1. Oregon will be without sophomores Dominic Artis and Ben Carter when they open the season against Georgetown in South Korea on Friday and likely for quite a while longer after the pair were suspended indefinitely for selling team-issued apparel. Both Artis and Carter have already admitted their “transgressions” and issued apologies. They did not go into details, but based on online reports it appears that they may have sold basketball shoes specifically designed for the team. Since we do not know how much apparel they sold (and how much it was valued at) we have no idea how long they will be out for, but the Ducks will certainly miss them as Artis averaged 8.5 points and 3.2 assists last season while Carter averaged 2.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, but was expected to contribute much more this year with the departure of Arsalan Kazemi and Tony Woods.
2. As we mentioned in yesterday’s Morning Five, we are at the high point of preseason award season. Outside of our own All-American selections that were released yesterday, the USBWA also released its Oscar Robertson Trophy Preseason Watch List. The most intriguing part of the Robertson Watch List is the class breakdown with seven seniors in the group compared to zero juniors, four sophomores, and four freshmen. Once you look through the names it isn’t that surprising, but given the amount of hype around this year’s freshmen class it is useful to be reminded of the potential impact of the more experienced players still in college basketball.
3. After a period of time when we only considered it news when a five-star recruit didn’t commit to play for Kentucky, the Wildcats have struggled (for them) to land many of their targeted recruits. Yesterday, their luck appears to have turned as Trey Lyles committed to Kentucky. Lyles, a 6’9” power forward out of Indiana, will join a class that already includes Karl Towns, Devin Booker, and Tyler Ulis and according to some is the top class in the nation with two top-10 recruits although it is still early in the recruiting season. Even if the Wildcats do not hold onto their #1 recruiting class ranking we figure they should be in pretty good shape next year as their two top incoming recruits are both post players and it seems likely that at least a few of their backcourt players will return next year.
4. Speaking of Kentucky, Ken Pomeroy apparently had some time to kill with the gap between releasing his preseason computer rankings and the actual start of the season so he attempted to figure out how many Kentucky players would get drafted in the first round. The math behind Pomeroy’s analysis appears to be much less complex than his algorithm to come up with his rankings as he simply went back through DraftExpress’s archives and compared where a player was predicted to be drafted against where they actually were drafted. Essentially what Pomeroy comes up with is that the most likely scenario is that either four or five Kentucky players on this year’s roster get drafted in the first round of the 2014 or 2015 NBA Draft. If that is the case (and it doesn’t sound unreasonable) instead of the sometimes outlandish predictions we have seen, we would expect to see several highly touted Kentucky players return for next season too.
5. Yesterday, ESPN released its schedule for its college basketball announcing teams. Outside of being mildly disappointed that it didn’t include Jeff Goodman on there, the most interesting part of the press release was how they left Bill Raftery’s seat with Jay Bilas and Sean McDonugh unfilled and the addition of Shannon Spake to the Saturday primetime crew. Also, as Awful Announcing pointed out the team of Beth Mowins and Kara Lawson might be the first all-female team to cover a men’s sport for a major network. Overall given the amount of change that happened with conference realignment the assignments are remarkably similar to what we have seen in the past.

Seven Sweet Scoops is a weekly column by Sean Moran, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you seven notes from the high-stakes world of college basketball recruiting. We also encourage you to check out his contributions at The Intentional Foul, dedicated to recruiting coverage and analysis. You can also follow Sean at his Twitter account @Seanmohoops for up-to-date news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Note: Scout.com used for all player rankings.

1. Big Blue Madness

Big Blue Madness is Always a Sensory Extravaganza

Since the arrival of John Calipari at Kentucky, Big Blue Madness has been the event to visit as a recruit. Last year it was current Kentucky freshmen Andrew and Aaron Harrison, James Young, and Marcus Lee that showed up in Lexington and this year it will be a new batch of fresh faces. Attendees expected at Rupp Arena include some of the biggest names from the 2014, 2015, and 2016 classes, including one of UK’s 2014 commitments in point guard Tyler Ulis (#29 overall, #6 PG). Ulis and Big Blue Nation will do their best to impress senior small forward Stanley Johnson, power forward Trey Lyles, and shooting guard James Blackmon Jr. Johnson is the top small forward in the country; however he still has a ways to go with his decision. Right now the big fish for Kentucky are Lyles and Blackmon, both of whom committed to Indiana early in their high school careers and later de-committed after their junior years. Lyles is a 6’9” power forward who is ranked seventh in the country and is the most fundamentally sound post player in the senior class. Blackmon stands at 6’3” (#56 overall, #10 SG) and is one of the best long distance shooters in the class. Kentucky is thought to be the leader for both of the Indiana natives.

2. Stanley Johnson – Making the Rounds

As noted above, Stanley Johnson is taking his official visit to Kentucky for its Midnight Madness this Friday. Johnson is currently the top rated small forward in the country and No. 6 overall. The California native also took an official visit to Arizona last week for their Red-Blue game and watched former AAU teammate and soon to be freshman sensation Aaron Gordon win the team slam dunk contest. The other three schools still in contention for Johnson’s services are Oregon, Florida, and USC. While schools such as Arizona, Kentucky, and Florida are used to getting top 10 recruits, a commitment for the Trojans or Ducks would represent a landmark victory for either of those programs. Johnson is a bulldozer in the open court and considered one of the strongest perimeter players in high school. With his strength and improved ball-handling ability, he can get to the rim at will. Along with his skill set, he is also a winner. In 2012 he won a Nike AAU championship with the Oakland Soldiers and followed that up by leading Mater Dei to a California state championship. All five schools will take their best shot at landing Johnson over the next few months.

3. Myles Turner Off to See Columbus

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While Jayhawk fans celebrated Kelly Oubre’s commitment to Kansas on Tuesday, the announcement left Kentucky and its fans in a situation they are not accustomed to — one in which they are left wondering which recruits are still available. It also comes as the third consecutive major commitment — Andrew Wiggins and Emmanuel Mudiay were the other two — that Kentucky has missed out on, which is a highly unusual development in the Calipari era. Now this is not to say that the Big Blue Nation should go into panic mode and their first glimpses of Julius Randle and the Harrison twins next week will certainly help to alleviate any pending anxiety. Still, for the first time since John Calipari rolled into Lexington in 2009, Kentucky is now in danger of not having the top recruiting class in the country.

Calipari is All Smiles About This Year’s Group. What About Next Year? (AP)

Of course, Kentucky will be getting its share of incoming stars, but it probably will not be the type of ridiculous haul that Wildcat fans have enjoyed over the past four seasons. Calipari already has received commitments from 7’1″ Karl Towns, Jr., a top-10 recruit according to nearly every major recruiting service, and Tyler Ulis, a strong point guard prospect despite his 5’9″, 150-pound frame. The Wildcats are still in the running for eight more five-star recruits in the class of 2014 — big men Jahlil Okafor, Myles Turner and Trey Lyles, and perimeter prospects Tyus Jones, Stanley Johnson, Justise Winslow, Devin Booker and James Blackmon, Jr. — but a closer look suggests that their prospects of landing each are less promising than they might first appear.

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Seven Sweet Scoops  is the newest and hottest column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting analyst. He will discuss the seven top stories from the week in the wide world of recruiting, involving offers, which  prospect visited where, recent updates regarding school lists, and more chatter from the recruiting scene. You can also check out more of his work at RTC with his weekly column  “Who’s Got Next?”, as well as his work dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at  Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account  @CLykinsBlog  for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene.

 Note:  ESPN Recruiting  used for all player rankings.

1. Trey Lyles Cuts List to Six

Arsenal Technical High School (Indiana) five-star power forward Trey Lyles has narrowed his list of schools down to six. Lyles, the No. 5 overall ranked prospect from the class of 2014, is down to Butler, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Louisville and UCLA. “I’m just focused on those schools,” Lyles said in an interview with the Indianapolis Star. “I like the style they play, they have rich legacies, have good coaches and I feel like I could be comfortable at any of them.” The 6’9″ Lyles, a former Indiana commitment, recently took a visit to Lexington this past weekend for the Wildcats’ SEC clash against Auburn. He was also on the Kentucky campus for their Big Blue Madness festivities in October. He has also taken trips to in-state Butler and Louisville and will plan to take official visits to Duke, Florida and UCLA at the conclusion of his junior season. He is currently averaging 22 points, 17 rebounds and seven assists for Arsenal Tech this season.

Top five junior Trey Lyles is down to Butler, Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Louisville and UCLA

2. Andrew Wiggins Sets Unconfirmed Visits

The nation’s No. 1 overall ranked player Andrew Wiggins is beginning to make progress with his recruitment. The 6’8″ small forward out of Huntington Prep (West Virginia) has only visited one school — Florida State — on his list of candidates. However, that will soon change. Also considering Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina, Wiggins has now set tentative dates with each of those three schools. Kentucky will receive Wiggins’ second official visit on February 27 as the Wildcats will host Mississippi State. He was scheduled to be in attendance for Kentucky’s Big Blue Madness festivities in October but had to cancel. He will follow that up with a visit to the Kansas campus on March 4 for the Jayhawks’ final home game of the season against Texas Tech. To close it out, Wiggins will then travel to Chapel Hill on March 9 for the Tar Heels’ ACC showdown against Duke. North Carolina head coach Roy Williams has feverishly pursued Wiggins in the last few months and has really gained steam in this recruitment, however, Florida State and Kentucky are still considered the top two to land the potential No. 1 NBA draft pick in 2014. While those specific dates could change as they have yet to be confirmed, Wiggins timetable is seemingly geared towards the spring signing period which falls from April 17 to May 15. Read the rest of this entry »

Seven Sweet Scoops  is the newest and hottest column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting analyst. Every Friday he will discuss the seven top stories from the week in the wide world of recruiting, involving offers, which  prospect visited where, recent updates regarding school lists, and more chatter from the recruiting scene. You can also check out more of his work at RTC with his weekly column  “Who’s Got Next?”, as well as his work dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at  Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account  @CLykinsBlog  for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene.

 Note:  ESPN Recruiting  used for all player rankings.

1. Roy Williams Sees Andrew Wiggins For Third Time

If you’re a fan of North Carolina, you have to be extremely impressed with the amount of attention head coach Roy Williams is showing the No. 1 player in the class of 2013, Andrew Wiggins, as of late. On Thursday, Williams was in Huntington, West Virginia, to watch Wiggins for the third time this season. The recruiting efforts have essentially paid off for the Tar Heels for now, as Wiggins is expected to take a trip to Chapel Hill at the conclusion of his senior season at Huntington Prep (West Virginia). Including North Carolina, who has signed three top-100 prospects from the class of 2013 in Isaiah Hicks, Kennedy Meeks, and Nate Britt, the 6’8” small forward is also considering Florida State, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio State, and Syracuse. He has also already taken his first official visit to Florida State and has plans to also visit Kansas and Kentucky at season’s end.

North Carolina will receive an official visit in the spring from Andrew Wiggins

2. Junior Leron Black Backs Out of Baylor Commitment

For a number of underclassmen, the recruiting process can prove to be exciting for those that feel desired by a number of specific programs, thus leading to a quick and abrupt decision without carefully examining each and every option. Such was the case for Leron Black, the No. 11 overall ranked prospect in the class of 2014, who gave a verbal pledge to Baylor back in September after taking an unofficial visit to the school. On Wednesday, Black announced his intention to re-open his recruitment, citing that he made a rushed decision. John Martin of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal was the first to break the news. Shortly after backing out of his Baylor commitment, the 6’7” small forward out of White Station High School (Tennessee) had already heard from Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Louisville, Memphis, Missouri, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. Baylor will still remain in the mix; however, the odds will not be in their favor to re-establish a commitment. This time around, Black will be much more patient and disciplined prior to making his final decision, as he will be one of the most highly sought-after juniors in the class due to his great athleticism and ability to finish around the rim. Read the rest of this entry »

Who’s Got Next? is a weekly column by Chad Lykins, the RTC recruiting guru. Once a week he will bring you an overview of what’s going on in the complex world of recruiting, from who is signing where among the seniors to who the hot prospects are at the lower levels of the sport. We also encourage you to check out his contributions dedicated solely to Duke Basketball at Duke Hoop Blog. You can also follow Chad at his Twitter account @CLykinsBlog for up-to-date breaking news from the high school and college hoops scene. If you have any suggestions as to areas we are missing or different things you would like to see, please let us know at rushthecourt@yahoo.com.

Young and Lee Join Historic Kentucky Class

Young’s Addition Bolsters UK’s Already Star-Studded Class (US Presswire)

If your familiar with the phrase “the rich get richer”, that describes Kentucky basketball recruiting. After landing a pair of top-five prospects from the class of 2013, twin brothers Aaron and Andrew Harrison, the Kentucky Wildcats received verbal commitments from two more highly ranked 2013 prospects, in the form of James Young last Thursday and Marcus Lee on Wednesday afternoon. Young is a 6’6″ shooting guard out of Rochester High School (Michigan) and is the No. 5 ranked prospect in the ESPN 100. Lee, a 6’9″ power forward out of Deer Valley High School (California), is the No. 28 ranked recruit. Along with Kentucky, Young listed Kansas, Michigan State and Syracuse in his final four while Lee had just listed California as his only other possible destination. Young and Lee will now join the Harrison twins and unranked prospect Derek Willis as a part of Kentucky’s 2013 recruiting class.

“Kentucky has always been my dream school,” said Young, who revealed his choice by holding up a “Kentucky Bound” blue T-shirt. “I’m not just looking for the NBA. I’m looking for an education and a national championship and that’s about it.” Young emerged as a prime recruiting target for the Wildcats in the spring and had listed Kentucky as the team to beat for his services since the summer. Young has made two consecutive visits to Lexington, once for Kentucky’s alumni weekend and the other this past weekend for “Big Blue Madness.”

Kentucky will now possess the most lethal perimeter trio in all of college basketball for the 2013-14 season with the addition of Young to complement the Harrison twins. In the left-handed Young, the Wildcats are getting one of the best pure scoring guards in the country. An aggressive scorer who can stroke it from deep or utilize his mid-range game, Young is exceptional at scoring off the catch and has a plethora of moves to get to the rim. On the defensive end, he uses his athleticism and length well to disrupt the opposition. The one aspect of his game that needs the most work is his ball-handling. In transition, he can fill lanes but with improved ball security, he could be even more deadlier running the fast break and making plays for either himself or his teammates.

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1. The schedule for the Big Ten – ACC Challenge for next season has been announced. The annual showcase event features excellent match-ups including a game between two preseason Top 10 teams – NC State and Michigan – in Ann Arbor on November 27 on ESPN. Both of these teams have high expectations headed into next season and Michigan sophomore guard Trey Burke has been vocal about the Wolverine’s chances to potentially win the NCAA title. The 14th annual Challenge has been one of the best non-conference events between the two legendary powerhouse conferences and the Big Ten will be going for its fourth straight overall victory this time around. Other top match-ups include North Carolina at Indiana and Ohio State at Duke. Duke will be looking for payback against OSU after getting thumped in Columbus, 85-63, in last year’s game.
2. Speaking of television schedules, ESPN released its “Gameday” schedule for the 2012-13 season and it includes a stop in Bloomington on February 2, 2013. Michigan will visit Indiana on that Saturday as both of the teams should be in a tight race for the B1G conference title by early February. Indiana is the clear favorite to take the championship with several key returning starters — Cody Zeller, Christian Watford, Victor Oladipo — along with the highly rated freshman guard, Yogi Ferrell. Michigan also returns three key starters in Jordan Morgan, Tim Hardaway, Jr., and Trey Burke to go along with another top 20 recruiting class next season. The “Gameday” event should only boost the media attention that this game with receive in addition to being a potential Top 10 match-up midway through the season.
3. A few years ago, a highly rated recruit named Eric Gordon de-committed from Illinois and chose to go play at rival Indiana instead (sorry Illinois fans). Trey Lyles, a top 10 forward in the 2014 class from the state of Indiana had committed to the Hoosiers a couple of years ago, but he now has de-committed and is looking at other options. The 6’9″ forward has not ruled out Tom Crean’s Hoosiers as one of his destinations but wants to explore things further before making a final decision. Lyles has been ranked in the top 50 by CBSSports.com and will continue to get more attention by other programs due to his versatility on the floor. Crean has proven himself as an excellent recruiter dating back to his days at Marquette and this decision may just end up being minor hiccup if Indiana continues to surge and make the Final Four during the 2012-13 season. Crean was able to convince a top 20 class with Yogi Ferrell to come to Bloomington during their down years so the sky is the limit for recruiting once IU is back on the national stage with more postseason success.
4. More on the recruiting front, new Illinois head coach John Groce continues to receive good news from some of the top high school prospects. Kendrick Nunn, a top 75 recruit in the 2013 class has narrowed down his final five destinations and Illinois is one of them. Nunn is a 6’2″ shooting guard and his high school teammate, Jabari Parker, is arguably the best high school player in the class. Illinois will be adding former Drake wing Rayvonte Rice for the 2013-14 season and Nunn’s commitment should improve Groce’s efforts to bring Illinois back to the top-tier of the Big Ten after the last few disappointing seasons under Bruce Weber. Groce will have stiff competition from his former mentor, Thad Matta, as Ohio State is also on Nunn’s final list in addition to Marquette, Memphis and UCLA.
5. Shifting topics from potential newcomers in the B1G to recent alumni of the conference, former Purdue star Robbie Hummel will be playing in Europe in the near future. Hummel will sign with a Spanish club and will begin his professional career outside of the NBA. He was drafted #58 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves but chose to try Europe first. Hummel’s game fits very well in Europe which rewards forwards with shooting range and the ability to hit the boards as most of the European forwards seem to possess both skills. He shot 38% from beyond the arc last season but also averaged 7.2 RPG. Hoops fans should not be surprised to see Hummel come back from Europe after some professional experience to add value to an NBA franchise due to his high basketball IQ and well-known perserverance.

1. Years ago when things were still going well for Billy Gillispie at Kentucky, we took him and his supporters to task for the ridiculous and utterly embarrassing notion that offering scholarships to 8th graders was a good idea (Michael Avery, anyone?). Thankfully coaches are no longer allowed to sniff around the junior high schoolyards as much as they used to, but that doesn’t mean that young players still can’t make pie-in-the-sky commitments years before they can even drive. As Gary Parrish wrote Thursday, Indianapolis junior Trey Lyles‘ recent de-commitment from Tom Crean’s flagship state school exhibits exactly why it’s probably not a great idea to listen to what 13- or 14-year olds think they’re going to do four years from now. A top 10 player in the Class of 2014, Lyles no doubt wanted to see what other fish are in the sea, and who can blame him? There’s something to be said for the concept of being wanted — and we’ll give credit to Lyles for the realization that few opportunities in life are as good as the one he has in front of him right now.
2. A little more recruiting talk today, as Michigan‘s Class of 2013 is shaping up as perhaps the best that the school has enjoyed since Ed Martin was sending bags of hundreds to Ann Arbor on his days off. With the quick ascent of 6’6″ wing Zak Irvin on ESPN.com’s latest top 100 list — he rose more than 20 spots to #21 after a great summer — the Wolverines currently have a three-player class that ranks second only to Florida on ESPN’s list. Keeping in mind that only four of the top 20 players in this class have yet committed, this class led by Irvin gives John Beilein a shot at putting one or even two recruits (depending on how Derrick Walton’s senior season goes) into the McDonald’s All-American game next year for the first time since 2002 (Mitch McGary as a fifth-year senior was ineligible last season). Michigan will start next season in the preseason Top 10 — get used to seeing the Wolverines at or near those lofty heights for many years to come.
3. Marquette announced yesterday that it was investigating a possible NCAA rules violation involving its men’s basketball program. Very few details were released by the school, but the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that a source disclosed that the violation may be related to recruiting. It is perhaps unrelated, but already this summer the Golden Eagles have lost a junior college transfer named TJ Taylor after only two weeks on campus. Regardless of what the violation turns out to be, it sounds like a relatively minor violation where any punishment the school suffers will be completely irrelevant.
4. Three months from now we’ll either have a brand-new president or another term from our existing one. If you listen to the talking heads on television, the decision from the American people on this important civic duty may come down to class warfare — the concept that the rich and poor are in conflict with each other in divvying up the pie. ESPN.com’s Myron Medcalf drills down to the bone on a similar issue: the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) has inspired an arms race of sorts on the academic side of the athletic shops. The wealthiest schools can afford to provide computer labs with the best equipment, traveling tutors, language labs, and so forth — anything to help keep academically marginal kids at those schools eligible. However, at a number of the poorer schools (such as, in his example, Mississippi Valley State), the idea of spending $2.6 million on academic support services for athletes (as Texas did in 2011-12) is laughable. If there’s one thing we know from several thousand years of world history, it’s that the poor never actually win the battle no matter how much the rich say that they ultimately will. Good piece by Medcalf, well worth the read.
5. We mentioned in yesterday’s M5 that UNC’s Roy Williams was listed by his peers as the most “overrated” head coach in college basketball. We also scoffed at the idea that someone who has won two national titles in under a decade at the helm in Chapel Hill could ever be truthfully considered “overrated.” It appears we are not alone with this opinion, as Mike DeCourcy rips the results to shreds with a laundry list discussing all of Ol’ Roy’s achievements. If you can get past the bizarro world reference to Kelly Clarkson and Paula Abdul, DeCourcy’s argument is spot on. The easiest criticism in all of sports is to dismiss accomplishments because of “all the talent” available to a coach (nevermind how talent is determined at the time) — but the fallacy in that stance is that it ignores the countless coaches who also recruit great talent yet never actually produce with it. We pose the question again — if Roy Williams is an “overrated” coach, how many national titles should he have reasonably won by now?

If you are interested in participating, send your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com as we will be updating these posts throughout the day.

General News

• Dwayne Polee to transfer from St. John’s: “In a possibly huge blow to St. John’s ability to compete in the Big East next year, returning freshman Dwayne Polee II will transfer from the St. John’s program” (Rumble in the Garden)
• Luke Hancock will transfer to Louisville: “Former George Mason forward Luke Hancock announced Saturday that he intends to transfer and play basketball at the University of Louisville.” (Card Chronicle)
  
• Gottfried strikes again — lands potential starting senior point guard: “Earlier this week, the new Wolfpack coaching staff pulled a surprise when they landed European power forward Thomas de Thaey over Washington and Wake Forest.” (State Fans Nation)
• UConn’s losing two scholarships, the NCAA will say it’s about bad academics but it’s really about bad basketball: “There are reasonable points to be made about Jim Calhoun bringing in too many guys who can’t cut it at UConn’s level, and we can have that discussion if you want. Just keep in mind that the reason UConn has lost two scholarships isn’t because guys like Eaves and Johnson couldn’t cut it in the classroom. It’s because they couldn’t cut it on the court.” (The UConn Blog)
• Eloy notches a double-double, leads Reach USA to win: “Eloy Vargas continues to do work on his tour of China, as he posted 10 points and 12 rebounds and added three blocks in a 79-72 win over Lithuania earlier today.” (Kentucky Sports Radio)
• Bobby Capobianco leaving IU, looking to transfer: The forward, who saw limited action, is still considering his options. (Inside the Hall)

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If you are interested in participating, send your submissions to rushthecourt@gmail.com as we will be updating these posts throughout the day.

News

• Terrence Jones To Return: “Terrence Jones will be returning to Lexington for his sophomore year. That’s good news for the Wildcats’ hopes of winning their eighth national championship, and I think it is the correct decision for Terrence, considering all publicly known factors.” (A Sea of Blue)
  
• Jeff Capel headed back home: “The University of Duke has confirmed today that former Oklahoma head basketball coach and Duke alumni, Jeff Capel has accepted an assistant position under his mentor Mike Krzyzewski.” (Crimson and Cream Machine)
• Texas Guard Cory Joseph To Remain In NBA Draft: Rick Barnes and the Longhorns will have to rebuild next year as they have lost all five starters from this season. (Burnt Orange Nation)
• DeAndre Liggins Widely Expected To Stay In the NBA Draft: “Jeff Goodman tweeted earlier today that DeAndre Liggins will have a press conference tomorrow at 2:00 PM, where he is expected to announce he will remain in the 2011 NBA Draft. Liggins was said to be amongst the best performers at the New Jersey Combine, and that fact together with the announcement of a press conference almost certainly argue for a decision to move on to the NBA.” (A Sea of Blue)

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