• Express News’ Tim Griffin talks about Spurs’ draft pick Ryan Richards’ appearance today at the Spurs’ shootaround:
It was a routine shootaround for the Spurs before their game Wednesday against Detroit with one noticeable exception.
Assembled media members were treated to a brief glimpse of 7-foot power forward Ryan Richards from England, who was drafted in the second round by the team in the 2010 draft and still has not signed with the team.
• ESPN.com says the San Antonio Spurs are continuously being slept-on despite their domination of the NBA this season:
The Spurs may be the next NBA champions, yet they garner less attention than less-successful organizations because they do it as a team. There’s no flashy team nickname like The Heatles, no bravado and no tacky preseason championship-type celebrations. Just teamwork and wins.
Teamwork — a foreign word in this era of squads led by superstar egos and talent. No one player on the Spurs is in the top five for individual statistics in the league. Yet, in the final seconds of a close game, the options are plentiful because the talent is there.
• Spurs.com talks to Steve Novak about how he became a Spur:
One moment a Bighorn, the next a San Antonio Spur. “I think,” Novak says, “I definitely won that day.” His wife, Christina, would agree. Now Christina and their 7-month-old son, Mack, are preparing to move from Milwaukee to San Antonio.
• Spurs fans meet and greet George Hill and DeJuan Blair:
• Former Spurs player Carl Hererra has some legal woes:
A former San Antonio Spurs basketball player pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal misdemeanor and was sentenced to a year of probation, putting an end to years of wrangling over his tax case.
Carl V. Herrera, 44, quietly told Senior U.S. District Judge W. Royal Furgeson that he was glad to put the matter behind him.
A federal jury convicted Herrera of felony tax evasion in a 2007 trial after the Internal Revenue Service alleged he owed more than $550,000 in back taxes for 1994 through 1997.
But Furgeson threw out the conviction because he didn’t think Herrera willfully did it. (Express News)
• TheSpoof.com says Los Angeles Lakers’ Ron Artest and Spurs fan “Coffee” Bob will make a Starbucks commercial together.
Hit the jump to read about how you can win free tickets to an upcoming Spurs game, Detroit Pistons head coach recalling the 2005 NBA Finals, a member of the Spurs remembers a tornado, Popovich on Hornets coach Monty williams, and more.
• Detroit Pistons head coach John Kuester had this to say when recalling the 2005 NBA Finals:
“They’re like a machine; they continue to figure out ways to win,” Kuester said. “I could’ve used the paycheck they got in ’05, but I was not here. It was a great series, guys made big shots. Robert Horry made a big shot. They’ve changed a little bit, and they have different people stepping up. Horry is not there, but (Matt) Bonner is there, and he hurt us the last time we played them. (Tim) Duncan is like a fine wine, he gets better with age. He’s so smart.” (freep.com)
• RedsArmy.com is keeping an eye on the Spurs as the playoffs near.
• Pounding the Rock talks about the newest Spur Othyus Jeffers.
• Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich talks about New Orleans Hornets head coach Monty Williams when Williams was working with the Spurs:
“He just dove right in and was a sponge,” Popovich remembers. “You have the whole range with former players. Some who think they can just walk in and coach and others who realize you’re going to watch some film and take some notes and you’re going to learn. Monty turned himself into a student and I thought that was impressive.” (und.com)
• Spurs’ pro personnel director Dennis Felton recalls the tornado of the 2008 SEC tournament.
• “Elevate” documentary was inspired by Texas Longhorn’ Alexis Wangmene. Alexis was cared for by Spurs’ R.C. Buford.
• IUPUI’s Alex Young has surpassed Spurs’ George Hill, who also played at IUPUI:
In the semifinals against Oral Roberts, he surpassed current San Antonio Spurs guard George Hill as the program’s top all-time scorer in the Division I era.
• Want to win free tickets to a Spurs game this month? Here is how you can enter for a chance to score some free tickets:
1. Follow @TiqFeed_Texas on Twitter.
2. Once you’ve followed, send out a tweet that says “Follow @TiqFeed_Texas” and include your favorite live Texas sports moment, followed by the hashtag #LoneStarTiqs for chance to win free Spurs tickets.
3. One person who tweets that out will win a free pair of tickets to Spurs game this month.
