Former KU power forward Markieff, who remains upset the Phoenix Suns traded his brother, ex-KU small forward Marcus, to the Pistons this offseason, has threatened to turn Suns Media Day into a “circus.”

According to arizonasports.com, Markieff is the only player of the Suns’ 13 guaranteed contracts who chose to not participate in any of the Suns’ informal pre-training camp workouts, including pick-up games.

He has been working out at Grand Canyon University with GCU coach Dan Majerle, a former Suns assistant coach.

“I personally like Markieff. I think he’s a good kid. I think he’s very talented,” Majerle told arizonasports.com. “Now, is he right? No, but that’s a growing process and he’ll figure it out. So, that’s up to the Suns and him. But, I personally like Markieff. He’s been really nice to me, he’s been a good kid, so I hope for his sake and for the Suns’ sake he works it out.”

Nick Krug

Meanwhile, Marcus told NBA.com he never should have come off the bench in Phoenix.

“In Phoenix, I thought I should have started at the three. The guy that is there now (P.J. Tucker) might have been a better defender, but as an all-around three, I thought I was the best we had. And I thought a lot of players thought that, too,” Marcus told nba.com.

“But there’s a lot of opportunity here. I have a chance to come in and start right away. I’ve been in the league for five years. It’s nothing new to me. I have started my share of games. It’s not like I’m new to it. The only thing that’s new is that it’s the East Coast now.”

Marcus Morris said former Pistons great Rasheed Wallace has taken him under his wing.

“He encouraged me to shoot left-handed shots,” righty Marcus Morris said. “Just because he shot so well with it. I was like, ‘Man, how do you do that?’ He was, ‘Every day – shoot with your right, shoot with your left.’ That’s what I’ve been doing.”

Larry going strong: Former Kansas University basketball coach Larry Brown is showing no signs of slowing down.

The fourth-year SMU coach, who turned 75 on Sept. 14, held court for 4 1/2 hours at a Milt Newton/Emerald Gems Foundation-sponsored basketball clinic in August in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Matt Schoch of the Virgin Islands Daily News reports that Brown “breathlessly talked basketball for over two hours with no written notes or breaks — juggling messages of caring for players and loving your assistants, with strategies of defending the pick and roll and funny stories about the headstrong Allen Iverson.”

After that, he “directed an on-court clinic that made a complicated game seem simple with relevant drills fit for youth players and NBA stars alike,” Schoch wrote.

Brown shared with the coaches four principles that former North Carolina coach Dean Smith, Brown’s mentor, stressed every day: “Play hard, play unselfishly, play smart and have fun.”

“My favorite thing to do is to coach and teach,” Brown told the V.I. Daily News. “But being involved with people who want to be coaches and get to do what I’ve been fortunate to do is something I love. At the end of the day, my coaches that I had on every level helped me get to where I am. I’m older now and I want to share all the knowledge that I was taught. I worry about that all the time. Because I think a lot of people, when I was growing up, they got into coaching because they love kids, and love to teach. Now there’s a lot of other reasons that they’re getting into it. So when you have people like this (in Virgin Islands) you know they’re in it for the right reasons, and that’s why I love being parts of things like this.”

Of his former coach, former KU guard Newton told the Daily News: “He always talks about playing the game the right way, and that’s always made an impression on me. I know what it means for the local coaches to have a Hall of Famer come and spend time. He was here for four-and-a-half hours strong.”

Bragg brags on Cavs: KU freshman forward Carlton Bragg of Cleveland is a proud fan of the Cavaliers. Asked how the LeBron James-led Cavs will fare this season, Bragg said: “We’re coming back this year. We will be back and taking home the gold.” Cleveland lost to Golden State in the 2015 NBA Finals.

Tarik Black speaks: Former KU forward Tarik Black spoke to lakersnation.com as his second training camp nears this week.

“Coach (Byron Scott) really opened the door for me and was ready to give me that opportunity (to play defense),” the 6-foot-9, 260-pound Black said. “When I was in Houston, I was regarded as a five (center), period. When I came out here, coach put more trust in me to guard the best player, the best big on the other team and then I was guarding threes. I was out there on the floor to be a defensive threat. When we played Cleveland, I started on LeBron. So, I’ve really just wanted to become a real lockdown defender. I pride myself on not allowing my man to score, especially not face-to-face.

“As far as guarding somebody, I want to be able to really lock someone down. Not allow them to score because that’s just my M.O. right there. That’s my mindset. I don’t like just seeing people score or seeing people just do what they want to. I want to be the guy people say ‘tonight he’s not going to be able to do what he wants to because Tarik Black’s out there guarding him.’

“I really want to get better and better defensively, but a lot of the stuff is tricks of the trade. Not necessarily being the most athletic or agile as much as knowing how to play basketball. Learning about how to be the best defender you can be.

Black averaged 6.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in 63 games with Houston and the Lakers his rookie year.