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A league source indicated this week that Washington has already met with North Carolina wing Caleb Wilson, another likely top four pick. Wilson did not work out for the team but met with team officials.
Jerry Stackhouse: A lot of people make make a lot about our last interaction in Washington when I felt that I was kind of in the prime and he was at at the end of his career, but it's Michael Jordan. Michael Jordan no matter who he's on the floor with probably right now feels that he's the best player and the best option. So, I mean, I take no offense to that, but it was just didn't work out in his final year. He brought me there the year before, they had Rip Hamilton and he felt like I was further along in my development and he wanted to win. He wanted to win. That just shows his competitiveness. That's obviously for me being in Detroit, we just got to the second round, I'm feeling like the next level for us is getting to a conference finals and all of a sudden I'm in Washington. So, it was a little awkward there, but at the same time, we made the best of it. We had great moments. I'm telling you, no matter what transpired on the basketball court, we had a good time off the basketball court. You go with Michael Jordan, between playing a little poker and drinking some of the best wine the world has ever made. We had some great moments. So, I never want to try to think that anything there deflects my reverence for Michael Jordan. To me, he's the GOAT. He's the best basketball player to ever wear a pair of shoes, he's an icon in the University of North Carolina.
Stanford's Ebuka Okorie, North Carolina's Henri Veesaar and Duke's Isaiah Evans plan to stay in the NBA draft, each player said on Wednesday at the NBA draft combine. All three were projected as late first-rounders in ESPN's post-lottery mock draft. Okorie, a 6-foot-2 guard, was one of the best freshmen in the country last season and is on track to go from an unranked three-star recruit to a one-and-done first-rounder. "I already talked with Coach Smith, Kyle Smith, and I talked to my agents and my family," Okorie said. "I'm staying in the draft."
The Wizards went into the day knowing they couldn't drop lower than fifth and were confident this draft -- headlined by college stars such as Kansas' Darryn Peterson, Duke's Cameron Boozer, North Carolina's Caleb Wilson and Arkansas' Darius Acuff Jr. -- would yield at least five players with All-Star ceilings. ESPN draft analyst Jeremy Woo projects BYU's AJ Dybantsa to be selected by Washington. "This draft is pretty deep," Dawkins said before the lottery started. "To know you can't fall further than five in a draft like this, you go in pretty confident knowing that you're going to get a good player anywhere you go... I'll say this: It's definitely more than a one-person draft, and there's always a guy that pops. "I would say the Wizards can't have a bad day today."
Stack, going back to Dre for a minute, your respect for him is obvious. He really respects you. In fact, he was on his podcast pushing hard for you to get the North Carolina job, which ultimately went to Michael Malone. Were you surprised that they went outside the family? Because they’ve never gone outside the family.” Jerry Stackhouse: “Yeah, I mean, I was and I wasn’t. With what was going on there with Hubert (Davis), I think nobody really liked how that went down for him. Being part of the family, and then to not have an opportunity to talk about it, I think that was the most disappointing thing for me. They were like, ‘We’re not going to interview.’ I felt like I had a resume that could stand up to anybody. I won Coach of the Year in the SEC. I had a team that finished fourth in the SEC when we weren’t even participating in NIL.
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It’s all about power and explosiveness for Caleb Wilson. He plays with terrific bend and balance as a driver. Combine that with his strength and leaping ability, and you get a special player who can dominate at the rim. The further into the cycle we get, the more I hear from scouts who see Wilson in the same group as Peterson, Dybantsa and Boozer, with some even ranking him as a top-three player in the class. It didn’t hurt Wilson’s case that he outperformed all three of those players when North Carolina played them this season (in Dybantsa’s case, in the preseason, but still).
While his exact spot won’t be clear until after the Draft Lottery, once each pick is determined, some teams value the high-flying North Carolina freshman above the more ground-bound Cam Boozer from Duke. Others view Wilson as having similarly high upside as Kansas guard Darryn Peterson with dramatically lower downsides due to Peterson’s availability concerns.
Patrick Ewing on playing against Michael Jordan: You know he was good. You know he was athletic. You know he was talented. So we played in the McDonald's games together. I also visited North Carolina when he was at North Carolina. He had already committed but I think they brought him back just to talk me into coming to North Carolina. There were other guys that I thought might have been better than him at that time but the thing that that separated him from a lot of people is that belief. He had a belief in himself. He had a drive and I think also the athleticism. I think all that separated him from everybody else.
New Balance executive Chris Davis: If you look at the NBA, I’m pretty sure we have seven or eight All-Stars, starting with Kawhi (Leonard) to Zach LaVine, Tyrese Maxey, Jamal Murray, Dejounte Murray, Darius Garland, and then enter Cooper Flagg. In this year’s draft, we have Caleb Wilson, who is a star freshman from North Carolina and will be a top-five pick. And then as a senior in high school, we have Jordan Smith Jr., who’s the top recruit in the country going into the NCAA; he’s committed to Arkansas. So that’s what the basketball landscape looks like.
North Carolina is set to pay new head coach Michael Malone more than $50 million across six years, according to a copy of his contract obtained by ESPN, putting him among the top five highest-paid coaches in the sport. The Tar Heels made the hire of the former Denver Nuggets coach official Tuesday. Malone, whose daughter plays volleyball at UNC, was recommended by a search committee led by executive associate athletic director Steve Newmark and director of athletics Bubba Cunningham, the school said in its statement. The university's board of trustees approved the terms of the hire on Tuesday.
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"I think he's going to do a really good job because he can coach the guys and teach them how to play the game the right way." "I'm happy for him." Nikola Jokic on Michael Malone taking the North Carolina job
Bennett Durando: Nikola Jokic: "I think it's a little bit different ... But he definitely has the poise and the brain to do it. I think he's gonna do a really good job because he can actually coach the guys. He's gonna have time to coach the guys and teach them how to play the game the right way"
Bennett Durando: Jamal Murray: “Shoutout to Coach Malone. I think he’ll be great. I think he’ll be a great college coach. I think his daughter is there as well. So I think it’s a win-win for him, and I think he’ll enjoy his next chapter of his coaching career.”
Jeff Goodman: Billy Donovan wanted to wait until end of season to make a decision on North Carolina and one source close to Donovan felt as though he might have taken it. But source said that new North Carolina AD Steve Newmark panicked after Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May spurned the Tar Heels.