May 2013 Basketball Wiretap

Greg Whittington Dismissed By Georgetown

Nov 30, 2013 4:32 PM

Greg Whittington has been dismissed by Georgetown.

Whittington has struggled with injuries and academics over the past year.

Whittington is ahead of schedule recovering fro a torn ACL suffered in the summer.

Whittington was expected to be the Hoyas' best player with the departure of Otto Porter.

Jeff Goodman/ESPN

Tags: Greg Whittington, Georgetown Hoyas, NCAA, NCAA Recruiting, NCAA B-Ball IQ, NCAA Misc Rumor

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North Carolina Forced To Play McAdoo At Small Forward

Nov 30, 2013 2:16 PM

North Carolina is shifting James Michael McAdoo to small forward due to limited depth on the wing.

“We don’t have enough wing players right now to play,” Roy Williams said. “We have to get James Michael to spend quite a bit of time at 3.” 

McAdoo has shown he's at his best at power forward playing beside a center that can score in the post.

One NBA scout attending the Tar Heels' win over Louisville said McAdoo was “in no-man’s land” when playing small forward. 

C.L. Brown/ESPN

Tags: James McAdoo, North Carolina Tar Heels, NCAA, NCAA B-Ball IQ

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Wiggins Ranks Ahead Of Parker, Randle, Smart In Offensive Rating

Nov 27, 2013 1:58 PM

Andrew Wiggins has the highest offensive rating among potential No. 1 picks at 134.2, according to data from KenPom.com.

Jabari Parker ranks second at 125.4, followed by Julius Randle (118.3) and Marcus Smart (116.9).

Chad Ford/ESPN

Tags: Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Julius Randle, Marcus Smart, Duke Blue Devils, Kansas Jayhawks, Oklahoma State Cowboys, Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NCAA B-Ball IQ

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Enfield Looking For Players Who Are Long, Can Run, Play Defense Like Who Go To Duke

Nov 22, 2013 12:44 PM

Andy Enfield left Florida Gulf Coast after a successful tournament run to become head coach at USC.

At Florida Gulf Coast, Enfield ran an up-and-down- NBA style that became known as Dunk City.

"I'm looking for players who are long," said Enfield. "Players who can run and play defense. Players like who go to Duke."

Enfield has a relaxed style of coaching, similar to that of an NBA coach.

"You try to teach the kids that the game is most fun when you put together both offense and defense. I don't think yelling works unless you have a presence like a Bobby Knight. And I definitely don't. My vision in college basketball is it needs to be fun. It needs to be fun for the players and for the fans."

Stephen Rodrick/Men's Journal

Tags: USC Trojans, NCAA, NCAA B-Ball IQ

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Scouts Begin Seeing Rodney Hood As Possible Lottery Pick

Nov 20, 2013 12:30 PM

Rodney Hood has had an excellent start to his sophomore season, averaging 21.8 points on 72.3 percent shooting from the floor and 72.7 percent shooting from distance.

Hood, a 6'8 small forward, began his college career at Mississippi State and transferred to Duke in 2012, sitting out last season.

"Scouts all morning say he’s a lottery pick," wrote Chad Ford.

Chad Ford/ESPN

Tags: Rodney Hood, Duke Blue Devils, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NCAA B-Ball IQ

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Andrew Wiggins Draws Paul George Comparison From NBA Executive

Nov 19, 2013 11:55 AM

Andrew Wiggins has been impressive to start his freshman season at Kansas, averaging 19 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Unlike Jabari Parker and Julius Randle, Wiggins has a smaller role in his offense at this point.

"I think he can be a player that plays a lot like Paul George does," one veteran NBA executive told ESPN.com. "He's so smooth that at times it almost looks like he's coasting. But when you watch closer, you just see the game comes so easy to him. With his length and explosiveness, he's going to be able to do whatever he wants once he gets it. And from everything we can gather in looking into his background, he's going to get it. I'm not sure how we could pass on him if we had the No. 1 pick. The other guys might be more ready right now, but in three years, I think he's the best player in this class."

Chad Ford/ESPN

Tags: Andrew Wiggins, Kansas Jayhawks, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NCAA B-Ball IQ, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Julius Randle Considered 'Surest Thing' In Draft

Nov 19, 2013 11:52 AM

Julius Randle has the capacity of being a low-post scorer and a stretch 4, which makes him one of the most promising power forward prospects in years.

Randle has averaged 20.5 points, 14.3 rebounds on 62 percent shooting in his first four games at Kentucky.

"I think he's the surest thing in the draft," one GM said. "There's nothing he can't do and there just aren't that many bigs in the NBA with that set of skills. He's going to be a 10-time All-Star and will make a major impact on your team in Year 1. Wiggins might have a little more upside and [Parker] is so attractive as well, but if you take someone else, you're really risking your job."

Chad Ford/ESPN

Tags: Julius Randle, Kentucky Wildcats, NCAA, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NCAA B-Ball IQ, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Durant Credits Technology For Advanced Games Of Wiggins, Parker

Nov 15, 2013 11:42 AM

Kevin Durant closely watched Kansas defeat Duke this week and came away impressed by both Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker.

"That [Parker] kid is amazing," Durant said. "I think he is the best player in the country. Him and Wiggins are like '1A' and '1B.' Those guys are going to do the one-and-done thing, do it early. They are going to do really well in college and lead their teams to, I think, the Final Four. That's kind of like, 'Close your eyes and pick one.' You're good with either one of those guys.

"I love Jabari's game. He's so skilled. He has it all right now. Wiggins is on another level with God-given ability. You look at him, you can tell he's going to be really big and fill out a lot. He's really athletic."

Durant credits technology for why so many young players enter college with an advanced skill-set.

"You can basically go to [search] your favorite player and watch film," Durant said. "You can go on YouTube and type in 'LeBron James' and watch every move he does, break it down and work on it. It's simple. When I was coming up you had to figure it out. I'm seeing [young] guys shooting fade-away and Euro-step floaters.

"Where are they getting this stuff? They're just watching these guys thoroughly [on video] and breaking it down. Some of these kids have access to going to my camp, or LeBron's camp or D-Wade's [Dwyane Wade's camp], getting 1-on-1 instruction. It's amazing. The game is growing."

Marc J. Spears/Yahoo! Sports

Tags: Kevin Durant, Jabari Parker, Andrew Wiggins, Oklahoma City Thunder, Duke Blue Devils, Kansas Jayhawks, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NCAA B-Ball IQ, NBA B-Ball IQ

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Scouts Doubt Aaron Gordon Can Transition To Small Forward

Nov 4, 2013 2:12 PM

Aaron Gordon of the University of Arizona is trying to transition to the small forward this season from his natural big man position in high school.

Gordon is seen as a similar player to Blake Griffin but smaller.

A lot of scouts, however, doubt that Gordon can make a successful transition to the three.

Chris Ford/ESPN

Tags: Aaron Gordon, Arizona Wildcats, NCAA, NBA, NBA Misc Rumor, NCAA B-Ball IQ, NCAA Misc Rumor

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Wiggins Wants To Lead Kansas To Title, Go No. 1 In Draft

Nov 1, 2013 8:07 PM

Andrew Wiggins expects to have a short stay at Kansas before moving onto the NBA, but is enjoying his time in Lawrence.

"I would say just being able to enjoy my last year of school," Wiggins said.

Wiggins' goals during his freshman season are simple.

"Win another championship, a national championship," said Wiggins. "Follow in Anthony Bennett's footsteps of going No. 1."

Wiggins is widely expected to be the first player selected in the 2014 NBA Draft.

ESPN

Tags: Andrew Wiggins, Kansas Jayhawks, NCAA, NBA, NBA NBA Draft, NBA Draft General, NCAA B-Ball IQ

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