2022 NBA Mock Draft (Version 2.0)

Posted on June 3, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The NBA Draft is scheduled to take place on June 23rd and until then we will do our best to predict where everyone will get selected. Some websites do their mock drafts based on “best player available” but we try to focus on team needs: for example, if a team like Houston already has Jalen Green at the 2-spot then they are probably not selecting a shooting guard with the 3rd overall pick. Please see our 1st round predictions below and then tweet us your comments regarding what looks good and what might need a re-pick.

#. TEAM: NAME, POSITION (SCHOOL/YEAR OR COUNTRY/LEAGUE)
1. Orlando: Jabari Smith, PF (Auburn/FR)
2. Oklahoma City: Chet Holmgren, PF/C (Gonzaga/FR)
3. Houston: Paolo Banchero, PF/C (Duke/FR)
4. Sacramento: Jaden Ivey, PG/SG (Purdue/SO)
5. Detroit: Keegan Murray, PF (Iowa/SO)
6. Indiana: Bennedict Mathurin, SG/SF (Arizona/SO)
7. Portland: AJ Griffin, SF (Duke/FR)
8. New Orleans: Shaedon Sharpe, SG (Kentucky/FR)
9. San Antonio: Johnny Davis, SG (Wisconsin/SO)
10. Washington: Dyson Daniels, PG/SG (G-League)
11. New York: TyTy Washington, PG (Kentucky/FR)
12. Oklahoma City: Jalen Duren, PF/C (Memphis/FR)
13. Charlotte: Ochai Agbaji, SG (Kansas/SR)
14. Cleveland: Malaki Branham, SG/SF (Ohio State/FR)
15. Charlotte: Jeremy Sochan, PF (Baylor/FR)
16. Atlanta: Tari Eason, SF/PF (LSU/SO)
17. Houston: Mark Williams, C (Duke/SO)
18. Chicago: Ousmane Dieng, SF (France)
19. Minnesota: Nikola Jovic, SF/PF (Serbia)
20. San Antonio: Jalen Williams, SG/SF (Santa Clara/JR)
21. Denver: Jaden Hardy, SG (G-League)
22. Memphis: Blake Wesley, PG/SG (Notre Dame/FR)
23. Brooklyn: MarJon Beauchamp, SG (G-League)
24. Milwaukee: Walker Kessler, C (Auburn/SO)
25. San Antonio: EJ Liddell, PF (Ohio State/JR)
26. Dallas: Kendall Brown, SF/PF (Baylor/FR)
27. Miami: Caleb Houstan, SF (Michigan/FR)
28. Golden State: Christian Braun, SG (Kansas/JR)
29. Memphis: Kennedy Chandler, PG (Tennessee/FR)
30. Oklahoma City: Patrick Baldwin Jr., PF (Milwaukee/FR)

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Going for the Gold: HoopsHD interviews U18 National Team member Anthony Black

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Jon Teitel

It is only June but it has already been a heck of a year for Anthony Black. In January he was named a McDonald’s All-American. In March he was named MVP after leading Duncanville High School to a state title game win over McKinney High School. In April as a member of Team USA he won the Nike Hoop Summit. Earlier this week he was named a finalist for the USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team…and if all goes well then he will be adding a gold medal to his trophy case in the weeks ahead. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Anthony about winning a state title and signing with Arkansas.

(photo credit: usab.com)

You played football at Duncanville High School before giving it up as a senior to focus on basketball: how good of a wide receiver were you, and do you have any regrets about choosing basketball over football? My body just kind of developed by senior year so basketball became a better fit for me. I would say that I was a decent football player.

Last January you were named a McDonald’s All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It was just a blessing to be selected: there are a lot of people who deserve to make it but only 24 get picked each year.

You led your team to a 35-1 record and the UIL Texas Boys State title this year: how close did you come to going undefeated, and what did it mean to you to win it all? Our only loss was to Richardson by 2 PTS in OT last December so we were pretty close to going undefeated. After that game we felt that we would not lose again so it was very special to win a state championship.

You received offers from several great schools including Gonzaga/TCU but signed with Arkansas last April: what was the biggest factor in your decision? The coaching staff showed a lot of interest in me and I think that they will help me become a better player.

Past Razorback stars like Mason Jones/Moses Moody/JD Notae have all stated that Coach Eric Musselman is demanding but also has great intentions: what kind of coach brings out the best in you? I prefer to have a coach who gets on my case because it will make me better.

You are part of 1 of the best recruiting classes in the nation thanks to the Razorbacks bringing in not 1 but 2 other McDonald’s All-American next year in Nick Smith Jr./Jordan Walsh: how well do you know either of them, and what makes them such great players? I know both of them pretty well. Nick is a great scorer/all-around player while Jordan is a great athlete who does a little bit of everything as a glue guy.

Last April as a member of Team USA at the Nike Hoop Summit you had 2 REB in a 102-80 win over the World team: which of your teammates impressed you the most (Dariq Whitehead/Cam Whitmore/other)? I would say Cam. It was the 1st time I ever saw him play in person and he really surprised me by how good he was.

You are 6’7”: what position do you play now, and what position will you feel most comfortable at in college? I played PG in high school and plan to do the same in college but will probably split time at the point with Nick.

Your father Terry played basketball at Baylor and is now in the school’s Sports Hall of Fame: who is the best athlete in the family? Definitely me! My little brother is also pretty good.

Last Tuesday you were named a finalist for the USA Basketball Men’s U18 National Team: what does it mean to you to represent your country, and what would it mean to you to win a gold medal? It is just a blessing to be selected to play with a bunch of other talented guys. It would be great to win a gold medal in Mexico and then bring it back home to the US!

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2022 Draft Preview: HoopsHD interviews UNLV prospect Bryce Hamilton

Posted on June 1, 2022 by Jon Teitel

The NBA Finals have not started yet but it is time for 28 other teams to start preparing for next season. The lottery was held on May 17th, the final deadline for early entry withdrawal is June 1st, and the draft will take place on June 23rd. We will spend the rest of this month interviewing as many members of this year’s draft class as possible. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel commences our coverage by chatting with Bryce Hamilton about scoring 45 PTS in a game and what it would mean to him to get drafted.

In the 2018 CIF-SS D-1 title game as a senior at Pasadena High School you scored 22 PTS in a loss to Chino Hills: where does 2020 lottery pick Onyeka Okongwu (38 PTS/14 REB/3 BLK) rank among the greatest players that you have ever faced? Big O is definitely in my top-5 when it comes to the greatest players I have ever faced. He was so dominant in high school on both ends of the floor and nobody could mess with him!

What made you choose UNLV? I was being recruited the hardest by UNLV compared to all of the other schools. I took a visit down there and it just felt like home and seemed like the best fit for me.

You appeared in all 31 games as a freshman: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? Just being able to find a way to get onto the floor. It is not easy to play as a freshman so I had to do other things that stood out besides scoring in order to get onto the court.

You had 3 different head coaches during your time in Vegas (Marvin Menzies/TJ Otzelberger/Kevin Kruger): how were you able to stick it out for the past 4 years despite all of that change? It was very tough to stay at UNLV with all of the coaching changes. I just tried to control what I could control and think positively about the situation, which helped me during my 4 years here.

Last January you scored a career-high 45 PTS/8-14 3PM in a win at Colorado State: was it just 1 of those situations where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Yeah. It was a game where we were down a couple of starters so I knew that I had to step it up a bit to help our team win. When I started to see the ball go in, I gained more confidence as the game continued.

You ended up leading the conference with 21.8 PPG: what is the secret to being a great scorer? I put in so much work during the offseason (and also in-season) to have an all-around offensive game. I think the secret is just staying in the gym and believing in the work that you have put in when it is game time.

You were named 1st-team all-conference twice in the past 3 years: what did it mean to you to receive such outstanding honors? It meant a lot to get 1st-team all-conference. It would not have happened if our team had not done well in conference so I credit my teammates/coaches for pushing me to get better every day, especially last year. Our conference was very good with really talented players on every team.

Last spring you declared for the NBA draft: why did you decide to return last year, and are you definitely going pro this year? I decided to return last year because I knew the time was not right to stay in the draft: I needed 1 more year to develop my game and prove that I am an NBA player. Going through that process definitely helped me because I got so much better approaching my senior season. This year I feel like the time is right to go pro and prove that I belong and am here to stay.

Your father Kevin played for Hall of Fame coach Don Haskins at UTEP, and your brother Blake and cousins Isaac/Daniel/Jordan all play pro basketball overseas: who is the best athlete in the family? I will have to go with myself as the best athlete in the family. My brother/cousins have all accomplished a lot in their pro careers but being the youngest I was able to watch them, learn a lot from them, and apply it to my own game.

What would it mean to you to get drafted, and what is the plan if you do not get drafted? It would mean a lot to me to get drafted. It is something that I always dreamed of as a kid and I know that it would be a great feeling. If I do not get drafted then the plan does not change at all. My goal is to make the NBA and I will keep working until I get there. Everyone has different paths to get into the league so it will just be extra motivation if I do not get drafted.

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MMMBob: HoopsHD interviews former Omaha coach Bob Hanson

Posted on May 30, 2022 by Jon Teitel

Bob Hanson was the face of Omaha basketball during his quarter-century of service as head coach, and remains the winningest coach in program history despite retiring almost 3 decades ago. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Bob about playing basketball at Wyoming and going to the Final 4 as a fan. Today marks the deadline for the Bob Hanson Family Maverick Basketball Scholarship (which supports student-athletes who have shown good academic success and demonstrated on/off-floor leadership during the previous academic year) so we take this time to remember Bob’s life/legacy.

You played basketball at Wyoming: how good a player were you back in the day, and how did you get into coaching? My wife and I went to a small school in Wyoming called LaGrange. It was a big day when Coach Bill Strannigan came to my hometown to sign me. I played well on the freshman team and toward the end of my sophomore year I scored 18 PTS in a game for the varsity, then became a 2-year captain. I was thinking of becoming an accountant but Bill suggested I try coaching instead. I coached the freshman team after I graduated, then coached a high school team for 1 year, and then came back to coach college kids. I later worked for Forddy Anderson, who became the only coach to lead his team to the NIT and NCAA in the same year. It was a start-up college but we had some great teams with several players who ended up playing pro basketball.

You made the NCAA D-2 tourney as coach at Omaha 7 times in a 10-year stretch from 1975-1984: how were you able to be so successful over such a long period of time? I had some good training and knew that I needed to get good players so I recruited well. It was a battle because we did not have dorms as a commuter school so it was hard to compete with other teams, but we tried to make it a strength (“you can live off campus!”). We got a lot of players from all over the Midwest but mostly Illinois/Nebraska.

In 1990 you got into a scuffle with North Dakota State coach Erv Inniger: how big a deal was it at the time, and are you surprised we do not see more disagreements these days? It was just a case where I congratulated him on the win in a derogatory way and he gave me a push and I took the charge! I looked over and all of my players were in a dogpile on the floor so I just walked off.

You spent 25 years with the Mavericks and remain the winningest coach in school history: do you think that anyone will ever break your record? I do not know, but what makes it easier now is that sometimes they play 38 or 39 games/year due to the existence of so many different tournaments. I worked for the NABC in New York City, which was a great experience. Some of the Summit League teams used to get 9000 fans/game, but now their numbers are down because the rivalries are not the same and you can watch so many great games on your TV from around the country.

What are your memories of the 1996 NCAA tourney as an assistant to Tom Asbury at Kansas State (Clayton Shields had 25 PTS/10 REB in a win by New Mexico)? 1 of our best players did not get to play in that game (Shawn Rhodes, who I had to take to the hospital before the game with a stomach ailment that might have required surgery), and I think his absence affected us greatly. We had a nice team that year and thought that we would go pretty far. We played Marshall 1 year when Billy Donovan was their coach: we pressed them and ended up winning.

You have attended almost every single Final 4 over the past half-century: what is your favorite Final 4 memory? I keep going and try to stay in touch with all my coaching friends and watch games every night. The 1st game my family went to was in Albuquerque and I thought that New Mexico State did not have a chance of winning…but they did. Villanova’s upset of Georgetown in the 1985 title game at Rupp Arena was pretty remarkable as well.

You worked for the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission as president/CEO before retiring in 2020: how did you like the job, and what do you hope to do in the future? People told me that I should probably retire, as many of my former players have. I recently found out that 1 of my players had passed away but I tried to keep doing it as long as I can. It is hard to raise $1 million/year, but when we were able to build a new arena in Wichita it was a great accomplishment and I learned a lot. The question I got at every meeting was, “Can it be nice enough to host an NCAA tourney game”, and we have now done so a couple of times! The California Attorney General said their schools cannot travel here due to some religious laws, but we do not think it will end up affecting us.

When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I want them to feel that we had successful teams who played hard and had great character. I was fortunate to have players/coaches who went on to have further success and make more money than I did: it made me very proud. I have developed friendships all over the country which have been great for me and my family. We became friends with the Krzyzewski family: my wife wrote him a letter to congratulate him on winning the Olympics…and 3 days later she got a thank-you note in return, which was pretty impressive to us. My whole family joins me for trips to the Big 12 and NCAA tourneys so basketball will always be a part of our life. I go to a lot of college games during the year and enjoy seeing all of the nearby teams.

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In Memoriam: HoopsHD interviews Ted Green about Roger Brown

Posted on May 25, 2022 by Jon Teitel

Roger Brown remains 1 of the best basketball players to never play a single game in the NBA. During his 8-year career in the ABA he appeared in 4 All-Star games, set a Pacers franchise record with 46 points in a single game in 1969, and was named 1970 ABA Playoffs MVP after averaging 28.5 PPG while leading his team to a win over the Los Angeles Stars in the Finals. He later won 2 more titles with the Pacers, was unanimously selected to the ABA All-Time Team in 1997, and was posthumously inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2013. Roger passed away in 1997 but HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with producer Ted Green about the subject of his documentary film “Undefeated: The Roger Brown Story”. Today marks the 52nd anniversary of Roger winning his 1st ABA title on May 25, 1970, so we take this time to honor his life/legacy.

In 1960 Brown signed to play at Dayton but was banned from both the NCAA/NBA after it was revealed that he previously met with a gambler who was involved in illegal point-shaving (Jack Molinas): why was he banned even though he was never actually accused of shaving points himself? He was accused of serving as an intermediary between gamblers and college players. Under immense pressure and with no lawyer, Roger admitted that he facilitated introductions. Later on (under oath) he admitted making it all up because he was just trying to get out of the interrogation. No game was ever affected by anything he did, but everyone was so freaked out by the earlier CCNY scandal that even the hint of gambling was enough to result in a ban.

After playing in some semi-pro leagues for a few years he signed with the Indiana Pacers: do you think that he would have ever played pro basketball if the ABA had not been formed in 1967? No: I do not know what avenue he could have possibly had so I suspect that he would never have a chance if not for the ABA.

Take me through the magical 1970 ABA Finals:
In Game 4 he scored an ABA-playoff-record 53 PTS (including 7 3-PT shots) in a road win over the LA Stars: what was his secret for being a great scorer? He was an unbelievable 1-on-1 player, which is what guys like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar/Oscar Robertson said. He had a great hesitation fake and could shift his weight in the opposite direction of where his defender was going. He was not a selfish player by any means but had unbelievable range if you sagged off him on defense. That year he was at the peak of his powers and just put on a clinic. Stars coach/Hall of Famer Bill Sharman said that he never saw anyone so unstoppable.

In Game 6 he scored 45 PTS on the road to clinch the series: what did it mean to him to win a title and be named playoff MVP? From everything I have heard, I do not think being MVP meant that much to him but winning a title meant everything. He was a high school star a decade earlier before his world was shattered, and he went through a lot of hard times both on and off the court before shining against the best in the ABA.

In November of 1971 he was elected to the Indianapolis City Council and ended up serving the local citizens for 4 years: why did he run for office, and how on earth did he balance being a councilman with his day job?! He was approached by an assistant to then-Mayor Richard Lugar, as they were looking for diversity on the Republican ticket. Roger was 1 of the most popular guys in town and he saw it as a neat opportunity to have an impact on things. He made it to most of the council meetings and was very involved in inner-city safety issues.

In Game 6 of the 1972 Finals he scored a game-high 32 PTS in a 3-PT road win over the New York Nets to clinch yet another title: how was he able to play his best away from home when it mattered the most? I do not know if that was just Roger or if it was a reflection of an amazing Pacers team. He always liked a challenge such as playing in front of a hostile road crowd. Bill Bradley once talked some smack about Indianapolis…and Roger went out and took it right at Bradley!

In the 1973 Finals the Pacers had a 7-PT road win over Kentucky to secure their 3rd title in a 4-year span: how big a deal was the “I-65 Series”, and were the Pacers considered to be a dynasty at that point? I do not think the word “dynasty” was thrown around a lot back then…but they were clearly the team to beat in the early-1970s. It was a big deal to play Kentucky: they were 1 of the most stable franchises in the league. They have a high school all-star series each year and the Hoosiers-Wildcats series remains fierce. If you ask the Pacers who they enjoyed beating the most it would be Kentucky or the Stars.

He still holds the ABA shooting record by making 21 consecutive FG over a 3-game stretch: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot he put up that week seemed to go in because he was “in the zone”? I do not know how else to put it: that streak includes 1 game of 14-14 FG! His teammates talk about how he amazed them in ways that no other player had. Before Dr. J came around a lot of people felt that Roger was the best player in the league.

His 312 career 3-PT shots remains #7 in ABA history: what was his secret for making shots from behind the arc? It dated from his playground days in New York. Guys like Donnie Walsh/Larry Brown talk about him having unreal range. He was a big-time dunker in high school, but by the time he got to the pros he had developed some incredible 1-on-1 moves and was still able to make shots from the 3-PT line.

In 1997 he was 1 of 7 players unanimously selected to the All-Time ABA team (along with Louie Dampier/Mel Daniels/Julius Erving/George Gervin/Artis Gilmore/Dan Issel): where do you think he ranks among the best ABA players ever? It is tough to compare guys who played different positions, but I would put Roger and Julius side-by-side just a shade above Mel Daniels. Not a lot of people remember George McGinnis’ brief career but he was also unstoppable.

In 2013 he was inducted into the Hall of Fame a half-century after being banned by the NBA: when people look back on his career, how do you think that he should be remembered the most? He is a guy who got a raw deal, fought for a chance to play, and then shined against the best players in the world. It is nothing short of a triumph, but the real shame is that he did not live to experience that great honor. Now everyone finally knows that he was 1 of the best.

*To learn more about Ted’s documentary on Roger please go to: http://tedgreenfilms.com/Film4.html

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The Hoops HD Report: May Session

Posted on May 24, 2022 by David Griggs

Chad and the panel are back and are joined by Galen Clavio as they discuss the impact the NIL is having on college basketball.  We discuss what we’ve seen so far from the NIL and how we may continue to see changes in the future.  We also talk about the transfer portal, the high transfer rate in college basketball, and the impact NIL is having on that.

And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…

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