Manager dismissed, Rice under review after gunshot (Yahoo! Sports)
Georgia Tech is reviewing the status of suspended basketball player Glen Rice Jr. after he and a graduate student manager were charged in a shooting incident outside an Atlanta nightclub shortly before the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Coach Brian Gregory announced Monday that the manager, London Warren, is no longer with the program.
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Carmelo caught under unjust microscope
“Linsanity is dead, and Carmelo Anthony killed it.”
That’s the story that New York Knicks fans would like you to believe.
But in the wake of Sunday’s 106-94 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers — the Knicks’ fifth straight and seventh in nine games since Anthony returned to the lineup from a groin injury — it’s clear the problems plaguing the New York locker room are more than just one player.
There are a number of suspects in Linsanity’s death, and Anthony is chief among them. But Jeremy Lin has contributed as much to the Knicks’ spiral back into mediocrity as Anthony, and his stats Sunday showed as much: 14 points on 5-for-18 shooting, seven assists to six turnovers.
The fans who claimed these Knicks as their own during the height of New York’s February success have turned on their team as quickly as they bought into the Linsanity hype. These fans need someone to blame, and Anthony has been the fall guy. He set himself up for this when he forced his way from Denver to New York last year, and now he’s getting what he asked for from an unrelenting fan base that’s not OK with losing.
“I block it out,” Anthony said of the criticism, which he heard in the form of boos during pre-game introductions, a subtle message that morphed into a cacophony of hate as the Knicks’ deficit ballooned and Anthony failed to make a field goal in the final three quarters.
“I’m not concerned about that. I don’t worry about that,” Anthony continued. “Now is not the time to drop our heads and start thinking too much.”
Supporters have been hesitant to point the finger at anyone but Anthony during the Knicks’ slide — only pausing to occasionally call for head coach Mike D’Antoni job, as well — but the players in the New York locker room understand that there’s plenty of blame to go around.
“It’s a lot more than that,” said Tyson Chandler, who had eight points and 12 rebounds. “You win as a team and you lose as a team. He gets some unfair criticism because of the success that he’s had his entire career, and you’re going to live and fall by your sorrows. But it’s a full team here. We’re going to win and we’re going to lose together, and right now we’ve all got to play better.”
Though the fans might argue otherwise, Anthony was far from the main culprit in the Knicks’ latest loss. He scored 12 of his team-high 22 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the first quarter, and his play single-handedly kept the Knicks afloat early as Philly’s Lou Williams and Evan Turner combined for 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
After sitting for his regular rest at the beginning of the second quarter, Anthony returned to a 40-36 Knicks lead with 5:14 left in the half, and on Anthony’s first possession back, Williams hit an open jumper to cut the lead to two.
An Andre Iguodala layup tied the game at 40, and the next three Knicks possessions all ended in turnovers — one each from Baron Davis, Landry Fields and Lin — as the Sixers’ lead ballooned to five. Another Lin turnover later in the quarter (his third of the half) allowed Philadelphia to push its lead to six.
In the third quarter, Anthony scored a team-high eight points from the line while the Sixers made a close game a laugher, scoring 38 points on 12-of-17 shooting in the period, while the Knicks shot just 6 of 23. It was Turner and Williams, neither of whom was guarded by Anthony, who did most of the damage, combining for 25 points on 9-of-11 shooting in the period.
The Knicks trailed by 16 at the end of the third and by as many as 21 in the fourth.
Despite a wealth of evidence to the contrary, the easy answer for increasingly grumpy Knicks fans is to point the finger at their star, Anthony. The argument is that Anthony’s tendency to isolate stops the Knicks’ offense dead in its tracks, but the offense as a whole actually has played better since Anthony’s return.
In the first nine games of the Linsanity era, New York averaged 97.3 points per game and the Knicks shot 45.4 percent from the field and just 30.3 percent from 3-point range. In the nine games since Anthony’s return, New York has scored 100.9 points per game on 44.3 percent shooting with a 38.5 percent mark from distance.
As for Anthony, specifically, he’s done a commendable job trying to adjust to Lin’s presence in the lineup. He’s taking two fewer shots per game over the past nine games than he did in his first 22, and his scoring average has gone down from 18.8 points pre-Linsanity to 16.7. His shooting percentage, both from 3-point range and overall, are actually higher than they were before Lin was in the lineup.
But D’Antoni continues to inadvertently shift blame in Anthony’s direction by defending the struggling Lin, who is proving to be more flash in the pan than phenom as the season wears on.
After scoring 25 points per game on 50.9 percent shooting without Anthony in the lineup, Lin has seen his scoring numbers drop to 16.3 points on 39.1 percent shooting and a 30.8 percent mark from long distance.
“Jeremy has to play a certain way — the floor has to be open, you’ve got to play with energy, and you have to go,” D’Antoni said. “We have to get that way, and we aren’t there. … He is going to have some nights that are not going to be perfect, but he knows how to win, and he figures it out as the game goes on. He is going to be a very good point guard.”
The seats at Madison Square Garden were full Sunday, but the electricity was decidedly gone. The same crowd that was utterly deafening at the height of Linsanity had fallen silent, and with good reason. The team on the floor has given them little to cheer about since the All-Star break.
The Knicks fell to 18-23 after Sunday’s loss, tied with Cleveland in the loss column and just 1½ games ahead of Milwaukee for the No. 8 playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
They may have risen to prominence behind the stellar play of one man, but they’ve unquestionably collapsed as a unit.
“When you get your rear kicked like we are, you can’t just come out and say that it’s this or it’s that,” D’Antoni said. “Collectively we just didn’t play well, and collectively our spirit is not good. Collectively our defense is not very good at all, and collectively we just didn’t do what we’re supposed to do, and we’ve got to solve that somehow.”
Follow San Gardner on Twitter: @sam_gardner .
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March Madness 2012: Under the Radar Programs That Will Make Noise in Tournament
Whatever you want to call it—March Madness, the Big Dance or simply the NCAA Tournament—the college basketball tourney to decide a national championship is simply one of the best times in all of sports on a yearly basis.
Perhaps the most exciting part about the whole thing is watching the upsets and seeing low-seeded small schools upset big-name basketball factories.
Here are a few of those no-name programs that have a chance to shock the world and become a Cinderella story in approximately two weeks.
Seton Hall
The Pirates’ inconsistency may be their Achilles’ heel, but if they get hot at the right time they can do some work. They are poised to do some damage in March and have already killed off a few giants, including two then-No. 8-ranked teams Georgetown and UConn.
Seton Hall is either going to be an early first-round exit or make it to at least the Sweet Sixteen because it is a boom-or-bust team all the way.
Creighton
The Bluejays are anchored by a father-son duo in coach Greg McDermott and leading-scorer Doug McDermott.
They have led the team to a 25-5 record this season and scoring 79.7 points per game, good for eighth in the nation.
Despite playing in the Missouri Valley Conference, they have beaten some legitimate programs, including San Diego State, Iowa and Nebraska.
Look for them to be in the Finals of Arch Madness, the MVC tourney, as they prepare to make a solid run through March Madness.
St. Mary’s
The Gaels are another 25-5 team from a small conference that isn’t afraid of anyone.
In 2010, they made a name for themselves as one of the top mid-major programs by knocking out No. 7 Richmond and No. 2 Villanova as a 10-seed in the tournament.
Now they are knocking on the door and about to cause some more chaos in the Big Dance.
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Bucks seven games under .500 at break
The Bucks wanted to finish the first half of the season strong. Instead, they will limp into the break following a shorthanded, 110-91 Thursday night road loss to the Central Division-leading Chicago Bulls.
The Bulls dominated in just about every aspect of the game. They shot 54.4 percent from the field, won the rebounding battle, 49-29, and hit six of 13 three-pointers. Joakim Noah led the way with his first career triple-double, scoring 13 points with 13 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Bulls have now beaten Milwaukee seven consecutive times, including all three meetings this season with one game remaining in the season series coming in March at the Bradley Center.
“You need an outstanding effort against them in all aspects,” Milwaukee head coach Scott Skiles said. “You can’t make mistakes.”
Jon Leuer provided a small bright spot, making the start at center in place of an injured Drew Gooden. The rookie from Wisconsin scored 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting with four rebounds a steal and a block in 26 minutes.
In two games against Chicago at the United Center this season, Leuer has 33 points in just under 40 minutes.
Chicago improved to 27-8, the best mark in the Eastern Conference (a half-game ahead of Miami) while the loss leaves Milwaukee 13-20 at the season’s midway point, trailing Boston for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot by two games in the loss column.
“Hopefully the guys can regroup a little bit mentally and we can come out of the break and play better,” Skiles said.
The Bucks now have nearly a week off to rest before taking the court again Tuesday, when they open the second half at home against Washington.
Follow Andrew Wagner on Twitter.
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Indiana Hoosiers Seek First 20-Win Season Under Tom Crean Against Northwestern
Tonight at 5:30 PM CST, the Indiana Hoosiers (19-6, 7-6 Big-Ten) welcome the Northwestern Wildcats (15-9, 5-7 Big-Ten) to Bloomington.
After a rough stretch in the middle of the Big-Ten schedule, in which the Hoosiers lost four of five games, they seem to have gotten back on track by winning three of their last four.
More importantly, a win in tonight’s game all but assures them a spot in the NCAA Tournament after a three-year absence—and would mark Tom Crean‘s first 20-win season as Indiana’s head coach.
Meanwhile, following a fairly strong start to the season in their non-conference schedule, Northwestern is once again on the outside looking in when it comes to the tournament bubble. If they can find a way to scrape out a win tonight in Bloomington, their case would be made a lot stronger.
The Wildcats bolster one of the more efficient offenses in the Big-Ten, averaging 1.1 points per possession and an effective field-goal percentage of 54.2 percent. Unfortunately, they also rank dead last in the Big-Ten in that same category—giving up 1.06 points per possession.
Northwestern’s offensive production rests mainly on the shoulders of two players: Senior forward John Shurna and junior wing Drew Crawford. Shurna leads the entire Big-Ten in scoring at 19.9 points per game, hitting on 48.1 percent of his shots from the field. His teammate Crawford comes in just behind him at 16.8 points per contest.
Like most other teams in the conference, Indiana has always struggled to guard Shurna. In fact, the overall concept of the Princeton offense that Northwestern runs has constantly given the Hoosiers’ defense problems. The amount of off-the-ball screening and back-cuts has been a nightmare for an Indiana team that has constantly struggled on switches and help-side defense.
In the past, the Hoosiers have used a lot of their 2-3 zone against the Wildcats. You can expect to see more of that tonight, especially with Northwestern being one of the worst offensive rebounding teams in the entire country.
Indiana’s zone defense left much to be desired early in the Big-Ten schedule, but it has improved and become more disciplined over the last couple of games—playing a large part in their win against Purdue in West Lafayette.
When they are in their man-to-man sets, Indiana may be best served putting their defensive stopper, Victor Oladipo on Drew Crawford. Despite Shurna being Northwestern’s leading scorer, Crawford is the more athletic of the two—therefore he is stronger in his ability to get to the basket.
The biggest difference maker in this series over the last few years has been Northwestern’s 6’11″ center, Luka Mirkovic. Because of Indiana’s lack of a true post presence before this season, Mirkovic was a world beater against the Hoosiers last year, scoring 20 points and grabbing 12 rebounds when the two teams met in Evanston. But with Cody Zeller in the picture this season, Indiana can finally stop making below-average post players look like Dwight Howard.
From an offensive standpoint, Indiana fans should hope their team’s perimeter players have worn out the ball racks in Cook Hall this week. Northwestern is a team that has always struggled to defend the three-point line, and this season is no different. The Wildcats rank towards the bottom of this category again this season, allowing opponents to shoot nearly 37 percent from beyond the arc.
On top of that, Northwestern lacks overall height and depth in the post. They will have to send extra men to Cody Zeller the entire night, meaning that Jordan Hulls, Christian Watford and Matt Roth should have plenty of open looks from behind the three-point line. Expect Hulls and Roth, in particular, to have big offensive nights for the Hoosiers.
Northwestern is going to be playing like a desperate team Wednesday night, mainly because they are. Indiana has done a good job playing like the more desperate team in their last couple of games, even though that may not have been the case.
However, this game should worry Hoosier fans a little more than last week’s game against Illinois, if for no other reason than the Wildcats’ style of play has been a tough matchup for Indiana over the past couple of years.
It’s still my recommendation that you are prepared with a bottle of your favorite celebratory beverage (Andre perhaps?); because a win in this game means that the Hoosiers are back where they belong in March—playing in the NCAA Tournament.
For more articles by Dan, visit Hoosier Cafe
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Murray State, MTSU, St. Mary’s Struggle Under Burden of Perfection
While Murray State’s first loss of the entire season is getting the most play nationally, two other potential mid-major tournament teams suffered their first conference losses in the past week.
St. Mary’s dropped a game that could easily be expected, when one shares its conference with a heavyweight rival. Their 73-59 loss to Gonzaga is far from a resume-killer, considering the Bulldogs’ own strong national profile and the Gaels’ 20-point win last month. St. Mary’s still holds a game-and-a-half lead over the Zags in the West Coast Conference, and of their remaining league opponents, only Loyola Marymount has a winning conference record.
The psychology of this rivalry, however, is what makes it fascinating. Gonzaga has owned the West Coast Conference lock, stock and barrel for over a decade, winning 11 of the last 14 regular-season titles outright and splitting two more, including with SMC last season.
The Gaels are fighting out from under a long history of being under Big Brother’s thumb. Still, the hostile atmosphere in a place like the Kennel can make even the toughest veteran teams buckle at the knees.
Some of the students who camped out for two days admitted that there was a desperation in the air Thursday night. The Bulldogs had won 24 of 27 meetings since 1999, and the January loss was a gut punch to the West Coast dynasty. The players played with an aggression borne of similar fury, aiming to ensure that their title wouldn’t be taken away without a fight.
Saint Mary’s sophomore guard Stephen Holt—who recorded 13 points, six rebounds and five assists in Round One—was held scoreless on only four shot attempts. Junior point guard Matthew Dellavedova scored 20, but was held to a 3-3 assist to turnover ratio, far below the 6-1 that he carded last month.
Gonzaga was fighting to ensure what they felt was rightfully theirs.
Last Saturday, the Denver Pioneers faced a stiff battle for whatever acclaim they could earn.
Middle Tennessee State’s gaudy 21-3 record and 10-0 mark in the Sun Belt garnered the Blue Raiders some Top 25 votes and made their trip to Denver a magnet for ESPN2′s national coverage, as if it hadn’t already been eventful enough.
MTSU hadn’t been seriously tested in the Sun Belt, with only two of those first 10 wins coming by a single-digit margin. Only two opponents all season had shot better than 50 percent from the floor against Middle, and one of those was Vanderbilt. Additionally, Vandy was the only Blue Raider opponent to commit fewer than 12 turnovers against Middle’s stifling defense.
Denver added its name to both of those columns last Saturday.
I spoke to MTSU coach Kermit Davis on my radio show Wednesday night and posed a question about whether or not the team may have overlooked Denver after a tough Thursday battle with potential NBA lottery pick Tony Mitchell and North Texas. His response contained the phrase, “You must not follow our team very closely.”
Leaving that aside, those of us who do follow college basketball closely are well aware of the dangers of 18-to-22-year-olds who are told they’re having great seasons. Swagger can be corrosive as well as addictive, and adversity can cause difficult side effects. Like the Kennel, Denver’s Magness Arena was a boiling cauldron of energy, stirred by students and other fans who had never had national TV cameras in the house. The Blue Raiders wilted, losing 75-60, then came home to stew for four days.
After the thorough dismantling by Denver, Middle came out Thursday night and pressed through the first half against a young Western Kentucky team that’s already seen its coach fired. The Raiders shot 28.9 percent in the first half, prompting Davis to say after the game, “We played selfishly in the first half. We hadn’t done that in a while. At one time out, I asked ‘Has everybody got a shot up now? Is everybody good now?’ It was like everybody was trying to get a shot off.”
Middle’s margin for error is dwindling, an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament now a difficult proposition. This tournament-championship-or-bust pressure will only continue to escalate with every win, for the players as well as Davis, who is entering uncharted territory. He hasn’t had a season like this since 1994, when his Chipola Junior College team went 27-5. It’s safe to say that none of those games were televised by ESPN.
The motivation of Denver to knock off the league bully and the desire of Gonzaga to maintain their conference stranglehold may pale, however, in comparison to the heat that has swirled around Murray State during their 23-game unbeaten run. Every Ohio Valley Conference opponent knew that their dates with the Racers would be accompanied by national scrutiny and possible TV coverage.
The kicker to Murray State’s loss was that it came at home, a rare condition for the nation’s final unbeaten team. Only three of the last 10 final unbeatens took their first loss on their own court.
Murray State coach Steve Prohm acknowledged the pressure of being the 800-pound gorilla after the loss, saying, “You don’t know, but it had been stressful that every single night, everyone expects you to win at Tennessee-Martin by 30.” That stress is all that an inflated No. 7 ranking brings.
MSU’s Jewaun Long admitted that he felt like the Racers had “let a lot of people down in life” after allowing the unbeaten streak to come to an end.
Long’s teammate Ivan Aska had a different approach, saying “In a way, (I’m) glad we lost ahead of time than way in the tournament or somewhere.” Therein lies Murray’s dilemma.
Going into the OVC Tournament unbeaten would have helped their at-large chances in the event of a stumble, especially since that would have involved a win over Saint Mary’s in a BracketBusters game on February 18.
Now, the Racers have to take a blemished record on road trips to Southeast Missouri and Tennessee Tech, both of which played them within eight points on their home court, plus a return engagement with their conquerors, Tennessee State.
No one else in the OVC is ranked in the top 150 on ESPN’s InsideRPI, and another league loss would hurt more than non-league wins over Southern Miss, Dayton, and Memphis that may help.
Unless they pull a win over Saint Mary’s, Murray State has a series of games that can do more harm than good to their resume going forward. Another league loss and a failure to win the OVC Tournament could lead to a lot of additional stress on the Racers come Selection Sunday.
Saint Mary’s can at least move forward secure in the knowledge that only a truly epic collapse can keep them out of the Big Dance. Middle Tennessee and Murray State have no such luxury, needing to keep the pedal to the floor and knock out all opposition, rather than take the decision to the Selection Committee’s scorecards.
Scott Henry covers all the sports fit to discuss on his radio show 4 Quarters. Follow the show on Facebook and Twitter.
Also, read his thoughts on college basketball at The Back Iron and sports in general at Starr*Rated.
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Quality of NBA play comes under fire
The quality of play in the lockout-shortened NBA season is coming under fire, even from those in the industry.
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Wolves’ future looks bright under Adelman
HOUSTON Timberwolves coach Rick Adelman was careful with the plaudits.
His youthful team had tantalized before, pushing the NBA’s best to varying limits of distress only to fold under the weight of their own inexperience and unforced errors. On Monday night at Toyota Center, the Timberwolves tapped their glass ceiling and threatened to shatter any limitations of a curiously talented roster under the tutelage of a venerable coach with a long history of devising offenses that flourish.
From an external perspective the amazement came with ease, as did the flashbacks to nights when the Rockets were equally astounding under Adelman. The Timberwolves dissected the Rockets’ defense during their 120-108 win, putting all they have and all they could become on display.
“We think that we have some really nice pieces, but our problem is we’ve been so up and down,” Adelman said. “We’ve played a lot of good teams and played them close, and we’ve always had periods that have just killed us. The last time we played (the Rockets) we were five up and within two minutes we were five down, and that’s what we’ve done.”
Adelman was quick to laud the contributions of Michael Beasley (34 points on 10-of-14 shooting) and Martell Webster (seven points, three rebounds, two blocked shots and a plus-12 rating), both of whom had missed significant time this season due to injury and both of whom were instrumental in this evisceration of the Rockets (12-9).
Beasley, who returned Jan. 27 against the Spurs following an 11-game hiatus due to a sprained right foot, tortured whomever Rockets coach Kevin McHale sent his way. He scored 15 points in 15 first-half minutes and once he got rolling, the Rockets’ defensive assignment didn’t matter.
Martell (back surgery) made just his third appearance of the season and provided a little bit of everything. In concert with rookie point guard Ricky Rubio (18 points, 11 assists, eight rebounds) and All-Star forward Kevin Love (29 points on 10-of-15 shooting), the Timberwolves (10-11) were fully loaded. And with Adelman as the strategist, the basketball aesthetics were beautiful for those with objective interests.
The Timberwolves simply made shots in the first half, recording only six assists while shooting 56.8 percent prior to the intermission. Their ball movement improved dramatically in the third quarter, with Rubio recording five assists and the Timberwolves eight. They shot an outrageous 62.5 percent and scored a franchise-best 42 points.
Between Rubio’s wizardry, Love’s determination and Beasley’s offensive versatility, the Rockets were hapless. Combined with Adelman’s ability to massage the maximum out of his available talent, it was no wonder that trio scored 32 points in the third. The Rockets had executed this act before, up close and personal for four seasons under Adelman’s watch.
“They’re a talented group right now and they have a great coach,” said Rockets guard Kevin Martin, who averaged 22.9 points over 104 games with Adelman. “He let’s you play your game so I’m sure they’ll be all right.”
After the Rockets unceremoniously dismissed Adelman following last season, his second consecutive season leading a futile postseason charge with a flawed, depleted roster, he seemed destined for a franchise seeking a championship and a coach. When he landed in Minnesota heads turned because the Timberwolves have largely floundered since trading franchise icon Kevin Garnett to the Celtics on July 31, 2007.
Then Rubio arrived after remaining in Spain for two seasons following his first-round selection in the 2009 draft. With Love ascending and Beasley in need of a coach adept at inspiring players to reach their apex, Adelman’s decision came into view. The Timberwolves won’t be title contenders in the immediate future, but their stock assuredly is rising.
This flash of Timberwolves potential was brilliant. It might have blinded the Rockets, but given their familiarity with the opposing coach, they weren’t the least bit stunned.
“Great coach,” Rockets guard Kyle Lowry said. “That guy gives his players the ultimate confidence to go out there and just play freely.”
Follow me on Twitter at moisekapenda
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5 Best NBA Players under 25
As much as some NBA fans love watching the Kobe Bryants and the Dirk Nowitzkis of the league, both of those players are over 30, and like it or not, they’ll be out of the game sooner rather than later.
Fortunately, the NBA has some phenomenal younger players whose accomplishments may one day match or exceed those of their elder contemporaries.
For example, what fan hasn’t gone bonkers whenever Kevin Durant hits a game-winning shot? How many of us here were secretly hoping for him and Derrick Rose to meet in the NBA Finals, one that would have featured two of the best young players at just 23 years each?
Bleacher Report’s own Josh Benjamin has taken the time to put together a list of the best players under 25 in the NBA. Here are the top five.
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Bulls vs. Hawks Preview: Tom Thibodeau Under Fire for Overworking Derrick Rose
The Chicago Bulls look to extend their winning streak to six games against a frustrated Atlanta team that has played an additional 20 minutes of overtime in the last two games.
At 7-1, and Derrick Rose playing like an MVP, the Hawks know they will have their work cut out for them. Rose is averaging 20 points and seven assists so far in only eight games. He’s maturing every game, relaxed, deferring to his teammates, but still confident that he can take over any game at any time.
When the two teams first met on January 3rd, Rose had half of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and sealed the victory with a clutch layup with nine seconds left in the game. They won 76-74.
With the schedule packed in like sardines, coach Tom Thibodeau is taking heat for leaving Derrick Rose and other starters in the game during non-critical situations.
Blog-A-Bull offered some words about the coach’s minute management of Rose and Luol Deng in their blowout over the Detroit Pistons on January 9th.
“Derrick Rose played all but the final 1:13 of the second half. Luol Deng played the entire third quarter, as well as the first 5:28 of the fourth and another 4:11 after resting 1:28 for 21:39 of playing time in the second half of a game where the Bulls were up by as much as 20 and were never up by less than 11.”
There’s no question Thibodeau is an intense coach. I can hear him shouting over thousands of people every game. Winning is a compulsion with this man, and this may have consequences due to the exhausting schedule.
Still, the Bulls are a deep team, and Derrick Rose, who is 23 years old and not even in his prime, never seems to get tired.
I don’t expect Thibodeau to change his tactics tonight against a scrappy Atlanta team that just came off an impressive overtime win against Charlotte last night. Should be an exciting game.
Game Notes:
Richard “Rip” Hamilton doubtful (groin)
Tip-off is at Phillips Arena at 7:00 p.m. ET
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