2010 adidas Nations Roster Announced
Chicago to Host Global Basketball Experience for Top High School Players with Live Television Broadcast on CBS College Sports Network
adidas announced the roster for the fourth annual adidas Nations global experience, the premier international grassroots basketball program. adidas Nations will take place at the Attack Athletics Center in Chicago August 5-8, with the championship and third place games held at UIC Pavilion on Monday, August 9 at 6:00 p.m. CDT and broadcast live for the first time on CBS College Sports Network.
The world’s elite 18-and-under players from six international teams including Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, US 2010 and US 2011, will train and compete in the prestigious annual program. Current NBA players, highly esteemed NBA veterans and collegiate players join the global program as head coaches, mentors and camp counselors.
NBA players Corey Brewer (Minnesota Timberwolves), Jrue Holiday (Philadelphia 76ers), Toney Douglas (New York Knicks), Robin Lopez (Phoenix Suns), Anthony Randolph (New York Knicks) and Serge Ibake (Oklahoma City Thunder) will counsel and mentor players throughout the weekend. Former players and head coaches Eddie Johnson, Detlef Schrempf, Tony Brown, Frank Johnson and Eric Musselman will act as regional head coaches. Read more
Chicago State University Announces Tracy Dildy as Head Men’s Basketball Coach
Chicago State University (CSU) Athletics Director Sudie Davis announces the hiring of Chicago native Tracy Dildy as the new head coach of the University’s men’s basketball team.
Dildy becomes the 12th head coach in the program’s 35-year history and brings a wealth of experience at the NCAA Division I level as a top recruiter and respected assistant coach.
“This is a bittersweet moment in my life to leave my Alma Mater, the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), where I developed my coaching career,” said Dildy. “It’s also a sweet moment to begin my head coaching career at CSU where President Watson is leading the charge towards a new and revitalized University. I’m also excited to work with Davis in helping shape the Athletics Department into a competitive program.”
Dildy, a 20-year veteran in the collegiate game, comes to CSU after spending the past three seasons as the associate head coach and recruiting coordinator for the men’s basketball program at UIC. Davis believes Dildy “brings a much-needed recruiting legacy to CSU.” Over the years, he has been responsible for the successful recruitment of future NBA players to his collegiate programs, including Eddy Curry, Quentin Richardson, Steven Hunter, Bobby Simmons, Paul McPherson, Bonzi Wells, and Sherrell Ford.
“Tracy is not only a great coach, but he is also very dedicated to the academic success of his student-athletes,” said Davis. “This commitment is one of the primary reasons why he was our top pick for the job. He has the ability to lead our players to victory both on and off the court.” Read more
Washington Wizard’s player Gilbert Arenas sentenced in illegal gun possession case
Gilbert Arenas, a 28-year-old member of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, was sentenced today in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to an 18-month suspended prison term and placed on two years of probation for a felony charge of Carrying a Pistol Without a License, announced U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief Cathy L. Lanier.
Arenas received the sentence this afternoon before Judge Robert Morin, who also ordered that Arenas spend 30 days in a halfway house as a condition of his probation, complete 400 hours of community service, and pay a fine of $5,000. The sentence stems from Arenas’ decision to bring four handguns into the Verizon Center in December of 2009 as part of an ongoing dispute with fellow teammate Javaris Crittenton.
According to the information provided to the Court by the United States, the dispute between Arenas and Crittenton stemmed from an argument the teammates had on a plane two days earlier in December 2009. During the argument, Arenas and Crittenton threatened to shoot one another. Although Arenas maintains that the statements he made during this exchange were made in jest, Crittenton and other witnesses took the threats seriously. On December 21, Arenas arrived at the Verizon Center, carried four handguns into the locker room, placed the handguns on Crittenton’s chair, and left a note stating “Pick 1.” When Crittenton saw the handguns and the note, he responded to this perceived threat by pulling out his own handgun, surprising Arenas, and creating a tense situation in the locker room that caused other members of the Wizards organization to flee the locker room. Eventually, both Arenas and Crittenton put their weapons away.
In the hours and days following this confrontation, Arenas provided conflicting accounts regarding when, how and why he brought the handguns into the Wizards’ locker room. Further, he attempted to conceal the fact that he and Crittenton had a confrontation, and went so far as to suggest to Crittenton that Crittenton should deny possessing a handgun in the locker room during the confrontation.
Arenas, who has a prior misdemeanor conviction for violating handgun possession laws in the State of California, pled guilty in this case to a felony charge of Carrying a Pistol Without a License on January 15, 2010.
“The citizens of the District of Columbia and this United States Attorney’s Office have made it clear that illegal possession of handguns in our city is not acceptable,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “Put simply, carrying weapons unlawfully in the District of Columbia will not be tolerated and will have consequences. Mr. Arenas is now a convicted felon, which should serve as a reminder that those who illegally possess firearms in the city, no matter who they are, will be held accountable.”
In announcing today’s sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen and MPD Chief Lanier praised the work of MPD Detectives Robbie Saunders, Timothy Smith, and Joseph Oh, Officer Jeff Janczyk, and Sergeant James Black of MPD’s Intelligence Branch. He also acknowledged the efforts of members of his own staff including Investigators Christopher Brophy and Larry Grasso, Paralegal Kalisha Johnson-Clark, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh, who is handling the investigation and prosecution of this matter.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year: Chiney Ogwumike
Pac-10 Player of the Year and 2007-08 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year Nneka Ogwumike Surprises Sister With Elite Honor
In its 25th year of honoring the nation’s best high school athletes, The Gatorade Company, in collaboration with ESPN RISE, announced Chiney Ogwumike of Cy-Fair High School (Cypress, Texas) as its 2009-10 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Ogwumike was surprised with the news during an assembly at Cy-Fair High School by her sister Nneka Ogwumike, who earned Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year honors in 2007-08.
Since the Gatorade Player of the Year program began 25 years ago, no siblings have ever won national honors. Chiney joins her sister Nneka, 2007-08 Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year, as the only sibling duo to ever win the national title in the history of the program for any sport.
The award, which recognizes not only outstanding athletic excellence, but also high standards of academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the court, distinguishes Ogwumike as the nation’s best high school girls basketball player. A national advisory panel comprised of sportswriters and sport-specific experts from around the country helped select Ogwumike from more than 444,000 high school girls basketball players nationwide. Ogwumike is now a finalist for the prestigious Gatorade Female High School Athlete of the Year award, to be presented at a special afternoon ceremony prior to The ESPY Awards in July.
The 6-foot-3 senior forward led the Bobcats (36-1) to a Top 15 national ranking and the Class 5A state tournament title this past season, averaging 22.9 points, 13.9 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.1 blocks per game. The No. 1 national recruit in the Class of 2010 as ranked by ESPNU and Blue Star Basketball, Ogwumike amassed 31 points and 18 rebounds in the 65-41 Class 5A state championship game victory over Fort Bend Hightower. Selected to play in both the McDonald’s High School All-American Game and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-America Game this spring, she is also the 2010 Naismith National High School Girls Basketball Player of the Year. A three-time returning All-State selection, Ogwumike averaged 21.4 points and 12.6 rebounds as a junior. A member of the 2008 USA Basketball Women’s U18 National Team Trials Roster, Ogwumike started for the Bobcats’ 2007-08 Class 5A state championship as a sophomore.
A standout volleyball player, Ogwumike has maintained an A average in the classroom, ranks No. 3 in her class and serves as student body president. A member of the National Honor Society, Spanish National Honor Society, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and the Superintendent Student Leadership Committee, she co-founded the “Step Up 2 A Reason” fundraising event to benefit local underprivileged families. Also the vice president of her school’s civil rights club, she has volunteered more than 200 community-service hours on behalf of her church.
“She’s got a difficult name to say but she’s got an easy game to love,” said Director of Blue Star Basketball Mike Flynn. “She is so athletic, so smooth. Her game is unassuming. She’s an aggressive, dominant rebounder at a time when those are few and far between from high school to college. She’s the platinum standard for the word student-athlete.”
Ogwumike has signed a National Letter of Intent to play basketball on scholarship at Stanford University this fall.
“Without question, Chiney is deserving of recognition as the nation’s best high school girls basketball player based on her statistics on the court and the impact her accomplishments have had on Cy-Fair’s success,” said Gatorade Senior Vice President of Sports Marketing Jennifer Storms. “But she is also a shining example to peers and aspiring young players of what a leader and a student-athlete should be. She represents everything we hope for in a Gatorade Player of the Year recipient.”
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by ESPN RISE and the Gatorade high school sports leadership team, which work with top sport-specific experts and a media advisory board of accomplished, veteran prep sports journalists to determine the state winners in each sport.
To celebrate the award’s 25th anniversary, Gatorade wants you to vote for the All-Time Greatest Girls Basketball Player of the Year at www.gatorade.com/POY25. To keep up to date on the latest happenings, become a fan of Gatorade Player of the Year on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. For more information on the Gatorade Player of the Year program, including nomination information, a complete list of former winners, and future announcement dates, visit http://playeroftheyear.gatorade.com/.
HDNet exclusive first round coverage of the 2010 College Basketball Invitational
HDNet will provide live, exclusive coverage of the 2010 College Basketball Invitational. HDNet’s coverage of the first round includes four exciting match-ups featuring the following NCAA teams. On Tuesday, March 16, the George Washington Colonials will host the Virginia Commonwealth Rams at 7:00 p.m. ET. Then, at 9:00 p.m. ET, the Indiana State Sycamores will take on the St. Louis University Billikens in St. Louis.
On Wednesday, March 17, the Princeton University Tigers are at home against the Duquesne Dukes at 7:00 p.m. ET. At 9:00 p.m. ET it’s the Colorado State Rams versus the Morehead State Eagles in Kentucky.
Second and third round teams and broadcast times are TBD.
On Tuesday, March 16, the George Washington Colonials host the Virginia Commonwealth Rams at 7:00 p.m. ET and at 9:00 p.m. ET, it’s Indiana State vs. St. Louis University.
On Wednesday, March 17 the Duquesne Dukes take on the Princeton Tigers at 7:00 p.m. ET and at 9:00 p.m. ET, the Colorado State Rams take on the Morehead State Eagles.
This live national telecast is available in high definition only on HDNet. Fans who wish to see these games live should contact their cable or satellite provider to sign up for HDNet. More information can be found at the following link: http://www.hd.net/watch_at_home.html