Basketball – Page 59 – North Platte Post Archive

Lady Knights’ Jordan Dickerson Receives Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence

Posted on July 7, 2014July 7, 2014

North Platte – Jordan Dickerson of the women’s basketball team at North Platte Community College was awarded the Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence after finishing her two year career as a Lady Knight with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Dickerson is the second Pinnacle Award winner for head coach Richard Thurin, joining Maggie Carson who received the award following the 2010-2011 school year. The Pinnacle Award for Academic Excellence is the highest academic award the National Junior College Athletic Association gives out.

Dickerson started all 29 games for the Lady Knights during her sophomore season in which she averaged 8.5 points and 3.4 rebounds. Dickerson led the Lady Knights with 3.9 assists per game while playing 32.9 minutes per game which was also a team high.

“We are very proud of Jordan for her accomplishments off the court,” said head coach Thurin. “It is a testament to her hard work and dedication that she earned such a great GPA. I know that Jordan will be successful in whatever she decides to do.”

Jordan Dickerson was also named to the All-Region and All-Conference Academic teams for her stellar academic performance. Jordan was joined by her sister Briana Dickerson on both teams for her academic performance.

Smith Competes at Caribbean Basketball Championships

Posted on July 3, 2014

Tortola. British Virgin Islands – Husker senior forward Leslee Smith is back home in his native country this week, representing the British Virgin Islands in the FIBA Caribbean Basketball Championships.

Smith, a 6-8 forward, has helped the British Virgin Islands to a 2-0 start in the preliminary round, averaging 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He opened competition with nine points and four rebounds in 20 minutes of work a 99-63 win over Guyana on Tuesday and had eight points, four rebounds, four steals and a pair of blocked shots in 19 minutes in an 81-77 win over Barbados last night.

The British Virgin Islands will take on the Virgin Islands tonight (Thursday) at 8 p.m. (CT) in a matchup of unbeaten teams in Group B, while both teams will advance to the semifinals as the top two finishers in the group.

The semifinals take place on Friday with the championship round set for Saturday. Antigua, Bahamas, Cuba and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are the other nations in the eight-team event. The top three teams earn berths to Centrobasket Championship where they compete for spots in the FIBA Americas Championship, from which they can qualify for the FIBA World Cup/Championship or the Olympic Games.

Smith played a major role in the Huskers reaching the 2014 NCAA Tournament, as he played in all 32 games and averaged 5.4 points on a team-high 52 percent shooting and 4.8 rebounds per game to rank third on the team in rebounding. Despite making only one start, Smith led the Huskers with three double-doubles and ranked ninth among Big Ten played with five double-figure rebound efforts in 2013-14.

This is the second time he has played for the British Virgin Islands in International competition, as he played in five games in the 2009 Caribbean Basketball Championships for his native country.

Smith’s competition this week will be the first of two international competitions for Huskers, as Tai Webster will play for New Zealand later this summer.

Attention, Shoppers! Free Agency Opens in the NBA

Posted on June 30, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — Free agency has opened in the NBA with LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony leading the available players.

Players and teams could begin negotiating just past midnight EDT on Tuesday morning, though contracts can’t be signed until July 10.

James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who joined together in Miami in 2010 and have led the Heat to two championships and four straight NBA Finals, all became free agents.

Though many expect that trio to stay with the Heat, Anthony could be persuaded to leave the New York Knicks for a team that he believes gives him a better chance to compete for a championship.

Longtime stars Paul Pierce and Dirk Nowitzki also are free agents, along with players such as Toronto’s Kyle Lowry and Indiana’s Lance Stephenson.

Nuggets Banking on Big Year from Arron Afflalo

Posted on June 30, 2014

DENVER (AP) — Arron Afflalo is looking forward to his return to the Denver Nuggets after being acquired from Orlando in a draft-day deal last week.

The 28-year-old shooting guard is coming off a season with the Magic during which he averaged a career-high 18.2 points.

In some ways, Afflalo feels like he never really left the Nuggets as he always kept close tabs on his former team.

And yet plenty has changed in his two-year absence. Namely, George Karl being replaced as coach by Brian Shaw. Afflalo is ready to take on whatever role Shaw has for him, whether it’s as a scorer or being Afflalo the leader.

Afflalo said his responsibility is to “make sure I’m capable of getting that job done. I have no problem doing whatever coach asks of me.”

Record Overnight Rating for NBA Draft on ESPN

Posted on June 27, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA draft delivered its highest rating on ESPN, surpassing the mark set 11 years ago when LeBron James was the No. 1 pick.

The telecast Thursday had a 3.1 overnight rating, according to Nielsen, a 19 percent increase from last year’s 2.6 mark.

The previous record for the draft was 2.7 overnight in 2003, the first year the network televised it. James was the first pick that year in a top five that included Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

Nuggets Use 16th Pick from Chicago to Take Nurkic, Chicago’s 19th to Take Harris

Posted on June 26, 2014June 26, 2014

DENVER (AP) — The Denver Nuggets used the 16th pick they received from Chicago in a draft-day deal to select Bosnian center Jusuf Nurkic.

The Nuggets gave the draft rights to Doug McDermott, whom they selected at No. 11, to the Bulls for the right to select the 6-foot-11 Nurkic and the 19th pick.

Nurkic has been playing for Cedevita Zagreb in the Croatian League. He averaged 11.2 points and six rebounds. The 19-year-old didn’t start playing basketball until he was 14.

The Denver Nuggets used the 19th pick acquired from the Chicago Bulls in a draft-day deal to get Michigan State guard Gary Harris.

The 6-foot-4 Harris was high on the Nuggets’ list and rather surprisingly slipped to No. 19. He averaged 16.7 points and 2.7 assists last season for the Spartans.

Denver acquired shooting guard Arron Afflalo earlier in the day from Orlando for guard Evan Fournier and the No. 56 pick in the draft.

The Denver Nuggets have taken Serbian forward Nikola Jokic (Knee-coe-lah yo-kitch) with the 41st pick in the NBA draft on Thursday night.

It’s the second international player the Nuggets have selected.

The 6-foot-10 Jokic played for Mega Vizura Belgrade in Serbia in 2013-14, averaging 11.4 points and 6.4 rebounds.

He also helped the Serbians capture a silver medal at the 2013 under-19 world championships.

Denver has had a busy draft day, trading the draft rights to Doug McDermott — along with Anthony Randolph — to the Chicago Bulls for two first-rounds picks, which they used to select Nurkic and Michigan State guard Gary Harris at No. 19.

AP Source: Bulls Deal Picks for Doug McDermott

Posted on June 26, 2014

DENVER (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation says the Chicago Bulls have traded the 16th and 19th picks to the Denver Nuggets for the draft rights to Creighton small forward Doug McDermott.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal has yet to be announced.

Denver selected McDermott with the 11th pick.

McDermott led the nation in scoring last season with a 26.7 average while shooting 52.6 percent from the field, including 44.9 percent from 3-point range. He finished his college career as basketball’s fifth-leading scorer.

Earlier in the day, the Nuggets were reunited with Arron Afflalo, picking up the veteran guard from Orlando for guard Evan Fournier and the No. 56 pick.

Cavs Take Wiggins with No. 1 Pick in NBA Draft

Posted on June 26, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — Andrew Wiggins of Kansas has been taken by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.

The Cavs went for a freshman from Canada to open the draft for the second straight year Thursday and will hope Wiggins works out better than Anthony Bennett.

Bennett was injured last summer, came into the season out of shape and made no impact, one of the reasons the Cavs were back in this spot again.

But Wiggins seems a much more ready product after averaging a Kansas freshman-record 17.1 points. He may have ended up as the top pick anyway, but became the best option for the Cavs once Jayhawks teammate Joel Embiid suffered a stress fracture in his right foot shortly before the draft.

AP Source: Nuggets Acquire Afflalo from Magic

Posted on June 26, 2014

DENVER (AP) — A person with knowledge of the situation says the Denver Nuggets have acquired guard Arron Afflalo from the Orlando Magic for point guard Evan Fournier and the No. 56 pick in the draft.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Thursday because the deal has yet to be announced.

Afflalo played for the Nuggets for three seasons before being dealt to Orlando on Aug. 10, 2012. He averaged 18 points for the Magic last season.

Fournier is an up-and-coming guard whose minutes increased late in the season after Andre Miller was traded and Nate Robinson went out with a knee injury. Fournier averaged 8.4 points and 1.5 assists in 2013-14.

The 21-year-old Fournier was taken 20th overall in 2011.

The deal was first reported by Yahoo! Sports.

Lady Huskers to Face Utah in Return to Devaney Center

Posted on June 25, 2014

The Nebraska women’s basketball team plans to honor its first NCAA Tournament team when the Huskers return to the Bob Devaney Sports Center to take on Utah on Sunday, Nov. 23.

The game, which was announced by Nebraska on June 25, will mark the Huskers’ first game at the Devaney Center since moving into their new home at Pinnacle Bank Arena for the start of the 2013-14 season.

The Devaney Center, which has been converted into the permanent home of the Nebraska volleyball team, has received extensive renovations with a new seating capacity of nearly 8,000. In NU’s final women’s basketball season at the Devaney Center in 2012-13, capacity was more than 13,000.

The event will be the first college basketball game back at the Devaney Center since the massive internal and external renovations. The Devaney Center did hold games in the 2014 boys and girls high school state tournaments.

The return to the Devaney Center for the contest with Utah was necessitated by a scheduling conflict with “Disney On Ice” at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Nebraska plans to make the day special by honoring the 1988 Big Eight champion Huskers, who went a perfect 13-0 at the Devaney Center on their way to the school’s first NCAA Tournament bid.

The 1988 team featured Big Eight Player of the Year Maurtice Ivy and All-Big Eight guard Amy Stephens, who has returned to Nebraska as an assistant coach for the 2014-15 season. Two-time CoSIDA Academic All-American Stephanie Bolli was also a major contributor for that Big Red team under Coach Angela Beck.

“We plan on making it a fun day for our fans to get back inside the Devaney Center and watch some great basketball,” Nebraska Executive Associate Athletic Director Marc Boehm said. “We are going to make the most of our one-game return this season by honoring our first NCAA Tournament team, and highlighting some of our great memories from our time at the Devaney Center.”

The battle between the Huskers and the Utes will be the second in a two-game series. Last season, Nebraska worked its way to a 75-69 victory over Utah at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City on Nov. 15, 2013. It was a breakout game for point guard Rachel Theriot, who erupted for 28 points, seven rebounds and four assists while playing the full 40 minutes for the first time in her career. Theriot went on to earn first-team All-Big Ten and conference tournament MVP honors before being named an honorable-mention Associated Press All-American as a sophomore in 2013-14.

Theriot is one of four starters back for the Big Red in 2014-15, joining senior second-team All-Big Ten selections Emily Cady and Tear’a Laudermill and senior Big Ten All-Defensive Team member Hailie Sample. Nebraska will also feature seven newcomers who have been ranked among the top 10 incoming classes in the nation by ESPN.

“We are expecting a great game from Utah,” Nebraska Coach Connie Yori said. “Rachel played a great second half to help us come back to win last year. We know Utah will be hungry for a win against us this year.”

Nebraska’s game with Utah will be part of an 18-game home schedule in 2014-15 that includes 17 games in the second season at Pinnacle Bank Arena. NU’s two exhibition games and 15 regular-season home games at Pinnacle Bank Arena will be part of a 17-game season ticket package that will be available to the public starting on Monday, July 28.

The game with Utah at the Devaney Center will be a separate, single-game ticket outside of that season ticket package. Tickets for the Utah game and advance parking for that game also will go on-sale to the public beginning on Monday, July 28.

Nebraska’s 2013-14 women’s basketball season ticket holders will have the first opportunity to renew their season tickets and purchase Utah tickets, beginning in mid-July.

Single-game tickets for the rest of Nebraska’s outstanding home schedule will not go on sale until late October or early November. The Big Red’s 2014-15 home schedule at Pinnacle Bank Arena will include showdowns with 2014 NCAA Women’s Final Four qualifier Maryland, Sweet 16 participant Penn State and NCAA second-round qualifiers Duke, Purdue and Iowa. All five of those teams finished the 2013-14 season ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation.

The Huskers also will face 2014 postseason qualifiers Minnesota and Michigan at the arena, along with Big Ten home games against Illinois, Ohio State and Wisconsin in Nebraska’s first-ever nine-game home conference schedule.

Nebraska’s non-conference home games include the season opener with Pepperdine on Saturday, Nov. 15, and contests with Alcorn State, Northern Colorado, Bakersfield and High Point, which went 22-11 and won the 2014 Big South regular-season title on its way to the Postseason WNIT.