As it does virtually every year, the NCAA Tournament has produced numerous upsets, brackets ripped to shreds across the country and glimpses of new NBA talent on the horizon. The upcoming talent pool consists of a guard with the range of Jimmer Fredette and the flair of Stephen Curry, a second generation Sabonis big man and three seniors ready to make an immediate impact. With the Final Four upon us, several league executives and scouts spoke to SheridanHoops about those five prospects
NEW YORK – The Big East tournament featured two lottery picks, a local high school phenom, a breakout draft candidate and the latest Georgetown center with NBA potential. Kris Dunn and Henry Ellenson headlined the event as the top draft prospects, but it was former Lincoln High School star Isaiah Whitehead who stole the show. Whitehead made a runner off the backboard while being fouled against Villanova and then made the free throw to give Seton Hall the Big East tournament
The Miami Heat could very well be in the draft lottery this season, which really wasn’t what they were thinking going into the season, eh? But Chris Bosh’s reported blot clot problem, along with a general problem with underperforming, has left the Heat in the fight for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East as we head into the final six weeks of the season. What exactly has gone wrong in Miami? How can it be fixed? And if Pat
This is the time of the year for the earliest Mock Drafts, and I am subbing myself in for our regular guru, Joe Kotoch, who has been writing Mocks for this site for four years. Kotoch will be back … I am a one-and-done guy in this particular category. As I sat down to write this column, I was consumed with one thought: If you are in the business of finding great players and you want to stay employed, you
I’ve learned a ton of things in over 25 years in the game, studying players at every level. First when it comes to projecting a player’s ability and potential and how he will translate to the next level, it’s never an exact science. That’s probably the biggest challenge of all when it comes to evaluating talent. Nowadays, there are many high-tech methods to track a player’s every move. Along with the current analytics movement, there are also countless player workout and
BROOKLYN – Several teams in the NBA cellar had representatives on hand to watch Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere and Jamal Murray at the CBS Sports Classic. Suffice to say it was Murray whose stock rose the most despite Kentucky’s loss to Ohio State. 76ers GM Sam Hinkie, Pelicans GM Dell Demps and other NBA personnel were on hand at Barclays Center for the event. Murray lit the scoreboard up like Times Square on New Year’s with 33 points. Murray was efficient from the
NEW YORK – Some of the 2016 NBA draft’s top prospects were in town for the 2K and Legends Classics with executives drooling over their potential, including Philadelphia’s Sam Hinkie and Boston’s Danny Ainge. With Brooklyn holding the third-worst record in the league (3-12), Ainge should give Nets GM Billy King a Thanksgiving turkey for sending him Brooklyn’s unprotected first-round pick next summer as part of the 2013 trade for Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. However, Hinkie – the man who puts
NEW YORK – Dragan Bender is the trending name amongst NBA general managers and executives after Maccabi Tel Aviv’s tour in Chicago and New York. At 17, the Croatian forward has the league drooling over his long-term potential and future lottery teams scheming for the ping-pong balls to select the 7-footer in next year’s draft. League executives and scouts from Denver, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Utah were on hand at Madison Square Garden to watch Bender. “Closest thing to Pau (Gasol)