Links to the Present: April 1st, 2013

[Doc Rivers on naming Austin Rivers] “I used to go to basketball camps here in Ohio when I was a kid, to Austin Carr’s camps. He would come in and start shooting. I remember him making like 40 jumpers in a row. I was just in awe of him. So when we had the other two [children] . . . I decided to name Austin after Austin Carr. Austin James. His middle name is after Jim Brewer. So I put the whole Cleveland Cavaliers thing together.” [Mary Schmitt Boyer – The Plain Dealer]

“That’s [expletive]. If we were going to the playoffs, that’d be one thing,” he said. “We’ll have six months to rest. Shut up and play.” [Jason Lloyd – ABJ]

“Now check out the Cavaliers’ record in 2008-09. That team, which ultimately lost to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference finals (despite James’ averages of 38.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and 8.0 assists per game), won a league-high 66 games. Miami, 26-game winning streak and all, three stars and all, will have to go 8-1 the rest of the season just to match that total.” [Kevin Pelton – ESPN Insider]

“So. What have we learned? First, Tim Duncan and Dwyane Wade were beasts in college (go figure, Hall of Famers are great in college too). Second, most of the eventual All-Stars played pretty well in their final collegiate runs. Third, even the guys who did play (or rather, shot) poorly, most of them did other things to fill up the stat sheet. They still made an impact on the game. I didn’t come across any “2-15, 1 rebound, 3 assist” type games.” [Ben – WFNY]

“What both like: Porter’s all-around game will ease his transition to the NCAA. Compared to other small forwards in my database, Porter is among the top 25 percent in six key categories and does not have a single statistical weakness (among the bottom 25 percent). Plus Porter is nearly seven months younger than Muhammad.” [Kevin Pelton on Otto Porter]

“Why the stats like him: Coming off the bench, Dekker made 57.1 percent of his 2-point shots and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc. Ken Pomeroy’s similarity scores say the best match for his freshman campaign is lottery pick Ben McLemore. Why scouts are skeptical: Dekker is seen as a better college player than a pro. Before he can even think about the NBA, he’ll have to crack Bo Ryan’s starting five first.” [Kevin Pelton on Sam Dekker – ESPN Insider]

Tweets to the Present:
TCU took a commitment from small forward Hudson Price. Yes, that would be Mark Price’s son. [Dave Telep]