Sacramento Kings hire Alex English as assistant coach

Sacramento Kings President of Basketball Operations Geoff Petrie announced today the hiring of Alex English as an assistant coach, joining current assistants Jim Eyen, Jim Todd and Bobby Jackson on Head Coach Keith Smart’s staff.

“Adding Alex to our basketball program is good for all and especially good for our players,” explained Smart. “He was an elite player in this league for a long time and is a very good coach. When he talks, they’ll listen. His game prep and film study aspects are some of his many strong points, and that’s only going to help our staff. We’re trying to surround ourselves with the right people that fit our basketball team who have the ability to teach our guys and also have a firm hand to get them walking in the right direction as young men.”

A member of the Basketball Hall-of-Fame and the NBA’s 13th all-time leading scorer (25,613 points), English arrives in Sacramento after spending seven seasons as an assistant coach and director of player development with the Toronto Raptors (2004-11). Prior to his stint north of the border, English served in a similar capacity with the Philadelphia 76ers (2003-04) and Atlanta Hawks (2002-03). He began his professional basketball management career in 2001-02 as the head coach of the NBA Development League’s North Charleston (S.C.) Lowgaters, where he guided his team to a 36-20 record and a berth in the finals of the first NBDL Championship.

The 6-foot-7, 190-pound English was an eight-time NBA All-Star and selected to the all-league second team three times (1982, 1983 and 1986), as well as presented with the league’s J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award for his dedication to community service in 1988. English averaged 21.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in 1,193 regular season games, shooting an impressive .507 from the field and .832 from the foul line. He appeared in 68 postseason contests, averaging 24.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest. A second-round selection by the Milwaukee Bucks in 1976 (23rd overall), English played two seasons in Milwaukee (1976-78), two with the Indiana Pacers (1978-80), and 11 in Denver (1980-90) before finishing his career in 1990-91 with the Dallas Mavericks. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1997.

English was dealt by Indiana to the Nuggets on February 1, 1980 and would go on to become the Nuggets’ career leader in scoring (21,645) and assists (3,679) as a teammate of the Kings’ current Director of Player Development Fat Lever. In 10 of his 11 seasons in Denver, he averaged better than 21 points, and in eight of those seasons scored more than 25 per contest. He led the Nuggets to nine straight playoff appearances from 1982-90, including a berth in the 1985 Western Conference Finals, and averaged 24.4 points during 10 playoff seasons. On March 2, 1993, English was honored by the Nuggets with the retirement of his uniform No. 2.

Former N.C. State player Gavin Grant found not guilty of robbery charges

Gavin Grant, a former standout N.C. State basketball player, was acquitted Thursday of first-degree burglary and robbery with a dangerous weapon charges related to a home invasion robbery.The jury’s decision in Wake County Superior Court capped a trial that started Monday with prosecutors contending the 6-foot-8 Grant was one of two men who broke into a West Raleigh apartment in September 2010, armed with a gun and demanding money from one of the residents.

The incident occurred in September 2010.

Eliza Jacobellis, a woman in the Raleigh apartment, dialed 911 on Sept. 24, 2010 to report that two men were trying to take her boyfriend’s money.

Former N.C. State baseball player Domonique Andrews Rodgers, one of the accusers, told police he knew his attackers, offering the names of Grant and another former Wolfpack basketball player —Farnold Degand, who had an alibi.

— Reported by Anne Blythe of the News Observer

Vince Carter says fans were not sitting on Mavericks bench

Vince Carter

Vince Carter wants to set the record straight.

Those two Detroit fans who appeared as though they were sitting on the Dallas Mavericks’ bench during Tuesday’s game against the Pistons were actually sitting in some expensive courtside seats. However, when TV cameras caught the pair sitting between Delonte West and Carter, it went viral — for all the wrong and laughable reasons.

Carter, though, tells another tale about what happened when he came out of the game and couldn’t find a seat on the Mavs’ bench.

“Everybody kept saying (the two fans) were sitting on our bench, but they weren’t sitting on our bench,’’ Carter said. “They were sitting courtside.

“So when I came out of the game there was nowhere to sit — but those seats right there on the end.’’

— Reported by Dwain Price of the Forth Worth Star-Telegram Blog.

VIDEO OF THE INCIDENT

With Kwame Brown out, Warriors seek help

Kwame Brown

With center Kwame Brown likely out for the season, the Warriors are back on the market for a big man. Only this time, the options are even skimpier. Thursday, Golden State announced Brown will have to undergo surgery to repair a torn pectoralis major (the large chest muscle that attaches to his right shoulder). It is expected to keep him out at least three months, according to the Warriors…

According to multiple sources, the Warriors had Joel Przybilla on their list. But Przybilla, an 11-year veteran defensive specialist who last played for Portland, has been ruled out because he’s seeking to play for a title contender.

Golden State previously had an agreement with free agent center Kyrylo Fesenko, formerly of Utah. But after he worked out with the team, the Warriors decided to pass. One team source said Golden State would not take another look at Fesenko.

— Reported by Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group

Danny Granger treating Fieldhouse workers to dinner

Danny Granger

Indiana Pacers forward Danny Granger will host the dinner he tweeted about during the NBA lockout. Sunday’s event at Bankers Life Fieldhouse is for many of the part-time employees who did not get paid from July 1 until Nov. 26.

Granger and members of the organization will host the dinner, which also includes games, raffle prizes and special guests.

“The plan was for this to take place somewhere in Indianapolis if the lockout continued,” Granger said in a statement from the team.

“Once that was resolved, it was obvious the fieldhouse was the only logical place to do this and then, with the condensed schedule, finding a date.”

— Reported by Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star

Mark Aguirre dominating the cupcake world

During his 13-year NBA career, Mark Aguirre made a lot of sweet moves that dumbfound defenders.

Off the court, he said one of the sweetest moves he’s ever made was becoming co-owner of a Frisco cupcake company named Dimples.

Along with Frisco businessman Keith Fluellen, Aguirre became a proprietor of the cupcake business some nine months ago. Since then, the cupcakes have been flying off the shelves and revenue has soared through the roof.

“I really wasn’t thinking about going into a cupcake company at all, but I have a friend, Keith, who introduced it to me,” Aguirre said. “I said why not go see what he’s talking about.

“Once I got to him and I tasted the product, it was really good. Extremely good.”

These are not ordinary cupcakes Aguirre and Fluellen are selling. These cupcakes are so large that they are approximately the size of a piece of cake.

— Reported by Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Rasheed Wallace may seek NBA comeback

Rasheed Wallace

Rasheed Wallace is contemplating a comeback to the NBA, league sources told Yahoo! Sports.

Wallace, who retired after 15 seasons in 2010, has been working out and probing some close league friends about possible destinations to sign for the rest of the season, sources said.

At 6-foot-11, Wallace, 37, had been one of the most versatile and talented power forwards of his era. One league source who has talked with Wallace recently describes him as “serious” about a return to the NBA this season. Nevertheless, no teams contacted by Yahoo! Sports reported that they had any contact with Wallace, or his representative.

— Reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports

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Dwight Howard breaks single-game NBA free throw attempts record

Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard broke Wilt Chamberlain’s nearly 50-year-old NBA record for most free throw attempts in a game, making 21 of 39 in the Orlando Magic’s 117-109 victory over the Golden State Warriors on Thursday night.

The Warriors hacked Howard intentionally throughout, sending the notoriously poor shooter to the line in record-setting fashion. Chamberlain shot 34 for the Philadelphia Warriors against St. Louis on Feb. 22, 1962.

Howard finished with 45 points and 23 rebounds, and Hedo Turkoglu scored 20 points to propel the Magic to their third straight victory.

Monta Ellis had 30 points and 11 rebounds and David Lee added 26 points and 12 rebounds for the short-handed Warriors, playing without starters Stephen Curry and Dorell Wright.

The Hack-a-Howard routine reached a whole new level.

Howard had never shot more than 24 free throws in a game – which he had four times previously – and fouled so early. Certainly, nothing compared to the Warriors’ ways.

Howard eclipsed his old mark with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter, getting hacked and held intentionally at the end of each quarter with mixed results. If nothing else, Golden State rookie coach Mark Jackson’s strategy slowed down the pace and refused to let the Magic’s potent shooters find their rhythm.

— Reported by the Associated Press

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