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Thursday night in New York City, InsideHoops.com hit up a fantastic NBA 2K12 party in New York City.
Of several live hip-hop performances that went down, Busta Rhymes lit up the stage in the most memorable, dramatic fashion.
Here’s some InsideHoops.com video of Busta in action:
FIBA.com reports:
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Deron Williams captured a gold medal with Team USA at the Beijing Games and no doubt will want to be with the Americans when they try to defend their title next year in London.
A 27-year-old in the prime of his career, Williams is an NBA superstar and one of the best guards in the game.
Unlike his previous seasons as a professional, though, Williams is not in the United States getting ready for the new season.
Instead, he’s in Turkey.
Because of the NBA lockout and the uncertainty of the 2011-12 NBA season, Williams has signed for Besiktas and on Tuesday night, he helped the club move a step closer to playing in the Eurocup.
In the first leg of their Qualifying Round tie with Dexia Mons Hainaut in Istanbul, Williams made just three of his 15 shots from the floor but ended up with 15 points as Besiktas won 78-70.
He also handed out nine assists.
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The Atlantic 10 Conference announced that it has formed a five-year partnership with the Barclays Center to bring the A-10 men’s basketball tournament to Brooklyn and the new arena, beginning in 2013. The joint announcement was made Wednesday afternoon at the Barclays Center Showroom in Manhattan, N.Y.
It will mark the first time the A-10 Championship, which sends its champion to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, will be held in metropolitan New York City and the first time it will be played in a state-of-the-art new facility.
“The opportunity to partner with the Barclays Center and bring the Atlantic 10 Basketball Championship to New York has unlimited possibilities. Our teams will compete in the newest, state-of-the-art facility within the Atlantic 10 footprint and the number-one media market in the country,” stated Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade.
Currently under construction, the Barclays Center will be a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue and the future home of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets. The Barclays Center will offer approximately 18,000 seats for basketball and will have one of the most intimate seating configurations ever designed into a modern multi-purpose arena. The last time the Atlantic 10 Tournament was in an NBA building was in 2002 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.
“We are thrilled for the Barclays Center to play host to one of men’s basketball’s most prestigious conference tournaments,” Barclays Center CEO Brett Yormark said. “We appreciate our alliance with the Atlantic 10 as we position the Barclays Center as a significant national collegiate sports venue.”
The highest concentration of Atlantic 10 alumni of any region in the county live and work in the New York metro area. There are 2.5 million people total in Brooklyn and 8.1 million total people in New York, an opportunity for the A-10’s premier event to be played on the biggest stage in the nation.
“Brooklyn and the surrounding metropolitan New York area is home to over 100,000 Atlantic 10 alumni; this combined with the eight-million plus population will give the Atlantic 10 an opportunity to grow the Championship to new heights,” said McGlade.
The move also places the championship into the largest media market in the nation and home to CBS Sports, the Atlantic 10’s television partner for the men’s basketball championship. CBS Sports carries several regular season A-10 games and the league’s championship title game is aired on CBS as part of the network’s Selection Sunday package.
The Atlantic 10 is one of the most successful and well-respected leagues for basketball. The A-10 has averaged more than three teams per year in the top 50 of the RPI, equal to the Southeastern Conference. For the last four years, the Atlantic 10 earned three bids into the NCAA Tournament, one of only six Division I conferences to do so. Over the last six years, the league has had 10 at-large selections – the seventh most in Division I – behind only the big six BCS leagues.
Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter announced today that he will be the first performer to play the Barclays Center of Brooklyn when the venue opens in September 2012.
Speaking at a major press event on the plaza at Atlantic Terminal, overlooking the under-construction Barclays Center, JAY-Z also revealed that ownership of Brooklyn’s future NBA franchise has chosen Brooklyn Nets as the team’s name.
JAY-Z was joined on the dais by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Forest City Ratner Companies Chairman and CEO Bruce Ratner, and Barclays Center and Nets CEO Brett Yormark.
“From the moment the Barclays Center became a reality, I knew this meant something significant for Brooklyn,” said JAY-Z. “This is where I’m from, I’ll always be Brooklyn, and opening this arena will mean more to me than anywhere else. I also look forward to opening night for the Brooklyn Nets. We’re going to create an atmosphere like only Brooklyn can.”
“Brooklyn is where legends are made and dreams come true—and no one proves it more than our very own JAY-Z, a dedicated philanthropist, innovative artist, entrepreneur and cultural icon who, as a Nets investor, helped take my vision of bringing a professional basketball team to the ‘center court’ of Brooklyn and drove it in for the layup,” said Borough President Markowitz. “I am thrilled to join Bruce Ratner, FCRC, Brett Yormark, and the Nets organization today in announcing that JAY-Z will perform at the opening of the Barclays Center. As for the selection of the Brooklyn team name, was there ever any doubt? It’s ‘nothing but Nets!’”
“Who else but JAY-Z could open the Barclays Center?” said Bruce Ratner, the developer of the Barclays Center. “JAY-Z is a world icon, but more importantly, he’s Brooklyn’s icon. For the past seven years, Jay has been a great partner of mine and a true friend. It’s going to be an incredible experience next year when JAY-Z, Brooklyn’s own, takes the stage to open the Barclays Center and our vision becomes a reality.”
“We are proud to announce this highly anticipated decision to name the team the Brooklyn Nets, a choice which reflects the decades-long tradition of our team and fans, as well as the dynamic new place that will be our home,” Nets Chairman Chris Charlier said. “JAY-Z embodies the spirit of Brooklyn – its energy, guts and spirit. We are delighted our friend and partner will be opening the Barclays Center.”
“JAY-Z is truly the face of the Barclays Center and of the Brooklyn Nets,” Brett Yormark said. “There’s no better alignment than to have a world-class venue and team with a world-class entertainer.”
Erin Durkin of the New York Daily News reports:
Rap mogul Jay-Z will headline a series of concerts to open Brooklyn’s new Nets arena next fall – and will make it official Monday: The team will be named for his hometown.
The superstar, who owns a small piece of the soon-to-be renamed Brooklyn Nets, will perform at eight concerts to celebrate the grand opening of the arena – where all-access passes are going for up to $15,400 a season.
Jay-Z likely will be joined by his wife, Beyoncé – who by then will have given birth to the couple’s first child – at one of the shows, and will bring on a series of other performers, sources said.
Jay-Z will appear with developer Bruce Ratner and Borough President Marty Markowitz to reveal details of the shows Monday at the Prospect Heights construction site.
The Barclays Center, which is rapidly rising at Flatbush and Atlantic Aves., is set to officially open on Sept. 28, 2012, with the first concert and will have three weeks of special events before the basketball season starts.
They’ll also make it official today that the team will be named the Brooklyn Nets, sources said.
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Bloomberg News reports:
Tate George, a former player for the National Basketball Association’s New Jersey Nets and Milwaukee Bucks, was charged with running a $2 million Ponzi scheme that targeted ex-professional athletes.
George, 43, raised more than $2 million for his company, The George Group, after telling investors his real-estate development portfolio was worth $500 million, according to a Federal Bureau of Investigation complaint accusing him of wire fraud.
“In reality, The George Group had virtually no income generating operations,” U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman in Newark, New Jersey, said in a statement today.
George used the money he raised to pay early investors in his company and to fund living expenses such as mortgage and child-support payments, restaurant meals, clothing and gas, according to the FBI complaint. George faces as long as 20 years in prison for the scheme, which prosecutors said began in 2005.
He surrendered to the FBI today and appeared in federal court in Newark, wearing a light-green suit and handcuffs.
The NBA announced today that player training camps for the 2011-12 season have been postponed indefinitely because a new collective bargaining agreement has not been reached with the National Basketball Players Association. Training camps were scheduled to open on October 3.
In addition, the league canceled all preseason games scheduled from October 9 through October 15.
“We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time and need to cancel the first week of preseason games,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. “We will make further decisions as warranted.”
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The Springfield Armor, the official NBA Development League affiliate of the New Jersey Nets, today announced that the team will hold open tryouts for the 2011-12 season on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 22-23 at Springfield College located at 263 Alden St. in Springfield, MA. The local tryouts will be limited to the first 125 registrants.
Open tryouts present an opportunity for players to showcase their talents and be evaluated by the Armor coaching staff while they compete to earn a spot in the Armor’s training camp in November. The Armor have a strong track record of discovering players who have made the team through open tryouts. Tre Whitted, who made the team through the 2009 open tryout, is the second leading scorer in franchise history. Five players have made the Armor’s opening night roster through open tryouts in the team’s two seasons.
“I am really looking forward to our open tryouts on October 22 and 23 in Springfield,” said Armor Head Coach Bob MacKinnon, Jr. “Each player will have two days of drills and scrimmaging to show us their abilities. We utilized this format previously and have been able to find players out of our camps that gained roster spots and furthered their careers in the league.”
Registration and check-in on Saturday begin at 8:00 a.m. with the first session set to begin at 9:00 a.m. Check-in for the second session on Sunday begins at 9:00 a.m. with the second session set to begin at 9:30 a.m.
Applicants must be eligible to play in the NBA D-League and must submit the official registration, release, disclosure and background check forms. A pre-registration fee of $150 is due prior to 5:00 p.m. on Wed. Oct. 19. After Oct. 19 or on the day of the tryouts, the registration fee is $200. Tryout forms are available online (armorhoops.com) or at the Armor office (One Monarch Place, Suite 220 Springfield, MA).
The Springfield Armor today announced that Chris Carrawell has been named the team’s assistant coach under Head Coach Bob MacKinnon, Jr. Carrawell, who was a four-year standout at Duke University under Hall of Fame Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski, joins the Armor as the team’s second assistant coach in team history.
“Chris is an excellent addition to Bob’s staff,” said Nets General Manager of Minor League Operations Milton Lee. “He is a young, aggressive coach who comes to the Armor from a storied college basketball environment, and his passion and energy will be an invaluable asset to our players.”
Carrawell, 33, joins the Armor after four years of working at his alma mater in a variety of administrative roles. Carrawell served as the athletic community outreach coordinator for Duke’s athletic department from 2007-08 and then became a graduate assistant manager for the Duke men’s basketball program from 2008-10. Carrawell also held roles with the men’s basketball program as an assistant strength and conditioning coach, as well as an assistant video coordinator, for the 2010-11 season. Prior to accepting a position with the Armor, Carrawell had been serving as a special assistant to the Duke women’s basketball program.
“We are so happy for Chris. He’s the consummate team player who became ACC Player of the Year. He has a great understanding of the game and loves to teach it,” said Duke University and USA National Team Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski. “This position is absolutely perfect for him.”
A native of St. Louis, MO, Carrawell earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology after a stellar four-year career at Duke. Carrawell started all four years from 1996-2000, capturing Associated Press and First Team All-American honors, as well as the ACC Player of the Year award during his senior season. Duke advanced to the NCAA Tournament all four years Carrawell was in school and captured four straight ACC regular season titles. During Carrawell’s collegiate career, the Blue Devils compiled a record of 133-24, including a 58-6 mark in ACC play. Carrawell started every game during the 1998-99 season when Duke compiled a 37-2 record, eventually falling to the University of Connecticut in the 1999 national title game.
Following his collegiate playing career, Carrawell was drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the 41st overall pick in the 2000 NBA Draft. Carrawell began a lengthy overseas career that same season, starting in Italy during the 2000-01 season. Carrawell returned stateside the following year to play in the inaugural season of the NBA Development League with the Asheville Altitude. Over the next six years, Carrawell played in Lithuania, Germany, Australia, the Philippines, the American Basketball Association (ABA) and the Netherlands before retiring in 2007.
“Chris is an outstanding person and possesses all the qualities you look for in an assistant coach,” said Armor Head Coach Bob MacKinnon, Jr. “(Chris’) experience at Duke University, as both a player and as a coach, will be invaluable towards his development of our players here in Springfield. This is another exciting step toward establishing the Armor as one of the elite teams in the NBA Development League.”
The 2011-12 season will open on Friday, November 25 when the Armor host the Maine Red Claws at 7:00 p.m. at the MassMutual Center in Springfield.
Colin Stephenson of the Newark Star-Ledger reports:
Assistant coach John Loyer has left the Nets to join Lawrence Frank’s coaching staff in Detroit and Sam Mitchell is still on the Nets’ staff, for now, Nets coach Avery Johnson said today in an informal sit-down session with reporters at the team’s East Rutherford practice facility.
“John Loyer is going to Detroit,” Johnson said. “We’ll have Popeye Jones taking John’s spot. We’ll figure out where we go from there with the rest of the bench.”
Jones was on the Nets’ staff last season, but he will now be moved up to the front row of the bench, sitting in Loyer’s spot.
Mitchell, who was the lead assistant last season, was a candidate for the head coaching job of the Minnesota Timberwolves until the T-Wolves settled on Rick Adelman to take over for the fired Kurt Rambis. Asked whether Mitchell would return to the Nets, Johnson said yes. Asked if he will be with the team when training camp begins (after the lockout ends), Johnson said, “As of right now, yes. That’s what we anticipate.