Michigan State center Nix gets community service (Yahoo! Sports)
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) Michigan State center Derrick Nix has been fined and ordered to perform community service for an impaired driving case that stemmed from an April traffic stop.
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Why Andrew Bogut Will Take the Golden State Warriors to the Playoffs Next Year
Andrew Bogut will lead the Golden State Warriors to the NBA playoffs next year.
I hate to go all Mark Jackson and Joe Lacob on you, but the addition of Bogut, if healthy, will catapult the Warriors into playoff contention.
Bogut gives the Warriors a center, but more importantly, the defensive player they need to make the change to a defensive-minded team. His presence is going to make everyone on the team better and opposing teams won’t be able to just hammer the ball down low with David Lee left for dead in the post anymore.
Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson will become better players as now they can get a little more aggressive on defense knowing that when someone gets by them, Bogut‘s got their back. A big plus for the shooters on this team is that Lee and now Bogut will be there to get the long rebounds on any missed three-point shot attempt creating more possessions.
If everyone is healthy next year, there is not one team in the league that they won’t be able to compete with. The Western Conference will still be loaded, but this time the Warriors will be right in the mix thanks to Bogut. Look at all the teams in the playoffs; most, if not all of them, have at least two big men contributing on a nightly basis. Now the Warriors can add that to their arsenal.
Bogut is going to be what Tyson Chandler gave the Dallas Mavericks and the New York Knicks, a Defensive Player of the Year candidate that will transform a poor defensive team into a good one.
Bogut, combined with Lee, will allow the Warriors to match up with the likes of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka, Tim Duncan and Kevin Love. They are not going to be out-rebounded, out-scored, beat up, smacked and pushed around every night in the post anymore. Bogut won’t allow it.
The Warriors will be a lot more defensive next year, but that doesn’t mean they still won’t be able to score at a high volume anymore. Bogut isn’t just a defensive monster whose feet will be cemented in the post on one side of the court. He can get up and down the floor and finish.
So not only will the Warriors be able to match up defensively every night, they are going to be able to run with teams and create mismatches.
Before, opponents would just have to worry about out-scoring the Warriors, which wasn’t a problem for most nights. Now teams will have to be ready for a team that will be able to score, play effective half-court offense, stretch the floor with elite shooters and now, most importantly, lock down any team defensively.
Things are going to be very different next season with Bogut on the team, and for a franchise that’s made the playoffs once in the last 18 years, different is a very good thing. With Bogut, the Warriors can now compete with anyone in the West and have run out of excuses not to make the postseason.
Well, if they stay healthy of course.
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Penn State AD: Program ‘holding up well’ in adversity
Penn State athletes are answering questions about the crisis that enveloped the school with statements on the field or in the gym.
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Muller: Illinois State coach job ideal for him (Yahoo! Sports)
NORMAL, Ill. (AP) As a player, Dan Muller helped lead Illinois State to the NCAA tournament in 1998 – the Redbirds’ last appearance in the Big Dance.
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Price named new coach at Grambling State (Yahoo! Sports)
GRAMBLING, La. (AP) Lamar assistant coach and former Notre Dame player Joseph Price has accepted his first head coaching job at Grambling State.
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Amile Jefferson: Why Star PF Should Choose NC State over Duke
When five-star recruit Amile Jefferson reaches for a college hat sometime in the next week or two, he’d be smart to grab North Carolina State’s red rather than Duke’s blue.
It’s hard to go wrong with either NC State or Duke if you’re going to be playing basketball, but in Jefferson’s situation, the Wolf Pack are the way to go.
Of course, Jefferson, who seems to love attention (what high schooler doesn’t?), could just as easily shock the world and pick Ohio State, Villanova or Kentucky (whole list per Rivals), but for the sake of this argument we’ll just break down Duke and NC State.
The main thing that will shape Jefferson’s decision will be his ability to get to the next level. What five-star recruit doesn’t initially plan on leaving college after a year or two?
A very small percentage, if any, that’s who.
So, if Jefferson is going to quickly make it to the next level, he’ll have to gain playing time in order to prove he’s ready for the NBA. If he wants playing time, NC State is the clear choice.
Jefferson is a smart power forward who possesses good moves on the block to go along with solid rebounding and blocking skills. But at six-foot-seven, 190 pounds, Jefferson still needs to put on a lot of bulk, and a slight frame can be a big problem at the next level, no matter how good you are.
Just look at half of Baylor’s forwards.
Because of this, Jefferson is going to have essentially no chance of unseating Mason Plumlee or Ryan Kelly from the starting lineup. Instead, he’ll have to battle Josh Hairston, Alex Murphy and Marshall Plumlee for playing time.
At NC State, though, forwards are dropping like flies.
C.J. Leslie and Richard Howell return, but Tyler Harris and DeShawn Painter have both transferred, leaving up a spot for Jefferson to be the first big man off the bench. That’s an easy 20 minutes per game in a system that suits his game way more than Duke’s does.
The end game for these young recruits is the NBA. The best route there for Jefferson is NC State, who is quickly starting to look like the team to beat in the ACC and a national championship contender.
Jefferson, who is ranked No. 25 in the class of 2012 by ESPN, has delayed his decision for just about as long as possible with the spring signing period ending on May 16.
The common consensus is that the talented power forward will end up in the state of North Carolina one way or another, but he would be wise to just stay south on 147 and make his way to Raleigh.
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Michigan State Basketball: The Top 50 Players in School History
Tom Izzo has taken the Michigan State basketball program to new heights (including a school-record 15th consecutive NCAA Tournament berth this spring), but the Spartans’ rich hoops history dates back long before Izzo’s arrival. From stars of yore such as Johnny Green to the unforgettable Magic Johnson, Michigan State has boasted some of the most impressive players the college game has ever seen.
The latest addition to that pantheon is 2012 All-American Draymond Green. The senior star wrapped up his extraordinary career by breaking the school record for rebounds and winning his second Big Ten championship in four years.
Herein, a closer look at both Greens (no relation), Magic and the rest of the 50 greatest players ever to delight fans in East Lansing.
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Illinois State hires former player Dan Muller
Dan Muller, a former player at Illinois State, was named the school’s new men’s basketball coach on Monday.
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Illinois State hires Vandy assistant Muller (Yahoo! Sports)
NORMAL, Ill. (AP) Illinois State has hired longtime Vanderbilt assistant Dan Muller, a former Illinois State player, to be its next men’s basketball coach.
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LSU brings in 6-8 transfer Godfrey from Iowa State (Yahoo! Sports)
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) Former Iowa State forward Calvin Godfrey is headed to LSU, the third player signed by new Tigers coach Johnny Jones.
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