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Iguodala makes NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team

Even when his scoring touch abandoned him, Andre Iguodala could still play defense. Even when his three-point shooting sputtered and his foul shooting struggled and his drives to the basket ended up clanging off the rim, Iguodala’s defense never wavered.

Iguodala, who had an uneven season on the offensive end in what could very well be his last year with the Sixers, was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team on Monday.

This is the first All-Defense honor for Iguodala in his seven-year NBA career, all with the Sixers.

Iguodala received 15 points in balloting among the 30 NBA coaches. He was mentioned on 20 of the 29 ballots (coaches can’t vote for their own players), with 10 coaches giving him a first-team vote and 10 others giving him a second-team vote.

Dwight Howard of the Magic, Rajon Rondo and Kevin Garnett of the Celtics, LeBron James of the Heat and Kobe Bryant of the Lakers formed the first team, with Howard leading all vote recipients with 56 points.

Joining Iguodala on the second team were the Grizzlies’ Tony Allen, the Hornets’ Chris Paul, the Mavs’ Tyson Chandler and the Bulls’ Joakim Noah.

Last month, Sixers coach Doug Collins said he was disappointed when Iguodala finished eighth in media voting for the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award. Iguodala’s 15 points Monday placed him ninth in the coaches’ voting.

“To me he’s a top-five defender,” Collins said. “We don’t do a lot of campaigning, but I think he’s as good as defender as there is in the league.”

Iguodala averaged just 14.1 points per game this year and just 11.4 in the playoffs, but the Sixers became a very good defensive team this season, and Collins believes Iguodala is one of the main reasons why.

In 2009, under coach Eddie Jordan, opposing teams shot 47 percent from the field and 39 percent from three-point range against the Sixers, averaging 102 points per game. This past season, teams shot 45 percent against the Sixers, 34 percent from three and averaged just 97 points per game.

The Sixers ranked 12th in points allowed, ninth in opponents’ field goal percentage and sixth in three-point defense this past season after ranking 18th, 22nd and 30th in those categories a year earlier.

Iguodala battled knee tendinitis much of the season. In the 67 games he played, the Sixers went 36-31 and allowed 97 points per game. In the 15 games he missed, the Sixers were 5-10 and allowed 100 points per game and

In five playoff games, the Sixers held the Miami Heat to 43 percent shooting from the field, 29 percent from three-point range and 94 points per game. Those figures were down dramatically from 48 percent, 37 percent and 102 points per game during the regular year for Miami.

Most of the series, Iguodala was asked to defend James, who shot 47 percent from the field against the Sixers and made just four of 16 three-point tries.

“Any time you’re great at anything, it’s a combination of physical and mental,” Collins said when asked what makes Iguodala such a capable defender. “You’ve got to have mental tenacity, you’ve got to have physical toughness, you have to be in great shape, and you have to be committed.

“Defense is a tough, tough task, because for the most part an offensive player has the advantage, and as a defensive player you’ve got to try to do something to get them out of their sweet spots to where they maybe catch the ball further out on the floor, maybe make them take a tougher shot than they normally like to take.

“It’s all about competitive will. You have to be in incredible condition. And a big part for ‘Dre is that he spends so much energy on that end of the floor. He’s so unselfish.”

Among the other players receiving votes was Sixers guard Jrue Holiday, who got one second-team vote.

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Wednesday, 4-May-2011 06:54

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NFL teams send 1-yr. tenders to their draft picks

As if the temporarily reinstated NFL lockout didn’t make things weird enough, the teams added a new, surreal twist Tuesday.

They sent out one-year tender offers to their draft picks. In any other year, that would be standard procedure. Teams were required to clear adequate cap space before the draft relative to their total number of draft picks to accommodate the minimum-salary tenders that secured the players’ negotiating rights. There is no salary cap in place at present, but because Article 16 of the old collective bargaining agreement was allowed to go forward, the tender clause in the article also had to be satisfied as a procedural matter.

Rookies never sign the tender because they don’t include the hefty guaranteed bonuses of a multi-year contract. But even if a rookie wanted to, he couldn’t, because the lockout rules forbid teams from doing any contractual business.

So, like all the restricted free agents who cannot accept their tenders, the draft picks remain in limbo as the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals decides whether to grant a permanent stay of Judge Susan Nelson’s lockout injunction. A decision on that could come down Thursday.
Also left hanging is the legion of undrafted rookies who normally would have been signed hours after Sunday’s final round. No contact is permitted with those players, either.

Meanwhile, Mark Sanchez and Eli Manning brought together some vets and rookies for informal workouts. Sanchez led a classroom session at his “Jets West” camp in California for 13 players, including rookie WRs Scotty McKnight, Jeremy Kerley and fellow QB Greg McElroy. Manning ran a passing session at Hoboken High that included WR Hakeem Nicks, TE Kevin Boss and RB DJ Ware. The best thing about that is that the rookies were able to be exposed on an unofficial basis to the teams’ otherwise unavailable playbooks, which the veterans procured during the league’s short “open” window last week.

Tuesday, 26-Apr-2011 09:13

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Arizona hockey: UA takes control, drops nickname, founder of Ice

Arizona's club hockey team reorganized Monday, eliminating the nickname Icecats and its creator, 32-year coach Leo Golembiewski, from the program.
The UA's Department of Campus Recreation will fund the Arizona Wildcats hockey club at first, with hopes it becomes self-sustaining.
Like the Icecats, the Wildcats will play in the American Collegiate Hockey Association and at the Tucson Convention Center, likely selling beer.
Brian Slugocki, Arizona Wildcats club hockey president, said five players went to the UA about two months ago with three requests: They wanted a new coach, to be able to stay at the TCC and to be more involved with the university.
He said Golembiewski "deserves all the credit in the world" for establishing the Icecats in 1979 and winning 634 games. Still, the entire team supported a change.
"To get a new coach? Yes, it was unanimous," Slugocki said, adding players were "frustrated" by scheduling and results.
Some fans "need to get it out of their heads" that the move was made by players disgruntled by playing time, he said.
Golembiewski, who owns the Icecats trademark, did not return a message.
His attorney, Marian Abram of Karp & Weiss, said Golembiewski was "disappointed by the news."
She hinted at legal action, a decision Golembiewski could make in the next month or two.
"He's considering his options but doesn't believe the story is going to end here," Abram said.
Associate vice president of student affairs Frank Farias said he found it "odd that our students were playing for a private corporation" in Golembiewski's group.
"Students have a right to self-govern themselves," he said. "Once they made that decision, my responsibility is to support them."
Assistant director Mary O'Mahoney said Campus Recreation's desire to bring hockey in line with 30 other student-run sports and the players' call for change "really, truly was a perfect storm."
Campus Recreation will pay costs at first, but O'Mahoney said the money will not come from taxes or tuition. Players will pay dues.
Department of Student Affairs will oversee fundraising and marketing.
Former assistant David Dougall will help the players' transition, which includes hiring a head coach after a national search.
Farias and Golembiewski have not spoken since a heated meeting one week ago, though Abram spoke with a UA lawyer.
Farias said he was not concerned about a potential lawsuit by Golembiewski.
"I believe we did everything according to the rights that the students have," he said.

Saturday, 23-Apr-2011 07:16

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Temple's Ramone Moore considering NBA draft

Ramone Moore just wants to receive NBA evaluations.

That's why the Temple redshirt junior plans to file paperwork Saturday to enter the NBA draft.

"I'm basically just testing the water just to see what the scouts think," said the 6-foot-4 shooting guard, who added that he will not hire an agent. "I'm trying to get in some workouts.

"I'm looking forward to coming back to school next year. This is just a good opportunity to show where I stand for next year."

Moore has until Sunday to file paperwork with the NBA. If he doesn't hire an agent, the Southern High product can withdraw his name any time before May 8 without losing his NCAA eligibility. The NBA draft is scheduled for June 23.

Moore said he is trying to get invited to the New Jersey Nets' group workout May 7-8, among other opportunities to perform in front of NBA teams.

He averaged a team-leading 15.2 points as well as 4.2 rebounds this past season for the 26-8 Owls. He was a second-team all-Atlantic Ten Conference selection in his first season as a full-time starter.

Moore was the only Temple player to start in all 34 games this past season. His career-high 30 points in an upset of Georgetown showed that he's capable of producing on the big stage.

Monday, 14-Mar-2011 03:23

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Gaithersburg wins its first girls’ basketball state title by bea

CATONSVILLE,. Md. — Gaithersburg’s Jackie Jackson lost the opening tip-off of the Maryland 4A final. It was about the only thing beyond her grasp the rest of the day.
The junior forward’s performance Saturday was befitting of the fifth-ranked Trojans’ season, showcasing all-around skills en route to scoring 15 points and pulling down 14 rebounds in a 58-38 victory over No. 14 Wise that earned Gaithersburg its first state title at UMBC’s RAC Arena.

“I didn’t really feel that anyone could stop me,” Jackson said.

Jackson’s was a sentiment the Trojans carried all season. Following a runner-up finish last year, the Trojans won all 25 of their games by an average of 28 points and none closer than 11. Gaithersburg became just the second Montgomery County school to claim a 4A title in the past 24 years (Churchill won in both 2002 and ’03).

“It’s done,” Gaithersburg Coach Adrian McDaniel said. “Our motto all year long was ‘25-0. Unfinished business.’ ”

Wise Coach Walter Clark said: “They act like they’re 25-0. They act like it was their trophy.”

Virtually every key player from last year’s team came back for the Trojans, and Jackson, who transferred from Holy Cross, might have been the missing piece. She proved to be the perfect inside balance to Gaithersburg’s strong guard attack, and she made her presence felt immediately against Wise (21-6).

Jackson had 12 points and 10 rebounds as Gaithersburg took a 28-17 halftime lead. She backed a zone defense that kept the Pumas on the perimeter, where they struggled, making just 5 of 32 first-half shots, and 13 of 62 for the game. Wise could not follow up its misses, with Jackson owning the boards.
“That was a concern we’ve had all year, settling for jump shots,” Clark said. “We definitely need to get to the basket to see if we could get [Jackson] some fouls. We needed to get her out of there.”

Even though the Trojans were in control throughout, they didn’t pull away until late.

The key sequence came with Gaithersburg leading 36-30 in the final minute of the third quarter, Gaithersburg turned it over and Wise had a chance to cut the margin to four, the closest since it was 8-5 early in the first quarter.

Wise, however, missed a short turnaround in the lane, and Gaithersburg pushed it back upcourt before Deja Rollins hit a short jumper in the lane at the buzzer to make it 38-30. Wise never drew any closer.

“It’s a great hustle play,” McDaniel said. “It was a big shot.”