First of all, apologies for the lack of output this weekend. Posting on Father's Day is tough for me, for reasons I'll probably get into at some point during the long summer, but still, there's stuff going on that's worth discussing. Here's a quick rundown of stuff from over the weekend.
- First of all, if you haven't read Eric Prisbell's Father's Day story on John Wall, go ahead and read it now. It hit me incredibly hard, especially the part about Wall first learning why his father was actually in prison. (As an aside, this raises an interesting ethical issue - should Prisbell have been the one to tell Wall why his father was actually in jail? I'll try to reach out to Eric later today about it. Prisbell's chatting at 11:30 today about the story).
- Here's a long profile of South Dakota native Mike Miller in the Argus Leader. The overriding message? Miller wants to play for a winner. Guess that rules the Wizards out.
- I got to admit, I kind of hate old-timey articles like this one by Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer. Bonnell's argument is that Wall is greatly aided by the new rules that prevent people from hand-checking point guards, which is definitely a good point. But at the same time, would Wall really not go number one if this was the 1992 draft? Do NBA GMs really take Derrick Favors, Evan Turner or DeMarcus Cousins? Maybe, but I doubt it.
- Four good Manute Bol links: his Post obituary, Kevin Blackistone's profile on Bol's legacy in Africa, this interview of him by George Michael and this article that claims he invented the phrase "my bad."
- Truth About It continues to do a great job profiling the players the Wizards have been bringing in for workouts. Here's stuff on Dexter Pittman and Craig Brackens.
Mock drafts and a programming note below the jump:
We know the Wizards are taking John Wall, but what about picks 30 and 35? Here's what the mocks are saying:
- Draft Express: James Anderson, Arron Johnson.
- ESPN: Quincy Pondexter, ?
- NBADraft.net: Trevor Booker, Quincy Pondexter
- HoopsWorld: Devin Ebanks, Terrico White
- Fanhouse: Trevor Booker, ?
- SI: Dexter Pittman, ?
- Yahoo: Daniel Orton, ?
- Ridiculous Upside: Devin Ebanks, Jarvis Varnado
- CBS Sportsline: Gani Lawal, ?
- Real GM: Quincy Pondexter, Gani Lawal.
- Inside Hoops: Lance Stephenson
- Sporting News: Jarvis Varnado, ?
Programming Notes: 1. I'm heading to New York to cover the draft tomorrow night, so expect a lot of firsthand stuff here over the next couple days. 2. I finally got a Flip Cam - so there could very well be more video on here. 3. Give an official welcome to Sean Fagan, our newest front-page writer.