News & Notes-

Here are some quick tidbits of information for you:

- Prior to the NBA Draft officially starting, I asked Jerryd Bayless if he knew where he was going to get pick, and he responded by saying, "I have no idea." It seems that the players really do have to wait in the dark.

- Duke's Greg Paulus was injured at the Steve Nash Skills Academy. He hurt his ankle and ended up on crutches. Paulus did not go to the gym for camp activities on Friday, the last day of drills and workouts.

- Dexter Strickland of St. Patrick's (NJ) apparently has a pulled hamstring. The injury, which he seems to have suffered either just before adidas Nations in Africa or during the event, kept him out of the Steve Nash Skills Academy, and he did not even come on Friday.

- The Steve Nash Skills Academy really is a "skills academy." The players do drills, work on fundamentals, get quality coaching, play some games, and work hard. Nike is doing a great job trying to help these players improve their games. As well, Steve Nash was not only at the event, but he really did do coaching. It wasn't as if the Phoenix Suns star just stood around and watched the camp go on. He took an active role in helping the kids get better. The camp was well-run an well organized. Kudos to Nike!