The US was defeated by Russia today in the semifinals of the World University Games, 69-68, ending the quest for a gold medal for the Americans.
But Marquette's Lazar Hayward, the former Traditional star, scored nine points in 22 minutes off the bench. Here's the box score.
And here's the complete release from USA Basketball with a picture of Hayward.
The US plays for the bronze medal against Israel Saturday.
---Rodney McKissic
The USA beat Bulgaria 96-66 in the quarterfinals of the World University Games today and Marquette's Lazar Hayward scored 12 points.
Here's the box score, which also shows Hayward had seven rebounds and hit 3 of 5 shots (including 2 of 3 on threes). The US will play Russia Friday. Russia beat Lithuania Thursday 82-73.
If the US wins that game, it would likely get a rematch with Serbia for the championship. Serbia, which lost to the US 68-66 earlier this week, beat Turkey 68-46 Thursday in its quarterfinal game to advance and will play Israel in the other semifinal Friday. The title game is Saturday.
---Rodney McKissic
Auburn highlights Niagara University’s non-league schedule which was released today, but missing once again off the slate is St. John’s.
The two schools didn’t play last season for the first time in 26 years. Niagara and St. John’s have met 98 times since 1908 with the Red Storm winning 72 (including 30 of the last 35). St. John’s was expected to play in the Gallagher Center this season. Two years ago, Niagara pulled off a historic 77-73 victory over the Red Storm, its first win at Carnesecca Arena in 44 years. Niagara had beaten St. John’s twice in the last four meetings.
Niagara AD Ed McLauglin said it came down to the Red Storm not willing to play the Purple Eagles in the Gallagher Center this season.
"I couldn't give up a home game," he said. "They felt that they really needed to have the game at home and they didn't want to come up here and play. Not that they don't ever want to come here and play they just felt that they really needed to have the game at home."
McLaughlin said he hopes the two schools can come to an agreement and continue the series beginning next season.
"We would certainly be open to talk about anything to continue the rivalry," he said. "That's not to say we would absolutely go there without question, but I think it's safe to say I want to continue the discussion because we want to play and I have a sense that they want to play."
The Purple Eagles open the 2009-10 season on the road against the Tigers as part of the 2009 Glenn Wilkes Classic. The third-year in-season tournament features a 10-team field with one on-site contest and three games at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla. Niagara will take on Auburn on Nov. 13 before facing Howard, Central Florida and Austin Peay from Nov. 20-22. Auburn, coached by former North Carolina guard Jeff Lebo, finished 24-12 and won two games in the NIT last season.
Three home games and a pair of holiday tournaments highlight the slate of 12 games, while seven of the 13 potential opponents played in the 2009 postseason. Niagara opens its home portion of the schedule against Drexel on Nov. 17.
After the Glenn Wilkes Classic, the Purple Eagles will play a pair of road contests, at Mount St. Mary’s (Nov. 25) and defending MAC champion Akron (Nov. 29). The Purple Eagles travel to Illinois State (Dec. 13) as part of the ESPNU BracketBuster agreement. Last season, Niagara defeated Illinois State at home. Niagara and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference will again participate in the BracketBuster event, as Niagara will be a road team this season.
The final non-conference contests will come on the final days of 2009, as Niagara will play in the Sun Bowl Basketball Tournament in El Paso, Texas. Niagara will open the four-team tournament with Air Force on Dec. 28 before playing either host UTEP or Norfolk State on Dec. 29.
---Rodney McKissic
(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)
Marquette's Lazar Hayward, the former Traditional star, scored two points and grabbed one rebounds as the US beat Serbia Tuesday, 68-66, in the World University Games. Serbia had beaten the US 98-82 last month so the Americans got some revenge, as well as earning the No. 1 seed to the medal quarterfinals out of its bracket.
The US is now 4-0.
Here is the box score for the game. And here's a recap on the game along with some additonal quotes.
---Rodney McKissic
(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)
Chris Washburn was supposed to be The Next Great Center. He was Shaq long before we even heard about Shaq. But as Rick Bozich writes a lack of discipline and drug habit cut short his once promising NBA career. There were days when he was left eating dinner from trash cans.
If there's anyone who knows the pitfalls of having success too soon, it's Chris Washburn.
---Rodney McKissic
The MAC's Getting to Know series is up to UB's James Starks who, among other things, like beef jerky and wanted to be a fireman when he was little.
---Rodney McKissic
WATKINS GLEN -- Turner Gill is at Watkins Glen International today as the grand marshal of today's Camping World Grand Prix at The Glen.
I'm stopping by from the Sports, Ink blog (where we'll be blogging live during the race) to relay many of his comments from his prerace press conference:
On the similarities of auto racing and college football:
"The bigges thing is the pregame excitement, it’s going on really early -- 3 or 4 hours before the actual event is taking place, so that’s very similar to college football."
On success bringing appearances like this:
"Getting the recognition of that [MAC Championship] is an honor and a privilege to recognize this great university, and also this game of college football. Probably in general, New York State is probably from a football standpoint more for pro teams. … To get recognition for college football is great.
"There’s no doubt winning the MAC Championship gave us tremendous exposure. My athletic director was kidding me about that we couldn’t spend enough money to get the of exposure we’ve gotten over the last six months. It’s great for people to understand our great University at Buffalo, a great research institution, also now an outstanding football program. But we’re rising in a lot of other sports with our AD Warde Manuel.
"Recruiting has definitely been easier. I don’t have to go into homes and schools now and tell everyone now that we are a Division I football school. I used to have to go in there and explain Division I, Division II, Division III, people asked me those type of questions. Now I can go on and get right to the heart of our school and what we’re all about.
"Recruiting is definitely a lot easier. It’s still somewhat difficult, because you’re competing with some of the big schools, the Penn States, the Rutgers, the Syracuses and so on and so forth. But now we’re able to get our share. People now at least listen to us and give us an opportunity to share what we have to offer at the Unviersity at Buffalo.
On appearances like today's and throwing out the first pitch at a Cleveland Indians game:
"It’s another recruiting tool – it’s another opportunity for the University at Buffalo to get our name out there in July. That hasn’t happened in the past, so it’s great to do that. It’s great that Camping World give me opportunity to get more exposure. We’re going to take advantage of that to help our university academically and also athletically."
---Keith McShea
Looks like Sam Keller's case against the NCAA and EA Sports has some legs.
Keller, the former Nebraska and Arizona State quarterback, filed a class-action lawsuit arguing that they illegally profit from the images of college football and basketball players. Ryan Hart, a former Rutgers quarterback, filed a similar lawsuit against EA last week in a New Jersey state court. The NCAA and its member universities have licensing agreements that allow EA to publish two college-themed video games: NCAA Football and NCAA March Madness.
Even fans who aren't into video games - or just casual fans of college football - would recognize the players depicted in the game. In NCAA Football 2009, the quarterback for UB is right-handed, stands 6-foot-3, and wears No. 16, just like the Bulls former QB Drew Willy. While the EA player’s hometown is different — Willy is from Randolph, not Bergenfield — each is from New Jersey. Of course Bergenfield is merely 40 minutes from Randolph so it's close enough.
As a fan of the NCAA Football series - I've been playing it since the game was called Bill Walsh Football on Sega Genesis - I greet the arrival of the game with more anticipation than the John Madden NFL game. I've had July 14 circled on my calendar for quite some time now. But the NCAA is once again making millions off athletes who receive no compensation. Critics will say the scholarship and free education they earn is priceless, but that was before the stakes were raised with mega million dollar TV deals and depicting athletes in video games. I'm sure Sam Bradford is worth a lot more to Oklahoma than the (approximately) $100,000 scholarship he was offered out of high school.
I'm not saying it's time to pay the athletes, but some compensation from the EA video game series isn't asking too much.
---Rodney McKissic
(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)
NFL.com's Gil Brandt lists the top seniors at their positions and UB's James Starks and Naaman Roosevelt are both ranked.
Starks, already the school's career rushing leader, ranks 10th among tailbacks, while Roosevelt ranks in the top 15 among the senior wideouts.
The only other MAC players listed were Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour and Western Michigan's Tim Hiller, who are ranked in the top 10 among the quarterbacks.
---Rodney McKissic
The Flynn and Harris Show moves on to Minnesota.
Paul Harris will play for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas where he will reunited with Jonny Flynn, his Niagara Falls High School and Syracuse University teammate. Flynn was drafted in the first round by the Wolves last week.
Harris also entertained offers from Cleveland, where he just completed a three-day workout, and Chicago. The summer league runs July 10-19.
---Rodney McKissic
UB football coach Turner Gill is scheduled to throw out the first pitch in the Cleveland Indians’ game against the Chicago White Sox. Gill was once a second-round pick by the White Sox out of high school and spent three seasons in the Indians minor-league system before becoming a football coach at North Texas.
---Rodney McKissic
Paul Harris, the former Niagara Falls High School and Syracuse swingman, is currently in the middle of a three-day workout with the Cleveland Cavs and will decide Monday if he will play with the team for the summer league, Falls assistant coach Sal Constantino said on Sunday.
The Syracuse Post-Standard is reporting that Harris, who turned pro following his junior year, will play with the Cavs but he will decide between Cleveland, Chicago and Minnesota today, Constantino said. Harris was not drafted in last Thursday's draft.
Also, Jonny Flynn, who was selected in the first round by Minnesota, will recieve a key to City of Niagara Falls on Monday evening. The ceremony begins at 7 p.m., will be held at City Hall.
---Rodney McKissic
Jonny Flynn grew up in Niagara Falls and went to college in Syracuse, two megas for cold weather, and now he's headed to a place that's even colder: Minneapolis, Minn.
According to Wikipedia, Minneapolis is sometimes subjected to cold Arctic air masses, especially during January through February. The average annual temperature of 45.4 degrees gives the Minneapolis–St. Paul metropolitan area the coldest annual mean temperature of any major metropolitan area in the continental United States.
"I don't know, it might be a little cold for me,'' Flynn said.
But Spanish guard Ricky Rubio, Flynn's new teammate, will have a bigger adjustment.
"He's coming from Spain, I don't think it ever snows over there," Flynn said. "I can give him what kind of clothes to buy and what snowshoes to buy and things like that. It will be fun."
---Rodney McKissic
No Coach Calipari, it's too late for you to try and woo Jonny Flynn to Kentucky! Some Knicks fans just came by Jonny Flynn and his family in the green room and made it clear who they wanted the Knicks to select with the No. 8 pick. Rumor has it, Minnesota will use either its No. 5 or 6 pick on Flynn. I joked with Flynn about not being able to get away from cold weather and he said, "I'm used to it."
---Rodney McKissic
Jonny Flynn is having a pre-draft meal as he awaits his destiny. He told me he had no idea where he's headed but chances are he'll end up in Minnesota who has picks Nos. 5 and 6.
---Rodney McKissic
In a few hours Jonny Flynn's name will be up there. Somewhere.
Right now the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden is only buzzing with media people but in about an hour it will be filled with draft (mostly Knicks?) fans. I'm seated behind a Spanish speaking radio broadcaster who must be talking about point guards because he mentioned Flynn and Ricky Rubio several times. Other than that, I have no clue what he's talking about.
---Rodney McKissic
The L.A. Clippers, who own the No. 1 pick in tonight's draft, have made some rather curious draft choices over the years. Here's a look at their picks since 1980:
1980
Drafted: Michael Brooks
Still on the board: Kiki Vandeweghe, Larry Smith, Jeff Ruland, Louis Orr and Rick Mahorn
1981
Drafted: Tom Chambers
Still on the board: Rolando Blackman, Larry Nance and Danny Ainge
1982
Drafted: Terry Cummings
Still on the board: Dominique Wilkins
Note: Cummings played well and was the league’s Rookie of the Year that year, Wilkins – aka the Human Highlight Film – is in the Hall of Fame.
1983
Drafted: Byron Scott
Still on the board: Clyde Drexler
Note: Scott was eventually traded to the Lakers for an aging Norm Nixon.
1984
Drafted: Lancaster Gordon and Michael Cage
Still on the board: Kevin Willis, John Stockton and Jerome Kersey
1985
Drafted: Benoit Benjamin
Still on the board: Xavier McDaniel, Chris Mullin, Detlef Schrempf, Karl Malone, Joe Dumars, A.C. Green and Terry Porter. Not to mention John “Hot Rod’’ Williams and Gerald Wilkins.
1986
Note: Traded to Philadelphia in 1979 for Joe “Kobe’s Daddy’’ Bryant. The pick ended up being the first pick in the draft which eventually landed in Cleveland who selected Brad Daugherty). They still passed on Drazen Petrovic in the third round.
1987
Drafted: Reggie Williams, Joe Wolf and Ken Norman
Still on the board: Scottie Pippen, Kenny Smith, Derrick McKey, Horace Grant, Reggie Miller, Mark Jackson and Reggie Lewis
1988
Drafted: Danny Manning and Hersey Hawkins. In a three-way trade, the Clippers landed Charles Smith and Gary Grant and the 15th overall selection.
Still on the board: Rik Smits, Mitch Richmond, Dan Majerle and Rod Strickland.
Notes: Manning was the No. 1 pick overall and knee injuries hampered a once promising career. It could be argued that this was one of the few times the Clippers picked the right player and pulled off a good deal.
1989
Drafted: Danny Ferry
Still on the board: Sean Elliott, Glen Rice, Nick Anderson, Tim Hardaway, Shawn Kemp, Sherman Douglas and Cliff Robinson
1990
Drafted: Bo Kimble and Loy Vaught
Still on the board: Tyrone Hill, Dee Brown and Toni Kukoc
1991
Drafted: LeRon Ellis
Still on the board: Rick Fox
Note: Also had the No. 9 pick but traded to the Hawks for aging Doc Rivers. Hawks selected Stacey Augmon.
1992
Drafted: Randy Woods and Elmore Spencer
Still on the board: Latrell Sprewell
1993
Drafted: Terry Dehere
Still on the board: Sam Cassell and Nick Van Exel
1994
Drafted: Lamond Murray and Greg Minor
Still on the board: Brian Grant, Eddie Jones, Jalen Rose and Aaron McKie
1995
Drafted: Antonio McDyess
Still on the board: Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett
Notes: Great pick but one that was eventually traded to Denver for Rodney Rogers.
1996
Drafted: Lorenzen Wright
Still on the board: Kobe Byrant, Predrag Stojakovic, Steve Nash, Jermaine O’Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Derek Fisher
1997
Drafted: Maurice Taylor
Still on the board: Brevin Knight and Bobby Jackson
1998
Drafted: Michael Olowokandi and Brian Skinner
Still on the board: Mike Bibby, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce
1999
Drafted: Lamar Odom
Still on the board: Andre Miller
Note: Odom was the No. 4 pick overall and was argubably the best player on the board. Clips make the right pick again.
2000
Drafted: Darius Miles and Quentin Richardson
Still on the board: Mike Miller, Jamal Crawford
Note: Miles was a huge bust but the Clippers redeemed themselves by drafting Richardson.
2001
Drafted: Tyson Chandler
Still on the board: Pau Gasol, Shane Battier, Joe Johnson, Tony Parker and Gilbert Arenas
Note: Traded Chandler to Chicago for Rookie of the Year Elton Brand. Great move.
2002
Drafted: Chris Wilcox and Melvin Ely
Still on the board: Tayshaun Prince and Carlos Boozier
2003
Drafted: Chris Kaman
Still on the board: David West
2004
Drafted: Shaun Livingston
Still on the board: Luol Deng, Andre Iguodala, Al Jefferson, Josh Smith, J.R. Smith and Trevor Ariza
Notes: At the time, you couldn’t argue with picking Livingston. It wasn’t the Clippers fault that he suffered a devastating knee injury that robbed the NBA of one of the great young guards.
2005
Drafted: Yaroslav Korolev
Still on the board: Danny Granger
2006
Note: No pick in the first round but in the second, they passed on Paul Milsap.
2007
Drafted: Al Thorton
Still on the board: Rodney Stuckey
2008
Drafted: Eric Gordon
Still on the board: Jason Thompson
---Rodney McKissic
The knock on Jonny Flynn is his height, but if you look around the league lack of size hasn't slowed down players like Tony Parker, Aaron Brooks and Chris Paul, who Flynn says he patterns his game after.
"I have some characteristics of Chris Paul with his tenacity," Flynn said. "He's hard as nails and he's a tough guy. He fires up his teammates and he's one of the best playmakers in basketball. He really knows how to get his teammates the ball in positions where they can score. That's a sign of a great point guard. He gets into the right position where they don't have to do too much to score the basketball."
Flynn had his last pre-draft interview on Tuesday in New Jersey but didn't participate in a workout.
---Rodney McKissic
St. Bonaventure will get a much needed swingman for the 2010-11 season after Horace McGloster transfered in from Houston. McGloster will have two seasons of eligibility remaining after he sits out the 2009-10 season.
“Horace is a great kid who will come in and compete hard in practice this year and by 2010-11 will be ready to make an impact,” Bona coach Mark Schmidt said. “He’s a long and athletic wing and with John Hall graduating after next season we’ll need someone to step into that role. His experience at Houston combined with a year of getting stronger and improving his skill level will really benefit him. We’re excited about having Horace join our program.”
Over the past two seasons, McGloster saw time in 44 games on a Houston team that won a combined 45 games over that span and made a pair of postseason appearances in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). McGloster averaged 8.4 minutes over 25 games in 2008-09, scoring 2.0 points per game while finishing fourth on the team with eight blocks.
---Rodney McKissic
---CollegeFootballNews looks at which coaches have the hottest seats this year, a list that includes Rich Rodriguez and Lane Kiffin.
---USA Today says Central Michigan's Dan LeFevour belongs in the conversation with Florida's Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy of Texas as one of the most dangerous senior quarterbacks in the country.
---ESPN says that for the first time in a while, there's hope for Syracuse football.
---Rodney McKissic
Former Buffalo Traditional standout Lazar Hayward will represent the U.S. in the 2009 World University Games, July 2-11 in Belgrade, Serbia. The player selections were made by the USA Basketball Men's Junior National Team Committee, chaired by Syracuse University’s Jim Boeheim.
Also named to the team were Penn State’s Talor Battle who is from Albany, Villanova’s Corey Fisher and Evan Turner from Ohio State. The squad will remain in Colorado Springs, Colo., for two-a-day practices through Wednesday. The team departs for Serbia on Thursday.
Here are some quotes from Hayward about making the team:
How does it feel to be named to this team?
It's an unbelievable honor. It feels great. We have a great group of guys on this team, and we can do some great things. Right after our meeting, we all just came together and told each other it has to be like a brotherhood. It's a wonderful feeling, and I'm honored.
What do you think you did this week to impress the committee?
I tried to do all the little things -- take charges, rebound, talk to the guys non-stop. I just tried to do all the little things that the coaches look for.
What do you hope to bring to the team?
Good leadership. I have always been the type of person to bring what the team is lacking. Whatever we need, I'll bring it no matter what it is. Whether it's rebounding, defending, or guarding certain guys, I'll be willing to do it.
What will it mean to you to go overseas and compete internationally for your country?
Ah, man. You just think about the history of USA Basketball. I'm one of those guys now. It's a wonderful achievement, and it's kind of surreal. I can't believe I have the opportunity to do this. I want to bring home the gold.
---Rodney McKissic
Former UB quarterback Drew Willy was released by the Baltimore Ravens today. Willy, who holds nearly every passing record in school history, was an undrafted free agent.
---Rodney McKissic
Yahoo! is counting down the college football teams from 120 to 1, and UB was part of today’s group which can be found here.. The countdown so far can be found here.
I've also been been informed by John Gworek, Rivals.com's front page editor/college database editor and a native of Western New York, that Rivals.com/Yahoo! Sports magazine will hit the newsstands soon.
---Rodney McKissic
Next up is Sporting News’ take on the UB Bulls and the upcoming college football season. Open up TSN and the first page is an editor’s note written by Tyler Nelson about how the best coached team in the nation is UB under Turner Gill. Nelson also noted that, “an elite BCS program eventually is going to nab this ‘must have’ (Gill).’’ I know UB fans don’t want to hear that, but it’s true nonetheless.
Here’s how TSN’s sees the MAC:
East Division
1. UB
2. Bowling Green
3. Temple
4. Ohio
5. Miami (Ohio)
6. Akron
7. Kent State
West Division
1. Western Michigan
2. Central Michigan
3. Northern Illinois
4. Ball State
5. Toledo
6. Eastern Michigan
TSN’s All-MAC team includes James Starks, Naaman Roosevelt and Davonte Shannon. Among its “Four Fearless Forecasts’’ is Temple getting a bowl bid and Gill, Central Michigan’s Butch Jones and the Owls Al Golden as coaches who will move on to a BCS program. Perhaps I’m missing something, but I don’t understand everyone’s fascination with Golden and Temple.
Anyway, TSN lists UB as a program that’s ascending but in its recruiting round up, the Bulls ranked 12th out of 13 with the Owls bringing up the rear. In its rating the players section, Starks is the most elusive, Roosevelt the best athlete and the top impact freshman is LB Darius Willis. TSN’s game to watch for UB is Central Michigan, which could be a preview of the MAC Championship Game and the magazine projects the Bulls to return to the International Bowl. The Bulls top five recruits are DE Matt Jones, RB Branden Oliver, WR Fred Lee, CB Carlos Lammons and TE Peter Gagliardi.
TSN’s pre-season No. 1 is (who else?) Florida. Rounding out the top 10 are Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Oregon, LSU and Ohio State and Oklahoma State.
---Rodney McKissic
Canisius has finally filled out its coaching staff with the addition of Western New York native Desmond Oliver, who returns to his Big 4 roots. Oliver begins next month according to a source.
Oliver, who attended DeSales High School in Lockport, most recently worked on the staff at Georgia. Oliver has also worked at Rhode Island, St. Bonaventure, Cornell and Texas A&M. He began his coaching career in 1993 at Turner-Carroll High and broke into college at Niagara a year later.
Canisius coach Tom Parrotta has been working with two assistants - Rob Norris and Tim Paul - for the last five months after Lazare Adingono was granted a leave of absence. In February, Adingono was charged with a felony assault charge for allegedly beating his 4- year-old son with a belt.
---Rodney McKissic
Next up as we examine college football preview magazines is Lindy’s. Special shout out to my man Don Borst, who is one of the associate editors at Lindy’s.
Here’s how Lindy’s sees the MAC:
East Division
1. UB
2. Bowling Green
3. Akron
4. Kent State
5. Temple
6. Ohio
7. Miami (Ohio)
West Division
1. Central Michigan
2. Western Michigan
3. Ball State
4. Northern Illinois
5. Toledo
6. Eastern Michigan
No arguments from me about where everyone is picked. Lindy’s likes UB’s depth at tailback, WR Naaman Roosevelt and a developing defense. They also note that expectations might exceed the team’s realistic ceiling and finding a QB and offensive balance is a must. Lindy’s All-MAC first team includes James Starks, Naaman Roosevelt and Davonte Shannon, while the second team has Justin Winters.
UB’s games against Pitt, Central Michigan, Western Michigan and Bowling Green are listed among the mag’s “”Big Ones.’’ The list of top 10 NFL includes Starks, Roosevelt and Shannon ranking Nos. 4-6. Toledo’s Barry Church ranks No. 1. On the magazine’s honor roll for the MAC Alex Pierre is listed as the league’s special teams demon. Roosevelt is also listed 12th among the nation’s top WRs.
The magazine lists UB No. 88 out of the 120 teams in the nation. Here’s how the opponents on the Bulls schedule stacks up:
Texas-El Paso – 84
Pitt – 41
Central Florida – 97
Temple – 104
Central Michigan – 62
Gardner-Webb – 5th in Big South
Akron – 113
Western Michigan – 74
Bowling Green – 82
Ohio – 102
Miami (Ohio) – 115
Kent State – 101
So, based on the rankings, the Bulls are predicted to finish 7-5 overall and 5-3 in the MAC. The Bulls won the league last season with a 5-3 record. Lindy’s national champion is Florida. Rounding out the top 10 are Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Virginia Tech, LSU, Alabama, Ohio State, Ole Miss and Oklahoma State.
---Rodney McKissic
The New York Times' Quad Blog Countdown of the nation's 120 college football team is up to No. 78 with UB.
The Quad predicts the Bulls to finish second behind Temple (we've heard that before) in the East Division. Last year UB was picked 88th in the country by the Quad during the preseason.
---Rodney McKissic
Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris aren’t the only former Niagara Falls High players receiving workouts in the NBA.
Greg Gamble, a four-year starter at UB, will workout with the Toronto Raptors tomorrow, according to both Bulls coach Reggie Witherspoon and Falls assistant Sal Constantino. Harris is working out with the Dallas Mavericks today while Flynn will work out for the Washington Wizards on Tuesday and the Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks later this week.
---Rodney McKissic
It’s June so it must be time for the college football preview magazines to start hitting the ranks. It also means it’s time to start examining what they are saying about UB, the defending MAC champions. Up until a couple of years ago, what the magazines had to say about the Bulls was predictable: Last place in the MAC Division, bottom 10 in the nation. My, has Turner Gill changed things.
So first up is Athlon’s, which picks UB first in the MAC East, where I would imagine most of these magazines will. Here’s how Athlon’s sees the MAC:
East Division
1. UB
2. Ohio
3. Akron
4. Bowling Green
5. Temple
6. Kent State
7. Miami
West Division
1. Central Michigan
2. Western Michigan
3. Northern Illinois
4. Toledo
5. Ball State
6. Eastern Michigan
I don’t know about Ohio being the second best team in the East behind UB over Akron and Bowling Green. Temple fans feel this is the Owls years but we’ve been hearing that the last two seasons. It’s time for them to prove it on the field. Central Michigan and Western Michigan are arguably the top two teams in the league and the Bulls have to play them both.
Athlon’s All-MAC first team includes James Starks and Davonte Shannon, while the second team has Naaman Roosevelt, Jordan Jerrold and Justin Winters. In its unit ranking, Atlon’s judges UB this way, on a scale of 1-10 with one being the best:
QB: 9
RB: 1
WR/TE: 2
OL: 7
DL: 6
LB: 2
DB: 2
I’m sure UB fans will find cause to debate with the rankings, especially at quarterback, but the Bulls are breaking in a new starter. They are replacing a four-year start so there has to be a drop off. The magazine also lists UB No. 91 out of the 120 teams in the nation. Here’s how the opponents on the Bulls schedule stack up:
Texas-El Paso – 82
Pitt – 41
Central Florida – 95
Temple – 110
Central Michigan – 69
Gardner-Webb – n/a
Akron – 96
Western Michigan – 83
Bowling Green – 99
Ohio – 93
Miami (Ohio) – 115
Kent State – 111
So, based on the rankings, the Bulls are predicted to finish 8-4 overall and 6-2 in the MAC. The Bulls won the league last season with a 5-3 record.
Athlon’s national champion is Florida with a top ten Oklahoma, Texas, USC Ohio State, Alabama, Penn State, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State and Ole Miss.
---Rodney McKissic
Years ago many hoop fans from Western New York were convinced that Jonny Flynn and Paul Harris were a package deal for Syracuse University but as the NBA Draft approaches, the former Niagara Falls High School stars are taking different paths to the pros.
Flynn is working out for the Golden State Warriors today, worked out with the New York Knicks on Wednesday and is scheduled for Sacramento on Friday. While Flynn is taking on all comers during his workouts prospects like Arizona State shooting guard James Harden are taking another approach. Harden, for example, won’t workout against Memphis Tyreke Evans because he is currently ranked higher than Evans on most mock drafts and has nothing to gain.
“I ain’t ducking nobody,’’ Flynn told his longtime mentor, Sal Constantino, a few nights ago. “I’m going to every workout they want me to go to and whoever is there, is there.’’
Flynn has been very impressive during his workouts and has elevated from a late first-round pick into a possible position in the top five. After he announced he was leaving Syracuse, Flynn was rated behind Brandon Jennings, who played overseas last year but now he ranks ahead. With Ricky Rubio having difficulties getting out of his contract with his Spanish league team DKV, Flynn could be the top point guard taken.
Harris, who left Syracuse after his junior season, competed recently as part of a group workout with the Minnesota Timberwolves and is scheduled for another with the New Jersey Nets next week. Harris was scheduled to workout for the Toronto Raptors but had problems with his passport. The Timberwolves have shown the most interest and have second round picks at 45 and 47.
“Paul seems to have that eye back,’’ Constantino said. “Jonny told me the other day, ‘Sal, Paul’s got that confidence back when he played back in high school.’ I remember when he was in high school he got calls from the Celtics and the Spurs. He could have gotten picked, probably in the second round, out of high school.’’
Like Flynn, Harris worked out in Chicago under trainer Tim Grover. The reviews on Harris were generally positive, especially after a workout against Andre Iguodala of the Philadelphia 76ers
“He killed Iguodala,’’ Constantino said. “That was the talk of the camp. He gave Iguodala a workout.’’
Harris does have the intangibles NBA GMs are seeking like his impressive physique.
“You wouldn’t call him a shooter, but he’s going to guard the heck out of the ball,’’ Constantino said. “He’s going to have a chance to play some place.’’
---Rodney McKissic
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