Pistons Fire Head Coach Lawrence Frank

Detroit Pistons head coach, Lawrence Frank will
not return for a third season.
Picture Courtesy: Yahoo! Sports

The Detroit Pistons have been one of the laughing stalks of the NBA this season, after finishing with a 29-53 overall record. Less than 24 hours after finishing the season, the Pistons have chosen to fire head coach, Lawrence Frank.  Frank has finished his career in Detroit with a 54-94 combined record after his two seasons.

Pistons team president, Tom Gores reported on Sunday night that he would make quick but thorough decisions on the futures of Lawrence Frank, along with president of basketball operations, Joe Dumars. Gores decided on Thursday morning that Frank was not going to return for a third season in Detroit.

After a poor start to the season, the Pistons front office agreed to a trade which sent Tayshaun Prince and Austin Daye to the Memphis Grizzlies, and brought in Jose Calderon from the Toronto Raptors. Frank's offense just couldn't get going this season, averaging 94.9 points per game, which finished at 21st in the NBA. Despite the poor start to the season, the Pistons may have finished the season even worse, going 1-13 in March, which would ultimately lead to Frank's firing.


There are several pieces that will be returning next season, including Brandon Knight, Greg Monroe, Rodney Stuckey, and possibly Jose Calderon if the team would like him to return. Behind the three young futures of Knight, Monroe, and Stuckey, the team can also look to build on Andre Drummond's stellar end to the season. With the addition of a top ten, lottery pick in this years NBA draft, the only place to go is up in Detroit, as the search for a new coach begins.

Top 2014 Wide Receiver, Drake Harris Officially Commits to Michigan

Five-Star Grand Rapids Christian wide receiver, Drake Harris has officially
committed to the University of Michigan.
Picture Courtesy: mlive.com

It was nearly a year ago that Spartan nation rejoiced after Drake Harris had verbally committed to them. However, they're now thinking about what went wrong.

Grand Rapids Christian wide receiver, Drake Harris was one of the highest recruited players in the class of 2014. A five-star recruit by rivals.com, Harris had offers to nearly every top football program in the country. Harris had verbally committed to Michigan State in June after he was told he could play both football and basketball there. After a few months of thinking, Harris decided it'd be best to only play football, and not play basketball at the next level, despite being a top prospect on the court as well.

Harris announced on Sunday that he was officially committing to the University of Michigan via his Twitter account, leaving several people shocked by his decision. Some thought Urban Meyer would get Drake to commit to Ohio State, others thought he'd stay at Michigan State, but Michigan was one of his favorites all along. Following visits to all three schools, Michigan was his final decision.

The six-foot, four-inch junior put on a show this past season, especially on the way to Grand Rapids Christian's first state championship. Harris caught eight passes for a state finals record of 243 yards, and a touchdown. Harris also became one of twelve players in the country to eclipse 2,000 yards receiving, with 2,016 yards.

Drake Harris is now the fifth commitment in the University of Michigan's 2014 recruiting class, following a class which ranked in the top five after the 2013 signing day.

What's Next For Michigan Basketball?

Zak Irvin, Mr. Basketball Indiana award winner, will look to bring Michigan
back to the national championship next season as a freshman.
Picture Courtesy: usatodayhss.com

Coming off of the first final four appearance for 20 years, Michigan basketball may need to replace several starters from this year's team. The first player looking to bring the team back is Zak Irvin, a six-foot, seven-inch small forward from Hamilton Southeastern high school in Fishers, Indiana. Irvin was named Mr. Basketball in Indiana after averaging 24.6 points per game along with 9 rebounds.

"We have been tracking Zak for four years now, and it has been incredible to watch his overall development," said John Beilein when asked about the 29th ranked overall prospect in the class of 2013.

Another big star coming in will be Detroit Chandler Park Academy point guard, Derrick Walton. Walton may need to help replace Trey Burke, who will most likely announce his decision to go pro in a few short days. Walton was an all-around star for Chandler Park this season, scoring 26.2 points a game along with 10.1 assists, 7.7 rebounds, and 5.4 steals. Trey Burke will be nearly impossible to replace, but after the 17 point performance from Spike Albrecht in the National Championship game, and the fifth overall point guard in the country coming in, Ann Arbor may not have as big of a hole to fill as people think.

Next is Mark Donnal, a six-foot, nine-inch power forward from Whitehouse, Ohio. Donnal has great shooting range, but yet has the ability and toughness to play center and get in the paint. "Mark is very skilled, has the ability to shoot, and is very young, so he will grow into his body," said Michigan Head Coach, John Beilein about Donnal, the thirty-eighth overall power forward in the class.

With several players on the fence of returning to Michigan or leaving for the NBA, Michigan may have many holes to fill. These holes may include Wooden Award Winner, Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., Glenn Robinson III, and Mitch McGary. Assuming Burke and Hardaway will leave for the NBA, the guards may be awfully important next season. Derrick Walton and Spike Albrecht will likely split time at point guard for the Wolverines, which adds a scoring threat with Walton, but also a spark plug in Albrecht. At shooting guard to replace Hardaway would be the Canadian, Nik Stauskas. Stauskas can shoot the ball from three-point range like few in the country can, averaging 43% from the arc this season. Small forward will be where it gets interesting. If Glenn Robinson III returns, as I believe he ultimately will, it will provide plenty of depth with the freshman, Zak Irvin coming in. Irvin and Robinson should be able to fill the spot nicely at small forward. If McGary comes back, as he definitely should, he can be the spark plug for them down low. Jordan Morgan will also return as a senior, and let's hope his offensive game improves.


Ultimately, the starting lineup for next season as I see it for the season opener: Spike Albrecht, Nik Stauskas, Zak Irvin, Glenn Robinson III, and Mitch McGary. On the bench, Derrick Walton will get a chance to play major minutes at the point. If he proves himself, he may be able to take over the starting role over Albrecht, that's assuming Albrecht doesn't shoot like he did in the National Championship all season long. Freshman, Mark Donnal and senior, Jordan Morgan can be the big men off of the bench to add height and defensive presence down low.

Overall, I don't think Michigan will be as bad as everyone is assuming next year. I think the freshmen will play well, along with the returning super-sophomores that they will have in Ann Arbor.

Comparisons of Russ Smith and Russell Westbrook

Louisville's Russ Smith has a shooters mentality
such as former UCLA standout and current
Oklahoma City guard, Russell Westbrook.
Picture Courtesy: zimbio.com

Besides having the same name, Russell Westbrook and Russ Smith of Louisville have amazing similarities. Westbrook was a quiet college player, averaging just 3.4 points per game in nine minutes as a freshman, and 12.7 points per game as a sophomore. Despite the small production in college, Westbrook sure produced as soon as he hit the NBA with the Oklahoma City Thunder, formerly the Seattle Sonics.

Westbrook was a decently explosive guard for the UCLA Bruins during his two year span there. In the NBA, his explosiveness hit a whole new planet. Westbrook is also a tremendous shooter, as is Russ Smith of Louisville. Smith is a junior this season and has really led his team to the Final Four, where they will take on Wichita State on Saturday. The knock on these two stars? They can both shoot the lights out of the ball, but when they're on cold streaks, they both continue to shoot and force bad shots.

Not only can Smith dominate on the offensive end, but also the defensive end by playing the passing lanes and forcing turnovers, as Russell Westbrook also does. These two players also do a great job of playing on-ball defense on the perimeter and denying the lane to the opposing stars and point guards. Smith is an undersized two-guard in college, but may be able to play some point guard at the next level. Westbrook was also undersized in college as a two-guard but is now in the NBA at point guard, and excelling at it.

The comparison between Russell Westbrook and Russ Smith are extremely obvious to me when I watch them play. The shooters mentality, playing the passing lanes, forcing turnovers, and providing the energizer for their clubs are all similar between the two, and as Smith moves forward, I believe the comparison may become more obvious.


Smith can certainly be a lottery pick in the upcoming NBA Draft this June if he declares for the draft. It's all up to him on waiting one more year, or taking the money now.

Northwestern's Basketball Program Looks To Take The Next Step

Chris Collins has spent the past 13 seasons with Coach K
and the Duke Blue Devils. Now, he has his first
opportunity to be a head coach, and turn around a
struggling program.
Picture Courtesy: Yahoo! Sports

Since the 1933 season, the Northwestern men's basketball program has yet to clinch a regular season conference championship. That stretch also includes zero NCAA tournament appearances since the tournament's establishment in 1939.

Following a 5-25 campaign in 2000 for Northwestern, in which they went 0-16 in the Big Ten, it was time to fire third year head coach, Kevin O'Neill. Following O'Neill's firing, came in Bill Carmody, the head coach of Princeton who was nearing 50 years old at the time. Carmody would go on to have quite a successful career in Evanston, leading them to their fourth NIT appearance in 2009. Carmody would lead the Wildcats to four NIT tournaments in a row in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 until a highly disappointing final season in Evanston this year, going 13-19 and 4-14 in the Big Ten, which would ultimately lead to his firing.

Just a couple of weeks following Carmody's firing, Northwestern had found their next head coach. Chris Collins was their selection. Collins, a 38 year-old Duke assistant had spent a lot of time in the Chicago area during his father's (Doug Collins) tenure as the Chicago Bulls head coach from 1986-1989. Collins found his way into coaching in 2000 as an assistant under Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, and had been there ever since. Now, Collins gets his first opportunity as a head coach, and it's at Northwestern to take over one of the few struggling programs in the Big Ten.

Collins will take over a team recovering from a 13-19 overall record, and will learn quickly that nothing comes easy in the Big Ten, college basketball's most dominate conference. Northwestern may have an opportunity to knock off Penn State, Iowa, and Nebraska in the upcoming season, but we need to be realistic for the first couple seasons in Evanston.

However, Northwestern has a chance to be great in upcoming seasons. Recruiting will be the key in Evanston, but it shouldn't be difficult to get high school recruits to buy into Collins and Northwestern. After all, city kids love the Chicago suburbs as well as the lake shore campus and Lake Michigan beaches on campus. With Chris Collins' background in coaching and basketball knowledge, he'll look to turn the Wildcats program around from the past 80 year drought.

Overall, I see it as a great hire. This isn't a coach nearing the end of his career, or a coach with many different jobs in his past where this would just be another stop. Instead, Northwestern went and got a first year head coach with several years of assisting one of the best coaches, and best programs in the country. Collins, who is just 38 years of age, will turn Evanston into his home for several years down the road, and will look to turn the program around. In Northwestern's eyes, it's not going to be a one year turn around, so they went with the younger, and maybe inexperienced hire, but eventually, I see Northwestern making the NCAA tournament within the next few seasons for the first time in school history.

Sources: Michigan Stars Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. Will Declare for NBA at Season's End

Michigan point guard, Trey Burke

It was just a few days ago that Michigan had clinched their spot in the Final Four for the first time in twenty years. However, that honeymoon phase may come crashing down on the Wolverines. As of today, a few sources have announced that the Michigan guard outlook may change dramatically at season's end with the report of sophomore point guard, Trey Burke and junior teammate, Tim Hardaway Jr. leaving for the NBA. 

Burke was the leader for the Wolverines this season, averaging nearly 19 points and 7 assists per game. Burke was also selected as Big Ten Player Of The Year this season, along with a great chance at winning the Wooden Award as the top player in the country, which will be announced tomorrow at noon. The 20-year old is projected as the top point guard in the draft and a mid to late lottery selection in the NBA draft.

Hardaway Jr., the son of former NBA star, Tim Hardaway Sr. was another large part of the Wolverines success this season. Hardaway averaged 15 points and 5 rebounds a game for the Wolverines. The 21-year old star is projected as a late first round pick, but his stock may rise due to the Final Four appearance of his Wolverines.

Looking forward to next year for the Wolverines, they will have another top point guard recruit in Derrick Walton of Chandler Park Academy to turn into the next superstar in Ann Arbor. Another top recruit is Mr. Basketball in the state of Indiana, Zak Irvin. Irvin played with Gary Harris for one season in high school, before he graduated and left for Michigan State. Irvin is a 6 foot, 7 inch small forward who can score from any area on the floor.

The Effect of Social Media On Athletes

Yuri Wright, a prime example of the Twitter downturn.

Most of us have learned how to deal with social media by now, both in positive and negative ways. However, that is most of us, but there are still many people, including athletes, that have not learned how to control their emotions and feelings.

Many athletes in today's day and age are tweeting things that will not only hurt them now, but also hurt them down the road. Several of them tweet racist, sexual, and/or obscure things, which colleges can see and monitor. Some colleges may not have a problem with it, but many do.

Just take the situation of Yuri Wright just over a year ago. Wright was a top high school cornerback from New Jersey, who found out just how fast scholarships can disappear from tweeting and social media. Wright was being recruited by some of the top division-one football programs in the country, including Michigan, Rutgers, Notre Dame, and Colorado. However, there was one thing that these colleges disliked about one of their top recruits, and it was his social media usage. There were several instances where Wright would tweet racist or sexual things, which led to several warnings from the school officials. Several sexual tweets were seen on his account, such as sexual tweets which will not be repeated, but other racist tweets about his dad driving by members of the Jewish religion, and splashing them in the face with water. One tweet later, and he was expelled from his Catholic High School in Ramsey, New Jersey, and had several of his college football offers withdrawn. Michigan stopped recruiting Wright, who ended up at Colorado after taking his Twitter account off of the internet.

This is just one prime example of how crucial Twitter and Facebook are to colleges, whether you're a division-one athlete or not, it can really come back to haunt you. Catching up with family and friends is one thing, which is how most people use their accounts, but instances like these teach you how to keep your mouth shut and emotions in check.

Another example of Twitter being a distraction for big time college athletes is the fan tweeting, or negative tweets to the player after poor performances. After positive performances, you'll get positive responses from fans. Which tweets do you respond to? If you only respond to some, the fans who did not get a response view you as cocky. Social media is what leads to the downturn of several current, or soon to be, college athletes, and it needs to be properly handled.