I miss him already.

Terrence Williams was introduced as the newest New Jersey Net during a press conference in East Rutherford this afternoon. He addressed the local media for the first time in a manner that should surprise no one reading this.

Nearly seven minutes into the Friday press conference at the Nets Practice Facility in East Rutherford, following statements from Team President Rod Thorn, General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe and Head Coach Lawrence Frank, who introduced Terrence Williams as the newest Net, his turn had finally come. Head angled sideways and slightly up, Williams listened to Nets vice president of public relations Gary Sussman as the executive prompted Williams to discuss his excitement.

Reorienting his focus to the microphone in front of him, Williams paused for a beat. Then another. He separated his folded hands, placing palms flat upon the table as he hunched slightly toward the mike.

"… Hello," Williams said, breaking into a wide smile as he leaned back. Laughs rolled through the room, and it became apparent that if the Louisville product’s timing is as good on-court as it can be in a quip, the Nets will have aced the 11th pick. Williams continued:

"I would like to say to the staff here, thanks for believing in me and the new direction that you’re trying to go in, and drafting me No. 11. A lot of people thought I was going to go somewhere else, but I felt when I first met them, when I went to lunch with them, I would like to be here because they’re straight shooters, like Coach (Rick) Pitino. This is a great situation for me, and so I’d like to really thank them for making that call to David Stern and saying, ‘This is who we want,’ and it happened to be me. I want to start off by saying I really appreciate that from you guys.

"To everybody else: I know there are things that I need to work on. With my hard work and dedication to playing basketball, I will work on those things. I’m not coming here trying to be something I’m not, I’m coming here to try and help win games and listen to the coaching staff. I’m excited to be a New Jersey Net."

With Raefer Alston recently being traded to the Nets, T-Will also stated that he is making the switch from his familiar No. 1 to No. 8.

He closed the PC with a semi-NBA T-Willism.

And Williams’ good humor and dynamic personality will likely help to keep the locker room loose. Always one to put pen to page as an outlet, when it came time to choose a major at Louisville, Williams almost opted for creative writing rather than communications.

"I can write about anything," Williams claimed. "I was going to do that in school, but their creative writing was more structured writing -- it wasn’t creative, so I didn’t want to do that. But I like to write short stories, poems. So if you ever get into an argument with your girlfriend, I can write a love poem for you."

And a single tear rolls down the author's face.

The other four starters? You guessed it: Derice Bannock, Sanka Coffie, Junior Bevil and Yul Brenner.

Samardo Samuels scored a game-high 21 points to lead Team Jamaica to an impressive 107-56 win over a select NBL All-Stars team in the second game of their two-match practice series at the National Arena last Friday.

Andre Smith followed with 18 points and Kimani Friend with 11. Christopher Walker was the top-scorer for the NBL select team with 18 points.

The game drew the curtains in the team's one-week training camp in preparation for the June 30 to July 4 Caricom Basketball Championship (CBC) in Tortola, British Virgin Islands.

Team Jamaica also defeated the NBL side, 96-57, in the first game at the same venue on Tuesday.

The team also boasts Big East standouts Weyinmi Efejuku (Providence) and Mike Coburn (Rutgers), a pair of talented young players whose Jamaicanicity was learned by Mike Rutherford just moments ago.

And you're not the only one to get excited about that, I think the fans here have an extreme case of Jamaican fever.

Al, so do I.

Oh no, no, no, no...so do WE.

Rent Cool Runnings and start reading the blog again.

In the midst of what has likely been the most peculiar offseason of his coaching career, Rick Pitino took to the Internet today to answer some pressing - basketball-related - questions.

Here's a teaser:

Starting five for next year?

 

1. Edgar Sosa at the point. He will have a banner senior year. It takes certain players longer to mature than others.
2. Jerry Smith - We need him in shape ready to play and lead. Mr. Consistent will also have a terrific senior year.
3. ?? Your guess is as good as anyone.
   1. Reggie Delk must develop a more dedicated work ethic. Great person. Has to make the gym and weight room his second home.
   2. Jared Swopshire. MDP on the team (Most Dedicated Player). Has an unbelievable work ethic. Will battle for time at both three and four.
4. Samardo Samuels- People would be surprised at how good a face up shooter he is   from seventeen feet. Trying out for Jamaican National team.
5. Terrence Jennings- The sky’s the limit to how good he can be. With a Swopshire work ethic -- look out. Let’s hope he develops that desire.

Peyton Siva - Will see plenty of action as a freshman.

 

Preston Knowles - Is the best sixth man in the country (Ed. Note: boner).

 

Mike Marra - Must get stronger and quicker, but his jumper and range are outstanding.

 

Rakeem Buckles - “Rock” – Reminds me of Otis George. Will need time to mature physically. But has the desire to become a good player.

 

Stephen Van Treese - Tough young man who will not back down from contact of the BIG EAST.  We will work hard to develop his low post game.

 

Kyle Kuric - Great in the weight room. Just has to work on his ball handling and spend more time in the gym. But he has the potential to be a very effective player.

 

George Goode - Helped us last year. Terrific person who has a difficult time with his conditioning. We have to monitor his diet to get his body fat under eight.

 

Hmmm, "Rock Buckles." It's about a 50/50 split between porn name and action name. Either way, welcome to the club my man.

This is the pick-me-up you're looking for.

When this whole thing started I said I was thrilled because they'd never be easier to dislike, and that's certainly proving to be the case.

Wha wha what??

Indiana fans convinced themselves Sampson was clean for a solid two months. Something tells me it'll take a bit longer for reality to reach Big Blue Nation. 

The University of Memphis is in the process of responding to an NCAA notice of allegations charging the men’s basketball program with major violations during the 2007-08 season under John Calipari.

The allegations include "knowing fraudulence or misconduct" on an SAT exam by a player on the 2007-08 team.

The wording of the report seems to indicate the player in question only competed during the 2007-08 season and specifically the 2008 NCAA tournament. The player’s name was redacted in the report, obtained by The Commercial Appeal through the Freedom of Information Act, due to privacy laws.

The player has subsequently denied the charge, according to university personnel.

The only player on the roster who competed only during that season was Derrick Rose, who subsequently was the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft last June.

If proven to be true, the Tigers could be forced to forfeit their NCAA-record 38 victories and Final Four appearance.

A copy of the letter from the NCAA can be viewed right here.

Pig-pen thinks the man could use a shower.

Additional video available right here.

As for Williams, he was in top form.

He’s in great shape having worked out with Gary Payton since the end of the college season, his shot mechanics look better and better, and he’s still as dominant as ever athletically.

The Raptors ran the prospects through an interesting drill where one player would have to defend each of the other five individuals in turn. Only when the defensive player got a stop or rebounded a missed shot, did the next player take their turn attacking. If the defender committed a foul or failed to gain the possession, the two would go at it again until a stop was made, or the offensive player scored. Each of the six individuals yesterday took their turn defending the other five and of the group, Williams dominated every player he was matched up with from an offensive standpoint, from Green to the taller Ingles. He settled for a jump shot once but otherwise simply attacked off the bounce using his superior quickness and athleticism. (Sidebar – it was interesting to hear the Raptors’ brass continuously yelling for players "not to settle" in this drill. Think BC is looking for someone who’s going to attack the basket?) Williams is also extremely strong as even if the defender managed to get Terrence to pick up his dribble, Williams would simply put his shoulder into his man and power through to the hoop or out-jump his man in order to drop-in a baby-hook.

Defensively, Williams excelled as well locking down almost everyone from Green to the much taller Ingles. Only on one occasion did Williams fall for the fake, unfortunately resulting in a dunk.

Rick Pitino held a press conference Saturday morning to both announce his decision on who the captain or captains for the 2009-2010 Cardinal squad would be and to address the growing rumor that he had expressed interest in coaching the Sacramento Kings.

As far as the first order of business goes, Pitino went the safe route and announced the senior backcourt pair of Jerry Smith and Edgar Sosa as co-captains.

"We're happy to have Jerry and Edgar be our captains during their senior year," said Pitino. "Both have matured into team-first players and I know they will show the right leadership for a young basketball to become a highly competitive unit next season."

And on the rumors...

"I'm not sure how these rumors get started, but there is absolutely no truth that there has been any dialog, either directly or indirectly, with the Kings and I'm sure they would confirm that. I am not represented by an agent, I don't have a "camp," and no one representing me nor have I had any contact with the Kings. Anything else said to the contrary is false. These invalid rumors are unfair to the Kings and are misleading to the many outstanding young men we are recruiting to attend U of L.

"I have great respect for the Kings, their ownership and (President for Basketball Operations) Geoff Petrie. However, I have been totally committed to U of L the past eight seasons and I am looking forward to the future more than ever. We are all very anxious for the start of next season and will concentrate our efforts on what we can control, not on what we can't."

I like everything I'm hearing.