July 2012 | Page 18 of 22 | 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.

Count Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler among those who are happy Jason Kidd chose the Knicks.

“Jason was incredible in Dallas playing with him, helping myself out on both ends of the floor, just bringing a calmness to our locker room,” Chandler said at U.S. Olympic team practice in Las Vegas, according to Newsday. “He was never rattled. That’s what we need. We need that in the huddle. It’s going to be huge for us. He’ll take somebody under his wing . . . It will be huge for Jeremy Lin because Jason will sit down, break down film with him, bring him to the sidelines and huddles and really help him out.”

Chandler and Kidd, 39, won an NBA title together with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011, so the Knicks will now have two players with rings.

When former Penn point guard Zack Rosen walked into his hotel room in Orlando, his teammate on the Philadelphia 76ers summer league team, Terrence Jennings, asked Rosen what he was doing there.

“My roommate just asked me if I was playing on the team,” Rosen told SNY.tv by phone with a chuckle.

“Yeah, I get that a lot,” Rosen told Jennings, the former Louisville standout.

Did Jennings think Rosen, a 6-foot-1 red-headed white guy, was a player or the team manager?

“He wasn’t sure,” said Rosen,

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The stigma of being an NBA Draft bust is something that Adam Morrison is never going to be able to shake.

The No. 3 overall pick of the Charlotte Bobcats in 2006, Morrison had a solid rookie year in Charlotte, but then came a downward spiral.

A serious knee injury, a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, getting cut by the Washington Wizards and a stint last season in Turkey has brought the former Gonzaga star to right now and a spot on the Brooklyn Nets’ summer league roster.

Minnesota guard Tyus Jones led all scorers with 22 points along with six assists as the U.S. U17 team advanced to the semifinals of the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship with a 113-59 rout of Canada in Lithuania on Friday.

Texas forward Justise Winslow added 17 points and 13 rebounds, Florida guard Joel Berry had 15 points and Chicago natives Jabari Parker and Jahlil Okafor scored 10 apiece.

The Smith Brothers, Chris and J.R., are hoping to join forces on the new-look Knicks next season.

An undrafted free agent, Chris will play with the Knicks summer league team in Las Vegas, while J.R. is an unrestricted free agent whom the Knicks are looking to re-sign.

“Oh, that would be something special, you know?” Chris, 24, told SNY.tv Thursday by phone.

“It’s probably one of the first times it [brothers playing together] ever happened.”

By JOSH NEWMAN

Special to ZAGSBLOG

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – That fact that Brooklyn Nets rookie point guard Tyshawn Taylor has taken a long, winding road to get to this point in his basketball career is not lost on the Hoboken native and former Kansas star.

He has been under the brightest of spotlights since his high school days at St. Anthony of Jersey City, where he helped lead Hall of Fame head coach Bob Hurley’s fabled 2008 squad to a 32-0 record and a mythical national title as one of six Division I recruits.

He had good days and bad days in Lawrence and all of it is well-chronicled. He’ll go down as a memorable figure for head coach Bill Self, having started for four years, amassing 1,580 points and a gaudy 127-21 record during his tenure.

By JOSH NEWMAN

Special to ZAGSBLOG

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – As the Brooklyn Nets began preparations on Thursday evening for next week’s Orlando Summer League, there is obviously bigger news surrounding the franchise beyond the roster of 15 draft picks, veterans and free agents that were at the PNY Center.

While nothing is official until the NBA’s free agency moratorium ends on July 11, the Nets have gotten a radical upgrade to their roster. Incumbent point guard Deron Williams agreed to a five-year, $100 million deal on July 3, which came a

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