With the New Orleans Hornets coming to Madison Square Garden tonight to face Linsanity, it got us to thinking.
Isn’t it about time for some nickname swaps in the NBA?
First off, we’d suggest that New Orleans gets the Jazz nickname back from Utah since, well, you know, Utah isn’t really known for being a Jazz hotbed.
Charles Mitchell, a 6-foot-8, 260-pound power forward from Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler, is mulling various offers and plans to sign in the spring.
The Rivals No. 12 big man in the Class of 2012, Mitchell told SNY.tv that Maryland, Tennessee, Florida State, Seton Hall, Florida, Memphis and Cincinnati were the schools recruiting him the hardest.
Ole Miss and Mississippi State are also involved.
Wheeler begins playing in the state tournament next weekend, so Mitchell may visit a school the first weekend in March, with other visits to follow.
“I’ll most likely plan a visit the first weekend in March,” he said.
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Linsanity is coming to NBA All-Star Weekend.
Knicks guard Jeremy Lin will participate in the Rising Stars Challenge Feb. 24 as part of the All-Star festivities in Orlando.
Lin, who has become a global rock star while leading the Knicks on a seven-game winning streak, will play for Team Shaq led by Shaquille O’Neal. That team will also feature Lin’s friend and Knicks teammate Landry Fields, as well as Blake Griffin, former UConn star Kemba Walker and former St. Benedict’s Prep and Texas standout Tristan Thompson.
“[It’s] definitely exciting, but right now I try not to think too far, just stay one day at a time,” Lin said at a morning shootaround that featured nine TV cameras and approximately 50 reporters.
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Knicks fans may have to wait until Sunday to see how Carmelo Anthony blends in with Linsanity.
Coach Mike D’Antoni said Anthony would “probably not” start tonight against the New Orleans Hornets at Madison Square Garden.
Anthony has been out with a groin injury since the first quarter of the team’s win over the Utah Jazz Feb. 6, a stretch that has coincided with the Knicks winning six of their seven straight games during Jeremy Lin’s ascendance to worldwide rock star.
GREENBURGH, N.Y. — J.R. Smith will add depth to the Knicks backcourt, but won’t immediately replace Landry Fields as the team’s starting shooting guard.
“Obviously, he’s a talented basketball player and you can always use talent but basically it’s not going to change up a whole lot what we’re doing,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said Friday after shootaround.
Asked if Fields would continue to start once Smith arrives, D’Antoni said, “Yeah, for right now, for sure.”
Smith, 25, is close to signing with the Knicks but it is not a done deal yet, league sources told SNY.tv Friday morning.
St. John’s took a minor recruiting hit Thursday when Winston Shepard, a 6-foot-9 wing from Findlay Prep, committed to San Diego State over New Mexico.
St. John’s head coach Steve Lavin visited Findlay Prep Wednesday as the Johnnies tried to make a late run at Shepard, a versatile playmaker and lockdown defender averaging 15 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds.
“They started to get in late,” Findlay Prep coach Michael Peck told SNY.tv by phone. “Winston had it down to New Mexico and San Diego State.”
Peck compared Shepard to former Steve Fisher wings Jalen Rose at Michigan and Kawhi Leonard at San Diego State.
