Former NBA player Rumeal Robinson guilty of fraud

The AP reports:

Rumeal Robinson, who led Michigan to the NCAA men’s basketball championship in 1989 and later played in the NBA, was convicted in federal court Wednesday of borrowing more than $700,000 for a sham business deal and then spending the money on a condominium, expensive furniture and cars.

A jury found Robinson guilty of 11 counts, including bank bribery, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution. He faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine on each count. A date for sentencing hasn’t been set.

Among a lengthy list of accusations by prosecutors was one accusing Robinson of scheming to sell his mother’s home in Cambridge, Mass., without her knowledge.

Ron Artest to auction off his championship ring

NBA.com reports:

Ron Artest to auction off his championship ring

Ron Artest finally won a title in June after 11 regular seasons of trying … and now he’s planning to sell the championship ring as a fundraiser to put more psychologists, psychiatrists and therapists in schools.

“I’m never going to put it on,” he said.

Artest plans to soon announce details of what he hopes will become a worldwide auction, and he takes possession of the jewelry in an Oct. 26 pre-game ceremony before the Lakers open against the Rockets. It’s an incredible gesture. But it’s even more meaningful as a statement.

“You work so hard to get a ring, and now you have a chance to help more people than just yourself, instead of just satisfying yourself,” he said. “What’s better than that? For me, this is very important.”

Hamptons partygoers get earful of Dennis Rodman sex

Page Six of the New York Post reports:

Hamptons partygoers got to listen to a little Dennis Rodman lovemaking after he took six girls up to his bedroom with a cordless microphone switched on in his pocket. Promoters at the Hotel Indigo in Hampton Bays were astonished when they heard Rodman talking dirty over the music at their pool party in the early hours of Monday morning. A source told us, “Rodman had quite a lot to drink and had been making shout-outs on the mike. He headed up to his room with six girls. Then, the next thing you could hear through the speakers downstairs was Rodman describing in full sexual detail what he wanted to do to them. Organizers pulled the plug before it got any dirtier.”

Matt Barnes booked on domestic violence charge

The AP reports:

Matt Barnes booked on domestic violence charge

Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes has been arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, Sacramento County authorities said Wednesday.

Deputies arrested Barnes after responding to what was termed an incomplete 911 call from a residence around 4:16 p.m., according to sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Tim Curran.

Deputies found Barnes and a woman both with visible injuries, but took Barnes into custody after determining he had been the primary aggressor, said Curran.

The name of the woman was not released, but she was described as “a woman who lived with him and with whom he had a dating relationship.”

Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register reports (via blog):

The woman would presumably be Gloria Govan, whose wedding to Barnes in Santa Barbara was recently called off although the two told VIBE they were continuing their relationship and would appear again on VH-1’s reality TV show “Basketball Wives.” The two have twin boys together.

Police said Barnes, 30, and the woman both suffered visible injuries and Barnes prevented her from completing a 911 call, prompting investigation.  Barnes was therefore also charged with maliciously obstructing the use of a telephone line. Barnes is scheduled to appear in court Monday.

Hornets sign Mustafa Shakur

Hornets sign Mustafa Shakur

The New Orleans Hornets announced today that they have signed free agent guard Mustafa Shakur.  Per team policy, terms of the contracts were not released.

“Mustafa will be able to give us depth at the point guard position,” said Hornets General Manager Dell Demps.  “He has thrived in the D-League and has great size and vision for a point guard.”

Shakur (6-4, 195) appeared in 47 games (all starts) for the Tulsa 66ers of the NBA D-League last season, averaging 19.2 points, 6.9 assists and 4.5 rebounds in 37.8 minutes per game. He was named to the All-D-League Second Team and was an All-Star last season for the 66ers.  Undrafted out of the University of Arizona, Shakur was signed by the Sacramento Kings out of college in 2007 and appeared in five preseason games with the Kings before being cut. During the 2009-10 season, Shakur appeared in two preseason games with the Minnesota Timberwolves before being cut and was also signed to two 10-day contracts by the Oklahoma City Thunder, but did not appear in a game.

Shakur, 26 years old, spent the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons in Europe. In 2007-08 he played with the Euroleague club Prokom Trefl Sopot where he won the Polish National Championship as well as the Polish Supercup. Shakur played for the Euroleague club TAU Ceramica during the 2008-09 season.

A former McDonald’s High School All-American out of Philadelphia, PA, Shakur and current Hornets guard Chris Paul were widely regarded as the top two point guards in the class of 2003.

Warriors sign Rodney Carney

Warriors sign Rodney Carney

The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent guard/forward Rodney Carney to a contract, the team announced today.  Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released.

Carney, 26, appeared in 68 games for the Philadelphia 76ers last season, averaging 4.7 points and 2.0 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per contest, while shooting 40.1% (113-282 FG) from the field, 30.4% (41-135 3FG) from three-point range and 82.5% (52-63 FT) from the free throw line.  He tallied a season-high 16 points in 20 minutes at Golden State on February 23.

Originally selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 2006 NBA Draft (#16 overall) out of the University of Memphis, Carney was traded to Philadelphia in a draft night deal and has spent three of his four NBA campaigns with the 76ers.  Overall, he owns career averages of 6.1 points and 2.0 rebounds in 272 regular-season games with Philadelphia and Minnesota.

Carney will wear uniform #25.

Hawks hire Nick Van Exel

Atlanta Hawks head coach Larry Drew has finalized his 2010-11 coaching staff with the hiring of former pro Nick Van Exel to the position of Player Development Instructor, it was announced this afternoon.  Van Exel, comes to Atlanta from Texas Southern University, where he served as an assistant coach.

“We’re very excited to add Nick to the staff,” said Drew.  “I think he brings a wealth of knowledge to the position, and given his past experiences, he’ll be really vital to the development of our young guards, particularly Jeff Teague and Jordan Crawford.  With the staff we currently have on board, I believe Nick will do a tremendous job for us moving forward.”

A second round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1993, Van Exel brings 13 seasons of NBA experience to the Hawks staff in addition to 76 playoff games and one All-Star Game appearance (1998), having tallied career averages of 14.4 points and 6.6 assists (.405 FG%, .794 FT%).  During his career with the Lakers, “Nick the Quick” was known as a flashy player who had the ability to deliver points in bunches and hitting game-winning shots.  In five years in LA, he finished with 14.9 points per game and 7.3 assists, finishing in the top ten in the league in that category on two occasions.

He joined Denver prior to the 1998-99 season and spent four years with the Nuggets, raising his scoring average in almost every season.  Over that period, Van Exel posted 17.9 ppg and 8.3 apg, averaging 21.4 points through the first 27 games of the 2001-02 season before he was traded along with three others to the Dallas Mavericks.

Following two seasons with Mavericks, Van Exel played for three different clubs over the next three years (Golden State, 2003-04; Portland, 2004-05; and San Antonio, 2005-06) before calling it a career.

Named to the NBA’s All-Rookie second team in 1994, Van Exel played his final two collegiate seasons at the University of Cincinnati, where he led the Bearcats in both points (18.3 ppg) and assists (4.5 apg) as a senior.  He led UC to an NCAA Final Four appearance and earned third-team All-America honors (AP, Basketball Times and Basketball Weekly) in addition to being selected as a finalist for the Wooden Award.

Nick Van Exel was born November 27, 1971 in Kenosha, WI.

Angel McCoughtry scores WNBA playoff record 42 points

The AP reports:

Angel McCoughtry scored a WNBA playoff record 42 points to win a high-scoring duel with Cappie Pondexter as the Liberty fell to the Atlanta Dream, 105-93, Tuesday night.

With the win, the Dream completed an unlikely march to the league finals.

Pondexter led the Liberty with 36 points, her postseason high, and nine assists.

The Dream, the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, swept Washington in the first round before also winning two straight over the Liberty in the conference finals.

Magic name Adonal Foyle director of player development

The Orlando Magic have named Adonal Foyle as director of player development, President of Basketball Operations Otis Smith announced today.  In his role, Foyle will provide support for the overall development of the players, act as a conduit between players and management, and give assistance to the basketball operations department.

Originally selected by Golden State in the first round (eighth overall) of the 1997 NBA Draft, Foyle (6’10”, 270, 3/9/75) appeared in 733 regular season games during his 13-year NBA career with Golden State, Orlando and Memphis, averaging 4.1 ppg., 4.7 rpg. and 1.63 blkpg. in 17.8 minpg.  Foyle remains Golden State’s all-time franchise leader in blocked shots with 1,140.  He spent the final three seasons of his professional career with the Magic before retiring in August 2010.

Born on March 9, 1975, Foyle grew up on the small island of Canouan (population 1,000 and 3.5 x 1.25 miles in size) and did not play organized basketball until the age of 16.  During his time in the NBA, he was extremely active off the court.  In the summer of 2001, Foyle founded “Democracy Matters,” a non-profit political organization that encourages grass-roots involvement in the campaign finance reform movement.  Democracy Matters currently has more than 70 chapters on college, university and high school campuses in 23 different states.  In 2006, he established the Kerosene Lamp Foundation, named after the type of light Foyle used to study at night on an island with no electricity, with the goal of empowering youth of the Eastern Caribbean and the United States to take control of their future. All of Foyle’s off-the-court activities can be found on his personal website – www.adonalfoyle.com.

Foyle has been inducted into both the Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame and the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America Hall of Fame. He also served as first vice president of the National Basketball Players Association.

Nets waive Sean May

The New Jersey Nets have requested waivers on forward Sean May, Nets General Manager Billy King announced today.

“During a basketball workout last week, in preparation for the upcoming training camp and season, Sean May suffered a stress fracture to his left foot,” said King. “This injury has a four-eight week rehab period, which would not provide Sean a legitimate chance to make our team.”

May, who signed with the Nets on August 9, 2010, is a four-year NBA veteran with career averages of 6.9 points and 4.0 rebounds over 119 career games with Charlotte and Sacramento.