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Former NBA player Quinton Ross reacts to story that he was dead

Quinton Ross reacts to story that he was dead

Former SMU and NBA basketball player Quinton Ross had to ease the fears of friends and family members after he was erroneously reported dead.

Ross lives in the suburbs near Dallas and was attending Monday night’s NIT game between LSU and SMU.

He said he woke to a phone loaded with messages from people concerned about his well-being.

“My phone was going crazy,” he said. “I checked Facebook. Finally, I went on the Internet, and they were saying I was dead. I just couldn’t believe it.”

— Associated Press

Brandon Costner, Willie Reed named D-League Co-Performers of Week

Los Angeles D-Fenders forward Brandon Costner and Springfield Armor forward Willie Reed were today named NBA Development League Co-Performers of the Week for games played Monday, March 17- Sunday, March 23. The award is the first for both players this season.

Costner (6-9, 235, North Carolina State) led the D-Fenders to a 2-1 week, including wins over the Austin Toros and Santa Cruz Warriors. For the week, Costner averaged 27.0 points on 59 percent shooting from the floor to go with 11.3 rebounds. He recorded a season-high 38 points and 14 rebounds in the team’s 140-121 win over the Warriors on March 22. For the season, he is averaging 14.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 26.7 minutes.

Reed (6-10, 220, St. Louis) helped the Armor record a 2-2 week, securing wins against the Erie BayHawks and Canton Charge while averaging 18.3 points on 56 percent shooting, to go with 19.3 rebounds, including 7.5 offensive rebounds. His 24 rebounds against the BayHawks on March 17 tied the Armor’s franchise record. On the year, Reed is averaging 14.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 31.8 minutes.

Other top performers considered included Austin’s Flip Murray, Iowa’s Moses Ehambe and Othyus Jeffers, Maine’s Frank Gaines, Santa Cruz’s Cameron Jones and Sioux Falls’ Tre Kelley.

Joe Johnson, Kevin Durant named NBA Players of Week through March 23

joe johnson

The Brooklyn Nets’ Joe Johnson and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant today were named NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, March 17, through Sunday, March 23.

Johnson led the Nets to a 4-0 week, which included wins over the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 22.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Johnson connected on 14-of-24 (.583) three-point field goals on the week, including a 6-of-8 performance from distance en route to 27 points on March 21, during a 114-98 win over the Boston Celtics.

kevin durant

Durant led the Thunder to a 3-0 week, tallying 35 points or more in all three contests. He averaged a league-best 40.3 ppg and added 11.7 rebounds (fourth in the conference) and 6.0 assists (tied-10th in the conference). Durant closed the week with a 51-point, 12-rebound, seven-assist effort on March 21, as the Thunder topped the Toronto Raptors 119-118 in double overtime.

Other nominees for the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week were Atlanta’s Paul Millsap, Houston’s James Harden, Memphis’ Zach Randolph, New Orleans’ Anthony Davis, New York’s Carmelo Anthony, Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins, San Antonio’s Tiago Splitter and Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan.

76ers sign Casper Ware to 10-day contract

The Philadelphia 76ers today announced that they have signed guard Casper Ware to a 10-day contract.

Since graduating from Long Beach State in 2012, Ware has played in Italy. He spent the 2012-13 season with A.S. Junior Casale and was named MVP of Legadue Basket. This season, Ware played for Virtus Bologna of Lega Basket Serie A.

As a senior for the 49ers, Ware was named an honorable mention All-American by the Associated Press. He finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in assists.

In addition, Darius Johnson-Odom’s 10-day contract with the Sixers has expired.

Man named Quinton Ross (NOT the former NBA player) found dead

Here is the New York Post reporting on a man found dead whose name is the same name as a former Nets/NBA player. But, it’s not that player. It’s another guy.

Cops are investigating the suspicious death of a man whose body was found buried in a shallow grave on the Far Rockaway beach Monday morning.

Initial reports that the victim is former Nets basketball player Quinton Ross are incorrect, police said.

The victim, also named Quinton Ross was stuffed into a trash bag that was hidden in a patch of weeds midway between the water and the boardwalk at Beach 40th Street, cops said.

A law-enforcement source said he had been reported missing to the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica, Queens, on Thursday.

After latest loss to Suns, playoff hopes fading for Timberwolves

Here’s the St. Paul Pioneer Press reporting on the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have to suddenly play amazing basketball and get lucky on top of that if they still hope to somehow qualify for the playoffs:

The Timberwolves’ playoff hopes already were on life support even before they tipped off Sunday against the Phoenix Suns in their only home matinee game of the season.

With the end of the season drawing near, the Wolves were in 10th position in the Western Conference playoff chase five games behind Phoenix, which sat just a game behind Memphis for the eighth and final berth.

A Wolves victory would have sent pulses skipping a bit and renewed enthusiasm for the final weeks.

But only Phoenix moved in a positive direction.

The Suns essentially pulled the plug on the Wolves’ faint playoff hopes with a 127-120 victory in front of 17,866 at Target Center. Markieff Morris scored 25 points and Eric Bledsoe had 21 and P.J.

DeMarcus Cousins apologizes to Sean Elliot for old incident

Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on Kings center DeMarcus Cousins:

In terms of maturity, Nov. 9, 2012 was one of the low points during DeMarcus Cousins’ NBA career.

Following a loss to the San Antonio Spurs, Cousins left the Kings locker room to confront former Spur and current television analyst Sean Elliott over comments he deemed as critical.

The NBA deemed that confrontation threatening and hostile and suspended Cousins for two games.

When the Spurs were in Sacramento this past Friday, Cousins approached Elliott before the game and apologized.

“What happened between me and Sean the other day was just me being man enough to admit that I was wrong,” Cousins said. “I wasn’t expecting it to get out. I was hoping it was going to be something between me and him.”