Kofi Cockburn Leaves Illinois, Enters NBA Draft to Stay

April 20, 2022 By Leave a Comment

Illinois center Kofi Cockburn, a consensus first-team All-American, announced two hours ago on social media that he will enter the NBA draft and forgo his remaining college eligibility. The 7-footer’s 7-4 wingspan, 9-3 standing reach and 285-pound frame make him a prospect for teams looking for a true, old school low post player. His 341 points scored “back to the basket” ranked second in the nation.

However, this doesn’t mean he’s a bonafide NBA Draft prospect by any means. We’ve covered his draft stock in detail already here, here and here.

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Filed Under: Illinois Fighting Illini, NBA, NBA Draft

Max Christie Key to Michigan State Ruining Coach K. Swan Song

March 19, 2022 By Leave a Comment

All season long, you’ve heard this familiar refrain- Michigan State does not have a true alpha dog. They don’t have a leading man, or a closer, but on certain nights different guys step up. Freshman Max Christie, a McDonald’s All-American and 5-star prospect, has been that in some games. Other nights it’s Gabe Brown, or Marcus Bingham Jr. Last night it was Joey Hauser, a guy who hasn’t come close to living up to expectations, but really brought it in the late night win over good old friend Foster Loyer and Davidson.

Seventh seeded Michigan State beat tenth seeded Davidson, 74-73, in a very exciting and tightly contested March Madness contest. Hauser led the way for the Spartans, with 27 points on 9-12 shooting, 4-6 from three. A.J. Hoggard added 14, on 6-9 shooting. Max Christie was basically invisible against the Wildcats, going 1-6 from the floor and scoring just two points.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Duke Blue Devils, Michigan State Spartans, NBA, NBA Draft

Keegan Murray: Time to Buy NBA Draft Stock of Iowa Hawkeyes Forward

March 16, 2022 By Leave a Comment

Update: We discussed this topic during a guest appearance on WGN News Now

When the Iowa Hawkeyes absolutely throttled Northwestern this past Thursday, in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals, NBA blue chip prospect Keegan Murray became just the third Hawkeye to surpass 700 points in a single season (724). The second generation of balling talent (his father, Kenyon Murray, was a legend at Iowa) led all scorers with 26 points (11-16 shooting, 3-3 from three-point range) and grabbed eight rebounds in only 21 minutes.

At this point, Murray, a first team AP All-American, is looking like a NBA Draft lottery lock. ESPN rates him the eighth best overall prospect in this class, and he’s been described as the best possible point forward in the class of 2022. He has the ability to play both the 3 and the 4, with the ball handling skills of a one or a two.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft

Max Christie: MSU Star, NBA Prospect Has Dream Homecoming at NU

January 4, 2022 By Leave a Comment

For Michigan State shooting guard Max Christie, Northwestern is basically his second program. The Arlington Heights native and five-star recruit grew up very close by, and his mother, Katrina Hannaford Christie, is one of the top players in Northwestern women’s basketball history.

“This is practically my second college if I had to pick one,” Christie said after his Spartans won 73-67 in Evanston today. “I grew up here, I was the ball boy here. I’ve been around this program for a very long time, almost longer than Michigan State if I’m being honest.”

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Michigan State Spartans, NBA, NBA Draft

Pete Nance, Son of NBA Legend Larry Nance, Improving Draft Stock

December 11, 2021 By 3 Comments

Pete Nance is the son of three time NBA All-Star and 1984 Slam Dunk champion Larry Nance, and should his senior season at Northwestern go well, he could conceivably follow both his father and his older brother to the league.

Larry Nance Jr., currently with the Portland Trail Blazers, has been in the association since the Los Angeles Lakers selected him in the first round in 2015. Larry Nance Sr., a three time NBA All-Defensive Team award recipient, saw the Cleveland Cavaliers retire his #22.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, Northwestern Wildcats

Six Greatest NBA Teams of All-Time

October 26, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Sports is a multi-billion dollar industry with millions of fans around the world. The NBA alone contributes billions to the national sports industry and is one of the most popular sports in the country. Both the NBA and NFL are arguably neck and neck in terms of viewership. The focus of this article will be mainly on the NBA and the industry contributions it has made through some of its illustrious teams. These teams go down in history as some of the greatest of all time.

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Filed Under: Chicago Bulls, Lakers, NBA, NBA Draft

Exclusive: Drew Valentine on Stopping Ayo Dosunmu, Kofi Cockburn

October 21, 2021 By 1 Comment

The Loyola Ramblers scored one of the college basketball season’s biggest upsets, when they knocked the #1 seed Illinois Fighting Illini out of the NCAA Tournament in the second round. For the Illini, it continues a long frustrating “tradition” of failing to advance to a March Madness round that has a nickname (Sweet 16, Elite 8 etc.), as they haven’t reached one since 2005.

For Loyola, it showed what a mid-major can do to a bigger power conference team when you have an astute coach with a great game plan, and players who can execute it.

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Filed Under: Chicago Bulls, College Basketball, Illinois Fighting Illini, NBA, NBA Draft

Study Analyzes NBA Franchises By Drafting Ability

August 20, 2021 By Leave a Comment

nba draft

Each year, new players are drafted to NBA teams in the hopes of becoming rising stars. Many have succeeded in that goal, but what do teams’ drafts throughout recent history say about their performance? Lines.com analyzed drafts from each team from 2005 to the present to see which teams performed best and which players have had the most impact.

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Filed Under: Business, Chicago Bulls, Lakers, NBA, NBA Draft

2021 NBA Mock Draft 7-29-21 Final Update

July 29, 2021 By 1 Comment

The NBA Draft is July 29, with the Draft Lottery set to be held on June 22. The Draft Combine will take place June 21-27. Welcome to our first 2021 NBA mock draft, team needs have not been taken into account at this time.

Some player descriptions have been filled out, but the others will be completed at a later date.

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Filed Under: Chicago Bulls, College Basketball, college sports, Duke Blue Devils, Illinois Fighting Illini, Kentucky Wildcats, Lakers, Michigan Wolverines, NBA, NBA Draft, North Carolina Tar Heels

Bilas: Ayo Dosunmu Should Go Somewhere Around #20 in the Draft

July 29, 2021 By Leave a Comment

Forget the fact that he was completely AWOL and totally MIA in his final collegiate game, the horrific disaster that was Illinois basketball in their second round out of the NCAA Tournament at the hands of Loyola. The Masked Mamba, Ayo Dosunmu was still the USA Today Player of the Year.

It’s hard to predict where Dosunmu will go Thursday night because the NBA Draft isn’t really about selecting the best basketball player. Sounds silly to say, but it’s true.

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Filed Under: Illinois Fighting Illini, NBA, NBA Draft

NBA Draft to Have Less Kentucky Wildcats Presence than Usual

May 11, 2021 By 1 Comment

john calipari nba draft

Typically, the NBA Draft is a commencement ceremony for Big Blue Nation, but this year’s edition will not be Kentucky Wildcats heavy. On opening night of the 2019-20 season, the University of Kentucky led the nation with 29 former players present on NBA rosters.

That same day, the University sent out a press release stating that players coached by John Calipari in Lexington have inked in total, more than $1.9 billion in NBA contracts. That’s more than the GDP of the nation of Belize, if you’re scoring at home, by the way. I guess Belize better start working on their jump shot.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Kentucky Wildcats, NBA, NBA Draft

Michigan vs Florida State Will Feature Plenty of Future NBA Talent

March 24, 2021 By Leave a Comment

When top seeded Michigan takes on fourth seeded Florida State on Sunday, it will be a match-up that has a NBA “fun fact.” Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton once coached his counterpart in this one, Juwan Howard, for 54 games when they were with the Washington Wizards together during the 2000-01 NBA season.

Yes, that was during the very forgettable, and somewhat embarassing Michael Jordan on the Wizards era. Howard didn’t work under Hamilton for too long, he was malcontent with leadership and was traded to Dallas in the middle of the season.

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Filed Under: College Basketball, Michigan Wolverines, NBA Draft
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