Thursday, June 26, 2008, 6:48 AM
[
General]
I'm headed to the NBA Draft in NYC today and it should be interesting to see what kind of moves are made in terms of trades. Despite all the hoopla about Pat Riley leaning towards taking O.J. Mayo with the Heat's No. 2 overall pick, I expect him to either move the pick or take Michael Beasley.
Then look for Minnesota to choose between Mayo and Kevin Love with the third pick. Young Seattle general manager Sam Presti will have his most difficult decision since taking over when he has to choose whether to go big with Brook Lopez - or take one of the guards (Jerryd Bayless, Russell Westbrook and Eric Gordon).
My personal opinion is that it's a no-brainer to take Bayless. He's smart enough to become more of a pure point guard, he's basically just as athletic as Westbrook and can shoot it much better.
GROCE WILL TAKE OVER AT OHIO U
Ohio State assistant John Groce is expected to accept the offer to replace Tim O'Shea at Ohio University.
Groce was offered the job yesterday and sources told FOXSports.com that he intends to accept this morning.
AROUND THE ACC
- Boston College lost two players - Shamari Spears (Charlotte) and
Daye Kaba (Marist). The Eagles will play in the Preseason NIT and also have
non-conference games against Providence (12-20) and Iowa (12-22) in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
- Clemson assistant Shaka Smart left to join Florida's staff and director of basketball ops Josh Posterino
was promoted. The Tigers will play in the Palmetto Classic in mid-November and
also have non-conference games against Illinois (12/2) in the ACC-Big Ten, home against Alabama (1/6) and at South Carolina (12/30).
- Former Duke associate head coach Johnny Dawkins got the head job at Stanford
and took director of basketball ops Mike Schrage with him. Mike Krzyzewski
promoted Nate James to an assistant coach and Chris Spatola to the DBO. Duke
will play in the Coaches vs. Cancer and has a strong non-conference schedule
with road games against Purdue (12/2), Michigan (12/6) and St. John's (2/18), home games against Rhode Island (11/16), Davidson (1/7), Georgetown (1/17) and also a neutral site contest against Xavier
on Dec. 20 at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. Duke also lost Taylor King, who transferred to
Villanova.
- Florida State lost Julian Vaughn (Georgetown). The Seminoles will play in an eight-team tournament
in Las Vegas in late-November. They will face Coastal Carolina and
Western Illinois at home before playing Cincinnati and either UNLV or Cal in Vegas. Non-Conference games include Northwestern
(12/3) in the ACC-Big Ten, Florida (12/7), Pittsburgh (12/7) and Western
Kentucky in the Orange Bowl on 12/28.
- Georgia Tech will play non-conference games at home against Vanderbilt and
Georgia and will go on the road to USC.
- Maryland will play in the Old Spice Classic on Thanksgiving
weekend down in Orlando. The top teams in the event are Michigan State, Gonzaga, Georgetown, Tennessee and Oklahoma State.
- Miami will play in the Paradise Jam and open up with
Southern Miss on Nov. 21. Other top teams in the event include UConn, Wisconsin and San Diego. The Hurricanes will play Ohio State at home in the ACC/Big Ten on Dec. 2 and will face Kentucky (12/6) on the road. They also added Villanova guard
Malcolm Grant via transfer.
- North Carolina forward Alex Stepheson has left and will transfer
somewhere close to his California home. The Tar Heels will play in the Maui
Invitational and have non-conference games at home against Kentucky and against Michigan State (12/3) in Detroit in the ACC-Big Ten.
- N.C. State will take a Labor Day trip to Canada. The Wolfpack will also play at Florida and against Davidson in the Bobcats Arena on Dec. 6.
- Virginia will head to Montreal for Labor Day and also has a handful of intriguing
non-conference games. The Cavaliers play South Florida (11/19), Auburn (12/20) and Xavier (1/3) at home and Syracuse (11/28), Minnesota (12/2) on the road.
- Virginia Tech will play in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, which also has Memphis, Xavier, and USC in the field. The Hokies also have a
home game against Wisconsin on Dec. 1
- Wake Forest will play in the Anaheim Classic from Nov. 27-30. The
other top teams in the event are Arizona State, Baylor, Providence and St. Mary's. The Demon Deacons will play Indiana at home and also travel to BYU on Jan. 3.
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