December 2011 | Page 14 of 28 | Zagsblog
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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.

Reeves Nelson, who was dismissed last week from UCLA, is headed to play professionally in Lithuania, coach Ben Howland announced Thursday.

“As far as what team that will be, we can’t say because we don’t have a signed contract,” Brian Nelson, Reeves’ father, told the Modesto Bee. “Reeves is not returning to college. He’s not transferring anywhere. He has every intention of turning pro.”

The 6-foot-8, 235-pound Nelson plans to enter the 2012 NBA Draft and thus cannot sign with an NBA team, even as a free agent, until after the draft, the Bee reported.

An NCAA Tournament bracket prediction in December means about as much as a Presidential election poll a year out.

Nonetheless, Seton Hall fans should rejoice at this holiday team, for both Jerry Palm and Joe Lunardi have the Pirates among their last four teams into the 2012 Big Dance.

“It’s December, nobody’s even played a conference game yet,” Palm told SNY.tv by phone Thursday night. “There’s a long way to go. I wouldn’t get too excited about a December bracket.

“[But] what the heck. You’re 8-1, get fired up now.”

ACC Commissioner John Swofford announced Thursday that the ACC will move next year to an 18-game league schedule from the current 16-game slate.

“Our member institutions have been talking about this increase for awhile and knowing our league will be expanding to 14 in the future, we’ve decided to move to an 18-game conference schedule next year, regardless of our membership number,” Swofford said in a statement.

“The additional conference games create a more equitable schedule and we’ve received significant feedback from our fans for more conference games.”

While some are lamenting the Knicks’ loss of Chauncey Billups, Charles Barkley isn’t one of them.

Barkley says Billups simply wasn’t the right fit for Mike D’Antoni’s speedball offense.

“Mike D’Antoni’s got a great system,” Barkley said Thursday on a TNT conference call.

“Every point guard can’t run that system. I didn’t think Chauncey Billups could run that system at this age. He doesn’t play that fast anyway. Now he’s gotten older. I didn’t think he could run Mike D’Antoni’s system.”

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Carmelo Anthony had hoped his good friend Chris Paul would join the Knicks as part of a new Big Three in the Big Apple.

Instead, Paul landed with the Los Angeles Clippers after the NBA finally approved the trade Wednesday. Now Anthony, like just about everyone else around the league, believes the Clippers are a contender in the Western Conference.

“Of course,” Anthony said Thursday. “They got a great team, him and Chauncey [Billups]. Chauncey knows ho to play off the ball. He can handle the ball, everybody know that. Caron [Butler], Blake [Griffin], DeAndre [Jordan], they got a solid roster.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — The Knicks appear to need another shooter off the bench, but it won’t be Jamal Crawford or Shawne Williams.

Crawford will sign with the Portland Trail Blazers for two years at $10 million, according to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, while Williams is headed to the Nets, reportedly agreeing to a two-year, $6 million offer. The Knicks could only offer $5 million over two years.

“Shawne made a decision that’s best for him and his family,” Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire said Thursday. 

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