December 2011 | Page 20 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.

With Chauncey Billups now out of the picture, the Knicks need at least one point guard to run the show and have signed Mike Bibby to a one-year deal, reportedly worth the veteran’s minimum of $1.4 million.

“I’ve been trying for about six years to get him playing for (coach Mike) D’Antoni, but at the time this guy named (Steve) Nash was blocking us,” Bibby’s agent, David Falk, told ESPN The Magazine’s Chris Broussard. “I’ve always felt Mike would flourish in his offense.”

Bibby, who has averaged 15.2 points, 5.7 assists and 1.2 steals on his career but is a sub-par defender, was slated to attend training camp Sunday.

Seton Hall forward Herb Pope was a shadow of himself a year ago.

He looked lethargic and out of shape for most of the season.

And that was completely understandable considering what he had gone through.

Pope collapsed at Walsh Gym in April 2010 and later underwent heart surgery to deal with a birth defect — an anomalous right coronary artery —  that Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard said they “usually only find in an autopsy.”

One day after putting up a career-high 13 assists and nine points in a 78-67 win over No. 2 Ohio State, Kansas senior guard Tyshawn Taylor will undergo surgery on his right knee today, according to the Kansas City Star.

He could miss a “handful of games,” the paper said.

During practice Monday, Taylor sprained his medial collateral ligament and tore his meniscus.

He played Tuesday against Long Beach State and was given the option of having the surgery Wednesday, but Taylor declined.

“I wasn’t missing this game,” Taylor told the Star. “No discussion at all.”

NEW YORK –– The Washington Huskies will leave here having gone 0-2 during their stay in the Big Apple and facing a question mark about one of their key players going forward.

Yet they remain optimistic they can compete for a Pac-12 title.

“We’ve lost some tough ballgames and I think we’ve learned a lot of things about ourselves, mainly that we can compete at a high level,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar told SNY.tv after No. 5 Duke beat the Huskies, 86-80, at Madison Square Garden.

“I think we’ll take this experience and take it back home and be confident that we can go out and play and be real competitive.”

With both No. 1 Kentucky and No. 2 Ohio State losing Saturday, Syracuse stands on the brink of becoming the new No. 1 team in the land come Monday.

Behind a career-high 19 points and a couple of SportsCenter-worth dunks from Dion  Waiters, the No. 3 and unbeaten Orange (10-0) beat George Washington, 85-50. They don’t play again until Dec. 17 against N.C. State.

“Whatever happens, happens,” Orange coach Jim Boeheim said. “We’ll just have to be ready for next week.”

Carmelo Anthony texted Syracuse point guard Scoop Jardine to offer his congratulations: “Great job. We are #1. Time to focus in. This what we wanted. We have it now. Time to turn it up a notch and lock in.”

NEW YORK — Alex Murphy re-classified from the class of 2012 to bypass his final year of high school and become a member of Duke’s 2011 recruiting class.

Yet it certainly appears that the 6-foot-8 Murphy will redshirt this season and actually start his college career in 2012.

“It’s still to be determined but a redshirt is most likely that’s going to be the plan,” Murphy told SNY.tv after No. 5 Duke beat Washington, 86-80, Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

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