Shurna gets a call from USA basketball

yes, you read that right. seventeen players were invited to try out for the USA Men's Under-19 World Championship roster, and John freaking Shurna is one of them. based on the other sixteen names, i can't imagine that he will actually make the team, but this is pretty heady stuff for Northwestern basketball and for Shurna, who will get some first-class coaching for once courtesy of Jamie Dixon. best-case scenario for NU is that Ralph Sampson III comes out of the tryouts with at least one torn ACL.

Drew Crawford: "on the up-rise"

a lot has been made about the signing of Drew Crawford and how he represents a new level of talent that NU has rarely seen. he finished third in the Illinois Mr. Basketball voting, behind Illini recruits Brandon Paul and Jereme Richmond. Crawford hopes to make an immediate impact, and he has his sights on finally getting the Wildcats into the NCAA tournament.

meanwhile, assuming these numbers are correct, Matt Painter and Bruce Weber need to fire their agents ASAP.

Even Wilbon wants no part of NU hoops

ffwd to the 3:54 mark:

http://vimeo.com/4465309