Bits n Pieces

A name announced in tomorrow's draft will most likely be Moe Harkless. If his name is unfamiliar to you don't worry I wasn't familiar with him either. Harkless is a 6-8 207 pound small forward who played collegiately at St. John's. His freshman numbers (along with whispers in his ear) probably convinced he was ready for the NBA. 15.5 ppg, 45% shooting along with 8.6 rebounds, the only negative might be his 67.6% free throw shooting. Harkless has a 7 foot wingspan and performed admirably at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago. The key of course is the opportunity to play, mock draft sites list him in as a middle choice in the first round. NOTE: If drafted Harkless will join a long list of New York City athletes and those from the borough of Queens. Lamar Odom, Metta World Peace, Kenny Smith all first played the game as youth in Queens.

Although St. Louis University (250 miles) is an A-10 school we receive few A-10 telecasts on this side of the state unless it's an NCAA field of 64 game. The few A-10 games of note have involved Xavier, Temple and UMass. The disclaimer is made because I didn't have an opportunity to see this player or his team during his collegiate career. I have continued to read positive news reports on this potential 2012 NBA draftee. He's Andrew Nicholson who played at St. Bonaventure in western New York State. Nicholson is a 6-10 234 pound power forward whose senior year numbers were 18.4 ppg and 8.5 rebounds as he led the Bonnies to a 20-12 season. This native of Mississauga Ontario Canada is projected as a mid-first round draft choice on a number of mock NBA draft sites.

Florida State University's Bernard James is listed as second round pick by Draftexpress.com. This 6-10 230 pound center is not the typical fuzzy faced youngster, he's 27-years old and an U.S. Air Force veteran. When he left the military he enrolled at a community college receiving an associate degree.  It will interested considering his past career and age if he manages to be drafted.

Summer is the worst time of the year for college coaches but not for basketball fans. It's not the hot steamy weather it's AAU basketball which the majority of college coaches hate. They hate AAU basketball due to it's lack of structure, teams run few plays for the most part it's old fashioned "run n gun" basketball. I love it, absolutely love it!

Over the years there have been numerous complaints regarding academic progress of student-athletes. Several of the complaints have been valid however many were proven untrue. As an example last season Bobby Knight made statements about Kentucky's academic standards which proved totally inaccurate. Several years ago the NCAA established academic standards for sports teams. Failure to maintain the established standards a team would be ruled ineligible for the post-season NCAA tournament, in addition the number of scholarships would be reduced.  The NCAA announced it's list for the upcoming season, they are:

Arkansas-Pine Bluff, California-Riverside, Cal State Bakersfield, Jacksonville State, Mississippi Valley State,
North Carolina-Wilmington, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Toledo, Towson and UConn. The last school of note is Jim Calhoun's UConn team.

Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley indicated his desire to sell the Grizzlies for a period of time, he made a condition of the sale the team must remain in Memphis. A prospective owner has stepped forward and indicated a desire to purchase the team. Robert J. Pera will pay a reported $350 million dollars for the team, should the deal be approved by the NBA he will assume ownership of the team. Pera is CEO of Ubiquiti Networks a communications technology company he founded. Although Mark Cuban is now an "old" 53 he was a youngster of 42 when he purchased the Mavs. At 42 he became the youngest owner and remained the youngest until now. Pera is a 34-year old billionaire and thus would become the youngest owner of an NBA franchise. Speaking of name changes the Grizzlies might consider a name change too. For those who might not be aware the Grizzlies were an expansion franchise located in Vancouver Canada. The team began play in 1995 but located to Memphis in 2001. Grizzly bears are native to British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest, Wikipedia indicates the only species of bears native to the State of Tennessee are black bears.

With names such as Phil Jackson and Shaquille O' Neal in the mix the Magic hired 30-year old Rob Hennigan as their general manager. He's served as an assistant general manager for the Thunder the last two years. If he can sign Dwight Howard to an extension that will address the number one problem facing this franchise. I would guess with no coach in place he will conduct the draft tomorrow.