Yardbarker: Darrell Arthur

His Name Is…

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:48:17 -0500

Photo by Thad Allender Originally published in SLAM 113 Before he made his first NBA headline in less than ideal fashion, Darrell Arthur was a standout on the Kansas Jayhawks. After two years in Lawrence and a national championship under his belt, the 6-9 forward took his talents to the NBA, seeking to establish himself in Memphis after three quick trades bounced him around the US. He took a step in the right direction this year, starting all but 18 games for the Grizz.—Adam Fleischer ...

RC And Josh Can't Get Facts Straight

Thu, 28 May 2009 23:57:34 -0500

((HT: WHBQ-TV))

Former Memphis Tiger Derrick Rose appears to be the key player in the NCAA investigation into the Tigers Basketball Program, and it turns out, this isn't the first time Rose's academic transcript has come under scrutiny.

The Chicago Sun Times is reporting that someone with access to Rose's records back at Simeon High School changed a "D" to a "C" on his transcript, and then changed the grade back after his transcript had been sent out to the schools rose was interested in, including the University of Memphis.

There's no telling how that news may influence the NCAA investigation, and whether it could turn out to be good news for the University of Memphis.

Kansas had a similar situation with Darrell Arthur's high school transcript last summer, and walked away clean-- maybe the Tigers will as well.

Also, there are some conflicting statements from Tigers Athletic Director R.C. Johnson and Tigers head coach Josh Pastner.

While Pastner told FOX13 he had no prior knowledge of the NCAA allegations, Johnson stated "we talked some about it."

Regardless of who told who, who told what, and when anything was said, the fate of the Tigers' 2007-2008 record and title could all be determined at the NCAA hearing June 6.

Here's the story from our friends at MyFoxMemphis with Matt Stark and Greg Gaston leading the way...

Here's the entire interviews with RC Johnson and Coach Pastner
In the biz, we call them "raw tape..."

Gaston then followed up his early piece with some talk from high-falootin' booster types...

Michael Beasley's nose is growing

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:48:27 -0500

After saying before the draft that he no longer had any character issues, it seems that he still does. Beasley has been fined $50,000 by the NBA for the incident including Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers. Arthur and Chalmers were fined 20K a piece. To say that you have no character issues and partake in a party with weed and girls (who shouldn't have been there) is ludicrous. Beasley shows us where he hides his secret stash.

Arthur Apologizes To Grizzlies For Actions At NBA Rookie Camp

Sat, 06 Sep 2008 00:53:04 -0500

In an age where many folks try to avoid responsibility for their actions, Memphis Grizzlies?rookie power forward Darrell Arthur?is accepting full blame for an incident earlier this week. The "Memphis Commercial Appeal" reported Friday that Arthur has apologized to team coach Marc Iavaroni and General Manager Chris Wallace for actions that led he and former [...]

BigMck

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:15:01 -0500

I can't get enough of this Mario Chalmers/Darrell Arthur story. Here's?the latest from ESPN:? According to sources, Chalmers and Arthur were caught in Arthur's room at the Doral Arrowwood resort in Rye Brook when a smoke alarm went off Wednesday at about 2 a.m. Hotel management went to the room, but the players refused to allow [...]

Arthur Proves He Is A Man; Takes Responsibility for His Actions

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:05:51 -0500

Friday, Memphis Grizzlies forward Darrell Arthur apologized and admitted he made a mistake. Arthur took responsibility for his actions which resulted in him being sent home from the NBA Rookie Transition Program. Jeff Sack Managing Editor of le basketbawl praises the young man for his apology.

That's Why They Call It Dope, Chalmers & Arthur Busted for Pot

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:38:45 -0500

Here is a little helpful hint for all prospective NBA rookies class of 2009. When you are putting together your shaving kit next Summer for the NBA Rookie Transition Program, leave your weed stash in the nightstand. You will get busted, and you will be sent home. According to "ESPN The Magazine" NBA beat writer Chris Broussard, two former Kansas Jayhawks teammates found that out the hard way. Mario Chalmers who is now a point guard with the Miami Heat, and Darrell Arthur a power forward with the Memphis Grizzlies, reportedly were sent home by Association officials, after the two were caught with marijuana and women in their hotel room.

Sense Of Entitlement Leads Athletes On Path To Trouble

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 18:26:32 -0500

NBA rookies Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were sent home from the NBA Rookie Transition Program, after reportedly being caught with marijuana. Jeff Sack Managing Editor of le basketbawl, writes that it's a sense of entitlement that athletes have that causes them to commit such foolish acts.

Judgment Questions For Pair of Jayhawks

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 00:25:08 -0500

A Daily Babble Production As CelticsBlog devotee crownsy noted in our forums yesterday (index.php?option=com_smf Itemid=64 topic=22310), Wednesday must have been a wonderfully proud day for the Kansas University basketball program. Early yesterday morning, former Jayhawks Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were shown an early exit (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3567481) from the NBA's rookie transition program after they were caught with marijuana in their hotel room. So...

Rule #1 of NBA Rookie Transition Camp: Uhhh, No Weed

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:47:52 -0500

I'm usually not one to pile onto mainstream news and to bury players of being humans. But this is just plain dumb, fellas. According to reports, Jayhawks alums and fellow rookies Darrell Arthur and Mario Chalmers got busted at the NBA rookie transition program earlier today and were subsequently tossed. The two might face more disciplinary action from the League, but the embarrassment and ridicule likely to come should be punishment enough. A good rule of thumb for a program about understanding reputation management, mitigating risk and being an ambassador for the League is not doing anything illegal on the first day of class. Whether we agree or not, pot would still be on that not-quite-legal list. Apparently, this is like grade school sleepaway camp where no ladies are allowed in the cabins either. That would be 0-for-2 for the former NCAA Champions, as Chalmers and Arthur decided to spark a few and invite over some local ladies. Not the way you want to kick off your NBA careers, gentlemen. Complete aside...where did they find the girls? Really, I'm quite curious. You're in the middle of Rye Brook, NY. I grew up in Westchester County. I know where this place is. Did they smuggle the ladies in their suitcases? Did they pick them up last night at one of the rocking clubs in the area? These are things I think about...

Chalmers & Arthur Bring Weed to NBA Camp, Get Caught, Get Thrown Out.

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 15:34:14 -0500

Former Kansas stars Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were thrown out of the NBA Rookie Camp after being caught with marijuana together? probably the stupidest place ever to smoke up no matter who much of a fiend you really are. And apparently Chalmers and Arthur really are that kind of fiend. "They were sent home for violating program rules," NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said. Sources said Chalmers and Arthur were also fined $20,000 apiece and could start the regular season o...

O.J. Mayo: Early Scouting Report

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 18:57:46 -0500

The L.A. Lakers improved to 1-1 in Vegas Summer League play with an 85-76 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday night. The Grizzlies are now 2-1. Of course, team records are meaningless during the summer: what counts are the player development and player evaluations that are going on as teams get a first look at some of this year's draft picks and decide which players will fill out their rosters once the regular season begins. Rookie O.J. Mayo has been taking the shots and calling the shots for Memphis during the Vegas Summer League, leading the Grizzlies in scoring (18.7 ppg), field goal attempts (42) and turnovers (18). He is shooting well from all three ranges (.476 FG%, .615 3FG%, .889 FT%) but he has just six assists in three games, ranking third on the team behind Javaris Crittenton and Mike Conley. Only so much can be read into summer league statistics; after all, there is a no foul out rule and games last for just 40 minutes. The level of competition is what I would call "D-Leagueish," featuring a large number of players who will not be playing regularly in the NBA this season. In other words, dominating the summer league statistically does not necessarily translate into dominating the NBA come November--nor does struggling in the summer league automatically spell doom, because the young players are adjusting to playing under NBA coaching and officiating for the first time. With those caveats out of the way, here is a breakdown of the Memphis-L.A. game, focusing primarily on what Mayo did and did not do, since he may be the only player on the court who will get substantial NBA minutes this season. Mayo finished with 15 points on 6-13 field goal shooting (including 3-5 from three point range), two rebounds, zero assists and six turnovers. He also committed six fouls in 24:46. Mayo's first field goal attempt was a right corner three pointer over the tight defense of Coby Karl, who played limited minutes for the Lakers last year. Mayo launched that contested shot with 17 seconds remaining on the shot clock and it bounced hard off of the front of the rim. The Grizzlies controlled the offensive rebound, Crittenton collapsed the defense with dribble penetration and kicked to Mayo, who fired again from almost exactly the same spot. This time, though, he was more open as Karl arrived too late and the shot nestled through the twine for Memphis' first points. NBA TV analyst Steve Jones noted, "Mayo is not deterred by misses. He really believes that he has the complete package and he will continue to attack." On the next possession, Mayo took a bad angle when closing out on Karl and was unable to avoid fouling him. The two players slapped hands and exchanged what seemed to be, as NBA TV's Rick Kamla put it, "pleasant words." After a Lakers' basket, Mayo pushed the ball up the court, fed fellow rookie Darrell Arthur in the post and cut through the lane so that Arthur could go one on one. Arthur read the defense, then took a dribble and nailed a turnaround jumper. Since Mayo had no assists he obviously did not get one on that play--nor should he have gotten one--but during playoff games that I charted last year Chris Paul regularly was awarded assists on similar shots by David West. Mayo seems to be an attentive defender and he displayed some aggressiveness on the glass when he pulled down a defensive rebound, pushed the ball up the court and then passed ahead to Malik Badiane, whose weak layup attempt was swatted away, denying Mayo a potential assist. However, Mayo--despite his protestations to the contrary--does not seem to be a point guard. He has a scorer's mentality. When he caught the ball in a top of the key isolation versus Karl he held the ball for three seconds and the team's off of the ball movement slowed to a crawl. Then Mayo took one dribble and fired a low percentage jumper with 13 seconds left on the shot clock. Karl easily blocked the shot, the Lakers controlled the ball and after a bit of a misadventure Karl got the ball back and lobbed a nice pass to Cedric Bozeman for a layup. When Mayo passed the ball, the results were mixed, though some of the problems were clearly not his fault, such as when players bobbled the ball or missed shots. Towards the end of the first quarter, Mayo dribbled the ball up court in transition and forced a lookaway bullet pass to Badiane. Karl easily anticipated the play and stole the ball. Later, Mayo made a nice pass to P.J. Tucker after Tucker slipped a screen and both defenders trapped Mayo but Tucker fumbled the ball and eventually double dribbled. Mostly, though, Mayo looked for his own shot and that is not entirely a bad thing because he is a good shooter. With just over a minute left in the first quarter, Mayo pushed the ball up the court, veered over to the left wing and shot a midrange jumper in a four on four fast break. The ball danced around the rim softly and then went through the net. A point guard would probably have either gone all the way to the hoop or else ran some screen/roll action to create a shot for a teammate but Mayo saw an opportunity to score and took advantage of it. Mayo came off of a screen/roll play with 36 seconds left looking for his shot all the way but a lane violation erased the midrange jumper that he stuck from the left wing. On the last possession of the quarter, the Grizzlies cleared out for Mayo but then sent David Simon to the top of the key to set a screen. Mayo went toward the screen at first but then quickly reversed direction, dribbled the ball between his legs and missed a long two point jumper. Although Mayo is shooting a good percentage from the field, he settles for a lot of jumpers instead of using his athletic ability to drive to the hoop and create shots and free throw opportunities for himself and his teammates. The Lakers led 21-20 after the first quarter. Mayo and Conley topped Memphis with five points each. On the first possession of the second quarter, Memphis ran a left wing clear out for Mayo and he made a strong drive to the basket but lost the ball out of bounds. On the next possession, Mayo missed an open three pointer when the ball was reversed to him as the trailer in transition. Later, P.J. Tucker slipped a screen for Mayo and was open when he cut to the hoop, but Mayo missed him and instead drove into the lane, made a jump stop and lost control of the ball before he could take a shot. At the 3:22 mark, Mayo claimed a defensive rebound, pushed the ball up the court and fed Badiane, who was fouled as he attempted to dunk the ball. That was probably Mayo's best pass of the game. Kamla rightly noted that Mayo was "quiet" for most of the first half. From what I've seen of Mayo, he obviously "looks" like an NBA player--he has decent size (listed at 6-5, 200, though Jones called him a bit undersized for a shooting guard, saying that he seems to be closer to 6-3) plus good quickness and jumping ability and he carries himself with an air of confidence. However, I don't see him as some kind of superstar in the making--I still cannot fathom why anyone at any time ever compared him to LeBron James--but rather potentially a very solid NBA shooting guard who will be a productive scorer and will be capable of being a decent defender if he so chooses. The Lakers closed the first half with more determination and aggressiveness than the Grizzlies and L.A. enjoyed a 40-30 halftime lead. "The Grizzlies have not responded," Jones said, adding that Conley should have pushed the ball more to create easier scoring opportunities because the Grizzlies are a young team that struggles a bit with precise execution in the half court set. Conley led Memphis with six first half points, while Mayo had five and Crittenton added four. "When you come into the NBA with as much fanfare as O.J. Mayo, people expect great performances all the time. He's still learning and that's what you have to remember," Jones noted as the second half began. Mayo drained a three pointer off of a feed from Crittenton to cut the Lakers' lead to 42-36. Then, he took his eyes off of the ball and fumbled a pass out of bounds. After Badiane set a screen for Mayo, both defenders went to Mayo, who missed Badiane cutting to the hoop, pump faked and misfired on a wild jumper. Mayo's first thought coming off of a screen/roll set is definitely to look for his own shot--usually a midrange jumper--and not to pass to the roller or reverse the ball to the other side of the court. I understand that guys like Badiane and Tucker may not even be in the NBA this season and that Mayo wants to show what he can do offensively but it will be interesting to see if he becomes more apt to pass the ball during the regular season. The next time Memphis ran a screen/roll for Mayo he passed to Conley, who missed a long jumper. Mayo caught the ball on the left wing isolated against Karl, blew right past him after an excellent fake and scored a sweet reverse layup, his best move of the night. Kamla went completely overboard, declaring, "You can't do that move unless you are a superstar-type player." That is so wrong--there are plenty of guys who are athletic enough to make one very nice reverse layup in summer league play; a superstar is a guy who is extremely productive on a nightly basis. NBA TV replayed the shot about a million times. Hey, it was a great shot and it was fun to watch but there is much more to becoming a great player than simply having the ability to make one great summer league shot. Kamla about had a heart attack waxing poetic about this play yet he never said one word during the game about how poorly suited Mayo seems to be to play point guard or about Mayo's questionable shot selection. Even though Mayo's shots went in at a decent rate in this particular summer league game that does not mean that they were (1) good shots or (2) shots that he will consistently make at that rate in the regular season. Mayo has the tools to be a good NBA scorer but it remains to be seen if he will be an impact player overall--let alone a superstar--or if he will primarily be a guy who, as the saying goes, "gets buckets." Karl responded on the next possession by taking the ball right at Mayo and drawing a foul--less spectacular but no less effective, as Karl made both free throws. Mayo answered by coming off of a screen/roll action and again eschewing the pass to launch an off balance jumper over two defenders. Summer league is one thing but veteran big men are not going to much fancy setting screens for Mayo if the end result is almost always Mayo jacking up a shot regardless of how the play is defended. Mayo seemed to focus more and more on his own offense as the game went on, at one point dribbling between his legs multiple times while everyone else stood around. He eventually made a jumper over Karl's outstretched arm. Keep in mind that Karl is not even a rotation player in the NBA, so proving your one on one chops versus him has nothing to do with establishing yourself as a superstar in the making. Mayo then wasted most of a possession with fancy dribbling but was unable to free himself for a shot--he never looked to create anything for a teammate--and he finally simply handed the ball to Conley, who eventually took a long jumper. "That's a lot of East-West dribbling by Conley and Mayo when you need to be going North-South...It's great to dance with the ball but if you don't go anywhere you've accomplished nothing," Jones observed. Ball movement again stopped when Mayo received the ball in the right corner, looked Karl in the eye and then made a three pointer right over him. That basket pulled Memphis to within nine points (54-45) but Mayo did not score the rest of the way. The Lakers led 62-51 at the end of the third quarter. Mayo sat out the first couple minutes of the fourth quarter and Memphis trailed 66-52 when he returned to action. He pushed the ball up the court in transition and made a nice feed to Arthur, who tried to throw down a monster dunk but was rejected. Crittenton grabbed the rebound, made a layup and completed a three point play by making a free throw after he was fouled. The Grizzlies never really threatened down the stretch, though. A few possessions later, Mayo drove by Karl from the right baseline but missed a wild left handed shot in the lane. Talking about the difficult transition to the NBA for last year's Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant and for Mayo, Jones said, "There is a difference between being the stud in college and being the man in the NBA." Jones foresees Durant being a multiple-time All-Star and Hall of Fame level performer eventually but--despite the marked progress that Durant made in the second half of last season--I think that it is way too soon to make such pronouncements. I don't know what the Grizzlies intend to do with their point guard situation but I'd put Mayo at shooting guard and let someone else run the offense, which is actually a look that Memphis used at times during this game: they started the game with a three guard front with Conley, Crittenton and Mayo, so Mayo was nominally the small forward even though he did a lot of ballhandling. I like Conley's passing ability but he is small, not a great shooter and perhaps a bit injury prone. Crittenton is raw but has good size (6-5, 200) and is talented. Conley and Crittenton should fight it out for the starting point guard spot.

A $1,118,060 Mistake

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 08:36:36 -0500

While watching the 2008 NBA Draft last week, I could not help myself from drawing a connection between Brady Quinn and Darrell Arthur. Sure, they are not the same color and do not even play the same sport, but both had to go through the agonizing experience of having ESPN cameras flash their lights on the one-time college stand outs who were being passed up for what scouts had called inferior players preceding the draft. In the aftermath of Brady Quinn's fall from being one of the first people chosen in the draft, very few attacked Condon for his performance in the episode. In fact, many were not surprised; Brady Quinn was not a lock to be selected in the top of the first round, and scenarios that included him being selected later than Brady would have liked had been suggested. Quinn suffering had a lot to do with poor planning by those who selected the players chosen to sit in the green room. Can the same be said in the Darrell Arthur ordeal? Prior to last Thursday, and even on draft day, there was little spoken of a potential slip in Arthur's draft stock. In fact, very few people would have ever believed that Arthur would not be the first Jayhawk selected. Brandon Rush is a stud, but there was no way that his name would be read before Arthur's, right? Wrong. Brandon Rush was picked earlier than many analysts had predicted (at #13 overall), and Darrell Arthur slipped?very?far. Kansas Men's Basketball Coach, Bill Self, believed that Arthur had a chance of being picked right around #15 overall. He was more than a little displeased when his former forward was selected at #27. The difference between the slotted value of a #15 pick and #27 pick over the first two years of the contract is $1,118,060 (hence the title of this article), but that disparity grows even larger if a third and fourth year option is accepted by Arthur's team. Let the finger pointing begin! Bill Self did everything that he could for his former student-athlete when he noticed that Darrell Arthur was getting passed over for what he felt was absolutely no reason. He made calls to NBA team management and knew immediately that somebody dropped the ball. When Self found out that teams were ignoring Arthur's name because "doctors wouldn't let them take him" over a mysterious "kidney problem", frustration and dissapointment set in. So, the question remains, who is to blame? Who dropped the ball? My first inclination was to point my finger at Darrell Arthur's agent, Jerry Hicks. Darrell was recently tested by the Wizards, when nothing was found to be wrong with his kidney. The first thing that his agent should have done is make sure that every single NBA GM, President, scout, coach, and floor sweeper knew that Darrell was healthy and ready to wreck havok in the paint. Here is Hicks's story: "We did the bloodwork on the morning of the 25th, and by noon, [Arthur's kidneys] were determined to be completely normal. I received a message from Washington ? which is still saved in my voice mail in my office ? that everything was normal. Philadelphia received word that things were normal. How this became an issue around the league is puzzling, to say the least." Why is it so puzzling? Rumor had spread that your client had potential issues with his kidneys, which was later dispelled for two out of thirty teams. What made you think that the other twenty-eight got the same information? I give permission to Arthur to believe that the other twenty-eight teams would get the word. He does not know enough about the basketball industry and hired an agent to cross every t and dot every i. There is absolutely no excuse that Arthur's information was not disseminated to every club, just in case. Jason Whitlock got it wrong. This is not about a young player making the mistake of leaving early for the draft. Darrell Arthur was projected as a late lottery pick and probably would have been had teams been properly informed that his "kidney problems" were unfounded rumors. Instead, the lesson that should be learned is that players and their advisors should take ultimate care in handling all situations and events leading up to the draft. If there is even an inkling that a rumor might be seen as true by only a single team, everything must be done to erase such ideas from others minds. When you are a potential lottery pick, in most cases you should not go back to school for another year. There is no insurance policy that will reward you enough money for a career-ending injury. I think that we are making a mistake by blaming Darrell's fall on his early entry into the draft.

The Wrong Hat Parade

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:09:21 -0500

This is arguably my favorite part of the draft. Players wearing hats for teams they never play for. Lovely: Memphis -> Minny Mayo: Minny -> Memphis Super Nintendo: Minny -> Miami Bayless: Pacers -> Blazers Rush: Blazers -> Pacers Batum: Rockets -> Blazers Dorsey: Blazers ->Rockets Arthur: NO -> Portland -> Houston -> Memphis And of course the absolute best was Darrell Arthur, who wore a New Orleans hat even though New Orl...

NCAA Champs Kansas say goodbye to Rush, Arthur

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:17:30 -0500

Juniors Brandon Rush and Darrell Arthur declared themselves eligible for the NBA Draft today, meaning Kansas will be losing four starters from the National Championship team if Mario Chalmers bolts for the NBA as well. Rush, who declared last year, has given up his eligibility regardless of signing with an agent or not because it is his second time declaring. Arthur has not signed an agent and thus could come back, but it looks unlikely that he will return to the Jayhawks. The two accomplished what they set out to do in their college careers, and I have no reason to believe this is a bad move by either of them. Good luck in the league guys!