Putnam City High School’s Xavier Henry is one of the top basketball recruits in the country, and it appears he will be looking for a college.
Henry signed with Memphis in November, but according to multiple media reports, he will reopen his recruitment now that coach John Calipari has left the school to become the new head coach at Kentucky.
Henry is a 6-foot-6 guard who averaged 28.3 points per game and led his team to the Class 6A state championship this season. He’s a McDonald’s All-American and is widely regarded as one of the top 10 recruits in the country.
According to several reports, Henry said that he and Memphis had an agreement: If Calipari left, Henry would not be bound by his letter of intent with the school.
In an interview today with draftexpress.com and posted on YouTube, Henry said he wasn’t sure what Calipari would decide to do. But “if he goes (to Kentucky), me and my family have some talking to do.”
It’s possible that Kansas could be a frontrunner in the new recruiting race for Henry. During his recruiting process, Henry had Kansas high on his list.
Henry’s father, Carl, played at KU in the early 1980s. Xavier Henry’s brother, C.J., was a Kansas recruit before pursuing a professional baseball career. C.J. Henry has since returned to basketball, where he redshirted for Memphis this season.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Report: UConn Violated Recruiting Contact Rules
University of Connecticut men’s basketball coaches broke N.C.A.A. contact rules in the recruiting of Nate Miles, a former player, according to a report by Yahoo Sports on Wednesday. The article drew on cellphone records to detail contact among Miles, UConn coaches and a former student manager.
Yahoo cited multiple sources in establishing a relationship between Miles and Josh Nochimson, who became an agent after his years as a UConn student manager. By N.C.A.A. rules, Yahoo reported, Nochimson would be a representative of the college’s athletic interests. Therefore, providing Miles with lodging, transportation and meals, which the report alleges, would be a serious violation.
UConn officials declined to comment for the Yahoo article.
The controversy surrounds Miles, a 6-foot-7 swingman from Toledo, Ohio, who signed with UConn in 2007 and was expelled as a freshman in 2008 when he violated a restraining order obtained against him by a female student. (Miles played this season at the College of Southern Idaho, a junior college.)
N.C.A.A. rules limit contact to one phone call a month to recruits (or their family or associates) still in their junior year of high school, but Yahoo reported a stream of communications with Nochimson and significant phone calls and texts to Miles himself. Tom Moore, a former UConn assistant coach, was reported to have made 27 calls to Miles’s guardian and a man Miles called his uncle as well as three calls to Miles in December 2006 alone.
The Yahoo article, by Adrian Wojnarowski and Dan Wetzel, includes cellphone records obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Lance Armstrong in hospital after race crash
It will be interesting to see what this does for his comeback. I am sure Armstrong should be fine after his fall.
(CNN) -- American cyclist Lance Armstrong, the only man to win the Tour de France seven times, crashed on the first stage of a five-day race in Spain on Monday and was taken to a hospital by ambulance.
American Armstrong was competing in Spain to regain full race fitness after coming out of retirement.
Armstrong announced in September last year that he would be returning to the saddle after a three-year break.
The 37-year-old won the Tour, considered the premiere bike race in the world, a record seven times from 1999-2005.
Armstrong launched his comeback in January when he raced in the Tour Down Under in Australia, finishing 29th.
He then played a key supporting role as Astana teammate Levi Leipheimer won the Tour of California title in February.
He was riding in this week's Castilla and Leon race to conti
(CNN) -- American cyclist Lance Armstrong, the only man to win the Tour de France seven times, crashed on the first stage of a five-day race in Spain on Monday and was taken to a hospital by ambulance.
American Armstrong was competing in Spain to regain full race fitness after coming out of retirement.
Armstrong announced in September last year that he would be returning to the saddle after a three-year break.
The 37-year-old won the Tour, considered the premiere bike race in the world, a record seven times from 1999-2005.
Armstrong launched his comeback in January when he raced in the Tour Down Under in Australia, finishing 29th.
He then played a key supporting role as Astana teammate Levi Leipheimer won the Tour of California title in February.
He was riding in this week's Castilla and Leon race to conti
Top 3 seeds in each NCAA bracket all advance - Sweet 16 Bracket
Well my favorite teams are out of the tourney, but my bracket at least is mostly in tact. The #1 seeds haven't had much trouble lately disposing of teams with ease, except for a little scare from Texas.
The top three seeds in each bracket in the NCAA have all advanced to the Sweet 16. And the Sweet 16 includes five Big East schools. The Sweet 16 lineup looks like this: In the East, top-seed Pittsburgh plays fourth-seed Xavier and second-seed Duke is against three-seed Villanova. In the South, top-seed North Carolina takes on fourth-seed Gonzaga and second-seed Oklahoma plays three-seed Syracuse. In the West, it's top-seed Connecticut against fifth-seed Purdue and second-seed Memphis against third-seed Missouri. In the Midwest, top-seed Louisville plays 12th-seed Arizona and second-seed Michigan State is against third-seed Kansas.
Tiny Siena was leading top-seed Louisville by six with seven minutes left in that David vs. Goliath Midwest Regional second-round game. Then Louisville forward Terrence Williams took over and wouldn't let the Cardinals lose. Williams finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds as the top-seeded Cardinals reached the Round of 16 for the second straight year with a 79-72 win over Siena. The senior forward had nine points, five rebounds, a steal and two passes for layups down the stretch.
The top-seeded Pitt Panthers had another close call before pulling out an 84-78 triumph over Oklahoma State to reach the East Regional semifinal. Sam Young poured in 32 points and had seven rebounds for the Panthers, who were tied at 74 with 2:42 left before closing on a 10-2 run.
Pittsburgh next faces Xavier, which put together a 13-4 run late in the second half to beat Wisconsin 60-49. B.J. Raymond scored 15 points and the Musketeers held the Badgers to 29 percent shooting, including 3-for-20 from three-point range.
Syracuse reached the round of 16 with a 78-67 win over Arizona State in the South Regional. Eric Devendorf scored 21 points and Andy Rautins added 17 to lead the Orange. Devendorf drained a pair of three-pointers after the Sun Devils trimmed a 15-point, second-half deficit to 61-57. Syracuse plays Oklahoma next.
Kansas is four wins from its second straight NCAA championship following a 60-43 win against Dayton at Minneapolis to reach the Midwest Regional semifinals. Cole Aldrich posted the sixth triple-double in tourney history, finishing with 13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocks. Sherron Collins had 25 points.
Michigan State's Travis Walton, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, scored a career-high 18 points to lift the second-seeded Spartans to a 74-69 victory over 10th-seeded Southern California. That puts Tom Izzo's club in the round of 16 for the eighth time in 12 years.
No. 12 Arizona is the lone double-digit seed left standing after the Wildcats knocked out No. 13 Cleveland State 71-57 in the Midwest Regionals at Miami. Arizona had four players with at least 15 points, led by Nic Wise's 21. Jordan Hill added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats, who entered the tournament with just one victory in their previous six games.
Missouri freshman Kim English came off the bench with 5.5 seconds left and made two free throws for the hurting J.T. Tiller to lift the Tigers to an 83-79 victory over Marquette in the West Regional. English, who scored 15 of his 17 points during an amazing four and a half minute stretch in the first half.
The top three seeds in each bracket in the NCAA have all advanced to the Sweet 16. And the Sweet 16 includes five Big East schools. The Sweet 16 lineup looks like this: In the East, top-seed Pittsburgh plays fourth-seed Xavier and second-seed Duke is against three-seed Villanova. In the South, top-seed North Carolina takes on fourth-seed Gonzaga and second-seed Oklahoma plays three-seed Syracuse. In the West, it's top-seed Connecticut against fifth-seed Purdue and second-seed Memphis against third-seed Missouri. In the Midwest, top-seed Louisville plays 12th-seed Arizona and second-seed Michigan State is against third-seed Kansas.
Tiny Siena was leading top-seed Louisville by six with seven minutes left in that David vs. Goliath Midwest Regional second-round game. Then Louisville forward Terrence Williams took over and wouldn't let the Cardinals lose. Williams finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds as the top-seeded Cardinals reached the Round of 16 for the second straight year with a 79-72 win over Siena. The senior forward had nine points, five rebounds, a steal and two passes for layups down the stretch.
The top-seeded Pitt Panthers had another close call before pulling out an 84-78 triumph over Oklahoma State to reach the East Regional semifinal. Sam Young poured in 32 points and had seven rebounds for the Panthers, who were tied at 74 with 2:42 left before closing on a 10-2 run.
Pittsburgh next faces Xavier, which put together a 13-4 run late in the second half to beat Wisconsin 60-49. B.J. Raymond scored 15 points and the Musketeers held the Badgers to 29 percent shooting, including 3-for-20 from three-point range.
Syracuse reached the round of 16 with a 78-67 win over Arizona State in the South Regional. Eric Devendorf scored 21 points and Andy Rautins added 17 to lead the Orange. Devendorf drained a pair of three-pointers after the Sun Devils trimmed a 15-point, second-half deficit to 61-57. Syracuse plays Oklahoma next.
Kansas is four wins from its second straight NCAA championship following a 60-43 win against Dayton at Minneapolis to reach the Midwest Regional semifinals. Cole Aldrich posted the sixth triple-double in tourney history, finishing with 13 points, 20 rebounds and 10 blocks. Sherron Collins had 25 points.
Michigan State's Travis Walton, the Big Ten defensive player of the year, scored a career-high 18 points to lift the second-seeded Spartans to a 74-69 victory over 10th-seeded Southern California. That puts Tom Izzo's club in the round of 16 for the eighth time in 12 years.
No. 12 Arizona is the lone double-digit seed left standing after the Wildcats knocked out No. 13 Cleveland State 71-57 in the Midwest Regionals at Miami. Arizona had four players with at least 15 points, led by Nic Wise's 21. Jordan Hill added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Wildcats, who entered the tournament with just one victory in their previous six games.
Missouri freshman Kim English came off the bench with 5.5 seconds left and made two free throws for the hurting J.T. Tiller to lift the Tigers to an 83-79 victory over Marquette in the West Regional. English, who scored 15 of his 17 points during an amazing four and a half minute stretch in the first half.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Missing NFL players boat is found, Man clinging to it
Corey Smith, left, and Marquis Cooper are two of the men missing, officials said.
BREAKING UPDATE:
The Coast Guard has found an overturned boat with one person clinging to it. It's unknown if it's the vessel of four missing boaters.
The Coast Guard vessel, Tornado, was traveling from Mississippi on a training exercise, but joined in the search. Coast Guard officials said another boat has left to aid in the search. Officials said if medical attention is needed, a helicopter will be sent out.
PINELLAS COUNTY (CNN) --The search for the four boaters missing in the Gulf of Mexico since Saturday night has expanded.
Two NFL players are among four boaters missing off Clearwater.
Coast Guard officials said Monday that three planes are searching the area and the Nantucket, a Coast Guard vessel from south Florida, has traveled to the Gulf and is now aiding in the search.
Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and NFL free agent Corey Smith, who played for the Detroit Lions for the past three seasons, are still missing from the trip, family members and colleagues said Sunday.
Cooper and Smith both formerly played for the Buccaneers. Cooper was with the Bucs in 2004 and 2005 and Smith played for the team from 2002 to 2004.
The Coast Guard began searching around 2 a.m. after it learned that four men -- Cooper, Smith, and former University of South Florida football players William Bleakley and Nick Schuyler -- had not returned from their fishing trip Saturday evening as expected.
Rough weather has hampered the effort, but "it's still a very active search," Coast Guard Capt. Tim Close told reporters Sunday afternoon.
Poor visibility from heavy waves forced the search-and-rescue effort to be conducted primarily by air, though authorities deployed patrol boats as well, Close said.
Searchers have expanded their search to 1,600 square miles although they have focused on 750 square miles of open water in the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles west of Clearwater Pass.
From there, the men had left the Seminole Boat Ramp in a 21-foot single-engine boat about 6:30 a.m. Saturday, the Coast Guard said.
Rebekah Cooper said she became worried Saturday night when she didn't hear from her husband. She called her one of her husband's fishing buddies, Brian Miller, who contacted the Coast Guard with the coordinates of where the men planned to fish.
"Usually I'm on the boat. It's a little difficult wondering if something would have been different if I had been there," Miller said. "Or who knows? They may be just sitting out there with a broken motor -- and that's what we're hoping for."He said it was clear something was wrong when Cooper didn't call Saturday night.
William Bleakley, from Crytal River, played football at USF.
"He should've been within range to use his cell phone, and he knows enough to shut it off when he goes out so the batteries are still there," he said.
Close said weather conditions were relatively good Saturday, "but the weather picked up overnight."
"It's a small vessel for the conditions that are out there right now," Close said Sunday afternoon.
Rebekah Cooper said her husband was aware of Sunday's weather forecast and for that reason picked Saturday for the trip.
"Fishing is his first love, it always has been," she said, adding, "I have a lot of faith in him out there."
Cooper's father said he learned of the situation Sunday morning from his daughter-in-law. His son "routinely stays out on the water 12-14 hours," Bruce Cooper, a sports anchor in Phoenix, Arizona, said in a statement.
Close said authorities had not received a distress signal from the boaters. Close said Cooper owns the boat.
Bruce Cooper called his son an "avid fisherman."
"He goes deep sea fishing any opportunity he gets," Cooper said in the statement. "Two years ago I went deep sea fishing with him. I swore I would never do so again; I didn't like the fact that I couldn't see land. Needless to say I am very concerned. I am praying and hoping for the best."
The boat, a center-console vessel manufactured by Everglades Boats, is billed as "unsinkable," Close said.
The Detroit Lions released a statement acknowledging that Smith was among the missing men, adding, "Our thoughts and prayers are with all the passengers, their families and all those involved in the search efforts."
Schuyler's father, Stu, told reporters that the four men knew each other from working out at a gym, and that his son had accompanied Cooper and Smith on a fishing trip last week that lasted 15 hours.
Bleakley lettered from 2004 to 2006 as a tight end for USF, according to a spokesman for the university's athletics department. Schuyler was a walk-on defensive end for USF in 2006, but he never played in a game, the spokesman said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Will and Nick, as well as the Florida Coast Guard as they continue their search," USF Athletic Director Doug Woolard said in a statement Sunday.
The Coast Guard asked anyone with information on the boaters to contact its St. Petersburg, office at 727-824-7506.
BREAKING UPDATE:
The Coast Guard has found an overturned boat with one person clinging to it. It's unknown if it's the vessel of four missing boaters.
The Coast Guard vessel, Tornado, was traveling from Mississippi on a training exercise, but joined in the search. Coast Guard officials said another boat has left to aid in the search. Officials said if medical attention is needed, a helicopter will be sent out.
PINELLAS COUNTY (CNN) --The search for the four boaters missing in the Gulf of Mexico since Saturday night has expanded.
Two NFL players are among four boaters missing off Clearwater.
Coast Guard officials said Monday that three planes are searching the area and the Nantucket, a Coast Guard vessel from south Florida, has traveled to the Gulf and is now aiding in the search.
Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and NFL free agent Corey Smith, who played for the Detroit Lions for the past three seasons, are still missing from the trip, family members and colleagues said Sunday.
Cooper and Smith both formerly played for the Buccaneers. Cooper was with the Bucs in 2004 and 2005 and Smith played for the team from 2002 to 2004.
The Coast Guard began searching around 2 a.m. after it learned that four men -- Cooper, Smith, and former University of South Florida football players William Bleakley and Nick Schuyler -- had not returned from their fishing trip Saturday evening as expected.
Rough weather has hampered the effort, but "it's still a very active search," Coast Guard Capt. Tim Close told reporters Sunday afternoon.
Poor visibility from heavy waves forced the search-and-rescue effort to be conducted primarily by air, though authorities deployed patrol boats as well, Close said.
Searchers have expanded their search to 1,600 square miles although they have focused on 750 square miles of open water in the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles west of Clearwater Pass.
From there, the men had left the Seminole Boat Ramp in a 21-foot single-engine boat about 6:30 a.m. Saturday, the Coast Guard said.
Rebekah Cooper said she became worried Saturday night when she didn't hear from her husband. She called her one of her husband's fishing buddies, Brian Miller, who contacted the Coast Guard with the coordinates of where the men planned to fish.
"Usually I'm on the boat. It's a little difficult wondering if something would have been different if I had been there," Miller said. "Or who knows? They may be just sitting out there with a broken motor -- and that's what we're hoping for."He said it was clear something was wrong when Cooper didn't call Saturday night.
William Bleakley, from Crytal River, played football at USF.
"He should've been within range to use his cell phone, and he knows enough to shut it off when he goes out so the batteries are still there," he said.
Close said weather conditions were relatively good Saturday, "but the weather picked up overnight."
"It's a small vessel for the conditions that are out there right now," Close said Sunday afternoon.
Rebekah Cooper said her husband was aware of Sunday's weather forecast and for that reason picked Saturday for the trip.
"Fishing is his first love, it always has been," she said, adding, "I have a lot of faith in him out there."
Cooper's father said he learned of the situation Sunday morning from his daughter-in-law. His son "routinely stays out on the water 12-14 hours," Bruce Cooper, a sports anchor in Phoenix, Arizona, said in a statement.
Close said authorities had not received a distress signal from the boaters. Close said Cooper owns the boat.
Bruce Cooper called his son an "avid fisherman."
"He goes deep sea fishing any opportunity he gets," Cooper said in the statement. "Two years ago I went deep sea fishing with him. I swore I would never do so again; I didn't like the fact that I couldn't see land. Needless to say I am very concerned. I am praying and hoping for the best."
The boat, a center-console vessel manufactured by Everglades Boats, is billed as "unsinkable," Close said.
The Detroit Lions released a statement acknowledging that Smith was among the missing men, adding, "Our thoughts and prayers are with all the passengers, their families and all those involved in the search efforts."
Schuyler's father, Stu, told reporters that the four men knew each other from working out at a gym, and that his son had accompanied Cooper and Smith on a fishing trip last week that lasted 15 hours.
Bleakley lettered from 2004 to 2006 as a tight end for USF, according to a spokesman for the university's athletics department. Schuyler was a walk-on defensive end for USF in 2006, but he never played in a game, the spokesman said.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Will and Nick, as well as the Florida Coast Guard as they continue their search," USF Athletic Director Doug Woolard said in a statement Sunday.
The Coast Guard asked anyone with information on the boaters to contact its St. Petersburg, office at 727-824-7506.
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