---Devils Illustrated.com sat down with former Nichols School and Duke All-American Christian Laettner, pictured right. Some reader will be surprised at which school was Laettner's second choice out of high school.
---UB coach Reggie Witherspoon helped lead the U-18 team to the gold medal with a victory over Brazil. Witherspoon served as an assistant.
---Niagara has hired new assistant coaches in both the men's and women's programs who are familar faces and in case you missed it, here's a complete list of the Purple Eagles incoming recruits.
---Former Niagara Falls and Syracuse swingman Paul Harris will play with the Utah Jazz during the summer league. The roster is listed here.
---Here's a list of the worst hires in college football in the last decade. Yes, the list includes former Syracuse coach Greg Robinson. But if you want to discuss the topic of worst firings, Paul Pasqualoni would be near the top of the list.
---The NCAA has ruled that Ball State tight end Madaris Grant's career will not be extended by a year to compensate for his season-ending knee injury suffered early in the Cardinals' 2009 football season-opener.
---Rodney McKissic
(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)
The U-18 National Team's games in the 2010 FIBA Americas Championship, which begin this weekend, will be live online at www.fibaamericas.com. UB coach Reggie Witherspoon is an assistant.
FIBA Americas announced that it will stream live all
20 games in the June 26-30 tournament that will be played at Bill Greehey
Arena on the campus of St. Mary's University. Each day¹s games will tip-off
at 2 p.m. EST. FIBA Americas will
also make available the play-by-play statistics for each game live online at www.fibaamericas.com.
---Rodney McKissic
(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)
UB coach Reggie Witherspoon has been selected to serve as an assistant coach for the
2010 USA men's U-18 National Team at the FIBA Americas U18 Championship.
The coaching staff was selected by the USA
Basketball Men's Junior National Team Committee and approved by the USA
Basketball Board of Directors.
Witherspoon will work alongside head coach Jeff Capel of Oklahoma and tassistant Paul Hewitt of Georgia Tech.
Here is the UB press release.
---Rodney McKissic
(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)
August 25, 2009 - 7:24 PM
While Brandon Thermilus will assume the starting role at tailback for UB following the season-ending injury to James Starks, Thermilus' brother, freshman A.J. Highsmith, looks to become the backup QB at Miami (Fla.) after the departures of Taylor Cook and Cannon Smith from the program. A.J. and Thermilus' father is Alonzo Highsmith, the former NFL running back and a member of the Hurricanes' 1983 national championship team that beat Turner Gill and Nebraska in the Orange Bowl for the title.
---Rodney McKissic
(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)
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
(www.twitter.com/rodneyjmckissic)
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
(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)
