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NBA Trade Deadline Winners & Losers
By: Tom Dillard
Online Editor
With the NBA trade deadline coming and going yesterday at 3pm, we take a look back at the transactions that happened leading up to the deadline. We will also look at three winners and three losers of the deadline, as well as one team that should have made a deal but decided to stand pat.
Thursday, Feb. 24
• Boston traded forward Luke Harangody and center Semih Erden to Cleveland for a 2013 second-round draft pick. Traded center Kendrick Perkins and guard Nate Robinson to Oklahoma City for forward Jeff Green, center Nenad Krstic, a 2012 first-round draft pick and cash.
• Charlotte traded forward Gerald Wallace to Portland for center Joel Przybilla, forward Dante Cunningham, forward-center Sean Marks and a conditional 2011 and a conditional 2013 first-round draft pick.
• Cleveland traded guard Mo Williams and forward Jamario Moon to the L.A. Clippers for guard Baron Davis and a 2011 first-round draft pick.
• Houston traded guard Aaron Brooks to Phoenix for guard Goran Dragic and a future first-round draft pick. Traded forward Shane Battier and guard Ishmael Smith to Memphis for center Hasheem Thabeet, forward DeMarre Carroll and a future first-round draft pick .
• Sacramento acquired guard-forward Marquis Daniels and cash considerations from Boston for a future draft pick.
Wednesday, Feb. 23
• Utah traded guard Deron Williams to New Jersey for guard Devin Harris, forward Derrick Favors, a 2011 first-round pick, a 2012 first-round pick (via Golden State) and cash considerations.
• New Orleans traded guard Carl Landry to Sacramento for guard Marcus Thornton and cash considerations.
Tuesday, Feb. 22
• Chicago traded forward James Johnson to Toronto for the 2011 first-round draft pick Toronto acquired from Miami.
• Denver acquired center Kosta Koufos from Minnesota.
• New York acquired forward Carmelo Anthony, guard Chauncey Billups, guard Anthony Carter, forward Renaldo Balkman and forward Shelden Williams from Denver for forward Wilson Chandler, forward Danilo Gallinari, guard Raymond Felton, center Timofey Mozgov, a 2014 first-round draft pick and a 2012 and a 2013 second-round pick and cash. Traded center Eddy Curry and forward Anthony Randolph to Minnesota for forward Corey Brewer.
(List taken from nba.com)
The Winners:
1. The Oklahoma City Thunder!!! The only spot on the floor they were truly lacking was at the center spot. They
The Oklahoma City Thunder acquired Nate Robinson, Kendrick Perkins and Nazr Mohammed on deadline day!
went out and made a deal to acquire a big man who has experience playing against the LA Lakers, they the Thunder are trying to knock off in the West. Kendrick Perkins gives them that big man to put them at #2 in the West and that much closer to the top of the entire NBA.
2. New Jersey Nets. The New Jersey Nets went out and traded their young point guard, Devin Harris for one of the elite in the NBA. Deron Williams is a game changer who Billy King can add pieces around to build the dynasty they want.
3. Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies were looking to shop OJ Mayo who had gotten in trouble with the NBA earlier this season for use of banned substances. They were unable to trade him but what they did do was reacquire defensive guru Shane Battier. They can now put him back alongside Rudy Gay and Mike Conley Jr. and know they have a trusty reliable defender with them on the floor.
The Losers:
1. The Boston Celtics!!! The Celtics are losers for the same reason the Thunder are winners. They traded two centers who are young and promising, with the one having proved himself already. They were considered one of the premier teams in the East because of their depth at the post position when Shaq showed his age or someone got injured. The Perkins trade does nothing but hurt them.
2. Baron Davis. Baron Davis is an LA kid. He was born and raised in Los Angeles and even went to college out there at UCLA. To be traded to Cleveland must not feel good for him. Not only is he no longer playing in his hometown but he’s also not playing alongside the great Blake Griffin anymore.
3. Richard Hamilton. This is a pick that is kind of out there. Richard “Rip” Hamilton wants out of Detroit and has been shopped heavily as of late. Rip is just stuck in a bad situation, where he’s not going anywhere and neither is the team at this point. He just needs to play out his contract or wait until the offseason to move on.
The Team That Should’ve Made A Deal But Didn’t:
1. The Philadelphia 76ers. In order for the Philadelphia 76ers to get better, they need to make a move. They are currently stuck in, what has been referred to as basketball purgatory. They are too good for the lottery so they won’t get a good draft pick that will really help them out in the long run and they’re not good enough to go far in the playoffs. There were rumors of moving Andre Iguodala to make room for Evan Turner to step up and to move his salary. Every time things picked up, they fell through. They’ll just have to wait until the offseason to see if anything comes up again.
Neumann Spotlight–Pat Egan
By: Tom Dillard
Online Editor
Senior Communications student Pat Egan has endured the struggles and celebrated the joys of seeing the professional sports teams he loves.
Egan was born and raised in Northeast Philadelphia. His mother moved to Haverford Township right before his freshman year of high school. He then moved in with his father and attended Cardinal Dougherty High School in Olney section of Philadelphia. After high school, Egan moved in with his mother but ended up taking a year off from school and started at Neumann College in the spring of 2008.
Pat Egan is the host of TBD Sports on Neumann Radio, which airs every Tuesday from 7-9pm.
Egan has a true love for sports, which can be attributed to his mother, Terry, who played backup goalie for her high school hockey team.
“She wasn’t very good,” stated Egan. “She raised me to be a Rangers fan. She named me after a Ranger, Pat Hickey, who is basically the Chase Utley of the Rangers. She just thought he was hot.”
After his parent’s divorce, Egan’s father, Alex, realized that he was never going to understand hockey and couldn’t transition his son to be a Flyers fan. This forced him to focus his son on becoming a fan of all of the rest of Philadelphia sports. Egan claims that he gets all his other fandom from his dad. His mom is all about New York, including the New York Yankees. Egan claims to really dislike New York teams in every other sport other than his beloved Broadway blueshirts.
“I can’t stand New York,” explained Egan. “I can’t stand going up there. I don’t even like the Rangers fans. It is what it is.”
Egan claims his fan hood of the Rangers makes him a better fan with other teams he loves.
“Being a Rangers fan has made me a better fan,” said Egan. “Growing up in Philadelphia, being a Rangers fan, that’s why I can’t stand bandwagon hoppers.”
He will always remember one period of time in second grade forever. The Rangers were playing the Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals and getting destroyed. He would go home crying everyday because all of his classmates made fun of him. He simply dealt with it.
Pat Egan hard at work before class.
“I think it made me a stronger fan,” said Egan. “It makes you less likely to change allegiances. If you can go through that, you can deal with almost anything as a fan.”
In addition to his huge fanhood, Egan loves meaningless facts and random stats. When he gets curious, he looks things up.
“You could ask me what I learned last sememster and I probably couldn’t tell you,” stated Egan. “If you ask me random stuff about the United Football League, I’ll know a decent amount to hold a conversation. It’s not like I go home and study this stuff. I’m not ‘rainman’.”
Pat Egan has remained true to the professional sports teams he loves. He has been with them through thick-and-thin to live the life of a true fan!
Neumann students saving the music in their own backyard
By: Tom Dillard
Online Editor
At a time when numerous grade schools and high schools are eliminating their music programs, Neumann University music students didn’t want to see that happen in their own backyard. So, they took initiative to help students at the Drexel Neumann Academy in Chester, Pa by starting up their music program to, as VH1 says, “Save the Music.”
Jessica Clawson teaching a Drexel Neumann student the flute.
The idea was conceptualized when Neumann senior education major Jessica Clawson was attending an indoor color guard competition at Brandywine High School. Brandywine High was raising money to help VH1’s Save the Music Foundation.
“I thought about the schools around here and how they don’t have music,” explained Clawson. “I thought about the school districts where music programs have been canceled. Some of these kids don’t have many positive things in their life so I was hoping that this could be one of those positives.”
“It started last fall,” said junior Kristen Bilotta. “Jess said that we should really do something. We said that we should do it locally and do Drexel Neumann since we already have contacts there. So, over the summer, her and Mac Given, Dean of the Arts and Sciences Division at Neumann went over there and had a meeting with Sister Cathy McGowan and got it approved. We went over and had a couple meetings with Sister. Then, we met the students and from there we developed a plan for how we were going to attack it.”
The program received a few of the instruments they have from donations they had asked for when initiating the program. All the rest were purchased through money raised at bake sales and donations at Neumann University Jazz Ensemble concerts. The instruments they received were in poor condition and the ones they purchased were inexpensive.
“We bought some of the cheaper instruments we could find and if they had to be fixed up then we would pay for them to be fixed up,” explained Clawson.
Kristen Bilotta helps a Drexel Neumann student read sheet music.
When the program started, they had six students, three on flute and three on clarinet. The clarinet students had their own instruments but were unable to take them home. The flute students had to share instruments. This semester, the program has grown to 23 students. All those students have instruments and take lessons while practicing on them.
“It’s grown so much that it is overwhelming,” said Bilotta. “We didn’t really expect it to take off like it did.”
The reception at Neumann has been extremely positive.
“It is the best thing that has come from the music program since I’ve been here,” said Dr. Richard Sayers, Associate Professor of Music and conductor for the Neumann Jazz Ensemble. “I really think that the people at Drexel Neumann are really appreciative of the fact that our students have brought this to them. It’s the kind of thing that they probably would not have received otherwise from any other source. Our guys are just doing it out of the goodness of their hearts.”
Drexel Neumann Academy is the only Catholic elementary school in Chester. The school has pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and is supported by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia and Neumann University.
Photos Courtesy of Neumann University Public Relations
76ers Coaching Search Starts Now
On Thursday April 15, 2010, 76ers General Manager Ed Stefanski announced that he would be releiving Head Coach Eddie Jordan of his coaching duties. When Stefanski first took the job around two years ago, most people knew then head coach Maurice Cheeks’ days in Philadelphia were numbered. Cheeks is a “Philly Guy” but Stefanski has many friends around the league who are coaches and even coaches who he has worked with in the past at his job in New Jersey prior to Philadelphia. Stefanski was going to bring in his guy. His guy was Eddie Jordan…until this year.
Stefanski’s search for Jordan’s replacement started right after the press conference. Many names have been tossed around since the rumors started around December. These names include former 76ers coach and current Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown, former New York Knicks coach and current analyst for NBA on TNT Jeff Van Gundy and also former 76ers player and former NBA coach Doug Collins. These names are all the prototypical coaching possibilities.
The next coach of the Philadelphia 76ers needs to make a splash. A monumental splash. Some names that would make a splash such as this would be current Butler head coach Brad Stevens, current Villanova head coach Jay Wright, former 76ers point guard Eric Snow, former 76ers guard and current assistant Aaron McKie or current Louisville head coach Rick Pitino.
Brad Stevens is the current head coach of the Butler University Bulldogs. He is a guy who is young at the age of 33 years old. Hiring a guy as young as Stevens would put the team in a new direction as far as youth. The team has not had a young coach since Johnny Davis for one year in 1996-1997. Having someone as young as Stevens would offer the chance to have a coach stay around the team for a long time. This is vital especially since there has been six coaches since Larry Brown departed for Detroit in 2003. One of the big turn ons about having Brad Stevens as the next head coach is primarily his youth.
Current Villanova head coach Jay Wright was interviewed for the job during the coaching search in 2009 when the team wound up hiring Eddie Jordan. Jay Wright is a coach who, during his entire tenure at Villanova, has breeded point guards. That is both a turn on and a turn off of Coach Wright’s. It is a turn on because people know that he is able to develop great guards in order to hand off to someone else. It is also a turn off because not many know how he is with developing any other position. He has not produced a great big man besides Dante Cunningham who is now with the Portland Trailblazers in the NBA. Coach Wright is a Philadelphia guy through and through having been born in Churchville, Bucks County, Pa. He knows what it means to win and that is evident with his record at Villanova of 203 wins and 98 losses. He is a phenomenal evaluator of talent and knows how to use the players that he has.
Former 76ers point guard Eric Snow is currently an analyst for NBA TV. His entire career was spent as a point guard. Many people often say, ‘Point guards make the best coaches.’ I really agree with this statement and especially when it comes to Snow. His teammates respected him when he played and most players respect what he has to say now. Snow was always a floor general when playing and knew how to handle himself both on and off the floor. He wasn’t really the best player but he always made up for it with his knowledge of the game. That same knowledge of the game will be what makes him a great coach someday.
Former 76ers guard and 76ers assistant coach Aaron McKie is a guy who has already put his name out there in the NBA by being on the coaching staff under all six coaches that have come through Philadelphia after Larry Brown left. Oftentimes coaching is all about putting your name out there and having the experience at the level that you’re trying to go for a job at. With McKie having already been an assistant at the NBA level, he has more of a chance of moving up than those who may be in college now or even others.
Current University of Louisville head coach Rick Pitino has been in the NBA before without much success. Because he didn’t have much success, many teams and general managers tend to try to stay away from Pitino. Despite that fact, Pitino could be the big name that the 76ers need to make a big splash in the NBA. Coach Pitino has simply had much more success at the collegiate level than in the NBA. He should honestly stay there. Despite that, don’t be surprised if the 76ers “take a flyer” on Rick Pitino.
Despite all that, the coach that makes the most sense for Ed Stefanski to hire is Byron Scott. Scott was the coach of the New Jersey Nets from 2000-2003. He has history with Stefanski and it just simply makes sense. Scott was named the 2007-2008 NBA Coach of the Year with the New Orleans Hornets and was relieved of his duties after the following year. It was a move that baffled many. Scott lost in the NBA Finals two years in a row and can do similar moves with the team here in Philadelphia if given the chance.
These are some of the possible coaching choices for 76ers General Manager Ed Stefanski. The city of Philadelphia, the current players, and the rest of the NBA will just have to sit back and wait to see what direction he goes in with the many choices he will have.
Let the story begin…
Rapper Jay-Z recently came out with a song on his new album, “The Blueprint 3” entitled “D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)”. It starts off with a few lines that go a little bit like this:
“Only rapper to re-write history without a pen
No ID on the track let the story begin, begin, begin”
So, with that being said, this will be my opportunity to let my story, or my thoughts, analysis, or whatever I feel like writing about begin. Many people are currently wondering what “View From the Dorm” means. Being a college student who lives on campus, I write for the Neumann University magazine publication called “The Joust.” The Joust comes out once a month. I am a writer who is trying to get my work out more often and that is no discredit to the Joust staff higher-ups. I am primarily a sports writer but will be writing about anything and everything that I have an opinion on on here. For the Joust, I do student profiles in which I profile a stand-out student or even sometimes a stand-out staff member.
This will most likely be the last time you will read me posting in first person. I hope everyone will enjoy my writings and will constantly come back to read more!
New ‘View’ to Debut
We are pleased to welcome long time contributor Tom Dillard to the Joust online. Tom will be posting View From the Dorm, a weekly opinion column. Look for his continued presence in print as well.
Whetts & Team No. 1
By Tom Dillard
“A player like this only comes around once in a coach’s career. I’m just afraid that mine came in the first five years of my career,” said Neumann Women’s Basketball Head Coach Frank Farnese when speaking about senior forward Brittany Whetts.
Whetts, who will be graduating this year with a degree in International Business, will ultimately go down as one of the greatest basketball players, male or female, in Neumann history. As a senior at John Bartram High School in Philadelphia, Pa, Coach Farnese saw Whetts play and wondered how he could get her at Neumann. “I looked at her schedule and said I’m going to get to as many games as possible and hope she knows that I’m interested,” said Farnese at the Women’s Basketball Banquet.
When Farnese recollected on the attempts to recruit Whetts, he remembered a time when he told her that if she came to Neumann, she would wind up being the all-time leading scorer in school history. Whetts came in as a freshman in 2006-2007 and C-Frank, as he is often called by his players, could never have asked for more from a freshman. She wound up starting in all but one game and averaged a whopping 17.0 points per game en route to a Pennsylvania Athletic Conference (PAC) Rookie of the Year Award, which was only the start of the many accolades that Whetts would receive.
During her freshman year, Whetts scored a career high 42 points aganist FDU-Florham. In addition to the accolades already mentioned, Whetts was recognized as PAC player of the week and month numerous times and the All-PAC Second Team. That year, she ranked 7th in the conference in scoring with 409 points and ranked 4th in rebounding with 235 rebounds. Whetts was also honored by her team as the team’s Offensive Player of the Year Award and Co-MVP.
Whetts’ sophomore year was nothing different from the previous one, racking up more accolades and climbing closer to several milestones. The team was able to accumulate a record of 15 wins and 11 losses with a first round exit at Misericordia University. The season included a six game winning streak which was preceded by a three game losing streak. Whetts’ season’s 288 points got her closer to the collegiate milestone of 1,000 points, while averaging 11.5 points per game. In addition to that, she grabbed 224 rebounds and averaged 9.0 per game while collecting 26 blocks and 27 steals.
During Whetts’ junior season, she achieved two career milestones. During the season, the Neumann Knights compiled a record of 18 wins and 10 losses including a loss in the semifinals of the Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) playoffs at Gwynedd Mercy College. On January 22, 2009 at Rosemont, Whetts hit a jumper for her 1,000th point of her career. In addition to her 1,000 point milestone, Whetts also scored 521 points on the season averaging 18.6 points per game. She grabbed 353 rebounds and averaged 12.6 per contest.
Whetts standing tall on the court
The second milestone that Whetts finally achieved was being recognized as the CSAC Player of the Year after the conference went through realignment. Whetts was happy with this achievement but was not satisfied with the season. Whetts’ senior season was a special one. “I felt like we were going to win the championship in August, like the moment we all got here,” said Whetts when asked about winning the championship on March 17 while on Neumann Radio’s Around the Dorm.
This year was a season of challenging games and even more than that, a season of “firsts.” Neumann University opened the new Mirenda Center for Sport, Spirituality, and Character Development in October at Neumann’s Homecoming. Coach Farnese says that he will always remember the day at Homecoming when the building was opened because of a conversation with Mr. Tony Mirenda. “Day one, Tony Mirenda came up to me and said ‘Coach you have an opportunity here to be the first women’s program to ever win in the new building and in the history of the school being in the NCAA tournament now,”’ recalled Farnese. ‘“I want to see one of those banners hanging in here.’ When I saw him after our championship game, I reminded him about that day and he remembered it.”
The championship won this year by the women’s basketball team can be chalked up as another first in school history. The season started off with a loss in the home opener to Richard Stockton College, which was a devastating loss to open the new building. After that loss, they went 3-2 before going into conference play. In conference, the team went 12-2 with their first loss coming at Marywood University on February 1. Despite a home loss to Cabrini to close the regular season, home court throughout the playoffs had been secured the game before against Immaculata.
Throughout the season, Neumann played three teams that were nationally ranked at some point in the season including Widener, Moravian, and Gettysburg. Another staple of the team this year which Whetts and teammates Krista DiRomualdo and Bethany Humenik defended on Around the Dorm, was the team’s performance of “the Cha-Cha Slide.” “We went to Centenary and they had it on their warm-up tape, and they were kind of dead on the other end and we were trying to find a way to wake up,” said Whetts. “So, we all started doing the cha-cha slide and we went on to win by two. So, it was a good thing.”
During the season, Whetts went on to break two records. On January 30, Whetts broke the women’s all-time scoring record previously held by Kaleena Simmons. In the same game, she grabbed her 1,000th career rebound, something done by very few in Neumann history. On February 28, Whetts scored an early bucket to pass Tim McKee as the all-time leading scorer in Neumann history with 1,817 points.
At the finish of the season, Whetts received numerous accolades including another CSAC Player of the Year Award. At the team’s end of the season banquet, Athletic Director Chuck Sack announced that Neumann will be retiring the number “15” jersey of Whetts, an accolade held by only two other players in school history, Colette Duggan and Brendan P. Kelly. At this time, Whetts and her family are exploring options for her professional basketball career.
THE JOUST 