Basketball – Page 60 – North Platte Post Archive

Petteway to Attend Kevin Durant Skills Academy

Posted on June 25, 2014

Lincoln – Nebraska junior wing Terran Petteway was invited to participate in the Kevin Durant Skills Academy which takes place in Washington, D.C., this weekend. The academy is for the top 30 high school and top 15 college wing players and is hosted by Oklahoma City Thunder forward and NBA MVP Kevin Durant.

“Getting invited to the camp is an honor, that you are considered to be among the top wing players in the country,” Petteway said. “I can’t wait to get there and play, as well as pick their minds and learn some insight to improve my game.”

Petteway, the first Husker player to attend the event which began in 2011, put together a strong sophomore season, as he averaged 18.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game to earn All-Big Ten honors. The 6-foot-6 wing led the Big Ten in scoring average in 2013-14, becoming the first Husker to lead a conference in scoring in over 60 years. The Galveston, Texas, native reached double figures in 30 of 32 contests and had a pair of 30-point efforts on the year.

In Big Ten play, he also led the conference at 18.6 points per game, becoming the first Husker since Andre Smith in 1980-81 to accomplish the feat. He also was among the Big Ten leaders in rebounding (5.1, 19^th), free throw percentage (.788, 12^th), 3-pointers per game (1.6, 12^th) and blocked shots (0.9, 12^th) in conference games.

Petteway, who has spent the summer working on his ball handling and improving his shooting technique, will work with campers during the sessions and then go through sessions with the other college plays and pros running the camps

“I just have to keep doing what I’ve been doing all summer and go to the Kevin Durant camp and hopefully advance on to the Lebron James Skills Academy next month,” Petteway said.

Study: NBA Maintains Strong Diversity Numbers

Posted on June 24, 2014

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The NBA remains the leader in diversity among professional sports leagues.

According to a report released Tuesday, the NBA received an A-plus grade for racial hiring and B-plus for gender hiring on its annual Racial and Gender Report Card. The league received an overall grade of A.

This is the sixth consecutive overall A grade the NBA has received in the annual report by the Institute of Diversity and Ethics in Sport.

With Michael Jordan the Charlotte Hornets’ majority owner and Vivek Ranadive the new controlling owner of the Sacramento Kings, the NBA is the first major pro league to have two owners of color.

The league set records this season with assistant coaches of color at 46.7 percent and 48.4 percent of its referees.

Arthur, Robinson Exercise Player Options

Posted on June 23, 2014June 23, 2014

DENVER (AP) — Nuggets forward Darrell Arthur and point guard Nate Robinson have exercised their contract options for the upcoming season.

Denver general manager Tim Connelly announced the news Monday.

Arthur averaged nearly six points a game for Denver last season and knocked down a career-high 24 3-pointers. The Nuggets picked him up in a draft-night trade last June.

Robinson scored 10.4 points and dished out 2.5 assists last year for the Nuggets before a knee injury on Jan. 29 ended his season. In his career, the diminutive point guard has also played for Chicago, Golden State, Oklahoma City, Boston and New York.

Tyree Peter of Omaha Benson Signs with Knights

Posted on June 23, 2014

North Platte- Tyree Peter of Omaha Benson High School signed his National Letter of Intent to join the North Platte Community College Knight’s men’s basketball team. Peter is the fifth player to sign with the Knights for the 2014 class and the ninth player from the Omaha Metro to play for the Knights in the past four years.

“We are excited to welcome Tyree to our program,” said head coach Kevin O’Connor. “He plays with great energy and competes on every possession. Tyree is a versatile player who can play either forward positon.”

The 6’6 forward is the newest Knight after helping lead his Benson Bunny team to a 3rd place finish at the 2014 State Tournament after a 4th place finish at the 2013 State Tournament as a junior. Peter was named All-State Honorable Mention as a senior during a season in which he averaged 11.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. Peter was a teammate of North Platte signee Matt Thomas during the summer on the Omaha Sports Academy Crusaders National Team.

“I am glad that I found a school with coaches I feel will help improve my game,” said Peter. “It was a blessing to have North Platte offer me a scholarship and I am looking forward to some great years there.”

NPCC Knights Sign Two from Toledo

Posted on June 19, 2014

Fadil Robinson Michael Mitchell NPCC Knights Basketball — No. 40 Fadil Robinson (Left) and No. 40 Michael Mitchell (Right)

North Platte – The North Platte Community College men’s basketball team announced the signing of two players to National Letters of Intent from Toledo, Ohio. Fadil Robinson of Rogers High School and Michael Mitchell of Start High School are the newest Knights and will both be freshman during the 2014-15 season.

The 6’7 Robinson brings size to the Knights front court. Robinson averaged nearly a double-double as he finished with 9.5 points and 10 rebounds per game as a senior. As a junior, Robinson was a large part of the state runner-ups in the largest class in Ohio. In the State Championship game he scored 10 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

“Fadil brings size to our team which is something we are always looking for,” said coach Kevin O’Connor. “He has been a part of a very successful program and knows how to win.”

“I am excited to be a Knight!” said Robinson. “I can’t wait to get to North Platte and start my college career.”

The 6’5 Mitchell brings size and athleticism at the wing position as the Knights look to replace graduated Tim Simmons. Mitchell averaged 12.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game as a senior.

“Michael is a player that brings some versatility to our line-up,” said coach O’Connor. “He is a big guard that can score and defend for us.”

“Signing with NPCC and becoming a Knight will be great,” said Mitchell. “It will help me further my education and basketball dreams.”

“We are excited to add both of these players to our team and we can’t wait to get them on campus in the fall,” said coach O’Connor.

Robinson and Mitchell are the third and fourth members of the Knight’s 2014 class.

Nebraska’s Miles Fined $100 for Negligent Driving

Posted on June 18, 2014

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska men’s basketball coach Tim Miles has been fined $100 for negligent driving.

Miles pleaded guilty and paid the fine last week.

Miles was driving in southwest Lincoln on May 16 when his sport utility vehicle struck another that had slowed in front of him. The impact pushed the other SUV into the back of a stopped pickup.

Miles told police he had taken his eyes off the road, and when he looked up he was unable to avoid the other SUV. The other SUV’s driver reported that she went to a hospital to be examined for neck and back pain. There were no other injuries.

Big Ten Basketball Leads Nation in Attendance for 38th Straight Year

Posted on June 18, 2014

Rosemont, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference led the nation in men’s basketball attendance for the 38th consecutive season according to figures recently released by the NCAA. The Big Ten set a conference record with an average attendance of 13,534 per game, including regular season home games and all six sessions of the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament.

During the 2013-14 campaign, the Big Ten welcomed 2,896,322 patrons, the 22nd straight year the conference eclipsed the two-million mark. In addition, the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament welcomed 111,427 fans over six sessions at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, an average of 18,571 fans per session and the largest total attendance in Indianapolis. Each of the last two tournaments have been sold out, including a conference record of more than 124,000 fans at the United Center in 2013.

For regular season and postseason home games only, the conference saw an increase in average attendance for the fifth consecutive year with 13,389 patrons per contest, the highest average since at least the 1999-2000 season. The Big Ten’s average attendance ranks third since at least 1971-72, trailing only the 1989-90 (13,455) and 1999-2000 (13,443) campaigns. In addition, for the first time since 2000-01 and 2001-02, the Big Ten drew an average of at least 13,000 fans per home game in back-to-back seasons. During Big Ten play, the conference eclipsed 1.5 million fans (1,513,266) for the first time in conference history, and averaged more than 14,000 fans per conference home game (14,012) for just the third time since at least the 1962-63 season.

Nine conference schools ranked in the top 25 in average attendance. Indiana led the Big Ten and ranked sixth nationally with an average of 17,359 fans per game. Wisconsin (17,104) ranked seventh, followed by No. 8 Ohio State (16,474), No. 13 Nebraska (15,419), No. 15 Illinois (15,246), No. 17 Iowa (14,976), No. 18 Michigan State (14,797), No. 23 Purdue (12,738) and No. 24 Michigan (12,698).

Spurs Title-Clinching Win a Hit with Viewers

Posted on June 16, 2014

NEW YORK (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs’ redemption title was a big hit with television viewers.

Nearly 18 million viewers tuned in to watch the Spurs clinch in Game 5 on Sunday night. That’s a 10 percent increase from Game 5 between the same teams last year. Nielsen says viewership peaked at 22.4 million in the last half hour of the Spurs’ 104-87 win.

The 10.3 national rating on ABC was up from 9.5 last year.

The five-game series averaged 15.5 million viewers and a 9.3 rating. That’s up from 15.1 million viewers and a 9.1 rating through five games of the 2013 classic series.

Nielsen Social says it was the most-tweeted NBA game of the year, with more than 6.4 million tweets. The Spurs won their fifth NBA championship, preventing the Heat from winning three straight titles.

NPCC Lady Knights Sign Three to 2014 Class

Posted on June 16, 2014

Whitney Edwards (Right), Zulema Viescas (Center) and Haley Cochran (Left) sign their letters of intent. — Whitney Edwards (left), Zulema Viescas (Center) and Haley Cochran (right) sign their letters of intent.

North Platte – The North Platte Community College women’s basketball team announced the signing of three players to National Letters of Intent for the 2014-15 season. Whitney Edwards of Garland, Texas, Zulema Viescas of El Paso, Texas and Haley Cochran of Kamloops, British Columbia are the newest members of the Lady Knights basketball team and will all be freshman as the Lady Knights look to defend their back-to-back Region IX Division II Championships.

Whitney Edwards will join the Lady Knights after graduating from Lakeview Centennial High School. The 5’8″ Edwards will join the Lady Knights back court and bring depth at the small forward position.

“We were mainly drawn to her competitiveness and skill level,” said head coach Richard Thurin.

Zelema Viescas will join the Lady Knights after graduating from J.M. Hanks High School. The 5’2″ point guard was named 1st Team All-Region after leading her team to the conference championship, sectional championship and a regional runner-up finish.

“Zulema is a very quick guard who averaged six assists per game,” said coach Thurin.

Haley Cochran will join the Lady Knights after graduating from Sa Hali Secondary. The 5’11” forward will play either the small forward or power forward position.

“Haley’s high school team has been very successful and she does a good job getting to the basket,” said coach Thurin. “We are excited to welcome all three girls to our team and we can’t wait to get them on campus this fall.”

Spurs Beat Heat 104-87 in Game 5 to Win NBA Title, Leonard MVP

Posted on June 15, 2014

Manu Ginobli dunks over Chris Bosh in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The San Antonio Spurs won their fifth NBA championship, beating the Miami Heat 104-87 on Sunday night to win the series in five games.

Kawhi Leonard had 22 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who added this title to the ones they won in 1999, 2003, ’05 and ’07. They nearly had another last year, but couldn’t hold off the Heat and lost in seven games. Leonard was named the MVP for his efforts in the final three games, all blowout wins for San Antonio.

The rematch was no match at all.

San Antonio rebounded from an early 16-point deficit by outscoring the Heat 37-13 from the start of the second quarter to midway in the third.

LeBron James had 31 points and 10 rebounds as Miami’s two-year title reign ended.