The Dagger
  • Nerlens Noel is one of nine freshmen in this year's draft (Getty Images)

    The official early-entry list the NBA released on Wednesday morning didn't contain too many surprises aside from a handful of low-major and lower-division players who decided to enter the draft. Click here for the full early-entry list and read below for some relevant statistics from this year's list.

    77: Early-entry players on this year's list, 45 college underclassmen, 31 international prospects and one post-graduate high school student

    60: Number of players selected in every NBA draft

    9: Freshmen on this year's list – Steven Adams (Pittsburgh), Anthony Bennett (UNLV), Archie Goodwin (Kentucky), Grant Jerrett (Arizona), Ricky Ledo (Providence), Ben McLemore (Kansas), Shabazz Muhammad (UCLA), Nerlens Noel (Kentucky), Joshua Simmons (Spartanburg Methodist JC)

    10.4: Average number of freshmen on list the past five years

    13: Sophomores on this year's list

    23: Juniors on this year's list

    Read More »from A by-the-numbers look at this year’s official NBA early-entry list
  • In a dusty box in someone's attic or basement, there may still be video of my sixth-grade talent show lurking on a mid-90s vintage camcorder.

    I pray it never makes it to YouTube because I'm sure it's 100 times more cringe-worthy than this classic video of Indiana point guard Yogi Ferrell rapping in sixth grade.

    According to the person who uploaded the song this week, Park Tudor School had a business fair seven years ago at which every student had to sell a product. Ferrell's product was apparently the above rap song, and it's probably safe to assume he didn't sell too many copies except to sympathetic family members.

    Finding the right adjectives to describe the self-written song is not easy, but I'm going to go with adorably awful. Seventy percent of the lyrics are inaudible, but you can definitely here him say at the 26-second mark, "I wanna play for Duke …"

    Thankfully for Indiana fans, Ferrell changed his mind in high school. And thankfully for Ferrell, he chose to focus on basketball instead of music.

    Read More »from Adorable sixth-grade rap song by Indiana guard Yogi Ferrell hits YouTube
  • Lance Thomas hugs Mike Krzyzewski after 2010 title game (Getty Images)

    The NCAA's investigation into ex-Duke forward Lance Thomas ended Tuesday afternoon in the most predictable way possible.

    Unable to prove Thomas accepted extra benefits in order to purchase nearly $100,000 of jewelry from a New York jeweler in Dec. 2009, the NCAA wrapped up its inquiry and moved on to other cases. Duke associate athletic director Jon Jackson sent out a press a release Tuesday indicating no evidence of wrongdoing was found and the NCAA now considers the matter closed.

    A lawsuit filed by Manhattan-based Rafaello & Co. in Sept. 2012 brought attention to the purchase by Thomas because it raised eyebrows that a college senior from a single-parent home would attempt to purchase $97,800 in diamond necklaces, watches and earrings. The infractions case was especially noteworthy because it had the potential to jeopardize Duke's 2010 national championship that Thomas helped win.

    Thomas forked over $30,000 for a down payment for the jewelry and initially agreed to pay the rest within 15 days, but Rafaello & Co. eventually sued him almost three years later because it did not receive the money. If Rafaello & Co. awarded Thomas a loan based on future earnings he could make as a professional either in the NBA or overseas, that would violate NCAA rules prohibiting such transactions.

    Once Thomas and Rafaello & Co. reached a settlement last September, however, the NCAA's hopes of proving the Duke forward did anything wrong instantly became remote. Since a confidentiality agreement was likely part of the settlement and the NCAA lacks subpoena power, investigators would have needed to make their case without any input from either Thomas or the jeweler.

    In addition to not cooperating with NCAA investigators, Thomas spoke publicly about the infamous jewelry purchase only once, and he did not shed any light on where he acquired the money for the down payment.

    Read More »from Hampered by the limits of its authority, the NCAA found no violations in Lance Thomas case
  • Brian Wardle (AP)Now that former Wisconsin-Green Bay walk-on center Ryan Bross has gone public with a the alarming accusations that sparked an investigation of coach Brian Wardle, what's at stake is finally clear.

    Either eyewitnesses must corroborate Wardle's claims that the allegations against him are false, or the university should not let him coach another game.

    In a story published Monday night by the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Bross accused Wardle of calling him derogatory and homophobic slurs, interfering with his academic course choices and running him when he was ill during practice to the point where he lost control of his bowels. It's the stomach-churning details of that particular incident that are most galling to read.

    When Bross told the coaches he was feeling ill and needed to use the bathroom before the team was to run hill sprints near campus during preseason conditioning in October, the freshman center said Wardle thought he was faking it. Bross said Wardle called him a "baby" when he asked to stop again after one hill and continued to ridicule him when he couldn't control his diarrhea and soiled his pants a few hills later.

    “I got down to the bottom (of the hill), and Wardle told me I was a piece of s--- and that he had never seen such a big p---- in his life and that I was the biggest piece of s--- he had ever seen,” Bross told the Press-Gazette.

    Read More »from If accusations against Brian Wardle are true, then his job should be in jeopardy
  • (USA Today Sports Images)

    Luke Hancock is the latest Louisville basketball player to have one of coach Rick Pitino's horses named after him. The horse's name is Three Point Luke.

    Hancock earned the honor after being named MVP of the Final Four this year helping lead the Cardinals to their third national title. Dennis O'Neill, trainer who works with Pitino, apparently decided to rename a 2-year-old horse after Hancock.

    Read More »from Another Rick Pitino-owned horse named after Louisville player ‘Three Point Luke’

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