Watching Jay Williams address the completely enrapt New Hampton Prep basketball team late Sunday night at the Hoophall Classic, it was clear he was firmly in his element. Basketball has obviously always been a big part of Williams’ life, but you could make a case he’s never been quite as immersed as he is now.
As an ESPN college basketball analyst, Williams splits his time between calling games and working on studio shows, while also commentating for the network’s rapidly expanding interest in high school ball. The latter assignment gives him the opportunity to take part in one of his favorite pastimes: mentoring young athletes. There isn’t a player on any level that doesn’t have the utmost respect for the former No. 2 pick in the NBA Draft, and he commonly takes time to pull players aside and offer a few words of wisdom. Read More »
While all the NBA exhibition and charity games during the lockout have been great, there’s been one element missing: school pride. So if guys can put on for their city or their team, the next logical step for them was clearly to put on for their alma mater. And it only makes sense that one of the most heated and storied rivalries in sports kick things off. Read More »
Maybe it’s just me, but I could watch Austin Rivers play basketball all day. So now that he’s in Durham for the summer, he’s been joining his new Duke teammates at the Greater NC Pro-Am… and putting on a show. Check out some highlights of Rivers, Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins from last night that include cameos from former Blue Devils Kyrie Irving and Jay Williams at the end.
Her name’s Amy and she’s just one year old. But yet the NBA’s Empire State Building says if he ever comes back, ever overcomes the foot/ankle problems that have crumbled his foundation, it’ll be his tiny daughter that’ll be the reason. Yao Ming wants his baby girl to see him play. He wants her to see more than YouTube videos and more of him in the flesh, playing like he did from 2003-09. She’s his motivation, his Shooter. Read More »
Coach K‘s four national championship teams at Duke University have been defined by threes. Christian Laettner, Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill ran the show in the ’90s; Shane Battier, Jay Williams and Mike Dunleavy Jr. won it in ’01; and in 2010 it was Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith.
With Scheyer gone to graduation and a few younger players taking aim at that vacant spot in the Big Three, this season’s leadership responsibilities for the Blue Devils (11-0) have fallen on seniors Smith (17.1 ppg, 5.4 apg) and Singler (17.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg) to lead a talented group aiming for a repeat. Going into tonight’s game against UNC-Greensboro (7 p.m., ESPNU), Smith talks about how experience wins championships: Read More »
If Kemba Walker hadn’t decided to turn into Tiny Archibald in Maui, tonight’s Duke vs. Michigan State matchup (ESPN, 9:30 p.m. EST) would be a meeting of the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation.
Despite their blemished record, No. 6 Michigan State is still considered a Final Four favorite and regarded as the toughest challenge the defending national champion Blue Devils will face in the regular season. Currently, these are the top two teams in college basketball. How do they match up historically? Read More »
In the history of professional sports, few athletes have had the kind of up-and-down season that Washington Nationals pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg is having right now.
When Strasburg, the No. 1 pick in the ’09 MLB Draft, made his big-league debut in June, he exceeded the hype surrounding his arrival by striking out 14 batters in seven innings while picking up a win. Strasburg was the talk of baseball throughout summer, but earlier today, the Nationals announced he needs Tommy John surgery on his right elbow and will likely miss the next year. Read More »
Darko Milicic also made an appearance during the 81-point game. A graphic from the Lakers broadcast showed the top five picks of the ’03 Draft — LeBron, Darko, Carmelo, Bosh and D-Wade — and their scoring averages from that season. While LeBron was dropping like 30 ppg at the time, and ‘Melo, Wade and Bosh were all above 20 points a night, Darko stuck out like a white-collar criminal in a gen-pop prison yard, boasting an average of 1.6 points per game. Read More »
If anyone is gonna bother making a season recap video for the Nets, 90 percent of it should focus on last night’s win over the Spurs. (The other 10 percent to the Lottery if they win the John Wall sweepstakes.) Not only did the Nets look like a real-life NBA basketball team for once, they avoided the stink of owning the League’s all-time worst win-loss record … Down five midway through the fourth quarter, Jersey went on a 13-2 run to take control, highlighted by an alley-oop from Devin Harris to Brook Lopez (after which we could’ve sworn Spurs announcer P.J. Carlesimo called Lopez “the rookie”). Read More »
Last Friday, we told you about the new House of Hoops that was opening in Wayne, N.J. And for everyone that came through, they were not disappointed in the least. With Funkmaster Flex on the 1’s and 2’s, and New Jersey native John Celestand (a member of the Lakers’ 1999–2000 championship team) on the mic, the place was packed. Oh yeah, and then there was that whole cameo from Jay Williams. Check it out after the jump. Read More »
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