PREFERS TEMPLE'S OFFENSE TO PRINCETON'S
Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers and 76ers forward Elton Brand were engaged in a seemingly serious conversation late Tuesday night in a hallway of the Wachovia Center.
Rivers trying to pump up Brand, who's coming back from achilles tendon and shoulder injuries?
Brand looking for tips to help improve his game?
Something more mysterious?
None of the above.
Asked about the conversation after practice today, Brand laughed and said "Duke.''
As it turns out, Rivers was looking for some insight about Brand's school, which has expressed some insight in Rivers' son, Austin, now playing at Winter Park (Fla.) High. The word is, Austin Rivers had made an early commitment to Florida, but is having second thoughts.
Steve Pagliuca, one of the Celtics' owners, was a Duke walk-on, as was his son
Phil Jasner joined the staff of the Daily News in 1972. He has covered the 76ers and the NBA on a full-time basis since 1981. He won the 2004 Curt Gowdy Media Award, presented by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions to the sport during his career; he was a finalist for the award in 2001, when he also received a lifetime achievement award from the Professional Basketball Writers Association during the NBA Finals. He is a past president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association and the Philadelphia College Basketball Writers Association. Along the way, he has covered high school sports, the Big 5, the Eagles and the NFL, the World Football League, the North American Soccer League and what was then the Major Indoor Soccer League. He is a proud graduate of Temple University, and spent his early professional days at the Pottstown (Pa.) Mercury, Montgomery Newspapers (Fort Washington, Pa.), the Norristown (Pa.) Times-Herald and the Trentonian.
Bob Cooney has been at the Daily News for almost 20 years, working in the sports department the past 12 years. This is his first season on the Sixers beat. He has covered just about everything, but mostly college basketball, where he has been the La Salle beat writer for the past six seasons.
