2012 Draft Thursday, June 28th: Raptors select Terence Ross

[charlesnba23]

Thank you Matt! I was looking for this schedule and didnt find it!

[mcHAPPY]

Thank you Matt! I was looking for this schedule and didnt find it!

No problem. If only TSN, TSN2, the Score, and ABC were as organized as CBS.

[mcHAPPY]

“Terrence Jones right now, I’ll tell you, if there’s a better player in the country, I’ve got to see him,” head coach John Calipari said Tuesday at a media opportunity. “Maybe that guy’s in our gym. I don’t know. But if there is somebody better than Terrence, I’ve got to see it.”

Those are bold words for a coach who, at times, rode Jones last season like a jockey in the Kentucky Derby.

Jones shined early last year as a freshman and went on to win Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year honors, averaging 15.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, but he struggled with consistency as the season progressed.

Calipari attributed the mountain highs and the valley lows with Jones’ work ethic.

“It’s totally different than it was a year ago,” Calipari said.

It’s easy to notice the physical changes in Jones. The added bulk is apparent in his aforementioned biceps and beefed up chest. Those comments that Coach Cal has about Jones finishing first in the sprints, he’s not joking. As this writer can attest to, Jones’ legs pump like pistons in a car as he almost always beats his teammates to the baseline.

But his focus is what’s behind the physical drive.

“You’re seeing a young man that’s changed his habits, changed his body, added skill level and now a different attitude toward basketball,” Calipari said. “Who’s that sound like? Josh Harrellson. So now what you see is a different player.”

Teammate and former last-place sprint partner Doron Lamb called this Jones “the new Terrence.”

So what happened to the old guy? The Final Four, Jones says.

“Thinking about coming up short last year, it hurt so much that I wanted to do better this year and not have that feeling again,” Jones said. “I just feel everything at practice is important. Being the older guy that other players look up to, I feel like I’ve got to take every drill seriously.”

http://www.coachcal.com/7735/2011/10...ifferent-body/

Should be an exciting year in college basketball.

I was very high on T-Jones last season before he took a nap.

And those are high words of praise from Coach Cal.

[mcHAPPY]

Drummond breaks nose

STORRS, Conn. -- Connecticut freshman center Andre Drummond broke his nose and suffered a mild concussion in practice on Friday.

The school said the 6-foot-10 Drummond would spend Friday night in the school infirmary as a precaution and would be fitted for a mask, which he likely would wear for the first two months of the basketball season.

The Huskies already are playing without two other big men. Coach Jim Calhoun says 7-1 sophomore Enosch Wolf could miss about a week with a groin injury and 6-10 redshirt freshman Michael Bradley is out until at least December after having surgery to repair a fractured right ankle.

UConn plays its first exhibition game on Nov. 2 against American International and opens the regular season on Nov. 11 against Columbia.

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-bask...jured-practice

Maybe Rip Hamilton can lend him his face mask since he is not using it.

[mcHAPPY]

Anthony Davis video

WojYahooNBA Adrian Wojnarowski
Talked to NBA scout who stopped at UK practices and called Anthony Davis "most talented, most complete" frosh big man he's seen in decade.
http://twitter.com/#!/WojYahooNBA

College ball should be awesome this year.

Funny hearing young guys talk about Jordan.

[Apollo]

Anthony Davis

Talked to NBA scout who stopped at UK practices and called Anthony Davis "most talented, most complete" frosh big man he's seen in decade.

Source: Twitter @WojYahooNBA

[ceez]

People were saying the same thing about perry jones this time last year. I'll wait till the final four is over to decide which player I think is best.

[Joey]

If the Raptors get the #1 pick and these are the two best players then you pick one of them and sort it out later.

I'm still of the opinion that regardless of where we pick, if Harrison Barnes is on the board, then we should be picking him. No question.
But I guess thats me saying I think he will be the best player available.

[mcHAPPY]

Looks like we might have forgot about T-Jones

But Jones went for 52 points on Wednesday night.

Jones was an insane 24-of-31 from the field, 2-of-4 from beyond the arc and 2-of-5 from the line. Oh yeah, he also grabbed 16 boards and dished out six assists.

We need to put this in context.

Jones' team scored 126 points.

It was a glorified scrimmage.

But still. By all accounts, Jones looks like a different player - maybe even more dominant than the one that came out of the gates a year ago.

I say some of the credit needs to go to Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Gilchrist doesn't get outworked by anyone in terms of effort. Jones' weakness has always been an inconsistent ticker.

However, maybe Gilchrist is exactly what was necessary for Jones to fulfill his potential, the one that could have him at or near the top of June's NBA Draft.

The reports were that the No. 1 freshman in the country, 6-foot-11 Anthony Davis, was the one given the task of trying to contain Jones.

Davis put up 27 points and 13 boards in the scrimmage, but it'll still take some time for him to acclimate himself to the college game.

Fellow frosh Kidd-Gilchrist finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds while Marquis Teague had 19 points and nine assists and Kyle Wiltjer went for 27 points and 11 boards.

Here's one reason not to put too much stock in an intrasquad scrimmage: Eloy Vargas had 16 rebounds.

http://eye-on-college-basketball.blo...83066/32955665

[mcHAPPY]

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...opowered-class


CBSSports with a surprising ranking of freshmen.


1. Anthony Davis
2. Austin Rivers
3. Andre DRummond
4. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
5. Brad Beal
6. LeBryan Nash
7. Adonis Thomas
8. Quincy Miller
9. Marquis Teague
10. Myck Kabongo
11. Jabari Brown
12. Josiah Turner
13. Cody Zeller
14. Branden Dawson
15. James McAdoo


I cannot wait for college ball this year.

[MangoKid]

I'm surprised to see McAdoo so far down that list.. and Rivers beating out Drummond. I think Beal would be better than Rivers.

[NoPropsneeded]

Kabongo is an amazing passer and His ball handling skills are incredible the guy can literally do anything with the ball. I'd love to see him on the raptors

[Tim W.]

kabongo is an amazing passer and his ball handling skills are incredible the guy can literally do anything with the ball.

anything???

[Joey]

anything???

Literally, anything.

[mcHAPPY]

There are 127 NCAA games on Friday, November 11th.

http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/scoreboard?date=20111111