Kansas freshman center Joel Embiid will miss the upcoming Big 12 Tournament and at least the first round of the NCAA Tournament after a second opinion from a specialist in California confirmed he has a stress fracture in his back.
The 7-foot native of Yaoundé, Cameroon is projected as a top-3 pick, potentially No. 1 overall, in the upcoming NBA Draft.
Duke and Kansas both remain viable options for uncommitted 2014 McDonald’s and Jordan Brand All-American Myles Turner despite the fact that both already have committed bigs in this class.
The 6-foot-11 Turner out of Euless (TX) Trinity has now taken officials to those two along with Ohio State and Oklahoma State, and will take his last visit to Texas, David Turner told SNY.tv. It’s possible he could also take an unofficial to Kentucky.
Luke Kennard, a 6-foot-5 2015 shooting guard from Franklin (Ohio), loved his official visit to Duke this past weekend.
“It really went great,” his father, Mark, told SNY.tv on Monday. “The intimacy not just of the program, but of the college, the atmosphere there is unbelievable. I think it kind of exceeded the expectations that we had.”
Kennard, as well as fellow recruit Myles Turner and others, saw Jabari Parker go off for 30 points and 11 rebounds in a 93-81 win over arch-rival North Carolina.
Kennard, who averaged 40 points per game this season, is a high priority for Duke.
By JACK LeGWIN
Special to ZAGSBLOG
Austin Grandstaff received an offer this past weekend from Florida when he took an unofficial visit to Gainesville for the rivalry game against Kentucky.
Grandstaff, ranked No. 39 in the Class of 2015 by 247 Sports, says that Florida made a big impression.
“The fans were great,” Grandstaff told SNY.tv. “I learned that Coach (Billy) Donovan does a great job in player development. I learned that Florida is really a basketball school. Their fans are really crazy, and they have a great group of guys there.”
By JOHN F. SILVER
Special to ZAGSBLOG
SMU coach Larry Brown can do coach speak better than anyone.
He’s won an NBA title and an NCAA championship and has nearly 40 years of experience in his Hall of Fame career.
He knows whatever he says will make news.
Still, when Brown was asked about the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year race — which will be officially decided on Wednesday — the 73-year-old coach begged off.
Who is Brown’s pick between Cincinnati’s Sean Kilpatrick, Louisville’s Russ Smith and UConn’s Shabazz Napier?
While fellow ACC newcomers Mike Brey and Jamie Dixon seem to be excited about entering their first ACC Tournament, Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim didn’t exactly sound fired up about going down to Greensboro, N.C. later this week
“We’re looking forward to the challenge of the tournament,” Boeheim, whose team is seeded No. 2 and opens play on Friday after a double-bye, said Monday on a conference call. “All that’s important when you play in a tournament is that they have a basketball court and an arena, and they’ve got that in Greensboro so we’re looking forward to the competition there.”
Not exactly a ringing endorsement there, Jim.
Duke freshman Jabari Parker and NC State sophomore T.J . Warren lead the 2013-14 All-ACC Basketball Team, as voted upon by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA).
Parker and Warren are joined on the first team by North Carolina sophomore guard Marcus Paige, Syracuse senior C.J. Fair and Clemson forward K.J. McDaniels.
Duke’s Parker, a 6-foot-8 forward from Chicago, ranks second among ACC scorers at 19.2 points per game and first in rebounding at 9.0 per contest. Parker carries a 15-game double figure scoring streak into this week’s ACC Tournament, and his 14 “double doubles” in points/rebounds lead the conference. His 16 games this season with 20 or more points ties for second-most in ACC history.
