Yardbarker: Wayne Simien

The 10 biggest NCAA tournament upsets of the decade

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:04:15 -0500

As the decade winds down, The Dagger will celebrate the past 10 years of college basketball with various top 10 lists. Today, we at look at the 10 biggest upsets of the 2000s: 10. No. 10 Davidson over No. 2 Georgetown, second round, 2008Stephen Curry wasn't yet a household name when he led Davidson to a wild, 74-70 win over a Hoyas team that was expected to contend for a second straight Final Four appearance. The Wildcats were down as many as 17 points in the second half before Curry too...

Miami Heat and the NBA Draft: There's nothing to see here folks

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:50:59 -0500

Both 2009 draft picks have signed to spend the season in Greece. The team's only lottery pick the past six years is in rehab. And that's not even getting to Wayne Simien or Dorell Wright.

The Best and Worst of the NBA Draft

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 14:42:21 -0500

With the draft fast approaching, many fans are wondering what caliber player they can pick up at their slot. Well, I've compiled a list of 1-30, of the best, and worst picks since 2000. 1. Best: LeBron James Worst: Kwame Brown Kwame Brown is a case-study in dealing with players with fragile mental states. He looked dominant in every pre-draft event I saw, and I didn't disagree with taking him #1. Then Michael Jordan and Doug Collins forced him into the fetal position for several...

Who Will Represent The 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions?

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:38:50 -0500

Kansas Jayhawks Memphis Tigers The Kansas Jayhawks and the Memphis Tigers are set to tip off the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship tonight at 9:21PM EST, and until that time, many newspapers and blogs will be writing about the two teams and their players, and contemplating which team that wears the color blue will come out victorious. One common thread will be that Kansas, as a school, has more experience when it comes to making it this far in the Tournament. Kansas has been in the Championship Game eight times, including this year. For Memphis, this is only the team's second visit to the final game. Kansas has won it all twice, been in the Final Four thirteen times, made the Tournament thirty-seven times, and has eighty Tournament victories. Memphis has never won the Championship, and does not rank close to Kansas in any of the other categories discussed above. But throw all that information out of the window, because it does not matter. Tonight is anybody's game. Instead of making predictions like every other sports blog, I decided that it would be interesting to look at the individual top players at each school that are currently on the court and those that have graduated to play in professional ball. What sports agents have dominated Memphis and Lawrence? Which agents have a comfortable relationship with the Championship Game coaches? Are there other people at each campus that may be influencing players? Kansas Jayhawks in the NBA and their agents: * Nick Collison - Mike Higgins (SFX) * Drew Gooden - Calvin Andrews (BDA Sports) * Kirk Hinrich - Jeff Austin (Octagon) * Raef LaFrentz - Mike Higgins (SFX) * Paul Pierce - Jeff Schwartz (Excel Sports Management) * Scot Pollard - Mark Bartelstein (Priority Sports & Entertainment) * Wayne Simien - Leigh Steinberg (Steinberg & Moorad) * Jacque Vaughn - Jeff Austin (Octagon) * Julian Wright - Rob Pelinka (SFX) Memphis Tigers in the NBA and their agents: * Earl Barron - Mark Termini (Mark Termini Associates) * Rodney Carney - Chris Emens (Octagon) * Shawne Williams - Happy Walters (Immortal Sports) * Lorenzen Wright - Andy Miller (ASM Sports) It was not an easy task to find out the agents of all of the players listed above. After a quick glance at the names and the agencies listed above, it seems like representatives from Octagon and SFX will have some nice seats in San Antonio. I am sure that Jeff Austin and Mike Higgins will be in attendance, but I doubt that they say a word to each other. Which Jayhawks will they be fighting for? DraftExpress.com currently lists Darrell Arthur going #20 in the first round and Brandon Rush being snagged at #25 overall in the 2008 NBA Draft. Will either player (or both) sign with Octagon and/or SFX? Then there is Memphis and its three stars that are suggested to be selected in the 2008 NBA Draft. DraftExpress.com has Derrick Rose being the 2nd overall pick, along with Chris Douglas-Roberts (CDR) being picked at #15 and Joey Dorsey going in the middle of the 2nd round. The list of agents for the current Memphis NBA players does not suggest that any particular agent/agency has an advantage for this year's talented crop of Tigers. But as far as Memphis is concerned, the history books need to be swept off the table and it must be realized that this is an entirely new organization. The landscape in Memphis was redone in 2000, when the University named John Calipari its new basketball coach. He led the team to win the NIT Championship in 2002 and then took Memphis to the NCAA Tournament in 2003 and 2004, something the Tigers were not used to. In 2006, the Tigers got a #1 seed in the Tournament, and Calipari realized that it might have been time to return to old friends with heavy influence in the basketball community. Ever hear of a guy named Worldwide Wes? If not, I suggest you read this GQ article on him. The heading describes William Wesley as, the most connected, most discreet, most influential man on and off the court. Not a bad guy to have on your side. In fact, there may be a lot of validity in equating the success of this year's Memphis Tigers team with Calipari's connection to Wesley. Don't think that Calipari has been working with William? Why else would he say that Wesley is a goodwill ambassador for the University of Memphis program? Wesley openly roots for Memphis to win and has been instrumental in bringing relations between Memphis basketball and China. The sports agent point of all of this is that besides having a strong connection to Calipari as a coach, Worldwide Wes is a big fan of Leon Rose as an agent. None of the four Memphis Tigers currently playing in the NBA are signed with Rose, but you may see some or all of this year's Memphis draft class signing with the basketball agent if William Wesley has his way. It seems like if there is one player out of the three Memphis ballers leaving for the draft this year that is least likely to sign with Rose, it is Joey Dorsey. I have seen reports linking Wesley with Rose and Douglas-Roberts, but have come up empty in any connection with Dorsey. I cannot wait for the game tonight. I honestly have no idea who is going to win. But for me, the most exciting period for me is after the game is over and players start to make their decisions on representation for the 2008 NBA Draft. Stay tuned as we update you on the agent signings by both teams' draft-entry players.

Five Player Trade Upgrades Heat's Talent, Gives Timberwolves Express Ticket to Draft Lottery

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:47:44 -0500

In the wake of an 0-7 preseason and facing the real possibility of not making the playoffs this season, the Miami Heat shipped Antoine Walker, Michael Doleac, Wayne Simien and a conditional first round draft pick to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Ricky Davis and Mark Blount. It is amusing to see this referred to as a "blockbuster" deal--none of the players has been an All-Star in recent memory and none are likely to be one any time soon.

Ricky Davis is Heading to the Heat

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:13:05 -0500

Breaking down the five-player trade between the Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Ricky Davis is Heading to the Heat

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:11:52 -0500

Breaking down the five-player trade between the Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Employee #8 takes his game over to the Twin Cities

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 20:49:18 -0500

Yahoo! Sports reported that the Miami Heat and the Minnesota Timberwolves have consummated a five-player deal highlighted by Antoine Walker leaving his conditioning problems and moving out West in exchange for one-time Heat player Ricky Davis and center Mark Blount (who both came from the Boston Celtics in a trade deadline deal almost two years ago). The Boston Globe wrote: "The Celtics sent Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, Marcus Banks, Justin Reed, and two conditional second-round picks to the Timberwolves on January 27, 2006 in exchange for Michael Olowokandi, Wally Szczerbiak, Dwayne Jones of the development league, and a conditional first-round pick likely to be exercised in 2008." While for the same two players (Davis and Blount), the Heat got the aforementioned Antoine Walker, third-string center Michael Doleac, forward Wayne Simien (who I know is there but never really seen play) and a conditional first-round draft pick. Gosh, it's either the Mutt and Jeff combo of Ricky Davis and Mark Blount isn't worth that much anymore (Davis is projected to be the Heat's third scoring option while Blount should provide help to the trio of Shaquille O'Neal, Alonzo Mourning, and Udonis Haslem) or this is just another fine move by Timberwolves General Manager (Wikipedia.org lists him as Assistant GM) to dump salary because I don't think the T-Wolves fans would love the idea of trouping to the Target Center to watch the "spectacular" veteran tandem of Antoine Walker and Juwan Howard fill up the box scores. University of Florida's Corey Wayne Brewer, who the Timberwolves drafted this year would be more entertaining to watch in their frontcourt. I mean, come on! They did once upon a time have Kevin Garnett...