Articles
April 11, 2013
Posted by: tsimmons and Filed Under: Uncategorized
Trey Burke, Michigan
Sophomore guard Trey Burke of Michigan continues to receive honors after leading the Wolverines to the No. 2 spot in the recently-completed NCAA Championships.
Prior to the national championship game with Louisville, Burke received the Naismith Trophy at the annual AT&T NABC Guardians of the Game Awards Show April 7 at the Sydney Marcus Auditorium in the Georgia World Congress Center In Atlanta. Burke was also honored as the NABC Coaches Division I Player of the Year.
Burke became the fifth player in Big Ten Conference history to claim the award, following Ohio State’s Evan Turner (2010), Purdue’s Glenn Robinson (1994), and Indiana’s Calbert Cheaney (1993) and Scott May (1976). Other finalists for the 2013 award included Creighton junior Doug McDermott, Indiana junior Victor Oladipo and Georgetown sophomore Otto Porter, Jr.
Depending on decisions made in the next three weeks, Burke and Porter could be among the featured players as the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off next November. Michigan (31-8) and Georgetown (25-7) are two of the eight teams scheduled to compete in the seventh annual event. Other schools in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be Auburn (9-23), Charlotte (21-12), Florida State (18-16), Kansas State (27-8), Long Beach State (19-14) and VCU (27-9). Georgetown, Kansas State and VCU joined Michigan as competitors in the 2013 NCAA Championships while Charlotte, Florida State and Long Beach State earned spots in the NIT post-season tournament.
The seventh annual Puerto Rico Tip-Off will feature a bracket format with 12 games over three days this November. Previous winners of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off include Oklahoma State, Alabama, Minnesota, Villanova, Xavier, Miami (Fla.). Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Web site at www.puertoricotipoff.com. The Puerto Rico Tip-Off is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN.
April 5, 2013
Posted by: tsimmons and Filed Under: Uncategorized
Depending on the happenings over the next four weeks, the field for the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off will not only feature a school that will be playing in this weekend’s “Final Four”, but will also have on participant that has earned national player-of-the-year honors.
Michigan is the “Final Four” school that will be participating in next November’s Puerto Rico Tip-Off as the Wolverines were led to Atlanta by all-everything guard Trey Burke. The sophomore guard was named Friday as the winner of both The John R. Wooden Award® presented by Wendy’s® and Oscar Robertson Trophy presented by Aflac.
Along with the Wolverines (30-7) and Hoyas (25-7), other schools in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be Auburn (9-23), Charlotte (21-12), Florida State (18-16), Kansas State (27-8), Long Beach State (19-14) and VCU (27-9). Michigan, Georgetown, Kansas State and VCU all competed in the 2013 NCAA Championships while Charlotte, Florida State and Long Beach State earned spots in the NIT post-season tournament.
The seventh annual Puerto Rico Tip-Off will feature a bracket format with 12 games over three days this November. Previous winners of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off include Oklahoma State, Alabama, Minnesota, Villanova, Xavier, Miami (Fla.). Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Web site at www.puertoricotipoff.com. The Puerto Rico Tip-Off is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN.
For more information on the awards, please visit http://www.sportswriters.net/usbwa/news/2013/oscar130405.html and http://www.woodenaward.com/?cat=1.
April 2, 2013
Posted by: tsimmons and Filed Under: Uncategorized
Trey Burke, Michigan
Trey Burke of Michigan and Otto Porter of Georgetown, two players scheduled to compete this November in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off, were named Monday as first-team Associated Press All-Americans along with Creighton’s Doug McDermott, Indiana’s Victor Oladipo and Gonzaga’a Kelly Olynyk.
Along with the Wolverines (30-7) and Hoyas (25-7), other schools in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be Auburn (9-23), Charlotte (21-12), Florida State (18-16), Kansas State (27-8), Long Beach State (19-14) and VCU (27-9). Michigan, Georgetown, Kansas State and VCU all competed in the 2013 NCAA Championships while Charlotte, Florida State and Long Beach State earned spots in the NIT post-season tournament.
The seventh annual Puerto Rico Tip-Off will feature a bracket format with 12 games over three days this November. Previous winners of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off include Oklahoma State, Alabama, Minnesota, Villanova, Xavier, Miami (Fla.). Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Web site at www.puertoricotipoff.com. The Puerto Rico Tip-Off is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN.
Burke, an AP honorable mention pick as a freshman in 2012, becomes just the fifth player in Michigan history to receive AP first team honors. The NCAA Tournament South Region Most Outstanding Player, Burke led the Wolverines to their first “Final Four” appearance in 20 years (1993) after wins over Kansas in overtime (87-85) and Florida (79-59) this past weekend in Arlington. Burke scored all 23 of his points against Kansas in the second half, including eight in the final 1:15 of regulation. The Wolverines now face Syracuse in the national semifinals Saturday at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Ga.
In becoming just the seventh Michigan sophomore to eclipse 1,000 career points this season, Burke set the Wolverine single-season record for assists (236). He has scored in double figures in 36 games this season and 14 with 20-plus points. The Big Ten Player of the Year (coaches and media), Burke was the only Big Ten player to score at least 15 points in every conference game. Burke is averaging a career best for points (18.8), assists (6.84), field goal percentage (46.4), three-point percentage (38.1), free throw percentage (80.8) and steals (1.59) this season.
Porter is the first Georgetown player to be named an AP first-team all-american since Allen Iverson during the 1995-1996 season. Porter is the fifth Hoya to earn first team honors and it is the eighth-time a Georgetown player has been selected to the first team (Patrick Ewing did so three times, while Eric Floyd, Reggie Williams, Alonzo Mourning and Iverson were each named once). The Big East Player of the Year and only unanimous all-league selection, Porter led the Hoyas in scoring (16.2 points per game) and rebounding (7.5) this season. He also led the team in steals (1.8), was second on the team in blocked shots (0.9) and ranked third on the team in assists per game (2.7). He scored in double figures 27 times this season, had eight games with at least 20 points and had seven double-doubles.
Georgetown earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament as the Hoyas shared of the Big East regular-season championship and was the No. 1 seed in the post-season tournament after posting a 14-4 record in league play. The Hoyas were ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and No. 8 in the USA Today Coaches’ poll and closed out the regular season with 12 wins in 13 games. The Hoyas are one of only four schools in the country to be ranked in the Associated Press top-10 at least once in each of the last seven seasons and Georgetown is also ranked fifth nationally in Associated Press top-25 poll appearances (116) since January 2006.
March 31, 2013
Posted by: tsimmons and Filed Under: Uncategorized
Nik Stauskas, Michigan
For the fourth-time in the history of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off, a participating team in the tournament field will be coming off a “Final Four” appearance as Michigan achieved the feat Sunday with the Wolverines being one of eight schools competing in the seventh-annual in-season event next November in San Juan.
With a 79-59 win over Florida in the South Regional finals Sunday at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas, Michigan joins Memphis (2008), Villanova (2009) and West Virginia (2010) as schools entering a Puerto Rico Tip-Off after participating in college basketball’s showcase event.
Along with the Wolverines (29-7), other schools in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be Auburn (9-23), Charlotte (21-12), Florida State (18-16), Georgetown (25-7), Kansas State (27-8), Long Beach State (19-14) and VCU (27-9). Georgetown, Kansas State and VCU also competed in the 2013 NCAA Championships while Charlotte, Florida State and Long Beach State earned spots in the NIT post-season tournament.
Freshman guard Nik Stauskas scored 22 points to lead Michigan to its first “Final Four” appearance since the Fab Five era. The Wolverines (30-7) scored the game’s first 13 points and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the game against Florida (29-8), which lost in a regional final for the third straight year.
Stauskas hit all six of his 3-point attempts, including consecutive makes from the left corner for to give Michigan a 41-17 lead. Sophomore Trey Burke, the Big Ten player of the year, added 15 points for Michigan. Mitch McGary, another freshman, had 11 points and nine rebounds.
The seventh annual Puerto Rico Tip-Off will feature a bracket format with 12 games over three days this November. Previous winners of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off include Oklahoma State, Alabama, Minnesota, Villanova, Xavier, Miami (Fla.). Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Web site at www.puertoricotipoff.com. The Puerto Rico Tip-Off is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN.
March 30, 2013
Posted by: tsimmons and Filed Under: Uncategorized
Glenn Robinson III, Michigan
Michigan, which will be one of eight schools competing in next November’s Puerto Rico Tip-Off, advanced to its first “Elite Eight” in the NCAA Championships since 1994 as the Wolverines scored an 87-85 win over Kansas in the South Regional semifinals Friday night at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Sophomore guard Trey Burke, who scored all 23 of his points after halftime, hit a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds to send the game into overtime as the Wolverines wiped out a 10-point Kansas lead in the last 3 minutes of regulation. Burke then gave Michigan its first lead since early in the game with another 3-point basketball to open Michigan’s scoring in overtime.
With Kansas recovering to take an 82-81 lead with 2:35 left in overtime, the Wolverines regained the lead for good on a pair of jumpers by 6-10 freshman center Mitch McGary. Freshman forward Glenn Robinson III made two free throws with 53 seconds left to give Michigan an 87-82 lead. Naadir Tharpe missed a game-winning 3-pointer for Kansas (31-6) with a second left in the game.
Along with the Wolverines (29-7), other schools in the seventh annual Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be Auburn (9-23), Charlotte (21-12), Florida State (18-16), Georgetown (25-7), Kansas State (27-8), Long Beach State (19-14) and VCU (27-9). Georgetown, Kansas State and VCU also competed in the 2013 NCAA Championships while Charlotte, Florida State and Long Beach State earned spots in the NIT post-season tournament.
The 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off will feature a bracket format with 12 games over three days this November. Previous winners of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off include Oklahoma State, Alabama, Minnesota, Villanova, Xavier, Miami (Fla.). Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Web site at www.puertoricotipoff.com. The Puerto Rico Tip-Off is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN.
March 23, 2013
Posted by: Cary Estes and Filed Under: Uncategorized
Mitch McGary, Michigan
Michigan, which will be one of eight schools competing in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off, became the first team Saturday to advance to the “Sweet 16″ in the 2013 NCAA Championships as the Wolverines posted a 78-53 win over VCU in Auburn Hills, Mich.
In the first meeting between the two schools, Michigan’s Mitch McGary had 21 points and 14 rebounds as the Wolverines advanced to the NCAA round of 16 for the first time since 1994. McGary, a 6-foot-10 freshman from Chesterton, Ind., set season highs in scoring and rebounding.
With the win, Michigan (28-7) will play either Kansas or North Carolina this coming Friday (March 29) at Cowboy Stadiums in Arlington, Tex. Kansas (30-5) and North Carolina (25-10) will play Sunday in Kanas City for a South Regional spot opposite of the Wolverines in Arlington.
VCU (27-9) will also be participating in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off along with Auburn (9-23), Charlotte (21-12), Florida State (18-16), Georgetown (25-7), Kansas State (27-8) and Long Beach State (19-14). Joining Michigan and VCU in the 2013 NCAA Championships were Georgetown and Kansas State, who were eliminated Friday by Florida Gulf Coast and LaSalle, respectively. Charlotte, Florida State and Long Beach competed in the 2013 NIT and dropped opening round games earlier this week.
Angel Rodriquez, Kansas State
Kansas State will be making its second appearance in the Puerto Rico Tipoff after winning two of three games in the 2009 event to place third behind Villanova, which defeated Ole Miss in the championship finale. One of the top Wildcats during the 2012-2013 season was Angel Rodriguez, who was born in San Juan and played high school basketball in Miami. A 5-11 sophomore guard, Rodriquez was K-State’s second-leading scorer (11.4 points a game) while leading the team in assists (5.2) and steals (1.5).
VCU will also be playing in its second Puerto Rico Tip-Off after the Rams were part of the inaugural field in 2007 when Miami (Fla.) captured the title by defeating Providence in the finals. VCU defeated Houston 73-72 in the first-ever Puerto Rico Tip-Off game on November 15, 2007. The Rams dropped their next two games to Miami (69-63) and Arkansas (70-60).
March 21, 2013
Posted by: Cary Estes and Filed Under: Uncategorized
Georgetown's Thompsons - John (left) with son John III
Georgetown University coach John Thompson III is among four finalists for the 2013 Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year award as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. He joins Saint Louis University interim coach Jim Crews, Gonzaga University Mark Few and University of Miami coach Jim Larrañaga as the finalists.
Thompson III and his Hoyas are scheduled to compete this November in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off. Other schools in the three-day, eight-school bracketed event are Auburn, Charlotte, Florida State, Kansas State, Long Beach State, Michigan and VCU.
The 2013 Naismith finalists were determined by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s national voting academy, which based its criteria on the coaches’ performances to this point in the 2013 men’s college basketball season. The Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year will be announced and honored April 7, 2013 in Atlanta.
John Thompson III, Georgetown University: He led Georgetown to a 25-6 record this season, including a 14-4 mark in BIG EAST play and a share of the Big East regular season championship. The Hoyas won 11 consecutive games in one stretch, and finished the regular season ranked No. 5 in the country. For his efforts, Thompson III was rewarded by being named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year.
Jim Crews, Saint Louis University: Taking over after the retirement and subsequent death of legendary coach Rick Majerus, Crews led the Billikens to a school-record-tying 27 victories for far this season. The Billikens have a record of 27-6 and won both the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and tournament titles. He guided his squad to winning streaks this year of nine and 11 games, and was recently named the A-10 Coach of the Year.
Mark Few, Gonzaga University: Few led the Bulldogs to the first 16-0 record in West Coast Conference history, 31-2 overall, and won both the West Coast Conference regular season and tournament titles. Gonzaga became the first school from a non-BCS conference to finish No. 1 in the final AP poll since Massachusetts of the Atlantic 10 in 1996. Few was named the WCC Coach of the Year.
Jim Larrañaga, University of Miami: Under Larrañaga’s leadership, the Hurricanes won the 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference regular season and tournament championships, each the school’s first since joining the league. They went 15-3 in ACC play, 27-6 overall, during the regular season. He was selected by his peers as the ACC Coach of the Year.
March 19, 2013
Posted by: Cary Estes and Filed Under: Uncategorized
Otto Porter
Two players scheduled to compete in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off were named Monday to the United States Basketball Writers Association’s first-team all-america team.
The players, Otto Porter of Georgetown and Trey Burke of Michigan, were joined on the USBWA first-team by Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, Creighton’s Doug McDermott and Gonzaga’s Kelly Olynyk.
Kansas’ Ben McLemore, Duke’s Mason Plumlee, Oklahoma State’s Marcus Smart, Kansas’ Jeff Withey and Indiana’s Cody Zeller made up the second team. Smart was the most valuable player of the 2012 Puerto Rico Tip-Off in leading Oklahoma State to a 76-56 win over North Carolina State in the championship game at Bayamon.
Other teams scheduled to compete in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off are Auburn, Charlotte, Florida State, Kansas State, Long Beach State and VCU. Seven of the eight schools in the field will be competing in the NCAA Championships, including Georgetown, Michigan, Kansas State and VCU. NIT participants will be Charlotte, Florida State and Long Beach State.
A sophomore point guard, Burke becomes Michigan’s first USBWA first-teamer since Chris Webber in 1993. Jalen Rose was the last Michigan player to earn a USBWA mention (second team, 1994).
Burke, who is averaging 19.2 points and 6.7 assists per game this season, is also a top candidate for the Wooden, Naismith and Robertson national player of the year awards. Burke was also named to the Sporting News first-team All-America squad earlier this month.
During the Big Ten Tournament, Burke became just the 14th Wolverine to score 600-plus points in a single season. He is the only Michigan player to score in double figures in all 33 games and was the only Big Ten player to score 15-plus points in every conference game.
Burke is the 47th Wolverine to score 1,000 career points and just the seventh sophomore to reach the 1,000 point mark.
Porter carried Georgetown down the stretch especially while without the services of sophomore forward Greg Whittington, who hasn’t played since Jan. 8 because of academic ineligibility. The Hoyas won 12 of their final 13 regular-season games minus Whittington, who averaged 12.1 points, with Porter emerging as Georgetown’s go-to guy.
With six double-doubles (points-rebounds) this season, Porter led Georgetown in scoring (16.3 points per game) and rebounding (7.4) while shooting 48.9 percent from the field and a team-best 78.1 percent from the free throw line. Porter was unanimously chosen as the Big East Conference Player of the Year by the league’s head coaches.
March 18, 2013
Posted by: Cary Estes and Filed Under: Uncategorized
Led by nationally-ranked Georgetown, Michigan, Kansas State and VCU, seven of the eight schools competing in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be playing in season-ending events. Owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, the seventh annual Puerto Rico Tip-Off will be held next November with the dates, pairings and sites still to be determined.
With Kansas State and VCU losing in the finals of their conference’s post-season tournaments, the Wildcats and Rams will be completing the NCAA tournament along with Georgetown and Michigan. Also beginning post-season play this week in the NIT are Charlotte, Florida State and Long Beach State. The eighth school in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tipoff will be Auburn.
Here is a breakdown of records and post-season play for the schools participating in the 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
- Auburn (3-15 league record, 9-23 overall mark, season completed)
- Charlotte (8-8, 21-11, NIT March 20 at Providence)
- Florida State (9-9, 18-15, NIT March 19 vs. Louisiana Tech)
- Georgetown (14-4, 25-6, March 22 vs. Florida Gulf Coast, NCAA Philadelphia)
- Kansas State (14-4, 27-7, March 22 vs. Boise State or LaSalle, NCAA Kansas City)
- Long Beach State (14-4, 19-13, NIT March 29 at Baylor)
- Michigan (12-6, 26-7, March 21 vs. South Dakota State, NCAA Auburn Hills)
- VCU (12-4, 26-8, March 21 vs. Akron, NCAA Auburn Hills)
The 2013 Puerto Rico Tip-Off will feature a bracket format over a three-day period. All 12 games will be aired on the ESPN family of networks. Previous winners of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off include Oklahoma State, Alabama, Minnesota, Villanova, Xavier, Miami (Fla.).
Six of the eight schools that competed in the 2012 Puerto Rico Tip-Off also earned spots in season-ending tournaments with Akron, North Carolina State and Oklahoma State completing in the NCAAs. Massachusetts, Providence and Tennessee earned NIT berths.
Oklahoma State upset North Carolina State 76-56 in the 2012 Puerto Rico Tip-Off in Bayamon. OSU’s Marcus Smart, the Most Valuable Player at last November’s event, was named earlier in March as the Integris Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award by the United States Basketball Writers Association. Here is a recap 2012 Puerto Rico Tip-Off participants.
- Akron (Mid-American champions, 14-2, 26-6, March 21 vs. VCU, NCAA Auburn Hills)
- Massachusetts (Atlantic 10, 9-7, 21-11, NIT March 20 vs. Stony Brook)
- North Carolina State (Atlantic Coast, 11-7, 24-10, March 22 vs. Temple, NCAA Dayton)
- Oklahoma State (Big 12, 13-5, 24-8, March 21 vs. Oregon, NCAA San Jose)
- Penn State (Big Ten, 2-16, 10-21, season completed)
- Providence (Big East, 9-9, 17-14, NIT March 20 vs. Charlotte)
- Tennessee (Southeastern, 11-7, 20-12, NIT March 20 vs. Mercer)
- UNC Asheville (Big South, 10-6, 16-16, season completed)
March 13, 2013
Posted by: Cary Estes and Filed Under: Uncategorized
Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart, 2012 Puerto Rico Tip-Off MVP
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association will present the 2013 Integris Wayman Tisdale Award to Oklahoma State guard Marcus Smart, who was named the most valuable player at last November’s Puerto Rico Tip-Off after leading the Cowboys to the championship.
The ntegris Wayman Tisdale Award will be presented to Smart at the Devon Energy College Basketball Awards on Mon., April 15 at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
As the national freshman of the year, Smart has led the Cowboys to a 23-7 record and a No. 14 ranking in the Associated Press Top 25 entering this weekend’s Big 12 Conference Tournament in Kansas City.
A 6-4 guard from Flower Mound, Texas, Smart led the Cowboys to Puerto Rico Tip-Off victories in Bayamon over Akron (69-65 in overtime), Tennessee (62-45) and then sixth-ranked North Carolina State (76-56). For the three games in the sixth annual event, Smart averaged 17.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists with 10 steals and five blocked shots.
Smart and his Oklahoma State teammates are scheduled to compete in ESPN Regional Television’s 2013 Old Spice Classic this coming November in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Other schools in the Butler, LSU, Memphis, Purdue, Saint Joseph’s, Siena and Washington State
A 6-4, 225-pound true freshman from Flower Mound, Texas, Smart has joined a pair of previous USBWA National Freshman of the Year Award winners – Texas’ Kevin Durant (2007) and Kansas State’s Michael Beasley (2008) – in an exclusive group of three players to be chosen as the Big 12 Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year in the same season. Smart was also named to the USBWA’s All-District VI Team to go with selections to the All-Big 12 First Team, the Big 12 All-Defensive Team and the Big 12 All-Rookie Team.
Smart is ranked in the top 10 in the Big 12 in several categories, including scoring (15.1, 6th), assists (4.3, 6th), steals (3.0, 1st) and free-throw percentage (73.8, 5th). His 89 steals tied the conference’s single-season freshman record. He also already holds the Oklahoma State school record for most assists by a freshman and his 78.3 free-throw percentage is the highest ever by a Cowboy freshman with at least 75 made free throws. Heading into the Big 12 Tournament, Smart has 24 double-figure scoring games and nine 20-point games in 30 games played, all of which he has started.
“Our team has had a great season and Marcus has been a big part of that,” said Oklahoma State head coach Travis Ford. “Marcus is one of the most competitive players I’ve ever been around. He comes ready to play every single day.
“What makes Marcus great is he’s a complete player. He’s a great offensive player as well as a great defensive player. He’s very unselfish and an unbelievable leader. I think he’s very deserving of this award, because of how hard he works and the attitude he plays with every day.
“This is an exciting award for Marcus, because of the great player and great person that Wayman Tisdale was.”
In addition to selecting Smart as the national freshman of the year, the USBWA chose four other first-year standouts for its 2013 Freshman All-America Team. Following is the complete team, all of whom were finalists for the Wayman Tisdale Award:
2013 USBWA FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA TEAM
F Anthony Bennett, UNLV, 6-8, 240, Fr., Brampton, Ont.
G Ben McLemore, Kansas, 6-5, 195, Fr., St. Louis, Mo.
G/F Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA, 6-6, 225, Fr., Las Vegas, Nev.
F Nerlens Noel, Kentucky, 6-10, 228, Fr., Everett, Mass.
G Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State, 6-4, 225, Fr., Flower Mound, Texas
The USBWA has chosen a national freshman of the year since the 1988-89 season when LSU’s Chris Jackson was the recipient. Last season, Kentucky’s Anthony Davis became the second winner of the Wayman Tisdale Award. Other notable winners of the national freshman of the year award include Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Jason Kidd and Chris Webber.
The late Wayman Tisdale was a three-time USBWA All-American at the University of Oklahoma and in 1983 was the first freshman ever to be named a first-team All-American by the USBWA. Following a stint on the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team, he played 12 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 1997 to focus on a blossoming jazz music career. In March 2007, he was diagnosed with cancer and, following a courageous and difficult battle that included the amputation of his right leg in 2008, he passed away in May 2009.
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Welcome to the Puerto Rico Tip-Off blog. This is the sixth year of the event. We are looking forward to a wonderful three days at the 9,000-seat Coliseo Rubén Rodríguez in Bayamon. This year’s field includes Akron (representing the Mid-American Conference), Massachusetts (Atlantic 10), North Carolina State (Atlantic Coast), Oklahoma State (Big 12), Penn State (Big 10), Providence (Big East), Tennessee (Southeastern) and UNC Asheville (Big South). Each school will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format. Veteran sportswriter Cary Estes will post exclusive content throughout the tournament. We welcome your feedback—feel free to send your questions and comments.