CHICAGO — Coach K doesn’t want to believe that any NBA teams are tanking for Diaper Dandies Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle and Jabari Parker in the 2014 NBA Draft.
But if they are, he has a message for them.
“If that is happening, shame on whoever is doing it,” Coach K said in response to a question from SNY.tv following No. 5 Kansas’ 94-83 victory over No. 4 Duke in the Champions Classic.
Then he jokingly asked a reporter, “Are you doing it?”
CHICAGO — Former NBA stars Magic Johnson and Jalen Rose said in exclusive interviews with SNY.tv that Julius Randle should be the No. 1 pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
“I don’t know about [Andrew] Wiggins being No. 1, I might’ve saw No. 1 just then,” Johnson told SNY.tv after his alma mater, No. 2 Michigan State, outlasted No. 1 Kentucky, 78-74, in the Champions Classic at the United Center. “Yeah, cause he is talented.”
“I agree,” added Rose, working here as an ESPN analyst. “[Randle’s] aggression level, the way he scores the basketball on both blocks, his abilty to rebound. He consistently plays hard and that’s what I really like about him, so I agree with that.”
CHICAGO — Just getting settled in here for tonight’s Champions Classic at the United Center.
Here’s six quick storylines heading into tonight’s games, which feature four of the top five teams in the AP Top 25: No. 1 Kentucky vs. No. 2 Michigan State (7:30 p.m. EST) and No. 4 Duke vs. No. 5 Kansas (10 p.m EST).
1. No. 1 vs. No. 2
The No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the Associated Press Top 25 have previously met 39 times (according to collegepollarchive.com), with the No. 1 team posting a 20-19 record. The top two teams in the poll have not met since Feb. 23, 2008 (No. 1 Memphis vs. No. 2 Tennessee). The No. 2 ranked team has won the last two meetings and six of the last eight. Prior to this meeting, the earliest meeting between No. 1 and No. 2 was Nov. 29, 1975 (No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 2 UCLA). It’s also worth noting that this is the first time since the 2008 National Semifinals that four of the top five teams in the nation will play in the same venue on the same day.
By JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
The 50-player preseason watch list for the John R. Wooden Award was released on Tuesday afternoon. To the surprise of no one, with freshmen allowed on the list for the first time, the young guys are well-represented.
Kansas (Andrew Wiggins, Wayne Selden Jr. Joel Embiid), Kentucky (Andrew Harrison, Julius Randle, James Young) each got three first-year players on the initial list, while Arizona (Aaron Gordon) Duke (Jabari Parker) and Indiana (Noah Vonleh) each got one.
Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Cliff Alexander will all announce their college choices on Friday afternoon.
ESPNU has a Signing Day Special from 4-5 EST.
“I’m excited to announce my college decision on Friday Nov 15th, 3pm at Whitney Young high school. Be there and thanks for all the support!,” the 6-foot-10 Okafor Tweeted Monday night.
“I’m excited to announce my college decision on Friday Nov 15th, 3pm at Apple Valley High school. Be there and thanks for all the support!” the 6-2 Jones Tweeted at about the same time.
Okafor and Jones have long said they will play college basketball together — and they are expected to pick either Duke or Kansas.
Much of the hype entering the 2013-14 college basketball season — and Tuesday’s Champions Classic in Chicago, in particular — is about who will go No. 1 overall next June.
Andrew Wiggins or Julius Randle?
Julius Randle or Andrew Wiggins?
That is an open question at this point, one NBA executive told SNY.tv on the eve of the big event in Chicago.
“Yes,” he said, adding that the 6-foot-8 Wiggins must “prove that he can sustain being in attack mode over the course of an entire game and season.”
Montaque Gill-Caesar, a 6-foot-6, 200 pound junior out of Huntington Prep (WV), visited Kentucky Sunday for the No. 1-ranked team’s blowout victory over Northern Kentucky.
“It was good,” he told SNY.tv. “I felt comfortable.”
He said head coach John Calipari told him, “Only guys that are tough are able to play in a Kentucky-type atmosphere. He talked about who’s possibly leaving and the opportunity I’d have.”
Even as Kentucky is stocked with future NBA first-round picks, Calipari is planning ahead for next year and beyond.
