TIMELillard is the first NBA player to score 27 or more points in

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Dominique Wilkins still doesnt know how Hugh Durham got him out of North Carolina.He was recruited by every school in the state, the perennial powers and the up-and-coming programs, and wound up following Durham to Georgia. Together, the tall and talented forward and the small and humble coach built a powerhouse program at a school with little basketball success.And together, they were enshrined in the Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday.This is really special for me in many ways, Wilkins said, turning to face Durham seated alongside him, because how many times do you get to go into the Hall of Fame with your coach? I love this guy.Wilkins and Durham were joined in this years class by the late Bob Boozer, a star in the 1950s at Kansas State; Doug Collins, who played at Illinois State before a long career as an NBA player and coach; DePaul star Mark Aguirre; longtime college coach Mike Montgomery; former La Salle standout Lionel Simmons; and Jamaal Wilkes, who was part of the dominant UCLA teams of the early 1970s.They spent time mingling at the College Basketball Experience in downtown Kansas City, some of them meeting for the first time, before a Friday night ceremony. They also spent time swapping stories and reminiscing.I dont know if I liked Coach Durham when I was a player. He was tough, Wilkins said with a smile. But what he taught me was how to be a young man first, a basketball player second. Being a basketball player is easy if you can perfect being a young man.Naturally, Durham deferred to one of his brightest stars.Most of the time if youre successful, he said, its because you have people around you that want you to be successful. You have to have players to win.Wilkins and Durham certainly won together, leading the Bulldogs to unprecedented heights, but they also won separately. Wilkins went on to become a nine-time All-Star in the NBA while Durham retired as the career wins leader at Georgia, Florida State and Jacksonville.The relationship between player and coach was an underlining theme to the 11th class.Montgomery talked about the players who helped make Stanford a perennial NCAA Tournament team, and the dozens more who helped him turn around programs at Montana and California.Its a tremendous honor to be here and be inducted. Its just kind of an honor for a job well-done, a lot of time put in, he said. All of us, when we were young, wanted to be in a position these young men are. Of course, Id much rather be inducted as a player, but I lost the gene pool battle.Boozer certainly didnt lose that one. He starred for the Wildcats before deferring his pro dreams for a year so that he could play on the gold medal-winning 1960 Olympic team.Neither did Wilkes, who was part of the Bruins record 88-game win streak from 1971-74, nor Simmons, who emerged from the rough Philadelphia projects to score 3,217 points for the Explorers.Aguirre also stayed home to play college hoops. The schoolboy legend from Chicago wound up leading DePaul to the Final Four as a freshman, and was the AP player of the year before his own NBA career.I can appreciate it, but I dont know if I can grasp the fact that I should be here, he said. I saw Oscar Robertson. I saw John Wooden, Lew Alcindor. So its hard for me. I guess itll come, but at this moment, its hard for me to think I should be here.Collins joked that he never had such a problem with humility, perhaps because of the long odds that he overcame. He never started in high school until his senior year, he was so lightly recruited he wound up at Illinois State, then the coach that recruited him retired after his freshman season.The skinny white kid from Illinois would end up playing for Will Robinson, a Detroit native and the first black coach in Division I basketball, forging one of the closest bonds of their lives.One of the things we all have in common is none of us ever started out thinking wed be in the Hall of Fame. We never walked out to play or practice or do what we loved because of what was going to come later, Collins said. Im a product of the Coach Durhams, the Coach Montgomerys. Every one of us here had someone that came along that we trusted, we put our faith in, that got us where we wanted to go. Nike Zoom Wholesale . The news was first reported on Gonzalezs Twitter account and confirmed by the Rockies. Gonzalez has a six-week window before position players have their first workout at spring training in Arizona. Nike Zoom Clearance Sale . As he recorded his 23rd and 24th points of the evening, a segment of the sellout Air Canada Centre crowd expressed their appreciation for the Raptors point guard with a smattering of MVP chants. http://www.nikezoomclearance.com/ . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Nike Air Zoom Outlet . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. Nike Air Zoom Cheap . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations. PHOENIX -- In need of a go-to guy at the end of a tight game, the Phoenix Suns turned to Eric Bledsoe, and the veteran guard delivered. Both times.Bledsoe dropped in a rainbow 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer, giving the Suns a 118-115 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.He had also scored a go-ahead basket with 1.1 seconds left in regulation.Bledsoe finished with 20 points, his only 3 of the night being the game-winner. The shot, made over the outstretched arms of Blazers star guard Damian Lillard, gave the Suns their first win of the season.I wanted the ball, Bledsoe said. I was just going to get whatever they gave me. The shot was there, I took the shot and just took it with confidence, and you live with the results.The Suns, who made 6 of 10 shots and both free throws in overtime, got 27 points from T.J. Warren and 18 from Alex Len while center Tyson Chandler had 18 rebounds.Phoenix outscored Portland 62-38 in the paint. The Blazers played the second of back-to-back games after a home loss to Golden State on Tuesday.The Suns went ahead by six points with 38.5 seconds left in overtime, but the Blazers tied it at 115 when Lillard scored and was fouled with 6.4 seconds.Lillards 27 points led the Blazers, with C.J. McCollum adding 24.We played good defense, he just made a tough shot, Lillard said.I dont know what Bledsoe shot from the field (7 of 20) but Ill take that shot every day of the week, McCollum said.Bledsoes layup with 1.1 seconds left in regulation gave the Suns a 103-101 lead, but after a timeout, Mason Plumlee inbounded to Meyers Leonard for a layup at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.To be in two overtime games (this season) against playoff teams, theres no better experience for such a young group, Suns coach Earl Watson said. Today was the first time I really felt like we actually became a family.The Blazers took a 90-83 lead midway through the fourth quarter, but the Suns came back to take a 93-92 lead on Warrens running bank shot with 2:47 to play.Suns guard Devin Booker, who missed Mondays game against the Los Angeles Clippers with a toe injury, returned to the starting lineup and finished with 15 points on 6-of-115 shooting.ddddddddddddPortland led for much of the second quarter and went ahead 50-43 on Maurice Harkless 3-pointer with 4:07 left. The Suns responded by going on a 10-0 run capped off by Bledsoes layup and free throw and led 57-53 at halftime.The Suns took a 76-73 lead into the fourth quarter.TIP-INSBlazers: C Festus Ezeli remains out with a left knee injury. ... No Blazer saw more time on the court than Lillards 40 minutes.Suns: The Suns had been one of the most turnover-prone teams in the NBA, averaging 16 per game entering Wednesday. They committed only 12 against the Blazers.KNIGHT FLIERThe play that energized the Suns comeback late in regulation time was Brandon Knights one-handed throwdown over Turner with 5:41 left in the fourth. It brought the Suns bench and the crowd to its feet.That was a huge play, Len said. Hes just getting healthy ... so now you can see when we get him back, he has athleticism, his bounce back.`DAME TIMELillard is the first NBA player to score 27 or more points in each of his teams first five games since Kobe Bryant did so with the Lakers at the outset of the 2005-06 season. Lillards 163 points in the seasons first five games are the most ever by a Blazer to start a season.FOCUS ON DEFENSEWatson believes the Suns can be a top defensive team in the NBA at some point this season. He said analytics showed they were 13th in the league in points allowed per 100 possessions before Mondays games.We know were going to get better. We understand we just played three of the top four teams in the NBA (Oklahoma City, Golden State, Clippers) so the sample size is too soon to judge, Watson said before Wednesdays game. We believe we can end up top seven easily.CULTURAL CELEBRATIONThe Suns celebrated Day of the Dead, a traditional Mexican holiday, to honor their Latino fan base Wednesday night. They wore their purple Los Suns jerseys, a group of mariachis played the national anthem and fans received calavera, or skull head, bobbleheads.UP NEXTBlazers: At Dallas on Friday night.Suns: At New Orleans on Thursday night. ' ' '