The 2008-2009 NBA season tipped-off with three games last night that each had a very prominent NC State-related storyline when:
(1) JJ Hickson began his NBA career with the Cleveland Cavaliers who lost to the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics.
(2) Hickson wasn’t the only former NC State big man to take the court last night. The three recent former Wolfpack big men who have been first round draft picks - Hickson, Cedric Simmons and Josh Powell - combined for a grand total of 2 minutes and 43 seconds of playing time last night. Thes three players stayed in college a combined five years.
This is a preview of NBA season tips-off with a decided Wolfpack flavor
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We refer you to our story from June linked here (that includes some great ‘Wolfpack talk’ from the 1980s for those that need a little insight and educating on some topics that comes second nature only to the die-hards)
The Chicago Bulls’ website has a nice article on our own Vinny Del Negro. They are using the same picture that we ran in our entry on the day Del Negro was hired (but has since been taken down off the internet).
This is a preview of NBA.com: Del Negro gets rolling as Bulls Head Coach
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J.J. Hickson got off to a quick start last night in his first summer league game:
LAS VEGAS –Cleveland Cavaliers assistant John Kuester was on a roll Monday, thinking up new ways to praise rookie J.J. Hickson.
“We’re talking about an N.C. State guy, and I’m still saying nice things,” former Tar Heel Kuester joked. “He’s that great a kid.”
And seemingly that good a prospect. Hickson looked spectacular during a 97-94 summer-league loss to the New York Knicks, with 26 points and nine rebounds.
This is a preview of Hickson turning heads early
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An awesome analysis of 2008’s One-And-Doners can be seen by clicking here to one of the best college basketball blogs in the country.
I can’t copy and paste their comments, but they have some interesting things to say about NC State and how JJ Hickson was definitely ‘not worth it’. It really is an interesting piece.
You can surf to “Rush the Court” and a host of other blogs and resources by spending some time looking at our blogroll on the right hand side of our front page.
This is a preview of BBall: 2008 One-and-Doners and more
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Sid was right - JJ went in the 11-20 window. Here’s Chad Ford’s analysis:
I’m surprised they passed on local hero Kosta Koufos of Ohio State. But I do like Hickson, who’s a sleeper. He’s strong and athletic and he can score in multiple ways. He was 12-for-12 from the field in his first college game.
It’s more than a little bit surreal that the only ACC player selected in the first round was a freshman from the last place team. The next ACC player selected was Sean Singletary (from the 10th place team) way down at #42. Maybe it shouldn’t have been much of a surprise that the ACC didn’t fare very well in the NCAAT last year.
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Since we are in the middle of the NBA Championship series…and the Tim Donaghy mess…and JJ Hickson’s inevitable departure to the NBA draft…
…I thought that it was an appropriate time to share the following stat of the day.
ACC Schools by number of NBA Draft selections since 1988
(1) Duke - 28
(2) North Carolina - 22
(3) Georgia Tech - 20
(4) Maryland - 16
(5) NC State - 10
(6) Florida State - 9
(7) Wake Forest - 7
(8) Boston College - 7
(9) Miami - 7
(10) Clemson - 6
(11) Virginia - 4
(12) Virginia Tech - 2
This is a preview of NBA Draft Picks by ACC School (1988-2007)
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You cannot make this stuff up. It is nice to know that “Curry Math” continues to be taught at Carolina. Just remember, Chris Washburn was at State almost 25 years ago.
Link to video
Heck…while we are talking about Carolina athletes who are a little on the small side why don’t we also highlight that Dexter Reid was convicted on a felony drug conviction this week.
You probably remember Reid as a motor-mouth from the Tarheel secondary a few years ago who intentionally pushed a television camera man to the ground in the back of the Carter-Finley end zone during one of his appearances in Raleigh.
This is a preview of Ty Lawson: “70/40 (to stay in NBA Draft)”
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You know that we like to go just a little beyond the original story with links and insight that are a little deeper than the story itself.
With that said, we ran across this blog entry that includes some links to the news stories if you have an interest in following them.
There is a ton of good stuff in the entry. Just take a look at just one of the answers of the interviewee:
This is a preview of A professional gambler’s view of the Tim Donaghy mess
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Add former Wolfpacker Vinny Del Negro to the list of Jim Valvano’s former players who have made a big splash in basketball years after their playing careers ended.
Multiple media reports indicate that Del Negro is set to become the Head Coach of the NBA’s Chicago Bulls.
The deal isn’t complete, but sources said Del Negro will sign a two-year contract with a team option for a third season and be paid roughly $2 million annually. That will make him one of the league’s lowest-paid coaches.
This is a preview of Another Valvano Player Hired as NBA Coach
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May 1, 2008
The writing may be the wall for JJ Hickson. As NC State fans people who genuinely want to see JJ Hickson maximize his earnings and succeed for years to come; we can only hope that the young man is mature enough to ‘read the wall’ objectively ans execute the kind of decision-making-skills needed to insure a bright future for the young man.
Before the recent onslaught of announcements by dozens of highly rated underclassment, Hickson was projected by many to be a second round draft choice in this summer’s NBA Draft. The impact of all of these underclassment has certainly not helped Hickson’s cause.
This is a preview of Writing on the wall for JJ; Look to Big Ced for example (May 7th Update)
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I could see the early entry rule changed from one year to two years, but the NBA Player’s Association would have to sign off on that change first:
1:55 p.m. — A press release was just passed out. There’s a press conference at 1 p.m. on Monday here in San Antonio. It’s set up for “NCAA president Myles Brand and NBA commissioner David Stern to make a major announcement.”
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As we indicated just a couple of days ago…
RALEIGH — N.C. State freshman J.J. Hickson will enter his name in the NBA Draft but he will go through the process without hiring an agent, Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe said Monday, leaving the door open for a possible return.”He’ll test the waters,” Lowe said. “He’ll get all the information he can and decide what’s the best thing. It may depend on where he’s going in the draft.”
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Sometimes you can’t help but wonder how officials can be SO BAD…no matter what the sport.
It was a few years ago that the NCAA’s all-time winningest basketball coach invited criticism and severely pissed off the NCAA when he commented about basketball officials and the probability that some of them fix games for various financial reasons. Idealists would never want to believe in such behavior. Realists recognize that the behavior is inevitable, but we will never know the truth behind 99% of such situations.
This is a preview of Bobby Knight Was Right; NBA Ref Busted for Fixing Games
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With all of the talk about Cedric Simmons’ and the NBA Draft last week, many Wolfpackers ignored the fact that Nate McMillan’s Portland Trail Blazers were The talk of the draft!
When the dust had settled on the draft, the Blazers looked like a brand new franchise and had most media pundits - like USA Today - proclaiming the organization the big winner in the draft.
The Portland Trail Blazers were the big winners in Wednesday’s NBA draft as they wheeled and dealed their way to a series of moves that resulted in them landing four players in the first round.
This is a preview of Don’t Forget Nate
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Link to NBA draft profile.
It always works out this way, doesn’t it? After following and pulling hard for the Charlotte Hornets for years…the franchise finally drafts a Wolfpacker that is going to make a significant contribution to the franchise…when they are playing Oklahoma City instead of Charlotte!
Poor Cedric…although he gets picked #15 (after being projected higher), he gets picked by one of the worst franchises in all of of sports - the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets. Anyone who followed the Hornets or lived in Charlotte in the late 1990s and has experienced George Shinn completely understands this point.
This is a preview of Simmons to Hornets (Updated 9:45AM)
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