Posted on Sun, Jun. 01, 2008

UK Notebook

Basketball notebook: From UK to NBA?

NBA consultant: Crawford had "real positive camp' while Bradley has work still to do

Jerry Tipton

Joe Crawford was the third-most prolific scorer at last week's NBA Pre-Draft Camp in Orlando.

Ramel Bradley played inconsistently as a point guard.

So what does it mean for the former Kentucky players and their chances of making an NBA roster next season?

We asked NBA consultant Chris Ekstrand.

”If you're here and play pretty well, you've got a better chance to get an individual team workout,“ Ekstrand said from Orlando. ”Without being here, your agent is begging for a workout. If you're judged good enough to be here, teams will call you.“

Those workouts will come in the weeks leading to the NBA Draft later this month.

Two or three participants in the Pre-Draft Camp become first-round picks, Ekstrand said. Another 15 or 16 players usually become second-round selections.

Crawford averaged 15 points in his three camp games. Typically, players play about 20 to 22 minutes a game. He made 50 percent of his shots, including four of seven attempts from the NBA-length three-point range.

”Overall, a real positive camp,“ Ekstrand said. ”I'd say one of the more successful offensive players.“

Crawford has an advantage over many prospects. Many prospects must gain strength to play at the NBA level. The former UK guard showed his strength by muscling to the basket in Orlando.

As for Bradley, he had the added chore of adapting to the point guard position defined as purely a distributor. He was more of a scoring guard at UK.

Plus, Bradley had to perform within the confines of the NBA's 24-second clock.

”I'd say he was just fair,“ Ekstrand said. ”He had good moments and moments he struggled a little bit.“

Camp notes

In other notes from the NBA's Pre-Draft Camp:

■ In one of his daily blog updates, Rob Reheuser, the editor of the NBA's Draft Guide, focused on Alabama forward Richard Hendrix.

”Stevie Wonder could see Hendrix looked a bit on the short side in person for those who only saw him on television this past season,“ Reheuser wrote. ”Stevie Wonder could also see a really strong kid with a pair of hands to die for.“

Hendrix has a decision to make. Should he stay in this year's draft, where he's perceived as a good, if not great, prospect? Or return to Alabama for his senior season and try to improve his position for the 2009 draft?

Or is Hendrix, athletically limited (by NBA standards) and sort of a bigger version of ex-UK standout Chuck Hayes, as good as he'll ever be?

”He's clearly not a lock for the first round, though he's certain to be drafted in the upper portion of the second round were he to keep his name in the draft,“ Reheuser wrote. ”And he just may want to get the clock started on his earning potential.“

■ The best point guard (the only point guard?) in Orlando was North Carolina's Ty Lawson. He played only one game before being sidelined by a tweaked ankle.

■ Star-crossed Alabama guard Ronald Steele played in Orlando. On the plus side, he looked healthy. He's battled a series of injuries.

On the minus side, he looked rusty, understandable since he was playing competitively for the first time in about 18 months.

Crean leftovers

Leftovers from Indiana Coach Tom Crean's appearance in Louisville last week:

■ He saw the recruitment of ever-younger prospects as OK as long as the college coaches do not pressure middle-schoolers into making commitments.

Such recruitment only follows the trend in which nearly every aspect of college basketball is drawing younger players.

Some European prospects live a basketball lifestyle at a similar age, he said. ”If it was Europe, it'd be just another day at the office.“

■ He took a wait-and-see approach to the question of where to play the Kentucky-Indiana series. It had been home and home (Lexington and Bloomington), then went to neutral sites (Louisville and Indianapolis) before returning to home and home the last two years.

”That series has to continue no matter what,“ Crean said. ”That's one of the greatest college basketball rivalries anywhere. It transcends the coaches, players, athletic departments. It's a series for the ages.“

As for where it should be played, Crean said he'd like to experience it for a few years before commenting.

■ Broadcaster Dick Vitale wrote Crean a letter asking him to push for Bob Knight's induction into the Indiana Athletic Hall of Fame.

Issue? What issue?

The recruitment of ever-younger prospects has sparked debate, national media interest and the anticipation of a look at placing new limits on recruiting.

Meanwhile, the discussion did not spread to last week's SEC Meeting in Destin, Fla.

Neither the basketball coaches' meeting nor a joint meeting of coaches and athletic directors took up the subject.

Museum piece

Reader Gary Livingston, now living in Florida, offered his thought, via e-mail, on why attendance to the UK Basketball Museum failed to meet expectations.

During a business trip to Nashville, he decided on a drive to Lexington and a visit to the museum.

”It was exciting to me when I paid for my entrance because I was looking forward to visiting a shrine to my beloved program,“ he wrote in an e-mail message. ”However, after spending just a few minutes, I immediately realized that this place was poorly constructed and disappointingly dull.

”Good museums have interactive exhibits, lights, sounds, computer animation, etc. In fact, I thought to myself, I need to take over this place because it is designed so poorly and is missing all of those concepts. I recall a statue (I think it was Sam Bowie) who at the time was the tallest player to attend Kentucky. Now, imagine instead of a static figure that they designed a very small court with one person being able to swing a lighter constructed Bowie back and forth as you experience what it is like to face him and get off a shot?

”Or, why didn't they have some large video screens playing games, crowd background noise, some exhibits where you can punch in on a screen some famous highlights of games from past to present? ...

”So, my point is that it isn't a lack of fan support as just a poor, boring museum that I believe has contributed to its downfall.“

Comment: Livingston makes a good point. Museum officials acknowledge the need to freshen exhibits and enhance the interactive experience for patrons.

But without funds, the financially strapped museum has found that difficult to do.

Incidental contact

Reader Gary Livingston, 54, attended undergraduate and graduate school at UK (1972-78). He lives in Fort Lauderdale and works and serves as vice president of a Disability Management Company.

Perhaps his most memorable moment as a fan/UK student came when he ”almost killed Colonel Sanders.“

Livington explained:

”Colonel Sanders was old and walked with a cane, wore that white suit, and was being helped up the steps at Memorial Gym by two attendants,“ he wrote. ”The steps at Memorial (Coliseum) were very steep. I was busy walking fast backwards down the stairs waving up to various people and, of course, not looking where I was going. I bumped very hard into Colonel Sanders, sending him off balance with his cane flying and lucky for him (and me) the attendants were able to catch him before he went tumbling down the stairs.

”They of course were furious and upset with me. But, I was a young college student and was more annoyed that some old guy got in my way.“

Museum seeks funds

By the end of June, the UK Basketball Museum must raise about $500,000 to pay off its debt and remain open.

As of Friday, more than $100,000 had been raised, Executive Director Van Florence said.

One donor pledged $50,000, Florence said.

The museum also received $5,000 pledges from 14 former UK players.

Fans can make donations at the museum's Web site: www.ukbb.org.

Thanks, Jamal

Former All-American Jamal Mashburn continues to impact UK more than a decade after his stellar college career.

Recently, UK announced the 2008 winner of the annual scholarship that bears his name.

The winner was Indlie Marcel, a freshman at Bryan Station High.

The scholarship, which Mashburn endowed with a $500,000 pledge days after declaring himself eligible for the 1993 NBA Draft, is designed to assist students who display academic talent but might not otherwise afford to attend college.

Here comes the Herd

Former UK assistant Shawn Finney will be in Lexington on Thursday as part of a Marshall coaches tour. The event will be at the Andover Country Club.

Thundering Herd football coach Mark Snyder and women's basketball coach Royce Chadwick will join Finney at the Lexington stop.

The event at Andover (Todds Road off Man O' War Boulevard) begins with a reception at 6:30 p.m.

Reservations can be made by calling Lexington-area Big Green leader Ben Lowe at (859) 327-7280 or by e-mail to lowebf@alltel.net. Reservations can also be made at the Big Green office in Huntington toll free (866) 443-7310 or by e-mail to biggreen@marshall.edu. Dress is business casual (khaki pants with collared shirts, no denim) at the club.

20-grand salute

UK spent more than $20,000 to stage the public memorial service for long-time equipment manager Bill Keightley in April, according to Deputy Director of Athletics Rob Mullens.

Keightley, the program's celebrated ”Mr. Wildcat,“ died after a fall en route to the Cincinnati Reds' opening game. He had worked in UK's equipment room since 1962.

Happy birthday

To former UK president David Roselle. He turned 68 on Friday.

Roselle was UK president from 1987 until 1990, a period marked by academic ambition and basketball misconduct.

Roselle now holds the titles of President Emeritus and Professor of Mathematics Emeritus at the University of Delaware, where he served as president after leaving UK.

On Monday, he will become Interim Director of Winterthur Museum and Country Estate, an American Country estate in Delaware's Brandywine Valley.

Winterthur offers a variety of tours, exhibitions and programs. According to its Web site, the museum houses a ”magnificent“ collection of American antiques celebrating the best in style and craftsmanship. The complex includes a 60-acre garden and surrounding landscape of woodlands, waterways and rolling meadows.

”Tell your readers that I hope they visit,“ Roselle wrote in an e-mail message, ”and that I look forward to seeing them when they do.“