November 2012 | Page 18 of 24 | 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.
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Articles, Big East

Three Big East teams will open the 2012-13 college season Friday against Top 25 opponents on military locations in conjunction with Veterans Day weekend.

·         UConn faces No. 14 Michigan State at 5:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. It will be the first regular-season game between two U.S. colleges to be played in Europe and will be the head coaching debut for Connecticut’s Kevin Ollie.

·         Marquette meets No. 4 Ohio State – a 2012 Final Four participant – aboard the USS Yorktown off Mount Pleasant, S.C., in the Carrier Classic (7 p.m., NBC Sports Network).

·         Georgetown takes on No. 10 Florida on the USS Bataan off Jacksonville, Fla., in the Navy/Marine Corps Classic (9 p.m., NBC Sports Network).

Articles, Kentucky, Maryland

I talked to two veteran NBA scouts today about the upcoming college basketball season and, specifically, about Friday night’s Kentucky-Maryland matchup at the Barclays Center. Thirty-one (31) NBA scouts and executives are credentialed for the game.

One of the guys I spoke with is a veteran scout and the other is the Director of Scouting for another team.

Here’s their take on various aspects of the game:

ON THE TIMING OF THE GAME AS THE SEASON-OPENER

“It’s really unfortunate that the game isn’t taking place in later December rather than now because there aren’t going to be many times that [Nerlens] Noel and [Willie] Cauley-Stein go against size. It will be a good test for the big guys. Noel going against that length and size will help. So [Maryland’s 7-foot-1] Alex Len, some people like him, this will be a good test for him. But it’s unfortunate that it’s early.

“My guess going in is that Kentucky will win fairly easily only because I would guess that they’re probably more jelled together than the Maryland guys are now even though they’ve been together longer. I think the talent alone [makes the difference for Kentucky].”

Knicks, Video

http://web.sny.tv/media/video.jsp?content_id=25476231


GREENBURGH, N.Y. — After missing most of the preseason and the first three games of the season with a calf strain, Marcus Camby’s Knicks season debut will come Friday night against the Dallas Mavericks.

The addition of the 6-foot-11 Camby will add depth to the Knicks frontcourt, but it could also present challenges for head coach Mike Woodson in terms of allocating minutes going forward.

Woodson will now have Camby, Rasheed Wallace and Kurt Thomas to back up the center and power forward spots, but each guy’s minutes will be based on how he performs.

“I got to figure that out,” Woodson said Thursday. “That’s what I’m paid to do. I’ve said all along: it’s not how many minutes you get. It’s what you do with the minutes that you get. I’m a big believer in that. I’m not here to satisfy anybody. I’m here to coach this team the best way I’m capable of coaching it along with the staff. When you get in the game you’ve got to perform and play.”

Knicks

GREENBURGH, N.Y. — Tyson Chandler and Jason Kidd believe the Dallas Mavericks could have won back-to-back NBA championships had owner Mark Cuban opted to keep the team together last season.

“I definitely think that we had an opportunity to go back-to-back and unfortunately things were blown up,” Chandler said on the eve of the undefeated Knicks (3-0) hosting Dallas (4-1) Friday at Madison Square Garden. “But that’s the business side of it, that’s something the players can’t control.”

Instead, Cuban opted to blow the team up after winning the franchise’s first championship in 2011 over LeBron James and the Heat. Chandler joined the Knicks in a sign-and-trade last December that resulted in him signing a four-year deal worth $58 million.

Andrew Wiggins, Articles, Huntington Prep

Andrew Wiggins is likely to sign in the late signing period next spring, Huntington (W.V.) Prep head coach Rob Fulford told SNY.tv .

“He’s concentrating on the season right now and he’s not even thinking about it,” Fulford said the morning after Wiggins went for 34 points and 9 rebounds in a scrimmage win over Alice Lloyd JV.

“He has not communicated anything about recruiting so I can’t imagine he’s going to do anything in the next week because he’s not visiting anywhere this weekend.”

Fulford said rumors that Wiggins would visit Florida State this weekend were false.

“I don’t anticipate him doing anything this weekend,” Fulford said. “We don’t have any free weekends until March.”

The early signing period runs Nov. 14-21, and the late period runs April 17-May 15.

Articles, Kentucky

John Calipari is bringing more than his team to the Barclays Center on Friday night.

The Kentucky coach plans to bring a sizeable check for Hurricane Sandy victims when he arrives in Brooklyn for the season-opener against Maryland.

“I think we’re going to be able to present a check for nearly $1 million Friday there before the game,” Calipari said Thursday on a conference call.

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