August 2014 | Page 10 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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Tennis

(AP) – Novak Djokovic, the world’s No. 1 player,  is the No. 1 seed at the U.S. Open and five-time champion Roger Federer is No. 2, meaning they could meet only in the final.

Djokovic beat Federer for the title at Wimbledon last month.

Federer moved up one spot from his No. 3 ranking because 2013 champion Rafael Nadal withdrew from the year’s last Grand Slam tournament with an injured right wrist. The 33-year-old Federer is seeded at the U.S. Open for the 14th consecutive year, tied with Ivan Lendl for the longest streak, trailing only Jimmy Connors’ record of 18.

Federer won the hard-court tournament every year from 2004-08, part of his record 17 Grand Slam titles.

Articles

It’s mid-August and DuPree McBrayer still doesn’t have a prep school for the upcoming season, but that is expected to change in the next week or so.

“It’s being finalized now,” the 6-foot-4 McBrayer, who spent last season at The Patrick School in Elizabeth (N.J.), told Russ Wood of Rivals.com. “I should know in the next few days. I decided to prep for development. Development of my game and my body. My doctor says I have a couple of more inches in me, so hopefully I can get to 6-foot-6 or 6-foot-7.”

As far as colleges go, he recently visited St. John’s, which has made him a priority in the Class of 2015, along with Isaiah Briscoe, Brandon Sampson, Tyler Dorsey and Cheick Diallo.

“It was real cool, I had a chance to talk to everybody, Coach (Steve) Lavin, (assistant) Coach Rico (Hines), (assistant) Coach (Tony) Chiles,” he said. “We didn’t really talk about basketball, we talked about academics, stuff like that. I got to tour the whole campus and just had a great talk with Coach Lavin.”

Articles, USA Basketball

Derrick Rose USABy JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Derrick Rose did not participate in the United States National Team’s open practice on Monday afternoon, but anyone worried about the former MVP’s surgically-repaired right meniscus can relax.

“I feel alright, it’ll be fine, but if not, what’s two days of rest?” Rose said after the open practice at the United States Military Academy. “I just wanted to get rest. Everything feels fine, I just wanted to get a little bit of rest.
Articles, Kyrie Irving, USA Basketball

Kyrie IrvingBy JOSH NEWMAN
Special to ZAGSBLOG

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Kyrie Irving admitted Monday he hasn’t been a leader during his time in Cleveland and hopes to learn from the team’s veterans, now led by LeBron James.

“I haven’t been a leader – not at all,” the former Elizabeth (N.J.) St. Patrick star told RealGM in Chicago.

“Everybody asks me if this is my year to be a leader … I haven’t been so far though, not at all,” Irving added. “I’ve just been a kid trying to figure it out. There’s no perfect way to be a leader, and coming in as a 19-year-old kid and having everything bearing on your shoulders, there are a lot of ups and downs. Now it’s about being the best every single day and not being afraid.”

Articles

Former Kansas guard Andrew White III is headed to Nebraska.

“I have committed to Nebraska this morning,” he told SNY.tv by text.

White also considered Maryland, Richmond, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Miami and Florida State.

He will have to sit a year per NCAA transfer rules.

“I am really excited to add Andrew to our program. I believe he can be an impact guy for us. He has pro potential and reminds me of Paul Pierce.” said Tim Miles, the 2014 Big Ten Coach of the Year. “Andrew has been involved in the elite levels of high school, AAU, and college basketball and that will continue with the Huskers.

Tennis

RafaDefending champion Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the U.S. Open with a wrist injury, potentially opening things up for world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and five-time Open champ Roger Federer.

“I am very sorry to announce I won’t be able to play at this year’s US Open,” Nadal said in a statement. “I am sure you understand that it is a very tough moment for me since it is a tournament I love and where I have great memories from fans, the night matches, so many things…

“[There is] not much more I can do right now, other than accept the situation and, as always in my case, work hard in order to be able to compete at the highest level once I am back.”

Nadal beat Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in last year’s U.S. Open final to add to his 2010 crown. He also reached the 2011 title match.

Nadal, the 14-time Grand Slam champion, injured his right wrist prior while practicing for the Rogers Cup in Toronto two weeks and was also unable to play last week in Cincinnati, where Federer won his sixth title. He has had a splint on his hand since suffering the injury July 30.

A year ago, Nadal won Montreal, Cincinnati and the U.S. Open to sweep the summer hardcourt events.

Articles

FalzonBy NICK MEDLINE

SPECIAL TO ZAGSBLOG

CHICAGO — Aaron Falzon will set visits to Northwestern, Boston College and Harvard, he told SNY.tv on Friday. Falzon said that Stanford and Creighton are also “still in the mix.”

The 4-star power forward played well at the Nike Global Challenge, holding his own against other elite opponents. Falzon created shots, knocked down threes and used his trademark vocal play during a solid weekend.

Now, the Northfield (MA) Mouth Hermon prospect can focus on making his college decision. For his visit schedule, he started with three schools that recruited him with intensity.

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