RIP to the great Levon Helm, who died Thursday at 71 from complications of cancer.
Jon Pareles’ excellent obit from The New York Times is here.
To fully understand the significance and importance of Levon and The Band, know that Eric Clapton once quit Cream to ask if he could join The Band. (See the above video from Clapton introducing The Band at the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.)
Dwight Howard’s loss will turn out to be Tyson Chandler’s gain.
With the Orlando Magic center done for the season and set to have back surgery Friday because of a herniated disk, Chandler’s chances of making the U.S. Olympic roster just got a whole lot better.
The only other center on the roster besides Howard and Chandler is LaMarcus Aldridge, who is having right hip surgery next month.
“I feel like I have a great opportunity to play,” Chandler told the New York Post before the Howard news broke. “It all comes down to what they feel jells and fits with each other.”
Thaddeus Hall is headed to play for Frank Martin at South Carolina.
The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Brooklyn Thomas Jefferson wing committed to the school Thursday over offers from Fordham, South Carolina, Dayton, St. John’s, Hofstra, Virginia Tech and Maryland.
“I chose them over everyone else because I was very comfortable with the coaches and just want to start my own trend and go somewhere different,” Hall told SNY.by text.
Hall must still take the SAT next month in order to qualify academically.
“Done deal, Sterling is a Pirate.”
That’s what a Seton Hall source told SNY.tv at about 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
The Texas transfer was on campus all day Thursday and multiple current and former players earlier said Gibbs had decided to join the program.
Gibbs, who has an ill family member, would have to obtain a hardship waiver — similar to what Lamont “Momo” Jones did at Iona — in order to suit up next year.
“Congrats to my bro @SterlingGibbs13. He’s finally a Pirate!” Tweeted outgoing point guard Jordan Theodore.
Hall of Famer and Brooklyn native Larry Brown was officially named the new coach at SMU Thursday and the release from the school says nothing about a coach-in-waiting.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to coach at SMU,” said Brown, 71, who will join the Big East Conference with SMU in 2013. “I’ve built so many relationships in the basketball world and my success has been due to the coaches I’ve played for and the players I’ve coached. I want to thank them all. I always thought of myself as a college coach and this gives me a wonderful chance to get back where I started.”
“Larry Brown is one of the top coaches in the history of the game,” said AD Steve Orsini. “He is a legend and has made every team he has ever coached a winner. As we transition into the nation’s top basketball conference, the Big East, his leadership will be invaluable.”
Bo Ryan finally gave in.
After he was massacred all day long in the national media — including for an extended period on “Mike & Mike In The Morning” — the Wisconsin coach agreed to lift all non-league transfer restrictions on freshman forward Jarrod Uthoff.
“Uthoff visited with both Associate Athletic Director Justin Doherty and Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez Thursday morning as part of the appeal process,” the school said in a statement.
Twenty-four players have accepted invitations to attend the 2012 USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team Training camp June 5-12 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center (USOTC) in Colorado Springs, Colo., including one player with college experience and three players who represented the USA in the 2012 Nike Hoop Summit. The USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team committee issued the player invitations.
While rising sophomore Jarnell Stokes (University of Tennessee/Memphis, Tenn.) is the lone collegian attending camp, graduating high school seniors Gary Harris (Hamilton Southeastern/Fishers, Ind.);James Robinson (DeMatha Catholic H.S./Mitchellville, Md.); andRasheed Sulaimon (Strake Jesuit College Prep/Houston, Texas) suited up for the USA at the 15th annual Nike Hoop Summit.
