In what some are calling one of the biggest upsets in international basketball and the greatest win in the history of African basketball, Nigeria followed up their upset of Lithuania to eliminate Greece, 80-79, in the men's basketball Olympic qualifying quarterfinals Friday in Caracas, Venezuela.
A pair of Nigerians with ties to the New Orleans Hornets helped make it happen.
Ike Diogu, a former Hornets who never played a game for New Orleans due to injury, led Nigeria with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Fellow forward Al-Farouq Aminu, heading into his second season as a Hornet, battled foul trouble but added 13 points to help his nation rally for the victory.
12. Wake Forest (13-18, 4-12)
Whether Jeff Bzdelik will be Wake’s head coach at this time next year remains uncertain, but it is clear he’ll be coaching a much-different looking team than last season. Three players (starting point guard Tony Chennault and reserves Carson Desrosiers and Anthony Fields) transferred while seven freshmen were added. Proven scorers C.J. Harris and Travis McKie are back, but that duo often didn’t get enough help from its supporting cast in the past. For that to change, Bzdelik must develop some instant contributors out of his latest recruiting class.
Starters Returning: 2 (G C.J. Harris 16.7 ppg, 42.% 3-pt, 84.4% FT; F Travis McKie 16.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg)
Key Losses: 4 (G Tony Chennault 9.0 ppg, F Nikita Mescheriakov 8.0 ppg; C Ty Walker 4.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.6 bpg; Carson Desrosiers 4.8 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
Here's your complete guide to scheduling a fall wedding: do not ever do it.
Fine, a little more detail. Don't have it on a Saturday in the fall.
If you must have it on a Saturday in the fall, don't live in the South, Midwest, Texas or anywhere else specifically afflicted with the college football condition. Having a fall Saturday wedding in Massachusetts is probably for the best.
But let's say you're stuck with putting on a wedding in the fall. I won't pry into why you've set yourself up like this. We're not here to judge anything other than what a bad person you are.
Now that you've made a mistake, please, please try to proceed with football in mind from this point on.
8. Wake Forest: The forgotten tenant of Tobacco Road, Wake Forest faces a variety for challenges each season. The poaching of the region’s talent by North Carolina and Duke. High-level -- and often unrealistic expectations -- for a fan base that craves to compete against the Tar Heels and Blue Devils every year (see: NC State). Although the team has a strong history of success, it has struggled to continue that legacy since the death of Skip Prosser in 2007. Dino Gaudio started strong but finished poorly. Jeff Bzdelik will enter next season on the hot seat. But the Deacons did sign a top-25 recruiting class, a sign -- confirmed in the past -- that the program is still capable of drawing elite players.
Cheyenne Woods, who turned pro earlier this month after graduating from Wake Forest, will make her debut next week at the Wegmans LPGA Championship in Pittsford, N.Y. She was given a sponsor's exemption into the tournament.
Woods had an outstanding career at Wake Forest, winning twice, and setting the school record for lowest career scoring average of 73.71. This past season she averaged 73.69, the fourth best in school history.
Wake Forest's opponents hate Jim Grobe for beating them with less.
Florida State fans hate Jimbo Fisher for losing to Wake Forest with more.
We talk about conference realignment a lot. Pretty much every day. It's become the third sport of college football, right after recruiting. But how do we figure out who's winning it?
Here's an attempt at assigning a Realignment Value to every school in or close to joining FBS, so we can figure out exactly which conferences are winning (and by how much) and how big the remaining moves are.
"I played and contributed as an underlassman, but I continued to work hard to get better every year," Visser said. "My senior year, there was an opportunity for me to be more of a go-to player, and I was able to take advantage of it because of the work I’d put in (previously). Big men tend to blossom late. In high school, I improved between my junior and senior year and I did in college as well."
That firsthand knowledge of how big men develop is the inspiration behind the first annual Kyle Visser Big Man Camp for players ages 11-18, which will be held July 16-18 at MVP Fieldhouse in Grand Rapids (Note: See the flyer at the bottom of this post or follow the link for details and to register.).
"I chose to work with big men for this camp because it’s what I’m most comfortable teaching," Visser said. "I understand how big men develop and grow into their own body later than guards do. We’re really going to stress and teach the fundamentals of post play — footwork, defensive strategies, playing with your back to the basket. There’s only so much we can do in a three-day camp, but we’re going to try to make it as valuable and informative as possible."
Visser plans to make his camp an annual event and wants to see it grow and expand each year.
The least well kept secret in the college transfer world is out.
Former Wake Forest guard Tony Chennault will announce his transfer to Villanova today.
"Tony is happy to be back in the Philly area close to his mom and family," Neumann Goretti assistant John Mosco told SNY.tv.
The Jets were one of two teams whose headquarters Bush visited before the draft. During the visit, coach Rex Ryan hinted, in one way or another, that he just might be wearing a Jets uniform this season.
"I definitely knew there was interest," Bush said with a smile.
The Jets gave away their fourth- and fifth-round picks, but when the 187th pick came up in the sixth round, they called Bush’s name. "I felt like I was the first pick of the draft," said Bush, who signed his four-year rookie deal Sunday. "It was a great feeling."