Christian Laettner

Christian Laettner says you got to start your coaching career somewhere.

He’s chosen to do so with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.

I caught up with the former Duke All-American, who led the Blue Devils to back-to-back national titles 20 years ago in 1992, at shootaround earlier this afternoon before tonight’s game at 7 against the Erie BayHawks at Tullio Arena.

Laettner is in his first year as an assistant with the Mad Ants. Below he talks about being an assistant and how much of his coaching style is a reflection of playing for Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Laettner talks being an assistant coach.

Laettner talks about Coach K influence.

Anthony Mason says the NBA today is "way softer" than it was when he played./AP Photo.

When he was in the NBA, Anthony Mason was a tough guy.

He played for one of the toughest teams of his era – the New York Knicks – when Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley and himself protected the painted area with size, force and intimidation.

Those days are long gone in his opinion.

“Now you get the rite of passage,” Mason said. “Now it’s a rite of passage. You get a layup. I get a layup. That’s how they do.”

In Erie, Pa., to watch his son, Anthony Mason Jr. play for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, Mason said the NBA has changed dramatically from when he was out there bumping and bruising up folks.

“It’s a big difference,” said Mason, who averaged 10.9 points in his 13-year NBA career. Mason, whose final season was in 2002-03 with the Milwaukee Bucks, was an NBA All-Star with the Miami Heat in 2001 and the league’s Sixth Man of the Year while with the Knicks in 1994-95.

“Way softer. It’s not as exciting. I don’t think the teams are as balanced as they used to be. It’s kind of boring.”

Mason, who lives in New Rochelle, N.Y., drove seven hours to see his son, but Mason Jr. didn’t play tonight due to an injury.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Erie BayHawks added forward Greg Washington and waived point guard Jamael Lynch today. The BayHawks are at the temporary 12-man roster limit. The D-League will have its teams return to a 10-man roster limit a week after NBA training camps start.

The NBA is expected to start training camp Friday.

Here’s an interview Washington did following his senior season at Hofstra where the Centereach, N.Y., resident set the school record for career shot blocks with 275.

Kyle Spain averaged 8.1 points for Erie in 44 games last season./Photo by Jack Hanrahan/Erie Times-News

Shooters. Rebounders.

That’s how Erie BayHawks general manager of basketball operations, Allan Houston, summarized what Erie will look for in the 2011 D-League Draft, which starts Thursday at 7 p.m.

The BayHawks have the seventh and ninth pick in the first round and have two more picks in the second round. Before figuring out what they need, you got know what they got coming back.

Returning players:

PG – Blake Ahearn (27 years old, 6-2, 190, Missouri State) – Shooter. Scorer (Avg. 16.9 points in 31 games for  Erie last season, 96.2 FT%). Not a great defender, but is scrappy.

PF – Kyle Goldcamp (25 years old, 6-10, 230, Gannon) – Tough. Plays hard. Has a lefty hook, but gets garbage points. Aggressive.

SF – Kyle Spain (6-5, 210, San Diego State) – Plays on the perimeter. Has unlimited range on the jump shot. Struggles defending on perimeter.

SF Chaz McCrommon (6-6, 200, Robert Morris) – Joined Erie late last season. Only played one game for the BayHawks. Considered a solid defender and capable scorer.

Here are the free-agent invites:

Read the rest of this entry »

On the eve of two-time NBA MVP LeBron James being able to declare himself a free agent July 1, I asked basketball fans in Erie one simple question Tuesday.

Should James stay in Cleveland with the Cavaliers or go elsewhere?

Here’s what they said.

Clinkscales will look to bounce back today.

It was painful to watch Saturday night.

Seeing Cliff Clinkscales miss four key free throws in the fourth quarter of Erie’s 89-87 loss to Fort Wayne made you cringe or shout out in frustration as many fans did when he misfired.

After the misses, veteran teammate Jackie Manuel came up to him and tried to loosen him up with some words of encouragement during the game, but after the game, Clinkscales sat in the locker room with his head down.

However, he stood strong in answering questions about the missed free throws and took responsibility for the loss. That is not an easy thing to do and Cliff did so with his chin up. You’ve got to respect that.

So today, I look for him to bounce back and have a solid game against Fort Wayne. The guy is from Jamacia Queens, N.Y., so he’s not going to back down from a challenge, especially one that is within.