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Bruin (Hoops) Bites: Alford Speaks, Tries to Claim an Extra McD's All-American

Steve Alford talks to the OC Register, Ed O'Bannon trial starts, latest Mock Draft and more.

By chrissorr
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

I've been wondering when Coach Steve Alford would finally talk to the media again. I'm glad I didn't hold my breath.

Alford spoke to Ryan Kartje of the O.C. Register yesterday, and although the expected article hasn't been published yet, Kartje tweeted a few bullet points. BN covered it here and here. I guess you have to consider Kartje an Alford friendly. We'll have to wait until the article come out, but I don't see evidence of push back or tough questions yet.

As a matter of fact:

I really liked this one:

We have two Micky D's in the Class of 2014, Kevon Looney and Thomas Welsh. Isaac Hamilton, also a McDonald's All-American, is part of the class of 2013.

See what he did there?

But that's what to be expected from a guy with a history like Steve Alford.

Kartje speculates that the starting lineup will be BAlford, Hamilton, Powell, Looney and Parker. This is the small lineup I mentioned here. It could get ugly,especially in the tough non-conference schedule -- the conference looks to be weak outside of Arizona. I also wrote about the big lineup, and Alford does suggest that there will be minutes for Looney and Bolden at the 3, although doesn't say that he would use both at the same time -- that would drive Bryce to the bench.  Finally, he has no complaints about Jordan Adams changing his mind -- they had "new information" and decided to leave.

On to the other news:

  • We're into Day Two of the Ed O'Bannon vs. the NCAA lawsuit. Ed O was grilled for 50 minutes, but appeared to hold up well. Here's a primer on the case.
  • SI's latest NBA Mock Draft has Zach LaVine going at #15 to the Atlanta Hawks (strange, last week Kyle looked good for this spot), Kyle Anderson is at #27 to the Phoenix Suns, and Jordan Adams is at #29 to the OKC Thunder.
  • Where are they now? Kory McCray is leaving his assistant's post at LSU after one year. Remember him? Howland hired him out of the AAU ranks probably to reel in Tony Parker and Jordan Adams. This article says he served under Howland for two years, but I think they are counting the one year after Howland left in which he served as an admin, and babysitter to Tony Parker.
  • Calipari Watch: I guess we can forget about that shuffling in the college coaching ranks we were hoping would come (you know, Calipari to NBA, Miller to Kentucky). Apparently, Calipari turned down the Cleveland Cavaliers (OK, its not the Lakers) to sign a new seven year deal with Kentucky for $7.5 million + per year.
  • It's getting uglier for Roy Williams and North Carolina. Rashad McCants is the first player to go public about those phony "paper classes" at UNC. Hey, NCAA, are you listening this time?
  • All-NBA Teams: Give me a break! No Westbrook or Love, but Dragic, Lillard and Noah. To be fair Westbrook and Love were injured,
  • News you can use: Hard economic times forcing you to cut back?Deadspin says go ahead and eliminate your Gatorade budget. LeBron James took a beating after succumbing to cramps at the end of the NBA Finals game one loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The air conditioning was on the fritz, and the indoor temperature was a balmy 90 degrees plus. Probably the last win for the Spurs, although I admire what Popo has done with ageless team (Yikes, they won last night).

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