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Thursday, August 23, 2007

Pedowitz To Lead Review of League’s Officiating Program

NEW YORK, Aug. 21, 2007 – NBA Commissioner David Stern announced today that the NBA has named Lawrence B. Pedowitz, a former Chief of the Criminal Division in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and current partner at law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz, to lead a comprehensive review of the league's rules, policies, and procedures relating to gambling and its officiating program.

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source : NBA.com

Sonics To Announce New Assistants

Nearly two months after naming a head coach, the Sonics will announce Thursday the completed coaching staff that will work under P.J. Carlesimo.

According to club sources, the Sonics will name former NBA guard Scott Brooks, former NBA forward Mark Bryant and returning Sonics assistant coach Ralph Lewis to Carlesimo's staff.

The team also will name former San Antonio Spurs assistant video coordinator Brian Keefe to the staff as a player development coach, while former NBA guard and scout Gerald Madkins will join the Sonics in a player development role.

Brooks, 42, spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant for the Sacramento Kings on Eric Musselman's staff after three years as a Denver Nuggets assistant. The former spark-plug point guard played parts of 10 NBA seasons with Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas, New York and Cleveland. He averaged 4.9 points and 2.4 assists in 680 games.

Brooks interviewed with general manager Sam Presti for the Sonics' coaching position in June, and apparently impressed enough during the process to be one of Presti's first choices for Carlesimo's staff. He was Musselman's top assistant in Sacramento, and is considered a standout strategist.

Bryant, 42, played parts of 15 seasons with 10 teams, including his first seven with Portland. He played for Carlesimo during Carlesimo's coaching stint with the Trail Blazers and also at Seton Hall, where he was an All-Big East forward in 1988.

Bryant was an assistant in Orlando during the 2005-06 season and spent a season with the Dallas Mavericks as a member of their player development staff. Bryant is the former NBA player Carlesimo had been looking for to relate with the Sonics' younger core.

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source : seattlepi.nwsource.com

Mo Williams Prepared For Season

Williams gets the ball rolling

Mo Williams is hanging out in Las Vegas this summer, but it's less about relaxation and more about preparation for the upcoming season.

The Milwaukee Bucks point guard, armed with a new six-year, $52 million contract, wants to be ready when training camp starts the first week of October. He has been working out for the past few weeks under the tutelage of famed athletic trainer Joe Abunassar, along with 20 to other 25 National Basketball Association players, at the Abunassar Impact Basketball facility.

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source : jsonline.com

Analysis of U.S.A.’s Second Opponent, Virgin Islands

Overview
Whenever you are talking about the Virgin Islands, you can’t help but think about the player who is not going to be there, and that is Tim Duncan, who was a member of the U.S. Olympic Team in 2004 in Athens, and therefore, is not eligible to play for his home country. Currently ranked 38th in the world by FIBA, this is a team that has struggled in international play, most recently finishing eighth at the 2007 Pan Am Games. The roster has a New York City feel to it, with four players having honed their skills on the city’s courts, and fans of college basketball will most certainly recognize several faces of both the players and coaches.

Strengths
Carl Krauser is the most familiar face on the roster, having helped lead Pittsburgh University to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances while also garnering AP Honorable Mention All-America status as a senior. Krauser is a tenacious defender who plays hard and has the ability to make the spectacular play.

Though 29 years old, Kitwana Rhymer is a good shot blocker who is very active and can score. As a junior at UMASS he won the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year Award.

Joining him up front is Frank Elegar, a thin and athletic 20-year old forward entering his senior season at Drexel University. Capable of scoring the ball consistently as evidenced by his double digit point totals in 26 of his 32 games this past year, Elegar put up a career-high 27 points in a win over Syracuse and 24 in a loss to North Carolina State in the NIT.

Weaknesses
This is a team that doesn’t have enough interior depth. They have an enormous challenge ahead of them, especially playing the U.S. for their first game, in which they’ll be an extreme underdog. Basically they’re looking to shock the world right now.

X-Factor
Elegar is a guy who is going to want to make an impression and prove that he is a possible up-and-coming NBA prospect. Look for him to try and leave his mark on this tourney for as long as the Virgin Islands is alive.

Coaching Philosophy
The names Tevester Anderson and Jim Harrick Jr. are recognizable to many. The head coach at Murray State for years before moving on to Jackson State, Anderson led both teams to the NCAA Tournament. Harrick Jr. joins him as an assistant after having coached with the Bakersfield Jam of the D-League last season. Anderson has been known to play an up-tempo style, which is something I am not sure he will want to do against the U.S. Most likely they’ll have to count on the three point shot. I will be shocked if they don’t pack it into an incredibly tight zone and hope that the U.S. just clanks because they will not be able to match up man to man.

source : NBA.com

Anthony, Bryant Help U.S. Roll In Opener

U.S. Team 112, Venezuela 69

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 22 (AP) -- Once Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant warmed up, there was no way Venezuela could keep up.

Anthony scored 17 points, Bryant added 14, and the United States rolled to a 112-69 victory Wednesday night in its opening game of the FIBA Americas tournament.

Michael Redd also had 17 points, Amare Stoudemire scored 16 and Dwight Howard 12 for the Americans, who improved to 27-0 in the regional Olympic qualifier. The Americans face the U.S. Virgin Islands in the final game Thursday night.

Bryant was making his long-awaited international debut, while Anthony was the leading American scorer last year at the world championships. They needed a little more than a quarter to show they could be a formidable duo.

Jason Kidd and Howard started along with LeBron James, Bryant and Anthony, the three starters coach Mike Krzyzewski had already named. All 12 players saw action in the first quarter, which ended with the Americans up 21-8 after some shaky shooting.

Bryant was scoreless and Anthony had only four points in the opening period, but they didn't stay quiet for long. Both scored seven points in a 16-6 spurt early in the second quarter that broke open the game and extended the lead to 39-16 on Bryant's 3-pointer with 5:23 left in the first half.

Both players were involved in the highlight play of the game. Kidd leaped to keep a high pass from going out of bounds along the sideline, quickly tossing it back to Anthony. He fired it to a cutting James, who passed behind his back to Bryant for a dunk, drawing a roar from what was otherwise a fairly quiet crowd in a Thomas & Mack Center that appeared less than half full.

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source : NBA.com

LAKERS SIGN LARRY TURNER


EL SEGUNDO - The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent center Larry Turner, it was announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.
Turner, a 6-11 center from Tennessee State, averaged 5.8 points and 6.1 rebounds as a senior.
Turner played for the Lakers 2007 Summer-Pro League team, averaging 7.4 points and 5.2 rebounds in five games.


source : NBA.com

Ed Tapscott And Dave Hopla To Join Wizards Staff

The Washington Wizards announced today the hiring of Ed Tapscott as Director of Player Development/Programs and Dave Hopla as Assistant Coach/Player Development on Head Coach Eddie Jordan’s staff. Per team policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

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source : NBA.com

Kobe Bryant Is The Star Of Stars

LAS VEGAS -- Winter, summer, in a Lakers uniform or that of the U.S. team, it's still all Kobe, all the time. . . .

He's not just a Lakers obsession, now he belongs to the world, or at least international basketball, and just in time with the U.S. expected to mop up the competition in FIBA's Tournament of the Americas that begins today -- We're back! -- if only because there isn't any.

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source : latimes.com