s jejich agenty záznamu.
Grant Hill - James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
Křesťanské Laettner - Lon Babby (Williams & Connolly). Babby je nyní prezident operací košíkové pro Phoenix Suns.
Elton Brand - David Falk (FAME)
Shane Battier - James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
Carlos Boozer - Rob Pelinka (památka sportovní agentury)
Chris Duhon - Kevin Bradbury (BDA Sport)
Mike Dunleavy - Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Dahntay Jones - Aaron Mintz (prioritní sporty)
Daniel Ewing - Thad Foucher (Wasserman Media Group)
J.J. Redick - Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Shelden Williams - Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Corey Maggette - Rob Pelinka (památka sportovní agentury)
Luol Deng - Jason Levien (LSR). Levien se stal generální rada a asistent GM Sacramento Kings a je pravděpodobné, že Deng má buď najal nového agenta, nebo je stále na trhu jeden.
Josh McRoberts - Bob Myers (Wasserman Media Group)
V letošním roce by # 1 celkový výběr v NBA návrhu, že přichází z Duke. Kyrie Irving je projektován být jedním z nejlepších vybere v návrhu. Talentovaný nováček utrpěl zranění nohy, které drží ho z velké části této sezóny. Ostatní Blue Devils očekává, že budou vybrány, jsou senioři Nolan Smith a Kyle Singler. Předpokládá se, že Smith bude pokračovat v Singler. Pokud Mason Plumlee rozhodne odejít brzy, mohl by být první kulatější.
Při pohledu na seznam hráčů Duke spolu s jejich agenty, Wasserman Media Group vyčnívá z obalu. Tellem, Myers, a Foucher do práce! A oni také mají BJ Armstrong pomáhat při náboru. Pokud nejste jedním z velké jméno agentury, je sporné, zda máte šanci zajistit top Blue Devil. Hodně štěstí soutěžení proti WMG, BDA, Landmark, FAME, prioritní sporty, a Williams & Connolly (kdo má víc "právník přístup" a poplatky za hodinu až do určité procento smlouvy hráče).
Gent Scenarios Val: Duke Basketball
Duke er alltaf að læsa að gera NCAA Mót og yfirleitt gott lið til að velja að gera Final Four í sundlauginni skrifstofu. Skólinn churns líka út fullt af hæfileikaríku leikmenn sem hafa lengi, árangursrík störf í NBA. Hér eru nokkur nöfn af Duke Nemendur sem hafa spilað faglega, ásamt lyfjum þeirra met.
Grant Hill - James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
Christian Laettner - Lon Babby (Williams & Connolly). Babby er nú forseti Aðgerðir Basketball fyrir Phoenix Suns.
Elton Brand - David Falk (FAME)
Shane Battier - James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
Carlos Boozer - Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sports Agency)
Chris Duhon - Kevin Bradbury (BDA Sports)
Mike Dunleavy - Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Dahntay Jones - Aaron Mintz (Forgangur Sports)
Daniel Ewing - Thad Foucher (Wasserman Media Group)
J.J. Redick - Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Shelden Williams - Arn Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Corey Maggette - Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sports Agency)
Luol Deng - Jason Levien (LSR). Levien varð lögfræðingur og aðstoðarmaður GM í Sacramento Kings og það er líklegt að Deng hefur annaðhvort ráðið nýja umboðsmanni eða er enn á markaðnum fyrir einn.
Josh McRoberts - Bob Myers (Wasserman Media Group)
Á þessu ári, á # 1 heild velja í NBA Draft gæti verið að koma út af Duke. Kyrie Irving er ráð fyrir að vera einn af the toppur leikir í Draft. Hæfileikaríkur freshman þola tá meiðslum sem hafa haldið honum út mikið af þessu tímabili. Aðrar Blue Devils gert ráð fyrir að valdir eldri Nolan Smith og Kyle Singler. Það er gert ráð fyrir að Smith mun fara á undan Singler. Ef Mason Plumlee ákveður að fara snemma, hann gæti verið fyrsta vaktmaður.
Ef litið er á lista yfir Duke leikmenn ásamt umboðsmönnum þeirra, Wasserman Media Group sker sig úr umbúðunum. Tellem, Myers og Foucher virka! Og þeir hafa einnig BJ Armstrong að aðstoða við að ráða. Ef þú ert ekki einn af stóru stofnunum nafn, það er vafasamt að þú sért með skot tryggja topp Blue Devil. Gangi þér vel að keppa á móti WMG, BDA, Landmark, FAME, Forgangur Íþróttir og Williams & Connolly (sem tekur meira um "lögfræðingur nálgun" og gjöld eftir klukkustund upp að tiltekið hlutfall af samningi leikmannsins).
Uchaguzi EASE Matukio: Duke Basketball
Duke daima ni lock kufanya mashindano ya NCAA na kawaida ya timu nzuri ya kuchukua maamuzi ya nne ya mwisho katika ofisi pool yako. Shule pia churns nje mengi ya wachezaji wenye vipaji ambao kwa muda mrefu, mafanikio ya kazi katika NBA. Hapa ni baadhi ya majina ya Mbegu Duke ambao alicheza kitaaluma, pamoja na mawakala wao wa kumbukumbu.
Ruzuku Hill - James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
Christian Laettner - Babby asab (Williams & Connolly). Babby sasa ni Rais wa Uendeshaji kwa ajili ya mpira wa kikapu ya Phoenix Suns.
Elton Brand - Daudi Falk (Fame)
Shane Battier - James Tanner (Williams & Connolly)
Carlos Boozer - Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sports Agency)
Chris Duhon - Kevin Bradbury (BDA Sports)
Mike Dunleavy - ARN Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Dahntay Jones - Haruni Mintz (Kipaumbele Sports)
Daniel Ewing - Thad Foucher (Wasserman Media Group)
J.J. Redick - ARN Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Shelden Williams - ARN Tellem (Wasserman Media Group)
Corey Maggette - Rob Pelinka (Landmark Sports Agency)
Luol Deng - Jason Levien (LSR). Levien akawa shauri ujumla na GM msaidizi wa Sacramento Kings na kuna uwezekano kwamba Deng ina ama wafanyakazi wakala mpya au bado katika soko kwa moja.
Josh McRoberts - Myers Bob (Wasserman Media Group)
Mwaka huu, pick # 1 kwa ujumla katika NBA Draft inaweza kuja nje ya Duke. Irving Kyrie yanatarajiwa kuwa moja ya tar ya juu katika Draft. Ya Freshman vipaji mateso ya kuumia toe kwamba naendelea naye nje ya kiasi ya msimu huu. Nyingine Blue Devils inatarajiwa kuwa kuchaguliwa ni wazee Nolan Smith na Kyle Singler. Ni kudhani kuwa Smith kwenda mbele ya Singler. Kama Mason Plumlee anaamua kuondoka mapema, yeye anaweza kuwa rounder kwanza.
Kuangalia orodha ya wachezaji Duke pamoja na mawakala wao, Wasserman Media Group anasimama nje kutoka pakiti. Tellem, Myers, na Foucher kufanya kazi! Na wao pia wana BJ Armstrong kusaidia katika kuajiri. Kama wewe ni moja ya mashirika makubwa ya jina, ni mashaka kwamba wewe ni risasi ya juu kupata Blue Ibilisi.Bahati nzuri kushindana dhidi WMG, BDA, Landmark, Fame, kipaumbele Michezo, na Williams & Connolly (ambaye anachukua zaidi ya "mbinu mwanasheria" na mashtaka kwa saa moja hadi asilimia fulani ya mkataba na mchezaji wa).
Showing posts with label others. Show all posts
Showing posts with label others. Show all posts
Monday, March 14, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Evelyn Lozada -- I'm QUITTING 'Basketball Wives
"Basketball Wives" star Evelyn Lozada claims she was stabbed in the back by producers and wants to leave the show for good ... TMZ has learned.
Sources close to the reality star tell us ... Evelyn feels producers violated her trust by allegedly divulging sensitive information about an illicit relationship she had in the past.
We're told Evelyn believes producers leaked the information to a female cast member in an effort to incite a violent confrontation between the two women on the show.
We're told Evelyn feels completely betrayed and even fired off an email to producers last night ... saying she wants to leave the show for good.
So far, no official comment from Evelyn.
See also
'Basketball Wives' -- Chris Bosh Boxes Out Baby Mama
NBA Star's Baby Mama Tapped for 'Basketball Wives'
Bball 'Wife' Whistled for Boredom -- Getting Bounced?
Sources close to the reality star tell us ... Evelyn feels producers violated her trust by allegedly divulging sensitive information about an illicit relationship she had in the past.
We're told Evelyn believes producers leaked the information to a female cast member in an effort to incite a violent confrontation between the two women on the show.
We're told Evelyn feels completely betrayed and even fired off an email to producers last night ... saying she wants to leave the show for good.
So far, no official comment from Evelyn.
See also
'Basketball Wives' -- Chris Bosh Boxes Out Baby Mama
NBA Star's Baby Mama Tapped for 'Basketball Wives'
Bball 'Wife' Whistled for Boredom -- Getting Bounced?
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Watch Pittsburgh vs Villanova live free NCAA Basketball on your internet TV 5th March 201
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Match schedules
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Date:Saturday, 5th March, 2011
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Match schedules
Pittsburgh vs Villanova live
NCAA Basketball
Time : 4:00 PM ET
Date:Saturday, 5th March, 2011
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You can get the best online sports coverage on your PC! Download this software and watch all live matches, international broadcasts and championships in High Quality Definition (HD)! You don’t have to miss another big game! If you’re looking for online sports entertainment with thousands of channels that include football, soccer, NCAA Basketball, cricket, hockey, boxing,or rugby, tennis, golf, etc
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Fantasy Basketball: Tarnished Tuesdays
Last week the big news in the NBA was the massive amount of trading going on throughout the league. This week the news is unfortunately related to injuries. The former Mr. Eva Longoria, Tony Parker, is out for the next 2-4 weeks after injuring his calf against the Grizzlies on Sunday Night. George Hill should take over the starting duties in the meantime and makes for an excellent pickup as a source of 3's, steals, points, rebounds (for a PG) and assists. He should be able to resemble at least a poor man's Tony Parker while the Spurs' star PG nurses his calf injury.
The Cavs' Antawn Jamison fractured his left pinkie finger on Sunday and is reportedly out for the season, per the Associated Press. Another devastating blow for both the embattled franchise and its fans. Neither of Jamison's replacements should do anything notable. Samardo Samuels is too raw to recommend as a viable replacement. If anything, I'd say the streaky JJ Hickson could be in line for more minutes.
More injury news after the jump...
The Milwaukee Bucks just got hit with the injury bug fairly hard as Ersan Ilyasova and Andrew Bogut are both out for Tuesday's game at least. Ilyasova suffered a bad concussion on Friday, so he's out indefinitely. Head issues are very tricky, and teams need to be careful with them. Bogut injured his ribs in Saturday's game against the Bulls, and it appears he's resting short-term. Keep an eye on the injury-prone Center as he has battled injuries his whole career. He should be back shortly. In the meantime, Larry Sanders and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute make intriguing plays tonight.
The Los Angeles Clippers also have some injury concerns. The injured Mo Williams played on Monday and actually banished Eric Bledsoe to the bench. Williams is the new starting PG in LA, but he re-injured his ankle last night. The ankle doesn't appear to be serious, but if it lingers, Bledsoe is a nice play. Excellent news awaits the Clippers: Eric Gordon is nearing a return. Bad news awaits Randy Foye: Eric Gordon is nearing a return. Foye has been a beast as the team's starting SG and may play heavily while Gordon is eased into the lineup, but it doesn't look good for Foye in the near future. Gordon should be back on Wednesday. Get him in all lineups!
The King's Tyreke Evans is currently in a walking boot and will remain in one for at least two weeks. When he should return is big question mark depending on the play of Jermaine Taylor and Marcus Thornton, both of whom are playing well in Evans' absence. Thornton, who I touted yesterday, blew up for 29 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a block in a win over the Clippers Monday Night. Evans won't be rushed back as long as Thornton performs like this. If you're an Evans owner, make sure you have Thornton rostered.
Bad break (no pun intended) for the newly acquired Danillo Gallinari of the Denver Nuggets. The sharpshooter from Italy fractured his toe and is expected to miss the next 7-10 days. Wilson Chandler, his former teammate in New York, will assume Gallinari's minutes and is an excellent play in that timespan. People are down on Chandler since he left New York. Don't be one of them.
Deron Williams is nursing a wrist injury, but you wouldn't know that judging by the assist totals he's put up as a Net. He even put up a season-high 18 assists on Monday, but watch the injury report daily; the injury could flare up at anytime due to his constant usage of the wrist.
Watch the Atlanta Hawks this week. They could be without two starters early on, or they could be back to full-strength by tomorrow. Kirk Hinrich sat out Monday's game due to a wrist injury (caught me off-guard, otherwise I would've mentioned it in yesterday's column), and Josh Smith injured the sprained right MCL in his knee. Smith is currently day-to-day and even had his MRI cancelled (good news!!). It appears Smith will diagnose himself and determine if he's ready based on how his knee is feeling. In Hinrich's absence, promising PG Jeff Teague started, but he struggled putting up 7 points, 6 rebounds and a disappointed one assist. I wouldn't recommend Teague as Joe Johnson may even steal PG minutes from him with Jamal Crawford stepping in at SG.
The Cavs' Antawn Jamison fractured his left pinkie finger on Sunday and is reportedly out for the season, per the Associated Press. Another devastating blow for both the embattled franchise and its fans. Neither of Jamison's replacements should do anything notable. Samardo Samuels is too raw to recommend as a viable replacement. If anything, I'd say the streaky JJ Hickson could be in line for more minutes.
More injury news after the jump...
The Milwaukee Bucks just got hit with the injury bug fairly hard as Ersan Ilyasova and Andrew Bogut are both out for Tuesday's game at least. Ilyasova suffered a bad concussion on Friday, so he's out indefinitely. Head issues are very tricky, and teams need to be careful with them. Bogut injured his ribs in Saturday's game against the Bulls, and it appears he's resting short-term. Keep an eye on the injury-prone Center as he has battled injuries his whole career. He should be back shortly. In the meantime, Larry Sanders and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute make intriguing plays tonight.
The Los Angeles Clippers also have some injury concerns. The injured Mo Williams played on Monday and actually banished Eric Bledsoe to the bench. Williams is the new starting PG in LA, but he re-injured his ankle last night. The ankle doesn't appear to be serious, but if it lingers, Bledsoe is a nice play. Excellent news awaits the Clippers: Eric Gordon is nearing a return. Bad news awaits Randy Foye: Eric Gordon is nearing a return. Foye has been a beast as the team's starting SG and may play heavily while Gordon is eased into the lineup, but it doesn't look good for Foye in the near future. Gordon should be back on Wednesday. Get him in all lineups!
The King's Tyreke Evans is currently in a walking boot and will remain in one for at least two weeks. When he should return is big question mark depending on the play of Jermaine Taylor and Marcus Thornton, both of whom are playing well in Evans' absence. Thornton, who I touted yesterday, blew up for 29 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a block in a win over the Clippers Monday Night. Evans won't be rushed back as long as Thornton performs like this. If you're an Evans owner, make sure you have Thornton rostered.
Bad break (no pun intended) for the newly acquired Danillo Gallinari of the Denver Nuggets. The sharpshooter from Italy fractured his toe and is expected to miss the next 7-10 days. Wilson Chandler, his former teammate in New York, will assume Gallinari's minutes and is an excellent play in that timespan. People are down on Chandler since he left New York. Don't be one of them.
Deron Williams is nursing a wrist injury, but you wouldn't know that judging by the assist totals he's put up as a Net. He even put up a season-high 18 assists on Monday, but watch the injury report daily; the injury could flare up at anytime due to his constant usage of the wrist.
Watch the Atlanta Hawks this week. They could be without two starters early on, or they could be back to full-strength by tomorrow. Kirk Hinrich sat out Monday's game due to a wrist injury (caught me off-guard, otherwise I would've mentioned it in yesterday's column), and Josh Smith injured the sprained right MCL in his knee. Smith is currently day-to-day and even had his MRI cancelled (good news!!). It appears Smith will diagnose himself and determine if he's ready based on how his knee is feeling. In Hinrich's absence, promising PG Jeff Teague started, but he struggled putting up 7 points, 6 rebounds and a disappointed one assist. I wouldn't recommend Teague as Joe Johnson may even steal PG minutes from him with Jamal Crawford stepping in at SG.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Worst to First: The Anatomy of Basketball Redemption
New coach Nate Thornhill (wearing hat) has guided the Harry Van Arsdale basketball team to a 12-2 record and a playoff berth a year after the Cardinals finished 4-10. (Evan MacDonald/The Brooklyn Ink)
By Evan MacDonald
This is the story of a team that used to stink.
Last year, the Harry Van Arsdale boys’ basketball team in Williamsburg finished a woeful 4-10, nowhere close to a playoff berth. They were a lousy 7-35 over the past three seasons.
Then things began to change.
This year, the Cardinals are 12-2 entering the postseason. Under a new coach and a new understanding of what it means to be part of a team, many of the same players from those losing teams have changed not only the way they play on the court, but also the way they conduct themselves off it. They’ve helped Van Arsdale qualify for the postseason for the first time in years.
This is the story of how it happened.
The Coach
Nathan Thornhill is 25 years old. He’s not quite 6 feet tall, and he’s slender. He wears glasses, and has a neatly trimmed beard. Thornhill looks youthful; he could pass for one of the Cardinals’ players if he wore a uniform. He graduated in 2007 from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, where he was a basketball player and track and field star. He studied abroad in Argentina during his junior year in 2006, where he played semi-pro basketball for Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
Upon graduating, he relocated to Brooklyn, where he became a Spanish teacher and an assistant boys’ varsity basketball coach at Van Arsdale High School. He got a chance to watch those mediocre teams, and he wasn’t impressed. The losses weren’t the worst part, he says; it was what he saw in the team that really bothered him. He saw a group of players who expected to lose.
“The last three years, we just weren’t very confident,” Thornhill says. “You could just see it in the way we played and in our energy. We just expected to lose.”
When the school year began last fall, Thornhill was preparing for another year as an assistant coach. But then he heard that the previous coach, Adam Lustig, was stepping down to pursue a graduate degree, which he couldn’t do while coaching the team. So Thornhill, who was already the coach of the school’s cross country and outdoor track teams, decided to apply for the job. After writing to the school’s athletic director to express a formal interest in the position, he was hired.
In October, Thornhill called a team meeting. He knew it wasn’t going to be just any team meeting. He was making changes, especially to the culture of the team.
“I had the pleasure of playing college basketball,” he says. “So I figured I would coach them like they were a college team.”
It was a dress-for-success approach, so to speak, but it meant things were going to be serious. His goal, he says, was to come off like a jerk and let the players know he meant business. He was stern throughout, and set forth a list of expectations. He strongly encouraged players to join the cross-country team and required them to run three miles each day in order to be in better shape for basketball season. He also let them know he wasn’t limiting his approach to the basketball court; he mandated that they attend study hall every day after school. And then he dropped the biggest bomb of all: He told them that none of the players who were on last year’s team were guaranteed spots on this year’s roster.
To the players, the meeting was a little jarring. Players who knew Thornhill from his time as an assistant said they knew he was stern, but didn’t expect rules like this. Leonel Familia, who had just transferred to the school from nearby Bishop Loughlin High School in Fort Greene, sums up the team’s reactions succinctly.
“We were scared,” he says.
Thornhill was telling his players that they needed to commit themselves to the team or risk being cut. But that meeting would set in motion the events that led to a transformative season.
The Turnaround Season in Sports
Van Arsdale’s task was a difficult one, but hardly unique. Many teams — high school, college, and professional — have experienced quick reversals of their fortunes.
The 1980 Boston Celtics, after drafting Larry Bird, finished 61-21, a 40-game improvement, and advanced to the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals. In 1991, the World Series featured the American League’s Minnesota Twins and National League’s Atlanta Braves, two teams that had finished last in their respective divisions the year before. The 1999 St. Louis Rams, after finishing last in football’s NFC West the previous season, rallied behind quarterback Kurt Warner en route to a 13-3 season and an improbable Super Bowl victory.
And the 1969 New York Mets, a perennial doormat in baseball’s National League since their inaugural season in 1962, finished 100-62, a 27-game improvement over their 1968 record, en route to the franchise’s first world championship with an upset victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series. That turnaround was credited as much to their starting pitching as it was to their demanding second-year manager, Gil Hodges.
The Seeds of Change
From the moment that initial team meeting ended, Thornhill set about doing what many coaches aspire to do, but very few succeed in doing: He started to change the culture and attitude of Cardinals basketball. He knew it wouldn’t be easy. He wanted to instill order, discipline, and a sense of camaraderie. Not easy with a group of teenage boys.
As a player, Thornhill was a hard worker, and he knew the value of approaching basketball that way. He understood that you couldn’t get by on talent alone, and that the only way to be successful was to have that approach not just on the court, but also in school and in life. Always being in that frame of mind, he says, forces it to become a habit.
“I feel like the success of this team isn’t necessarily basketball-related. It isn’t because we’re talented, as much as we’d like to think that,” he says. “It’s about effort and hard work. Hard work on the basketball court is directly related to hard work in the classroom.”
Once practices began in December, Thornhill surprised the players once again by informing them that minutes would be allotted based on a player’s effort in practice. It didn’t matter if a player was the best scorer on the team, or the tallest player. If that player didn’t want to run and work hard, he simply wouldn’t play.
The relentless internal competition was difficult at first for the players. They now say everyone was practicing even harder to win minutes. Players often came close to blows, and regularly argued with each other.
“We’d be going so hard, pushing each other,” senior guard Joshua Manners says. “At the beginning of the season, people were so competitive that they wanted to fight.”
For the players, though, the transition worked because they were so hungry to play on a winning team. Last season, a player had quit the team, and the attitude was generally less serious. So although Thornhill’s new rules were surprising, there was no fighting back. Players were in such a malaise the past few seasons that they were willing to try anything to be successful.
Thornhill did have one advantage: His team had talent. Familia, a junior forward and one of the team’s captains, played in the post and had a nice shooting touch from the wing. And he could take charge.
“Leo is a very vocal leader,” Thornhill says. “He has the ability to analyze the game. He just sees the game of basketball very well.”
The other captain was point guard Jesus Pacheco, a senior. Thornhill says Pacheco is at his best leading the team through his sometimes-cocky attitude, which is evident in the way he plays and practices. He isn’t afraid to speak his mind, and never backs down from a challenge.
“Jesus is very, very confident,” Thornhill says. “Sometimes you even have to tell him to tone it down a little bit.”
Others, like Manners, Ayars, junior forward Raheim Lawson, senior guard Malik Clark, and senior guard Korede Griffith gave the team a solid group of scorers.
It did not take long after practices began for the players to sense an improvement. Still, the Cardinals couldn’t be sure they were really getting better. In practice, they were only playing against each other. Without competition they didn’t have a way to measure their progress. They didn’t have games to look to for concrete evidence of their skills.
They finally got the chance in their first two preseason scrimmages in December, the first against Bushwick and the second against traditional power Christ the King. The players were eager to see how much they had progressed, but even they were surprised by how things turned out. The Cardinals crushed Bushwick. Then they beat Christ the King.
“After those two,” Familia says, “we knew we were unstoppable.”
Buoyed by their early success, the team opened the season by running off six straight victories before finally falling to rival Grand Street High School on December 17. It was a loss that didn’t sit well with the Cardinals.
“We’d go home and read posts on Facebook about how we lost to them,” Familia says. “When we fell to 6-1, their crowd started chanting at us. But we beat ourselves that game. We shot 17-for-42 at the free throw line.”
But there were lessons in that loss, and the Cardinals didn’t let it become a major setback. They looked at the things they did wrong — the missed free throws, turnovers, and poor defensive rotations — and improved them in practice. The team became stronger. It was a theme that would define the Cardinals’ entire season.
The Psychology of the Turnaround
For the players, the most important thing about this season has been their relationships with each other. The players responded to Thornhill’s tough practices and stringent rules, and bonded together because of their shared experience. As often happens with teenage boys, fights and struggle brought them closer together.
“We have great team chemistry,” Clark says. “We know how each other plays, and the new kids fit right in.”
Thornhill was instrumental in creating that camaraderie. He took the team out for pizza after good games or scrimmages. He made them work together in the weight room, the cross-country team, and in the study halls. He even had them sleep over at his house before a tournament (with parent’s permission, of course).
One of the things that bonds his players together, he says, is their personalities. He jokingly refers to the team as a “bunch of clowns.”
“They’re always joking around,” he says with a laugh. “We’ll go out for pizza after a game, and you can’t get them to leave. They’re all sitting there ragging on each other, joking around.”
Familia said his team’s sense of humor is one of the things he likes best about being a Cardinal. “In the pizza shop, class, school, everywhere we go,” he says, “we’re always joking on each other.”
But how much does players liking one another actually bear on a team’s success? Basketball isn’t about personalities; it’s about scoring more points than the other team. It’s about execution. It’s about defense, passing, and shooting. How much would friendship really matter? According to one expert, quite a bit.
Dr. William Weiner is a clinical psychologist on New York’s Upper West Side who specializes in sports psychology. He’s been working with athletes for 15 years. He believes the most important factor in a team’s success is often chemistry.
“Chemistry is everything,” he says. “There are endless examples of teams that should be good on paper, but fail. But chemistry is essentially a function of the culture a coach instills.”
Thornhill, to that end, is serious, but he isn’t completely removed from the clowning around. While players shoot free throws at practice, he’s constantly blowing his whistle and hitting the buzzer on the scoreboard, creating loud distractions. And when a player misses, he chides them.
“Uh-oh…Spaghettios,” he says.
The players, in turn, speak of how much they enjoy playing for Thornhill. And, says Weiner, as much as players’ relationships with each other are important, their relationship with their coach can be just as crucial.
“The players need to come to believe there’s something in it for them,” he says. “There’s needs to be something in their interest, so they’re not just horses in the stable, being brought out to work.”
Thornhill has instilled a culture where players and coach care equally about each other, even more than wins and losses. The friendships are crucial. The victories are just a product of those friendships combined with hard work and a disdain for the losing seasons of the past.
“I actually feel like it’s a brotherhood,” Ayars says. “I would honestly fight for every single person on this team.”
The Rematch
After the Grand Street loss, the Cardinals reeled off wins in five of their next six games. By that point, the rest of the school had taken notice. While last year’s team only had a few fans come out to games, this year’s squad regularly plays in front of about 300 spectators in the packed Van Arsdale gymnasium. But the players don’t let it affect them.
“Nobody even takes notice,” Pacheco says of his teammates. “People from the school will come up to us and tell us, but we don’t care. We just try to stay modest.”
The players also succeeded in keeping their emotions in check, right up into the final regular-season game: a rematch against undefeated Grand Street. For the Cardinals, it was Senior Day, with posters bearing the seniors’ names adorning the Van Arsdale gymnasium. And more importantly, it was a chance for revenge.
The teams were close throughout the first half, but Grand Street took an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter. Still, the Cardinals weren’t done. They stormed back to tie the game, and eventually forced the contest into overtime. And through it all, the Cardinals players were as one.
“I was on the bench,” Ayars says. “We all had our arms locked together. We wanted to get that win.”
The Cardinals won that game behind huge shots from Griffith and Pacheco in the overtime. Familia ended it with a pair of free throws in the 60-56 victory.
When the final buzzer sounded, the noise didn’t stop. The Van Arsdale scorekeeper held the buzzer down for 10 seconds in celebration as fans swarmed the players on the court. Players took off their jerseys and swung them above their heads, relishing the moment.
On the Eve of the Playoffs
You can see the bond between the Cardinals when they practice. Practice isn’t just going through motions — Thornhill doesn’t allow slacking off. Every player works.
Throughout the drills — 3-on-2 fast breaks, full court sprints, and defensive formations — the players are lively and talkative. They let each other know when someone isn’t pulling his weight.
“Josh, you need to slide over and help,” Familia yells at Manners, his defensive partner during the 3-on-2 drill, after the two had surrendered another basket.
Thornhill is an active coach at practice. It isn’t enough to tell a player that he messed up. The only way to go about it, he says, is to tell the player how to correct his mistake.
“Yes, Josh should’ve helped, but you keep getting beat,” he tells Familia. “You need to slide down and take away the baseline.”
The approach, he explains, comes from a coach for whom he had played. That coach didn’t bother to try to correct mistakes. He simply sat his players on the bench until they improved. Thornhill is different.
“If a player doesn’t seem confident in himself, I or another coach will talk to him, but not to say that he sucks,” Thornhill said. “Just to let him know what he needs to do in order to get on the court.”
But no drill seems to get the players going more than their boxing-out drill. Thornhill places the ball at mid-court, and divides the players into two teams. The offensive team’s objective is to grab the ball within five seconds. The defensive team is supposed to stop them.
At the whistle, the offensive team’s players rush toward the ball, while the defensive team tries to box them out. Pushing and shoving is key. Plus, the players now know every trick. One offensive player, for instance, will stand behind another, creating confusion for the two defenders. Another player starts more than 15 feet away from the ball, making it easier to run by his defender.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Pacheco shouts. “Who’s hungry?”
The losing team is forced to run sprints. But even when the Cardinals are divided, they are still together. While half of the players are running sprints, the other half of the team is on the sidelines, loudly cheering them on.
“Everybody is putting in the work,” Pacheco says. “Everybody is sweating bullets.”
The first step in the Cardinal’s transformation is complete. The team is a winner. But the playoffs begin Wednesday night and the players want to play on. They open against Staten Island’s Port Richmond Raiders, who finished 7-7 this season. The game will tip off at 5 p.m at Van Arsdale.
As he enters his first playoffs as a head coach, Thornhill has his sights set high.
“We want a banner,” he says. “There are no basketball banners on the walls here. We want to be the first.”
By Evan MacDonald
This is the story of a team that used to stink.
Last year, the Harry Van Arsdale boys’ basketball team in Williamsburg finished a woeful 4-10, nowhere close to a playoff berth. They were a lousy 7-35 over the past three seasons.
Then things began to change.
This year, the Cardinals are 12-2 entering the postseason. Under a new coach and a new understanding of what it means to be part of a team, many of the same players from those losing teams have changed not only the way they play on the court, but also the way they conduct themselves off it. They’ve helped Van Arsdale qualify for the postseason for the first time in years.
This is the story of how it happened.
The Coach
Nathan Thornhill is 25 years old. He’s not quite 6 feet tall, and he’s slender. He wears glasses, and has a neatly trimmed beard. Thornhill looks youthful; he could pass for one of the Cardinals’ players if he wore a uniform. He graduated in 2007 from Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, where he was a basketball player and track and field star. He studied abroad in Argentina during his junior year in 2006, where he played semi-pro basketball for Ciudad de Buenos Aires.
Upon graduating, he relocated to Brooklyn, where he became a Spanish teacher and an assistant boys’ varsity basketball coach at Van Arsdale High School. He got a chance to watch those mediocre teams, and he wasn’t impressed. The losses weren’t the worst part, he says; it was what he saw in the team that really bothered him. He saw a group of players who expected to lose.
“The last three years, we just weren’t very confident,” Thornhill says. “You could just see it in the way we played and in our energy. We just expected to lose.”
When the school year began last fall, Thornhill was preparing for another year as an assistant coach. But then he heard that the previous coach, Adam Lustig, was stepping down to pursue a graduate degree, which he couldn’t do while coaching the team. So Thornhill, who was already the coach of the school’s cross country and outdoor track teams, decided to apply for the job. After writing to the school’s athletic director to express a formal interest in the position, he was hired.
In October, Thornhill called a team meeting. He knew it wasn’t going to be just any team meeting. He was making changes, especially to the culture of the team.
“I had the pleasure of playing college basketball,” he says. “So I figured I would coach them like they were a college team.”
It was a dress-for-success approach, so to speak, but it meant things were going to be serious. His goal, he says, was to come off like a jerk and let the players know he meant business. He was stern throughout, and set forth a list of expectations. He strongly encouraged players to join the cross-country team and required them to run three miles each day in order to be in better shape for basketball season. He also let them know he wasn’t limiting his approach to the basketball court; he mandated that they attend study hall every day after school. And then he dropped the biggest bomb of all: He told them that none of the players who were on last year’s team were guaranteed spots on this year’s roster.
To the players, the meeting was a little jarring. Players who knew Thornhill from his time as an assistant said they knew he was stern, but didn’t expect rules like this. Leonel Familia, who had just transferred to the school from nearby Bishop Loughlin High School in Fort Greene, sums up the team’s reactions succinctly.
“We were scared,” he says.
Thornhill was telling his players that they needed to commit themselves to the team or risk being cut. But that meeting would set in motion the events that led to a transformative season.
The Turnaround Season in Sports
Van Arsdale’s task was a difficult one, but hardly unique. Many teams — high school, college, and professional — have experienced quick reversals of their fortunes.
The 1980 Boston Celtics, after drafting Larry Bird, finished 61-21, a 40-game improvement, and advanced to the NBA’s Eastern Conference Finals. In 1991, the World Series featured the American League’s Minnesota Twins and National League’s Atlanta Braves, two teams that had finished last in their respective divisions the year before. The 1999 St. Louis Rams, after finishing last in football’s NFC West the previous season, rallied behind quarterback Kurt Warner en route to a 13-3 season and an improbable Super Bowl victory.
And the 1969 New York Mets, a perennial doormat in baseball’s National League since their inaugural season in 1962, finished 100-62, a 27-game improvement over their 1968 record, en route to the franchise’s first world championship with an upset victory over the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series. That turnaround was credited as much to their starting pitching as it was to their demanding second-year manager, Gil Hodges.
The Seeds of Change
From the moment that initial team meeting ended, Thornhill set about doing what many coaches aspire to do, but very few succeed in doing: He started to change the culture and attitude of Cardinals basketball. He knew it wouldn’t be easy. He wanted to instill order, discipline, and a sense of camaraderie. Not easy with a group of teenage boys.
As a player, Thornhill was a hard worker, and he knew the value of approaching basketball that way. He understood that you couldn’t get by on talent alone, and that the only way to be successful was to have that approach not just on the court, but also in school and in life. Always being in that frame of mind, he says, forces it to become a habit.
“I feel like the success of this team isn’t necessarily basketball-related. It isn’t because we’re talented, as much as we’d like to think that,” he says. “It’s about effort and hard work. Hard work on the basketball court is directly related to hard work in the classroom.”
Once practices began in December, Thornhill surprised the players once again by informing them that minutes would be allotted based on a player’s effort in practice. It didn’t matter if a player was the best scorer on the team, or the tallest player. If that player didn’t want to run and work hard, he simply wouldn’t play.
The relentless internal competition was difficult at first for the players. They now say everyone was practicing even harder to win minutes. Players often came close to blows, and regularly argued with each other.
“We’d be going so hard, pushing each other,” senior guard Joshua Manners says. “At the beginning of the season, people were so competitive that they wanted to fight.”
For the players, though, the transition worked because they were so hungry to play on a winning team. Last season, a player had quit the team, and the attitude was generally less serious. So although Thornhill’s new rules were surprising, there was no fighting back. Players were in such a malaise the past few seasons that they were willing to try anything to be successful.
Thornhill did have one advantage: His team had talent. Familia, a junior forward and one of the team’s captains, played in the post and had a nice shooting touch from the wing. And he could take charge.
“Leo is a very vocal leader,” Thornhill says. “He has the ability to analyze the game. He just sees the game of basketball very well.”
The other captain was point guard Jesus Pacheco, a senior. Thornhill says Pacheco is at his best leading the team through his sometimes-cocky attitude, which is evident in the way he plays and practices. He isn’t afraid to speak his mind, and never backs down from a challenge.
“Jesus is very, very confident,” Thornhill says. “Sometimes you even have to tell him to tone it down a little bit.”
Others, like Manners, Ayars, junior forward Raheim Lawson, senior guard Malik Clark, and senior guard Korede Griffith gave the team a solid group of scorers.
It did not take long after practices began for the players to sense an improvement. Still, the Cardinals couldn’t be sure they were really getting better. In practice, they were only playing against each other. Without competition they didn’t have a way to measure their progress. They didn’t have games to look to for concrete evidence of their skills.
They finally got the chance in their first two preseason scrimmages in December, the first against Bushwick and the second against traditional power Christ the King. The players were eager to see how much they had progressed, but even they were surprised by how things turned out. The Cardinals crushed Bushwick. Then they beat Christ the King.
“After those two,” Familia says, “we knew we were unstoppable.”
Buoyed by their early success, the team opened the season by running off six straight victories before finally falling to rival Grand Street High School on December 17. It was a loss that didn’t sit well with the Cardinals.
“We’d go home and read posts on Facebook about how we lost to them,” Familia says. “When we fell to 6-1, their crowd started chanting at us. But we beat ourselves that game. We shot 17-for-42 at the free throw line.”
But there were lessons in that loss, and the Cardinals didn’t let it become a major setback. They looked at the things they did wrong — the missed free throws, turnovers, and poor defensive rotations — and improved them in practice. The team became stronger. It was a theme that would define the Cardinals’ entire season.
The Psychology of the Turnaround
For the players, the most important thing about this season has been their relationships with each other. The players responded to Thornhill’s tough practices and stringent rules, and bonded together because of their shared experience. As often happens with teenage boys, fights and struggle brought them closer together.
“We have great team chemistry,” Clark says. “We know how each other plays, and the new kids fit right in.”
Thornhill was instrumental in creating that camaraderie. He took the team out for pizza after good games or scrimmages. He made them work together in the weight room, the cross-country team, and in the study halls. He even had them sleep over at his house before a tournament (with parent’s permission, of course).
One of the things that bonds his players together, he says, is their personalities. He jokingly refers to the team as a “bunch of clowns.”
“They’re always joking around,” he says with a laugh. “We’ll go out for pizza after a game, and you can’t get them to leave. They’re all sitting there ragging on each other, joking around.”
Familia said his team’s sense of humor is one of the things he likes best about being a Cardinal. “In the pizza shop, class, school, everywhere we go,” he says, “we’re always joking on each other.”
But how much does players liking one another actually bear on a team’s success? Basketball isn’t about personalities; it’s about scoring more points than the other team. It’s about execution. It’s about defense, passing, and shooting. How much would friendship really matter? According to one expert, quite a bit.
Dr. William Weiner is a clinical psychologist on New York’s Upper West Side who specializes in sports psychology. He’s been working with athletes for 15 years. He believes the most important factor in a team’s success is often chemistry.
“Chemistry is everything,” he says. “There are endless examples of teams that should be good on paper, but fail. But chemistry is essentially a function of the culture a coach instills.”
Thornhill, to that end, is serious, but he isn’t completely removed from the clowning around. While players shoot free throws at practice, he’s constantly blowing his whistle and hitting the buzzer on the scoreboard, creating loud distractions. And when a player misses, he chides them.
“Uh-oh…Spaghettios,” he says.
The players, in turn, speak of how much they enjoy playing for Thornhill. And, says Weiner, as much as players’ relationships with each other are important, their relationship with their coach can be just as crucial.
“The players need to come to believe there’s something in it for them,” he says. “There’s needs to be something in their interest, so they’re not just horses in the stable, being brought out to work.”
Thornhill has instilled a culture where players and coach care equally about each other, even more than wins and losses. The friendships are crucial. The victories are just a product of those friendships combined with hard work and a disdain for the losing seasons of the past.
“I actually feel like it’s a brotherhood,” Ayars says. “I would honestly fight for every single person on this team.”
The Rematch
After the Grand Street loss, the Cardinals reeled off wins in five of their next six games. By that point, the rest of the school had taken notice. While last year’s team only had a few fans come out to games, this year’s squad regularly plays in front of about 300 spectators in the packed Van Arsdale gymnasium. But the players don’t let it affect them.
“Nobody even takes notice,” Pacheco says of his teammates. “People from the school will come up to us and tell us, but we don’t care. We just try to stay modest.”
The players also succeeded in keeping their emotions in check, right up into the final regular-season game: a rematch against undefeated Grand Street. For the Cardinals, it was Senior Day, with posters bearing the seniors’ names adorning the Van Arsdale gymnasium. And more importantly, it was a chance for revenge.
The teams were close throughout the first half, but Grand Street took an eight-point lead in the fourth quarter. Still, the Cardinals weren’t done. They stormed back to tie the game, and eventually forced the contest into overtime. And through it all, the Cardinals players were as one.
“I was on the bench,” Ayars says. “We all had our arms locked together. We wanted to get that win.”
The Cardinals won that game behind huge shots from Griffith and Pacheco in the overtime. Familia ended it with a pair of free throws in the 60-56 victory.
When the final buzzer sounded, the noise didn’t stop. The Van Arsdale scorekeeper held the buzzer down for 10 seconds in celebration as fans swarmed the players on the court. Players took off their jerseys and swung them above their heads, relishing the moment.
On the Eve of the Playoffs
You can see the bond between the Cardinals when they practice. Practice isn’t just going through motions — Thornhill doesn’t allow slacking off. Every player works.
Throughout the drills — 3-on-2 fast breaks, full court sprints, and defensive formations — the players are lively and talkative. They let each other know when someone isn’t pulling his weight.
“Josh, you need to slide over and help,” Familia yells at Manners, his defensive partner during the 3-on-2 drill, after the two had surrendered another basket.
Thornhill is an active coach at practice. It isn’t enough to tell a player that he messed up. The only way to go about it, he says, is to tell the player how to correct his mistake.
“Yes, Josh should’ve helped, but you keep getting beat,” he tells Familia. “You need to slide down and take away the baseline.”
The approach, he explains, comes from a coach for whom he had played. That coach didn’t bother to try to correct mistakes. He simply sat his players on the bench until they improved. Thornhill is different.
“If a player doesn’t seem confident in himself, I or another coach will talk to him, but not to say that he sucks,” Thornhill said. “Just to let him know what he needs to do in order to get on the court.”
But no drill seems to get the players going more than their boxing-out drill. Thornhill places the ball at mid-court, and divides the players into two teams. The offensive team’s objective is to grab the ball within five seconds. The defensive team is supposed to stop them.
At the whistle, the offensive team’s players rush toward the ball, while the defensive team tries to box them out. Pushing and shoving is key. Plus, the players now know every trick. One offensive player, for instance, will stand behind another, creating confusion for the two defenders. Another player starts more than 15 feet away from the ball, making it easier to run by his defender.
“Let’s go, let’s go!” Pacheco shouts. “Who’s hungry?”
The losing team is forced to run sprints. But even when the Cardinals are divided, they are still together. While half of the players are running sprints, the other half of the team is on the sidelines, loudly cheering them on.
“Everybody is putting in the work,” Pacheco says. “Everybody is sweating bullets.”
The first step in the Cardinal’s transformation is complete. The team is a winner. But the playoffs begin Wednesday night and the players want to play on. They open against Staten Island’s Port Richmond Raiders, who finished 7-7 this season. The game will tip off at 5 p.m at Van Arsdale.
As he enters his first playoffs as a head coach, Thornhill has his sights set high.
“We want a banner,” he says. “There are no basketball banners on the walls here. We want to be the first.”
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Fantasy Basketball: Make a Move Monday
Alan Diaz - APMore photos »
1 day ago: New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony (7) celebrates after teammate Chauncey Billups (4) scored against the Miami Heat in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Miami, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. The Knicks won 91-86. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
Anyone catch that Knicks-Heat game last night? It certainly felt like a playoff game. The atmosphere was unbelievable, and that game-saving block on LeBron James by Amare Stoudemire was pure gold for this Knicks fan. I'm sure fantasy owners were happy about that block as well. After all that's why you're here, for fantasy basketball news, right? Last week was a crazy week with regards to the trading deadline. I touched on a bunch of the trades last week, and we actually have more to discuss as some trades have strongly impacted starting rosters. This was definitely one of the craziest trade deadlines in recent memory. Big names like Gerald Wallace, Deron Williams and Carmelo Anthony found new homes. Every team in the NBA plays at least a three-game slate this week, so there should be plenty of fantasy goodness going on. Keep reading for moves to make this week...
Players affected positively from recent trades:
Marcus Thornton SG, Sacramento Kings - I mentioned the trade to the Kings when rumors were swirling on the internet. The trade did in fact take place, and Thornton is now the starting SG in Sacramento. He should post strong numbers in three-pointers and steals and should average 30 minutes or so. I'd recommend picking up Thornton and starting right away unless coach Paul Westphal (a favorite in fantasy circles) tinkers with his minutes.
Chase Budinger SF, Kyle Lowry PG & Chuck Hayes PF/C Houston Rockets - Budinger started to log more minutes even before Shane Battier was shipped out of town to Memphis. Budinger erupted for 30 and 27 points in a recent two-game stretch and will provide solid stats across the board as the starting SF. The Aaron Brooks for Goran Dragic trade with Phoenix cemented Lowry as the team's PG. Dragic may steal some minutes, but he's best-suited for a backup role as he learns the offense. Hayes, the team's starting Center, prospers with Lowry running the show. Brooks, as talented as he is, is more of a pure scorer. The big rebounder may end up averaging a double-double with a few blocks/game from this point forward. All make for great options going forward. These three plus Courtney Lee and Luis Scola should make for a formidable Rockets Team. I like all as fantasy factors.
Gerald Henderson SG, Charlotte Bobcats - The trade of Gerald Wallace for Joel Przybilla and draft picks (Really MJ, you needed a washed up aging Center??) freed up minutes for the aforementioned Henderson. Prior to February 27th against Orlando, Henderson was playing pretty well and often, even going for 22 points and 5 rebounds against a staunch Bulls defense on Feb. 15th. With Gerald Wallace out of town, Henderson has been anointed the starter, and the former Duke product makes for an intriguing pickup.
Mo Williams PG, Los Angeles Clippers - Williams becomes the Clippers' starting PG as he was dealt for the over-weight and injured Baron Davis. Williams was already averaging 7.1 assists per game for a terrible Cleveland team, and I would expect those numbers to go up from here. Williams is also an excellent three-point shooter and should hit at least 2 per game if healthy. 15.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG and 2.0 3PG seems like a reasonable expectation for the remainder of the season. I'd rank the guards involved in the trade as 1. Williams 2. Ramon Sessions 3. Baron Davis.
Chauncey Billups PG, New York Knicks - the "throw-in" to the Carmelo Anthony trade is off to a tremendous start helping the Knicks knock off the Heat in one of the season's most exciting games. Mr. Big Shot is a devastating 3-point shooter and is one of the best free-throw shooters in the league. He moves to an up-tempo offense that saw Raymond Felton previously put up a career season. I'd expect Billups to at least duplicate Felton's numbers in the short-term.
Serge Ibaka PF/C, Oklahoma City Thunder - The big man becomes the starting center as newly-acquired Kendrick Perkins is out with a strained MCL. Ibaka was already a complete monster in the blocks category. With additional minutes, he should supply even more blocks and double-digit rebounds in an Oklahoma City offense that loves to score.
Three Players negatively impacted by the recent trades:
Tony Allen SG, Memphis Grizzlies. I have been pimping Allen for weeks, and the moment he receives a starting nod, the Grizz go out and trade for fan-favorite Shane Battier. Coincidentally enough, Battier plays the same positions as Allen. Allen, Battier and Sam Young should all split minutes (it has already started - check out Saturday's game log: Spurs 95, Grizzlies 88). Expect the offense to revolve around Zach Randolph as the three SG/SF prototypes will negatively impact each other's stats.
Jeff Green SG/SF, Boston Celtics: Green becomes Paul Pierce's backup. Good for real-life, but not so good for fantasy. His minutes will be limited.
Aaron Brooks PG, Phoenix Suns: Brooks can't catch a break; he now is backing up one of the league's best point guards, Steve Nash. Until Nash leaves Phoenix, Brooks should see some minutes when Nash needs a breather. Brooks is shaping up to be a one-year wonder.
I'll touch on pickups in Wednesday's article, but if for any reason these players are free agents in your league, please pick them up immediately: Serge Ibaka, Greg Monroe, Marcin Gortat, D.J. Augustin, Kris Humphries, Mo Williams, Kirk Hinrich, Chase Budinger, Ramon Sessions.
Lastly, before you set your lineups tonight, please note that the Spurs' Tony Parker strained his calf in last night's game and will be out for the next 2-4 weeks. Other key injuries to note: SG Eric Gordon of the Clippers is NOT expected to play tonight; rather he will play in Wednesday's game. I'd roll the dice on him despite the injury. Marcus Camby returned to action for the Blazers as LaMarcus Aldridge was injured. I'd keep Aldridge active as the injury appears minor.
Best of luck this week.
1 day ago: New York Knicks' Carmelo Anthony (7) celebrates after teammate Chauncey Billups (4) scored against the Miami Heat in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game in Miami, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. The Knicks won 91-86. (AP Photo/Alan Diaz)
Anyone catch that Knicks-Heat game last night? It certainly felt like a playoff game. The atmosphere was unbelievable, and that game-saving block on LeBron James by Amare Stoudemire was pure gold for this Knicks fan. I'm sure fantasy owners were happy about that block as well. After all that's why you're here, for fantasy basketball news, right? Last week was a crazy week with regards to the trading deadline. I touched on a bunch of the trades last week, and we actually have more to discuss as some trades have strongly impacted starting rosters. This was definitely one of the craziest trade deadlines in recent memory. Big names like Gerald Wallace, Deron Williams and Carmelo Anthony found new homes. Every team in the NBA plays at least a three-game slate this week, so there should be plenty of fantasy goodness going on. Keep reading for moves to make this week...
Players affected positively from recent trades:
Marcus Thornton SG, Sacramento Kings - I mentioned the trade to the Kings when rumors were swirling on the internet. The trade did in fact take place, and Thornton is now the starting SG in Sacramento. He should post strong numbers in three-pointers and steals and should average 30 minutes or so. I'd recommend picking up Thornton and starting right away unless coach Paul Westphal (a favorite in fantasy circles) tinkers with his minutes.
Chase Budinger SF, Kyle Lowry PG & Chuck Hayes PF/C Houston Rockets - Budinger started to log more minutes even before Shane Battier was shipped out of town to Memphis. Budinger erupted for 30 and 27 points in a recent two-game stretch and will provide solid stats across the board as the starting SF. The Aaron Brooks for Goran Dragic trade with Phoenix cemented Lowry as the team's PG. Dragic may steal some minutes, but he's best-suited for a backup role as he learns the offense. Hayes, the team's starting Center, prospers with Lowry running the show. Brooks, as talented as he is, is more of a pure scorer. The big rebounder may end up averaging a double-double with a few blocks/game from this point forward. All make for great options going forward. These three plus Courtney Lee and Luis Scola should make for a formidable Rockets Team. I like all as fantasy factors.
Gerald Henderson SG, Charlotte Bobcats - The trade of Gerald Wallace for Joel Przybilla and draft picks (Really MJ, you needed a washed up aging Center??) freed up minutes for the aforementioned Henderson. Prior to February 27th against Orlando, Henderson was playing pretty well and often, even going for 22 points and 5 rebounds against a staunch Bulls defense on Feb. 15th. With Gerald Wallace out of town, Henderson has been anointed the starter, and the former Duke product makes for an intriguing pickup.
Mo Williams PG, Los Angeles Clippers - Williams becomes the Clippers' starting PG as he was dealt for the over-weight and injured Baron Davis. Williams was already averaging 7.1 assists per game for a terrible Cleveland team, and I would expect those numbers to go up from here. Williams is also an excellent three-point shooter and should hit at least 2 per game if healthy. 15.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.0 SPG and 2.0 3PG seems like a reasonable expectation for the remainder of the season. I'd rank the guards involved in the trade as 1. Williams 2. Ramon Sessions 3. Baron Davis.
Chauncey Billups PG, New York Knicks - the "throw-in" to the Carmelo Anthony trade is off to a tremendous start helping the Knicks knock off the Heat in one of the season's most exciting games. Mr. Big Shot is a devastating 3-point shooter and is one of the best free-throw shooters in the league. He moves to an up-tempo offense that saw Raymond Felton previously put up a career season. I'd expect Billups to at least duplicate Felton's numbers in the short-term.
Serge Ibaka PF/C, Oklahoma City Thunder - The big man becomes the starting center as newly-acquired Kendrick Perkins is out with a strained MCL. Ibaka was already a complete monster in the blocks category. With additional minutes, he should supply even more blocks and double-digit rebounds in an Oklahoma City offense that loves to score.
Three Players negatively impacted by the recent trades:
Tony Allen SG, Memphis Grizzlies. I have been pimping Allen for weeks, and the moment he receives a starting nod, the Grizz go out and trade for fan-favorite Shane Battier. Coincidentally enough, Battier plays the same positions as Allen. Allen, Battier and Sam Young should all split minutes (it has already started - check out Saturday's game log: Spurs 95, Grizzlies 88). Expect the offense to revolve around Zach Randolph as the three SG/SF prototypes will negatively impact each other's stats.
Jeff Green SG/SF, Boston Celtics: Green becomes Paul Pierce's backup. Good for real-life, but not so good for fantasy. His minutes will be limited.
Aaron Brooks PG, Phoenix Suns: Brooks can't catch a break; he now is backing up one of the league's best point guards, Steve Nash. Until Nash leaves Phoenix, Brooks should see some minutes when Nash needs a breather. Brooks is shaping up to be a one-year wonder.
I'll touch on pickups in Wednesday's article, but if for any reason these players are free agents in your league, please pick them up immediately: Serge Ibaka, Greg Monroe, Marcin Gortat, D.J. Augustin, Kris Humphries, Mo Williams, Kirk Hinrich, Chase Budinger, Ramon Sessions.
Lastly, before you set your lineups tonight, please note that the Spurs' Tony Parker strained his calf in last night's game and will be out for the next 2-4 weeks. Other key injuries to note: SG Eric Gordon of the Clippers is NOT expected to play tonight; rather he will play in Wednesday's game. I'd roll the dice on him despite the injury. Marcus Camby returned to action for the Blazers as LaMarcus Aldridge was injured. I'd keep Aldridge active as the injury appears minor.
Best of luck this week.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
College Basketball and the NBA Both Being Destroyed by the CBA
fantastic games...
The current CBA draft eligibility rules were put in place for the 2005-2006 season. The rule states; “All drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft.” Since this rule has been put into place, college basketball has lost it’s Old Spice swagger.
The number of players that are now playing one year of college basketball has not been the exciting adventure we had once thought it would be. Campuses see star players come and go without them even going to their classes, and why should they go to class? They’re going to be making millions in couple of months.
Perry Jones from Baylor is projected to be one of the first players picked in the upcoming draft. Since arriving at Baylor, he has shown very little interest on the court. He continually jogs back on defense as his opponent is fast breaking, as well as not going hard for a loose ball up to this point in the season.
Once again, why should he? He’s going to be taken high in this years draft, so why risk dislocating his elbow? He has no interest in playing there, and now Baylor is responsible to find a new prospect every season. There is a way to fix this problem.
Recently Tom Izzo of Michigan State has spoken out on the problems with the CBA. He introduced The Izzo Compromise earlier this week. The compromise gives players the choice of entering the NBA draft right out of high school or going to college where they will be required to stay for three seasons. This idea would give each league a huge boost in competitiveness.
It would be a really good step in the right direction for American basketball; however, I would like to see them get away from the compromise all together and require the players to stay for three seasons. If the players had to stay for three seasons, they would have to be prove themselves again.
Perry Jones wouldn’t be jogging up and down the court, for he’d have to prove to Scott Drew that he deserves playing time. As we all know, every player in college basketball would then be forced to work their asses off, and from doing so they’ll develop into a complete NBA player.
One problem with my non-compromise is the fact that some high school players will just decided to pack up and head over to Europe, but it’s really not a problem at all. These players won’t be able to declare for the draft until their 21 anyways, so they can head over to Europe make their money and still develop.
The three year rule is obviously good for college basketball, for it gives them players that want to be there, and it gives them a more consistent roster as well as better players going to mid-major schools. College Basketball is a league ran by great coaches. With this system in play, these great coaches will have more than one season to critique the players skills and develop them into physically and mentally.
Because of the great college coaches having the players for three seasons, the NBA will improve immensely. They league will no longer be forced to draft a player like Kosta Koufus or Byron Mullens. Because their scouts will have more time to do their job, they’ll know that some of these recent busts wouldn’t amount to anything, and who knows maybe two more years with Thad Matta would have made both of these players into NBA players.
American Basketball is currently becoming less and less relevant, but with a few changes it will regain it’s power.
The current CBA draft eligibility rules were put in place for the 2005-2006 season. The rule states; “All drafted players must be at least 19 years old during the calendar year of the draft.” Since this rule has been put into place, college basketball has lost it’s Old Spice swagger.
The number of players that are now playing one year of college basketball has not been the exciting adventure we had once thought it would be. Campuses see star players come and go without them even going to their classes, and why should they go to class? They’re going to be making millions in couple of months.
Perry Jones from Baylor is projected to be one of the first players picked in the upcoming draft. Since arriving at Baylor, he has shown very little interest on the court. He continually jogs back on defense as his opponent is fast breaking, as well as not going hard for a loose ball up to this point in the season.
Once again, why should he? He’s going to be taken high in this years draft, so why risk dislocating his elbow? He has no interest in playing there, and now Baylor is responsible to find a new prospect every season. There is a way to fix this problem.
Recently Tom Izzo of Michigan State has spoken out on the problems with the CBA. He introduced The Izzo Compromise earlier this week. The compromise gives players the choice of entering the NBA draft right out of high school or going to college where they will be required to stay for three seasons. This idea would give each league a huge boost in competitiveness.
It would be a really good step in the right direction for American basketball; however, I would like to see them get away from the compromise all together and require the players to stay for three seasons. If the players had to stay for three seasons, they would have to be prove themselves again.
Perry Jones wouldn’t be jogging up and down the court, for he’d have to prove to Scott Drew that he deserves playing time. As we all know, every player in college basketball would then be forced to work their asses off, and from doing so they’ll develop into a complete NBA player.
One problem with my non-compromise is the fact that some high school players will just decided to pack up and head over to Europe, but it’s really not a problem at all. These players won’t be able to declare for the draft until their 21 anyways, so they can head over to Europe make their money and still develop.
The three year rule is obviously good for college basketball, for it gives them players that want to be there, and it gives them a more consistent roster as well as better players going to mid-major schools. College Basketball is a league ran by great coaches. With this system in play, these great coaches will have more than one season to critique the players skills and develop them into physically and mentally.
Because of the great college coaches having the players for three seasons, the NBA will improve immensely. They league will no longer be forced to draft a player like Kosta Koufus or Byron Mullens. Because their scouts will have more time to do their job, they’ll know that some of these recent busts wouldn’t amount to anything, and who knows maybe two more years with Thad Matta would have made both of these players into NBA players.
American Basketball is currently becoming less and less relevant, but with a few changes it will regain it’s power.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Basketball Economics
carier basketball
Kevin Clark has a fascinating piece in today’s Wall Street Journal comparing pro basketball in this country with pro soccer in England:
Carmelo Anthony’s trade to the New York Knicks Monday night is the latest sign that the NBA is drifting in one distinct direction. It’s becoming a league where a handful of glamour-puss teams are attracting all the marquee players and where, if recent events are any indication, they may vacuum up championships for years to come. In fact, as more stars like Anthony defect to these few teams, the league may quickly come to resemble (gasp!) English soccer.
In England’s Premier League, which is widely considered the world’s deepest pro league, only four teams—Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United — have managed to finish No. 3 or better in the final league standings over the past seven seasons. Not coincidentally, these teams have also been the prime destinations for mid-career superstars who’ve taken a change of scenery.
My question is whether this development is a new one.
Since 1980, five N.B.A. teams — the Bulls, Celtics, Lakers, Pistons and Spurs — have combined to win an incredible 27 of 31 championships. By comparison, the five most successful teams in pro football have won 17 Super Bowls since 1980. The five most successful Major League Baseball teams have won only 13 championships in that span.
Because only five basketball players are on the court at any one time and a team can give one of those players a disproportionate number of shot attempts, stars play an outsize role in basketball. One great player — Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan — can help a team win a handful of championships. It’s a good example of a winner-take-all industry.
Basketball stars do seem more likely today to join the same team deliberately. But it’s not yet clear if this trend will concentrate basketball championships any more than in the recent past.
Kevin Clark has a fascinating piece in today’s Wall Street Journal comparing pro basketball in this country with pro soccer in England:
Carmelo Anthony’s trade to the New York Knicks Monday night is the latest sign that the NBA is drifting in one distinct direction. It’s becoming a league where a handful of glamour-puss teams are attracting all the marquee players and where, if recent events are any indication, they may vacuum up championships for years to come. In fact, as more stars like Anthony defect to these few teams, the league may quickly come to resemble (gasp!) English soccer.
In England’s Premier League, which is widely considered the world’s deepest pro league, only four teams—Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United — have managed to finish No. 3 or better in the final league standings over the past seven seasons. Not coincidentally, these teams have also been the prime destinations for mid-career superstars who’ve taken a change of scenery.
My question is whether this development is a new one.
Since 1980, five N.B.A. teams — the Bulls, Celtics, Lakers, Pistons and Spurs — have combined to win an incredible 27 of 31 championships. By comparison, the five most successful teams in pro football have won 17 Super Bowls since 1980. The five most successful Major League Baseball teams have won only 13 championships in that span.
Because only five basketball players are on the court at any one time and a team can give one of those players a disproportionate number of shot attempts, stars play an outsize role in basketball. One great player — Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan — can help a team win a handful of championships. It’s a good example of a winner-take-all industry.
Basketball stars do seem more likely today to join the same team deliberately. But it’s not yet clear if this trend will concentrate basketball championships any more than in the recent past.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
NCAA confirms half-truths, lies and violations in UT men's basketball
RIGht basKetBall oBjecTive
The Notice of Allegations released Wednesday revealed the NCAA enforcement staff’s interpretation of half-truths, lies and violations committed within the Tennessee men’s basketball program.
Still to come are the consequences as determined by the NCAA, and how they might affect coach Bruce Pearl’s future.
UT has 90 days to respond in writing to the allegations — 10 basketball-related and nine major — that were detailed in the 26-page report.
UT will appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions on June 10-11 in Indianapolis. The committee would then make the conclusions on the violations.
The announcement of the NCAA’s sanctions on the program will follow, likely in late fall based on the time line in Connecticut’s recently concluded men’s basketball case.
Penalties in another similar NCAA case, involving the Chattanooga men’s basketball team, suggest the Vols will likely be placed on probation and lose scholarships at a minimum.
Hamilton said when UT received its letter of inquiry on Sept. 10 that there’s a possibility Pearl could be suspended from his coaching duties for a year.
Hamilton has since said that UT could retain Pearl even if the NCAA suspends Pearl for a year.
“It’s our intention to keep him,’’ Hamilton said on Feb. 16. “Unless there’s something (severe violation) out there we’re unaware of.’’
Hamilton released a statement Wednesday indicating there weren’t many surprises in the report.
“... most items noted in this document have already been reported broadly,’’ Hamilton’s statement said.
The one basketball-related violation in the Notice of Allegations that hadn’t been reported involves Pearl and UT associate head coach Tony Jones making an in-person, off-campus contact with prospect Jordan Adams at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy on Sept. 14, 2010.
The Notice of Allegations requests “a statement (from UT) indicating the reasons Pearl and Jones made an impermissible contact with Adams in light of NCAA legislation prohibiting such contacts.’’
Two sources in the UT athletic department who requested anonymity because of the NCAA case has not been completed, said Hamilton has been aware of the so-called “bump” violation, which refers to an unintentional impermissible contact. The sources said UT’s compliance department deemed it wasn’t a violation, and so it wasn’t self-reported.
The sources said Tennessee will likely appeal the violation in its response letter to the NCAA within the next 90 days.
Four of the other eight major violations are directly related to testimony from Pearl and his three assistant coaches — Jones, Steve Forbes and Jason Shay — involving a Sept. 20, 2008 cookout at Pearl’s home that three junior prospects on unofficial visits attended.
The prospects, all UT verbal commitments at the time, were Aaron Craft (now at Ohio State), Josh Selby (now at Kansas) and UT freshman Jordan McRae.
A photo of Pearl and Craft was taken at the cookout and surfaced as evidence of a violation, as off-campus contact is not allowed during an official visit.
When shown the black-and-white reproduced photo in an initial interview with NCAA investigators on June 14, 2010, Pearl and his assistants denied having absolute knowledge of where the photo was taken.
Pearl later requested a second interview with the NCAA, conducted Aug. 5, 2010, during which he admitted to knowing the photo was taken at his home.
That led to an unethical conduct charge being levied against Pearl for his false and misleading testimony in the original NCAA interview.
UT revealed on Sept. 10 a list of self-imposed severe and unprecedented sanctions as a result of Pearl’s tainted testimony.
Among the penalties has been a 25 percent reduction in all four coaches’ salaries, including Pearl’s $1.5 million loss to be taken out over the next five years, and off-campus recruiting bans of varying length for each of the coaches.
Beginning on Sept. 24, 2010, Pearl and Forbes were suspended for a year, Jones for nine months and Shay for three months.
SEC commissioner Mike Slive took further unprecedented action in November, issuing Pearl an eight-game league suspension that took place from Jan. 8 to Feb. 5. Jones assumed game-day head coaching duties in Pearl’s absence, posting a 5-3 SEC mark during that period.
Pearl, who has been working under a Letter of Appointment after his contract was terminated by UT as a result of the ongoing NCAA case, issued a statement on Wednesday.
“The penalties imposed on our program have been severe ...,’’ Pearl’s statement said. “I appreciate the opportunity to serve the University of Tennessee, and everyone in our basketball program is finding ways to improve every day.’’
UT and Pearl have been in negotiations to complete a new contract since October, but as time passed it became apparent a deal wouldn’t be concluded prior to the receipt of the Notice of Allegations.
The three assistant coaches have been charged with a “failure to furnish full and complete information relevant to the investigation.’’
While severe and perhaps even major in nature, the charge the assistants face is considerably lighter than a show cause penalty would have been.
Any school wanting to hire a coach served with an active show cause designation must appear before the NCAA infractions committee and potentially face new sanctions.
The Notice of Allegations released Wednesday revealed the NCAA enforcement staff’s interpretation of half-truths, lies and violations committed within the Tennessee men’s basketball program.
Still to come are the consequences as determined by the NCAA, and how they might affect coach Bruce Pearl’s future.
UT has 90 days to respond in writing to the allegations — 10 basketball-related and nine major — that were detailed in the 26-page report.
UT will appear before the NCAA Committee on Infractions on June 10-11 in Indianapolis. The committee would then make the conclusions on the violations.
The announcement of the NCAA’s sanctions on the program will follow, likely in late fall based on the time line in Connecticut’s recently concluded men’s basketball case.
Penalties in another similar NCAA case, involving the Chattanooga men’s basketball team, suggest the Vols will likely be placed on probation and lose scholarships at a minimum.
Hamilton said when UT received its letter of inquiry on Sept. 10 that there’s a possibility Pearl could be suspended from his coaching duties for a year.
Hamilton has since said that UT could retain Pearl even if the NCAA suspends Pearl for a year.
“It’s our intention to keep him,’’ Hamilton said on Feb. 16. “Unless there’s something (severe violation) out there we’re unaware of.’’
Hamilton released a statement Wednesday indicating there weren’t many surprises in the report.
“... most items noted in this document have already been reported broadly,’’ Hamilton’s statement said.
The one basketball-related violation in the Notice of Allegations that hadn’t been reported involves Pearl and UT associate head coach Tony Jones making an in-person, off-campus contact with prospect Jordan Adams at Oak Hill (Va.) Academy on Sept. 14, 2010.
The Notice of Allegations requests “a statement (from UT) indicating the reasons Pearl and Jones made an impermissible contact with Adams in light of NCAA legislation prohibiting such contacts.’’
Two sources in the UT athletic department who requested anonymity because of the NCAA case has not been completed, said Hamilton has been aware of the so-called “bump” violation, which refers to an unintentional impermissible contact. The sources said UT’s compliance department deemed it wasn’t a violation, and so it wasn’t self-reported.
The sources said Tennessee will likely appeal the violation in its response letter to the NCAA within the next 90 days.
Four of the other eight major violations are directly related to testimony from Pearl and his three assistant coaches — Jones, Steve Forbes and Jason Shay — involving a Sept. 20, 2008 cookout at Pearl’s home that three junior prospects on unofficial visits attended.
The prospects, all UT verbal commitments at the time, were Aaron Craft (now at Ohio State), Josh Selby (now at Kansas) and UT freshman Jordan McRae.
A photo of Pearl and Craft was taken at the cookout and surfaced as evidence of a violation, as off-campus contact is not allowed during an official visit.
When shown the black-and-white reproduced photo in an initial interview with NCAA investigators on June 14, 2010, Pearl and his assistants denied having absolute knowledge of where the photo was taken.
Pearl later requested a second interview with the NCAA, conducted Aug. 5, 2010, during which he admitted to knowing the photo was taken at his home.
That led to an unethical conduct charge being levied against Pearl for his false and misleading testimony in the original NCAA interview.
UT revealed on Sept. 10 a list of self-imposed severe and unprecedented sanctions as a result of Pearl’s tainted testimony.
Among the penalties has been a 25 percent reduction in all four coaches’ salaries, including Pearl’s $1.5 million loss to be taken out over the next five years, and off-campus recruiting bans of varying length for each of the coaches.
Beginning on Sept. 24, 2010, Pearl and Forbes were suspended for a year, Jones for nine months and Shay for three months.
SEC commissioner Mike Slive took further unprecedented action in November, issuing Pearl an eight-game league suspension that took place from Jan. 8 to Feb. 5. Jones assumed game-day head coaching duties in Pearl’s absence, posting a 5-3 SEC mark during that period.
Pearl, who has been working under a Letter of Appointment after his contract was terminated by UT as a result of the ongoing NCAA case, issued a statement on Wednesday.
“The penalties imposed on our program have been severe ...,’’ Pearl’s statement said. “I appreciate the opportunity to serve the University of Tennessee, and everyone in our basketball program is finding ways to improve every day.’’
UT and Pearl have been in negotiations to complete a new contract since October, but as time passed it became apparent a deal wouldn’t be concluded prior to the receipt of the Notice of Allegations.
The three assistant coaches have been charged with a “failure to furnish full and complete information relevant to the investigation.’’
While severe and perhaps even major in nature, the charge the assistants face is considerably lighter than a show cause penalty would have been.
Any school wanting to hire a coach served with an active show cause designation must appear before the NCAA infractions committee and potentially face new sanctions.
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