UNC Basketball Recruiting: No Andrew Wiggins Means Wings Must Step Up
The University of North Carolina may have taken a hit with Andrew Wiggins’ decision to join the Kansas Jayhawks, but it’s hardly the end of the world for the Tar Heels.
There is still loads of talent and potential on this team that could easily make a deep run in the tournament.
However, depth on the wing will be a serious concern for the UNC heading into the 2013-14 season. And former role players will be forced to step up their game.
P.J. Hairston, Leslie McDonald and J.P. Tokoto are the only wings on this squad. With Wiggins, you probably would have seen him at the 3 and Hairston the 2. McDonald would come off the bench as the sixth man and Tokoto would be given a little spot treatment here and there.
Add a returning James Michael McAdoo, a more experienced Marcus Paige and five options at center, and we’re looking at a pretty talented group of starters.
Without Wiggins, one has to assume Hairston will take the 3, McDonald the 2 and Tokoto will be receiving a larger chunk of minutes at both positions. There will be a lot of pressure on Tokoto now to develop a consistent jumper.
On the bright side, not having Wiggins gives Tokoto the room to gain invaluable experience in his sophomore season. In his freshman year, he was already showing signs of becoming an elite defender with his quick hands and feet.
He was also very active on the inside, using his insane hops to crash the boards and slam home putbacks from seemingly out of nowhere. But his poor 10-of-26 free-throw shooting and 1-of-11 effort from downtown is a serious concern.
Tokoto will be one of those question marks that will make or break the Tar Heels this season.
But nobody will have more weight on his shoulders after Andrew Wiggins’ decision than Leslie McDonald. Unless Tokoto plays out of his mind in the offseason, McDonald will finally be a starter through his senior season.
He isn’t the dominant athlete that Tokoto is, but he makes up for that with his experience, shooting ability and smarts.
McDonald was off to a blistering start last season, burying 25-of-58 treys and scoring over 20 points twice. It was the Reggie Bullock and Leslie McDonald show behind the arc.
Then he was suspended for academics and tweaked his knee to boot. He was never the same after missing the next six games. McDonald was only able to muster double-digit points twice through the remainder of the season.
His three-point percentage also took a hit, as he was just 17-of-59 after coming back.
For now, McDonald is looked at as a one-dimensional player that usually offers some pop on the perimeter.
However, I do recall Bullock having the same stigma before he was forced into a starting role. Before you could blink, he turned himself into an elite on-ball defender and an extremely versatile weapon with his shooting, passing and rebounding abilities.
Make no mistake about it, McDonald has that same potential.
Hairston and McAdoo will also receive some extra pressure, as the Tar Heels won’t have a third proven scorer. But either Paige or McDonald could be that guy.
And who knows what will happen at center with Joel James, Desmond Hubert and Kennedy Meeks. Power forwards Brice Johnson and Isaiah Hicks could end up in the mix, too.
Even with Wiggins, there would have been no guarantees. You never really know what a freshman will do when he hits the college hardwood for the first time. How many No. 1 overalls bring home a title their first year?
According to Scout.com’s rankings, Anthony Davis is the only one to bring home a title as a freshman since at least 2005.
Wiggins would have just made them favorites, alongside the Kentucky Wildcats and their loaded recruiting class. But being listed as a favorite means very little. If you recall, Kentucky and Indiana were both considered preseason favorites to cut down the nets in 2013.
Kentucky didn’t even make the tournament—and failed to get past Robert Morris in the first round of the NIT.
I’m not being delusional or downplaying Wiggins’ talent. The Tar Heels would have been better with him, and they certainly could have used the depth on the wing. There is no denying this.
That doesn’t mean today is Doomsday in Chapel Hill. Wiggins is most likely a one-and-done player, and now the Tar Heels have a chance to build for the future.
Perhaps in some strange, demented way, the program is better off without Andrew Wiggins. Unfortunately, we won’t know until we see the development of a handful of Tar Heels.
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Critical Adjustments Chicago Bulls Must Make Against Miami Heat
What a difference two games make.
In Game 1 of their series with the Miami Heat, the Chicago Bulls played out of their minds.
They won the loose-ball battles, they had the rebounding edge and they closed out the game on a 10-0 run.
In the two games since, they have been outscored 219-172.
So what happened, and what adjustments must the Bulls make against the Heat?
Rebounding is the key
The Heat may have the best player on the planet, but the Bulls have a decided advantage up front.
They have bigs that have been traditionally great rebounders in Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer. Additionally, Taj Gibson comes off the bench to bring added athleticism and size to the equation.
However, in the last two games of this series, the Bulls have been outrebounded by 15.
So what is the story here? Did the Heat just suddenly become a better rebounding club, or is it an effort thing?
Rebounding is an art, but it also is something that players need to focus on. Teams rebound as a unit, with everyone playing his part.
This means on the offensive end that the guards are taking smart shots and not automatically giving up on their own shots.
Sure, this is a scary proposition with the Heat fast break, but this needs to happen nonetheless.
Down low, the bigs need to re-establish their toughness and size edge. There is no reason on Earth why Noah should be getting pushed around by Chris Bosh.
But Boozer is probably the biggest culprit of the Bulls’ regression on the glass. Boozer really hasn’t gotten his rebounding down in this entire series. He grabbed seven in Game 1, but only has eight rebounds since.
For a guy who is making elite big man money, he needs to show up down low.
This really shouldn’t be a problem for Boozer. He has a long career of getting tough boards. Sure, longer players can give him fits, but he also has the ability to use his strong lower body to muscle out rebounds.
For Boozer, this really turns into an issue of effort.
Smarter, not more shots
Let’s be honest—on paper these Bulls shouldn’t have a chance against the defending NBA champs.
They are missing two of their best players in Luol Deng and Derrick Rose and one of their best role players in Kirk Hinrich.
Not to mention they have gotten the short end of the stick in the officiating department.
But that isn’t an excuse to suddenly forget how to take quality shots.
In their Game 1 win, the Bulls knocked down nearly 44 percent of their shots from the field, plus nearly 39 percent of their triple tries.
In their Game 2 debacle, those numbers fell off a cliff.
However, in their Game 3 loss, they had finally started to make a higher percentage of their shots from close.
This is a spot where the Bulls can take advantage of the Heat. Given their size advantage and the fact that they have big men who are skilled offensively, they should be pounding the paint.
Boozer needs to have the offense run through him constantly, and when the Heat switch a longer defender on him, the Bulls need to run penetration in order to get easy buckets for Noah.
The Bulls can get to the hoop on the Heat’s porous point guards, and LeBron James can’t guard everyone on the court at once.
The Bulls need to play a more controlled offensive game. When you have the interior advantage, it makes no sense at all to get into a full-court game.
Pound the post and the rest will open up for the Bulls.
Limit the fouls
In the Bulls’ two losses, they have a combined 57 fouls.
There are two reasons why this has happened. One, the Bulls were trying to establish their toughness, which led to a chippy game.
But two, the officials were calling a tight game and the Bulls never adjusted. This led to increased emotions and an outright bloodbath in the second game of the series.
The Bulls don’t need to play emotionless basketball. They wouldn’t have gotten this far playing that way. This is an emotional group that needs to harness those feelings and that energy.
But they have to play smarter, especially on the defensive end. You can have a hard foul or two, but you can’t let it get personal.
There are countless examples from the distant and recent past of teams that could play physical yet under control.
Sure, back in the day, the Bad Boy Detroit Pistons were known as a group of thugs to much of the league, but they won two titles by playing strategically tough basketball.
And, of course, the league rules have changed since then, but the Boston Celtics were able to win in today’s game by playing tough basketball as well.
The key is asserting your toughness early and then playing smart the rest of the game.
A team with such a decided advantage down low doesn’t have to prove they are tougher by committing pointless fouls every other possession. You send a message early and then play within yourselves after.
If the Bulls can limit their fouls in Game 4, they should be able to make it a game.
Outlook
Okay, I’m not crazy. I know that presently constituted, the Bulls stand little chance of beating the Heat.
They are just too banged up and emotionally fractured to beat the champs.
But I also know that the Heat aren’t a perfect basketball team. As such, they have weaknesses. The Bulls are a team that are built to exploit those weaknesses.
The key will be playing smarter basketball and taking advantage of their size.
Without Deng, Hinrich and Rose, this still stands to be a monumental challenge, but there have certainly been bigger upsets in the history of the league, and the Bulls have already shown that they can beat this team, short-handed or not.
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1 Critical Thing Each Top Prospect Must Prove During 2013 NBA Draft Combine
Every NBA prospect has at least one thing to prove to NBA scouts. There isn’t anyone out there without a tally in the weakness column.
Some of these weaknesses are related to fundamentals. Others are centered around physical limitations.
These top prospects should be looking to eliminate any red flags that scouts believe exist.
2013 NBA Combine TV Schedule
Thursday, May 16: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. ET on ESPNU and 2-3 p.m. ET on ESPN2
Friday, May 17: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. ET on ESPNU and 2-3 p.m. ET on ESPN2
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The 1 Thing Each 2013 NBA Playoff Team Must Avoid
There is one thing that each of the 2013 NBA playoff teams must avoid in order to maximize their opportunity to advance to the conference finals.
From allowing isolation offense to become stagnant, to losing the rebounding battle, the one thing that must be avoided is unique to that team specifically.
Being able to avoid that one thing—like losing collective composure or getting stuck in a half-court game—increases that team’s chances of advancing to the conference finals.
The inability to avoid these things, meanwhile—whether they are directly controllable or not—could lead to elimination.
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NBA Playoffs 2013: What Each Remaining Team Must Do to Reach Conference Finals
The Chicago Bulls and Golden State Warriors are staring up at the higher seeds in their series.
Even though both upstarts have given back the home-court advantage, there are ways for both teams to win—or at least make their series very interesting.
The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks are locked in a battle, as are the Memphis Grizzlies and Oklahoma City Thunder. These series are tied at one game a piece.
What does each team need to do to take control? Check out the keys to victory for all eight remaining teams.
Keys to the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat series
The Bulls Must Get Healthy
Beyond missing Derrick Rose, the Bulls must at least get back Kirk Hinrich or Luol Deng if they are to have any shot at upsetting the Heat. With Deng’s illness causing drastic weight loss, it would seem Hinrich has the best chance to make it back.
Neither man played in the Bulls 104-94 defeat on Friday night.
As valiantly as the undermanned Bulls has played, the deeper this series goes, the more the fatigue will take its toll on the team. This has been a very emotional matchup and that drains players as much as the physical action.
Dare I state the obvious: a Rose return would lift the team emotionally and tangibly, but I understand his position.
Still, the Bulls are looking at dropping the next two games unless they get some players back.
The Heat Must Not Reciprocate the Chippy Play
Being the more talented team, the Heat don’t need to reduce themselves to exchanging trash talk and unnecessary hard fouls with the Bulls.
Chicago is doing what they believe they have to against Miami just to remain competitive. Some of the plays are actually a little dirty, such as Nazr Mohammed’s mindless clubbing foul against LeBron James in Game 3.
The worst thing the Heat can do is to try and retaliate.
As things are progressing, the Bulls are beginning to look like the villains in this series. The officials will notice and likely give the them even fewer calls than they would get normally.
The Heat have the stars and that generally lends itself to favorable treatment from the officials. Chicago isn’t doing itself any favors by going goon.
If Miami continues to play it straight, they will dispatch the pesky Bulls in five.
Golden State Has to Shoot the Three Well
The Warriors should be up two games to one in their series with San Antonio. After blowing a 16-point lead in Game 1, they took Game 2 to prove the near miss in the series opener was no fluke.
In Game 3, they experienced a bit of a letdown.
They shot just 31 percent from distance, which isn’t horrible, but this team is capable of better. In Game 2, the “Splash Brothers,” Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, were 10-of-15 from three-point range.
The entire team shot 47.8 percent from distance.
A percentage near 50 percent isn’t required for victory, but Curry, Thompson and the secondary shooters must knock down shots with regularity.
Curry and Jarrett Jack’s dribble penetration is only augmented when the wings are knocking down shots.
If this team shoots the ball they way they did in the first two games, they can still upset the Spurs.
Spurs Must Make Someone Other than Curry Beat Them
Curry has proven to be the man and has earned star status during this postseason; he takes and makes big shots.
The Spurs can’t wait for him to have an explosive stretch of shooting before forcing the ball out of his hands. San Antonio lucked out in Game 1 as the Warriors defense and lack of poise failed them late.
Curry’s 44-point performance was wasted, but the Spurs can’t bank on that happening again. If Curry catches fire like that for the rest of this series, the Spurs should trap him to force him to move the ball.
As good as Thompson, Draymond Green and others have been in stretches, I’d live with them beating me before I watched Curry build his legend with another amazing shooting display.
New York Knicks Must Compete on the Glass to Advance
The Knicks were blasted on the boards in Game 1, 44-30. When they blew the Pacers out in Game 2, they edged their opponents on the glass, 37-35.
Indiana is the better rebounding team overall; it led the league in that category in the regular season while the Knicks were 26th.
That said, New York has to give maximum effort to keep pace. The smalls have to help out in an effort to keep the totals in this important category respectable.
In Game 2, five different players had at least four boards, including guards Pablo Prigioni (four) and J.R. Smith (six).
With Smith’s status for Game 3 up in the air, per Zach Schonbrun of The New York Times, the onus may fall on James White and Jason Kidd to pick up the slack.
Indiana Has to Take Better Care of the Basketball
While the Pacers did get beat on the boards in Game 2, the most troubling aspect of their game was ball security.
The team turned the ball over 21 times in Game 2 and Paul George had seven miscues by himself. It is very difficult to win a playoff game—or any other game—when you’re giving the ball away 20-plus times.
Because of the Pacers’ advantage inside and ability to lock down on defense, they should win this series.
But if they don’t limit their turnovers, the Knicks will beat them.
Kevin Martin Must Shine For Thunder to Overcome Grizzlies
Without Russell Westbrook, the Thunder-Grizzlies matchup is ridiculously close. The winner of this series will be determined by which team’s secondary scoring option plays the best.
For the Thunder, that is Martin.
He gives OKC a huge advantage in bench production because of his ability to score points in bunches. When he’s not on his game, the Thunder lack another man to go to for clutch buckets, besides Kevin Durant.
Durantula has been amazing this series averaging 35.5 points, 13 rebounds and 7.5 assists, but he needs consistent help.
In Game 1, Martin had 25 points off the bench and the Thunder won. In Game 2, he had just six points on 2-of-11 shooting, and his team fell by six points.
He will be catalyst for OKC in this series.
Mike Conley is to the Grizzlies, What Martin is to the Thunder
When Conley plays like he did in Game 2, the Grizz are going to be tough. The biggest weakness this team has is it doesn’t have a consistent perimeter scorer.
Conley’s 26-point performance in Game 2 proved he can at times fill that gap. He complemented his solid scoring display with 10 rebounds and nine assists.
It was a major step-up from the 13-point, five-rebound, three-assist game he had in the Grizz‘s Game 1 loss.
Memphis needs Conley to help balance Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph’s inside game. This team always plays great defense, so the variable is on the other end.
When Conley scores well, he gives the Grizzlies the deciding factor.
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Andrew Wiggins Must Pick Florida State to Be Unquestioned No. 1 Option
High school prep star Andrew Wiggins has narrowed his choices down to four, and there’s a good chance we find out which school he will be playing ball at next season before the May 15 NCAA deadline.
If Wiggins wants the true designation of being a go-to option, the unquestioned best player on his team and the chance to prove that he’s truly a transcendent player during his freshman season in college, his choice is actually pretty simple.
The decision is Florida State.
Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina are the other three schools still officially in the mix for Wiggins, but the consensus around college basketball is that the Seminoles hold the edge going into the final few days of this recruiting saga.
247 Sports’ No. 1 player in the 2013 recruiting class, Wiggins played his high school ball in West Virginia at Huntington Beach Prep, where some of the best players in the world now go to get ahead of the hoop curve.
He emerged early as a candidate for the label of being the best player in the nation. He went out at his high school, in AAU games and in various combines across the nation and cemented that fact—taking care of business and proving he’s a complete player on both ends of the court.
A 6’8″ small forward, Wiggins shows great promise as an individual scorer. His first step is outstanding, there are very few forwards who can get to and above the rim like he can in the open court and his on-ball defense will help whichever coach lands him to fine-tune the D.
Yet, to fully realize that he is the “best” player in the country in the freshman class, Wiggins cannot go to the three schools with established and incoming talent already in place—Roy Williams’ Tar Heels, John Calipari‘s Wildcats and Bill Self’s Jayhawks have just that.
Those three programs also have a pedigree for success.
Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina have combined for four of the last nine NCAA tournament championships, and continually send prospects to the NBA each season—largely because the collection of talent is so great on campus.
Not the case at Florida State.
Coming off an 18-16 season, Leonard Hamilton’s ‘Noles are losing their best player to the NBA draft (Michael Snaer) and have only a few recruits heading to town anywhere close to the likes of the Harrison twins, Julius Randle, Wayne Selden and Kennedy Meeks—all heading to the other three schools mentioned—and will have to contend with Syracuse, Notre Dame and Louisville in the coming seasons.
Simply put, Wiggins will either make or break himself as the best overall player in the country next season.
As it is right now, he’s assuredly a top-five pick in the 2014 NBA draft, and barring any unforeseen changes in his game after the high school-to-college leap, that won’t change when March Madness is completed next season.
If he’s a Seminole at the time of that announcement, he could very well be the consensus No. 1 pick—bar none.
It’s an idea that analysts are saying plays a huge role in Wiggins’ final choice.
ESPN’s Eamonn Brennan wrote a detailed piece on how Wiggins helps each of the four colleges amongst his final choices, and in the Florida State section, he explains how Wiggins can be the center of attention while not losing any of his value as the No. 1 option in Hamilton’s offense:
So what makes FSU Wiggins’ most interesting potential destination? All of the above! If you are willing to accept the premise that an 18-16 team ranked No. 124 in the Pomeroy rankings is essentially a blank slate, what better chance to measure Wiggins’ talent, to see how much better he can individually make a team, than at Florida State?
It could be our second chance at Kevin Durant‘s insane one-year stop at Texas, or a facsimile of all those hypothetical LeBron James fantasy arguments we seem to have every March. (What if his 21-6-6 rookie season had been in college instead? If we put 2012-13 LeBron on 2012-13 Grambling, could it win 25 games? The national title? I spend too much time thinking about this.)
CBS Sports’ Jeff Borzello confirmed this idea, looking at what the programs in question will look like both with and without Wiggins next season. All three of the other groups are likely top-10 teams if Wiggins is in the fold, but the leap between a Wiggins-less Florida State and one with him is greater than any of the other options:
Wiggins would immediately vault Florida State into the top 25 for next season, as he would give Leonard Hamilton arguably the best player in the country. He’s the type of player who can carry the Seminoles’ offense for long stretches, and would combine with Rathan-Mayes to form an extremely potent wing tandem. If Florida State gets back to usual Hamilton defensive standards and he finds consistent point guard play, a Wiggins-led Seminoles team could be a Sweet 16 threat.
If he goes to Kentucky, he’ll not only have to earn his minutes alongside 10 other blue-chip prospects, he’ll also have to learn how to share the ball with four other guys who have been No. 1 options their entire life.
While he’s going to have to do some of that at any school, the dissension at Kentucky has the potential to completely devalue one or a few of these top-flight prospects.
Elsewhere, North Carolina and Kansas are in similar boats.
At Florida State, though, Wiggins could both follow the legacy of his athletic parents while establishing himself as a top-flight teenager playing in college. He would take every coaches, players and road fans’ best shot—as a freshman, no less—and would receive no breaks on either end with the ‘Noles.
The choice is coming down to the wire, but it’s really simple if Wiggins wants to do anything other than join up with top prep stars to create the sort of one-year dynasty we’ve become accustomed to in the NCAA.
If he’s the competitor that many feel he is, then Florida State appears to be the place where Wiggins will start his NBA career path off on the right foot.
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Lakers News: LA Must Hope Pau Gasol Returns to Top Form After Knee Procedure
The Los Angeles Lakers dealt with numerous issues during what quickly became a season of disappointment after sky-high preseason expectations. One of the biggest problems was a lack of production from All-Star forward Pau Gasol.
He averaged just 14 points and nine rebounds while shooting 47 percent from the field. It amounted to the worst statistical season of his career. He also played in just 49 games due to various injuries, including lingering knee issues.
Gasol hopes the injury concerns will become a thing of the past after undergoing a procedure to address tendonosis in both knees, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles. He reports the FAST treatment is used to eliminate scar tissue.
It’s an important step for Gasol. His future with the Lakers remains up in the air heading into a contract year in which he’s due over $19 million. He mentions in the report that it’s no guarantee he’ll be back with the team following the offseason.
“The future is uncertain,” Gasol said. “There’s no doubt about it. It’s a possibility that I could be gone, and there’s a possibility that I could stay. I don’t know the exact percentages of it. But I’m prepared for either way.”
The massive contract paired with decreased production will force the Lakers to make a tough decision. If they believe the procedure is going to help him return to top form, the talented power forward would be worth the sizable investment for another season.
That’s why Gasol made the right decision to undergo the treatment right away. He needs to make as much progress as possible before Los Angeles’ front office is forced to make a final call.
When healthy, the 33-year-old two-time NBA champion is still one of the most complete forwards in the game. He can score in the paint or with his mid-range game, rebounds effectively and has terrific court vision that makes him a very good post distributor.
He actually sums up the Lakers as a whole pretty well. The talent is undoubtedly there, things just didn’t go according to plan this season.
Gasol posted a picture of himself on Twitter after finishing the procedure and was seemingly in good spirits. The hard work is just getting underway with rehab on the horizon, though.
While the Lakers mull their options, Gasol must keep working toward 100 percent. If he stays and does get back to full strength, he should once again be the double-double machine that made him such a valuable asset during every other season with the team.
If they decide to move him, he would be ready to make that type of impact elsewhere. But if the Lakers think he can get back to that level, they should keep him.
All told, it’s too soon to give up on Gasol, especially if his knees aren’t a major issue.
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Derrick Rose Must Not Confuse Bulls’ Heroics with Reason for Return
According to Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.com, former NBA MVP Derrick Rose may suit up for Game 3 of the Chicago Bulls‘ Eastern Conference semifinals series against the Miami Heat. For those confused, that means Rose could be donning his uniform.
Before committing to a return, however, Rose must not confuse the Bulls’ postseason heroics with the reason for his return.
On Apr. 28, I made the claim that Rose needed to use the Bulls’ 142-134 triple-overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets as motivation to return. The point of that article was not to rush D-Rose, however, but instead to light a fire under him.
As long as his body permitted it, the time for a return was upon us.
With that being said, Rose cannot allow the pressure of the outside world to force him into an early return. Instead, he must only come back if the motivation is met by true preparation.
A doctor’s note can only go so far to determine just that.
In order to truly understand what Rose is going through, it’s important that we gauge the perspective of current and former players. As athletes who have competed at the NBA level and faced their own share of injuries, they are the ones who can offer the perfect insight.
As one might expect, the NBA community has been torn between stances.
Players Weigh In
As fate would have it, numerous players have weighed in on Derrick Rose’s current situation. Surprisingly, the general consensus amongst active players is that Rose is doing the right thing by waiting it out.
Per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports, the ever-emotional Joakim Noah defended his teammate.
“Everybody who hasn’t been in that situation before should really shut up,” Noah said. “It’s unfair to him and his team. We’re fighting. It’s crazy to me. He’s tough as nails. He doesn’t let anything affect him.”
Coincidentally, someone who has gone through this decided to chime in.
According to Jonathan Mahler of Bloomberg.com, 19-year veteran and current Los Angeles Clippers forward Grant Hill weighed in on the issue. For those unfamiliar, Hill battled ankle injuries and oftentimes rushed back from surgery.
In turn, a Hall of Fame career was crippled because of impatience and the unrelenting pressure of an NBA fanbase.
“It’s noble and admirable what Noah and Robinson and these guys are doing. But to compare that to what Rose is going through is irresponsible.”
“Here’s the thing,” Hill says. “You want Derrick Rose to come back as Derrick Rose the great MVP, all-star player that he is — to have that feeling when he steps on the court that no one can stop him. I remember that feeling from when I was young.”
I give you the quote that changed my perspective:
“If I had sat out for a whole season, who knows what would have happened?” Hill said.
Do you really want to say the same thing about Derrick Rose in 10 years?
If He’s Ready
We’ve touched on what the current players have said in regard to Derrick Rose’s injury and potential return. What we haven’t acknowledged, however, is what the former players are saying.
Per the Chicago Tribune, former Bulls sharpshooter and current TNT analyst Steve Kerr had the following to say.
I’ve really supported the Bulls and Derrick with the way they’ve handled it. I think you err on the side of caution. But I think where the Bulls are now with this series with Kirk Hinrich struggling with the calf injury — if Derrick is OK and there’s no threat to further injury, I think he’s got to play. He has to put himself out there for 15-20 minutes.
Look at what [Joakim] Noah and [Kirk] Hinrich are putting themselves through with their injuries…maybe he owes it to his teammates, I guess that’s what I’m saying.
Keep in mind, Kerr was a member of Michael Jordan’s era of the Bulls.
The truth of the matter is, Kerr hit the nail on the head with every aspect of his evaluation. As long as there is no chance that Rose will aggravate his knee injury, then he does owe it to his teammate to hit the court.
The key, however, is playing with no threat of aggravation.
Rose doesn’t need to step in and be an MVP, but instead provide his on-court presence. Even if his appearance is limited to roughly 15 to 20 minutes, as Kerr speculated, that’s enough to send a message.
A leader’s greatest strength is his ability to motivate—if his knee is ready, and only if it’s ready, Rose must do just that by lacing up the shoes and joining his teammates in Game 3.
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Top Prospects Miami Heat Must Target in 2013 Draft
Because they gave up their picks in the sign-and-trade for LeBron James and saw their hopes of a 2013 first-round pick fly out the window when the Philadelphia 76ers failed to make the postseason, the Miami Heat will be without a single draft pick the entire draft.
But that shouldn’t stop them from giving some prospects a look. The Heat is a team that’s in win-now mode, and it’s paying off, but they’re also playing a dangerous game by relying on a supporting cast that is composed mostly of players at least 30 years old.
Shane Battier, Ray Allen, Mike Miller, Rashard Lewis, Chris Andersen and Udonis Haslem are all key role players on this team, and they’re all over the age of 32. Not counting LeBron James and Chris Bosh, Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole are the only players under the age of 30 that can crack the rotation.
Jarvis Varnado is the only other young player on this team, and he’ll most likely never see any significant minutes.
With the organization short on funds because of the impending luxury tax that will soon hit, it needs to look into trading into the draft for the chance to get a cheap roster spot. The only players that could potentially leave are Ray Allen and James Jones, both with player options, as well as Chris Andersen and Juwan Howard, who will both be free agents.
It would be wise of the Heat to use Howard’s roster spot on someone who can actually provide something in the rotation. Understood that Juwan is there for veteran leadership and support, but he looks like an assistant coach more than a player.
Miami needs to build for the future. It’s entertaining and compelling to see what it’s currently doing, but there’s also a time it needs to prepare for, and even now in case a rotation player or two is forced to sit out with an injury.
The draft is probably the last thing on the organization’s mind at the moment. However, the Heat will need to consider these five players when they do reach the point of thinking of making a move into the draft.
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Why Michigan Must Retire Chris Webber’s Jersey to Enact Real Change
The very public 10-year disassociation between Michigan and Chris Webber ended on Wednesday, and Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon made it known that he’s willing to acknowledge that Webber and company exist again.
Hey, he’ll even talk to them.
“I’ve never met any of those guys, and I am looking forward to meeting them,” Brandon told The Associated Press. “If any of those guys are interested in meeting with me, that would be great.”
This was Brandon’s way of putting the ball in Webber’s court. You want to be a part of Michigan? Oh swell. Let’s chat.
That’s not going to be enough.
This disassociation was not Michigan’s doing—it was the NCAA’s. But it might as well have been Michigan.
Webber, Maurice Taylor, Robert Traylor (now deceased) and Louis Bullock were made out to be the bad guys for accepting money from a bad guy in Ed Martin.
Was it a mistake for them to take money? Yes. But can you really blame them?
Those in charge at Michigan felt like they could. They took every opportunity to turn up their nose at Webber. They’ve asked him to apologize. University president Mary Sue Coleman took down the Final Four banners Webber helped raise, and as recently as a last year, she made it clear those banners aren’t going back up as long as she’s around.
“Some day, I won’t be president anymore, and maybe someone else will have a different view,” Coleman told The Michigan Daily, the school’s student paper, last year. “But I think you have to reflect on the larger meaning and that we want to hold ourselves to a higher standard.”
If that’s how Michigan wants to be, fine.
Coleman and Brandon can choose not to forgive some men who made a choice a long time ago as kids that almost any kid would have made.
If Webber decided to donate some money to the school, which he ironically is now allowed to do since the disassociation has ended, I’m sure Coleman and Brandon would be more than willing to take his money.
They should also realize that Webber made Michigan a whole lot more money than he was ever given by Ed Martin. They should realize, whether they want to acknowledge it or not, he’s the best player to ever play for Michigan. He is a Michigan legend.
If we’re playing a word association game, when you say Michigan, most the country says Fab Five.
If you show us a picture of Webber, we say Michigan and Fab Five.
This is a relationship worth mending. Michigan still means something to Webber—at least his actions say as much. He attended the national championship game last month. At midnight Tuesday night, when the disassociation officially ended, he tweeted “OK!!!”
“It’s not on Chris; it’s on Michigan,” Jalen Rose told the Detroit News. “They can choose to acknowledge what we accomplished regardless of what he does.
“If it’s not something that affects their bottom line, they’re not going to be in a rush to act.”
There was a lot of ugly in this whole situation and there were a lot of hurt feelings. At the very least, Michigan owes it to the other four members of the Fab Five to put their banners back up. They did not get those banners because Martin gave Webber some cash. They are a part of history that should be acknowledged.
Webber doesn’t need to meet Michigan’s athletic director to feel like he’s part of Michigan again. If Michigan really wants to accept Webber as a Wolverine again, they’ll acknowledge what he was on the court.
Webber, the player, deserves to have his jersey hanging from the rafters of Michigan’s Crisler Center. He would come back to see that happen. Webber would feel like a Wolverine again if that happened.
But until Michigan does something like that, nothing is going to change.
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