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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Saturday / November 23.

Arizona sophomore forward Derrick Williams intends to sign with an agent and enter the NBA Draft.

DraftExpress.com projects the 6-foot-8, 241-pound Williams as the No. 2 overall pick, behind Duke point guard Kyrie Irving of West Orange, N.J.

The NBA Draft is set for June 23 in Newark.

Williams averaged a team-best 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds. He scored in double figures 37 times, posted 13 double-doubles and posted the two highest single-game rebounding totals in the Pac-10 this season (19 at Washington State on Jan. 22 and 18 at California on Feb. 5).

“After careful consideration and with the support of my family and Coach [Sean] Miller, I have decided to declare for the 2011 NBA Draft,” said Williams. “I have enjoyed my two years at Arizona both on and off the court. I want to thank my teammates, who are like brothers to me, my coaches and all Wildcat Fans for making my experience an unforgettable one.”

Here's the complete schedule for the first round of the NBA playoffs:
San Antonio vs. Memphis

Game 1 - Sun April 17 Memphis at San Antonio	12:00PM	1:00PM	TNT
Game 2 - Wed April 20 Memphis at San Antonio	7:30PM	8:30PM	NBA TV
Game 3 - Sat April 23 San Antonio at Memphis	6:30PM	7:30PM	ESPN
Game 4 - Mon April 25 San Antonio at Memphis	TBD	TBD	TBD
Game 5 * Wed April 27 Memphis at San Antonio	TBD	TBD	TBD
Game 6 * Fri April 29 San Antonio at Memphis	TBD	TBD	TBD
Game 7 * Sun May 1 Memphis at San Antonio	TBD TBD	TBD

Kobe Bryant has been fined $100,000 by the NBA for his anti-gay slur Tuesday night.

“Kobe Bryant’s comment during last night’s game was offensive and
inexcusable,” NBA Commissioner David Stern said.

“While I’m fully aware that basketball is an emotional game, such a distasteful term should never be tolerated.  Accordingly, I have
fined Kobe $100,000.  Kobe and everyone associated with the NBA know that insensitive or derogatory comments are not acceptable and have no place in our game or society.”

Brandon Mobley, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound combo forward originally from Savannah, Ga., has verbally committed to Seton Hall.

Mobley chose the Pirates over DePaul, Auburn and Memphis.

“It was a very hard decision but at the end of the day I had called my pastor and prayed with him,” Mobley said by phone. “He told me to follow my heart and at the end of the day that’s where my heart was.”

Mobley is the sixth commit for head coach Kevin Willard in the Class of 2011, following guards Aaron Cosby, Haralds Karlis, Freddie Wilson and Sean Grennan and 6-11 big man Isaiah Hill.

NEW YORK — From the day he became president of the Knicks in 2008, Donnie Walsh has looked and worked toward the future.

The first part of his mission was to slash payroll and dump bloated contracts so the Knicks could be in position to pursue the NBA’s elite free agents.

The second part involved pursuing those free agents last summer, and ultimately landing Amar’e Stoudemire, while coming up short in the Lebronathon.

In February, Walsh pulled off one of the biggest trades of his career when he tore apart the roster to acquire Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups from the Nuggets.

The man with the best name in college basketball has schedule two more visits.

God’s Gift Achiuwa will visit Washington this coming weekend and St. John’s over Easter weekend. The 6-foot-8 power forward from Nigeria by way of Erie Community College has already visited Cincinnati.

“I don’t know if he’s going to take five [visits],” Erie coach Alex Nwora said Wednesday by phone. “It depends. We’re going day-by-day.

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