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Imagine if Andrew Wiggins had chosen Kentucky instead of Kansas?
The Wildcats would be bigger favorites to win the 2014 NCAA title than the Miami Heat are to win the 2013 NBA title.
But the player expected to be the first overall selection of the 2014 NBA draft went with the Jayhawks, who are losing all five starters from last year’s team.
Hello and welcome to the Evening News.
As the playoffs continue, we’ll keep you updated every evening. What’s happening today?
Here’s the latest news from around the league:
While you were watching the Masters … or fertilizing the lawn … or watching baseball … or enjoying Mark Heisler’s public resignation from The New York Times after they turned down his one-on-one interview with Kobe Bryant … or learning that Mike Rice is up to his old tricks, except now he is berating 12-year-old girls, a whole helluva lot was being decided in the NBA.
Just think where we might be a week from now when eight Game 1s will be in the books? Hopefully the Korean War Part II will not have broken out.
Somebody please send Dennis Rodman back, ok? The whole situation over there has gone to hell ever since he partied with Kim Jong-Un.
What we do know:
Whew!! Well done my dudes. Well done. UNO MAS #playoffs
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 15, 2013
Uno mas indeed, but they might have to get that one last win against Houston on Wednesday night. It all depends on whether the Utah Jazz can win their final two games — tonight at Minnesota and Wednesday night against Memphis. One loss, and the Jazz are out.
And if you had Steve Blake outscoring Tony (1-for-10) Parker 23-4 overall and 18-2 in the first half of El Lay’s 91-86 victory over the Spurs on Sunday night, congratulations and please bring me to Vegas with you ASAP.
Dwight Howard was a monster once again with 26 points and 17 rebounds as the Lakers won for the seventh time in their last eight games, and maybe all that talk about Kobe and Dwight not being the best of chums was somewhat overstated.
D12 was a beast. He stopped by the hospital twice yesterday to check on big brothat’s luv #countond12
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) April 15, 2013
It now appears the Oklahoma City Thunder will have the No. 1 seed in the West, needing only one more victory or a loss by the Spurs to clinch.
But how about this one … The Lakers can actually finish 6th in the conference if the Warriors and Rockets each lose twice.
It would create a three-way tie between Los Angeles, Golden State and Houston, and the first tie-breaker would be head-to-heads against the other tied teams. Los Angeles and Houston would both be 5-3, which would kick it to the next tie-breaker … conference record. The Lakers’ is better than Houston’s.
So, yes, there will be drama in the next three days, and then Bloody Thursday will arrive with the butchery likely beginning in Philadelphia, where they showered the court with confetti after winning their final home game Sunday night as the news was breaking that coach Doug Collins plans to leave the franchise at the conclusion of the season.
Confetti? After making the worst trade in NBA history? Rod Thorn and Tony DiLeo may want to spend some time updating their resumes in the next couple days (our advice would be to leave out the part about trading Andre Iguodala, Nik Vucevic and Moe Harkless for Jeff Ruland 2.0.)
The NBA Board of Governors will meet this week to vote on whether to allow the Sacramento Kings to be moved to Seattle, where they prospective ownership group has tossed another $25 million onto their purchase offer. There also may be a coin flip to determine who gets the most chancs to win the Draft Lottery — but only if the Bobcats can win one more game and the Magic lose their final two.
And who would go No. 1 in the draft? Our man Joe Kotoch says it is Nerlens Noel of Kentucky, despite his torn ACL.
Then again, if the Magic get the overall No. 1 pick, they won’t need it for Noel. Not with Vucevic manning the middle.
Oh, and by the way, the Kentucky Wildcats won’t need Noel, either, after landing the best recruiting class in the history of collegiate sports. And it’ll only get better for them if Andrew Wiggins, the likely overall No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft, chooses Kentucky over Kansas, North Carolina and Florida State.
Wiggins teamed up with Julius Randle and a couple other future Wildcats at the Jordan Classic in Brooklyn on Saturday night, and our man Adam Zagoria was there to fill you in on what was seen and what was said.
And there you have your recap of the weekend that was.
It’ll be an interesting week, and be sure to check the site Thursday morning to see who I voted for in the NBA’s annual postseason awards. LeBron James for MVP and Damian Lillard for Rookie of the Year are the only mortal locks.
Who know, maybe we’ll even se Yi Jianlian get signed? As noted in the linked column, the Nuggets are one of the teams that can use an insurance policy — especially after Kenneth Faried went down with a a sprained ankle on Sunday night.
So stay thirsty, my friends.
The fun is just beginning.
Chris Sheridan is publisher and editor-in-chief of SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.
NEW YORK — Eleven years after they played in the Jordan Brand Classic at the MCI Center in Washington, D.C., Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire sat courtside at Barclays Center to watch the next generation of future NBA stars on display in the 2013 Jordan Classic.
The two Knicks stars were joined by a star-studded group that included teammate J.R. Smith, C.C. Sabathia, Spike Lee, Worldwide Wes and Drake, who later performed a concert. Michael Jordan himself sat up in the stands, but was not allowed to meet the players because he’s an NBA owner and rules prohibit it.
“I was just impressed,” Anthony, whose Knicks have won 14 of 15 entering Sunday’s game against the Indiana Pacers, told SheridanHoops.com after the West beat the East, 102-98.
“I know when I was in high school we wasn’t as big as these guys today, man. They look like they’re in the gym already in the weight room and things like that. They’re already one step ahead.”
Julius Randle, the MVP of the East team who is headed to Kentucky next year along with five other All-Americans, said of the Knicks’ stars: “Those are just two players you grow up idolizing so to have them courtside was huge.”
“Playing in front of Michael Jordan, Melo, Drake, Amar’e Stoudemire, Busta Rhymes, it’s been a blessing playing in front of them. I appreciate that they came to watch high school players play. I think that’s big on their part,” Canadian star Andrew Wiggins told Drew Ebanks of OnPointBasketball.com.
The game featured six future Kentucky Wildcats and five of the top 10 projected picks in the 2014 NBA Draft, according to DraftExpress.com: No. 1 Wiggins (uncommitted), No. 2 Randle (Kentucky), No. 3 Aaron Gordon (Arizona), No. 4 Andrew Harrison (Kentucky) and No. 8 Aaron Harrison (Kentucky).
The 6-foot-8 Duke-bound Jabari Parker was named MVP of the West after going for 16 points and seven rebounds, although Washington-bound point guard Nigel Williams-Goss could have easily won it after posting 17 points and four assists, including the game-deciding steal, layup and three-point play.
The 6-9 Randle received MVP of the East after putting up 19 points and seven boards. Wiggins added 19 points and five rebounds for the East, Florida commit Chris Walker added 14 points and seven rebounds and Syracuse-bound point guard Tyler Ennis went for 14 points, six assists, five rebounds and four steals.
Wiggins remains undecided on his future and will announce — at some yet-to-be-named point and probably via Twitter — for Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina or Florida State.
At one point in the first half, Wiggins threw Randle an alley oop pass that had to have Kentucky coach John Calipari and Wildcats fans imagining similar highlight-reel plays next year in Lexington.
Asked if he had gotten in Wiggins’ ear about joining the group at Kentucky, Randle said, “I tried my best, but you know it’s on him and I wish nothing but the best for him.
“He threw a great pass in the first half and he’s a great player so he makes the game easier on me because when you have another great player like that on the floor it kind of spaces things out. So it was fun playing with him in these two All-Star Games and I look forward to competing against him next week in the Hoop Summit.”
Wiggins said he enjoyed playing with Randle and against Parker.
“A lot of people think basketball players are cocky and big-headed,” he said. “They’re two of the highest-rated players in America and they’re so down to earth and level-headed. We’re all friends. We all treat each other like family, so it’s all good.”
Both Anthony and Stoudemire said they were impressed by Wiggins.
“He’s good,” Stoudemire said. “He showed athleticism out there on the court. He showed great patience also. He’s going to be really good.”
The injured Knicks star also said he was impressed by Walker, Randle and Parker.
“Those guys, they’re great, man,” Stoudemire said.
Anthony said he first saw Wiggins play last summer when Team USA trained in Las Vegas and the Canadian star played there.
Asked if Wiggins could make an immediate impact in the NBA, Anthony said: “It takes time. I wish him the best. Next year if he do what he gotta do and he’s ready to make that step, then more power to him. I support his decision.”
Kentucky may well have the greatest class in the history of recruiting, but adding Wiggins to the group that includes Randle, the Harrisons, James Young, Marcus Lee and Dakari Johnson would only put it over the top.
For his part, Randle said this week that being with his future teammates helps them bond for the future, when they will be favored to win a national championship in 2014.
“It’s fun to have those guys on the court with me,” Randle said. “It’s kind of like we’re starting our relationship for next year and we’re bonding. So it’s going to be fun next year for sure and we’re going to work hard, we’re going to do our best to make the season as great as we want it to be. To have those five guys here was amazing.”
Let the record reflect that in the 2002 Jordan Game, Anthony went for 27 points but his team lost, 167-121. Stoudemire went off for 23 points and 17 rebounds in the win.
“The class I was on in 2002, maybe 11 guys went to the pros from that class from that game, so hopefully that happens here tonight again,” Stoudemire said.
Photos: Kelly Kline / Jordan Brand
Adam Zagoria of Zags Blog covers the future stars of the NBA for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamZagoria.
This year will mark the 10th anniversary of LeBron James’s grant entrance into the NBA, when he wore an all-white suit (perfect garb for a Savior) to Madison Square Garden and was chosen No. 1 by the Cleveland Cavaliers out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio.
Two years later, the NBA and the players union instituted the so-called “one-and-done” rule mandating that players had to be 19 years old and a year removed from their high school graduation class in order to enter the draft.
While this year’s NBA Draft is considered to be “historically weak” by various NBA executives, the 2014 draft is projected to be especially strong because it will likely feature current high school seniors Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, Andrew and Aaron Harrison, Jabari Parker and Aaron Gordon.
But what if those players were all allowed to come out this year, the way King James did?
