Temple University NCAA News

Tennessee men's basketball coach Bruce Pearl and the Maccabi USA Open Men's team he coaches leave Philadelphia for Tel Aviv, Israel, today.

This is just me, but I like the idea of the 76ers taking some young players to the Orlando Pro Summer League rather than to Las Vegas.

Tennessee rising junior Steven Pearl totaled 10 points, five rebounds and three assists Tuesday night as Maccabi USA's open men's basketball team defeated a team of Philadelphia All-Stars 83-76 in exhibition action at La Salle University.

Just hours after the draft ended, the 76ers were already gathering up some loose ends.

The Sixers have added former Germantown Academy forward Rob Kurz and ex-Temple standout Dionte Christmas, among others, to their summer league roster.

Ed Stefanski, ever mindful of the value he places on his local ties, reached out late Thursday night to Temple's Dionte Christmas, inviting him to join the Orlando summer league team the 76ers will be sharing with the New Jersey Nets.

Andre Buck shakes hands with Sam Rines of Philadelphia, an AAU and prep school coach who has coached the likes of Kobe Bryant and Richard Hamilton, as the two meet during a basketball camp at LaSalle University.

I'll have a mammoth post up later tonight outlining all the conceivable candidates in the Grizzlies' summer search for a new starting power forward.

Dozier, a former University of Memphis forward, looked exhausted, too. "This was my 11th workout," Dozier said Tuesday after proudly displaying his basketball wares for the Grizzlies.

In part two of our series, we take a look at the top 20 shooting guards in the 2009 NBA draft.

The team announced late Thursday that it had reached an agreement with the five-time Pro Bowl quarterback on a restructuring of the final two years of his contract, which expires after the 2010 season.

Dionte Christmas and Wayne Ellington head up the list of NBA prospects invited to work out for the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday at PCOM, the teama TMs practice facility.

The 76ers had five draft prospects in their gym yesterday, and they all could shoot.

Fran Dunphy wants to take it off and bare it for the first time since 1971. All Dionte Christmas needs to make it happen is finish his degree in African-American studies.

A solid defender at either guard position if he can consistently knock down open shots or show competence as a backup point guard he could make somebody's bench.

The Eagles announced that the much-anticipated restructuring of the final two seasons of quarterback Donovan McNabb's contract is complete.

For the 76ers, the next stop on the off-season trail is the NBA draft, on June 25.

Dionte Christmas admits he won't wow you with his vertical leap. The 6-foot-5 guard is relying on his jump shot, not ability to jump to earn a spot on a team's roster.

Sitting in the interview room at the NBA draft combine Thursday, Temple graduate Dionte Christmas recalled his path toward possibly becoming a professional basketball player.

"The Messiah" by Handel isn't the only big work that thousands of high school and college choir members have learned.