All Entries Tagged With: "NBA draft"

Samuels Follows Impossible Dream

What could have been is now impossible.

Samardo Samuels won’t be sticking around the University of Louisville  to develop his potential. With delusions of being a National Basketball Association draft pick, Samuels is apparently hiring an agent, according to an ESPN report.

If that’s true, he’s gone.

Sad to see a player with so much untapped potential make such a sorry decision. From statements his father had made earlier, it was obvious the old man considered the draft a foregone conclusion.

Samuels will be lucky if his name is called in the first five rounds if he is drafted at all. More than likely he will wind up playing basketball overseas. That’s obvious even to the most casual fan. The pay may be decent, the food good, and the lodgings okay but these amenities fall far short of NBA standards.

One wishes Samuels only the best, and hopes he keeps his daddy happy.

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Terrence Williams No. 11, Earl Clark No. 14

Terrence Williams to the New Jersey Nets, Earl Clark to the Phoenix Suns. The University of Louisville the only team with two lottery picks in the 2009 NBA draft.

As the 11th pick, Williams will earn $1.7  million his first year, according to Hoops World. He will make $1.8 million his second, $1.9 million his third, and he would be eligible for a 32.7% increase in salary the fourth.

As the 14th pick, Clark will be paid $1.4 million his rookie year, $1.5 the second, $1.69 million his third, and be eligible for a 48.1% increase his fourth season.

Blake Griffin, the No. 1 pick, starts out at $4.1 million.

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T-Will, Clark Jerseys On The Block

One more reason the University of Louisville basketball program is the most profitable in the country is because of creative and innovative approaches to fund raising.

On the day when Terrence Williams and Earl Clark are expected to hear their names called in the NBA draft, their retro-style jerseys from the March 1 game against Marquette are up for bids on the U of L Athletic Department’s web site. Williams and Clark’s names are not mentioned but potential buyers are assured that these are authentic items worn during the game. The Cards won that game 62-58.

T-Will’s No. 1 jersey currently had a high bid of $350.02 while  Clark’s No. 5 is going for $250.02. The auction on these items closes July 5th at 7 p.m.

Andre McGee’s No. 33 jersey is also on the block by the way, with a current high bid of $200.

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T-Will To The Green Room

Terrence Williams’ name has been added to the list of players invited to the Green Room to wait their name being called in the NBA draft, which will begin Thursday. Per his Twitter posts, T-Will would not be surprised to hear his name called as early as fifth or sixth by the Minnesota Timberwolves or 11th by the Charlotte Bobcats.

T-Will was originally left off the invitation list but his stock has apparently risen quickly over the last few days. It also helped that some other invitees chose not to accept their invitations. Here’s the list:

Stephen Curry (Davidson), Austin Daye (Gonzaga), DeMar DeRozan (USC), Tyreke Evans (Memphis), Jonny Flynn (Syracuse), Blake Griffin (Oklahoma), Tyler Hansbrough (North Carolina), James Harden (Arizona State), Gerald Henderson (Duke), Jordan Hill (Arizona), Jrue Holiday (UCLA), Brandon Jennings (Lottomatica Virtus Roma, Italy), Ricky Rubio (DKV Joventut Badalona, Spain), Hasheem Thabeet (UConn), and Terrence Williams.

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Hmmm … Another Lady Card To Transfer

Your heart had better be all in if you play for the University of Louisville women’s basketball team. Coach Jeff Walz has championship aspirations, and “pursuing other opportunities” is always a possibility

Freshman forward Janae Howard is leaving the Lady Cards to play at Western Kentucky University. The Owensoro native was a Courier-Journal first team all-stater but didn’t see a lot of prime time during her freshman year.  Although she played in 33 games, starting none, she spent most of her time mopping up. She showed promise as an outside shooter, hitting 20-46 from the three-point arc. Walz, at times, noted that she needed to be more aggressive and improve her defensive skills.

She is the fourth of the six highly-touted freshmen who won’t be returning. Tiera Stephen transferred to Wisconsin, Mary Jackson to Memphis, and Gwen Rucker is taking a redshirt year while playing volleyball.

Personal assessment finds it hard to see that her time would have increased significantly. Monique Reid, a healthy Laura Terry and transfer Kenyatta Gill will contend for the starting forward roles,  along with freshmen Asia Taylor, Ashley Rainey and Nikki Burton.  Howard will be eligible for the 2010-11 season.

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Green Room Shutout — Terrence Williams and Earl Clark are not included on the list of players invited to the Green Room to hear their names called during the NBA draft. An invitation is an opportunity for players to be with their families at Madison Square Garden, have their name called [hopefully] early in the draft, given hats with their new team’s logo on them, and then shaking hands with the commissioner. Here’s a link to the list of invitees.

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T-Will Twitter –Terrence Williams is apparently taking the surprising slight in stride, taking note of his daily “Twitterscope” in one of his numerous daily postings:

“A serious disagreement over an emotional issue might provoke a feeling of helplessness today. Fortunately, you have the power now to turn this negative feeling into something positive.”

You can follow T-Will on Twitter  here. Consider following UofLCardGame while you’re on Twitter.

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Earl Clark Awaits His Turn

The good thing about the NBA draft is that it finally arrives June 25 and plethora of hype leading up to it will finally dissipate shortly thereafter. The most fascinating aspect of this year’s draft has to be disposition of the University of Louisville’s Earl Clark. Obviously a major challenge for any player, but Clark has some great insights on how to handle the uncertainty and drama:

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T-Will Get Ready

Remarkable, all the work, the reproving of themselves that former college basketball stars like Terrence Williams, from the University of Louisville, have to do to get ready for the National Basketball Association draft. Hang in there T-Will, only a couple of weeks away, June 25th at Madison Square Garden.

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Remember Doris Burke, the ESPN commentator who impresses few viewers with her oratory during women’s basketball games and even fewer during football games? Pat Forde apparently doesn’t want to included among the few, as indicated in his tweet about her chirping after a recent game:

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